RE: Oregon Dunes
I'm assuming that even though it will be August, I'll be able to survive on the Oregon coast without A/C. I assume it doesn't get too hot there.
I think that's a safe assumption. Doesn't your RV have a generator?
RE: Oregon Dunes
Tony, I got the link and looked at the photos. Looks real nice.
It was fun... even though I prefer forest trails to sand.
On the getting stuck part, as long as you were on fairly level sand did the Rhino sink in?
No, on level sand it did quite fine.
I don't have a winch on my Rhino, but I do have one on my Polaris Quad. Only problem is I won't be bringing the quad. I've thought about switching the winch over to the Rhino anyway.
If I had one winch and had to choose between a Rhino and a quad, the winch would go on the Rhino... no questions asked. I can pickup either end of my quad and shift it around. The Rhino weighs WAY too much to do anything except stand there and look it stuck.
I guess I could get a come-a-long and carry that with me.
That would work fine, except some of the trees are quite a ways away. You might be doing a LOT of slack take-up if you get stuck too far from a tree.
When you had to winch out was there always something to hook to?
Luckily yes. One of the times there wasn't though. That was scary because I was on the edge of a pretty big dune drop off and had nowhere to go. I ended up getting lucky and managed to dig out with my camping shovel. That wasn't fun. I drove up to the edge to see how far it went down, when I saw it was too steep, I tried to back up and couldn't.
Although I've never seen one, I understand there is some type of sand anchor that will dig into sand and you can winch out with that. If I can find one of those and a come-a-long I should be able to get out of most anything.
I've seen those "plow" looking things in the past and I'd love to have one. Supposedly, the more force you pull on it with, the deeper it digs in. I should really do a Google search and think about ordering one. They would be handy for a LOT of situations. Just last month I managed to get down a snow covered road in Oregon, just to find out the Rhino doesn't do so good in snow either... same problem, it digs in. If the snow was only 12" deep, that wouldn't be a problem (as the tires could get to solid ground), but this snow was about 3 feet deep. The problem was that this was a snow covered road, which meant it was at least 20 feet wide (standard 10 foot lanes x 2) and whatever shoulder it might have had. Trees were pretty far to the sides. I ended up having to zig-zag winch my way up the trail. You can read about that adventure at the link I sent you.
Anyway, don't let me scare you, go ride and have fun. If you get stuck, find someone to pull you out. At the very least, take a tow rope.
RE: Oregon Dunes
Thanks for the info. I'm looking at the KOA park near Coos Bay. They seem to fit what I'm looking for and they say you can drive the ATV from the park right down to the beach.
We stayed in Coos Bay the evening of our trip to the dunes. We didn't stay at KOA though.
Is this a different off road area than the one you went to?
I would assume not. I saw official "Oregon Dunes Recreational Area" signs all the way South past Spinreel and all the way North right up to the Washington border. It appears to be a HUGE area. I'm sure it's all part of the same land, but you may not be able to get from every section to every section.
Let us know how you make out.
RE: Oregon Dunes
I have a California sticker on it and it has reciprocity with Oregon.
Good... that'll save you $10.50.
I don't want to buy paddle tires so I'll go with what it has.
Are they the stock tires? They would do slightly better than what I have (ITP 589's).
Did you get stuck a lot?
Yes. Every time I tried to go up even the slightest incline, the Rhino would dig itself in. If I was quick, I could stop spinning and reverse (most of the time), but if I spun too much, it would be on the floorboards and I'd have to hope there was a tree nearby to winch out.
If so, how difficult was it to get out? The Rhino weighs over 1000 pounds so it wouldn't be easy to push out of sand.
Without a winch? Impossible... unless you brought 5-6 buddies.
I'm not much into agressive driving on the dunes. I'm just as happy driving up and down the beach and on the trails.
If you stick to the wide open areas, and some of the more well traveled (i.e. packed) trails, you'll be fine. Beach access is pretty limited and it seems they don't want you RIGHT on the beach. We found one "legal" trail to the beach front and it stopped a couple hundred yards short, so we walked the rest of the way.
Also, it seemed to me that you could not go any further North from Spinreel on the dunes. The trails all stopped and were blocked and signs were posted "no entry" for everything heading North. I'm not sure why.
I'm going to send you a private message with a link to the pictures and text from our trip there. Maybe it'll help in some way.
RE: Oregon Dunes
I just got back from there. We parked along the road outside the Spinreel parking area. It was a VERY busy weekend, so the given parking area was maxxed. There is a little accessories and rental store across from the entrance and there is an "ATV path" most of the way along that road. We just drove down that to the dunes. We, too, have a Rhino. It was a lot of fun even though the ITP mud/snow tires just wanted to dig at every chance. I recommend being VERY careful where you go if you don't have paddles. You'll need an Oregon Offroad Sticker and a flag. Both available at the aforementioned store.
