kb0zke

Thanks, Kirk. We're planning on getting there as soon as we can, and it doesn't take long to get set up, so we'll be volunteering as quickly as we can.

Well, things change. The guy who was going to install the solar panels decided they were too big to fit on the roof, so I'm driving around with six solar panels in the back of the truck. There is another guy near Phoenix who says he can install then using a different system. We're going to meet up before we get to Quartzsite, then he will install them on our way back to The Ranch. We'll see what happens.

I want to add a radio or two in our 2016 F350. So I don't have to reinvent the wheel, has anyone done this? I'll need a pair of places where I can get ~20A. Many years ago it was fairly easy to find a place, but lately there seems to be a lot more stuff in the way.

We successfully got registered on the 10th. Didn't see anything about volunteering, but we know Steve and Anna, so we'll talk directly to them and see what they say.

Okay, thanks.

Jo Ann has a set of plastic ones that we use. They are smooth on one side and rough on the other. Put the smooth side down and the rough side holds the item to be cut. Each color board is a specific use. I know a couple of the colors, and ask about anything else. If I need to get one for her she tells me what color to get. I pull out what I think is the correct color, show it to her, and she either says yes or no. I have a bit of color blindness, so sometimes two colors will look enough alike to me that I'm not sure which is which.

Apparently, after a certain period of inactivity the system automatically logs me out. However, I typed in my user name, tabbed to the password, typed it in, hit ENTER and I was in.

Hmmm, I always log out when I'm done. I'll try staying logged in and see what happens.

"Or you could do like we have, enable WiFi calling on your Verizon or AT&T phone when you are in a non service area and continue to talk, text and stream on your existing phone." What does your WIFI connect to?

It used to be that I'd type in my user name, hit tab and type in my password, then hit enter and I'd be in. Lately, though, I type in my user name, hit tab and type in the password, hit enter, and "Something went wrong." I then type in my user name, hit tab and type in my password, hit enter and I'm in. I've tried clicking on the password field, then the log in button, but get the same thing. Once in a great while it works as it used to, but most of the time I have to try twice to log in.

Probably a longshot, but have you asked Itasca for a roof plan? Granted, my trailer is a 2022, but Grand Design emailed me the roof diagram within a few minutes of my request.

Jo Ann and I will be around the last week of January. We're staying at Arizona Sun RV Park since we're not yet set up for boondocking. I'll be monitoring 146.520.

We have one available. Here's the Blue Ox link: https://www.blueox.com/product/bx7380-alpha-2-tow-bar/ We'll be at the Bernalillo KOA until Tuesday, then down to Hacienda RV Resort in Las Cruces for a week. Starting on 24 January and lasting for a week we'll be at Arizona Sun RV Park, Quartzsite. Not sure where we'll be between Las Cruces and Quartzsite yet, but somewhere between the two. I give where we'll be because a towbar doesn't ship nicely. Better if you pick it up. Yes, I can meet you somewhere along the way. Price? Good question. Blue Ox wants over a thousand for one now. We got this one in 2021 at the factory for half that. Make me a good offer.

It would also help if States would post what speed to slow to when passing those protected vehicles. Some say to slow X mph. Does that mean X mph less than what I'm already driving, or X less than the posted speed limit? I drive a maximum of 65 mph when towing, and usually more like 60. If the sign says to slow 20 mph, and the speed limit is 70, do I slow to 40 mph or 50 mph? I do pull over on four-lane highways, and frequently I'm passed on the right by someone who thinks that I just moved out of their way. They either don't see or don't care about the vehicle on the shoulder.

Thanks, Kirk. Regular camping is fine for us. By then I hope that we'll be ready to boondock, but we spent two years in WY so we know that it can get warm during the day.

The solar panels will be installed next week, and I'll take delivery of the Victron stuff then. That's in Bernalillo, NM. The following week we're back down to Las Cruces, NM to the dealer for some warranty and service work. Once that's done we'll work our way west. I'll bring some tools along and see how much of the new stuff I can install on the way. Tim, that's what I wanted to know. We'll wander out somewhere along the way while we're there.

Jo Ann and I plan to be at Arizona Sun RV Park 24-31 January. Although the main purpose is to visit the RV show, we also want to learn more about the Quartzsite experience, especially boondocking. Our trailer probably won't be ready for boondocking by then, which is why we have a reservation at a commercial campground, but it certainly will be ready for 2025. Looking forward to seeing some of you fellow Escapees there.

