mtrumpet
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Re: Not for us
Rice wrote: mtrumpet wrote: It seems that you dove into full timing right off the bat. Many here that eventually went full time were first weekend warriors (for lack of a better term) for many years prior to going full time. Not us! Almost 20 years ago, we decided to start traveling fulltime, put our houses up for sale, and flew halfway across the country to pick up and drive home our first (and still only) RV--a 40-foot motorhome. But 20 years ago, you had to come up with the idea yourself, and figure out how to get information about the nuts and bolts. Forums like this were invaluable, and there weren't bloggers and youtubers who had a financial interest in promoting the lifestyle. And by the time that year was over, we'd put together a massive amount of knowledge. It was kind of like going to a library and researching compared to looking at a newsfeed. These days people just kind of fall into the lifestyle--certainly the idea and very much the execution as well. Back then you had to really want it because figuring out how to make it happen was a lot of work. Nowadays there are very few barriers to entry, which can have bad results. Plus, there's the terminology issue. Especially after the big recession, a lot of people moved into RVs as a (hopefully) cheaper alternative to a house or apartment, and called it fulltiming. Because they live fulltime in an RV. And that's what the OP ended up doing--he said he'd paid his site rent through November, with options for two more years. I'd say (and I know people will push back) that that's not fulltiming as most people traditionally understood it. But it gets lumped in with the fulltime travel lifestyle, when it might more appropriate to be lumped in with living in a trailer park or mobile home park lifestyle--small dwellings that don't move and are cheaper than a house or apartment. And people who aren't steeped in knowledge don't necessarily know the difference. That's not to say that people who started fulltiming in 2003 didn't get it wrong. But I think a lot more people these days are getting it wrong because they didn't have to put in a lot of work to understand exactly what it is, and to let it marinate in their brains. Very interesting insight. Question: Are you still full-timing today?1KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Class A fleetwood discovery - should we purchase ??
Ditto! Run, don't walk away from this one! There are much much better units out there available for reasonable deals. As others have said, this one has way too many things wrong with it, and that's only what you can see of it. Who knows what yet undiscovered hidden surprises there are? Be patient and shop. Your patience will pay off in the end.750Views0likes0CommentsRe: Not for us
It seems that you dove into full timing right off the bat. Many here that eventually went full time were first weekend warriors (for lack of a better term) for many years prior to going full time. By the time the decision was made to go full time, they had a lot of RVing experience and knew what to expect. While my wife and absolutely love the RV life style and have been RV'ing now for 22 years. However, we too might not be in for FULL timing. However, being only weeks away from retirement at this writing, we will be part-time full-timers, keeping a home base, but hitting the road for weeks and even a couple of months at a time. (Man, it's been a while since I've visited this forum. Good to be back!)1KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Concrete driveway thickness??
Bruce Brown wrote: Add me to the list; Concrete highways are 12" thick. A 4" highway wouldn't last 24 hours with any real traffic. Heck the 12" ones don't last around here. I'm not a fan a the thump, thump, thumping concrete highways for our part of the country. In the south, sure. In the freeze/thaw areas, not a good idea IMO. When we built our garage we went with 6" thick, 4000# mix with 1/2" rebar on 12" squares topped with mesh holding the in-floor heating tubes. When it had cured we then did relief cuts so there is no span greater than 16' without a cut. We live in a heavy freeze/thaw area, the garage was built in 2001. The floor looks as good today as the day we poured it. With that said, I wouldn't expect good things to happen parking a DP on a 3" slab, but maybe. X2 I had a brand new driveway put in last year, went with 6" thick, re-bar and mesh reinforcement and also added drainage around the perimeter to keep water from sitting underneath the slabs and freezing in the winter and damaging the concrete. My previous driveway was supposed to 4" thick. However, when it started to breakup into pieces, there were places where the slabs were barely 2" thick. Turned out that whomever poured the previous driveway cheated on the concrete. As someone else mentioned, how do you know for sure? On my new driveway, I WATCHED them pour it. So, I know.2.4KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Replacement Trailer Hitch? - 2002 Newmar Dutch Star DP
imgoin4it wrote: Our 2007 KSDP and a friends 2008 DSDP both had recalls on the hitch in 2008. NEWMAR replaced both with a 10,000 lb curt hitch. If yours happens to be the same it would probably bolt right on As a matter of fact, I do have a CURT 10,000 lb. hitch from a 2007 KSDP. Probably the same that you're referring to. While the bolt hole spacing matches, the overall hitch width is about 1-1/2" too wide.521Views0likes0CommentsRe: Replacement Trailer Hitch? - 2002 Newmar Dutch Star DP
With the assistance of the folks at etrailer.com I have two to choose from... - Draw-Tite Multi-Fit Motorhome Trailer Hitch # 5350 - Curt Adjustable RV Trailer Hitch Receiver #13701 The CURT has approximately a 2" lower drop down to the receiver box than the Draw-Tite, so based on the measurements from my MH, the Draw-Tite will likey be the better fit on my rig. It should fit near perfectly. Unfortunately, both are 5000 lb. hitches (which is what was on there in the first place from Newmar). I was hoping to find something with a higher weight rating, but short of having one custom fabricated, this will have to do. Our towed (2016 Ford Edge) only comes in at round 4100 lbs. so we're good.516Views0likes0CommentsReplacement Trailer Hitch? - 2002 Newmar Dutch Star DP
Has anyone with a 2002 Dutch Star replaced their trailer hitch and if so, what did you replace it with? The one that Newmar had installed on mine was a HIDDEN HITCH #64-6101 (5000 lb. weight rating) which has long been discontinued. I spoke to both Newmar and Spartan, but neither had anything to offer with regard to a replacement or information. I spoke to an engineer at HIDDEN HITCH (Now owned by Horizon Global) who is looking into a possible replacement, but made no guarantees that they might have one that will retrofit. I have AutoCAD drawings of the hitch which I forwarded to the engineer at Hidden Hitch and he reviewed and confirmed the pertinent dimensions with me. I also spoke to tech support at CURT Hitches, but they didn't want to be bothered. Draw Tite is also now owned by Horizon Global. The problem is, when searching for a replacement hitch online, the first thing they want to know is what make and model the vehicle is where the hitch will be installed. Unfortunately, as we know, their pick lists don't include motorhomes. They also don't give dimensions. Etrailer.com will provide certain dimensional information if you ask them. However, you still need a starting point of which hitch "might" be a close match. If possible, I would like to get a hitch with a higher weight rating than 5000 lbs. but at this point I would be happy with that for now. (We tow a Ford Edge which comes in at only approximately 4100 lbs.) Any ideas as to here I might find a replacement hitch for my 02 Dutch Star would be appreciated. I'm hoping that I won't have to have one custom made ($$$). Incidentally, the reason the I took my currently hitch out of service was due to bent and cracked mounting brackets and a couple of cracked welds.2.6KViews0likes6CommentsRe: Cheapest parts ever
midnightsadie wrote: let see , at the biggest rv dealer, we all know who that could be , part $100.labor $300. wait time two months for appointment ,repair time six days. sorry just couldn,t resist. No,no,no...You probably have the pricing pretty close, but the rig would probably be in for at least 2 to 4 four months. Then when finally done, the actual part wouldn't have been repaired and something else broken that was fine when initially dropped off.:D265Views0likes0Comments
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