john1928
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Re: TT pre-wired for camera - system is junk (maybe)
RinconVTR wrote: MikeJulieGDImagine wrote: RSD559 wrote: I've heard that the Furrion observation camera does work pretty good wirelessly. But I'm not going to take one for the team and buy one. We have the Furrion observation camera and so far it works fantastic. We tow a 32 foot trailer with a 2013 Expedition EL and it's been on 6 trips so far and not a single time have we had a signal issue. Ditto here. Same trailer and system. And another +1. We have a 33' trailer pulled by an F350 crew cab, long box and no drop-outs while in motion. In the Furrion line there are two visually identical (or nearly so) parts. One is described as a backup camera and the other as an observation camera. By many accounts the back-up version regularly drops out while in motion while the observation version does not. Any chance your brand offers an alternative "observation" model with a stronger signal?628Views0likes0CommentsRe: Jayco 28bhbe or 29bhdb
spoon059 wrote: We looked at the 28BHBE when we bought our current camper. The biggest reason that we didn't buy it was heat and AC vents. The bunks in the back don't have any ventilation, especially if you close the blinds. I grew up camping in a bunkhouse without good ventilation... it would get HOT in that bunk in the summer. You're partially right. At least on the newer model years the top (presumably hotter) bunk in the 28BHBE does have an AC vent inside the curtained area, though the bottom one doesn't. Neither have direct heat vents, but I've always found it more comfortable to try and deal with cold ambient air temperature than hot (Use another blanket or an appropriate sleeping bag). Of course I'm from Minnesota and tent camped for decades at least occasionally in temps well below freezing so I may be biased on that front...644Views0likes0CommentsRe: Sonic 220vbh bunks
We had 30" wide bunks in our trailer when I was growing up. Fine in elementary school, okay in middle school, too small to be very comfortable by early high school. I usually slept in a tent rather than in the trailer at that point if we were going to be somewhere more than one night. At 28" I imagine that progression would be about the same but just a year or two earlier. As for temperature, there was no A/C on that trailer, but it did have ~3' wide multi-panel windows in both bunks so if there was a breeze it wasn't bad. On a still and humid night that didn't drop out of the 80's it was pretty sweltering (not that a tent or the other beds in the trailer were a whole lot better). Electrical outlets weren't an issue back then (limited personal electronics), and we do have outlets in our current trailer's bunks but I'm not sure it really matters. At home the kids charging points are across their rooms from their beds and it doesn't seem to pose a problem.613Views0likes0CommentsRe: Bought the Camper now I need a truck
1320Fastback wrote: That's 1 ton territory but feel free to buy higher. Registration will kill ya though... Depends where you live and how they price their tabs... Around here cars and 3/4-ton and lighter trucks pay tabs based on value $10 + 1.25% X MSRP (decreasing by 10% of MSRP per year). So, for an $80K 3/4-ton you'd pay $1010 for your tabs (presumably because you must be a lousy rich person). On the other hand 1-ton and heavier trucks pay based on weight and 1-tons are at the very bottom of that fee table. If you buy a $80,000 1-ton pickup (gross weight under 15K) your tabs will run you $120 (presumably because you must be a salt of the earth working class stiff rather than a lousy rich person). Yes, the logic is flawed. The difference is smaller with lower priced trucks, and decreases with age (eventually favoring the 3/4 ton after 10 years). That said, if you're buying new around here you're likely not going to come out on top in the registration fee column over the life of the truck going with a similar 3/4-ton vs 1-ton.366Views0likes0CommentsRe: camping in yellowstone
danimal53 wrote: maybe just wishful thinking, but does the traffic/drive time up to Yellowstone get any better being somewhat late in the season? i think we're definitely leaning towards Grand Tetons, kind of works better for the rest of our trip anyway. Yellowstone is big... From Coulter Bay to Mammoth is about 115 miles (each-way, though other areas are closer) on roads with low speed limits, animal jams, construction delays, and traffic. Traffic should be better after Labor Day, and the construction schedule varies by year so you may catch a break there too, but the speed limits don't change and animal jams are a dice roll. If you want to tour Yellowstone and you must have hookups I'd bite the bullet and stay at fishing bridge. You'd save enough drive time in 2-3 days of touring to essentially give you an "extra" day worth of time. The Tetons are also great so I wouldn't try to talk you out of stopping there too before or after Yellowstone.395Views0likes0CommentsRe: How much is too much?
