RE: I need video recording tips
One of the best all around stabilization devices is the monopod. Add 3 small legs to the bottom and you have both a monopod and part of a tripod. The
Bogen 682 (and several other Bogen models, but the 682 is the least expensive) is just that, a monopod with 3 small legs. The legs store inside the tube for straight monopod use and flip them out for addiditional support. Don't confuse this with a real tri-pod, but it works great for highly mobile shooting. You can also prop the legs against your waist and hold the camera up in the air for some overhead "crane" shots. You can pick these up at BH Photo Video for a little over a hundred bucks, and if want to add tilt/swivel heads and/or quick release plates, they have other packages available as well.
RE: Direct TV HD question
All my TVs are Hi-Def....
It's hard for me to watch standard definition anymore. Only reason I don't have a Trav'ler Slimline on the roof yet, is the absolute mess of an antenna install someone did previously to put a crank-up dish on the roof. It looks like this was not the first dish installed on the roof and I have been going through different options in my mind to come up with the best way to get a clean and watertight new install. I suspect that before Thanksgiving, I will have cleared the hurdles and can watch the end of the football season in HD in the coach.
RE: Digital TV/HD coming in Nov.'09-TV in RV information needed
Toshiba has a brand new model 15LV505 which is 15" HDTV/DVD combo 16:9 (not 4:3) and should be available real soon for around that same $300 mark. Only thing lacking is the 12V operation, but I'd give that up for getting a "name brand" at the same price. I'm anxious to get one in to review myself.
RE: Interesting development - Shortage of used Class "A"s??
One of my customers told me that Camping World dealers (Freedom Roads dealerships) sold 450 new units at the Hershey RV Show...... now that would have been all RVs not just Class As, but none the less, that seems like a lot of RVs to me.
RE: King Dome - In Motion - Like It?? - Mine's terrible
If you absolutely must have in-motion, your only choice is a dome system. But, why not install a Trav'ler with a DVR and let the kids watch yesterdays cartoons while your are traveling?
As previously mentioned, install a Trav'ler and watch TV when you are parked! no muss, no fuss. Any channel, on any receiver, at any time. It is also the only way to have DirectTV in HD without a ground dish.
RE: Spliter for 50 amp service
I agree with John, get the dual power adapter installed, and you are good to go.
It's safe, reliable, and causes no trouble.
We went to the FMCA GEAR Rally in Richmond this year. No 50A service anywhere and by using our dual power adapter we were able to operate both our A/Cs without any trouble, and without experiencing any low voltage issues. It was in the upper 90s and pushing 100 everyday. The A/C sure felt good.
RE: Plasma vs. LCD televisions
LCD technology has made rapid improvements over the last two years and pretty much dominates the market in 37" and under TVs, which covers the large majority of the TVs found in RVs. Yes, there are some bigger TVs in some RVs, but that is the exception, not the norm.
In general, LCDs are lighter, consume less power, and are less fragile than their Plasma counterparts. What's not to like about that? I have 3 LCDs in my rig so far, and by spring we hope to do some remodeling to add a computer/video editing workstation in place of the sleeper sofa. The workstation will have another 32 or 37" LCD which will most likley end up being my main TV when there is no editing work being done... :)
Isn't it fun to do RV Projects.......?????
RE: How to handle non-RV family that want to borrow your MH?
There are obviously at least two sides to this issue. I have several relatives and a neighbor or two who I would trust completely to drive my motorhome. As for loaning it to them to go on a trip, the answer would still be no, and honestly they wouldn't ask and wouldn't take it even if I offered.
Of my two boys, one has the possibility of gaining the signoff to the MH. That would come after we had spent lots of time going over the various systems, and a couple check rides/short camping trips, along the way, with both him and his wife. He flies Navy planes that are almost as old as I am, that weigh more than 60 tons. He is quite capable of learning the information, and certainly understands the mass and inertia issues. Actually, he would make the perfect RV'er, he says they almost never fly a mission without something going wrong with the plane. Doesn't that sound like typical RV'ing?
RE: Surge Guard
I have the 50A Progressive Industries hardwired model. 30 minutes is long enough to install it, assuming you have the perfect place to put it, and easy access to both the breaker panel and the transfer switch. In my case it took a couple hours of "mechanical" work to get the wires where they needed to be. The transfer switch is buried behind my breaker panel and I installed a sub-panel for my inverter at the same time, so it looked like I was wiring the coach from scratch.....
I got the one with the "remote" panel, and installed the "remote" in the AC compartment anyway. I figured that 99% of the time you needed to see the panel was when you are standing near the AC compartment not inside the coach.... It would be really neat to have both a local and remote display, (for outside and inside) but I don't think you can do that.
RE: Vucube connection
I believe you will have to run the "check switch" setup again on the Dish Receiver. I think you will have to do this each time you move the receiver back and forth.....
RE: Video of Motorhome Fire in Deleware
Let's not get a "Naderized" refrigerator. Who wants a fridge with safety lock doors that you can't get open, and after it opens there is no room left for food, and what food you put in there spoils because the temperature of the fridge has been raised to avoid accidental frostbite............
