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Forum
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RE: Propane Refills
I pay by the gallon. I rarely have a completely empty tank to fill. The company that fills my 20# tanks will weigh them and fill them by the metered gallon. More than once I have had 3 tanks filled and they have all been on the same ticket (NM law prohibit transporting more than 3 LP tanks in a passenger vehicle at one time).
My choice of where to fill is dictated by the fact that I know the steps taken to correctly fill a tank. I've walked away from a fill station, with my empty tank, when a step is skipped.
I carry two 20# tank on the truck camper that I refill. One is "mine" (painted light turquoise) and the other is painted white. The white one is my "swap" tank. I always carry a tank dedicated for swapping. As that tank nears it's exp date, I replace it. I do not replace my other tanks. I take very good care of my tanks. They are rust free, dent free and clean. I repaint them every few years as they get skint up from use. When I refill, the tanks are inspected, particularly the foot ring, before refilling.
The people who fill my little tanks work for and are trained by the same company who fills my big horizontal tank.
You have to be careful when swapping tanks. More than once I have gotten an out of date/recertified tank. My last 4 tanks, I ended up buying new. It was just easier to do it that way. It has gotten hard to get a newish tank from the swaps in my area. I have rejected several "swaps" due to condition too.
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LMHS
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09/16/23 04:54pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: TN 60 from Cleveland to SR 30 to Fall Creek Falls State Park
You may be more comfortable running 60 over to Dayton and down US27 to Corridor J/111 across the mountain to Dunlap and straight on up to Fall Creek Falls.
I used to run Corridor J in order to get into Hixon and then back home. Much faster than I24 and a fairly decent road.
For roads I'm unfamiliar with, I like to open up Google maps and drop the little "dude" onto the road and "drive" it to get a better look at the roads and intersections.
If you are accustomed to driving the roads around Ellijay, then you should have no problem with Corridor J/111. It's like US 76 west of Ellijay
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LMHS
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09/13/23 09:19am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Ghost Towns
Might want to check out onlyinyourstate.com and atlasobscura.com
I do suggest that you be careful visiting some of the places on atlasobscura. They are not adverse to a bit of trespassing.
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LMHS
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09/11/23 03:36pm |
RV Parks, Campgrounds and Attractions
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RE: Hard sided campers under 1500lbs with 6' int ht spreadsheet.
https://trailmanor.com
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LMHS
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09/09/23 09:28pm |
Travel Trailers
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RE: Replacing water pump... which one?
I normally buy Shurflo 2088 pumps. My current water pump is not a shurflo. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P8BE6S8
The 3.5gpm/45psi Shurflo head started leaking (bought 11/2019). I had been wanting to try a different brand and I didn't want to rebuild the pump. I've been using this one since the beginning of July. I like it. It's quieter. For me, it has plenty of pumping power at 3gpm. I have a dishwasher and it requires 45psi. I pump all my water from my holding tank. The 0.5 micron filter drops the water pressure too much to use.
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LMHS
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09/03/23 08:05pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Best way to tow with mobility issue
I flat tow my Jeep with a Stowmaster 6000. It's one of the ones that a single person can easily hook up. Just get close enough and the bars extend as needed. I don't have to be perfectly aligned or on a perfectly flat surface to hookup. I believe that all the other tow bar companies make a similar type.
I suggest that you find the tow brackets that fit your car and then find the tow bar you need.
While my tow bar is on "hidden" brackets, it is left on the Jeep 24/7. Just easier for me to store it that way.
