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RE: Advice on auto rentals
BY RK911 before you spend dollar one on anything having anything to do with towing be certain you know your weight ratings and actual weights of the MH and trailer/MC combination. in our experience it's not at all uncommon to find motorhomes that are, essentially, overweight as they come off of the assembly line. don't assume....know.
Those days are pretty much in history. With so many people and the gov. being aware of the GVW limits I haven't seen any new RVs that can't tow.
imho you're making a very dangerous assumption. one is always far, far better off knowing exactly what their MH weighs when loaded and configured for travel as well as what their toad weighs as loaded and configured for travel rather than assuming everything will be OK.
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rk911
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05/20/13 03:23pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Advice on auto rentals
WOW... All great information. Thank you all. The major difference for us, if I read between the lines, is that the CG is not the destination but the "hotel room" for the RV. Not the the CG is unimportant in itself, but we are sightseers and like to explore. Also, I didn't mention, we have a 2002 Honda Goldwing (sort of a car on 2 wheels) and towing that would be very simple. I am tempted to buy a trailer for that for the 1st year at least.
We are very psyched about this new adventure in our lives and can't wait to explore the USA. We've been around the world a few times and now it is time to see our own back yard, Canada, etc..
Thanks all for your comments.
that analogy is pretty accurate but every now and then you may run across auto rental at the CG but only in major destinations. we've seen them in Orlando/kissimee, fl and custer, sd.
before you spend dollar one on anything having anything to do with towing be certain you know your weight ratings and actual weights of the MH and trailer/MC combination. in our experience it's not at all uncommon to find motorhomes that are, essentially, overweight as they come off of the assembly line. don't assume....know.
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rk911
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05/20/13 02:01pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Advice on auto rentals
RK911.. Thank you for your quick reply. We live in Maine and in general, I believe it is a general feeling of tight and crowded streets. A culture thing I think, living in the Northeast. Also, after reading information on towing, there are so many options (vehicle, type of towing apparatus, etc..) I am not sure which way is the best way to go, SO, we wanted to get a feel for the RV at least for the first year or so.
I think that's wise. we didn't tow for the first 7-years primarily because our minivans at the time could not be flat towed without modification. early on it wasn't a big deal. our MH was just 26' long and we learned to stop for food and supplies before checking into our CG but we were also pretty good at breaking camp to go places.
but eventually that became tiresome so when we were shopping for a new vehicle in 2003 we looked for one we could flat tow and went with a jeep wrangler. what a difference. suddenly we weren't tied to the CG or dependent on renting cars for day trips.
give it a year or so and if you enjoy the lifestyle then take another look at towing. your narrow streets shouldn't be an issue since most toads are going to have a narrower footprint than your MH. in the meantime enjoy!
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rk911
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05/20/13 07:38am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Advice on auto rentals
Hello all. Brand new to RV.net. We are in the process of purchasing a Tiffin Class A and have a question about local transportation. We envision parking at campsites and being "housebound." I know you can tow a vehicle but want would rather not.
Is there a service campsites offer (generally), or are car rental agencies readily and generally available to deliver and pickup a rental from campsites?
I realize all sites a different but just wanted to hear if anyone has had the same challenge and what the solutions may be.
Thanks,
Mike
we've been RVing since 1986 but towing our jeeps only since 2003. in all of the CGs we've stayed with we've seen on-site rental cars maybe 3-4 times. but if you're near a medium sized city you may find a rental car agency in town that will come pick you up. enterprise will do that as a matter of company policy but others may also do that.
just curious...why don't you want to tow?
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rk911
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05/20/13 07:20am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: 30 amp service in garage
we've got two 30-amp connections here at the house...one at either end of the drive. I can't see any reason not to have one.
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rk911
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05/19/13 12:20pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Rest Areas Safe?
in my opinion, not very. got any buddies in law enforcement? ask them. others will feel differently. IMO you'd be better off in a wal mart lot, flying j or an actual campground.
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rk911
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05/19/13 10:58am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Funny Town Names?
If someone can explain to me this:
In downtown Oklahoma there is the river called the North Canadian River!
LOLOL
WoodGlue
here ya go
clicky
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rk911
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05/18/13 11:52am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Newbie - 1st time towing Car on Tow Dolly - Tips?
Hi,
I am new to RVing and I just got a tow dolly. One thing I found out was that I need to leave as much slack as possible on the mag tail lights. When towing the Dolly just a few miles to get home They got disconnected.
Do you have any other suggetions?
Thanks in advanced!
since you're brand new to RV'ing i'll ask...do you know what the various weight ratings are for the MH, what your MH weighs when loaded for travel and what the combined weight of your dolly/vehicle will be when loaded for travel? and area you sure that your vehicle can be safely towed on a dolly? a common newbie mistake is believing that you can just pop any old vehicle onto a dolly, hook it up to the MH and hit the road. don't feel bad if that's you...it was me too back when I was a newbie. we've all been there. you've already got the dolly and vehicle but it's not too late to be sure you can safely tow the combined weight of the dolly/vehicle.
you need to know just how much weight your MH can safely tow without exceeding the various weight ratings...gross combination weight rating (GCWR), gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and each axle's gross axle weight rating (GAWR). you also need to know the curb weight of the vehicle you're planning to buy and whether that curb weight includes a full tank of gas (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't) as well as the empty weight of the dolly.
the maximum amount of weight you can safely tow will be the lesser of the following:
- the GCWR minus the actual weight of the MH as it is loaded for travel (food, fuel, water, LP, clothing, supplies, pets, people and misc. stuff); OR
- the weight rating of the MH hitch (Class II 3500-lbs, Class III 5000-lbs, Class IV 10,000-lbs); OR
- the weight rating of your towbar
load up the MH as you would for travel and then get individual axle weights at a certified scale. compare those axle weights to the published gross axle weight rating (GAWR) for that motorhome. the actual axle weight must be less than/equal to the rating for that axle. add the two axle weights to arrive at the total rolling weight and then apply the three conditions above. assume nothing.
good luck and safe travels.
