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RE: Round Kitchen Sinks
I love having a double sink. The big side is used for washing hands and dishes. The small side hold the dish drying rack. It does double duty as a place for me to put the dish soap bottle, scrubber and anything else that might move about while were driving. I find it a great place to stash things like extra water bottles when were on the move. Our counter top is one of the angled ones which provides enough working room around the sink so we leave the sink cover at home. For me I think I have to have two sinks so not sure they could do that with the round one.
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micd1111
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04/27/12 01:59pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Optimal MH size?
We have a 30 ft RV. We've been able to find space most times but would have more choice if we were 27 ft. I really like the floor plans with the dedicated bedroom (walk around bed), kitchen and dinette. No sofa. To me it is a good trade off for size vs. usable amenities. Have you test driven As and Cs yet? The view when driving an A can be quite enchanting.
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micd1111
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04/27/12 01:39pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: 1994 Safari
We bought a 1994 Winnebago 2 years ago. Two things would raise a red flag for me on the unit your looking at. I wouldn't get one that had water leaks as there can be alot of unseen problems. The second is that it may have sat for some time and there will be mechanical problems that start to crop up once you start to use it. I was looking exclusively for mid-90s RVs and you can find alot of good inventory out there. I think the key is to look for one that is being actively used. That way it has things being replaced as they fail. The best one to find is one that the owners are actively using and upgrading from to go to a newer unit. They will have generally kept it up quite well.
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micd1111
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04/27/12 01:29pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Suggestion for 3 Month Trip
Sounds like an awesome trip! We bought an RV because we live in Colorado and I wanted to see all the great national parks in the area.
You have had some great suggestions. I will just share a bit of our thought process in case any of it is helpful to you.
Originally I wanted a Class B. We went and looked at every one we could find in the area. Unfortunately not one was tall enough for us to walk around inside without banging our heads or having to duck alot. They are probably great for short or mid-sized people but we had to rule them out.
Then I started looking at the C's. On the passenger size of all but the diesels there wasn't enough foot room for me to sit straight (taller people have larger feet). So we focused on the diesel Cs. I had trouble finding one with a comfortable bed that was a walk around and after looking at a bunch decided I had to have that.
At some point we test drove a Class A. We were hooked as the front seats were super comfortable, the view out the front window was unbelievable and we could find many floor plan with walk around queen beds in back. We almost bought a 34 ft Itasca. The night after we saw it my husband wondered aloud if it would fit in the national parks we wanted to see since it was really huge so I got on-line and did some quick searches. Many places I had in mind to visit had 30 ft length restrictions. We then focused on units under 30 ft.
We never really considered a travel trailer due to my bad back and not wanting to hook or unhook it.
In terms of the Winnebago View. I think it is a great little unit. However, there are a couple of cautions. Some folks load them up with so many options that they are overweight from the factory or have so little carrying capacity that you can't take much with you. Do be sure to check the weight before you buy. Also, now having some experience on boondocking without hook-ups, tank size is pretty important. They have smaller water and dump tanks than we do so it would be a limiting factor in how long you can boondock. Given the type of travel schedule you may have with all you want to see in 3 months this may not be an issue. We need to dump about every 4 days. However, there is much you can do to conserve water and I have to say I indulge myself with a hot shower every night and liberal use of water at the sinks so am likely not a good example. :-) Usually I just plan to be at a place that has a dump station and water fill every 4 days. If I can't arrange the schedule that way or we need to dump prematurely we stop at any half empty campground and find that for a small fee ($10 or $15) they will let us dump at a camp site and refill our water tanks.
So far we've been to a great assortment of National Parks. I love staying in the campgrounds and attending the ranger lectures along with enjoying the other park amenities! We have pictures of all our outings on our blog, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes and an assortment of national forest service campgrounds.
Edit: Forgot to mention we do not use a toad. With our '30 ft we can park in two parking spaces across so have no problems getting around with just the RV. Also since ours is older it is not a widebody so is easier to drive on smaller roads.
Cheers!
Michelle
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micd1111
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10/17/11 12:58pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: First Come First Serve Campsites
I used to worry about getting a spot also but we've found it incredibly easy to find empty spots, even on holiday weekends. The only times we reserve is when going to popular national forest campgrounds that we really want to stay at during popular times. These include the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone.
In terms of getting a weekend spot it helps if you have a couple of campgrounds in mind. If you get to the first one and there is nothing available ask the host or a park ranger if they know of any available spots. Often they either know about a place with availability or will call around to the other campgrounds and find a spot for us. Sometimes if they aren't helpful we just go on to the next one on the map.
