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RE: Reservations for Arizona Winter
Dont forget to bring your chains when you go to Tombstone. You just might need them. I am sure the winter temps are 10-20 degrees cooler than Yuma.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a60/borregokid/snow2.jpg
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Keith M
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07/29/08 08:18am |
Snowbirds
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RE: Parking on the street to live.
The economy isnt in very good shape. I saw two couples with children that lost their homes in the Phoenix, AZ area in April that had bought RV's really cheap and moved into them in an RV/Trailer park. Where I live in Washington a family of 5 is living a couple of doors down in a 300 square foot house used mostly as a bachelor pad. The biggest employer in our town has layed off 20% of its work force and the construction industry is suffering.
Back to the subject of urban boondocking or stealth boondocking. I have seen a lot of single guys do this with class b rigs and even small class c rigs quite successfully. Most of them usually end up knowing the cops and finding places the cops wont bother with.
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Keith M
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07/22/08 06:26pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Where to spend Chistmas on the West Coast?
Borrego Springs which is a little off the beaten tracks is maybe Southern California's best kept secret. Despite being in one of the most populated counties in the country it is rather small and the population isnt a whole lot more than it was 40 years ago. There are two main RV parks the Palm Canyon Resort which is closest to town and walking distance to the town and Springs which is on the pricey side and is more upscale. Both the State Park and the Nature center offer daily guided walks in the park. Inside the town there is a library and a skate park. Borrego Springs has maybe the darkest skies in Southern California. For day trips you are close to the town of Julian and really not too far from San Diego if you decide to make a big trip. In my opinion since its winter going to Joshua Tree and maybe Death Valley the temps might be a little on the cold side. Borrego Springs is a safe bet and you are much more likely to find temps in the low 70's rather than the low 50's.
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Keith M
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07/08/08 08:57am |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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Will the Ford Super Duty Survive?
With the new 2009 F-150 coming out and the glut of trucks on dealer lots I wonder where the market is for the F-250. Ford has supposedly delayed production of the F-150 for two months. I wonder if they arent spending this time thinking about putting a diesel in the truck sooner than later. Next year when the F-150 gets the diesel what will be the point of the Superduty? The Super Duty sales are down 40% and the Kentucky plant is laying off 300 workers. Looking at the F-150 next to the F-250 I wonder what the point is of having the F-250 since the F-150 is a better truck in many respects.
Ford F-150 news
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Keith M
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07/07/08 12:30pm |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: Where to spend Chistmas on the West Coast?
Borrego Springs
How about Borrego Springs? Just a little further south than Palm Springs and off the beaten track. Warm temperatures anywhere in Northern California or the high desert are pretty rare past December 1st until late Feb so I would look at maybe San Diego County or the Palm Springs area.
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Keith M
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07/06/08 09:10am |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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RE: Honda EU1000i Shop Manual
If you are talking service manual you can get one of course at your dealer for about $40 with shipping. If you go to Ebay and look close you will find a seller selling a CD with all the service manuals for every generator and pump Honda has made for about $14. I just took my generator apart and right now I am not sure it was that good an idea. :)
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Keith M
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07/04/08 01:32pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Recommended reading for an RV library
Managing 12 Volts by Harold Barre
I like Managing 12 Volts by Barre. After reading it a couple of times I was able to figure out my electical needs and the solar and generator needed to stay out for a couple of months at a time.
If you are a Desert Southwest boondocker I this Desert Solitaire-A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey is something that should be in your library. Rumor has it Abbey was buried out in the Cabeza Prieta near Ajo, Az.
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Keith M
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06/28/08 12:21pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: Charging Batteries with solar
Unless your electrical needs are minimal you will need a generator, A small Honda or Yamaha can be had for as little as $650. The most common set up by people living off the grid is a Honda 2000 generator and one or two 120 watt panels and 2 or 4 batteries.
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Keith M
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06/26/08 08:18pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: charging batteries with honda 1000
I dont see where a 1000 watt generator or a 2000 watt generator or simply plugging into shore power is going to make one bit of difference in the amount of time it takes to charge two 6 volt batteries. The two 6 volts will only accept at most 15 amps and a lot of cheap auto- chargers only charge at a 10 amp rate. I have to disagree a bit with hwybnb since I just got though with about 2500 hours of use on a 1000 Honda charging batteries and now use a 2000 Honda. The charge rate is exactly the same.
Back to how long it will take to charge? Typically it will take about 3-4 hours to bring a batteries up to 85% of capacity from say 50%. I put 85% at 13.6 volts. It can take about 15 hours to bring the batteries up to 13.9-14.3 volts or 100%. That is why so many people use solar because it doesnt make sense to run a generator for long periods. Set your charger at 15 or 20 amps it probably doesnt matter. Then when it reads full put it on trickle. It can take a while to bring a couple of 6-Volts up to full charge.
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Keith M
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06/26/08 09:21am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Slide out awnings
Trailers are almost always manufactured much cheaper than motorhomes. Motorhomes will often come with window awningws, acrylic awnings instead of vinyl and fiberglass roofs instead rubber. Right there the manufacturers can probably save at least $2000.
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Keith M
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06/25/08 01:28pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Honda competition
Ok back in January a lot of guys got the All-Power 2000 watt generator at Pep Boys for %200-$300 which was probably a pretty good bargain. A little noisier and more fuel consumptive than the Honda but you cant argue with the savings. I havent seen the cheap All-Power since then but now I see Northern Tool has the 2000 in stock for $312. The 1000 is no bargain but the 2000 which isnt sold in California because its either high polluting or it very defective would be tempting. Both generators are noisier and more fuel consumptive and I am guessing might only last 1000 hours or so. They are also slightly heavier than the Honda. The cheap generators fill a nich for occaisional boondockers who arent going to disturb neighbors and emergency use around the house. A mail order Honda 1000 for around $635 will actually be cheaper over its life than the cheap chinese generator plus you have parts availabilty and it will be quieter.
