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Forum
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RE: RV Service Tech
I am sure I wouldn't hire a recent graduate from a tech school who was freelancing. Those independent guys usually have many years experience at dealerships or factory repair centers. As for working seasonally at dealerships, that sounds a lot like a job. 40 hours a week at their schedule. Would be fine if you want to go back to the same place every year, but to move about the country, I would think you would tire very easily of always being the low man on the totem pole and getting the worst tasks at the dealership as all the noobies do. Just as you would be getting comfortable with the company you will be quitting and moving to a new location. Just not for me.
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bigdogger
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05/21/12 12:00pm |
Workamping Forum
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RE: Yellowstone in September
Contrary to what I usually believe, this might be a good year to wait a little while before committing to an RV Park for the September time frame. Moisture in the park is a bit low, and the long range forecast (that is french for wild arse guess) calls for warmer and drier than average, so there is a chance of some pretty good forest fires. It won't effect much of Yellowstone, the park is too big, but you would want to make your basecamp far from the fires to avoid the smoke. We like the north Entrance, best for animal watching and fishing, but not so good for the geyser basins, for that West Yellowstone is the closest. I am not a fan of Fishing Bridge as a basecamp, even though it is in the park. Too cramped, no wifi or Cable TV and no restaurants or easy access to staples like groceries, etc. It is no closer to the Geyser Basins, the Lamar Valley or many other attractions than anywhere else, and once Dunraven Pass closes (generally by mid September) going north is a big trip. September is a great time, have a great trip.
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bigdogger
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05/21/12 11:31am |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Beware in keys
My only question is who do you think would have won the auction for the rig on "Storage Wars"?
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bigdogger
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05/21/12 08:50am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Yellowstone Park Visit
Again thanks for the great suggestions. We are not able to do dry camping as we have a fifth wheel with out a generator.
Even though you do not have a generator, By using your battery only, you should be able to get about two days of camping. Run your fridge on propane, cook everything outside, or on your gas range. Run water pump only when necessary.
OH, and park next to a camper with a generator, Just in case, and piece of mind. You can always jump your trailers battery with your truck batteries, if needed.
Try Dry Camping, it might be just fun, and prepare you for that what if situation.A once in a lifetime trip is not the time to experiment with dry camping. Go with what you know. Just my free opinion, and well worth the price.
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bigdogger
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05/16/12 07:49pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Best route Bryce Canyon to Fishing Bridge Yellowstone
Bryce is west of Yellowstone, why would you even consider using the East Entrance at Cody? The easy routes are I-15 to US 20 to west entrance (West Yellowstone) to Fishing Bridge, or I-15 to I-90 to either US-191 to West Yellowstone or US-89 to the North Entrance (Gardiner, MT) The latter is the longest route (though still shorter than going to Cody, Wy) but has the most interstate travel and the easiest Grade to Yellowstone (though you will have a climb from Gardiner to Fishing Bridge). Coming into Yellowstone from the South/Jackson Wy is very scenic and very much not interstate easy. Driving the white knuckle roads with large RVs, whether scenic or not, is usually not very pleasurable for anyone in the rig, the driver or the passengers.
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bigdogger
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05/16/12 07:28pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Newbies headed to Yellowstone
Oh my. Well thank you all for the sound advice. Maybe we are biting off more than we can chew for one trip. I wonder if we should stop at YP on our way back home. That way we could know a bit more about our travel times and can more accurately predict dates for the park.
Unfortunately we have 2 SUVs and I don't think we could tow either one. Rental cars are a good option, but we may be gambling with that too.
I know this is a bit of a loaded question, but if you needed to buy a small toad, what would you get? I see a lot of Honda CRVs here in the Austin area.
We are aiming for the June 1 departure but are totally fleible.
Thanks again. Gee I feel like such a newbie!,
LeslieThe cheap route would be an older Jeep Cherokee 4x4 or a Saturn. Honda CRVs are great, but a little pricy. I prefer a 4x4 so I can take it into rough country, (though you can do that with a rental as well. As the saying goes, the difference between a rental car and a 4 wheel drive is the rental car CAN go anywhere). If you have two SUVs, it is likely one is towable or maybe you should trade one for a towable SUV. I personally would never venture out with my rig without a towed.
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bigdogger
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05/16/12 07:19pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Traveling w/ a pet, check this out
I have yet to read where a Brittany (like outs) or even a Lab or Poodle or Beagle or....mauled anyone.Here you go....
