kb0zke

At some point each one of us will die, and we won't have to deal with any more government regulations, lawyers, sales people, etc. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for those we leave behind. Zach's thread started a couple of my remaining brain cells working. We've been working on funeral arrangements, cemetery lots, etc. recently, but haven't given any thought to the legal part - yet. That's something we'll have to check into. In our case, we're SD residents who are full-timers. We'll have to check out what hoops we'll have to jump through when one of us dies. Does Escapees already have this information available? I'll have to check with them.

I admit I don't check in as often as I used to. I don't check into most of the other forums as much, either. I do check into the Grand Design owners' forum daily, though, because that's what I own now. I suspect that several years ago there weren't as many brand-specific forums, so general forums such as this one were more useful.

Last December Jo Ann's sister mailed two envelopes to her, a day apart. Both were properly addressed to our PO Box in Lakewood, NM. Neither one arrived there. Both were returned to sender a couple of weeks later. She then put both envelopes in a Priority envelope, addressed it the same as the two envelopes inside, and paid for a signature requirement. That envelope arrived within a week. Okay, maybe that was the Christmas rush. In April we were hosting at a Missouri State Park. Our mail was sent from Sioux Falls and arrived within a week. Two weeks later the mail was sent again. That time it bounced around the country, even visiting New Jersey. A couple of days before we were to leave, it was in a small town post office north of St. Louis. We called them, and the post master was actually holding the envelope in her hand, wondering why it was there. We were heading to Wyoming for a family gathering, so the post master put our mail in an envelope addressed to our family, put THAT envelope in another envelope with a note to the post master here, and also called the post master here to alert him. Two days later our mail was delivered. Our last mail took over a week to get from Sioux Falls to here. Because we can't count on the post office delivering priority mail in less than a week, we've stopped our mail until we get to our next hosting gig at the end of this month. In every case the mail was properly addressed, but the post office had troubles delivering it. Has anyone else had such problems? If so, did you find a solution?

We are in a fairly small park that we've stayed at several times before. There are some people who are more or less permanent residents, some long-term (month or more), and some here only for a night. All the sites are pull-thrus, with the utilities between two sites. I will pull the truck into the site next to us to load and unload the propane tank, but that's it. I don't cut through a site that is next to an occupied site.

Welcome, Blaise. This is a common discussion topic on every RV forum I'm on. The RV industry has gotten itself into this position because we, their customers, have allowed it. There are a few dealerships in the country that sell only one brand of new RV, but most sell several brands. Every sales brochure I've ever seen has a page telling you to buy your trailer locally and take it back to that dealer for service. What about those of us who full-time? Where is my local dealer? In Sioux Falls, where my address is? In New Mexico, where we have a winter base? in Missouri, where we're hosting for three months? I have a Ford truck, and can take that truck to any Ford dealer in the country for service, and I will be treated as well as the people who bought their trucks from that dealer. That Ford dealer may also sell Lincolns, but he certainly doesn't sell new Chrysler or General Motors vehicles. Why do we accept RV dealers doing what is essentially the same thing? When an automobile manufacturer makes a vehicle, it is inspected frequently during and after the manufacturing process. When the dealer gets it, it is inspected again, and made ready for the customer. The customer rightly expects that the vehicle will be ready to go when he sees the vehicle. Yes, the customer may ask for some minor things to be changed, but for the most part the car or truck is ready to drive away when it is first put on the lot or in the showroom. Not so with an RV. Every new car or truck has a sticker on the window listing the base price and the price of the various options. If you go to a dozen Ford dealers and look at the same model of vehicle, all of them will have the same base price. If some of those vehicles have the same options, the price for those options will be the same. Not so in the RV world. Often it is the dealer who creates the "manufacturer's sticker" so the dealer can point to that paper and say you are getting 25% off the MSPR. You think you are getting a good deal, not knowing that the dealer 100 miles away printed his "MSRP" for 30% less, but doesn't give any discounts. What can be done? We, as customers, are going to have to use our power (we're the ones who actually put out money, remember) to reward good behavior. Do your research, then, when it is time to buy, buy from a dealership that sells only the brand you want. Insist that the RV be ready for delivery when you arrive - at least as far as what the manufacturer says it should be. If you want some dealer-installed extras, that's fine. I understand that the batteries may not be connected, the propane isn't filled, the fresh water isn't filled, but those things don't take more than a few minutes to do. That can be done while you are inside doing paperwork. One final thought: the design team should be required to go out with something they designed for a week and actually use it. I suspect that when they come back they will have a bunch of changes to be made.

