karenandcollins

Since you have Verizon you can add Canada to your plan for a minimal charge. Don't bother with the wifi, it's extremely expensive. Most of the campgrounds we used while traveling there 5 years ago offered wifi, either at the sites or at the office. I would imagine even more of them do now. We were in Western Canada last summer & had wifi at almost every campground we used. If wifi is important, make sure you search for that when you look for a campground. Have fun. It's beautiful up there.

We also started with a tow dolly in 2010, since our car couldn't be flat towed. Used it for 2 years. It was ok, but as one other said, we'd have to tighten the straps along the way, get on the ground to get everything attached properly & if you were on a really rough road, you really had to watch it. Last year we bought a Chevy Equinox & a Ready Brake tow bar & brake system. It's so easy now. We're hooked up & ready to go in about 5 minutes. Instead of pulling the fuse, we installed a homemade switch, so we never have a problem with the battery. We do run the car before hookup, during our lunch break & after stopping or unhooking. It is definitely easier. We'll never go back to a tow dolly!

I too am slow to respond. We've had Good Sam extended warranty since we bought our used motorhome almost 3 years ago. They've paid some rather large claims for us, including $3000+ just a few weeks ago. Yes, they did ask us for our maintance information for the past 2 years, which we did have & there was no problem. They are rather expensive, but for us the cost has been worth the price.

We've been full timers for just over 2 years now. Can't even imagine living in a "bricks & sticks" house at this point. We've been traveling the west coast this year, setting up for a trip to Alaska next year. We plan to spend about 3 1/2 months on that trip. One thing we've found that works for us, try to stay any where from a week to 2 weeks in one spot. Then we do our sightseeing trips with our car. By staying for that length of time, we don't have to sightsee everyday & we can just kick back & relax in between. Of course, we won't be able to do that in Alaska, but for the rest of our travels it works well. We also don't travel at night. If we find we won't make our destination in the daylight, we try to find a Walmart, truckstop, etc to stay the night. Usually we don't go more than 350 miles in one jump anyway. Happy travels! Enjoy your new lifestyle!

The cabinet for our receiver had a glass front. We ended up removing the glass & replacing it with a decorative screened sheet of tin we purchased at Lowes. It made a huge difference in the heat up there.

We've had Good Sam for the past 3 years. Had to use them last year when our tow car had a flat. They came within an hour. A few months later, we couldn't get one of our jacks to go up so again, we called Good Sam. They sent a guy who ended up having to remove the jack in order to get it raised. Good Sam paid for the guy to come, but not to do the work, we expected that. A couple of months ago, our motorhome died at a busy intersection. Called Good Sam once again. The agent we worked with was very helpful, but it was late Saturday afternoon & she couldn't get anyone to guarantee help before 2 hours. Luckily for us, the police showed up & said 2 hours was unacceptable & they could have someone there within half an hour. The lady at Good Sam said we would have to pay the service but to send in the bill with an explanation & most likely they would cover it. In the meantime, she tried to find a service provider for us to be taken, but everyone was closed. She did find us a campground & said they would call us Monday morning to set up a tow to service. We took the names & #'s of the police officers & all pertinent info for our letter to accompany the $600 towing bill. On Monday morning, Good Sam called us with the name of the company who would come for us & basically asked where we wanted to go for repair. They were very good about all of it & did pay the first tow bill with no problem. Another time We had them send someone to a campground to fix the valve stem on one of the motorhome tires. They paid the service call & we paid the labor. So far, we've been pleased with our service, but we've never gotten stuck in the middle of nowhere, so don't know how that would go. I guess they all have their good & bad points.

Depending on what's wrong with your awning, I may have a cheap fix for you. Our Carefree slide awning came loose at the RV. We realized the stitching had come loose. My husband & a friend removed it (carefully- read the directions, you can find them online). I took it to a shoe repair store & they restitched it for us. We had them stitch it with the small vinyl strip inserted. My husband & our friend remounted it & it's good as new. We then took some RV glue & put it on all our awning stitching. The sunlight breaks the threads after awhile. Maybe this will be helpful to you. If it's a carefree, you have to stick a pin in one end before removing the awning to hold the tension.

We're having the same problem with our ready brake, which I think is the same thing

We bought our first motorhome a little over 2 years ago & hit the road as full-timers. It was scary what we didn't know! Everyday we had a "learning curve". We're learning more everyday & I'm very thankful for the forums & the many other RVers out there who are willing to share their help & knowledge. We try to help someone else whenever we can to pay it forward. I would also suggest attending Rallies. We have learned so much from them & you meet a lot of really nice people! Enjoy your motorhome & don't let the little things along the way get you down.

The copper tubing on our class "A" rooftop Dometic Duo Therm A/C is icing up between the motor & front of the unit, while the tubing from the motor to the back does not ice up. I can't see any blockage anywhere. After running for awhile it leaks water into the unit. We were told awhile ago if we run the fan on high, which we do, we shouldn't have freezing problems. Any suggestions?

I called yesterday & the guy told me that unless I put it on a dolly or a trailer it would register.

