| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
RE: Hello All !!
Welcome aboard. Let me suggest that you consider one of the enclosed cargo trailers for your bike. By doing things that way it will be protected from the weather, you will have some extra storage space and you can easily avoid overloading the RV. Just make sure that you know what the weight ratings for the RV are and consider them as you select the RV and the trailer.
Remember GVWR is gross vehicle weight rating for the class C and is the maximum that your RV should ever carry, including all cargo, passengers, fuel and even you. The GVCR is the gross combined weight rating and it is the maximum weight that your RV and what it tows should ever weigh for reasons of safety and reliability. And keep in mind that the tongue weight of the trailer will be part of the GVWR as well.
CCC is the cargo carrying capacity, which is the difference between the empty weight of your RV and its upper limit. Newer RVs do allow for full tanks in the figures.
You are a very wise buyer to take several months to learn before you start out to shop. You will do much better in both price and quality if you take the time to learn first. I commend you for your approach!
|
Kirk
|
11/27/08 04:10pm |
Beginning RVing
|
|
RE: New RV'er with winterizing Q's
If the temperature should fall below the freezing point and stay there for four hours or more you could have a problem.
|
Kirk
|
11/24/08 08:11pm |
Beginning RVing
|
|
RE: NEED JOB IN FLA.
I suggest that you try contacting the national wildlife refuges in that area to see what they have available. At this late date they are not likely to come looking for you so you need to contact them. Most such positions are already filled. We are presently in route to Evergaldes NP where we will be resident volunteers for the next four months.
|
Kirk
|
11/24/08 08:06pm |
Workamping Forum
|
|
RE: Just learning about workamping
We have volunteered at many different locations and for many agencies. While volunteer.gov does have positions, you will find far more by visiting the website of the particular agency that you are interested in. The National Park Service, Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, and US Fish and Wildlife Service all have their own websites and only those positions which are not filled from their site ever get listed on the vol.gov site.
In addition each state has it's own website and nearly all state parks and historic sites are seeking volunteers. In addition, many of the game & fish departments use volunteers as do some forestry departments and a few others. State sites are a good place to check those out.
I suggest that you take the time to create a resume to use before you get too far. A resume is not vital but it does show potential employers that you have taken the time to organize your information for them. It also gives you the opportunity to tell them things which may not be on the typical generic forms which are used for different agencies and different positions.
If you wish, I would invite you to visit the website in my signature as I have a page with pictures and job descriptions for each of our 23 previous volunteer positions.
|
Kirk
|
11/24/08 07:18pm |
Workamping Forum
|
|
RE: Pastor?
In the parks that I know for sure (only two), the chaplain gets only his site free and no pay. But there is no reason why you and/or he could not do things that do not require a minister? No reason at all that you could not take on a position which includes paid work in a park. I highly suspect that there are more than one park which would be really pleased to find an employee who could also serve as resident chaplain.
|
Kirk
|
11/24/08 07:09pm |
Workamping Forum
|
|
RE: I am wanting to workamp on the Oregon Coast
Stating that you will only stay four months would cause most owners to look for someone who will stay through the season. Since that has now changed, I suggest that you start over with different parks. Try some that you have not yet contacted. You didn't say if you had sent a resume, but if not, you should.
|
Kirk
|
11/24/08 07:04pm |
Workamping Forum
|
|
RE: New to forum and RVing
If you are short on knowledge of RVs let me suggest that the very best place to learn how to judge them, and how to rate them for quality is an organization called the RV Consumer Group.
|
Kirk
|
11/21/08 06:29pm |
Beginning RVing
|
|
RE: Full time RVing and working
The Federal Government specifically disallows anyone working while obtaining a free RV site. Some Government sites may allow it anyway, but they are violating written regulations and could get into a problem with their respective district supervisors. How about listing your source for this? We did exactly that and our paid positions were for the very park that we were volunteer hosts for? And not only that, we did get a W-2 for the paid hours only and no 1099 or any other report on the RV site.
