KOFA 2019

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I got my residential Refer here in Lake Havasu at Lowes on sale for just over $500 with an ice maker included free.

I got two and have the second one in the garage as a spare and it really comes in handy for extra refer space when shopping.

The Lowes delivery crew carried it right into the coach after I offered them a $20 tip.

Anyway, Gary you know where we are if you choose to replace it here even if you want to order another dometic and have it shipped here.  We have all the tools needed and can do it inside in case of rain or cold.
 
Gary, sorry for your luck. Hope Bill?s offer works for you. We were looking forward to seeing you and Mariaat Q.
 
Gary, hope it works for you to use Bill?s shop. It is well equipped, and they are great hosts.

We are settled at Quartzsite, but I am amazed at how noisy it is compared to Kofa. I guess I got used to the amazing quiet out there. Having a bit of rain coming in for the next day, or so it looks like on the radar.
 
One of Maria's big concerns is the extra weight with two more batteries and the solar.  She also doesn't want to run the jenny to keep the batteries charges.  Personally I think it might be a minimal increase in weight since I suspect the residential weighs less than our Dometic.  But even if we forego solar and just run the genny, I'm good with that. 

Bill, thanks for the offer.  But, I need to get Maria on board before moving forward with the residential.  I'm pretty sure she'll see the light and if we need to do some solar, so be it.  I've wanted solar anyway and I'm thinking if we stay with the RV refrigerator it's probably going to be a $3,000+ replacement.  So with a residential refrigerator, new inverter charger, two batteries and solar, we're probably not much more than a Dometic.  Also, we're halfway home. 

Sarge and Kev&Pam, I'm going to have Maria talk to you if she needs some convincing.  ;)

Jackiemac, if you're suggesting another Dometic, don't expect a PM from Maria.  ;D
 
No problem, the offer is open ended.

You might mention to Maria that the reason I replaced a working Dometic was the small but real possibility of a fire caused by the dometic overheating.  I did have the retrofit safety kit installed but after seeing the coach at Q that was destroyed I switched for peace of mind.

Additional advantage is much more interior space in the residential.
 
Another advantage to the residential is the freezer stays cold and keeps ice cream hard in hot weather.
 
Personally if we could do it, I would prefer a fridge that did not freeze my lettuce and leave my ice cream soft..... and that is not a Euphemism!!  ;D

We would be worried about off the grid as we don't have solar and some places you can't run generators for long..
 
Go with the residential and add solar. It will take some adjustments when boondocking and more genny running but you run your generator a fair amount anyway.
 
jackiemac said:
Personally if we could do it, I would prefer a fridge that did not freeze my lettuce and leave my ice cream soft..... and that is not a Euphemism!!  ;D

Jackie, I thought you were from some place across the pond where they serve warm beer.  You have to be creative.  Soft serve ice cream in a bed of frozen lettuce to keep it chilled.  Just add some chocolate sauce and a few cherry tomatoes and you can have your salad and desert together.  ;)
 
Wendy said:
Go with the residential and add solar. It will take some adjustments when boondocking and more genny running but you run your generator a fair amount anyway.

Thanks Wendy.  All I've heard any time I talk residential refrigerator is how much Wendy hates hers.  You need to start sending some kind of subliminal messages via facebook to Maria.  :)
 
garyb1st said:
Jackie, I thought you were from some place across the pond where they serve warm beer.  You have to be creative.  Soft serve ice cream in a bed of frozen lettuce to keep it chilled.  Just add some chocolate sauce and a few cherry tomatoes and you can have your salad and desert together.  ;)
Warm beer good...... but the rest yuk!
 
Looks like I'm the last one at KOFA for 2019.  Paul and Ann left today for Quartzite.  I did some modification and fix chores in the trailer today, walked the cat, and changed the generator oil. Another gorgeous day so it's difficult to not spend time just watching the mountains and the plants.  Gypsy Rose (the BRT) got her shiny new bumpers yesterday in Phoenix.

