TXiceman

Here-here.....Most cigarette smokers are disgusting with the way they throw their butts everywhere. It is liter, plain and simple. Ken

Over the past couple of months, we have seen stores running short of items and not getting any restocking for weeks. But I have found that I can find the item online at Walmart or Amazon and get it shipped to me. Though I would rather buy local, I have found some items not available. Ken

I really get a laugh out of all of the people that are so enamored with all of the Bluetooth connectivity. Manufacturers are adding so much clap-trap to stuff it makes it more prone to problems. I really like the KISS principle. I will stick to my hardwired Progressive Ind EMS and will add a Soft-start kit to the A/C if I need one. I wonder if this magical device is working on a Power Factor correction principle. Ken

Like Kirk, I would like to open one up and see how they perform the magic at the pedestal. As an engineer, I am having a hard time buying what that have advertised. The soft start belongs up on the A/C unit. And I guess the reason they do not have a 50-amp unit, is it will basically require two sets of "control". Ken

We taught our grandson cursive writing because the schools were not teaching it at that time. Ken

Kids can't tell time on an analog clock, Kids cannot read or write in cursive, Kids cannot do simple math in their heads, Kids are not taught creative thinking, and now they will never learn to tie a bow on their shoes. I feel so sorry for this and future generations. Ken

Some of the Tengo serviced parks have a data cap and it is not all that high. Before you sign up, check the data limit. Ken

I have found that I need to shop the truck and RV insurance every 3 or so years. They will creep up fpr a couple of years and then a big bump. Last year they tried a big jump in rates with no claims and no citations. After a call to the HQ, they managed to get my premium back down to a manageable number and in line with another quote. It does pay to shop. Ken

What insurance company that has a good rate and works well for one person will not necessarily be the best for you. You need to search for a good independent agent and work with them for your best coverage for your unique situation. Ken

A few years back we hosted in a Colorado state park and when doing our site checks and cleaning, we were frequently assaulted with the odor of weed. These same folks would have a big smoke, load up the gear and kids and head down the mountain. Ken

I would get it out and check everything and take a short close to home trip first. Ken

I know nothing of your age or health, but the way we have looked at going back into a house is, why the major expense of a home plus the upkeep and maintenance. We have switched our planning now toward a small condo-type or garden home as we would still want a small garden. Maybe even a small house with a small yard...a lot less maintenance and upkeep. Right now, real estate values are totally nuts and we are planning to just live in the 5er and hopefully the housing bubble will pop, and we will see a much larger inventory of homes. Ken

Nope Kirk, At that time, they insisted on the SS card. About 2 or 3 years ago when I had to renew and get my official ID proof license renewed, they accepted my passport. The problem you run into is the individual offices and clerks making up their own interpretation of the rules, You should hear all of the problems we had getting a class A (non-CDL) license and not taking the full CDL license. Finally had to call Austin and they spoke to the licensing office to get the testing straight. Ken

Back in 2007 we moved back to Texas after a 2 year stint in Oklahoma and surrendered the Texas license to get the Oklahoma license. On the move back to Texas, they insisted that I had to provide my SS card to get a new license. My SS card was packed away in a fireproof box that went into storage until we found another house. After some haggling, they looked up my old license as I still remembered the number. The license was still current, and they issued a replacement license. I tried getting them to accept mt passport as proof of US citizenship, but no way. Texas DMV and DPS are still screwed up. Ken

That is about the equivalent to the paint put on by Lippert. Ken

And another good one bites the dust to join a host of other quality RVs. Ken

Sadly, we see this as well. The problem with FB and Instagram is that it is an endless thread and not broken down into topics like a forum for some organization. On one club, the folks have migrated to FB and seldom post on the web forums. They have gripes about the website being difficult to navigate but all I can see is that they are resistant to learning something that is much more useful. I guess I could also call them lazy. Ken

Exactly the reason given by NuWa's president. People only want the biggest and cheapest box that they can find. They only see the glitz and bling and are not concerned with the bones. They could not build a decent quality trailer for the money in the market in 2012, so he decided to not build trailers and shut down the company while it was still healthy. I feel sorry for all of the noobies and the problems they are experiencing in their shiny new RVs. We will just keep up the maintenance on our 9-year-old 5er and enjoy it. Ken

From the photos, I would not accept that pile of rust. Our 2013 HitchHiker, has a Young's Welding powder coated frame and there is no appreciable rust today. If a manufacturer wants to build a higher quality, they can, but it will cost more. Customes need to start insisting on better quality by letting the junl set on the lot. Ken

Since our first Starcraft pop-up trailer we have owned several others. Travel trailers, 5ers, class A and class C units. The star craft did get some rust on the frame. All of the 5ers have been higher end units, Avion, Carriage Cameo and HitchHiker Champagne. None of these have used a Lippert frame and have not any rust issues. In my opinion, Lippert supplies poorly designed and built frames to RV industry. There are still a couple of manufacturers that do not use Lippert frames and are the only ones I would consider buying a trailer Our 9 year old HitcHiker has a Young's Welding frame and it is powder coated and has zero rust. In short, there is no reason that the frame should have rust on a new trailer, except for cheap preparation and painting. Ken

A neighbor recently had a G rated tire put on his Redwood as it was recommended by another guest here and the large tire dealer. So far, he has come back to a trailer with 2 to 4 tires flat after a couple of weeks. The tire dealer put in what he called "heavy duty" rubber valve stems. The dealer has come out and checked the tires, replaced the valve stems with more rubber valve stems....yet it leaks down. The tires and rims were thoroughly leak checked and the only leak was the valve stem. This has been going on for two months and the trailer has not been on the road yet. I told him to tell the tire dealer he wanted metal valve stems. Ken

A few years ago, I had a major fight with the Escapees folks for a HOP in Texas. Due to medical issues, I had to cancel about two weeks out. They had a waiting list for people wanting to attend and still wanted to soak me for medical issues. I finally told them, OK, don't cancel me and let the site go unused and charge me the full amount, but I had a friend in the area that would drive through to make sure that had not double sold the site. They finally agreed to a much smaller cancellation fee to cover the printing cost on nametags, etc. since they had a waiting list. I do not intend to be signing up for any more functions and will just travel on my own. The group has a lot of benefits, but they need to realize that we have medical issues, rigs break down, etc. Maybe they need to offer a cancellation insurance policy for a small fee when you sign up, like the cruise lines do. Ken

Rod, which GY tires did you have and what is the load you are carrying on each tire? I have GY G614 on three 7000# Mor/Ryde axles and so far, not one issue. These tires are 3 yeas old. Previous tires were Hankook F19 Maxivantage and ran then for almost 6 years and no issues. Ken

It is mostly a new generation of RVers that are intent on doing things their way, and not following any established groups. In the ham radio community, there is a dying interest in the activity as well as the clubs. The ability to tie the radios to new modes of communication (such as DMR) and computers along with Bluetooth, a few younger folks have been getting into the hobby. We see the same thing on the radio stations that broadcast Oldies or Country Legends. What I call oldies and Legends is gone and the stations rarely play anything more than 20 years old now. Face it, we are a dying breed. Ken

You can take a screwdriver or punch and dimple the fingers that go around the pin. This will deform the plastic enough to give you a tighter fit. My lube plate is going on 10 years old and has been dimpled only once and it stays in place. Ken