Rally Day 4 - (Branson, MO)

Whew.  We're getting tired.  :)

Linda slept in a little longer today while I got the early morning kicked off.

After our Camping World donuts at 7:30 am, we got started with Don Stanger's seminar on RV Tips & Tricks.

Don and his wife, Dee, drove all the way from Michigan.  They could only stay a couple of days and left their motorhome behind.

Don is a recently certified RVIA tech and imparted his new knowledge and experience regarding basic RV maintenance to our group.  He probably could have spoken to them for a few hours.  :)

After Don, Linda & I did a Working On The Road seminar.  It basically lays out the information on the RV-Dreams.com website that starts with our Earning A Living On The Road page.

Then we did a Buying Your Full-timing RV seminar.  We tried something different with that one.  We had the full-timers raise their hands and the wannabes raise their hands.

Then we just sort of let it go free-flow by having the wannabes ask questions.  We figured those in attendance might better get their questions answered if they asked the experienced folks directly.  We thought that might be better than us trying to guess their needs in a seminar presentation.  Linda & I just gave input and moderated.  It was an interesting experiment, but I'm not sure it was the right choice.  :)

Finally, we had a last minute addition.  Kathleen Adams came over from the Heartland Rally and gave a quick presentation on Rescue Tape.

She and her husband, Ken, set up a table under our tent and sold a few rolls.  It looks like a pretty good product, so we bought three ourselves.

Check out the website link above for product information.  And then email Kathleen at kakampers@yahoo.com or call 888-471-3664 as the pricing is quite a bit better through them.  :)

About the same time, Stacey & Gail Frank with Weigh-It Portable RV Scales showed up to start weighing rigs.

Several in our group decided it was a good idea to get weighed while they had the chance.

Jeff Petersen (RVDude) was excited to weigh his motorhome.  :)

Several folks spent some time under the tent taking it easy and talking.  Linda had a special moment with Paco.

We ended up doing the "How We Do It" demonstration that got rained out yesterday.  It just kind of happened since we wanted to weigh our rig and truck and had to pack up and hitch anyway.  :)

At the risk of getting "flamed", I'll post the results of our weighing.

Two years ago, we were about 1,200 pounds over our total Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) when we weighed.  We went on a diet, but then added back four 90 pound batteries, an inverter, and solar panels within the last year.  Now we are about 1,350 pounds overweight.

Our GVWR is 17,000 pounds and we came in at 18,350 with empty tanks.  We know we are heavy and that's why we travel with completely empty tanks.  We don't carry as much cargo in the trailer as most full-timers, so there is no way we can get down to 17,000.

But we can change some of our components to increase our capacity.  We can't change the GVWR, but we can increase the safety.

Possible options include changing our G-rated tires to H-rated tires.  Also, we can exchange our 7,000 pound axles for 8,000 pound axles.  And we can add disc brakes.

We were planning on getting H-rated tires anyway.  So we will probably go ahead and expedite that since the left (the side with three slides) tires on the fiver are carrying just a little too much.

We knew our left side was heavier than the right, so we made sure that the batteries and inverter were installed on the right side of center.  Apparently that didn't help as much as we'd hoped. 

We're really close on the axle ratings, so we'll have to think about making an axle change.  We were starting to save up some funds for the disc brakes, so we will keep that on schedule.

The good news is that we have plenty of truck as its towing capacity is 21,500 pounds.  We have an F450 6.0L V8 DRW 2WD 4.88 axle ratio with the High Capacity Trailer Tow Package.

Our Gross Combined (GCW) can be up to 30,000 pounds.  We came in at 27,300.  Glad we didn't get the F350 the RV salesman told us would work.  :)

Our trailer pin weight is 4,275 pounds.

People ask us all the time what we would do differently if we were buying another rig today.  One thing is we would check the Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) more closely.  We thought we were going to have about 3,000 pounds of CCC based on the information we saw prior to ordering.  But when the trailer was actually delivered with all the options, we ended up with about 1,200 pounds.

Knowing what we know now, we would never have let that happen.  While I'm on the question of what we would do differently, also, knowing what we know now, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used fifth wheel.  We now know what to look for and I would feel very comfortable doing our own thorough inspection.

Anyway, we know where we stand with our weights and we will take the necessary actions to protect ourselves and others on the road. 

It wasn't long after getting weighed that it was time for dinner.

The beef cooked on the barbecue all day and it was looking good.  :)

While folks were finishing up dinner and getting ready for the Hillbilly Party, I went around and got some photos.

It's hard being the host and photographer, so I know I didn't get a picture of everybody.  Please forgive me if I missed you during these few days of Rally posts.  :)

I finally got Ed & Marilyn Dray in a photo together.  :)

Jerry & Kit Bertelsen.

Bob & Molly Pinner.

Karon Saunders.  Husband Dan was close by but wasn't going for the picture thing.  Something about Witness Protection or America's Most Wanted - I can't remember which.  :)

Dortha & Mark Hall.

Jim & Ellie Meacham.

Paul & Penny Swiech.

Paul & Diane Hildebrant.

Ruby Taylor.

Pat & Jim Thomas.

Debbie & Bill Goode.  More on these folks later.  :)

John & Linda Mayleben.

