Rae, I'm happy to learn that you've already covered the tire issues with your inspector. As I was writing my advice last night, I was remembering the day we'd had a big blowout of one tire, and had limped off of the freeway (dualies) to assess the damage. The entire side of our fiver was wiped out by the blown tire hitting it. We were in a small town with no knowledge of where we'd find one to replace it. Ken was under the fiver, looking for other damage. I was sitting on the curb, bawling... this had been our second blowout that summer, and we'd also hit a bad spot in Wyoming's new road construction, and had just replaced the axle! Along came a man in a car, who stopped to check on us. When I bawled out our string of bad 'luck' (ha! Luck only counts for the first tire blowout... second one was dumb reasoning!), he put his arm around my shoulder and reminded me that 'this, too, shall pass', and that we were lucky to be traveling at our ages (50, that year), and .... well, all those pat answers designed to give comfort and to brighten my mood. He gave us information on local tire shops, and offered to go to his home and call one to come out to check on us. What a nice man! Within a few hours, we were back on the road, and much smarter! So.... my first thought was to help you avoid the same mistake we'd made in judgement. I'm happy to hear that you're one step ahead of us, and have already covered the tire age issue!!

Happy trails, Rae! Lee

Lee, my RV inspector is my best friend's step-father and he's known me for years. So, when he took my coach apart, he did so as would a father sending a daughter off on a perilous adventure. If he tells me I have nothing to worry about, I won't worry about anything.

Wow, your story is pretty scary. Sometimes, we meet the nicest people when we need them the most, though.

Cheers,

Resurrecting yet another thread to thank everyone who chimed in about my flooring choices! The 'chocolate' Allure flooring is in in the back room of my coach!

If anyone wants to see pictures, you can do so at my blog (direct link to post with pictures).

Cheers,

I've got yet more pictures of the flooring in, this time in the dinette area:

http://travelswithmiranda.blogspot.com/2008/08/sore-very-sore.html

Your hard work is paying off, Rae. The new flooring looks great!

quote:

Originally posted by Phil D:
Your hard work is paying off, Rae. The new flooring looks great!

Thanks, Phil!

The coach is slowly starting to look like a place I'd want to live!

Hi, Rae, just wanted to tell you that I visited and bookmarked your site. Aside from how nice the floor looks (excellent job!), you'll enjoy the ease of keeping it clean. I have linoleum and it's a breeze to keep.

Lots of luck with your travels, may you experience wonderful things in your life. You'll find something else to dream of now that this one has come true. Congratulations. I'll be following along with you through your blog.

quote:

Originally posted by hobopals:
Hi, Rae, just wanted to tell you that I visited and bookmarked your site. Aside from how nice the floor looks (excellent job!), you'll enjoy the ease of keeping it clean. I have linoleum and it's a breeze to keep.

My biggest issue is that I have two cats, one of whom sheds an insane amount. I love how this type of flooring turns that fur into 'dust kitties' that can be caught with a Swiffer!

quote:

Lots of luck with your travels, may you experience wonderful things in your life. You'll find something else to dream of now that this one has come true. Congratulations. I'll be following along with you through your blog.

Thank you for your kind words and for visiting my blog. I suppose that what I can dream of now is spending next summer in the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

Well, I have two labs, so beat that!!! The northwest is my very favorite place. I've only been from Oregon to Vancouver Island and vicinity, but I love it. Yes, I agree. That's a wonderful dream, especially for a young person who has the energy and strength to hike and explore all the nooks and crannies. Enjoy every moment. :-)

quote:

Originally posted by hobopals:
Well, I have two labs, so beat that!!!

I wasn't aware that this is a competition! At least, I bet your labs shed outside a bit. My kids are inside 24/7. *sneezes*

quote:

The northwest is my very favorite place. I've only been from Oregon to Vancouver Island and vicinity, but I love it.

I can't wait to see what it's like out there. I've done the east coast from the Maritimes to Florida, the midwest, the prairies, the Rockies (in Colorado), and southern California, but I have yet to hit the northwest, the far north, and the southwest.

quote:

Yes, I agree. That's a wonderful dream, especially for a young person who has the energy and strength to hike and explore all the nooks and crannies. Enjoy every moment. :-)

Oh, I will! I'm still recovering from some surgery I had last summer and have yet to regain my full stamina. I think that this adventure of mine will help speed up my recovery.

I HATE carpet!!! Everytime I move, all the carpet comes out, and it is replaced with wood, tile, or marble. One idea for the tiles to be installed for the coach would be to stagger the tiles. I have done this, because the diamond design was so much more costly for the labor. But I didn't want everything lined up in rows. Let's see if I can describe it...put in one line of tile, and on the next row line up the tiles so that the top and bottom of these tiles met the middle of the first line. If someone can describe this better than I, please go ahead.

By the way, the carpet is coming out of my bedroom, too. Does anyone have any suggestions how how I can do away with the carpet on the slide????

.....I use walk off carpet with the rubber back.....if I want to clean it-I use a vacuum or water hose and dry it in the sun.....I have fallen on my butt in hardwood floors with a small drop of grease or water so I prefer carpet for a landing pad-so to speak. they are about $1.00 per qu foot at Lowe's or HD and come in colors/various sizes. No tile or hard surfaces in a RV for me-broken bones/bone bruises etc aren't my way of traveling.....when my dog was alive-he needed traction which tile and wood don't have.....with the rubber backing they don't move at all-even with water on the underside....geofkaye

quote:

Originally posted by Holly N. Henry:

But I didn't want everything lined up in rows. Let's see if I can describe it...put in one line of tile, and on the next row line up the tiles so that the top and bottom of these tiles met the middle of the first line. If someone can describe this better than I, please go ahead.

Like this?

I like that look, but it's not an option with the Allure product since it comes in strips of 3 tiles. It would also have been way too much work had it been possible because of the teeny space I was working with.

quote:

Originally posted by Rae:

My biggest issue is that I have two cats, one of whom sheds an insane amount.

I don't know if the same product is available for cats but a vet may have something like Optima 361 to cut shedding. This stuff really worked for our terrier...you just put some on their food.

quote:

Originally posted by LLonearth:I don't know if the same product is available for cats but a vet may have something like Optima 361 to cut shedding. This stuff really worked for our terrier...you just put some on their food.

I prefer not to interfere with the course of nature. I just make it a point to frequently use a lint roller on him.