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John, welcome to the fun! You've gotten some great advice here, the best being "BE SAFE." If you don't have a wiring diagram, or at least a chart of what is on what circuit, you may want to start creating one. Since you are dealing with this issue, I'd start by figuring out exactly which lights/outlets are on that circuit. The wiring will generally run from your breaker panel to the first outlet, then the second, then the third, etc., so that the first outlet is closest to the breaker panel and the last one is farthest away. As was mentioned above, it sounds like a GFCI is tripping. If that is the case, though, you should be resetting it at the GFCI. The breaker itself may not trip. The other possibility is that the panel breaker is actually tripping, but the handle is not moving enough to be obvious. When the circuit trips, how are you resetting it - at a GFCI outlet or at the panel?

We have a shredder with us. We've used the shredded paper to start fires a few times. Works best if it isn't windy - otherwise I get far too much exercise.

I've been called once for a local case and once for Federal. Didn't get on the panel for either case. Jo Ann was called once for a local case and got on the panel. We all got quite a chuckle out of one of the regular questions on the local case. The question was whether anyone on the jury panel kew any of the attorneys or the judge. No hands went up. The County Attorney turned to the judge and said, "Your Honor, I think we may be in trouble at the next election." This thread has gotten me to wondering what SD says about full-timers. I'll have to check that out.

This is one of those areas that each person has to figure out for themselves. Base YOUR decision on what YOU want to do. Generally, a MH is better if you will be moving fairly regularly (at least monthly), while a towable is better if you are staying in one place for longer periods of time. That includes when you are at home. The other side of that is that the towable usually requires a fairly large truck (F350 or similar) while a MH can tow a small, fuel-efficient vehicle. A fifth-wheel hitch takes up a large part of the truck's bed, but there is room around it for other things. A travel trailer (aka bumper pull) gives you the full truck bed for stuff. If you have other reasons for a truck, then a towable makes sense no matter what your travel plans are. If you don't, then maybe a MH is the better choice. Your current vehicle may be towable. Check your vehicle at http://www.remcotowing.com/Towing/Store.php. One thing to consider is that it will cost $3-5000 to set up your vehicle for towing. You will need the proper baseplate and a brake system. A fifth wheel hitch will be somewhat less IF you have to buy one.

John, many years ago Wally Byam, of Airstream fame, wanted to show the world how easily one of his trailers could be towed, so he attached one to a bicycle and pedaled it around some. He didn't go very far and he didn't go very fast, but he did go. No word on how long it took to stop, but I'm guessing that whether or not he used the bike's brake didn't make any difference. More recently, Oldsmobile advertised their brand-new Toronodo by attaching an Airstream to one, using a weight-distributing hitch, then removing the back tires on the car. They then drove it around in front of the camera for a series of advertisements. Again, they didn't go very far or very fast. At least they had brakes on the wheels that were left. The point of those two little stories is that there is a difference between what can be done and what should be done. Yes, you can load up your motorhome so that you can't stuff anything else in it, then fill up the car, and finally attach a rooftop carrier (full, of course) to the car. You will be able to go down the road, but it won't be safe OR fun. The ride will be awful, and you will be stopping at every other gas station you see. You are wise to pay attention to your loading. Your motorhome has a data plate somewhere near the driver's seat which gives you the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating, and the Gross Axle Weight Ratings for the front and rear axles. Once you find that data plate you have the first bit of information you need. Now load up the rig for a typical trip. Don't forget the wife, kids, toys, and the beer. Head to a place where you can get your rig weighed. You want a place that gives you the weight on the front axle, rear axle, and total. Many truck stops have such scales. There is a cost, but it is well worth the $10-15 to know this. Sometimes you can get the weights done for free at feed stores or scrap yards. Worth a few phone calls to find out. Once you know what the ACTUAL weights on each axle are, and the total weight, compare to the Gross Weight Ratings from the data plate. DO NOT exceed any of those ratings. For example, my MH has a gross axle weight rating for the front axle of 9500 pounds. If I have 8700 pounds there I'm fine. If I have 9501 pounds there I'm overloaded there. It is common to find that one axle is overloaded by a bit, while the other has plenty of capacity available. Simply move some of your stuff one way or the other to fix the problem. As for how much of a safety margin to have, that's up to you. Theoretically, you are safe if you are under EVERY max weight number. Some people want a 10-20% safety margin. Personally, I'm happy if everything is in the safe zone.

I'm guessing that you are going to have to put the trailer up on jack stands, remove all wheels, and take them to a place where you can get them replaced. Question: Do you really need new wheels, or were you just thinking that you can get new wheels and tires at home and then just make one trip? Is it possible to get the wheels and tires near where the trailer is? My thought is that, if you don't really have to replace the wheels, you can just pull the wheels and tires off, take them to the tire shop, have them replaced, and then reinstall the wheels with the new tires on them.

