http://www.outbackers.com/forums/index.php?app=blog Community Blog List Syndication Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:29:03 +0000 outbackers.com@autoforums.com (Outback RV Owners Forum) IP.Blog 60
Soon after using your new toy you may find things that you would like to add. Little amenities such as an extra light here, maybe better reception for your TV. Perhaps you want a screen room or want to add something to the inside of your camper.

For those that haven't done this sort of thing before....ugh! Drilling holes? Putting screws into the wall or exterior!? Do I really want to do that!? It is a personal choice. But if you decide that you want to do these sorts of things you're not on your own!

There have been many people who have incorporated many different types of modifications. Some simple some complex. Here on Outbackers you can find through searching many of the most popular mods to do not only to your camper but maybe your tow vehicle as well.

Back-up cameras, outside cook tops, lights, accumulators, larger hot water heaters, swapping to LED lights, installing a new antenna, Signal Boosters, Screen, rooms, Bike rack recievers, a whole host of fun and useful things.

The first thing to do is research what it is you're trying to do. There is a good chance you will find it here in the Modifications forum. BUT if you don't there are many people here that have worked on, performed maintenance to, and installed modifications that can help you get the job done well.

Last year we bought a brand new Outback 325FRE Fifth Wheel. We love it. It is huge inside, very comfortable, it is everything we wanted for a fifth wheel, not only in appearance but functionality and comfort. But, being our 4th RV we knew that there are certain things that are not usually included, or things that the RV industry just hasn't decided to do...yet.

Indeed Keystone and other RV manufacturers visit these sites. It is warehouse of information and feedback on thier products, what people like and don't like, and helps them tweak floor plans and amenities to appeal to a wide cross section of people.

With in the month of recieving the "Gregg Escape" the mods began.

- 10DB Signal Booster
- Sirius/XM Satellite Radio
- Clocks
- Additional TV
- Labels
- LED Puck Lights
- Phone Chargers
- Radio Chargers

And more just to name a few.

Many of the mods you may decide to put in are to make your style of camping more comfortable. Some prefer dry camping. That is to say they prefer going to a state park or boondocking out in the middle of no where. This type of camping requires good batteries, perhaps additional batteries, a generator, solar panels perhaps. Tanking plenty of fresh water and the proper foods too. You might think about that for a moment and ask yourself, if you were to go boondocking, what would you NEED to bring with you. What would be nice to have?

Those that like to visit RV parks may need to bring nothing. They will hook up to water, septic, and electricity and will only need to worry about clothes and food.

Still others may plant thier new RV on a seasonal site where it will be for several years or longer.

We fall into the second group. We like to go to different campgrounds and get out and see things...sometimes! Other times it is nice to go and set up for a weekend to just compress. The only thing we need is a place to set up the chairs and some of our favorite foods. We make no plans and just relax.

We have recently, after the DW having knee surgery, gotten into hiking. We have really enjoyed that and so have the dogs. Yes our dogs go with us where ever we go. We start packing up the camper and they go nuts. They love getting out into the woods and trails and lounging at the campground too!

Don't be afraid of making those minor changes and additions. Take the time to plan it out first to make sure that the job is a clean and proffesional one. After you're done you can be proud of your handy work and enjoy seeing it being used.

So take a minute or two, and check out the modifications forum. You may be very surprised and what you might see!

I have attached a few phots of my additions/modifications.











Eric]]> Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:34:00 +0000 Some Other Brand!), in anycase congratulations!

You may find that you have questions about your new rig. You may realize that while at the dealership to pick up your new unit, the buzzing in your ear was actually a service tech that was providing a PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection) for you.

And yes while he or she instructed you on all that stuff, your brain was entertaining you with a melting drink in your hand while a warm summer breeze blew through your hair and across your face from under the awning of your new camper, while viewing that water from your Lafuma recliner.......

