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By Katrina Kane, on April 10th, 2010
It is census time again and I thought a little ranting was in order. What a crock! On the good side, at least this one was short and nowhere near as invasive as the last one was. The last one was incredibly personal with far too much info being gathered, info that is quite public whether they put our names on it or not. After playing with GIS (Geographic Information System), I could see how that info is provided to anyone and used quite a bit in business to decide what to sell, where to sell it, who to sell it to, how much crap people will take, etc.
On the downside, lots of people are still not being counted or in the case of RVers, are being counted in the wrong place. Remember, the census is used by the government to make decisions about our lives, to apportion funds to the states, and to set the number of representatives allowed for each state. This is important stuff! Yet, the government sets rules for it that make it difficult to count homeless, migrants, and RVers. The census is sent to home mailboxes not mailing services such as full-time RVers use and they hope to catch the rest of us by having census workers walk around various places or by having us walk in somewhere if we know where and are nearby. No one came walking around the RV park I was in this winter. I heard the Escapees club mailing service had made arrangements to get the census out to their full-time members but at the last minute the government changed their minds and decided not to allow it. Instead, only members who happened to be in the area were able to walk in to a nearby office to fill one out. I did get to fill one out but it was in the state I was in at the time rather than the state that is my legal residence. States need to recognize their RVing constituents and petition for a better accounting of them in the census so they get what they should have.
More nonsense came my way just before I left Utah. A local government representative came in the RV park I was staying at and found a couple rigs there with expired tags. She smelled tax money and went wild. Rather than walk around the park to check tags which is part of her job, she walked around and slapped scary tax man forms on every RV door stating we had to fill them out or face being taxed by a state we weren’t residents of. Now full-time RVers usually live on fixed incomes, plan their taxes very carefully, and move around a lot. They stay in one place for the winter usually then move on again. Florida has no problem with that and encourages us to winter there since we generate a lot of revenue for them in purchases, sales taxes, toll roads, camping fees, etc. The idea of being taxed just for visiting a state set off a great anger and panic in the park. But she didn’t stop there. She went to the park managers with a stack of forms and ordered them to give one to every RV that pulls in to stay the night. Can you imagine how fast that would kill off their business?! I would not stay at any park that handed me such a form as I pulled in and neither would most others. I also find it amazing she had time to do the walking around but no time to check our license plates. WAKE UP, UTAH! You just lost a bunch of business. Several folks pulled out right after that and many others will not go there now.
By Katrina Kane, on March 17th, 2010
Time for the necessaries before getting back on the road. Started out by washing and waxing the trailer. An RV should look it’s best when checking into RV parks no matter what age it is or it may be turned away. Unfortunately, many RV parks will not let you do that due to water restrictions or they want you to pay some ridiculous fee to do it. If I’m going to pay someone $10 for the privilege, I expect them to do the work as well!
Lubed the slideout then distributed it and tested by running it in and out. You don’t want to find out the day of your departure from winter quarters that it is not working.
Replaced the broken refrigerator vent cover which also helped to improve the trailer appearance. Still have to replace the other vent covers but I have those on board and ready for another sunny day to do it. It was funny because while I was up on the roof, everybody came by to give me advice or ask if I needed help.
The microwave oven died. I put my handy dandy brother to work and he fixed a loose wire.
Took the SUV in for an oil change and lube job. I spoke to a mechanic about my wonky brakes going rat-a-tat-tat and ended up replacing both rotors on the front and brake pads. Considering the huge amount of mountain driving I have done in the past 2 years, the rotors did very well and deserved to retire. They just finally burned up. Braking is smooth as silk again now.
I pulled everything out of the SUV to get rid of some things I didn’t need and repack everything. I found a few missing items. This is a spring ritual all RVers seem to know. Everyone that came by asked if I was heading back out on the road soon. LOL For the items I didn’t need, I gave them away to fellow RVers directly or put them in the laundry room with a note stating “Free. Take me.” It pays to do laundry in parks I am staying at. Snicker.
