JRP

So sad to hear that, I really liked that lady. PS: I'm still around (an original 2008'er) just shifted focus a bit. I still have my motorhome, but its use is part time these days. Still have my summer base camp in the mountains of Colorado. I bought a live aboard sailboat and have spent the last 2 winters sailing around the Bahama islands. Living on a boat is not all that different from RV living, just a different mode of propulsion.

Az state tax laws, like several other states, require dealers to collect AZ sales/use tax on vehicles sold & delivered inside AZ. There is an exception that allows the dealer not to collect the Az taxes from non-residents if the vehicle is "delivered" outside the state boundaries. The dealer is required to document & certify that they escorted you past the state line. So you must comply with being escorted past the state line, or the dealer must collect AZ sales/use tax on the transaction value. What you do at that point is up to you. But somewhere in the stack of papers you signed, is one that says that by not paying AZ sales/use tax you agree to take this vehicle out of state. If you really want to stay in AZ for months after the purchase, it might be better to just pay the AZ taxes and send proof of that tax payment on to Polk County TX who will likely credit that amount against the Tx taxes you owe them. confirm that with the Polk County folks before making a decision

My part time homes out west are in fairly dry climates and I never have mold issues with all the clothes I leave hanging in closets there. But on my sailboat stored in FL for each summer hurricane season, I learned quickly that I needed to store all my clothing & bedding inside those sealed vacuum bags. you can find them at Walmart or on Amazon and they come in many sizes from small to jumbo.

several years back when DTV started making you choose between east or west DNS chans, those of us grandfathered in got to choose both east & west, and we also had the option of continuing to get CW via DNS. So it may not be included in the current DNS but many long term subscribers do get CW via DTV DNS. As far as PBS I honestly didn't know if I had that one or not, its not a chan I ever watch. I see it is there on 389. My DNS chans are 390 - 399 (including CW east & west on 394-395)

I've been with DTV for 20 yrs, the last 10 yrs as a mobile account with DNS. After moving into the RV I've never changed my service address in 100's of different locations because there was no reason to. I've also seen official email announcements from DTV years ago stating they would not change your service address frequently if you were mobile. apparently they weren't enforcing that policy, but this didn't just appear because of AT&T, DTV has been trying to restrict frequent service address changing for many years. I understand the need for major network channels, that's what you get with DNS and no need to update your location for those national chans. But what I find more interesting about this thread is why anyone in the 21st century would feel the need to rely on a local TV station for the weather report or local news. I can get the local weather or news at anytime of the day or night at any location in the country. Why would I sit around waiting for the 5:00 o'clock local TV news/weather when I can get it at my convenience anytime I want it? surely you all have a phone with weather app and a computer with access to much more up to date weather & news than you get on the 5 o'clock TV show.

Its been a few years, but I stayed there many times back when I was leading climbing trips up the Grand Teton. Its quite a bit north of Jackson, between Moose & Moran. A few miles east on NFS road 30310. Its dispersed camping, so no facilities. Positives: its a great location, its free for up to 14 days, it has some fantastic views. Negatives: the access road can be very rough and its narrow so you want to be sure no one is coming out when you're going in, it can get very crowded during popular times, since there are no marked sites - its kind of a free for all with folks parked anywhere they can fit in, it can be very noisy when its crowded, some folks run generators all day, at certain times the bugs are very annoying. after the crowds & bugs are gone, its heaven on earth

The Escapees service is based in Box Elder (same as Americas Mailbox) which is in Pennington County where there is no wheel tax YET. The state of SD continues to pressure all SD counties to implement a wheel tax.

I'm not sure if your glasses are too rosy or you lead a sheltered life, or you're choosing the wrong words to describe this complex situation. When you start traveling around the country you will find dozens of trailer parks in all areas of the country, filled with folks forced to decide between fuel for travel or food for survival. Many of them had the RV dream and ended up running out of resources and permanently parked. Some end up in that situation through lack of planning, underestimating the cost of fulltime travel, no reserve fund for emergencies and some end up there due to circumstances forced on them or their own poor choices. Most here may have employable skills and good sense, but most here represent the middle to upper class of RV'ers. There is a whole other class of RV folks living hand to mouth with no employable skills or with one of a 1000 other life problems that prevent meaningful employment. Your stated outlook and generalizations are a bit too mythical, narrow and gilded.

