Jim Gell

I did the same thing last month. I drove our 2016 smart up the ramps onto the truck and left in neutral while I installed chocks and strapped the wheels down. It's my normal routine. However, it was dinner time and I forgot to get back in the car, set brake, put it in park and remove key. I got up the next morning to leave Florida for NC and battery was dead. I rolled the car off the truck at a smart dealer near Raleigh, NC. It was something to see as the brakes did not work. Fortunately my wife had suggested we not not roll it off toward the new Mercedes where I had thought would be fine. LOL The dealer has had car since about 3/24/20. They expect the new ignition switch, they seem quite sure is the issue and have seen before, to arrive from Germany around April 21...unless Covid 19 slows that down. They said it was covered by warranty. One thing I want to share is that the dealer was listed on Google as a smart dealer with a photo showing a line of smarts. But after talking to them initially and then unloading car I was told they used to be a smart dealer and still had certified smart mechanics, but they would not be allowed to give me a free loaner because they were no longer an official smart repair facility. I might have tried to find a different dealer to take it to had I realized. I will be following this and come back to share what they do with mine. Jim

First off, thanks to everyone who jumped on this to help me. It is very appreciated. I also want to especially thank “Jan and Tom on the road” for making those fantastic diagrams, photos, and information available on their blog. It sounds like you all have provided good info to tweak my plans, but I ask if anyone else has thoughts to continue to share them. Adjustments and embellishments to my plan with a few more questions: A) I need to buy the DISH Pro Hybrid 42 Switch With Power Inserter (DPH42) to go with the DISHProPlus LNB for the western arc satellites 119/110/129 and I may also want to buy a separate portable dish to get Eastern Arc signals as well as an A/B switch for selecting the one I am using, If I understand the conversion chart linked above, and my Traveler is an SK SWM3 as I suspect because the DirectV power inserter says SWM 3 on it, I may not need need to check the IDU and ODU software versions. Right? C) It sounds like it would not matter which room I put the Hopper 3 or the 4K Joey. We primarily use our living room TV, The Traveler controller needs to stay in bedroom. We can do occasional diagnostics in the bedroom. Is there any other advantages, such as being able see a display, that would make it better to have the Hopper in the living room? D) It sounds like leasing may be a better choice. I will get real current costs to compare and consider how often we will want to suspend service. If they own it and it fails, I assume they would replace it without us being charged...Right? E) I have not talked to any Dish retailers to see if they do RV's because whenever I Googled them they never seem to be close to where I am. Right now the closest is about 80 miles away. Would they need to come to me for an “install”? Will they run new cables across and through my roof to my bedroom entertainment cabinet? Even if they would, I don't think I trust an installer to do that. I want to replace cables for our OTA antenna and WiFi Ranger at the same time I drill a new hole in my roof. F) Now lets talk about cables to the Traveler. As my Traveler is wired for DirecTV, I have ONE multi-conductor “control cable” going the Traveler Control Box and ONE , COAX that is connected to the receiver through a “SWM 3” labeled power inserter. Tom's Hopper 3 Diagram referenced above with a red colored heading, shows THREE cables to the Traveler for DISH. This raises questions. Do I just need to run some additional cables? If so how many, and what specs? Or is my Traveler different from the ones others have converted to Dish service and may not be convertible? Thank you all again for your assistance! Jim

We suspended our DirecTV account while we went to Alaska for the summer of 2017. After we came back to lower 48 we didn't feel the need for it and closed the account. Now we want satellite TV again. There seem to be quite a few permutations of how to go about that. I have been skimming through threads on here and other sites and have a rough plan. Would you look at this outline of my plan and tell me if you see ways I could or should tweak it? 1) Buy a Winegard RP-SK21 Reflector Bracket and LNB Assembly for SK-1000 TRAV'LER Dish 1000 and a Winegard RPSK11 Reflector to convert my DirecTV Traveler to receive Dish. I plan to do this by myself. Other than falling off my roof, any technical reason this would be an issue? 2) Buy or lease a Hopper 3 DVR and 4K Joey. I would prefer to lease, but want to be able to save $ by suspending service when we don't need it. Do we need to own it to suspend service? How do the costs compare for leasing vs buying and for month to month vs annual contract? 3) Install the Hopper 3 in our bedroom near our Traveler controller and the cable(s) from the Traveler. Our living room entertainment center is in a slide that would be difficult to re-route cables to. 4) Install the 4K Joey in the living room with wireless connection to the Hopper 3 in bedroom (about 30 feet away). I assume we will be able to control the Hopper 3 in bedroom from the living room through the Joey. Does that sound right? 5) Call someone and sign up for service. Is https://www.dishformyrv.com/ my best choice? Are there any discounts through affiliations such as Escapees, FMCA, AARP etc? Any thoughts greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance! Jim

