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Topic: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy. (Read 13 times) previous topic - next topic
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Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Yahoo Message Number: 114794
"Daisy" was her name when she came to us.  We know because there was a huge ancient plaque next to the door.  She is a 22' and of the 1986 vintage.  Unfortunately, she was "rode hard and put away wet".  She was our first RV and we knew absolutely nothing.  We gave a whopping $3200 for her and I think that was about $1000 too much.  That was 3 1/2 years ago and, since then, we've sunk in the neighborhood of $1800 and Lord-only knows how many hours into "fixing her".
 Now, I'd like to sell her because she's too big and too clunky and too school-bus like for me to enjoy getting someplace in.  I drive her just fine when husband is in the rig but am incredibly reluctant to go alone in her.  She'll tow our ski boat on her conditions -- if the day is not too hot and the hills aren't too steep.  We have no a/c and being delayed for hours by the side of the road is not my idea of a good time.
 Otherwise, bless-her-heart, she's got plenty of get up and go, starts always on the first turn and literally purrs like a happy kitten.  The Chevy 350 was "rebuilt" by some-unknown person 6,000 miles before it came to us so I'm not sure if this is just how this motor is or if this particular motor is tired?
 The really wonderful thing about Daisy is, once we actually get someplace, the love affair between her and I re-ignites and I'm one happy and one comfortable girl.  "Camping" doesn't get any more comfortable than with her.
 I'm posting with the hopes that someone can help me heal my relationship with my RV.  I don't necessarily want to keep her nor do I necessarily want to lose everything I've put into her.

What's a girl to do?
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114800
"she's too big and too clunky and too school-bus like for me to enjoy getting someplace in. I drive her just fine when husband is in the rig but am incredibly reluctant to go alone in her."
 I don't mean to make light of your trepidation, Tania, but a lot of women travel solo in much bigger RVs than your little 22-footer. If they can do it, you can! :-)
 One thing that might help: members of this group who've gone through the RV Driving School course have spoken very highly of it. Reportedly it's a great confidence builder. Might be worth a try.
 As for not being comfortable driving without your husband--what do you need him for? ;-) Want a navigator? Get a good GPS. Worried about breakdowns? Sign up with CoachNet or a similar RV emergency service. Husbands are overrated... just ask my ex-wives. ;-)
 "What's a girl to do?" Show a little spirit! Go to the next "Ladeze of Lazy Daze" get-together and learn how other gals handle things on their own. You can do it!
 (And by the way, there's no reason you can't have an air conditioner installed, budget permitting. Wait till Camping World has them on sale, and go for it. :-)

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114801
wrote: "She is a 22' and of the 1986 vintage.....Unfortunately, she was "rode hard and put away wet". She was our first RV and we knew absolutely nothing. We gave a whopping $3200 for her and I think that was about $1000 too much. That was 3 1/2 years ago and, since then, we've sunk in the neighborhood of $1800 and Lord-only knows how many hours into "fixing her"." --- You knew what you knew, you paid what you paid; all that's a done deal. All motorhomes, regardless of age, require ongoing upkeep, even if they were in new and in absolutley pristine condition from the get-go.  This is a 24-year-old motorhome; did/do you really expect a rig of this age to *not* have ongoing repair and maintenance issues?  And, considering that just a set of tires *alone* could easily set one back about $1100.00 - $1200.00 (or good deal more), an expenditure of $1800.00 over a 3 and 1/2 year period sounds like you've gotten off pretty easy.
 "Now, I'd like to sell her because she's too big and too clunky and too school-bus like for me to enjoy getting someplace in. .....I drive her just fine when husband is in the rig but am incredibly reluctant to go alone in her." --- If you decide to keep this rig, perhaps your feeling of "size challenge" and lack of confidence to drive alone might be remedied by taking a driving course?  I recommend www.rvschool.com
 "I'm posting with the hopes that someone can help me heal my relationship with my RV. I don't necessarily want to keep her nor do I necessarily want to lose everything I've put into her.

What's a girl to do?" --- I haven't been a "girl" since the 50s, and "healing relationships" with rigs or pretty much anything else is not in my skill set, so I suggest that *you and your husband* are the only ones who can discuss the situation candidly and logically and fill out a balance sheet of love/hate pros and cons and decide whether to sell or to keep this rig. Good luck.

