I belong to an organization that says, and for good reason, take the cotton out of your ears, put it in your mouth, sit up front and listen! I did for many years but still am uncomfortable asking newbee questions.
First, I’m brand new with no unit yet, I’m interested in a used Class C around 28 foot.
# 1 what is DSL mean when certain models are listed?
# 2 I see inverters are used, under what circumstances are they used? If you’re tooling along and your SO wants to watch a DVD, what powers the DVD and TV? The engine alternator, the units generator or the inverter?
# 3 is black water from the toilet and white from the shower and sinks?
# 4 In my lifetime I’ve driven perhaps 40-45K miles a year, should I expect a moderate driver learning curve? I know that’s a toughee.
# 5 Another toughee. At what stage of insanity am I for coming into this hobby at this age (72) and probably more important the depression in RVs in general. Todays WSJ RV article is not relaxing mind wise. I guess I can’t look at a RV as an investment and must accept it’s a money pit like a boat. TIA
visch1 wrote: I belong to an organization that says, and for good reason, take the cotton out of your ears, put it in your mouth, sit up front and listen! I did for many years but still am uncomfortable asking newbee questions.
First, I’m brand new with no unit yet, I’m interested in a used Class C around 28 foot.
# 1 what is DSL mean when certain models are listed?
# 2 I see inverters are used, under what circumstances are they used? If you’re tooling along and your SO wants to watch a DVD, what powers the DVD and TV? The engine alternator, the units generator or the inverter?
# 3 is black water from the toilet and white from the shower and sinks?
# 4 In my lifetime I’ve driven perhaps 40-45K miles a year, should I expect a moderate driver learning curve? I know that’s a toughee.
# 5 Another toughee. At what stage of insanity am I for coming into this hobby at this age (72) and probably more important the depression in RVs in general. Todays WSJ RV article is not relaxing mind wise. I guess I can’t look at a RV as an investment and must accept it’s a money pit like a boat. TIA
Finance it for 40 years with as little down as you can.
Captain T. Love (Ret.)
Retired Airline Pilot
CB Chanel 13
AMERICAN AND PROUD OF IT
I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK BUY USA MADE
http://sagebrushpatriot.com/america.htm
#2: Inverters convert 12V DC to 110V AC, for things that are made to run on 110.
What powers the TV and DVD depends on whether they run direct from 12V or must run on 110V. So when "tooling down the road" the answer could be "yes": alternater charges house batteries, inverter runs off of house batteries, inverter powers TV/DVD. (or some combination of the above)
#3: Toilet to black, sinks to grey, most showers to grey but some to the black tank (if it is closer).
#4: Driving learning curve depends on the size of your RV and how familiar you are with driving something that size. If not, just take it easy and it comes pretty fast to you.
Mike
Fort Collins, CO
'99 Born Free 26' Rear Side Bed
DSL can refer to diesel (engine) or in reference to internet connection to Digital Subscriber Line.
Powering the DVD depends . . .
on -
automatic transfer switch,
if you have an inverter
DVD powered with 12 volts or 120 volts
if you run your generator to supply 120 volts when not hooked to shore power
Driving depends on what type of experience - go rent a U-Haul truck and drive that for a day or so. That would give you an idea.
visch1 wrote: I belong to an organization that says, and for good reason, take the cotton out of your ears, put it in your mouth, sit up front and listen! I did for many years but still am uncomfortable asking newbee questions.
First, I’m brand new with no unit yet, I’m interested in a used Class C around 28 foot.
# 1 what is DSL mean when certain models are listed? DSL is a data service line used to connect a computer to the Internet. I suspect they're meaning to say DSI which is a means of lighting your LP gas appliances from an electrical spark rather than a pilot light. Pilot lights blow out and must be lighted manually but with DSI all you do is turn on a switch.
