Vol 3 Num 2 New Horizons Owners Newsletter March/April 2001
It's been mostly chilly and wet in the Texas Hill Country this year; not what we came for. But chilly and wet beats the snow, ice and zero temperatures further North.
February brought us several NH visitors. Bill and Patti Sadd came by and Patti fixed us a great lunch when we visited them in New Braunfels. Bill and Jan Arnold dropped by for a short visit. And we visited with T.K and Diana Jones and enjoyed the good meal at their trailer. We seem to have a new family, with this special relationship with NH owners.
We'll be leaving Bandera on March 13th, traveling to the BIG RALLY in Perry, Georgia; our first time at a major rally. Then to Greenville, SC for about 2 months to be near our daughter. About June 1, we plan to be back in Buena Vista, CO for the summer.
We appreciate the many contributions for the newsletter. Keep them comingshort, medium, or long. Be advised that limited space makes editing necessary.
In this issue, note Bob Voelcker's article on wireless Internet access. Also, Larry Space's story of the research, planning, designing, and overall effort that it took to get exactly what he and Joyce wanted in their NH 5W. (Don and Helen McAnally
Comments, ideas, questions, suggestions about most anything.
It has been several months since I wrote on accessing the Internet by way of satellite technology without using a telephone line. The technology and equipment are now available. Information such as e-mail and web pages can be sent and received at a much faster rate than with a phone line. However, for the mobile RVer, there's good news/bad news.
There is one system now being sold and another that will become available during the first quarter of this year. The first to get online is Starband. This service is being sold through the Dish Network, Microsoft Network and Radio Shack dealers. The other system is an extension of the DirecPC service offered by the Hughes Network systems (DirecTV) and should be available by the time you read this.
Here's how it works: Inside your home or RV, your computer is hooked up to a special modem, which allows you to communicate with the system. This modem is about the size of a hand-held CB. Two cables lead from the computer/modem to a satellite dish mounted outside. A third cable will bring in your TV signal. The satellite dish is larger than the present day TV dishes. It is about 27 inches high by 36 inches wide. The dishes typically contain two sets of heads (LNBs), one for receiving a TV signal and one for Internet access.
With the system now active, the dish is aimed at two satellites (three for premium TV service) that are in geosynchronous orbits. With your computer, you request Internet or e-mail access through your modem and satellite. This is called "uploading." The information you seek is then sent back, by satellite, to your computer by way of your dish and modem. And this is called "downloading." Compared to access through a telephone line, using a 56k modem, the upload times will be 2 to 3 times faster and download times about twenty times faster.
Now this may seem straightforward to someone who is used to a TV satellite dish. But it's more difficult when you have to align a dish to "talk" to a satellite in order to access the Internet.. There are more critical adjustments and technical stuff to deal with. And be aware that there is a lot of misinformation floating around out there concerning this new technology.
At present it is necessary to have a dish dealer set you up. Only they have information critical to the installation process - such things as alignment of the LNBs with shims (provided by Starband), polarization and timing. And the dealer has to call a special number so that Starband can open a "port" in the satellite in order for it to recognize the upload signal from your computer.
Right now it appears that opening a port, so that you can be activated, is the sticking point. Once activated, it takes more time to fine-tune the system to access the Internet at maximum speed and efficiency. I know of 2 RVers who bought the system, and it took 7 hours and 24 hours, respectively, to get hooked up.
I offer the following observations if you're interested in this new technology.
1. You can expect bugs and a lot of misinformation, even from dealers.
2. You do not need a new computer to utilize these services, but it must have a USB (Universal Serial Bus) port. (Note - currently, Radio Shack sells Starband systems only, complete with computers that have the special modem built in.)
3. Be sure to purchase your equipment from a satellite dealer who has been trained and is presently using the satellite Internet service. Be aware that some dealers will not sell to the RV user, while other dealers are "RV user friendly."
4. As you move around the country, you may have to call in a dish dealer to reset your system (for a service charge) to be able to receive the Internet service.
5. The new dish is about twice the size of "TV only" dishes and will have to be mounted solidly on the ground. It requires a 2-3/8 inch mount, which is larger than the "TV only" dish.
