RE: RV Break in !!! (Security system advice needed)
Sorry to hear about your theft. That happened to us at the end of June, on the morning I was about to leave for a week vacation with the kids. They couldn't get in our driver's doors (apparently), nor could they pry open the lock and deadbolt on the coach door, nor reach the lock after smashing the little kitchen window next to the coach door... so they shattered the large window in the rear end of the coach bedroom and climbed through there. Cleaned us out and caused over 2000.00 in glass replacement. We were parked at a friend's, next to their RV, since I was too worried about having it on our street since someone keeps messing with my old car out front.
The thieves hit our motorhome, our friend's motorhome, and several vehicles also parked at the back of people's yards off the alley. Noisy alarms don't do much when it is 80 some degrees at night and everyone is running air conditioners at top speed. Good luck, and again, sorry to hear you had to go through it.
RE: I did it
This is a depressing addition, but since it is almost September and we're in the midwest... make sure you have a clear and thorough understanding of how to winterize your particular model. Even though you will have done your walkthrough already, you dealer should be able to spend time with you if you need instructions.
It is going to be time to winterize soon and if it isn't done correctly it can be expensive to fix. I know, because last year we replaced our water heater tank because my husband waited too long in the season. Guess those early freezes were harder than we realized :-)
If you have a toilet sprayer make sure you include that in your winterizing routine, because it really sucks in the spring to flush the toilet and have the sprayer explode and soak you!
Good luck and enjoy- the fall weather approaches and that is a really beautiful camping time in the midwest.
RE: Mount Rushmore KOA
We stayed there for 4th of July in 2006. We called from the road the day before or same day and got a site, I'm not sure which. It was a nice campground. Like all KOAs the sites are relatively open and kind of close together. The bathrooms were clean. We managed to grab a rental car at the main office and drove to Mt. Rushmore for the fireworks. The pool looked clean, although our kids didn't swim that trip. I would stay there again if we were back in the area.
RE: TT Fridge... how to cool it the fastest.. if there is a way
Ours cools faster on propane. If I have electric accessible, or enough advance notice, I'll plug it in on electric the night before I leave. Mostly I don't have that option, so just turn it to propane while I'm packing up and throw really critical things in the freezer (beer and meat) until the fridge cools down. This is good enough for a 2/3 day trip. If I'm packing a lot of food in for a longer trip... just pack my cooler with the food and some drinks into the freezer. When the fridge cools enough- 6-8 hours usually- I'll transfer the food into the fridge and freezer, and move the drinks into the cooler. This works especially well when the weather is really hot and we just leave the drinks in the cooler for the whole trip anyway.
RE: Traveling without a tow vehicle
We have a 31 ft with a slide, and we don't tow a vehicle behind us. Instead, we generally travel to a destination where we don't need to have a car, and stay awhile. We like to go to the beach, so we select campsites with beach access.
We have rented a car in florida a time or two, since unhooking and driving around Orlando is a pain :-) We rented a car and drove it into Yellowstone, so we could have some versatility the MH wouldn't provide. Ordinarily we do just fine without a car.
However, this travel style requires some patience. We pack a lot of food before we leave and don't do many grocery runs. We don't go out to eat much, but cook at our campsite.
Since you have a 19 year old MH and haven't pulled a toad before, just take it easy on your first trip and rent a car when you get where you're going, if you need to. Then make some decisions after you return home. We thought we would set up my saturn for towing, but after a few trips realized the expense wasn't necessary for us because of the way we travel. We're content the way we are... you may not be, but I wouldn't throw a chunk of money away until you know for sure.
RE: How much ground do you cover in a day ?
It depends on the type of trip we're taking. I would love to do 300 miles a day, but when we are taking a long trip to a specific destination we just don't get enough time off to have short drive days. If it is humanly possible to drive to our destination in two days, we will go 12-14 hours a day so we can have at least two or three extra days of down time where we are going.
