theboondork's RV blog

A visit to Fry's electronics, Phoenix Arizona

3/22/2016

Fry's electronics store Phoenix Arizona

A while back I mentioned that Fry's electronics was one of my favorite places to visit in Phoenix, so I went there today looking for a new media card reader and took a few pictures inside the store.

I think Fry's is about the size of a Walmart

Fry's has a restaurant in the middle of the store

Since I enjoyed building computers, it was always fun to look at all of the computer parts that Fry's had in stock. Even though I could buy the parts on the Internet, at Fry's I could not only look at them but touch them.

One aisle of the computer parts

Fry's has an Aztec theme, Because the Aztecs were big into electronics

These pictures aren't that great and I didn't get to take too many because Fry's has a no picture policy inside the store, so I had to take these pictures with my cell phone while pretending to talk on the phone. I'm a baaad man!

theboondork

16 Comments

Tim

1/17/2018 12:58:20 pm

I hear about Fry's every once in a while on forums, but have never seen one out in the wild. I think I would spend time out west just to see one of those critters.

I built my last computer and have upgraded it several times. Which leads me to my next question: I believe you mention that you have a desktop computer. Do you ever use it boondocking or does it draw too many amps? Any problem carrying it in the RV (such as with rough and washboard roads)? I have one of those Killiwat devices, so I need to check mine, but I'm guessing that with solar panels I could use mine on bright and sunny days, but would have to be careful on a string of cloudy, rainy days (unless I also get a generator, which I hope not to).

BTW, I'm reading back through your blog and leaving posts here and there, but half the time I can't remember where I left them and didn't see anyway to be notified when there was a response. I did see the "Notify me" below, but never saw a checkbox. I got to thinking maybe it was a problem with Chrome and, sure enough, I switched over to Explorer and there's the checkbox. So, I've been polluting your blog with posts here and there that I can never find again, but hopefully the problem is resolved (whew, that was quite the long winded explanation).

theboondork

1/17/2018 03:20:18 pm

Frys is really something to see if you're into electronics. Imagine a building about the size of a Home Depot full of electronic stuff. It even has a restaurant in the middle of it.

I do indeed have a desktop and its sitting under the dining room table as we speak. I built it in the biggest Corsair case they had when I built it so parts would be easy to change out, and it barely fits under the table it's so tall. I do use it while boondocking on occasions mostly if I'm working on a video, and with the two 21 inch monitors hooked up it uses about 15 amps an hour, a bit more if it's rendering a video.

There's no problem carrying it in the Arctic Fox although it is clunky and heavy, I have it sitting on a piece of foam so the bumpy roads shouldn't bother it too much.

Last year I bought an Asus ROG G701VO-CS74K 17.3-Inch laptop that among other things has 64 gigs of RAM and will render videos almost as fast as the desktop. So my desktop just sits under the table now collecting dust .

You will be able to run your desktop on solar but you will be better served if you use an inexpensive laptop for playing on the Internet and save the desktop for things that require more computing power. I have a 13 inch Sony laptop that uses about four amps an hour while plugged in and will last 3 or 4 hours running on battery, this comes in very handy for playing on the computer on those rainy days you cited.

I hope I haven't missed any of your comments. I always enjoy comments from folks. I get notified when I get a comment on anything and I always answer a comment.

Tom

Tim

1/18/2018 05:35:38 pm

Hi Tom,

Thanks, that's really helpful. I knew I had left a few comments here and there, but I'm not getting notified when there is a response so I have trouble finding them sometimes.

I did basically the same thing as you with the computer case (the largest one I felt comfortable with). I have the Corsair Obsidian Series 750D Full Tower Case (had to look back at my old Amazon orders to find the specs on it). It's been a great case, but I have tons of stuff in it, so I would probably only use it when I need the horsepower. I like your method of using the laptop for less intensive work. I will have to think long and hard it it's worth bringing the desktop or just getting a high power laptop.

