trailertraveler

I got my first credit card in the 1970s. I have had one time that a credit card was compromised. This was about 5 years ago. The card was cancelled and a new card received the next day. The 2 credit cards that I have provide alerts by email or text for any purchase made without the card being presented and any purchase above an amount that I can set to any amount from $1 up. They also provide free credit monitoring. I have on occasion received inquiries from my credit card companies as we travel cross country to verify that the charges being made at different locations are really mine. Because my information was thought to be in some of the major data breeches of private companies and government agencies, I also have free monitoring from Experion and a government contracted monitoring service.

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

Our income tax situation is very simple nowadays with 2  1099RSS's, another 2, 1099R's , and a 1099INT. With the increased standard deduction we don't have enough deductions to even come close to needing any forms other than the standard 1040SR.

Like yours, our return is simple. With the increased standard deduction we also do not itemize. Schedule B (for interest income) and Schedule 1 (for early withdrawal penalty) were the only forms needed in addition to the 1040. I had no problems related to these schedules. There is no 1040SR in the online forms that I saw.

The program creates blank 1099 & W-2 forms that you have to enter data into. The problems encountered all involved the creation of extraneous blank forms (1099R & W-2) that did not immediately show in the onscreen list and the failure of the program to recognize the entries in the drop down State field of several addresses. 

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

As a footnote, just now I received a text from my bank that our refund was deposited today. 

How long did it take to get your return?

On 1/18/2022 at 10:50 AM, Kirk W said:

Free File: Do your Federal Taxes for Free

 

After seeing the IRS news releases about backlogs in processing tax returns and encouraging electronic filing, I decided to try their system. I had to use the free file fill forms. I have done my own tax returns for decades. Now that we are retired, our returns are relatively simple. I started by filing out all the forms as I usually would. I then accessed the IRS website and entered the data line by line from my completed forms. The first several attempts resulted in rejections. The explanations of the rejections and the proposed fixes were a mix of computer jargon and hard to understand (at least for me) explanations. Several of the errors involved the state field in addresses. It took several times changing the entry and changing it back to finally resolve these errors. Other errors resulted from the creation of multiple 1099R forms and a W2 form (even though I had no W2) which were not visible until logging out and logging back in a day later. Clicking the instructions link when filling out the forms linked to the instructions for the hard copy forms not instructions specific to the online forms. Two submissions to the help desk received no replies. I did finally get the return accepted. In past years, submitting my return by mail in mid-February resulted in a relatively prompt refund. I hope this year's electronic filing will result in similar results.

13 hours ago, FlyFishn said:

Interesting post. This sounds pretty close to what we're looking at.

What Hensley hitch do you have?

Did you use any hitches previously to the Hensley? If so - what made you upgrade? If not - why did you go straight to the Hensley?

Have you scaled your rig loaded on a trip? I would be curious what your numbers are - both truck ratings (axles, GVWR) and combination weights as scaled.

I looked at the ProPride's (what Hensley turned in to) about a month ago - I watched the install/set up video series. That is an intriguing hitch design, but at ~$3500 I have a hard time justifying that. That is air ride 5th wheel territory on pricing.

 

I believe they called it the Arrow. I have had it since 2007 and towed three different trailers with it. I believe the Spring Bars are 1200#. We had a 27' Class C for three years so I knew how much side push there was from wind and passing trucks at high speed on the two lane highways we prefer to travel. I towed a lot of smaller trailers and boat trailers before getting a 30' travel trailer. In our traels with the Class C we observed trailers swaying, Good friends rolled their truck and trailer due to uncontrollable sway. I bought the Hensley because we planned numerous cross country trips and I knew that if we experienced any sway it would likely be the end of DW's RVing.

I did scale the previous truck (Chevy 2500) and trailer three years ago when we bought the current trailer. The local truck scale could not do individual wheels so I rented wheel scales. All the weights were under the ratings, but I can't find the exact numbers. I seem to recall that the tongue weight was around 1100#. I haven't reweighed since I upgraded to the 3500. The rear springs are not completely compressed when loaded for travel. We seem to shed weight in the trailer with just about every trip by removing items we find that we do not use. I have also moved some heavy rarely used items (mostly tools) from the trailer to the truck.

