RE: Do Prefer E-Books or Printed Books?
I've taken a liking to the Nook that my daughter gave me for my last birthday. I like reading old histories, mostly books published from 50 to 150 years ago. I have found a lot of these for no cost from B&N. The downside is that they are scans of paper books that have not been cleaned up, but I consider that a minor issue. Some older books are available in "clean" editions for a buck or two.
I like the fact that the Nook is back-lit, so ambient light is no longer an issue.
For me, this has become a frequent alternative to buying used (preferably, "like new") books from Amazon or Ebay. The only down side so far is that many of the books I'm looking to find are not available for Nook. But then they're sometimes hard to find in print.
My biggest concern is that the battery for the Nook cannot be changed, so far as I can tell.
Wayne
RE: My first blow out
I now believe the sun can deteriorate tires very quickly. This may have been a factor here.
Below are photos of my Goodyear Marathon (made in Canada) spare tire. For most of its life, it had a cover over it, although it was about 7 years old when this occurred. The seams for the cover had rotted between one and two years prior to this “blowout,” I failed to replace the cover, and the tire had been exposed facing southeast. The photos show the tire as it failed, and before I touched it. The tire was simply sitting in the sun, on the spare tire holder, parked in my yard, pumped up to about its usual 50 PSI, when this occurred.
I replaced all the TT tires. And I now have covers on all of them. ;)
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-28DzVyfIqGY/Tj_hL_rGe-I/AAAAAAAAE_M/yAlUyL2SrjM/IMG_0193.JPG
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eiVufP6CGKg/Tj_hMkbVfBI/AAAAAAAAE_Q/YMvwFT3K5wc/IMG_0194.JPG
Wayne
RE: Question for the body / paint pros
Chevy victory red has been around a long time, I have heard it is one of the easier ones to match. Now if you brought a 10 year old victory red truck, I doubt it would match that well from sun fading.
Summit White has been around a long time, too. Not sure exactly how long, but my 1998 GMC Sierra is also Summit White, code U8624.
I can fully appreciate the difficulty matching sun-faded paint, even white. But this is a 3-week-old truck. (And the topper wasn't even close in color.)
Oh, well. This geezer learned something.
Wayne
RE: Travel trailer broken into -- any suggestions?
Since you don't want to change CGs - why don't you take everything valuable out, put up signs to that effect, and leave the door unlocked? . . .
We have an aquaintance who was for many years Sheriff of a rural county in WV. He once confided that he and his wife never lock their house. He said if someone wants to steal stuff, they will just make a bigger mess if they find the place locked! :E
Wayne
RE: Do you leave both propane tanks on?
One tank open at a time. Refill as soon as a tank is empty and I switched to the other. I've never run out of gas.
I camped in a tent until about 8 years ago. Going out on a cold morning to switch tanks doesn't (yet) seem that much of a problem. :D
Wayne
RE: 100 plus
Generally, we don't camp in hot weather. We camp in spring and fall.
The only exceptions are: Once we camped at a site with full hookups near Niagara Falls in July. Sweltering outside, but cool in the air-conditioned camper in the evenings and at night. The campsite in that instance was little more than a place to sleep.
Another time we spent a week high atop the Allegheny Front (Red Creek CG at Dolly Sods) in WV in late June. Summer at that elevation is more like spring most other places. Quite pleasant.
Wayne
RE: Fee for PDI?
Wow!
I once walked away from a deal because the dealer wanted to add on a $50 doc fee. (Another dealer matched his price, and was willing to waive the doc fee. :) )
That said, all that really matters is the bottom line, total price out the door. I would let them know that I'm shopping around and that they are faced with beating their competitors' prices by more than their $1200 add-on. Their choice.
Wayne
RE: Filling the Fresh Tank
I have several of the blue 6-gallon water jugs from Walmart.
I took a piece of 2X4 about 4" long and drilled a hole thru the center of one side. I fastened it in the middle of a piece of 1/4" plywood about a foot square. When I need to fill the fresh tank, I insert an old mop handle into the hole in the 2X4 block and lean this support against the side of the TT near the filling port. Now I have a platform about 8” above my filling port.
I took a funnel and stuck a piece of 3/4" clear plastic tubing to the end for an extension. A short piece of hose would do as well. I put a little bail on the funnel to hold it under the spigot on the jugs.
When it’s time to fill, I haul jugs of water in the truck. I lift them to the plywood platform atop the mop handle. With the plastic tube in the fill port, I attach the bail on the funnel over the spigot, open the spigot, and wait for the water to drain. Repeat until the tank is full.
