November 01, 2011

A short note

After some new information, and sorting of notes on my iPad,  I have changed my focus to a C, 29-31', a couple of slides. I feel pretty confident that is the direction I am going to go. It feels good to get that past me and I can move to other things on my checklist. I plan to test drive some C's on November 10 or 11. Do any of you have laminate flooring in your rigs instead of carpet?  If so, do you notice more road noise or any additional noises not heard when you had carpet?

I do not consider myself a pack-rat but looking around this small house....I have a ton of stuff to get rid of. I think I am going to start a Craig's List account and go that direction. I use to sell full time on eBay so I am familiar with that system but it just takes too much time to ship and pack things. Otherwise, local ads. Living on a highway makes it dangerous to try having a garage sale.

On to the next step....still I can't stop looking at rigs and reading information. I have to force my self to sleep.

How many of you use solar panels for your electrical needs?

I am just curious on this last question, if you would rather email the answer instead of commenting is fine....What is the worst thing that has happened to you in your travels?

10 comments:

  1. I have carpet and I really would like to rip it out, and who I ask puts white vinyl in an RV? The carpet is always in need of shampooing and the floor always in need of washing. Now remember I have a rather small 23 ft MH. I would either like to put in laminate or a darker vinyl. Carpet is warmer but thats why they make throw rugs right?
    Test driving several rigs is a very good idea
    Look up Winnie Views, she did a great piece on buying a rig.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have carpet and I really would like to rip it out, and who I ask puts white vinyl in an RV? The carpet is always in need of shampooing and the floor always in need of washing. Now remember I have a rather small 23 ft MH. I would either like to put in laminate or a darker vinyl. Carpet is warmer but thats why they make throw rugs right?
    Test driving several rigs is a very good idea
    Look up Winnie Views, she did a great piece on buying a rig.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have a 31' Lazy Daze motorhome. It has carpet in the rear bedroom, and in the front living area. Since we have 2 dogs, we end up putting throw rugs down most everywhere. Even went so far as putting a large carpet cut to size over the top of the living room carpet, to take a little more wear & tear from paws and claws. The vinyl in the kitchen area and the bath are good, but still use throw rugs.

    We did a lot of research and looking at rigs before we settled on this one. It works ideally for us. You might check out JR Consumer Resources and their guides. Worth it.

    Enjoy the search. Don't lose any sleep over it. There is always another RV to look at...no matter how many you see. We had almost purchased several before we finally ordered this one. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  4. We have a 31' Lazy Daze motorhome. It has carpet in the rear bedroom, and in the front living area. Since we have 2 dogs, we end up putting throw rugs down most everywhere. Even went so far as putting a large carpet cut to size over the top of the living room carpet, to take a little more wear & tear from paws and claws. The vinyl in the kitchen area and the bath are good, but still use throw rugs.

    We did a lot of research and looking at rigs before we settled on this one. It works ideally for us. You might check out JR Consumer Resources and their guides. Worth it.

    Enjoy the search. Don't lose any sleep over it. There is always another RV to look at...no matter how many you see. We had almost purchased several before we finally ordered this one. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Russ has a good idea of cutting a piece of carpet to lay over the existing carpet. I should do that actually! I have carpeting because the dogs don't go sliding around on it in travel like they could on a bare floor. I use area runners, carpeted kind & those darn things constantly move around,alll by themselves! It's a pain. I'd put in laminate, but I just feel that the carpet is better for travel for my dogs. I love the feel of laminate on my feet though, had that in my last house.
    If I could afford it, I'd go solar.
    check out Tioga George's pages, he went solar years ago. But he does carry a small honda generator to charge up his panels on cloudy days. He got rid of his on board generator a few years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Russ has a good idea of cutting a piece of carpet to lay over the existing carpet. I should do that actually! I have carpeting because the dogs don't go sliding around on it in travel like they could on a bare floor. I use area runners, carpeted kind & those darn things constantly move around,alll by themselves! It's a pain. I'd put in laminate, but I just feel that the carpet is better for travel for my dogs. I love the feel of laminate on my feet though, had that in my last house.
    If I could afford it, I'd go solar.
    check out Tioga George's pages, he went solar years ago. But he does carry a small honda generator to charge up his panels on cloudy days. He got rid of his on board generator a few years ago.