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LMHS
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09/03/23 11:23am |
RVing with Disabilities and General Health Issues
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RE: Indian Boundary Campground closure
I've been there driving my Jeep but it's been years since I was there. I would do it in an RV as I'm accustomed to driving on Appalachian Mtn roads. I drive like a "local". But then I also "cooked" the brakes on the truck (with the camper on it) the last time I was at Indian Boundary. I did 60mph on the straights (and some of the curves) going up from the Robbinsville side. I learned to drive in that area and did so for several decades. It is part of what I call "home" (AL, FL, GA, NC, SC, TN). I had forgotten how much fun it was to drive the Cherohalla Skyway. Since I don't know how confident you are in driving your RV, I would suggest you stay someplace easier to get into. While you are in the area, take a day trip (not in your RV) and see what you think of the road into Chilhowee.
https://www.forestcamping.com/dow/southern/chercmp.htm#chilhowee
Read the "overview" about the road in. https://www.campendium.com/chilhowee-recreation-area
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LMHS
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08/26/23 05:14pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Predator gennys?
My daughter (HF freight supervisor) says "The Jayco people are using the 3500 for their trailers. I am currently recommending the new dual fuel generator because most of the locals do not understand they have to clean and exercise their genny every 3 to 4 weeks. With propane, they can just crank it up. Don't forget to get the warranty, especially for the gas gennies. That way you can just return it when the carburetor lacquers."
https://www.harborfreight.com/5000-watt-dual-fuel-super-quiet-inverter-generator-with-remote-start-and-co-secure-technology-70143.html?_br_psugg_q=dual+fuel+generator
FYI, the running watts is Gasoline: 3900; Propane 3600... 5000 watts is the surge watts and it weighs 110lbs. I do dislike how the fuel use is for the genney running at 25% load. Most gennies list fuel consumption at 50%.
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LMHS
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08/24/23 09:33am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Indian Boundary Campground closure
https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/251438
Decent road in coming from the Cleveland side. A bit easier to get to than Indian Boundary as well. Every bit as popular too.
I'm a bit partial to Harrison Bay SP (also close to I-75).
https://tnstateparks.com/parks/harrison-bay
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LMHS
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08/24/23 08:59am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Atlanta,Ga
Ever thought of just getting off the Interstates completely and running the US Hwy system? I find it much more relaxing. You do have to put a bit more planning into it rather than the brain dead get-on-the-Interstate route planning. A good truckers Atlas helps with the big rigs. Just try to catch the designated "truck bypass" to prevent getting hung up in traffic in the center of some small towns.
US280 is a good E-W route and you can pick I-85 up in Opelika or near Tuskegee
I used to run N/S and had to bypass Atlanta either via US441 thru Athens on the east side (heading to SW NC) or US27 on the Westside (heading to Chattanooga) to pick up I-75 north of Atlanta. I was going to/from S GA or FL panhandle. The US highways look like they would take longer but I discovered that I may have added 50 miles to my route going the Athens route but I saved an hour in time as opposed to going thru Atlanta, sitting on the 285 parking lot and again at the exits around the malls at Macon. And I was not as tired. (FYI, I take the west Bypass around Athens as it is better than the east side that LOOKS shorter but, time-wise, isn't), and I was having to do it in a limited amount of time due to work.
I have found that between traffic and road construction, I tend to make better time on US hwys and State hwys (designated SR on maps). But then I also consult my trucker's atlas when planning a route. And after my last teeth-jarring, hair-raising trip on I-20, I will probably go out of my way to stay off of Interstate hwys as much as possible. But that's just me and I tend to do things a little differently.
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LMHS
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08/17/23 08:23am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Selling an RV/payment
This happened back in the mid 70's. We really weren't sure the bills were real. The bank wasn't sure at first either. Like us, they thought it was a bit fishy.
I have been searching on how to buy an expensive vehicle with the least amount of hassle and found this article. It is a blog-vertisement (Advertisement masquerading as a blog) but looks like an option for vehicles. I bookmarked it for later use. I thought others might be interested and/or use it as a starting point for their own research.
https://privateauto.com/blog/5-safe-ways-to-transfer-money-in-a-private-car-sale
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LMHS
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08/10/23 04:28pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Selling an RV/payment
I have found this thread very interesting and enlightening. I think banking laws have changed a lot since some have bought/sold. I know they have since I last needed a large amount of actual cash ($10K and up is a large amount, under $10K and that is able to be acquired given a few weeks). I think I might want to look into the escrow/title thing to get a bit more info.
