We Bought Another Jeep

Our New-To-Us Used 2008 Jeep JK Rubicon

We sold our 2009 Honda CRV with 73,000 miles and drove to Phoenix and bought a 2008 Jeep Rubicon with 60,000 miles — and a manual transmission.

We’ve owned several manual transmission vehicles, but it’s been a while. We’re adjusting “pretty good”, but I still find myself coasting to a stop at a traffic light with the Jeep in gear.

Essentially we traded a trouble-free Honda for a problematic Jeep . . . but the Jeep is much much more fun and we can go off road again. Yahoo!

First impressions: the 2008 Rubicon is so much better than our old 1993 Jeep. To freeway drive the 1993 long distances, you really needed headphones. The road noise was horrible and the leaf spring suspension was a back killer. The 2008’s suspension is stiff and reminds me of our old 1997 Toyota LandCruiser, firm but pleasant to drive. Also, road noise on the 2008 is minimal. Driving from Phoenix to Lake Havasu City was essentially like riding in our CRV.

Traveling off road has been one of the biggest allures of our full-time RV travels so far, especially in the Southwest’s desert country. Both Jan and I are still surprised that we love the desert. Not something we expected at all from folks raised in the green lushness of the Midwest. On the other hand, we even liked the frozen tundra a Green Bay, so maybe it’s just the fact that we’re still Southwest newcomers.

Our First Jeep – 1993 Jeep YJ

We had some adventures in our previous 1993 Jeep YJ . . .

• Honeycomb Rock near Parker, AZ
• Talc Mine near Topock, AZ
• Silver Canyon near Bishop, CA — our 1st “mountain” trip in CA
• Buttermilk Road near Bishop, CA — our scariest (but funest) trip to date riding on steep drop off roads all by ourself. Always take a Jeep buddy, friends.
• Movie Flats near Lone Pine, CA — where they filmed a lot of the old-timey Westerns. We never get tired of the Sierras.
• Lookout Mountain near Mammoth Lakes, CA — not many breathe-taking vistas, but driving down hill between those two telephone posts . . .arghhhhh!

We’re planning to attend at least one of the Jeep Jamborees in our travels this year. The Mole Lake Jamboree near Crandon, WI looks promising. Each Jeep Jamboree is given a Trail Rating as to its difficulty. I thought we could do “6-7” rated trails until I saw some trail pictures. I’m throttling that back to a “3-5” rating now.

Finally, some pics of our Jeep . . .

2008 JEEP RUBICON SLIDE SHOW

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UPCOMING MODS TO OUR JEEP . . .

Following in a long line of Jeep owners, we’ll be adding stuff to our new-to-us Jeep.

First, of course, is buying a Hi-Lift Jack for off-roading and then finding a place to attach it. I’m going to try to the “bull bar” on the front bumper. I’ve seen these jacks attached to Jeep bumpers, and I found that not to be a good idea after damaging our previous Hi-Lift after running our 1993 Jeep into a large rock.

Second is finding a way to tow our 2008 Jeep behind our RV. I’ll have to replace those two, huge front bumper tow hooks with a 1-inch D-ring mounts so that I can connect our existing BlueOx tow bar. The D-ring mounts attach directly to the Jeep’s rathe formidable frame. BTW, it’s great owning a vehicle with an actual frame again. It’s like driving in a block of iron. Very self assuring.

Also, our Jeep will need a supplemental braking system, like the SMI Air Force One braking system, so the Jeep brakes when our RV does.

Finally, I’d love to add a few inches of lift and add bigger tires, but that’s down the road for now. BTW, our current tires are BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO2 LT265/70R17. (The “KO2” stands for 2nd generation on/off road tire.) So far I LOVE THESE TIRES! Road noise is minimal at speed. However, we haven’t driven off-road yet, so it remains to be seen how these tires will work in gravel, mud, sand, rocks, etc. etc. Nevertheless, I’d read some good reviews on the KO2 tires: African Bush Review

Topock Gorge Boat Trip

Boat Tour Map

A few days ago we took a boat tour on the Colorado River through the Topock Gorge north of Lake Havasu City.

Because the Colorado River is low, we couldn’t make it to our destination, Pirate’s Cove, just north of Highway 40. The “Devil’s Elbow” part of the river is where a lot of boat accidents occur because of the sharp turns.

It was a fun trip on a sunny day which was a break in the recent week of rain down here.

