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Forum
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RE: We need a mattress
Three 5ers ago we ditched our uncomfortable standard mattress for a good queen sized mattress from a furniture store. We told them we'd buy it if they could get it into the camper. They did, so we did. We've traded 5ers twice since then, and both times told the camper salesman up front that any deal would have to include THEM swapping mattresses. The queen mattress is a little bigger than standard, and that means less room in the bedroom, but it's worth it. The comfort level is even better than what we have at home.
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newk
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11/08/08 04:15pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Question to men towing
Would I have stuck to TCs were it not for my wife wanting a 5er? Yes!
Both certainly have their advantages, but a TC means you can take it with you nearly everywhere/anywhere. I've had three TCs and three 5ers. Running down the interstate the 5ers are just fine -- less problems with side winds, etc. But whether in the city or out in the sticks, towing a 5er severely limits your options. When I had TCs the camper would go on in the spring and MAYBE come off in the late fall.
It was nice to have on for day trips. When fishing there was always a dry camper nearby when the weather turned nasty, and fresh, hot coffee was never more than 5 minutes away. A nice table was available to set a couple fly-tying vices on if you needed a special fly during a hatch. Whatever the need, I probably had the fix in the camper. I could parallel park on any city street with my home. If I wanted to snooze while my wife went shopping, I had a nice bed. I never worried about finding a place to park, never had to worry if the road got rough or if I had to turn around with no turn around space. If I could do it with the truck empty, I could do it with the TC.
My "new" wife didn't like climbing into the bed. She likes the extra room. I'm not sure why.
We plan to start full timing soon, and with that we both want more room. 5er number 4 is on our shopping list.
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newk
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11/08/08 03:59pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: A very old stray {The Old Fella Story}
...
I hope to live that long. If a shelter is going to be built in Burke County it will have to be with private funds.
Richard, have you spoken with an attorney to see what other steps could be taken to have a shelter built with public funds? Possibly matching federal, state, county and/or city funds? A grant of some kind? Maybe a petition, if necessary, to get it on the next ballot?
Heck, just because you didn't win the election (sorry you didn't), doesn't mean you must give up on a public shelter. The vote was close; obviously you have a lot of local support. You and others have put so much work towards this, I'd hate to see you give up before you've exhausted all avenues.
Congratulations on running a good campaign, btw. :)
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newk
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11/06/08 05:18pm |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Day Night Shades
I bought some online about 5 years ago straight from the factory, but I can't recall what factory. They were made to exact size and worked very well, and best of all they were relatively cheap -- like around $250 for all 5(?) windows. With lots of Googling you might find them. (That's how I found them.) We've had them and the mini blinds, and we much prefer the day/night shades. I never had any strings break, but there's really no insulating factor.
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newk
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11/05/08 06:43pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Mount Rushmore
Blizzard forecast for the Hills tonight -- another foot of snow. Wear tall boots.
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newk
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11/05/08 09:13am |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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RE: Mount Rushmore
Bring warm jackets. It's open year around and I've probably been there every month of the year. It's been unusually warm here for the past week (75 degrees today), and that always means a weather change is just around the corner. Most of the tourist attractions are closed this time of the year, but there won't be crowds.
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newk
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11/02/08 09:46pm |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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RE: Need Assistance with CrossCountry Road Trip
The Black Hills are great for kids -- lots of things for them to see and do. The Badlands, ehhhh... not much there for kids to see or do other than Wall Drug. I'd plan a half day for both. Yellowstone should be a must-see.
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newk
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11/02/08 09:34pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: San Francisco to Mt Rushmore in November
I'd take I-80 most of the way, at least until Rawlins, WY. From Rawlins take Hwy. 287/220 to Casper, I-25 to Midwest, Hwy. 387 to Hwy. 50 to Gillette/I-90, then I-90 east to the Hills.
Alternatively, take I-80 to Cheyenne, I-25 north to Hwy. 18, then east to Lusk, WY, and north on Hwy. 18/85 to the Hills.
As others have indicated, weather can be hazardous anywhere along the route that time of the year. Just keep an eye on the forecast. Chances are good the roads will be fine.
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newk
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11/02/08 09:12pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: battery
We don't have power at our storage lot, so I remove them when I winterize and store them in the garage over the winter. I charge them every couple months.
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newk
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11/02/08 08:16pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: I got all warm and fuzzy, and a tear came to my eye!
We drove our PSD from Wyoming to Iowa and back last week, leaving Monday evening and returning Thursday evening. We went east on I-90 and returned on I-80. We paid $3.25 in Mitchell, SD, $2.87 in Seward, NE and $2.95 in another small town in NE. What was interesting was the vast difference in prices along the route. The $2.95 was at a Sinclair station, yet 25 miles further up the same road another Sinclair station had it at $3.87, and then another 50 miles west on the same road it was $2.95 again. We stopped at a McDonald's for a burger at Ogallala, NE where there were two different stations with diesel. One offered it at around $3.38 and the other (right next door) had it at $3.65.