I'm slowly getting caught up on your blog, so hopefully my comments will be more on your real time posts so they'll be easier to find. I'm really enjoying going through your blog - it's kind of like binge watching Netflix shows. It's also helping me get a sense of what full time life is like and the more I see photos of your 27-5L, the more I think that's the RV for me. I did find an Arctic Fox dealer about 4 hours away, so I may be planning a trip over there soon.

Thanks again and enjoy Quartzsite!

theboondork

1/18/2018 07:53:34 pm

The biggest reason that I brought my big desktop along with me is that I had put so much time and money into building the thing I had an emotional attachment to it and I just didn't know what else to do with it.

If I had it to do over again I would find a new home for the desktop and use a cutting edge laptop for pictures and video and a small inexpensive laptop with lots of battery power for playing on. When I'm facing several days of cloudy weather, literally the only thing I cut back on is how much I use my 17 inch Asus laptop, it is actually the biggest power user that I have.

Yeah going and visiting that dealer four hours away is a good idea it always helps if you can walk through an RV and get a feel for the size. But remember they always look bigger when their new, once you put your stuff in there a lot of that open-space goes away.

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you like what you see at that dealer but he won't give you the deal that you want you can always buy one online from any dealer in the United States. Just by your new truck locally, put all the stuff you're going to use in your new life in a U-Haul trailer and tow it to whatever state your new Arctic Fox is in.

RV dealers are used to solving people's problems on how to get a new trailer. For instance if I wanted to trade my Arctic Fox in on a newer one, it would be perfectly normal for the RV dealer to let me stay in his lot for a few days moving my stuff from the old trailer to the new one. A lot of dealers even have water and electric hookup sites just for that purpose. So once you know the RV that you want you can buy it from any RV dealer in the country that will give you the best deal.

If I hadn't found an Arctic Fox in Phoenix like I did my plan "B" was to go to LaGrande Oregon where there made and buy one from the dealer that's right down the street from the Northwoods factory I think they sell more Arctic Foxes than any dealer in the country, and since dealers tack on a hauling charge based on how far the dealer is from the factory you would save a bunch of money just on that expense alone. and best of all you get to tour the factory which is something I've always wanted to do.

Tom

Tim

1/19/2018 09:36:25 am

I have the same emotional attachment to my computer, but when I really think about it, my life would be so much simpler if I just had a high powered laptop instead of a desktop. I do have a computer hobby (flight simulators) that require a high end desktop, but it can be such a pain at times that it's one hobby I might let go, especially if I'm in an RV (and my desktop has to be a huge power hog).

I'm thinking about the logistics now, which can seem kind of overwhelming. I'm planning on becoming a Texas resident, so have to get down there, have stuff I want to store somewhere convenient (probably in Arizona or New Mexico), and may have to buy the RV somewhere out west (the dealer 4 hours away is really small and has very limited inventory). However, I think once I really start diving into it, that everything will fall into place. A little bit of driving would take care of all those issues without any problem, but it could be a pretty hectic first year. Things would (hopefully) settle down after that.

And like you say, RV dealers deal with this kind of stuff all the time and would work with me to take my money, not much doubt about that.

Next step is the RV show and measure my full timing feelings after that. One thing that you have mentioned in some of your earlier blog posts and the thing that I'm the most concerned about is feeling like I'm "homeless". It wasn't something that I was thinking about initially, but after reading your posts, I can see how it could be a big issue. Are those feelings subsiding over time?

P.S. - You had mentioned that you are worried you might have missed one of my posts. I think there may be one from that last long string that I'm not seeing, but I'm losing track since I'm leaving these comments here and there (sorry about that) :)

theboondork

1/19/2018 02:36:03 pm

Eight or nine years ago when I was into RC helicopters and drones I had some flight simulators that I would practice with and just used my ordinary laptop hooked up to the TV with HDMI. By the way I never learned to fly an RC helicopter. Maybe your flight simulators require more power than mine but my middle-of-the-road laptop ran my simulators just fine.

It sure does pain me to go in a store and see a computer more powerful than my best computer and it cost half what I paid two years ago. Such is the way of cutting-edge electronics.

