Kirk W

If you are in the Dallas area and need emergency health care for a dog or cat, there is an exceptionally good and well equipped facility called MedVet.  They do not do routine care only emergencies and veterinarian referrals. The hospital is on a par with the best of the human hospitals and they have at least 1 veterinarian and 2 licensed vet techs on duty 24/7 with other veterinarian specialists on call as needed. As you may surmise, they are expensive but the care is pretty much the same as you would get at any major hospital. 

Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners

I must admit that I don't remember ever checking for a veterinarian's license or any type of clinic accreditation when choosing a vet. I can say that not all vet clinics look the same here in Texas or probably any other state. On the occasions that we needed a veterinarian when we were on the road we did always get a recommendation for someone locally and the same has been true even here in Texas. Our current vet clinic was recommended by 3 of our neighbors who also have dogs and 2 of them went there after being less that satisfied at another clinic. The cost of veterinarian services has risen markedly over the years and very often the cost of needed medical care is such that a pet is put-down (a nicer way to say killed) because one can't afford necessary care. As a result, the level of care and of veterinary clinics varies widely in an effort to make such care affordable. I remember back when our youngest son spent a day with a vet as part of a HS career day, the vet he was with told him that the reason vets weren't making what medical doctors do is because of health insurance. The rise of pet insurance may well be part of the current prices. 

Just over a year ago we adopted a dog who needed to be rehomed at 7 years old. He had not had regular health care and the owners had only occasionally visited a vet shot clinic in a parking lot and nothing else. Tyson (our dog) was taken to our current vet care facility and we had him completely examined which resulting in him having 14 teeth removed, 7 of which were impacted, for a cost of $2800. He did much better after that and so things went well for the next several months. One evening when I took him out before bed he would try to pee and start crying in obvious pain. After several attempts he did finally relieve himself but the next morning he was back to see the vet. X-rays showed that he had 3 bladder stones in his urethra and several more in the bladder. Our vet said that the needed emergency surgery was more than his facility could do and that our choice was an emergency surgery clinic or put Tyson down. He recommended MedVet, Dallas and cautioned that the cost would be at least $3500, possibly more. I swallowed hard but he was a significant part of Pam's happiness and even I had become attached so off we went to get emergency surgery. The cost turned out to be $6000 but while I didn't really want to spend that much, how can you say no if you can afford to do otherwise? MedVet Dallas is an emergency hospital that is on a par with most hospitals for humans. There is at least 1 vet and 2 licensed vet techs on duty there 24/7 and they have a staff of about 20 vets or pretty much every specialty that there is. The recovery room after surgery has a vet tech for every 4 patients and the facility has all of the same equipment for pets that you find in any major hospital. They do not do routine care and are emergency or veterinarian referral only.  Had I known a year ago what Tyson was going to cost, I'd never have agreed to adopt him but what do you do once his is in the family? If you ever need emergency care for a dog or cat in the Dallas area there is none better than MedVet but it is probably also the most expensive. Tyson has turned out to be by far the most expensive pet we have ever had, and he was given to us free!

12 hours ago, kb0zke said:

and near Green River, WY.

Ultimate Guide to Take an RV into Flaming Gorge

It has been a few years since we were last there but this guide seems to be pretty accurate.

In a thread currently running on the fulltime forum, one of our newer forum members, LiiveWorkDream has given some information that to me is so important that it needs to be shared where it will be read by as many members as possible.  I am quoting the information he has shared below.

Quote

I work with the veterinary industry, and you really want to look for an AAHA-accredited vet clinic. These clinics are the only ones guaranteed to follow the highest standards of care available (unlike human hospitals, vet practices are not required to undergo any inspections from an accreditation organization. Only AAHA clinics voluntarily go through it to ensure that pets get the highest and safest levels of care).

I may be the only reader who didn't know this but since I suspect that it isn't common knowledge, am repeating it here as I believe that it is important for us to know. We are not currently traveling but we have traveled with a dog on most of our RV travels as well as when traveling by car. I also just checked to see if the vet clinic we use at present is so accredited and it is!  😊

12 hours ago, lappir said:

But do they participate on this forum?

I would say that the answer to that is pretty obvious? There is a very active Escapee Facebook page and while don't know how active it is, there is also an Xscapers Facebook page which I suspect is active as well. For some reason, even though there are still many new Escapee members who are retired and thus might be less than 60 years of age and most would be under 70, yet the number of active participants in this forum continue to dwindle. If half of the active members have responded to this poll, that means that we are down to 120 members still active. When I first joined this forum I don't know how many participants there were but I do know that there were 50 or more posts per day and now we seldom have more than 5.

