|
Spring is coming ...
On 3/19/14, 9:16 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 3/19/2014 8:18 AM, Poco Loco wrote: One of the most enjoyable trips I have taken was driving to Denver, CO via Rt. 90. I did so on a whim in the Ford F-350 diesel towing a car trailer to pick up a 1955 Ford F-100 pickup that a guy had for sale. Like many, I had flown back and forth over this part of the country many times while working and making trips to the West coast but this was the first time I could actually see what states like Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado actually looked like at ground level. Nebraska was strangely beautiful to me. I like being by myself and the trip across that state certainly makes you feel alone and away from everything. The only concern I had was fuel stops. There aren't many, so you have to make sure you fuel up when you can. The one fuel stop I found reminded me of an old, western stage stop or something. Friendly people but I have no clue how they survived or made a living out there. On the return trip I took Rt.80 east. I stopped at the World's Biggest Truck Stop in Iowa. Interesting place. It has everything you can imagine including huge shopping areas, doctors, dentists and damn good food! I spent some years attending college and working in that part of the country and saw all I really wanted to see of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, the Dakotas, et cetera. On one assignment, I spent a month on the road with a photographer writing and researching a magazine story on small town rail stations that had been abandoned or repurposed. We made a special effort to avoid "chain" restaurants and motels. It was interesting. I liked the old M-K-T stations the best. I spent a college Thanksgiving holiday at a buddy's farm in rural South Dakota. Talk about cultural shock...sheesh. :) I don't like driving long distances. These days, when I visit long-time buddies in the New Haven area, I take Amtrak and rent a car when I get there, and New Haven isn't that far of a drive, maybe 300 miles, a six hour drive if you don't get nailed in the NYC area. It's four and a half hours on the Acela, maybe an hour longer on the slower train. - - Rand Paul & Ted Cruz…your 2016 GOP nominees, because ‘Mericans deserve crazy! |
Spring is coming ...
On 3/19/2014 9:48 AM, H*a*r*r*o*l*d wrote:
On 3/19/2014 8:22 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 3/19/2014 8:16 AM, Poco Loco wrote: On Tue, 18 Mar 2014 19:54:55 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote: On 3/18/14, 7:45 PM, Poco Loco wrote: One thing I *really* don't like about motorhomes is that the generator must be run to get any decent cooling in the rig - even while going down the highway. We were passing one on I-95, just as we got next to it, something made a loud 'bang' in the generator compartment. I think he blew the engine in the thing. Scary. On the other hand, isn't it illegal in many states to be riding inside a towed RV? On what other hand? Your question makes no sense in the context given. Your comment was regarding a motorhome in which people are riding and have the generator on to run additional A/C unit(s). Harry responds with a question regarding the legality of riding inside a towed RV. Made no sense to me either because they are entirely different issues. Hary Is a trained abstractor. He can cloud any issue with his random thoughts. At the risk of being accused of addressing every post harry makes like others here.... I suggest you are about 180 off... the trained un-abstractor is loogie, harry is easy to pin down... you always know what he is gonna' say the history is solid:) |
Spring is coming ...
On Wed, 19 Mar 2014 08:54:05 -0500, Boating All Out wrote:
In article , says... One of the most enjoyable trips I have taken was driving to Denver, CO via Rt. 90. I did so on a whim in the Ford F-350 diesel towing a car trailer to pick up a 1955 Ford F-100 pickup that a guy had for sale. Like many, I had flown back and forth over this part of the country many times while working and making trips to the West coast but this was the first time I could actually see what states like Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado actually looked like at ground level. Nebraska was strangely beautiful to me. I like being by myself and the trip across that state certainly makes you feel alone and away from everything. The only concern I had was fuel stops. There aren't many, so you have to make sure you fuel up when you can. The one fuel stop I found reminded me of an old, western stage stop or something. Friendly people but I have no clue how they survived or made a living out there. On the return trip I took Rt.80 east. I stopped at the World's Biggest Truck Stop in Iowa. Interesting place. It has everything you can imagine including huge shopping areas, doctors, dentists and damn good food! 90 doesn't hit Nebraska. South Dakota. Whatever road you took, you're right about Nebraska. It has some of the least populated counties in the U.S. It's surreal driving through the sand hills. Makes you wonder. I forget about what. The last time I was in the Sand Hills was with a government Dodge truck pulling a very overloaded government office trailer. The distance between two gas stations was 126 miles. The truck did 120. Luckily we only had to wait a half hour for another car to come along and give us a six-mile ride. |
Spring is coming ...