Lab kills baby
Beagle attacks pit bull and owner
Feral Beagle Pack
poodle attacks 7 year old
Shih Tzu attacks Home Depot employee
Golden Retriever attacks child
Golden Retriever mauls 4 adults
Border Collie mauls baby
Shih Tzu/Maltese attacks child
Jack Russell terrier attacks infant
1. Dogs of any breed can and to attack/maul
2. Bigger dogs often do more damage
3. Breeding (stability of temperament), training/socialization, dog management, and altered vs intact impact the likelihood of aggression
4. The more popular the breed/type (greater numbers), the more likely the breed will be involved in attacks
5. owners/breeders prone to inappropriate skills in #3 seem to be drawn to certain breeds/typesYou know fully well statistics show that overwelmingly serious injury and fatal animal attacks can be attributed to a very small number of breeds. Pit Bulls by far, lead the way, followed by Rottwielers, german shepherds, chows, and dobermans. There are other very dangerous breeds, but they have statistically insignificant impacts due to the fact there are very few of those dogs in the animal population. You can use antedotal evidence to show that almost anything can be deadly. People have been been killed by paper cuts that get infected, but to say that handling paper is as dangerous are being a front line soldier in a war would, of course, be incorrect. Certain dogs are much more dangerous than the general dog population. It is due to their dispositions, their breeding, their training, and their sheer power and size. Like it or not, the pit bull is more dangerous than a teacup poodle.
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bigdogger
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05/16/12 08:37am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Traveling w/ a pet, check this out
Several years ago we had a Rottwiler and she was a big loveable baby. Loved everyone. My neighbor said he was always afraid of dogs because you never know when they will attack. I kissed it off at the time. A year later I had my Rottwiler on a leash and his son, about 7 or 8 years old, just reached out to pet her. Fortunately she was on a tight leash. I never saw such a violent reaction in that dog. Totally unsuspected. She had never done that before.
I love dogs buts no matter how loyal and trained I keep them on a leash and under control in public.
I was in Big Bear in CA camping and a German Shepherd attacked me and my dog that was on a leash. I kicked the dog which gave me time to draw my weapon. The owner actually thought it was funny until he saw my weapon come out. Fortunately the dog backed off. So the ranger comes over and said a camper reported that you have a weapon and was going to shoot his dog. I said yep, almost did. I I.D'd myself and told him about the attack. I told the ranger to tell the guy I'm bringing charges against him and see if he still wants to complain. Bottom line some of these owners should not have dogs. That owner packed up and left the camp ground within the hour.
I not only would have sued the policeman that owned the Pittbull I would have filed a formal complaint with his department.Sue away. The problem will be pets are considered property and the only compensation that can legally be awarded will be the value of the pet. In most cases (unless it can be shown it was a valuable stud, show animal, service animal etc) less than $1000.00 Not much compensation for the loss of a companion. Absurd as it sounds, I am not really sure it should be changed to allow for additonal compensation. If they did allow for something similar to "pain and suffering" or "loss of companionship" it wouldn't be long before lawsuits looking for thousands of dollars charging the housekeeper with killing the family's guppy by being careless with the Lemon Pledge. Higher compensation I fear would just be wading deep into the laws of unintended consequences.
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bigdogger
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05/16/12 08:26am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Newbies headed to Yellowstone
We didn't have res. and found space at fishing bridge cg. We had a fifth wheel and used the truck to tour each day. Touring with a MH will be nearly impossible due to the roads and crowds. Use park trans.The park has no transportation system other than tours run by concessionaires. Gambling on a site without reservations with a 35 motorhome is just that, gambling. If you know when you are going to be there, I can't think of a reason not to make a reservation.