Here’s the trip in under 2 minutes . . .

By the way . . .

One of the reasons the Colorado River is low in our parts is because Lake Mead is at record lows. When theLake Mead water level goes below 1075 feet, automatic water rationing starts.

Current Lake Mead Level (Dec 2016)

New DISH TV Info Added

Just in time for the holidays . . .

• Hopper 3 information added
  
• How To Convert a DirecTV Winegard Travler to DISH

State Residency and ACA (Obamacare) Health Plans

While the Affordable Care Act (or ACA or “Obamacare”) may be on its last leg or at least subject to a whole lotta change real soon, the signup for 2017 ACA health plans is still going on.

Keep in mind that the following applies to the ACA as it currently is . . .

In one of the online RV forums that I haunt, someone asked what he needed to do to establish residency in Oregon in order to sign up for a ACA health plan in that state.

Some people responded by saying Oregon requires that a person has to reside in the state 6 months, that you’ll need a permanent address, etc, etc.

This is just not true. Furthermore, it’s not true for any state.

State residency requirements are NOT the same as ACA residency requirements.

One more time . . .

State residency requirements are NOT the same as ACA residency requirements.

How do I know? From Recent Guidance About Marketplace Residency Requirement and Special Enrollment Period When Moving (Jan 2016), but the details are spelled out in this ACA Residency FAQ from the Department of Health and Human Services.

The FAQ reads like it was written for RVers. Some FAQ paraphrased excerpts:

Q1: What is the residency requirement for Marketplace coverage?
In order to be eligible for Marketplace coverage, an individual must be a resident of a state (note that it doesn’t say “domicile”)
(1) where he or she is living; and
(2) where he or she “intends to reside” (including without a fixed address)

Q3. What does “intends to reside” mean?
That an applicant has a present intent to reside where he or she is living, and intends to remain in the state where he or she is seeking coverage.
Note that someone visiting a state for a transitory purpose, for example, to obtain medical care, do not meet the residency requirement for Marketplace coverage for the Marketplace service area they are visiting.

Q7. Is there a waiting period before an individual can become a resident?
No, there is no waiting period associated with the residency requirement.

Q8. If an individual moves, does his or her residence change for the purposes of Marketplace coverage?
If an individual moves to a new Exchange service area (i.e. state) and meets the requirements as explained in Question 1 above—with respect to the new location, then the individual will meet the Marketplace residency requirement in the new location.
Enrolled Marketplace consumers must report any and all moves to the Marketplace within 30 days by calling the Marketplace Call Center at 1-800-318-2596.

Q9. Does an individual’s residence change when he or she leaves a state temporarily?
No.

Q11. If an individual travels between homes in different states throughout the year, where is an individual’s residence for the purposes of Marketplace coverage?
If an individual leaves his or her primary home to visit a secondary home for a short duration, the departure will be considered a temporary absence, and the individual will remain a resident of the service area of the primary home. During that time, the individual will not have an “intent to reside” in the location of the secondary home and will not meet the Marketplace residency standard for that location.

In contrast, if an individual has two primary homes where he or she spends time for an entire season or other long period of time, then the individual may live and intend to reside in both locations. In such situations, the individual may establish residency in either or both locations.

Finally, repeat after me:

State residency requirements are NOT the same as ACA residency requirements.

Rattlesnake!

It was a dark and quiet night in Lake Havasu. Jan and I were sitting on our porch watching the night go by. Flirt was on the patio below us looking over the patio wall.

Then I heard that sound. I’ve never heard a rattlesnake — only in movies — but the rattling sound was unmistakable.

As soon as I heard that sound, I called Flirt away from the patio wall and Jan, myself, and Flirt hightailed it into the house . . . all the while the rattle was getting louder and louder.

While Jan texted our neighbor Gary to come rescue us, I went out on the patio again with a flashlight to see if I could locate the snake. Let’s just say I was very, very, very, very cautious.

Sure enough, there was a good sized rattlesnake about 4 feet away from where Flirt’s head had just been. The snake was coiled up on the ledge on the other side of our patio wall.

Neighbor Gary, who has killed several rattlers this month, arrived with his snake-killing gear, and here’s what happened next . . .

Finally, did you notice that the snake seemed to keep on ticking even after its head was cut off?

Someone at Crazy Horse Campground was bit by a decapitated snake — so was this guy.