Yeah, that awning that you can't deploy because you don't remember a thing of what was said to you about it!! Shame, Shame SHAME!

LOL! You are about the 183,236,678th person this has happened to! Don't sweat it! You got Outbackers!!

You'll find answers and help to just about anything you can think of in the realm of RV's, tow vehicles, campgrounds, recipes etc. Your never farther away than a internet connection from help and some fun.

So what do you REALLY need in your RV to go camping? I like to call it a finger print. Everyone is different has different tastes and priorities. There is a general list of common items that most have at least part of.

Ideally your trying to be prepared so that when you get out to your campsite, you have nothing to be concerned about other than changing position in your chair, when dinner is, and keeping the Pina Colodas coming.

It takes a bit of work to get to this point. Lists and suggestions have been compiled to make this an easier task the first time around. You and your family will need to tailor the list to what is important to you. So enough talk about the list...here it is...

Ahh, wait a minute.

It might be better for you to get a drink or make yourself comfortable first.....

Many people getting an RV for the first time have a bucket load of questions that are never thought of during the PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection) at the dealer. Additionally, sooner or later one asks the question, what do I really need to carry with me!? Well, here is something to get you off the ground and out into the woods....so to speak!

Campground guides and locators

www.Campgroundreport.com Unbiased reviews of Campgrounds submitted by people who have stayed at them. I have found that the reviews tend to be pretty accurate. We have had the misfortune of going to a new place before checking one of these sorts of websites. Wadleigh Falls and Friendly Beaver Campgrounds are two examples of “ooops! Won’t do that again” situations.

www.Woodalls.com Woodall’s is a recognized clearing house of information and ratings for campgrounds. We have found, though, that with Woodall’s it is sometimes very difficult to differentiate between one type of a campground to another. For example Chocorua Camping Village is a medium sized (was family owned, now a KOA campground) campground. It received a 5 W rating for the campground, recreation, activities etc. Danforth Bay which isn’t too far away received the same ratings. The two campgrounds are in two different spectrums. CCV is/was a family run campground. Nice staff, well maintained, things for the kids to do, a very nice place to go but realitively small and intimate. Danforth Bay is a resort with 3 pools, tennis courts, archery range, boats, huge recreation hall, just a massive place that tends to draw a large number of people and has well over 200 sites. Use Woodalls in conjunction with another web site such as campgroundreport.com or one of the networking websites.

Campgrounds are generally separated into three groups:

- Small/medium Privately Owned
- Medium sized Privately Owned or Franchise Such as KOA (Kampgrounds of America) Morgan RV Resorts ETC.
- Large Resort Campgrounds. For example, in New Hampshire and Maine Danforth Bay / Bayleys are examples of these.

Anything with “Resort” attached to its name will more than likely be a bit more expensive up to “Stoopid expensive” but usually will include many items such as Pools, Hot Tubs, Planned supervised Activities for kids and families, restaurants, and other amenities. For example Bayley’s offers free trolley service to Old Orchard Beach, 4 hot tubs, 3 in-ground pools, age specific play grounds, paddle boat rentals, fishing, free entertainment, on site repairs, convenience store, arcade and more.

If you want peace and quite the small to medium sized privately owned or franchised place is a good choice. Taking a vacation and want plenty of choices and convenience then a Resort may suit your needs.

Tina and I plan many of our trips this way. If we want a nice relaxing weekend then it’s off to Chocorua Camping Village. If we want Beach, Games, Entertainment, go go go then we might go to Danforth Bay or Bayley’s. Or perhaps we want the option of going to a particular place or attraction. We’ll tailor what we need with where we are going.

- We went to Washington DC and Stayed at Cherry Hill RV Resort. We needed a place that if we decided to stay at the campground we would be comfortable and have the things we needed with out having to go out. Heck they even had Pizza delivery! So not much to worry about and if we decided to just spend the day at the site, we would be happy and comfortable.

