Re: Escapees Mexican Connection

Janet Wilder wrote:
rvfulltime wrote:
Having recently moved to Tucson, we are seriously thinking about joining Escapees Mexican Connection caravan to Guaymas Mexico in February. We've never been to Mexico except via Cruise Ships, border area bus tour, or walking across. The deadline for signing up is December 10th. They recommend several things that I'm not accustomed to.

1. A CD Radio. I thought these things were a relic of the 1970s. Any recommendations? Will I have to get one of those long antennas?

CB radio. It's important for communicating between rigs in caravan situations or if one rig in the group has a problem. You can get a decent hand-held one at Radio Shack, but I think you'd be better off with installing one and putting a Wilson brand mag-mount antenna on the roof of the truck. If you have mirrors that can handle a mount, this is even better as sometimes the fiver will interfere with the radio signal behind you.

I suppose I can pick one up pretty cheap these days. They probably cost less now than they did 30 years ago.


2. An electrical voltage tester. They say that electricity isn't very reliable there, lots of voltage spikes and drops. They recommend a device to shut off the current to the RV when the voltage goes out of range. What's a good device?

TRC is the best and we never plugged into anything without it. If you don't want to spend the money for one, I suggest you get a plug-in voltage meter for the rig and watch it constantly. Voltage drops are very common in Mexico and they will kill the circuit boards and your other appliances as quick as a surge will. Frankly, if you intend to continue RVing, it is my humble opinion that you have some kind of device that will automatically cut off power in both high and low voltage situations.

Well we full timed for 3 years and never knowingly had bad power. Maybe we were just lucky. Most of our travel was out west. At the Escapade they said in the seminar that high voltage was more of a problem than low voltage, particular in the early evening after factories shut down. I guess I need to find a good one that doesn't cost too much.


Then what about a extra spare tire and a jack that will raise our 5er to change the tire. The pickup truck jack is probably a little light weight for the 33 foot 5er.

How high will your real stabilizer jacks lift the frame? Will they along with the electric (I'm assuming) front landing gear lift the rig so that a tire can be changed? If so, you don't really need a jack, but if you want to be safe, carry a bottle jack that you can put under the frame on the side the tire needs changing.

The rear stabilizers are just that, a stabilizer. They are not jacks and won't lift anything. I'll probably get a 3000 pound bottle jack, between that and the truck bottle jack they would be able to work in tandem if needed.


We know about food, water, passports, and insurance. What about cell phones, cash, ATMs, etc.

ATMs work great for changing currency everywhere. I just used a bunch of them in Europe. You can also stop at a cambio right before you cross the border and change US dollars to pesos. The best rates, however, are with ATM. Generally speaking, foreign ATMs don't charge a fee for withdrawls. On our trip to Europe the only time I was charged a fee was in the airport in Houston on the last leg of our journey home. None of the European banks charged a fee. You might check with your bank.

Do get at least 2 ATM cards that are NOT debit cards. If a machine eats one card, you will have a spare. If the card gets appropriated, there is a daily limit on how much can be withdrawn on an ATM card, but a debit card can be used in stores, etc.


My ATM cards have never been VISA or MC cards.

Some of Mexico is on CDMA and some of it is on GSM. You need to find out which type of phone will work where you are going and what kind of phone you will need. You can get a "global phone" that will work on either service.


The problem is my mother is in bad shape. When she told us in March that she had lung cancer again, I didn't expect her to still be alive come November. Since March we've canceled any plans for overseas travel, including Hawaii. So we need to be in cell phone contact while we're there. We're currently Verizon Wireless (CDMA) customers. This is something I've got to figure out before we commit ourselves to going on this trip.



Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Hope I've helped

Yep.
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