Raquel

I thought for a bit that some traffic might be built for this topic but, I've seen only 4 - 8 people post here. Unless some people start posting, the "sticky" topic seems to be "best". How many members are we? Trish and I have never gotten a membership list. What is the true purpose of the RDBE group?

Welcome, Ed! I look forward to hearing more from you as I'm a newbie myself, only 5 months into owning our Volvo.

Everything I know about doing things to a vehicle I learned helping my dad. I hated him for it, but he had me under the car holding the light for him or getting him tools. I remember freezing to death out in the garage during the winter and worst of all, I remember all the grease and dirt all over my hands. I guess some of that knowledge rubbed off on me but, not too much. Trish likes, or at least tolerates and doesn't mind, getting her hands greasy and dirty. She just doesn't back that up with the knowledge. Usually, together, we muddle through and manage to do some things to the truck ourselves. When it comes to the big, heavy things, and the things that take some real knowledge, we'll pay someone to do it for us. I understand about the list of things to be done and not being too successful at getting those things done. I have my list of things that should be done and Trish has her list of things that should be done. I'm not sure either of us win on that front, or, maybe we both do?

The last few weeks it's been hot and smokey here. In addition to 100+ degree temps, we have fires burning about 30 miles to the east and northeast. The smoke settles in as the air cools so the smoke is horrible, keeping us from doing much outside but, that's not why I'm writing. Trish and I are going to put the truck back together this weekend while it's not smokey and while it's fairly cool. (Then we head for the house where the A/C's been running non-stop.) We've been wiring the truck sleeper and putting plugs in and, adding shore power. This morning we wire another plug into the storage compartment and connecting the battery charger, so that our battery charger is keeping the batteries up whenever the truck is plugged in. Last weekend we bought a refrigerator and a microwave for the truck. Thinking about getting dressed and going out to work on the truck this morning made me wonder how many of this group work on their trucks or, at least help work on the trucks?

Making this topic "Sticky" is sure a lot better than having the topic disappear off into "La-La-Land".

Thank you, Davena.

Here in the Northern California (halfway between Sacramento and Redding) mountains/foothills we have to deal with this. 2008 was the last time when we were on evacuation alert, meaning within a half hour of having to leave ... for 2 weeks. For a month we had to wear heavy-duty masks whenever we went outside because the smoke was so bad. The other side of the main road, only 2 blocks away, was already evacuated. It really is quite an emotional site to see those big planes and helicopters flying overhead and dumping their loads just up the road.

Even though I'm really new here, I hope you all don't mind me voicing my opinion. While our current title does this to a degree, I wouldn't be in favor of making a new space "ladies only, no men need apply or lurk", exclusive to women. There are many men who take an interest in the decorating, cooking, homemaking that goes on in an RV. Trish and I are interested in, and participate in, "the inside work and the outside work", as someone we talked with this weekend called it. I feel that limiting a new forum/sub-forum by gender is too limiting for all of us ... men and women. On Edit: Perhaps I'm a little confused as to the purpose of this thread/group?

Well, right now our home doesn't change places like you. But, we're still having fun with our truck. Isn't that what this group is about? Kind of? Trish and I just got back from a 4-day camping trip in our truck. We got too much sun and way too much wind but, we had a good time. We reconnected with some people we'd met another trip ... because of the truck ... and met some new people ... because of the truck ... and had some really good quiet times where we read and we talked and talked. And we walked. We're still not back to walking as much as we'd like. I'm coming off a heel injuring from overdoing on a treadmill and Trish is recovering from a fall when she missed a step in her sister's house last August. But, we're both getting better and our walks are getting better. This last camping trip has helped us to prioritize what we want to do with the truck. Putting shore power in has become a priority so that we can have a "REAL" refrigerator and a microwave would be nice. Now I need to start looking around to see who can do the work at a reasonable price. This kind of thing is one of the reasons we haven't gotten the 5th wheel yet. We wanted to spend time with just the truck, getting used to it and figuring out what we wanted to do to make it livable for a few days at a time. Trish did say though, that she thinks it's time we start looking for our 5th wheel. Well, that's it in a nutshell, except, that I want to thank you, Sharon, for prodding just a bit to get some of us to talk. I talk to the guys all the time on the regular forum but I'd like to get to know all of you too. So, thank you, Sharon!

We've actually considered "Miss Daisy" or "Ms. Daisy". A friend of ours said one day, in an email, something about driving "Miss Daisy" up to Oregon for a visit. Trish doesn't like the name though. (I really like "Miss Daisy") You're probably right about the name one day just "falling into our laps". And, it'll probably come from someone else. She's already been called "Big Red" by a friend but, that name is already in use by Linda & Bob Elliot. One of the reasons we don't have our trailer yet is because we're trying to concentrate on learning to handle the truck before adding the complexity of a trailer. Since Trish is taking awhile, it's probably been a good decision.