Cathy and I would be interested in planning to attend on our way to Alaska. A 40 ft. fifth wheel probably would not be considered a "small painting job" for Rita, but what about just the end caps? 😁 Jim

Cathy and I are weighing our options. Does anyone domiciled in SD, and uses the Escapees mail forwarding service in Livingston TX, have any pros or cons to share? Jim

Well said, Scott!

Willard, OH It's about midway between Sandusky and Mansfield,

Cathy and I are parked in her father's backyard in Ohio. Besides seeing family and friends, we are working on clearing out 2 rented storage sheds, or more likely, getting rid of enough stuff to fit what's left into one shed. We are not sure how long we will be here or where we are headed next.

I suffer from GERD (gastroesophageal reflux desease). My son knew the acidity of coffee bothered me and I missed having my morning coffee. He must have done some Internet research and gave me a cold brewer as a gift years ago. I find the cold brewed coffee to be much less acidic and very "smooth". In my opinion the flavor, if you start with the right beans, is superior to hot brewed and very easy to drink black. It can be brewed in the fridge or at room temperature without using any power. You would just need to course grind beans in the store if you don't want to use electricity to run a grinder while boondocking. Then the only energy you will use would be to heat the coffee to drinking temperature. That could be done in a number of ways while dry camping. My wife and I now use inexpensive 2 QT mason jars with SS filters, like this one on Amazon. She drinks regular and I drink decaffeinated. We let it brew 24-36 hours depending how strong we want it.

Cathy and I plan to stay here at the Voyager RV Resort in Tucson through the end of March.

We will be leaving Seward and heading to Homer, AK tomorrow. We plan to stay there for a month.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to answering my questions in this thread. We decided to move the plumbing (water supply lines and drain standpipe) from the back of the closet to the right side. This gives us 27 inches for depth and 24 inches for width. This should be enough to expand our choice of washers. Hopefully having the plumbing on the side won't cause any issues connecting the washer. Cathy and Jim

The following text is from the Ariston - Splendide washer ARWXF 129 W installation instructions: 3. Remove the 4 protective screws (used during transportation) and the rubber washer with the corresponding spacer, located on the rear part of the appliance (see figure). 4. Close off the holes using the plastic plugs provided. 5. Keep all the parts in a safe place: you will need them again if the washer needs to be moved to another location. That model is sold for RV's at places like Camping World. Does anyone do anything to stabilize the drum of the washer before moving their RV? Has anyone had problems because they did not? The recurring issue I have seen in reviews on that one has been with circuit board failures. Cathy and Jim

We are trying to pick a washer to replace the one in our 5th wheel. Closet space severely limits our options. Splendide (Ariston) and Pinnacle (Majestic) has models that will fit, but reviews are less than stellar. It would be very tight, but the front load Electrolux EIFLS20QSW, with better reviews, also sold as a Kenmore, may barely fit. The manual and install instructions says remove packing materials and save them to put back if the washer is moved at a later date. I think I saw that same instruction for other washing machines. Has anyone ever heard that washing machines, like the Splendide brand being engineered special to accommodate the jostling of RV travel? Or will any washer hold up to RV travel just as well? We would also like to hear comments on above washers and/or recommendations. Thanks, Cathy and Jim

Cathy and I are at Shoreline RV Park in Crescent City, CA. We are taking a scenic route to Alaska. After we see more of the Redwood Forests we may follow 101 north for a while before hopping on I 5. We plan to cross into Canada at Sumas, WA.