6. Since you are looking at more than one satellite, you will need a broader view of the sky. Trying to peek through a small hole in the trees may not work.
7. If your only interest is sending and receiving e-mail, save your money and sign-up with Pocket Mail. But if you "absolutely, positively gotta have it," then start looking for that RV friendly satellite dish dealer. Otherwise, wait awhile, things will improve once the service providers see the potential in a couple million mobile RVers. (Robert F. Voelcker)
Additional info may be found on the Internet. Go to Horizons RV Home Page- www.horizonsrv.com-then to the NH Owners link at the bottom of the left column. Check to see who's registered. Some of the programs planned for the Rally include the following:
Definitely Scheduled
Planning Stage
If you have some other ideas on programs or have expertise to lead a
discussion group about some topic, contact: Gen and Kirk Griffith.
South Dakota
City Park at Dell Rapids. Nice quiet park by the river. Water and electricity,
$5 per night. Off I-29, exit 98, about 15 miles North of Sioux Falls (Gene
and Carol Wehe)
Mississippi
DeWayn Hayes Corps of Engineer park on Columbus Lake about four miles north
of Columbus, MS. Water, sewer, electricity with some concrete pads. $6 to
$9 for Golden Agers
Missouri
Park behind the sales return store at Bass Pro in Springfield, MO around
the corner from the main store. It is level, well-lighted, and fairly quiet.
No hookups, no charge. Inquire with Security inside main store, which has
hunting/fishing supplies and some items for trailers. ( MO and MS parking
places described by Ted and Char Foley)
Put A Cork In It
Last spring, I found that mud daubers had built a nest atop the street-side leveling jack mechanism. How did they get in? Then I noticed the nearby hole for inserting the hand crank. I found that a cork from a wine bottle fits snugly. If your rig has a slide out, there is a hole for the hand crank. Put a cork in that one, too. Also, install a screen over the furnace outlet. They're available at most RV supply stores. (Karl Shaner)
Cabinet Door Closures
Problem: Our overhead cabinet doors would only open about 65 , very difficult to store larger items, and a painful head knocker for tall people. I thought the problem was in the length of the closure (shock), but longer closures couldn't be found. After many tries at adjusting the closures, I found the correct mounting position.
Remove the closure and re-install as high on the door as possible, about 1/4" from the top. This will vary depending on the amount of overlap of the door on the cabinet. Install the top screw only on the door, and make sure the door closes tight (freely) and that the bracket clears the cabinet frame. Install 2nd screw on door bracket. Open door to about 89 º {about straight horizontal), and install screw through closure end to vertical cabinet frame. Close door slowly!! If it has too much resistance, remount last screw about 1/8" lower. Pre-drill all holes before installing screws to avoid splitting the wood. (Tom Kraemer)
Medium Duty Trucks
My article on medium duty trucks is being published in RV Companion. The first part was published in the Jan/Feb 2001 issue, and the remainder will be published in one or two parts later this year. I will make the article available to any Horizon Herald subscribers who might be interested. I will mail a copy to anyone who sends me a self-addressed, stamped envelope (55 cents postage). Karl Shaner, 257 Rainbow Drive #15790, Livingston, TX 77399-2057
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
_ 1 to 1½ lbs salmon fillets, lemon juice, dill
_ Spray or line Pyrex pan will foil; place fillets, skin down, in pan
_ Sprinkle heavily with lemon juice, then dill to taste
_ Bake for 15-20 min., check if done with fork
_ Remove skins (if desired) before serving
_ Frig or freeze leftovers. Great for putting in salad or pasta with a creamy
sauce
_ 1 med onion, chopped (½ C), butter, ½ C chopped green
pepper, 1-2 T curry powder, 1 sm can (2/3 C) evaporated milk
_ 2 cans (7 oz ea) tuna, drained; or shrimp
(4 ½ ea); or salmon (6 ¾ ea)
_ Melt some butter in med size pan. Saute onions & pepper until tender
(5 min). Add curry, cook 2 mins.
