Second Chance

Reports this morning state that the four Americans have been found - two dead, one wounded, and one unhurt. Rob

We usually cross the river up at Newburgh on I-84 and turn south somewhere in PA to avoid everything. I particularly like traveling through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area when taking this route. Rob

We have our insurance with USAA and didn't have any problems when we moved our domicile to Texas using an Escapees Mail Service address. I know there are some banks and investment outfits that won't deal with full-timers with a mail service while others will. Perhaps the same is true with insurance companies. Rob

Battery types should not be mixed on the same charging system. Also, if you use your existing solar to charge lithium batteries, the MPPT solar controller would need to be configured for solar. Otherwise, you'll only get to about 85% state of charge on the batteries. Rob

LiFePO4 house batteries are an excellent choice in terms of useable amp hours, low maintenance, and number of lifetime charge cycles... but they are very expensive. They are also not the best choice for a chassis battery as they are not designed to provide high burst current for starting an engine (someone more knowledgeable may chime in on this). If you have separate house and chassis batteries, LiFePO4 for the house and a good lead-acid for the chassis might be the best combination. We have a fifth wheel and have four 100 amp hour batteries with solar and are very happy with the setup. Keep in mind that lithium batteries have different charging requirements and, unless you have a lithium capable converter/charger, you will need to switch that out to get full use of the LiFePO4 batteries. Just my two cents worth (not counting inflation). Rob

We have the MORryde independent suspension with disc brakes. When the naval engineer across from us in the RV park (on a military installation) saw my hubs he exclaimed, "You're set up for oil bath. You should convert them!" I called MORryde and had a 15 minute conversation with them. They recommended against it and listed several reasons (which I don't recall with complete accuracy since this was about three years ago). Since then, I've seen a number of discussions on various forums about this topic with opinions split. Since I already have a maintenance routine that's been working well, I took the path of least resistance (no pun intended) and left the hubs as they are - grease. Rob

Congress passed it as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Rob

An article I found states, "Netflix says it uses a combination of IP addresses, device IDs, and “account activity from devices signed into the Netflix account” to determine if an account is being used in the primary account holder’s household." There will likely be an algorithm to determine the status of each device. One can only hope that NetFlix is aware that not everyone in the country/world uses static IP addresses and has figured this into their algorithm. Like you, we will be very interested to see how it plays out. Could be our excuse to drop them - they haven't had much content of interest to us of late. Rob

... Unless you're moving from a 4G phone to a 5G phone. My Galaxy S10 was a 4G phone and its SIM card was not compatible with the S22. I had to have VZW send me a new SIM card which they did at no charge. I did the changeover online when the SIM card arrived without involving VZW at that time. I'm on a grandfathered prepaid plan (with the unlimited data on the hotspot) with multi-line and military discounts. Neither the plan nor the cost changed. Rob

The effects you are describing are caused by using very wide angle lenses on the phones (you can do the same with your DSLR and get the same effects). Many newer phones (including my Galaxy S22) have three lenses/cameras with everything from super wide angle to medium telephoto. You can even shoot raw with them and post-process on the phone or your computer (just like I used to do with my DSLRs when I shot weddings and events for pay). Peter Barlow, the famous marine and yachting photographer (https://www.amazon.com/marine-photography-Peter-Barlow/dp/091099014X) was often asked by aspiring young photographers regarding his opinion on what was the best camera. His response was, "The best camera is the one you have with you when you need it." (I think he kept a tosser 35mm half frame under the seat of his car at all times.) My DSLR kit for shoots consisted of a backpack and another camera bag (not counting studio lighting, backdrops, etc.). Combined, the two bags weighed over 40 lbs. One of my professional full-frame bodies with a decent L-Series lens on it weighed over 4 lbs. I quit carrying any of the DSLR equipment on hikes just because of the weight. I bought a "professional" point-and-shoot for those times. I found I was carrying that less and less and, as the phones got better and better with more lenses/cameras, higher resolution, better glass and processing, I came to rely almost completely on my phone since it is "... the camera I always have with me." I don't shoot paying gigs any more. Rob

I have almost 20 film cameras (including medium format) with all the trimmings - many of them from when I shot weddings and events professionally. When we had a house, they were on shelves as a collection display. The only value any of them have is perhaps some of the more rare models if some collector happens to want one. I recently sold off my professional DSLR kit (I had one full-frame body left) and received about $1,200 for the entire outfit (which included several lenses which were $1,000 - $2,000 each when new). The body was considered outdated and I couldn't get anything for it. I wish you luck, but manage your expectations. Rob

