Dapperdan

Hello, I'm looking for some travel advice, we're in the Florida Panhandle now and will be traveling south to the Orlando, Winter Haven area.  Right now we're in Fort Walton Beach and we are looking to stop over in Lake City Florida in a couple of weeks.   My question is, looking at the map we could take HWY 20 east out of Niceville Florida towards Tallahassee, picking up I-10 there and then getting on I-75 heading south.   Is HWY 20 a "trailer friendly" route or should we be using I-10 all the way?  We're pulling a 39' fifth wheel with a pick up.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Dan 

Go for the residential fridge and don’t look back!  We’ve had a compressor based fridge for the last 9 years and haven’t yet “missed” our absorption fridge!! Temps hold WAY better and it takes much less time to cool the fridge down when preparing for a trip.  We have a 1,000 watt inverter and 4 golf cart batteries, plenty of electricity to run that Whirlpool!   We love it and would NEVER go back to “the dark side”!  😝

With 4 batteries we can be off grid for at least 24 hours with no problems   We do campgrounds with hooks ups exclusively, full disclosure   

Dan

I Agree with Jaydrvr, get an EZ Pass or and I Pass (Illinois's version of EZ Pass) and breeze through the tolls.  The I-Pass works all the way to the east coast fyi!  Timing is everything in large cities and Chicago is no exception, 80-94 isn't too bad mid day.  We've done it many many times!  Coming from Indiana, you won't be on much of the toll road to begin with so paying online might work for you.  If I remember correctly you have 7 days to go online and pay your tolls.

Stay in the middle lanes until you close in on the I-80 exit, watch for a back up for the I-80 west exit ramp, we've seen that ramp pretty backed up.  LOTS of truck traffic heading west, I-80 is a MAJOR route for commercial trucks heading west!   From that split you should have easy going into Iowa.  

Good luck, safe travels.

Dan

Good luck, it’s “difficult” finding spots under normal conditions even in AZ!  Can’t speak for TX but there’s going to be a lot of unhappy snowbirds this fall thanks to Mother Nature!  Sorry for the negativity but I believe it’s going to be a sad reality!   😔

Dan

We spent a day exploring downtown Knoxville, went up in the Sunsphere.  Breath taking views from up there!  Walked through World's Fair Park, beautiful......  Enjoyed a nice lunch at a food court type thing very near, that was great as well!  Knoxville is a beautiful area to explore, enjoy!!

Dan 

Ditto on aknavy's post!  Depending on where you are located ALL of his suggestions are excellent!  I would add if you're near the DRV plant you might also try Indiana Interstate RV Repair (Paul Cross) in LaGrange IN or Twin Lakes RV Repair (Jay) also located in LaGrange IN, both work closely with DRV and have limited hook ups.  Be prepared to be put on a waiting list, most if not all RV repair shops are booking months out!  You do know DRV does NOT service units out of warranty right?

Good luck with your repair needs.

Dan

Had something very similar, went to start up our HR24-100 DVR box and couldn't get past "refresh" stage.  Every time I tried the refresh, the box would lock up.  Short story is I had to have a DirectTV guy out to look at it, it was determined it was shot and he replaced it with another one!  Luckily for us he happened to have the exact same box with him!  All is good now.

Dan

Another vote for Red Gate.  We’ve stayed here twice, both times were pleasurable and convenient. We used one of the trolley services to take tours. Old Town comes right into Red Gate, can’t beat that convenience!  Savannah is AWESOME, we love this area!!  🙂

Dan

If you get the chance go on You Tube and check out Watts on Wheels.  Those folks have been pulling a Freedom Hauler behind their fifth wheel for a few years.  There's a segment where they show hooking it up to their RV and all that entails!  Spoiler alert, it aint easy.  😆 

I think the nicest feature about a swivel carrier is that you can back your unit up no problem.

Dan

Thanks for sharing!!  I saw that schedule earlier but it doesn’t hurt to get the word out!  I haven’t seen the Big Boy in motion but we were to the train museum in Green Bay a number of years ago to see that one up close and personal.  LOL  AWESOME!!!

We’re going to be in Cheyenne next September and I plan on viewing that one then.  
 

Dan

I bought Blaster Dry Lube with Teflon at Menard’s. You should be using some kind of “dry” lube, grease will attract dirt and grime. Not good.

Dan

Yes, Insignia has residential style ranges that will fit in an RV.  Not sure what RV manufactures offer them other than DRV.  We were just at a rally in Sevierville TN and DRV had several of their new units on display, most had the "residential" style ranges!  

