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Date Posted |
Forum
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RE: How long should a battery last?
ahh that's where you Americans have a huge advantage. We cannot just drive a unit onto government land unless it is designated for "camping" and in that case it is called a recreation area or some other name and there are rules and fees of some sort... Sometimes they are free. Otherwise, you're limited to provincial or private campgrounds.
Maybe Ontario is different.
Ontario is *very* different, all public land, Federal or Provincial land is open to camping unless specifically prohibited. This is usually just environmental lands, wildlife preserves and that sort of thing. It is also open to off-roading, in fact multi-day ATV / SxS trips and camping on public land is a very popular pastime here.
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JaxDad
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03/30/23 05:39am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Seven States to Ban the Sale of Gas Powered Cars in 2035
Give the auto companies lawyers a few minutes, I’ll bet there will be a spate of new ‘hybrids’ that fit the legal definition but act a lot like a traditional ICE.
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JaxDad
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03/17/23 05:50am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Ford's issues
What does it cost for techs to “show up” and fix your Tesla, not under warranty? And how do they know which parts to bring, or do they roll up in a semi stocked with all the parts?
What does it cost for the Tesla tech to show up at your door when you live 500 mi from the nearest service center?
I don’t know about other areas, but when they did non-warranty work here in the Toronto area they charged exactly the same as it would cost at the dealer.
Parts are easy, the car is fully connected to the interwebs, they can do all the same diagnostics when the car is in front of them or a thousand miles away.
The once I needed a service call when I was 210 miles from the dealer there was no charge, they covered it under goodwill since the tow would have been a LOT more.
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JaxDad
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03/17/23 05:41am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Driver’s license for DPs
IMHO it's not law enforcement you need to be worried about, however it is the ambulance chasing attorneys if you're ever involved in an accident, at fault or not.
*DING DING DING*
Driving illegally would be fantasy level stuff for a lawyer.
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JaxDad
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03/10/23 05:41am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Driver’s license for DPs
the 1 issue I can think of that has not been mentioned is " Air Brake" Endorsement..
I BELIEVE that one MAY need an air brace endorsement if the MOHO has air brakes?
I am not 100% sure as I have been carrying my CDL A-/ air brake endorsement for 35+ years
Actually it was mentioned several times.
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JaxDad
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03/10/23 05:38am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Motorhome tires - recommendations.
A friend of the family who runs a large trucking company recommended I try Double Coin tires, they have been really well received by the trucking industry and proven themselves every bit as dependable and last as long if not longer than the traditional brands.
They were VERY well priced and are very quiet and smooth going down the road.
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JaxDad
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03/08/23 05:37am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Driver’s license for DPs
Laws vary from state to state. Some states reaquire special endorsements for any vechicle that has air brakes.. Or any vehicle that's over xxxxx pounds or so many feet long or or or or or or
Some don't.
However one thing that is common to all states.. If your license allows you to drive it in your home state... You are good in whatever state. And a good part of Canada as well (not sure about all of Canada)
So you are going to have to research your state.
That is sound advice, reciprocity covers your drivers license, but not endorsements or other required permission.
In numerous jurisdictions (including here in Ontario) the equipment regulations require that an air brake system be inspected (visual and function) on every day the vehicle is in motion by a ‘certified technician’, the air brake endorsement is that certification.
While it’s rarely enforced, usually only in spot checks or following an incident, it’s a potentially expensive lesson if you don’t have it.
Another misunderstood point with ‘equipment regulations’ that comes up with DP’s is overall length. If you pull a trailer and live in a State where 65’ is the legal maximum, say in Florida, you might have a problem when you cross into Georgia where it’s only 60’ maximum.
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JaxDad
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03/07/23 07:02am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: folding utility trailer
Some people will say nothing is not allowed until you’re forced to stop. I came across a guy who lives in south central FL and has a class 8 truck conversion motorhome and car hauler combo. It is 70’ long so he can’t legally even pull out of his driveway. He claims he’s been running that setup for years with no issue.
To each their own.
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JaxDad
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03/04/23 05:52am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: class A safety
… to me its a safety issue , no less , and im headstrong about this , funny how sao many people have experienced the same issue, and some have not ….