Continue reading Spring Cleaning
By Katrina Kane, on February 27th, 2010
Went to the Jordan Circus with my brother. Just a little one and a bit on the expensive side but something different to do on a winter’s day and enjoyable.
Went to Surf ‘n Swim at the Layton City Pool. They have a wave pool! It has a beach in a way as the pool slopes slowly down into deeper water and it is sooo warm. Floated on a tube. Cost is minimal and well worth it. In the winter it is covered by a tent-like structure and in the summer it is an outside pool which I suspect can get quite busy. We definitely have to go back there again.
Spring coming and my feet have been getting itchy for the road. Can’t leave yet so I went to the Utah RV Show to satisfy my burning hunger. Wow! So many improvements and niceties have been added to RVs. I love my trailer but the new ones are really looking good and even more comfortable. Weights have really come down for them too. Will definitely be going to a 30 footer for my next RV thanks to that (mine is 26 foot). Managed to refrain from buying a new RV but I found one I really like and got a few ideas for changes to mine. I won a prize at one booth and met someone from an RV park I want to go to. I highly recommend buying your ticket to RV shows online where you get a discount and can get in fast. Search for the RV show name to find a site or check Good Sam’s list of RV shows. After the show, I hit up Camping World and went geocaching in the area.
Other things to do in winter in Utah (if you don’t ski) is hit up the thrift stores, Deseret Industries. They are quite excellent and plentiful around the Salt Lake area. My brother has managed to find 3 lines of items he can buy cheap there and sell on Ebay for as much as 10 time more! I just look for stuff for myself. I have found craft kits, office items, a humidifier, computer games, soup bowls, holiday decorations, etc. there. They have everything you can think of and a few you probably didn’t think of.
TIPS: check everything there before you buy and expect electrical items not to work though most will work. Bring several batteries of all types to test items. There are no returns. Don’t expect to walk in and buy a complete system. They tend to, in my opinion, devalue their items by breaking them up and selling them off in pieces. You will have to pick up the main part or console then go looking for power cords, rechargers, games sticks or pads, etc. You won’t usually find it all together as one. Bring items you want to donate to clean up your own house.
Now if you are in Florida, don’t forget to hit up those flea markets. Florida is great for those and even if you don’t buy anything they can be fun to look around.
Took my brother out to dinner for Valentines Day. Stop laughing! I told him for the evening he was Brad Pitt as far as I was concerned but he would turn back into a toad as soon as we got home. Better than nothing.
By Katrina Kane, on January 22nd, 2010 Brrr. Brrr. I want my Florida… BAD! Well, here we are in a new year and I sure hope this month is not a sign of the rest of the year. It’s cold. No, it’s freezing here. This trailer was made for the southern climate where it thrives. There is nothing special added to combat the northern cold. After 2 winters in Florida, I suppose I got spoiled. I had planned on being in Quartsite, AZ by now with the other snowbirds but I had to give that up to help out my brother here. Rackas frackas $%^&*9. I know. I know. Family comes first and Arizona will still be there next year. But grumbling makes me feel better.
So, first my car battery dies, a victim of the cold. A look at the date on the battery told me it was hopeless. I needed a new battery. Unfortunately, it would be several days before my brother could come by. OK, no problem. I had groceries on board, heat, and water. Oops! Did I say heat and water? That night my pipes froze. Not just my water pipes but my sewer hose and tank valves too. All frozen solid thanks to temps in the single digits and OK so I forgot to run the faucet. Then to top it off, the furnace motor died the next day. EEK! This is just not a good omen for the rest of the year. I grabbed a spare heater I had just picked up from my storage (just in case) and ran 2 electric heaters to stay warm. My brother finally made it up here and I put him right to work. First we bought a new battery to get my SUV running. I opened up the space under the shower to help thaw that pipe. My brother shoved his propane BBQ under the trailer with the cover on to thaw out the valves and pipes underneath. It actually worked very well and we kept a close eye on it. I was able to get the water hose off and let it thaw out in the shower area. The sewer hose was another matter. It disintegrated. I had to run up to the 24 hr. Walmart in the middle of the night to get a new one. I made many trips to Walmart that night.
Continue reading New Year, Tough Month
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