Roodriver

Do a search on the web or look in the FMCA magazine for companies that repair this kind of damage, and send them a picture. This kind of problem can be very very very expensive. With motorhomes it may be best to walk away from problems when you first spot them. Ward

The Microphor unit looks like it would fill the bill and solved the only other problem I could see with the water being sucked from the bowl and then having odors get in the coach with the shutter assembly. Think I would want the powder coat not plain jane stainless. Thanks for the info Bill. Ward

We've stored things in double tubs (a large one with small ones inside). That allowed the use of moth balls to be placed between the containers. I really like the idea of going one step farther by using the vacuum bags. Ward

I'm afraid the home toilet would use a great deal more water than my holding tank would deal with and that includes the water efficient ones. Boon docking would be almost impossible for any length of time considering the holding capacities of both fresh and black tanks. When used properly the standard RV usually works fine for me. Ward

I've done it at home ever since I caught CW attempting to put the wrong oil in my engine. The other thing I have found is that the shops tend to NOT grease all of the fittings but just do the front ones. Has anyone used one of the oil plugs with a valve on it to use for draining the oil? Ward

I try to take mine in small bites and spend three or four days doing what took one a few years ago. My biggest problem is waxing the rig. I handle the things that require laying down quite well, or so my bride says. Due to some health problems, we have stayed home since October and I'm itching to get back on the road, so we started doing all of the small things a bit at the time. By the way, we discovered that a touch of silicone caulk will hold screws which continue to vibrate loose. Ward

With all of the burning restrictions going into effect, we bought a propane campfire from CW. Turned out we really like the thing. Ward

Check out http://www.recreation.gov for campground maps and availability. The best wildlife times are early in the AM and late in the PM. I would also advise hiking boots. This is the most fascinating area we have been to (retired science teachers), but you must be willing to walk a bit. Ward

We've used a Brake Buddy for 6-7 years and have had no problems. The part which engages the seat is adjustable so you can align it for minimum wear. Mine has been used for over 70,000 miles. So I went out to check before answering this, and couldn't tell where the thing hits the seat. Ward

Gee, denpalmer, that sounded just a bit political. I won't go into the many reasons why I disagree, but only say that I'll be going to Ireland in April, and wish the fuel there is going to be as cheap as it is here. Heck, I would settle for it being just twice our price. When you check on what I'm saying, remember the fuel there is priced per liter, not per gallon. The old school teacher in me can't help but ask a question! Which companies have posted the most profit for the last year? Ward

We tend to eat out a bit less, but don't back off the MH use. One thing we do which saves us on fuel is to travel back roads. When I get my rig above 60 the mileage tends to start decreasing rapidly, so we do the 55 roads and see the real country. The other advantage is that the restaurants in small towns seem to be less expensive. We spent over 50 years working and now I'm going to play a bit!

We started out with a small backpack tent, and graduated from that to a slide in truck camper. From there we transitioned to a 25' Georgie Boy class A retired and started volunteering at National Wildlife Refuges. We quickly learned that a 25 footer wasn't roomy enough to stay for any period of time and moved up to a 35' gasser. Because we have a motorhome, we can stay in an area for an extended period of time and really get to know the area and the people. Yes it is more expensive than staying in Motels for a short period of time, but when you stay on the road 6-8 months at a time it balances out nicely. This is the first year we haven't traveled extensively, but that was due to health problems not the cost of travel. Pat and I like government campgrounds and Passport America parks, and rarely stay in the high rent campgrounds. Yes we have stayed in a few Wal Mart parking lots, but when you don't travel on Interstates and stick to back roads campgrounds of any kind are not always available. Since we have been RVing a couple of other considerations have reared their ugly heads. A few years ago 20/20 did a show on the policies of hotels and motels when it came to changing be linen. All I can say is UUGHHH!!!! I for one do not wish to sleep in someone else's body fluids! Now the talk around hotels/motels is all about bedbugs. I'll take my MH. We also did a cost analysis on the comparison of owning a motorhome and a fifth wheel. The fifth wheel won, but only slightly. Something that we didn't take into consideration was the number of friends we have made across the country because of the motorhome and our FMCA membership. That part is priceless to us. See you all down the road. Ward

I have already told on myself about the 3" drain hose getting a small hole which turned into a stream and anointed my forehead with black water. That prompted my Rhino Flex hose purchase. Last year in Idaho we were parked next to a Phaeton and while eating supper, I noticed the guy from the Phaeton kept coming outside and checking his power cord. He would go inside for awhile and then come back outside and then back inside. The guy came over (nice guy by the way and he drinks my brand of adult beverage) and asked me if we had electricity. He said he had done everything he could think of but just couldn't get the power to turn on for his coach. I stopped eating, searched around and found my volt/ohm meter and headed out to help this poor soul. Having a good deal of experience with electricity, I know how to check out an electrical circuit, but for some reason, I started out by checking the panel inside his coach. Yep! Dead as a doornail. I'm about ready to grab some tools and check out the transfer switch when my brain finally kicked in. So out we go to the power pedestal. The thing was plugged in fine. Well we'll just reset the breaker! Some of you have already figured out the problem. The guy had never turned on his breaker. To show you what a nice guy I can be, I told his wife there was a short in the pedestal, but everything was up and running and in good shape now. Like I said, the guy was very generous with his adult beverages and we had a quiet chuckle. For those of you snickering and thinking this guy was a rookie, forget it. This was his third or fourth MH and the only problem was that Murphy was riding on his shoulder that day. Ward Remind me to tell you about the time I...

