Kay Bennett's Talking Tennessee!

Well, its that time of year and I thought some RV tips might be in order....

RV Travel - Installing the fifth wheel slider hitch

A fifth wheel slider hitch makes all those dreams of on-the-road adventure come to life when you purchase a fifth wheel trailer. Its well worth the time to take your time to install it correctly.

Before starting:

Make sure you have the correct hitch for both your vehicle and the trailer being towed.
Review the instruction sheet provided with the hitch.
Check the hitch attachment area of the vehicle. Do not attach a hitch to a vehicle which shows excessive corrosion or damage in the hitch attachment areas.
Take the appropriate safety precautions. When elevating the vehicle on a hoist or ramps, ensure that the vehicle is properly secured and blocked such that it will not fall or roll off its supports.
Be sure you have the appropriate tools and wear safety glasses when drilling holes.
Installation Tips

1. Prior to installation, it is good practice to loosely assemble the hitch, install the drawbar, pin and clip and hold the hitch up into position. This will allow identification of any obstructions to the installation, verification of drawbar position on the vehicle and also give an idea of how the hitch is to be installed.

2. A scissors jack or floor jack can be very useful in holding the hitch up in place. In many cases, clamps can be used to clamp the hitch to the frame during the installation procedure.

3. It may be necessary to temporarily loosen the exhaust system and/or slightly reposition it to clear the hitch during installation. This is particularly true where an exhaust system has been replaced prior to installing the hitch, as all hitches are designed using vehicle original equipment Do not forget to reattach any exhaust clamps, hangers etc. after hitch installation.

4. In some cases, it may be necessary to adjust the bumper on a vehicle, or the brackets which mount to the bumper, in order to properly install the hitch. Most bumpers are mounted to the bumper brackets using bolts in slots. Find the appropriate bolts and adjust the bumper accordingly.

5. Wherever possible, hitches are designed to use existing holes. In cases where appropriate holes are not available, holes must be drilled in the frame. Once the hitch is accurately positioned and clamped in place on the vehicle, holes can be drilled in the appropriate places using the holes in the hitch as a guide.

6. In cases where the holes must be drilled without using the hitch as a guide, hole locations can be permanently identified by spraying black paint through the hole locations. Remove the hitch, center punch the hole positions and drill a pilot hole. This can then be followed with the appropriate drill size for the hole required.

7. Drill holes that are either the same size as the bolt or at the most 1/32" larger. Clearance holes or slots are provided in the hitch for adjustment.

8. When drilling, be extremely careful to avoid drilling into vehicle components which are located behind where the hole is being drilled. Slacken off pressure on the drill just prior to breaking through.

9. When installing the hitch, be sure to use the reinforcing plates supplied with the hitch where appropriate. These plates reinforce the frame and spread the load to the frame edges.

10. The hitch must have solid metal to metal contact with the vehicle attachment points. Excessive undercoating or weld on the vehicle should be removed.

11. All hardware, with the exception of tab nuts ( thin nuts welded to a wire used on some hitch applications) and U-bolts are grade 5 (Imperial sizes) or 8.8 (metric sizes).

 Center Hill is another wonderful lake to visit here in Tennessee...

Boating
Of the 19,000 surface acres of water and 415 miles of shoreline, plenty of areas are available for a secluded tie-up. Tennessee Boating Regulations apply when boating here and all boaters are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the current boating laws. Marinas
Center Hill Lake offers nine commercial marinas that provide a wide variety of services for visitors to the lake. Services such as fuel, private boat moorage, electrical and water hookups, boat rentals, fishing and marine supplies, restaurants and snack bars, and restrooms are offered by most facilities. To encourage boaters to follow "No Discharge" policy regarding proper disposal of treated or untreated sewage, each marina provides vessel pumpout services for a small fee.

Interesting information on our great state..

Agriculture (includingforestry) accounts for 18.3% of the states economy and generates $60.6 billion in out put

 Tennessee's ag products, excluding forest products, generate 2.2 billion in receipts annually

Tennessee's average farm is 136 acres

Tennessee farmland includes 11.6 acres in cropland

Tennessee ag employs approx. 215,000 workers with about 126,000 workers in production

Tennessee has more than 14 million acres of forested land with $370 million in timber sales annually.

This info provided by the Tennessee Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom - tnfarmbureau.org

Wow!  Just down the road, a nice couple got a surprise visit from the Prize Van! 