John, you are on the right path. First question: can you tow your Escalade four-down, or do you need a dolly or trailer? According to Remco, you can tow four-down if you have AWD, but not if your is RWD. What's the difference? Weight. If you have to use a dolly or trailer you will have an appreciable weight on the hitch, which is carried by the motor home. You will also have at least 400 pounds more to tow, which will put you at or maybe above your max tow weight. Since you are kind of pushing your upper weight limits, you may want to consider putting your whole rig on a diet. You can't do much about the propane, but you can reduce your water weight. Maybe carry only 1/4 tank of fresh water on travel days, and be sure to dump your black and grey tanks. You can also plan grocery trips with weight in mind. Use up the canned goods as much as possible before traveling, then restock when you are landed. One thing you didn't mention was a braking system for your towed. You really need one. Do some research on that, and get it installed BEFORE you hit the road. That can usually be done at the same time as the base plate is installed. Cost will be $3000 or more for the two, depending on exactly what you get and how much work it takes to install them. Figure on being without the car for a couple of days.

We flat tow our 2015 Lincoln MKT. Although ours is the Base model (front wheel drive, standard engine), the manual clearly says that almost ALL of these cars are towable. That INCLUDES the all-wheel drive models. If you are looking for a great vehicle, check out the MKT. We just drove from The Ranch (Escapees co-op between Carlsbad and Artesia) to White Sands National Park and back. We took a circular route, so crossed the mountains at different places coming and going. Gas was $1.999 in Alamogordo, so I took advantage of it. Got 31 mpg on the way back. I think it was more like 28 on the way out.

Like others, we do autopay for recurring amounts. Other payments, like the credit card that we use for everyday purchases, vary from month to month, so those are set up on an as-due schedule. We just schedule the payment date and amount. Many years ago we had an interesting experience with an autopay. For some reason the mortgage company didn't have our homeowner's insurance properly recorded, so they took an extra penny out. Jo Ann caught it and called to find out what was up. It took a few days to get it straightened out, and then only when Jo Ann mentioned some three-letter groups (ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC). THAT got their attention. The mortgage company was content to drop their extra insurance and keep the penny. Jo Ann wasn't. They actually had to get the treasurer out of a meeting to authorize the return of the penny!

What do you think of this? I'm of the mindset that says if you aren't paying for the product you ARE the product.

We fill the tank just before we arrive at the campground, no matter whether we're staying for one night or a few months. The only exception is if the trip that day is quite short, like today.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is towing something behind the MH. Many people think that they can use a Class C just like a car, only to discover that before they leave the campsite to go grocery shopping they have to stow everything just like they would when getting ready to drive 250 miles. Then, when you get done with the shopping, you have to level and set up again. Consider towing something that you can use for the running around. Another point to check, whether Class A or Class C, is check the difference between empty weight and gross weight of the rig. A full tank of fuel, full propane, and half a tank of fresh water can really eat into the available weight capacity.

I usually point or tell where the MH is and say that home is where we park it. I may then add that we grew up in Lincoln, NE, retired from SW MO, have church membership in WY, are domiciled in SD, and have a lot in NM. That usually starts a discussion of full-timing, and often the people we're talking to say that they would like to do that, or had thought about it.

Many years ago we signed up with Millenicom (anyone remember them?). At that time we were still working. I had a desktop computer and Jo Ann had a laptop. The deal was 20 GB/month. We put a small program on each computer to track our data use. We rarely went over the 20 GB. Fast forward to today. We're full-timers. Each of us has an iPhone and we have a hotspot, all with Verizon. The hotspot gives us 15 GB/month before it is throttled. The phones have 20 GB each of data use, but only if used on the phone. When tethered it is limited to 10 GB. Not sure how Verizon knows when that happens, but that's not my question. Our data month begins on the 12th, and a few minutes ago we got texts from Verizon saying we've used 90% of the hotspot's high speed data. I think that's a new record. Most of the time the throttling isn't a real issue, and when it is, we can just connect one of the iPhones, but it sure would be nice to have something that would give us more high speed data. Most of the campgrounds we visit do NOT have wifi, so using the park's isn't an option. Also, when doing banking or other business that requires some security we'd prefer not to use a public system. Any suggestions?

Scott, if you could include your coach information in your signature it might help with questions like this one. Our coach, for example, has a HWH leveling system, but NO jacks. It uses the air bags for leveling. If we're just spending one night I just do the automatic leveling and let it go at that unless we're so far off that I need to get out some boards. When we're landed for several days or more, I put on the tire covers, dump the air, and then level. That means that the coach body is resting on one or more tires (which is why I put the tire covers on first). That makes for the lowest step. Dumping the air, in our case, is just dumping what's in the bags. The tanks are still full. They will eventually go down, but I don't worry about that. That's normal. As you can imagine, the air rushes out at first, but as the pressure in the bags drops it slows down. Again, that's normal.

Looked them up, but no price information. That means that we can't afford it.