This one makes more sense if you go cheap
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Keith M
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06/25/08 08:08am |
Truck Campers
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RE: Dishnet work, traveling and local channels
You wont get any network feeds but you will get all the other channels on Dish. Its not that hard to change local channels. All you have to do is have an address to give them. One time I even made up an address and gave them a friends PO Box. It only takes about five minutes.
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Keith M
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06/23/08 08:54pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Dishnet work, traveling and local channels
Depending how far away you are you might be able to get your local channels. The spot beam is about 200 miles in each direction. Also sometime the spot beam will come in at night but not work in the day. Last winter I signed up for Tucson channels but was in the San Diego area and could watch network late in the afternoon and after dark. A quck solution to network programming is to call dish and tell them you just moved to Watkins Glen and need service. Give them an address and you will be hooked up. When you return home just tell them you moved back.
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Keith M
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06/23/08 08:32am |
Technology Corner
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RE: Awning and wind?
Too many RVers in my opinion never use their awnings because they are afraid they are going to be ripped in the wind. I would say if the winds are going to be above 10-15 mph sustained the awning needs to be rolled up. I would get a long term weather forecast for wind in the area. I would also position the RV so the awning wasnt facing straight into the wind. Finally I would tie the awning dowin in at least two spots or maybe even four using tie down stakes and straps. I use large screw in "dog stakes". You should also use springs with the tie downs to give a little flex so the stakes arent jerked out. Also when you are away or at night if you suspect a breeze will be blowing you can lower the awning to a rather low position so less air gets under it.
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Keith M
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06/22/08 09:19am |
Beginning RVing
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RE: Dropped toilet brush in toilet
The valves are made to be removed and replaced peridoically. Most RV stores in fact stock the assembly. Its usually better to do the job when you arent using the rig of course but its not a difficult job.
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Keith M
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06/21/08 08:25am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Dish Pro 500..Why do I get message Congrats you have 129
AS W8 said you are pointing too far to the west (guessing) since I am on the west coast. It helps to have a hand held GPS over a compass also to get the correct angle to aim. Compasses leave a lot to be desired depending on where you are in the US. For example in Washington state magnetic north is 21-22 degrees off of true north. I also like to run a switch check anytime I am setting up in a new location. I have aimed straight at satellites and gotten no reading until I run a switch check.
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Keith M
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06/20/08 03:04pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: What Did They Find on Your Brain MRI?
Well my MRI came back negative-I guess thats the good news. The bad news is that the headache is still there of course. The next step is to find a dentist who will extract my "problem" wisdom tooth. My dentist thought it was a little beyond his skills. I will have to post back up after a month or so after the tooth is gone.
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Keith M
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06/20/08 08:50am |
RVing with Disabilities and General Health Issues
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RE: What Did They Find on Your Brain MRI?
Well Polishnurse my dentist thinks its a wisdom tooth and he thinks of course I should have had it pulled first. I have had two other teeth on the same side as the wisdom tooth pulled and the headaches got worst. The wisdom tooth does have to go so maybe I should have had it taken out before the MRI. Yeah they do like to eliminate a lot of causes. I had some blood tests and a heart test which really probably wasnt necessary. The blood tests were normal but getting near diabetic? I am pretty sure the tooth is going to go away. My wife thinks all the sugar I have eaten in my life has finally caught up to me-lol and I need to change my diet.
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Keith M
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06/18/08 09:19am |
RVing with Disabilities and General Health Issues
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What Did They Find on Your Brain MRI?
I just went in for a brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging yesterday after making a couple of complaints to my physician about constant headaches. I guess I am waiting to hear back from him. The MRI can diagnose a lot of stuff . Brain and Spine MRI's are the most common. There are so many things that can be diagnosed I figure something will be wrong. For those of you that have had it did the test find nothing or maybe most likely a non-cancerous tumor?
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Keith M
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06/18/08 08:48am |
RVing with Disabilities and General Health Issues
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RE: Installing solar elec. system
Pappy had it just about right if you really want to get away from the generator. A typical set-up will have two golf cart batteries and a 135 watt solar panel as a starter. The panel is probably $640, the controller $200, batteries $150. Add another $100 or so for mounting hardware. Pappy had a very nice solar set up but it probably cost over $3600 not counting the invertor. Installation is pretty easy with wiring running through the roof to a spot above the refrigerator where the controller is mounted. Then the wires run down and under your rig to the batteries.
Solar is most often used by snowbirds and fulltimers who are camping off the grid typically in the desert SW in the winter. You can accomplish much the same thing that Pappy did by just buying a small generator and four golf cart batteries and putting a monitor on your batteries so you know when to shut the generator off. You could get a used Honda or Yamaha 1000 generator for $500 and four new golf cart batteries for $350. The Honda or Yamaha will run for 10 hours on a gallon of gas and can run day or night and doesnt depend on the sun. I would bring the batteries up to 13.6 volts daily and then run your tv or whatever. If noise is an issue get the Honda EU3000i even at $1800 its way cheaper than solar plus you can run an A/C. The Honda 3000i in the back of a truck charging batteries cannot be heard past 100 feet or so.
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Keith M
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06/18/08 08:25am |
Tech Issues
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