clubhouse
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Re: California State Parks dropping ReserveAmerica
toedtoes wrote: clubhouse wrote: With a major change that reservations are not being released a month at a time, but rather each day the corresponding day 6 months out will become reservable as an arrival date. My gut says weekend reservations will become non-existent come Aug 1. I am guessing everyone who wants to make a weekend trip will start reserving Wed/Thursday - Sunday and just eating the cost for the extra nights just to ensure they get the weekend they are after. Doesn't matter the system, CA needs more campsites developed along the coast and popular mountain locations. Typing this from Seacliff SB, where we tried for months before getting a spot. Currently, if you do not show by noon the 2nd day of you reservation, they will cancel your reservation and open the site to walk-ins. So, if you reserve Wednesday thru Sunday and don't show up by noon on Thursday, you lose your reservation for the weekend. I don't believe that policy will change with the new system. USFS in California operate this way and it hasn't been a problem. Seems Californians don't tend towards gaming the system like other regions. Unless you call the park and let them know you have been delayed, with that call they will hold your reservation till you get there. What's worse, is there is no connection between that call to the local facility and the current reservation system so nobody is tracking how often it happens. How many times have you been to a popular CG, that's sold out, yet there are open sites. How do you think that happens? It's worth $28-$60, depending on the CG, for many to secure their reservation. If you think the USFS CG in California try to make a weekend reservation at Bass Lake, 4 USFS CG, that are sold out all summer long. Yet on recreation.gov Thursday and Sunday nights are rarely available for reservation, but the sites sit empty. Not sure where you are camping, but this is a real problem along the central coast and central Sierra.440Views0likes0CommentsRe: California State Parks dropping ReserveAmerica
With a major change that reservations are not being released a month at a time, but rather each day the corresponding day 6 months out will become reservable as an arrival date. My gut says weekend reservations will become non-existent come Aug 1. I am guessing everyone who wants to make a weekend trip will start reserving Wed/Thursday - Sunday and just eating the cost for the extra nights just to ensure they get the weekend they are after. Doesn't matter the system, CA needs more campsites developed along the coast and popular mountain locations. Typing this from Seacliff SB, where we tried for months before getting a spot.442Views0likes0CommentsRe: Experienced opinion please
I would suggest that you look at vehicles with a 6 speed transmission. The 10th generation you mention are 4 speed transmission. 4 speed is fine on the flats, but in the mountains the extra gears are important. As you are probably aware, gasoline engines make the horsepower at pretty high RPMs. When traveling in the mountains/hills, where you are likely towing at slower speeds, it's hard to keep the RPMs high enough in the lower gears to make the necessary horsepower to move the load. I know you mention not wanting a pick-up. We had that same thought early, mainly because of 3 kids and a dog, so we started towing our jayFlight 26BH (essentially the same TT as you) with a '04 Tahoe. We were right at the cargo capacity limit as we only had ~100 lbs to spare while packing very light and not taking extras (bikes, kayaks, firewood etc). We shopped in vein for a 2500 suburban. Couldn't find a decent one at a reasonable price, ended up reluctantly going with a 2500 crew cab pickup. Three years later it was the best decision we could have made. We now take all the toys we want, ended up getting a larger TT to support our family more comfortably and we still have cargo capacity to spare. Unfortunately the automobile manufacturers no longer produce many (if any) larger SUVs capable of being a sufficient tow vehicle for mid-large TT when you also have a growing kids.397Views0likes0CommentsRe: Travel Trailer For Family w/ 4 small kids
Not real cool, and I don't I could talk my own wife into it, but a full size 3/4 ton van make a good tow vehicle. Lots of power and good payload options. In reality I suggest a 2500 suburban. I have no issues with Ford, but I don't think they have any SUVs on 3/4 ton chassis and drivetrain after they stopped making the Excursion. A 3500/350 pickup would be a good option if you are comfortable riding 6. But then for that to work you would presumable taking short trips and then you could just split up between your two existing vehicles and save some money.765Views0likes0CommentsRe: Travel Trailer For Family w/ 4 small kids
The perferct unit might exceed the capabilites of you Suburban, so you should certainly get some true CAT Scale weights on the suburban to see how much payload is remaining for tongue weight and the WD hitch before making a purchase. Nothing worse than forcing a TV upgrade before you really plan to repalce it. Ignore all sales people and do the math yourself. As for the TT, we have 3 kids, started with simple rear bunks but quickly realized a bunk room was more suitable for us. It's one thing to have permanent beds, opposed to converting tables and couches, but you also need to consider where the kids stuff will go. We didn't go hog wild and get a bunk house with bunk slides for the kids to hang out in, but we do have a sepeate bunk room with 4 bunks 2 per side. We have a JayFlight 29QBH, we opted not to get the outside kitchen as it wasn't as valuable to us as the 4th bunk was. We really appreacaite having a place to isolate the kids clothes and other gear so that it doens't spread all over the main living space in the middle. A seperate outside door to the bathroom would have been a nice feature. We didn't get it because it would have required getting a longer trailer (35+ Ft)and we wanted to stay as close to 30'as possible due to where we prefer tocamp. Had it been a option in a TT < 35' TT we would have liked it. Lots of things to consider in selecting a floorplan.761Views0likes0CommentsRe: Jalama Beach; 2 Questions
I'm sorry if I concerned you, if you are decent at handling your rig you can make it out there. It's just not an easy road. The last combination I pulled was Chevy extended cab 1500 and a 26' TT, all I we were likely 45'. My current set up is a Duramax crew cab and 33.5' TT, we are now closer to 55'. I'm sure I could still make it, but for me I like Pismo Beach, El Capitan and Refugio just as much; all of which present absolutely no challenge to get to so we go there instead. In the spring and early summer it can be windy. Later summer and fall this is much less of an issue.364Views0likes0CommentsRe: Travel Trailer Depreciation?
