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RE: A little bleach won't hurt my grass, will it?
If the solution is not harmful to grass etc., what is the liklihood that any sanitization is occuring?
I think this link might answer your question...
Agreed. The recommendation for disinfection is 1 to 5 solution using a bleach that has a 5.25% concentration of sodium hypochlorite. That will kill grass dead. Anything less than that and the question remains, what is the likelihood that any sanitizing is taking place?
But the 1 to 5 solution (i.e. hospital standard) is not what is recommended for a trailer water holding tank treatment. As indicated in the link much weaker solutions are used to effectively sanitize and disinfect in a number of other applications. A fresh water tank used in normal circumstances (i.e. potable water filled with a designated hose) should not require the higher concentrations of bleach used in situations with far greater exposure to bacteria and other contaminants (i.e. waste water facilities, hospitals etc.).
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Alberta-NewMexico
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08/21/08 10:31am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: A little bleach won't hurt my grass, will it?
I am sanitizing my fresh water tank and need to drain 50 gallons of water with approx, 3/4 cup of bleach mixed. Can I just do this on my lawn? Seems harmless enough, but my wife isn't harmless if I am wrong and it kills the grass!
At that ratio you are looking at about 0.01% concentration of bleach, while I wouldn't drink this water it will be absorbed over several square feet of lawn which would again reduce the concentration. I do this each year and have never noticed any change in the lawn appearance. If you have any concerns just put the sprinkler on before or afterwards for a few minutes to further dilute the bleach.
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Alberta-NewMexico
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08/20/08 11:03am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Help Us Choose!
So what would you do?
It seems to me as if you have gotten caught up in the excitement of owning a trailer and may be forgetting your original objective. If you are looking for a trailer to use today it sounds like the 2004 Sunnybrook might be a good fit for your needs and towing abilities. But from most of your comments I am not sure it is going to be a good fit with your original plans of using it on a part-time to full-time basis. Obviously you can always trade/sell later for a different unit but will that fit in with your financial plans? If you aren't really that keen on camping in the next 4 years it seems to me that you have plenty of time to do some research and avoid "making do".
Something else to keep in mind is that your intent is to travel from Washington to Arizona to Colorado. Which as you know means 3 vastly different climates each of which can impact on what you need from you trailer. And more importantly will your truck and trailer combination be suited for pulling over passes and at high elevation?
Don't forget that 2004 trailer and truck will be 8 or more years old when you retire. Are you going to be okay with that or will you want something new or newer as you head out on a new chapter in your life?
Finally, when shopping, I would avoid asking the salesmen to "show me which trailers the Titan can pull". Far better to know your towing limitations (weight, payload, length)and request to see their trailers that fall within your criteria. I have never met a salesman who said that trailer is too big for your truck, but have met several who were quite convinced that the trailers I was interested in were too small for my truck. http://www.websmileys.com/sm/crazy/686.gif
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Alberta-NewMexico
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08/11/08 08:10am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Why trade?
Thanks for the link to the watch thread.
I had forgotten it.
Sounds like I should run out and buy three or four hundred thousand dollars worth of RVs and jewelery to show that I can afford it and am not being a cheap skate.
If I did my kids would think I had suffered a stroke which caused a personality change and have me commited.
I think if nothing else, this thread shows that we all have differnt views of a satisfactory lifestyle.
No it sounds like you should do whatever makes you happy within your own particular financial constraints or lack thereof.
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Alberta-NewMexico
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08/08/08 05:08pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: well we did it.
We are doing our PDI next week for our Jayco th wheel Eagle 30.5 RLS Superlite.
We are going to go with the Extended Warranty... if you don't use it in the 5 years.. then you get pretty well it all back. If there is something that goes wrong that would cost say around $400.00.. we will just fork that out ourselves... because if you don't make a claim on your extended warranty.. as I said .. you will get most of it back after the 5 years. I have heard of things going wrong like the slide, air conditioning, fridge, etc...Peace of mind I guess. And no, we are not going with the protection package.
I guess whatever helps you sleep at night, but for me I don't see the point in paying for an extended warranty and then turning around and paying out of pocket rather than making a claim so I can get my money back. As I indicated in the thread you started, I would sooner keep the money in my pocket and either do minor repairs myself or utilize authorized third party repair shops for the bigger items. I guess experience has provided me with a less than favorable opinion of the dealerships when it comes to fixing trailers on warranty. I have yet to hear of a positive "repairshop" experience with the dealerships in the Calgary marketplace. On the otherhand I have heard very positive things about some of the third party repairshops (i.e. work done quickly, on time, and most importantly correctly the first time!).
