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One other thing. I know this may not apply to many of you, but I found out, after insuring my coaches with GMAC for years, that if you have a Class A CDL, you can get a discount, I think it was 20% off on your insurance. I sure wish one of the people I had talked to would have brought this up ten years ago. Just a thought for the few of you out there who may have CDLs.

I use black zip ties. One mounted on the ladder in the rear, and, as I have a gas coach, I mounted the front one with zip ties in the front using the slots for the air intake for the radiator. Had it like this for 10 years on my first coach, and now three years on this one, and no problems at all.

State laws can be confusing, that is the blessing (?) of living in the United STATES. In Washington State, to drive any size vehicle (non-commercial), you don't need any special license, EXCEPT if you want to drive a vehicle (van or bus) that is built to carry more than 15 passengers, you are required to have a CDL. That is a federal law. Yes, Virginia, if you buy a small bus (over 15 passengers) to carry your family around (like our daughter and son-in-law who just had number eleven), you have to have a CDL. Now the kicker is that each state sets their own rules concerning what it takes to get a CDL (class C with a P [passenger] endorsement for the bus). In Washington DC you just have to take a written test and a driving test with a vehicle of the class you want to get licensed for to get your CDL. In Washington State, you have to show that you have graduated from a 'Truck Driving School' or have 'X' number of hours of training by a holder of a Class A CDL, then take the written test and an extensive driving test. How stupid is that!!! Just because you want a vehicle large enough to carry your family and some stuff, you have to go through all that. The one 'work-around' of that is that if you buy the bus, and convert it into an RV, then you don't need the CDL. All that takes is a bed, some cooking facilities and a bathroom facility. It doesn't even have to be 'self contained'. So that is what my daughter is looking in to if the not to distant future. After all my experience on the road (3 million miles) I am part of the minority who feels that some kind of extra test should be required for someone, anyone, driving something over a certain GVW, like maybe 30 or 35 thousand pounds. My daughter could go down and buy a 45 foot, 60.000 pound motor home and haul a 20 foot trailer hauling 20000 pounds of stuff and not be required to have any more license than some one driving a Kia, but they can't pick up a 20 passenger bus to transport their family without going to school. How logical is that?

Wolfe10 Thanks for the input. Your info does make sense. I guess one question then, is, why not put more gears in the motorhome? Allison does make 10 speed trannys for trucks, why not put them in MHs? I forget the manufacturer, but there is one that does install a 10 speed in Motorhomes. Another thing I just thought of is that the lighter the weight, (45,000 compared to 101,000, or even 80,000) the less important the number of gears is. That's why one can get along with four gears in a car, but not so well in a Motorhome with four. While weight may not make much difference on the flat, there is a LOT of difference between 45,000 and 101,000 pounds (triples, three trailers hauled by one tractor) not to mention the additional number of tires on the ground. The aerodynamics are, of course a big part, but the difference between 8.1 and the 5.5-6 that I read about in these forums seems a bit much. Except for the aerodynamics and the engine in the rear (which I had not even thought about), it seems that there could be some changes made that wouldn't cost much money, especially as a percentage of $300,000. After driving a diesel for 3 million miles, and looking at the mileage I would drive my Motorhome (5,000 miles per year), I figured that the additional outlay for a diesel was not worth it. So, I plug along in my gas rig getting 8 mpg and not having any problem getting fuel. To each his own, but, in my case, didn't need to have a diesel just for the sake of saying I had a diesel. Been there, done that. :-)

Maybe you 'Gurus' out there can answer a question for me. I drove truck for 40 years. The last few years I drove either an International with a 460 hp Cummins and an 8 speed Eaton automatic transmission or a Volvo with a 470 hp Volvo engine with a 10 speed Volvo automatic transmission. I drove all over Washington and Oregon, east and west parts of the states, going over the Cascade Mountains often. I would drive about 80,000 miles a year. I would have weights anywhere from 42,000 to 101,000 pounds, averaging about 65,000. I would drive the 'truck speed limit', as demanded by my company, enforced by a very accurate GPS based computer system in the truck that they could monitor. I would average about 8.1 mpg for the year. Also, the vast majority of those miles were hauling two trailers, with a total of 7 axles (26 tires) on the ground, which, of course adds tremendously to the rolling resistance, thus decreasing fuel efficiency, not to mention the huge amount of wind resistance caused by all the wind blowing around between the trailers. Also, the tractors were 'dual drive', meaning that the power to the road went through two drive axles, causing another loss of fuel efficiency. My question for a long time has been "Why do Motorhomes get such lousy mileage?" Our tractors by themselves weighted about 25,000 lbs, and we could get 11-12 mpg 'bobtail' (not hauling a trailer). If we added the trailers, empty, another18,000 pounds, it would drop to about 9. With a motorhome with only about 45,000 lbs and three axles with a total of 8 tires on the ground, mentioned above getting 6.5 mpg, my question is "Why".