# 2 I see inverters are used, under what circumstances are they used? If you’re tooling along and your SO wants to watch a DVD, what powers the DVD and TV? The engine alternator, the units generator or the inverter? Inverter just converts 12 volt DC power from your battery to 120 volt AC power so you can use the battery or the engines electrical output to power AC electrical appliances. A generator is ANOTHER way to power them but most places will not allow you to run a generator after quiet hours and you may still want to finish off a good movie or use the can opener or vacuum. The inverter allows this with no noise. Just remember than any power you take OUT of the batteries has to be put back eventually.
# 3 is black water from the toilet and white from the shower and sinks? black is from the toilet but water from bathroom sinks, shower and some kitchen sinks is generally called "gray water". In models that have 3 holding tanks the water from the kitchen sink is called "galley water".
# 4 In my lifetime I’ve driven perhaps 40-45K miles a year, should I expect a moderate driver learning curve? I know that’s a toughee. Most find they get used to driving a motor home quite quickly. Ones with a fair amount of driving skills to begin with do it without learning ANY lessons the hard way
# 5 Another toughee. At what stage of insanity am I for coming into this hobby at this age (72) and probably more important the depression in RVs in general. Todays WSJ RV article is not relaxing mind wise. I guess I can’t look at a RV as an investment and must accept it’s a money pit like a boat. TIA Except that the hole into which you throw your money, in the case of a boat is "in the water" there is little difference between the two. It sounds as though you're coming in with the right attitude and I'd suspect you will not have much trouble adapting.
visch1 wrote: I belong to an organization that says, and for good reason, take the cotton out of your ears, put it in your mouth, sit up front and listen! I did for many years but still am uncomfortable asking newbee questions.
First, I’m brand new with no unit yet, I’m interested in a used Class C around 28 foot.
# 1 what is DSL mean when certain models are listed?
Probably means "double" or "dual" slide-outs.
# 2 I see inverters are used, under what circumstances are they used? If you’re tooling along and your SO wants to watch a DVD, what powers the DVD and TV? The engine alternator, the units generator or the inverter?
Many OEM DVD's and TV's are 12 volt, so they are powered by the coach battery(s). Some rigs are wired so the engine alternator charges the coach battery under way. If you run the genny, it will feed the converter / charger in the coach to keep the coach battery charged. If either DVD or TV are 120 volt, then they need to be fed by an inverter. Inverters are also used to power microwaves, coffee makers, etc. when 120 volt power is not available.
# 3 is black water from the toilet and white from the shower and sinks?
As already answered, it's black from toilet and gray from shower and sinks. Gray tank usually fills a lot faster than the black. That's why some rigs feed bathroom sink into the black tank, to help equalize the load.
# 4 In my lifetime I’ve driven perhaps 40-45K miles a year, should I expect a moderate driver learning curve? I know that’s a toughee.
The learning curve won't last long. It's just a one ton truck with a big box on it. Read up on need for wheel alignment and suspension mods. Figure on changing shocks to Bilsteins or Konis right away. Other mods are much less critical.
# 5 Another toughee. At what stage of insanity am I for coming into this hobby at this age (72) and probably more important the depression in RVs in general. Todays WSJ RV article is not relaxing mind wise. I guess I can’t look at a RV as an investment and must accept it’s a money pit like a boat. TIA
No, it's not an investment, it's a recreation expense. As long as you buy a well cared for rig less than say, 5 years old, it's not a terrible money pit, in my experience less so than a similar priced boat. Just be sure you can afford about $0.50 a mile for fuel, for the travel you have in mind. If you can't afford to drive it, the capital cost becomes a waste.
jefff929 wrote: #3 Black from pooper, grey from sinks and shower.
Yep, except some bathroom sinks go into the black tank. Go figure.
If your black and grey are the same capacity and your fresh holds same as black and grey total, then this, bath sink into black, is a good feature for boon docking and extended parking. You will have the longest capacity AND no mountains to move.
Quote: Finance it for 40 years with as little down as you can.
Probably not a good idea. If you need to sell it in a few years you would probably have to sell it for less than what you would still would owe and you would have to come up with the difference.
But again, if something happened to you it would be the person selling it's problem.
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