- On the other end of things, we went to the Cape and stayed at a place called Pete’s Pond, a smaller mom and pop place. it was quiet and freindly ans served as simply a step off pad for us to go do stuff.

So keep in mind what it is that you want to do. You'll find a campground, RV Resort, Park, or State Forest that will fulfill what you are looking for!


- Check Outbackers for reviews in the Campground experience forums and don't be afraid to post and ask about a place. You may find fellow Outbackers that know all about it!


Material/equipment needs:

This subject has come up several times on several different sites including Outbackers. What are the essentials? You may quickly get into the arena of preferences but there are some recognized “Must haves”. The below is a combination of recommendations from Outbackers and some of my own "necessities".

1. A “good” tool kit. Sockets, screwdrivers, Rubber Mallet (for chocks) battery operated screwdriver/drill.
2. Fuses: Look at your inverter panel and see what amperage fuses are installed and hit the Auto parts store for spares. You don’t know when or if you’ll need them
3. At least 1 pack of Lynx Levelers or a like product. Aids in leveling front to back, side to side should you encounter a less than level site.
4. Camper mounted Levels 1 for the nose one for the side to check level when setting up
5. BAL chocks for between your wheels. Stops forward and backward rocking when set up. We had used almost exclusively regular chocks but with this new big toy, (Our 325FRE) Tina and I have bought one to see how it does. We loved it! The chock works absolutely wonderful! I highly recommend it.
6. Wheel Chocks.
7. Set of 2 way radios or cell phones to communicate while backing into sites and maneuvering***
8. Drill for scissor jack stabilizers: With an extension and the proper socket, this makes dropping manual jacks easy and effortless.
9. Good quality Black Tank treatment such as Thetford, liquid, crystal or drop ins. These are essential in helping to keep black tank contents fluid and broken down.
10. Second battery. Here you are faced with the decision: two 12v ones, or two 6 volt ones. The answer depends on how much dry camping you plan to do. There is scads of info and much discussion on Outbackers about the relative + and - of 6 volt vs. 12 volt. If you do little or no “Dry” camping your 12 volt battery will probably be enough.
11. Captain Morgan's spiced rum, a heavy duty blender, ice, Pina Coloada Mix, Rum, daqiuri mix, Pepsi, Rum, Kahluha, Cream, and Rum.
12. Electrical surge protector. Either installed inside the TT (the permanent type) or a plug-in unit that goes between your TT power cord and the campground power post. Most protect your TT against floating neutrals, or bad wiring in the campground post. One member found 220v in the 30 amp "120 v" socket. The surge protector kicked out when he plugged in and saved a lot of delicate stuff (like $1000 worth of power inverter, stereo, reefer, etc.)
13. Water pressure reducer to protect the TT plumbing; it wants 50-60 psi max water pressure. Protect the TT from that campground that has 120 pound pressure.
14. Good quality Sun Glasses. Nothing is more irritating than in the fifth hour of reclining to have the sun move through the heavens to be blaring into your eyeballs through your eyelids. Prepare properly for the 7 hours your going to be in your Lafuma!!
15. In-line water filter for campground water. Some Campgrounds (like the ones in the mountains) have awesome fresh water.
16. White potable water hose for drinking. (Don’t use regular garden hose. It has a number of chemicals that are easy tasted from it and not that good for you.)
17. Buy a fresh water tank cleaner available at Wal-Mart to sanitize the fresh water tank. Follow the directions on the container. After using this you can fill your fresh water tank with water from home. Remember a gallon of water weighs about 8.13 pounds. If you fill your tank at 40, 60, 80 gallons…well do the math. It’s a lot of weight.