We also have a map with national forest and other types of campgrounds shown for the state of Colorado. I forget the name of it but it is very detailed. Maybe someone else can chime in with the map name. I believe they have them for most states.
Cheers!
Michelle
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micd1111
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10/12/11 02:37pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: Wife won't travel in RV - What would you do?
Bob,
I have to admit I did not read all the pages so this may sound a little harsh and I truly don't mean for it to. I did read to the one where the RV is old, smells like rotted wood and a woman with a bad back was being asked to ride in a truck. If I was your wife I would not go RVing in these circumstances. I have a bad back and I hate the smell of mold and mildew.
Most people will acknowledge that women have a better sense of smell than men. If you smell it then it is probably overwhelming. Your wife sounds like a saint since she has accompanied you a few times.
However I do love RVing in our 1994 Winnebago Brave that has never had a water leak. When shopping I could walk in an RV and tell right away if it had a water leak. Anything that had one, smelled terrible.
I can ride (with my multiple herniated disks) laying down on the bed, reading a book. I have laid down in the dinette surrounded by pillows. I have laid down on the floor on multiple carpets. It is the only way I can do a road trip. I cannot go on a road trip in my Lexus but I can in the RV because I can lay on the bed. We got a walk around queen as there is no way I could crawl into a corner bed if my back was acting up. We choose an RV with really good quality front seat cushions and good quality foam in the dinette. Our bed also has a high quality Winnebago foam mattress that is just as good as our home latex foam mattress that I paid $2K for. In the mid '90s Winnebago used great quality materials. If you have a bad back you really need to shop specifically for a unit that has good quality foam. For me, many new units don't have the comfort of those I saw from the mid '90s. Cheap foam or ultra leather is very uncomfortable for me with my back.
My husband once wanted to look at new trucks as he thought he might like to get a trailer so we could drive the vehicle around to tour. On test drives I could tell the truck would absolutely not work for me to ride in. I can't imagine how excruciating it would be to ride in an old truck when the new ones were so uncomfortable.
We shopped for a used RV until we found an RV with no water leaks that drove like a dream. I wouldn't go in a $500K diesel pusher if it smelled like old rotten wood. We looked at brand new Winnebagos that drove very harshly (I since figured out the tire pressure was probably too high). Most also had ultra leather that causes me pain in about 30 seconds. I need real leather or cloth. When we test drove our 1994 Brave I could tell this was the one. It drove great and everything was very comfortable. I love going RVing in it.
You say you have to have your truck and tools. So there is no compromise. If I was your wife I wouldn't go either.
Bob, I don't mean to sound harsh but you really need to get a grip and take your old rotten stinky RV with it's harsh riding truck by yourself or get something that your wife can ride comfortably in. This probably means a Class A with a walk around bed. You can always tow a vehicle with your tools. Also your wife has to have the last say on the front seats, bed comfort (remember you can always swap out the mattress), sofa, chairs & dinette.
At this point, having already experienced your RV you will have a tough time getting her to look at them as she will assume that you are going to just try to get one that meets your needs but tell her you want her to be comfortable and ask that she test sit the chairs, sofa, dinette and bed just in case she ever does want to go with you. Then when you find one she likes, get it. My guess is that once she takes a trip lying comfortably on the bed in a non-stinky RV you will have better luck persuading her to go on trips. Ours cost $10K so it did not break the bank and is way more comfortable than new ones I looked at for $90K.
Best regards,
Michelle
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micd1111
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10/08/11 07:56pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Differences between 1996, 1997, 1998 Winnebago Vectra
You can look up all the old brochures here. That will help you compare them.
http://www.winnebagoind.com/products/previous-models/
When I was looking I loved the mid and late '90s Winnebagos. Would have loved to get one of the high end models.
Cheers!
Michelle
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micd1111
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10/08/11 06:13pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Our behaviorist is coming for the first time tonight
Nothing I say or pull up will change your opinion. However my intent was not to convince you. I was offering another possible tactic to folks who are struggling with dog behavior issues. As I mention, we foster dogs. When they are with us they are on a healthy meat centered diet with no grains, sugars or chemicals. We have great success in calming down hyperactive dogs and working with those that have such strong behavior problems that they are considered unadoptable by the shelters and are scheduled to be put down.
