Looking to Hit the Road!

[honda03842]

Originally Posted by rdickens

On our most recent trip (Houston), we stayed in a campground/RV-park that offered "free WiFI"
in their activity room (adjacent to the office). WiFi was not available (from the park anyway) in
the remainder of the park.

If you have a laptop (or tablet?), you could take advantage of those spaces and conserve
other paid bandwidth.

The previously described "dual monitor" setup was done with an MS/Windows laptop.
If you use a MAC or Linux, you might need to ask someone else if that "dual monitor"
configuration would work.

Ray

Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

Casey,

Over our 14 years wi-fi availability has grown enormously. Many private parks have 'free' WI-fi thru the park and these days even some state parks.

Our Escapee Park has multiple free wi-fi towers thru the park for guests and members.

As we travel, we carry our own wi-fi hotspot in the trailer. Over the last few years we've had a wifi signal just about every where we've been. We doi have a Wilson booster with provision for an outside antenna.

Since I'm retired and not working we carry the minimum, lightest, no failure prone hard drive, lowest cost laptop, a Samsung Chromebook. We've had it for 3 years, dropped it a number of times and no issues what so ever. Certainly not a business solution but great for us.

All our other electronic devices, pad and phones, are also Samsung.

[Glenn Baglo]

How are you going to get that 4K video from your trailer to your client?

[fridaynext]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

How are you going to get that 4K video from your trailer to your client?

A combo of LTE connections from multiple carriers. My main connection will likely be T-Mobile tethering on the $80 unlimited plan.

[honda03842]

Casey,

We are grandfathered into the Verizon 3G unlimited plan. We choose Verizon because they seem to be every where in NA. Our plan is $60. In addition to our 3G plan, we share 3 Gigs on our phone system.

I can't remember if I mentioned it but we moved into the RV from our house, parking it in the front yard, practicing for a few months. This allowed us to figure out things we didn't know or things we forgot.

[cpaharley2008]

You mentioned in your first post about relocating to California from Texas, have you given any thought to taxes? One may want to compare local and state taxes in California to Texas.

[fridaynext]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

You mentioned in your first post about relocating to California from Texas, have you given any thought to taxes? One may want to compare local and state taxes in California to Texas.

I haven't yet, but as Texas has no state Taxes, I'll definitely see what I can do about keeping an address here.

Originally Posted by honda03842

Casey,

We are grandfathered into the Verizon 3G unlimited plan. We choose Verizon because they seem to be every where in NA. Our plan is $60. In addition to our 3G plan, we share 3 Gigs on our phone system.

I can't remember if I mentioned it but we moved into the RV from our house, parking it in the front yard, practicing for a few months. This allowed us to figure out things we didn't know or things we forgot.

Have you looked into upgrading it to LTE? I've seen a number of threads on the main forum I frequent on doing just that. Verizon's LTE speeds are blazing fast, so it's worth considering.

I wanted to do an AOL of an unlimited VZW plan, but they stopped allowing that in November of 2014. I might still be able to find a way to slip through the cracks... [emoji1]

[Carol H]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Carol H View Post
Another good read posted by a member here in regards to his real life experience with towing with a Jetta rather than reading something written by someone who makes their living selling folks the means to tow over weight trailers...

Originally Posted by fridaynext

Carol, there's no need to be passive aggressive about this. I feel if everyone took a helpful critical approach, rather than verbally abusing the opposition on this forum, it would be a much more productive place.
Carol, there's no need to be passive aggressive about this. I feel if everyone took a helpful critical approach, rather than verbally abusing the opposition on this forum, it would be a much more productive place.

Seriously? When did posting a link to a post of a party who has been there and done that with the vehicle in question and had the courage to come forward and tell their actually experience become verbally abusing the opposition. Gezzz

I have personally found that nothing trumps hearing from someone who has actually done what you are contemplating and hearing from them the good and the bad. Even when its something we were hoping not to hear. As you are new to towing and this list I have no way of knowing that you were already aware of one of the weak links in regards to towing with your vehicle is the hitch attachment points.

Having pulled without incident for six years with a smaller tow vehicle that I loved and did not want to part with & was more than happy with its capability to tow the trailer solidly & safely, I am now well aware there was a big down side to having done so that I was not expecting and I like Barry I don't mind sharing that real life experience with that vehicle, so others can hopefully avoid the same.

Yes one can go to Can-Am and have them do an install to make it a much safer/solid tow and I would encourage you to talk directly to them and get a quote on what it will take to bring your vehicle hitch set up to the standard *they* feel is needed to make the vehicle safe to tow with in NA. It would be a good bet they are going to tell you that the hitch set up you currently have on the car is not it.

Again as you are new to towing I don't know if you are aware but there are actually few hitch shops else where that have the same level of knowledge or capability as Can-Am. I personally would not feel comfortable getting the modifications Can-Am feels are needed to make it safe done elsewhere, unless Can-Am themselves was willing to vouch for the other shops capablitlies & give them the blue print as to what all needs to be done and how.

You may find as others who have before you, that the cost of making it a safe & solid tow to Can-Am standards may be cost prohibitive or in worse case scenario more than the resale value of the vehicle in question if it is an older vehicle.

[MC1]

Originally Posted by rdickens

Casey,

Regarding the laptop vs desktop question .....