Dan

Ryan, we did that route only backwards 8 or 9 years ago. We came onto the 101 in Oregon and drove to Petaluma.  Absolutely beautiful ride!!  Take your time heading north, lots to see!  Lots of areas to pull off (with the RV) and take in the fantastic views!  We had NO issues with our old Montana (38’), you shouldn’t have any either.  Make sure you take in the “Avenue of the giants”, unbelievable!  The Redwoods are AWESOME!!!!

Dan

If you decide on DRV, check out Whiskey Mountain in Mesa Arizona.  That's not too far from you, they only deal in DRVs but they have LOTS of nice looking RVs in ALL price ranges!  They only sell USED RVs there. They have a super staff there that are extremely knowledgable about DRVs and their quirks. They're GREAT people to deal with, we were just there.  

ALL RVs have problems from time to time, pick your "poison".  LOL

Good luck in your upgrade search!  

Dan

You could try talking to the dealer you're going through to purchase an RV, ask if they have suggestions as to where you might seek financing.  They want to see you get the loan almost as much as you do.  It doesn't hurt to ask, others here have really good suggestions as well.  IMHO you are in a "good place" credit score-wise.  Take your time, there's NO rush, decide what you want, in the price range realist to your budget and go from there.

Good luck.

Dan

11 years ago my wife and I were sitting around watching the travel channel and saw some show about RVs, we thought that looked "interesting".  In 1999 we borrowed a pop up and went on a two week trip to Colorado and Utah, that was a fun trip!  Over the years we've done a lot of traveling but it was mostly on our Gold Wing.  We bought a Montana Mountaineer fifth wheel and took a trip to Arizona (from WI).  We LOVED it!!  We're on our third fifth wheel now and love traveling and seeing the country, hiking and taking photos.  

Dan

I can’t speak for large engines but I use it in our Honda generator and our snowblower. I have NEVER had an issue starting either engine! Been using it for 5 or 6 years. 

 Sea Foam works great, I love it!!!!

Dan

We ALWAYS run our fridge going down the road with our fifth wheel.  Our coach has an inverter and 2 6volt batteries and we have NEVER ran out of battery power to run the fridge!  Our fridge is set for 38° in the fridge and 0° in the freezer, everything stays nice and cold.  We generally spend 6 to 8 hours on the road and no generator.  Our longest day was 10 or 11 hours, WON'T be doing that anytime soon and the fridge stayed running the entire time, no problem.

Your coach should be equipped with an inverter if you have a residential fridge, there's really no need to run your generator if all you're trying to do is keep your fridge running. 

Dan

I have One Ryan, I bought it a couple of years ago. Unfortunately I haven’t put it to the test, I bought it for that “special” occasion.  LOL. There’s a place we go in Iowa where they only have 30 AMP service but they have two 30 AMP receptacles in the same box. We haven’t been back there since so I haven’t had the chance to try it out. Like you I’m sure, most places we go we have 50 AMP, 30 AMP, 20 AMP option. 
 

Dan

I just signed up for the updates and bata testing. Within minutes I received an acknowledgment. 
 

Dan

We're both in the "high risk group" as well, we aren't going anywhere for a while.  We'll wait it out in our stick and bricks, when the CDC proclaims it's "safe" to mingle we'll get going again.  We'll take our cue from the CDC and health professionals NOT the politicians, thank you very much.  To us it's not worth the risk, it's easier to sit and wait and stay healthy.

On a side note we took a ride through a county-run park south of us to see if anybody was camping.  The park was about a forth full, signs ALL OVER warning to "keep 6' spacing" BUT we saw several groups of at least 6 or more sitting "close" around the fire rings chatting and whatever.  Definately NOT social distancing!  I hope they're all healthy after the camping trip is over!  

Dan

We have the We Boost Connect RV 65  471203.  Keep in mind you're going to have to have your hotspot or cell phone fairly close to the inside antenna, by that I mean within a couple of feet.  It works great for boosting a cell signal as long as you understand how it operates.  I also have a signal finder app on my phone so I know which direction to point the outside antenna. The RV 65 has a DIRECTIONAL antenna, to achieve the best results you'll want to know which direction your cell signal is coming from!

Dan

We have one, it works as advertised.  My experience has been, your hot spot or your phone does need to be close to the indoor antenna but you od get the signal boost!  I like mine, we have the unit you're looking at.

Dan

AGMs are great, I "almost" replaced my wet cell 6 volts with AGMs.  Sam's Club had a sale last spring on 6 volt golf cart batteries, I was able to buy two wet-cell batteries for less than what ONE AGM cost.  I paid (I think) $69 a piece for them.  There are great advantages to AGMs as stated above but for me I don't mind checking the water level in my batteries every few months and I don't worry about the off gassing.  

You have to go with what makes YOU happy and fits in YOUR budget, simple as that.

Dan

Thanks for that update Ryan, I forgot about the DQ hand-out!  

Dan