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Alberta-NewMexico
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08/08/08 12:52pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: RV Protection Package
It is something like $1,100.00..... if you can imagine. I am saying No Way.... It is for fabric, and outer shell, etc.
Just like for cars it has been researched and proven a number of times that these protection packages either do nothing or are something you can do yourself at a fraction of the cost (i.e. fabric protection). Save the $1,100 and buy a couple of cans of Scotch Guard for the fabric and carpet.
I always get a kick out of the magnified images showing how the chemical protection spray is bonding into all these huge crevices. Or the comparison samples of fabric and paint that give you the impression your new trailer or car is going to look worse than in 2 years than the 20 year old unit you just traded in.
Just remember dealerships make their profit in the business manager's office once the sales deal has closed. Protection packages, extended warranties, documentation fees etc. are almost pure profit for the dealership. All these extra fees can go a long way to paying for future repair & maintenance in a shop of your choice versus the hassles of working with a dealer on a warranty claim.
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Alberta-NewMexico
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08/08/08 06:54am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Why trade?
I dont` believe I am bitter.
I guess it is my upbringing.
I simply cannot understand why folks place themselves in the position of being thousands of dollars upside down on a depreciating toy.
I guess it's all relative. As you say RVs are depreciating toys so regardless of whether you spend a lot or a little it is still a losing proposition. As are most if not all consumer purchases. Very few purchases hold their original value.
The only thing that matters is whether or not your particular financial position can accomodate your purchasing decisions.
We recently traded in our trailer to get a new one that was more suitable for our current and future needs. These are the only 2 trailers we have owned but we also paid cash for both. I know I lost some value on the trade but I am also fortunate enough to have an income that allows me the luxury to absorb that cost without impacting the roof over my head, food on the table, clothes on my back, and savings for retirement.
Chances are our new trailer will be with us until the kids are out of house and at that point we will probably trade again for something more suited to the 2 of us.
BTW just because something is used or old doesn't necessarily make it a financially sound purchase.
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Alberta-NewMexico
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08/07/08 02:07pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Camping as opposed to motel.
Alberta-New Mexico, if you're talking about only a couple of weeks a year, then I will agree with you that RVing is more expensive. However, there are a great number of folks who spend much more time in their RV who wouldn't even be considered full timers. I know a lot of them who travel to a more suitable climate for the summer, and I'm sure you know a lot of "snowbirds". If you spend several months a year in the RV, then the numbers quickly reverse.
Don't disagree at all, the economics for snow/sun birds and fulltimers will be vastly different from your typical family who has 2 or 3 weeks of vacation and perhaps a few long weekends to spend camping. Of course I would also argue that your typical snow/sun bird or fulltimer "invests" considerably more into their RV set up than your typical vacationer.
Don't get me wrong there are plenty of great reasons to pick the RV over a motel, I just don't believe that "saving money" is one of them for your typical vacationer. At the same time there vacations where a motel/hotel/ B&B makes a heck of a lot more sense than taking the RV.
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Alberta-NewMexico
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08/07/08 12:49pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Camping as opposed to motel.
In their quest to prove that the RV vacation is cheaper than a motel I think a lot of folks are missing or minimizing a lot of the true costs of owning and operating an RV.
In most cases your basic trailer purchase plus all of the associated aftermarket furnishings (dishes, lawn chairs, hoses, hitches, etc.) will be at least $20k. That purchase price needs to be amortized over a period of time increasing the cost of your vacation. Any repairs & maintenance costs also have to be factored into the actual cost as well. Finally you need to consider the opportunity cost of purchasing the RV versus leaving the money invested. $20k invested at 5% will yield you $1,000 each and every year. i.e. money that could have been used to pay for motel rooms or gas.
Translate the above into some more realistic numbers for many of the members here and we are talking:
* $30k for the RV
* an incremental $20k for a tow vehicle (i.e. cost over above a non-towing vehicle for things like the diesel engine, towing package, etc.)
So realistically most of us will have "invested" $50k into owning an RV which needs to amortized over time. Assume we keep the rig for 20 years that works out to a cost of $2,500 a year, add in an average of $500 / year for R&M and you have annual cost of $3,000. Then we need to factor in the opportunity cost of lost income on the $50k invested in T-bill at 3% or $1,500 a year and our true annual cost of RV owernership becomes $4,500 a year. Divide that by a 2 week long trip plus a few weekends out or say about 30 camping nights and your nightly ownership cost is $150 before you have paid for the extra gas costs or campground fees.
