New RVer questions

concerning towing 4 down, I would recommend a tow bar that stays on the rear of the motorhome, with levers (not slip rings) to release it. also I used a brake buddy for years and could move it among vehicles.
bumpy

We use a Honda CRV tows 4 wheel down real easy.

kingsransom wrote:
We are getting a new 35' Class A motor home.
1. How do we know what length hose to get for our sewer line?
2. How well do macerator/tranfer systems work on an RV? (we had one on a boat and it was great)
3. Which way do you like best?
4. Which is the best BRAND for toilet treatment, holding tank treatment, and drinking water treatment?
5. Do we use a dolly or 4 down for a car? The cost of getting a car ready to tow is costly, a dolly seems cheaper and can use a small car with good MPG.
Thanks to anyone who will send us info :)

1: Rhino or Valterra Dominator are good hoses. Make sure to use a 90 degree fitting that screws into the hole in the ground, to minimize the chance of it coming loose from the dump port. It also can't hurt to have a clear plastic sleeve to check the status of what is being flushed, and making sure everyone has their share of sweet corn.

2: As well as any systems. Just don't let the macerator run dry for too long because it will burn out the impellers in record time.

3: I'm partial to a gravity dump, because I can then use my portable macerator pump if needed. Fewer moving parts to break.

4: Drinking water treatment -- I use a Camco in-line hose attachment. They are inexpensive, and a good pre-filter if one has a rig with inline water filtration. Grey tank gets a squirt of Dawn hand dish soap and some water after a dump. Black tank gets a couple ounces of Dawn dish soap, some Calgon water softener if on hand, and 3-5 gallons of water after a dump. No chemicals, and plenty of water. It isn't as fast as chemicals for breaking stuff down, but a holding tank is essentially a glorified chamber pot. It is not a septic tank.

5: I'll leave that to the experts.

Bumpyroad wrote:
Mr. Mark, wasn't that GM diesel a gas motor reworked into a diesel that was a total disaster. I wouldn't base my current decisions on that fiasco.
bumpy

Yes, it was a converted gas engine to diesel and I was not that educated in the matter (my big mistake). GM should have never let that engine be built.

I buy a lot of American things, cars are not one of them. My better half's family USA manufacturing business sells it's products world-wide, so, I don't mind supporting a few foreign products.

MM.

Are we heading toward a comparative advantage discussion, with Ricardian and HOS theory, or back to liquified poop? I am cool either way!

Matt B

Even the foreign cars that are made in the US send all of their profits back out of our country to their homeland. A service industry just moves existing money around while production actually creates something, including new money and value.

Mr. Mark, wasn't that GM diesel a gas motor reworked into a diesel that was a total disaster. I wouldn't base my current decisions on that fiasco.
bumpy

bsinmich wrote:
We used a dolly for about 8 years and the last 11 have been 4 down. When our daughter went along the dolly worked OK. With just my DW & I it would take quite a while to get loaded and we may not talk to each other for the rest of the morning. We can hitch up in about 4-5 minutes, rain or shine. With the dolly it was always in the rain and you have to stop and tighten up the straps after they have stretched. Many of the small GM cars are towable 4 down, Ford has a few and Jeep also. I grew up in Detroit and refuse to ride in a foreign car. My '08 Saturn is great as a toad. The Chev Equinox is very similar. I have not traded cars as much since towing but that saves me money also. We are married 54 years and have had 47 new cars.

I know this is off topic but when I bought my first American new car ('81 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Brougham DIESEL)... I wanted to support the American car market. I can't tell you what a piece of junk that car was. I had just starting selling Real Estate and needed a larger car and thought that would be the ticket. I did keep that car for 3 yrs. and 48,000 miles.... the motor self-destructed soon after I traded it. It used a quart of oil every 1,000 miles and had to be towed to the shop several times (I was 26 yrs. old at the time when I bought it).

I vowed to never buy an American car since and slipped up once when I bought a '96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (owned by Chrysler)..... had to be towed twice while under the 3 yr. warranty.... so, when the warranty expired, I traded for a '99 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4 w/ Quadra Drive (owned by Mercedes at the time)..... again, had to be towed in while under it's 3 year warranty. They couldn't get the 4 wheel drive system from binding.

Just recently returning from a two week trip to Michigan it is obvious that Michigan is truly an American car buying public (whether it's made in America or not). In California, American cars are pretty much only at the rental agency's. I just can't buy an American car... early on in my car buying, I had several Nissan's then a Peugeot and onto 6-8 Mercedes, Land Rovers, etc..... and two Honda's for tow vehicles, love'm! We inherited a Lincoln Town Car which is pretty cool and reliable.... but, they stopped making them. :R

Currently having 8 cars only the Lincoln is American. Well, the Dynasty is American too! LOL!

MM.

Another thought...if you decide to tow four down, check out the ReadyBrute system from Night Shift Auto....no add on brake system required.....Dennis

oldmattb wrote:


I recently purchased a macerator - it got hot and shut off five times during the dump process - not a big issue for us since we will use it mostly at home after we return.

I just now thought to add - I was working in the sun and it was 112 degrees outside.