Jim & Alice

Yes, Similarities! One of he joys of Fulltiming for us have been encountering folks from 'home'. A few years ago, I actually ran into a guy that I had worked with closely for years, but due to dispersed campus (Butterworth) rarely encountered. He was at a gas pump in South Dakota, I arrived and saw the license plate... and after exchanging names we 'clicked'.

We're from the Grand Rapids area too... still have our house back in Rockford. Howdy, neighbor! As a matter of fact, just arrived back in Grand Rapids staying for a while, driving our toad.... New grandchild coming and home to help.

We have a 2007 National RV Dolphin, with a Coleman AC. Had a problem back in 2014, and here is my Maintenance Log entry from that time: May 29, 2014: TT Verde Valley, Cottonwood, AZ. Air conditioner failed to start. Stage 1 Compressor does not come on. All known fuses and Circuit breakers are OK. Same problem with shore power, or Generator. Have not ran Air conditioner since August 2013. Did run Furnace in March, 2014. Called local service, ‘RV Medic’. May 30, 2014: Gideon Ephratah, from RV Medic came out on Service call. RV Medic 2111 E. Beaver Creek Rd. Rimrock, AZ 86335 (928) 634-2133 http://www.yourrvmedic.com/ Gideon examined internal & external of applicable MH parts. Checked Thermostat – is OK. Gideon Called Airexel (Coleman A/C Company) and talked to technical Support. Thru a Process checklist, they identified that the Circuit Board was bad (Green flashing light). A replacement was ordered. Gideon will install when part comes in. June 9, 2014: Gideon returned, replaced Circuit board. Stage 1 Air Conditioning is working fine. Gideon examined the working, and said we “have a very good Air Conditioner based on measured cooling”. Replacement Circuit board, ( # 6536C3209), 2.25 hrs labor include two mobile service calls = $343.11 Warranty is 12 months on Circuit Board, 90 days on Labor.

Derek, You had, and have, some great books. My science fiction books were all paperback, for the most part, making them easy to carry-and-read. Heinlein's "Have Spacesuit will Travel" sticks in my mind as his best (teenage boy), "The Menace from Earth" most creative (personal flying in air reservoirs on the Moon), and of course, "Stranger in a Strange Land" for provocative thought... "Starship Troopers" pushed me towards the Marines. Both my kids (as teenagers) received "Have Spacesuit will Travel" as a Christmas gift from Dad... I did a lot of reading over the years... Enjoying ancient history (Tacitus - Histories, etc) and still have a few highly treasured miscellaneous hardbacks saved - one is "The Education of a Golfer", an autobiography by Sam Snead. That wonderful, and hilarious, book taught me how to play golf as a kid, starting as a caddy at the local country club. What would the world be without books!

Thanks, Lou. I was not aware... or have forgotten... that. I'll have to keep eyes open in my book browsing.

🙂 Grok you too, Barbara. Reading your excellent comments for years, I am not surprised. And the 'holding book in hand'... yes, I just can't get the same 'feel' when holding electronics. Something about turning pages...

I can well appreciate the loss, folivier. I started buying used paperback Science Fiction in the early 70's, at a used book store on Airline Drive in Bossier City, LA. I carried them with me to Michigan... and over four different houses. After 40 years in IT, I still can't adapt to reading on electronic devices - instead, gotta have a piece of paper in front of me. Going thru a mini-withdrawal right now as we talk as I am clearing out my 'Book 'Drawer' in the motorhome preparing to store the MH for a few months and (once again) downsizing. The good news is... I can fill it up again when we get back!

Just talked to my daughter in Michigan... and she drove a few miles out into the country to see a 'dim viewing' starlink train... She's 40, and I raised her, and her brother, on Heinlein. Derek, dumbest thing I ever did when we downsized to go full timing... was to sell my science fiction paperback collection. I had accumulated it over decades and had filled (more than) two full 6' x 3' bookshelves. We had donated the collection to our church for a fundraiser sale... and I heard an MD bought it in-total. I think I had everything Mr. Heinlein ever wrote. And knowing you a little bit, Derek, I am not surprised that you are a Heinlein fan too!

Yea, Derek - 'Space command'... gives me goose bumps. My kind of job!

This is outstanding, Dutch! Makes me feel like I am 15 years old again... reading Robert Heinlein science fiction!

Thanks, Dutch.

Saw the 'trains' again this evening, Thursday, May 6, @ ~9:00 PM. This is almost exactly 24 hours later from last night... Interesting! We were enjoying an evening campfire with friends.... and one of them looked up and said... Look! There they were. Lots of good chat material about Elon Musk!

Thanks, Lou. Checked out the link, and our next sighting opportunity is the 8th... These things are phenomenal.

Thought we had heard that, but I am sure that we saw more than 60... there was the first 'train', and then a 2nd 'train' a few minutes later - definite gap in between, but not a long one... Together, we think we counted +/- 100. Do you think it could have been two launches?

Setting outside with my wife this evening, around 9:00 PM Arizona time... saw 90+ satellites in a row, traversing the night sky from the West to the East. I assume Starlink... and the effect was phenomenal. It appeared to be two different 'groupings', but were spaced close together and could well have been over 100 satellites in total. Life is great!

If I understand your question correctly, Allstate does. We have two rates for our motorhome, one for driving, one for 'storage'. We change status as needed by phoning the Agent back in Michigan with the request. Storage is about a third of the 'on-the-road' rate.

Thanks for the Summary. I will put the book on my reading list.

Reminds me of our experience when we first started fulltiming... drove from Michigan to East Texas, and parked in a nice, small RV park there. Visited our favorite Aunt, a Great Depression generation person that had done well by working hard. Her first reaction was... "I didn't know you were poor!" We finally persuaded her to come visit our new motorhome... and only then did she slowly come around to viewing Motorhoming as a retirement lifestyle.

If you can park for a couple days in Durango, there is a fabulous round trip Steam Locomotive ride from Durango to Silverton... Well worth the time. https://www.durangotrain.com/ Edit: Just noticed 2gypsies comment on the Durango & Silverton RR... I agree with them!

Thanks, Derek. Got a son in college that this could well apply to. I will pass the article on.

Thanks, Derek. Timely subject for me. Not using a VPN currently, but with all the hacking going on, giving it some thought. Appreciate the info.

My wife and I went thru this decision process eight years ago, prior to our going fulltime. What tilted our decision towards a Class A rather than 5th Wheel, was to have the ability to easily tow a car "4-wheels-down" for 'roaming' purposes... rather than roaming in a more costly large Truck. We had never RV'd in our life... so we were starting fresh, buying what we needed. We ended up with a low-mileage 2007 National RV Dolphin, 36' ft, and a low-mileage 2008 Honda CRV, using a US Gear Unified towing package. We still have both, and both have worked splendidly for us. As we slow down (getting older), a 5th Wheel is not out of the realm of possibility, or a Park Model. We shall see.

I am sure you've probably covered this, but Roadside Assistance Service such as the club offers... would be an essential thing to have. https://www.escapees.com/benefits/escapees-roadside-assistance/

I am a former IT Technical Services Manager, IBM Mainframes, Sun Solaris, AIX, SNA, TCP/IP... and as a retired Full time RV'er I maintain just two Windows environments - a Dell Desktop, and a Dell Laptop (all ssd). Shucks I don't even have a smart phone. 🙂 But I would never begrudge a good Computer Geek all the electronics he/she would want and enjoy. And to provide park-wide support is an extremely valuable & considerate thing to do.

Kirk, if you delete the browser cookie for the WSJ, it resets the counter. I find I can get 3 viewings before having to reset. Just fyi for folks.