That's the best answer yet, to a very complex decision. everyones circumstances are different. If we knew when we would die, planning our retirement would be much easier. avgs are just statistics. planning your retirement based on avg death ages is like planning your next major purchase based on avg salaries of others. speaking of a "fools choice", basing the decision solely on one factor and ignoring the dozen other valid factors is a fools choice. For the record. I retired at 60 because that's when I had enough invested to support myself for twice as long as I expected to live, and to live an active life at the level I was accustom to. I actually liked my job and had lots of fun and was able to travel all over the world while working. I made the mistake of volunteering to open a new branch of the business in California. I hated California and that was a big motivator in deciding to retire early. After 10 yrs of retirement and fulltime, extended time & part time RV'ing, I bought a live aboard ocean going sailboat and now spend my winters sailing around the Fl Keys, Bahamas and Caribbean islands. I still have my motorhome for part time use during summers in the Rocky Mountains. My health is not perfect but I don't let it control my life. My kids & grandkids worry about me getting sick alone on a boat in the middle of the ocean. I tell them I'd rather die out there having fun, than sitting on my couch at home being safe.

These days, I specialize in having fun 24/7/365. Its a tough job, but someone has to do it. Every morning I'm forced to make tough executive decisions. If its summer, do I want to go for an ATV ride, a Harley ride, catch a trout with a fly, kayak down the Rio Grande, or hike through the mountains. If its winter time, I'm likely on my sailboat cruising the Sea of Cortez or up & down the west coast of Mexico to San Diego. On the boat I have to choose between scuba diving, snorkeling, fishing for tuna or mahi-mahi, sailing on to the next port, boat maintenance or drinking cervezas; some days we manage a little of each. The spring & fall seasons are when I now do most of my RV travels. As for work, I stopped answering the phone when I see my previous employers number pop up. They thought retirement meant, I would come back and bail them out every time a project ran into trouble.

Vladimir, just to clarify... the WeBoost Drive Booster is intended for a specific use, inside the small confines of a vehicle. Its user guide states that the cell device using the boosted signal, must be no less than 18" away from the interior antenna and no more than 36" away; that's not a very large area of coverage. Also, if you're using the mini mag outside antenna that came with the kit, it requires mounting on a metal surface. That antenna needs a metallic "ground plane" , so if the vehicle roof isn't metal, you must provide a metal mounting plate at least 12" x 12". There are other optional Wilson antenna that do not require a ground plane if that's an issue. Personally I've never had very good results with that mini mag antenna, and I much prefer the Truckers antenna. How much signal improvement should you see? that's completely dependent on the specific location conditions. That booster is rated for max 50 db but that's under optimum/perfect conditions only found in a lab. In reality you might get half that 20-25db improvement under the right conditions or you might only get 10db improvement under less than good conditions. Since your raw signal is near the minimum for this unit to function, its not surprising you get very little improvement at that first location. at the other location you may have an installation issue or a defect. WeBoost/Wilson has a good tech support group.

The Real ID law requires states issuing compliant drivers licenses to verify both your identification AND your primary residence address. The issue is that the Federal rules left it up to each individual state to define the "exceptions" to the Primary Residence requirement. In other words, for those who have no primary residence (can't show property tax/utilities/rent receipts for their residence), each individual state defines how they will handle those exceptions. In SD they wrote a specific exception for "fulltime travelers" requiring that they sign an Affidavit, show a receipt for one overnight stay in SD and show proof of their mail forwarding PMB address. In return they get to use their mail forwarding PMB address on their drivers license. In Fl they decided that if you live in your RV, then your DL address will be your RV license plate number and your current Fl physical address. They may have copied that from the way they always handled live aboard boaters in Fl, whose DL showed their boat tag # followed by the marina street address. I've run into a few Fl folks who showed me their DL with their address as: Tag ###, Fort Wilderness Disney World, Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830 , since they told the DL folks they were currently staying at Ft Wilderness. There seems to be some variation from office to office in how this is handled. Apparently they do allow for a separate mailing address in their system, but not on the DL. This has been going on for a few years now. I can see that it could lead to some confusion in certain situations. But its only indirectly caused by Real ID, its really the state of Fl that dreamed up this wacky way of handling fulltimer DL addresses; or each Fl DMV office is making it up as they go.

Lee, If you don't have another reason to go all the way back to Silver City, the town of Springerville, Az is only 30 miles north of you and I know they have a Verizon store that should have your charge cable.

