I was surprised to find that the last Camping World in San Diego County has closed. I was further surprised when an order I placed with them on line on July 27 for a patio mat disappeared from their records. I had not received any notice that it had been cancelled and in fact have an invoice with delivery date in hand. On calling them, I was told that the transaction was not completed, despite Paypal showing a payment as did my Visa company. Camping World received payment on the day of the order and will now graciously send me a refund, after I gave them evidence of the purchase. The refund should show up in 3-5 business days..... Needless to say, I will not be ordering anything from Camping World in the future. If any of you do, I would look for a confirmation email soon after and call if you do not see one. I hate complaining, but this is something I thought people should know about.
I don't even buy ter-lit paper from them
Don't you just love the possum smile when you hand over your credit card? What does factory trained mean? Or is your RV the factory?
Several friends have taken their RVs to CW and have not been pleased with the work.
Pierce
King's Campers, where we bought our GV from, is delighted that Camping World has an outlet here in the County. Their customers bring their RVs to King's Camper for GOOD service and repair. Seems some of these Camping World customers don't trust the Camping World staff to do a good job.
I will go to a CW store to buy something that I need. I would never take my coach there for any work.
It's interesting as you pass by many of the CW locations that are nearby the highways this spring and summer. You see lots of inventory in their yards... Not sure how they can float that much inventory?
I suspect in the next 6-12 months there might be more closures and possibly Chapter 11 filings. Just don't know how the business model can survive with the inventory on hand and the customer satisfaction issues on the Service side ...
Just my opinion...
Taking a Foretravel to Camping World would be like taking a Ferrari to Walmart for an oil change.
You may be seeing free overnight RVs in the CW parking lots. In the past, CW allowed RVs to overnight for free in all of their locations. Now, the policy has changed with a number of locations posting "no overnight" signs. Here is the article: Can You Camp Overnight At Camping World? (2021 Update) | Justdownsize (https://justdownsize.com/can-you-camp-overnight-at-camping-world/)
The price of diesel has come down in most states with under $5/gal in Nevada and a little cheaper than that in Mexico. I think the successful RV companies will change their lineups to include smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles.
With Ford leading the way with their electric PU truck, the bed camper and lightweight trailers will make big inroads in the industry. There were a lot of these smaller trailers in our campground last week.
Like it or not, the internal combustion engine is like a chicken running around with it's head cut off. They will continue to be sold but only for a limited time. Walmart has started to add the Achates Power 2 cycle three cylinder (opposed pistons) to their truck fleet and Cummins has the new 4 cylinder 2 cycle coming online in late 2023. Mercedes already has electric big rigs operating on the Autobahn.
With improved battery technology, the changeover will be even quicker. Backyard charging from solar panels is pretty easy so expect this underground industry to prosper.
Pierce
I take it you did not see the youtube video where they took the Ford electric truck and a ICE Ford truck both pulling the same trailer, one behind the other trying to see how far they could go.
Hey Turbo,
This is the dawn of the revolution. Everything electric will improve as the days go by. California is banning the ICE for most everything not that far into the future and other countries are doing the same. The world does not have a choice, it has to work and it will work.
Look at the huge success of the Toyota Prius. Now, lets make it all electric!
We went solar on our U300 right after we purchased it back in 2008. It has worked without a hitch since then and has made our generator obsolete, only used now for AC in summer at lower elevations. I love our Detroit but I'm afraid it's just a matter of time until it goes the way of the Dodo.
Pierce
Pierce, I think you just shot a hole in your own argument
You went solar but you still have to call on the generator
Personally I'm of the mind that I'll be dead or at least not be able to drive by the time this technology is "normal"
Making coffee is great but if it won't support the AC then we're a long long way from electric drive motor homes
Perhaps if diesel engines were fueled as designed ( peanut oil) they would be a more acceptable
Or if the Ogle technology was used on gasoline engines
Or is this another fashionable boondoggle like ethanol
Only time will tell.
No, the last time I used the generator was on a coast to coast trip several years ago. You are not up on my camping posts where I have commented on our freedom from the foul generator. Other forum members have gone even further than we have, powering their mini-splits and residential fridges with their solar panels. We just did it back in '08 and. because of where we live and where we almost always camp in the Sierras or seashore so we don't need it. If we did, I would just put more panels on the roof and perhaps, add a battery. Other than supplying juice for our house when PGE has an outage (almost every day somewhere in our small county) we don't use it at all. So, that shoots your argument down in sparks. :D A clear knockout, no TKO! ;D And still elder weight champ.
Mercedes has even stopped any development work on their ICE engines and is all in on electric cars. Telsa, electric Ford Mustangs, electric Ford PU, etc are all sold out. (but Mercedes is still making our 6V-92TA)
Have you watched a drag race between a Tesla Plaid and a new Corvette? The Tesla wins every time.