On Wed, 19 Mar 2014 09:57:19 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote:
On 3/19/14, 9:16 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 3/19/2014 8:18 AM, Poco Loco wrote: One of the most enjoyable trips I have taken was driving to Denver, CO via Rt. 90. I did so on a whim in the Ford F-350 diesel towing a car trailer to pick up a 1955 Ford F-100 pickup that a guy had for sale. Like many, I had flown back and forth over this part of the country many times while working and making trips to the West coast but this was the first time I could actually see what states like Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado actually looked like at ground level. Nebraska was strangely beautiful to me. I like being by myself and the trip across that state certainly makes you feel alone and away from everything. The only concern I had was fuel stops. There aren't many, so you have to make sure you fuel up when you can. The one fuel stop I found reminded me of an old, western stage stop or something. Friendly people but I have no clue how they survived or made a living out there. On the return trip I took Rt.80 east. I stopped at the World's Biggest Truck Stop in Iowa. Interesting place. It has everything you can imagine including huge shopping areas, doctors, dentists and damn good food! I spent some years attending college and working in that part of the country and saw all I really wanted to see of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, the Dakotas, et cetera. On one assignment, I spent a month on the road with a photographer writing and researching a magazine story on small town rail stations that had been abandoned or repurposed. We made a special effort to avoid "chain" restaurants and motels. It was interesting. I liked the old M-K-T stations the best. I spent a college Thanksgiving holiday at a buddy's farm in rural South Dakota. Talk about cultural shock...sheesh. :) I don't like driving long distances. These days, when I visit long-time buddies in the New Haven area, I take Amtrak and rent a car when I get there, and New Haven isn't that far of a drive, maybe 300 miles, a six hour drive if you don't get nailed in the NYC area. It's four and a half hours on the Acela, maybe an hour longer on the slower train. Good. You undoubtedly saw everything worth seeing. |
Spring is coming ...
On 3/19/2014 8:52 AM, Poco Loco wrote:
On Wed, 19 Mar 2014 08:21:58 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote: On 3/19/14, 8:16 AM, Poco Loco wrote: On Tue, 18 Mar 2014 19:54:55 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote: On 3/18/14, 7:45 PM, Poco Loco wrote: One thing I *really* don't like about motorhomes is that the generator must be run to get any decent cooling in the rig - even while going down the highway. We were passing one on I-95, just as we got next to it, something made a loud 'bang' in the generator compartment. I think he blew the engine in the thing. Scary. On the other hand, isn't it illegal in many states to be riding inside a towed RV? On what other hand? Your question makes no sense in the context given. Sure it does. In a motorhome, the passengers get to enjoy some of the conveniences of the motorhome while it is underway. In a towed RV, in most states, your conveniences while underway are limited to what's available in the truck, because it is illegal to be inside the RV. Got it? Abstract thinking, Johnny. Give it a try. If you are able. What was abstract? You're proud that you can ask a nonsensical question? The enjoyment of 'some of the conveniences of the motorhome' has never been an issue with us. Neither of us has ever said, "Wouldn't it be nice to go back and pee, cook, sleep, watch TV, etc." I suppose you'd get a charge out of it, but those 'conveniences' aren't, to me, worth the hassle and expense of a motorhome suitable for only one thing. I wouldn't want my wife back there cooking while going down the road, and I can't see anything else that would make the motorhome all that practical. Everybody is different... If we ever get our asses out of the situation we are in now we plan to get a pickup truck with a slide on camper for me, and tow a trailer with bikes and residence for Jess... In a pinch we can tuck into either, or dump both and ride it out in the pickup. One thing we have different that most of you (I suppose) is that when we are heading for a race with bad weather expected, we don't re-route or reschedule our trip so it happens we have found ourselves camping in tornado warnings more than once... nothing worse than sitting in a tent or a jeep on the top of a bald hill while tornadoes are touching down in the area... Someone said one touched at the other end of the parade field in one trip, it was nuts.. |
Spring is coming ...
On Wed, 19 Mar 2014 09:17:46 -0400, H*a*r*r*o*l*d wrote:
On 3/19/2014 8:16 AM, Poco Loco wrote: On Tue, 18 Mar 2014 19:54:55 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote: On 3/18/14, 7:45 PM, Poco Loco wrote: One thing I *really* don't like about motorhomes is that the generator must be run to get any decent cooling in the rig - even while going down the highway. We were passing one on I-95, just as we got next to it, something made a loud 'bang' in the generator compartment. I think he blew the engine in the thing. Scary. On the other hand, isn't it illegal in many states to be riding inside a towed RV? On what other hand? Your question makes no sense in the context given. Where did you ever get that notion? I have never felt the need to run the generator underway. I don't know why the guy had his running, but I do know the friends who bought the Winnebago Journey use the generator to cool the rig. The little air conditioner in the 'cab' isn't sufficient when driving where it's hot. |
Spring is coming ...
