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Forum
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RE: Black Hill Accident - "How Blessed"
About 2 minutes after the accident, a tow truck just happened to pass by and called the police using his radio as there was no cell phone service there. The police was on sight in about 15 minutes.
Just got off the phone with his insurance and they are already making plans to handle all financial issues. It's been a couples of days now and all involved parties are doing well, including the rider.
Thanks for all your generous replies.
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mongopino915
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08/18/08 11:36am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Black Hill Accident - "How Blessed"
Me and the DW felt a lot better now knowing that someone thinks that we'd saved his life. My 7 years old daughter was also in the truck and saw the whole accident. She did not cry until about 20 minutes after the incident. The first statement from her was "How are we going to get home?" as she cried.
May be this is a blessing in disguise and I am also grateful despite the headache and hassle.
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mongopino915
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08/17/08 08:34pm |
General RVing Issues
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Black Hill Accident - "How Blessed"
Friday (08/15) at 12:30 noon, 1/4 mile East of the Jewell Cave entrance on Highway 16, a motorcyclist lost control of his bike due to slippery wet road and came shooting like a bullet right into my Chev. 2500HD front driver tire. All I saw was a black bike and rider disappeared underneath the truck. The first thought on my mind was "OH-NO". Immediately after the impact and the truck came to a stop, I heard my wife yelling from the back seat "He's alive". I got out and helped the staggering rider to the side of the road, got back in my truck and tried to move the truck to the side of the road but the left front tire had completely broken off and the truck could not be moved.
The motorcycle was totaled and my truck is at Leo's towing in Custer, awaiting damage assessment from the insurance. The 5'er was towed from Rafter J this morning to a storage site until I can go back to SD and tow it home (Denver). Amazingly, the guy on the bike walked away from the accident with only a small rip on his jean.
Me and the DW had to get a rental car from Rapid City airport to drive home. Small coincident but 7 hours after the accident, the rider of the motorcycle met us again at the airport trying to rent car as his bike is a total lost. He said to us that he was so grateful that we were there to save him so that he could go home (San Jose, CA) to his three kids and wife. The tire was what save him in that the tire was elastic enough to bounce his bike and him off the truck and the tire joint was just soft enough to absorb the impact by bending and breaking. A split second difference and he would have ended up underneath my hood or under the truck bed and back tires. If we were not there, he would have ended in the side rail or over the side rail and down the step hill.
In any case, although we had a rough time I was happy that no one was hurt. I look forward to getting the truck fix so I retrieve the 5'er.
We had three cameras with us but failed to take pictures as we were too emotionally shaken.
May everyone out there be safe.
JV
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mongopino915
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08/17/08 06:40pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Well Water in tank?
I have put creek water in my fresh tank but do not drink. My drinking water is separate.
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mongopino915
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08/09/08 09:43pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: Maxxis Tires
A lot of RV'ers here in the forum favor Maxxis tires.
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mongopino915
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08/09/08 09:37pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Solution for uncomfortable bar on sofa bed
We had similar problem when the in laws complained about being uncomfortable. I removed the mattress from the sofa and just place the mattress on the floor and use it like a floor mate. No more complaints.
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mongopino915
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08/09/08 09:30pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Shear pins for slides and landing gear?
I am not sure if most landing gears are similar but I did purchase some grade 8 1/4" bolts and nuts about 1-1/2" long from HomeDepot. The 1-1/2" in length was sufficient to replace both the landing legs and slide out bolts/nuts should one break in the wood. Hope this helps.
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mongopino915
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08/04/08 07:47pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Gas Prices stopping you from RV'ing
The GOVT stimulus package was the 3000 miles of diesel fuel needed for my 2008 RV adventures. I can say that I did not stimulate the economy but rather handed over the stimulus check to the oil comp. Too early to plan for 2009.
Good Luck.
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mongopino915
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08/04/08 05:14pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: Inverters .. do you have one? .. are they worth the cost?
I have a 1750 Watt Xantrex with the intent to make coffee early in the morning and watch TV at night but only used twice. I found out how fast this inverter sucks up my bactery state of charge during coffee brewing so I bought one of those stove top coffee drip unit instead.
I got the inverter for a reasonable price on Ebay compared to CW but the 1/0 gauge of copper cables are very pricey. One set back is your batteries have to be in a good charged state (i.e. over 50% charged) or the inverter will self shut down which is a good thing. If you plan on solar charging or having possibly more than 2 batteries than it might be worth your while. It's a nice gadget in the trailer eventhough I have not used in over 18 months.
Good Luck.
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mongopino915
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08/04/08 05:01pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: How often do you sanitize your fresh water system ?
I have put Rocky Mountain creek water (using a pump) into the fresh tank for showers and dishes when we dry camp. The trailer is two years old and have no desire to clean the fresh tank since we don't drink from it. I guest I should bleach my tank but no one has gotten sick yet. I do drain after every use and flush it with home water. I figured if the fish can survive in the water it is OK for me to swim or bath in.
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mongopino915
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08/04/08 04:46pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Road to Estes Park, CO
The two main highways (34 and 36) can easily accommadate any size RV and should not be an issue. I'm not sure about the Manor RV being better or worse but I think all private resorts in Estes are comparable. You Montana will handle the mid September Colorado temperature just fine. September is a great time in Co. to observe the changing Aspen and weather.