Yes it could be a little hectic but I wouldn't think it would take a year to straighten that out. I would think in two months things would be almost back to normal. I can't remember if you've told me you've joined Escapees already but if you're going to be a Texas resident joining Escapees should be the first step in your transition to a Texas residency. Making you a Texas resident is their specialty.

Look at it like this, the day you leave your job you have nothing but free time ahead of you, yes you've got a bunch of things to do but you've got all the free time in the world to do it. This will probably be your first lesson in learning to relax, slow down, and enjoy what's going on instead of hurry, hurry, hurry, drive, drive, drive.

Hopefully before that wonderful day of walking away from your job for the last time you will already have a truck to tow the trailer, you may even have a fifth wheel hitch installed already so throw your stuff in a U-Haul and slowly drive down to Livingston Texas to become a resident.

I would say just to get in the right mood go buy an inexpensive four men tent and a cheap cot and stay in state parks while you're becoming a Texas resident and going to pick up your trailer. That way you'll start your full time RV life learning to slow down and enjoy the day instead of hurrying to get someplace. Get in the habit of making the trip just as much fun as the destination.

Yes the feeling of being "homeless" is going away. I think it's just a part of what happens when you make a drastic change in your life. It's hard to let go of all the feelings you had in your past life so it takes some time to sort that out, and it will sort out. You just don't want to let those old left over feelings crowd out the enjoyment that your new life will bring.

I think I've seen all of your comments. My website tells me when I've got a comment and tells me where it is so I believe I've seen them all.

Tom

Tim

1/20/2018 05:11:25 pm

Hi Tom,

I made it to the RV show and it was great to see so many different RV's in such a short space of time. Here are a few notes on my thoughts now:

- Unfortunately (but not surprisingly), there were no Arctic Foxes.

- The vast majority of rigs were geared toward the weekend user, which I'm guessing is the largest slice of the market.

- I officially eliminated Class A's, B's, C's, and Travel Trailers, for various reasons. My pick would still be a Fifth Wheel.

- In one of your posts, you've said that you wouldn't trade your 27-5L for a luxury Class A and I now totally agree. I went into one, which I believe was a Newmar, and they were asking $179,000. I didn't care for it all and it would be a beast to get in and out of some areas. Heck, I could buy a new 27-5l every 5 years for the rest of my RVing life for that kind of money.

- I thought I might be interested in Airstreams, but didn't really care for them because of various reasons, such as really low ground clearance, the huge price tag, and I just didn't like the feel in them.

- None of them came close to the 27-5L on carrying capacity, at least in that size unit. After a while, I just stopped looking at that.

- Some of them had really nice layouts and were like apartments, but they were ginormous. In one of them, There were over 20 of us in there and about half had a place to sit. I hope to never have 20 people in my RV at one time.

- The quality was really variable within the same unit. It seemed like the areas they knew that people would check, like kitchen drawers, were made with plywood, but then I would find really flimsy doors in other areas.

- One of the best things for me was to get the sense of space in the various rigs. I actually like the feel of the space in the 28 to 30 foot Fifth Wheels better than the big ones.

- If someone forced me to buy one at the show, the one that I would have chosen would have been a Jayco Eagle Fifth Wheel, but without a gun to my head I wasn't tempted by it all.

So, the next step is to check out the Arctic Foxes. The place relatively close to me is closed for most of the winter, so I'll have to wait to look there. I am going down south to see my Dad next week, but none close to there either.

So, on the other topics, I used to fly RC planes and race RC sailboats, but never tried helicopters, because it just looked too hard and I crashed enough planes to keep me busy repairing to start with. I did watch a lot of other guys fly them, but we would always hide behind our cars when those "blades of death" would come out.

I also started with an RC Flight Simulator program to learn how to fly, which was a huge help. It would definitely run on a laptop. The simulator program I fly now might run on a laptop, but the eye candy would have to be turned way down. It's not a hobby I would lose a lot of sleep over to give up, though.

