trailertraveler
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Posts posted by trailertraveler
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44 minutes ago, remoandiris said:
The blowout would not have been detected.
Maybe, maybe not. This is from a popular tire site.
QuoteWhile one might assume that all blowouts are caused by too much internal pressure bursting a weak spot in the tire, the main reason for them is just the opposite. Most blowouts are caused by too little air pressure allowing the tire to flex beyond its elastic limits until it overheats to the point where the rubber loses its bond to the internal fabric and steel cord reinforcement.
A TPMS may well detect a decrease in tire pressure or increase in temperature before a blowout. Even if you can see all the tires from behind the wheel, which I can not and doubt that most can, how often do you check all the tires. I also doubt that most drivers could detect a 5psi decrease in tire pressure viewing through a mirror while going down the road. Most TPMS have audible and visual alerts. TPMS systems are just one of many safety accessories. New cars and light trucks have them. Whether you add them to your towed vehicles is up to you.
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15 minutes ago, GlennWest said:
...I can not promote something to add to a valve stem...
There are internal systems similar to the OEM ones available. Here is one that will work on tires up to 80 psi (range 0-116 psi). Here is one for trucks and busses with a range to 188psi.
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2 hours ago, whj469 said:
I was interested in and read about the sensors weakening the valve stems and even some breaking the valve stems!
You need to replace the press in valve stems with solid metal bolt in valve stems.
15 minutes ago, GlennWest said:I have never had a tire to blow out. Just leaked down slowly due to a nail. TPS won't prevent this.
No, but it will let you know that the pressure is dropping and give you a chance to prevent the tire from going flat and ruining the tire and possibly the rim. In the case of dual wheels, it may prevent the certain damage to second tire of the pair caused by the severe overload of that tire. My TPS has alerted me to three nails/screws in tires and all three were able to be patched and ran the rest of their normal life with no further issues.
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Here is the link to another program that might interest you. Harvest Host Here is a link to their map of locations.
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11 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:
Someone mentioned the high cost of RV'ing in Florida earlier, so I thought I'd mention that for the 64 nights we stayed there last winter in 7 different state and national parks, and 1 private park, we averaged just about $20/night. Florida can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be expensive.
Camping costs are controllable and also highly variable depending on how you camp and travel. Even in Florida there are places like Wildlife Management Areas and Water Management Districts where one can dry camp for free. There are also public campgrounds that offer dry camping at relatively low fees. In general; the fewer amenities that you want, the lower the cost. We prefer to have electric so limit our selves to campgrounds with that at least that amenity. We generally like to stay a week, rarely more than two in a location. We do not like to make reservations more than a few days in advance. This year, we were unable to get sites in any of the state Parks in the areas we visited. We spent 74 nights in Coastal Georgia and Florida (Savannah to Sarasota) this past February - May. Despite having one week at $99.00 and another at $105.00, our average was $30.95. Fuel is another somewhat controllable cost. We spent $645.69 on diesel fuel during that same time period.
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PPA is not a franchise so they often participate in more than one third party program. Many participate in Happy Camper and some the Escapees' 50% Discount Program. Depending on the area of the country, one program may have more participating parks than the others. The conditions are usually the same for all of the deep discount programs that a park participates in. Some give discounts to Good Sam, AAA, AARP, military, etc., and will give that 10% discount whether you are a PPA member or not.
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On 7/7/2018 at 4:54 PM, LFDR3116 said:
We use PPA a lot but sometimes find non advertised mom & pop type smaller campgrounds for even less.
1 hour ago, DKRITTER said:we always look at Passport America first
No discount membership is worth it unless you use it. We also use Passport America. It does not take many stays to break even. However, since we try to travel/stay where we find the temperatures and other weather factors (chance of tornados, hurricanes, seasonal flooding) to our liking; we find that more than 50% of the time the PPA discount does not apply. We have also found that parks seem to drop in and out of the PPA program more frequently than programs with a lesser discount. There are often additional charges for 50Amp service or more than two people (neither of which is of concern to us). There may be day of the week, length of stay, reservation, and payment restrictions. You have to read the listings in the PPA directory carefully. It is not uncommon for the regular rate at PPA parks to be what I would consider over priced for what you get.
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2 hours ago, Allentc2 said:
Given the limited space in RV (in my case, a 33-36' Class A) kitchens, what would you all say are "must haves" in the pot/pan/bakeware categories? Or kitchen utensils in general?