When we adopt them out they are well behaved, calm, focused and trained to the extend that folks are clamoring for them. We get many comments at meet and greets or adoption events that people cannot believe this dog is 10 mths or a year old as their dog at home is crazy with energy. After adoption people change their diets and have undesirable jumping, lack of focus, barking and other hyper behaviors. For those that I have convinced to go with a higher quality of food and treats they report remarkable changes in behavior and focus. Food changes will not automatically result in a trained dog but I believe they will make a dog easier to work with.
Cat, sounds like you are having great success. We have one little guy that positive only was the only way to go with him and as a result we've learned alot. He is with us as a permanent addition and were absolutely in love with him. His progress is slow but the skills were learning have transferred and been really helpful with subsequent fosters.
Michelle
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micd1111
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07/29/11 11:39am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Glucosamine - How Many use it and see positive results
I know of a couple of people who use Joint Strong... on themselves.... !! So it works both ways. MMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... chicken flavored! Apparently it is set up to get past the lack of that enzyme, that's why it is powder instead of liquid.
I wondered why I had such good luck with it and no effect from some of the others. Maybe I'll try it on myself too.
Michelle
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micd1111
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07/29/11 09:58am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Our behaviorist is coming for the first time tonight
Tiffany sounds like an excellent trainer. We take in fosters and get them into adoptable shape. But after we turn them over, our calm, confident, well behaved dogs develop all types of problems and I think most of it stems from the human need to correct everything. I think 'No' is the worst possible dog command. It tells the dog nothing. We try to give them a command to do something positive and use an 'ert' sound to get the dogs attention when they are about to embark on an undesirable behavior. We also withdraw attention and turn away for things like jumping and puppy mouthing. Most people bark out NO like the dog is about to push the red button and unleash a nuclear bomb that will destroy the earth. Scares the heck out of the dogs and damages their relationship with people. People also want to push the dogs off which just gets the dogs ramped up because they think they are playing (dogs love to wrestle with each other).
I've tried different techniques to battle the human need to correct but so far no luck until after the dogs have developed submissive urination, distrust of people, barking uncontrollably, jumping on people etc. Then I usually get a call back and the folks are willing to try something different. Then the folks are amazed that trying what I suggest works.
If anyone is having behavior problems with their dog another area to look at is nutrition. Make sure the snacks and food you buy have no grains, no corn syrup, and no chemicals. The sugar and chemicals can cause behavior problems that the dogs can't help. Just like kids ramped up on sugar.
We feed Natures Logic Raw. INGREDIENTS: Beef, Beef Heart, Beef Liver, Beef Kidney, Pumpkin Seed, Montmorillonite Clay, Cottage Cheese, Egg Shell Meal, Whole Eggs, Cod Liver Oil, Parsley, Blueberry Powder, Suncured Alfalfa Meal, Cranberry Powder, Almond Powder, Tomato Powder , Apricot Powder, Artichoke Powder, Avocado Powder, Spinach Powder, Apple Powder, Broccoli Powder, Carrot Powder, Pumpkin Powder, Kelp, Chicory Root, Rosemary
http://www.natureslogic.com/products/dp_rf_bee.html
A good example of a healthy treat is DogsWell VITALITY® Chicken Breast Jerky Treats. Ingredients: Chicken Breast, Vitamin E Supplement, Flaxseed, Vitamin A Acetate
Dogswell Vitality
Here is a link to their Mellow Mutt product.
Mellow Mutt
Ingredients Chicken Breast, Vitamin E Supplement, Chamomile, Clover, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Linden Flower, Oyster Shell Flour (Source of Calcium Carbonate)
Compare this to Pup-peroni Original Bacon Flavor
Ingredients: Beef, Meat by-products, Soy Grits, Sugar, Liver, Bacon, Salt, Propylene Glycol, Garlic Powder, Caramel Color, Natural Smoke Flavor, Potassium Sorbate (used as a preservative), Sodium Nitrite (for color retention), Red 40, BHA (used as a preservative), Onion Extract
You can do your own research on BHA and Propylene Glycol (used in antifreeze) but I think after you do you won't want to be feeding it to your dogs.
Here is a link to some recommended dog foods.
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/5-star/
And this video has some good info on picking a good dog food.
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/choosing-dog-food/karen-becker-choose-dog-food-1/
Most adopters want to feed Iams, Science Diet or some other low ranked food. And many insist on it for a few months. After they see the deterioration in behavior and health I've gotten a few to switch to better ones on the list. Within two weeks I usually get an e-mail raving about the changes in their dogs. They also note things like their other dog not itching anymore and how they never connected it to the food.
