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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: what did you name your dog and why
Abe Our last name is Lincoln.
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Ridge Runner 2
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07/03/08 06:35pm |
RV Pet Stop
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Water purifiers
I want to travel to Mexico but I am concerned about water. I have IBD and an bacterial, viruses or other contaminates can make me very sick, very fast. I have seen the Seagull units that seem to be the answer. Does anybody have any experience with this or a similar unit in Mexico to clean water before it goes in the RV tank.
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Ridge Runner 2
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06/26/08 07:33pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Where are you workamping this summer?
We are taking our first Workcamper job ever. After four years of touring the states we wanted to ease into the work side of Rving. This is a one month assignment in May at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We will be driving golf carts to help handicapped people get to their seats. It will be over after the big race on Memorial Day week end.
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Ridge Runner 2
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03/28/08 02:25pm |
Workamping Forum
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RE: Choice?: Thousand Trails or Western Horizons campgrounds.
We are full timers and have a TT membership with RPI as an Affiliate. We had stayed at a number of Western Horizons parks before they dropped out of the RPI system. They were nice we were sorry they left the system. Our TT membership is 14 days in 7 out unlimited use thruought the year. Our dues are $549.00. As others said buy used but really check it out because TT has so many types and upgrading is very expensive. There are many more parks available in TT so that made it easy for us to decide since we travel all over. The west coast is by far the best area for TT and the only area for WH. Presently we are in Florida at the Orlando park.
Another perk was offered by Encore parks for TT members. It's a little pricy but for $500.00 per year we get the use of 10 Encore parks in Florida. One week stays but we can go park to park or to a TT park. It works great since we are snow birding in Florida this year. The past three we were out west so we didn't do the Encore thing since there are so many TT parks to go to. It's a yearly thing and there is no guarantee they will do it next year but it has been offered the past two seasons.
Most important is to pick a system you will use that have parks where you want to go and investigate the used market. There is a resale company in Clermont Florida who specializes in all types of campground memberships. They know the different contract types and may be able to help you decide. Things like out clauses are important some lifetime membeships mean just that and you legally can't get out of the contract.
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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01/08/08 09:28pm |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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RE: jayco designer 35RLTS
Wow this is not a dealer issue! It is a design/install problem from the factory. I don't have any code books so all I can offer is what we have in our trailer. The hood is vented outside and is 20.5" above the range top. The Micro is conventional and is over the hood and is 26.5" above the range top. We have been full timing three years no issues.
We usually don't run the hood, too noisey but if we have the oven and burners on we do.
Regardless of what Jayco says I would raise the Micro wave. If the hood is seperate it could probably stay put but it would be better to raise it too. If you can vent it outside that would be best.
JMO
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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01/03/08 11:00am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Mail Forwarding While on the Fly
One problem with USPS forwarding is that they will only do it for one year. If you don't cancel the service they will return your mail to the sender with the forwarded address as your new address. I just found this out and tried to explain to the local guru but no go. I have to cancel the forwarding and the mail will go to our old address. We did put a mail slot in the door so the stuff doesn't overflow a normal mail box. Once a week a relative goes over collects the stuff and sends it where we ask, usually to general delivery where ever we are.
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/26/07 01:00pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: Cockroaches, Ants and Rats, Oh My!
The roach cookies idea is great, but we are dealing with Fire Ants too. Won't they go after sweet stuff?
Don't know for sure but it's the boric acid that kills and the sweetened condensed milk that attracks roaches. I think it may do in fire ants too but I really don't know.
There are ant traps available that are very effective. They are little domed shaped plastic containers with bait inside and openings around the perimeter. I would try the roach cookie and if the ants are still around in a couple of days get the traps. Ant traps are available from Grocery and various other stores like walmart and hardware stores. There are also roch traps built the same way as the ant traps but they are expensive compared to the homemade stuff.
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/26/07 12:37pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: Blog on RVnet
I would like to find out more about places to Boondock. It would be helpful if it were several regions or even by state. Like Southeast, Northeast, Southwest, Northwest,Canada and Mexico.
I wish there was a complete guide to The National Forest, county parks, city parks and other public property that have open areas for RV's.
Gee guess I don't want too much.
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/23/07 03:32pm |
Full-time RVing
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RE: CG membership - or not?
Bill and Pam,
Sounds like a good plan. Keep records of your costs and see how it works for you. The time on the road will give you a chance to meet others along the way that may help you decide also.
As has been stated earlier a used membership is a good buy and probably the best way to go, but make sure the contract is what you want. TT has many different variations and if you want to up grade they are not cost effective. Here are three that I know of.
1. 50 days free camping then you pay per day.
2. 14 days free in the system 7 out then 14 days back in the system. That can be repeated all year long.
3. 21 days in the system then you must move to another park again for 21 days, no days out of the system.
example 1 is terrible. 2 is of especially when used with an affiliate park for the week out. 3 is very good.
