Great place for information related to SEO, search engine optimization as it relates to web sites, blogs, and using SEO techniques for social networking and more. Latest news, processes and answers to questions to help you perform better on the internet by knowing how to use the proper resources
in reference to: Facebook | OnTheAvenues (view on Google Sidewiki)September 23, 2009
Best Forex Program Reviews. Top Forex Software Reviews.
Unbiased Forex Software Reviews, Forex Program Reviews. Using the best Forex software will net you more in forex returns!
in reference to:"Best Forex Program Reviews. Top Forex Software Reviews.Unbiased Forex Software Reviews, Forex Program Reviews. Using the best Forex software will net you more in forex returns!"
- Best Forex Program Reviews. Top Forex Software Reviews. (view on Google Sidewiki)
Trailer Life. RV Living
For People On The Road! Resource Guide For Trailers, 5th Wheels, MotorCoach. Trailer Living honors those folks who enjoy the freedom of being able to pick up and go whenever they wish. From trailer humor, trailer park living tips to useful RV, 5th wheel, motorcoach info to trailer parks and National parks information, RV cooking and so much more. We make trailer living and RV-ing hip, cool and fun.
in reference to: Trailer Life. RV, 5th Wheel, Motorcoach Resources. (view on Google Sidewiki)Trailer Life. RV Living
For People On The Road! Resource Guide For Trailers, 5th Wheels, MotorCoach. Trailer Living honors those folks who enjoy the freedom of being able to pick up and go whenever they wish. From trailer humor, trailer park living tips to useful RV, 5th wheel, motorcoach info to trailer parks and National parks information, RV cooking and so much more. We make trailer living and RV-ing hip, cool and fun.
in reference to: Trailer Life. RV, 5th Wheel, Motorcoach Resources. (view on Google Sidewiki)August 31, 2009
Turn Your Mini Van Into An RV
Do-It-Yourself RV. Turning Your Mini Van Into An RV
A 2006 Toyota Sienna minivan can be converted with minimal effort from soccer-mom special to RV Lite
What do you do when your itch to travel extends for thousands of miles, but your budget won’t support all those nights in hotels? For a trip across the United States and back earlier this summer, my husband and I found the solution in an RV Lite — a Toyota Sienna minivan that we converted with little cost or effort into our own smaller, stripped-down version of the old Volkswagen Vanagons we remembered from the 1970s.
For years we’d played with the idea of buying a real recreational vehicle. But price tags were discouraging: $70,000 to $125,000 for either a motorized version we liked or a combination of a small but well-made trailer and a truck to pull it. We didn’t want to buy used, fearing breakdowns. And there was the issue of fuel economy, which loomed large after the oil shock of 2008.
So we downsized the dream.
Our Sienna is a standard 2006 model with three rows of seats. We removed the middle and back rows, which are bolted into place and can be easily reinstalled anytime, and were left with a large open space, about 4 feet 6 inches wide and 8 feet long.
The first six feet back became the cargo area by day and — with luggage moved to the front seats — the bedroom at night. We looked at folding cots and inflatable mattresses but settled on using two flip-out foam beds that we’d bought years ago for visiting children to sleep on. The van has vent-style back windows — good for ventilation at night — and lots of storage cubbies and cup holders that we stuffed with handy items. For lighting, we found solar lanterns that use D batteries as storage cells. Leaving them near a window in the daytime kept them charged up for nighttime use.
The van also has privacy glass: reflective windows that work like one-way mirrors to the outside, so that it’s difficult for anyone to see in. Still, we did put up a couple of curtains at night, hung on pressure rods.
We bought a tiny camp stove but never used it. Moving fast over a lot of territory replete with cheap restaurants, we decided not to fuss with hot meals. For cold food, like sandwiches and breakfast cereal with milk, we carried a picnic-style Coleman cooler advertised as keeping ice for five days in hot weather. It almost did.
And that left just one issue, the elephant in the room: plumbing.
