Jim Gell

Thanks to everyone who responded. Apparently, I was wrong about Progressive not letting us use the truck bobtail. I was told today that I can. So one of the following three people were wrong. 1) The Progressive agent I spoke to last time I asked. 2) The Progressive agent I spoke to today. Or more likely, it was myself. Maybe it was National General Insurance (?) that we had previously that didn't want us bobtailing. I have not read the policy yet, but Erika Neil of McGriff Insurance, who I spoke to today, seemed to know what she was talking about. Thanks again, Jim

Our 2001 Volvo is titled as a Motorhome. Progressive, who we are currently insured with, said they would only cover the truck in combination with the policy on the trailer. They also said it was not covered when driving bobtail except for taking it for repairs or fueling locally. I know some HDT'rs have taken their trucks bobtail on excursions such as to parks their full rig would not fit, etc. What insurance companies is anyone using that does not require the trailer be attached when traveling? Has anyone insured their trucks without a trailer on the same policy? TIA Jim

Has anyone learned how Netflix's password crackdown, that is coming to the US this year, will affect those of us who travel with it? According to Forbes: "In countries where the password sharing crackdown is active, Netflix is tracking who shares their accounts via the devices used to connect to the platform. It will enforce the end of password sharing by asking devices to “check in” periodically in your home location around once a month. If you have kids at college, they could check their devices in when they are home, if they can get back every 31 days." I am not very tech savvy but hoping that that they might recognize my equipment which includes 3 hotspots and 2 smart TVs that travel with us to know we are RVrs rather than just our physical location such as the towers we are getting our internet through. Does anyone think they know how this will work? Is there any advice such as should we start streaming through a VPN? Jim

Dr. C, I think I might be able to help with whatever you want to know but you need to put a little more effort into your question before I would be willing to put my effort into an answer that may or may not be on target to help you. Are you looking for the quickest route? Least traffic? Least grades? Or do you have a month and are looking for really interesting places to stop along the way?

travelinbob, I am curious what you bought and where? The depth of our rear most area is limited due to the slides as it sounds like yours was.

Like Kirk, I too was a tent camper most of my life, until I bought a Trail Manor hard top pop up & pull out trailer that I used on vacations for a few years before I retired. I had a desire to RV fulltime after retirement so I joined this forum and researched that while still working and while I waited 4 more years for my wife to retire too. By then I had purchased a used high quality 9 year old 40' fifth wheel, a great used HDT with Auto Shift, and nice but used smart car. I wanted comfort, safety, and conveniences like washer and dryer, residential fridge, king bed, etc. but did not want to put a lot of money into it because I was not positive the full time RVing would suit us. I had the truck modified to carry the smart car and did some upgrades to the trailer so we were ready to drive off into the sunset the day my wife retired in 2014. Since then we have appreciated the choices we made. A few years ago, after Mercedes announced discontinuation of selling gas versions of the smart in the US, I traded in the 2011 smart car for the newer redesigned model which we like much better. We still enjoy and appreciate the now 17 year old 5vr and 21 year old HDT. When we look at newer RV's, for the most part, I feel like we would be downgrading quality for perhaps some newer technology and that new RV smell and shine. We will probably only change RV's if/when we decide to get something smaller and easier to handle in our old age.

We too are SD residents and the phone's 646 area code is from where I originally signed up for my Verizon account before we started full time RVing 8 years ago. I typically get spam that uses my 646 area code and often also the next 3 numbers of my phone number. I have had a drizzle of SD 605 area code spam calls in the past, but this is a tsunami by comparison.

I didn't notice any boxes I needed to uncheck to opt out, but it wouldn't be the first time I missed one when submitting a form online.

It's possible that it is not the SD DMV that is responsible. I am trying to think who else I may have recently given my phone number to.

This is on my phone with Verizon Service.

I recently renewed my SD registration online and gave them my phone number. I don't have a very good spam filter on my phone, so I typically get some spam. But today it exploded. I received 33 calls from the 605 (South Dakota) area code in 6 hours. During that time, I reported the calls to Hiya, which I think is Samsung's proprietary screening service. I Googled this and only saw one hit, a SD based local newspaper article that could be read by subscription only. Not willing to subscribe, I could still read the headline which was "SD Sells DMV Database for $70,000". I post this for a few reasons. First, to make others aware. I think I was required to submit my phone number to re-register my vehicle, but if it is optional, I suggest you not. You may get into trouble putting in the phone number of your SD State Legislator or such, so I don't suggest that. Second, I am looking for a good Android app to block spam calls on my Samsung S8. I have heard of something called Call Screen that I thought was part of the Android system, but can't find that on my phone as a feature, or in the Android Play Store as an app. And third, I am curious if anyone else on here has had the same experience. Thanks in advance for your comments. Jim