29 minutes ago, FlyFishn said:

F350 CCLB SRW

The Fas-Cap linked to by Dutch_12078 looks interesting. You would still have to deal with the 5th wheel hitch if it is absolutely necessary to remove it during your stays.

Will a 5th wheel within the towing specs of your truck have enough storage capacity and cargo carrying capacity to carry everything that you are planning to move into the truck bed at your destinations?

I tow a 34', 10,000# travel trailer with a Chevy 3500 CCLB SRW with a Century Cap. I tow with a Hensley Hitch and have experienced no handling issues even in winds to 45MPH or with trucks passing at high speed in the opposite direction on two lane highways. The bed of the truck is usually pretty full up to the rails with tools, fishing gear, hunting gear, camping gear and extra supplies. A roof rack on the cap carrries a 12' portabote. 

Here is a link to the Facebook Group. Here are the results of a Search for "Boondocking for Big Rigs". There is no universally agreed upon definition for "Boondocking". Some consider any dry camping (including in parking lots) as "Boondocking". Boondockers Welcome and Harvest Hosts are often cited as resources for boondockers. Both the Escapees RV Club and the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA) maintain lists of their members that allow other members to stay on their property.  There are many National Forest Campgrounds with no facilities. Some are still free. In my experience, some are not suitable for big rigs either because of access issues or site size. The Forest Camping website linked to above gives detailed descriptions of many National Forest campgrounds. 

Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!

Some states like Kansas allow camping at their state fishing lakes. Others allow camping on wildlife management areas, recreation areas and state forests. The regulations vary from state to state and often from area to area within a state. For example, some New Mexico State Parks have areas open to dispersed vehicle camping for $8/night.

Most National Forests have at least some areas open to dispersed vehicle camping. You will need to consult the current Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) for each forest or consult the Forest Headquarters or Ranger District. Open areas can change at the discretion of the Forest Manager. 

With the increased popularity of RVing in recent years, some agencies are placing more restrictions on dispersed vehicle camping. Some areas have been closed and others converted into more organized areas of designated campsites. Even if dispersed vehicle camping is permitted in an area; access may be dependent on road conditions at the time of your visit and the weight, ground clearance, height, width, angle of attack capability and traction capability of your RV.

Again, Welcome to the Escapees Forum.  

3 hours ago, palmeris said:

Just a question...can you stay at a thousand trails park without having a membership?  How do you check out the differnt parks in the zones without a membership?

As mentioned, nonmembers can stay. If you are in the area, you can stop at the office and get permission to drive through. We do this often with parks in areas we intend to return to not just Thousand Trails parks.

If you are going to travel and see the country, you will end up staying at many campgrounds that you have not had an opportunity to visit to check out in advance. In 2021, we stayed at 39 different campgrounds (18 that we had never stayed at before). I have not found a Thousand Trails park that is not listed in RV Park Reviews. The Campsite Photos Website has photos of many campgrounds. Not sure how many Thousand Trails campgrounds are listed or have photos. I use satellite views like Google Earth or Google Maps to check out many of the campgrounds that we consider visiting for the first time.

Ruy's Inn is a popular choice for visiting Bryce. Kodachrome Basin and Escalante Petrified Forest state parks are near Bryce. If you can go through the tunnel with your RV (height and length restricts) there are campgrounds on the west side of the park that are popular.

I have found that the cashback on fuel credit cards give a lot of flexibility in where to purchase fuel. Penn Federal and at times Discover and Visa give 5% cashback on fuel purchases. At $3.00/gal that is $0.15/gal. Combining that with a Shell or other loyalty card that gives $0.05/gal or the Good Sam $0.08/gal at Pilot/FlyingJ puts the savings over $0.20/gal. There is also an American Express Card that gives 6% cashback on Groceries and 3% on fuel, but it has an annual fee ($95). If you shop at any of the several Kroger owned stores, the base discount at their fuel stations and Shell stations is $0.03/gallon (more if you have enough purchases for the month). This can also be combined with a Credit Card discount. 

