amarie1

Yes, I joined them, and they are pretty welcoming. What really helped is when I tried posting on the Facebook Escapees group asking if any Golden Nugget chapter members were there, as I had a few questions, a couple of them replied right away, and sent me details by email. I think that on every chapter pop-up on the Escapees site, there should be a link to a central "anyone can post" place (like the FB group, or maybe here) where chapters and BOFs and their members can exchange information, announce meetings and rallies, etc. I didn't spend all day looking at all the chapters, but I found most just list officer's email addresses, and others might have a web page that hasn't been updated in a long time or is kaput ... even if it's been updated recently, members or prospective members usually can't post to a blog. AM PS That Facebook Escapees group is here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/231687640568632

Well I'm looking for a local Chapter to join but not much out here in the Bay area or even the west coast, other than far south California. ;-( The others appear to have died on the vine. Kirk I took your advice and emailed the club business address with a few I found that seem dead. AM

Kirk, I'm thinking of going this year, my 2nd escapade. When you register, it asks which of 3 campgrounds you want. But only one, White Mountain ('close to the action!) is on the map, and it appears to be further from "the action" than another campground, Pilot Butte. Which is not on the Escapade map....? Thanks! PS will you be there?

David yeah I have a Breville at home that I love. But I was hoping to find one I could use when dry camping. My thoughts were "well the oven is propane. Can't we just swap it out for some other propane appliance like a toaster oven." I guess not. I do have one of those toaster thingies that goes on top of the burner but it keeps falling apart. But thanks for the ideas!

In 2 years I've never used my motorhome's oven. I store dishtowels and cereal in there. But one appliance I really wish I had would be a toaster oven. The one I have in my house is used daily for toast (of course) but also broiling and baking. The big oven is usually overkill. I just came back from a week in the RV, making toast on top of the gas burners (lol) and trying to "broil" in the microwave. I'm wondering if anyone has replaced their rig's oven with a toaster oven? Ideally a propane-powered one so I could use it off grid? Or, an electric one that doesn't pull to many amps. AM

Chalkie, thanks. I followed the link, and it appears they have two types of Zero-G, one for residential, one for RV/Marine. I can't see a difference between the two from their site. Is yours an RV/Marine one? In case I haven't been clear, I need this for both filling the fresh tank AND (more frequently) for hooking up to city water, so it'd be under pressure for days. Yes I do have a regulator that keeps the pressure 45-60 psi. AM

It's aggravating to me to have to wrestle my 25' and 50' white RV hoses into and out of the storage bay, make sure they're not kinked etc. They take up a ton of room in my 25' Class C. It's my least favorite part of setup and breaking camp. I'd love to use this one instead. Thoughts? FWIW I asked in a couple FB forums for RVers and got mixed answers. A few swear by them and said they used them without issue; more people said they weren't certified for potable water and couldn't take the water pressure. (product description says it has a max of 650 pounds/sq in; and it's lead-free) https://www.copperbullethose.com/Home https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Hose-AS-SEEN-Lead-Free-Lightweight/dp/B0C8PKGVHR/

I meant walk through, not drive. 😉

I just watched this well-done docu/drama from the I Shouldn't Be Alive series about 5 scouts and 3 scoutmasters who ran into trouble in a week-long expedition in the Grand Canyon. You can watch it on YouTube:

RV etiquette question: I know it's not cool at all to cut through (when walking, not driving) RV sites that are being used, whether or not the people are there. But what about empty sites? Okay to walk through those? I do that when the "long way around" is too long. But I always feel slightly lawless when I do. 😉 AM

I know you’re all dying of the suspense, but I ended up buying 6 new BF Goodrich commercial T/A all season from America’s Tires (name for Discount Tires in California). I checked the date stamps before they put them on, all were from 11/2022. Thanks everyone for the advice! I’m using them as we speak. 😉

I’m drycamping for the first time, 4 days in a state park. I don’t know how long my batteries will last without having to run the generator, so I’m trying to be very miserly with what 12v items I use. If I turn on the water pump, does it draw electricity immediately, and all the time? Or only when I use it, that is, when I turn on a faucet or flush the toilet. If it draws all the time, then I should turn it off at night and when I leave for a hike, right? Thanks for any info, AM

Interesting. Kirk, no, I'm not going up to Oregon, I'll be sticking to northern California, which is where I live now, in the Bay area. I have heard that Goodyear Endurance are the ones to go with, but a) I think they've been discontinued; and b) even Walmart lists them (ones still in inventory I guess) at $450 each! Good advice about getting my current tires inspected; though I've heard over and over again that RVrs should replace tires every 5-6 years regardless of tread wear. I will look for the manufacture dates on them. I'm a member of FMCA which has a tire discount program. Here's what they sent me when I dialed in my RV's particulars. Suggestions on which to choose, if any? How can I tell how many ply they are ... it's been recommended that I look for 10-ply.

My Sunseeker has the original tires from 2017 (I bought it used in 2021) and I'm about to head out for an extended road trip. It's a 25' Forest River Sunseeker. I don't know what kind of tires to get nor where to get them put on. 😉 Any tire place? I looked at the tires and all I see are "General Grabber HTS" in big letters. That's a brand? I don't know the size either ... I see these numbers on the tires (from front passenger): LI 225/75 R 16 115/112S M+S Any help? Thanks! AM

Thank you! We’d be westbound on Saturday afternoon, 11-4 or so. Think the traffic might be going eastbound toward Tahoe?