*** One of the things I highly recommend that you do, if you will have your wife helping you back in to sites and I am sure you will, is to practice. No matter how well you communicate she will have (or who ever is helping you) a completely different perspective and it can make the whole operation frustrating even for the most tolerant people. Tina has gotten really good at this and the hardest part is sometimes trying to ignore what you see and simply put blind trust into the person backing you. Go to a Park and Ride or large parking lot. Using the parking spot lines as simulated camp sites you can practice setting your rig to back properly on your target, backing in from 90 degrees, odd angles, pulling through, setting up mock obstacles and such. It is also pretty level. If you do not have levels set up, this is a good place to do it. The use of cones and such also help. I HIGHLY recommend you do this.

RV Accessories: A pick and choose list of items.

Electrical 30 Amp extension cord
extra fuses 15, 20 amp
25' medium duty outdoor extension cord
Grey Goose Vodka

Plumbing 20' sewer line (good quality)
45 degree fitting
Variable size sewer connection fitting
Captain Morgans Spiced Rum
20' Fresh water hose, or 2 -10'ers
"Y" connector for hose bib
Water hose pressure regulator
Water filter
Rubber gloves (disposable or chemical resistant)
Sam Adams Summer Lager... Just Sayin..
Tank disinfectant
Hose nozzle
"J" connector (hose to city water connection)

Emergency Equip.
Jack for trailer (hydraulic bottle type or scissor jack)
lug wrench with fitting that fits your lug nuts
Arizona Iced Tea
torque wrench
small tool kit (pliers, Phillips, flat and #2 square drivers, adjustable wrench, etc.)
Teflon plumbers tape
Caulk
Tube of Dicor for rubber roof repair and caulk gun (as req'd)
50' nylon rope
Road flares or emergency roadside markers
Russian Mountain Dew. Take one swallow of cold Mountain Dew from the can, replace with the appropriate quantity of Vodka, enjoy, repeat.
Rain poncho or rain suit
12v air pump
Flashlights
Duct tape
Tarp

Cooking
Plates, bowls, glasses, cups
flatware and cooking utensils
pans and skillets
serving/carrying tray
BBQ grill, with propane or briquette’s as required
BBQ utensils and lighter
a good knife
cutting board
plastic bags, Reynolds wrap, plastic wrap
coffee maker with filters
toaster
mixer
blender Don't skimp..this baby's going to get a work out!
griddle
dish towels
oven mitt

Sleeping
Sheets
Blankets
Pillows
Bathing
Towels
soap, shampoo, conditioner
Tooth brushes and paste
Shaving gear
hairdryer
Everyone should have their own separate travel kit
toilet paper (RV type)

Clothing
set of sweats for everyone (just in case)
rubber sandals or slip on tennis shoes

Medical First aid kit with normal items
Aspirin or Tylenol
upset stomach medicine
meat tenderizer (for stings)
sunscreen
Tina’s grocery check off list
If it isn’t on that list you probably don’t need it.

Other (Inside)
Throw rugs
trash can liner bags
paper towels and napkins
paper plates, plastic flatware, etc.
Air freshener
Games, videos, deck of cards, etc. (for when it rains)
Cleaning supplies
Dish soap
Tablet and pen/pencils ( for keeping list of things to remember next time)
Broom
Plastic container for misc. Items. Scissors, small can of WD-40, cord, Velcro, pins, etc.)
Plastic bucket
toilet brush
Fly swatter
Sponges
DVD player and some movies
Outside radio
Matches or stick lighter

Other (Outside)
Outdoor carpeting to cover under awning area
Awning de-flappers and tie downs
Lawn chairs (Lafuma……just sayin’)
Small folding end table
Folding table for cooking counter space outside
Plastic table cloths and table cloth clamps
Cooler for beverages outside
Small step (7") for ingress/egress
Squeegee for slide out roof cleaning on a handle
Small step ladder.

Okay… I have down loaded about 50% of my acquired knowledge of RV stuff to you. (I have beach front property in Arizona I can sell you, too).










Your still here?!













Go CAMPERING! (You can't call this stuff camping!)