Originally Posted by rdickens

On our most recent trip (Houston), we stayed in a campground/RV-park that offered "free WiFI"

A laptop in a campground with free WiFi is icing on the cake.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by MC1

A laptop in a campground with free WiFi is icing on the cake.

Only if the free WiFi system at the campground is big enough/strong enough to handle the hundreds of folks running all the smartphones, iPads and laptops who are camping there, which sadly they are often not.

When having to do a lot of emails or send out attachments for work related items heading out and finding a Starbucks or other coffee shop with a stronger/faster service often becomes high priority.

[Glenn Baglo]

The OP is talking about filing 4K video, not emails.
Free campground WIFI would be useless.

[rdickens]

Not many people were on the WiFi in the "activity room", so it was fairly robust.

With a laptop or tablet, a Starbucks (or other free WiFi) becomes an option.
With a desktop/mini-tower .... not so much.

I have a mini-tower at home. I travel with a smartphone, tablet, and/or laptop.
IMHO - For trailer travel, a laptop and docking station offer more flexibility for the OP.

Ray


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[fridaynext]

Originally Posted by HarryHendersons

We thought about going the Tiny House route too!!! We even had tv shows trying to cast us...but then we realized for half the money we could get an awesome Fiberglass RV. Lol we totally planned our escape based on when our lease was up, because we couldn't see signing a whole new one. Here's some links that might help find the right trailer (this is a listing of all small trailer brands...there are some really nice teardrops that might work) Manufacturers | The Small Trailer Enthusiast
and this guy had some interesting stuff about small trailers but I haven't spent tons of time looking through it Guide To Ultra-Lightweight Travel Trailers Hope you guys find something cool!!!

Heh, that's awesome. Yeah I got pretty far into the TH build process, but things turned around, so we decided to go another route. The main reason we've chosen FGRV is that we don't want it to be a long term thing - more like just a couple months, until we decide on the next place to settle in. We just know that we hate TX, and can't wait to leave.

My wife even went to the apt office yesterday to ask what the lease cancellation terms were - b/c even 6 more months could be too much for us. LoL. I'm looking forward to sharing what we end up deciding on - thanks for the comment!

[fridaynext]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

The OP is talking about filing 4K video, not emails.
Free campground WIFI would be useless.

True. At the current moment, I'm a web developer, so I can get by with pretty slow internet to get the files I need, and do all my development locally. I'm getting into 4k video production though, and it'll definitely suck to be away from my current 300/20 hardline connection.

[MC1]

Originally Posted by fridaynext

I'm getting into 4k video production

Nice! I am one who appreciates HD and the sooner 4K becomes common place the happier I will be.

[HarryHendersons]

Originally Posted by fridaynext

True. At the current moment, I'm a web developer, so I can get by with pretty slow internet to get the files I need, and do all my development locally. I'm getting into 4k video production though, and it'll definitely suck to be away from my current 300/20 hardline connection.

Yeah, that and your desktop!

I'm in the middle of learning web development. My husband and I also work on some pretty large files for art jobs as well. I'm really interested in what you go with because we'll probably be looking for something similar. I haven't even looked into internet options...yet. Ugh. We are def fitting in the desktop we built though. That is a must.

[fridaynext]

Originally Posted by HarryHendersons

Yeah, that and your desktop!

I'm in the middle of learning web development. My husband and I also work on some pretty large files for art jobs as well. I'm really interested in what you go with because we'll probably be looking for something similar. I haven't even looked into internet options...yet. Ugh. We are def fitting in the desktop we built though. That is a must.

Yep Harry, I'm quite fond of my custom built PC as well

[fridaynext]

Well, my wife and I have decided that we'd rather sell the Golf and get a more capable tow vehicle and larger trailer, so that we don't end up saying we didn't like the full-time RV'ing gig simply because the camper was too claustrophobic. I'm searching a couple of vehicles that have tow ratings of around 8K lbs, and we're also looking at the Casita Liberty.

We'll probably take a road trip up to Rice, TX soon, so that we can check them out in person and make sure they're the right brand for us, then we'll start the search for a used one.

[MC1]

There are a few over rated tow vehicles out there with high tow rating that make for a lousy tow vehicle. Do your research or you could end up with something less capable than the Golf.

There was a guy on another forum that had a perfectly good tow vehicle but got talked into "upgrading" not only once but twice, and still ended up with a tow vehicle that was inferior to his original TV. That exercise was about a $40,000 learning experience.

[fridaynext]

Originally Posted by MC1

There are a few over rated tow vehicles out there with high tow rating that make for a lousy tow vehicle. Do your research or you could end up with something less capable than the Golf.

There was a guy on another forum that had a perfectly good tow vehicle but got talked into "upgrading" not only once but twice, and still ended up with a tow vehicle that was inferior to his original TV. That exercise was about a $40,000 learning experience.

Care to share which ones are good?

[MC1]

Casey... I am a big fan of performance (braking and handling especially).

Audi SUV
VW T-Reg
Porsche Cayanne
BMW X5
Infiniti FX35 or FX45


Guess these are my top 5 preferences but realize they are over kill for a small glass egg. On other forums these vehicles are towing 25 to 30'+ trailers.

For a glass egg there are very few vehicles that can not tow one safely.

On Edit.... Some Mini Vans too are all around versatile and great tow vehicles. Don't be mislead by their modest tow rating.