"We currently have a 2010 Honda Odyssey and know the maximum towing for this vehicle is only 3500lbs. From the research that I've done so far I know I don't want to go over 3100LBS. That total includes the unloaded weight of the trailer, passengers, fuel and anything else we bring." Passengers and fuel aren't part of the trailer's weight. They are part of the car's weight. Food, clothes, cooking utensils, propane, water, etc. are part of the trailer's weight if they are carried in the trailer. You are better off looking at the GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT RATING (GVWR) of any trailer you are considering first. If you want to keep your towing weight at or below 3100 pounds, then look for a trailer with a GVWR of less than 3100 pounds. A lot of sales people will point to the empty (dry) weight of the trailer and tell you that your vehicle can easily tow that weight. While that might be a true statement, it isn't all that helpful. About the only time a trailer is towed at that weight is when the initial buyer takes it home from the dealer, and the dealer hasn't added any water or filled the propane tanks. After rereading your initial post, it sounds like you may be willing to do just what I said in the last sentence, with the possible exception of the water. If so, you may be able to operate with what you have for a while - until you get the urge to actually go travel.

We've had this motor home for six years now, and have been full-timing in it for five years. I still learn new things about it. If you haven't done so already, join your brand's owners forum. There are people there who have the exact same coach as you do, and they have already had the issue you are worrying about at the moment. They can tell you what to do, or at least what not to do.

I'd love to have a place near Corpus Christi, but so does everyone else. We were on the waiting list for Hondo, but got a lot at The Ranch first, so we took that. This will be our first winter there, although we were less than 100 miles away at Hobbs, NM from January to March this year.

We're kicking around the idea of attending. Lots of things have to line up first, but at this point it is getting serious consideration. We've been full-timers for five years now and have never attended any sort of rally or RV gathering in that time. When we were still working and had the mpg we attended both a State rally and the national Heartland rally. We've been busy doing our own activities.

We've been full-timing in our 40' DP with no slides now for five years. We intend to put it up for sale later this year and "downsize" to a 34' Airstream TT, also with no slides. I say "downsize" as the actual living space in each is about the same. We know people who full-time in a 1973 (yes, 1973) Dodge Van conversion. Whatever you are comfortable in is the right size for you. I'd suggest that you go to every dealer and show you can and spend some time in every RV you can, no matter the price or condition. Pretend to do all the daily activities, and it won't take you long to figure out what works and what doesn't. Once you know what floor plans work you can start looking at rigs that have those plans. Yes, there will be minor differences between manufacturers, and those minor differences will guide you to the right one. As you are looking at rigs, pay attention to how well they appear to be standing up. Remember that they typical RV only gets maybe 30-45 days of use per year, so as a full-timer you will be putting on 8-10 years of wear and tear each year. There is a reason why many fulltimers with towables have heavier coaches. Structure and quality are heavy. Before we bought our Foretravel we met a couple who had started fulltiming a year earlier. They bought a "popular" MH brand new. Less than a year later they traded it even-up for a 10-year-old Foretravel because they could see that their original choice wasn't going to stand up to full-time use. No, they never told us what that "popular" brand was. If possible, go visit the factory of any brand you are considering. Even if you aren't going to buy a brand-new rig, seeing how they are put together will go a long way toward telling you what you might be comfortable with.

Yes, the campground floods regularly. One of the times we were there the hosts told about having to move several rigs to higher ground without the owners being present. Being an Escapees park, everyone present pitched in. They didn't tell us where the owners were (maybe enjoying a show), but there was little, if any, damage to the rigs.

Advance notice: Our 2015 Lincoln MKT with Blue Ox baseplate and InvisiBrake will be available this winter. Most people don't even think of Lincolns as toweds, but several models are towable. Even though this car is heavier than the 2012 Jeep Liberty it replaced, I don't notice any difference in towing. Where I notice the difference is in the gas mileage. The Lincoln beats the pants off of the Jeep in that regard, and it is much more comfortable, too. In June I had to drive our daughter from Hays, KS to the Denver airport and then get her a week later. I got over 30 mpg on both trips.

Bear in mind that those small generators can be stolen fairly easily. True, it doesn't happen all that often, but it does happen. It is probably impossible to completely secure one so that it can't be stolen, but it is possible to make it as hard as possible for a thief to take it. Remember, too, that they can remain rather warm for some time after you shut them off. Giving them enough time to cool down after use before putting them away is a good idea.

As we prepared to hit the road, I thought that I wouldn't need all of the tools I'd collected over many years, so most of them either went to the kids or on the auction. AFTER that I joined our church builder's group where we had to have our own tools. I'm now buying new versions of what I sold for pennies on the dollar six years ago. Of course, I'm also buying tools I didn't have then because I need them now. I have most of my tools in two large Rubbermaid wheeled tubs. The 4' level and a couple of other things don't fit into anything else, so they are tucked into safe spaces that can't take other things. We're in a MH now, but will be switching to a pickup and Airstream in the spring. I'd suggest you start out with those tools you KNOW you will need and dispose of the rest. Should you find a need for something you don't have you can always buy one if you can't borrow it from a neighbor. When I was a student I used to say that the first time I needed a book I'd go to the library. The second time I'd go to the bookstore. That's pretty much how I'm rebuilding my tool collection now.