I can understand why you want to know this (it's a 33% distance variance when trying to plan a multi-week trip). Ultimately it's going to be up to whatever the weakest link (that sounds negative, but that's not the intention) in your traveling party dictates. I can happily drive down a full tank of gas (400ish miles) without stopping (then refuel and repeat). On the other hand, the wife needs to stop and stretch her legs and get some fresh air every couple hours (and the kids don't mind either) so that's what we do. As long as we maintain that cadence we've knocked out several 1000+ mile "days" (often starting when the kids sack out in the evening) on different trips. However, we're all on the same page about wanting to have those extra days in Yellowstone / Glacier / Yosemite / Disney / the Keys / etc. if someone in our party couldn't or didn't want to drive more than 300 miles per day we'd have to adjust our plans because what's the point in taking a trip someone isn't going to enjoy... So... If you're asking me, sure 400 miles is no problem, it would be a short "long" driving day in our plans. But... You shouldn't be asking me, you need to see if this is an acceptable distance (time) for your partner, then work from there.297Views0likes0CommentsRe: Floor sleeping accomodations
I would vote for the tent as well. I had just shy of 20,000 miles and many weeks in a 19' trailer with 5-6 people when I was younger. We would all stay inside during single-night stops where we wanted to get moving quickly in the morning, but anything longer and we were fighting over who was going to be able to stay in the tent. That included times when the temps dropped well below freezing, high winds, thunder storms, hot weather, etc. I know given a choice now as a not so young adult I'd still pick the tent over sleeping in an aisle-way as well for additional space, privacy, and sleeping hours flexibility. Have you asked the guests of honor what they would prefer by chance?433Views0likes0CommentsRe: Need RV trip recommendations
Completenoob wrote: What an amazing forum! Thank you everyone for the extremely helpful advice!! In light of all your feedback, we decided to fly to Yellowstone and rent a regular (non-RV) car. We've been wanting to visit there for the longest time, and are really into seeing some wildlife. I realize it's now technically out of scope for this forum, but would love any recommendations for a 10-14 day trip with kids in the Yellowstone area (Non-RV). Ideally we'd love to combine wildlife with other kid-friendly activities. I love Yellowstone (and most of the other NPs out west). While we did rent a trailer for our 5500 mile roadtrip loop last year so we wouldn't have deal with multiple tents being setup for a few days at a time both my wife and I grew up making similar trips with our families and knew what to expect. You're doing yourself a service by taking a nice chunk of time out there. June can be wonderful sunny and warmish (upper 70's), or you can be snowed on 8 days in a row like we were last year, so pack a variety of clothing. The Park is very large so you can save yourself some driving time by moving from one hotel/lodge to another every few days then focusing on the features of that area of the park. Driving between one or two junction points on the figure 8 road takes a lot less time then trying to make the whole loop on multiple days. Bring good hiking shoes if you like to walk. Despite the chilly weather and some trails being closed by snow we still put in over 100 miles of hiking (with a 6 year old walking and a 2 year old on my back). Lots of great scenery, waterfalls, wildflowers, wild-life (be bear/bison safe), and solitude/tranquility available. Be careful, don't cross fences/walls and stay on trails in steep or hydrothermal areas. There are plenty of places where a trip or mistep could lead to a serious injury or death (we were present in visual distance when a woman fell to her death a few years ago). Take advantage of the ranger programs. If your kids are young enough, they'll likely enjoy the junior ranger program. There are also a couple junior scientist programs at Yellowstone that may be of interest to slightly older kids. The regular day and evening ranger programs are almost always interesting and the ranger led hikes can be great as the information content is adapted to wildlife which come out and the questions of the hikers. Other things to do near the park include visits to (or staying at) the Tetons just South of YNP, driving the Beartooth Highway, visiting Cody (excellent museum complex, and a Rodeo which I haven't attended but which also has generally positive reviews), horseback riding, rafting, boat rentals/fishing, chuckwagon dinners, etc.300Views0likes0CommentsRe: RV/Travel Trailer Rental?
I can't compare against others but I can give you a single data point. We rented a popup from Jack's last year to see if we wanted to move away from tent camping and to save ~1K towing miles vs. renting locally. We then proceeded to put over 2.5K miles on it staying in the Badlands and Custer before heading out to hit several national parks in Wyoming, Montana, Utah, and Colorado. The company was easy to work with when reserving, though the pickup process was a bit convoluted as the main rental guy was out of the office on the pick-up day and the fill-in read the reservations wrong so he gave us the wrong unit (same model) which had not been fully prepped prior to our arrival. When we returned it we heard "Oh, we've been looking for that one for weeks". Overall it was a positive experience and I would consider them again in the future.258Views0likes0Comments
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