RE: Unhitching an Equalizer 4-Point
Any reason I can't use those metal pins with the built in wrap-around clips instead of the separate pins and clips that came with the hitch? I just know I'll be losing a clip at some point.
I have been using my Equalizer for five years now (never needing that pry bar, but that horse has been beat to death). I ordered a spare set of pins and L-brackets in case I lose or break one.
The kit has worked very well, because I haven't snapped a bracket or lost a pin yet...
RE: Dolores River RV Park, CO(ever stay here?)
At Priest Gulch there is much less traffic noise, especially if you get a site right on the river and let the sound of the water lull you to sleep. And it is much, much nicer as well. Well worth a little extra drive, even for just a one-night stay.
RE: Gulf State Park
Take the boys to the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola on the day that the Blue Angels practice. Very cool for everyone. Bring a hat as you'll be out in the sun.
Check out my signature photolink and you'll find an album with 80+ pictures of the park.
X2 on the Naval Air Museum. It's free, and the second best one in the country (after the Air Force museum, naturally!)
I don't know how much the Blue Angels are practicing, since the executive branch canceled all their airshow appearances. Same for the Thunderbirds at Nellis AFB (Las Vegas).
RE: Rockwood Ultra Lite 2604...need info ASAP
We have a 2008 8272S Rockwood, and aside from a few minor issues it has been a great trailer. I looked at the 2604 floorplan, and the only about the design that gives me pause is the 37 gallon gray water tank. We have the same size tank (give or take a couple gallons), and have found that for dry camping that is too small. We use a blue tote when we are at a campground with a dump station, but sometimes we are at locations without dump stations. If you intend to camp with full hookups, or if there are only two of you, then it won't be an issue.
I do like the bathroom design on the 2604---much better than ours!
Also, you may want to reconsider your tow vehicle with a 30' trailer. Our Rockwood tows so much better with our Ram 2500 than our 2004 Armada (9100 lbs. tow capacity), especially in the mountains and in windy conditions.
BTW, our dogs very much approve of moving up to a hard-sided climate-controlled trailer. I'm sure yours will too!
RE: Big Bend National Park - Last years spring visit
Bob, can you tell me the name of the campground at Study Butte? We are a day away from there and looking for a camping spot. any other thoughts would be greatly appreiciated! Thanks judy
Maybe this is the place you are thinking about?
Lajitas RV Resort
RE: Aches National Park
I've looked at staying in Arches. Don't think the OP will be able to wedge 41' Dutchstar and toad into the Park campground. NPS website says max of 30'
Looking on their website, several sites (13 total) are listed at 40'. I must have been in one, and it had to have been longer than that or else the 30' trailer and 20' truck wouldn't have fit. As you can see from my signature picture, my truck is not off pavement or parked in the road.
Arches NP Campground
RE: Aches National Park
You might want to consider staying a few nights IN Arches NP. That way, coming home from sunset up at Delicate Arch isn't such a long dark drive. Some of the sites are pretty long; my signature picture below is in Arches, and my 30' trailer with 20' truck fit in the campsite. It is dry camping, but you can walk to Landscape arch and other trails without having to drive and park. And it is a beautiful campground!
RE: What to do? Tow a Tent Trailer with minivan or Expedition?
We started out towing a 96 Coleman Shenandoah with a 92 Pontiac Trans Sport van. After a year of that, we picked up a used Suburban. The Trans Sport mileage dropped off radically, and in the mountains the brakes and transmission were iffy, even with the add-on transmission cooler and trailer brakes. I had to always keep one eye on the temperature guage. The traction was terrible, even with automatic load levelers (you have all-wheel drive, so that might not be as much of an issue).
On the other hand, the Suburban's mileage only dropped off slightly when towing. I just had to be careful not to drive too fast because of the trailer tires. Never had an overheating, braking, or traction problem again. The tradeoff was, of course, much lower gas mileage around town driving the Suburban than I would have had driving the Trans Sport; but then again, the wear and tear of towing with the Pontiac meant its life would have been drastically shortened.
RE: Coast to Coast or RPI parks near LACKLAND AFB?
Thank you ALL!
1) Yes somebody going to grad!
2) Not retired military, did my stint, didn't like it! :D
By The Way, I understand that San Antonio is WONDERFUL in JULY
when he grads. :E
Blazing Star or Admiralty would are the easiest nice RV parks in the Lackland area to use.
Be sure get to the parade ground bleachers very early for the Friday graduation because graduation usually ends up being standing room only if you arrive late; it's harder to get good pictures from ground level. Also, the security at the gate can be a slow process, so the earlier you get through that the better. Personally, I never go to the Lackland BX on Friday mornings because of the congestion.
And the San Antonio weather in July is the reason why I try to be in Colorado during that time of year!;)
RE: Toyota Tundra Tow Vehicle Owners Request
As residents of San Antonio, we would have preferred a Tundra for our tow vehicle in 2010. Toyota has been a great corporate citizen of the Alamo City. The Tundra could have towed our trailer, but there were three strikes against the Toyota that caused us to choose the Ram 2500 instead.
1. 26 gallon fuel tank is WAY too small for our travels out west At 7-9 mpg at best, we'd spend more time at gas stations than on the road (OK, maybe an exaggeration, but I AM a Texan, you know). Heck, the Armada we replaced had a 28 gallon tank, and THAT was too small for a gasser. On the other hand, our previous Suburban 1500 had a 42 gallon tank, so we had range regardless of how bad our gas mileage was.
2. Payload. That has been discussed at length here.
3. Price. For what I would have paid for a tow-ready Tundra Crewmax with tow mirrors, etc., I could have gotten a Ram 2500 Cummins Turbo Diesel. So it was an easy choice to make.
