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Bill w/bus

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About Bill w/bus

  • Birthday 08/06/1942

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    92317
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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Maine summers, south for cold weather
  • Interests
    Ham radio (N1XRB), Bus conversions, submarine veteran

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  1. Two trips to Alaska. One 2001 that lasted 9 weeks to and from Maine. Second was in 2016. Left the RGV late April and arrived back first week of November. Cruise is great for seeing the islands and seaports. The real trip is by road. Take your time. Cross over into Canada in May. We spent Memorial Day (US) weekend in Whitehorse and they just opened the tourist places. Enjoy the drive Bill
  2. OK Alabama will probably have snow. We tried all the winter locations - Florida, Arizona, Alabama/Mississippi. finally landed in the Rio Grande Valley. That was 11 years ago. Cost is in the range of $1500 to 2000 for 5 months. Electricity is in the range from $0.14 to 0.19 per kilowatt. Winter activities in most parks. Bill
  3. Contact your local Elks Lodge and apply for membership. Many have RV sites and/or allow you to park. Passport America will pay for the annual fee after two or three nights. Escapees Parks most in the 20-25 $/night. BLM, COE are excellent spots. State parks but watch out for added fees, like daily entrance fee added to camping fee. Midwest has a lot of town, city and county parks. Some only ask for a donation. Any tourist area will be higher cost. So save your money to visit the tourist areas. Bill
  4. I would add Passport America as an alternative source of less expensive campgrounds. The Escapees RV Parks are primarily south and west. But very useful for travel. Enjoy Bill
  5. Haven't visited for a while but this discussion has been going from before the internet and forums. It used to be around the campfire. Went through a series of motorhomes. One of the best was a 1970 Dodge made by Swinger. Then a 1986 Class C Rockwood. Traded for a 1990 Pace Arrow 30ft. Several problems, once the cabinet over the dinette came crashing down when the three screws finally gave up. Then we went to a Maine Wheels meet in York, Maine. We were surrounded by converted buses. That was an eye opener. This was May 0f 1994. In March of 1995 I brought home a 1970 GM 4108. This is a 35 foot pushed by a Detroit Diesel and a Spicer 4 speed. By the time I traveled from Macon, GA to Pittston, Maine I could shift without grinding and without use of clutch. Took us two years to complete the conversion. First few trips no problems. No cabinets fell. Ran well at 9-10 MPG at 70mph. We decided that approaching 70 years we really should have an automatic transmission. Not that I couldn't shift but was concerned that my left leg/knee would be bothered with the clutch operation, Found an MCI, a 102A3, that would accomodate everything we wanted for eventual full timing. Our biggest problem was the blasted toilet. Gasket, seal and RV Techs until i finally figured out why not to buy dometic parts. RV appliances - stove three burner and toilet. Refrigerator, sinks, faucets, clothes washer, clothes drier propane are all standard household. Took us less than two years to complete the conversion from bus to motorhome. If it breaks I know how it was built. Bill
  6. Most truck stops have a CAT scale. All moving companies have scales. All junkyards, excuse me metal recycling center, have scales. Method for motorhomes - drive on until drive axle is just off platform that's front axle. Then way entire unit. Then drive forward so front axle is off the platform. Side weight is a little tricky. You need about two feet of level side clearance to get just one side on the platform. So four weights will yield all the corner and axle weights. Yes individual weights are ideal but this method will get you close to actual. Good luck, Bill
  7. From the little news I saw, the bridge is shutdown pending repair. With the amount of vehicles using I40 the traffic the alternative route I55 will be clogged. If I was going that way I would avoid Memphis until the bridge repair is complete. Yeah I know it's going to add miles but it would be better than hours of frustration sitting in a traffic jam. Bill
  8. I would STRONGLY suggest a driving and RV instructor. There is one that I am familiar with is the RV Driving School. The school has both driving instruction and the RV knowledge instruction. You don't need to have your HOME rendered unlivable because you didn't know. Good luck Bill
  9. Chesapeake Bridge Tunnel - check the price before you have to give them an arm. Other than that it's flat and easy. I forgot which way the toll is applied at the Bay Bridge. So check on that. Don't try to cross the bridge tunnel with high winds you won't be allowed. Bill
  10. I like Kirk's routing and stop suggestions. But, if you can (passport required) cross after Niagara to Canada and return to the states at Port Huron. Go north to the ,Mackinaw Bridge and then US 2. This avoids getting around Chicago area and the tolls from NY through to Wisconsin. And it's a much nicer ride. A caution note verify your toll costs before you get surprised. Most toll rates have increased this year. Yes to Thermopolis and Cody. Bill
  11. I second that, but traffic can back up in heart around Chattanooga. 2 AM got on to I24 from I59 and went three miles and then sat for a!most an hour. Accident someplace. You have three interstates converging in the area. Obviously avoid rush hours. Mid day isn't bad. Good luck, Bill
  12. Running four panels two in series, MPPT controller max is 120VDC. Four panels in series is max at 130VDC at 70F. A max observed voltage is 58+ VDC , that is two panels in series. Probably would have OK with four in series. But, the flambe part was a concern. Panels did well today in South Texas while waiting on the tire fixer, about 5.5 KWH in four hours. Was still in the campground but it plugged in. Bill
  13. I would caution against using an RV for the stated purpose. Very few if any, will survive -20/30 below zero without water or waste system freeze up. Most units will struggle to maintain +65 when the outside temperature goes below +10. Summer conditions easy. Spring and fall okay. Mid November through mid April not really doable in, even in a well insulated unit. Sorry to be a wet blanket but advise against. Bill
  14. Missed the generator part of the question.. Why? Do you know that the Aqua Hot system is relatively low power consumption? I don't know your system but regardless you are probably using less than 12/15 amps at 12VDC. Therefore your alternator is working just a little more than without the system on. Bill
  15. Exactly! Why not? There is no logical reason for not running the heating system anytime. Most installs include a heat exchanger to get heat from the engine cooling system and transfer the heat to the house heating system. Run the Aqua Hot when you want/need the heat regardless of driving or not. Enjoy your heat as we have for 25 years. Bill
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