keith_h

On 12/6/2023 at 10:02 AM, djsamuel said:

If you're not boondocking or adding solar perhaps switching to an AGM battery over a normal wet lead acid battery would be an option.  Less maintenance than what you have and a lot cheaper than switching to lithium.

I thought of lithium, but since I always hook up to electric, I couldn't justify the cost.  I switched to an AGM battery this time.

AGM have a different charging curve than your traditional wet cell lead acid battery so depending upon the age of the converter and coach alternator these might still need upgrading. There is no way to get an idea without the model number of the converter and year/model of the coach.

Newer quality converters will auto detect the battery type. Earlier ones that supported lithium relied upon jumpers or switches.

Most lithium conversions I have looked at are related to adding solar to travel trailers. This is one of the longer term plans for our trailer. These installs usually include upgrading wiring and other stuff that I suspect wouldn't be needed for a basic motorhome battery upgrade.

There are multiple concerns in regards to the alternator. One is the charging curve for lithium is different than lead acid. This is the same problem you see with older converters in that you will not obtain a full charge. Another is discharged lithium batteries can pull a lot of current which can cause the alternator to overheat. Output voltages from alternators can also be lower than needed for lithium (depends upon alternator). As I said a lithium capable DC-DC charger will handle this. It is also a common item used in solar/lithium upgrades.

Unless you replace the converter you will not be able to fully charge lithium batteries. It will still charge them but only to around 80%. I've also read that folks need to disconnect any alternator recharging of house batteries or add a DC to DC charger but am not well versed on the specifics. I suspect there are generator considerations as well depending upon how your coach is setup. The last thing to consider is lithium batteries don't charge below freezing so you want to look for heated batteries or ensure they are in a heated area (most people I've talked with do both). 

Ah yes the Howard Johnson's buttered split top hot dog bun that was grilled. Hated those as a kid but it was that or a hamburger which I liked even less.

I still have a wooden town building set I had as a young child which includes the pieces to build a Howard Johnson's. If that doesn't date me nothing will.

That's a place I haven't heard about since the late 60's when we lived in Missouri for about a year and a half. I would have been in 7th or 8th grade and went there with a couple of older cousins.

19 hours ago, ThemeParkCommando said:

Congrats on the new camper!  If you are a disney plus member, check out the September rates at the Fort, if you can go then.  I'm snagging another cabin this year, the rates are pretty low during the promotion. 

 

Thanks.

Florida in September is still too hot for us especially when we will be hanging out in large crowds. Not to mention being the peak of hurricane season where I rather be home here in NC and can ride one out if we are in the track.

We have been without a trailer since our Micro Minnie was hit by an uninsured driver in October of 2021. The insurance company ended up totaling it. Thankfully due to the pandemic distorting RV prices we came out well with the settlement. We decided to hold off on buying and to take our time looking at the different models for several reasons but the two biggest were the already low quality of RV construction getting worse during the pandemic and the distorted markets. We also wanted to see what some of the newer RV companies were going to do in regards to travel trailer introductions. About 2 weeks ago we picked up our new trailer. While the MSRP was higher than pre-pandemic dealers were more than willing to make deal and we ended up getting a little over 30% off on a 2023 that had just come onto the lot a week or two earlier. This was something that even a few months ago would have been hard to get but the dealers, or the ones I dealt with, appear to have recognized that the market is returning to its historical norms and the days of full price sales are over for the foreseeable future.

We had considered replacing the Micro Minnie with a newer version of the same model but didn't like the changes Winnebago has made in the intervening years. We also liked what Alliance has come out with but they are larger than what we were looking for and we didn't want to wait another year to see what they would introduce for smaller floorplans. So what did we end up with? A Grand Design Imagine XLS 22MLE. It is larger that the Micro Minnie but at 26 ft it is close enough to the 25 ft or under range I was looking for. We like the additional space and having a dinette plus living room seating. There is also more storage than we've ever had in a trailer. Like any new RV we have found a several problems but they are all minor such as a loose shower control and an unsealed area of vapor barrier where the utility port goes through the subfloor into the pass-through. To be honest I was expecting more issues and am pleasantly surprised there aren't more. We have another weekender planned for a nearby park in a couple of weeks after which I will contact the dealer to see about getting the problems fixed.   

