bruce t
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Posts posted by bruce t
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You can buy a residential fridge and simply change over the compressor. We had our electrician swap out the compressor for a 12 Volt Dansfoss unit. Work like a charm for years even when the motorhome exceeded 120f inside in some locations!! 😒
Once you go all electric you will never go back.
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2 hours ago, RV_ said:
I believe that most folks are resistant to change. I went shopping for Van campers and most are Ram and Mercedes sprinter size. They cost new ~$100k give or take.
I will continue to look at new and innovative designs. The new Lightning EV trailer has its own electric motor and batteries and helps pull its own weight. The prototype is touring the country now. I liked it because it was not using the same old tired RV stoves HVAC and appliances although I am sure there are some that are the same. It was listed as being just over $110k and all I heard here was too expensive or I don't do EVs! It would double my fuel mileage towing with a Diesel truck that got 22 mpg empty but only 11 mpg pulling my 12,500 pound rig. And it lowers for travel to present a much cleaner aerodynamics and much less drag.
For some old folks EV is a trigger word. Others have more open minds, but not so open they fall out. 😏
RV the RAM/Sprinter conversions are all over the world. We just sold our Fiat van. We looked at some B class conversion last time we were in the USA. Boy were they expensive for what you got. B class are trendy at the moment and the manufacturers are taking advantage of the trend.
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100% agree Ray. Its what I call the Wal-Mart syndrome. We complain about price then complain about quality.
Buy a $30000.00 car and we get a "real" warranty. Buy a $200000.00 and all you get is sawdust in your draws!
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I have a simple Samsung tablet that I use to find camping spots. It's not connected to the internet. (I downloaded the package a few years back and occasionally log on to update it. But it Is never connected while on the road). Yet it always knows where I am. How is it connected? Who's watching? I can turn the tablet off and back on again way out where there is no cell signal. Yet it still picks me up. Maybe I'm wanted by the FBI! Or maybe the Chinese think I'm important! Or maybe we are all just ignorant of what freedoms we have given away.
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Hal 9000 is alive and well.
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RV I have no idea. I'm just making a point about who and what you can trust.
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Huawei. Ask yourself why this Chinese company is being watched very very carefully. Ask yourself about CCTV devices.
The reality is that nowadays no one knows who is watching who. No one realy knows what devices are even connected to God knows who or what.
We pay as much as possible with cash. We turn off all devices as soon as we are finished with them. Trust no one.
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If you have no connections, ie cell phone or Wi-Fi turned on in your vehicle, how does your navigation work?
Just saying. If your vehicle knows where it is then what other devices are also working without your input?
I have no idea. Just posing a question.
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Deadliest is a bit of a catch all phrase. How many times have you heard the world's deadliest snake? World's deadliest car? Now that would be an interesting statistic.
A NP 'may' be the "deadliest" simply because it's the most visited.
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I bet there are "better" site out on BLM land. And somewhat cheaper. I know where I would rather camp.
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Just a FWIW. Here in Australia the ABS, (Australian Bureau of Statistics. The official government body responsible for all sorts of data), has just released some interesting road statistics. For the past year 78% of all accidents involving trucks/heavy transport were caused by a car.
I guess similar figures would apply in the USA!!
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I posted above that the driver clearly didn't know where his left rear corner was. That's just bad driving. No excuses. Also lay off the truck driver. Who here knows if he had other vehicles behind him? If he braked what would the chain reaction have been?
Too many assumptions. That idiot in the motorhome had a brake pedal. It obviously wasn't attached to his brain. Assuming he had a brain!!
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I wonder who here has driven a heavy rig and been caught in the wrong lane? 40 ton rigs can't, and shouldn't, change lanes like a sports car. Was the right lane rig better geared than the truck trying to pass? Who knows. But the idiot driving the C Class simply made a dumb move. He had no idea where his left rear corner was. Trying to save a few minutes has cost him big time.
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Some years back folks were falling over themselve converting their cars to LPG. There were specialist fitters everywhere. It was the "future". Now where are they? Gas stations have removed their filling browsers. The environmentalists now want to ban ALL gas.
Be wary of those who promise a new future. Remember Beta v VHS?
Kirk I don't recall the circumstance of our renewal. So maybe I just wasn't aware that I could keep my old number. Back in 1996 we had to move our address, insurance etc from Georgia to Texas. I think I was with Alexander and Alexander insurance and they had some issues with us not having a SSN. Hence the move to Texas and SKPs.
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RV I joined SKPs back in 1996. Let my membership laps in 2000. Then rejoined. Hence the higher number.
"Conflict resolution" ? No idea. Try "Dispute resolution" that I wrote.
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RV FWIW I joined SKP's back in the 1990's. Does that count for anything? Nah. Who cares.
