Vermonter

Indeed, I think a microwave is probably the last thing you want if you like your pizza cold

Nice! I think it's a great cooking alternative for certain food items. It's no microwave though...

Anyone ever use a firepie cooker for campfire cooking? you can make just about anything in them. http://www.firepies.com/irons.html

If it's floating, I can't imagine you'd run into half the issues that most people report. For only having to buy one box worth of flooring, even if you have to replace it every few years, it's still not that bad of an expense...Plus you get a a new floor again!

My father used the peel and stick in the basement, directly over the concrete. It seems to do fine, although I can only imagine how cold the concrete underneath is. It's only been in the room for less than a year, we will see how long it holds up. I also heard you don't want to use laminate flooring like you would use in a kitchen, I went to buy some from a flooring store and they discouraged me from buying it for the same reason. They said that the RV store up the road has them replace about 5-6 floors per year in BRAND NEW RV's that haven't even made it off the dealership floor. They said it will crack and peel up just due to the cold. I was dissapointed because I wanted a floor that was easy to clean up.

HAHAHAHA My Element is the ONLY vehicle I bring to the dealership for services, and that's only because the lifetime warranty requires the work be done by certified mechanics in order for them to honor the warranty. I know how you feel, I constantly have the mechanics coming out to the waiting room and asking me "do you know about such and such" and I always answer "yes, well aware" before they can finish their statement, and end with "and please don't wash my car". NOBODY touches my paint but me. I was steered (no pun intended) towards class D tires on this site. Considering they were just as hard to find and the same price, It's always a better peace of mind to know the tires are (in theory) more capable of the weight of the rig. I will report back on their performance after I put a few thousand miles on them.

Thanks, good info. I was also looking at the peel and stick. I figure a couple boxs will do the whole floor. Once I finish the interior, that is.

Awesome! Thank you!

Peel N' Stick flooring? I'm thinking I might go that route. Is the floor under the carpet fairly flat for a thin floor covering, or are there lumps and wires and such?

Yes, I did end up buying them. 7 to be exact. They are not installed yet and won't be until I can get my Rig out of storage in the spring. I ordered them from tires-easy.com and ended up getting all 7 for under $400 shipped, and all the manufacturer dates were within 2 months of the purchase date! So I was very happy about that. My first opinion of them is that they are very well made and I would not consider them "cheap" if I hadn't known what I paid for them. I can't say for certain how they perform, but their load rating was correct, so I can't expect much "performance" out of a D load rating other than "does it get me from point A to point B without exploding or do they hydroplane?" I can't say for sure, but I am very optomistic of these tires. It's not a conclusive opinion, but it's headed in the right direction...

Totem- "I don't see the analogy on that with an RV in a microwave other than yikes what have we become" You saw what I was getting at exactly haha. It's more or less the fact that technology that we despise that is our most demanded luxuries. It's a "guilty pleasure"! Like I said, not judging anyone. If I had kids, that Ipad would be real tempting, I'm sure. I'm just used to living close to a ritzy town filled with irresponsible rich parents who throw devices in front of their children specifically so they don't need to interract with the little monsters that they've no doubt neglected. Not saying that's the case with everyone! Leftovers, not fun? Oh come on, everyone loves leftovers... I will say this... Microwaves are good for lazy sunday "will it blow up?" science experiments. Do not attempt inside Rig.

Has anyone done any planning around a VT 2015 toy-in yet?