AKADeadeye: Your comment reminded me of a very interesting fact. Trucks with a single trailer have a higher accident rate per million miles driven than do trucks with two trailers. And trucks with two trailers have a higher accident rate than do trucks with three trailers (triples) (yes, this really does happen in a few states such as Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Nevada). Having driven all three, I can believe it. As you mentioned, the more trailers you have behind you, the more careful you are. With a set of 'triples', you can be 105 feet long and weigh 105,000 pounds (52.5 tons).

jlandon 13399, I understand your displeasure with the tree limb incident, but like you said, you were driving. That is why I don't let anybody but my wife help me back in. I drove semi for over 40 years, and that is one thing that is drilled into you: "You are the one responsible for the truck. Don't rely on anyone else. Get out yourself and look, many times if necessary, so YOU know what is around where you are backing". It is a fact, even though you don't hear about them, that the majority of truck accidents are backing accidents. I bet the same holds true for Motor Homes. Happy trails and look out for "RV eating trees". (With apologies to Charles Schultz).

I don't really have any info as I drive a v10 gasser and get about 8mpg towing a Saturn. But one interesting thing in this discussion is mpg vs. safety and law. If you are towing in California, the speed limit is 55. In some states, a vehicle as large as the ones you are discussing should obey the 'truck' speed limit. I know that this discussion is about getting the best fuel mileage, but safety and law should have some place in this discussion. Is it 'safe' to drive your coach at 65 miles per hour, even when the auto traffic is traveling at that speed, in congested city traffic, just to get good mileage? It is unfortunate that manufacturers gear their rigs so that the best mileage is achieved above safe and/or legal speeds. In my rig, I only have a four speed tranny, and it shifts into fourth at about 52 mph, so that gives me lots of room to drive at 55 or so and not have to worry about it shifting down. One other thing I have noticed, is that if I leave it in 'cruise control', it will shift down much sooner that if I turn it off as I approach a hill, and just use the accelerator to control speed, keeping the mpg higher. Sometimes I long for the 10 speed manual transmissions I had in the trucks I drove so as to get better mileage in my coach. Better control over the shift points. 425 hp, 70,000lbs getting 7-8 mpg. 100,000 lbs getting 6mpg.

Howde had a great comment about not making 'lane changes in a hurry'. While I only have about 15,000 miles driving a Motor Home with a toad, I do have almost 3,000,000 driving a semi (mostly double trailers), and have a couple of comments about what has been said about trucks and truckers. First, I have never heard that "Truckers, and bus drivers are taught to use these lanes when possible for several reasons, and the best reason is because road hazards tend to lay on the right shoulder of the road." While it is smart driving to use the next to the right lane while driving in city traffic for the reason mentioned above concerning traffic entering and exiting the freeway, when in somewhat 'open roads', where there is not heavy traffic and not many on and off ramps, it is better to stay in the right lane so as to not impede traffic, and have those people who are going faster than you have to pass on your right because the people in the left lane are going faster than you but not as fast as the person on the right wants to go. One comment mentioned "keeping up with traffic". I find that that is often not safe nor legal in some states. I don't like driving my coach at 70 or 75 miles an hour to 'keep up with traffic'. Since my coach is much more like a truck, in length, weight and stopping distance, than like my car, I drive it more like a truck, and often use the 'truck' speed limit. Also in some states, like California, where the 'speed limit' is 65 or 70 (and traffic flow is often 75+) the law is that the speed limit for 'anything towing' is 55, and since I tow a dingy, I follow the law. I totally agree that 'tucking behind a truck' is not a good idea at all. A blown tire from a trailer can ruin your whole day if it hits the front of your coach, not to mention the stopping aspect. One last thing, when I first started driving 40 years ago, I was given a great piece of advice: "Every time you change lanes, you increase your chance of an accident". Think about it. If you have to slow down for a mile so behind a truck or other slow moving vehicle while you get to the exit you want, do it as it is much safer than trying to pass him and get back in the exit lane. Is the 10 seconds you may save worth the possibility of having and accident. Good luck and happy traveling.

We stayed in Watsonville this last spring at a place called Pinto Lake. It was wonderful. I hope you had as good a spot to stay as we did.

I love to read your's and other's stories like this. But I think you might have said Delta when you might have meant Salina. Delta is before you hit 15. Keep up the good work. I enjoy it greatly.

When looking at braking systems, give SMI a look. We did a lot of research and chose them over any of the others. It really makes a difference going down steep hills.