My daughter and I look at online ads for RVs that are for sale in a 500 mile radius from us. She has asked about the "Cash" payment request. I have told her I assume that the seller means they won't finance the purchase, not that actual folding paper is required.
Since we both use the same online bank (Schwab), any purchase would have to be either a personal check or an online transfer. Our bank does not have an actual building in any state. We get actual cash from the registers at Walmart ($100 per transaction). Takes a while to come up with a substantial amount of cash. Nowadays, it takes minutes for a check to clear. Before I bought an expensive item like a vehicle, I would contact my bank to see how they would suggest I handle the payment. Except when the site is undergoing maintenance, I can transfer account to account, within my bank, in less than 5 minutes. I have transferred from my bank account to another "outside" bank account in the same business day or on the next business day.
My daughter paid actual cash for both her truck ($3400) and the truck camper (under $2K). They were priced pretty low so cash wasn't an issue.
My bus shell was paid for with cash (I had $2K all in $20s, banded in packs of $100 with two packs of $50 in $5's and $10s so we could dicker the price down). My Jeep was bought thru an auto auction. As private buyers, we had to pay cash. Only registered dealers could pay with a check. I went with $10K in a backpack. I paid $6000 + $600 for my Jeep (in 1998). A year before, I had the same amount in my backpack and picked up a mini van for $500 but I didn't like driving the van so I sold it for $500 and got the Jeep. I still have and drive the Jeep. At the time we banked with Bank of America. The branch my husband dealt with mostly was in a small town with many wealthy out-of-state customers. It took a while to remove the $10K from the bank in cash because they flat out told my husband that they only paid out "small" lumps of cash. They simply didn't keep large amounts of cash on hand. Even large banks don't keep lot of cash on hand. Their insurance doesn't allow them to keep over a percentage of their normal operating cash.
When my father would get paid in actual cash, he always had problems depositing it. This was for extensive and expensive tile jobs in multi-million dollar houses (like I said, "wealthy out-of-state") that were built, never lived in and sold for a profit (aka "money laundering"). We are pretty sure that he was being paid with drug money. Once he was paid all in $1K bills. The $1K bills looked new, looked fake, felt fake but his bank said they were good. And that bank was not terribly comfortable taking in all that cash. They had to sit on it until the armored truck outfit showed up on schedule to take it away. No one wanted $1K bills. Too hard to move around in the economy. $100 and smaller is better and more spendable.
As for the long-gone OP, it sounds like he is hiding assets from a divorce. It sounded off and I would have assumed it was a scam.
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LMHS
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08/10/23 01:18pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Pre-cooked packaged bacon
I like to buy large packages of bacon and sausage. I find it is easier to cook it all up at the same time and freeze it for later. This is how I cook bacon and sausage in large batches in the oven. The bacon grease is used mostly for those dishes that call for "cook in the bacon grease". I use the cooked bacon in fried egg sandwiches, bacon cheeseburgers, in recipes and for snacking.
BACON & SAUSAGE PATTIES (Oven)
Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper to make cleaning the pan easier. Cut bacon pieces in half crosswise with kitchen shears. The half strips fit nicely on a cheese burger and other sandwiches. Shape your bulk breakfast sausage into patties. Lay the meat in a single layer onto the lined pan(s). Put the pans of meat into the cold oven and turn the oven on to 350F. This will allow more of the fat to cook out. Bake the bacon for about 20 to 25 minutes. With thick sliced bacon, you may need to flip pieces over about halfway thru cooking. Flip the sausage patties over halfway thru cooking. When the meat is done, remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. I prefer to wrap the bacon in foil packages (4 "halves" to a package) then I store the bacon packages in a gallon zip-lock freezer bag that has been labeled and dated. The sausage patties tend to go into a labeled and dated zip-lock freezer bag (4 patties per bag).