Cheers!
Michelle
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micd1111
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07/29/11 09:41am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Boarding & Kennel Cough
We take in fosters for a local rescue. They come straight from shelters. These poor dogs are very stressed out when we get them and I think part of it is they are only fed once per day. I would question the suitability of care at a facility that only fed once per day. Even if they allow you to pay extra they are still putting the dog's who's owners don't pay extra into distress by not feeding them. The lack of food is a physical stress then they compound the stress by adding the emotional stress of the unfed dogs seeing a few dogs get fed a second time but not them. Imagine how that makes the dogs feel who don't get fed. Have you ever fed one of your dogs and not the other? Again I would question the compassion of those who run such a facility.
One option, and this is what we do, is we have a dog sitter come to our house when we travel. She comes twice per day to open the dog door and feed them in the morning and to feed them then close the dog door at night. We encourage her to spend the night in inclement weather (we live in CO and she has taken us up on it in blizzards). We also encourage her to watch TV, do her laundry etc. Anything that gives the dogs a little extra companionship. By staying in our home the dogs have minimal stress while were gone. She is happy to give them walks and play with them.
Michelle
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micd1111
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07/29/11 09:02am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Fleetwood flair - I want larger mirrors
Those are the mirrors we have on our HR Michelle, I would prefer something taller then what we have.
You could get this one:
VMax
The VMax has a really big mirror.
Or if you wanted to add another convex on to the top of your 2025 or 2030 you could get this.
Convex hat
We had an older style mirror so the 2025 was an upgrade for us.
Michelle
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micd1111
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07/28/11 09:32am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Fleetwood flair - I want larger mirrors
Our '94 brave had the smaller mirrors that were typical of the time. When I test drove units I REALLY liked the larger mirrors on the newer units. We just replaced ours with the larger mirrors. The cost is about $250 but if it avoids an accident it is well worth it. I think you get an additional 10 sqr inches of mirror on the top mirror alone (I check the specs at the time but don't have them handy). Also the lower mirror now allows us to see our steps (are they in or out?) and alot more of the road. Here is a link to my blog post which covers the mirror change out. You do have to take off the old ones, clean the old rubber gasket that they set against which is now mushy and on the RV but Goo Be Gone does wonders with it. Then fill the old holes with silicon caulk, drill the new holes, put the gasket on (it has a self stick backing) and then mount the new mirrors.
New Velvac Mirrors
Good luck!
Michelle
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micd1111
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07/27/11 08:45am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Boarding & Kennel Cough
I use Homeopet Cough and Homeopet Nose to clear kennel cough quickly. You have to put the drops in their mouth on their gum and understand not to put too many drops, only the correct amount listed on the bottle for their weight (it's not like cough medicine). When we foster it clears a new dog up really quickly and if my dogs get it (we don't vaccinate) it usually clears them in a day also.
An alternative to boarding is to find a pet sitter on Craig's list in the area your visiting who takes dogs into their home and have them dog sit for a day. We've also had a college student dog sitter come sit in our RV when we needed to go to a family wedding in hot weather. They were instructed to call me and take the dogs out to sit in the shade if the power failed. It was pretty cheap. The guy only charged me $40 for two days (about 6 hours total) because he could sit and study. Sounds like you couldn't avoid the one boarding experience but being boarded is really stressful and lowers the dog's immune system, just like ours is lowered when we are under stress. If you do board make sure you personally inspect the areas where the dogs are being kept. I've seen some vet boarding facilities that I wouldn't leave a cold blooded snake in much less my dog.
Michelle
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micd1111
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07/26/11 10:47pm |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Glucosamine - How Many use it and see positive results
Different formulas seem to work for different dogs. Our current dog is on Joint Strong.
Joint Strong from Petco
It has worked miracles for his elbows when the vet thought he needed to have surgery on both. Previous senior dogs have also benefited from it. Well worth trying but if what you get doesn't work try Joint Strong. I think it has a very effective combination of ingredients.
Michelle
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micd1111
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07/26/11 10:29pm |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Tire replacement
We have 8R19.5 also. I replaced the tires last year with Hankook AH11s. I wanted an all season tire. If a highway tire was desired I would have gotten the Bridgestone R187 as I read good reviews of them. However I had read of one motorhome hydroplaning on them in heavy rain. I then focused only on all season tires.