We live in Iowa and love to go to the ocean in Florida. Since we only really get one week off work at time, we shift off driving duties and long haul, eat on the road and sleep at Flying J. It is worth it to us to have more time at the beach. When we went to yellowstone we did the opposite approach and did short driving days (4 or 5 hours), wandered around and stopped at many places in between. Our kids prefer short days but can handle the long driving days if there are only two of them on each end.
If we simply cannot make our destination in two long days then we slow it down and try to enjoy the sights in between because any more than two days of hard driving will make the trip unbearable for all of us.
RE: Seeking input from seasoned Class C owners
We have a Winnebago 31C (outlook) that we bought from a dealer who had previously rented it for 1 season. Our experience was that because it was rented by the dealer, it was very well cared for. All the maintenance had been done, and all the kinks were worked out. All the systems worked perfectly and we didn't have any issues at all. So much of this will depend upon the dealer that rented the unit... but for us it worked like a charm.
Ours was rented without awning, without counter extension and without other odds and ends that inexperienced renters would break. The dealer added those for us before delivery. We did pay for the awning but everything else was part of the package. I asked them for a new mattress for the queen bed, and they put one in for us immediately.
There were a couple of tiny scrapes to the woodwork and one small tear in the vinyl floor. We've put another 20K on it and there was no hidden damage at all. We were covered by the remainder of the factory warranty, but we've never had to use it.
Like previous posters, I would not even consider an older unit that was shown by a dealer in a filthy condition. If that unit has been sitting for 2 months without them doing a thing to it, there is probably something going on that makes them think it isn't worth reconditioning or detailing for potential customers, and they are just waiting for the sucker that will buy it because of price. Additionlly I think they price they are asking for a ten year old damaged RV is unreasonable. If it is filthy, it likely wasn't maintained either, which means you could have a host of problems besides musty smells and water leaks. If the systems and mechanicals aren't cared for it can cost you a bundle after ten years. Much wiser to buy something that is roadworthy and reliable from day one.
For added piece of mind since you may be traveling alone, see if your insurance company provides RV roadside assistance. We've had good luck with Progressive, although we've only had to use it once for a flat tire.
RE: New class C
We have a 2001 31ft Winnebago and get 7-10. Short trips with lots of small town driving and headwinds gives us 7. Interstate driving at 65-70 we average around 9. We got 11/12 once crossing South Dakota with a tail wind :-)
You won't need a blue tote probably. We got rid of ours (former pop-up owners) when we went to the Class C. We do carry two green totes in the outside storage bay for adding fresh water. We just load them up add fresh water when our tank supply gets low. You'll find that between the black and gray water tanks you can empty your fresh water supply and still not have to dump yet.
We can take a family of four or five and go at least four days/nights without dumping (as long as my husband doesn't do dishes). We manage that without being overly conservative about water-except the dishwashing thing. We also do not carry any other bottled or drinking water and use our tank for that.
RE: Getting into Yellowstone
Absolutely go anyway, even without a reservation. You will find a spot when you arrive. We stayed at Fishing Bridge. I made our reservations early for a 5 day stay in June. At that time, the reservation line said the campground was almost entirely full. When we arrived they had sites available from cancellations and people were checking in. There were many first come first serve sites available in the other campgrounds.
RE: Extra $ for the kids
You know, the OP didn't say they would lie about how many kids, so that isn't even an issue. They probably aren't willing to give up a kid or two so they'll conform to someone else's opinion of what a family size should be. Aside from State or NP parks, does anyone have realistic ideas for them about economical camping?
We've found calling the campground ahead of time sometimes clarifies the extra person charges. We've stayed in KOAs and other private campgrounds that are fairly lose about the rules. Some campgrounds have extra charges for kids but don't bother if it isn't a holiday weekend. I've had other campgrounds not charge the extra fee because we were a single family. Talking to them on the phone is usually the best way to figure out where they are drawing the line. I love State and NP parks but sometimes it is fun for the kids to stay somewhere with a pool and activites.
RE: Is a 23A a real possibility for a family?
