xtal_01
Explorer
Joined 8 years ago
User Profile
User Widgets
All Activity
Re: Looking for a DYI forum or site for travel traliers
Sorry ... didn't want to get political (I am actually an independent ... have voted for both Dems and Republicans .... I have a very low opinion of both ...). It is just that healthcare is really our biggest problem. I despise lawsuits. When my wife was injured (she was 12) her parents decided not to sue since they believed it was just an accident (she dove into a shallow pool at a friends house). Now we are always trying to find money for something ... her wheelchair is $40K ... bed and air mattress $10K ... yearly supplies I be easily go over $10K ... Plus a van (or she could never leave the house). I also agree that private health insurers are making a kill off us! That is why I am pushing for single payer medicare for all. It works in Canada ... just an hour from where I live. I have relives living there right now who will talk with anyone about it and say how great it is. And I am not just talking about people sitting home using the system. My brother is a professor ... he has a wife and two kids ... they can't believe how much it costs us and how many people go broke each year over health care issues ... even ones with insurance! ... this just came out a short while ago "A new study from academic researchers found that 66.5 percent of all bankruptcies were tied to medical issues ... An estimated 530,000 families turn to bankruptcy each year because of medical issues and bills, the research found." Anyway ... sorry ... just one of those things I deal with each day ... even controls were we live ... if we can get married ... just an overwhelming part of our lives. I will do a bunch more research .... maybe find a good travel trailer to gut and start from ... maybe start from scratch ... as I said, lots of homework to do. Thanks .... Mike591Views0likes0CommentsRe: Looking for a DYI forum or site for travel traliers
Wheelchairs are not fun in winter .... If we could, we would move south. Problem ... her health insurance is supplied by the state (as I said, she chooses to work rather than collect SSI ... health insurance ... including home care ... is the one benefit she uses). She got a medicate waver so she can have her care done at home rather then have to live in a nursing home. We looked into Florida ... 8 year waiting period! And even then, most states only give you an few hours a week ... not enough to truly live on your own. I get paid for a few hours a day of care .... not much but better than nothing ... every penny helps ... and truly better than 90% of the other states. I was spoiled being from Canada originally. Everyone gets healthcare ... yes they pay more taxes but no premiums or deductibles. My mother, brother (with his wife and kids) still live there ... think we are nuts ... I am paying $500 a month ($6K a year) plus $5K deductible .. then %20 out of pocket ... and I am one of the lucky ones. I got sick last year and spent over $11K ... my brothers taxes are not $11K more than mine. Last year my mom (who is 80) broke her hip, got a new heart valve, got a pace maker ... and has been fighting cancer for 15 years. She was complaining to me the other day that she has a $25 bill for an ambulance fee to transfer her home! No death panels ... no waiting (she always see a doctor faster than I do). Anyway ... love America ... just think we need to straighten out the health care system. Then maybe we could move south. Thanks .... Mike591Views0likes0CommentsRe: Looking for a DYI forum or site for travel traliers
WOW ... impressive towing ..... but a scary price tag! My wife works ..... amazing since most handicapped people don't either by choice (sit at home an collect SSI) or because they can't find a job .. or in some cases just he logistics of getting to and from a job. She has worked since she graduated. They let her work from home most of the time, just having to go into the office a couple times a week for meetings and such (she works for the admissions department of a college doing computer work ... or as I call it, creating spam). Her family said she could not drive. When we moved to the country (well 20 min from the city ... all VT is rural) .... I told her to try for her drivers license. She had wanted to but go t no encouragement. She took lessons ... was taught to use hand controls (she can mover her arms but not her hands) and passed a standard drivers test. Here in VT, there is a program ... if you have a job and need to get to it (there is no transit from out our way to the city) than they will pay for the conversion. You still need to buy the vehicle but they pay for any modifications you need. This really freed me up ... I was always driving her somewhere ... now she comes home .... I do her care and she can be off again. She has gone from part time work to working overtime almost every week. So, since she drives, we need a van ... she can't transfer and needs to stay seated in her wheelchair while driving. Full size or mini but a van that we can have a lift put in and have equipped with hand controls. Thanks ..... Mike593Views0likes0CommentsRe: Looking for a DYI forum or site for travel traliers
Thanks for all the info! The problem is, having used our RV for 10 years not, we have some specific needs. An interior lift is one. My wife has been a quadriplegic for over 25 years. Her bones are relatively brittle and I just can't man handle her over into a bed 4 or 5 times a day. We use an overhead lift. Then there is a matter of needing a bed I can get on both sides. In my RV, I built one that had wheels and a track. This let me move it right and left so I could get on both sides of her. At night I pushed it to one side into a fixed bed so we had a double bed and could sleep together. Since we live in VT and my 80 year old mom in Canada, I need one that is winter rated. We have survived weeks at -30 in ours. I need a generator so I can run the A/C when we stop along the way (usually a Walmart parking lot or rest area) to do her care. I also want something that has a chance of surviving the corrosion of salt on the roads in winter. Yes ....loooots to ask of a trailer or RV. If I had all the money in the world, I would just buy a new one every few years ... but I don't so I need to think ahead of what will last the longest. Thanks again for all the help! Mike591Views0likes0CommentsRe: Looking for a DYI forum or site for travel traliers