My Jeep Wrangler is a 2006 automatic and its towable 4 down. Both the manual & auto are towable, since its the 4x4 transfer case neutral that allows it. some minor difference by model year, but in general, all the Wrangler 4x4's are towable.

Lee, when I get back down there this fall you can try that golf cart on some of my ATV trails. When you figure out the best method for dealing with those wicked goat head weeds in gravel. let me know. I fight that same battle every year when I return. Out at my ranch in the wide open spaces, I can apply a very powerful kill everything weed killer, as well as using my Kubota tractor to dig them out. But at the house I bought in town, its all gravel since I didn't want any grass, there is not enough space for using the tractor, and they wont let me use that kill everything spray in town. Last year I gave up and hired a crew to clear them out. But I'm expecting a new crop to greet me this fall.

"" Jim2, did you sell your place here in Deming or did you keep it for winter headquarters? I'm keeping all your cowgirls happy for you. I drove out that way last February but couldn't spot your gate or your truck. "" Lee, yes I still have my winter ranch outside Deming. I use it as my winter base and do some southern trips from there. yes, its hard to find without specific directions. During the summer the local den of western diamondbacks keep guard. Last winter I stopped by the Low-Hi ranch to see you (I'm still a member) but they said some cowgirls had kidnapped you for the afternoon.

" Jim, glad to see you post, was wondering what you were up to in South Fork. " Steve, when I stopped fulltiming, I bought a summer home here with a few acres to park my RV. I'm 1/2 mile from the National Forest and almost unlimited ATV trails. I ride the ATV about every other day, or take off on the Harley for a loop around the mountains on the paved roads. This was my favorite view of Denali, standing on the summit. It took me 3 attempts but finally made it to the top. That was many years ago, back in my wild & crazy days.

"I have to go to SD next June to renew my drivers license. I sure wish it came due in July instead of June. That sounds a little chilly for that area. Have fun and keep smiling." Lee, I had to make that trip last year for my renewal. I went in May and it was already 90 degrees around Rapid City; not chilly by my definition, but then I could never spend all summer in Deming either. Its 75 for the daily highs up here in the Rockies near South Fork, Co.

Great tips. When I started fulltiming, I was torn between my love of dogs and my concern for caring for one as a traveling single. I didn't have a dog at that point since running my business required constant travel and with no one else at home I didn't think it was fair to a pet Soon after retirement, fate intervened and a young stray who someone had dumped on the rural road leading to my ranch, found and adopted me. Miss Blackie has been a cherished member of the family for 3 yrs now. Although I'm no longer fulltime, Miss Blackie and I continue to travel together, and swim, hike & ATV together. We haven't yet worked out a way to take her along on the Harley rides, so she sits on the porch and pouts every time she hears me start the Harley up.

Did Jim or Doug see a reason or come up with a theory on why those bolts sheared off? That seems like a very unusual failure. lucky it happened where it did and no serious damages.

Jeri, Here's a scary blog post from another SKP Razr rider. ATV Accident

Jeri, saw your question on my blog, thought you'd see the answer here sooner. Yes, I'm still around & traveling. I transitioned into more of a snow birder and part time traveler. I stay at my base in Colorado most of the summer, and my ranch outside Deming most of the winter, and do part time RV travels from both; as well as lots of ATV & Harley rides year round. Anyone coming through Deming in the winter or South Fork in the summer, lunch or dinner is on me. (maybe an exception for IYQ he eats spaghetti faster than I can cook it.) PS: when I showed up in Deming a few weeks ago and asked where all the single ladies went, I was told they all follwed some guy named Lee to California.

Good Timing, we have snow forecast for Wolf Creek Pass tomorrow night.

Jack, Have you been watching this new CO fire (waldo canyon fire). Manitou Springs, then Cascade Park evacuated. That sounds like its headed your way, but lots of ground to cover.

I hope no one was planning to drive thru NM on their way to Grandmas House for Christmas. Both I10 and I25, as well as most other NM state roads are completely closed by last nights snow storm. My friends up in Colorado would laugh at all the attention this snow gets down here in southern NM, but when you're not experienced driving in it, or equiped to plow it, this 6" of snow on top of a layer of ice, is enough to keep everyone at home. Other parts of the state, further north & higher elevation, got much more snowfall. Merry Christmas