( OK you can start chuckling now. )
RE: Should I Pull Ahead My Purchase of a Diesel Coach?
If I was doing it again, and now seemd like the time to think seriously about it, I would be looking for a nearly new, higher end unit. IMHO you would be better served having a 3 or 4 year old high line coach that someone has already smoked out the warranty problems, rather than a new and probably buggy "low to middle of the line" coach.
But, the really great thing about this country is everyone has their own opinions.... and can usually voice them...
Take you time and make sure you get what you want. I think the market will be slow and depressed for some time, (measured in years not weeks), so you don't have to be in a hurry. The deals are only going to get better for a while.
By the way, my used coach did NOT have the bugs worked out of it when I bought it.:E...!!!! So, do as I say, not as I did!!! ;)
RE: 458 inverter/charger
Try talking to the people at Don Rowes Inverters in Monroe, OR. It's all they do.... Looking at the map they are only a couple hours from "Northern Calif."
www.donrowe.com
RE: Oil Pressure Sensor ...cummins 275
My 98 Overland with the C8.3 Cummins did exactly the same thing. I had a really hard time finding the right part number for the oil pressure sender. Neither Cummins nor Freightliner would admit the part was theirs. They both said that it was installed by the OEM. When we removed the sender and cleaned it with the wire wheel we found it was a Seimens/VDO part. I ended up getting an equivalent replacement from www.egauges.com . None of the local big truck places had anything in stock which cross referenced.
RE: Plazma or LCD
Yes, to all the previous responses. One other factor I don't see listed here, is that inch for inch, they are heavier than LCD TVs would be. They are also more fragile than LCD. In really simple and slightly twisted terms, a Plasma screen is a whole bunch of little CRTs combined into one package.......
IMHO the advantages of an LCD outweigh the disadvangtages in the RV environment.
RE: flat screen tv, good, fair, or so-so???????
I know I've said this before in this forum, but here it is again.
In TV's under 32" it is VERY, VERY, VERY hard to see the difference between 720p and 1080i even when the native resolution is 1080. Very, very, few TV's under 32" even have 1080 native capability. What does "native" mean here? It means that the TV LCD screen has at least 1080 horizontal rows of pixels. Many smaller TVs which "support" 1080i signals, display the picture on an LCD panel with 768 rows of pixels. The TV "down converts" the 1080i signal to fit the 768 pixels. So in this case, there is no way to see 1080 resolution picture, no matter how close you get to the screen. There are only 768 rows of pixels available.
For 32" and under, get yourself a good quality (more recognizable brand name) 720P TV and spend the rest of the dollars that you would have used to get a 1080i TV, on something else, like surround sound, or an new upconverting DVD player, or satellite radio, or a new GPS, or whatever.
Just this week, I had a couple hours to waste, waiting on someone at a doctors appt. I went to the TV dept in Best Buy for the specific pupose of trying to see a difference between 720P and 1080i in a whole row of 32" TVs. (By the way, there were only 2 1080i TVs in the 32" row.) They were showing the continuous loopin HD demo and sales pitch on all the TVs. After watching very carefully almost an hour, I still had not seen anything which "looked better" on the 1080 TVs than the 720 sets. I will also admit, that I don't know for sure that they were even distributing an HD signal to all these TVs. Nor do I know what quality the source video was.
The main point is, that 99% of the time you won't ever see a difference between 720 and 1080 (in a TV under 32").
RE: Inverters .. do you have one? .. are they worth the cost?
This past spring, I installed a 2000W Xantrex inverter/charger in our 10 year old motorhome. We bought the motorhome used and thought that the missing inverter would be no big deal, but after one season without one, we decided to make the plunge. I bought a nearly new inverter on Ebay and purchased the other components such as 4/0 wire, cable lugs, additional batteries. I installed a sub-panel specifically for the AC circuits hooked to the inverter, and esentially all of the outlets except the microwave, and block heater are supplied through the inverter. Nothing to plug or un-plug, no switches to throw, fast load and temperature compensated charging, just plain convenient and it works.
With us living on the east coast, (well almost) and our biggest list of things to see in the west, we tend to drive hard for a few days to get west and then slow down. That means several days of 12 or 14 hours behind the wheel, then a short stop parked in the corner of a Walmart lot to sleep. It is so nice to just hoist the antenna, watch to local news and weather on TV, and have the coffee maker ready to go for the morning. If we're still not passed out, drop a movie in the DVD player and lull ourselves to sleep. No generator needed, and the convenience of having AC available while traveling down the road, again without need for the generator. We have on occasion, put ingredients in the crockpot and cooked our lunch while traveling down the highway. That may not be the best deal for the engine alternator, but oh well.
All in all, there is a lot of convenience in an inverter. Is it needed, no more than the TVs, microwaves, and sleep number beds. However, I am glad to have it available.
RE: Really TV confused
I know positively for a fact that there are 2008 model year RVs with NON-Digital tuner TVs installed. Not many, but they do exist. One manufacturer rep told me that they buy TV's by the container load direct from Asia. Whatever deal is good when they need more, is the container of TV's they buy. So, depending on when that load of lowest price TV's is used up.....????
