introduction and how do i post?

[pcam1]

First things first, i'm trying to figure out how to post. I finally started a new thread, which i guess is the same as a new post in this particular categoryh? And then when you are in other categories (or threads??) you just reply in the threads already established by subject?

Okay, I'm 70 and I lead with my age because one of the reasons I want to get on the road is because I feel the time a-passing and it scares the heck out of me. Well, maybe not scares me, but I do feel a kind of panic when I realize the road is getting shorter. So I have lived all over the place, am an adverturer or like to think of myself as being one once upon a time and I am a traveler. I moved back to my hometown in Georgia (pop. 9000 about 10 years ago to help my sister take care of my mom and now that my sister is retired, I feel okay about leaving. I am looking for a vehicle, which I have a ton of questions about but i guess there are other forums for that? I should just search? So I found out about Bob and Cheaprv living through a friend who has been a few of the rubber tramp rendevouz and lived in his van for a year or so working the campsite, beet harvest, amazon circuit. It turned out pretty good for him and I think I will like it too mainly because it will give me some freedom and relief from working just to pay the rent every month. This is not a great time to be traveling and I have been very very careful about protecting myself and others. I started looking for my van when I decided I could leave georgia for at least a while and my first stop will be New Mexico. I don't want to have to stay in hotels, motels, or use public accommodations, restaurants, etc. so i want a self-contaiend little cubby hole. I hope to be in NM by Thanksgiving so that gives me a few weeks to get it together. I've looked at a bunch of options and would love to find a forum where i can ask questions about Roadtreks in particular and about problems with rust in general. Briefly, I found a 19095 Roadtrek 190 Versatile with 140,000 miles but it grew up in Minnesota and I think it may be eat up with Rust. But it's cheap and I'm kind of in that place where i'm hoping/dreaming that maybe if I could get it checked out and get everything fixed, it would be the one for me. Anyway, I'm going to look for a forum wehre I can sepll out all the problems I've found so far, whch is probably goimng to make most replies to my story -- RUN AWAY1  Okay, thanks to everybodyt aht keeps this resource going. I look forward to hearing the stories and learning from your experience. Anyone who wants to talk abouat rust and/or roadtreks, please message me as I need to make a decision soon and I need some reality testing.

 

[nature lover]

Welcome to the forum pcam1. I’m not a real expert but I do know a little bit about Rust being from Pennsylvania. when it comes to an RV a lot of it depends on how much it was out in the winter. The RVs usually aren’t out on the roads as much as your daily Drive to work vehicle. how well it was covered or taken care of at home or was it out side all the time. But rust it’s not a road track problem it’s a problem with the chassis whether you’re using Chevy Dodge Ford or whatever Google the type of chassis you’ve got and the year and “common rust problems”. You’ll find some issues that are common In vehicles like yours that you need to check out. A lot of rust issues can be taken care of but Frame Rust is a killer. There’s an old trick of taking a magnet to the dealership and using it on the body to see where there’s putty instead of metal and of course you got to crawl under the thing with a flashlight and a small hammer to do some tapping In almost every van and other vehicles the rocker panels are a common rust area. That’s the part At the bottom of every door not on the door but on the body. Well I said too many words for not being an expert but that’s all I know. May you rust in peace.

 

[Sofisintown]

Welcome pcam.
Roadtrecks are comfy rvs , and I hope you'll find one that fits you soon.
I'm in Wisconsin and my van has a bit of rust underneath, but my mechanic checked it and he said "that's nothing" so I will rust proof it as much as I can, and that will have to do.
Take care and happy travels

 

[pcam1]

First things first, i'm trying to figure out how to post. I finally started a new thread, which i guess is the same as a new post in this particular categoryh? And then when you are in other categories (or threads??) you just reply in the threads already established by subject?

