RE: Removing Stain on Soft Touch (carpet) ceiling
I just used a spray bottle with diluted bleach. I had to spray around the shower skylight, but you had better make sure the bleach doesn't get on anything else.
This works well. But just spray and then leave it. You may need to wipe off trim in the morning, but don't wipe or rub the material. After several treatments, you won't be able to tell it was ever there.....
Grimmwit
RE: Jasper - Whistlers Campground
We stayed at Whistler's last year for almost a week. Loved it. A very nice campground. We too had a full hookup site, and found it spacious.
Picture here
In front of the motorhome there was sufficient space to back in my Jeep and not protrude in to the loop road.
Both the wife and I woke up with a start and swore we heard a bear outside. The kids said they found pawprints in the morning.... Who knows. There's a heard of elk that roam the place. I will be back to Whistlers one day - it's a must.
Grimmwit
RE: towing a car with a Class C
Hi there -
You've received some good advice with regards to towing your particular vehicles.
We've done both - we owned a 5er for two years. I was good for a maximum of seven hours of driving, and I was done. Mind you this typically wasn't Interstate driving; mostly 2 lane state routes.
We decided to trade in the 5er on a class C. I can go 12 hours and still feel good in the class C.
We decided to skip the tow vehicle the first year. On long weekends we went without a second vehicle. On vacations we would rent a car when we got to our destination. Renting was a hassle and expensive. For example at Grand Tetons, our rental agreement prohibited driving on gravel roads. There were many places I wanted to go that were prohibited by the rental contract.
Last year, we bought a Jeep to tow, and haven't regretted it for a minute. As others' mentioned, it isn't cheap getting setup.
Make sure that your hitch is a 5k hitch, not 3500. Check your combined capacity. Too.
With a 31' class C, also consider that a dolly will transfer some weight on to the hitch. You must deduct that from the total cargo capacity of your rig. By flat-towing a vehicle, there is zero tongue weight. With a rig the size of yours (and mine) cargo capacity is at a premium.
Last month I towed my Jeep with my motorhome from Western Washington to my new home city of Manchester, NH. The jeep slowed me down on the longer hills at times. But now that I'm here I have a set of wheels to get me around. Got hit for a bit more coin at the tolls. But you literally forget it's back there most of the time. I keep my backup camera turned on to help me see the back of it when changing lanes. I can't see it in my side mirrors except when turning.
Hope this helps!
Grimmwit
RE: towing a car with a Class C
Hi there -
You've received some good advice with regards to towing your particular vehicles.
We've done both - we owned a 5er for two years. I was good for a maximum of seven hours of driving, and I was done. Mind you this typically wasn't Interstate driving; mostly 2 lane state routes.
We decided to trade in the 5er on a class C. I can go 12 hours and still feel good in the class C.
We decided to skip the tow vehicle the first year. On long weekends we went without a second vehicle. On vacations we would rent a car when we got to our destination. Renting was a hassle and expensive. For example at Grand Tetons, our rental agreement prohibited driving on gravel roads. There were many places I wanted to go that were prohibited by the rental contract.
Last year, we bought a Jeep to tow, and haven't regretted it for a minute. As others' mentioned, it isn't cheap getting setup.
Make sure that your hitch is a 5k hitch, not 3500. Check your combined capacity. Too.
With a 31' class C, also consider that a dolly will transfer some weight on to the hitch. You must deduct that from the total cargo capacity of your rig. By flat-towing a vehicle, there is zero tongue weight. With a rig the size of yours (and mine) cargo capacity is at a premium.
Last month I towed my Jeep with my motorhome from Western Washington to my new home city of Manchester, NH. The jeep slowed me down on the longer hills at times. But now that I'm here I have a set of wheels to get me around. Got hit for a bit more coin at the tolls. But you literally forget it's back there most of the time. I keep my backup camera turned on to help me see the back of it when changing lanes. I can't see it in my side mirrors except when turning.
Hope this helps!
Grimmwit
RE: Dog food containing lamb
I've been to Can. and US customs sites, and I can't figure out the pet food rules. Is Canadian lamb banned in the US, or is US lamb banned in Canada ? Or both? I hate to take expensive dog food to the border and have to toss it. Our dogs have been eating this brand for years, and I hate the thought of dogs with upset stomachs in the camper. Does anyone know for sure?
Ah, Customs - confusing as ever.....