I'm with you on a lot of your well-made points, totem. The fact about the microwave, to me, is that it's kind of like when you see a child under the age of 7 playing with an ipad. You think to yourself "what kind of parent just throws an electric babysitter in front of their child and allows them to be zoned out on visual stimulants while their youth passes them by, all so you can have a couple hours of silence without having the inconvenience of having to entertain your child?" I'm not a parent, but if I was I would probably let my kids do the same damn thing, and not care what others think. It's a fact. Maybe that was hard to follow and if you don't know how my brain works you might be wondering how the heck that is even remotely close to how you feel about microwaves. I wouldn't blame you. What I'm trying to say is that I believe we ALL hate our microwaves (in some way) because we resent what they have done to CULTURE and being that we are a group of outdoorsy types, we probably have more resentment than anyone! I can see why anyone can hate the microwave, but I can also see why JD or anyone else would defend it. I think we all cringe a little when we use the nuke, but can justify it when caught using it. And since it was brought up, I want to apologize if anyone got the wrong idea about my last post in my previous thread. I hope everyone saw the lighter side of that remark. I also want to apologize if anyone here has kids that use an ipad regularly. I mean no harm by that remark, I often add theatrics for entertainment value. Take care!

I'm not a betting man, but I'd put money on this topic having been derived from mine! haha I can agree that they are a luxury that most people seem to have replaced good old fashioned cooking with. I myself can see why having it as a backup would be worth the added 20+/- pounds. If something should happen where you are not able to use your stove, then at least you have SOMETHING. Mine will probably stay in my rig so I can have the option of fast prep (uncle bens bagged 90 second rice, reheating cold pizza in 30 seconds, etc.) Are your feet cold? Throw your socks in there for 30 seconds! haha There are entire cook books written around microwaves, and I'm not saying that is any way to live, but there is a market for them still. In my case, a high milage road trip, everything will be about continuing to move forward and stopping to smell the roast cooking with the family isn't going to be a concern. All in all, I'd say the nomadic lifestyle of owning an RV might have a slightly different view of microwaves than say someone who is camping with the whole family and making memories.

ooh ooh ooh, pick me! j/k <----broke

It's 19 degrees fahrenheit here right now, how much colder is it where you guys are??

South of you, yes. But you said South VT, which it is far from southern VT. I plan on travelling to Montreal this winter, you know, Northern Canada.

ALSO. That facebook page is worth checking out. It is a lot of Craigslist posts, but that's just the admin sharing what he sees for potential buyers.The page itself is a good resource for asking questions with the expectations of a short quick answer, and you can keep up with people's DIY's. I like the community feeling of a good old facebook page. NOT SAYING I don't love this forum! You can find me on that page as "Mot Ydobaep", that's my name backwards.... Don't ask. or you can, whatever.

Let's clear some things up!... Burlington is NOT southern VT ... It's northern. You're probably thinking of Bennington or Brattleboro. Or god-forbid, Rutland. 3 Toyota's turning up isn't bad for a VT first ANNUAL Meeting of the Toys. Next year, You can count on me showing face. North Beach is basically in the parking lot of the South Burlington High School. Literally, you drive through the parking lot to get to the beach. Not a bad place, There's a campground, bike path, Beach, Boat launch, Rock diving, And a concession building for ice cream/food. It's worth possibly trying to set up THIS COMING YEARS MEETING, if that isn't already the place you had it this past year and just didn't know the name of the Beach. We Vermonters like our Connecticut vehicles. VT eats our cars in about 4-5 years. Most cars don't even meet the manufacturers rust warranty before showing rust. My toyota motorhome was a VT lifer as far as I know, but never driven in the winter, so it has zero rust on it. Except for the quarter sized surface rust spot on the hood that looks like it originated as a stone chip 20 years ago. That is all.

And also, I have not yet "pulled the trigger" on buying these tires. By the time I got home that night, I completely forgot to order them and I've been side tracked ever since. I will probably run to the bank in the morning and make sure the funds are there and then order them tomorrow afternoon.

I live pretty close to a toyota dealership that I used to work at and I have a couple friends who are mechanics there. I assume they can handle the job. If not, we have a couple diesel shops around that I am sure can handle it if toyota can't. Diesel mechanics usually have any special equipment that might be needed to swap tires on the dually wheels, so it's probably a good choice for anyone to try and find a diesel shop around town and become friendly with them.

Is this something that can be annual? How was this years turnout? I unfortunately didn't buy my rig until about mid-august and then submerged myself into this forum. I live about 40 minutes from Burlington and I'm often at North beach during the summer months. I'd love a reason to get away in my backyard for a weekend.