I know why the number of participants of age 70 and above are declining as I know or have known many of them and most that have left have stopped RVing and more than a few are deceased. What I haven't been able to figure out is why we don't seem to attract the newly retired RV folks and what we can to about it.  I wish that I knew an answer!  

4 hours ago, Steven@146 said:

Younger folks are not thinking full time and so are not interested in Escapee's yet, and a lot of people older than 80 are hanging up the keys because of health or mobility issues.

While that was once true, have you never heard of the Xscapers Group, which is for the still working Escapee member? That is currently the fastest growing part of the Escapees RV club. When Escapees was created in 1978, most of the membership was still working and 60% of them were under the age of 50. When we first attended an Escapade about 20 years ago there were a few children there and by 2010 when Travis Carr joined the business there were almost none. But today the Xscapers are the most rapidly growing segment of the club and Escapade now has Kids Scapade specifically for children and each year since it's inception is had gotten bigger. There continue to be many retired or retiring folks joining the club but the average age of the membership is declining. That is probably a very good thing for the future of the club, even if it does leave some of us out of the mainstream today. 

That is a Blue Sea systems, single circuit switch and as the previous post states, it most likely there to isolate the coach battery. In your picture it appears to be mounted on the wall and if it is near the exit door then it ia pretty sure to be for the coach battery. If we are correct, the switch should be in the on position when you are using your coach and turned off when you put it into storage. In the off position you should not have any lights or 12V appliances. 

That can happen even if the pet is not elderly. The mini Schnauzer that we took on the road with us developed pancreatitis after only 2 years on the road and at the age of 9. Saying goodbye to her was one of the most difficult things that we experienced while on the road. 

39 minutes ago, trailertraveler said:

Looks like a Unicat 

Looks pretty close.

25 minutes ago, LiveWorkDream said:

thanks for calling me a youth! I'm 54.

If you wonder why we might consider you to be young, the youngest of my 3 sons turned 55 last March!    🤪

7 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

I don't understand the subject of this thread though, since I don't see where owning property is either good or bad,

While I'm not trying to speak for Rod, it sees to me that the point was to see what other's opinions on the issue are, and that was successful. To me one of the more interesting aspects of the poll is that it seems to have changed significantly since a similar one was run about 15 or 20 years ago. 

29 minutes ago, LiveWorkDream said:

I'm mentioning that in my article for the magazine, because in today's tight housing market, and with high interest rates on mortgages, getting into a new home is really tough for all but the wealthiest people out there.

While that may be true in the recent past, over the long term, Investopedia has a very different opinion.

In terms of averages, stocks have tended to have higher total returns over time. The S&P 500 stock index has had an average annualized return around 10% over very long periods (higher if you include dividends), while average annual real estate returns are often more in the 4-8% range.

16 minutes ago, Vladimir said:

  Kansas is flat with crops.. 

Having gown up in Kansas, it is clear that you, like many others didn't see much of Kansas. This was taken not from from where my relatives live in the Kansas Flint Hills.

You should also return to Oklahoma and travel through the areas east of OK city. 

If the cost per mile is any consideration you need to keep in mind that with diesel running 30-60ȼ more per gallon than gasoline, the difference in fuel milage will not offset the additional cost of fuel. Having owned both diesel and gasoline vehicles, I assure you that most owners find that the diesel maintenance costs more as well. 

 Since this is a destination trailer//park model, where is it located? What is the monthly park rental cost? Typical utilities bills?

2 hours ago, durangodon said:

Texas, for example, was threatened with fines and loss of fed money if they didn't comply. 

Loss of federal highway funds, true but not fines, or at least none were ever reported in the Dallas area. Can you share some sort of documentation about those fines? Highway money is a pretty good hammer and is used by Congress over states quite frequently. 

13 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

That IMO is what we signed up for when we married. 

I sent a PM so that we won't hijack this thread.  ☺️

12 hours ago, kb0zke said:

What works for you may not work for me, and what works for me may not work for you.

