Chalkie

Our floor plan included an outdoor kitchen. It does take a lot of space in the front bay as it has two fridges, a 2-burner gas cooktop and a drawer for pan storage. The space it takes is a con although we have large storage at the rear of the trailer. The pro is the two fridges. We keep beer and soda in one and bottled water in the other. However, they are rarely used in the winter as cold drinks are more a summer thing for us. Oh, and I have never used the stove as we have a GMG pellet grill and a Blackstone for outdoor cooking.

2 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

I'm glad you post these links Derek, all I get from Army Echoes is fluff.

I get Navy Insider from military.com and it covers most of the stuff Derek's link cover so I do not bother to post them.

Others, like RV_, may be aware of this site but I just stumbled across it. It is a Microsoft Partner and I was able to upgrade my Windows 10 Home to Pro for $30.00 which if you upgraded via the Microsoft Store would cost $199.00. Now I know you can probably buy it for less in some other places but this was really easy. I just entered my card info and a key was sent to me and then WIndows 10 Home took care of the rest. This place also has Office products including Office for Mac and server software. Keyingo for anyone that's interested.

12 minutes ago, Second Chance said:

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

Rob

Which was signed into law on December 27, 2020 by Trump before Biden took office on January 20, 2021.

Something I have noticed that starting this year every time we visit a doctor we have to sign a form acknowledging that our treatment is in-network. Could this somehow be a provision of that law? Maybe.

19 hours ago, RV_ said:

 

What makes you think this recall was ordered by the NHTSA? It was voluntary not ordered. The difference is that this was known as a BETA program and precautions were taken. All voluntary recalls have to be done with the knowl;edge and approval of the NHTSA.

OK, I will amend it to mean a recall from either the company or NHTSA but it is still redefining the word recall as it does not require returning to a place. I was just pointing out the morphing of our language.

I have not personally tried this out, I only know a friend that uses it. There is an app called "Speedify" that combines WiFi sources into one. It is available for Win, Mac, Android and iPhone. You might check it out for yourself.

I think in this digital age we're going to have rethink what a "recall" is since it no longer entails a visit to a dealer or repair facility. As a verb recall means "bring back" or "summon back" to a specific place. Now I think it just means a repair ordered by the NHTSA, no matter how conducted. Watch for future changes to Merriam-Webster. 🤣

5 hours ago, markandkim said:

I'm a 180 on that boss.

As a former 30 year Colorado resident, I am too. And pictures sent to me of their last snow storm only reinforced it. 

21 hours ago, Vladimir said:

Most small population states are pretty open to people moving to their states "on paper", but obviously there had to be something that triggered  the issue.

You raise an interesting point. That "on paper" population could help during Census years by opening federal programs that are tied to population. This would be a good thing I would think.

5 hours ago, Second Chance said:

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.

Back in my working days I had to pay Comcast extra for a static IP as that was what my employer required. I don't know if it is more prevalent today or not.

On 2/9/2023 at 11:32 AM, fpmtngal said:

The owner ended up having a lot of luck - he found someone nearby who welded the frame with a temporary fix to get him to a Ram dealer.  Then when Ram refused to repair it under warranty (the truck was overloaded), his insurance paid to repair it and he got it home.

I wonder what kind of insurance he had. I have never had any automotive policy that would cover a failure of a part, towing to get to a repair facility but not the repair. Even with one of those extended warranty policies there is specific wording that says coverage will be denied in the event of abuse.

18 minutes ago, eiblanco said:

Any recommendations on a RV coating wax with UV protectant? 

I use Was Wax All by Aero Cosmetics. It was originally meant for aircraft use and and is a really good product, not cheap, but good.

4 hours ago, sandsys said:

I don't speak electricity but this sounds to me like it would use all your power leaving nothing for other needs. What am I misunderstanding?

Linda

Linda, the key is the voltage. That wattage at 24v is about 50 amps, however, that same wattage at 120v is only about 9.5 amps. But you are dealing with AC vs. DC and then it all gets interesting to calculate.

3 hours ago, sandsys said:

The most important part of covering an RV is making sure it is tight everywhere. You don't want the cover beating against the RV when the winds pick up.

Linda

Winds that Colorado has plenty of. Just SW of my home of 30 years in Colorado Springs winds were clocked at 105 MPH. We once had winds that were lifting the roots of our 35' Blue Spruce out of the ground and we had to have the privacy fence around the yard replaced 5 or 6 times over the years due to wind damage.

Truthfully, and especially if you are buying new I would just wax the entire trailer with a high quality UV protectant wax and call it good. Covers are difficult to get on and off thus not lending themselves to any spur of the moment trips.

The National Weather Service routinely sends up weather balloons to high altitude.

When I was active in ham radio there was a group in Colorado that would periodically send up balloons to see what altitude they could reach and also contained instruments for research. They contained a transponder that operated in the ham frequencies and the ham community would help track its decent for recovery.