And it's today! You can now buy a car that needs no muffler, transmission, coolant, radiator, no oil changes, etc, etc. Even the brakes will help charge the batteries.
So, I figure it's time to get aboard before the train leaves the station. I have battery powered tools that have the power I could only dream about even 10 years ago. Once loosened a turn, my tiny tiny 1/4 inch Makita will spin off all the U300's lug nuts. And a 1/2" Snap On/Milwaukee will remove them without help.
So, we are caught in a void where the last of the present day big diesels can't meet emissions without lots of emission equipment that has a high failure rate and can leave you stuck by the side of the road with only many thousands in shop time and parts to look forward to. Yes, we are going to need the next generation diesels for quite a while but the future gets here in a hurry.
Once battery technology gets a little further along, every house in the world could (with cooperation that's never going to happen) have electricity from the sun for all of their needs.
These countries want to ditch gas and diesel cars (https://money.cnn.com/2017/07/26/autos/countries-that-are-banning-gas-cars-for-electric/index.html)
Pierce
My concern is not with a efficacy of solar and electrical tech in general it's the resources and energy consumed making all these wonderful things to buy. At the risk of suggesting we are an extremely disposable society, all new tech seems a tad self serving.
If we are ok with burning corn then why not peanut oil, oh yeah, that's biofuel.
In the late sixties Tom Ogle got over 200 miles out of a gallon of gas, but he met an unfortunate and mysterious end. All the documents and film have disappeared from the library of congress when Exon or Shell, one or the other were touting their 500 mpg technology and swore greater mileage was on the horizon.
And then someone told someone that 500 mpg would've been good for us and bad for them, goodbye high mileage.
The answer to lowering fossil fuel usage has been around for years ask the fossil fuel industry or drink their kool-aid.
Game, Set, Match
You should have seen the looks when I drove up to a quick lube in a right hand drive Caterham Super 7.
Thanks for your original post Sven.
The problem with any fuel is the waste and energy it takes to produce it. Our vehicles waste a huge amount of energy cooling the engine. Still more is wasted in the exhaust system, not only the heat in the gases but the heat in the exhaust from the exhaust manifold, turbo, pipe, muffler.
I saw an Italian apartment building that got it's power from a small Fiat engine spinning a generator. The the hot coolant went into the apartment heating system with even the exhaust passing through a heat exchanger to get the last BTU out of it before it was vented outside. Even the enclosure the engine was in was designed to capture even more waste heat for the building.
Solar panels will take energy to produce and waste a bit transmitting the energy to your house. But, if the panels are on site, the utility company can be bypassed and directly power the house and charge the vehicle.
Pierce
When I was a young sprite (back in the'60s) I worked at Barber Colman in Rockford, IL (at the Love's Park plant) where the lights were kept on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, etc.
The heat generated by the flourescents was used to heat the offices and shops. The ducting/ventilation in the suspended ceilings was configured to either draw the heat up and out or push it down and in.
You guys are welcome to go purchase a new "all electric RV" if you want. It's (for now anyway) a free country. I'll keep my old diesel burner as long as I can and then pass it down to my boys. Until something better than a battery is developed for powering an electric vehicle, I'll pass.
By the way, I'm sure the pro EV crowd has seen how destructive the mining of these components to make batteries are to the landscape. (Lithium, cobalt, copper, etc). Might as well mine coal, which we do.... to generate the power for most (not all) of the EV's in use today.
Cross country trip in an electric Fortravel,
no thanks.
I agree the ICE will eventually go away, but I don't believe it should be forced on us by laws. It should be a practical and economical choice.
End of rant.
Texas has such a robust electrical grid it can't keep up in summer or winter so they won't be charging any EVs soon.
Where is all this cross country charging infrastructure coming from let alone where the power comes from ?
Every state and company charges differently for a Kw, here's a not unlikely scenario, you charge up in the "middle of nowhere" and when you get home and the bill arrives. The Kw charge is 10 times the going rate, just like one of those old speed trap towns.
As far as they environmental damage done by this super duper technology here's a thought, cousin Jeremy on BBC Top Gear once stated that the damage done building the battery in a Prius is the equivalent of driving a 57 Chevy for two lifetimes. Even if it's only one lifetime then the cost/benefit of EV is at best questionable.
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Here's some good information on the environmental impact: Electric Vehicle Myths | US EPA (https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/electric-vehicle-myths)
Now... back to your regularly scheduled Camping World discussion. 😉
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From what I have seen of Jeremy on TopGear, he acts more like a child with a Facebook degree. Unfortunately, they gave him trains instead of brains.
So, how about skipping the urban myths and digging a little deeper into the subject: Do "green" vehicles really save energy? Is a Prius worse for the environment... (https://www.straightdope.com/21343872/do-green-vehicles-really-save-energy-is-a-prius-worse-for-the-environment-than-a-hummer). After reading this article, you can see how generating electricity onsite, whether on the roof of your RV or on top of your house is going to save most of the loss in manufacturing, transmission, etc. and put the savings in your pocket. Dreaming? No, this has worked seamlessly on our U300 for more than a decade without any kind of maintenance, just getting free energy from the sun.