17 hours ago, mptjelgin said:

We have found that things have changed dramatically in the past 3-4 years

We have been RVing about 6 months a year (3 months in the Spring and 3 months in the Fall) since 2004. Our experience has been similar to mptjelgin's. We rarely use to make reservations more than a day or two in advance. This past Fall was the first time that we had advance reservations for nearly every stay longer than one night. Heading West to New Mexico from the East Coast in August, we were able to get into the campgrounds we wanted by calling in the morning and making a reservation for that night. While campgrounds were not completely full, the available sites for longer rigs were often not available so we would have to unhook the trailer in order to fit in a site. We prefer not to do this when only passing through for a night. Pull throughs were often also in short supply or unavailable. Traveling through Kansas in 100 degree heat, we were able to get sites in some County, State and Corps of Engineers (COE) campgrounds on relatively short notice. Across the country, some of the State and COE campgrounds, had lots of dry camping sites available. At others whole loops or an entire campground were closed due to Covid. On the return to the East Coast in October, we had no problem getting sites travelling through OK, AR. AL and TN during the week. The large campground we stayed at in Sevierville, TN was completely full the entire week we were there. Every campground that we stayed at along I-81 through VA and WV was nearly full during the week and reservations could not be had a month in advance for weekends.

I am currently in the process of making reservations for our Spring trip to Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. So far, I have been able to book three two week stays in March and April. One is at a county park. The other two are at Thousand Trails parks with our Zone Pass (reservations cannot be made more than 60 days in advance).

It will be interesting to see what if any impact the rising fuel prices have. The last time fuel was near $4.00/gal (I think it was 2009 or 2010) RV travel declined in popular out of the way places like Yellowstone (Diesel was $4.45/gal. inside the park that year when we were there in Sept.)

6 hours ago, Danfreda1 said:

If you have Allstays app you can find city and county parks with 2-4 nights free before paying.

I have found the best websites for finding free or low-cost public campgrounds to be Free Campsites and The Ultimate Public Campgrounds Project. Local, county and state fairgrounds often have large no frill campgrounds that are virtually empty when there are no scheduled events. In some states like KS, free dry camping is available at many state fishing lakes. Many of these are listed in the above resources.

42 minutes ago, ddrischell said:

The Level Mate Pro looks amazing!  I'm really considering getting this one for my TT.  Thank you for your advice!

I am also looking into the Level Mate products. The reviews that I have seen are mostly positive. The negative reviews seem to mostly focus on the battery power of the Level Mate Pro (the Pro+ has a USB connection capability) and the ability of the device to connect with the cellphone through metal walled trailers and when the cellphone is in the cab of the tow vehicle.

Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!!

I have not used the levelers that you mention. Since 2007 we have used the same set of Lynx Levelers. They can be damaged if not stacked correctly, but I have always been able to re-bend the plastic to make them usable again. Camco makes a similar block which looks like it may not be as sturdy. RV Mate and Yosager also make similar products and there are several others listed on Amazon. These types of blocks can be stacked. Each row can be off-set so they are linked together to prevent slipping apart. We have stacked as many as four high on a few occasions. One or two high will usually be sufficient in most campgrounds.  We also use the Lynx caps and wheel chocks. The caps give the tires a smooth uniform surface to sit on. How many you need will be determined by how unlevel the ground of your campsite is. I also use them under the tongue jack and stabilizer jacks as ground pads. I have three bags of levelers (30), 10 caps and 4 chocks.

Again, Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!!

I am thinking that it will be based on one of the currently available electric vans or an upcoming model like the ones ordered by Amazon or the Brightdrop vans ordered by FEDEX and Walmart. 

3 hours ago, RV_ said:

I will be towing a smaller trailer or fiver, very small like another Scamp 19 foot fiver with an EV, either a teardrop with the Model Y SUV or a small fiver with the Rivian or Cybertruck

Considering the towing limitations of gasoline powered SUVs, I was curious about SUV EV's capabilities. I did some searches. This is what I found. Comparison of EV SUV's towing capacity.   With a 350# tongue weight rating, the recommended 10-15% tongue weight for a 3500# travel trailer would be at or over the hitches rating. If the tow ratings are calculated like for most vehicle's they are not based on trailers with the frontal profile of many travel trailers. Hence the common recommendation to select a trailer of 75-80% of the vehicle's maximum tow rating. The smallest r-pod currently listed on the Forrest River website has an unloaded vehicle weight listed as 3159#.  The TAB trailers are listed as having a dry weight of about 2000# plus or minus depending on model. If one applies the recommendations for tow vehicle wheelbase to trailer length this further limits the choices of trailers as SUVs typically have short wheelbases than pickups.  (According to Car and Driver, the Tesla Y has a wheelbase of 113.8".)  As with pairing any tow vehicle with a trailer, lots to consider.