Another FWIW. I have a piece of paper hanging around somewhere. It's my qualification as a "Dispute resolution and mediator 'something' ". I'm not looking for it for the exact words. But one thing I did learn early on. Is that at soon as someone starts to get personal then they have lost the debate. Think about it for just a moment.
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1 hour ago, RV_ said:
And there it is. Confirmation bias much? That argument is similar to old folks saying they should not have to pay school taxes because they don't have kids in school.
You said "My point is that the future hasn't yet been decided. They are always promising break throughs with new batteries. Same with hydrogen. Base load green electricity hasn't yet been solved. Plenty of promises. Will green energy be enough to recharges a billion or so EVs? Can they solve the hydrogen storage and transport issues? "
Can you buy a hydrogen car retail there from the manufacturer like Tesla or at a dealer? I cannot buy a hydrogen car retail here in the US at a dealer or anywhere that I know of.
I don't need any breakthroughs in EV batteries - I drive one that gets 330 miles range, is AWD, has LTE and streaming onboard, does 0-60 in about 4 seconds, and costs between 10 and 12 bucks to go 330 miles. Here is an article with 43 different EVs available right now to purchase in the US. I will buy another but want to see if the M3P comes out as well as pricing for the Cybertruck. Yes I have read about the few Toyota Hydrogen vehicles for sale in Japan.
Where do you fuel hydrogen cars over there? ( I did not bring up hydrogen for the future for a lot of informed reasons, you brought it up.) However I can now buy EVs from every major manufacturer and about ten or twenty new startups like Polestar, Rivian, Lucid and more than just Tesla! More to the point every home in America that can afford a new car has electricity in their own home, apartments, and workplaces. And I can charge everywhere in 30 minutes or less.
Where can we refuel a hydrogen vehicle now here in the US? Never mind buy one. Do we already have a hydrogen fueling system in place in each house and is it cheap enough that I can afford to make hydrogen at my house like I can make and store solar?
BTW, my Solar system with two power-walls, because we are planning for two Teslas, is $39,668. That is about $10.5k less than the average cost of a new gasoline car! This my current estimate, public knowledge, no brag, and getting cheaper and more efficient by the day. Here is my quote from last week:
Is every two car family rich and worthy of jealousy? 😉
The cost of EVs is coming down but they cost about the same as the average gas used car does today, ~$50k. So if a family has two cars when they go to get a new one they are surprised when I tell them mine cost about the same as gas cars. However in both gas and EVs you can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for status symbols. But and play stealership games.saying EVs are too expensive is just plain ignorance
I actually drive a Model Y EV daily and charge it in my garage, no improvements needed. I can drive cross country with chargers available everywhere and no range anxiety. I am buying another but just decided to wait until the end of the year as Tesla is coming out with the M3P batteries this year for their cars and trucks. Lynda loves her Subaru but is ready to have a second EV so we are no longer subject to price gouged Fossil fuels. If Hydrogen vehicles became available and we could fuel them at home and on the road without range anxiety we will make one of our cars hydrogen too.
Keep voting with your wallet and I will keep voting with mine.
Myths busted in this post with authoritative sources.
1. EVs are too expensive.
2. EVs don't have sufficient battery density, range, or lifespan, they already do at the average gas new car prices.
3. The false idea that Hydrogen is as easy to do and somehow will not cost as much? And clean energy?? They use petroleum and methane as sources to make hydrogen as of today.
4. That EVs are only for the wealthy and Solar battery systems are even higher - Not.
5. Hydrogen cars are a viable alternative to EVs. Not today. You let me know when they have home hydrogen power generation systems that produce power for the house and stores hydrogen for fueling the vehicles, and those Hydrogen fueling stations are available everywhere for long trips.
I want to thank you Bruce for bringing up things others also may misunderstand and might want the actual facts about.
Have you seen me post about dirty and clean energy for gas and diesel like you have? I will say this, that is like the pot calling the kettle black. I am a car enthusiast and RV enthusiast. 😊The naysayers keep trying to pin tree-hugger on EV owners but that is only true for some few. I loved my gas vehicles then, and I love my EV now.
My EV is faster, cheaper to run, and handles better than even my 911 Porsche did.
And they are cheaper to run, fuel/charge wise and less maintenance which translates to cheaper. And the fastest cars in the world.
I was at Porsche the other day and my friend there told me his new 911 that cost $700,000.00 Would beat my model 3. But I have the slowest Tesla. The Tesla Plaid costs more but it will beat the Porsche but the Tesla Plaid only costs ~$125,000.00! If having the Porsche 911 styling and the Porsche name badge is worth $575,000 more I am fine with that. However not to me. I have owned my 911 Targa, and I am not out to impress or save the planet, just having the best handling and speed and range in this price range is good enough for me, see I am not rich, I'd have to sell my house to get that, just like many had to sell their houses to buy their RV. The only problem is we can't live in a Porsche! 😮 But if it meant enough to me I might try to save and go back to work and expand my investments. NOT!
