camperdave
Explorer
Joined 22 years ago
User Profile
User Widgets
All Activity
Re: Towing a Honda CRV one time - NC to Maine
Sucks that they don't have surge brakes anymore. I rented dolly's from uhaul a few times over the last couple of years, and it was about 50/50 if they would have brakes or not, I assumed if you called and wanted one specifically with brakes they could do it. Guess not anymore huh? The last one I rented (last summer) was sweet, had a nice foolproof Demco EZ latch coupler and surge brakes. It looked brand new.1.3KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Toad Battery Charger
FWIW, the RVI toad charger is nothing special, imo. You are basically paying for the ability to monitor your toad battery from the proprietary RVI hub and tablet. It seems to actually have more of a voltage drop than a simple fuse/diode would. I use the RVI because it came with the brake system I bought used. I certainly wouldn't pay $120 (I don't actually know how much it is, since they don't show a price until you log, which is a bit sus). I agree with Willald, put a voltmeter on the TOAD battery with and without the motorhome running. What's it read? Any chance you just need to replace a fuse in the charge line (should be very close to the TOAD battery itself)?1.3KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Dinghy charging from MH
I have a charge line in my toad. In my case I do need a diode in the line. This is because I have my motorhome backup camera powered by the trailer charge line (it's an on with ignition source, right were I wanted it, made sense at the time). If I simply used a charge line with a fuse, then the backup camera would be powered by the TOAD battery anytime the ignition of the motorhome was off. A diode prevents this. Fwiw, you can buy a simple charge line with a fuse and diode for $25 on etrailer. (I instead used an RVI Toad Battery Charger, but that's another story and not something I would recommend or do again). Most folks use a 7pin to 6pin cable to connect between the motorhome and the toad, so power is already there. In your case, since you're using only the 4 pin connector, you'll need to figure out how to get power from your motorhome over to the toad. My motorhome already had power at the 7 pin, and I use a 7-6 pin cable to the toad with a standard 6pin round connector on the front of the toad, so power was already right there. All I had to do was wire from the new 6pin connector up to the toad battery.981Views0likes0CommentsRe: I need a toad.
For the first 5 years we owned our motorhome, we did a combination of renting at our destination, uber, and u-haul dollies. All worked and had their uses. The u-haul route worked well for us on longer trips to a single destination, cause we'd do two one way trips dropping off and picking up the dolly close to our destination so we didn't have to store it at camp. Ultimately this year we set up our Ford Fusion Energi to flat tow. It's fine, but something we already own and use as a daily driver. If I were to pick something specifically for flat towing, it would sit higher off the ground, and be a simpler/lighter vehicle. CRV or Wrangler probably. It cost me around $1500 to set up our car to flat tow (and that was buying most stuff used). That's a lot of renting/ubering. But it's also SO convenient having the car with us and being able to hook up/disconnect in a few minutes.804Views0likes0CommentsRe: Dealers lots are filling up
I went to college. Mechanical Engineering. I worked in that field for about 10 years, then I didn't. My job now (that I've had for the last 7 years and will probably stay in till I retire in 10 years) requires no college education. You never know where life will take you. That said, I learned so much more in college than Engineering. It was my first exposure to a world outside my bubble, and literally changed my life. Both of my girls are in college right now. Neither knows what they want to do, but that's not important imo. They will graduate mostly debt free, cause I'm paying for it lol. I'm no fan of inflation or the impending recession. We'll be more or less fine cause we've got a lot of financial backups in place. If the housing market truly crashes, I'll try to buy another rental home or two. Real estate (buy, hold, and rent, not flip) has by FAR been our best move in the last 20 years, and the main reason I will most likely be able to retire someday. I'm sure not counting on my 401k, social security, or my non-existent pension!305Views0likes0CommentsRe: dingy induced sway
DouglasC wrote: I have a similar setup towing a 2019 Ford Fusion Energi with a Ford E450 Class C motorhome. I am amazed that you need a 10" drop hitch. The rear of your motorhome must sit rather high. My Roadmaster tow bar goes directly into the hitch receiver on the rear of my motorhome and the tow bar is within 2" of being perfectly level. Bottom line - - I have experienced none of the issues that you seem to be dealing with and I've towed my Fusion Energi over 12,000 miles with this setup. Sorry to not be of more help. Interesting, as our motorhomes are about the same size. A 10" drop brings the tow bar almost completely level. It may be slightly apples to oranges as I have a car mounted bar that goes on a trailer hitch ball, as opposed to the more common motorhome mounted bar that goes directly into the receiver. Not sure how much of a height difference that would be, if any. Same baseplate, so I'd think the height of the tow bar itself is probably the same.1.1KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Tire chains in Califdrnia
dennych1 wrote: So even though I have 4wd I might need chains If you are towing, yes. If you can disconnect and drive them separately, then no. But you still legally need to carry the chains with you even though you won't need to install them. In my experience, the major roads in Ca go from R2 (2wd with chains, or 4WD with snow tires) direct to closed. I don't think I've ever seen an R3 (everything needs chains) situation. But I'm a very occasional snow goer, I live on the coast.275Views0likes0CommentsRe: Dealers lots are filling up
I've become a fan of leasing for my wife. She has a fancy pants type job, needs a reliable car, wants something nice and new, and I don't like working on new cars. So a lease works well for her. Except this time when we had to buy out at the end, cause it's too good to pass up. She'll keep driving it for a while, when things revert back, we'll grab a new lease for her. Leaves me in a bit of a pickle with this car though. Once my wife replaces it with a new lease sometime in a year or two, I don't really want to drive it as my daily. But we just set it up to be a toad so we've got to keep it for a long while. I'll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the meantime my daily driver 2000 frontier (with 2wd, roll up windows, and an awesome hvac system!) does me great. And the 1998 van is always at the ready to pull the boat. As an extra vehicle it's only got 200k rust free miles and should last another 10 years at least.194Views0likes0Comments
Groups
Bucket List Trips
Bucketlist destinations you just can't miss. Which spots stick with you?Jan 18, 202513,487 Posts Fifth Wheel Group
Interested in fifth wheels? You've come to the right spot.Jan 29, 202519,006 Posts Full Time RVers
Thinking about becoming a full-time RVer? Ask the experts.Dec 28, 20241,587 Posts Motorhome Group
Join in here to discuss all things motorhomes.Jan 20, 202538,706 Posts Pet Owners
Notes from the road with the best travel companions around.Dec 29, 20242,081 Posts