I find it interesting that the RV version is 24v while the Tiny Home version is 12-48v. If one was always using hook-ups I would think the Tiny Home version might be easier to install. I have to do more research.

3 minutes ago, LindaH said:

I do have a question about the Roku (and it applies to the Nvidia, too):  Do you have to pay for your Amazon Prime Video on the Roku?  I'm a Prime member and on my Fire Stick, the Prime Video app is free.  However, a neighbor who has a Roku and is also a Prime member, says he has to pay for Prime Video.

We still have Firestick on the bedroom TV that hasn't worn out, simply I think because it isn't used as often, but anything we can watch on the Firestick we can watch on the Roku, including Prime Video. You just add the app for whatever you subscribe too plus there are a lot of apps for free viewing and Roku has its own channel with lots of stuff. We have the Roku Streaming Stick 4K and our daughter has the Roku Ultra for twice the price. The only real "advantage" that I can see the Ultra offers is a rechargeable remote. The battery life on our remote seems pretty adequate as we have only replaced the batteries twice over the last year and it takes 2 AAA batteries. 

2 hours ago, LindaH said:

Is anyone familiar with either of these products?

I just ordered my 4th Fire Stick -- they seem to stop working after about a year, so I'm looking for a better solution to streaming.

I'm not familiar with either those products but I agree the Firesticks seem to have planned obsolescence. I replaced a Firestick with a Roku 4K and it is far more robust that the Firestick at a comparable price.

17 hours ago, docj said:

In addition, newer, high-end phones have more advanced modems and can access new frequency bands such as C-band (also known as sub-6 GHz). 

It doesn't necessarily need to be a particularly high-end phone if that also means high dollar. The wife and I upgraded to 5G phones about a year and half ago and we ended up with Samusng Galaxy A52 and A32 phones. Both have access to the C-band. The one thing the phones don't have is wireless charging which I think is a feature of the more high dollar phones, although that could be my misperception. 

No, since I am able to make that quote without the large letters and colored text, but thanks for recognizing my picque. 

Quote

A dark pattern is a type of user interface designed to trick you into doing something you didn't intend to do. It's never a good sign, and can be an indication that a company is not entirely on the level.

If you're new to the concept of online privacy, and have decided to sign up to Neeva, you may take the privacy claims at face value and be eager to find out more.

1 hour ago, 2gypsies said:

I didn't put the red lettering, size and underlining in my post.  That came up from the link.  Any apology for being so sarcastic?

1 minute ago, durangodon said:

I just went to both NADA and KBB websites and got a value on my dually truck with no problem.  Are these the websites you're trying?

https://www.nada.org/nada/consumer-vehicle-values

https://www.kbb.com/

 

Don beat me to it, but same. Neither site will let you add values for such things as air bags or fifth wheel hitches, etc.

On 1/23/2023 at 3:38 PM, 2gypsies said:

Did you read this statement?  

A dark pattern is a type of user interface designed to trick you into doing something you didn't intend to do. It's never a good sign, and can be an indication that a company is not entirely on the level.

If you're new to the concept of online privacy, and have decided to sign up to Neeva, you may take the privacy claims at face value and be eager to find out more.

Yes! But I guess I missed the meaning. Thanks!   I hope all the big(ger) letters were sufficient.

11 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

That article states Neeva search engine is 77% rated for privacy. However this seems to contradict that statement: https://www.makeuseof.com/reasons-you-shouldnt-use-neeva/

IMO it's all in the eye of the beholder. As stated in that article, nothing is completely safe and private on the internet.

I don't think the two articles are exclusive, as even that article says "Neeva SafeSearch Is Good, but Not Perfect". I also went to the sign up page and it was not in dark colors as that article says, it would be interesting to know what theme the author has his browser set to and what browser he is using.

There have been several threads in here about using DuckDuckGo as the search engine of choice for added privacy. However it may not be as private as we think/thought. 

Neutronian, a company that rates privacy of various companies, has a surprise.

Quote

Some of the companies that were named may surprise marketers. Bing, DuckDuckGo, Roku, Blogger andAmazon Prime Video ranked among the bottom 10% -- below average.

"DuckDuckGo, a search engine marketing its services based on privacy, but monetize services through Bing, got dinged for lack of disclosure and transparency,” says Timur Yarnall, CEO at Neutronian. “Some of the others were dinged for making it difficult to find key terms like 'opt-out,' policies, or active litigations."

Full article can be found here.

On 1/18/2023 at 3:23 PM, RV_ said:

One of them that the failure of the Texas grid had anything to do with energy use. Their gas production infrastructure failed in 2008, and again in 2011 with a lot of deaths, and then yet again in 2021. With a lot of deaths. I will message you with that rather than hijack Kirk's thread.

 

I was talking less about winter grid failures and more overall year around grid capabilities as the need for increased electricity delivery becomes needed due to the increased number of EVs on the road. What I was referring to as far as winter goes was the inability of EVs to function in very cold weather as far as reductions in distance and charging (or lack thereof).

I have no idea what got changed in my profile but I believe I have it restored to what it should be.