reid9439

Endorsing a product is not something that I normally do. However, I feel compelled to pass along to other RV'ers, a product that we have discovered. We recently attended the FMCA rally in Madison, WI. A young lady was demonstrating the Bissell PerfectSweep Turbo. Being a skeptic, I thought the demonstration was "snake oil" and would not work as well under normal conditions. Since I was skeptical, the young lady agreed to come to our coach for a first hand demo. WOW! It was unbelievable. We were so impressed our neighbors asked for a demo as well. Just like us, they were very impressed. We just ordered ours, taking advantage of a $5 discount. Check it out atwww.bissell.com/perfectsweep. The promo code perfectsweepRV is good until 12/31/11.

I too, like many others, have been upset with the service every since Pilot bought out Flying J. For RV'ers, it was like "the nut eating the squirrel." One of my biggest complaints is having to use the tight quarters of the RV island to fuel-up. My other complaint was having to send the wife inside with cards in hand to have the pumps enabled to pay inside. Below are my questions to customer service about my issues. Question: It is my understanding that the new "Pump Start" program will allow you to begin your RV pump without going inside. 1. Is this available in the truck lanes or do we still have to go through the RV lanes only. If no truck lane, what is the advantage? 2. Does this eliminate the maximum sale amount. (usually $75) This is the biggest problem at the RV lane. It takes forever to wait in line to open up the "pay inside" so you can fill up. Response: Thank you for taking time to email me with your concern. To use the RV loyalty card on the truck diesel lanes, you must have your card registered and the pump start feature must be activated. Once you have pump start, you will be able to start the pumps on the truck diesel lanes without having to prepay. Then, you will have to go inside to pay for the fuel purchase. When you go inside, you will be charged the cash price instead of the credit price whether you are paying with cash or credit. The credit price is 6 cents more per gallon than the cash price. By mid-March, you will also receive the discount of 3 cents per gallon purchased. To apply for the pump start feature, you must show your loyalty card and driver's license to one of the cashiers in a Pilot Flying J. The cashier will begin the process and then will request a salaried manager to complete it. You will then have to fuel one time on the truck diesel lanes before the pump start will activate itself because the pump start only works on the truck diesel lanes. Again, the pump start feature currently only works on the truck diesel lanes and not the RV lanes. Sincerely, Customer Service

Thanks for the responses. I had a mechanic to pressurize the system to the 16 pounds per the pressure cap. Thank goodness the leaks are coming from 2 hose clamps and a gasket on the block. Seems like an easy fix if we don't have trouble finding the gasket. Of course we can always make a gasket if necessary. I'm glad I started now, so I can head to Perry, GA for the rally. In response to an earlier reply, Workhorse doesn't have a clue why there is no reservoir in the cooling system. They kind of blamed it on Thor. They said sometimes the coach company has to remove them because of the configuration of building the coach. I don't know. There is plenty of room so I will probably add one myself. Has anyone had to install an after market on this model coach? Any recommendations on the type of reservoir?

My wife and I just finished a 8,000 mile cross country trip this past November. Our 2005 Presidio made the trip flawlessly. About a month after I winterized the coach, I decided to run up the generator and start the engine. Before the secondary air could build up, the engine shut down because of low coolant. It took 15 quarts of 50/50 antifreeze to fill the system. I'm confused as to where the coolant went. I have never seen any fluid under the engine. Since there is no coolant reservoir installed on the engine there is no way to check the fluid level. There has never been a reservoir installed because the overflow tube runs straight to the bottom of the radiator. I can only assume the fluids are escaping through the "new" radiator cap. I called Workhorse and inquired why there was no reservoir installed on the chassis. He was clueless and blamed it on the coach builder, Thor. Has anyone installed an after market reservoir on this type of coach? If so can you provide me with what type, etc. Here is the info on the coach. 2005 Presidio (Mandalay) 2004 Workhorse chassis with 330HP rear mount Cummins.

My wife and I recently returned from a "Bucket-list" trip of 27 states, going coast to coast (8,200 miles) over a period of 2 1/2 months. The trip was flawless, with no breakdowns or problems. Since the 2005 Presidio (Mandalay) was new to me, I wanted to track the fuel and mileage stats. The on board computer reads the avg. mileage to be 7.8 mpg. However, after tracking the trip, the actual mpg was 7.1. My Unloaded Vehicle Weight (UVW) is 27,000 lbs. and we pulled a Jeep Liberty for the entire trip. Here is my question. My coach has a 330 hp Cummins. What would the correlation be of MPG to horsepower if this same coach had a larger engine such as a 360 or 400 hp engine? I know that it would not be feasible to upgrade engines to save mileage and I have no intention to do so. I am only interested in the correlation of horsepower to MPG. If my coach had a 4oohp engine, could I expect better MPG?

