Kirk W

7 minutes ago, agesilaus said:

I made an error tho and assumed that it started at Natchez and missed the south leg which starts at Jeckson IIRC.

The NPS says that it is from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN? That's the part we traveled.

Angie M, how about an update on where you are on this and what you plan to do? 

12 hours ago, Macodiva said:

Does anyone have any route suggestions or must see stops along the way they'd recommend?

That will be a trip of about 2,700 miles if you travel by the most direct route. Since you seem to be about to leave, I'd agree that you need to stay to the south and take I10 as much as possible which makes the trip 4,000 miles. If you route to make very many stops along the way it will quickly make the trip 4,000 miles and in between you basically have most of the USA. 

12 hours ago, Macodiva said:

Does anyone have any route suggestions or must see stops along the way they'd recommend?

The answer to this will depend on what route you do choose and the weather as you travel. To the south are places like the Grand Canyon, and there are 12 national parks and monuments in Arizona alone. Because there is so much that you may want to see, it would help a lot to have some idea of what sort of things you are interested in. If you choose I40 you will pass through some Memphis & Nashville, both of which have great attractions if you enjoy music of most types. Going more to the north, Colorado has another 17 national parks and monuments along with many other attractions. I could start listing the possible things to see and places to visit but that lise would be far too long to be of much help.

13 hours ago, Macodiva said:

Are any clubs/memberships a good idea to have.

I would suggest Passport America as a good way to save money on campsites.

13 hours ago, Macodiva said:

I think I might enjoy the workamping life.

That is an entire thread all by it's self. We did a lot of RV volunteer work-camping which supplied us with a full hookup site and usually some other amenities in return for a few days per week of help, often doing things that we loved to do anyway, but little or no pay. There are also dozens of places that hire RV folks such as RV parks with a site and pay and there are many seasonal jobs that pay a lot for long hours, allowing one to make a lot of money in a short period of time such as harvests or Christmas season. 

Passport America discount camping.

Do you plan to make the RV your home or is that a trip from which you will return to your present residence? What sort of RV are you looking for? 

1 hour ago, Steven@146 said:

safe, key or digital combination. However, like you say probably end up ashes if the RV burned to the ground.

Under regulations issued by the Department of the Treasury, mutilated United States currency may be exchanged at face value if more than 50% of a note identifiable as United States currency is present. If you have over 50% of the original torn bill and it's easy to identify, most banks will exchange it for a fresh bill in the full amount. For burned currency it is a bit more difficult but not impossible.

Reference: Federal Reserve, Mutilated Currency and Bent or Partial Coin

1 hour ago, sandsys said:

If you buy a Garmin be sure to get one with the Lifetime Maps option.

That's no longer an option as they all come with lifetime map updates and have for several years now. 

2 hours ago, lappir said:

Visited the "City Government" where the property jurisdiction resides. Not at all happy with the information. 

To me, assuming that you have not yet bought the land, you would be buying a major headache or worse. I would keep looking. 

2 hours ago, Patricia Anderson said:

there has been a puddle under the front.

Depends on what the puddle is. A steering box typically has grease in it. Unless I'm mistaken, all of the Cheetahs  were pushers so I wouldn't think that the puddle is coolant. If it is from the steering box it should be OK to drive it for a short distance. As far as the cost to repair, no way of knowing without some idea of what the problem is. Pictures of the problem area might be helpful. 

If it was hidden by something you could even bond a 2X4 or something to the surface of the floor. If you look in Lowe's you will find quite a range in sizes and load capability of metal in both steel and aluminum. With something that is supporting from above you will need to be concerned about any screws or bolts pulling out of the OSB. If you were to use wood of some sort then it could be attached to the flooring with something like Liquid Nail that would not have the issue of pulling through. With that you could bond the entire surface of the frame to the flooring permanently. Doing it that way you could make a nicely finished cabinet that will look as though it was always there and sill supply the support to prevent any sagging of the floor. If I were doing that I would make the frame of 2X4's on edge and extending from the very front of the slide all of the way to the outside wall. Such a cabinet could then be designed to have the proper height and width to serve as an end table between the two chairs as well as added storage. It could be covered with 1/4" finish plywood and varnished. I'd put a hinged door in the front, to the inside of the RV. Only the parts of the frame that touch the floor would be of 2X4 with the remainder of 2X2 or even 1X2 to reduce the weight of the cabinet. Just be careful that it doesn't interfere with slide operation by setting it into position and then run the slide in and out a couple of times before making it permanent.

You could also take the approach that Vern is suggesting, as he does have a lot of experience in RV repairs. I have known Vern for about 10 years and respect his opinions. 

2 hours ago, Angie M said:

I think the floor needs support. Does this sound feasible?

That is exactly the reason that I was looking for a way to use some angle iron or aluminum to support the floor. Did I understand correctly that the slide floor is 12' long and 3' wide? 

34 minutes ago, Danfreda1 said:

That would keep it flat without being seen or get in the way of the slide working. 

That is just what I have been thinking and I have seen that done successfully before. 

15 hours ago, MizzMarzBar said:

Am I understanding that correctly?

The address that they ask for would probably need to get mail to you as they would probably use that to verify its validity,but I really don't know for sure, you need to ask the financial people that you are dealing with. The law does provide for alternative if they dig into the banking regulations as propagated in the CUSTOMER IDENTIFICATION PROGRAM via the US Treasury department. The problem is that many financial institutions are not willing to spend the time and effort to develop a set of rules under the alternative allowed because it would be expensive and time consuming and they do not believe that it is cost justified for the relatively small number of customers involved. I suggest that before you go to that much trouble and expense, you need to get their answer and in writing. The issue is not as much what they could do as what they are willing to do. It is easiest for them to just require everyone to have home address like most citizens do. The addresses are required to be verified and the easiest way of doing that is by sending all communications to that address. 

