MtnMike
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Joined 9 years ago
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Fulltiming Coming to an End, But Travelling Is Not
My wife and I have been fulltiming for several years. We intended to fulltime until: 1) it was no longer fun and began to feel like work, or 2) our health required us to be near the same medical team more often. After my wife suffered a series of strokes, we regretfully recognize we are in option #2. We have been living full time in a 40' fiver, and travelling between our kids and grandkids families in a loop around the country: Washington State, Indiana, Delaware, and looping back to Texas when the weather turns colder. We still want / need to make the loop, but we don't need to take everything we need / own (they're not the same thing, are they?) on every excursion. We are considering downsizing to a mid-sized Class A or a longer Class C while limiting our outings to the 60-day range, and wanted to hear your thoughts on why you prefer your Class A or your Class C. My co-pilot has had a series of spinal surgeries, in addition to the strokes, and is in constant back pain, so comfort of ride is crucial for us to continue our travels. Does your Class C "shake you up" as I've been told or could we travel for six hours a day on the road and arrive without feeling like we've been off-roading all day?2.3KViews0likes6CommentsRe: Toilet Keeps Clogging: Macerating Toilet Effective Solution?
Hey, NWExplorer. Thanks for the advice. We like to boondock, but we're lucky enough to have another toilet on board which has never clogged. We could refrain from using the one toilet that clogs regularly now, but if Jayco can't keep it from clogging and we replace it with a macerating toilet, we have another one available.845Views0likes0CommentsRe: Toilet Keeps Clogging: Macerating Toilet Effective Solution?
Thanks, mad99ram. Jayco suggested having the dealer from whom we purchased the unit take a look at the plumbing, looking for misaligned elbows. I took it in and they refused to look at the plumbing, wouldn't even look at the toilet, much less the drain lines to the black water tank. They're not too eager to do warranty work, I've discovered. Since they finally acknowledged a slide-out misalignment which they adjusted, they also suggested I bring it back for another adjustment in a few months which should be about the end of the RV season here in Virginia. I will request they look at the drain line on that toilet again, including how deep into tank the toilet drain line runs.844Views0likes0CommentsToilet Keeps Clogging: Macerating Toilet Effective Solution?
In our 2016 Jayco Pinnacle 36FBTS, the Front Toilet Keeps Clogging. We've used various methods to clear the clogs; plunger, plumber's snake, toilet wand, septic-safe chemicals. Once cleared, though, it will clog again within a few days, even with family members claiming that they flush with a lot of water, even flushing twice, when flushing septic-safe and rapidly dissolvable toilet paper. The clogs all appear to occur where the sewage line from the toilet makes a 90 degree turn (or perhaps more than one 90 degree elbow) about 8 feet down the line (based upon how much plumber's snake is worked down when trying to clear the clog). One neighboring rig owner told me his coach uses a macerator toilet and he's never experienced a clog in the year's that he's be living full-time in his rig. An in-line macerator, beneath the toilet, would reduce all flushed items to a slush to easily make the bends in the lines beneath the floor. Is there such a solution, or must I replace the existing Thetford porcelain toilet with one of their macerating models? Do they make a porcelain macerating toilet? Has this solution resolved this constant clogging issue in anyone's experience?7.2KViews0likes20CommentsRe: Auxiliary Fuel Tank/Tool Box Thoughts/Advise
RDS 60 gallon aux gravity-fed tank/toolbox combo installed in the bed of my 2017 Dodge Ram 3500 DRW. A drip-drip-drip leak became a torrential rush after leaving the manual valve open after a fill-up. Stopping at a restaurant and there was a puddle of diesel fuel running down the parking lot after dinner. Turning the valve off stopped the flood of expensive fuel, but discovered the capless filler tubes of the 2016 and 2017 Dodge Ram's and the inner flapper valve is unable to stop the overflow of fuel through the open filler neck. Multiple check valve companies did not know if their valves would resolve the overflow issue either. Frustrated, I went old-school and looked for a solution that would cap off the stock filler neck. In 2016, Dodge introduced dual filler tubes behind the filler door; one to fill the diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) which had a filler cap and an open filler cap for diesel fuel and a flapper overflow valve in the filler neck. With the gravity-fed RDS auxiliary fuel tank/toolbox combo that RDS claims fits 2006 and newer Dodge Rams, those from 2016 and 2017 with open filler necks will have overflow problems that the flipper valve will not stop. I replaced the open-neck filler tube with a modified Ford filler neck and a standard filler cap. Old-school. No leaks. No problems. I was also concerned about the safety in a roll-over accident. If the regular overflow valve would not stop the fuel in an upright position, what would happen in a roll-over?615Views0likes0CommentsWiser by ShowerMiser
The February 2017 edition of Trailer Life has an article in their Hands On column (pg 56) about a cold water diverter for use in an RV shower. A product by Showermiser (www.aquaviewinc.com/rv) that routes cold water to the shower back into the freshwater tank until it warms up so you don't have to capture the cold water in a bucket for use later while waiting for the shower water to warm up. Sounds like a brilliant idea for use when boondocking. Anybody have any experience with this product or anything similar? Oh, and BTW, Trailer Life magazine is awesome.1.7KViews0likes6CommentsRe: Fiver Pin Separated From Hitch on Interstate
There seems to be a lot of speculation about what happened. The hitch was hitched correctly. After separation, the jaws were still locked, the latch bar was in place, pinned and clipped. Two different highway patrolmen and the tow truck operator inspected the hitch and all appears to be as one would expect. One poster theorized that it may have been high-hitched. The plate of the fifth wheel and the pin plate on the trailer would be separated. If somehow it would actually be possible to pull away without noticing the gap, with the pin on top of the jaws, there would be evidence on the closed jaws such as paint scraped and eroded from the improper placement. The only such wear is between the jaws. The hitch is less than two months old so worn hitch components is not the issue. I will have the hitch and the installation reviewed for faulty parts or improper installation, before I use it again so I can be reassured that this will not happen again. Although the investigating patrolman indicated the installation appeared to be correct and was extremely solid and secure. As an engineer, I know that nothing is fool-proof. New parts sometimes fail and human operators occasionally make mistakes.141Views0likes0Comments
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