If such regulation exists, tell us where to find it.
|
Kirk
|
11/21/08 06:24pm |
Workamping Forum
|
|
RE: Everglades National Park Flamingo Marina
Thanks for the note! We have been visiting friends at Rainbow Plantation RV park for several days and will be crossing into Florida tomorrow. We expect to arrive at Shark Valley before Dec. 1.
|
Kirk
|
11/21/08 06:14pm |
Workamping Forum
|
|
RE: Problem with ice maker in Norcold refer
Let me suggest that the first thing you need to do is to defrost the freezer/ice maker and dry them out. It is pretty common for them to freeze up to where they don't work when water is turned off and then back on again. What happens is that the low level of water in the tray freezes, then when the water comes back the tray gets a normal fill cycle, which over-fills it and the frozen ice then can not be ejected.
|
Kirk
|
11/17/08 07:59pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: please help electrical problem
It sounds as though your friends may have more than one problem. You say that some lights don't work, but if any of them work, the power has to come from the 12V system? The furnace gets all of it's power from the 12V system and that means the coach batteries if you don't have shore power.
Of course, the air conditioners will only operate when you have either shore power or the genset is operating. The inverter will not supply enough power for them. I have more than 40 years of electrical background, but from the small amount of information given I can only guess about what the problem may be.
|
Kirk
|
11/17/08 07:53pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Furnace noise in a springdale
In my experience, bugs in the combustion air path has been the cause of strange noises from more furnaces than any other cause. A four year old furnace should not have any mechanical failures as yet, but bugs don't care about the age.
It would be very helpful to know what brand your furnace is. There are only two common brands, Atwood has an access door on the outside of the RV and Suburban, which has to be accessed from inside of the RV or the furnace removed to work on it. If I knew which you had I would offer you a copy of the service manual for it.
|
Kirk
|
11/17/08 07:46pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: What do you think... and Why?
I think that over the long term, none of us are expert enough to predict the economy and that will play a major part in what happens. RV sales have fallen dramatically and for these predictions of large increases, someone has to buy new RVs to replace those being retired. At the moment that just is not happening. My guess would be that it isn't going to turn around very quickly, but it could happen in a year or two.
I presently know two couples who have chosen not to go full-time at this time because of the economy and what it has done to their invested funds. I do not believe that this is unusual. Between that, and the rise in cost of new RVs, I would be very surprised if the rate of new folks joining the full-time lifestyle will decrease, at least for the near term. If fewer people join us, the attrition from age alone will cause the total number to fall.
With the new administration about to take command, who knows what direction things will take? Will our invested funds ever recover? It could be a very interesting next four years or so.
|
Kirk
|
11/17/08 07:37pm |
Full-time RVing
|
|
RE: Wyoming residency
As a former resident of Wyoming, I can tell you that it has no state income tax and has very low taxes for most other things. But there are several reasons that Texas, Florida and South Dakota lead in popularity. Among those is the ease of qualifying to be considered a resident.
The last I knew there was a mail forwarding service for RV folks that was based in Laramie, but that was some time ago, so I am not sure if it still exists. I can tell you that there is no organization like Escapees RV Club in Wyoming. But we still love Wyoming, in spite of their cold winters and extremely windy weather.
|
Kirk
|
11/17/08 07:22pm |
Full-time RVing
|
|
RE: Diesel or gas?
One thing to keep in mind if you choose a diesel is that they do not like to sit a great deal. You will need to treat the fuel or algae will grow in the fuel tank and you will go through a lot of filters trying to get it out. Also, maintenance costs run higher on a diesel. For the same amount of money, you can get a much newer gas coach.
On the other hand, the diesel usually has air ride which is the best you can get and most have air brakes, which are also better, although our gas rig has never had any kind of brake problem.
The other part of the question that has not been mentioned previously is your budget. Keep in mind that a diesel, while very nice will also cost much more for all maintenance and for fuel. While a diesel does not have oil changes as frequently, they require three or more times the amount of oil, they have two very expensive filters and the labor rate for diesel mechanics runs $20 to $50/hour more than for gasoline chassis.