Have you checked your private message from Vern? 

16 minutes ago, Angie M said:

Both sides are scrapping against something because the black weather proof material is fraying. 

Is that the underside of the OSB that can be seen where the fabric is worn?

Angie, have you checked to see if that floor sag is also under the slide, as it doesn't appear that way from what I can see in the pictures. Also, is the shiny surface a weather coating that may have insulation between it and the OSB of the floor? All of those could be issues to deal with when trying to repair that sag. If there is a layer of insulation, it is filling the space below the floor OSB and would probably be crushed if an attempt is made to jack up against it to push the sag up where it should be. The only similar problem that I have worked on was one that you could seen the under side of the flooring when looking up on the outside. It was also quite a bit older RV and didn't have any insulation under the flooring. 

I would do a lot of looking very closely before starting to work as you don't want to make things worse in the process. Unfortunately not all companies build their slides the same way to it is difficult to be sure of advice without actually looking at yours. 

12 hours ago, Angie M said:

Will send picture tomorrow of underside. 

My thoughts about your best way to repair will depend to a large degree on what that picture shows. Try to show both the structure of the slide and it's floor support and also what the opening for it to retract looks like. There must be some clearance? As I look at your pictures again, I'm wondering if the scratch on the floor that you show might be caused by the sagging floor rubbing as it moves in and out?

2 hours ago, Steven@146 said:

We are still loving every day!

Savor each experience as the time passes far too quickly. I was fortunate to have been able to retire pretty early and when we hit the road our goal was to stay fulltime for at least 15 years but my wife's health issues forced us back to part-time after 12 years. 

30 minutes ago, Cmecatchu2 said:

I always thought driving one of those Big rigs like the OP’s required one.

If you plan to keep your domicile in NJ you should check with the DMV there to see just what the laws are for driver's license and registration. Here in TX it depends on the total weight of the RV combination. If you have not done so, you should visit an RV show to get a feel for what the RV you want will cost you. You can look at the ads in Escapees RV Market place to get some feel for the cost of used trucks and trailers.

6 hours ago, Jim & Wilma said:

150% of poverty level,

For the just past year that would be a total of $19,720 for two people so 150% was $29,580.

Check out Healthcare.Gov to see if it helps.

5 hours ago, Wrknrvr said:

Home Depot should have Birch plywood in 4x8 sheets.

      At Home Depot, 3/4 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. PureBond Birch Plywood is $79.68 per sheet.

I am wondering how deep the slide is and if you need a full 4X8' sheet? I don't believe that you will be able to find any plywood that is 12' long in any regular lumberyard. If it were me, I would not go to the expense of hardwood use fir plywood. I would still like to see a picture of the underside of the slide as I'd think that a 12' slide would have some sort of support under the flooring. The location of the parts of the frame is important in what you do to correct the problem. Have you measured to see what the dimensions of material you will need? 

Are you planning to do the work yourself? I have been assuming that you will do so and have been basing my suggestions on that. 

5 hours ago, MizzMarzBar said:

Wondering if owning a small piece of land that's been assigned a street address by the local post office would meet the physical address requirement? 

In most (if not all) parts of the US the addresses are assigned nowadays by the 911 service and the registered with the USPS. The following comes from the USPS website.

The Postal Service neither assigns addresses nor designates an address as Residential or Commercial. Land use and zoning information can be found at your local government office.

Street addresses are created by the local government office that has jurisdiction over the area where the streets are located.  There is usually an office located in each unit of local government.  However, there are instances of combined local government offices such as a joint county - city municipal building.

Since it is the federal banking regulators who make those rules, at present it would be acceptable as long as they can send mail to that address and you receive it. 

41 minutes ago, Angie M said:

I suppose it could be beveled. Use a planner to fan it even? The front and back of the slide is stable.

Before you do that, make sure that there is ample support for the added plywood along the edge as any beveling will make the plywood weaker and could cause it to sag in time. The other thing to remember is that a narrow beveled area will still be a tripping hazard but will be harder to see than a lip would be. 

In going back through the thread I don't see where the distance that the slide extends out from the side of the RV but if it is 5/8 OSB that is 12' long and perhaps 3' wide with no support other than the edges, I am not surprised that it has begun to sag in the middle. If it is impossible to add any sort of support under the OSB then it will have to be done from above, such as the plywood suggested by Vern above. If doing that I would use something like "Liquid Nail" between the two layers to insure that it is a permanent bond. Be sure to glue all areas and the edges of the plywood. Just to be sure that the OSB is pulled up and not the plywood bowed downward, I would use come blocks and a jack outside, under the slide to push up and remove the sag before I laid the plywood on top. And I would leave that support under the slide for long enough to be sure that the glue had time to bond. Anything that you do on the inside to support the floor from above will add a lip to the slide but that was common with slides when they were first introduced to RV manufacturing.

The only alternative that I can think of would be to build a small cabinet that would become a permanent part of the slide whose framework could be attached to the floor to support it from above.

If there is room on the underside to add a angle iron brace across the center to support it and push it back up to the same level. It would depend on the clearances for the slide operation equipment and for things to clear as they go in and out. A picture of the underside of the slide where the sag is located would help to make suggestions.

Lately I have read more magazines with National Geographic and NG History the leading ones. I usually have a biography or historic novel of some sort in progress as well. I rarely read a book the second time but did do that with both Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn after about 50 years.