Jinx & Wayne

We had an overnight at the RV repair place last week. We hooked up to their power. If you think it will take longer that a day and need to stay, ask. Wayne & Jinx

I seem to recall that one of the Escapees parks (Bushnell?) prohibited the use of bleach. I have seen that in other park rules. Wayne & Jinx

52 gallons. Carriage Carri-Lite Wayne & Jinx

We do this about every six months just after a long stay (we are full time). I also add a cup of borax dissolved in a couple of gallons of water. I put a total of about five gallons in the tank to slosh around. Wayne & Jinx

Yes, and storm surge in the Outer Banks is an issue. Those things I am aware of and can monitor pretty well. It was wind velocity that had me stumped. I'm pretty sure 40 mph will be safe. Over that and I am moving. It is easier to leave when the weather is nice than in the midst of madness. Jinx and Wayne

I agree entirely. My RV doesn't know how to swim of fly. I don't want to be in it while it tries. Thanks. I haven't been in 40 mph cross winds but will go with that number. While I suspect my cross section is larger than a TT, my fiver is certainly heavier, too. I have the radio and watching the NHC is a daily ritual. Your mention of fuel reminded me that I need to fill both tanks (total 84 gal) right after unhooking. That way I am not caught unaware. A good reminder on the N side generally and the NE side in particular. My only official meteorology class was in 1981 and I had forgotten the issue of stronger winds and heavier rains in those areas. I agree. But it only takes one with my name on it. Jinx and Wayne

We've been up north and hurricane season has been slow so far. North is getting colder and hurricanes are heating up. We are heading south soon and the itinerary includes Outer Banks in two places including down by Cape Hatteras. We have a 16K fiver with four slides. Does anyone have an idea about how much wind is too much? When do I have to hook up and run for the mountains? Jinx and Wayne

We stayed in Panacea, FL for two weeks this spring and enjoyed it very much. It is in the part of the Florida Panhandle called the Forgotten Coast. Great beaches with very little crowding. It is not the hustle-bustle of Florida from Tarpon Springs to Naples or Jacksonville to Miami. For South Carolina the state parks are fabulous. If you want busy go to Myrtle Beach. For more laid back try Edisto Beach. We've stayed in state parks at both locations and liked them. We are staying in Edisto again this fall.

In the Sebring FL area, mosquito time is from just before sunset to about an hour or so after. Fewer in the dry months (Jan through April) and more as it gets wetter.

Do you happen to know the expected life in years (not miles)? Mine are 2016 and I am thinking about replacing although lots of tread left.

We have a 2006 Carriage at about 16K. When I bought it used I upgraded to disc brakes, 8K wet hub axles, 17.5" steel wheels with semi-trailer tires and Roadmaster suspension. Full time since 2018. The tires will have five years on them this winter and I plan to replace them. The one flat was a valve stem core failure.

Thank you GlennWest.

Our first 1874 lasted two years. I replaced it. The second failed after six months but was under warranty so they replaced it. We are a year into this one so we will see. Which model whirlpool fit the space? We have an over-the-stove mounting. Jinx and Wayne

Can you tell me which overpasses are 13' 6" on I-95 in Maine? I can't find any under 14'. I just drove the length of I-95 with the exception of the Exit 52 to the Gardiner Service Plaza and I don't recall seeing any that low. (We get off at 52 which is the Falmouth Spur crossover to I-295 and then take 295 north to Gardiner and rejoin 95). I am 13' 2". For Bar Harbor i would take I-95N from the NH border to Exit 52, 52 to I-295N (watch the I-295 on ramp - it really is 15 mph), I-295N to rejoining I-95N at Gardiner, I-95N to Exit 182A/I-395 to US-1A, I-395 to US-1A Ellsworth/US-1, US-1N to ME-3S to Bar Harbor. While traffic will be lighter after Labor Day it might still be a parade on ME-3 on Fridays. Try to avoid it. I can say that listed clearances in Maine mean a rig of that height will clear it. I know that because I called MDOT and asked when I bought the rig. Jinx and Wayne

Yeah, but the Shuttle doesn't have screen doors and is miserable to back into a campsite. You need a BIG pull thru. Nobutseriously, you will need to be be small with that truck. Like Kirk said, before we can give more information we need to know more about the truck. The question involves more than just "towing capacity" specs for your vehicle. Axle capacity and payload are two big issues. All of the relevant information should be on a plate inside the driver's side door frame. My daughter and SIL are full-timing in an R-pod that is about 19 or 20 feet and pulling with a Tundra. They are within towing capacity, payload and axle weight limits. They say it handles well and gets reasonable mileage. They also picked out the Tundra pretty carefully. And they don't have dogs. Jinx and Wayne

The motivation for buying a 50gal aux tank was convenience. Our usual travel method is drive two days and stay a couple of weeks or more somewhere. The truck alone holds 34 gal. I get about 10 mpg towing. With the extra 50 I never have to fill with the trailer hooked up. The savings by not using truck stops is a bonus. Wayne and Jinx

Thanks, I will check under the front area. The zipper panels were too small to work on the rear slides so we gorilla taped for now and Jinx will sew replacement panels when we are stationary for a couple of months this summer. We've decided to keep the Carriage for at least a couple of years more. We thought about replacing and looked at plenty that we did not like. We decided to just before the stock market confirmed that decision!