Lou, I have a meter but don't know how I would use it. My first thought is, I could unplug from shore power and turn off everything except the freezer and measure the amps coming across the positive battery cable while running off 120V through my RV's inverter, and compare it with running off the 12V directly. I should remove the frozen food and let it warm up inside a bit to make sure the compressor runs during each test. All that seems like too much of an effort. My second thought, and perhaps what you were thinking, is that there is probably a easier way to figure it out using a meter. If I knew the efficiency of my RV's inverter, a formula might be applied to compare the power consumed at the freezer itself when running on 120 V supplied by battery power through the RV's large inverter vs 12V directly off the battery. That might tell us which is more efficient. I missed that day in electrics class though. Someone would have to tell me the formulas to use. Ray, if I plug our freezer into both 12V and 120V it will default to operate on 120V. When the 120V is interrupted it will automatically switch over to 12V. Then when 12V is restored it switches back. That makes sense for most applications. When we are running off 120V, the cord is on a circuit connected to the big RV inverter. When shore power goes off, the inverter kicks in fast enough that our clocks don't reset. If we had both cords plugged in, it would run off the 120V even after the shore power was interrupted. In those RV Parks that I am paying by the watt for shore power, I prefer to operate the freezer off the battery when it can be recharged with our solar panels. My question about what voltage the compressor runs on has to with wanting to be able to get more days to run the freezer, residential fridge, and other things like the TV, off my battery when it's cloudy or rains for several days and we don't have shore power.

Thanks for the input bigjim and oldjohn. My subject line sums up my dilemma. I don't know if the compressor is 12 or 120 volt. Perhaps the most efficient use of my battery power is to power it with 12V. If it's a 12V compressor, there will be no inversion. And if the compressor is 120 volt and the freezer has to invert the 12V, maybe it's still more efficient than my big Magnum inverter. The Magnum will be running to power my residential fridge anyhow though. If anyone can confirm that the compressor is 12 volt as I am guessing, or that it's not, please chime in. Thanks. Jim

I sacrificed a couple small drawers and tip out laundry hamper and put our lithium battery in our bedroom where it normally stays warm in winter and cool in summer. Used the maple drawer and hamper fronts to create a removable door. In place it looks just like it did before the battery was installed.

I have the option of plugging our 63 QT Base Camp fridge/freezer into 12V or 120V while driving. I read the manual and could not find a wiring diagram there or any info on line, other than it has a "Kohld Polar Hermetic" compressor. I assume AC power (inverted from my 12V battery) would be converted to 12V inside the freezer to run the compressor. That would be a less efficient use of my RV's battery. Is my assumption correct that plugging the freezer into 12V would be a more efficient use of my 12V battery power? Thanks in advance! Jim

Let me repeat what I said in my original post..."I probably would not want this myself." Like Glenn, I find it interesting and I posted the link because I thought it might be of interest to others. I am not saying that it is practical and I am not trying to encourage anyone to buy an electric motorcycle and use the battery to power their RV. I put it out as food for thought only. I am not a solar or electronics expert by any means. It does seem that I have heard of someone with plans to use a 48 volt lithium battery in an RV. I think the biggest advantage was smaller cable sizes. If I were installing my solar system, inverter, and lithium battery again, I would want to at least consider alternatives to using 12 volts. I installed my 12 V system in 2015 and felt my 700 amp lithium battery was expensive at that time at $5,300. I have not kept up with the cost of lithium batteries since then. (Someone can chime in with how much 700 amps would cost now.) I was thinking that whatever the battery costs, it might make having an electric motorcycle more practical in terms of cost, weight, and space consumption, if the battery could be also used as an auxiliary/emergency power supply for the RV. Maybe that is not the case for anyone.

The linked article is about a new Sondors 80 mph, 80 mile range motorcycle. It has a removable 4 kWh battery that is easy to slide out of the bike to be charged inside. Two of those would be almost the capacity of the lithium battery we have in our RV now, which I find to be pretty robust. That said, I could never have enough solar or battery, especially when I hear of folks running AC's while boondocked. Would it be practical for a motorcycle battery (or two) to be also used as auxiliary storage in an RV? There would be times that one might use the battery for riding and other times that the priority would be extra battery capacity to run the RV. A key factor as to how practical this is may be the voltage of the battery, which I don't know. I probably would not want this myself. But I am curious and I post this for other's who might be more inclined to spend the $5,000 cost of a bike, $10,000 for two, or whatever one bike and two batteries would be, if they could use the same battery to power their RV needs too. https://electrek.co/2021/03/12/first-look-at-the-low-cost-sondors-metacycle-electric-motorcycles-removable-battery/?fbclid=IwAR3AJerWBAlfU6WYMfl8d_lWXTXGHBXwb8KJwUd51DViQ5iadKmSrlmewKc