_ Stir in milk and fish, heat thoroughly, serve over rice. May want to serve
with curry condiments (coconut, raisins, nuts, chutney)
(Both recipes contributed by Patti Sadd )
Horizon Services
Horizons has announced they will only do WARRANTY work by Appointment
Only during the week before and the week after the Rally. They will
NOT be able to do add-ons, special requests, etc. during this time.
To make appointments for warranty work, contact Ken Ullmer at Horizons (800-235-3140: first come, first served. To discuss exceptions or special situations, contact Ken or Harold Johnson.
In December of 1997 my wife and I started to wonder what we were going to do after we retired. We had no idea how we would occupy our time. We decided to "look into" RVing. In order to RV we needed to sell the house and figure out what kind of RV to buy. Not necessarily in that order as it turned out. Time passeth...
We figured out that we wanted a fifth wheel trailer and we needed a pickup to pull it. After much research we decided that the Dodge Ram, with the diesel engine and a manual 5 speed, was the most powerful in our price range. At the time we bought the truck, the summer of 98, we had no idea what trailer we would buy. We then started looking at a variety of fivers and had settled on a brand.
The fiver we loved was 40 foot long, triple slide out, with all the extras. A nice trailer, but if we had bought it we would not have been able to pull it, because it was too heavy. It would have become a permanently parked monument to stupid and gullible RV buyers. We didn't even know about GCVWR or any of the other alphabet soup that comes with RVing, and the salesman didn't either. But we were shopping and dreaming like crazy anyway. We figured that the truck was powerful enough to pull anything. If you look up the definition of dumb in your Funk and Wagnells you will see our picture. More time passeth...
In December, 1998, I had a year to go to my retirement from an aerospace company. We put the house up for sale, figuring that a year was more then enough time. Even more time passeth...
(Ed. note: Jon Floyd shares his journal with us; to be continued)
About ten years ago Joyce and I spent 5 weeks touring the Pacific Northwest in a small camper designed to be towed behind a motorcycle. We absolutely loved the journey. We started talking about selling our home and becoming fulltimers. We could go to new places, meet new people, do different things. We started investigating. We heard that fulltimers preferred 5th wheels and so we started on the search for the perfect one.
An Internet search turned up more than 50 manufacturers. We wrote to all of them and received 40 responses. Then we went to a local RV dealer to take our first look. One of the first units we saw seemed wonderful, beautiful inside with a great layout. We were dazzled; maybe our search was over. But I like to thoroughly research anything this major so on we went.
I talked to everyone I knew that had a 5W to get their advice, but found that many owners had not done much research before buying. Than we found out about the RV Consumers Group. We joined and started reading. We were shocked by comments about poor quality trailers and lack of post-sale support . But we also learned about New Horizons trailers.
I created a checklist of desirable qualities and attended an RV show. I looked at a lot of trailers, but the two brands I really wanted to see were not represented. So I contacted the two manufacturers and searched the Internet for information from owners. Four people responded and were helpful and forthright. I was impressed. As you can guess since you are reading this in the Horizon Herald, New Horizons appeared to be the best choice.
With the brand selected, the next step was to decide about floor plan and accessories. After receiving sample layouts from Horizons, I spent hours reading and working in a computer drafting program to create "our" 5W. Then we learned about Rally 2000 and decided to attend. We started off with a factory tour and a meeting with Harold where I learned that certain aspects of my layout wouldn't work. Oh, no! Harold, Ken, Frank, and others were quite helpful.
The real fun part of the Rally was talking to NH owners and visiting as many units as possible. I did take some ribbing because I asked so many questions. I wanted to know what people especially liked about their units, and what things they might want to change. But we were told they would buy another NH in a heartbeat. Yes, it's going to be a NH for us.
Joyce and I want to say what a great experience it was meeting all of you and for sharing your units and for all the good ideas. When we got back to New York, we had about 70 items to add to our wish list. In a few months, our "perfect" NH trailer will be ready. But if it doesn't turn out perfect, it won't be because all of you didn't try. It will be because we have so much to learn. (Larry Space)