Camping does not have to be primitive. Many campgrounds all over the country, both public and private, have clean, well maintained flush toilets and hot showers. Using Internet sites and camping guides (especially AAA camp books, which worked well for our needs), we stuck to these places. But still, most people also like something of their own.
Behind the area where we made up our beds, our van has a shallow well of space where the rear seats normally fold down. We chose to view this as a separate room: the bathroom. Fortunately, the technology of portable toilets is now impressive in two vital respects: ease of cleaning and discretion, both visual and olfactory. We purchased something called an Envirolet, from Sancor Industries of Toronto, a tad pricey but on the cutting edge of these advances. We also found a portable plastic sink, folding to briefcase size, with separate compartments for clean and gray water and even a tiny mirror.
An RV Lite wouldn’t work for some people: the plus-size family we once saw at an RV show, for example, who squeezed into a small trailer and joked that once in, they’d never get out. But for us, the minivan was cozy and functional. And, running at 25 to 30 miles per gallon, economical enough so that we felt no guilt at all about staying every third or fourth night in a hotel.
By BARBARA IRELAND Published: August 30, 2009
A 2006 Toyota Sienna minivan can be converted with minimal effort from soccer-mom special to RV Lite
What do you do when your itch to travel extends for thousands of miles, but your budget won’t support all those nights in hotels? For a trip across the United States and back earlier this summer, my husband and I found the solution in an RV Lite — a Toyota Sienna minivan that we converted with little cost or effort into our own smaller, stripped-down version of the old Volkswagen Vanagons we remembered from the 1970s.
For years we’d played with the idea of buying a real recreational vehicle. But price tags were discouraging: $70,000 to $125,000 for either a motorized version we liked or a combination of a small but well-made trailer and a truck to pull it. We didn’t want to buy used, fearing breakdowns. And there was the issue of fuel economy, which loomed large after the oil shock of 2008.
So we downsized the dream.
Our Sienna is a standard 2006 model with three rows of seats. We removed the middle and back rows, which are bolted into place and can be easily reinstalled anytime, and were left with a large open space, about 4 feet 6 inches wide and 8 feet long.
The first six feet back became the cargo area by day and — with luggage moved to the front seats — the bedroom at night. We looked at folding cots and inflatable mattresses but settled on using two flip-out foam beds that we’d bought years ago for visiting children to sleep on. The van has vent-style back windows — good for ventilation at night — and lots of storage cubbies and cup holders that we stuffed with handy items. For lighting, we found solar lanterns that use D batteries as storage cells. Leaving them near a window in the daytime kept them charged up for nighttime use.
The van also has privacy glass: reflective windows that work like one-way mirrors to the outside, so that it’s difficult for anyone to see in. Still, we did put up a couple of curtains at night, hung on pressure rods.
We bought a tiny camp stove but never used it. Moving fast over a lot of territory replete with cheap restaurants, we decided not to fuss with hot meals. For cold food, like sandwiches and breakfast cereal with milk, we carried a picnic-style Coleman cooler advertised as keeping ice for five days in hot weather. It almost did.
And that left just one issue, the elephant in the room: plumbing.
Camping does not have to be primitive. Many campgrounds all over the country, both public and private, have clean, well maintained flush toilets and hot showers. Using Internet sites and camping guides (especially AAA camp books, which worked well for our needs), we stuck to these places. But still, most people also like something of their own.
Behind the area where we made up our beds, our van has a shallow well of space where the rear seats normally fold down. We chose to view this as a separate room: the bathroom. Fortunately, the technology of portable toilets is now impressive in two vital respects: ease of cleaning and discretion, both visual and olfactory. We purchased something called an Envirolet, from Sancor Industries of Toronto, a tad pricey but on the cutting edge of these advances. We also found a portable plastic sink, folding to briefcase size, with separate compartments for clean and gray water and even a tiny mirror.
An RV Lite wouldn’t work for some people: the plus-size family we once saw at an RV show, for example, who squeezed into a small trailer and joked that once in, they’d never get out. But for us, the minivan was cozy and functional. And, running at 25 to 30 miles per gallon, economical enough so that we felt no guilt at all about staying every third or fourth night in a hotel.