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rk911
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05/18/13 11:50am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Cruise Control
check under the hood in front. on my 2000 F53 one of the vacuum hoses slipped off the nipple of the tank. a piece of black electrical tape and I was back in business.
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rk911
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05/17/13 04:51pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: leveling and slide out
should be in the owner's manual but we level first, then run the slides out and then tweak the level if needed.
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rk911
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05/17/13 03:23pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Shortin Yellows
Red Light Camera Scams
In one Chicago suburb It did improve safety.
When word got around, all traffic slowed down to 15 MPH (45 zone).
Those cameras are now GONE.
Naperville and I believe Schaumburg removed them as there was no demonstrated improvement in safety. many to most of the tickets issued is DuPage county were for right-turn-on-red infractions and not for the speed racer blowing through a red light. initially I was a supporter of red light cams but after watching how this program has morphed and changed in my county it's obvious to me that the primary reason these cams were installed was to raise revenue.Schaumburg removed them because of the increase in rear-end accidents on the roads around Woodfield Mall.
IIRC there was a class action suit involved.
I don't recall a lawsuit or the threat of a lawsuit and I know that an increase in rear-end crashes is often cited as a by-product of the red light cams. so I did a bit of digging online and found several Tribune articles that were written about Schaumburg's decision to remove the red light cams.
Article 1
Article 2
cited in both stories was the reaction not only of Schaumburg residents but also from shoppers at the Woodfield Mall. in response Schaumburg instructed the company overseeing the cams to stop forwarding right-turn-on-red infractions and forward only left-turn-on-red (where that was illegal) and drivers blowing the red light when driving straight thru the intersection). doing that dropped the number of tickets issued from the thousands down to a dozen or so. no mention of a lawsuit or rear-end crashes.
the cameras were sold on the premise that they would reduce the number of T-bone crashes at intersections and that was a lofty goal. what the cams morphed into was a revenue stream from drivers not coming to a complete halt before turning right on red. sure, that's a legitimate violation but is it reasonable? not from my perspective.
then there's the issue of corruption. Redflex, a red light cam company based in Phoenix, AZ, admits that it engaged in bribery to secure the contract for the City of Chicago. many Redflex executives rresigned their positions but AFAIK nobody was indicted. and the beat goes on.
bottom line for me...regardless if cams were removed because of a threatened lawsuit, pressure from merchants or because of no safety improvements...i'm glad they're gone.
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rk911
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05/17/13 07:13am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Funny Town Names?
don't forget Evening Shade, Arkansas or Monkey's Eyebrow, KY
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rk911
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05/16/13 03:25pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Funny Town Names?
Surprise, AZ. whenever we pass the city limit signs we raise our arms and shout SURPRISE!
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rk911
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05/16/13 10:30am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Shortin Yellows
Red Light Camera Scams
In one Chicago suburb It did improve safety.
When word got around, all traffic slowed down to 15 MPH (45 zone).
Those cameras are now GONE.
Naperville and I believe Schaumburg removed them as there was no demonstrated improvement in safety. many to most of the tickets issued is DuPage county were for right-turn-on-red infractions and not for the speed racer blowing through a red light. initially I was a supporter of red light cams but after watching how this program has morphed and changed in my county it's obvious to me that the primary reason these cams were installed was to raise revenue.
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rk911
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05/16/13 09:27am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Funny Town Names?
Wappapello, MO
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rk911
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05/16/13 07:26am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Shortin Yellows
I'm surprised this thread hasn't been hijacked by all the people who say "I don't care, I never run red lights"!
I don't care! I never run red lights. happy? ;)
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rk911
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05/16/13 07:20am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Denon Cat5 cable- $10k
Article 1
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rk911
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05/15/13 04:33pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Rear TV problem.
Thanks for the tip. I turned the converter off and can get the channels now, but ONLY buy putting in the numbers, which I can do. I wonder why the up and down channel change does not work however.
Again, thanks and if you have an idea on why I can't use the up and down to change channels, let me know.
Jim
as fischer wrote...there should be an AUTO PROGRAM on your TV's setup menu. with CABLE selected on the menu and the CABLE button selected on your RV's video switch start AUTO PROGRAM and all of the available cable channels will be located. please note that you need to do this each and every time you change parks just like you have to re-scan for the OTA channels every time you move to a new city.
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rk911
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05/15/13 04:23pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Shortin Yellows
News Channel 10, I don't know what city, reported that in 2011 Florida changed or tweaked regulations to shorten timing of tarffic light yellow lights below Federal levels. It resulted in the goal of a lot more red light tickets. Hmmmm
can you please post the link to the story?
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rk911
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05/15/13 03:56pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Rear TV problem.
turn off the converter. the converter is only needed for over-the-air (OTA) channels, not cable. be sure you tune the rear TV to channel 3 (or 4) and even though it is an older analog set be sure that there is not a menu choice for SOURCE or INPUT. if there is be sure that you set that menu option to CABLE or CABLE-STD (standard cable).
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rk911
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05/15/13 03:56pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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