TXiceman

Please post the name of the price gougers so we know who to avoid in the future. Ken

EMS-LCHW50 Saved us from bad power more than once. Ken

Some of the parks are only closing the overnight camping. They are still open for day use. Are they going to close the restrooms for day use? Ken

We had a Vesta dishwasher added to our 5er about 3 years ago and love it. We cook a lot from scratch, so we do get dirty dishes. We do not boondock and we find that the dishwasher uses less water than handwashing. $1900 is way to much to add a dishwsher. Have it added after market. Ken

Cube Smart required the same thing. Our insurance agent said that as far as he new, they could not require you to purchase insurance on the contents. We did check with our full time insurance and they would cover a certain amount of personal possessions that were not located in the RV. the items stored do not have a lot of value other then personal memories, so why place a $$$ value on the stuff. It is just a money making ploy from the storage units. Ken

We are on Medicare and a supplement plan. WE have not had any issues getting to see a Doctor in Texas or anywhere across the country. Any Doctor or hospital that takes Medicare accepts our coverage. Some Doctors and hospitals refuse to take insurance that is not within their accepted plans. When we call for an appointment, first thing we ask is will they take our insurance. Often they will ask for our insurance information and they will confirm coverage before we show up. Advantage plans are very regional for full coverage. Ken

The last few Federal parks we have stayed in are now 1/2 off on the basic camping fee and full price for the "Utility" fee. Broke camping into two fees. NFS north of Houston is $ 19 for the Senior Pass and $29 without. Ken

We use the Escapees mail service in Livingston, TX and never had an issue with the address for banking or brokerage purposes. Ken

I-35 is a crazy road and always lot of construction and high speed drivers. I drive 2 hours out of my way to stay off I-35. Ken

Maybe a bit far, but you cannot do better than Kansas RV Center in Chanute, KS. This was where the NuWa HitchHIkers were built. Great service. They are usually book 8 weeks out. Talk to Daryl Dennis. Ken

Nothing from Keystone. As noted above, look for a higher end used unit over anything entry level and new. You will be money ahead. Ken

We have had a 50 amp Surge guard and a 50 amp PI, both at the pedestal units. Now we have a hard wired PI 50 amp unit. I much prefer the had wired PI unit and the warrant and service is great. Ken

Dutch, I feel the pain. You cannot educate someone that is not open to education. I am a amateur radio (ham) operator and on the same antenna, I can operate side band (voice), CW (Morse code Which is actually a digital mode), AM (amplitude modulation), FM (frequency modulation) and digital mode. It all boils down to the receive/transmitt equipment that is attached to the antenna. When it gets down to the final performance, you cannot beat the batwing style with the Wingman or the old Yagi style antenna and elevation. Ken

Anytime we have anything critical or time sensitive to send we use Fed-EX Ground service. It cost a bit more than USPS, but they are much more reliable. Most recent USPS screw up was we had the mail forwarded from Escapees to and address in Tomball, TX. It was sent Priority One so we could track it. Normally it was in Tomball in a couple of days. Well it was snt to a center outside of Dallas and being a weekend now, it was 5 days. Ken

mptjelgin, we have seen the same change you have and pretty much given up using state and corp parks unless we can book months out. It has taken the fun out of the RV life style. But when we had long term lived in a 34 ft motorhome and another time in a 36 ft 5th wheel when moving and building a house. When we decided to go full time, the 5th wheel mad more sense to use. It offered better storage and a more residential feel, plus you did not have the giant windshield as a heat gain or loss source. Another thing is only one drive line to maintain since we were towing a dingy behind a motorhome. We get along fine with our only vehicle as a 1 ton dually. Ken

I have served on 3 juries in Harris County, Texas. Two were criminal and one civil. All three were interesting and I was jury foreman on two of them. The whole process was interesting and nothing like TV trials. I was on a fourth jury panel and we were sent to lunch and when we came back we were dismissed due to a plea deal. What was always aggravating was getting called for jury service and never even get to go out on a jury panel. One trial that would have been interesting to me as a mechanical engineer was a product liability case. As soon as the attorney found I was an engineer, he used a strike on me and sent me home. I guess he did not want anyone that was trained to think logically. Everyone should serve on a jury just for the experience and see how the system really works. We have had several jury notices over the years for Polk county and it was always when we were across the country. A simple call and were told to let them know when we would be in the area and could serve. We let them know and were never called while we were there. Now that we are over 70, we just send them back the form marked with the age exemption.

In the amateur radio community we say that an omnidirectional antenna performs equally bad in all directions. When it comes down to the basics, it all comes down to metal in tha air and high up. The old batwing style and Yagi style are still the gold standard. The Winegard Sensar IV has the Wingman extension to aid in the UHF frequencies and makes the antenna more directional. There are several phone apps that tell you where the local off air stations are located referenced to your location. Use an app to see where the closest stations are and start by pointing the antenna toward them (broad side of the Wingman 90 degrees to the station).. Ken

Oldcodger, The way the state looks at it is add the GVWR or the truck (14000) to the GVWR of the trailer (20000) and you get 34000#. Right or wrong, this is the criteria. Ken

My wife and I switched to a G plan this year after having the F plan for about 5 years. With the F plan no longer offered to new enrollees the charges per year are sure to accelerate faster than they have been with the plan pool shrinking rather than growing. With G you are responsible for the part B deductible. For us, the reduced G plan premiums save considerably more than the deductible for G plan. But everyone needs to look at the options for their particular situation and location. Our other reason to change was we also changed Part D coverage. Optum Rx is horrible and we finally had enough of dealing with their mail order system. We switched to Silver Script and we can now get our 90 day supply at Walmart. Ken

We are back to the Houston area where we had lived. We see all the Doctors and relatives and our stationary friends in November and December. After that hit the road. When on the road, and need basic medical care while on the road, we look for an urgent care facility in the area. I look on line at the ratings for near by places and pick one. We are on Medicare and a Supplement G plan so we only need a place that takes Medicare. Ken

It will severely limit the appliances you can run. Add up the amperage on each appliance and when you hit 30 amps, that is all. One A/C and the microwave will max you out. If you want to run the coffee maker or a hair drier, yo will need to shut off the microwave or A/C unit. We have a 40 ft 5th wheel and 50 amps. I will only go to 30 amp sites in the spring or fall when I can get by minimal A/C. WE turn down 30 amp positions. Ken

Stick on gutter. Try these Ken

I do not understand why the idiots can't slow down in limited visibility conditions. No excuse except just plain old stupidity. Ken

Before we changed to electronic statements, we received paper statements from our bank and brokerage to our Escapees address. We never had an issue. Make sure that they have the correct address, box number and zip code. If they have an isse with the term BOX or the use of the # symbol, tell them it is an Apartment and use APT. In 7 years, Escapees mail has been great. Our issue is that the mail must first come through Houston's North Central distribution center for the USPS and they are not the best by a long shot. Ken

We are full time for 6.5 years now and have a 2013 HitcHiker Champagne ,,,one of the last ones built. We bought it from Kansas RV Center, owned by NuWa in Chanute, KS. They are no longer manufacturer, but have a sales for other brands and a great service center. The delivery and sale of the unit was great. I sure hated to see them stop manufacturing. We have had very few issues with the trailer. We lover the build quality and comfort. The Splindide washer-dries, convection microwave, dishwasher and satellite antenna are wonderful. It is a heavy tri-axle with Mor/Ryde IS suspension. Looks like the last RV we will have to buy. Ken