I’ve seen others rig up garbage cans on hand trucks or big Rubbermaid tubs on red wagons to haul water, then pump it with a submersible bilge pump. As long as I’m still able to lift 6-gallon water jugs up about 4-1/2 or 5 foot to sit them on my compact portable stand, I think my way is less trouble. YMMV
Wayne
RE: Question for the body / paint pros
Thanks for the responses.
I guess I'm kinda blown way that a white is so hard to match. In the future, I will really appreciate a good body man!
Actually, given what I'm told, by the dealer and here, I'm surprised that the factory would even paint the topper based on only the paint code, if the paint code is so meaningless. The white that was on the topper when they were installing really wasn't even that close.
I would expect a hard time matching some of the metallic colors, etc., but white? Wow!
Wayne
Question for the body / paint pros
I recently picked up my new tow vehicle, a 2011 GMC Sierra. I got the paint code from the dealer when it arrived, and I ordered a fiberglass topper for it. I went the other day to have the topper installed.
After they set the topper on the bed, I noticed the color wasn’t right. After closer examination, I noticed the label on the topper said, “Olympic White,” with paint code B8550. My truck is “Summit White,” paint code U8624. Checking the paperwork, the dealer had ordered the right color and paint code – the topper factory had made the substitution. The dealer told me that B8550 was probably the code for the DuPont paint that should match the original U8624. (Four people at the dealer all agreed that the color did not match. The topper is clearly a whiter white.)
After contacting the factory, the dealer called me back. They wanted me to come back in to look at paint samples and pick one that matches. My thought was that paint that meets the code that General Motors used should be fine, and I am not surprised that a paint with a different color name and code does not match. The dealer now says there are seven (!) different Summit Whites with paint code U8624. In place of my picking a color from a sample, they want to take off the cover for my gas cap and send that back to the factory so that the factory can match that color.
I don’t trust myself to pick a color based on a questionable paint sample. I hesitate to let them send my gas cap cover to a factory to match the color. It seems to me that the color code should be the definitive way to match the paint color.
Is it really so hard to match Summit White, paint code U8624?
If they didn’t already have a healthy deposit for the topper, I would probably cancel and order from somewhere else. Something seems fishy to me.
Wayne
RE: Looking for small camper with full bathroom
Ours pretty well fits your requirements. Walk-around queen bed, full bath, good storage inside and outside. We've had four inside ours for dinner & drinks with no problems, but you've got to understand that space is one thing you give up in a small unit. You're not going to find sofas and recliners in a 20' TT.
Fleetwood no longer makes TT's. I'm not sure the last year that our model was made.
Wayne
RE: Sagging Water Tank Repair Pics...Hopefully!
Good looking job!
Years ago, I solved our sagging fresh water tank with some pressure-treated 2 X 2's and 1/4-inch plywood strung between frame cross-members under the tank.
Wayne
RE: Has anyone used a BatteryMINDer on their TT Battery?
The BatteryMINDer you cite is the one I use. It outputs a constant 13.2 VDC in float mode. It never gives the battery a chance to discharge, however slightly. The voltage/amperage is not high enough to boil off any electrolyte.
I used one of the Schumachers years ago. Its voltage was high enough to boil off some electrolyte. It was set up to charge, then cut out until the battery voltage dropped enough to trigger it to come on again. The result is a great number of charge -- discharge cycles, which do give some wear-and-tear on the battery. I'm not sure that the Schumacher that you cite works the same, but at that price I would make a friendly wager that it does.
I trust the BatteryMINDer. I have three of them. I use them for batteries in the TT, the S2000, and the lawn tractor when stored.
Wayne
RE: Battery Box Strap Sun Rot
I've been using a set of cheap nylon straps with metal buckles for about 6 or 7 years. Source was Big Lots, IIRC. Secret to longevity: I put them inside the TT when not camping and put a couple of bricks on the lid to the big box that holds the two T-105's.
Wayne
RE: Has anyone used a BatteryMINDer on their TT Battery?
I'm a big believer in BatteryMINDer. I've used one on the T-105's in the TT whenever we're not camping and have gotten great service. A few years ago, I bought two more for a sports car I store in winter and a lawn tractor.
Wayne
RE: Dometic fridge defrost switch
Your local tech is correct. It will drain a battery in no time, even when the fridge is "off." I never turn that switch on – runs the risk of a big electric bill. DAMHIKT ;)
Actually, it is not a "defrost" feature. It is a resistance heater that runs around the doors of the fridge to keep condensation from forming on the cold surface. Like any resistance heater, it draws a LOT of power. I believe the user manual says to use it only when running on shore power, 120 VAC.
But for the fact that this was engineered by idiots, it would work only when the fridge was running on shore power. They could have at least made it 1) obvious and 2) easy to find. Instead, it is not labeled and it is hidden in the door jamb rather than on the outside panel with the rest of the switches. It is pretty obscure in the user manual, too.
Wayne