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bigdogger
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05/15/12 05:18pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Yellowstone Park Visit
Why not try to stay in the park and save all that driving time. Fishing Bridge has full hookups and other campgrounds, also in the park, are for dry camping. Stay four or five days then move to a campground in Grand Tetons National Park. Have a great trip.Many people stay outside the park at either the North or West entrances for a variety of good reasons. Full hookups with cable tv and wifi for one. Can't get that even at Fishing Bridge. The North Entrance is much closer than Fishing Bridge to Mammoth Hot Springs, Tower Falls, the Lamar valley for animal viewing, and the Beartooth Highway for the best scenic drive anywhere. West Yellowstone puts you much closer to Old Faithful and the Geyser Basins than Fishing Bridge. Both West and North have restaurants, shopping, groceries and fuel at much lower prices than inside the park. The North Entrance is the closest entrance to an Interstate and the grade from the interstate to the entrance is the most mild of all approaches. Lots of people wish to avoid driving the park roads with their rigs. The park is huge and spread out, staying inside only gets you closer to one spot and further away from others. The OPs plan of a systematic relocation from one end to the other makes a lot of sense, much more than thinking you can be centrally located, which in reality, just makes you further away from most things.
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bigdogger
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05/15/12 12:31pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Class A motor home vs. car for trip out west
The Honda will be cheaper. A little cramped at night sleeping, but doable. In the summer, the streams will be warm enough for a quick dip, eliminating the need for showers etc. They make little soup warmers that plug into the power outlets in the car, and you can have Ramon noodles morning noon and night, probably can figure on $1.00 a day for food. Figure 5000 miles at 30 MPG, 166 gallons. Even with $4.00 gas, your entire trip will only cost about $700.00 Enjoy..
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bigdogger
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05/04/12 01:29pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: yellow stone
Easiest entrance to Yellowstone from the east is I-90 to Livingston, Montana and down to Gardiner/north entrance. No climbs of any significance on the interstate and US 89 from Livingston to the North Entrance feels almost flat. If you want full hookups and want to stay near the Park, only the North Entrance and the West entrance really work. The south, east and Northeast gates do not have full hookup parks anywhere near the Grand Loop, with is the road you will mostly travel within Yellowstone. For the North entrance, there are two RV parks in Gardiner, Yellowstone RV Park and Rocky Mountain RV Park. We love Rocky Mountain, brand new restrooms, fantastic views, 50 amp full hookups including Wifi and cable. Pricy and the sites are adequate, but no one would consider them huge. Yellowstone RV park is a little out of town, does not have 50 amp and is mostly filled with Yellowstone Workers, but not bad. Yellowstone Edge RV Park is very nice, on the banks of the Yellowstone River, but is 35 miles one way to the north entrance and is not close to anything. They also do not have cable TV. I would highly recommend them for a fishing location, or a place to spend a month or more, but as a base camp for Yellowstone, 70 additional miles a day gets to be pricy and inconvenient. Gardiner has shops and restaurants, but is less commercial and developed than West Yellowstone. West Yellowstone is the place to be with kids if they need additional entertainment, McDonalds etc. In West Yellowstone, the usual suspects Grizzly and the KOA reign supreme. In the park, the only hookup option is Fishing Bridge. No Cable and No wifi, however. It is also further away from Old Faithful than West Yellowstone, and Further from the Lamar Valley (best animal area) than Gardiner. No place is close to everything, so plan on lots of windshield time.
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bigdogger
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05/04/12 01:18pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Outrageous Postage for Alaskans
I tried to order 2 Ultra Deluxe Chocks from the Camping World web page which offered free shipping to GoodSam members. After entering my Life Member number it said I got free shipping, but when I went to check out they charged me $51.00 in shipping. I cancled the order and called Camping World today 5/1/12 and Stephanie checked and stated the Alaska did not qualify for free shipping. Althought she reduced the price on the chocks 10% I still had to pay $51 for shipping to Alaska. That is outrageous, it doesn't cost that much to ship to Alaska I stopped doing business with several companies that over charged Alaskans for shipping iin the past and I guess I will have to add Camping World to the list of business' that cheat us because we choose to live here!Bet you don't gripe when you get your royalty check from the state for the oil that is shipped to the lower 48 that the rest of us have to pay for. Bet you don't gripe that your seafood prices are lower because there is no shipping to cover. When I visited Alaska, I noticed many items are much more expensive than in Texas. Was frequently told it was because of the costs of getting goods to Alaska. If it is so cheap to move things to and from Alaska but the charges are high because the shipping companies are "Cheating" you, go into the shipping business, offer lower rates than the cheats and get rich.
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bigdogger
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05/01/12 03:48pm |
Camping World Service and Installation
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RE: how can your rv be to use in a rv camp site
What happened to your new trailer MsCrafti?!?
I wonder about that too. See her first post here!
