Dutch_12078
Great Sacandaga Lake, NY
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Finally Fulltiming wrote:Dutch_12078 wrote: I guess "you had to be there" applies, but in reading your narrative, I couldn't help but wonder why you didn't back up to a safe turn around point when you saw that the road was deteriorating that badly?
By the time I realized it wasn't gonna get any better, I was about a mile past a safe turnaround on a twisting, narrow road. My backup ability just ain't that great!
Ok, I thought it might be something like that. Could've been worse though, at least you didn't have a toad hooked behind you. 
Dutch
'95 Coachmen Catalina 322XL
F-53 chassis, 460 V8
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bsinmich
Holland, MI
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I was visiting a cousin in NH a year ago and was going down a road like that. A fellow in a car stopped me and asked if I knew where I was headed. I hoped I was on the right road and when I said Joe & Stella he said I was right but if I wasn't going there I would be in trouble since there was no place to turn around my rig. It gets interesting to see a bear walking around outside your MH at night.
2003 Newmar Mountain Aire, Workhorse W22, & 2002 PT Cruiser w/Remco lube pump, Falcon 5250, & US Gear Unified Tow Brake
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kirkj55
Nor Cal
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I worry about situations like this myself, I started using "google earth" to scope out my route, It's a great tool and it is free.
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JoeChiOhki
Keizer, Oregon
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I cheat, my RV is a 4x4 and has a fairly good degree of ground clearance, plus there's 4 mirrors on each side (4 driver side and 4 passenger).
Follow along with me at The Journey of the Redneck Express
CB Channel 17 Redneck Express
'1992 Dodge W-250 Power Wagon - Club Cab Long Bed V8 5.9L 4spd H.D Auto 4x4 4.10 Gears
'1974 KIT Kamper 1106 - 11' Slide-in
'1987 Pullman Mini Camper
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mynetdude
Grants Pass, OR
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JoeChiOhki wrote:I cheat, my RV is a 4x4 and has a fairly good degree of ground clearance, plus there's 4 mirrors on each side (4 driver side and 4 passenger).
4 mirrors? Got any good pics of that? (sorry I know its OT, but this caught my attention)
I was getting phone calls, and I don't answer my phone unless its hands free when I am towing my 5ver and so I got mad and took off some random exit and did not know that exit actually was a "pre-exit" to a familiar town I knew about and did not make the right turn, instead I went straight and then up the hill after the exit so about 3-4 miles later I realized that the two lane road didn't have turn arounds so I started looking for private driveways that were wide/long enough to turn my 26' around so I found one alright but I had trouble backing because I had to watch for trees and embankments or the 5ver would pull my truck down with it.
End result was couple guys stopped to tell me there was another "double" turnaround about 3 miles ahead and even offered to assist me with knifing the 5ver to make the full turnaround. So i did that, with so much relief I spent an hour just doing that!
I now have a 35' 5ver and this is still one of my biggest fears since I rely on my Garmin GPS to get me through unknown territory  I do a lot of my pre-planning for departure/destination on Google but my Garmin does all my en-route directions, which it doesn't always do perfectly and I get stuck sometimes.
So what do you do if you get into some serious trouble before you realize its too late? Call for a tow for one which can be spendy and sometimes is unavoidable I suppose.
I have asked about installing a winch on my 2001 F-350 that would be strong enough to pull my TV and 5ver but I am not sure the TV could hold a winch big enough for that
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JoeChiOhki
Keizer, Oregon
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mynetdude wrote:JoeChiOhki wrote:I cheat, my RV is a 4x4 and has a fairly good degree of ground clearance, plus there's 4 mirrors on each side (4 driver side and 4 passenger).
4 mirrors? Got any good pics of that? (sorry I know its OT, but this caught my attention)
I was getting phone calls, and I don't answer my phone unless its hands free when I am towing my 5ver and so I got mad and took off some random exit and did not know that exit actually was a "pre-exit" to a familiar town I knew about and did not make the right turn, instead I went straight and then up the hill after the exit so about 3-4 miles later I realized that the two lane road didn't have turn arounds so I started looking for private driveways that were wide/long enough to turn my 26' around so I found one alright but I had trouble backing because I had to watch for trees and embankments or the 5ver would pull my truck down with it.
End result was couple guys stopped to tell me there was another "double" turnaround about 3 miles ahead and even offered to assist me with knifing the 5ver to make the full turnaround. So i did that, with so much relief I spent an hour just doing that!
