cjoseph
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Re: Valley of the Gods Road question.
We drove all they way through in a Jeep several years ago. I remember a few low draws that might pose a problem for a low vehicle pulling with a low hitch. Something with a high tongue and connection might be all right. One thing that may help you is the flat wide space. If needed, you could hit these draws at an angle for sure. The road was in good shape when we were there. I remember thinking we could have driven it in a car with decent clearance.228Views0likes0CommentsRe: Ford vehicles---peeling paint?
I drive a white 2010 Ford Expedition for work. The paint is bubbling up on the nose of the hood and around the rear lift gate window. It has chipped away in one place but still looks white. This isn't like those recalls where you would see swaths of paint peel away. This is limited to small areas of bubbling. You would't notice just walking by the vehicle.532Views0likes0CommentsRe: National Parks, Utah and California
Take a look at "My Posts". I copied and posted our itinerary for a similar trip we took in 2015. I have two posts that detail both legs of the trip. We had 31 days though. To say our trip was aggressive is an understatement! Worthwhile? You bet! I agree Oregon might be a little too far out of the way. California and some of those parks might be doable. Yellowstone was a requirement for our trip. So we sucked it up and went out of our way on the way home. At least it brought us closer East. Oregon will take you too far northwest, most likely. You can see our driving time is a couple to three days longer than your's, being in Kansas already. If you have a second driver, that will help. My DW took the reigns for a short spell in Kansas and that was about it.174Views0likes0CommentsRe: Tv when tailgating, need tips?
Easy. I did it and actually saved money. This plan will not work for you if you don't have home cable. I dropped Comcast. Picked up Dish for the house --net savings of about $100 per month and have more channels. I bit the bullet for a 1-time purchase of $100 for a Tailgater antenna and $80 for the receiver. This was a few years ago and I got a good deal on a Tailgater that someone was selling on Craigslist. There is a new version of the Tailgater so you may do better on price on the old version. Now, when I need Dish in the RV I pay $7 per month to activate that receiver. I turn it on in April/May for travel season and turn it off after my last tailgate party. This year that will be WVU hosts OK State October 28. Just in time to save me the $7 for November. If you want to save a few bucks, you could carry the receiver from the house for every trip. Get about 200 channels with lots of the sports channels for just about every game possible.524Views0likes0CommentsRe: U.S.Naval Academy camping
If he is in the military and camps, this web site is the place for the most up to date info. Comprehensive place for US military campgrounds Their eligibility info is pretty accurate too. The local commander often has leeway to expand eligibility. Not sure about Naval Academy, but West Point allows RV overnights for football games and graduations on site in one parking lot. You might find that info on the Naval Academy web site.330Views0likes0CommentsRe: ? About emptying camper tanks into external holding tank
The macerator pump can work at both ends -from camper to tank and then from tank to wherever you are going to dump. The macerator can enable you to pump the sewage into a toilet at a friend's house, for instance. If you haul your portable tank in the bed of a truck, you will not have to take it out of the bed with the macerator. You will need a 12-volt supply to power the macerator. It pumps through garden hose. I would recommend a heavy-duty hose for sure.100Views0likes0CommentsRe: Worst dealer offer ever?
It all depends on what your trade is really worth. We can hardly guess if this deal is bad if you don't tell us the details on your trade. If it is worth 10K, the deal is pretty good. Basically, they are eating 20K on the trade but not moving off the MSRP. If your trailer is truly worth 31K, they are not moving because they are in business to make money and are throwing you the numbers best for them first. They have to make it somehow. Here's my reasoning: What happens if they take a better look at your camper after the deal and find something broken? Or, what if something breaks before it sells? What happens if it sits on their lot until next spring? There is risk with a used unit --maybe less with a new one. The potential to make money on used can be good, but they have to acquire low, sell high. They have to give money to your bank to pay off your loan right now. The bank doesn't say, "Pay us when you sell that used camper." So, to sell you the new one, they shell out 31K on a hope that they will sell yours quickly for what, 35K, 45K. Maybe even less, right? Also, the dealer has to pay the salesman commission this week/next week or this month at the latest. Now, if you owned your trailer out right, they take the title and knock off the trade amount from the deal. Might get you a little better price -maybe. They are still out the money they had to pay for the new unit sitting on the lot. Most RV manufacturers don't float dealers the costs. A dealer might be working a deal with a bank and paying interest only until they sell -maybe. Most likely, the dealer has the wholesale price wrapped into the new rig you are driving away. So, lets say they have 60K in the wholesale price. They give your bank 31K. They pay off the 60K they were floating on the wholesale cost. They pay the salesman commission. Let's say 5% = $4,850 (salesman typically make salary + commission) So using 5% as a swag, say $5K to include that portion of your sale that supports his salary + commission and let's not forget the cost of running a business too. So, include that in the 5K number. So, this dealer has, money, real hard cash, out the door: $60,000+$31,000+$5,000 = $96,000 on that camper that they just sold to you for $97,000. I can see the wholesale price maybe lower, so a little more skin in the game for the dealer. Typically, dealers are in business to sell. Maybe the unit you are looking at is popular? That would make them tighten their numbers. Maybe they have had three people call or looking at this unit this week? Who knows? I once had a salesman quit after I walked out the door after making a good offer on a 3/4 ton Yukon with a 1/2 ton F-150 as trade. He quit because his sales manager should have made the deal -thus earning him a commission. The Yukon I wanted was 2 hours away at an unrelated dealer. I bought it with the exact trade a week later for a $2,500 better deal for me. I drove the two hours. So, that salesman was probably right to quit. He was working for a stingy dealer. I was most likely the last straw. Don't forget, salesman are in on the deal too. They want to maximize their commission but 5% of ZERO is ZERO. If your deal was as bad as you say, it would get old working there. Was it a bad deal, maybe? But the first offer usually is, right? Most likely, they would have sweetened the deal a little if you countered. Maybe they read you as a non-serious buyer so they gave you a stinker of a deal to run you off? The numbers don't look that bad without the benefit of knowing what your trade is really worth.281Views0likes0CommentsRe: Twin Falls Resort State Park, W.Va.