We visited Canada (Banff / Jasper) last year. On our way back in to the US they confiscated our dog food (bought in the US) because it was in a tupperware tote. If the food had been in the original bag and showed made in USA, it would not have been a problem. Same thing with some kielbasa they also confiscated (it was wrapped in foil). So we know the customers officer and his dog had a good meal that night... :W
So long as nothing has changed, you should be fine if you keep the above in mind.
Grimmwit
RE: How bad does a toad get beaten up?
I love this forum! You guys (and gals) are so helpful. Thanks for all the input on the 4x4 flat tow able question we posted. Now another question comes up. We have made our long list of possible's. We are test driving all makes and models to narrow to a short list. Then we will look for the cream puff in the make and model we choose. We will be full timing in early Sept. We are in a '01 Executive DP. We have not towed a car for any extended length of time. We plan to get a screen/guard to protect the toad as much as possible. How bad will it still get dirty, dinged and chipped given normal good weather driving conditions? How much damage should we expect after a year or two? We will have a breaking system and a TPMS. Thanks all.
Rich and Char
I will second the opinion that the height of the toad is a factor in whether you will get much damage.
I just towed my Jeep Wrangler across the country behind my Jayco class C. No mods to the motorhome or Jeep to avoid damage. I had zero dings when I completed my trip. It was dirty as all get out though - hit heavy rain in Eastern Washington, Indiana and Ohio.
Just my $.02 . . . YMMV
Grimmwit
RE: Towing a 4-door Jeep
I pulled the IOD fuse and still had a dead battery yesterday after a 14 hour run from Texas to Alabama. I even started the JK several times along the way, but when I got to the campground yesterday, it would not start. So out came the jump start battery.
There is a fuse in the engine compartment that is very easily pulled that kills the majority of the system, but leaves the cigarette lighter live for the BB. From another board:
--kev
I just towed my Jeep cross country over 5.5 days. I pulled the IOD fuse, and made it all the way across country without a problem. I did notice that if I turned the key too far, the dash lit up even with the fuse pulled. Perhaps you did that, and somehow there was more draw on the battery. Just a guess. If you figure out what happened, post it here.
Good luck going forward.
Grimmwit
RE: Move from PNW to New England
You made a good decision! Actually my golf cart broke down right in front of your site last Fri night-you may have seen me and my daughter pushing the stupid thing, but it was pretty dark...darn corosion on the battery terms so it wasn't getting the full juice on plug in!
Anyway, I am glad you chg'd your mind from Mile Away, nice enough place but CS has so much more for your kiddos. I may stop by and say hi :) NOT A STALKER!
Hello, and thanks again for all the replies.
I didn't notice anyone broken down. I got here Thursday afternoon, and was worn out. I spent the weekend just getting situated and taking it easy.
Feel free to stop by if you see signs of life. So far work is keeping me away more than I'd like - but not more than expected. The wife and kids will catch up with me the end of June - the site will be considerably more active then.
In response to another post in the thread - the site is fine. They put in some fresh gravel and the site is nice and level. I was thrilled to discover that the site had phone service AND that fast DSL service was available. Being an IT guy by trade, I need access often, and the wifi service from the campground doesn't reach out here.
Ugh - the bugs. I don't know if they are mosquitoes or what, but they are voracious. Mosquitos at home rarely bothered me - too bitter I guess. But when I was setting up, I got eaten alive. I was in shorts, and at one point looked down and there were five bugs munching on me. I'm hoping that as the weather warms up and dries out, that will abate somewhat. Fingers crossed.
As always, thank you to all for the input and posts.
Grimmwit
RE: Move from PNW to New England
Hope it all works out for you, do you have a site #? We should be up parts of most weekends in the spring working around the baseball games etc.
I've been assigned site W30. I was told it was the last site available. If you drive by it, take a look and let me know what it looks like.
I'm guesstimating that I'll be out there on or near May 8th.
Thanks again for all the feedback and suggestions from everyone - very much appreciated!!
Grimmwit
RE: Move from PNW to New England
After a lot of consideration, and digesting the replies here, I have made reservations at Cold Springs. I appreciate all the suggestions and comments.
Grimmwit
RE: Move from PNW to New England
Wow! Thank you for all the replies. I didn't get much back when I originally posted. I've been here in Manchester since 3/25 for another 2 week stint of work. I did get out and explore, but didn't visit Weare.
I was all set to stay at Mile-Away, as it was an easy drive from Manchester, and seemed OK. It was under a lot of snow, so I couldn't evaluate it as well as I'd have liked.
Upon reflection, I think I'll follow the suggestions and give Cold Springs a call tomorrow. It'll cost me a fair chunk more money. But I think we are going to bring the family out sooner than we originally thought, so "things to do" for the kids is now more important than before (my original criteria was clean bathrooms, and cable tv......) :)
Thanks again for all the suggestions.