Joan
2003 TK has a new home
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114803
Buying a 22-foot, 20+-year old rig, putting $1800. into it *and* hauling a boat?   Sounds like a bargain to me, Tania.  I guess you'll just have to ask yourself if, in 3.5 years, you've had $5,000. worth of fun!  I bought my Lazy Daze new 7 years ago and have put five *times* that into pimping my ride.  (Worth every penny!  No regrets! And by 20 years from now, I'm positive that number will have increased several-fold!)
 Join the Lazy Daze Ladeze group (no men allowed in the clubhouse) in the E. Sierras on September 15 - 19 for some confidence-boosting, bonding, hootin' and hollerin'.  Contact me off list if you want to know more.

Lorna Coarsegold, CA
 http://uppity-woman.blogspot.com/

2003 RB
Re: LD Ladeze Club? Do tell all...from Donna with the 26.5' RB, Lazy
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114805
Oh man! I wish I could be at the Ladeze group in September.
I will be in Idaho for the LD gathering then.
 Lorna, please send me more info about the LD Ladeze Club.  I need to connect and have more lady friends to chat with in the RV community.

Thanks, Donna Vaughn, WA 98394
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114810
I have driven my 22 ft all over the SE mainly by myself.  Yes they are heavy and drive differently than a car, but I enjoy the ride.  My main complaint is the lack of power on hills with the 350.  My health is my issue now and the reason I am not as comfortable driving alone.  My husband actually makes me more nervous as he is not use to driving it--LOL.
Darlene

AlaDar Beagles
www.aladarbeagles.com
Re: LD Ladeze Club? Do tell all
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114815
On Jul 27, 2010, at 3:57 PM, Donna Gates-Smeall wrote:

Quote
...
Lorna, please send me more info about the LD Ladeze Club.  I need to connect and have more lady friends to chat with in the RV community.
Hi Donna, more about the women-only Lazy Daze Ladeze group, with pleasure.

We are a band of uppity women who own Lazy Dazes, and the focus of our outings is confidence building and hootin' and hollerin'!  And there's bonding and sharing experiences and learning (presentations, round-tables, how-to's, handouts) on a whole slew of subjects, including rig maintenance/modifications and travel, to name just a few.  Sometimes we include something crafty, and sometimes a wine tasting.  We have rig tours and usually have a yard sale and book exchange; we eat, drink, eat s'mores around the campfire and eat some more!  The only criteria:  you're a woman and you own a Lazy Daze.
You can be single, widowed, partnered, married, in between, and you don't have to be the original owner of your Lazy Daze.  If there's a guy in your life, he'll have to amuse himself somewhere else while you're gone.  No men allowed in the clubhouse!

It seems that most Lazy Dazers live in the West, so it just happens all our GTGs to date have occurred in the West:  Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, California.  Our first gathering had 12 rigs present.  Now, six years later, we usually limit attendance to 20 rigs.

I add names either by word of mouth or from this Yahoo forum, and then about once a year, usually a few months before a planned outing, I'll update the mailing list.  Then we send invitations to the next outing to everyone remaining on the mailing list.  And from the attendance list for that particular outing, I solicit "volunteers" to give presentations, moderate a workshop or moderate a funshop.  Our MVP has been Joan Taylor, a dedicated Ladeze-er, exceptionally adept at pain relieving issues with your rig and RVing in general!  We can usually count on this live wire for presentations and handouts on a variety of subjects and a helping hand with specific issues.
 We no longer have a website.  Our webmaster retired to Mexico; no one could replace her,  and we let the name lapse.  Donna, your eddress has been added to our mailing list; please send me a PM if there is another you'd prefer I'd use.  I encourage any other women out there who would like to participate in, or be notified of our outings to contact me at:  Lazydaze-Ladeze at Earthlink dot net.  Any other inquiries are welcome.

Lorna Coarsegold, CA
 http://uppity-woman.blogspot.com
2003 RB
Re: LD Ladeze Club? Do tell all
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114817
Yo, Lorna!