Neither of them are the model you're talking about, but both some friends and our daughter and SIL have coaches with the Ford V10 in them. The friends' coach is probably 10 years old and the kids' is less than five years old. The only problem either of them have had is the catalytic converter was stolen off the kids' coach last month in a storage facility in Phoenix. Our SIL flew out yesterday (a day ahead of the rest of the family) and got the catalytic converter replaced today. Catalytic converter theft is a real pandemic and our SIL is planning on installing some sort of anti-theft system on the converter. Other than that, and the fact that there's a lot of engine noise when driving, the Ford V10 is a real workhorse... pun intended. Rob

I just got a pair of the Samsung Buds2 Pro earbuds. The app on the phone ("Wear") that lets you turn the active noise canceling on and off has a selection for Ambient Sound. I just tried it out and, with no media playing, I can hear all the sounds in the room a little louder than without the earbuds in my ears. I don't know if the amplification will go high enough to use as hearing aids - and the microphones are on the earbuds, so you can't position the phone to make things any better/louder. Rob

I did the "old age" in person thing last year in El Paso. They mostly want to see that you can walk in under your own power, pass an eye exam, and carry on a coherent conversation. I don't remember thinking there was anything special about it at all. (I don't like the new photo, though... makes me look old.) Rob

I just went to the Georgia web site and read through the classes - the ChangeingGears information appears to be correct. What do you think is wrong about it? Rob

16 states have special requirements depending on the configuration (usually GVWR) of your rig. They don't all call the license the same thing. You can check it out here: RV Drivers Licenses by State Rob

My step-son uses LastPass and has good service from it - feels it is very secure. We use BitWarden and have a subscription. That way the executors for our wills can have access when we die to manage finances, etc. It is also very secure (but won't run on a Kindle Fire without rooting the device). Rob

I didn't know what it was when I snapped a couple of pics of one in Bar Harbor in September of 2017 (can't get them down to the 100kB file size limit to attach). Our thoughts at the time were that it didn't look very practical. Rob

I wish we had a "Like" button on this forum... Rob

Grand Design has three floor plans with the dinette in a slide on the camp side - in the Imagine and Reflection TT series. They have more series but those are the two I looked at. Rob

Don't disagree - but we stay long-term on a military base and will likely move in with kids when the time comes. I think we'll have power and water here during our lifetimes... Rob

Here are some thoughts from a slightly different angle... We marked seven years on the road this past summer. Where to settle down when we can no longer travel has been a topic of discussion for that entire time. I would love to settle back down in southern NM because that's where I grew up and still have two sisters and their families there. My wife is a tropical girl (born and raised in South and Central America due to parents working overseas). She thinks the highs should be in the lower 70s and the lows in the upper 50s year round... with a rain shower every afternoon. She loves Las Cruces in the winter, but the summer heat really scares her. Even at elevation it can be brutal. More recently, discussions about the southwest have included the water and power situation with the Colorado River and its reservoirs drying up and dropping to critical levels. These changes threaten power generation in seven states. Doña Ana County, NM, and El Paso County, TX, have been in a "water war" for as long as I've been on earth (70 years) over water from the Rio Grande and pumping the aquifers dry. It certainly doesn't help, either, that corporations keep planting miles and miles of pecan trees in the Mesilla valley that have to get water from somewhere! Though our hearts are out west, fortunately for us our grandkids are back east. This, and the situations outlined above, are making it more and more likely that we'll end up in Maryland in the end. As long as we're able we'll spend some winters in New Mexico with the RV. As long as we can physically board an airplane, we'll get to see my sisters. Rob

I would second Kirk's suggestions. The LevelMatePRO II cannot be beat and you can see when the RV is level side-to-side from the driver's seat of the tow vehicle using the app on your phone. My choice of levelers are the Beech-Lane. Before we had a rig with auto-leveling, we had issues with other brands breaking (though with your travel trailer, that's likely not at issue). https://www.amazon.com/Beech-Lane-Camper-Leveler-Pack/dp/B07PM8X48R Rob

Same here, Kirk. And doing so can reduce animosity from "full-time Polk County residents" who think a large bloc of RVers shouldn't be meddling in their local politics. Rob

Kirk, I was surprised at the wide range in fuel tax rates when I went looking - it explains a lot of what we saw on our big trip this spring and on our trip from MD to SC and back this past week. I was also surprised to see that GA has no fuel tax on gas or diesel any more (used to be cheaper to cross the river to SC when we lived in GA). PA seems to be the worst on a quick scan: https://igentax.com/gas-tax-state-2/ Rob