Of course the parks need to be where you want to go. The West Coast is very good, not so good in the East.
Good luck and enjoy the Full time lifestyle ain't it great.
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/22/07 06:09pm |
Full-time RVing
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RE: CG membership - or not?
Pam & I are taking advantage of an offer of 5 free days and 4 free nights at a Western Horizons Resort in AZ. Tomorrow, we must attend a 90 minute tour and they will want us to 'join' or whatever it is that they do.
I'm wondering if we would benefit by joining a campground membership and if so, which one. We have no idea how they work. Last week we stayed free for 6 nights at Outdoor Resorts in Las Vegas. We did not have to attend any sales presentation but we did out of curiosity. We stayed on a standard lot for 6 nights and they were selling it for $150,000. We said "No thanks".
We think there are resorts where you buy a lot. And we think there are time share locations. Is that what we will be offered?
I guess a membership depends on your lifestyle, too. We plan to cover about 10,000 miles in 2008, spending about three months at relatives' properties or nearby, a month or two boondocking, and a couple months of 'one or two nighters' (could be a CG or WalMart or whatever) as we travel. That would leave about 5 months for CG membership stays or .... Suggestions?
Getting back to the original question...First we looked at Western Horizon and because of the limited number of parks, location and relatively high price it wouldn't work for us. If I understand you are only going to do this for one year and only about 5 months of that in a RV park. In that case membership parks are not for you. Full timers also fall in to several catagories but two are those that travel about and those that like to stay put for a month or a whole season. And then there are weekend or vacation RVers. These groups probably would not benefit form membership parks. In our case a month in one place is too long but we do stay in a region about 6 months. Last winter it was the Southwest, the summer it was the Northwest, this winter it is the Southeast. In those regions we are always able to find many member or affiliate parks to use.
Again the original question is "would you benefit with a membership" The answer is probably not if you are only going to do this one year and only use CG 5 months of that year.
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/22/07 07:48am |
Full-time RVing
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RE: Cockroaches, Ants and Rats, Oh My!
We lived on a boat for several years. This is what was comonly used, basically a way to contain the Boric Acid.
Tom
ROACH COOKIES
Cock Roach cookies
Mix, Boric Acid with a few drops of sweetened condense milk. Mold into little patties and place around the boat. Store unused candies in a zip bag and label as poison
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/21/07 12:41pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: /rant - Why does everything have to be so difficult?
You're putting too much trust into the US Postal Service. We will never fill out a Change of Address form again. Unless you prefer JUNK Mail galore. Plus they aren't very reliable.
That's odd, we have been full time for three years. We still have a permanent adress but have mail to that adress forwarded to a relative who in turn mails packages to us as requested. We don't get any junk mail the P.O. doesn't deliver it and has been very good at all our other mail.
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/19/07 12:59pm |
Full-time RVing
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RE: CG membership - or not?
We are Thousand trails members and only have RPI as an affiliate membership campground. This only works if you are full time or part full time. We are full time and this is how low our per day price could be. It isn't because we some times travel to National Parks, State Parks or other special attractions but this could give you an idea how inexpensive it could be. First we paid $2000.00 for our national membership to TT in 2005 (special deal thru Lazy Days when we bought our TT) added RPI for $ 89.00. TT dues are $549.00/year first year included in the purchase price. This is based on the past three years. $2000.00 TT Membership included yearly dues 549.00 TT dues second Year 549.00 TT dues third year 89.00 RPI dues year 1 89.00 RPI dues year 2 89.00 RPI dues year 3 * 432.00 RPI $8.00 daily par fees $3797.00 Total for three years. divided by 1095 days $3.46 per day each additional year it becomes less as the initial $2000.00 membership is divided among more days. * Our TT contract is 14 days in 7 out. The $432.00 is for the alternate weeks out at RPI park $56.00/week. Next year it will be $10.00 instead of $8.00 per day or $70.00/wk. The first three years we have been out west and the TT system is really great for the west coasters. This example would be 100% utilization of TT and RPI which could be done but is not really practical. We did want to see the national parks along the way. Those were usually in the $20.00 to 30.00/ night range. Whoda a thunk it when we started this lifestyle that the national parks are expenxsive in our book. Although we did spend a few really kewl weeks every winter in the Arizona desert(Quartzite) no charge.
You can find TT used memberships for even less than $2000.00 but be careful the contracts are all over the map and some are not as good. Don't count on upgrading a TT. TT really nails upgraders. Make sure you get what is usefull to you.
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/19/07 12:46pm |
Full-time RVing
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RE: towing rear kitchen ???'s
I am sure the builder would balance the tongue weight. But the back of the trailer is a lot rougher when hauling than over the axles or in front. Out bedroom cuboard is on the back wall of the trailer and things often get tossed around back there. Our kitchen is in the front no damage.
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/19/07 12:05pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Anyone try substituting recliners for sofa/bed?