Yesterday, Cathy and I arrived at Western Way RV Resort in Tucson, where we plan to spend our Winter. The bad news is that the one Palm tree on site is perfectly lined up with our roof top sat dish. Site is plenty wide with space for truck and smart on the other side of a concrete patio, but probably not long enough to move trailer forward enough for sat to clear the tree as it is. We hugged the far side of site to get most stations by "looking" over the Palm. Mgmt plans to prune the trees and then maybe a slight move forward will clear the frons. The good news is that we had many residents come over to welcome us and offer any help we needed. Not one, but two, offered to loan us their portable sat dish for the Winter! We have one ourselves that will work with a little repair and learning how to point it, so we should not need to borrow one, but it felt really great to get such a warm welcome here. The management has been great every time we called and again when we arrived and set up yesterday. It is clear that they really want to cooperate and make our stay enjoyable. Everyone seems very happy to spend their Winters here. Bottom line is that Cathy and I are very optimistic we will enjoy our stay here. Jim

Cathy and I arrived at the ABQ Balloon Fiesta grounds yesterday afternoon. We will be here with the Boomer's group until Monday 10/10. Fiesta actually starts Saturday, but already had a lot of balloons in the air this morning. This is our first Boomer activity and we are enjoying meeting these fine folks almost as much as we do our fellow HDT'rs. I know folks travel farther, but it did not make sense logistically to try to do this, leave early for the rally in Hutch, then return to to AZ were we plan to Winter. On a social/emotional level, we are really feeling bad about not being with you in Hutch this year. This is our first extended dry camping experience. So far so good. (Knock on wood!) Jim

Cathy and I are at Ballard RV Park in Thompson Springs, UT, about 30 miles north of Arches NP. Nothing fancy, but more than enough room for us on site and getting into the site. If it's not in the HDT Campground Guide, I will add it. We plan to be here at least a week and visit Arches, Canyon Lands, Dead Horse Point State Park and Colorado National Monument.

We will be leaving Bryce Canyon (Ruby's RV Park) tomorrow morning and traveling northeast to Torrey, UT on Scenic UT-12 where we will stay 3 nights before going on to Moab. Utah has been a wonderful experience.

Paul and Paula, Cathy and I are still at Island View RV Park just down the road from where you are. Give me a call at (phone number deleted after Paul called and we met up for a nice dinner in West Yellowstone) if you are up for meeting for dinner or something while you are here. Jim

We were in Johnson's RV Park in St. Mary for 10 nights, but our truck is not painted to match our trailer.

We arrived at Valley View RV Park (and Laundromat) in Island Park, ID this afternoon. The RV park seems fine so far and I can't complain about $500 a month with 50 amp included for this location near Yellowstone. There was a sign posted on the door when I went to register warning of a mama cougar with cubs being seen at dusk and dawn. I hope to get to see them and getting a decent photo would be very cool! There is one other HDT'r here from Washington State but they said they are not on the forum. Yesterday, we saw a bobtail white Volvo with a smart car on the deck in Missoula, MT. Was not Paul and Paula, unless they got a new truck. Jim

Tipper, We are also in Spearfish, SD for a few more days at Elkhorn Ridge RV Resort. I would suggest a meet up, but both Cathy and I have been pretty sick. I went on antibiotics and am getting better now, but not over it. My gift to my wife for her birthday was to give her my cold. She is a few days behind me with it and still feeling pretty poorly. You don't want to be around us yet. We will probably leave here on Tuesday to make our way up to Glacier NP. Jim

Rod, Cathy and I flew to Sioux Falls on separate dates to set up our domicile. I enjoyed walking around the falls area when I was there. I learned when I was there that I didn't need to rent a car like I did, so when Cathy went she got the free airport shuttle to motel that is next door to DMV, then after she got her SD driver's license the next morning, she took the motel shuttle right back to airport and missed seeing the falls. Maybe we can stop on the way through so she can see too. It almost seems required if we are truly SD residents! Jim

We are in Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Campground (Anoka County Park) just north of Minneapolis MN for the holiday weekend to visit a niece and some friends we made a couple winters ago at the SKP park in Bushnell. FL. Current plans for the rest of July is to spend a couple weeks in Badlands and Black Hills of SD, then to Glacier for a week before spending the month of August outside the West entrance to Yellowstone.