Let the grease in the pan cool a bit and strain it into 4 oz canning jars and let cool. Once cool, cover with a lid and label/date before storing in the refrigerator or freezer for use in cooking later.
Folded Snacking Bacon
Makes a chewy bacon that is good for low carb snacking as it fits into a ziplock baggie better.
Take regular thick strips of bacon and fold them horizontally into thirds like an envelope. Place the folded bacon on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake it at 400°F for 40 minutes, flipping them at the halfway mark. The folded bacon can be arranged closely on the pan, so you can easily fit upwards of two pounds of bacon on one half sheet pan.
Let the grease in the pan cool a bit and strain it into 4 oz canning jars and let cool. Once cool, cover with a lid and label/date before storing in the refrigerator or freezer for use in cooking later.
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LMHS
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08/10/23 09:34am |
Camp Cooks and Connoisseurs
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RE: Site squatters
With the truck camper, we do not off load the camper and we do not tow. We often take the truck (and camper) with us when we leave to go anywhere. Bought a $10 collapsible emergency/traffic cone from Harbor Freight and pulled the plastic bit off the top. Stuffed the top section of a $1 solar stick light in the top so the whole thing has a soft glow at night. I leave it in our site when we pull out to go someplace so no one can seriously think the site is unoccupied. Some campgrounds are very dark, so we tend to leave out out for our whole stay. Makes it easier to find our site. Since it collapses, it stores easily.
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LMHS
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08/08/23 06:42pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Unsolicited want to buy your RV people
I had someone come on my property and ask if a 4X4 truck was for sale. I said no. It was my father's truck, not mine. It also wasn't running. A few weeks later I left TN to drive 200 miles to my father's funeral. When I got back a week or so later. The truck was gone. It had been towed out of the yard. The Marion County (TN) cops wouldn't do anything about it. I figure it was someone who was related to someone on the force. A week later, someone tried to steal my Jeep. After that, I sat up every night for two months waiting for them to come back. I told one of my neighbours to pass the word around. No one had better come into my yard at night as I was sitting with a loaded gun waiting for the jerks to come back and I was operating on about 2 hours of sleep per day. At the time my husband was working 200 miles away and only came home on weekends. I would often load the kids, the dog and cat up and drive over to stay for a week and them come home. So the house was empty a lot and we lived in a rural area. I got to the point to where I made the kids stay in the car while I checked to make sure the house was empty and not emptied of our stuff. Needless to say, we sold the place after about 6 months. I simply could not sleep there.
NOW, I take a picture of unsolicited "offers" to buy anything. I also take a pic of their vehicle and their tag number. I really don't care if they like it or not.
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LMHS
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08/02/23 12:00pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Old Timer RVing
60 used to be old. 80 was ancient. 90 was a walking corpse... if they could walk at all. People are living longer and are heathier than previous generations for the most part. I think it's more a mindset than anything else. I know people younger than me that look and act like they are in their late 80's. My daughter is in her mid 30's and complains that her 20-something co-workers act older than me and are "sick" all the time.
My 92yo mother is in better shape than most people my age (62). She's shooting for by passing 100yo. Our theory is because she doesn't go to the doctor except once a year as she has mild high blood pressure (probably due to going and sitting in a doctor's office - she had a really bad experience with an idiot doctor). No drink, no drugs, no smoking. We all grew up on a typical Southern diet too.
The only ones in my maternal side of the family (the side I'm close to) that are in poor health and die early are the ones who believe that doctors know what's best for them and the ones who abuse drugs and alcohol. I'm pretty sure my mother will pass 100yo. And she still drives long distances in her car. I plan on surpassing my mom in years. As long as I'm healthy and mobile, I plan on keeping going.
