Jinx & Wayne

Ask the Texas DMV. Here is their contact page.

I cannot say enough good things about the Mountain Directory for Truckers, RV and Motorhome Drivers. I use it every time I plan a route anywhere near high country. I have it loaded on my iPhone so it is available without cell service. At $17 for the west, $15 for the east, or $25 for combined it is worth every penny. It is available for iphone, laptop, android or in paper.

My Mountain Directory for US-160 in CO has the following entries.

The road descends at about 6% for 4-5 miles as you enter Durango from the west. There are shorter 6% hills west of that that are eastbound climbs.

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US-160 between South Fork and Pagosa Springs.

Before beginning the climb on either side of Wolf Creek Pass there will be signs advising if chains or snow tires are required. The eastbound descent from Wolf Creek Pass begins with the warning sign "6% grade next 8 miles." Most of this is three lane road. Farther down the mountain the road alternates between two lanes and three. Vehicles over 55,000 lbs. 25 mph speed limit.

The descent begins with a 6% grade and 30 mph curves. About two miles down from the summit there is a short tunnel with a 30 mph curve. The grade continues as promised for about 8 miles at 6% from the summit but there are about two more miles of 5% before the grade eases enough to call it the end of the pass. There are 30 mph and 40 mph curves throughout the descent.

The climb from the west  is 7% for about nine miles.

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La Veta Pass (also called North La Veta Pass) on US-160 between Ft. Garland and Walsenburg.

The climb from the west is mostly 3% and 4% grades for 7 or 8 miles with a couple of short sections of 5%-6% near the top.

The eastbound descent from the summit begins with a sign that says "6% grade next 4 miles." The grade is fairly steady 6% for 4 miles followed by 1/2 miles of 3% and then another mile of 6% and then several more miles of 3%.

9 hours ago, Chalkie said:

vodka that had lemon peel and whole peppercorns in it that was frozen so that it was almost like syrup.

I think drinking was the national pastime. The Ukrainians drank it warm, in water glasses.

10 hours ago, Chalkie said:

It was basically a year long vacation.

I agree. My Russian instructor was Gospodin Starov. He was a Ukrainian, and a former Soviet tank company commander who fought at Kursk. There was another instructor who was a Prussian and a former Wermacht light colonel who also was at Kursk. The two refused to have anything to do with each other. They would not even look at each other.

Gospodin Starov was of the opinion that we spoke better Russian if we were a little less self conscious. Every Friday at 1300 we would go the the Club for drinks and conversation solely in Russian. His daughter got married while we were there. He had a shortage of young men for the wedding so several of us were invited. A Ukrainian wedding is a thing to behold!

On 10/14/2022 at 4:15 PM, agesilaus said:

I see WT Griffin often refers to "Gray Foxes" in the Army back in WWII in his books, I suspect those were ASA.

ASA was formed in 1945. Up until then the mission was under the command of Army Signal Corps. ASA was disbanded in 1976 and our units shifted to INSCOM (Intelligence and Security Command). Up until them our chain-of-command ran through NSA.

On 10/14/2022 at 11:35 AM, Chalkie said:

What language were you?

Russian. I went to school with a lot of CT's at DLI in Monterey.

On 10/14/2022 at 3:39 PM, agesilaus said:

My father was in the ASA up until around 1960. Ft Huachuacha, Ft Mammoth, taught at Great Lakes. Spent WWII at running a station at St Lucia as an E7, listening to German U-Boote.

Korea over there in Korea.

There were just a few WWII guys left when I enlisted in 1969. St. Lucia must have been interesting. He was likely providing intel for Ernest Hemingway, among others. "Islands in the Stream" was semi-autobigraphical. Hemingway did hunt U-boats in his yacht, "Pilar."

Murphy's Oil Soap. Damp cloth and put some on the cloth. Wipe on the surface, let it sit for a few minutes and then wash it off.

Are there any ASA vets out there?

Wayne Foote

98J/98G

2 hours ago, RV_ said:

blade instead of a ball

Mine is probably a blade from the looks of it. I was not aware there was a difference. I assume the ball is newer because all of the youtube stuff talks about a ball. There was certainly a lot of "crap/minerals" in there. I had to scrape it out.

Wayne

On 10/11/2022 at 4:39 AM, RV_ said:

Oops! They are defunct right?

I'm not sure who "they" are -- we are not defunct, it only feels like it some mornings.