One: Dennis Reid (Moose) Two: Navy (Aviation) Three: 4 years - 1963 to 1967 Four: E-4 ADJ3 Five: Aviation Machinists Mate Six: I spent about 2 1/2 years training Navy and Marine squadrons on the Grumman A6 Intruder at the Oceana Naval Air Station. The squadrons that I served in where VA85, VA42 and VA65. I deployed to Vietnam in the spring of '66 with Attack Squadron 65 aboard the USS Constellation. I am proud to have served my country. I really feel old, now that my aircraft and ship are obsolete and my ship is in mothballs.

Has anyone had the experience of flies escaping the toilet when you flush? As soon as the ball rotates, they fly out. I had this happen last year, in the early fall, in a '99 Chieftain. Sometimes as many as 3 at the time. For the last 2 days it has happened again in a different motor home. I thought they might be coming into the black tank via the sewer. That would make sense but I leave the dump valve closed. I promise that I was not inebriated when the phenomenon occurred. Has anyone had the same experience? And how did you resolve the issue.

Is US 26 worth taking between Portland and Boise? We have a 40' w/tow and would like to see the area less traveled, rather than I-84, but we are not sure if the road will beat you up. Can anyone advise of some points of interest along this highway if it is worth the bypass. We have no train to catch.

Thanks for the advice. This worked for me.

Two weeks and $259 later, I found the solution. An accurate evaluation by Dometic customer support revealed that the control board on the front unit was causing the problem. The day that the service technician arrived the units worked just fine. But of course that's MURPHY'S LAW. We replaced the board anyway and so far, everything is working great. Thanks for the help anyway. My favorite MURPHY'S LAW - A $500 picture tube will always blow first, to save a 25 cent fuse.

Getting good Wi-Fi connections at a reasonable price now days can be a problem. Many RV parks advertise that Wi-Fi is "available." That doesn't mean free. The answer for me is going to be the Verizon Motorola Droid when my current contract is up this July. I talked to a salesperson yesterday and I think that is the way to go. With the Droid there is no extra charge for tethering like the Blackberry. With the Droid you pay a monthly fee of $30 for the data plan which entitles you to unlimited access. This doesn't effect you calling minuets. Can't wait.

I have a RV with 2 Penguin A/C’s and a gas furnace that I run with a (3109228.001) Comfort Control Center. Last month while running the front A/C in Florida, the A/C unit shut off by itself and the screen on thermostat was light but the numbers were gone except for the zone numbers on the screen. Dometic customer service department told me how to reset. The results was EE and I was told that it was a communication problem. Since we were then “dead in the water†I turned the thermostat off. One hour later I turned it back on and it worked fine with the furnace for the balance of the month. I have since then bought another control center to replace the defective one. Still have the same problem. After testing the system with both A/C’s running the screen again will go blank showing only the zone numbers. You are then only able to turn the unit off with the switch. If you wait a while and turn the unit back on the digital numbers return. Has anyone had a similar problem? I have emailed this problem to Dometic but have not heard from them as of yet.

Everyone has heard the quote that "When you're up to your behind in alligators, it's hard to remember that you only wanted to drain the swamp." Being new (less than 1 year) to Class A motorhomes, I was under the impression that they where 220 volts because they have a four-prong 50-amp cord. I learned the hard way that this is not so. My project was to install an outside outlet, to plug the motorhome into before we leave for a trip, to charge the batteries and cool the refer. I hired an electrician to install the receptacle. I told him that I didn't need a four-prong 50/A receptacle and to just install a three-prong 30/A (RV) plug. He wired the 30/A for 220/V as I had told him. Big mistake! When we turned the power on nothing worked except the electric water heater. After a minute or so, the A/C controller in the Magnum inverter/charger fried. I place most of the blame on myself, but I wish the electrician had challenged me so we could have researched to voltage for motor homes The people at Magnum where fantastic in helping me diagnose the problem and how to cure it. It was cured with a $205 A/C controller. I hope this costly experience helps some other poor soul.