Eric]]> Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:04:00 +0000 As I'm starting this again, I'm going to keep on with the theme of using song lyrics as blog titles that are actually relevant to the posting. Just something that I think is kinda neat and if you get the reference great... if not... sorry!

Last year Outbacker bbwb and I we're talking about our love of WI camping. Turns out that we we're going to be at the same campground across from each other. As I haven't had the chance to meet up with any Outbackers yet, I thought this was awesome. Well.. it was only awesome for a minute as we realized that although we we're going to be across from each other, we we're going to be a month apart. I'll be there Memorial Day and he'll be there in the beginning of July.

I figured we could still have some fun with this though. Turns out bbwb is a JD kinda guy. I picked up a small flask prior to going up (kinda hard to find package liquors and CG's!) and told him I'd hide it on the site somewhere. Turns out we're going to have a little scavenger hunt!

I'm at the CG all weekend and as I'm packing up to head out, I see the JD in the cooler. AW CRAP! I forgot about this! I talk to the neighbor behind me (Another OB owner but not on the forums) and ask if I can bury the Jack on his site. After a goofy look and some explanation on my part, he said sure. Now where the hell am I going to put this? These sites are in a fairly clear area and I didn't want to put it in the middle of the site where it's going to be impossible to find.

There was 1 tree on the site. I figured I'd put near the trunk so that it's somewhat easier to find. Once I buried it, I placed a good size stone on top of it so it stood out a smidge, but I also made sure that it was embedded a bit in the dirt so no kids would be playing with it during the 6 week lapse.

Now during this time, I took a bunch of pics, all of the same spot that progressively zoomed out, which would be the clues bbwb would use to find it. Well, I was traveling for work or something and completely forgot about this while he was up there. We shot some emails back and forth and I was able to leave him a clue via voicemail. It was then that I received the following PM from bbwb....

Buried Treasure
I had mentioned to the other people we were camping with, that there is a buried treasure somewhere on our site. I was worried that I would not be able to find it without the clues. While we were setting up, our neighbor said "look at this rock by the tree, it seems to be out of place". Well I scratched around a couple of times without finding the bottle; but kept going back and digging a little deeper....and there it was! Of course I had to sample the golden treat to see if it went bad over the months, and found that it was up to specifications. Now to our neighbors credit this was before I got your voice mail clue! Just can't keep a secret from her I guess.

I thought this was a fun story to share. Even though there are a ton of rallies I'd like to attend, sometimes we just can't do it. I figured this was a good way to have some different kind of fun with Outbackers! ]]> Fri, 16 Apr 2010 15:25:00 +0000
He asked if I heard about Jellystone Warrens, WI. I said what about it. Appearantly, new owners did by the park and we hurried up and made our Memorial Day reservations. The fam is SO excited! We were so disappointed when it closed down last year. A lot of good memories... and now we're able to keep 'em going!

Whats even more cool is that all of us in my group we're able to get our old sites back. Ah.. what a relief! I don't whine much, but there is a waiting line for the premium sites we get and once your out... your out. I like the site I get because as I mentioned, it premium... full hook-ups... cement slab (no leveling!!).... cement picnic table area... beautiful lawn.... all of the nice things you expect when paying top notch prices on holiday rates!

With that said... we're gonna Rock 'n Roll all night in Warrens, WI. Memorial Day weekend!! WOOT!]]> Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:58:00 +0000
Ive been doing many trips straight west out of Elkhart. I have run back and forth on I-80 for the last 6 weeks.

Ive had some tough driving conditions cause we have had alot of snow across Iowa and Nebraska.

The scariest times so far has been Wyoming though. I had a 26 footer going to Salt Lake a while back that I just about ditched west of Rawlins.

Was driving after dark and hit wind and blowing snow. It didnt take long for the snow to turn to ice and with that wind I about got blown into the ditch a few times. Thank god I have a 4x4. 4 wheel drive straightens it right up. But I know once I slide in 4x4 its all over so I really respect things if I have to lock it in 4x4.