As Abraham Lincoln once said “You can’t believe everything you read on the internet.”
If you read the vast majority of stuff out there on the interwebs you’d come to conclusion the Ford Pinto was a death trap too.
If you read the FACTS however, you’d see the Chevy Vega had a worse safety record.
My Class A (Itasca 34’ Sunrise) is bone stock, it goes down the road amazingly well considering the size, shape and weight of it.
Of course cross-winds will affect something with more than 400 square feet of sail area, but what else would a sane person expect?
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JaxDad
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02/28/23 06:34pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: folding utility trailer
My daughter lives in town and several of the neighbours have folding trailers. Their HOA doesn’t allow trailers in the driveway or yard. A folding trailer just stands up inside the garag or a garden shed and takes up very little space.
There is a use for nearly everything, just not everyone.
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JaxDad
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02/25/23 05:41am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Favorite Cooking Quotes
“no fat, no flavour”. Julia Child.
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JaxDad
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02/21/23 04:15pm |
Camp Cooks and Connoisseurs
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RE: Layover
Boondockers Welcome / Harvest Hosts.
Why try to reinvent the wheel?
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JaxDad
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02/18/23 04:16pm |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
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RE: Can the grid keep up with EV use?
I wanna know opinions about how extreme hot weather max air conditioning affects travel limits and if the A/C is as good as it is in a luxury gasoline burner. Forget politics please...
We get summer hot spells of mid 90’s F. and very humid. I would say the A/C more than keeps up with that and I’m sure the mileage is reduced some, but not noticeably.
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JaxDad
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02/17/23 05:51am |
Around the Campfire
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RE: USA export controls on golf carts?
Good to know. I'd hate to get to the Canadian border and get sent back to USA customs for export paperwork.
I know I have to pay the taxes but did you have to get an inspection or anything else?
You only have to pay the taxes if it’s being ‘imported’ to Canada. If you tell them it’s a US possession and will be taking it back south they will likely tell you to go on through. If they balk you can insist on ‘bonding it through’ which means you pay the CDN Federal (only) tax on the way in and get it refunded on the way back out.
If they insist on that keep the paperwork and present it on subsequent crossings, they usually see you’re not telling a tall tale and wave you through.
I’ve been doing this for years without a hassle.
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JaxDad
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02/02/23 06:20am |
Snowbirds
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RE: Batwing vs.BatMan vs. Jack: The Results.. finally (LONG)
This thread is almost 10 years old. I do not have access to a spectrum analyzer but my tests were vastly different from SCVJeff's. For me the Jack was on par with the Batwing for the UHF band but did poorly on VHF.
SCVJeff has not been active on this forum for several years.
I found much the same thing, plus, I can use my Jack while rolling down the road at 65 mph and never have to remember to put it up & back down.
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JaxDad
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02/02/23 06:05am |
Technology Corner
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RE: Bill giving residents priority at booking FL state parks
“Subsidized” seems to be the wrong word.
From the Florida State Parks Foundation website;
“STATEWIDE ECONOMIC DATA
IN 2022, FLORIDA STATE PARKS & TRAILS SERVED MORE THAN 32 MILLION VISITORS GENERATING:
- $4.4 billion direct economic impact on local economies throughout the state,
- Over $267 million was contributed to the state’s general revenues in the form of state sales taxes,
- More than 55,000 jobs were supported by state park operations.”
According to media reports, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the Florida Park Service, has a budget this year of $4.2 billion.
It looks like they return far more money to the economy than they take out.Having a budget of $4.2 billion while generating $267 million in taxes implies a subsidy from the state of nearly $4 billion. Direct economic impact has no defined meaning. Is it business profit? Unlikely. Is it estimated sales? If so , the true economic impact on the community is much less. For example, if the park guest spends $100 on a camp stove made in China you need to subtract the cost of goods sold from the actual economic impact.
Those parks may have a huge impact on the micro economy of the nearby areas but they are clearly not self sufficient and depend upon continued support from the state’s general fund which is overwhelmingly dependent on taxes collected from residents.
Do you even understand the word “budget” as compared to “profit” or “loss”?
A “budget” is the total quantum of money involved.
