2003 GS Independence

[Snowbird 2]

Finally I can join you legitimately as I am now the prowd owner of a 2003 Independence(8328) and taking delivery next week; private sale. Thanks to RJ who gave me a lot of advise along the way, I did a thorough check of the unit and after learning some of the tricks (drivers seat fully ahead to open slide and operate hyd. levellers) we were satisfied everything worked and we were getting a GREAT deal. It has only 12,000 miles on it and the genset has only 46 hrs! It still has the new smell in it and we are anxious to make it our winter travelling home. I may be asking you for help, but if you know of any peculiarities about it I would be glad to hear from any of you in advance of my cry for help. We stay in full hook-up facilities(Thousand Trails) so the small fresh and grey water tanks don't bother me. I am a bit nervous about filling that 75 gallon gas tank but it should last a full days drive!

Thanks in advance to all especially RJ for his help already.

Snowbird 2
GS Independence with Chev Tracker in tow, :lol: :lol: :lol: one wife, no pets

[RJ82much]

Congratulations Snowbird 2.

Your Chevy Tracker does NOT have a ZR2 decal on the side, does it? We ZR2 Blazer owners were always a tad touchy about that . Ha Ha. Sorry, long story with little value to non-Blazer owners.

I am trying to make my 75 gallons of fuel last thru the summer. Unfortunately, it tends to disappear faster than we would like.

Best wishes for many happy miles in your new purchase.

[RayChez1]

Maybe we have stayed in the same preserve at one time or another. We also belong to 1000trails and we use them a lot. Fact we just got back from the Las Vegas TT. Very few this time of the year in the preserve. I had the 50 amp hook up and the two air conditioners worked twenty four hours a day. It was pretty warm, so we spent some time in the swimming pool. Headed to Idyl wild preserve next, it should be nice and cool up there. :D

[Snowbird 2]

My 2003 Independence is 5 years old but only has 12,000 miles on it. The tires are not checked at all. Should I be at all concerned about the rule of thumb of replacing them every 7 years even though they appear like new?? Concerned.

Snowbird 2

[Snowbird 2]

Ray Chez, We have never experienced heat like you explain in Las Vegas; we sometimes stay at TTN L.Vegas on the way back north in late Mar or early April and it is usually quite cool then. This winter we will be in Palm Desert from mid Jan , Wilderness Lakes, maybe Solidad, then Countryside in AJunction and V.V at Cottonwood until the middle of Apr. What a great way to avoid -30F weather at that time!

Can anyone suggest a camera for my Independence as it doesn't have one. I am not familiar with the brands, etc. so any help would give me a starting point. Lower priced models would be my preference as long as they work.

Snowbird 2

[Snowbird 2]

RJ, what is the story behind the ZR2 Blazer? My curiosity made me ask you! I didn't realize the Tracker was considered a Blazer. My information is that it is a Suzuki Vitara.

Snowbird 2

[mfa]

My 2003 Independence is 5 years old but only has 12,000 miles on it. The tires are not checked at all. Should I be at all concerned about the rule of thumb of replacing them every 7 years even though they appear like new?? Concerned.
Snowbird 2

It's a matter of risk vs. return. I don't know what tires you have, but I'm guessing that the price of a set spread over 7 years comes out to about $24 per month. How many more months do you want to try to get out of them versus the risk of having one blow?

I tend to minimize the risk on the things that I know about since there are other things that I don't know about or hadn't thought of. So I'm planning on changing tires on my MH when they hit 7 years. At the rate I'm going, they'll have less than 20,000 miles at that point.

Here's the downside: I was getting my MH out of storage last week and the manager said he had just gotten a call from one of the tenants who was traveling in South Dakota. He had a tire blowout that took off the fender and "the whole side of his Prevost." There was $30,000 in damage. The tires had plenty of tread -- it was apparently an age-related failure.