MsCraft T seems to be pretty crafty.Give her a break, a lot can change in 4 days. :D
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bigdogger
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04/22/12 12:31pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Where to haul the dog??
Let's see, you are going to put your pitbull in a crate and put that crate in the bed of a pickup or in a closed up fifth wheel and then drive across the desert. There is no way water would stay in any bowl or bucket with the tossing and bouncing the pickup or trailer will encounter. The forcast for Las Vegas is highs of 99 degrees for the next two days. If the dog is alive when you let it out of that oven, I suspect it will not be happy. Is it any wonder some pitbulls are vicious?
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bigdogger
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04/22/12 12:17pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: Lowest financing rates
If you wait long enough, someone will post that the bank was paying them to take the money. Anything around 5% is low, especially for a depreciating, mobile anything. Anything substantially less is hokum, usually a buy down rate where you have paid more for the rig to get the lower rate.
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bigdogger
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04/21/12 11:27am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Trip costs
There is always a way to travel cheaper or more expensively than what you are planning. Sleeping in the back seat of your Gremlin would be cheaper than the cheapest Motel 6. For the adventurous, you could try hopping a freight train. If I was planning on traveling first class to Hawaii and staying at the 4 Seasons, I could spend a lot more by just wheeling out the G-5, ordering up a few pounds of Beluga Caviar and renting an oceanfront villa. RV travel is a lifestyle choice, much more than a budgetary choice for most of us.
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bigdogger
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04/21/12 10:22am |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: Denied entrance in OC MD, Their Park Their Rules Their Loss
However they cannot claim he is vicious or a barker if they never even saw him?
There's the gotcha. They make judgements based on breeds alone, which is a bone of contention with many. I have two English springer spaniels, one of which is very verbal when he plays. Sounds like he'll take your arm off but wouldn't hurt a flea.
I'll simply stick with my belief that not listing Doberman's initially was an over sight.
Probably but I like to play Devil's Advocate. Even though we don't travel with our dogs as much as some, we still will avoid campgrounds that ban dogs based on breed or even size when at all possible.Personally, I try to avoid all places that won't let me in anyway. Therefore, I don't arrive at the gate of a park with my 100 lb dog if they have a rule about not accepting dogs over 40 lbs. I also don't show up at the pro shop of Augusta National with my clubs looking for a tee time or at the front gate of Fort Knox with gold prospecting equipment. Life is too full of great places to go and life is too short to worry about those places you can't.
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bigdogger
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04/20/12 08:15pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Sales lady was "too busy" to do her job!
Somehow, I doubt the saleslady exactly said "I am to busy to wait on you." Perhaps her call was with another customer and if she just brushed it off we would be hearing about how the Saleslady at Draper CW was rude to me on the phone when I was trying to finalize a deal." I have been to many dealerships over the years and if you are out on the lot, going in and out of rigs, it is very likely you were just not seen. The dealership personnel do not have x-ray vision and cannot see through rows and inside rigs. Don't know where the lunch comments came into this story, but even salespeople do have the right to eat an uninterrupted meal. Also, many times the knee jerk reaction to a salesman is "I'm just looking." They can do two things, ignore your request and keep talking and pestering you, or they can give you space and let you look. Either action will bring bad feeling from about 50% of the people. They will either feel bothered or ignored, but the salesman has no idea, so they take their best guess. In my opinion, if you want more information, want help or want to buy something, ask. If that doesn't work, ask again. If I want something I am not going to let precieved poor customer service stand in my way.
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bigdogger
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04/10/12 08:45am |
Camping World RV Sales
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RE: Any Yellowstone campgrounds that AREN'T parking lots?
You are going way to far and will be extremely disappointed if the success or failure of your Yellowstone trip will be in any way influenced by how large and how green your RV site is. We stay in Gardiner, Montana at a wonderful park, and there are small plots of grass, but the entire area is high mountain desert country, grass is a luxury and a fragile one at that. When we return for the fall, the grass in the sites have been pretty much trampled to death, even though they water extensively. Every year for the past 7 years we have been there, the owner brings in a truckload of sod to redo some of the sites. The soil is just pretty much granite sand and rock, not very good for growing sod. Sites at all the parks around Yellowstone are small compared to many places. There is just no private land available, and what can be bought is astronomically priced. Hence, everybody makes use of every square inch, and RV parks are no exception.
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bigdogger
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04/08/12 10:18am |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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