Good to know. I used blue locktite on this repair and will check the other large slide tomorrow. Any ideas on how to access the wardrobe and bed slide motors? Wayne

I'm less than happy with Escapees road service. We had a tire problem in Savannah. Big city, not East Overshoe, ME. My lower back was telling me someone else should handle the spare. I contacted Escapees roadside at 9:00 am. At 3:00 pm they still had not located anyone to service it. At 4:00 pm we were told someone would be there in an hour. At 4:30 pm got a call from a company hired to do it. When they found out the RV weighed 8 tons they said they weren't getting paid enough. At 7:30 pm someone finally showed up. The company roadside company escapees uses had just hired him to do the job. Fortunately we were in a RV park. If I'd been sitting next to I-95 for ten hours I would be far less happy. I am looking at alternatives.

Thank you, Kirk. I'm looking forward to it. Next year looks like a Canadian Maritimes circuit. My family is from Newfoundland so we want to get up there. Out west may be the year after.

We arrived here in Sealevel, NC, 5/28 (Sat of Memorial Day weekend) on a two-day run from Savannah. The slides all worked in Lumberton, our on-the-road stop. When we got to Sealevel the kitchen/entertainment slide would not go out. I got to the motor the next morning through the access panel. Two of the three mounting studs had broken off. This happened last fall on the dining/sofa slide. Apparently some genius at Carriage decided that cast pot-metal mounting studs were ok. I assumed from last fall's fiasco that we would have to find a used motor with an intact mount, but it was Memorial Day weekend so nothing until Tuesday. The slide is designed to go out manually, but I didn't have a socket large enough. Tuesday we got RV techs out on the assurance from their company that they could get a motor. No, they could not get a motor. I went hunting on line. I found that this is a common problem with Carriage RV's with large slides. I tested the motor and found that it still worked. I then found an old post on iRV2 from a guy in Canada who had a similar issue and had a steel piece fabricated to replace the mounting studs. I contacted him and he was great. He got right back to me and explained what he did. He still had one of the fabricated plates, and sold and shipped it to me. His RV was not identical to mine, so I worried. The old unbroken stud and another portion of the cast part of the motor had to be machined down and the plate fitted to the motor with a new bushing. I found a machine shop in Morehead City with a great guy who took on the job. Turns out the cast parts were not made to very good tolerances. The face was not square. If you mounted the plate directly to the machined housing the motor shaft bound up. The machinist fixed that with an epoxy layer to level out the face. Meanwhile I was able to buy a 3/4" socket set and crank out the slide by hand. This was all taking time and the deadline for leaving for the Escapade was fast approaching. I could have had the motor shipped to me by the machinist, but what if I had further issues? We decided to stay to be near the machinist and skip the Escapade. It is a good thing we did that. The assembled motor hung up on a part of the gear shaft. I had to go back to the machinist and have a portion of the steel plate cut out. That required removing the plate, making the cut, rebuilding the epoxy spacer and remounting the plate. The day before yesterday was the big day. IT FIT and the slide works! Tomorrow we head for PA and back on our schedule. We are very sorry we had to miss the Escapade. We don't know if we can get a refund because we were beyond the May 13 deadline. We were very fortunate in many ways. We found the guy in Canada who was great. Had we managed to find a replacement part we would be looking at the same problem down the road - not happening with the steel plate. We found a good machinist who recognized we had a schedule. We originally rented this site for a month because it was cheaper than renting for the two and a half weeks we planned to stay - so we didn't have to move. The adventure continues. When I am in one place for a couple of months I plan to have the machinist fabricate a similar plate for the other side and mount it on the motor. Then I will have two solid slides. And did I mention I am $1500 poorer?

Intelligent people do idiotic things. it doesn't make them idiots, it makes them human. Wayne & Jinx 2017 F-350 diesel, dually 2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

Always hike with someone slower than you are. 👹 Wayne & Jinx 2017 F-350 diesel, dually 2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

And don't go to cities where people are murdered! Wayne & Jinx 2017 F-350 diesel, dually 2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ

That is a lesson I learned many years ago buying cars. It was reinforced when we went looking for RV's starting in 2015. We looked at several dozens of RV's before buying this one in 2016. I was amazed at the foolishness some salespeople spouted. "No problem hauling this (16K+ lbs) RV with a F-250," is one statement that comes to mind. The Ford salesperson spouted the same nonsense - also on commission. I bought the truck and RV elsewhere. I would be happy to get recommendations for dealers in FL. My eldest child's recent experience with Lazydays did not inspire confidence in that organization. Of course, the other part of the equation is that you buy where they have the model you want - particularly when it is used Wayne & Jinx 2017 F-350 diesel, dually 2006 Carriage Carri-Lite 36KSQ