As far as camping goes, I just sold all my backpacking and tent stuff when I sold my house. I've done enough of it over the years, so I know that feeling of slowing down. Unfortunately, with the job I have now, I always have to have my company phone with me and don't get much peace, even on vacations; that'll only happen when I finally walk away and I'm not even sure then.

That's good to know about the feelings that you go through when moving into an RV. I'm sure I'll have them as well.

Yes, Livingston Texas is my planned future home. I've already spoken with Escapees and their insurance affiliates and that's one of the main reasons I'm choosing Texas. I'm figuring that I'll be spending a bit of time there when I first start out.

Whew, this has been a long post! Thanks for listening to all this rambling.

theboondork

1/20/2018 06:15:46 pm

I'm glad to hear you weren't taken in by the glitz and glamour of some coaches, I think a lot of that is put there to appeal to the ladies, after all they have to be able to live there to.

I think if a person's lifestyle is going to be entertaining your friends at the RV park then some of that glitz make sense. But if you're not going to do that you probably don't need a wine cabinet in the kitchen, and a rack to put your crystal wear in, which by the way will all end up on the floor the first time you get on a dirt road.

I've always felt that the Arctic Fox was actually more of a guys trailer because it's lacking a lot of the frilly stuff that you see in most trailers. In fact a lot of the criticism I've heard about the Arctic Fox is, it's heavy, and the interior doesn't look modern and glitzy. Those are criticisms that I can live with. It's heavy because its built very strong, and its not glitzy because glitzy wears off and ends up looking cheap and crummy.

It's too bad that you're not able to see an Arctic Fox in person, but I know how that is since I had to drive to Phoenix to see one. if you can get out west their a little easier to find now, in fact I know of two places in Colorado that sells them now.

Now that might be a problem if you need some warranty work done but from what I understand Arctic Fox pays other dealers to fix your trailer if you need warranty work. Because for the most part all trailers have the same systems in them and if a mechanic can fix one trailer he can pretty much fix them all, but from the bad things I've heard about dealers and their repair work, if at all possible I do it myself.

RC helicopters, at least several years ago when I was trying them were incredibly hard to fly. I even heard of an Army helicopter pilot that bought one and was never able to fly it. That's why I have a drone, all I have to do is tell it which way to go, and it goes. They work so well with all the sensors they have on them that I've had mine for over a year and its still got the rotor blades on it it came with.

Escapees people are really nice folks I've been a member since before I started full timing. I had originally thought I was going to make my domicile in Texas, but somehow I just never got around to it and I just kept my Colorado drivers license. That's probably not a good idea for most folks because Colorado has a pretty high income tax I think it's seven or eight percent on top of what you owe the IRS. But now days I don't have enough of an income to worry about that and the income I receive from selling off my properties in Colorado are going to be taxed by Colorado whether I live there are not.

Tom

Tim

1/21/2018 03:12:35 pm

To me, most of the RV's I saw look like they will be dated very soon. I don't understand why they decorate them the way they do, because most of them were way over the top. Of course, like you said, they are probably appealing to a particular slice of the market in order to sell them, because they are trying to make money like everyone else. From the photos, the Arctic Fox interiors are more my speed.

Actually, it would make more sense to buy my RV out west, since I plan to spend more time out there than in the eastern part of the country (everytime I read about or watch a video about a place I want to see, I pin them on Goggle Earth - almost all the pins are in the west) . I'm actually more worried about buying one on the east coast and have a warranty issue, but like you've stated, they probably have figured it out with RV dealers around the country.

I've been reading about your stays in the Escapees parks and that just reinforces in my mind that I will join them. I had narrowed it down to South Dakota and Texas, but for me, Texas makes a lot more sense for a lot of different reasons, but I don't plan to spend a ton of time there after I get all squared away.

I will be out of town for awhile and will have to put this all on hold for awhile, but I'm still working my way through your past posts, so that's keeping me motivated. If you start from the beginning, it's like reading a novel (but with pictures, which is way better).