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LMHS
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07/31/23 03:42pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Learned an expensive lesson today
I'm surprised you have any credit rating. I've fulltimed since 2005 and my credit is listed as "thin". Plus the 2 of the big 3 credit reporting agencies were 6 address behind the current one and one was a mere 5 address behind. But since I discovered that one of the biggie is nothing but a mail drop for an address, I stopped paying much attention to them (I was trying to get my brother-in-law's name removed from my husband's credit where my brother-in-law was listed as my husband's wife with my SS number, I finally gave up - took buying a house to fix it). I've financed 4 houses. I haven't had a loan since 2004. I dumped the last of my rarely used credit cards a few years ago and have relied solely on cash and debit card. I do have a bank. It's only online. I have a mailfowarding service in FL that provides an address that makes both my bank and the government happy.
I ain't got much but what's mine is mine and not co-owned with a bank who would take it away in a heart beat.
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LMHS
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07/30/23 10:50pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: Question on parking lot or walmart camping
CGs under $20 are out there but not that plentiful and not always where you may be traveling thru. Bottomless Lakes State Park (NM) cost me $14 for a W/50/30 electric site for 1 nite. This is now a reservation only campground and the reserveamerica reservation fee was $4. Unless you are running US380 (East-West), it's not "on the way" as it's 20 miles east of town.
On the other hand, I have been building a spreadsheet list to import into google my maps of cgs/rvps with electricity and allows pets that range from free to under $30. I'm verifying locations as some are a few miles off and some places are just gone plus adding links to a couple review sites (it's hard to add a link to a review that doesn't exist). They are out there. Not that easy to find and there are huge stretches with nothing. For one night, I don't like to get that far off my route. Some are private parks too.
Currently my list is over 650 and I an still thinning it down and adding to it. That is only for AL, AR, GA, FL, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN & TX. It is comprised of municipal (City & County), COE, Utilities, National & State Forests, National and State Rec areas, State Parks (not that many since they are pricing themselves out). They are out there but you aren't going to find a nice neat list of them. You will have to do your own homework. Many of these places don't show up on the reviews sites either.
I have been running into several of the COEs that require a 2 night stay for any stay that involves a Friday or Saturday night and a 3 night stay for holiday weekends. On top of that, I am finding a surprising amount that are reservation only or FCFS only for non-peak times. Not a biggie to me since I prefer a reservation. Reserve.gov is getting $8 per reservation for COE (Currently working mostly on the COE campgrounds). I think that is a bit high.
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LMHS
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07/27/23 06:35pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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RE: Picking out good camping chairs
I just re-webbed two steel folding chairs that I bought from Big Lots for $6 each.... a mere 15 years ago. The solid mesh fabric was looking bad and I couldn't find a replacement cover. So I bought some softish polypropylene webbing off Amazon. I drilled holes to accept screws. Sanded the surface rust off the bottom tubes and lightly sanded the plastic arm rests to get the sun damaged "dead" plastic off before painting it with a can of high gloss spray paint. I sprayed truck bed liner on the parts of the frame that rested on the ground to make it last longer. Once it was all dry and the paint had cured for a couple of days, I wove the webbing into a seat. I have two "new" chairs that will likely last many more years for under $50 in materials. I have enough webbing to do the other two chairs that I have with plenty of webbing to make repairs for a few years. I will need to buy 1 spray can of white paint per chair. Still much cheaper than buying a new chair and I really like the old cheapie chairs. I can't believe the "vintage look" webbed lawn chairs sell for so much money! But at least they can be rewebbed. I hate the chairs that you end up tossing because the fabric failed and no replacement covers can be bought. It's wasteful.
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LMHS
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07/25/23 10:48pm |
Beginning RVing
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RE: Question on parking lot or walmart camping
Perhaps some of you should consider joining Sam's Clubs. They have zero problems with slide outs, staying hooked up, not staying hooked up, sitting outside in chairs, etc. All they ask is that you be a member and don't make a mess. You don't even have to buy anything from that particular store. You can even run a generator. When we spend the night, I am often told if they are running a special on steaks, burgers, etc and the store managers suggest we grill in their parking lot!