Have fun!
RE: Are there any Aftermarket Warranty Companies
Now that Alfa is gone, I'm coming up a year short on my 5 year factory warranty. I've been thinking about going with Good Sam CSP, but the "reviews" here seem to indicate that it's a typical "extended warranty" ripoff. Last month the transmission took a dump in my tow vehicle (F550/4R100), that cost me over $700 for the tow and over $4000 for the Ford reman transmission. I can't help wondering if CSP would have paid for those high ticket items.
I've been reading the search results for "Good Sam CSP" and there isn't a lot of good. I'm not sure what decision to make. I'm afraid they'll ding me with details and exclusions.
RE: Onan Marquis Gold 5500 Generator Voltage Low
Thanks KG... that's the kind of solution I like. I don't like to fix problems with money (i.e. random parts).
I'll get the service manual ordered ASAP. Does anyone happen to have it as a PDF? Due to mail forwarding and such, I won't see that manual for weeks and I'd like to get my generator working before then.
Thanks!
RE: REAL US Sticker Map - Not the Forum Image
Yep, what the others said. Simple, clean, states. I mark them with a variety of symbols indicating different things... whether we spent the night in that state, whether we did something more than sleep and/or pass through, etc. For those curious, O is an overnight and I put an X in the O if we did extracurricular activities.
The license plate ones are full of mumbo-jumbo letters and such. Too busy.
RE: looking for a gps that will auto-route and take manual route
I have a Nuvi 660, but it was a toss-up between it and the TomTom 920T. I'd like to try a 920 for a few months to see if it's any better.
Some of the biggest 660 annoyances I've encountered the last few months:
1) On-Screen Keyboard (OSK) is NOT standard QWERTY which is surprising annoying. I thought I'd get used to it, but months later and it still annoys me.
2) Odd routing. Sometimes it routes me in circles for no apparent reason. I haven't quite figured out that behavior yet.
3) Points of interest seem to be REALLY out of date even though I'm running the newest maps and POI updates.
4) FM Broadcast is surprisingly weak, but fairly configurable. I've used other FM transmitters that worked much better.
5) Battery longevity seems short, but I'm not sure what "normal" is. In my car, this isn't a problem, but I use it on my motorcycle I don't have a 12v receptacle.
There's probably more, but it's tough to recall everything "on the spot".
RE: Onan Marquis Gold 5500 Generator Voltage Low
Help please. Where can I find some kind of schematic online? Location of the regulator board? Some kind of test points for AC output? Good price on third party replacement parts?
Thanks in advance.
Onan Marquis Gold 5500 Generator Voltage Low
Help me Jim! Heh, heh...
I can't seem to find a similar problem in the forum, so I'm asking fresh.
http://images.alfaforums.org/Onan.Tag.jpg
This genset was installed pretty cheaply. Once it is working properly again, I plan on installing it correctly (auto transfer switch, etc.). For the time being, the output of the generator runs to a metal, surface mount, 4-square electrical box with a standard 50a 220v receptacle in it. This setup has worked fine for years, so the problem is not in the installation. Nothing has changed in the installation since it was working. The genset starts easily and runs great for as long as you'd like it to with no error codes/blinks, but the output voltage is 43.5VAC between each hot and ground (tested with a Fluke RMS meter).
Anyway, I suspect it is just a voltage regulation issue, but before I go buying stuff and swapping parts, I'd like to have a little feedback from the smarter folks.
Thanks in advance.
RE: REAL US Sticker Map - Not the Forum Image
Unfortunately, with the orders received over the weekend, I'm now all out of them, too! Julie
Julie, I hope my order got through before stock was depleted! I use a forwarding service, so it'll be a while before I actually see what I was shipped.
Thanks for the stickers!
RE: REAL US Sticker Map - Not the Forum Image
Thanks for the responses everyone... it seems the new "license plate" stickers are a real bust. Does anyone like them?
Thanks for the links Mike and Pritch! Those may save me. I'll try ordering right now.
By the way, I checked the store (including the clearance rack) at the Camping World in Bakersfield, CA, and nothing.
RE: Is it comfy on the road inside a slide-out RV?
On our Alfa Toyhauler, you can access everything slides in or not, with one exception... the entertainment cabinet. That's not a big deal as most of the time you don't care to watch TV unless the slide is out. Ironically, the side window in the slide lines up perfectly with the TV so you can watch TV though the window with the slide in. The bedroom slide just covers the walkway between the side of the bed and the closet. You can still get to the left side of the bed, the bed is level and usable, and you can still open the closet doors and get clothes. In 2005 Alfa changed the way the bedroom slide works. The bed does the sliding and tilts (feet up) when slid in. Makes it impossible to sleep without extending the slide.