Thanks again Tom. Hope you are enjoying Quartzsite; I'm almost finished reading about your trip to Padre Island and I'm guessing the weather is better where you're at this year.

theboondork

1/21/2018 04:50:22 pm

If I had to describe the 27 – 5L's interior I would say it's sort of understated, and utilitarian which will appeal to a guy more than a woman. Having said that I believe the decision of which RV to buy is usually made by the wife and that fact is not lost on RV manufacturers.

It's easy to tell when you go to an RV show and see how most RVs are decorated inside for the show, who they're trying to appeal to. More than likely a guys not gonna buy an RV based on flowers all over the place, fancy dinnerware on the table, and a pretty bed spread. But that might make a woman fall in love with the place as soon as they walk in the door, and you know the old saying "if Mama ain't happy Nobodys happy".

There's also an old saying about the country, "if you want to see what man-made go east, if you want to see what God made go West" and there's a lot of truth to that.

If I needed to choose between being a legal resident of South Dakota or Texas, I would choose Texas. The main reason would be if for some reason I needed to go back to my state of residency, and it just happened to be winter, I had much rather be in Texas in the winter than in South Dakota. Now that may never be a problem after all I legally reside in Colorado which I don't want to go to in the winter, but you never can tell what the future will bring.

I visited a lot of America before I ever went full-time so there's a lot of places I don't need to see again, and there are some places I will never go again. In general I have decided that the States where I want to spend my money and my time are states that recognize my concealed carry permit. There are about 35 states that recognize my carry permit and I feel comfortable in places that exhibit that kind of common sense.

Yes I am enjoying Quartzsite and the weather is way better thank you very much. The lack of rust alone is a good reason to be here.

Looking forward to hearing from you again, have a safe trip.

Tom

Tim

1/21/2018 05:54:40 pm

One of the main reasons I'm interested in going west is that I've lived in many, many places in the eastern part of the country (we moved a lot when I was a kid because of my Dad's work - many people think he must have been in the military like your Dad, but he wasn't) and visited many others here. I've been out west on business trips a hand full of times and absolutely loved it, so looking forward to seeing more - and an RV seems like the best way to do that.

You're right about Texas, plus it's much closer to my relatives and some old friends. The one advantage about South Dakota is how crazy easy it is to establish residency, but Texas doesn't seem that bad either. Plus, I'm willing to spend as much time as needed in Texas, because I won't have much of a schedule (hopefully).

I let my CCL expire and didn't renew it, just because of social and political pressure in the state I live in and was tired of dealing with it (it's quite the hassle here, even when renewing it). The Sandy Hook incident made thinks crazy here. For example, I had a .22 target pistol that was classified as an assault weapon and it needed a special permit, if I could even get one! I decided enough was enough and the only way I could sell it was to someone from another state; the gun stores wouldn't even take it on consignment. I never carried anyway, but did participate in target pistol sports.

I'll probably get a chance to do some RV looking at my Dad's, but he doesn't have internet, which makes it difficult to communicate;
so I'll give you an RV update when I get back.

Thanks again. Glad you are liking Arizona this winter.

theboondork

1/21/2018 07:12:56 pm

The West is the best. I was raised in the South but I want to be buried in the West.

If you make Texas your resident state they might issue a carry permit along with your drivers license, their like that in Texas. If nothing else I'm sure getting a carry permit would be super easy in Texas. And it's not that you need it, it's that other states will recognize it and it makes having a gun in the trailer less of a legal problem.

The way I feel is if the State doesn't trust its citizens to be armed something is either wrong with the State, or wrong with the citizens. Either way I'd rather not live there. So it sounds to me like you making a wise decision getting away from a place like that.

The best way to sell a gun is on the GunBroker website, I've sold many guns that way. When someone buys a gun you've listed, and since thousands of people are looking at your gun listing you will usually get top dollar, they mail you a copy of a gun dealers FFL in their town. You wait for the money to show up in your PayPal account or their check to clear, then you FedEx the gun to the FFL address that you were sent. You don't have to deal with your local gun dealers at all. Smooth, easy and Perfectly legal.

You can always buy a few more gigs of data for your phone and use it as a hotspot like I do every day, I think I would go nuts if I didn't have any Internet for a while.