Part of the question is pure personal preference. Another is the size of the rig that you want. I am not quite sure why an interior would last better if powered by diesel? The fact is that quality and durability has nothing to do with what chassis the coach rides on. This is a quality issue. For any coach to last a long time it must first be of quality construction and second it must be well cared for. To know about RV quality requires a great deal of knowledge. The best place to get that knowledge is by joining the RV Consumer Group and take advantage of all of the educational materials that they supply to their members, as well as the rating service that they provide.
Of far more importance for a good, long term experience is the quality of construction and the care and maintenance by the previous owners.
|
Kirk
|
11/17/08 07:14pm |
Beginning RVing
|
|
RE: Help!!! Had to call 911
Since the smell is urine like, could the sewage possibly getting down into the furnace from the tank? If so, how expensive would it be to fix?The chance of that is so unlikely as to be nearly impossible. Most furnaces are installed higher in the RV than the waste tanks and so it would need to defy gravity to happen. I think it is pretty safe to say that is not the problem.
The motor was installed several months ago and had been running daily with no problem. The smell has just happened this one time.As a retired electrical service tech, strange odors that have not happened in the past always concern me. It might be that some electric component has over heated and self destructed. For me to say what is wrong with no opportunity to see the unit, smell it, or see it would be just a guess and probably a poor one. Had any neighbor problems lately? A bit of pee deposited in the exhaust of your heater would do that. This might be possible, but it would be the first that I have ever heard of. On my RV the guy who did that would need to be at least 9' tall in order to reach, or did he use a ladder?
My best guess would be that some electric device has gone south, but it is only a guess. To say what repair will cost is also a reach, but one can make a few guesses. The first thing is that most RV techs charge at least $80/hour so it is pretty safe to assume at least the cost of one hour. Now if you plan to have the tech come to you, you will need to allow at least 1/2 hour of labor rate for his coming to your location. That makes it at least $120 for a service call, assuming no parts and only one hour of labor. I think that an estimate of at least $150 would be reasonable and you should not be surprised by a cost of twice that.
|
Kirk
|
11/17/08 06:54pm |
Beginning RVing
|
|
RE: Everglades National Park Flamingo Marina
We are in route to Shark Valley where we will be volunteer tour guides for the winter.
|
Kirk
|
11/17/08 06:25pm |
Workamping Forum
|
|
RE: 1999 Pace Arrow headlight problem
In order to be of much help, we need to know what chassis you have, both year and make. I highly doubt that you have a relay but there could well be a fuse that supplies both. If you have a Ford chassis, look closely at the owner's manual fuse chart and pay particular attention to the fuses who's name includes the term "body builder" in it.
If you have some other chassis, it should still have a fuse chart in the owner's manual so look at the names of them very carefully. There is a slight chance that it could be ground related, but not likely since the lights are on different sides of the RV and probably each has it's own ground. But do check them to make sure as if they do share a single ground lead from the chassis to all four lights, that would be a high probability.
|
Kirk
|
11/13/08 04:39pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: Ford V-10 oil change
Did anyone say six quarts with a filter change? If you read every answer you should have it memorized by the time you reach the bottom.
|
Kirk
|
11/13/08 04:30pm |
Tech Issues
|
|
RE: License Rig in Which State?
What are you doing for an address for your mail, your driver's license, your vehicle insurance, income tax, voting, and all of the other myriad of business functions that all of us need? In other words, where is your legal domicile? You need to have some place that you officially reside and do all of the things that our life requires.
Let me suggest that you consider joining the Escapees RV Club which will give you a Texas address and legal domicile, which can be used for all needed functions. Escpaees is far more than a mail service but they are the only complete support system for we who live and travel full-time in our RVs.
|
Kirk
|
11/13/08 04:21pm |
Full-time RVing
|