Okay, I'm 70 and I lead with my age because one of the reasons I want to get on the road is because I feel the time a-passing and it scares the heck out of me. Well, maybe not scares me, but I do feel a kind of panic when I realize the road is getting shorter. So I have lived all over the place, am an adverturer or like to think of myself as being one once upon a time and I am a traveler. I moved back to my hometown in Georgia (pop. 9000 about 10 years ago to help my sister take care of my mom and now that my sister is retired, I feel okay about leaving. I am looking for a vehicle, which I have a ton of questions about but i guess there are other forums for that? I should just search? So I found out about Bob and Cheaprv living through a friend who has been a few of the rubber tramp rendevouz and lived in his van for a year or so working the campsite, beet harvest, amazon circuit. It turned out pretty good for him and I think I will like it too mainly because it will give me some freedom and relief from working just to pay the rent every month. This is not a great time to be traveling and I have been very very careful about protecting myself and others. I started looking for my van when I decided I could leave georgia for at least a while and my first stop will be New Mexico. I don't want to have to stay in hotels, motels, or use public accommodations, restaurants, etc. so i want a self-contaiend little cubby hole. I hope to be in NM by Thanksgiving so that gives me a few weeks to get it together. I've looked at a bunch of options and would love to find a forum where i can ask questions about Roadtreks in particular and about problems with rust in general. Briefly, I found a 19095 Roadtrek 190 Versatile with 140,000 miles but it grew up in Minnesota and I think it may be eat up with Rust. But it's cheap and I'm kind of in that place where i'm hoping/dreaming that maybe if I could get it checked out and get everything fixed, it would be the one for me. Anyway, I'm going to look for a forum wehre I can sepll out all the problems I've found so far, whch is probably goimng to make most replies to my story -- RUN AWAY1  Okay, thanks to everybodyt aht keeps this resource going. I look forward to hearing the stories and learning from your experience. Anyone who wants to talk abouat rust and/or roadtreks, please message me as I need to make a decision soon and I need some reality testing.

 

[pcam1]

Welcome to the forum pcam1.  I’m not a real expert but I do know a little bit about Rust being from Pennsylvania.  when it comes to an RV a lot of it depends on how much it was out in the winter.  The RVs usually aren’t out on the roads as much as your daily Drive to work vehicle. how well it was covered or taken care of at home or was it out side all the time. But  rust it’s not a road track problem it’s a problem with the chassis whether you’re using Chevy Dodge Ford or whatever  Google the type of chassis you’ve got and the year and “common rust problems”. You’ll find some issues that are common In vehicles like yours that you need to check out.  A lot of rust issues can be taken care of but Frame Rust is a killer.  There’s an old trick of taking a magnet to the dealership and using it on the body to see where there’s putty instead of metal and of course you got to crawl under the thing with a flashlight and a small hammer to do some tapping  In almost every van and other vehicles the rocker panels are a common rust area. That’s the part At the bottom of every door not on the door but on the body. Well I said too many words for not being an expert but that’s all I know. May you rust in peace.

Thank you so much for your quick response, Nature Lover. This is great. I feel better just being in touch with "others". I am not sure if this is how i reply. so let me know if you get this, okay? thanks for the very helpful advice.  I am going to get under it and knock around, look it up, etc. Thank you again. Rusting in peace, Tricia

 

[pcam1]

or maybe this is how you reply??? I typed something at the bottom of your message but i don't think that's how you do it.

Thank you so much for your quick response, Nature Lover. This is great. I feel better just being in touch with "others". I am not sure if this is how i reply. so let me know if you get this, okay? thanks for the very helpful advice. I am going to get under it and knock around, look it up, etc. Thank you again. Rusting in peace, Tricia

 

[pcam1]

Welcome pcam.
Roadtrecks are comfy rvs , and I hope you'll find one that fits you soon.
I'm in Wisconsin and my van has a bit of rust underneath, but my mechanic checked it and he said  "that's nothing" so I will rust proof it as much as I can, and that will have to do.
Take care and happy travels

 

[pcam1]

thank you very much for your reply, Softsintown (interesting user name). took me a while to figure out out to reply. Your experience makes me feel a little more hopeful, and now I'm thinking it's worth taking the time to have the mechanic (Bruno) check it out and maybe the dealer too. I'm not giving up up yet. I've seen a lot of clunkers for $5000, if this RT can be deemed reliable and I could drive out without meeting disaster around every corner, that sure would be great. I'm so tired of looking at some really pitiful vehicles at the same price. So yes, I'm encouraged, trhying not to be "foolish" or "impulsive" but I'm goimng to keep at it. not too worried, that woudl be great. Hopefully we'll talk again, best, Tricia.

 

[pcam1]

well, i don't think I did that reply right, so trying again.

thank you very much for your reply, Softsintown (interesting user name). took me a while to figure out out to reply. Your experience makes me feel a little more hopeful, and now I'm thinking it's worth taking the time to have the mechanic (Bruno) check it out and maybe the dealer too. I'm not giving up up yet. I've seen a lot of clunkers for $5000, if this RT can be deemed reliable and I could drive out without meeting disaster around every corner, that sure would be great. I'm so tired of looking at some really pitiful vehicles at the same price. So yes, I'm encouraged, trhying not to be "foolish" or "impulsive" but I'm goimng to keep at it. not too worried, that woudl be great. Hopefully we'll talk again, best, Tricia.