Gdetrailer wrote: clubhouse wrote: Let me also add that I have moved into the cash only camp. In 2011 I was like most folks, and thought of credit as a tool. Shortly after our first TT purchase I started subscribing to the Dave Ramsey plan and gave up using credit. Our investments money is separate from lifestyle/recreation purchases, so I don't do the math at ~8+% investment return vs. ~3-4% interest charge. What we do now is actively make monthly payments to our own money market for the future purchase of cars, TT, vacations, etc. At first there is a delay in making purchases since we don' t use debt. However we looked at what a typical car payment is, $450, plus a second payment like TT/Boat/CC what ever at $350, and stated paying that to our self on top of regular retirement and investment savings. So as you can see I f you get serious about getting out of debt, it takes the average household 24-36 months, then start making an $800 payment to yourself in no time at all you can purchase anything you want with cash. Another funny thing happens too, buying new is less important then finding the guy who bought new one or two years earlier then lost the desire or ability to keep the item and you buy it from them at a deep discount. You pay half of a new price on 2 yr old item and then all of a sudden who cares about warranty, you saved so much you can pay cash for any service you can't self perform. This is just a different way to think about money and use it. Anyone can do it if they want, but it does take some discipline. For us, we were fortunate to have manageable debt levels when we decided to change our attitude, so it took about 17mths to get out from under it, and it was absolutely worth it for us and our future. FINALLY, someone who ALSO GETS "IT"! While I have never read his books or have been at a Dave Ramsey gig from what I have heard MANY of the things he says to do is pretty darn close to what I already do.. And I didn't have to buy a book.. It was things I learned BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL IN MY ECONOMICS 101 class.. Granted, there ARE some purchases where all cash may not be "viable" so credit which is USED WISELY ONLY FOR NEEDED things like a HOME or BASIC TRANSPORTATION can be a good thing. For the most part unless you are "full timing" or buying a $100K + Motor Home, you SHOULD NOT "justify" or "rationalize" the use of credit by comparing it to your "investment gains". If the folks who justify a loan as less loss of investments are so wise with your "investments" then you SHOULD understand that you SHOULD also have some "liquid assets" set aside in order to cover things like job loss, under employment, or even paying for home and auto repairs when those emergencies happen.. When I WANT something like a RV then I put some money into a "bucket" so to speak FOR that item. YES, it DOES take some time, but to me, not having that monthly payment coming out of my account year round for that big hulking RV in my backyard was totally worth the time.. I do a lot more with the little bit of income I have since I am not paying $50, $100, $200, or even $1000 in interest per month for a loan.. I put more money into MY OWN "pocket" instead of the very rich bank manager's pocket.. Most folks get wrapped up in what the monthly payment is, no care in the world in how much interest they will pay and that is a dangerous game to play.. People tend to forget about the interest until they find themselves in a bad spot like the NEED to SELL something and you still "owe" on it.. The depreciation on a RV STARTS the moment you put the ink on the sales agreement.. Adding the interest ON TOP of the depreciation makes matters even worse if you have to sell off BEFORE you pay it off.. The reason for that is MOST of the interest you will be paying on the loan is IN THE BEGINNING OF THE LOAN!!! It isn't until you reach 2/3 of the loan payoff amount where the interest being paid drops to a very small amount per payment.. Your loan EATS YOU ALIVE in interest UP FRONT. My way of conducting personal finance isn't for everyone, I get that and it doesn't bother me that many folks disagree. From the Baby Boom to the current generation credit has been fast and easy which removed requirements to sacrifice and delay pleasure in order to get what you want. Turing the clock back on that may never happen again. I take pleasure in the fact that my last debt, which is my mortgage, will be paid off by the time I am 45 (6 more years). Being 100% debt free at 45, having kids college accounts funded in full before they finish high school, and being finically independent well before traditional retirement age is far more important to me than having the newest and nicest toys now. I am pretty sure my kids will be better off finishing school debt free than riding in brand new cars or camping in the nicest RVs.403Views0likes0Comments
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