We have a ready brake & did have a battery disconnect mounted on the battery-- not sure if that is the same thing. We put the car in neutral & turn on acc, but it still racks up the miles.

We just bought a new 2012 Chevy Equinox & have flat towed from TX to San Diego & all the miles are on the car's odometer. I called Chevy yesterday & the guy I spoke with wasn't particularly knowledgeable, but did some checking & came back & said there was no way to avoid that except use a dolly, which we don't want to do since we bought this to flat tow. I sure hate to think about using up my whole warranty on a car I'm not even driving that much. Anyone have any experience with this. Thanks

Thanks to all of you for your comments. We also belong to the IRV2 forum & there were so very positive comments about the ready brake. As soon as we buy the new car, we are going to order ours.

We're getting ready to buy a new car that can be towed 4 wheels down (Ford Edge, Chevy Equinox or Honda CRV). We have a 40' diesel Monaco Diplomat. We've been using a tow dolly so now we have to buy a tow bar & braking system. We've been doing some research & have come across the Ready Brute Elite RV Tow Bar which incorporates both the braking system & tow bar in one. It seems like a great idea but we'd love to know if any one is using it & what are your opinions. Any comments would be appreciated

It sounds like you're enjoying the full time life as much as we are. We were in Maine in Sept. Went to Acadia National Park & some of the surrounding areas. Maybe some year we will try the volunteer route. You seem to get a lot of enjoyment out of it. We'll still be heading to punta Cana, Dominican Republic in Jan., leaving the RV in TX in storage. Next spring we'll head to the west coast. We're planning to head to Alaska in 2013. Looking for some traveling partners if you have any interest. Meanwhile you might want to check out our blog www.karenandcollins.blogspot.com to see what we've been up to this year. I enjoy keeping up with you guys since we started about the same time & we were all newbies. We sure have learned a lot over the past year & a half. Karen & Collins Friedel

Thanks. I will follow up with someone about this. Always a trick, trying to find good repair people when you're traveling.

Not sure if this is the right forum for this problem. The last couple times I've put out our front curb slide on our 2006 Monaco Diplomat, I've found a sheared off flat philips screw head. I also found some silver shavings, I imagine they came from the screw. I've run my hand under the edge of the slide where it came, which is at the front. I looked outside, but couldn't see anything. Should we be worried about this, the slide doesn't make any weird noises when it opens or closes, but I sure would like to know where they came from. Thanks

sounds like you're having a great time. We left our RV in FL Dec 9 & headed to IL for the holidays. It was cold & snowy. I like warm better. Jan 1 we left IL for Punta Cana, Dominican Republic til April 4 when we head back to IL for 2 weeks. We will then drive back to FL for the RV & head up the east coast & back to somewhere south til mid Dec. Check out our blog karenandcollins.blogspot.com. We love full time RVing, but we do love our time in Punta Cana too. Must say, it's a good life.

hi Jack & Peg, So glad to hear things have been going well & that you're enjoying full timing. Collins & I have been on the road since July 20th. We put our RV in storage this afternoon in a town outside Tampa, FL. We're driving our car back to IL for Christmas with the family, then will head to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Jan 1 til April 4th. We'll fly back to IL for 2 weeks to check on family & properties then drive back to FL for the RV. We too have had a blast this year. We love the RV life, usually stay in one place about 2 weeks at a time & drive around in the car to do our sightseeing. Next year we'll head up the east coast. Already laying it out. I hope you enjoy your next park & jobs. Have wonderful holidays! Karen & Collins

We will be putting the RV in a shelter somewhere near Tampa, FL in the early part of Dec. If anyone can make a recommendation for a good repair dealer, we'll get it taken care of there. We've had really really bad luck with some of the repair places so we're very leary of where we take it. Any feedback on Lazy Dayz. Whereever we take it, I'll give them your information. Thank you.

We have a 2007 Monaco diplomat with 4 slides. We've owned it about a year. Yesterday we encountered our first really bad rainstorm,( it rained hard all day) while we were using it. Last night we realized the floor by the front passenger side was soaked by the slideout wall. This morning we went outside to check it out & realized the whole slideout is about an inch out of square. Have no idea how this has happened & want to know if there is anything we can do about it. Any ideas or comments greatly appreciated

Don't know if you've gone yet, but we'll agree with all those who said take your car! We were planning to take our Class A, but met a full timer before we got there who told us, you can do it, but the driver won't enjoy any of it. We stayed in a campground & took the car thru NC, staying in a hotel 1 night then driving back. Will probably do the same in VA next year. The sights along the way are beautiful, but if you're busy concentrating on the road, which you will be, then take your car & you can both enjoy it. Karen

we did end up buying a 6" pvc. It is big, but my husband put it on the bottom of the storage compartment. You can put things on top of it & don't have to move them in order to get to the pipe. It is working great for us.

Hi Jack & Peg, just wondering if you ever got on the road & how it was going for you. We're having less & less "learning curves" every week & are having a great time. We're in the Charleston area now & will be for another week. We've done some sight seeing & will do a little more before we leave here. I hope all is going well for you. Karen & Collins