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RE: from Truck Camper to Class C
We have a rear camera with mic which means I can see the whole boat behind MH plus see/hear DW as she guides me back on ramp or hitching up trailer.That is a very good idea. I bought one, but its been too darn hot to put it in yet!
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Ponderosa
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10/20/11 12:05pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: from Truck Camper to Class C
I don't tow a boat but I have a front hitch on my RV for maneuvering my trailer. Makes life very easy.
A previous owner installed the one on mine. I love it. I would worry about the "tail" of the class C. Depending on length it may extend a LONG way past the rear axle. Depending on the steepness of the launch ramp this may cause problems backing in (if you don't do the front receiver thing). I don't want to submerge the rear of the C at all. (The photo above has it about right IMHO.) I can think of three things that will help with this issue:
1) A shorter rig
2) The longest trailer tongue you can find.
3) Rollers on the trailer. I have never floated a boat on or off a trailer. I get the trailer close then use the rollers and winch to launch or retrieve. I try not to submerge the electrics or wheel hubs but that depends on the ramp.Of course this only works with smaller boats. My 20' fiberglass cuddy was pushing it with a tipping style trailer.I noticed while shopping for mine that the length did not translate to a longer overhang by much. Shorter Cs had shorter wheelbases and the wheelbases increased with increasing length leaving the overhang roughly the same. What did matter is some of them have no rake at the end so the long tail is only a couple of inches from the ground. The other thing that makes length harder to handle is that to clear an object for a turn requires that you go further past it to clear the longer wheelbase. I notice this most in gas stations. Sometimes there is barely enough room to get out.
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Ponderosa
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10/20/11 12:04pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: from Truck Camper to Class C
I took the plunge from a TC to a Class C earlier this year. I have a pontoon as well. Pulling it is no problem at all. I always feel like it is going to fall over on the ramp, but then I did with my TC as well. Backing down the ramp with the boat is easy because I can see it in the mirrors.
We also have an aluminum fishing boat and that is a bear with the C as I can't see it. It gets crooked on the ramp before it shows in the mirrors making for some real cussing, if you know what I mean.
The other thing is that it is a PITA if you go somewhere where you can't dock or beach the boat and have to go fetch it. You have to break camp, go get the boat, back into the campsite, unhook etc. It was a lot easier with the TC off the truck.
The TC just got too tight with my kids getting big/wanting to bring friends. When it's Ma and me again, it's back to the TC = the most versatile RV there is.
Other C negatives vs TC: It sucks gas. I get about 50% fewer mpg that my Dodge diesel with TC.
Pluses: The getting there is much improved. Drive, stop, get something to eat, watch TV, all without opening a door! Also, don't have to load the thing in the bed, and it hold a whole lot more stuff.
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Ponderosa
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10/20/11 09:32am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Length Limits
You can make a right turn on a residential street and stay in the lane with my 28 so I can't imagine that maneuvering in a CG would be a huge problem A 27 or so footer c has a 190 or so wheelbase which ain't much more than a crew pickup truck. The swing out in the rear is something to watch though. That is the worst part of the C configuration for getting around. It is all too easy to whack a tree or a gas pump!
BTW, I have lived and traveled in AZ for decades and have yet to see a road marked so that you could not drive a 28 foot (or any size) RV on it. I have seen campgrounds that recommend certain sizes but never have been measured or even asked. Usually they are referring to the length of a trailer that will fit and a 27 C will go in a "25" foot spot with ease. I don't doubt there are some tight spots where you'd have to be careful. But, if you go to CGs around the west, you see monster fifth wheels shoe horned into the tiniest spots! If they can do it, so can you.
Another thing to keep in mind is that in the west you do not need to go to crowded campgrounds. Dispersed camping is allowed on almost all public land in AZ and western states. So you can camp anywhere you feel like subject to a few restrictions (like not next to a stock water tank, etc). There are some definite advantages to shorter Cs if this is your mode of camping. I have found 28 to be the upper limit for getting much off the pavement. 24 would be better and a truck camper would be best. Then again, I can't tell you how many times I have banged down a dirt road in 4wd only to find a Class A or a huge fifth wheel at the end of it.
Since you are not familiar with the dispersed sites, you should bring a toad behind you. You park just off the pavement, and then drive your toad down the forest road checking for spots you can get to (look up, too) and out of. If you find one, you drive the C to it and set up. That's how you camp out this way!