 

[RvDreams]

Welcome pcam1 to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

Typing under the box like in your post #5 is correct. You can just do a general reply too and state the name you are replying to. There are people on here with limited bandwidth and usage caps so quoting everyone and then replying to it isn't necessary. If you do find it necessary, please trim their post to only the part you are responding too.

Again, welcome.

 

[nature lover]

Pcam1 - Seems to me you’re doing pretty good at responding we can all read it when you post it. One thing I should’ve told you earlier if I recommend you get under the vehicle to look around for us then tap on things with that little hammer make sure you have your eyes protected because it even if it’s just dirt and not rust it’s a problem. Good luck to you

 

[pcam1]

Welcome pcam1 to the CRVL forums!  To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started. 

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

Typing under the box like in your post #5 is correct.  You can just do a general reply too and state the name you are replying to.  There are people on here with limited bandwidth and usage caps so quoting everyone and then replying to it isn't necessary.  If you do find it necessary, please trim their post to only the part you are responding too.

Again, welcome.

Okay, i think i understand. So just hit reply at right top coenr of the reply to your message and then type under the message you are responding to in the same box at the bottom? That way you don't repost your own exceedingly long post over and over again? --

 

[pcam1]

Pcam1 - Seems to me you’re doing pretty good at responding we can all read it when you post it. One thing I should’ve told you earlier if I recommend you get under the vehicle to look around for us then tap on things with that little hammer make sure you have your eyes protected because it even if it’s just dirt and not rust it’s a problem. Good luck to you

Okay, thank you. You know, i do not think I would have thought of protecting eyes until the first flakes of rust started falling into them. so good advice. I appreciate it.

 

[NctryBen]

Tricia, your doing good! ?? Sounds like your very wisely going about the whole thing. Crazy times out there and I hear ya about being careful while traveling. Keep practicing your posting and keep us in the loop. I’m guessing you get around this group you’ll both be on your own yet have someone there if you have issues. Lets hope things settle down pandemic wise and everyone can get back to life. Meantime, be careful, be safe, and keep checking in. One of my best friends at 74 completed a 240 mile canoe challenge in 5 days from international falls MN to grand portage MN on Lake Superior. The route follows the international border. An amazing feat to say the least. Let’s hope you can push forward like he did and have many years of fellowship with fellow van dwellers. I dont Expect my buddy to push himself into this challenge again. But I’ll bet he’s got many more trips of doing the trips he does enjoy. Keep pushing... age has meaning, but usually has as much to do with wisdom as time. Blessed travels!

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the CRVL Forum  


In terms of rust proofing, there are DIY rust proofing aerosol cans or even kits with several cans.  Not cheap but
cheaper than taking it to a Ziiebart.  There are rust neutralizing aerosol cans.  You can find this stuff in Google and once you get a results page....go to the top and click on "Images".   There you can quickly see a lot of the stuff int he market.   Some cheap and some more pricey.

Rust Proofing stuff used to come in two thicknesses.  One was dark and thick for the bottom of the vehicle and the other thinner and not so dark for insides of panels, doors, etc. 

This is just one source, but there are many others:

DIY Aerosol Rust Proofing

 

[LERCA]

Would LOVE a Roadtrek but I’d get it checked first. Living by the ocean corrodes things and the desert is hard on vehicles. So there’s probably no ideal place. Find a good RV mechanic before you buy anything. Hope you can find a Roadtrek! Have fun.

 

[Malamute]

Regarding frame rust, when I became interested in 4runners, several people mentioned that frames rusting out had killed many an otherwise good 4runner. I googled it, the images, and found a number of good pics and links to forums that discussed the issue, I learned a lot from reading and the pictures helped understand exactly what they were talking about, and how it was a problem. Many, it not most vehicle frames will be rusty, as in surface rust, the thin rust colored glazing of the surface, thats not the problem, the problem is box frame types instead of the open on one side C frame type, the box type traps water and grunge, both dirt and salts contribute to the rusting problems. the real problems start when the rust eats through the frame in various places, and next to important cross members and mounting points of various important parts of the vehicle. After my education in frame rusting issues I went to look at several 4runners that I immediately identified frame rusting problems, and walked away. So, look up some info, learn how to identify the problems, and save yourself some headaches. Im not sure tapping with a hammer will tell you as much as looking for the bubbly rust scale and holes, and not sure prospective sellers would want an unknown person using a hammer on their vehicle.

Link to google pics of frame rust problems https://www.google.com/search?q=fra...fTCVsQ_AUoAXoECBUQAw&biw=1242&bih=568&dpr=1.1