Battery technology has come a very long ways but our lithium batteries or nickel-metal hydride modules the Prius uses are not the end solution but a temporary storage container until better batteries arrive in the near future. Read about the new aluminum-ion batteries here: Australian Aluminum-Ion Battery Promises 60X Increase In Charging Speed -... (https://cleantechnica.com/2021/05/17/australian-aluminum-ion-battery-promises-60x-increase-in-charging-speed/).
I've seen 10K articles about how dangerous wolves are, how they will turn on you at some time, bite children, etc, etc. We have had wolves for companions for 29 years and can not say one negative thing about them. Just old wive's tales with no basis in fact but good for readership. For those who have attended Quartzite in the past, you could see just how dangerous Koda was.
When faced between facts or alternate facts, why do so many gravitate to the Facebook experts?
Pierce
Thanks again Sven for the CW info.
I will keep all of my receipts, etc.
-FT
I don't know as I've never been on or seen Facebook, what a lucky fellow I am.
But for full disclosure I've been in camping world more that once, I don't buy anything but I do eat the free hotdogs.
Well wasn't that fun and distracting ? Eh ?
Yes it was.
Thank you.
We did, we saw, we thought he was very impressive and sweet tempered. :thumbsup:
Most of us have bought convenient items from CW retail shelves such as door mats and so on, just don't let them install the door mat and you should be ok.
Years ago I owned a SOB with a gas engine (454 Chev).
While driving to Calf. from Chicago it developed an exhaust leak. Back then CW was not the organization it is today, just a few locations around the country. I saw there was a CW in Anaheim Ca. so I planed to get a Hotel room there, drop the RV off at CW to have a Banks Power Pack installed and take the family to Disney.
When I went back to pick up the coach all seemed fine until I drove it a few miles to the Camp ground. It was suffering from huge misfires.
I crawled into the front wheel well to examine the spark plugs and wires. I found that when installing the new exhaust headers ( part of the Banks system) the "Tech" had broken the plug ends for half the plug wires when trying to pull them off. Rather than replace the plug wires they tried to glue the broken plug ends to the spark plugs with Silicone. My hand was covered with wet silicone when checking the first wire.
I went back to Camping World outraged. The manager could not understand my outrage, I could not understand his lack of regret for how shoddy one of his Techs did there job. It was obviously done with the hope that I would get far enough away from CW to return to there location. He said he would replace the broken wires, Not all the wires. Since the wires come in a set his offer again outraged me.
I left and went to a auto parts store and bought a new wire set and plugs and replaced them.
When I got back home from the trip I sent a letter to the guy who owned CW at that time( original founder). I included the receipt for the plug wires and spark plugs. He quickly sent me a check for the parts and a couple hundred dollars for my labor and inconvenience. He also mentioned that he would personally follow up on the Anaheim CW manager.
While I was encouraged by the actions of the CW owner I decided then (1980's) I would never do business with them again.
My feeling on this subject ---they cater to the crowd that buy their rubber roof RV's . Don't think A Foretravel has any business going there . Have spoken to their service manager at the West El Passo location and came away with blank feeling . Outside was " two " ( Home Land Security ) --Provost coaches ( RV's ) I spoke to one of the drivers and got an ear full of what was done there that was real badly done and the many times he was ordered to bring it back again and again . Our tax dollars on this one --Hmm ??? ??? Brad Metzger
Just to expand on Chevrolet 454 spark plug wires. Sitting in a Cadillac racing down the highway the GM 454 is loafing along just above idle. When installed in the P-30 chassis as used in trucks and motorhomes the cast iron exhaust manifolds become very hot. There's another whole story about GM exhaust manifold but the subject here is spark plug wire, or more accurately heat shielding and spark plug boots. Now $40 is short money but a bit pricey for ignition wires, but in order to make the 454 reliable as a truck engine, GM had to use metal heat shields with a mylar dielectric liner, and molded high temperature silicone rubber boots. Now you know.
I had one of them in a SOB coach--first thing manifold warped and broke 2 manifold bolts off flush with head--this made O2 sensor read wrong which put coach in limp mode. Drove 200 miles with OBD2 on my lap so I could continually clear code. Found shop west of Custer SD called WESTERN DAKOTA. They welded nuts onto the broken bolts and removed them -replaced manifold- and we were on our way. Spark plugs and wires were not disturbed and he did it all without removing the front wheel.
That wasn't his first rodeo and it gave me warm fuzzy feeling to have someone working on the coach that knew what he was doing
and was reasonably priced.
All that said-- what I liked best about that coach was when I watched it leave my driveway and I had cash in hand
Chris