mptjelgin

We have volunteered at some National Wildlife Refuges where we've been strongly encouraged to surround our RV's and vehicles with lights. The place looked like an airport at night, but we didn't get pack rats! I've never heard of flashing lights being recommended. We used white rope lights under the RV, and single bright "trouble lights" under the hood and chassis of the tow vehicle.

Of course we're allowed different opinions. But what often happens here is that experiences that may be 30+ years old are stated as current fact. You admit that you rarely stay in KOA Campgrounds and that your defining experience was back in the 70's. Yet in August 2017 you stated "Be careful as we have found that KOA tends to have a bunch of little extra charges once you arrive that push the rate up above what was quoted." Folks that have stayed at KOA's recently have indicated that is not the case. So does that change your opinion, or will it forever be set in stone??

I agree. That has been repeated so often on this forum that it must be true, right?? But we've stayed at about ten KOA's in the past couple of years and I've never been charged anything extra upon arrival.

I agree that paying for something like a KOA Value Card is simply a cost/benefit thing. If it saves you money, then get it. If not, it makes sense to let it go. Some years we've had one and used it. Years when I know we won't be travelling as much, or I know of specific parks along the way, we don't. We've stayed in some very nice KOA's that were competitive with other parks in the area, so the idea that they are always more expensive or run down isn't accurate in our case. We've never seen the kind of add-ons that others have mentioned.

After decades of using analog dial and stick type gauges, I decided to give a digital gauge a try. I needed a high pressure model because of my 110 psi trailer tires, so I chose the "5-150 PSI ACCUTIRE Digital TIRE Pressure Gauge LCD Display MS4021B". I purchased the gauge from Amazon, and paid $9.99 though I note the current price is $19.99 for some reason. I am still using it side-by-side with a round analog gauge and they track very well. It is compact and convenient to use. So far, so good.

I have no experience with your specific coach, but on our fifth wheel the return air for the furnace flows through openings in the toe space under the kitchen sink cabinet and down into the underbelly of the trailer to the furnace unit. For this reason the cabinet space beneath the sink tends to be closer to the temperature of the trailer underbelly than the inside of the trailer. So warmer in the summer, cooler in the winter. Yours may be set up in a similar manner.

We don't have a formal list, but these are the types of questions that we ask: With reference to the site itself: - 30 or 50 amp? 50 is nice, especially if we expect to run the heat pump and/or A/C extensively. That being said, our last three gigs have been on 30 amps... - Water at site, any issues? We've seen sites that had very high iron or other issues that made the water unpleasant or undrinkable. In South Texas the refuges provide RO purified water for drinking. Not that the tap water isn't potable, but it doesn't taste good. -Sewer at site? I am surprised at the number of volunteer sites that don't include sewer. Some folks don't mind using a tote tank or moving their RV to dump, but we won't volunteer at a site without sewer hookups. - Is there wi-fi provided? What is the availability of cellular and broadband carriers? We have both AT&TY and Verizon, so we ask specifically about those. Coverage maps help, but first-hand info is better. Some sites are so remote that there is no cellular or broadband available. Another deal-breaker for us. - Are there laundry facilities provided? How many washers/dryers? Not a deal-breaker for us, but a nice perk. - Is propane provided/reimbursed? Again, a nice perk, but rare in our experience. - Is the site in a public area, or "behind the gates"? Many places have separate private areas for volunteers, but some place you in areas that are accessible to the public, like beside parking lots or near trailheads. If you are a campground host you'll obviously be accessible to campers, but we prefer to be tucked away somewhere. I've looked into a couple of FWS gigs that utilize nearby state parks for their volunteer sites. In those cases you'll be right in the middle of the daily campers, and often not in a prime spot. With reference to the job: - What are the expected number of hours each week, and how are they distributed? We've worked 24 hour jobs that required 3 days a week, and 20 hour jobs that required 5. If you want big blocks of time off to explore, you'd be looking for the former. If you want fewer hours each day, the latter. - Basically, what does the job entail? We've had some wonderful experiences where they didn't have a clue what we'd be doing until we got there. But we've also arrived to volunteer jobs having received a detailed job description that lays everything out. We stay pretty flexible on this, but like to have at least some idea of the job. For instance, we don't like Visitor Center work, so if that is clearly the job, we pass. For many folks the big issue is toilet/bathroom cleaning. Some won't do it no matter what, and if you fall into that category you'd better ask, and then ask again. We don't mind it as part of our duties, but won't accept a job that is primarily custodial. - How big is the volunteer program and how are the volunteers assigned/distributed tasks? For us, we prefer smaller programs or programs where we work on jobs independently. Many volunteers love a big social setting and working with others on teams. So knowing how large the program is, but more importantly how work is assigned is a plus for us. We've worked three different sites with 20+ volunteer couples, but we had specific assignments that allowed us to work independently so they were fine. This comes down to your personal preferences, and you may not know what you like until you get started!! Overall, we work mostly off of the impression we get from the volunteer coordinator we speak to, and in some cases word of mouth from other volunteers. When we were starting out we frankly didn't know what to ask, and things turned out fine. As time goes on we've identified what we prefer to do, and more importantly what we don't care to do, so that has helped us going forward. Good luck, and enjoy!