I currently don't have slides, but if I did, I really wouldn't care if someone objected to my putting them out if I had already gotten the okay from a store manager to do so. Perhaps some of you need to learn the response I learned when I first started homeschooling my kids. "That's your opinion and your opinion doesn't count with me" or my more common response.. "Okay. Bye." I also keep a baseball bat in the camper. It's amazing how many people will get violent over being told their opinion doesn't matter or if you don't do what they think you should do.
I do my grocery shopping in a truck camper. I leave the dog in it with the fans going. I often have people tell me I can't park "there" (pick a store) and they don't work at the store. My daughter used to take the truck camper to work when she had a late night shift followed by a morning shift the next day or if the weather was going to be snowy (someone had to open the store). She was always being told that she couldn't park overnight in the store parking lot. She would just tell them that she gave herself permission since she was store management. It really ticked some people off.
I have spent many nights in Sam's Club parking lots. They are my preferred parking lot.
1st choice: Sam's Clubs. I do 90% of my grocery shopping at Sam's. When traveling supper tends to be in a restaurant or a hot already baked all meat pizza and we love the rotisserie chicken. I can put together a nice supper for around $10-$15 (two of us) and have plenty of leftovers for lunch or supper the next day. Last night we had Penne alla Vodka Pasta with Shrimp for under $11. It was one of those heat and eat meals they have and it looked good so we picked it up. We heated it up on the cooktop. It was good, heated up on top of the cooktop in under 15 minutes and had a surprising amount of shrimp. We are sitting in a state park just outside of the town we live in and I'm not gonna work too hard at cooking, especially since we couldn't check in until after 4PM. We had to go swimming in the lake. We hit the Sam's for supplies before driving the 20 miles out to the state park. It's far too windy and hot to cook outside most days. We had 21mph wind today with a high of 105*. Yesterday was 104* with 20mph wind.
2nd choice: Cracker Barrel. We like the food. The dog likes their nice thick grass. It's "cushy" to walk on. We can usually park overnight in one of their lots.
3rd choice: a W/E site in a campground/rv park under $30 per night. Free is even better. Amazing how many free w/e city/county parks there are in TX. Mostly on US HWYs. But I don't like to drive miles out of my way when traveling someplace.
4th choice: Walmart & truck stops. It just works out that way. I've only had one bad experience at a Walmart.
I suggest that everyone always use pads under their jacks. Too many places cheap out and don't use a thick enough asphalt in their parking lots. That's why they don't like heavy trucks and campers in their lots. On a really hot day, an RV can easily punch a hole in thin asphalt and both heavy trucks and RVs can leave "dips" where the tires sat. I did not know this until the cheap Walmart in Perry GA repaved their lot in 2006/2007 and put signs up banning RVs and trucks from parking (even for groceries). We knew the owner of one of the biggest paving outfits in the state (at the time) and he just laughed and told us why. He knew the people who paved the lot (it was too small for him to mess with as he was busing paving a highway). I suspect a lot of the bans are from heavy vehicles parking on thin asphalt.
BTW, those "No Overnight Parking" sign often do not mean what you think they mean. They often mean "Don't leave your vehicle unattended with for sale signs in it for weeks on end" which is what the "No Parking" signs meant at a local Walmart back east where I used to live. I was surprised to see someone post it online as not allowing RVs to overnight there. I know they could because I asked the store manager (we went to high school together) and my daughter worked at the DollarTree in the same strip mall and DollarTree also allowed overnight parking in front of their store as did the Ingle's grocery store at the other end of the strip mall. Ditto for the Walmart in Clayton GA. Just ask permission and have a backup location or two in case you are told "no" for some reason.
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LMHS
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07/25/23 10:30pm |
Fifth-Wheels
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