Sorry, I don't understand the platorm issue our slide floor is flat with the main trailer. But one of the first things we did was dump the very uncomfortable sofa bed for two recliners. The sofa bed was uncomfortable as a sofa or as a bed so getting rid of it was a no-brainer. We are full timers and really have to have home like comfort. The Recliners were Lazyboys that have removable backs making them easy to get through the door. They are not wall huggers but then we can move them forward slightly after we are set up. I found the wall huggers not as comfortable but that was a personal choice. The old sofa bed also had a removable back and was easy to remove. Donated it to the club house at the Palm Springs TT.
Our trailer is 34 feet but only had two sleeping options that included that very painful sofa bed. Now we have two inflatable air matresses for the occasional visitors. One is a single and the other is a queen. When deflated they take very little storage space. They will fit on the floor in front of the recliners when needed. Bad part is they clutter up the trailer but so did the sofa bed. We use two sizes so that we can use the smaller when only one person comes. During the day rather than deflate the air bed we simply put the inflated bed on top of our permanent king bed and that imediately clears up the floor space in the rest of the trailer and it's ready for the next nights use.
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/19/07 11:58am |
Travel Trailers
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RE: How much does it cost you for the winter per day?
We are Thousand trails members and only have RPI as an affiliate membership campground.
This only works if you are full time or part full time. We are full time and this is how low our per day price could be. It isn't because we some times travel to National Parks, State Parks or other special attractions but this could give you an idea how inexpensive it could be.
First we paid $2000.00 for our national membership to TT in 2005 (special deal thru Lazy Days when we bought our TT) added RPI for $ 89.00. TT dues are $549.00/year first year included in the purchase price.
This is based on the past three years.
$2000.00 TT Membership included yearly dues
549.00 TT dues second Year
549.00 TT dues third year
89.00 RPI dues year 1
89.00 RPI dues year 2
89.00 RPI dues year 3
* 432.00 RPI $8.00 daily par fees
$3797.00 Total for three years.
divided by 1095 days
$3.46 per day each additional year it becomes less as the initial $2000.00 membership is divided among more days.
* Our TT contract is 14 days in 7 out. The $432.00 is for the alternate weeks out at RPI park $56.00/week. Next year it will be $10.00 instead of $8.00 per day or $70.00/wk.
The first three years we have been out west and the TT system is really great for the west coasters. This example would be 100% utilization of TT and RPI which could be done but is not really practical. We did want to see the national parks along the way. Those were usually in the $20.00 to 30.00/ night range. Whoda a thunk it when we started this lifestyle that the national parks are expenxsive in our book. Although we did spend a few really kewl weeks every winter in the Arizona desert(Quartzite) no charge.
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/16/07 09:14am |
Snowbirds
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RE: No replies to e-mails...anyone else?
We send out regular e-mails to s few friends and relatives. In order to make sure it is going through I copy my own address. Another thing I do is send blind copies. That way the reciever doesn't get the impression that he is just another name on a big list, it seems more personal.
Occassionally we send an e-mail that says "If my e-mails and pictures are slowing down your PC and you really would rater not recieve our update please let me know" This almost always results in replies to keep the e-mails coming. Only a few with single side band radios (Sailing friends) and pocket mail asked to be removed. Understandably so. In a couple of cases they said keep me on the list without pictures.
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/11/07 10:53am |
Full-time RVing
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RE: soundtrack for Camping
Cool Change
The Little River Band
We started our retirment seven years ago. The first three years aboard our sailboat. RVing has been very similar. The song has a lot of references to the ocean but it is also appropriate for the RV lifestyle. Substitute the water for the road, mountains or desert.
First verse:
If there's one thing in my life that's missing
It's the time that I spend alone
Sailing on the cool and bright clear water
It's kind of a special feeling
When your out on the sea alone
Staring at the full moon, like a lover
Chorus
Time for a cool change
I know that it's time for a cool change
Now that my life is so prearranged
I knoe that it's time for a cool change
Tom
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/10/07 07:35pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: Demolition Derby for RV's
Way too funny. Wonder how a Hensley would do!!!
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/10/07 08:55am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Buying in Montana, living in TX
I can't speak to other states but if you use a Montana LLC to avoid sales tax in New York or Virginia They will ABSOLUTELY get you. Also, if you live elsewhere, have a vehicle registered, plated and insured where you live and just VISIT Virginia for 6 months (say to spend time with a family member) you MUST register and license your vehicle in Virginia whether you like it or not!
Yep Virginia is a majr paine. We crusie on a boat part of the year and they wanted us to registere and pay Virginia taxes. It's really stupid and unfare. If every state did that we couldn't travel freely about the country.They have chased of a lot of retired folks with that nonsense. Missing all those potential tourist/winterbird folks.
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Ridge Runner 2
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12/10/07 07:58am |
General RVing Issues
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