RE: What states require lights on the dinghy and the dolly?
The only problem I have is that every horizontal surface on the mini van is plastic or fiberglass - nothing for magnets to stick to. Perhaps a set of trailer lights on a bar attached to the van's trailer hitch? Larry
What states require lights on the dinghy and the dolly?
I just read about Kansas requireing lights on the dingy, even if you have them on the dolly. Is this common? I just bought a dolly and the dealer said it was not required here in Ilinois. Thanks, Larry
Is this the time to buy a new class A?
Hi gang,
We have not been RVing long but love every minute we get on the the "road". DW and I have discussed bitting the bullet and tradeing up to a new claas A and spending even more time out starting this winter.
Giving the current economic conditions do you think this would be a good time to start looking for a "New" rig? I've seen some big discounts from several dealers - like a nice diesel for $129k, regularly $165k - seems too great.
Our "trade in" was bought reasonably and I don't think there would be any issue about breaking even there.
Thanks,
Larry
RE: If you can climb onto your roof ...
Me too Steve, on all counts! I look forward to meeting you some day too, here, there or in the air as we say.
God Bless and Open Roads!
RE: If you can climb onto your roof ...
Steve, I sure wish you were near so I could have you help with the MH access problem I have. From your profile it sounds like you sure would understand what is needed. So let me say how much I respect what you do and have done for all of us.
I figured there was more to the story about your daughter, didn't mean to pry. As for pushing a wheelchair - I figured that too but let me say with some authority, that the difference between standing and pushing vs. sitting in the chair and propelling yourself is incredible - so, so much harder and taxing - the geometry on those things is just all wrong. (personal opinion)
Now on to judging - I confess to discriminating - every morning I discriminate between black or blue socks, I own both and enjoy both colors but I must evaluate how each color would look with rest of my attire and finally discriminate against one color in favor of another. That is one type of judgment, a decision based on a personal, or moral choice.
If I see a person robbing a bank I do not need to consider their social standing, housing or even if they are a nice person. They are violating the law and I call the cops fast. This is not judgment of the person, it is observation and analysis of their action and reaction taken by me based on that analysis. The court will make final judgment based on law.
I'm not always the sharpest pencil in the box but language is an exact science even though it is so poorly practiced today. I have cited IL law and can give you case law to back it up, CA law may be different, so much is out there.
So lets just agree to disagree and move on.
Best Wishes,
Larry
RE: If you can climb onto your roof ...
Sorry to disappoint you but the reason those spaces are wide is so that folks like me can get our wheelchairs out of the van. If you think that a person in a wheelchair lift equipped vehicle can exit a van in a normal size space you need to show me how. I need almost 8 feet on the side to get out. Most of the time folks that may have a disability park in those forcing me to park way out in the south forty just to have enough room to get out. Have you ever pushed a wheelchair from the back of the lot? By the time I get to the store I've lost all track of why I came.
Sorry about your daughter and your challenge but blindness is not a mobility disability, I suffer from optic neuritis and lose my sight from time to time, it is a pain and a real problem but it does not require a wide parking space. He could park in any of the normal width spots and exit his vehicle - I cannot. Mobility is the issue, not disability.
When we lived in Texas there were spots designated for lift equipped vans and that seemed to work most of the time.
I not arguing that one is more disabled, rather I am arguing for a reasoned approach to determining who should be issued a handicap plate or placard, in Illinois the rules are that it is for people who have mobility disabilities - that is all. If you have a bum arm you are not supposed to get the plate, not needed - if you have a colostomy bag it is not a mobility issue, you don't get the plate and so on, you can get to the store without mechanical assistance. The issue is parking and access.
I'm Not judging, that is the law decided by lawmakers and voted on by the same. Upheld by the state supreme court.
RE: If you can climb onto your roof ...
A guy in our church who is blind has a placard to hang on a mirror of a car so that he can be parked in handicap spots. He does have a disability, granted, but why does he need a parking spot designed for folks in wheelchairs?