Well, things have changed. The Foretravel went away in February, and we're now in a 2022 Reflection 315 RLTS travel trailer. I've decided that my "radio shack" will be outside, rather than inside. Since we're full-timers, we're generally in a place where the temperature is fairly decent. I still have the painter's pole and hamstick setup, but my son found the St. Louis Vertical that looks interesting. We determined that the problem I had with the painters pole and hamsticks was that I needed a balun, so he made one. Unfortunately, I got it just about the time we're packing up from a month of hosting, so I won't be able to play with it for a bit. In the meantime I'm having fun figuring out how to get electricity from the trailer to the picnic table. It is much cheaper to make marks with a pencil on a piece of paper than it is to chop up wires and attach ends to them only to discover that the idea won't work because I didn't think of something important.

Another idea is to get the loan for the FT rig while you are still in the S&B. That way you have all the paperwork they require. Others have used various loan agencies that cater to full-timers, and are aware of how to use some of the lesser-known parts of the Patriot Act.

Many years ago when we were researching the possibility of full-timing we had the "AHA" moment when we realized that we would have something towing something else. Then the question became truck and trailer or MH and towed. We guessed on how many miles of traveling and how many miles of daily driving in a year, and did the math. In your case, though, you have different requirements. You spent money to set the truck up the way you wanted it at that time. Now your situation has changed, and you will have to decide how best to handle that change. A Class C often comes up short in the towing capacity, so take that into consideration. A Class A may offer more towing capability for the same cost. Driving two vehicles separately increases fuel costs, but also allows the Tacoma to be a scout. FWIW, a couple of years ago we had a towbar misbehave, so for the first several days of the trip we had to drive separately until we got to our appointment at Blue Ox. Overall, it wasn't too bad, but it did add to the cost of that part of the trip.

So, since we established residency in South Dakota 10 years ago, and have voted regularly ever since, we are still able to vote there? Does this include State and local elections, or only Federal ones? We signed affidavits that said we intend to return to SD when we're done traveling. That means that we have an interest in State and local issues, and vote accordingly. If the new law effectively disenfranchises us from State and local issues, then maybe we ought to look at another State to call home.

We switched to T-Moblie and upgraded to new 5G iPhones in December, 2021. Until June, 2022 we were in a house, but then moved back into the Foretravel (still in the same town) for a month, then off to the adventures. There was one park that had poor cell service for everyone, so we bought a cell booster. That helped a great deal. We don't have a booser (yet) in the Reflection, but I suspect that we'll be adding one soon.

I hadn't planned on saying anything, but the OP's experience mirrored ours in October. We were hosting in Missouri when Jo Ann's brother suddenly died and we needed to get several hundred miles down the road for the funeral. Since that was actually our next destination, we we allowed to leave the hosting gig early. A few miles down the road I noticed that the alternator wasn't charging. Even running the generator didn't help. (We still had the Foretravel then.) I made it to a small truck stop on I-70 before everything died. I hooked jumper cables from the car to the MH and tried to charge the batteries that way. might have worked, but didn't seem to be doing much good, so I called the ERS number. Unfortunately, we had missed renewing the service, so they couldn't help us. Couldn't take a renewal over the phone, either. A local mobile mechanic came out and was able to help some. We spent the night in the parking lot. The next morning he got the batteries charged a bit more, but said not to use anything other than turn signals and brake lights. A rain and snow storm quickly made us forget that advice, and we only got about 50 miles before everything quit. By this time we had renewed the service with Escapees and had a new number. A wrecker finally was sent out. He didn't have the necessary tools to pull the axle for towing, so we had to wait while his partner came with another truck with the right tools. Eventually we were towed into town - to a car dealership! They had no idea we were coming and couldn't help us at all - and would we please get off of their lot. At that point Jo Ann lost it. Her brother's funeral was the next day, we were 200 miles away, and I was supposed to be the organist. The tow truck driver took us to his place of business and told us to get going. He would take care of everything. We quickly got everything we would need moved into the car and headed on down the road. The day of the funeral I called the shop during some down time and told them we would be back the next day for the coach. The shop owner himself took on the job of getting us back on the road. He found several issues and fixed them for a lot less money than the mobile mechanic charged us. We did update our information with the ERS when we switched from the Foretravel and towed to the pickup and Reflection. It seems to me that Escapees might want to consider offering their own emergency road service. I don't mean contracting with someone, but actually having their own number and own contracts with towing companies around the country. I suspect that many of us could give recommendations.