BTW- one (1) of those G.E. headlights list on Amazon for $278 plus jingle change. Retail is $800 for one headlight. If that doesn't give you some indication of the insuperiority of swap-out L.E.D. bulbs...well I dont know what to tell you.

I am going to add to this topic, not because I think anything I say is worth a dang, but because I spent the time reading the 4 pages so I feel entitled haha. My EXPERIENCE with L.E.D.s (yes, real experience) is that your odds of finding a bulb/brand/output/color that truly makes you happy or at very least content with the amount you spent on buying them, is almost not ever going to happen. I have bought from Cali, China, Japan..etc... I have outfitted 3 of my hondas, my wifes honda, and now my Rig, which now has every interior bulb, porch light, and all tail light bulbs, and front turn signals all donning L.E.D's. (I even have enough left over to replace every single bulb in my rig 2x over) My personal experience is that if you are going to 'try out' L.E.D.'s in your rig, just be prepared and buy extra, or buy from a seller that offers a 'no-questions-asked' returns policy. I have had L.E.D's melt within hours of installation, and the replacement bulbs have lasted months. The quality of the bulb has everything to do with how happy you will be in the end. The "20 for $5" deal on Ebay will leave a sour taste in your mouth, or if you're lucky, maybe not. I find the tiny 194 or even the 7440/1556 bulbs are usually good enough for anyones liking. However, a complete headlight housing replacement (linked below) will do 2 things for you 1- meet your requirements/expectations, and 2- deplete your wallet of all your christmas money. You could try replacing your headlight bulbs with L.E.D. bulbs in an h-4 housing (which is my plan and seems to be your original topic), but you will most likely be less than pleased with your results for multiple reasons. one reason being that the h-4 housings that I have seen are low quality with a terrible scatter pattern, another reason being that if you combine a terrible scatter pattern with the low-quality lighting that an L.E.D. almost always gives you, you would be better off using candles in your headlight housings. L.E.D's are FAMOUS for having a HIGH light output (ouch thats bright), but you'll notice that light travels almost 1/3 of the distance of incandescent light. Thats why you can shine an L.E.D. flashlight in someones face from two rooms away and blind them, but if you were to point that flashlight at the ground, you can't see your way into the next room. I must advise you to stick to your sealed beams. It's not worth the headaches. I say this with the intent to buy L.E.D.s for my headlights, because I expect to be disappointed and have little hope to be proven wrong. I swapped my oem 1987 sealed beam units out for the h-4 housings, and I was instantly disappointed. My high beams might as well be "my other lowbeams". Scatter pattern is terrible, and my oem sealed units were 10x brighter and I could see a half mile away. L.E.D.s in my headlights are my way of saying "It can't be any worse, right?", even though I expect it will! Now, as far as lighting in your rig that you don't need for real "projection", L.E.D.s are a great way to complement your rig. My tail lights are about twice as bright, with brilliant red and amber coloring. I used "C.O.B. L.E.D.'s" which are "Chip-on-board" bulbs, and these have a projector-style shroud to them which really eliminates that "Digi" look of the lower quality L.E.D.s. I am happy with them, although they were a little finicky at first. Finally, If you are dead set on L.E.D. headlights, but don't want to waste your efforts and money isn't a concern, then G.E. is the way to go. They have complete headlight replacements that will make your wallet squeal like a pig, but is your best bet to cut through all the B.S. and just do it right the first time. I don't have any personal experience with them, but something tells me G.E. wouldn't put their name on something if they weren't able to claim it's ability to beat out all the competition. That's my 2 cents. http://www.gelighting.com/LightingWeb/na/consumer/products/highlights/nighthawk/led-headlights/overview/

Pulling the trigger on the Goform G325's tonight... $392 w/ 2-3 day shipping for 7 tires, can't resist. Tires-easy.com. I've dealt with them on 2 other occasions, and they have always been really easy to deal with, and the customer support and returns policy...top notch.