Have a great day. You are preaching to the wrong crowd here. Get your fellow Australians to vote your way. But like death and taxes, you can't stop progress. My FIL died in 2016 and refused to have a computer in the house and refused to have a cell phone. But he was fine with A/C and his Toyota Tacoma, his LED large screen TV, and had a landline until he passed. My MIL had a cellphone but did not want to fight him over having a computer after he said he would never allow one in his house. He just was afraid he would embarrass himself by not being able to use one, although he would never say that out loud.
Safe travels down under!
RV I haven't even bothered to read your post. Whatever I, or others say, you will spend time on the internet looking for something to cut and paste. You win. I bow to your superior intellect and wisdom. I'm off to harness my horse.
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1 hour ago, RV_ said:
Hi Bruce, I saw Toyota has several Hydrogen models for sale, do you have one on order?
I'm not entering the hydrogen debate either. However, at the very bottom of your video under "Show More:" is this:
"DISCLAIMER: Our channel is purely made for entertainment purposes, based on facts, rumors, and fiction."
Right on RV. But if you search around you will find many similar news/stories along the same lines. I posted a random link.
My point is that the future hasn't yet been decided. They are always promising break throughs with new batteries. Same with hydrogen. Base load green electricity hasn't yet been solved. Plenty of promises. Will green energy be enough to recharges a billion or so EVs? Can they solve the hydrogen storage and transport issues?
I've said a number of times that I'm all for change. But not with my tax money. Not by governments 'forcing' me to change. Let the free market make the change. After all they never band horses did they? But the public drove, pun intended, the change to ICEs.
Australia's government is 'giving' tax money to those who buy an EV. A$7000.00 the last I heard. That's my tax money. It's going to those who can afford an EV. The 'poor' folks can't even afford a used ICE so how is this change going to happen if the vast majority can't afford it?
Get politics out of it and let the market decide.
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I'm not entering the debate but simply posting this for food for thought. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCxtO1qjnSA
Maybe Alice has gone down the wrong rabbit hole!!
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Someone needs to reintroduce the CCC.
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We lived/RVed in the USA for approx 8 years. In that time we learnt many things that we greatly appreciated about the USA. At the top of the list would be the parks. Be they National, State, City or county parks. COE, forestry or whatever. The park system is a wonderful asset. Much to the credit of folks like the CCC back in the 20-30s. Im not sure many Americans realise what a wonderful asset they have often on their doorstep.
The problem is that many parks are being worn out by their popularity. Goodness knows what will happen to them if they become more popular. I think that park danger comes from the humans who take so much for granted.
What's the solution? I have no idea but someone had better find a solution soon or the problems will only get worse.
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A few years back we spent 15-20 minutes trying to find a park at the Newfound Gap in the Smokies NP. The crowds were out. It was a Sunday. It was the peak of fall colours. Wife and I had been hiking many sections of the Appalachian trail and we wanted to hike north from the car park. Day hike. 4-5 hours out and 4-5 hours back. The first 2-300 yards of the trails was like sale day at Walmart!!! Crowds? Gosh push and shove. But after about 500 yards we were all but by ourselves. A mile further up the trail we could have hiked naked without fear of being seen. FWIW we don't hike naked. 😉
Go to Arches NP. Crowds!!! Try Canyonlands. The south section. The Needles. Car parks are all but empty. Hike the Confluence trail and you will be lucky to see anyone else on the trail. Yet it's spectacular.
My point is that I would rather take the risk with the bears and poison ivy than the traffic in a NP. The postcard views of NPs are overrun with folks who can't go further or simply don't want to go further. There's an upside in that the small percentage of worn-out sections of the parks preserve the vast majority of the park.
But my guess it's more damaging for your health sitting at home eating popcorn in front of the TV.
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Just to throw a curved ball!!
Define "visit"? There are millions of folks who stop at the visitors center and tick that NP off their list. Some NPs we have done just that. Stopped. Read the information and drove on. Other NPs we have pulled the hiking boots on and hiked 20 miles into the park. Far away from the car parks.
How many folks have driven to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Looked over the edge from one of the car parks and called done?
I'm not being critical. Just a thought about what "seeing a NP" realy is.
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One other consideration. Storage. For the last 10 years we based ourselves around Dallas/Fort Worth. We were lucky finding storage each time we returned to Australia. But storage can be very hard to find.
We also used Dallas as there is a direct flight back to Australia. That saves more than one headache.
Settle this for us!
in General RV Information
Posted
It's not the colour of the hose that is the issue. It's if water sits in the hose for an extended period. You can use a garden hose to fill a tank provided the hose is empty of old water when you start. Never travel with water in any hose. Empty them before storing them.