See the falls, duh? Sorry, couldn't resist. Natural Beauty, that's primarily what you will find there. Who needs anything else, right? Twin Falls will afford you time to unwind and enjoy nature. That is for sure. Most of anything that goes on happens in nearby Beckley, WV. There is an expedition coal mine there, shopping --Tamarak -the Best of WV. A little further away is the New River Gorge National River with whitewater rafting, rock climbing and hiking. The New River Gorge Bridge is a destination in and of itself. Patrons can walk a catwalk under the bridge for a birds eye view of the river 800 feet below. We have gone to Bridge Day when base jumpers are allowed to take the plunge. There's a whole festival around the bridge one weekend in October. (I think the 3rd weekend?) Near Twin Falls, you will find small coal towns. Some are still bustling but most have dwindled to ghost towns or nearly so. Coalwood was the home of Homer Hickam, the author of October Sky. They made the movie Rocket Boys from his book. After the popularity of the movie, they had a Rocket Boys festival in Coalwood every October, but moved it to Beckley for lack of attendance there. I may be wrong, there might be more to do close to Twin Falls, but I can't recall much more. The last time I was there was for flood relief in 2002 (maybe 2001, not sure), so the area was pretty tore up. I have spent more time in the Fayetteville area at New River. That's the main attraction in the Southern WV area. If in Fayetteville, I recommend Pies and Pints for pizza and micro brews, if you're into either. We like Diogis restaurant too. This area possesses so much outdoor adventure and beauty that the Boy Scouts built an 11,000 acre camp to host their National Jamboree. (It's going on right now.) BigRed1Cav, who mentioned Hatfield/McCoy, is right on if you like to ride ATVs/UTVs. Various government agencies joined together to develop an extensive series of trails that connect different communities in the area. Maybe there might be a rental company to give you a starter ride if you don't have any experience with ATVs. Look out, you may be trading in for a Toyhauler afterwards! (If you don't already have one?) Part of the trail system is near Twin Falls --The Pinnacle Creek Trail. The trails are rated Easy and on up. That would be an awesome way to take in the scenery. Go here for more info on HMT: Hatfield/McCoy --Take this recommendation from two Big Red One alums! (attached 2004 Task Force Danger) DUTY FIRST! Hope you enjoy WV. I'm luck enough to live here full time.441Views0likes0CommentsRe: Sirius-XM Beware!
I got caught in that mysterious auto-renewal its in the contract BS several years ago. Bought new car. It expired. I called them. They quoted a price. I said too high per month, do you have a one-time annual price. Sales rep said sure, we can give you one year for $79. I said, that's great, sign me up! I put it on my Visa. One year later ,I got charged more than $200 for an auto renewal. I called them to complain. They said its in the agreement. I told them my next call was going to be to the state police to file a complaint for credit card fraud because if I would have been told additional years at the regular price, I would have hung up. I also told them that if they had a recording of my phone conversation they better not destroy it. It may be evidence of credit card fraud. They told me someone else would have to credit my Visa and put me on hold for 27 minutes at which time I hung up and called VISA. I explained all this to Visa and the charges were removed from my bill. Funny thing is, Sirius later sent a paper bill for $29 for a month -LOL. I tore it up. Haven't given them a dime since. They must like me. They still send promos and call me. When they call, I tell the sales rep that I will NEVER have Sirius-XM ever again and if they do away with AM/FM radio I will whistle to myself going down the highway before I give your company a dime. I get the impression they hear this often from their reaction. Too bad they had to resort to shady sales tactics like that. I probably would use the service if they hadn't done that to me. I do not believe you can enter into a contract by osmosis. Maybe that's why the company is really sure to explain the additional years price now. When it happened to me, they said nothing about any requirement to take anything more than the one year for $79. Check this out: I wasn't the only one.289Views0likes0Comments
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