Coarsegold's a beaut, eh?

best, paul ___ best, paul 'Thriving not Surviving' See LazyDazers.com to get an affordable blog Free Listings at SMARTERyellowpages.com
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114819
Quote
What's a girl to do?" --- I haven't been a "girl" since the 50s, and "healing relationships" with rigs or pretty much anything else is not in my skill set, so I suggest that *you and your husband* are the only ones who can discuss the situation candidly and logically and fill out a balance sheet of love/hate pros and cons and decide whether to sell or to keep this rig. Good luck.

Joan
Well, Joan, thanks for the best out-loud laugh I've had in a long time.

Chris (currently in Olympic Natl Park, WA. Gotta say, this is beautiful country.)
Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy/RV driving school
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114822
"One thing that might help: members of this group who've gone through the RV Driving School course have spoken very highly of it. Reportedly it's a great confidence builder. Might be worth a try."

he..he..he Loved that story about Daisy.
 I want to know who has a RV driving school in the Portland, Oregon area. I did the google thing once on it and did not see anything.
My husband usually drives but I want to get comfortable with it. So am very interested.

Sherry 1988 MP
Re: LD Ladeze Club? Do tell all
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114823
On Jul 27, 2010, at 6:33 PM, Paul Smith Sr wrote:

Quote
Yo, Lorna!

Coarsegold's a beaut, eh?

 YUP!  Though right now, it's a bit on the warm side for this coastal gal!  I just bought a membership (SKP) here, and will probably be slowing down a bit.  A *tiny* bit -- Second Wind has 104,000 miles on her!  At about the same elevation as my home in the Santa Cruz Mountains, I'm finding Coarsegold very similar (except for that nice, cool morning coastal fog)!  Same Oaks, same madrone, cedar, same birds, skunks, rabbits, squirrels, jays and hawks.  I'm feeling right at home actually, and it's only 4-5 hour drive to Santa Cruz and the Bay Area.

Lorna A Coarsegold newbie!
 http://uppity-woman.blogspot.com/
2003 RB
Re: LD Ladeze Club? Do tell all
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114825
We've thought of getting a membership there. What's the waiting time these days? ___ best, paul 'Thriving not Surviving' See LazyDazers.com to get an affordable blog Free Listings at SMARTERyellowpages.com
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy/RV driving school
Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114828
wrote: I want to know who has a RV driving school in the Portland, Oregon area. I did the google thing once on it and did not see anything.
---- The website is:

www.rvschool.com

Check the schedule for driving classes that might be in your area.

Joan
2003 TK has a new home
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114829
Gosh I'm about to celebrate by birthday next week, and I know ladies don't tell their age, but I will be 66 and I am still a girl.  I love going out with my girlfriends.  And is so much better than being call an old lady LOL.

Dorothy at Northwest GTG in Newberry National Volcanic Monument, OR

 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
2007 MB
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114830
Wow!  Thanks everyone for the responses and not taking me too seriously.  This has been incredibly helpful.  What I'm figuring out is 1) stop worrying about what I have invested
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114831
Quote from: Tania"

" Daisy has an annoying and loud back-up beep that the whole world can hear and it would embarrass the hell out of me for everyone in camp to know I don't know how to use mirrors to back."
 Please don't disconnect that warning beep! I think it's a safety feature that should be added to every high profile vehicle. You want everyone to know that you're backing up. Don't be sorry about getting out to check your pathway.
 I have a simple exercise for every LD driver out there. This is something I did on the first day of UPS driver training, before we left the lot, right after I prayed that they wouldn't kill me on the road ;-). Keep the engine turned off!  Have someone sit in the driver's seat and another person stand right behind the RV, smack in the middle. Have that person slowly walk straight back and tell the person in the driver's seat to honk as soon as they spot the walker in the mirror. There's a mighty big blind spot behind you.

