Thursday, April 14, 2011

IS IT TIME TO LOSE SOME WEIGHT???

Tuesday, April 12 – Time for our Miss Phaeton (our motor home) to step on the scales. This morning we have an appointment with the Escapee SmartWeigh Program to have a “Four Corner” weighing of our motor home. They weigh each corner to verify that you are within the weight parameters of the motor home manufacturer and your tire manufacturer.

Escapee has built a nice weighing area near the activity center.

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Mark Nemeth is the SmartWeigh Coordinator. Mark had Paul drive around the campground for a few minutes in the MH before the weighing to get the suspension and air bags all loosened up. Paul then pulled slowly onto the weighing pads. 

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Mark checked the weight of the front corners. He had Marsha get in the passenger seat before doing the font axle reading.

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He then had Paul pull up and stop with the rear axle on the weigh pads.

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Here are the results.....Right Front = 5480 pounds Right Rear = 10280 pounds

passenger-back

Before reading.

gauge-before-weighing

Rear reading.

passenger-back-2

Left Front = 5680 pounds Left Rear - 8900 pounds

driver's-back

Mark explained all the readings.

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These weighs are well within our weight restrictions. Our front axle is rated at 12,000 pounds and our rear axle is at 20,000 pounds. Our front tires are rated 6950 each and our rears (duals) at 12660 pounds.

You may have noticed that our right rear is the heaviest corner......that is where Marsha's closet is located!.....ha ha!!! That's a joke dear   :=)

Actually, the RR of Tiffin Motorhomes are known for being the heaviest corner. That is where the 6-batteries are located, the kitchen is on that side, most men have their tools in that area, holding tanks are located in the rear, etc.... Paul did say he might move his tools to the other side to try to balance Marsha's closet.....LOL

Paul was VERY satisfied with the results of the four corner weighing. Escapees is providing a WONDERFUL service to RV owners by offering this weighing program. So many RVers are traveling unsafe because they are overweight.

There are four basic reasons why the RV should not be overloaded and more reason to get your RV weighed.

  • First, the reliability and durability of the RV will be greatly diminished as a direct result of our demanding that it do more work than it was designed for.
  • Second, the personal safety of the RVers, their passengers, as well as others on the road, will be in jeopardy.
  • Third, any warranty coverage for what is likely the second largest purchase ever by the RVer may be lost.  
  • Finally, and probably most importantly, the legal and financial liability of operating the RV beyond the federal and manufacturer's limitations is more than most RVers are willing to accept.

The weighing costs $40 and is well worth it! You do not have to be an Escapee member to take advantage of this service. To set up an appointment, visit the SmartWeigh website. A shout out to Escapees!!!
 

Wednesday, April 13 – We had a busy day visiting with friends here at Rainbow's End. We had lunch with Fran & Wayne at the CARE house. This is a semi-assisted living facility here at Rainbow's End.

fran-and-wayne

They live in their MH parked on a CARE campsite but eat meals and have activities at the CARE facility. What a beautiful place they have. Wayne has done a beautiful job planting lots of flowers.

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Fran has the cutest bird houses. This one was so unique.

fran-bird-house

After lunch we wondered outside to see Wayne's birthday gift.....a tree planted on the CARE grounds. Fran picked it out and Wayne planted to replace a tree that didn't survive the winter and draught. Thanks for a delicious lunch, and thank you for picking up the tab, Wayne. What a nice surprise.

When you travel like we are doing, you just do the strangest things some times. Tonight we went with Linda and Ed to play BINGO. They play several times per week. Tonight is at the VFW Hall in Livingston. This was Paul's first experience with “real” Bingo. He's played the game but not as an adult in an “organized” hall. Pretty impressive operation. These people take BINGO pretty serious.

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You would think out of nine games we would win at least one BUT noooooooo. Paul, Marsha, and Linda donated their money to the hall……. BUT Ed WON!…….. Way to go Ed.

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This picture is for Jeri, our friend. She didn’t win when she played with Ed and Linda either. We wanted to show her who has all the luck. Good going Ed.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!