I found a pretty good deal on some Goodyear SRA tires so I slapped a set on. They have done real well in the ice and snow. I think even better than Michelins. They seem to have pretty soft tread so they wont last long, but oh well, at least I got pretty good ice traction.

This trip home I pulled the fuel tank and replaced the in tank fuel pump. Its got 272,000 miles on it. I cant believe it would last much longer, so I replaced it. It had a ton of crud in the well where the pump sets in the tank. I cleaned all that out. I wonder if the next fuel pump will make that many miles. That seemed pretty incredible to me.

I have been getting alot of ice build up in my aux tank fuel filter. The filter I use stops water, but when it gets real cold I have trouble pumping fuel out of my aux tank to the main tank. So I installed a water seperator that is now in front of that filter. I bet that helps the situtaion. We'll see.

My factory rear brake pads are still hanging in there with about 1/3rd pad left. Amazing.

I pulled both driveshafts and checked for rusted and binding u joints. They are all good.

I have been hearing a whinning noise when I get rolling in the mornings. It sounded like somthing in the driveline. Well I bet I found it. The carrier bearing is very noisey. It only made about 85k miles. I got a new one pressed on.

Been changing my oil at 10k because of all the idleing I have had to do. Changed the main fuel filter too.

I rotated my tires, disassembled the front hubs and checked the axle shaft joints and greased the sealed bearings. I found one axle ujoint rusted and bound together. So I replaced them both. They are pricey. 75 bucks each at Napa. But that was for the US made top of the line joints. For what I do I always put the best parts in I can find.

I installed my Champion Generator in my bed. I wont have to idle so much now. I picked up a lil heater at Walmart that will work well to keep me warm at night. Its been an unusually cold winter. Ive ben having to idle more than I like. I bet having a generator will help.

So it was a busy time at home this time. Thankfully we have had temps in the mid 50's everyday I have been home. Gotta love living in the warm belt of Colorado. Snow is all over the mountains. Its close to 60 during the day here. Way cold at night though. 10-20. This big truck doesnt fit in my garage so I was blessed by good weather. I took advantage of that.

I have taken some pics but they are just snow scenes. I will keep saving them till I get a bunch that are worth posting.

I am now working for a new company that was an offshoot of the employees from my last company. We need about 200 more trucks. We have about 75 now. So if any of you are out of work and need some fill in money using your 3/4 or 1 ton truck, let me know. They would pretty much run you from Elkhart to your home area and back just to get more trucks. No CDL needed.

Canada trips go full swing shortly so I will be doing lots of those soon.

Anyway been a while since I posted. Been busy driving.

Take care all!

Carey]]> Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:01:00 +0000


A lil accident in Kansas.


Combining wheat in Montana.


Just south of the US border on Hwy 52 south of Portal, ND.


I thought his message was cute.


An Illinois Sunset.


Just south of Burns, Or on the way to Oregon hwy 140 at Lakeview Oregon.


The reason Lakeview, Oregon was named.


Another pic around Lakeview, Or.]]> Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:29:00 +0000
Ive got 100k on the belt tensioner, and it failed because of a siezed bearing.

I decided, what the heck. Today I pulled the fan and all of the pullies. I went down to the bearing store and they had em all in stock. 108 bucks. Now I will be good for awhile again. The power steering pump feels good and tight as does the alternator. The ac compressor is another story. I can feel the bearing grinding when I spin it.

I think I will put my spare belt on that I carry that is for trucks with no ac. When I make it down to the deep south I think I will have my compressor checked. Those guys know ac systems. I think it has a bad bearing. Still works good, but its making some noise when its not engaged. Maybe they can put a pulley bearing in it or clutch. If not, I will just put on a new compressor.