RE: Ouray area in late June with grand kids
4runnerguy where should we rent a jeep to do Cinnamon Pass from Ridgway SP? Thanks for your information I think we will try and do the Animas Forks in our truck. Having fun trying to put everything together. Thanks again
I rent jeeps from the campground we stay at near Lake City; there are numerous rentals in the area, maybe some are better than the others. Be sure you allow more time for your trip in the rental jeep than you think you need; you'll go slower than it seems on the map, and you will want to take pictures. Also, sometimes you will need to stop completely if you want a sip of coffee; you can't drink when the jeep is rolling along on some of these roads without getting everything inside the vehicle wet!
For up-to-date info on 4X4 jeep roads, try this website
Bushducks
RE: Dogs vs remote controls
My flatcoated retriever has learned that when she wants attention from me right NOW (usually during a football or basketball game), she goes up to the remote control sitting on the arm of my recliner and knocks it onto the floor with her nose. It took me awhile to figure out this was going on, but my wife was onto her behavior all along.
RE: Pet in national park
When we were in Canyonlands last June, the ranger said anywhere your vehicle can go, your dog can go. Meaning the paved areas. Personally I think it sucks the NP's are so restricted on pets.
The rules may exist for other reasons you haven't considered. Pets can agitate wildlife which may prevent the wildlife from coming into areas frequented by humans thus keeping many from enjoying the wildlife in the parks. Even when they are locked up in your RV having them yapping at the window at things can disturb the local inhabitants. On trails having something that can agitate carnivorous wildlife AND which can run faster than you could easily result in YOU being their next meal.
Ah, more anti-pet generalizations:R. And yet, my leashed dogs (retriever and greyhound) are allowed to hike with us in national forests with no restrictions. Of course, they don't "yap" in or outside of the RV, and they are never allowed to chase the wildlife. As a matter of fact I hear much more noise out of humans on these trails. Plus their feet are also gentler on trails than humans and certainly more than hoofed animals (domestic or wild). Children running down a trail are much more likely to trigger a predator response from a cougar than my heeled dogs. I'm not saying pets belong in all or even most national park areas. But based on the destructive behavior I've observed over the years, a few less people and a few more dogs would leave the parks in better shape than they are now.
RE: Ouray area in late June with grand kids
Thanks for the advice. I think Ridgeway SP sound good for us. I will call FV tomorrow to see if anything is available
Ridgway SP is a good place for kids. It has a swimming beach if they can handle the water temperature.
I recommend a jeep drive to the Animas Forks ghost town. It has a self-guided walking tour, and is a great place for kids to explore (under supervision, of course). You are even allowed to enter of the ruins. Depending on how adventurous you are with the jeep, a trip from Animas Forks up to Engineer Pass (stop by the Oh Point pullout) is spectacular. The kids will never forget that drive.
RE: Grand Canyon / Las Vegas Trip
I'm with 'donkeydew' it's gonna be hot! check out Weatherbase this gives tempurature averages year round.
Sheila aka.....
If the OP endures humid Alabama summers, Vegas in June is a piece of cake. Just stay in a/c RV, casino, or a nice cool pool during the day, then venture out in the evening when all the pretty lights come on. I worked at Nellis AFB off and on for several years (back in my USAF days), and I would much rather be in Vegas during the summer than where I currently live.
RE: South Llano River SP in Central Texas.
Yup, headed up to Burnet, 10 mi. east, to put an offer on a house tomorrow...and tell me you devoured some Cooper's BBQ...
Well, unfortunately Cooper's isn't Cooper's. Apparently the name is the same but they sold the restaurant and it isn't what it used to be. I think Lum's is better at this point.
The BBQ joint in town attached to a gas station (forgot the name) is some of the best you'll ever have. Don't bother with the plastic knife; the plastic fork will be enough to cut the tender brisket, I tell you whut!
Now if all y'all start talking too much about South Llano River SP (our favorite state park), it's going to be even MORE difficult to get reservations. We are headed there for Spring Break; can't wait! The painted buntings ought to be out in force by then.
RE: Towing while using cruise control
This has been discussed before, with some fairly good points made both pro and con.
Personally I select Tow/Haul mode, set the cruise and go. Never been a problem going uphill. I do turn cruise off of a long or steep downhill grade. Of course, just hitting the brakes does that.
I have found that using cruise control, tow/haul, and exhaust brake on long downhill grades is the best thing to do with my truck. I tried it first on the Trans-Mountain Highway from El Paso to Las Cruces when there was little traffic. It was an amazing experience. I had to steer, but otherwise there was nothing else for me to do!
Of course my trailer is nowhere near the tow capacity of my truck, so it might be a different story if I was towing 11K versus the 7K max I usually tow.
RE: Choice of Truck
We had a '96 Coleman Shenandoah that we pulled with two different Suburbans, then a 2004 Nissan Armada. They all pulled the popup like it wasn't there. The big difference was that the Suburbans were constantly in and out of the shop, and the Armada much less so; and Nissan stood by their warranty and provided loaner cars. If I was in your place, I would check out reliability over style; I don't care whether or not people think a truck is outdated, or attractive, or ugly. What I care about is (1) does it do the job, and (2) is it reliable.
RE: OK Which RV Insurance
I have my 2004 Dutchmen insured on my Home/Auto policy with USAA. It is only about $110 ($250 deductible comprehensive and collision) per year.
I've never had a claim on the TT - but I've had decent experience with USAA on an auto claim in the past.
Replacement cost for me is $5 - $7,000 which isn't much in the RV world but would really be painful for us. It is totally worth $110/year for me to keep it insured.
Agree totally. USAA is head and shoulders above the others, as long as you qualify for membership. I have had numerous claims with them (member since 1981), and they have always treated me better than I believed an insurance company would.