Good luck and enjoy.
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mongopino915
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08/03/08 10:46am |
Fifth-Wheels
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Colorado/Cottonwood Pass Road Condition?
I posted (a month ago) about taking a 5'er(33 ft) to Taylor reservoir over Cottonwood Pass but could make the trip due to emergency. The trip has been rescheduled for July 18th and I will heading out to Dinner Station CG. Has any travel over Cottonwood Pass recently and what's the condition like?
Thanks in advance.
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mongopino915
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07/11/08 09:23pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Generator Question
Other than the price, the only complaint I've read about the dual Honda setup is some find that the RPMs vary quite a bit between the two units. One may be running near wide open, while the other is near idle.
I have twin 2000's. First I've heard of that one. The twins run in sync. If one speeds up for extra load (A/C compressor kicks in) for instance, the other one does too. Perfect unison. They sound as one. Never had any problems with just one speeding up. Sounds like a warranty issue.
I like 'em and would do it again.
I have heard of the twins not synchronizing but mine did ramp up and down in harmony with both gennies on eco mode. If the twins do not share the loads evenly, you should have them checked out. Remenber, always run them with both eco mode "ON" or both "OFF". Good Luck.
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mongopino915
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06/20/08 02:54pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Generator Question
Lots of RV'er have the Honda twins and are very, very, very happy. Reason being that two is lighter but more powerful than one. The cost should be about the same. If you don't mind lugging 140lbs+ around, one genny is easier to maintain for that matter. Of course, maintenance is a piece of cake for the twins as well so I guess it does not really matter. I have the twins and I like the set up. I just like the 50lbs-much easier my back.
Yes the weight is one factor in considering the set up but the height of the generator is also a factor for me. They are under 17" tall and I plan to mount them to the bed of the truck. The 3000 watt units are over 21" tall, higher that the sides of the box. I plan to buy a roll up tonneau cover to use when not hooked up to the trailer. Do you have the extended run time auxiliary gas tank?
I do have the homemade parallel calble and aux. tank. I have tested the twins on my 15K AC unit and it ran just fine. I have yet to run the AC using the twins hooked up the aux. tank for an extended time period but I did ran on one genny (hooked to the aux. tank) for over 30 plus hours on Memonorial weekend without refueling, kind of nice. Like others have said, the only time you will need both is when you need the AC. I'm from Colorado and most of my rv'ing do not need AC until July if I'm out in the lower elevation-open flatland plain. I also do a lot of camping in the high country during the hot Summer and the AC is really not needed, however, it is nice to have the complete package (twins + parallel cable + tank). Per specifications, you should be able to run 10 to 12 hours on a 5 gallon aux. tank non-stop when running the twins hooked to the aux. tank at full load. I have yet to fully utizilze the complete package and looking forward to it.
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mongopino915
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06/20/08 07:45am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Glenwood Springs, CO Boondocking Opportunities
We use to hunt at McLure Pass which is very beautiful countries. There is also a National Forest campground there and all surrounding national forest land are free camping if you want to boondock, not to metion lots of excellent hiking and mountain biking trails. Have Fun.
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mongopino915
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06/19/08 09:29pm |
Public Lands, Boondocking and Dry Camping
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RE: Generator Question
Lots of RV'er have the Honda twins and are very, very, very happy. Reason being that two is lighter but more powerful than one. The cost should be about the same. If you don't mind lugging 140lbs+ around, one genny is easier to maintain for that matter. Of course, maintenance is a piece of cake for the twins as well so I guess it does not really matter. I have the twins and I like the set up. I just like the 50lbs-much easier my back.
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mongopino915
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06/19/08 09:13pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Will my A/C work on 15 amp service
I plugged my 30/20 amp conversion into my house outlet and was able to run my 15K AC unit just fine. Like others have said, watch your power consumption and minimize using more than 1 main appliance at the same time. Good luck.
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mongopino915
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06/19/08 08:03pm |
Tech Issues
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Cottonwood Pass to Taylor Reservior State Park, CO
I am going to Taylor State Park, Colorado, next week for four nights. Never drove through Cottonwood Pass before but a quick search in this wonderful forum indicated that getting to Taylor over the pass is doable, even for bigger RVs. I will be pulling a 33 ft 5'er. Just wondering if any has recently drove over the Cottonwood Pass route to the park. If so, what are the road conditions like and is towing a 33 ft 5'er doable? Grateful for any info.
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mongopino915
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06/19/08 07:39pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: honda'' econo mode ''and yamaha ''smart throttle''
I think the eco mode "ON" in the Honda ramps down the engine to provide only the amperage needed which is exactly what the Yamaha "smart throttle" does full time. The eco mode on the Honda can be turned "OFF" if needed.
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mongopino915
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06/19/08 09:15am |
Tech Issues
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RE: how many of you have generators?
A TT/5'ver is just not complete without a generator if you want to fully utilize all options provided. At the minimum, you will need a small generator or solar power to charge your battery if you want to use your toys for more than two days in row.
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mongopino915
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06/13/08 07:49pm |
Travel Trailers
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