SilvrT

I captured this "coincidence" a few nights ago. Whispy clouds forming a circle around the moon.

I was self-employed for 20 years. Fell into it by accident. IMO, having a solid client base is key to somewhat of a steady income. Positive cash flow will keep you out of the red. Find a good accountant that understands the "grey" areas of the tax laws and works them in your favour. Don't let the work take over your life. Take time out for yourself on a regular basis. When you find yourself overloaded and seem to be up against a brick wall ... take that leap over it and hire a helper (or two). I absolutely loved self-employment but it does have it's own pitfalls of which some are self-imposed. All the best in your new adVenture!

When we moved from the house we rented in Burnaby (which had a garage) and moved into the double-wide mobile we bought in Surrey (which had a 10x12 shed) I had to "down size" my JUNK collection. I had STUFF I'd been packing around for 30 or 40 years. Things I gathered along the way, thinking that "one day this will come in handy". Ridiculous things like wiring harnesses off old cars I'd stripped, body bolts/screws, chrome trim retainers..... an ashtray out of a 55 Ford LOL. I did keep a lot of STUFF though, still thinking "Yes, this I gotta hang onto" Somehow I managed to fit it all into that 10x12 shed along with my tools. Then when we sold the double-wide and became full-time RV living, I had to down size again. I couldn't help giving my own head a shake when I suddenly came to the realization that I'd been packing this JUNK around for years and not once did I ever find any use for any of it. So it all went into a yard sale. What didn't get sold either went to the dump or, if I thought I might still find a use for it, it's now in boxes in storage LOL Guess what I'll be doing AGAIN when we sell the 5th wheel and settle down ???

My son bought a new F150 4x4 in 2016 with the 3.5 ecoboost engine. He puts on a lot of miles as he generally works several hours driving away from home. FWIW, he's had numerous problems with that truck. Driveline issues, engine issues. He always seems to be fighting with Ford to get them to cover the problems on warranty.

My ride highlite of 2017 (which was really the only one coz I had no bike) was when we were camped in Sevierville, TN. I rented a Harley and hooked up with @Zzyzx and we rode the Smoky mountains, Tail of the Dragon and a few other places which I've forgotten the name of.

Actually no, I'm not in the market. We currently have a 2016 RAM 3500 diesel and we pull a 12,000 # 5th wheel RV. Before that we had a 2003 F350 with the V10 in it. Specs on that engine was 310 HP & 425 Tq and it didn't do well at all pulling our 5th wheel up hills. Start at the bottom of a long 5 or 6 % grade and speed would drop by appx 20 mph at the crest all the while the engine is working pretty hard. The RAM on the other hand could crest the same hill 20 mph faster with ease.

Pulls what? What is the biggest GVW (actual weight) item you have pulled and over what kind of terrain?

Looking at the towing capacities for a 2016 F150 it shows the 3.5L Ecoboost engine can tow more than the 2.7L The 3.5L EcoBoost® V6 shows 365 HP @ 5,000 and 420 lb.-ft. TQ @ 2,500 From 1st hand experience with my '03 F350 c/w V10 (310 HP & 425 TQ) there's plenty of power towing a trailer of 10,000# GVW as long as you're either on flat land with no headwind or going down hill.

Spotted this the other day in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico ... about a 45 min drive from where we are camped in Harlingen, TX

DITTO! @yzernie ... Maybe I missed something but I don't recall any mention of "top heavyness" and low speed handling comparison between the old RSV and the new SV ... could you comment on that plz.

And Black bears can climb trees ... Grizzly's can't ... but they can push them over LOL

I've never heard of that "requirement" before. Time to pay Google a visit..... lol EDIT: ahhh-HA! Check this out... http://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/mtn/ours-bears/securite-safety/camping-propre-bare-camp ya lern sumpin new every day... eh

If you're tenting and carrying food in bear country, take a rope and a sack of some sort, put all your food into the sack, tie it with a rope, and hang it high from a tree branch AWAY from your tent. Don't keep anything inside the tent that a bear might want to eat (excluding yourself of course LOL). Don't wear any deodorant ... the stinkier you are, the better. Carry a can of bear spray.

Sorry we can't make it ... leaving Florida Jan 1st ... heading for South Padre Island, TX

Christmas is VERY different this year for Nina & I as this is the first year in 12 that we have been away from home and we've only been together for 12 years. We've always had a big Christmas gathering with our kids and friends .... it feels very strange to be here in Florida without them. Having said that, we have noticed while out shopping locally that many of the retail workers are wishing the customers a Merry Christmas. Much more than I can recall from years past at home.

One of my all-time fav's

I guess I was around 30 at the time. Had a Honda 750-4. A bunch of us were out at the lake partying. There was a big field next to the parking area and we were tossing a frizbe around when somebody came over to me and said my bike was parked in the way of something so, as we're all drinkin and having a good time and full of testosterone (makes a guy become a show-off at times) ... I decide to run over to my bike and jump onto it (like the Lone Ranger mounting his horse) .... well when I landed on the bike, the momentum didn't stop ... me and the bike just kept going and I ended up on the ground with bike on top of me hollerin for help. The guys eventually lifted the bike off me ...After the laffing stopped !!!

WOW .. almost as long as the Confederation Bridge connecting New Brusnwick to Prince Edward Island, Canada ( the longest bridge over ice-covered waters in the world)

We're still in Cedar Key until Jan1st. Then we head for the Corpus Christi area for a couple months. Will be spending January at a couple state campgrounds. Not sure about Feb yet. Our first grand daughter is due late Feb and Nina will be flying home for a couple weeks for that. Tried to sell it for more than we have into it but couldn’t take the chance of not unloading it before we left. We’re satisfied with what we got and like I said, really not out of pocket for more than a couple rentals.

Well sadly we had to sell the Nomad We found a suitable Toy Hauler but the price difference between it and our 5er was more than we wanted to spend out of our savings and because we have no credit history in the USA, they couldn't finance us. That left us with towing it behind the 5er. Well, the cost to rig the 5er up with a trailer hitch and buy a trailer worked out to appx $2500 Canadian .... just not worth it. That plus the fact that some of the states we have to travel through it's illegal to double-tow made the whole idea not worth the expense or hassle .... so we sold the bike. Between the cost to license it, state taxes, and a couple hundred worth of extras I added to it I guess we're out about the cost to rent a Harley for a couple days (which we probably would have done anyway). At least we did get to enjoy a few rides on it and it was a really good bike. Definitely one I would consider buying again (when we return home). Onwards and upwards!

Dear Santa ... all I want for Christmas is for you to get these guys out for a ride on their scoots and real soon coz it appears all they got to do is write letters to you!

My wife complains about my hearing .... now if only I can get her to stop whispering.....

I've actually considered buying one of these many times. In fact, a dealer near where we live was clearing out 2008 inventory just prior to the new 2009 models arriving and they were selling them off at a very low price. Nina & I almost went for it but we really wanted more touring comforts so we bought the RSMV instead. I've always liked the style and features of the Kaw Nomad. We looked at 5 different bikes the day we made the deal on this one and somehow I knew from the beginning that we'd end up buying it LOL

There's a couple here in our RV park that has the dual wheel version. They load a Burgman 650 onto it. I checked it out but the price (around 5G's) is a tad outside our budget!

I'm looking into toy haulers but our budget is limited so will depend on what's available and how much we can get for trade-in on our 5er.