The cost becomes even higher for those that have financed their units, as we also have to factor in financing costs typically in the range of 5 to 7%.
So in summary:
RV Ownership - No Financing
RV & incremental TV costs: $50k
Amortized cost of RV over 20 years: $2,500 / year
Average Annual R&M costs: $500
Opportunity Cost of Capital at 3%: $1,500
Total Average Annual cost of RV: $4,500
Average camping nights per year: 30
Nightly cost of RV assuming 30 nights camping: $150 / night
Campground fees: $25 / night
Total nightly cost in an RV $175.
Of course the argument will be well I already own the RV so I might as well make the most use of it and save on hotel bills etc. But of course the more you use your rig the shorter your amortization period will be and the higher your R&M costs will be. Bump your nights camping from 30 days to 45 and you might find that you only keep the unit for 15 years rather than 20 and you need to spend a bit more maintaining it each year.
Seems to me the only valid reasons for most people to use the RV over a motel would be for asthetics (comfort, convenience, scenary, atmosphere, etc.).
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Alberta-NewMexico
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08/06/08 09:08am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: what 5th wheels have four-bed bunkrooms?
Check out the Brookside 298 FWBHS (2 slides) or 299 FWBHS (1 slide). We really liked these units but the weight and length put them beyond our limits. We also just made the jump from a 23 foot hybrid. Kinda of miss the openess that a hybrid provides, but won't miss the bunk set ups and crawling over to get in and out of bed!
http://www.sunnybrookrv.com/brookside/floorplans.php
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Alberta-NewMexico
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07/31/08 06:43am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: sink in bedroom
GR
Go shopping and check out the set ups and then make your personal decision.
You are getting bias here on the subject.
Just a personal preference, but you don't have to be a contorsionist to use my walk in shower. It is ery roomy for a 29 footer.
Don't get something becasue someone said so and find out later it is not the best for you personally. Having kids makes a difference also concerning multiple use.
I agree that everyone's personal needs will be different, I think a bit of feedback on this from those with experience is still valuable. We were looking at trailers this past weekend and had the same question. Sure we sat on the toilet and stood in the shower etc. but some of the potential problems (benefits) aren't always obvious. Always nice to see what others have had real life issues with or conversely why they like the layout.
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Alberta-NewMexico
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07/17/08 06:55am |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Kananaskis Options
Generally speaking if you arrive Sunday through Thursday you should not have a problem getting into any of the Kananaskis Country campgrounds (except for Mt. Kidd which is booked solid every summer). Boulton Creek is the other big exception as it takes reservation and tends to have high occupancy during the week. Boulton has one loop with power & water but most sites are usually reserved well in advance for weekends. The rest of the campgrounds are generally first come first served with a check out time of 2:00 PM, in other words if you show up mid afternoon you should have plenty of choice. A late Friday / Saturday arrival is not recommended.
30 feet should not be a problem in any of the campgrounds - good access roads with adequate campsite angles make backing in very easy. That said though a few sites can be a bit more of challenge.
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Alberta-NewMexico
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07/09/08 02:23pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Smaller 5th Wheel Recommendations
Thanks for the responses. I now have a few more options to consider when shopping. However, it is interesting to note that many of the smaller bunkhouses do not seem to be offered in the "western" sales regions. Seems odd to limit some trailer sizes / floorplans to one region? Perhaps that is a function of the relative campsite sizing from region to region, ie. smaller sites are more common in the East vs. the West?
Anyone here familiar with the Hijacker hitches out of Victoria BC care to comment on the pros and cons?
Thanks.
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Alberta-NewMexico
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07/09/08 06:34am |
Fifth-Wheels
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Smaller 5th Wheel Recommendations
I currently have a Rockwood Roo 233 Hybrid and want to upgrade to a 5th wheel but would like to keep the length down below 30 feet if at all possible. I will be towing with a 2006 Dodge 2500 diesel.
Basic needs are for 2 adults and 2 small kids with the ability to house a couple of guests on occassion. Thus I am thinking someting with a 2 bed bunkhouse with the typical slideouts for the couch and dinette. So far most of the units that offer this seem to be in excess of 30 feet. Forest River offers one bunkhouse unit in their Salem line that is under 30, but would like to know what else is out there and some of the pros and cons.
Thanks!
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Alberta-NewMexico
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07/08/08 07:41am |
Fifth-Wheels
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