VC 23RSS

32 minutes ago, sandsys said:

Huh! The places I've been always have an aisle space next to a handicapped space. Where are you?

Linda

My problem has been finding open spaces.  

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

Thank you for the update on this Thanksgiving morning! I do hope that she has continued progress and is soon walking once more.

I do understand your frustration from the need for and use of handicap parking. I never gave it a lot of thought until my father's last few years. Much more recently I have experienced quite an education on the subject as my wife (Pam) had a complete ankle replacement (2011) leading to 3 months before she could walk on it, then a hip replacement (2014) and then back surgery(2018). Today she uses a cane or on bad day a walker. In addition, we live in a retirement community and I drive a bus for them several times a week, often using a lift and always with canes and walkers.

We are lucky to have a fellow camper here with handicap bus experience and he has been a big help teaching us.

Just a quick update.

Handicap parking is frustrating at times.  More often than not it's just simpler to park in the back 40 and push her wheelchair to the store.  To make loading her chair easier on my back I bought a folding cargo rack that fits in the 2" receiver on the truck.  After she's on her chair I fold the rack vertically to prevent it from obstructing traffic.

Gotta run.  She's getting up.

Thanks to all for the thoughts and well wishes.  The Orthopedic Surgeon was pleased with the progress.  A stop at the Baldwin Co DMV proved you meet good people everywhere if you just open your eyes.  The lady at the DMV allowed us to use an unverified Alabama address of the RV park to get the handicap parking permit.  Next stop was Aldi's and they have a wheelchair with a basket available for customers.   I found this out after unloading our heavy steel full size.

Winds permitting tonight we'll have a campfire.  The usual rules apply.  Everyone is invited but bring your own chair and poking stick.

15 minutes ago, Ray,IN said:

Through the years I've noticed that's what dedicated RVer's do, help whenever/wherever it's needed.

Yes indeed.  We didn't expect such a welcome acceptance when we decided to spend our winters away.  Most everyone is FB friend here and when someone runs to Walmart we all know about it.

Here's the chair given to us that fits our camper.  https://www.amazon.com/Drive-Medical-Lightweight-Transport-Wheelchair/dp/B000TW0CQ6/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?adgrpid=62894277784&gclid=CjwKCAjwzY2bBhB6EiwAPpUpZu3Y15ogDn48Ywwgbk4fxrLBeXnr9QtNsWww3iUIUu_gDdu4enrU3xoC_QEQAvD_BwE&hvadid=617002451166&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9012944&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=633284903105127955&hvtargid=kwd-354139873355&hydadcr=6718_13278912&keywords=drive+steel+transport+chair&qid=1667498390&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjAxIiwicXNhIjoiMi41MCIsInFzcCI6IjIuMzIifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0

Two weeks into our 7 month stay at Ft. Morgan AL my wife took a slow speed bicycle spill which resulted in a 3 hr operation and 4 days in the hospital to piece back together her right femur.  As soon as the RV park operators found out they got to work.  The largest site available was given to us and they built a ramp to allow wheelchair access into our trailer.   The community got together and found a narrow wheelchair that fit inside our 22" door, secured a walker and portable toilet.  They broke down camp, helped me hitch up and reset all our belongings in the new site while I was in the hospital with my wife.

It's been two weeks now since she's back and the steady stream of well wishers and visitors has brought tears to my eyes more than once.  Through all this the bonds we've made with our old friends have been strengthened and new friends have been made.

Just to let everyone know something like not being able to put any weight on a leg for 6 weeks maybe more isn't a reason to head for home and cancel your winter plans.  It's doable and with the good folks here at Ft. Morgan RV park  it's actually easy.

Please share any ideas, hints or experiences.   I'll try to add what we've found out as time permits.   This morning will be spend at the Dr. to get her staples out and trying to get a handicap placard.  Then off to look for wheelchair accessible beaches.