I got the gasket and silicone lube, and put it in yesterday. I was very careful to clean around the gasket mounting area and the ball. I installed the gasket and sprayed the area with silicone lube. Right now it is working. It holds water and doesn't stick. I saw plenty of wear marks on the ball. I'm betting this is the original toilet from the build date in 2005. We will probably replace it when we get to winter quarters in December.

Wayne

50 minutes ago, Dutch_12078 said:

According to Google maps, Babcock Ranch and the FPL solar grid serving it are only about 5 air miles apart.

Yes, and it survived and came back on line once the grid was back up. The power grid closer to the coast to which it connects fared less well.

I am not knocking Babcock. I am simply saying its solar system likely survived because it was further from the coast and much higher winds. You cannot compare it to what happened at landfall.

14 hours ago, RV_ said:

Wayne, Babcock Ranch took a direct hit from Ian and all around them in Charlotte County FL the power was out for days.

Derek, I agree that Babcock Ranch has a good system. They did not take a "direct hit" as compared to areas closer to the coast. The comparison of Charlotte County to Babcock is press hype.

The power generation stations for Lee and Charlotte counties are located pretty close to water and the coast. The water is needed for cooling purposes. Also, many of the power lines in Lee and Charlotte areas were above ground. So down go wires and poles. That happened where we winter in the Sebring area which only saw lesser hurricane winds. They were without power for several days.  I believe Babcock Ranch built below ground power lines. Had the solar field been located in the same area, I doubt it would have survived, never mind been down for a days or weeks.

Hurricane winds drop significantly as you move inland. At landfall the winds are the strongest. According to one report the maximum gusts at Babcock Ranch were 101 mph. The sustained winds were lower. At landfall Ian packed 150 mph winds with gusts much higher. Comparing the effects of 150 mph winds at landfall to even 100 mph sustained winds inland is deceptive. The destructive force of wind increases exponentially with velocity. 150 mph winds are 25.6 times more destructive than 100 mph winds and 256 times more destructive than basic 75 mph hurricane winds. Even if the winds at Babcock Ranch were sustained at 100 mph that is only about a 4% of the destructive power of what hit the coast.

I am not saying that Babcock Ranch had a bad system. They have a good system. I am saying that it did not suffer the same storm factors as coastal Lee and Charlotte counties. I seriously doubt that any solar power system can withstand 150 mph winds. The same system near the coast would likely be destroyed instead of down for days.

I am not knocking solar power. I am saying people consistently misunderstand the power and dynamics of hurricanes. And they are getting stronger and more frequent. If you live on the coast you are at severe risk.

Wayne

7 hours ago, RV_ said:

Wayne, let us know if that does the trick.

Will do. It is supposed to arrive Tuesday. Dometic was a GREAT help. They suggested I contact the manufacturer of my RV to get the model. Right.... I have a Carriage.

18 hours ago, sandsys said:

The town is 25 feet above sea level so they don't worry about storm surge.

And about 15 miles inland.

Thanks to all. Ordered a new gasket and will change that when it arrives on Tuesday. That may fix the problem. If not I will try other things. We are on a two day travel run with no cooking spray until we get to destination today and unhook 5er.

Our solution was expensive. We had a Norcold 1094 AC/LP unit that was 14 years old. We the working parts replaced with a Dutch Aire unit. Now it even keeps ice cream frozen.

Other things to do to help. Defrost frequently - I do it every 10-14 days in humid climates. It will work much more efficiently.

Keep groceries in insulated containers when coming from the store. Keeping the temperature down reduces the strain on the unit.

Don't overload it with warm food. 10# of hamburger may be a good deal but it has a large heat mass to overcome when tossed in the freezer

Just switched over to Visible two days ago. The switch was a nightmare. First I had no service. Go through the procedure again and I had text in and out but no phone. Two hours waiting to chat and an hour and a half of chat got me text both ways and outgoing calls. Another hour and a half browsing the internet for fixes finally got me both text and phone both ways. It is working well now. I hope it stays that way.

Wayne

The foot pedal on our Dometic 300 is sticking on occasion. Right now I can jar it loose with a second step down, but I can foresee the day when that may not work. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this. I am seriously thinking about just replacing the toilet.

Wayne & Jinx

40 minutes ago, fpmtngal said:

However, don’t count on the hitch weight being 630 lbs

Contact the seller and get an actual hitch weight with full propane and battery on board.

My eldest daughter and her husband are full timing in a Forest River R-Pod 192. They've been in it since April and love it. They are Escapees members so they may chime in.