    ReplyDelete
  7. ooops, forgot to add Tioga George's url
    http://vagabonders-supreme.net/

    When you get your RV, here's a site of Andy Baird's storage ideas - he's done a fabulous job of creating more storage space in his Lazy Daze RV!
    http://andybaird.com/travels/

    ReplyDelete
  8. ooops, forgot to add Tioga George's url
    http://vagabonders-supreme.net/

    When you get your RV, here's a site of Andy Baird's storage ideas - he's done a fabulous job of creating more storage space in his Lazy Daze RV!
    http://andybaird.com/travels/

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is a two-fold (or more) comment, first on the laminate flooring. I'm a contractor (retired). Most of it is made out of cheap Masonite or fuzz-board as a backer, and the first time you get water between the cracks it will swell. There are some more expensive ones that won't, so please keep that in mind. And yes, carpet is quieter going down the road.

    We have criss-crossed the country for over 30 years in everything from a pop-up tent trailer to a 40-foot motorhome (gas) and now have downsized to a small slide-in truck camper, but we are also setting up our minivan for traveling/camping. I can tell you from past experience that smaller is less stressful and less expensive, I would never again buy anything longer than a 32-footer in a motorhome, especially since many of them have slides on them now which opens up your living space drastically! And even then, there are still places you won't be able to go! But if you like staying away from parks and getting out in the boonies, then you should also think about something with 4-wheel drive, like a Revcon.

    We were in a campground in Indiana during a light rain, and tried to back in where the park manager told us to... and sank that 40-footer up to the rear axle on grassy ground! It took a special tow truck and winch to get us out of there! Never again would I buy such a monstrosity!

    As far as the worst thing that ever happened, we had the 40-footer delivered to us, and they put the wrong hitch on it. All they had was a 12-inch drop hitch, which made it too low, so they put a 2-inch hi-rise ball on it for our tow car. Coming north through downtown Vincennes, we topped a slight rise in the road to find railroad tracks at the dip. It was too late to slow down, and when we bottomed out we saw the tow car floating away from us in the monitor. The bottom of the hitch had snapped off, both tow chains broke, and the tow bar was still attached to the front of the tow car... with the ball still inside it!

    Thankfully, the tow bar didn't dig into anything (or it could have flipped the car) and we applied the brakes gently until the car touched the rear bumper, and then we hit the brakes harder. We had to drive separate vehicles all the way to Elkhart to get the hitch plug-in replaced, but we had no other damage. We were very lucky!

    So other than the idiots in your blind spot who pay no attention to your turn signals, and people going around you only to slow down after they do, or stop/turn in front of you, it's a relatively safe place out there. In thirty years of traveling, we have had no "security" issues of any kind... only traffic and mechanical problems.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is a two-fold (or more) comment, first on the laminate flooring. I'm a contractor (retired). Most of it is made out of cheap Masonite or fuzz-board as a backer, and the first time you get water between the cracks it will swell. There are some more expensive ones that won't, so please keep that in mind. And yes, carpet is quieter going down the road.

    We have criss-crossed the country for over 30 years in everything from a pop-up tent trailer to a 40-foot motorhome (gas) and now have downsized to a small slide-in truck camper, but we are also setting up our minivan for traveling/camping. I can tell you from past experience that smaller is less stressful and less expensive, I would never again buy anything longer than a 32-footer in a motorhome, especially since many of them have slides on them now which opens up your living space drastically! And even then, there are still places you won't be able to go! But if you like staying away from parks and getting out in the boonies, then you should also think about something with 4-wheel drive, like a Revcon.

    We were in a campground in Indiana during a light rain, and tried to back in where the park manager told us to... and sank that 40-footer up to the rear axle on grassy ground! It took a special tow truck and winch to get us out of there! Never again would I buy such a monstrosity!

    As far as the worst thing that ever happened, we had the 40-footer delivered to us, and they put the wrong hitch on it. All they had was a 12-inch drop hitch, which made it too low, so they put a 2-inch hi-rise ball on it for our tow car. Coming north through downtown Vincennes, we topped a slight rise in the road to find railroad tracks at the dip. It was too late to slow down, and when we bottomed out we saw the tow car floating away from us in the monitor. The bottom of the hitch had snapped off, both tow chains broke, and the tow bar was still attached to the front of the tow car... with the ball still inside it!

    Thankfully, the tow bar didn't dig into anything (or it could have flipped the car) and we applied the brakes gently until the car touched the rear bumper, and then we hit the brakes harder. We had to drive separate vehicles all the way to Elkhart to get the hitch plug-in replaced, but we had no other damage. We were very lucky!

    So other than the idiots in your blind spot who pay no attention to your turn signals, and people going around you only to slow down after they do, or stop/turn in front of you, it's a relatively safe place out there. In thirty years of traveling, we have had no "security" issues of any kind... only traffic and mechanical problems.

    ReplyDelete