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Old 08-25-2014, 03:41 PM   #1
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Good Morning Dutchmen Owners,

First of all, I must say thank you to all of you who have shared your knowledge on the forums. We bought our Used 2013 Voltage 3895 in June and didn't realize all of the problems it had from lack of maintenance from the previous owners. This website saved us with knowing what to look for and how to fix it and make it usable! Thank you so much to everyone!

Onto my original question. We are stationed at Fort Rucker for about the next year and our land lords want to move back into this house at the end of our lease. (The thought of packing up all of our stuff to move makes my eyes want to bleed a little.) Mike and I have been talking and are thinking that we will maybe just move into the camper full time for awhile.

I was hoping to get some advice from you wonderful people for anything that we may need adjust to make full timing easier. We are packing up a 2500 square foot house and trying to figure out how to downsize it to 400 square feet.

Also, our couch is the older sectional couch with the crazy cushions that do not stay in place. We are hoping to replace the couch, but are not sure if we bought a standard couch that it would be too heavy for the slide. Has anyone replaced that couch and if you have, anything we should know about before hand?

Thank you in advance to everyone and if you have any questions, please just ask!

Have a great day!
Kasey
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Old 08-25-2014, 04:33 PM   #2
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Welcome to the forum Kasey.

If you are setting up for the duration, you might want to consider installing skirting. It will help to keep critters out and you will have some extra storage space. You can find pallets that are being sent to the dump to keep stuff up off the ground.

If you can setup a solid foundation it would be a good idea to take the tires off and store them on one of the pallets. Tires sitting in one spot for extended periods can suffer dry rot. If you can't put the camper on a foundation park it on wood under the tires, they won't dry out a fast.

You might want to look into reupholstering the couch that you have. It is difficult to get regular sized furniture into a camper and you may only be able to fit a love seat in the space. If you look closely at the couch you will probably find that the back comes off. One option that is workable is a lazyboy, we replaced the recliners in our camper with a lazyboy love seat that I reworked. Way more comfortable that the big over stuffed recliners that came in the trailer.

You will want to keep ahead of condensation in the winter months. Invest in a small dehumidifier or be sure to run exhaust fans to get the humidity out. Prop open your cabinet doors and leave the closet doors open a bit.

Good luck.
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Old 08-25-2014, 04:37 PM   #3
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First, thank you for your service. Former CW3, did the Rucker thing myself.
Going from 2500 ft to 400? Organization! Figure out what you need to live and store or sell the rest. Like you probably don't need 10 pans to cook or 15 storage bowls. You'll actually find really innovative ways to store more than you actually use. Don't know about the couch thing but many on the forum have changed their furniture and I'm sure some of them will chime in.
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Old 08-25-2014, 10:21 PM   #4
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Kasey, we have been full timing in our our V3895 since Feb 13. We have stayed at many base FAM Camps and made friends with many active duty folks that found themselves living full time in their RV for various reasons from saving money to buy house, or they didn't want to commit to rent/mort due to short duration assignment for training etc. Most of the FAM Camps give active duty priority for long term stay. While i've not made it to Fort Rucker yet, i understand the base camp ground is very nice.

We moved out of a small farm in Alb NM to the Kirtland AFB camp ground , so we filled up three large storage units and filled 2, 35 Foot flatbeds with farm equipment. Over time we sorted out what we needed vs what was nice to have. Today we have 1 1/2 storage units along with the two flat bed loads. At best i might be able to eliminated the 1/2 unit.

Our biggest challenge has been horses, yes, we have a couple of retired Team Roping horses that we've raised from babies and cannot seem to part with them. If it weren't for the horses the whole transition to full time would have been a cake walk...ok except for the satellite TV. Wish i would have kept our satellite service from house and just moved it to the RV. For some reason it was tougher getting satellite into the RV than getting our horses bed down for the first move.

As far as furniture, i thought all 13 V3895s had the Residential Leather. Only change we made was removed the two love seat recliners next to the Frig and replaced it with a little dining table with two chairs. I believe there are others on this forum that have changed out the sofa.

Hope some of this helps. Best of luck and thank you both for your service. We did 30 years in USAF and loved every day of it.

Mark & Dee
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Old 08-26-2014, 04:55 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by nmroper View Post

We moved out of a small farm in Alb NM to the Kirtland AFB camp ground , so we filled up three large storage units and filled 2, 35 Foot flatbeds with farm equipment. Over time we sorted out what we needed vs what was nice to have. Today we have 1 1/2 storage units along with the two flat bed loads. At best i might be able to eliminated the 1/2 unit.