Grimmwit
RE: Car Rental West Glacier
I used Glacier Heli Tours last time I was there as well. Convenience trumped price. They were I think about $35 / day. There are bunch of rental places near the airport, and it'll save you some coin - but you'll need to add about 30 minute drive each way for pickup and dropoff.
Grimmwit
Move from PNW to New England
Well after months of pondering a decision, it appears that we will be relocating from Western Washington to the Manchester, NH area. Two questions for the experts here:
1) I may be living in my motorhome for 2-6 months, depending on how long it takes to sell our home here. Any recommendations for a good place to stay around Manchester for this period of time? I will be alone and working a lot. Depending on when the house sells, the wife and kids may join for a short time until we buy a house there. All I want is clean, reasonably quiet during sleepy-time and Internet access. Probably should have cable TV too. Suggestions? I see there are many potential places to stay, though most of them don't open until May.
2) How does camping differ in NE? More bugs? Are the campgrounds as busy and hard-to-get-in-to as they are out here? I know this is a general question; just trying to get a feel for what I'm getting in to when I eventually have some time to venture out and explore.
Any hints / tips / suggestions gratefully accepted.
RE: V-10 performance mods?
Like most of the others here, *most* of the time, the V-10 has plenty of power. However, I can think of two occasions where I could have used more get up and go.....
1) Headed south in Montana towards Idaho. Lots of hills and a stiff headwind. I couldn't keep my speed above 50mph, even on relatively flat ground.
2) Driving south from Kamloops, BC to Hope, BC. On this trip I was towing my Wrangler, and it was a real slow slog for about an hour to 90 minutes. I seriously considered disconnecting the Jeep and having my wife drive it along behind us - probably should have.
So I can understand why some might want more power. I'm not ready to buy a Banks kit yet. But should we decide that we won't be upgrading or selling in the next few years, I may pull the trigger......
Grimmwit
RE: Question re C class handling, and Jayco quality
I have an older Pace Arrow "A" and we're going to look at an '05 Jayco 30'-2 slide C class later today. Starting to take the grandkids along, etc and the A just doesn't have the right sleeping capacity. I don't want to go longer to get a bunkhouse A, we just want the extra bed setup and the slides, which we don't have now. Seems like Jayco has very good quality compared to some others and this one has practically no miles on it.
That said, do these V10 Ford chassis handle well or am I looking at a squirrely vehicle? I've read lots of posts so far but would like some first hand opinions. Also, how does the V10 work for pulling a small toad occasionally? My A with the older 460 and Banks setup still struggles with the extra weight and there are a lot of hills here in Calif where we do most of our driving.
I drove a C class years ago and have driven vans off and on over the years, so issues like legroom, etc up front are not a problem. Thats a minor tradeoff for having front doors, etc. Thanks for any help-I know I'll get lots of posts telling me to get a such-and-such class A instead but I haven't seen anything that fills the bill yet. Jerry
Hello! We have an 06 Jayco Greyhawk 30GS on the Ford chassis. It's a 30' rig with 2 slides; could be the same model you are considering.
We moved to the "C" from a 5er, so my transition is different than what yours. My observations:
When we bought the rig, it did take a bit of getting used to on the interstate, especially when getting passed by the big trucks. I got the front end aligned, and that made a big difference. But I think getting shoved around a bit by passing trucks and strong winds is probably a fact of life.
As for towing, we bought a Jeep Wrangler to tow behind us. On the steeper climbs, you'll be dragged down to about 45mph. We towed from our home in Western Washington to Idaho, north to Jasper, AB, then home via the Coquahalla / Vancouver BC, I-5 south. During that time, the only a few occasions where the toad slowed us down - with the Coquahalla in BC being the notable exception. I should've disconnected the Jeep and had the Mrs drive it through there. In general, towing was a breeze; I won't be without the toad on future trips.
As for Jayco quality - we bought on the rep that Jayco has developed over the years. We haven't had any major issues with our rig - but we've had a plague of annoying problems that have resulted in trips to the dealer for repair. (broken faucet knob, tv antenna handle fell off, cabinet separated, bed doesn't track straight when slide-out is used, trim needed to be renailed into place, etc). One more trip to the dealer is scheduled to make them recaulk the trim all around the vehicle - they did a poor job in the factory. So hopefully, the important major components will hold up. Only time will tell.
Somehow, I doubt my experience with quality would have been much different with any other make - I think they are all a bit suspect after hanging out here for a couple of years.