I also found this article on towing a 3000# boat which addresses the reduction in range when towing. I suspect that a trailer with a less aerodynamic profile than a boat would experience a greater reduction.

On 1/12/2022 at 11:26 AM, trailertraveler said:

Other questions come to mind for boondockers. How big of a solar system would be required to recharge EV batteries in a reasonable amount of time?

I did a little searching to try to answer my own questions. Numerous articles addressed what is required to charge EVs using solar. Most concluded that about 2000 watts of solar panels in a location like AZ or NV would recharge an EV like a Tesla or Volt in a typical day. I recall one article that specified that their calculations were based on the typical EV owner driving about 40 miles per day. Here is a photo of a solar powered rapid charger.  So it appears that a large motor home or fifth wheel may be able to support enough panels to be pretty self-sufficient. 

17 hours ago, RV_ said:

So unless you are trying to say that only motorhomes are RVs, (NOT!) there are already EV RVs and more every day.

Here is a MOTORTREND article December 15 2021 towing and range test with a Rivian R1T.

Looking at the MOTORTREND article and also the specifications for the R1T, the same weight and payload issues discussed so many times on this forum regarding matching tow vehicle and trailer apply. The MOTORTREND test and likely the vehicle specifications were not conducted/developed for a trailer with the frontal area of the typical travel trailer or 5th wheel trailer. As with most Light Duty trucks, the 1760 payload capacity of the R1T will likely be the limiting factor in matching a trailer to the truck. With a 12% tongue weight an 11,000# trailer would leave only 440#s for passengers and additional cargo. An 8,800# 5th wheel with a 20% pin weight would max out the 1760# payload.  I did see mention of a future model with a 20,000# towing capacity but could not find the payload capacity. So at least for now, the available EV tow vehicles would appear to limit the choice of a trailer just as the choice of a 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton or 1 ton pickup does. 

1 minute ago, GlennWest said:

Would have to have a huge battery. Likely hurt storage space. 

and likely affect carrying capacity.

In the several discussions about the switch to electric vehicles for RVing whether for use as a toad, tow vehicle or this concept, one thing that I think is missing  is the impact on campground electrical infrastructure and even the supporting utility company infrastructure supplying a campground. What upgrades will be required to provide a sufficiently rapid vehicle charge as well as power for the typical RV systems. It is my understanding that there are EV battery chargers that can use the RV 50amp outlet to provide a charge in a reasonable amount of time. It is also my understanding that use of 120volt outlets for charging EV batteries is a slow process. Most campgrounds that I have been to have only one 50amp outlet per site and many are not capable of powering the 50amp, 30amp and 20amp circuits simultaneously. So, does the EV owner rent one site for the 50amp RV and a second to charge the EV? Do the try to get by plugging the EV into an outlet on the RV? Does the campground owner install meters on every site or designated EV sites so that they can fairly charge for the power used to charge the EV?

Other questions come to mind for boondockers. How big of a solar system would be required to recharge EV batteries in a reasonable amount of time? Can enough solar panels be placed on the typical RV to keep the batteries charged while underway? If not, since solar only works during daylight hours, how does that affect travel? Drive at night, recharge during the day? Travel only every other day? Use a 240V generator to recharge?

It will be interesting to see how a transition to all electric RVs progresses.

12 hours ago, bobsallyh said:

mash your motor south on I-81 and get to I-10 as quickly as possible.

From the Philadelphia area you can get to I-81 either by going West to Carlisle on the PA Turnpike or take I-95 to I-695 West to I-70 to US-340 to I-81 at Winchester, VA. There are tolls on both routes. I believe the I-95 toll in Maryland is only collected in the Northbound direction. I-81 ends at I-40 in Tennessee which is why I mentioned I-75 and I-59 for getting further South.