Jim & Terry Mayleben.

Sterling & Anita Payne.  This may be the best recent picture I have of my parents.  They had a ball!  :)

Soon, the Hillbillies started showing up. 

Larry & Gayle Kuykendall got into the spirit.

Rollie & Gina Thurston were ready for the costume contest.

Oh my.  Now that's a good look for our hostess.  :)

Ruth planted a lipstick kiss on Nicolas, who had a birthday yesterday. :)

And his dad, Tom, thought it was hilarious.  :)

Our professional Hillbilly band got the party started.

Sherri Pitman got drafted quickly by Michelle & Ruth to be part of the B.O.A. - Bib Overalls Association.  :)

I got a quick shot of the cakes before they got eaten.

Then the Hillbilly dance contest got underway.

That's Jerry Bertelsen showing some moves above.

And Tim Thorpe was light on his feet.

Linda broke out across the floor.

Rollie & Gina have done this before.  :)

Joe (Speedy) & Sherri danced across the floor.

Poor Speedy was the victim of a last second decision by Sherri.  She decided it would be funnier if they swapped costumes.  She was right.  :)

Gayle looked like she had done this before, too.

And Gayle's hubby Larry had a great outfit with his Sunday tie on.  :)

Bob Fry was playing the role of Hawaiian Hillbilly. :)

The ABC staff doesn't just check you in, they get involved.  :)

That's Michelle & Ruth just a swingin'.  :)

The band took a break.  It was time for our 50/50 drawing.  Speedy & Speed's Girl raised $1,000!!  So we were drawing to give someone $500.

Linda had Michelle draw the ticket.

And the winner was ....... Debbie & Bill Goode!!

But there was a twist.  Debbie went up front, took a microphone and said she and Bill had discussed what to do with the money if they won.  And with that, she handed the money back to Linda to go with the other $500.

"What?!  You can't do that!  We can't accept it!"  But they insisted, and I was crying again.  I laid the camera down and went to thank them personally and privately.  And with their words "It makes us feel good to do it", I understood and just said "thank you".  :)

Later, I learned that several others were going to do the same thing if they had won.  Here I go tearing up again, and I'm just relating the events several hours later.  How in the world did we get to this point where we are surrounded by such a special extended family? 

Okay, Howard.  Get it together.  We still have more fun to write about.

The band voted and decided that Speedy, Linda, and Rollie & Gina should be in the Hillbilly Contest finals.  I would have thrown Larry & Gayle in there as well.  :)

All four finalists had to sit up front and participate in the next song.

Here's Speedy washboardin'.  :)

Rollie & Gina were juggin'.  :)

Linda got third place for her spoon playin'.  :)

Rollie & Gina got an outhouse for their second place performance as rated by the audience.

And Speedy took home the top prize of a still - I know what you're thinkin'.  :)

I think he won for bravery more than anything.  :)

But the humiliation was not yet over.  Jeff Petersen got drafted near the end of the evening to wear a special hat and do some chicken imitations.

What good sports we have!  :)

Whew!  Now I'm really, really tired.

We went up front and thanked the band.  Then we had the ABC staff come up front for a big hand from our attendees.  What a big, big help they were!  And they increased the fun.  :)

Finally, I invited my parents up front.  I know that wasn't a comfortable situation for them, but with my Mom's birthday being the first day of the Rally and Father's Day tomorrow, I had to tell everyone how much it meant for them to be here.

They even got on the microphone and thanked everyone.  Now that is waaay out of their comfort zone and I was so proud of them.

This first RV-Dreams Rally will be forever etched in our memories for so many special moments.  And I don't think there is any way we are going to get away with having just this one.  :)

So I guess we will soon start to look at options for 2009.  Stay tuned!  :)

Comments

[Cindy T]

Great job on the pictures today Howard! Looks like y'all were having a whole bunch of fun!
On a serious note, I think you might want to add dental insurance to your monthly expenses so poor Linda can get those front teeth fixed.

[Kathy]

Looks like fun was had by all! "Why Mr. Payne, you sure do have a 'purdy gal' for a wife". :) Tee Hee!

[Teresa]

Is there any special reason for the "Not for Hire" that I see on many rigs? Other than not wanting to be bothered or asked about hiring or renting the rig (which anyone who knows how much we all spend on our RV's would never ask), is there some legal or insurance related reason why many people have this permanently labeled or painted on their tow vehicles?

I just took my test for my Non-Commercial Class A driver's license as our truck (F-550) weighs 10,250 and our 38 ft. 5th wheel weighs 13,500 unloaded with a gross weight of 19,500, so I am just a hair under a combined 30,000 pounds GCVW and so the requirement for the license.

Has the subject of licensing for the driver come up in any of your discussions? I was just made aware of this requirement and I know of none of our RV friends who have their Class A license.

[Dee & Jim]

What a wonderful rally. It's like an extended family for us too. We had a great time and thankful to meet everyone. Thank you Howard & Linda.

[The Artful Adventurers]

Congratulations Howard and Linda, It looks like a smashing success. Consider a western locale next year... I hope we can make it. mark and bobbie

[Jenny J]

Howard and Linda: Count me in. I go wherever Greyhound goes. Thanks for a wonderful time.
Jenny