Now to the "kind of". Campsite availability hasn't returned to pre-pandemic levels and as a result trying to get sites at our two favorite parks is still close to impossible unless you book them 4 - 6 months out. Rene should be retiring next year or the year after and I can't wait until we can have the time where we can book during the week when the campgrounds are empty. I don't think we will be getting back down to WDW until after Rene retires but we usually haven't had problems getting reservations there since we tend to go in the gap between Halloween and Thanksgiving or the tail end of January/early February. Arriving on a Sunday and leaving the following Friday or Saturday also helps. 

We're still not sure when we will be making our next trip to WDW but this eliminates our checkout day meal. We would always pack up, park in the overflow lot and take the bus to TE for brunch before hitting the road. It was also one of the places we would eat at on non-park days. As more things go away it is getting to the point that I am starting to wonder if staying at the Fort is worth the cost anymore. 

Took a quick glance at prices and they didn't seem to bad for the convenience to the hwy. I'll have to keep this in mind for when we have a new trailer and can get back out to travel.

3 hours ago, ThemeParkCommando said:

Here's to some hopeful reform from Iger.  Not sure if he can stop the avalanche, but I'm happy to see him back. 

A lot of that avalanche started do to actions taken under Iger's watch. It didn't hit critical mass until after he had left and Chapek took over adding his own mistakes. I'm not sure how many things Iger can fix as a number of them are out of his control being caused by industry wide problems. No matter how it turns out I don't see a reduction in Park and resort prices being in the mix. One of Iger's tasks is to find a new replacement which I think will complicate finding one as the best candidates will turn down the opportunity knowing Iger is always in the wings waiting to take over. This puts me in a more wait and see as I'm not sure Iger is the savior a lot of folks are hoping for.

Carolina Crossroads is near Roanoke Rapids and when it was first open was overnight friendly. We've never stayed there so I can't say if it still is I do know it gets generally good reviews. We live near Raleigh and WDW is about a 600 mile drive. I would guess it is about the same from Roanoke Rapids to Orlando. We didn't like driving the whole way with a trailer in tow so we would stop and overnight at the Savannah South KOA which is about halfway. It wasn't anything fancy but it was always clean when we stopped through. It is also where we would stop when we were going to spend a day or two in the area. There is a KOA in Lumberton, NC that is easy access to I-95 if that better fits your daily distance targets. It will put you about 500 miles from WDW.  Rennie listed some others which might fit your mileage requirements better.

The Fort is generally quiet during the week off-season. We like to plan our trips with an arrival on Sunday to take advantage of the relative quiet. Depending upon whether we plan to spend a day in Savannah we will either check out the following Friday or Saturday parking in the overflow lot for brunch at the Trials End before hitting the road.  

Could they be trying to drive more business to P&J's Southern Takeout? They use the same kitchen so it isn't like it is a custom item. It doesn't make sense then again removing it from the TE menu didn't make sense either.

As we have been looking to replace our travel trailer I've learned a lot about who owns who and what brands are part of what subsidiaries. I might be off some but I recall Thor and Forest River control about 80% of the RV market with Winnebago in third place with 8%. That doesn't leave much left for the rest of the bunch.

It looks like a really nice campground. We'd like to meetup again but with taking care of the granddaughter during the day our ability to get away has been curtailed for the foreseeable future. 

I don't think it would be weird as it offers both of you something you can enjoy.

20 hours ago, Robin said:

Today we say goodbye and hello. We noticed that the campground really filled up most of the spots had been taken. Still was very quiet except for a few barking dogs.

