TXiceman

Go on up the road to Kemah/Clear Lake area and there are more good places to eat than you can fathom. Ken

We have both bought and sold RVS through private sales using our banks wire transfer. No problems on either end. Ken

Yep, a few years back there was snow on Galveston Island at Christmas. In the south if two snow flakes are reported, the area goes crazy and call it a blizzard. Ken

As noted above, CB is in the 11m band and GMRS is in the 70 cm band. You will not get a good SWR match. There will be a lot of reflected power back into the radio which will damage the radio. You will need to get a GMRS specific antenna. Ken

We used to belong to PassPort America and dropped it. Over the years, the campgrounds have become more restrictive on dates available and frankly the quality of the parks in the system leave a lot to be desired. Ken

Over the past few years when we convoyed, the folks in the group used FRS walkie talkies. The problem with these is the limited range. I am a ham radio operator and with one group, I was near the front with my 2m mobile unit and an FRS radio and he was toward the back with his 2m mobile radio and an FRS. We were spread far enough apart with the hills, the FRS units in the front did not hear the FRS in the rear. With our 50-Watt mobile radios with outside antennas, we could relay information and then let the FRS crowd know what we were planning. GMRS is higher powered and does require an FCC license. There is no test, and one license covers your immediate family....not everyone in your group. Ken

No way would I even consider what you are planning to do. That is now an enclosed area which is a no-no for any CO emitting device. Find a way to get the generator away from the RV and maybe an encloser that can be secured. It seems that every year at the Houston Rodeo there is at least one CO related death due to a generator being used in an RV. Ken

Probably already sold it and never bothered to put up SOLD notices. Only has 5 port here anyway. Ken

People are always trying to find ways to put people in a category for no reason. If you want pink chickens in your yard, just go for it. Ken

We seem to specialize in RVs that become orphans. They are better built, cost more and are heavier...then they are out of business. We had two Carriage Cameo, and Avion 5er, an Avion silver bumper pull and a HitchHikerChampage 5er. Since we are not on the road we looked and came down considerably in size and quality with a Keystone Cougar half Ton. We will take care of it and hope it makes 5 years. Ken

Is that all they carried for full time? We had close to 3000# of stuff, clothes, tools, food, ets and we traveled with only about 15 gallons of fresh water. Ken

I always use Kyle, at the trailer repair place out on 1988. 3224 FM Rd 1988, Goodrich, TX 77335 It’s the closest one to Escapees Rainbow’s end. He has room for a big RV. Also does good trailer brake work. Ken

The only good thing we found at casinos is that many have a fantastic buffet....in for the food and then out the door. I worked too hard for my money and will not donate it to a casino. Ken

I have served on two criminal and one civil jury in Texas and was Jury Foreman on two cases. It is actually very interesting to see firsthand how the judicial system really works. It is nothing like Perry Mason. Everyone should serve on at least one jury to see the whole process. Now that I am well over 70, I can be exempted and really have no desire to serve on another jury. Ken

More rustic with sites spread apart, trees and full hook ip. Ken

Be sure and set up a reserve amount for normal maintenance (yes, even a new rig needs maintenance) and a nice emergency fund for the unforeseen things that happen. If your rig is new, and it has to go in the shop for overnight or multiple days, plan to find a motel and have money set aside for that. The longer you stay at a site, the less the daily rate will be. We tried to find an area and stay at least a week or a month. You can always boondock to save money, but you need to have the RV set up with solar, batteries and generators. A solar system is not designed to run the A/C unless it is really big and expensive. Another way to save on campsite fees is to volunteer at state parks or federal parks. They will give you a site in return for a specified number of hours working in the park at various jobs. Some with higher hour requirements will pay a stiped. Some will have bathroom cleaning as a duty. After a couple pf bad experiences, we would no longer take a position with bathroom duty. Some people are closely related to hogs. I would recommend starting with the truck and trailer paid for. Financing a declining value asset is not for me. When we moved into the RV full time, we had the luxury of being able to leave the RV in the driveway next to the house. We moved into the RV with all the stuff we thought we needed for almost 3 weeks. We could still go back into the house and get items we needed or put things back in the house. The last two weekends we had a Friday/ Saturday garage sale and a Saturday/Sunday garage sale. What did not sell, was piled on the front porch, and called Purple Hearts to pick it up. The house was sold, and the new owner was ready to take possession, so we locked it up and dropped the keys to the realtor and away we went for 10 years. Safe and happy travels to ya'll. Ken

The Montana is not the quality of the Montana RVs from 10 years ago. I would suggest you look at a loved used higher end unit than a new lower quality unit. As for carrying capacity, the 1800 lb is not enough for a full-time use RV. We just came off 10 years on the road with our NuWa HitchHiker Champagne and we had a bit over 3000# over the original dry weight. The Champagne (no relation to the current Champagne trailer) was a high end 5er, but sadly NuWa is no longer building RVs. Getting up into the 40 ft trailer, a one ton dually diesel will the required minimum truck. As for looking at trailers, you need to sit in it a while and see how day to day life would be. Check for storage of clothes, toiletries, dishes, flatware, food storage, outdoor storage for lawn chairs, grill, etc. See if you can fit in the shower and see where linens are stored. Don't forget about clothes for ALL seasons. Do you sit and view the TV straight ahead or side saddle? The big thing we saw different from our Champagne in the newer trailers was the lack of cabinets and storage. You get up into the DRV, Riverstone, or Luxe trailers, you start getting more storage and higher carrying capacities. Now your MSRPs are well over $200K. And some of these you will need to closely watch the weight and the tow vehicle. We had looked at a few front living room units and were quickly turned off as a full-time trailer. There was not enough storage for us. They are pretty to look at, but it is a lot of show and bling and not practical for us. Ken

You should not let the class A license requirement deter you from selecting a state better suited to your tax and estate situation. The Texas requirement is not that hard to pass and frankly, if you cannot pass it, you need to park the rig. Ken

We lived in Texas and they too required a class A license for a combination over 26,000 lb. My wife and I both had the Class A licenses for better than 10 years. It was not that difficult to pass the written or driving portion for Texas. There are better than a dozen states with similar requirements. Ken

For those without an air ride hitch, this is a vast improvement over the standard rigid hitches. That is well worth the money. Ken

Like above leave it is dripping out through the panel. That is a normal operation. Ken

We had set up everything based in Texas with our wills, Texas attorney, and cremation plan. Our daughter is our executor and has copies of all the pertinent paperwork, key to the safety deposit box, living wills, medical power of attorney, etc. Now we are off the road and settled in central Texas. All the paperwork is still applicable. Your best course is to get an attorney involved and get all of the paperwork needed for your particular financial situation and location. Ken

All the younger folks are transitioning to Facebook or Twitter based groups rather than the web-based forums. I much prefer the simplicity of forums like this, but I have noticed all of these forums are slowly declining. The Facebook type groups are not well organized like the forum-based sites. Yeas I am getting older, but I will continue to use the forums until one of us dies. I am 76 years old. Ken

I used Streets and Trips for many years but could not get it to work when I replaced my laptop. I made the transition to RV Trip Wizard and it has worked reasonably well. But as time goes on, the product is suffering from "Bloatware". People keep asking for things to be added in to make it not only a planning tool but a records tool as well. I would love to see something closer to the original RV Trip Wizard and lose all the excess baggage. Ken

Here you go. Marcell