Fish and Wildlife Service Many of their postings can be found on Volunteer.gov

We have been several places and worked with a single volunteer. Typically they have been larger programs where perhaps the odds just favor finding a single in among the couples. Some places require additional hours from the single, the most common I've seen is USFWS sites requiring 32 hours/week from a single vs. 24 hours/week from each member of a couple. And we know two couples where the husband volunteers and works the necessary hours but the wife does no volunteer hours. We've run across sites now that ask a total number of hours for a site, without caring how the hours are accomplished. And we have been to places where the requirement is 24 hours per person, whether the site is occupied by a single or a couple. I just looked at Volunteer.Gov under FWS listings and scanned the first 5 entries for resident RV volunteers. All of them listed provisions for a single, or at least didn't require a couple. Some ask for the 32 hours, others 24.

Happy to help!!

Can you just leave the A/C on the current thermostat and shift the furnace over to a new programmable thermostat. As far as I know nothing says that your furnace has to be on the same thermostat as you A/C. In fact, on our Hitchhiker the A/C - Heat Pump is on one thermostat, and our two-speed furnace is on another.

Tons of discussion on this here: http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=108937

I worked in Texas State Government for 30 years. My experience is that most of the real work gets done in committee and (more importantly) by the agency that actually writes the rules implementing the legislation. Once legislation is passed the senators and representatives pay little attention to it, unless it is an extremely high-profile topic. So we've heard that both the Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee( Senator Nichols) and the Director of the agency implementing the law (Whitney Brewster) have publicly stated in a committee meeting that residents will be allowed to register their vehicle without returning to the state. And Polk County has confirmed that they are aware of the process for doing so and will make that process available. Short of the entire legislature coming into emergency session to re-write the legislation (zero chance of that) it seems like things are on about as good a track as we ever could have hoped for. Is there still a chance that something might not work out? You bet. But it looks to me like we are about 95% of the way there.

Sorry. I should have said hundreds of posts in this thread... and only two folks bother to comment in this thread. I will be more precise next time.

Goodness! Hundreds of posts about what a disaster this was going to be, and when a favorable outcome is announced only two folks even bother to comment. Interesting...

Outstanding Job!! Just another great reason to be an SKP!!

I worked for a Texas agency that had an entire office (30+ folks) devoted to tracking and evaluating legislation during each Texas legislative session. It was a daunting task and things slipped through. I wouldn't beat up the SKP's staff too badly for not getting in front of this one. All we can ask at this point is that reasonable efforts be made to accommodate full-time RV'ers and it sounds like that is being pursued.

Well, that will certainly increase the number of folks getting their trailers inspected!! I had heard that this was possibly in the works but was unaware that it was a done deal. With a trailer and two different vehicles, all with registrations coming due on different months, I certainly hope that they introduce a way to get them all synced up for those of us who travel extensively. I suspect that we are such a tiny percentage of owners that we'll be very low on the priority list, but perhaps SKP's is already on the case. When I was a kid in high school, driving a POS car, my friends and I knew all of fly-by-night inspection stations that would just give you a sticker without actually checking your car. This new law should be a real shot-in-the-arm for those kinds of places...

I wonder how that is enforced? I sold (traded in) my last trailer two years ago, with an inspection sticker that was about 10 years out of date. The dealer never gave it a look, but I suppose they put a fresh one on when they re-sold that trailer. Easy enough for them to do.

Pretty much every vehicle inspection I've ever had done in Texas (over 30 years) has involved driving the vehicle so that the brakes could be tested. I've has a few inspections refused on rainy days as the braking test couldn't be carried out effectively or safely. But I've only ever had cars and pick-ups inspected so don't know if they typically take a MH out for a drive. I've owned a travel trailer or fifth wheel for over ten years now and never gotten the annual inspection redone for the trailers. Hooking the trailer up to take it to a station so that they can see that the lights and breakaway switch work has never struck me as a must-do item. I would guess that most stations wouldn't have a clue as to what to inspect on a fifth-wheel. I don't believe that they are required to take the tow rig and trailer out to check the brakes, and I wouldn't be too keen on allowing the local inspection guy to take out my combo and try a hard stop with it. I've never heard of someone being ticketed for a lapsed inspection on a trailer. On my first fifth wheel the sticker was up in the bedroom window which was tinted and about 9 feet up in the air. You couldn't read that sticker without binoculars or a ladder. Our current trailer has the sticker on the kingpin and it is not visible when hooked up unless the rig is stopped and one looks into the bed of the pickup. Does anyone have first-hand knowledge of a ticket being issued for a lapsed inspection sticker on a trailer?