keithhelms
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Swarms of moths inside RV
I have a 2020 Grand Design Reflection 295rl and am using it for the first time this year. The first night was calm, but on nights 2-5 I've been getting something like 25 or 30 moths inside each night. Haven't experienced that the first 2 years I had it. I poked around and found 3 obvious gaps that a moth could easily fit through. The first was the 2 vent holes for the furnace. The 2nd and 3rd were big gaps around cylinders that are part of the slideouts mechanisms. I've tried to attach a photo of that. I'm not impressed with a couple of construction features of the fifth wheel. The floor vent in the bathroom just opens down into the area under the floor and is not attached to any ducting. The drawers in the kitchen hutch that back up to the bathroom wall are the same - there's no wall behind them, just open space. Both of those openings give moths an easy way to fly into the living area once they get into the underbelly. Is there some way to keep the moths from getting in?1.7KViews0likes1CommentRe: Moving to Linux
I switched to Ubuntu back in 2008 and then moved to the Xubuntu variation in 2012 when Ubuntu changed their gui to be more tablet focused. It's funny you mentioned a Canon flatbed scanner. I had to do a little extra work to get my Canon 9000 working under Xubuntu 14.04. Under the newer 16.04 release, it just works. I can't say I've missed Windows at all.418Views0likes0CommentsRe: Looking for opinions, good or bad, on Forest River Wildcats
I have an '07 Wildcat 29RLBS that has gotten a lot of use over the years. It has required a fair amount of maintenance over time, but I do spend 60+ nights a year in it. Problems I've had are: Upon delivery: * Dual gas/electric water heater didn't work on electric. Had to get the wiring fixed. * Insulation blanket under the holding tanks was not aligned properly and there was a visible gap. Repair shop had to drop the blanket and reinstall it. * Unit came with a cannister attached to the fresh water line that was intended to contain a charcoal filter. I could not get the cannister to unscrew and was afraid I would damage the lines by applying too much force. The first winter, the cannister broke due to water freezing inside it. I took the lines on either side of it and connected them and have gone without a filter ever since. Over the years: * Had the oven replaced due to the thermocouple going out and the replacement part containing mercury was no longer available. * Had the electric element in the dual electric/gas water heater replaced. * Got a leak fixed around a skylight in the living room slideout. * Had all the shackles replaced (I learned the hard way to keep a close watch on those after one broke on two separate trips). * Had the skylight over the shower replaced. That was no fault of the manufacturing - it got hit by a rock. * Had various plumbing leaks fixed, mostly due to winterizing problems. * Had the living room slideout adjusted so that the carpet under it didn't get soaked when driving through rain. * Got the axles aligned because one of the tires had abnormal wear on one side. * Had the light next to the landing gear button fixed due to a wiring failure. * Had to get the latch for the front curbside bay replaced after the wind ripped it out. * Had to get the freshwater inlet replaced when it started making a loud moaning sound when using water. I don't know if all these issues together would just be considered normal wear and tear. So far (fingers crossed), I've had no problems with the landing gear, the heater, the air conditioner, the refrigerator, the microwave, the converter, the interior lighting, the ceiling fans, or the 120v outlets.2KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Who's going to Yellowstone in 2015
Old Teacher wrote: Not this year but late May, early June 2016, can't wait! I was there around June 1st some 10 years ago. Wilson Lake just west of the south entrance road was still frozen over and there was still a lot of snow on the hillsides. The geyser areas were fine for hiking, but I think longer backcountry hikes were out of the question.515Views0likes0CommentsRe: Decision time for newbies on laptops/mifi/phones
AlmostBoatless wrote: Finally able to sit down for a minute and take a break from packing, whew, tough work. So much wonderful concise, clear information from you people, thank you so much! Now for understanding and seeing what is available out there. Well, I actually forgot that I do have a tablet and am now considering the hotspot through the tablet. What would be required for that setup? Going through Verizon again, I assume? Thank you and bless you all! You're not limited to Verizon. AT&T and Virgin also have "mifi" or "mobile broadband". I suspect all the major carriers have something similar, although they may call it by different names.551Views0likes0CommentsRe: Decision time for newbies on laptops/mifi/phones
GMandJM wrote: Thanks for clarifying. If/when the JetPack dies I will definitely look into a tablet as a replacement hotspot. Just on more Q: Your tablet can also be used with other wi-fi (like library or such)? Or not? I haven't run into an issue with the JetPack account expiring after 90 days. We went 5 months without using it and still had the same "phone number" and account. The only problem with it has been that the web interface is clunky on a Mac. Edit: I just re-activated my JetPack for an upcoming trip and it did not require other wi-fi to do so. You could very well be correct about needing other wi-fi to register the device though. Good to know about the timing of the PC updates. Thanks, Mr. Wizard. Yes, that is correct. My tablet can also connect to wifi as well as the cell network.551Views0likes0CommentsRe: Driving from Southern CA to Yellowstone in July
CodyClassB wrote: We will be driving from Southern CA to Yellowstone in July. Can you please suggest good RV parks along the way? We are interested in good parks near the 15 highway in the following cities (our overnight stops) St George, Utah Bryce Canyon National Park Salt Lake City, UT Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming Thanks in advance. I was just down in SW Utah last month. For the St. George area, a nice park is Leeds RV Park & Motel about 14 miles up I-15 in a little town called Leeds (of course). For Bryce, you're pretty far from I-15, about 50 miles or so. I stayed at the Ruby's Inn campground which is just a mile or so from the park entrance. When I'm in The Grand Tetons, I always stay at Colter Bay RV Park which is right in the middle of the park and next to Jackson Lake. All of those have full hookups.418Views0likes0CommentsRe: Decision time for newbies on laptops/mifi/phones
GMandJM wrote: The tablet-as-a-hotspot idea is growing on me. Does yours require a long-term contract or can you do pay-as-you-go? I got mine on sale for $99 with a 2 year contract. Fortunately the monthly fees for tablets are smaller than for cell phones. I'm paying $10 a month for their line access fee or whatever they call it plus $30 a month for 4GB of data allowance. $40 a month is not bad. I think cell phone plans start at $70 a month. You can get tablets on a pay as you go plan. They have a much smaller list of tablets you can purchase for that plan. You could probably also pick up a used tablet with Verizon access that is no longer under contact from somebody and then set up pay as you go access for it. Pay as you go is convenient if you only use a device for a small number of months during the year. It can also be a bit of a pain. They set up an account for you and a "phone" number, you pay for whatever amount of data you want to put on the device for the next month, then you can use it. If you don't use the device again for (I think) 90 days after that setup, the account and number get deleted and you have to go through that whole process again the next time. You need internet access to register the device, so you have to have another way of accessing the internet to complete that setup (wifi or something). Correction: The account gets deleted 90 days after the data expires, not after registration.269Views0likes0CommentsRe: Verizon 4G mifi GB useage
Depending on what browser you use, you could install plugins to block ads and flash video. I use Firefox and have the adblock plus and noscript plugins installed. You can selectively whitelist sites so that your bank, for example, is allowed to load anything it wants. I have 4GB of monthly data allowance from Verizon and I am a heavy web surfer, but I don't usually come anywhere close to using up that allowance.322Views0likes0Comments
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