We're exploring the idea of Alaska next summer. One of the arguments for towing our trailer there is that we can easily (we think) take our cat with us. We understand that she has to be properly immunized (she is) and that she isn't allowed to roam freely (she's scared to go outside because the last time she went out there was a lot of cold, wet white stuff on the ground and she didn't like it). What else ought we to consider? We have ordered several of the suggested books and guides, but we're looking for tips that may not be in those. The cat isn't on any medication now, so that isn't an issue. I suppose that she might need something in the future, but we can deal with that when and if we need to.

Update: We bought an F350 the end of December and a travel trailer the end of January. The current thinking is that we would start out at The Ranch this fall, then sometime in January or February go to Quartzsite for a bit, then head north. A cruise is still a possibility. That would probably entail leaving truck and trailer somewhere in the NW. The big problem there is the cat. She is quite used to staying inside, but does get stressed by being in strange surroundings. We'll have to do some more research on this. If she could stay in the trailer she would be fine.

We stayed there a couple of years ago. Nothing special. It is a parking lot, but spaces aren't well marked. There was plenty of room for our 40' MH and towed. Someone had ordered a meal delivered, and the delivery driver just left the bags of food on a flat surface by the bulletin board. As I recall, they put the site number on the bags. NOT a great idea!

Before we decided to become full-time RV'ers we started looking at communities where we might want to retire. Jo Ann and I made up lists of what was important to each of us, then we discussed our lists to make one list. Then we started looking at various communities around the country. If we had found one that completely suited us we probably never would have purchased an RV. Yes, the day will come when we need to hang up the keys and live a less mobile life. While much of our family is concentrated in one area, we're not greatly impressed with that - now. That may change as we age and more frequent trips to doctors and hospitals become part of our lives. For now, though, we like to keep the tires inflated so we can go elsewhere whenever we want.

Almost 10 years ago we bought our Foretravel. Today, about two weeks shy of that tenth anniversary, the new owner drove it away. He flew in on Wednesday, spent yesterday shopping and getting some instruction in how things worked, and this morning he drove it away. Yes, there was a bit of sadness, since that Foretravel was our home for 10 years. There is also joy as we look forward to the next stage of our fulltime journey. In just over three weeks we head out for a summer of campground hosting and birthday celebrations with children and grandchildren.

Thanks for the tip, Chad. I just raised the bed and measured the base. 52" so there will be 4" overhang on each side if we make both sides the same. That gives us a bit of room to adjust things if we decide to give one side or the other a bit more space.

Update: The buyer for the Foretravel arrived yesterday. We spent today going over things and going to Walmart for more supplies. He heads out tomorrow. We've had only a couple of very minor issues with the Reflection. Now that the Foretravel is all but gone we can concentrate on getting ready for the summer's travels. The Reflection came with an optional king bed. The dealership was willing to sell me a queen mattress and take the king mattress off of our hands, but we said no to that. If we have to pay for a queen we'll get one that we want, not whatever they happen to have on hand. We found a local store that was having a mattress sale, so we ordered a new queen mattress. They may have someone that needs our king. If that happens we will get a bit of a trade-in allowance on that. I'll still have to trim the plywood platform down to 60", but it will probably take longer to get out the circular saw and mark it than to make the actual cuts. On a related note, the F350 we bought has a lift kit in it, about 6" or so. That makes for quite a step up for two old people, so I started asking around to see what it would take to bring the truck back to somewhere close to stock. I found a shop in Artesia where they never throw anything away. Several years ago they lifted a 2016 F350, so they have all of the parts needed to return my truck to stock. Tuesday it goes in for the surgery, which includes new tires, as the ones currently on it are too large to remain. They are only a bit over a year old, and still in very good condition, so they are hoping that they can give me a decent trade-in on the new tires. The quote, though, is without any trade. so the price I was given is the most it will cost me.