Hope this helps.
Grimmwit
RE: Towing a 4-door Jeep
As mentioned earlier, the solution to your problem is to pull the IOD fuse in the fuse box. This will keep your battery from going dead, but still provide power to the right-hand side cigarette lighter.
I have an 07 JK that I towed for 2.5 weeks, and never had a problem with the battery.
An excellent discussion about towing the Jeep JK, along with a photo showing which fuse to pull can be found here:
http://irv2.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7586073452/m/3541098163
It's slick - the fuse is even designed to be pulled, yet remain in position in the fuse box. Piece of cake!
Hope this helps.
Grimmwit
RE: Towing Vehicle - Pros/Cons
Hi there - I'm a day late, but I'll throw in our experience, since it's similar....
March 2006 we bought a 30' Class C. We were moving to the class C from our prior setup of a Ford F350 Crew cab / 5th wheel. We weren't sure how we'd cope without wheels to get around away from the campground. We decided to go for a year without a towed vehicle and see how it worked out.
It's worth noting that our vacation "style" is to get somewhere, and stay for several days. I try to relax, but being a shutterbug, I struggle to resist the urge to get out and explore. We also have kids, and they get restless.
So at Grand Tetons, and later at Glacier NP, we wound up renting a car. In both cases, the rates were quite high (higher than at most airports). We also contractually could not take the car on gravel roads. At Tetons in particular, that kept me from seeing / doing what I wanted. As a result, we bought a Jeep to tow behind our car before vacation this year.
For weekends out, which are unfortunately rare, we could probably get by without the Jeep - but I expect we'll likely take it with us anytime we travel in the future.
If you decide to pursue a toad, search this forum. I spent a couple evenings figuring out the best way to tow that met our needs.
In any case - good luck!!
RE: Towing Considerations
Lots of good info in this thread - not much left for me to add.
We configured a Jeep Wrangler to tow this summer, and used the Ready Brake system. Obviously, my Jeep weighs a lot more than your vehicle, so a braking system was essential (in my opinion, for my desired level of safety). We drove a nice loop from Western Washington to Idaho, north to Banff / Jasper, then home via Vancouver and I-5. I was very, very happy with the braking performance of the Ready Brake. It never "grabbed", yet you could really feel it contribute in braking situations. Count me as a satisfied customer (though definitely a bit lighter in the wallet than I'd hoped).
Grimmwit
RE: Towing 07/08 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (4dr)
Just traded toads. Have a 08 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara with 20 miles on it. I'm in the process of installing bracket, tail light kit and Even Brake. All's going well, but one thing disturbs me. The manual tells me what to do to prepare it for "four-down" towing, but here's the rub. It says to disconnect the negative battery cable. If I do that I have no power for the Even Brake, and the two fuses that I have to connect the Even Brake to will be useless! Talked to Jeep and they acknowledge that you have to disconnect the negative battery cable or the battery will be run down, as there are things on when the key is in the "on" position. The problem is no "Accessory" point on the ignition switch that will unlock the steering wheel. Bummer! I explained to the Tech rep at Jeep that this negates being able to install an auxiliary braking system in the new Jeep. Needless to say, he failed to see my point....which I have found to be not unusual when dealing with manufacturers. However, since Jeep has always been a favorite of towables, I'm surprised there isn't another fix for this, like removing a certain fuse, etc.
Needs some help here guys...fast. Leaving on a trip in about two weeks.
wilanddij gave you a great link. I used that site to prep my 07 Wrangler Sahara 2 door - even used that wiring kit that's recommended on the site.
Use the right side cigarette lighter to power your even brake. Pull the IOD fuse as suggested. Put the key in turn it one position. Check that your steering is unlocked. Follow the remaining steps outlined in your owners manual. Don't forget to release the parking brake (blush). By pulling the IOD fuse, you negate the need to disconnect the negative battery cable.
I used the Even Brake in our Jeep, and found it very simple to use. After the first few times, you'll be able to install it in under 5 minutes.
I also used the wiring kit recommended in that link. I found it easy to install. It took me awhile to find a path along the frame rail that protected it from the exhaust. I was probably be overly cautious. The only thing I've noticed with that wiring setup is that when the brakes fire on the Jeep by the Evenbrake, if a turn signal is on, it is overridden by the brake signal from the Jeep. Not a big issue, as the turn signal is still visible on the motorhome, and the brakes aren't applied for that long on the jeep.
I threw more info at you than you requested; hope you don't mind. Since I just went down the same path you are on, I thought the extra info might be helpful.
Grimmwit
