GilJohnson

I have a 2011 Jeep Grand Cheorkee with the V-8. To me, it surges when climbing hills or otherwise under light load. Under heavy load, the V-8 is great. The regional Jeep service adviser and Jeep corporate states this is normal. They sell a lot of these, so maybe I'm just too sensitive to the surge. It comes from the engine shutting down cylinders and the way the program the transmission to shift. This is fully equipped for towing (SMI Air Force One and Roadmaster tow plates) if anyone's interested in buying it. It only has 7K miles on it. Gil

The only reason I would carry a spare unmounted tire is if it was near impossible to get a replacement locally. I have a tag axle coach, so my worse case is to put whatever condition tire the service center can provide on the tag and use the tag for the failed tire, assuming the failure is not on the tag axle. Gil

We've stayed at Camp Hatteras Resort & RV Park in Rodanthe. It's a nice ocen front park. It is getting a bit pricey. One one of caution, try to avoid heavily wooded sites on the sound side. Without a good breeze, the mosquitos can be a real problem. That makes being on the ocen side much better. Gil

I was having my annual VA state safety inspection conducted the other day at a business that specializes in heavy truck recovery. I was taking to the owner about the difficulty in having a large coach towed or trailered. My coach, being 43 feet long, may be impossible to trailer tow legally. Apparently there's a maximum height limit of 14'2", although the company owner said this is commonly exceeded in the mid-west. Our conversation included his opinion of the common towing service contract providers, Good Sam and CoachNet. He said he will no longer tow for either one of them. If I wanted to pay or if he was contracted to tow by Allison or CAT, no problem. He said that one of the two of these companies owes him quite a bit of money and that their contract rates are far too low. The other has unrealistic contract rates and never allows the right sized equipment to be dispatched first. I've heard similiar stories where a stranded coach had to wait for a 3rd or 4th tow vehicle and company to show up before a tow vehicle with sufficient capabilities showed up. I guess I should not have been surprised given Good Sam and CoachNet are selling an insurance policy. Anyone selling insurance is in the business of limiting the cost of claims. Obviously, some companies do a better job at meeting the claims expectations than others. What was most discouraging with the conversation we had is to realize getting a tow may be very difficult in Northern Virginia given there are few heavy equipment recovery companies and this one is not going to help me out if I call my insured. Gil

If you're buying a 36-38 footer, then no need for a tag axle. If you're buying a 40-footer, then I would opt for the tag. If you're buying a 42+ footer you almost always get a tag. I have a 42 foot Beaver and opted for a 42-footer because I wanted a 40-footer with a tag axle. It's just easy to find a 42+ with tag axles. Here's the tag plus and minuses: + Much better ride (I have 2 extra air bags for the chassis to ride on) + Better load capability (both over all coach and what ever you might want to hang off the back) + It looks cool :-) + No need for rear casters or skid blocks (I don't think I've ever seen these on a tag axle coach) - Two extra tires (As stated by someone else, about $150 year) - Added initial cost (To me safety wins over reasonable added cost) - Tag tires drag in sharp slow speed turns if not raised (not really a big deal if you forget to lift them) - Reduced under belly storage space (I really haven't seen much difference here, but there must be some) - Additional weight (Someone stated 5K lbs, that's a bit hard for me to believe) Gil

I too am one that prefers a bike rack that supports the bike from its wheels. We used the common frame hanging type with two bikes and no matter how careful I was I ended up with scrtaches on a nice new bike. I just bought the SportRack A30901 from Amazon for about $145.

This may be a dumb question. Are you sure the WiFi system that's in clear site is not 802.11a or 802.11n? Looking at the Rogue Wave specs it only supports 802.11 b/g. I tried the original WaveRV system that's quite similar and didn't find the improvements to be significant. I see there's WaveRV II out now and it supports 802.11n. The WaveRV has it's own drivers, so it may not work with all operating systems. They make claims of operating at distances of up to a mile.

I wanted to do the same. If you are referring to a 2010 or 2011, VW says no. I even contacted VW corporate and they said no. I suspcet they don't want any liability and it can be towed. That's just an assumption on my part. Gil

Many of the older cards are not supoported any longer. DirecTV used to offer you a new one for $20. If you are a new subscriber, go online and request new service at your home. A new receiver is also included for free. When their contractor shows up just have him give you the receiver or better yet place it in your RV to make sure it works before he leaves. He will not give you any help with your RV's Sat system. As previously stated, if you have DirecTV in your home, just go to your online account and request a second receiver. Gil

I have a very similar problem trying to find a like hose for my Cat C-9 powered 2008 Beaver. After some research I believe Goodyear's Hi-Miler Blue heater hose is going to work for me. It's not radiator hose, but every spec looks like it will more than meet my system's needs. My only real concern is that the expansion tank is pressurized. Again, this hose should work. My challenge was finding a flexible 7-foot long 1 1/4 ID hose. The alternative, and one I considered, was to get a piece of exhaust pipe of the correct size bent. This would eliminate the 7-foot hose and allow me to use real radiator hose (although not really necessary) to couple the custom bent pipe to the reservoir and the engine. This would mean I'd only need 2 short hoses of less than a foot. I hope to change the hose this weekend. Gil