I currently have mine filled with a cup of Dawn and water.  It will simmer for a total of three weeks before dumping it the morning I leave.  Then fill with a 2-3 gallon of water and a couple oz of Dawn.   Drive a day and dump the following morning.  Hopefully this will clean the tank.  I don't use bleach.

Watch this video comparing the Schwintek with another higher quality but similar in function brand.  Not the zig zag pattern of the Schwintek vs the standard rack type on the other.

Looks like Schwintek.   They use a motor on each side mounted up top with a shaft to drive the lower gear.  It's either a 300/1 or 500/1 gear reduction on these.  There is no way to crank them manually either.   A controller makes sure both motors run at the same speed.  If installed properly they seem reliable.   Too often the motors are placed incorrectly and the wire pinch.  Mine was that way but spotted and fixed prior to failure. 

I'll bet your problem is in the rocker switch or associated wiring.

Can you even align axles?  A single wheel torsion axle probably but my Dexter Tandems sure don't appear to have any way to adust caster or toe.  I think @Ray,IN knows what happened. 

The big ?.  I really doubt it.  If it were true the rental companies would probably look toward a cheaper price and not a better built car.

Fun Fact:  Some rental companies disable the 4WD on Jeep Wranglers on Hawaii.  This may be more popular than just my experience renting Jeeps there x 3.

Is this a Schwintek slide?  Seeing the level of quality of the switches inside modern campers, that's where I'd look first.  The back of my switch panel was full of loose spade connectors, strands of wires poking out and within a few millimeters of other circuits and wires not even crimped.  I believe the Schwintek slides simply reverse polarity to a dual synchronous motor controller.   If it is there's a controller hidden somewhere with fault LEDs.

Thinking there's a maximum of 6% grade on interstate highways but also remember I 70 from Wheeling to Caberas exit is 7% so one way or the other I'm wrong.  What engine/transmission do you have in the 150 and is it in good condition?  Recent coolant and brake fluid changes?  Properly adjusted and maintained trailer brakes?  With due diligence and patience you should have no problems.  Do remember if you have standard drum brakes on the trailer they aren't going to dissipate heat like disc brakes will.

4ways and a low gear.  You can also flight plan to climb or descend the worse hills at night when it's cooler. 

Of the many weather resources a available, I ran across MYRADAR on our Amazon Fire TV that seems useful.  It's free to us but not sure what TV package it comes with.  I think it's a benefit of Amazon Prime.  One very useful option is a graphic representation of wind speeds and direction.  Although the precipitation radar doesn't reach very far offshore the winds are well represented all the way across the Atlantic. 

There is a phone ap available although I haven't tried it.

11 hours ago, agesilaus said:

OK my experience since 1960 in Florida. Late season stores are almost all what's known as Fish Hurricanes. Meaning they churn around the Atlantic and rarely hit land. Early season storms often spawn in the Gulf and in the Caribbean and cause trouble. Late season storms spawn off Africa the the steering winds usually steer them south or north away from most land.

Now this is just on average, we could still get a hit from a late season storm. So just watch the warnings and evacuate if required. These storms lose wind velocity rapidly and once you are 150 miles or so inland you are usually safe. Not counting torrential rain and flooding events outside Florida.

The weather guessers have just been plain wrong for the last 10 years or more. Mostly predicting lots of storms and getting few that hit land.

The current situation in the Atlantic seems to be proving your point on fish hurricanes. 

I leave September 27th for the Gulf.   My plan is to leave way before the mandatory evacuation and run, Forest, run.  We have a cheap Baofung HT radio that will receive NOAA, HAM & GMRS frequencies. 

Since I've already encountered 40 mph direct crosswinds while camped and towing the TT with no problem I will go with that number while escaping.   The plan is to get as far as possible (within reason) and monitor the winds.  Hopefully if we didn't get as far as I want we will find a big parking lot and keep turning the rig into the wind.  At that point 70 mph winds are my set limit of comfort.

Couple of points to remember.   Once out of the worst hurricane zone you get into the tornado zone.  Stay away from the N/E quadrant of the storm.