SPARTA, Tenn. - The two were reported as being very calm, when the knock came to their door.  As reported in the Tennessean,  There was no screaming. No jumping up and down. A pleasant surprize indeed! 

Everyone has been talking and I am sure no one in White County will miss entering the sweepstakes from now on!   Everyone is very happy for the two, Mrs. Green, 81 and her husband, 86 of Sparta, TN are probably the richest farmers in Tn.

So what are you going to do?  "Come on, send it in"   I know I will  :)

area fun things to do.  I have noticed most people who are looking to move into the area have a hard time finding there way around, deciding "where" they want to live in Tennessee, and not having much fun during there haste and sometimes desperate house hunting trips.  I try to encourage people to "relax" a little.  My relocation program, if you will, provides a little bit of everything for the client if time allows.  I provide maps, recreational pamphlets, areas of interests, hotel information, etc. for my clients stay.  It's important to find the perfect home, but just as important to "get the feel" of this beautiful area as their is diversity in terrain here.  We have flat to rolling pastures, mountain bluffs, wooded serenity, lake homes, and city livin' too.  Depending on each individual's criteria, I always suggest they see all the homes they can, but also take the time to go up to Rock Island Park and take a moment after a hard day of house hunting to relax and take in the views. 

Do You Know These 6 Mortgage Terms? You Should

Do you recognize these mortgage terms? If you don't, you should get to know them now. These terms might help you recognize risk in your mortgage loan terms and mortgage process.

ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) - A mortgage containing an interest rate that, after an initial period, can be changed by the lender. The majority of these contracts handle rate changes by evaluating a pre-determined interest rate index over which the lender has no control.

Due-on-sale clause - A provision of a loan contract that stipulates when the property is sold any outstanding loan balance must be repaid. This prevents the seller from transferring responsibility for an existing mortgage to the home buyer.

Equity grabbing - An unethical type of predatory lending where the loan provider purposely attempts to put the borrower into a loan that will result in a relatively quick default, so that way the lender can "grab" the borrower's equity.

Good faith estimate - The standard form from a lender that details any and all anticipated settlement charges that the borrower should expect to pay at closing. The lender is required to provide this document within three business days of their receipt of a loan application. Pay close attention to these details and make sure you understand completely all of the anticipated fees.

Negative amortization - An increase in the outstanding loan balance, resulting from multiple monthly payments that are less than the interest due. Watch out for this type of loan. This kind of mortgage loan is very risky.

Rate protection - Protection for a borrower against the danger that rates will rise between the time the borrower applies for a loan and the time the loan closes. This could help your loan be safer for you and more secure, long term.

Simple Steps To Improving Your Credit Report

Even if you think you have a wonderful credit report, be wary of the error factor. Just as you receive mail with your name and address misspelled, your credit report can have errors as well. Whether it's human error, out of date information or even mistaken identity, errors occur more easily than we'd all like to think.

Under the law, both the credit reporting agency and the organization that provided the information to the credit reporting agency have responsibilities for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your credit report.

So, if you find an error on your credit report, be sure to notify the credit bureau in writing immediately:

1. Tell the CRA what information you believe is inaccurate on your credit report. Include copies, never originals of documents that support your position.

2. In addition to providing your complete name and address, your letter should clearly identify each item in your credit report that you dispute. State the facts and why you are disputing the information. Enclosing a copy of your credit report with the items in question circled can be helpful.

3. Though you may think your reason for writing is obvious, be sure to request that the error be corrected.

4. Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested so you can document what the credit reporting agency received. Make sure your letter is dated, and don't forget to keep copies of everything you send.

Credit reporting agency must reinvestigate the item(s) in question, usually within 30 days unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also must forward all relevant data you send them to the information provider (bank, credit card agency, etc.).

After the information provider receives notification of a dispute from the credit reporting agency, it must review and investigate all relevant information provided and report the results back to the credit reporting agency.

If the information provider finds the disputed information to be inaccurate, it must notify all nationwide credit reporting agency so that they can correct this information in your file.

Disputed information that cannot be verified must be deleted from your file.

Inaccurate information must be corrected by the CRA.

Incomplete information must be corrected by the CRA.

Any account that belong only to another person must be deleted by the CRA.

NOTE: Credit repair can be long and tedious, the importance of knowing your rights cannot be emphasized enough so be sure you take time to digest this information.

About The Author: To find more easy steps anyone can take to repair there credit report and what to do after the investigation visit http://www.creditandyou.com/creditrepair.html  it's a free information website!