I now have a 35' 5ver and this is still one of my biggest fears since I rely on my Garmin GPS to get me through unknown territory I do a lot of my pre-planning for departure/destination on Google but my Garmin does all my en-route directions, which it doesn't always do perfectly and I get stuck sometimes.
So what do you do if you get into some serious trouble before you realize its too late? Call for a tow for one which can be spendy and sometimes is unavoidable I suppose.
I have asked about installing a winch on my 2001 F-350 that would be strong enough to pull my TV and 5ver but I am not sure the TV could hold a winch big enough for that
Yup, I actually had a thread on them from my projects list.
You can read the original, albiet short, thread about it here:
Kit Kamper Projects, Project #11, Mirror Extensions
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mynetdude
Grants Pass, OR
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JoeChiOhki wrote:mynetdude wrote:JoeChiOhki wrote:I cheat, my RV is a 4x4 and has a fairly good degree of ground clearance, plus there's 4 mirrors on each side (4 driver side and 4 passenger).
4 mirrors? Got any good pics of that? (sorry I know its OT, but this caught my attention)
I was getting phone calls, and I don't answer my phone unless its hands free when I am towing my 5ver and so I got mad and took off some random exit and did not know that exit actually was a "pre-exit" to a familiar town I knew about and did not make the right turn, instead I went straight and then up the hill after the exit so about 3-4 miles later I realized that the two lane road didn't have turn arounds so I started looking for private driveways that were wide/long enough to turn my 26' around so I found one alright but I had trouble backing because I had to watch for trees and embankments or the 5ver would pull my truck down with it.
End result was couple guys stopped to tell me there was another "double" turnaround about 3 miles ahead and even offered to assist me with knifing the 5ver to make the full turnaround. So i did that, with so much relief I spent an hour just doing that!
I now have a 35' 5ver and this is still one of my biggest fears since I rely on my Garmin GPS to get me through unknown territory I do a lot of my pre-planning for departure/destination on Google but my Garmin does all my en-route directions, which it doesn't always do perfectly and I get stuck sometimes.
So what do you do if you get into some serious trouble before you realize its too late? Call for a tow for one which can be spendy and sometimes is unavoidable I suppose.
I have asked about installing a winch on my 2001 F-350 that would be strong enough to pull my TV and 5ver but I am not sure the TV could hold a winch big enough for that
Yup, I actually had a thread on them from my projects list.
You can read the original, albiet short, thread about it here:
Kit Kamper Projects, Project #11, Mirror Extensions
spiffy! You think like me! I am actually looking to install "curb" or "fender" mirrors like you see on school busses that have a front end and on some delivery trucks with a friend end on my F-350 as i have trouble seeing and judging where my wheels are going although I try to use the road paintedl ines as guides but I need more than that unfortunately.
My F-350 has the sliding extension mirrors, they are not powered though, I do not like the convex mirrors and would like bigger ones like some of the Chevy diesel p/u have bigger convex mirrors below the main mirrors; though mine are stock, do you know if I can put something else there that isn't stock?
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JoeChiOhki
Keizer, Oregon
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The big convex mirrors I have on mine are stick on types, which can be adhered to just about anywhere you want to stick them.
A friend of mine has an older F350 Crew Cab and he has the old tow mirrors instead of the slide out type, along with a secondary larger convex mirror that sticks out on its own bracket below the main mirrors.
My truck originally had the stock mirrors on it at one time, but they were removed at some point when it was still a Oregon State Parks rig. Looking back at the detail report on servicing and costs on the rig, it appears they had to replace the mirrors FIVE times, I'm guessing there were alot of clumsy drivers.
The big truck mirrors are heated, which is nice 
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Here'n'There
Texas
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Joined: 10/09/2008
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"My backup ability just ain't that great!"
Boy I hear that! A few weeks ago I had to back up just 1/3 of a mile at the end of a regular residential street - and that took a few years off my life!
I have a Garmin Nuvi GPS - it got me in the predicament... but thinking about it, if I had expanded the view, I would of seen that the road was a dead end with no intersecting streets. DUHHHHH
So lesson learned... Navigation systems CAN get you in trouble, but if you use it wisely, it can also prevent that sort of trouble.
We'll see ya........
Here'n'There
Dodge Ram 3500 Quad Cab Long Bed Diesel Dually
Carri-Lite 36SBQ 5th Wheel
On The Road With Here'n'There
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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I remember a few years ago where a German couple put a new BWM in a river using a GPS. Instead of a bridge it was a ferry crossing but the ferry was on the other side at the time.
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