Welcome to the Escapees Forum!! I agree that heading South is the best bet.  I would go at least as far South as I-20 and then South to I-10. We have travelled South to Florida from PA/NJ every year since 2007.   I-81 or I-95 are your interstate choices heading South. I-81 heads more Southwest, but goes through the mountains of Virginia and Tennessee. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday look like they will be a little warmer with no precipitation so I would try to get as far South as possible on those days. Checkout your potential overnight stops in advance as not all campgrounds are open all year along the Northern part of these routes. Most years we head South on I-95 and few campgrounds are open North of the Virginia Beach area in the winter. I would avoid Atlanta. I-81 to I-75 to I-59 will get you to I-20 West of Atlanta. Watch the weather and be prepared to alter your travel plans or wait out bad weather.

Again, Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!!

I have used it many times for years. It has been linked to many times on this forum in many discussions about boondocking and free camping. Along with The Ultimate Campgrounds Project it is one of my go to sites for locating spots on public lands. 

Looking at the information in the links of Kirk's original post and the link provided by Steven@146 it appears that Love's currently has 6 locations with RV parking spaces. I could not find any of these listed in the KOA online directory/reservation website. The Love's website link provided by Steven@146 does have a reservation feature for these locations. The McComb, MS Love's/KOA does not appear to be listed on the KOA online directory/reservation website yet. It's opening date may not be established at this time.

47 minutes ago, Steven@146 said:

I have also read where they have already expanded Love's/KOA into MO, TX, TN, OK, AL and ND. Here is a link.

 https://www.camplife.com/campground/Loves+RV+Stops

Thanks for the link. Looking at the information for each location provided on the website, these appear to be no frill parking lot style paved sites. The largest number of sites at any one of these locations appears to be 9. 

47 minutes ago, Steven@146 said:

Over on a manufactures owner forum we have been discussing this. One of our members stayed at the Love's / KOA in Bates City MO. They report the KOA had a No Hook Up, option or just Water Power with a separate dump station on the way out of the park. They said the park was nice, well lit and the price was reasonable at $38 / night. Check-In was through an app so there was no human interaction.

Many KOA's have had a choice of no hookup, water/electric and full hookup sites for many years. Cost increases as the amenities at the site increased.  Before the advent of so much online information and online reservations, this often caused confusion and allegations of bait and switch as many campground directories only listed the lowest price without qualifiers like "from", "as low as", or "starting at".

Here is a link to an article about Covid-19 that I found interesting.  

Quote

From April to December of last year, about 30% of the deer that they tested were positive for SARS-CoV-2 by a PCR test. And then during the winter surge in Iowa, from Nov. 23, 2020, to Jan. 10 of this year, about 80% of the deer that they tested were infected. At the peak of the surge, Kapur says, the prevalence of the virus in deer was effectively about 50 to 100 times the prevalence in Iowa residents at the time. 

During this time frame, the team also sequenced the genes of nearly 100 samples of the virus. They found the variants circulating in the deer matched the variants circulating in people....

Another concern, Saif says, is that SARS-CoV-2 could evolve inside the deer and create new strains of the virus. Researchers have already documented such a scenario with minks on farms in the Netherlands and Poland, she points out. In those studies, farmworkers passed the virus on to captive animals. As the virus spread through the minks, it mutated and created new variants. These new versions of the virus then spilled back to the humans, the researchers reported.

The last time I looked, the Escapees Discount Parks that gave the 50% discounts were also participants in the Passport America Program. The conditions (i.e. blackout dates, length of stay, etc.) for individual parks were the same for each program. PPA had more participating parks but if the parks you would use are in the Escapees program there is no need for both memberships.

With regard to Good Sam, by far the greatest benefit that I have received is the intervention of their dispute resolution staff in resolving two initially denied warranty claims that saved me over $1k. I seem to recall that at one time Love's gave a fuel discount to Good Sam members. That ended and a discount program was initiated with Flying J. With the Pilot/Flying J merger, the Good Sam discount was extended to both Flying J and Pilot.

As has been mentioned before, the KOA 10% discount and the redemption of earned points can pay for the membership if you use their parks enough. KOA also has partnerships with other companies that provide discounts to KOA members. In the past this has included Allstate Roadhelp, tire manufacturers and others.