For forty years I drove semi, long haul. One time in Portland, OR I was driving very slowly, trying to find the street I needed. As I was part way into the intersection, I saw the "flash" of the red light camera. I was going so slowly that I was already in the intersection before it turned yellow, and not out by the time it turned red. I was waiting for the citation in the mail, but it never came. All I can figure is that someone in the city was smart enough to figure out what happened, and that I was not trying to "run a red light". Another thought, coming after 3 million miles of driving something somewhat larger than my motor home. Your comment was interesting: "45 MPH speed zone, I got caught running a light, question, how much time does the yellow light stay on from start to finish, and how much time does it require to stop a 42' motor home towing a car". If you know that you can't stop your rig in the time allowed, why are you driving that fast in those conditions. We all know that stop lights and such like are geared for cars, and we all know that our larger vehicles cannot stop in the same distance as our cars, so the question is: "Why are you driving your motor home, which you can't stop as quickly as your car, the same way you drive your car". The 45 MPH sign signifies the MAXIMUM speed that should be driven on that road, not the "required" speed for that road. Your comment and evidently driving awareness and/or attitude is one of the reasons many people feel that motor home operators should have special training and licensing. I hope that you don't drive your 40,000 pound motor home pulling a toad in adverse weather conditions the same way you drive your 3000 pound car. I will get off my "soap box" now, but I hope that this might cause someone to think about the way they drive their larger vehicle. I know that some of the "four wheelers" may get upset at us if we don't drive as fast as they would like us to, but they would be even more upset if we and/or they were involved in an accident because of our inability to safely control or stop our motor home.

We recently traded in our 1986 Honey for a 1999 Bounder with 30000 miles. The dealer wanted to sell us a service contract through a certain company, The price was $3800 for three years with a $200 deductible. I checked them out on the web at several sites, and they had nothing but a bad reputation. I didn't call the dealer back to take their offer, but they called me back and said they could lower the price to $3200. I said "no thank you". In the mean time I had done further research and found U.S. Warranty company and called and talked with them. They had NO bad comments on the web, and many good ones. I read the "fine print" and felt that it was a good deal. What I got from them was 4 years for $2800 with a $50 deductible. The payment was one-third down, and the rest in 12 equal monthly payments with no interest. About three months after buying our coach, we had the failure of the right front leveling jack. We had it repaired at our local RV shop and they handled everything. U.S. covered everything the should have and in a very timely fashion. (they don't pay the sales tax incurred). The bill came to about $893. But the real shocker was that the deductible, instead of being $50, was $37.50. Yes, that is right, they lowered deductible. We were VERY happy campers. Give them a look. No, I do not work for them .

We recently traded in our 1986 Honey for a 1999 Bounder with 30000 miles. The dealer wanted to sell us a service contract through a certain company, The price was $3800 for three years with a $200 deductible. I checked them out on the web at several sites, and they had nothing but a bad reputation. I didn't call the dealer back to take their offer, but they called me back and said they could lower the price to $3200. I said "no thank you". In the mean time I had done further research and found U.S. Warranty company and called and talked with them. They had NO bad comments on the web, and many good ones. I read the "fine print" and felt that it was a good deal. What I got from them was 4 years for $2800 with a $50 deductible. The payment was one-third down, and the rest in 12 equal monthly payments with no interest. About three months after buying our coach, we had the failure of the right front leveling jack. We had it repaired at our local RV shop and they handled everything. U.S. covered everything the should have and in a very timely fashion. (they don't pay the sales tax incurred). The bill came to about $893. But the real shocker was that the deductible, instead of being $50, was $37.50. Yes, that is right, they lowered deductible. We were VERY happy campers. Give them a look. No, I do not work for them .

We recently traded in our 1986 Honey for a 1999 Bounder with 30000 miles. The dealer wanted to sell us a service contract through a certian company, The price was $3800 for three years with a $200 deductable. I checked them out on the web at several sites, and they had nothing but a bad reputation. I didn't call the dealer back to take their offer, but they called me back and said they could lower the price to $3200. I said "no thank you". In the mean time I had done further research and found U.S. Warranty company and called and talked with them. They had NO bad comments on the web, and many good ones. I read the "fine print" and felt that it was a good deal. What I got from them was 4 years for $2800 with a $50 deductible. The payment was one-third down, and the rest in 12 equal monthly payments with no interest. About three months after buying our coach, we had the failure of the right front leveling jack. We had it repaired at our local RV shop and they handled everything. U.S. covered everything they should have and in a very timely fashion. (they don't pay the sales tax incurred). The bill came to about $893. But the real shocker was that the deductible, instead of being $50, was $37.50. Yes, that is right, they lowered deductible. We were VERY happy campers. Give them a look. No, I do not work for them .