Anyone familiar with Route 50, an alternate to I-80 to get from Reno/Carson City to Sacramento? Google Maps is suggesting this as how to get from Carson City to Oakland CA, hooking back up to I-80 at Sacramento, instead of driving back up to Reno from Carson City (30 minutes) and taking I-80 all the way. This other route sure looks like a more interesting drive through the Eldorado mountains, but I'm leery of too many switchbacks, scary dropoffs, and lack of gas/facilities. I just have a 25-foot Class C so length isn't that much of an issue. Thoughts?

woohoo! got in! The sign at the loop entrance said Loop A (with the elec hookups) was "full" but I tried circling around anyway, and found one empty spot. I backed in, leveled, hooked up (elec and water!). There is a clean bathhouse with flush toilets and large showers very near. The lake looks quite diminished but there's still plenty of water in it. It looks like a very low tide. 😉 $30/night for out-of-state, not bad! AM

thanks all, I'm going to try Washoe, which is first come/first served only. Fingers crossed! (and yes I have a generator just hate the noise.) AM

What is a good state park/national forest I can stay at this Wed/Thurs/Fri that's on/near I-80, in the Reno area or just west of Reno? I'm with my brother on a Chicago-SF trip and he is pining for some wilderness time, but I need electric hookup. It would be our last stop before our Oakland CA destination. I have a 25 ft Class C and Paul is following in my Honda CRV. Thanks for any recommendations!

I have a new to me 2018 Forest River Sunseeker 2290 SC, which has a Chevy 4500 chassis. The previous owners did not have a manual for it, only the generic Forest River Sunseeker manual (which is not specific to my model). Does anyone know where I can find a manual for the 2018 Chevy Cutaway 4500 truck/chassis? I've been googling for hours. The Chevy and GM sites don't list it, just vans and pickups. There are controls on the Chevy dashboard that i'm just guessing about. Here and on other forums, when I look for chassis-specific subforums, there is never one for Chevy's. I get it, I used to have a Thor on a Ford. Ford manuals are easy to find. Not Chevy's. Thanks for any help, AM

Hey Kirk! I just signed up. Look forward to meeting you in person, after all your help and advice here the past couple years. 😉

For potential buyers I can see it's frustrating that PopSells (while walk-throughs are fine) won't let them do a test drive or have an inspection until they make an acceptable purchase offer and transmit a down payment to escrow. It seems backwards. But as a seller, I so understand this. I am not a dealer with a staff. It was tremendously time-consuming to schedule and conduct walkthroughs and test drives with potential buyers when I first tried to sell it on my own. Especially because my RV was stored in a location 40 minutes away. At least 4 or 5 people fiddled around with it, asked many questions, and drove it (with me in the passenger seat) and then I never heard from them again. That's on top of the dozens of email inquiries, phone conversations, and being stood up a few times. When I was a buyer last year looking for my first RV, and found the exact model I wanted in a nearby town and the price was right and the description, mileage, and images all looked good, then learned from their PopSales broker that I'd actually have to make a purchase offer before I could do a test drive (or even see it, since it was 3 hour drive away), I was aghast. But the broker told me -- and it made sense -- "if the RV is perfect, just as described, test drive goes great and inspection is great, what would you pay for it? That's easy to come up with a figure then, right? So do that, because then if the RV is not perfect, you just cancel the offer and you lose nothing." Which is what happened in that particular case. Paying them 10% is a lot of money I agree (as I mentioned, they usually just add 10% to your desired selling price). But it saves all the above hassle, and their back office handles all the payments, escrows, legal stuff, titles etc. I don't even need to be there for the walkthroughs or inspections, the broker is there. I ended up buying my first used RV, and now, my second used one (after selling the first), via a private sale, just me and the seller/s. In both cases I had to pay cash in order for them to pay off their loan, which means bank visits and a lot of trust. A LOT of trust, as I waited for their lien holders to send them the title, and as I drove around in "their" RV in a different state. We each just had a notarized bill of sale in case any glitches. I am happy that the trust paid off and no one had to pay anyone 10%. But it's a gamble, and a hassle. AM

Ah of course Kirk, my apologies. I did visit the RVInsider link before posting and mistakenly assumed most or all of them were similar. Thank you for being so helpful in providing the links. Regarding PopRVs negative reviews it looks like many/most of them stem from poor performance from the local broker. Like getting a bad real estate agent. Something the company needs to address for sure.

I've worked with PoPRvs twice, once as a buyer and once as a seller. They are on the up and up. In both cases the broker was a normal, non salesy- person. If you're interested in buying an RV you can certainly talk with them about it, look at it virtually (they take 100s of pix and a walkthrough video and post on many sites, including RVTrader.com), schedule a live walk-through, ask all the questions you want from them and the seller. No money need exchange hands. But if you want them to change the listings to "Pending" and not sell to anyone else while you're considering, then yes they want you to make an offer (which is 100% cancellable after an inspection and test drive) and put down a 10% deposit or $2500, whichever is greater. That goes into an escrow account. Then you have a couple/three weeks to ask more questions, get an inspection, a test drive, and so on. If you change your mind for any reason you get all your deposit back and the purchase offer is rescinded. (This happened to me when the RV I was interested in basically flunked inspection. My deposit was back in my bank account in 3 days.) I just sold my RV with them, and as a seller they were fine too. You pay 10% of the selling price to them. Basically they ask "what do you want to walk away with" and add 10% to that and list it. I didn't read any of Kirk's links ... I assume they say they're horrible. LOL. [Edit: Incorrect, I only read one of them. Others were mostly positive. It is a "neutral list". Thanks Kirk] FWIW they started (and still) sell boats, and the company is called PoPYachts. They got into RVs about 10 years ago think.

Thanks all. I went ahead and got this from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DW38ZGQ I will need to get a TMobile prepaid SIM card. Not sure how that'll work but I'll learn and report back. AM