By BARBARA IRELAND Published: August 30, 2009
August 21, 2009
RV Breakdown. Be Prepared For RV Breakdown Check List
RV breakdown 101: Don’t let this happen to you! Be Prepared For RV Breakdown Check List
August 19, 2009
How RV Trailer Hitches Work
How Trailer Hitches Work
Whether you have a compact car or lifted diesel-powered 4X4, a trailer hitch is a vital part for towing any load. It is crucial to have the right tow-setup for your vehicle, so today I'm going to cover the basics of towing and the different types of trailer hitch setups to simplify your search for the perfect hitch.
If you own a car, your towing capacity will obviously be lower than if you owned a truck. The first thing you need to know is the towing capacity of your vehicle. This information can be found in the owner's manual. Most cars can tow around 3,000 pounds safely, while some trucks are built to tow loads of up to 30,000 pounds! The second thing you need to know is how much weight you need to tow. If you don't know the exact weight, you can try to estimate it to see if the total weight you'll be towing is within the specifications set forth by your vehicles manufacturer. If you can't reasonably estimate it, get some help and have the load towed to a scale so you can get the exact weight.
It is important to remember that safe towing involves a number of different elements: not only does your vehicle need to get the load up to a safe speed, but it also needs to be able to control that weight. When towing a load, brakes are just as if not more important than engine horsepower and torque because if you can't safely stop the vehicle, then you shouldn't be towing a load that heavy. So you need to evaluate the current condition of the brake system on your car or truck. Have the brakes been maintained properly? When was the last time you had the brake fluid changed? The last thing you want when towing is a brake system failure. You also need to think about where you are going to be driving. Are you going to be towing up or down hills? How windy do you expect it to be? Will the pavement be dry or wet? How much traffic do you have to navigate through to safely reach your destination? For the safety of you, what you're towing, and everybody else on the road, all these questions should be thought about and answered before you ever hitch something up to your vehicle.
For cars, towing setups are fairly simple because you can't tow that much weight. You'll need a trailer hitch, also known as a trailer hitch receiver, a trailer ball mount, and a trailer hitch ball. Hitch balls come in three sizes: 1-7/8", 2", and 2-5/16". A 2" ball with a 1" diameter shank is the most common size used for towing small and medium sized trailers. However, double check the size of the ball you need for towing and make sure the balls shank fits snuggly in the ball mount you are using. You will also want the trailer-hitch connection to be near level, but with a slight downward angle toward the car. This will help evenly distribute the weight and reduce trailer sway. Trailer ball mounts come in different sizes, make sure to choose one that will work well for your situation.
For trucks, there are far more towing accessories to choose from. In this article, I will only be covering the most common types used today. Some trucks have trailer hitches built into their rear bumper, others have a normal trailer hitch installed on them from the factory, and others will lack a trailer hitch all together. You'll need to evaluate what your truck has and go from there. Hitch ball sizes are the same: another tow option usually found on trailers which are intended for heavy loads use what's called a pindle hitch. A pindle hitch is basically a donut or ring which is made of thick steel that can handle the extreme torsional stress. Larger trucks also have 5th wheel mounting points in the bed of the truck, to which a 5th wheel hitch can be mounted. 5th wheels are used for hauling very heavy loads because it uses a much stronger hitch connection and because it centers the weight on the vehicle between the axles. This keeps the truck from tipping over backwards once it's loaded. Similar to a 5th wheel is the gooseneck hitch. A gooseneck hitch also attaches to the bed of the truck and thus centers the trailers weight, but a gooseneck hitch uses a traditional ball-style hitch rather than the 5th wheel-style of hitch connection. If you are towing a really heavy load, you might want to purchase a weight distribution system or stabilizer bars to help reduce or eliminate trailer sway.
I hope this article helps clarify the different types of trailer hitches and makes you think about some important aspects of towing loads. Remember, safety is the name of the game.
Click on the following links for more information about trailer hitches, 5th wheel hitch, gooseneck hitch, trailer hitch, or hitch bike racks.
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