Just saw that registration opens 10 January. We'd really like to go this time. Do we need to stay up late and try to register at 00:00:01 a.m. on the 10th in order to get in, or can we register at a more civilized time? As first-time attendees, should we volunteer for something, or just take in as much as we can?

Thanks for the reminder, Linda. Yes, that will be a factor in what's next.

Thanks, Steve. Just what I was looking for.

Background: We're full-timers in reasonably good health. We have enough money to take care of our needs and a reasonable amount of our wants. We're not locked into any particular type of RV. We've had a Class C, a DP, and a travel trailer. We didn't two anything with the Class C, and actually only had it for a couple of years and a couple of trips, basically to see if an RV was something we might enjoy. We had the Foretravel for 10 years. The first year we didn't tow anything with it, but after that we towed a Jeep Liberty until it got sick. Then the Jeep grew up into a Lincoln MKT. A year ago we decided to go to a travel trailer, so the MKT grew up into an F350 and the Foretravel became a Grand Design Reflection 315 RLTS travel trailer. Part of the reason for going from a MH to a TT was the desire to reduce the number of engines to maintain. We went from three to one, and that's a good thing. The combined length of the Foretravel and Lincoln was about the same as the combined length of the F350 and Reflection, but the weight is a lot less. Questions: I know of one couple that uses their HDT as their daily driver. The truck is heavily customized to suit their specific needs. We don't need anything close to that. How practical is using an HDT as a daily driver? Our F350 is about 22' long. How does that compare to an HDT? How much work is involved in putting a small car or Jeep on the bed of the truck? How easy is it to get service done? I can take the F350 into any Ford dealer and they can take care of it. I'm guessing that shots for HDT trucks aren't quite as common as Ford dealerships? I'm thinking that if I need to have another vehicle for the daily driver I'm pretty much back to a MH, but without the generator's engine, so two engines to maintain.

Thanks. This is exactly what I was looking for. We're going to really try to slow down our travels this year.

Our Alaska trip has been postponed until 2025, so the big thing this year will be following the Mississippi River most of the way from Minnesota to New Orleans. We'd like to stay at some COE campgrounds that are at some of the locks. By then we'll have our solar system completely operational, so some boondocking would be a possibility, too. The trip will be in two parts. Part one will be in August and take us from Chaska, MN (yes, I know that's not on the river) down to the Saint Louis area. Then in November we'll do part two, from St. Louis down toward NOLA. We probably won't actually go all the way to the end (been there already), but somewhere down there we'll turn west and head back to The Ranch. Any suggestions?

Today we decided to spend some time exploring a bit, so we drove the truck out to all three sites. The main purpose was to see what BLM boondocking sites are like. The first one we visited was Sunset Reef. The highway was fine, the paved road from the highway to the rock road to the campground was fine, too. At one point we got up to 10 mph on that rock road. We met a motor home that was leaving as we were pulling in. I pulled a bit off of the road so he could pass. If we had had the trailer attached I'm not sure that I would have moved over as far as I did, which would have made it tighter. As was mentioned above, the actual campground is nice. A nice tent area and covered picnic tables at the pull-thru RV sites. A vault toilet is present, as is a dumpster. A few miles down the road is Chosa Campground. It, too, is very close to the main highway. There are several differences between Chosa Campground and Sunset Reef. The entrance to Chosa Campground is directly from the paved road, so no rocky road. There are no specifically designated RV campsites. There are some designated tent sites, though. There is also no vault toilet present. Thee was a dumpster, though. Hackberry Lake Dunes Complex is WAY out in the boonies. Nothing but oil wells around. There are several covered picnic tables that more or less mark the campsites. I didn't drive through the whole area, as the sites are more spread out than at Sunset Reef, so I don't know if there is a dumpster or vault toilet there. The short road in is rather rough, but it is short, so even going at walking speed won't take too long. Now, a question: are these three campgrounds typical of BLM areas? I'm thinking more about the rough road at Sunset Reef more than the covered picnic tables.

I need to talk to Grand Design about some other stuff, so I'll ask for the capacity of each tank. Yes, I did forget about the third grey tank, since we don't have a washing machine. We've run nearly dry on fresh water a couple of times, but never found the grey tanks to get completely full. One time the kitchen sink seemed to be draining slower than normal, and when I dumped it did seem to be fuller than normal. We do have a portable waste water tank, and have used it a bit. They are a LOT more work than just hooking up a sewer hose, but when you need one, you really need one.