Libreader, I think you will need to find a way to determine the details of your insurance plan. You should have access to documentation from the insurance plan that you could read yourself, or find someone else familiar with insurance that you trust to interpret for you. In my case, the insurance that I kept when I retired in NY has global coverage. However, the reimbursement rates for "out of network" services are low. My plan publishes an online directory to locate in network providers. I find plenty of providers in areas where New Yorkers retire to, like AZ and the entire east coast. But in other places like OH, and UT there were no providers anywhere near me when I needed them. Jim

Like, pfhays, we also flew into Sioux Falls, got a free hotel transfer to the Sleep Inn, walked across the lot to DMV in the morning, out in a short bit, and took the free hotel shuttle back to airport. Easy and no need to rent a car. Jim

Without plans to return to my domicile state until long after the pandemic risks have dissipated, I have been wondering where I will be put in the que in other states to receive the Covid vaccine. In the search I just did the only reference I could find pertained to Florida. An article in the SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL includes a Q&A. It appears the responses are those of Jason Mahon, spokesman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management. | DEC 12, 2020 AT 8:30 AM Q. Will snowbirds who are getting ready to spend the winter in Florida be able to receive the vaccine here? A. Yes. Non-Florida residents will be eligible, Mahon said. So it won’t matter which state you call home, but it is likely you’ll have to wait until we’re in the widespread distribution phase. This is disappointing to me. I am over 65 and have risk factors that would put me sooner in line back home in SD. I don't know if it's true, but I have been told that SD has more "residents" who don't live there than do. If vaccine is distributed to states based on population, SD may get much more than they need. There are probably a lot more non-RVing snowbirds than RVrs affected by a policy like this. If other states do as Florida appears to be planning to do, there are probably a lot of folks at higher risk than myself who will also be affected. Is this something the Escapee's organization could weigh in on and possibly encourage state authorities to distribute the vaccine based on the individuals risk factor, essentialness, etc, rather than their residence status?

Thanks, Joel.

I understood your intent. Good advice, thanks, Kirk!

I see some useful ideas to follow up on including asking the Escapee folks in Livingston for assistance. I had not thought of that. Thanks! It might help solicit more ideas if I clarify some details. 1) We do not have a permanent stick and brick home that we reside in all or part of the year. Our RV is our only residence with a SD domicile and mail forwarding service. 2) We do have a home that my wife's father gave us, but he still lives in it. We don't collect rent, but consider it to be investment property we will eventually sell. 3) We have no intention to buy a home and hide that it is our primary residence for tax purposes. We believe in legal tax minimization, but not tax evasion. 4) It is a strong "seller's market" where we are considering at the moment. Homes we look at on Zillow frequently list and have pending offers in a few days. 5) We are still considering areas in more than one state. Our original plan for this year was to spend at least a month in a few different locations to get a feel for each of the areas. This year is turning out to be a very bad year to do that because communities are not functioning as normal due to the pandemic. 6) We have some very specific home requirements that eliminate over 95% the homes we see on Zillow in our price range. It might be getting the cart in front of the horse, but we would like to have the option to make an offer if we find a home with the exact amenities we want. 7) We want to be pre-approved (not just pre-qualified) for our loan by a lender before we look at homes with a realtor. We can't use the address of the home we want to buy if it has not even been listed yet. Our best next step may be to call a mortgage lender and explain our situation and see if they can assist us. If not, then call Livingston. Ideally, I wanted to shop lenders for the best rate. We have excellent credit and will likely put over 50% as our down payment. As a last resort, we could withdraw all the money we need from our retirement savings accounts, but that would result in a significant additional income tax liability. We don't have a crystal ball, but I think our savings will grow more in 15 years than the current interest on a 15 year mortgage would cost us.

My wife and I have been Full Time RVrs for 5+ years. We are thinking about buying a stick and brick home and RVing part time. We have a SD PMB that shows on our driver's licence and no permanent physical address. We have money invested at Vanguard, Fidelity, and a couple other brokerages and we have quite a few credit cards and bank accounts. With mortgage rates as low as they are right now, we would like to get pre-approved for a mortgage before we look at potential homes. None of the institutions we already have accounts with would be a place for us to obtain a mortgage. Actually we do have a Chase credit card, but I don't think that will help. Last year we tried to open a savings account at a bank that offered better than average interest and they said they could not open the account for us because we did not have a permanent address. They needed utility bills or other proof showing where we actually lived. I explained our lifestyle to no avail. If banks won't hold our savings, are they are not going to approve a loan for us? I am hoping someone who dealt with this, and is still on the forum, can offer some advice. Thank you in advance. Jim

UPDATE ON MY REPAIR: The ignition switch part arrived from Germany last week when the Mercedes dealer expected it and they made the repair. Car seems to run perfectly. That is not to say that the car actually needed the part to be repaired. I am just glad to have the car back and not be charged for the repair. I had looked around the manual but missed page 97. I guess I need to spend more time reading through that little manual. With the "stay at home" social distancing in effect, we did not really miss the car all that much. If the part had not come in when they expected it to, or if I really needed the car, I might have explored the yellow tab fix. Everyone stay safe! Jim