Weight is critical .... with 10,000 lbs towing, I am hoping not to exceed this. I would think that is probably the limit of most trucks short of going to a diesel ?? And again, it is not that I could not go with a motor home again ... it is just that I would need to start with a 10 year old unit again (because of my budget). Then 10 years from now I will be looking at the same problems. Mike381Views0likes0CommentsRe: Looking for a DYI forum or site for travel traliers
Actually, they leave the frame untouched (just looked at a friends the other day). What they did was raise the body on blocks (about 6" - 10") ... then cut the floor and lowered it to where it was originally. I will be ordering the van new so I will get a tow package. I do like the idea of the horse trailer ... I will have to check it out. Aluminum .... I like the idea but not sure how well they hold up against salt in winter. The aluminum skin under my RV is almost gone ... rotted from winter driving. Maybe there is something special they can do ... sacrificial anode ???? Thanks again .... Mike Just FYI ... on the our mini van, they did cut the floor, lower it 12",. they raised the suspension on blocks to give it some road clearance.309Views0likes0CommentsRe: Looking for a DYI forum or site for travel traliers
Just saw the last post come in while typing ... I am hoping that the towing capacity will not drop much ... on a full size van, they usually raise the body ... drop the floor. This is done so that the driver (my wife started driving a few years ago) will be looking out the windshield at a normal height. If you are only a passenger, they just raise the roof. The lift adds some weight but not much. I think GMC is the only one who produces a full size van. A 2500 or 3500 with a 6.0 V8 has a rating of 10,000 lbs. The RV is 28 ft so I am thinking a trailer of 24 - 30 ft. If I could find on with a decent frame, I don't mind starting with that ... it would save time and money. Here are two more pictures of my RV: Note int the bedroom, I have the beds on tracks to I can move them from side to side .... I can then get on both sides of my wife ... makes it much easier to do her care. Thanks .... Mike https://imgur.com/gallery/gVFkJDg https://imgur.com/gallery/8oq9Rvh309Views0likes0CommentsRe: Looking for a DYI forum or site for travel traliers
Well, it had 75K on it when I bought it 10 years ago ... so 75K in 10 years. Actually I hope to do more traveling now that the house is done. If my unit had help up better in winter ... salt, slush, water, ice .... I would not mind putting time and money into it. The steps have seized so many times that I have the gear box held together with SS studs and wing nuts. Even the steps have rust holes in the treads. Like I said, the entire basement is rotting away. I looked at two new trailers with "winter" packages ... $40K ... but went I looked at their forum comments, owners had the same problems as I had .... set up for the cold but not the salt and roads of winter. I used SS bolts and SS trip on everything I built for my RV. The lift is made of heavy gauge steel with brass bushings and SS shafting and bolts. My lift and door still work (no wind noise even at 80 mph) after 10 years. I wish the rest of the RV was built that well. Thus the idea of building my own. Won't be "cheap" but if I can build it for a bit less than one I could buy ... do a better job ... and have my investment last longer (maybe 20 years) ... plus have it custom the way I need it ... then I don't mind. Mike309Views0likes0CommentsRe: Looking for a DYI forum or site for travel traliers
This all started because after 20 years (I have owned it 10 and converted it when I got it) and 150K miles, it is becoming a maintenance nightmare. I did the conversion myself .... took almost a year ... most of it part time ... a steep learning curve. I just had about 5 problems in a row ... and I am still looking at things like broken engine studs (had this problem 3 times now on the Ford V10)... a slipping transmission .... and some major rust damage (I keep patching holes but the entire basement is rusted out. I just put two ABS sensors in the front wheels ... I had to find them on ebay as they are now obsolete. I wanted to convert a bus but I am afraid I will be getting into the same obsolete part problems I have now. If this was a trailer, I might just be able to fix things like the furnace (just put one in last year) and keep it on the road. Plus, we need to tow a trailer and wheelchair mini van ... not fun loading and unloading it. I "think" pulling a trailer with a full size wheelchair van might be a bit easier ... never had a trailer before. The van would be in good shape as it would be new (again, I need to think about this now as our van is dying ... rust holes the size of my fist) so I need to think if we want another mini van or a full size van. Yes, lots of work but I am a machinist by trade and have a lot of tools like mig/tig welders here at home. i just finished ... well almost finished ... building a wheelchair accessible house. Too several years but did most of it myself. We lived onsite for 3 years while we built ... -30 deg in VT !!!! Not ideal but we did it. I even built the elevator ... the mast off of a forklift ... rated at 3000 lbs ... works great! Anyway .... this is what has me looking at the travel trailer idea. I am interesting in things like construction ... roof .... I just see pros and cons in every idea I have. Thanks .... Mike311Views0likes0CommentsLooking for a DYI forum or site for travel traliers
Hey! I have a class A RV now ... it's getting old and has seen better days. It is highly modified with a new door, wheelchair lift, interior lift, hospital beds, equipped to handle -30 deg winters, .... I am thinking of replacing it with a travel trailer. After looking units I can purchase, I am not impressed ... plus my wallet started crying. I am thinking of taking a shot at building my own .... not a small teardrop unit but a full size 30 ft trailer. I have been looking around and found info but not a great site or forum where I can ask questions and see how other have built theirs .... and learn from their mistakes. Can anyone suggest a forum or site? Thanks ..... Mike https://imgur.com/gallery/vgSAkTF5.6KViews0likes26Comments
Groups
Motorhome Group
Join in here to discuss all things motorhomes.Feb 13, 202538,707 Posts Travel Trailer Group
Prefer to camp in a travel trailer? You're not alone.Feb 06, 202544,025 Posts