REAL US Sticker Map - Not the Forum Image
I have been having a hell of a time finding the old style RV US sticker map. The traditional one with simple, solid, colors and not the new style one with "license plate" sticker. I checked Google, eBay, Camping World, etc. Nothing.
Anyone have a suggestion?
RE: Alfa Leisure R.I.P.
Alfa Leisure shuts its doors, entire staff laid off
CHINO, Calif. -- Alfa Leisure laid off its entire workforce today and shut its doors, one of the manufacturer's California dealerships confirmed this evening.
Owned by Johnnie Crean, son of Fleetwood founder John Crean, Alfa Leisure had a reputation for exceptional quality and workmanship. But the declining market for motorhomes made it nearly impossible for the company to compete, said those who were aware of the situation. It is not know how many people were impacted by the plant's closure.
Alfa Leisure has not yet filed bankruptcy and may be waiting for a potential buyer to emerge, one dealer suggested.
Attempts to reach Alfa Leisure's offices during working hours were unsuccessful and the company's voice mail system had been turned off.
Rumors began circulating late last week that closure was imminent. One source suggested the company hadn't received an order for a single coach in more than three weeks. Another source suggested the company owed several warranty shops tens of thousands of dollars and were out 120 days on accounts payable. The warranty shops had, apparently, stopped doing business directly with Alfa, requiring consumers to pay for the repairs and seek reimbursement directly from the company.
Thanks for the quote Tom, that's much more information than even the employees knew.
I think the economy is low as far as luxuries. Boats, RVs, recreational toys are all on the decline. Another factor is that gas is so high, less people want to drive across the country, go water skiing, and so forth. Unemployment is rising, construction costs are skyrocketing, new houses going empty and unsold, foreclosures looming for a good portion of the population that took advantage of low interest rates and refinanced away all their equity and spent it on toys like RVs, Harleys, and so forth.
RE: Landa rv park New Braunfels Tx
If I remember correctly, Landra RV is the park on the same road (the back road) that is used to get to Lazy L&L... if not, ignore my response.
We stayed at Lazy L&L with a 40 foot Alfa Toyhauler that is probably one of the tallest Fifth Wheels on the market. I am 6 feet tall and I have a good 2" over my head in the bedroom over the kingpin box. ANyway, we didn't have any major problems getting in and out. I can say this though, it is a VERY narrow road and several times I had to consume both lanes to make some corners. Also, I have rear outriggers to protect the rear bumper from scraping on steep inclines and they scraped several times. By the way, on an unrelated note, when we were there they were resurfacing the road. It was a mess... roughed up along most of the way with occasional sticky tar spots.
Bottom line: you should know exactly what clearance is required for your trailer. I've been to a LOT of places and I don't think I've seen any low clearance areas that weren't marked with a height requirement. Good luck!
RE: Have you ever had a blowout that damaged your camper.....
Oh yeah... blow outs are all part of the RV lifestyle.
http://images.alfaforums.org/Alfa.Blowout-01.jpg
http://images.alfaforums.org/Alfa.Blowout-02.jpg
http://images.alfaforums.org/Alfa.Blowout-03.jpg
Factory installed Uniroyal HD 215/85R16 (Load Range E). Did a fair amount of damage to the metal side (the rubber strip covers the seam between metal and fiberglass) and wasted the trim piece around the edge of the fender. Also gouged the fiberglass in a couple places. This was all in less than 1/4 mile. I felt it blow and pulled over immediately. I'm not sure what caused it. It was on an asphalt strip of highway between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. It was pretty hot and I had just coasted down a pretty big mountain reaching a top speed of nearly 65 mph. I had already slowed down to my normal 55 mph when it blew. I have NEVER been over 65 mph towing my trailer. I am very paranoid about bearing and tire maintenance. I check hub and tire temperature/pressure at every stop. I bought a laser guided, non-touch, temperature gauge.
Had I known the tire companies would consider repair costs, I might have had it sent in. The tire is gone now. Left behind at Big O Tire in the Los Angeles outskirts.
RE: Alfa Leisure R.I.P.
Go to www.rvinews.com
There was nothing there except this:
Alfa Leisure shuts its doors, entire staff laid off
(April 30, 2008) -- Alfa Leisure laid off its entire workforce today and shut its doors, one of the manufacturer's California dealerships confirmed this evening.
Dealership confirmed? Whatever. All kinds of rumors come out of the dealerships. The factory told me face-to-face.
