Bamaman11
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Joined 14 years ago
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Re: Low Profile AC vs Standard
And you never know when 5 or 6 inches will be the difference between hitting a tree limb or other overhead hazard and not hitting anything. I'm going to put a Penguin II in the front bedroom of my fifth wheel--ducted with its own thermostat. The front low profile a/c units are very loud, however many people run them when they're not in bed--and cut them off when they go to bed. Then, they'll just use the rear a/c unit at night when temperatures are not so hot.339Views0likes0CommentsRe: Paying in full before delivery???
I was in management 36 years for a very large finance company. It works this way: Dealers purchase their RV inventory from the manufacturer COD--and they most often finance the purchase on a wholesale security agreement commonly called a floorplan. The interest on that loan starts immediately and interest amounts to a substantial amount as expensive as RV's are. Sometimes manufacturers will cover all or part of the wholesale interest on RV's for a specific time period as an incentive to get the dealer to stock more equipment. When an individual purchases that RV at retail, they should be very careful. The dealer could pocket the selling price and tell the finance company the unit's never been sold--paying other creditors with the money. When the dealer's inventory is physically checked, the sold unit could be treated as still in inventory since it's sitting there. And a dealer could have a bunch of sold units still sitting on his lot--a situation where it's SOT--Sold out of Trust. In other words, I would never purchase any RC and leave it on a dealer's lot 3-4 months until the weather breaks. Another issue is that most RV's are sold on credit with a lien noted on the title. Many times, the selling dealer won't apply for a title until the RV's been delivered. That means the lien has not been properly perfected and the finance company's Purchase Money Secured Interest has not been executed. If a retail customer went bankrupt before they took possession of the unit, the bankruptcy court could deem the finance company has not secured their interest, and they'd take the RV, sell it at auction and apply the funds to the unsecured creditors. The company that financed the RV would eat the whole loan. Someone that purchases any RV (or car) must take physical delivery within a few days (7 I believe) or the loan could be deemed unsecured in a court of law. In the economic blowup of 2008, many RV, Marine and auto dealerships went out of business. There are now far fewer RV dealerships around, and not all of them are fiscally sound. You cannot trust any dealership to take your money and not immediately deliver either a Manufacturer's Statement of Origin (MSO or S/O) or a title application if you finance your RV through the dealer. And whatever you do, don't leave YOUR RV in the possession of any selling dealer after they've been paid in full. If you're not ready to bring the RV home, leave it in an independent storage lot--but out of the dealer's hands.766Views0likes0CommentsRe: Fridge in slide-out
I couldn't get over how hot the air is coming out of the top side vent in normal temperatures (75 degrees). There should be a fan on every fridge--no matter whether there' s chimney or a top side vent (like on a slide.) When installing my new Dometic fridge, I installed a plywood piece across the width of my refrigerator cavity--going up at a 45 degree angle from the top of the fridge to the top of the side vent. I also put in weatherstripping. My RV manufacturer had a small piece of plywood pointing up toward the top of the side vent, but it was really a half hearted attempt to eject hot air. I no longer have hot air circulating around the fridge cavity in the cabinetry and the fridge is cooling fine in all weather.572Views0likes0CommentsRe: G rated trailer tires
The problem tires are ST tires, not LT(E) tires. You wouldn't believe the difference in my Westlake ST takeoffs vs. the Bridgestone Duravis R250's in total weight, sidewall thickness and tread stiffness. There's no way the Westlakes should have 500 more weight carrying capability. The NHTSA has ignored millions of poor quality ST tires out on the road with RV's, stock trailers, boat trailers and utility trailers. We're talking about saving lives here. I've never heard of any complaint about 16" LT/E Bridgestone or Michelin ribbed tires on any RV trailer. Unless your trailer is a very, very heavy unit, the LT/E tires are just fine. And as far as the budget Sailuns go, I've never heard the first complaint on them. They may be the only good tire from China that's good for heavy RV use. But remember few fifth wheels have wheels rated for the air pressure G rated tires are run at.2.8KViews0likes0CommentsRe: 5er brands/models
I have the Grand Design Reflection 323BHS--35' with 4 slides. It's a bunkhouse, and I ordered it with the SuperSofa option--12' of heavenly wallhugger recliners/love seat in lieu of a dinette. I do use the bunkhouse when the grandkids are not with us as my man cave. My wife and i watch different television shows and we keep different hours. I'm 6'3" tall and find the bunkhouse okay. Our bunkhouse has one leather J couch on the right with a fold down single bed above that. On the left is a lower and upper bunk. On the back wall is a 32" flat screen television built in. It's nice to have a slide in the bunkhouse too.498Views0likes0CommentsRe: Who says that we need cheap pickups?
My F250 Lariat crewcab diesel is a 2003 model, and I bought it for $32K on Ford's A Plan for employees. I honestly didn't think I'd ever get the thing paid for @ $650 per month for 60 months. I now use it to tow a pontoon boat and 5th wheel RV locally. The truck's now 14 years old and is still running like new at 115K miles. If I can keep kids out of it, this may be the last truck I'll ever need. I priced out a new identical truck, as you're talking $60K--twice what mine cost. Since society has not seen any real pay increases in the last 8 years, there's no way "the common working man" can afford a 2017 diesel pickup. Even with a $10K down payment, they're looking @ $950 per month on 60 months. A real world alternative to get the price down somewhat is to go with an XLT diesel instead of a Lariat gas engine as the diesel and the Lariat are about $8K options. Not everyone tows heavy and really needs the diesel.183Views0likes0CommentsRe: Oil additive f350. 7.3 2001
I have one of the last 7.3's built with 115K miles. I just change the oil every 5K miles and refill with Motorcraft 15W40. I've tried thinner diesel oil but the fuel injection didn't work quite as well. From time to time, I'll change the oil in the HPOP. I'll siphon old motor oil through a allen head plug on top of the HPOP. I'll replace it with fresh oil, replace the plug and run the engine a few minutes. I'll repeat the procedure 3-4 times and the last time, I'll put in Prolong instead of motor oil. That's the only non-motor oil that goes into my engine.479Views0likes0CommentsRe: 2017 F350 dually with 6.7 opinions
The 2017 SuperDuty trucks are somewhat new vehicles. They use the same powertrains as last year with a few tweaks. (The bugs have been worked out in the engines' first 6 years.) The cab is the same as the 2016/2017 F150--so Ford has the bugs worked out of it. They've got new front end sheet metal, but the biggest difference is in the new frame--a completely new design. And a very heavy, beefy frame it is. Ford got 17 years out of last generation SuperDuty, and even my 2003 model looks great by any standards. Buy the 2017 SuperDuty, and you won't have to trade it for a long time. That's the value you get--especially since all the 3/4 ton and 1 ton diesels now cost 2x what my F250 costs.190Views0likes0CommentsRe: Is it time to just give up the old truck?
Some of the diesels prior to 2000 had the old style mechanical fuel injections. And they're not really very strong--in comparison with diesels just a few years later. I'd tell you to limit your total weight (dry) to a 10,000 trailer if a fifth wheel and 2,000 lbs. kingpin weight. If you were buying a new trailer, I'd tell you to look at Grand Design's Reflection series. They have both fifth wheels and travel trailers that fit your truck perfectly.325Views0likes0Comments
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