I attempted to buy Bridgestone M724 as they are all season. We live in Colorado and go on alot of dirt roads into the national forest so getting out of mud is important to us. Unfortunately the Bridgestone M724s were not available locally until after our next big trip and I didn't want to wait for them. After some internet research I decided the Goodyear and Michelin RV tires seemed to have alot of problems so did not consider them. I have always had Michelin tires on my SUV so do not have anything against them but their SUV tire had great reviews and the RV ones not so much.
So far the Hankooks (made in South Korea) have been fine and I have not yet read a bad review of them.
First decide on highway or all season, depending on how you use your motorhome. Then pick a few models that you find acceptable. Look at manufacturer date (the more recent the better), availability and price. I think Costco is a good place to buy them as they said that I didn't have to accept them if they weren't an acceptable manufacturer date. However the warehouse in Denver also was willing to check the date on the tires so I bought them from a truck and RV shop that installed them. They did not change out the valve stem extenders which came off on our first trip which could have damaged the valve stem and caused a tire failure so do check that your shop puts on new ones and they are tightened down well.
Michelle
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micd1111
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07/25/11 08:37pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Bizarre Campground Behavior
It' is all about ME, I am more important then you are, you should let me do what I want as you are not as important as I AM. Have you ever noticed that when waiting for someone to back out of a parking spot, they have to call on teh cell phone, light a cig, buckle the seat belt, adjust the mirrors, talk to teh passagnaer and the whole time they know you are waiting to park. IT is the ME generation at it's very best.
Too funny. I for one really appreciate people who make their cell phone calls before they get on the road. I think everyone should buckle their seatbelt before moving their vehicle. I'm also very please by people making sure their mirrors are properly adjusted before backing up or driving (maybe one person drove there and the other is driving home). I don't smoke but it is probably safer to light up while parked than while driving.
Anyone who thinks people should not do these things is very much having a ME moment. Perhaps this post is in jest and I didn't get the sarcasm?
Personally if a spot is not vacant I can choose to wait for it to become so or I can drive on to find another spot. It is my choice and I take personal responsibility for it. I do not expect others to get out of my way just because I want the spot that they are occupying.
The original poster's situation is a bit different. The people occupying his reserved spot were being rude. If I was anxious that they move on I would have gotten out with my walky talky to give them the hint. If they still dawdled I would have explained that we were tired after a long drive, the dogs needed to get out and anxious to get set up. Some people are a little oblivious and need strong hints.
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micd1111
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07/25/11 08:14pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: New Velvac Mirrors
The ones we put on were just plain flat at the base. To make sure I got the right ones I e-mailed Velvac at their customer service address and gave them the make and model of our coach. Then I searched on the part number they suggested. So it is a good suggestion to contact them to make sure you get the right part.
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micd1111
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07/25/11 01:14pm |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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RE: New Velvac Mirrors
That is an excellent price. It is recommended that you mount the mirrors in a reinforced location so we wanted to put them where the old ones were. I e-mailed Velvac and got the part number from them. Don't know if the type your referring to (mounted on curved part of the front cap) would have worked for me because our RV likely isn't reinforced to hold the weight in that location. Is there a link so we can see what those mirrors look like and where they would mount?
We had the parts to put the turn signals on the mirrors. I got the LED lights from the local auto parts store and could have easily mounted them on the mirrors. The trouble I had was trying to find a way to run the wires down to the turn signal wires in the RV. All paths were well blocked in our Winnebago and I didn't want to start drilling through things.
Michelle
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micd1111
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07/25/11 11:37am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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New Velvac Mirrors
Recently there was an article in Motorhome magazine on upgrading your mirrors for those of us with the older style which has less visibility than ones on more modern coaches. It is in the Aug. 2011 magazine. I had remembered how much I liked the newer ones which are bigger when I was test driving coaches so decided to do ours. The cost for the pair of mirrors was $248.73 from Ryder Fleet Products. The list price is about $500 if you order them from Velvac directly. The part number for the plain manual mirrors is 713854. I thought about adding some turn signal lights to the mirrors but we could not figure out how to route the wires so ended up not doing it.
Here is a link to my blog with pics of the new mirrors.
Our new Velvac mirrors
http://1994brave29rqrv.blogspot.com/2011/07/our-new-velvac-mirrors.html
We really like them as they allow us to see much more than the old ones.
Michelle
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micd1111
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07/25/11 09:49am |
Do It Yourself Modifications and Upgrades (DIY)
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