It seems for many people the unit you're looking at would be too small. That is really going to depend on you and your family. I think it would be just fine for what you're describing. The trick is really to pick something you like, that is mechanically sound and in good physical shape, and then make the best of it.
That size is perfect for National and State parks and easily driven. You run less risk of being overweight in the small unit than you do in a larger unit. Honestly, I think being limited in the amount of "stuff" you can pack into it is a positive instead of a negative. Most of us pack a ton of stuff we don't need that adds weight, just because we can fit it in and it might come in handy :-)
We have a 31 ft. monster and although I love it, we don't need it to be comfortable. We could have done well with a smaller unit too. Your kids are the perfect age to get used to a small motorhome. Of course they get bigger, but even so they can adjust to staying out of mom's way while cooking or playing outside instead of hanging around inside watching t.v. They can do that at home. My two youngest are about to be 18 and they still love camping with us and enjoy being outside or playing board games in the motorhome that they never think about when we are at home.
My folks had a 13 ft. camp trailer that we spent weeks in. They went on to a 24 ft. class A when I was a teen, and we crammed kids in and had a great time. We started with a pop-up when our kids were the age of yours. We did move to our big class C, but not because the kids got too big... because my tow vehicle was getting too old and I wanted to be able to pull over and crash on long trips across country.
I agree with the poster that said take all the kids with you and test drive it. See how it feels and take your best guess as to whether you can handle it or not.
RE: leveling an motorhome
It is trial and error with the sticky bubble levels (make sure you're completely level when you install them or they are useless)as a guide. Sometimes we need to level when we are camping for a while. We never bother when we are on the road and just stopping for the night. The newer refrigerators do not require as much level as the old ones did, so for us the level is mostly for comfort.
RE: Anyone ever buy or consider buying rental class C?
Our C was a rental unit. The dealer rented it out without the extras on it, and then sold it at the end of the season. It wasn't a stripped down model at all, they just rented it without awning, ladder, small extras inside that people might break from lack of knowledge. It was incredibly clean and well maintained after only being rented one season. We've had no issues at all with it due to the history, just basic routine maintenance that needs to be done.
RE: December trip to Ft Wilderness ( Disney )
Definitely go to the camping section at disboards as suggested. There is no reason for a camping trip to Disney World to cost 5-7K. The tickets are definitely the most expensive part and with only one child (we take 3 or 4 with us usually) you really can keep the costs down. Your son is young enough that park hopping will just exhaust him, so you can really cut some cost on your park tickets by not getting the "hopper" option.
Don't get suckered into buying a disney dining plan. Eat your breakfast at your camper, take refillable water bottles so you don't waste tons of money on buying drinks, and a very comfortable stroller for the little one, and take fruit or cracker snacks along into the parks every day so you don't have a crisis waiting in line for food.
We've managed a trip for four or five people on less than 2K- not counting gasoline. It doesn't reduce the fun, in fact, it actually makes me feel better about the trip and the kids have a great time.
If you plan to go in December, get your reservations made right away. If you can't get the type of site you want or you have to make multiple reservations to cover all the nights you will be there, do so. Don't bother trying to use the online site, call the reservation number.
I started out with three reservations spanning five nights, so I would have had to move 3 times right before Christmas. I just called once a week to see if I could get everything moved to one site and was finally successful a couple of days ago. Good luck.
RE: Driving RV into Yellowstone
Are you going to have a car with you to drive around the park? We have a 31/32 foot class C, and we rented a car on our way into the park and used it to tour around instead of dislodging the MH every day. A rig that size is manageable on the main drags, but there are many places a car is preferable. When animals appear the fun part is to pull your vehicle completely off the road (rangers require) and jump out to watch or photograph. There are many places where you just can't get something that big all the way off the road.
Fishing Bridge is a great place to stay as it is very close to the areas where grizzlies and wolves are frequently visible. In fact, both frequent the campground itself now and again, so the rules are pretty strict about pets and food.
Have a great time.