On Wed, 19 Mar 2014 09:28:22 -0400, H*a*r*r*o*l*d wrote:
On 3/19/2014 8:29 AM, F*O*A*D wrote: On 3/19/14, 8:18 AM, Poco Loco wrote: On Tue, 18 Mar 2014 19:44:42 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote: On 3/18/14, 7:35 PM, Poco Loco wrote: On Tue, 18 Mar 2014 18:25:13 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote: On 3/18/14, 6:04 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 3/18/2014 5:40 PM, Poco Loco wrote: On Tue, 18 Mar 2014 17:03:16 -0400, "Mr. Luddite" wrote: On 3/18/2014 3:25 PM, Poco Loco wrote: On Tue, 18 Mar 2014 15:18:37 -0400, H*a*r*r*o*l*d wrote: On 3/18/2014 1:36 PM, Wayne.B wrote: On Tue, 18 Mar 2014 13:15:14 -0400, H*a*r*r*o*l*d wrote: On 3/18/2014 12:55 AM, wrote: On Mon, 17 Mar 2014 21:49:28 -0400, Wayne.B wrote: On Mon, 17 Mar 2014 17:21:20 -0500, Boating All Out wrote: If I had the money to spend I'd design a light trawler capable of 15 mpg. === There's no such animal. Even small sailboats do not get that kind of fuel economy under most conditions. I get around 8-9 MPG at hull speed in my boat. I get around 8 or 9 mpg in my yacht. === How long do your tires last? Don't know. They look new. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and spend the bucks for some tires for the Silverado. About settled on Michelin LTX MS/2. WalMart's got 'em for $216, plus $12 mounting/balancing/etc. That's $28/tire less than Costco - which also charges $15/tire for mounting/balancing. You need tires already? How many miles do you have on that beast? My truck just turned 22,000 miles. Had it since 2008. Tires are still like new, pretty much. I think they'll rot before they wear. It's got 57,001 miles on it right now - most of those pulling that trailer. These tires are probably good for another 4-5K, but if we decide to take that trailer out to Yellowstone, which is in our thoughts, I wouldn't try it with this set. We tried the RV thing for a while. Just never got into it. The first TV and major trip was in a 36 or 37 foot Pace Arrow Class A motorhome. JiminFl should remember that one well. I bought it brand new and we were on our way to Florida, climbing some hills on Rt 84 in Virginia somewhere. All of a sudden I felt and heard an explosion but everything seemed fine. I stopped for gas and was checking to see what the noise came from. Discovered I must have caught a rock or something between the tires on one rear side. (It had duals on the back). Whatever I hit ripped a hole in the side wall of the inner tire and it was flat. It was in a pretty remote area with nothing but hills and farms around. Finally found a truck repair place and pulled in. Nice people but they had to special order a new tire so we camped in their parking lot for the night while they sent a guy to who knew where to pick up the tire. That was the first of several bad experiences with that piece of junk. Lost the brakes on it and had to be towed with a giant tow truck. I also discovered that the rubber fuel line for the generator was chaffing against a frame section that had been cut with a torch by the manufacturer of the RV and left rough and ragged. (They cut the frame to add an extension). Got rid of it fast. On our recent trip to south Florida, we flew for about $225 each round trip, got the Exit Row seats, and got there in two hours and twenty minutes. Rented a car for the week for $198. Stayed in a four/five star hotel right on the beach for about $200 a night. Airfare, car rental and hotel for under $1800. I spent $20 to fill the car with gas when turning it in. Big, comfy RV, towed by a diesel truck...hmmm...about 1200 miles each way, total of 2400 miles getting there and back. 10-12 mpg, let's say 12. 200 gallons of diesel @4.00 a gallon. And that doesn't include wear and tear on your tow vehicle and trailer... $800+ for fuel. And all the wonderful sights along I-95. Blech. :) It's a 15 to 20 hour drive in a car. Been there, done that. So, a full day each way, and then you have to sleep for half a day when you get there or back. Three days lost in travel and aftermath of travel. Food on the road, three meals a day, at least $50 a day per person. Say $125 for food on the road. Six nights in a first-class beachfront RV park. That I don't know...but there were no such RV parks where we were. $75 a night? $500? And you really truly have to enjoy driving and driving and driving. I *hate* that. Yellowstone is about 2200 miles from here. Twice as far as Hollywood-Ft. Lauderdale. Oi! Different strokes, of course. But... Oi! And you brag about your 'twin-dieseled, Volvo powered trawler. What a joke. I won't counter your silly argument. Not worth it. You like the view from 35,000 feet. I don't. Even a long, slow boat ride down the ICW is better than a long, slow drive down I-95. The beauty of the view from 35,000 feet is that within the United States, it doesn't last very long. It's a six hour flight to Jackson Hole. How long is the drive? 