Mark & Dee
My wife and I just relocated to ABQ. We have DOD base privileges but do not understand the stupid two week policy that this base has. I came from LV and the base had a reasonable policy which I think was six months followed by a break and you could come back on and reset the 'clock'. I've been to the park before and now weekly to observe and you can tell who has been 'homesteading' and I will say that there has to be a process because when I spoke to the elderly but unfriendly lady at the reception office, she gave me a letter to apply for an extension past the two weeks with a S.M.A. comment about us 'living' there. I did a search on the RVParky app and there were others who posted the same thing about the favoritism, if nothing else its nice to be able to send some emails to the person in charge about the way the park is ran and if its asinine the IG is always an option.
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Old 08-26-2014, 05:43 AM   #6
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I have some thoughts on this issue. I served 24 years, then retired for 15 more years, then was recalled to active duty for 2 more years. Yes, folks, I have served. I finished up with 3 yrs in retail, and am now fully retired. Our son and daughter have each served. That all being said, now let's turn our attention to AF Famcamps, US Army Travel Camps, et al:
First, let's ask ourselves, is this a recreation service, or an extension of the billeting office? Is this designed to help military families, both active and retired, recreate, or to profit on their lifestyle, or to provide an alternative to their transient situation? I think the original purpose is to recreate. I say this because we have camped for 2 or 3 days each, at both the local AF and Army camps. Strangely, the Army camp is heavily booked up with PCS, TDY, and other situations which give them monthly occupation.
Guys and gals, there is NOBODY who loves the military more than me! I want to afford them all that we can during their times of PCS and TDY. But we have to ask ourselves what are we doing with the Famcamps? Are we setting up little ghettos? Something less than intended? If our transient military people are willing to accept this "less than standard" domicile, because they have an RV, then let's give it to them. As a special park, and separated from the intentional Famcamp/Travel Camp. Otherwise, we are just robbing from Peter to pay Paul.
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Old 08-26-2014, 09:33 AM   #7
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I have some thoughts on this issue. I served 24 years, then retired for 15 more years, then was recalled to active duty for 2 more years. Yes, folks, I have served. I finished up with 3 yrs in retail, and am now fully retired. Our son and daughter have each served. That all being said, now let's turn our attention to AF Famcamps, US Army Travel Camps, et al:
First, let's ask ourselves, is this a recreation service, or an extension of the billeting office? Is this designed to help military families, both active and retired, recreate, or to profit on their lifestyle, or to provide an alternative to their transient situation? I think the original purpose is to recreate. I say this because we have camped for 2 or 3 days each, at both the local AF and Army camps. Strangely, the Army camp is heavily booked up with PCS, TDY, and other situations which give them monthly occupation.
Guys and gals, there is NOBODY who loves the military more than me! I want to afford them all that we can during their times of PCS and TDY. But we have to ask ourselves what are we doing with the Famcamps? Are we setting up little ghettos? Something less than intended? If our transient military people are willing to accept this "less than standard" domicile, because they have an RV, then let's give it to them. As a special park, and separated from the intentional Famcamp/Travel Camp. Otherwise, we are just robbing from Peter to pay Paul.
I come from a military family (Navy and AF), unfortunately I was never able to serve due to poor hearing. I guess they want guys with perfect hearing to put in the engine rooms on ships so they can pay disability later.

I interact with the military on a regular basis... Fort Bragg surrounds my property on 3 sides.

From the sounds of it the gummit is behind the curve as usual. We have some friends of our that were TDY to Fort Bragg, they had their fifth wheel parked at our house as living quarters for a few months. The alternative was going to be an extended stay hotel in not the best part of town. They (the government) could and should do better. Make the best of it and go for it.

Thanks for serving!

Aaron
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Old 08-26-2014, 01:11 PM   #8
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My wife and I just relocated to ABQ. We have DOD base privileges but do not understand the stupid two week policy that this base has. I came from LV and the base had a reasonable policy which I think was six months followed by a break and you could come back on and reset the 'clock'. I've been to the park before and now weekly to observe and you can tell who has been 'homesteading' and I will say that there has to be a process because when I spoke to the elderly but unfriendly lady at the reception office, she gave me a letter to apply for an extension past the two weeks with a S.M.A. comment about us 'living' there. I did a search on the RVParky app and there were others who posted the same thing about the favoritism, if nothing else its nice to be able to send some emails to the person in charge about the way the park is ran and if its asinine the IG is always an option.
72Mach,

Kirtland had the same policy when we were there, but we along with all other long stays were required to submit a written request. It was pretty straight forward and I was not aware of any that were disapproved. However, even with an approval, you will likely be asked to move if they get full and establish a waiting list. Expect to move during the Balloon Fiesta. We had no problem with it. Always gave us an opportunity to travel out to other areas and give other folks an opportunity to enjoy the Famcamp.