Can't wait to get the update.

Tom

Tim

1/21/2018 08:03:43 pm

I was raised in the south as well, but have been in the Northeast for almost 23 years. Everything is a hassle here. To get a CCL, you have to take a two day pistol class, fill out a bunch of forms, get the State Police and FBI to approve it, and then go to the local Chief of Police and get his blessing. I've heard of guys going through all of that (which takes months) and then having the Chief of Police say "Nah", for no other reason than he doesn't want any more guns in his town. When I went to the locals, it was like going through an interview for a job - he asked me all kinds of questions. And that's just the tip of the iceberg on the craziness here. Yeah, I'm looking forward to getting out.

Gunbroker is my preferred method of selling guns if I want to take care of it myself and get the most money (and I've bought several through the site as well). I sold the .22 I mentioned on Gunbroker to a guy in Illinois, but I was facing a fast approaching deadline of either selling it or apply as an assault weapon, so I was looking at all angles. Luckily it sold on Gunbroker.

I do use my phone as a hotspot, but I'll just have my phone and tablet; so I'll be able to consume information relatively easily, but won't have a keyboard, so it's a pain to write out anything (I'm a really slow texter and not much faster on the tablet). I could bring my laptop from work, but I like to travel as light as possible when I go there.

At least I'll be in a little warmer weather for a few days! When I'm down there I'm going to strategize about how to see some Arctic Foxes. Maybe a trip to Oregon is in order soon - hmm, that could be a good idea. Hopefully, I'll have the next phase of my evil plan ready and can update then.

Tim

theboondork

1/21/2018 10:06:49 pm

There was a slight difference when I got my carry permit from our local sheriff in the town I lived in back in Colorado. Yeah I had to fill out some papers for a background check but they took my military service as sufficient for firearms training. And when it was time for the sheriff to sign it he didn't ask me any questions at all, he just told me to tell my friends to come get a carry permit because his deputies are spread out pretty thin in our mountainous county and its good to have a civilian nearby that can help if need be.

Going to Oregon and watching the factory build an Arctic Fox and seeing firsthand how they're put together seems like a great way to get your foot in the door to a full-time lifestyle.

The only problem is the way it was explained to me is they build a certain model for about a month then shut the assembly line down and change it over to make a different model the next month. So you have to call the factory and they will tell you when they're going to start making the model that you're interested in, you can't just show up and expect to see them assembling a 27 – 5L.

That also means that if you can't find the model you want at a dealer it will have to be ordered from the factory and when you receive it will depend on when the line starts assembling the model you want.

Fortunately I'm not very picky so the 27 – 5L I found in Phoenix was set up just perfect for me already. It was pretty much loaded except for no central vacuum cleaner, that was fine with me. And no built-in generator, and that was equally fine with me as I had solar on my mind from the very start. I don't think they were offering that leveling system at that time.

Just thinking about it makes me want to go to LaGrande and watch them build a 27 – 5L. I would love to get pictures of everything as it was being assembled so I could see where all the plumbing and wires are located.

Tom

Benjamin Leatherman link

8/14/2024 04:18:11 pm

Hello Tom,

I'm a staff writer with the Phoenix New Times. I'm working on a retrospective about the Fry's Electronics stores that operated in the Valley and how much people loved shopping at the locations.

I came across your story about your visit to the Phoenix location of Fry's in 2016. You shot some fantastic-looking photos. Would it be possible to get permission to re-use them in my article? You would be credited and we’d include a link to your website. Thanks!

Benjamin Leatherman
[email protected]

Tom

8/14/2024 06:37:54 pm

Sure you can use the pictures of Fry's in my blog. But I took those pictures with my cell phone and they would be very small JPEG's. But you're certainly welcome to them.

I myself loved Fry's, whenever I was visiting Phoenix I would always stop in and buy a computer part or two. It broke my heart to see them close, but I could see it coming when I was in there one day and saw a lot of half-empty shelves.

Tom

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A visit to Fry's electronics, Phoenix Arizona

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