We ran into everything from full service to dry camping. The private parks were more likely to have fifty amp than the government parks, but the weather was so comfortable that we didn't really need a heavy electrical load. Dump stations were plentiful as was central water fills. The best place we stayed in was strictly dry camping, but we had the advantage of watching whale play just offshore. For that I'll give up creature comforts any day! We only had two regrets about the entire trip. (1) We only had six weeks. (2) I didn't have a sea kayak which would have been a real plus. There were some folks at a provincial park in Shelburne NS that were having a ball with their kayaks. BTW at this park we were next to the water and looked across the harbor at Shelburne. Okay! You've given me the itch to go back. Ward

For those going to Perry, go West at Tifton to a the little town of Sylvester. HERE IS THE TREAT OF THE YEAR! ! ! Carroll's Sausage and Meat Market has a thing they call stuffed pork chops. Forget everything you have heard about stuffed pork chops! These are stuffed with some of the best sausage you have ever slid between your lips. They make several different styles of sausage which just simply can't be beat. Warning!! after one trip, you will want to make this a regular stop and even go way out of the way for this one. Ward

Arnold's Drive In, Decatur Indiana is one of our favorite stops. Old fashioned drive-in with curb service girls on skates. They serve all of your favorite sixties style food and shakes. Best burger made according to my bride. While in the area, go to the Wilshire drive inn on highway 30 in I think Wilshire Indiana but may be Ohio. Near the border. Szabo's (sp) in Newport Oregon for the best bread pudding. While there visit Yaquina Head Lighthouse which is truly gorgeous. Basnight's Lone Cedar Restaurant, Nags Head North Carolina- The best she crab soup and creme brulee' which you can enjoy while watching osprey feed their young right outside the window. Seineyard Restaurant, Woodville Florida- great seafood. Ward

The maritimes are fantastic. We started our trip the first week of June and had a number of campgrounds pretty much to ourselves. The Cabot Trail around Nova Scotia is a great trip with plenty to see. It seemed like every small town had some woman baking goodies in her home, and we of course felt it was our duty to support the local economy. OH YUM!!! By all means, take the ferry to Newfoundland and tour that fine province. The scenery is wonderful and the people are truly super friendly. By the way the ferry trip (think ship) was an outstanding whale watching trip. They make a dish with mashed potatoes, bacon and salt cod that is a heart surgeons delight but is superb. We also continued on via ferry to Labrador which was interesting but I'm not sure if it was worth the money. PEI was a bit to touristy for my liking, but some of our friends loved it. I found it crowded and overpriced. We took six weeks and had a ball. Have fun!! Ward

I also use the Rhino Flex and also have a macerator pump. I prefer to use the 3" hose especially when staying somewhere for a long period of time. I learned to not use a cheap hose the hard way. If you saw the movie RV and the gusher when he was dumping you can picture my problem with a cheap hose. Mine started with a small drop and as I bent to check out the small leak, it got bigger. You would be surprised how much pressure builds up when a black tank is being emptied. Not a gusher, but a steady little stream that got me in the forehead. Have used the Rhino ever since. Ward

Sounds like they need to change their name to Nightmare RV. Thanks for the input on an obviously unscrupulous dealer. Like anything major that you will purchase, there are a few important steps to agree on prior to signing a contract. We all will make verbal statements and that is always the first step. Step two should be something like a sales order or sales offer (this may be called a number of different things) which simply lists all of the prices, additions, deletions and otherwise hidden goodies. This sales offer should have the price you will pay prior to driving off the lot. Any step three contracts should agree to the number with your sales order. No agreement no contract! The biggest lesson many of us have learned is to shop around and shop around and then shop around some more. This gives you the knowledge advantage. Ask around about dealers before you talk to them. I really think that a good dealer will have a good shop with knowledgeable mechanics. Fortunately, there are some really good dealers out there. Ward

I agree with you 100%, However, my dear wife will argue the point with you. She's already had it out with me over Fonda. We decided to disagree and go about our business since we were coming at it from different angles. The good news is that the FMCA folks are smart enough to not invite Janey to a rally. Oh, well, feed her rice balls and ... Ward

Hmmmm... Sounds like FMCA intends to compete with Good Sam. Or maybe, the friendly folks at Good Sam are gobbling up another competitor?

Great answer Brett. There is a relationship between hp and torque which essentially tells us how much work the engine is capable of on paper, but there are other factors at play which kind of mess up the pencil and paper calculations. We have all seen the ads for oils which reduce friction and as a plus increase mpg. So adding the slipperest oil to the crankcase should increase mpg. Some claim that inflating tires with nitrogen to the proper level will increase mpg, but some say that the compressed air we normally use is already 78% nitrogen. Going back to Brett's answer, we got terrible mpg going through the Western mountains on US2, and increased our mpg by 5 mpg going on US27 from Georgia to Indiana. I can't compare my gas coach to a dp but I'd bet the end results would be similar. The one universal thing I truly believe in to increase mpg of both the coach and the driver is to slow down and smell the roses. My bride seems to be happier as well which I'm sure increases my mpg. Ward

We had a very similar problem two years ago. Our refrigerator is on a large slide so it doesn't have a through the roof vent. The cooling air comes in the side, at the bottom and exits the side, a few feet higher up. Needless to say this is a terrible way to vent this type of refrigerator. The answer was to increase the air flow with two small fans which the manufacturer did. Our fans burned out and had to be replaced. Ours also worked well on gas but did poorly on 120v AC. The repair tech said that when on gas there was more heat which set up a better convection current which tended to cool the unit better. I don't really buy that 100% but the new fans did the job. Ward

Welcome to FMCA! I can't answer your question because I carry other roadside assistance as well as my chasis manufacturer has a breakdown number to call. So far, so good. We've never had to use any of the above. Because roadside assistance is so cheap, I prefer to be safe, and spend the money. You may want to check the tires section of this forum. Ward

FANTASTIC!!!!!! That is what I call support for the troops. If this effort ever needs help, please let me know. Ward