Some Doctor had to sign for him to get it - so is the problem the doc, the patient, or the general entitlement mentality that is so prevalent today. I get so tired of hearing "I deserve...." followed by some lame excuse. I have my moments too but I really do need the wide spots just to get out of my van - not because I deserve it, or I'm a really nice guy. Frankly I don't want to use one but I don't have the choice.
Larry
RE: If you can climb onto your roof ...
Hi Larry ... Hey, some time run up to Starved Rock State Park ... it along with several other state parks hold ALL handicapped spots open for folks with a P2A disability card and/or disabled vets. You can almost always get a disabled spot there.
The handicapped spots are held open until just after dark ...they then allow other campers to occupy them ... but they have to vacate the spots by 10 the next morning ... so the spots will be open for disabled vets or P2A disability holders.
Other state parks allow anybody with a sore knee to occupy the spots ... so it's kind of hit or miss.
Glad you are enjoying the post ... and you are the reason I avoid occupying the spots.
I want to make sure you will always have a spot to go camping!
Thanks for your service. See you out camping!
I_rv2 Thanks a lot. Starved Rock is on my list for this summer, and there is a potter up there, just across the bridge, I have been wanting to visit.
Do you know if there are any trails that are wheelchair accessible? I was there 40 years ago and recall that there were steps everywhere.
There is not too much that stops me from enjoying life, certainly not a wheelchair. When I bought the old abandoned train depot that houses my business 3 1/2 years ago lots of folks thought I had lost it, including my kids, but its now a reality and I get to play in the mud all I want now. (and its paying for the MH)
I'm not at all "politically correct" and have embarrassed my dear wife more than once, but nothing stands in my way once I set out on a path. Disability is reality and a matter of function - handicap is a state of mind - one I refuse to give into.
Larry
RE: If you can climb onto your roof ...
I'd just like to say thanks for this thread. I am a disabled vet, mostly confined to a wheelchair since I fell off a missile launcher 23 years ago. SCI with MS for kicks. I can use crutches some inside but not safely outdoors. Not one bit sorry for my road - it is a good one that many of my brothers did not get to enjoy.
Wife and I took our first RV trip to a campground this week - it was wonderful and challenging and fun. Yes - we did forget the can opener, but survived anyway. :)
I did park in a handicap spot, one of four that were available. This availability was one of the reasons we picked this park for our first trip out. It did make everything easier and to the three other campers I saw who had handicap plates but were not parked in handicap spots, I say thanks.
The law here states that handicap plates or placards are issued to people with mobility disabilities. But I do know folks who have mental issues that have them, who have had heart problems that were corrected long ago but who still have them, and the rude teenager or busy soccer mom who "will just be a minute - you don't mind do you?" who feel entitled somehow.
Yep, we see them all, just park yourself on one of the benches at a walmart entrance and watch how many swing into those nice wide spots close to the door, jump out and almost run in to get a forgotten gallon of milk - which is all the way in the back of the store - and back out in five minutes.
Does that person need the wide space or does the legless vet with a lift equipped van need the extra room to get his wheelchair out. If you don't think this happens come shopping with me sometime.
I have stopped to ask some why they needed the spot, you would be amazed at the responses - "why, I'm old and slow" is the most common", funny I didn't know old age was a disability although it certainly can lead to them. Try getting a handicap parking space at Walmart on the 3rd of the month.
Same issues with motorcycle riders who park in the stripped off area next to the handicap parking. If you park your bike where my lift opens guess what your pretty bike and what it will look like with my lift on top of it - it's happened and the cops wrote the biker the $250 ticket. Judge awarded me $1 for the scratch on my lift and lectured him for 15 minutes.
TO be honest if he had just moved the bike so I could get out of the van it would have been no issue but he insisted he would park anywhere he wanted - free man no ties, no obligations, open road in his hair etc.
We all are adults and make our own choices, sometimes there are no consequences, sometimes there is a crotchety old fart who just might be minding the toll booth.