Gary and Maria - very sorry to have missed saying how great it was to meet you as you had to leave while I was in Yuma on Monday.  Even more bummed to hear of your refrigerator woes and that you won't likely make it to Q this year.  Best of luck on your choice of a new unit.  I'm sure it will work out for the best whichever way you go.

Debra - finally getting around to saying how much I enjoy your wonderful photographs.  You really captured the beauty and diversity of the KOFA environment.  Thanks so much for sharing them.

And a big thanks to Kevin and Cyndi for sharing this special location.  For me, everything was just awesome.  And thanks to all who were here and made this newbie feel welcomed and comfortable.  Just can't say enough good things about these Forum folks.

The weather is looking fine for the next couple of days, so I think I'll just hang around here at KOFA for another day, or even two before joining the rally in Quartzite on either Friday or Saturday.  All my tanks are in good shape so there really is no need to rush into the congestion as I'm going to be around Quartzite for several weeks after the rally anyway. 

Regards to all
Linda

 
Linda, glad you made it back OK.  Sorry it was to an empty campground.  We were looking forward to another week or two in Q and some more hikes.  Unfortunately our Dometic wasn't up for the party.  Let's keep in touch for possible future get togethers.  Until then keep that new bumper nice and shiny. 

Gary
 
I am glad everyone had a good time at KOFA. We sure did, and it was sure neat seeing friends again and meeting new ones. Really sorry to hear about your fridge Gary. I'm also a big fan of our residential fridge, but there's no doubt they use a lot more electricity than LP fridges. In our neck of the woods, solar really makes up for it. During the entire week, we only ran our generator for a total of 15 minutes, and that was so Cyndi could cook something in the microwave. 

Great pictures Debra! Some who have never been to KOFA might think that picture of the red mountains was touched up, but that's exactly how it looks most evenings. It's gorgeous. Bill, thanks for teaching us the new technique for putting on a jacket :) I showed Jo Jo and she had it down cold in 30 seconds. Linda, your RV is too clean. You need to let some dirt settle on it.

Hope to see everyone at Quartzsite. If you have time, come by booth 341A in the big tent and say hi. Cyndi and I will be working the entire show, and we enjoy meeting Forum members.

Kev
 
Good luck at the show Kev, let us know how it goes for you.  As it turned out, leaving and going to the Indio rally was a real stroke of good luck for us. We pulled in to the rally grounds and got parked and all was well (I think). 

A few days later I was about to get a 4 corner weight on the rig, so I was pulling in the slides and stowing things as I didn't know if I was going to have to move to an asphalt area to get weighed (I was on dirt and it had been raining).

While stowing my rear ladder I keep in the rear engine bay I happened to look down and saw an engine pulley laying loose on the frame rail!  It turned out to be a pulley that turns the gear box for the side mount radiator. Looking at it I could see where the bracket had just snapped in half, leaving the bottom part still bolted to the engine. 

Fortunately at the rally "Redlands Truck and RV" was there doing mods and service on many rigs. I took the pulley to them and showed them the problem. They sent their service truck to my site and the tech pulled off the bottom part of the pulley and welded it back together. A temporary fix, but as I already had an appointment at Redlands for the following Monday to get a new awning installed the bracket replacement was easy. 

So instead of getting towed somewhere, we were able to drive to the shop and handle it the next day. I may have just used up my luck for 2019 though.....
 
Kevin Means said:
Linda, your RV is too clean. You need to let some dirt settle on it.

Ha, ha, ha ;D.  Look who's talking.  I think you may have overlooked where I hide the exterior dirt. :D
 
Kevin Means said:
A lot of folks seem to have really enjoyed last year's KOFA rally, and I've received several PMs asking if we're doing it again. ...
Here's a link to a video I made a few years ago that will give you an idea of the area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E1OOmiy5N8 If anyone has any questions, just ask.

Kev
Thanks for that clip Kevin.  Maybe I'm in the wrong place but I haven't seen much posted about Q and Kofa 2019.
As a fan and student I admired the guitar and the slide in particular.  Who played it?
Jane and I are looking into ebike assisted mountain/ trail bikes. Looks like a good place for one.
Thanks
Pat
 
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