40-60 hours? :) Of course, if one is "retired," time has little meaning. Oh, and I hardly "brag" about boats, cars, motorcycles, et cetera. I barely mention them. Actually, FOAD, I'd probably not be going down I-95 to get to Yellowstone. But, to each his own. Abstract thinking, Johnny...give it a try. No one said or implied you'd be going "down" I-95 for your westward covered wagon trek to Yosemite. Oh, and wouldn't you get on the Beltway at Van Dorn to get to I-66 West, assuming you were going west on I-66 for at least some distance? The Beltway is the I-95/295/395/495 connector looparound the Washington metro area. Driving to Yosemite hauling a 35-foot land yacht. Sheesh. You really gotta love those endless drives on the Interstates. Actually Haree, we just got back from a month long tour of the deep south. We met some of the nicest, friendliest people along the way. It wouldn't have happened at 35000 feet. The best you could expect up there is to be seated next to a smelly old fat guy. But maybe that doesn't bother you. I avoid public transportation of any sort whenever I can. It's also been our experience that you meet very nice people along the way. We've made some good friends of folks we've met at campgrounds. We've even had great neighbors staying in a Flying J parking lot. |
Spring is coming ...
On 3/19/14, 10:17 AM, Poco Loco wrote:
On Wed, 19 Mar 2014 09:57:19 -0400, F*O*A*D wrote: On 3/19/14, 9:16 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote: On 3/19/2014 8:18 AM, Poco Loco wrote: One of the most enjoyable trips I have taken was driving to Denver, CO via Rt. 90. I did so on a whim in the Ford F-350 diesel towing a car trailer to pick up a 1955 Ford F-100 pickup that a guy had for sale. Like many, I had flown back and forth over this part of the country many times while working and making trips to the West coast but this was the first time I could actually see what states like Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado actually looked like at ground level. Nebraska was strangely beautiful to me. I like being by myself and the trip across that state certainly makes you feel alone and away from everything. The only concern I had was fuel stops. There aren't many, so you have to make sure you fuel up when you can. The one fuel stop I found reminded me of an old, western stage stop or something. Friendly people but I have no clue how they survived or made a living out there. On the return trip I took Rt.80 east. I stopped at the World's Biggest Truck Stop in Iowa. Interesting place. It has everything you can imagine including huge shopping areas, doctors, dentists and damn good food! I spent some years attending college and working in that part of the country and saw all I really wanted to see of Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado, the Dakotas, et cetera. On one assignment, I spent a month on the road with a photographer writing and researching a magazine story on small town rail stations that had been abandoned or repurposed. We made a special effort to avoid "chain" restaurants and motels. It was interesting. I liked the old M-K-T stations the best. I spent a college Thanksgiving holiday at a buddy's farm in rural South Dakota. Talk about cultural shock...sheesh. :) I don't like driving long distances. These days, when I visit long-time buddies in the New Haven area, I take Amtrak and rent a car when I get there, and New Haven isn't that far of a drive, maybe 300 miles, a six hour drive if you don't get nailed in the NYC area. It's four and a half hours on the Acela, maybe an hour longer on the slower train. Good. You undoubtedly saw everything worth seeing. There you go again. I didn't say or imply I saw "everything worth seeing" in that part of the Midwest and West. I said I saw everything I *wanted* to see there. The night city editor at the KC Star warned young reporters not to screw up too badly because, he said, if we did, he'd post us to Great Bend, Kansas, for a month. Hell, there were worse places in Kansas back then than Great Bend. Wes Gallagher and Keith Fuller, my old bosses at The Associated Press, gave me a similar warning when I was promoted to Correspondent for a good chunk of West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky. "Screw up there, and we'll send you out to the South Dakota bureau." I told him I'd already been to South Dakota. Fuller's last words to me: "Get your ass out of here (NY AP offices) and get down to West Virginia." Once we got to West Virginia, we stopped for gas at a really rural station. The attendant looked into our car and asked, "What kind of dog is that, mister?" His buddy, who was wiping the windshield, said, "That's no dog, you dummy...that's a Siamese cat. I saw one in a picture book once." He was right...it was a Siamese cat. Obviously, he was too sophisticated for his town. I had a great time in West Virginia. Met some terrific people. -- Rand Paul & Ted Cruz…your 2016 GOP nominees, because ‘Mericans deserve crazy! |
Spring is coming ...
|
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 04:37 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2014 BoatBanter.com