Second Chance

Similar to Joel's situation... we've been full-time for 7 years. We purchased a car in 2018 - and not in Texas where we're domiciled. No issues with financing. The dealer shopped their financing resources for the best rate. Rob

Wow - you don't just have a full plate, you're spinning a number of them! Since I responded above I got the bug. I found a legit, downloadable copy of Outlook 2021 for $18... I'm really liking it. It has bells and whistles I don't need, but it will do anything I do want to do - and does it well. I especially like the ability to have multiple/assignable time zones in the calendar in a desktop client. Good luck with everything. Rob

Yes - our grandfathered VZW 4G MiFi unlimited plan is unthrottled. The plan was only available pre-paid and for a short window of time. I think once the word got out in RV World, VZW realized they were giving away too much bandwidth for too little money. I just did a speed test where we're staying here in the SE Cincinnati area and the download speed is currently 67.4 Mbps. We stream TV and movies on it several nights a week without issues (and have for some years). Rob

Can't tell you about Thunderbird, but EM Client does a great job with email. I had some calendar issue with it, so went back to the organic email client in Windows 11 (it's very reliable). I've recently tried the new Outlook PWA web app (runs locally/off-line when necessary and saves everything to your local device) and it's really good, too. Can even do multiple time zones in the calendar. All of this is with an outlook.com (Live Mail) IMAP account. Rob

I read this on the Starlink web site yesterday... makes it no better than our current VZW unlimited (grandfathered) mobile hotspot in terms of service - and the hotspot is easier to set up. Rob

1974 VW Westfalia (new) 2 years (Insert various sailboats here) 2003 Coleman pop-up (new) 2 years (Insert adopted kids circling the drain and first wife dying here) 2012 Trailerable trawler (used) 2013 FR Surveyor Sport TT (new) 2 years 2015 GD Reflection 337 fifth wheel (new, launched full-time) 4-1/2 years 2020 GD Solitude 310GK-R fifth wheel (new, ordered) 27 months as of this posting I guess that adds up to five in 48 years (not counting "floating RVs") Rob

I have had very good luck finding mobile RV techs using this web site: RV Service Reviews Rob

We will continue our 3,600 journey begun on 4/1 when we left southern New Mexico. So far, we have been through northern NM, AZ, UT, CO, WY and are now in SD. Passing through Cincinnati to see some grandkids, we will end up at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, mid-June to be near more grandkids. No plans for long-distance movement after that for now... Rob

Yeah - right on their front page: "Pacific Shores Motorcoach Resort is restricted to Class A and Class C Motor Coaches, 29 feet or greater in length and in “Like New” condition." Rob

We stream Prime Video and Netflix all over the country without any issues on a ROKU TV and our laptops using a Verizon hotspot on a grandfathered unlimited data plan. Rob

If you look at places other than AZ and FL, you can still find accommodations. When we left our winter place in southern NM this year, they asked if we wanted to come back next year. We have reservations at a military installation in NE MD from June of this year through December of 2023, so we said, "No." Rob

Lippert has a huge part of the market now, Kirk, and it seems pretty common. Guys on another forum who are engineers and/or have experience with heavy equipment seem to think it's pretty common, too - but with heavy equipment one doesn't notice it since the hydraulics are in motion all the time. Rob

Caterpillar Hydraulic Oil Additive 1U-9891. Rob

Our Lippert hydraulic system came with ATF in it. There's a Lippert white paper about replacing two quarts of the ATF with either fork oil or CAT fluid to reduce/stop the popping (it's a phenomenon called "stiction"). I tried the fork oil first with minimal effect. I then used the CAT fluid and it cured the problem... though the CAT fluid was hard to find during the pandemic. Rob

My wife found a very good description of extended service plans a while back (they are not warranties, but rather insurance policies with lots of fine print). They are another form of legalized gambling. The company is betting that nothing breaks that would cause them to pay out more than you paid for the policy; you're betting it will. As in all forms of legalized gambling, the house usually wins. Otherwise, these companies wouldn't be in business or make a profit. Dave Ramsey and Clark Howard have commented on these plans many times, too. The standard seems to be that 80% of extended service plan revenue goes toward commissions and marketing. Only 20% goes toward paying for actual repairs, which means most people are getting a really bad deal. We prefer to set money aside regularly (earning interest) and pay for repairs as they come up. Rob

No - but if your RV has connections for a washer and dryer, there is probably a place marked to install the vent. It took our dealer about 15 minutes to do the vent part. Rob

You'll get about as many opinions on this as there are RVers out there. We opted for stackables with a vented dryer. We chose Whirlpool over Splendide so that techs will come to us rather than having to take the rig to an authorized Splendide service point. The units have served us well for two years, now. Rob

I agree with Kirk - that sounds like Federal District Court. Polk County now has an on-line tool to respond to the summons electronically, though. I just did it for my wife. Rob

I would second this suggestion. Rob

Bed of the truck? Rob

First of all, are you sure the batteries are fully charged? Next, is the battery cut-off switch in the "On" position. After that, depending on the year of your Solitude, there's either a 60 or 80 amp circuit breaker on the back wall of the front compartment near the hydraulic pump and reservoir. Failing all else, I have used this site to find technicians several times with very good results: RVServiceReviews.com Rob

They probably are, now - prices have gone up over the past six years.🙄 Rob

You have to dig keep in the Dish information to find what you're looking for, but if you have an outdoor-only account (no Dish account for a stix 'n brix), what you want is called the Flex Pack. You can mix and match what you want (sports oriented vs. news vs. entertainment, etc.) and add locals. You may have to go through the "Dish For My RV" rigamarole or call Dish to get specifics. Rob

The add-on OTA receiver module for the Wally receivers requires a coax connection from your OTA antenna on the roof. The reception will only be as good as your antenna and location (distance, line-of-sight from the broadcast towers). We pay $10/month for locals on our Dish RV plan and change the locals with the phone app when we move. It's worked very well for 6-1/2 years full-timing. Rob

Only three times in 15 years? Not bad! Like Linda, we have multiple cards so we're not up the creek if one gets compromised. Our most recent experience was a couple of months ago when several walk-in/manual entry purchases were made at Walmart... in Livingston. We haven't been there in at least three or four years and I can't imagine how that happened.🤔 Rob