We had a nice breakfast outside soaking in the sun. You know those last moments before having to pack up and leave. Dishes and clean up done time to go. We are headed to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. We have four nights reserved at Creekside. It took us about 4 and half hours to drive over. The drive went well a few winding roads but, we made it.

We checked in was given some info and, maps on the area. Our site was right behind the pool. The pool was open and was pretty busy. My husband wanted to switch sites has it was kind of loud. Also are bed was right up against the building that the filter was in. We have a rear slide out. I talked him into staying we had a end spot and the site next to us was open. I knew we had plans to be gone most of the days. We ended up really liking this spot and glad we stayed put.

After setting up we started to get hungry. We decided to drive into Gatlinburg for a pizza and to look around. It's about a half hour drive. We drove down the Pigeon Forge attraction area with no desire to do any of it. Alot of it is the same stuff you see in other areas. We found a pizza place with parking for are big fan. The food was ok no complaints staff was friendly. After dinner we drove down the strip and we did not expect to see so many people. This was our first time here. It was a mad house I can only imagine how bad it gets in the summer. Parking was twenty dollars. We only wanted to walk around for a bit, so we passed. We went right back to the campground. The traffic was bad, and the GPS rerouted us and saved us some time and headaches. Once back we took out are bikes and rode around for a bit. It got quiet and the filter noise did not bother us. We watched some Tv and went to bed.

14 hours ago, Grumpy and Grandma said:

I think it's always busy..  We go to Gatlinburg once every 20 years whether we need it or not for that reason....

Yes that whole route from Pigeon Forge through Gatlinburg is a big mess of traffic. When going to Gatlinburg we try to park at one of the city lots and walk or use the trolley.

Glad to hear things started off on a good foot.

I hear you on going around Chicago. I hate the area where all of the interstates overlap there along the south side of Chicago and Lake Michigan. It was there that our travel trailer and truck were hit by a driver who lost control in the rain and spun into us. You'd think in the 40 years since we left the area they could have done something about that stretch of road.

It might be because Encato is set in Columbia not Mexico. 

48 minutes ago, Duane said:

It looks like they "moved" the resort that was supposed to be behind Pioneer Hall over to the Poly where the Luau show was...

Isn't that the new DVC tower they are building over there? I think it is suppose to open in 2024.

We can see DIT is back in fine (?) form.

1 hour ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Can I use that for the menus?

My guess is your flip phone will do just as good a job as a smart phone in keeping the paper menu from flying off your table.

Daughter number two would have loved the Nightmare Before Christmas tree. In fact it is her favorite Christmas movie which she introduced our granddaughter to last night. I think it will end up being GD's favorite too as the rest of the evening it was a 15 month old going around the house saying "Jack".

Duck can be fatty but drying it for 24 hours in the fridge and pricking the skin before cooking will help a lot of fat to render out. I like to smoke ducks, no Dave not that way, and the longer cooking time tends to render more fat than what I can achieve in the oven. We aren't big on turkey so it is not uncommon for us to serve smoked duck along with another poultry such as pheasant and ham for Thanksgiving.

3 hours ago, Grumpy and Grandma said:

The lack of open sites is happening across all campgrounds not just the FORT, just go on any RV blog/forum and many are complaining about the lack of availability in State parks and Private parks. RV sales have sky-rocketed the last 3 years.  

You can say that again. We use to be able to get one of our favorite sites at our goto state park a week or two out. After COVID hit it was hard to get anything covering a weekend unless you booked two to three months ahead of time. We ran into the same thing with the private campgrounds we use when we go to destinations only they can be fully booked even further out.  

As to RV's it looks like our trailer will be totaled (a good thing) for about what we paid (another good thing) for it due to the RV shortage pushing up prices. Rene and I have decided we are going to hold off on replacing it until RV demand and hopefully prices goes down. I also have concerns that the generally poor build quality will only be worse at the current time as the manufacturers push out more product than usual. We also think there will be a good chance for some great prices on low mileage used Class A's as people go back to the office and learn how much upkeep and costs RV have to them.

Hopefully the answer is not very long.