Be advised this is a hot button issue on many of the other forums and Facebook groups (of which i don't engage in). There are many people that will judge you for the reason you are staying there as well as the way you maintain your site. Don't let this discourage you. Having once been part of the base leadership at Kirtland, i can tell you they try very hard to ensure everyones needs at the Famcamp are met. I know of no one that was ever turned away due to long stayer's. Also the MWR was very involved to ensure that all sites are being maintained. Two other examples we recently experienced were at Fort Bragg and the MCAS at Cherry Point. Both had folks staying long term, and yet there was plenty of spaces available. Again It was very obvious the base leadership was actively involved.

BTW, sounds like Janet is still there making friends and influencing people. Is Doreen still there as the camp host? She is the one we interfaced with the most. She was very dialed into what was going on at the camp ground and did an awesome job as host.

In an attempt to keep this great forum about the Dutchman RVs, please Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions regarding the Kirtland Famcamp.

Cheers.
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Old 08-27-2014, 12:57 AM   #9
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Thanks, Mark. I was born at Minot AFB, ND and worked at the base there until I transferred to Pope in N.C.

Thanks for the tip about satellite. We have DirectTV right now and we have been looking at options, but we are afraid that the camper is too tall to have an 18 inch dish mounted on the roof.

As for our couch, our camper was built in Sept of 2012 so they considered it a '13, but we got the old crappy couch. I hope we will be able to find a solution to that soon.
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Old 08-27-2014, 12:59 AM   #10
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Thanks, Mark. I was born at Minot AFB, ND and worked at the base there until I transferred to Pope in N.C.

Thanks for the tip about satellite. We have DirectTV right now and we have been looking at options, but we are afraid that the camper is too tall to have an 18 inch dish mounted on the roof.

As for our couch, our camper was built in Sept of 2012 so they considered it a '13, but we got the old crappy couch. I hope we will be able to find a solution to that soon.
Pope AFB ... now Pope AAF uses my big red barn roof as a marker for the outer turn. Been told that by more than one C-130 pilot. Told them to make sure they make the runway, don't want airplane parts in the pasture.

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Old 08-27-2014, 01:00 AM   #11
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Thanks, Jeff.
Mike is a CW3 SP I.E. for Fox Company. He will be up for CW4 next May and we are hoping that we can get back to Bragg to our real house.
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Old 08-27-2014, 01:03 AM   #12
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Pope AFB ... now Pope AAF uses my big red barn roof as a marker for the outer turn. Been told that by more than one C-130 pilot. Told them to make sure they make the runway, don't want airplane parts in the pasture.

Aaron
We Miss Bragg so much and can't wait to go back! We still have our house on Johnson Farm Rd and are currently getting estimates for the hail damage that happened in May. Super hard to find someone trustworthy when we are 10 hours away.

If you know someone you would trust in your empty house, let a homegirl know!
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Old 08-27-2014, 01:08 AM   #13
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Welcome to the forum Kasey.

If you are setting up for the duration, you might want to consider installing skirting. It will help to keep critters out and you will have some extra storage space. You can find pallets that are being sent to the dump to keep stuff up off the ground.

If you can setup a solid foundation it would be a good idea to take the tires off and store them on one of the pallets. Tires sitting in one spot for extended periods can suffer dry rot. If you can't put the camper on a foundation park it on wood under the tires, they won't dry out a fast.

You might want to look into reupholstering the couch that you have. It is difficult to get regular sized furniture into a camper and you may only be able to fit a love seat in the space. If you look closely at the couch you will probably find that the back comes off. One option that is workable is a lazyboy, we replaced the recliners in our camper with a lazyboy love seat that I reworked. Way more comfortable that the big over stuffed recliners that came in the trailer.

You will want to keep ahead of condensation in the winter months. Invest in a small dehumidifier or be sure to run exhaust fans to get the humidity out. Prop open your cabinet doors and leave the closet doors open a bit.

Good luck.
Thank you so much for the useful tips! I had no idea about the tires and the skirting and it makes great sense!
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