By your concept, a “budget” of $4 billion but with revenue of $3.9 billion would mean a $4 billion loss.
In fact a newspaper article touting the new spending increase also stated that the Parks recouped a little over 54% of the their budget just from gate fees alone. It went on to say that they also created more than 61,000 direct jobs. I’ll bet the majority of those wages gets spent right back into the economy too.
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JaxDad
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01/30/23 06:26am |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
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RE: Bill giving residents priority at booking FL state parks
“Subsidized” seems to be the wrong word.
From the Florida State Parks Foundation website;
“STATEWIDE ECONOMIC DATA
IN 2022, FLORIDA STATE PARKS & TRAILS SERVED MORE THAN 32 MILLION VISITORS GENERATING:
- $4.4 billion direct economic impact on local economies throughout the state,
- Over $267 million was contributed to the state’s general revenues in the form of state sales taxes,
- More than 55,000 jobs were supported by state park operations.”
According to media reports, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which oversees the Florida Park Service, has a budget this year of $4.2 billion.
It looks like they return far more money to the economy than they take out.
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JaxDad
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01/28/23 09:08am |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
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RE: Bill giving residents priority at booking FL state parks
Now you’re talking about a whole other kettle of (really stinky) fish, PROFIT.
I was talking about “costs” and more particularly “subsidies”.
Further still, there’s a whole other topic which I won’t go into, other than to mention it, not discuss it, that is can you even use the word “profit” when you’re talking about a public service?
Obviously there will be a few how would like the sale of public lands to pay down debt and have “State Parks” become “private” for-profit parks, but that’s not the subject here.
So you are suggesting the land has no value if it's owned by the citizens of the state but privately owned property has value? That makes no sense.
Hate to see it happen but these valuable pieces of property could be sold in many cases for astronomical amounts and (at least in theory) used to reduce taxes. It's only if you decide to ignore all the financials that you can claim it's not subsidized.
I guess you didn’t read my post.
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JaxDad
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01/28/23 06:51am |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
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RE: Bill giving residents priority at booking FL state parks
From a business finance point of view I think the “subsidy“ idea is being misused, or possibly misunderstood.
If 2 different land owners are looking to calculate their “costs” of operating an RV park, in one case though the land has been in the family for several generations, the other just bought the land (at current market value) and has to carry financing on it, the “costs” will be VERY different. Ditto a park, public or private, that built decades ago and the servicing costs are now paid for.
That is NOT to say the long term owners are “subsidized” in any way, their costs are just lower.
Nope, when you calculate return on investment, it's the same.
If you have a $50million dollar park that's been in the family for generations, if you are only covering your operating costs plus say a $100k/yr profit, your ROI is absolutely horrible because you are effectively subsidizing your customers.
From a financial perspective, you would be far better off to sell and invest the money. Even at a measly 2% return, you would be able to take $1mil/yr profit with a lot less headaches.
Only difference if you are in debt to your eyeballs, the bank effectively owns the park and they have no interest in subsidizing your customers. Unless you have some external source of money (...like the taxpayer), you lose your option of subsidizing or the bank will take it away from you when you fail to make your payments.
Now you’re talking about a whole other kettle of (really stinky) fish, PROFIT.
I was talking about “costs” and more particularly “subsidies”.
Further still, there’s a whole other topic which I won’t go into, other than to mention it, not discuss it, that is can you even use the word “profit” when you’re talking about a public service?
Obviously there will be a few how would like the sale of public lands to pay down debt and have “State Parks” become “private” for-profit parks, but that’s not the subject here.
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JaxDad
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01/25/23 05:09pm |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
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RE: Bill giving residents priority at booking FL state parks
From a business finance point of view I think the “subsidy“ idea is being misused, or possibly misunderstood.
If 2 different land owners are looking to calculate their “costs” of operating an RV park, in one case though the land has been in the family for several generations, the other just bought the land (at current market value) and has to carry financing on it, the “costs” will be VERY different. Ditto a park, public or private, that built decades ago and the servicing costs are now paid for.
That is NOT to say the long term owners are “subsidized” in any way, their costs are just lower.
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JaxDad
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01/25/23 05:47am |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
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