And I probably wouldn't like what either of you do. That is the reason that the US market for RVs has so many brands and models. When our boys were growing up in Wyoming, we had a pop-up that we considered to be luxurious! It had a 15 gallon water tank, a hand water pump, a propane capable refrigerator, and lots of storage. We towed it with a 4X4 Dodge Ramcharger and did most of our camping in forest service campgrounds that were far off of the paved roads. We usually stayed where there was an outhouse (Pam sometimes insisted) but occasionally went farther out where we just found a proper bush and dug a pit. It was really great when the campground had both a toilet and a well with a hand pump! We thought that we were into the backcountry until we visited bruce-t in Australia where they laugh at what we think are boondocks! But lifestyles change and today we do not do any dry camping, even in a parking lot. 

14 hours ago, RV_ said:

We pretty much wanted to move anyway to a Ranch with no stairs and a much bigger garage, three car this time.

So you are thinking of another move? We just moved a few hundred feet to a bigger apartment and moving seems to get to be more work with every passing year. We thought we were buying our last home when we left fulltime life but that has not turned out to be the case. And we are to a point of downsizing even with the vehicles. I believe that you are about 10 years younger than I so here's hoping that health treats both of you better than it has Pam.

The Pebble Flow     The Pebble Flow Is the All-Electric, Stress-Reducing Camper Trailer of the Future   from Motor Trend Magazine

Dimensions

Exterior length: 25’

Exterior width: 7’6”

Exterior height: 8’8”

The Lightship L1      Tesla Graduates Electrify the RV Industry to Infinity and Beyond With Lightship L1 Camper     From Motor Trend Magazine

Exterior length27 ft

Exterior width8 ft, 6 in

Exterior height, Road Mode6 ft, 9 in

Exterior height, Camp Mode10 ft

Interior height, Camp Mode7 ft, 6 in

You best be really into the ecology and with very deep pockets since either of these small RVs will cost you more than $100,000 and you still need a tow vehicle. 

Does anyone know if Airstream has ever produced the Airstream eStream Trailer? I haven't seen anything about it for a year or more now. 

Is there some way of contacting you?

Are you seeking help to move your fifth wheel to a different site in the same park, to relocate it on the pad it is on now, or possibly move it to a different RV park? You would likely get more responses if you shared more information.

4 hours ago, rickeieio said:

 However, some states, Texas and South Dakota for example, don't require you to have a permanent structure in which you reside, in that state. 

Florida, Texas, and South Dakota are generally the most popular because none of the 3 have a state income tax, none have a time requirement for residency, they accept mail service addresses, and all have been RVer friendly, although it seems that SD is starting to restrict their voting rights. Several other states do ally use of a mail service to qualify as a resident such as Nevada who also has no income tax, and Oregon who does have income tax. As of today, nine states — Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming — do not levy a state income tax.

12 hours ago, rickeieio said:

For instance, in Ohio, in order to claim residency, you must live in a permanent structure. 

I believe that you are thinking of the requirements to hold a driver's license, register a vehicle, or register to vote? It so, the same is true for the vast majority of states.  Most states have physical address requirements for those functions and that address must be residential and not a business address. It's something to consider for any one going fulltime. 

10 hours ago, markandkim said:

How come the insurance rates are so freakin high and they only write 6 month policies in Texas?

 Texas has liability limits of 30/60/25, which break down to $30,000 per person of bodily injury liability, $60,000 per accident and $25,000 of property damage per accident, higher than most other states.  While Texas auto insurance rates are above the national average, they are not one of the highest 5 states. The rates are influenced by the number and size of claims filed as well as things like extreme weather events and high crime rates. Rural areas tend to have lower rates than cities.  

Quote

Car insurance rates by state in 2024

Behind Louisiana at No. 1, Florida, California, Colorado and South Dakota followed as the most expensive states in the country for auto insurance. 

As to the term of policies, some companies will write policies for 1 year while others limit to 6 months. I recently changed from Safeco who had annual policies to Progressive who will only write  a 6 month policy. Some companies offer both and others only one or the other. 

2 hours ago, lappir said:

not within the City Limits of Norman,

Norman, OK?

2 hours ago, rickeieio said:

Yer slipping bud.

Emissions testing is only required in 7 specific counties in Ohio: Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Summit. If your vehicle is registered in one of these counties, you must pass an emissions test every two years to register it. Ohio's vehicle test program requires emissions testing for vehicles from four through 25 years old. 

Indiana Bureau of Vehicles says that registered in Lake and Porter counties are required to undergo emissions tests and tampering inspections every two years if they were manufactured after 1975 and have a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 9,000 pounds or less.