Since you list a size range, do you even have an RV yet? In my experience with a 27' Class C, 27 and 29' travel trailers; the issue is not so much one of not enough storage space as poorly designed storage space. Cabinets rarely have enough shelves to make good use of the space. Adding shelves or nested baskets, which I have done in several of the overhead cabinets, can improve the situation. The pantry in our current trailer had a bottom storage area that was far to tall to make good use of. I installed two additional shelves. The under sink cabinet had no shelves so I added one.
Nesting sets of pots, pans, cookie sheets, microwave cookware, etc., take little more space the a single one. Weight may be a bigger issue than the amount of storage space.
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We have stayed there a number of times. Never had any issues with our EMS system alerting or shutting down. There have been times that we could not stay there because the whole place was pretty much under water as it is inside the main levy. There is a high water mark just a few feet below the peak of the roof of the two story bathroom/laundry building.
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3 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:
...At what point do you think it proper to refuse to do business with a company and risk harming the employees?...
In today's culture it doesn't even take committing a crime. Research the reasons for the calls for a boycott against L.L. Bean.
On 4/7/2018 at 1:00 PM, Kirk Wood said:...So far as I am concerned, any place that I shop which carries any of his products will be told that if they continue to carry Anderson Hitch products they will lose all of my business...
Do you purchase from Amazon? They list Anderson products. It has been 2 weeks. Did you notify Amazon? Have you received a response?
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27 minutes ago, Daveh said:
...Reductio ad absurdum...Next up, someone argues if you boycott Andersen, you will need to boycott every retailer, bank, and distributor that supports them....
That is not what I said (at least not how I intended it to be interpreted). I said "If the current trends in boycotts are followed..." and then asked "Where does it end?" That is not recommending anything, simply commenting on the current tactics commonly being employed and asking how far does one go to punish the evil doer. You might want to read more carefully and try to understand what was actually written before you criticize/attack.
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I have not found any one directory, app, website or device that has All the campgrounds. I have a Garmin, it is easy to add POIs from the Discovery Owners' forum, POI Factory, Ultimate Public campground Project and other sources. I have adde about 30,000 campgrounds but still find ones as we travel that are not in any database.
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Ok, so no one should buy Anderson products. If the current trends in boycotts are followed, no one should buy from those that sell Anderson products such as Amazon and etrailer.com until they stop selling them. No publication or other media should accept advertisements for Anderson products or be shunned.. YouTube should ban all videos about Anderson Products. No one should do business with banks that do business with Anderson. Where does it end?
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50 minutes ago, Zulu said:
There's no mention of "health insurance" in his "budget".
Judging from this statement of his "I am young and healthy so I am working as a campground host in some beautiful places," I'll guess he has no medical insurance.
In the past, he stated that he would pay the tax penalty rather than buy health insurance. Now that the penalty has been lifted, I have no idea what he is doing in regard to health insurance. He stopped his blog a little over a year ago to focus on his You Tube videos. His website is monetized and if you use the Amazon link from his website he makes money on your purchases.
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If the case of Casey Nocket, who defaced natural features in several parks, is any indication of the penalties that will be imposed; the court of public opinion may be much tougher on Mr. Anderson and his business than the courts. Casey was banned "from land administered by the National Park Service as well as the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Army Corps of Engineers...started serving two years of probation, as well as completing 200 hours of community service...will eventually give a public apology..A financial settlement will be decided at a later court date..."
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The higher max tow rating and longer wheelbase of the Sequoia (122" versus the 109" of the 4 Runner) would be a better match for a 22-24' trailer than the 4 runner. A 27' trailer is a little long even for the Sequoia. The KZ trailer Kirk linked to that he said was like his son's is 21'3".
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1 hour ago, chirakawa said:
Modern hieroglyphs. Says a lot about the civilization of the time.
I was thinking petroglyphs, pictograms and the signatures left on Inscription Rock (El Moro National Monument) and Register Cliff, Independence Rock and Names Hill along the Oregon Trail.
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Quote
Our tent trailer had a furnace which kept us warm in Glacier National Park.
In my experience; the outside temperature, insulation factor of the RV structural material, amount of air intrusion/escape, size of the area to be heated and the output of the heater are important factors in maintaining a comfortable temperature inside the RV. Geographic location affects the probability of encountering various environmental conditions. We have encountered high 90's in Montana and below freezing in Florida and Arizona. The location had no perceivable effect on the ability of the heating or air conditioning to maintain a desirable temperature or not in the RV.