So now I should be good for the winter on that. Since these trucks have just 1 belt, one needs to make sure everything is good. Otherwise it could leave you sitting real easy. I think 250k on those bearings is plenty. Ive heard of all sorts of horror stories from the guys who have had pulley bearing troubles on the road. Since its not too bad of a job, I figured I would pay a lil now than a lot latter.

I prolly saved myself a good 6-800 by replacing just he bearings and not the assemblies.

I was involved in a 40 car pileup south of Laramie wyo the other day. I crested a hill southbound on hwy 287 and was surprised by about 15 semis all crossed up. Yea I was in a blizzard. I was empty and heading back to Indy on I80 in wyoming. It took me till I was about 3 feet to hitting a car to get stopped. It was glare ice. I ended up shifting my transfer case to low range while the wheels were locked up. I then shifted it to 3rd on the trans and let the clutch out. Thats the only way I got it stopped. Everytime I hit the brakes the truck just slid. I was down to about 5mph when I shifted the Tcase to low range. Sure glad I had a 4x4. I would have crashed my truck good.

Then I looked in my mirror. There was 3 jacked knife semis coming up on the pile up behind me. The first one ended up crossing the whole roadway and the other 2 hit him. I was safe. I was in a 40 car/truck pileup and never got hit or hit anyone. Man I was lucky. I then picked my way down the hill in low range and made it out of there. Luckily there was only a few minor injuries. Lots of smashed cars and trucks though. As I made it to ft. collins, co. the road going north was closed. They ended up closing the road both ways a bit later for 2 days. I 80 was closed for 3 and 1/2 days. It was a nasty storm. I barely got thru in time.

lol the road turned wet about a mile later. I never even thought to take a pic. I was pretty much flipped out. Just never even thought to grab the camera. Yea 1st snowstorm jitters of the year almost got me.

Got to love winter. I will think to take pics nest time for you all. Hopefully Im not in that mess again for a while!

Carey]]> Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:22:00 +0000 What we weren't expecting is that they flipped the axles when they put them on. Puff now sits WAYYYY off the ground, the side slide clears easily, AND draining the tanks should be MUCH more effective!! (I'll get pics of the new cloth, honey-combed, pull down/push up shades tomorrow)
]]> Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +0000

FRIDAY, 10/9 UPDATE: Tires & wheels deliered (Service guy says "ooooh. FANCY!" ) and axles are scheduled to arrive Monday)

Wednesday, 10/14 UPDATE: Dealer has confirmed that Puff is on the lift and axles are on (sort of). The axle work will be finished tomorrow and the new wheels/tires will be put on. She maybe ready to pick up tomorrow ... but since the hitch is in pieces in our garage, waiting for Kath to clean it up ... we'll probably not pick her up until this weekend. We are soooooo ready to have her home!!! ]]> Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:10:00 +0000 The final estimate for this most critical job is actually a whole lot better than we expected. (In order NOT to jinx anything ... we're NOT talking any real numbers here. Not now anyway...) Now - we just have to have all the pieces come together and the Dealer complete the install before the middle of Oct so we can make the New England Fall Rally.

We've also ordered new molding for both sides (yanno - that brown plastic stuff that trees eat off the lower outside edges.) and 2 new vent covers for the cargo bay. Our Dealer also got a PHENOMENAL price from Keystone for 5 pleated shades to finally replace those nasty metal ones. When they gave me the price - I thought it was for 1 + installation. Nope. She said it was for all 5 I'll let you all know if it really works out as quoted 'cuz - well - as I said - I thought she was telling me what just 1 shade would cost. Depending on timing (we've lost several weeks already), installation of these other components may have to wait until after the Fall Rally.

All in all, Puff will end up being an '08/'10 "hybrid" - - - with the axles, tires, & shade upgrades of the 2010 models and the queen bed & WHITE CABINETS of the '08. Oh - and Kathy reminds me that we also won't have to replace all the stickers on Puff's backside. Sounds to me like it'll be the best of both worlds!!! ]]> Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:52:00 +0000