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Ponderosa
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10/20/11 08:36am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Length Limits
I came from a truck camper and I was really concerned about the length of a C. I have found ours at 28 feet is not a issue anywhere except parking. We don't stay in campgrounds in AZ preferring the dispersed sites. In other areas, I have yet to find anything where 28 is too long. Getting off the pavement may be different. I am afraid to take my C on gravel or dirt roads (I think the tires are going to be punctured) though the length would probably be OK. 24 would be a lot better for that, I suppose, but under 28-ish we found you begin to sacrifice comfort, sleeping arrangements and so on too much for our tastes.
One thing I would advise is to get one where the back is tapered up rather than straight out behind the wheels. I had a Class C 31 years ago with the straight tail and it banged and dragged on the slightest dip.
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Ponderosa
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10/19/11 09:02pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: electrical
I'm with the vibration crowd. Actually, I question the repair shop's opinion on the cause of failure. I don't see how an ungrounded circuit could cause the board to fail. It's DC. There is a circuit or there is not. Taking the ground off is like unplugging it electrically. It had to be grounded in the first place or it would never have worked at all. Maybe if the contact were intermittent = the board kept cycling on/off with a loose connection, it could fail the board. But in that case the cause was more likely age and vibration than anything the manufacturer did.
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Ponderosa
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10/19/11 08:33am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Eternabond Tape
OK, couple questions:
1. I have 4 inch tape. Is this the right size?
2. When you put it on, you "glue" it to the rubber side of the seam. Do you then lap it over the metal part of the seam and on to the filon. Does that look ok?
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Ponderosa
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10/16/11 03:48pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Generator question
"Can someone explain to me why the generator should be running under a load? I understand why it should run at least once a month (I just replaced a carb. and don't want to do that again)."
Because it is both a motor and a generator. The generators in RVs use carbon slip rings and brushes to transfer current from the stationary to rotating parts of the generator. These tend to get gunked up under light load operation and can get so bad (insulate) that the generator will not work. They also collect dust and such sitting around or driving down the road. To keep them clean, you really need to run better than 50% load for a few hours at a time. More is better, but even frequent use at high loads for a half hour or so is better than nothing.
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Ponderosa
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10/15/11 09:44am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Generator question
Yes, you want to put a load on it and having it hooked up is basically just idling it. Some, like mine, require you to plug the shore cord into a receptacle to provide power from the generator, while with others that have a transfer switch, all you need to do is unplug it from the shore power source. In either case, load it a bit by running the ac or an electric heater.
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Ponderosa
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10/14/11 07:57pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: who's camping this weekend and where?
Southeastern Utah National Park loop and Lake Powell - weekend plus some.
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Ponderosa
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10/08/11 10:52am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Need tires again, Michellins cracking
If you don't want to see weather cracking, don't buy Michelins. Michelin uses natural rubber for the covering on the sidewalls. They have their reasons, but it develops cosmetic cracks faster than petroleum-base synthetics.
Other manufacturers my use synthetics for the sidewall covering. Not sure who, because my Goodyear, Cooper, and Firestone tires have also developed cracks.Embedded in your post is an important point: the cracking is cosmetic. It is not a safety issue. Ignore them unless they get bigger that 1/32 of an inch. If they look like the Michelins on my old truck they never will. I drove for thousands of miles with the checked tires and I will continue driving my MH with them when the Micnelins on there check unless the cracks are more than surface checking.
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Ponderosa
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10/04/11 07:46am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Chrome to surpass Firefox market share by December
I just switched to Chrome. Firefox had been my browser but it constantly hangs and I am sick of that. It's been unreliable ever since mid V3. IE 9 still lacks features like a spell checker and individually scaled pages, but it is reliable. Hopefully Chrome will prove to be a good alternative. So far, so good, but I am still getting used to the spartan interface.
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Ponderosa
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10/03/11 12:04pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Does DirecTV HD receiver work with round SD dish?
Yep. We always take our HD receiver. It's a newer model than the SD and is smaller and lighter. One thing, though, is that it will give you a "searching for signal" if you land on a HD channel.
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Ponderosa
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09/22/11 05:31pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: 24' E450 Class C and 2000 Honda Odyssey?
How do you think the RV would do with this toad in the mountains, such as going to and from Yellowstone?I pull my Nissan which weighs about the same and my MH is heavier. I can easily maintain 45 up any grade in the west that I encountered. Probably I could go faster but it sounds like the engine is going to explode from the high RPM. The main problem is that you have enough ooomph to go faster than the trucks but not enough to pass them quickly. So sometimes you get stuck behind one.