I brought over the last load from the Foretravel into the Reflection today. Tomorrow we'll start cleaning the Foretravel in preparation for the new buyer. New items that are needed are arriving, so we should be ready to hit the road in a month. Still lots of questions and things to learn, but we're enjoying the new adventure.

Monday morning we headed out for the four-hour trip to the dealership to pick up our new trailer. The walk-thru was scheduled for 1:30, and started pretty much on time. While we were being shown all sorts of things a tech was busy installing the hitch on the truck. Pretty soon he warned us that there would be some motion in the trailer from outside as he figured out where the hitch needed to be set to allow for level towing. By 5:00 we were backed up to the fence to spend the night in the parking lot, hooked up to electricity and some water in the tank. Tuesday we gave the service people a small list of things that needed attention. Most were very short (less than five minutes) but two took longer. Those were done early in the afternoon. We elected to stay at a commercial campground a few blocks away, hoping that it would be quieter than the dealership's parking lot. It was. The weather guessers on television were talking about a possible winter weather issue, so we decided to get up a bit earlier than normal and head out as soon as we could. We drove past the dealership just as the employees were arriving for the day. The trip back was a little longer than four hours (closer to five) as I was relearning pulling a trailer. By the time we got back to The Ranch, though, I was pretty comfortable with it. Parking at our lot took longer than anticipated, mainly because we wanted to be as square with the world as possible. Also, we're going from a 40' Foretravel with no slides to a 38' Reflection with opposing slides in the living area and a bedroom slide. I wanted to be able to get to the sewer without running into a slide and park the pickup in front of the trailer if at all possible. We managed to accomplish all of that. Yes, there are some minor issues that need to be addressed. We've already talked to the dealership about returning in early March for those items. I'll get a SmugMug album going with some pictures one of these days (after we get all moved in) and include a link in my signature.

On Wednesday Jo Ann and I started the process of buying a new 2022 Grand Design Reflection 315RLTS. We are scheduled to pick it up on Monday. If all goes well with the PDI and first night in it we'll bring it back to The Ranch on Tuesday.

Is there another Open Range owners' forum besides this one: https://www.openrangeowners.com/ORforum/index.php?sid=ce9c9cb1dbf734c38f2e1630525c48e6 ? I asked a question two days ago and more than 20 people have seen it, but no one has answered. For those who wonder, I asked what, if any, difference is there between an Open Range trailer and a Mesa Ridge trailer with the same model number.

We budget about $300/month for campground and our annual maintenance fee for our lot here at The Ranch (SKP co-op). We're going to be hosting for three months, so no costs then, and we'll have a month at a commercial park so we pay the monthly rate which includes electricity. We like to stay at COE parks, city/county parks, State parks, etc. We have the "geezer" pass, so COE parks are mostly half price for us. We have sometimes stayed at more expensive parks, but generally we keep costs closer to $20/night.

Additional information: The dealer told us that we would get a Texas title in our names, which we would then send to South Dakota. The title we actually got was what I expected to get the day we bought the truck - made out to the previous owner and properly signed over to the dealer. Now that we finally have all of the paperwork to get the truck properly registered and licensed in South Dakota I'm going to call the Texas DMV and see what's what. I've not mentioned the name of the dealership, or even the location, here, but if I find out that they did try to pull a fast one I'll share that information.

We did not pay any sales tax - yet. We finally got the Texas title today and are now working on the paperwork to get the SD title and registration. To answer some of the questions above: Yes, we can move the plates from the Lincoln to the Ford. I specifically asked our mail service about that. The reason I was questioning all of this is that the dealership had about $400 in various fees that we had to pay: Inspection fee ($33.75), Lic Fee ($60.50) Title Conv Fee ($11.00), Road & Bridge ($11.00), Title fee ($33.00), E-Tag fee ($33.00), Doc Fee ($149.00), and a Dealer inventory tax ($95.20). There is no evidence on the truck that it ever got an inspection, even though the dealer told us about the huge fines they would have to pay if they ever let a vehicle go without one. There is a copy of an inspection report, done two weeks earlier, that lists a cost of $7.00. The reason for asking this is that we're looking at some trailers that are at dealerships in Texas. If those dealerships are going to charge me $400 in various fees that may be an incentive to buy from a dealer that is closer, even if they have a somewhat higher price.