Oh, here's another tip: Check on the Camping World stores. They have some good deals on trailer supplies, and good prices, too! there are stores in most parts of the country, but they aren't close to each other. check the I-net for Camping World! if you are handy with tools, you can probably get the camper into useable condition in no time! I have made my tent campers and travel trailers liveable for us, what with installing tv sets and antennas, building dinette sets, shelving, installing refrigerators in place of ice boxes (A Godsend!) replaceing frozen water lines--all kinds of things to do! And, not being a carpenter didn't hold me back--i learned it as i went! and also learned this caveat: Measure it twice-cut it once!! by: rustyj

Funny stories about different transactions. Bill_h, I'm glad to read that in the Motor City, it's somewhat of a free-for-all. It just seems appropriate, being the home of the U.S. auto industry. One thing that can work well for selling a car -- if you're replacing it with a new or used car from a dealer -- is what dealers around here call a "courtesy trade." You and the buyer of your car agree on a price as usual, then you and your buyer go together to the dealer where you're buying your new car. The dealer shows your old car on the sales documents as a trade, with the value being the price the buyer is going to pay for it. This saves you on sales tax in many states. The buyer then purchases the car from the dealer for that price. I know of many dealers who will do this for free, as a service to the person buying the car from them. A few charge the buyer a standard "paperwork" fee. They're willing to do it even though they make no money on the sale of the trade because it can help you buy the new car, since the buyer is presumably giving you more for it than the dealer would have.

I use a a 4x8 trailor to carry my KX100 and two pitbikes. Its is definately crowded and took me a few test runs before I got it right, but it works well. Also, if I ever need to haul anything the trailor is extremely handy vs those motocycle only trailors. If you try to fit a DRZ250 in the back of your van, please take pictures and video the whole ordeal. Then post them here for our entertainment purposes. I am sure it will be somewhere near the funniest thing I have ever seen. Not trying to rag on your suggestion JD but the the idea makes me laugh. The seat height alone is about 3 ft on that bike. Then you have to worry about handle bars, they push the overall height to about 4ft.

With regard to pets, have the vaccination tag for them on the collar/harness. Pets get stressed and might bite when they normally wouldn't. It'd relieve stress all around if you could show immediately they've had their shots. I'm also thinking of putting a copy of the vet record of shots in the carrier, laminated or in a plastic sealed bag, just in case, plus it'd have the vet's number if someone felt need to call. I think this is in the other thread, but a hardcopy address book or at least phone number list, laminated and/or in a plastic bag would be helpful. I keep most numbers in my cell, but if it dies, is lost or stolen, it's no good. Some redundancy in emergency planning is good. A while back a tornado was heading my direction. I was tracking it (started unusually late, was distracted with other things) but even though I was confident I wasn't in much danger, I still (and for the first time) decided to harness the cat and put her in the carrier in case we needed to head to the basement. I kept her next to me to keep her more calm while I tracked the storms and when I was comfortable that things were safe enough I let her out but on the leash. She still stayed in my lap and that was fine. By the time I felt it was "all clear" I let her off. People also need to think ahead of time a bit. When the "big one" is-a-comin', stores empty out on things like batteries, candles and the like. Even the staple groceries can sometimes become hard to find. I find it so amazing the number of people who won't even keep some batteries, candles, food staples and the like in their homes! For whatever reason there's basic things a person should have not just for a big storm or something but if you get sick, injured or whatever the need. Also remember if power is out, gas pumps don't work either so even if you have the cash, you might not get the gas.