I can go a maximum of 350 miles towing under normal conditions.  Additional gas can can extend that to 450.  That nearly halfway home.

Used to clean out plugged drain holes?

14 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

Every one I've bought and returned has a very short loop time. I bought a well-known brand and it only had a 3 minute loop-time. Shoot If I were in a crash, by the time I collected my thoughts the crash loop would be overwritten.

Do you have a SD card in it?

That's one way to solve the Tundra's lack of payload problems. 

13 minutes ago, Dutch_12078 said:

Not an insult, but a few weeks ago I did have a 20'ish young lady ask me if I ever feel guilty about our motorhome's poor fuel mileage while I was refueling at a Pilot station. I told her not a bit, that when we reached our destination later that day, the RV would be sitting still for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we would use the much higher MPG car hooked behind us that's making the same trip using no fuel. That seemed to confuse her enough that she just said, "Oh", and walked away.

That's funny.  I'd be curious to see how many virtue signaling bumper stickers she had on her car.  If I ever get assaulted by a green Karen I'll tell her/him we are on the way to trade the combo in on a new hybrid Airstream and Ford Lightning and leave it at that.

A side note:  When I applied for my last job my choices of vehicles to drive the 100 miles was limited.   One car had historical tags, one was my company truck, one my wifes car and the other our Honda Pacific Coast motorcycle.   The President leaned over his desk and asked what type of person would ride a motorcycle to a job interview.   My reply?  "With all due respect that motorcycle gets 55 MPG."  He was impressed and I was hired on the spot.

3 hours ago, TXiceman said:

Technician license is not that hard to get.  Get with a local ham radio club and there is always an "Elmer" to help you out.  The problem with the HT is as you move around, you will need to find which repeaters are used when they activate a weather alert.  Then you have to program the local repeaters and this is best accomplished with a software package and your computer.  Most HTs now are difficult to program from the front panel.  The best software I have found is from RT Systems.  Another free one is CHIRP, but I am not fond of it.  Most HTs come with a minimal programming software and cable.

You can look up all of the repeaters in an area and get the frequencies, offset and PL tone if required and if the repeater is open or closed.  You can also program the NOAA stations on the radio so you can have access to these stations.

If you are just getting into the UHF and VHF repeaters, I would suggest you save DMR for a later date.  DMR can be a bit of a steep learning curve and will not serve any purpose for weather data.  But do get a radio that is DMR capable.  Lots of people are using the Anytone  HT radios.

Happy chatting.

Ken

Thanks for the advice.  Back in a former life I was responsible for the radio communications for a medium-large company.   We used Motorola, Kenwood and Icom radios.  I found that aspect of the job enjoyable and relaxing.  From applying to fixed radio bases, some repeaters to teaching new hires how to properly operate company radios to the changeover to PTC.  I doubt this will become a hobby but will most likely get both the HAM & GMSR licenses.

I am thinking of getting a HAM HT for the purpose of obtaining useful information in the rare chance of hurricane evacuation or avoidance.  Initially my use would be only to monitor frequencies but since I'm a license collector,  CDL, motorcycle, PPL, Scuba I'll probably start studying for the Technician and General license.   

I've found the petroleum based charcoal lighter fluid is a good substitute for mineral spirits if used as a cleaning solvent.   Add to that the containers for charcoal lighter fluid are more user friendly with the snap caps.  I've been using it for years to remove tar from the vehicle paint.  The only downside is it's a very effective wax remover.  And of course flammable. 

It pays to price shop.  I need one 357 cell for my digital calipers.  Stopped by the Family Dollar on the way home from the Dr. this morning.   $5.85 for three.  Grudgingly I took them to the self checkout and they rang up over 7 bucks.  After waiting a few minutes for assistance I walked.  Later today I checked Amazon.   Three 357 Eveready cells delivered this coming Monday for less than three bucks.  I'll give the other two cells away.

I don't but I like the idea.  I'm the one that gathers the wood for the campfires.   My one rule is to BYOPS.  Bring your own poking stick.