Same idea ... "Paper Weight" or "Paper Wait" except that the latter indicates a resolution.

My son and I took one of the full-day guided tours (or was it half day? It was a long time ago.). I just fell in love with Yellowstone. I wouldn't mind doing like you are doing, going back every year. We took her (we haven't named "her" yet) out last Saturday. We live about 25 miles up in the mountains outside of Chico, CA, and we took her down to Chico so we could do some shopping for her. Trish wanted to drive (YIPPEE!!), so she went through the whole pre-trip with a lot of help. It was good for her (Trish, not the truck ... we really do have to get "her" named ) to start gaining that familiarity. There are two-lane twisty roads, streets through a small town, 4-lane road down the mountain and then in-town driving to get to WalMart. Trish did really well. She'll be okay once she REALLY figures out that she can do it. BTW ... did I ever mention that we almost named "her" "Paper Weight"?

I love Yellowstone. Many, many years ago my oldest son and I took a trip there and spent a week in the old Yellowstone Lake Lodge (I think it has burned down since?). It's an experience I will never forget and look forward to going back with Trish. Yes, Trish drives too. She doesn't drive as often as I think she should but, we'll get there. She has problems seeing at night and, probably worse, she lacks confidence. Until 6 years ago, the biggest thing she's driven was a Subaru Wagon. She had someone run into her in the Subaru and I don't think she's fully psychologically recovered from that experience. Since then we've gotten the GMC, and now the Volvo. She does well in the GMC but hasn't gained full confidence driving the Volvo yet. We figure that she has to learn EVERYTHING because, after all, she's a full partner in this relationship.

This is something I've been wondering about so, thanks for the info! I used to can all our jams, jellies and, fruits (pears, apples, peaches, apple sauce and, even tomatoes). I've been backing off though because we're trying to prepare for moving into a trailer. We've wondered though about canning small batches for those things we find as we begin to travel. I started a sourdough started from scratch about 5 or 6 years ago. So, we bake all of our breads. When we buy our trailer it's going to have to have a good oven so we can continue baking. Trish has allergies to the gluten but the sourdough neutralizes the glutens.

Hi, We've bought our tractor. Two weeks ago we flew down to Phoenix to get our truck and spent 2 days driving it home. On the way home we stopped at a dealer who handles the trailer we're interested in. We expect to have our trailer sometime in the next year. However, Trish doesn't retire for 4 years. Once we get the trailer we'll move into it. Do we become "full-timers" when we move in or once Trish retires?

I don't see where this app offers "trucker" (RV) routing. Reviews don't look all that good either.

GASP! A MAN! Thanks, Trey! I'll have to do some research (reviews, etc.).

We really like Google Navigator on our Android and have been trying to find truck navigation to work with it, but have been drawing a big blank. So, we finally gave up and bought lifetime updates for our Garmin.

Ooeeewww ... doesn't sound like fun at all. I think that I would have figured it didn't pertain to us. Trish says she would think that it was meant for us. In that case, I guess it would have been up to whomever was driving at the time. A trucker's GPS came with with our truck when we bought it but, we don't have our trailer yet. Half the time we don't pay attention to its warnings about going down a road because we're bobtail. However, I think it's probably a good thing to have, especially with these giants.

Trish and I just got back from a wonderful weekend at a nearby (55 miles) lake. We're not full-time yet, and we don't have our trailer yet. but we have our truck! It's a little close for living but, we had a really good time.

It reminds me of the old chicken and egg question. Which came first?

Sharon, Since it seems that we're included in the HDT forum, at least for now, how about if we start posting to the HDT forum in individual posts/questions/topics, like the rest of the forum, instead of one huge run-on topic? Perhaps we could preface the topics with "RDBE-"??

I'm new here but, not new to the Escapees Forums. I agree that RDBE should have its own section. Being within the HDT section, for me, it gets lost.

Hi all, I've been lurking for a month or two, trying to learn as much as possible. I recently retired. My spouse retires in 6 years. We had originally thought of getting an Heavy Duty Dodge Ram, but after closely examining the specs decided that wouldn't be too good an idea. We came across Jack's pages talking about his HDT and realized that's what we needed. Our plan calls for getting a Volvo 770-780 in a year or year-and-a-half. Then about a year later we'll be getting our 5er, living in it and taking looong weekends until Trish retires. Then we're on the road ... until we're not any longer.