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Ponderosa
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09/20/11 08:31am |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Best time of year Traveling to 4 (Four Corners)
The best time is when you can fit it in. We went in March and had a great time. Hadn't been there in several years. They have a fancy new (to us) monument now. Is it the Grand Canyon? No, but if you have fun there and lay down on the monument, goof off a little, buy a t-shirt etc it is memorable. And you can take your dog in. Where else can your dog be in four states and two Indian nations at the same time?
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Ponderosa
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09/15/11 09:05am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Towing a small 4X4 PU crew cab pu
My current toad is the Jeep Wrangler with a Blue Ox Aventa tow bar and Ready Brake system. I thought any 4X4 vehicle with a transfer case could be towed 4 down with an automatic. I have towed a Geo Tracker and now the Jeep, both with automatics. If the Tacomas can't be then I'll have to stick with a Nissan 4X4.
What do they charge to install the tow bracket? I have installed the brackets on my last 3 tow vehicles but these newer PUs sound a little more involved than I want to get with removing so much trim.
I currently own a 2006 Chev Colorado I-5 engine, can't even imagine what it would do with a V-8 under the hood. Thought they only were available now with a V-6. I'm too ticked off at GM for now to consider buying another GM product. After driving GM vehicles for 35 years I got tired of their sorry quality and purchased a new Honda Accord in 1991, which has never been in a repair shop to this date. In 2008 I purchased a used 2006 Colorado PU and 3 months later got a notice from GM saying I may have engine valve trouble in the future which they will fix if it does happen before 2013 (as everyone knows things always fail just after any warranty expires). A year later I got another notice saying I may have stop light trouble. Hope to be rid of this Chev before 2013 arrives. Guess GM's quality control hasn't improved any at all over the last 55 years.
Wagonmaster2Nissan 4x4 automatic CAN NOT be towed four down. Only the manual. Very clear in the owners manual that you can only do this with a stick.
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Ponderosa
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09/03/11 10:23pm |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Towing a small 4X4 PU crew cab pu
I tow a 4x4 King Cab. The only issue is the weight and it is not really an issue, but it is kinda high. Mine is 4300 lbs and the crew runs about 100 higher, I think. I have a Blue Ox baseplate, and tow bar and use a Ready Brake too. I did the baseplate install myself and it is a bit more work than others I have done in that you have to take a lot of trim stuff off the front to get to the mounting points. Nothing that difficult for the average auto DIYer.
Be aware that you must have a manual transmission to tow four down and they can be very hard to find used. All that is needed is to hook up, put it in neutral and go.
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Ponderosa
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09/03/11 08:01am |
Dinghy Towing
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RE: Thinking of selling C and buying 5th wheel..good idea????
I recently moved from the fifth to a C. I hated pulling the fifth wheel as it is always THERE. You have to think about getting gas, getting into a campground and out, taking a wrong turn down a dead end, parking at a shopping stop. I rented a C on a vacation and was just taken by the ease of use. So I got rid of the fifth.
Now, if I were the type who went to one place and stayed for a week or so, I might be willing to put up with the towing hassles for the extra space and layout advantages of a 5er. But most of our camping is more about the going and coming than the stay and a C is just better for that.
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Ponderosa
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08/30/11 09:07am |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Using TV coax for FM radio
You might want to double check, but many antennas have an fm trap to filter out radio signals. If you have an amplified antenna it probably does.Good suggestion. I looked up some info on Winegard and they do have an FM trap when amplified. Also, their literature says the Sensar batwing is a poor FM antenna because its elements are not long enough to receive FM signals well. So, I guess I will give up on the idea and now try to mount my antenna on the roof as best I can.
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Ponderosa
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08/21/11 09:44am |
Technology Corner
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RE: Using TV coax for FM radio
Just cut the two pieces and solder center to center & shield to shield. Even if you get them reversed, it doesn't matter. Long wires will do too.
The FM radio frequencies are between the old analog TV channels 4 and 5.
Signal reception at those frequencies is VERY forgiving.
Don't worry about impedance matching - It's AM & FM RADIO. It's not like it's analog or digital video or microwave.....It's actually between 6 & 7, but who's counting..
In addition to the impedance mismatch, which you're correct on FM, probably won't notice it, I have never been successful at inserting anything in a 90ohm line and not affecting the AM receiver's sensitivity. On top of that the AM radio will cease to function if the OP is plugging it into a Batwing that starts working at 54MHz.Well, I have not listened to AM in years I don't think so that would not bother me probably. I do have a radio antenna with a spring and ball swive lmount which I could roof mount. But,I am reluctant to do that because I don't know if the RV roof is of sufficient strength that it will hold the base screws without the thing ripping out in the wind.
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Ponderosa
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08/20/11 08:14pm |
Technology Corner
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