3 hours ago, zen2185RI said:

Wish I had stuck with my original idea of a 2500, but I can make a 1500 work for the 2 of us to start out.  This why I suggested something with a much lower GVWR.  I am going to struggle with meeting my price point along with a GVWR that is acceptable to tow.

This is why many folks advise buying the trailer before you get the truck, and then getting a truck to fit. We did this by accident and still almost bought less truck than we needed. We bought a used fiver at the end of the 2016 season and ordered a truck based upon what the truck salesman told us instead of our own research. Fortunately, we were able to change the order once I had done more research. We took our first trip in February 2017 and started full time in 2018. We are loving it.

3 hours ago, zen2185RI said:

Just for a little more education, we would be starting with short weekend trips locally.  Overtime we'd extend our trips ensuring that we remain within our weight limits.  With each trip we would gain knowledge and determination if this is what we want to do come retirement.  If we decide to go forward, we'd purchase a larger truck and then a larger trailer to meet our needs.  This first phase will take place over the course of 5-10 years as we approach retirement.  Retirement is when we plan to take our bigger trips whether they be with an RV or deciding to go without an RV and go with hotels.

This sounds like a wise plan except that I would reverse the purchase order and not decide on a truck until I decided on a trailer.

20 hours ago, zen2185RI said:

Here is what the door sticker has:

GVWR - 7100 LB GAWR Front - 3900 LB, GAWR Rear - 4100 LB

From the RAM Truck Towing by VIN number - Max Payload - 1673 LB , Max Towing 11,290 LB 

 

From the link provided for the EZ Towing Weight Calculator  (using 5227 (range from RAM is from 4798-5227) as a guesstimate) and a tongue weight of .10 says I might be able to tow up to 11,000.

 

Looking at Arlington Trailer near us, they have a New 2022 Keystone RV Springdale 1760BH: (outside of price range, but used as an example)

1. Hitch weight: 520 lb
2. Cargo weight: 704 lb
3. Dry weight: 3796 lb 
4. C ombined Cargo and dry weight:  4500 lb
5. Water 27 gallons (8lb/gallon): 156 lb
6. Grey Water 30 gallons (8lb/gallon): 240 lb
7. Black Water 30 gallons (8lb/gallon): 240 lb
8. Propane 20lbs (4lb/gallon): 80 lb
9. Guesstimate total weight:  5216lb. 

Your propane number is off. A 20# propane tank has 20# of propane when full, not 80#.

I cannot imagine traveling with full black and gray tanks, but if you do have anything in those tanks or in the fresh tank, it is cargo. I am using Kirk's corrected fresh water weight of 216#. If you are traveling with all full tanks you have room for 8# of cargo (704#-240#-240#-216#=8#. (Buy lightweight clothes if you plan to travel this way.)

If you travel with a full water tank your capacity for food, clothes, bedding, etc., cargo capacity is affected. Your trailer cargo capacity with water is 488# (704#-216#). Propane is cargo, leaving you 468# available if you have full water on board. We travel with enough for uses on the road and no more.

Your hitch percentage is off. The listed hitch weight from this trailer is dry weight, not including cargo (fluids are cargo). That is a 13.7% dry hitch weight [(520#/3796#) x 100=13.6%]. If you evenly distribute the cargo weight in the trailer and use this number your hitch weight is about 615# (4500# x .136). That number varies with where you pack things so it is only meaningful to show possible possible effects on hitch weight, towing and payload. How you distribute the weight will affect towing characteristics and hitch weight. Whatever you buy, weigh it loaded before you start traveling too far.

Your truck payload is listed at 1673#. That is based on a completely empty truck with a full tank of fuel, fluids and factory installed options. It does not include any after-market accessories, driver, passengers, pets or anything else. If you've installed anything (cap, tonneau, etc.) fill the tank and get it weighed. Many truck stops have scales. Subtract the the actual weight from the GVWR to get actual payload. From the payload subtract the hitch weight to find approximate amount of cargo you can carry in the truck. Until you actually have a trailer in mind you will have to use some theoretical numbers, but the more accurate the better.

22 hours ago, mrfrank said:

GSMNP!

16 hours ago, Dapperdan said:

the Sunsphere

Thank you.

22 hours ago, trailertraveler said:

We only spent a day in Knoxville on our way to Great Smokey Mountains National Park. This website was one of the more comprehensive I found when planning our visit.

Thank you

On 9/20/2022 at 8:29 AM, Dutch_12078 said:

we make it a point to visit the McClung Museum of Natural History at the University of Tennessee.

Thank you. We will definitely go there.

Wayne & Jinx