If you need the spot please use it - enjoy getting out there - so much better than sitting in a house looking out the window at life passing by. If you really don't and can leave it open for me, please do - I'll be along soon and I'll have the coffee pot on, please stop by.
Larry
RE: Mounting Ham Radios in Class A
Thanks everyone for the help and suggestions. This week we are going out for our first short hop - a couple hours away and spend three days R%R. I will be taking the HF rig even though it is not hooked up yet - perhaps by the time we get back I'll decide where it is going to live. :)
Don's antenna and mount is a work of art and certainly one I had not seen yet. I'm not sure I am ready to mount anything on the roof yet but I sure like that.
Using a ground plate for a vertical with a tire parked on it is a winner too. Simple and eloquent - like me (simple that is).
The mobile radio websites were new for me too. Tons of info to sort through.
I did a lot of "RVing" at the service of the taxpayers a few years back and look forward to getting back at it for fun. Our equipment was all state of the art (circa 1974) and very durable but the DW demands a bit more comfort than we enjoyed. I do miss occasionally miss blowing something up.....
73's
Larry
Mounting Ham Radios in Class A
As I am setting up my MH I am trying to find the best place for the ham rigs. I will not be using the HF gear on the road so there is no need for it to be "up Front" like the 2m rig and CB. So far that is about as sure as its final location has gotten. I am open to any suggestions and if you have photos of your install I'd love to how you did it.
The next question is antennas. I will have a steel whip for 10m but would like to use 40 or 75 too. (have some OT friends on 74) Don't need a lot of bandwidth for transmit so a vertical camouflaged as a flagpole might work ok. What do you use?
Rigs are Yaesu FT-840 and Radio Shk HTS-242 plus a couple well worn 2m HTs.
Thanks
Larry
RE: RVs and Ham radio enthusiasts, any out there?
Congrats on the new ticket and the upcoming retirement party! I've been a ham for 30 years but not too active for the past 6 years.
Starting to setup my class A for the road this summer and the first thing I am tackleing is the ham rig. Anyone have suggestions for HF mobile antennas?
Years ago I used High Gain Resonnator system - worked pretty good but had a narrow bandwith. I've got a old 2m whip I'll use and a steel whip for 10m but I do enjoy 75m and 40m too.
Thanks,
Larry
RE: Filling the Fresh water tank
Turned out that the drain issue was a pinched line, just needed a little rearranging and a zip tie to hold it in place. Thanks for the help averyone.
Larry
RE: Filling the Fresh water tank
Thanks for the help! I did find the check valve after looking for it, that could have been the issue since I have found a few other things that were "stuck".
I'll check the drain hose and valve today. The valve rotates OK but I could be pluged. Seemed strange it was on the outside corner, exposed to road dirt, grime and everthing else.
This is a great group - thank you all,
Larry
RE: Filling the Fresh water tank
Thanks cheddarhead, The supply water just ran for a couple minutes then stopped, with 1/3 full.
I can see the current tank level at 1/2 full and the drain valve is a roatery type mounted outside so it is visble too. A very so drip. I did try opening a the sinks and shower valves but it did not change any.
Thanks,
Larry
Filling the Fresh water tank
Hi all, I'm new to all this and learning as we go - so forgive this basic question. We have purchased a 1994 34' Four Winds Int. Dutchman on a P30 chassis.
When I connected the a hose to the threaded connector the fresh water tank started filling to about 1/3 capacity then stopped filling. We have full pressure at all fulcets and W/C with or without the pump and the tank can be filled using the other fresh water fill tube.
Is this normal? Or should the tank have filled any?
Secondly the valve on the outside corner that seems to be the tank drain only provides a very slow drip. After filling the tank four days ago it is still draining - about 1/2 empty at this point. Normal?
Lastly, does anyone know where I might get a copy of the coach manual? I was given manuals for the individual components (A/C, generator, etc) but not for the coach itself.
Thanks for any help,
Larry