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It is not just the weight of the trailer that affects towing stability. The frontal and side area and aerodynamics or lack thereof of the trailer is another important factor. The maximum tow rating of some vehicles is based on towing a trailer (such as a utility or horse trailer) with a smaller frontal area than a travel trailer. As another post mentioned a popup will tow much easier than a full height trailer as will one of the collapsible trailers such as a Trailmanor or HiLo. The egg shaped trailers will also tow easier than a box shaped trailer of similar size.
As I mentioned in my previous post, trailer length is also a factor. Using the most commonly cited formula, a 109 inch wheel base tow vehicle should not be paired with a travel trailer over 20' in length.
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Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!!
How you plan to use your camper may influence your choice. Will it be for just weekend/vacation use? How much gear/cargo will you need to be carrying (volume and weight)? Will you require onboard bath and toilet facilities? Does each child need their own bed/bunk? Will you be in conditions that will require heating or air conditioning? These a just a few of the questions to ask yourself when evaluating potential trailers.
There is more to consider than just maximum towing capacity when matching a trailer and tow vehicle. The online specifications for the 2018 4 runner do not list the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR). This is the maximum weight that the vehicle and trailer can weigh. It may be less than the sum of the tow vehicle's GVWR and maximum tow rating and should be on the sticker inside the driver's door. Since you have the 4 runner, load it up with a full tank of fuel, the whole family and every thing that you will carry in the vehicle and go get it weighed. Subtract that number from the GCWR and you will have the real maximum tow capability for your circumstances. Subtracting that same weight from the GVWR of the 4 runner will tell you how much capacity you have left for the trailer tongue weight and additional cargo. This calculator may help you keep all the capacities within limits.
Another consideration is the relationship between trailer length and the wheelbase of the tow vehicle which for the 4 runner is just over 109 inches. Here is an article that discusses this.
Again, Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!!
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4 hours ago, OldMan said:
It's not written they must be mounted on the coach. Some folk use solar panels on frames so they can move the panel back toward the sun.
I know that.
On 1/4/2018 at 8:58 AM, trailertraveler said:...I have a 160 watt portable setup...
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59 minutes ago, GlennWest said:55 minutes ago, GlennWest said:
It is 24v as is. Just rewire to 12v.
Thank you!
1 hour ago, GlennWest said:1 kwh battery, $180.00. simple bulk charging.
If I am doing the math right 1000watts/12Volts means that it is an 83AH battery and is a 4 year old used one. If fully discharged it would provide about the same AH as a lead acid 160AH 12 Volt discharged to 50%.
You say simple bulk charge, but at what voltage? No float charge? A lot of the basic converter/chargers provided in travel trailers are not programmable. Not sure you could keep one from trying to float charge other than by turning it off which I think in most cases would also shut off the converter and result in the 12volt systems running off the battery.
We are getting pretty far off the OP's generator question, hope the discussion is at least somewhat useful to them.
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14 minutes ago, GlennWest said:
Just go to eBay and type in Chevy volt battery.
I did and this is what I found (It is a 100AH battery not 1kw) along with more expensive ones like this 400AH $1600.00. That is why I asked you for a link.
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8 minutes ago, GlennWest said:
1 kwh battery, $180.00. simple bulk charging.
How about a link? I searched and found nothing anywhere near that low priced. A LifePO4 65AH battery is $750. If it is not a 12V battery, what equipment like converters are needed and what are their sources, cost and space requirements. As I stated earlier the OP has a 21' trailer which I doubt has room for the multiple converters being mention in the ongoing discussion about Chevy Volt batteries.
1000 Trails ?? or KOA..?
in General RV Information
Posted
To me, Thousand Trails and KOA are completely different types of memberships. Thousand Trails is prepaid. Now that many of the Thousand Trail and Encore parks are open to non-members, you only save money if you use them enough. The KOA membership is a discount card with an annual cost of currently $30. For years we got a card for free from our RV road service provider. In addition to the 10% discount, points are accumulated with each stay that result in further cash discounts based on the accumulated points. For us, some of the larger savings have been on purchases from their business partners. They had a good deal on RV road service which also included a KOA gift card. What works for one may not work everyone.