I was pretty proud of myself for filling up at the cheapest ones I saw, rather than filling up and finding it cheaper a few miles down the road. In fact, when I saw it priced at $2.91 in Seward, I told my wife we needed to fill up there before leaving town. We visited a friend for four hours and then stopped for fuel. The price had dropped 4 cents while we visited! Yahoo!
I was also surprised to see the difference between gas and diesel at the different stations. Here in Wyoming there's about an 80 cent difference, but in Iowa the difference was only about 25 cents. Maybe a difference in state fuel taxes?
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newk
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11/02/08 07:58pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Louvered Tailgate??
I don't recall the brand of mine, but I weigh 250 pounds and can sit on it; in fact, I've carried 400 pounds on it across town several times. I had mine painted when installed, about 8 years ago, and it's showing a little rust in places. (The truck is never garaged.)
http://www.photoz.net/truck/images/f250d.jpg
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newk
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11/02/08 01:00pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: teflon circle on kingpin
I just noticed on my last trip camping that a piece of mine broke off. I used it for three summers of minimal camping. I'll replace it before next year's first camping trip.
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newk
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11/01/08 09:23pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: HELP AND INFO NEEDED
Of all the floorplans we've seen (100s), one of the Quantums was our favorite. I did a little checking and decided against them. They don't seem to have a great reputation, plus the only Fleetwood dealers in our part of the country are used car dealers without much knowledge about RVs. We're wanting one for fulltiming, so it's got to be a well-built unit to last.
There are plenty of Fleetwood owners who are perfectly happy with their campers, so take my opinion with a grain of salt and keep asking. If we were wanting it for weekend/vacation use, we might have considered it more seriously.
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newk
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11/01/08 09:05pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: 5th wheel size,National Parks ?
I hate to mention this, but in addition to having problems finding sites at some NPs, you might also find that your new truck won't handle many toy haulers of that size. Watch the loaded pin weights and know the carrying capacity of your truck.
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newk
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10/26/08 05:18pm |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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RE: Where you been map - ever or in RV
Back when I had a map (on a TC) we filled in a state every time we crossed a state line with the camper. Once I recall driving an extra couple miles just so we could add a state. I think we made it to about 35 states in 2-3 years.
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newk
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10/25/08 09:20pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: yellowstone- grand tetons
I'd visit Cody on the way in, but it's too far from the park to use as a base camp. I'd look at the maps of the area and read the suggestions here, then plan to stay at several campgrounds -- maybe Fishing Bridge one night, Madison another night, West Yellowstone another night, Coulter Bay another night, etc. I assume you'll be sightseeing in your rented Class C, so there's no reason to have a "base camp".
If you're serious about photography, use your compass so you'll know where the sun will rise and set over scenic spots, then be there for the sunrise and sunset. (You can get a page out of the Almanac that'll give you times and azimuths for both -- for the moon too, if you like.) You'll have ample opportunity for wildlife and scenic photos in Yellowstone and GTNP. Naturally, early morning and late afternoon are always the best. Relax during mid-day and after dark. You'll probably see shots you want with different lighting, so just plan return trips later in the day or the next day.
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newk
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10/25/08 04:13pm |
Campgrounds, Resorts and Attractions
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RE: Dangerous Driving Around Curves or Exits
RVs may not be top heavy, but driving in an area with high side-winds can do them in pretty quickly. I saw a bunch of them, and even more 18-wheelers, on their sides along a short stretch of I-25 in southeast Wyoming last year.
I tipped over my pickup camper nearly 40 years ago on the AlCan near Whitehorse when I got too close to the edge of the snow-covered road meeting a truck... and discovered there was no roadbed under the snow. I think being top heavy had something to do with that. I had 400 pounds of stuff packed in the bed over the cab.
And I all but lost another TC in a strong wind on I-35 in northern Iowa 10-12 years ago. A strong side-gust tore the tie down out of one of the front stake holes and lifted up the side of the camper a couple feet out of the truck bed. I slammed on my brakes and, luckily, it settled back down. (I bought new tie downs that fastened to the frame in the next town that had them!)
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newk
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10/24/08 06:03pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: need someone to tow my 5th wheel trailer
San Angelos' Goodfellow AFB was my first assignment out of basic training back, back, waaaaaaay back (1967). I lived in town and really liked the area. Hope you do too.
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newk
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10/22/08 07:06pm |
Snowbirds
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RE: tricks on making bed in 5th wheeler
The best way to make changing bedding easier in a 5er is to start with a truck camper. After making the bed in an over-the-cab camper for a few years, making it in a 5er is a piece of cake.
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newk
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10/21/08 09:13pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Tolls and Toll Roads will increase
There was some talk at the Wyoming Legislature earlier this year about making I-80 through the state a toll road. It doesn't look like it's going to happen too soon, but a small (population-wise) state like Wyoming just can't afford to rebuild that much road without some drastic measures. (Wyoming has more than 900 miles of interstate highway and just over 500,000 residents. At $20 million per mile it would cost every man, woman and child in the state approximately $36,000 to rebuild the roads today. (My guestimates.) Short of another $700 billion bale out by Congress, something's gotta give.
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newk
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10/21/08 01:18pm |
General RVing Issues
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