Karen- living up to my user name at 66!
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114833
Been there, done that! I was so surprised to learn at a Lazy Daze get-together that I had the only unit there that beeped when it backed up. The guy who does the state inspection sticker assured me that it's not required, but I decided to keep it anyway. The last time I arrived at a campground, my site was full of unsupervised tots on bicycles, and the BEEP BEEP when I went into reverse let them know I meant business ... they scattered as soon as they heard it, and not a moment sooner.
 I, too, use the GOAL (Get Out And Look) system. A bit of practice, especially
Was LD Ladeze; Now Park Sierra
Reply #18 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114836
On Jul 28, 2010, at 3:51 AM, Paul Smith Sr wrote:

Quote
We've thought of getting a membership there. What's the waiting time these days? ___
Paul, the wait list is surprisingly short, and the wait surprisingly brief.  I sent my deposit in March; a lot (actually one of a few) became available in July.

Currently, the list is 46 wait-ers long!  I think a good rule of thumb would be to give yourself six months.  This really is a lovely old, all-volunteer SKP park with just two paid employees.  The economy equates to a slow real estate market as folks are unable to sell their homes, and the "pioneers" are dying off or moving to care facilities so the wait list is moving faster.

http://www.parksierra.net/

Lorna Coarsegold, CA
 http://uppity-woman.blogspot.com/
2003 RB
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Reply #19 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114837
Tania:
 "Last night, I decided to finish some of the un-finished projects on Daisy (including finding out how to disconnect the back-up beep"

So how did you disconnect that annoying back-up beep..I would also like to do that?

Sherry 1988 MP LD
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Reply #20 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114839
"what I'm truly afraid of... is backing into a narrow spot."
 I'm with Darryl: get a backup video camera. You can find cheap b&w ones for as little as $99 including monitor, but I recommend this $349 setup from RVCams.com:

http://www.rvcams.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RBCARVS&Product_Code=56-CHNV&Category_Code=1>

or http://tinyurl.com/hs42k>
 The kit includes everything you need: weatherproof ultra-wide-angle camera, 5.6" color LCD monitor, mounting brackets, cables--the works. You can install this yourself if you're even moderately handy. Basically you just mount the camera right below the clearance lights, mount the monitor somewhere on the dash or console, and run the cable across the roof until you can snake it into the vehicle by one of the various no-holes routes (the fridge vent is most popular).
 Don't think of this as a rear-view mirror replacement--you're installing it primarily for parking, not for watching the car behind you. Aim the camera downward and adjust it so that the rear bumper is just barely visible at the bottom of the screen. Now when you back up, you'll always be able to see exactly how far away that bumper is from any obstacle behind you. It makes a world of difference! As a solo traveler, I would never be without one.

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Reply #21 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114850
On Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:29:09 -0000, "Tania" wrote:

Quote
Is there a "backing school" out-there?
A DIY school is to use a vacant parking lot. Back up along any of the lines. Well one at a time. When you can put either side on the rig right on the selected line, ramp it up and put "cones" on the other side and backup using both mirrors.
 Some say you should put one hand at the bottom of the steering wheel.
I say what ever works for you and stay the course.

Cheers, Don
Don & Dorothy
Sold our LD in June of 2023

Our boring always non-PC travel blog
Traveling Dorothy
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Reply #22 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114852
Quote
I had the only unit there that beeped when it backed up
You can add beep to your rig. Auto supply stores sell backup lamps that include a beeper. Have fun install one in your friends rig and wait until they backup.

Cheers, Don
Don & Dorothy
Sold our LD in June of 2023

Our boring always non-PC travel blog
Traveling Dorothy
Re: LD Ladeze Club? Do tell all
Reply #23 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114857
Lorna dear:
 We are heading that way the last week of September!  Will you still be hanging around Coarsegold that week?  Send me a PM if you are!

Linda & Mando
Re: Help! I'm not all that crazy about Daisy.
Reply #24 –
Yahoo Message Number: 114859
Quote
Thanks Joanne in Boston and Karen for the back-up training advice!  Don't know why I thought it was something I should just know...I guess because my husband can do it (but he has a CDL).  I'm going to find the blindspot and practice.  I really appreciate the encouragement!
I discovered quite by accident that if I wiggle the gearshift lever on Blue (1990 Chevy), I can get the beep-beep to shut up.  I actually like the beep-beep, but not when I'm trying to sneak into a campsite at O-dark-thirty.
 Also, get some cheap soccer field cones to brighten up your field of vision!!

Lisa and Blue
2005 RB