Hi Everyone. Well, after 15 years the RV-Dreams Community Forum is coming to an end. Since it began in August 2005, we've had 58 Million page views, 124,000 posts, and we've spent about $15,000 to keep this valuable resource for RVers free and open. But since we are now off the road and have settled down for the next chapter of our lives, we are taking the Forum down effective June 30, 2021. It has been a tough decision, but it is now time.
We want to thank all of our members for their participation and input over the years, and we want to especially thank those that have acted as Moderators for us during our amazing journey living and traveling in our RV and growing the RV-Dreams Family. We will be forever proud to have been founders of this Forum and to have been supported by such a wonderful community. Thank you all!!
I got through my first voyage with my travel trailer, had a blast. Anybody else take a new rig out this summer? Or had any interesting adventures or mishaps?
I don't know if it's because I was jazzed up, or surrounded by Midwesterners, or what, but I was surprised to find myself approaching strangers and getting good responses, something I don't do a lot at home. Lot of nice people out there camping, hosting, etc.
I did take a new rig out from San Antonio to Virginia Beach, VA. Wife flew there for birth of first GREAT GRANDSON ... I brought "the house". Four days solo. Learned a lot, had a blast. Picked up wife in VA and took a slow ride (3 weeks) back to Tejas. I love this stuff.
-- Edited by RonC on Sunday 18th of September 2016 02:05:39 PM
-- Edited by RonC on Sunday 18th of September 2016 02:08:56 PM
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Ron and Janice
2016 Ford F350, King Ranch, DRW, 4x4, CC, 6.7 PS Diesel, remote control air lift system
2017 Durango Gold 381REF, Lambright furniture, MCD shades, morRYDE IS, 8K Disc brakes, GY G114 LR H Tires, 27,320 lbs CGVW
I went full time April 2016 still learning a lot about this life style, I haven't done much traveling and not sure if I will for the few years.
I have a working job in Mission Texas this winter I'll start looking soon for a work camping job in Wisconsin for the summer so I can spend time with my grandkids.
The summer is about over and I'm still on the road solo. I'm beginning to take a hobbit's attitude toward adventures, so this summer went well. Full timing only with what you earn on the road was adventure enough.
I'm officially retired and the social security checks start next month. My first time in a long time for government money. I'll still work- both for the money and something to do. The difference is I can get by if I need to.
I'm planning on heading to the gulf coast again this winter. I've been wanting to drive the Natches Trace for a while now. Maybe, just maybe. The problem is, I get around Nashville and hear the Memphis barbecue calling me.
While I'm still in Ohio, I thought about the AEP/Ohio Power campgrounds south of Cambridge. I've never had my "C" there. If the roads are icy getting out of Bicentennial Park campground can be an adventure! There will be a nice lull between the little darlings, now in school, and deer season.
Well, I'm hanging around the home place, still trying to empty the place out so I can get out of the stixnbrix in the spring.
Meanwhile I have learned a lot about how unhelpful a RV dealership and manufacturer can be, and I'm finally going to pick my TT up this week after having it sit around a shop for 7 weeks. Wow.
On the positive side, I found a good backup camera for my setup. Sometimes I can line up the hitch pretty easily, but sometimes it's 20 minutes of sweating, jumping in and out of the SUV, over and over, and THEN wrestling the sway bars. Maybe it was 95 degree August talking, but I made up my mind that a solo who needs to A. back up to hitch, and B. back the trailer into a campsite, does in fact need one.
So I got an "iBall" which is magnetic, so you just use it temporarily in whatever position you need it and then stow it while traveling. So I've got a hitch cam when I need one and a back-of-trailer cam when I need one. And it transmits with no setup process, to a screen that goosenecks off the cigarette lighter. Apparently Bluetooth, but whatever it is it's nice because you don't need to wire it or have wi-fi, or have lag by transmitting to a phone, etc.
Hitching and backing up are the main reasons I bought a C. I'm glad you found a good camera system. After driving KIA "toaster" a few times, I started looking at a few cheap cameras just to see what is back there. The cheap ones are pretty bad. What brand/model did you find that works?
Yeah, had I realized I had the world's worst driveway for backing in I would have looked harder at the C class, but I disliked the feeling of being in an entryway rather than a room, and U-dinettes seem silly for a solo, so I went the other way. And with a C, I'd still be dealing with towing a little toad, so there's no getting around learning to trailer.
Well I spoke too soon about the camera. It is easy to set up, but, it wasn't much help this week, still hard to line up. With a camera, things flatten out into 2D and you have no depth perception, among other issues. Next time I will try mounting the lens on the trailer and see if I do better that way. Those tennis-ball deelyboppers have been better than nothing, but they are so lightweight and rickety they fall off a lot and don't stay as straight as I need.
Heaven or fate sent me a pair of angels in the form of some bored mechanics, so we got through yet another round of hitching issues with a little 'momback' assistance. I keep making notes and trying to improve so some rainy night I can easily do it alone.
Then at home, when I put the camera on the back of the trailer, nothing but static. Not sure if that's a range issue, or if it might have worked on a different side of the bumper. Wound up counting the squares on my driveway to gauge where I was while trying to level the thing up.
Leveling is another issue on my lightly sloped driveway. Used up a pack of those blocks on one side, and 3 boards on the other. It's level enough to pack, but I'm confused about this whole concept that 3" is supposed to be 'enough' to level a site.
Thanks Melody. Any camera I use would be 28 feet from the receiver so an I-ball might be iffy.
I just use pieces of 2x8 and 2x10 lumber just over 19" long to level (5 from an 8' plank). The 19" length catches both dual rears just fine and store easily in an outside bay. When I head south I'll toss in a couple of 4' 2x12's for those really bad sites. With my finely honed driving skills, I'd likely need sheets of plywood to be sure of getting tandem wheels like yours all on at the same time!
My dinette is the normal two benches with a table between. There's too much mechanical stuff under the benches to get rid of it. I've taken to storing junk in milk crates or totes next to the wall and just using half of the bench for seating.
