jaselton

We had a similar problem with our Norcold and stopped at a Camping World in Albuquerque. They quickly diagnosed it as a mud dauber nest in the back which restricted operation of refrig. but not freezer. (I am not technical, so may not have all the right words for the parts affected!!). In less than 1-1/2 hours we were back on the road (it had been out since the day before, but Flagstaff CW was no longer open so we had to go to ABQ)They also did the recall "fix" at that time. Judy & Jerry Aselton 2006 Dolphin 5355 Ellijay, Ga.

Two of our favorite parks in Georgia are the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds in Hiwassee, near the N.C. line because the mountain/lake views are great and the park is great also; our second is not a state park, but is located near Calloway Gardens in Pine Mountain-a campground with lots of amenities. The Corps of Engineers campground at Carter's Lake off Highway 136 near Ellijay, Ga. is also a good campground for lake activities and mountain views. Hope you will try these if you haven't already. Judy and Jerry Aselton Ellijay, Ga.

welcome to FMCA and motorhoming. We are about half way through our second year and find these blogs and forums to offer a wealth of info, even if you don't have a clue when you start reading them. One thing I can assure you of, every trip, short or long, will offer a new learning experience about a different part of your RV. we have decided that the RV manual is like a computer manual-all greek untill you know how the RV part works and then in rereading it, it makes sense and offers answers. Fellow RV'rs drop little hints about things that stay in your mind until you need them. This year we bought a Dish "dish" and took our 2nd receiver from home on our 3 month trip out west. Our first effort to catch the signal resulted in our buying a satellite finder from Radio Shack. While in Albuquerque for a couple nights, our neighbor saw us trying to position our dish and told us he too had tried the dish/tripod thing and decided it was too much trouble to find the signal so he ended up buying the Winegard with automatic finder. As we continued on the trip, we learned we could call Dish to find a local technician and for $50-$100 have them come out and find the signal and set it up for us. We only did that twice, both times when we were parked for an extended period of time, but also realized that wasn't the answer either. As we left to travel home, since our interior cabling system was now wired for Dish, we could onlly run our regular cable line through the window and hook up to the campgrounds cable feed, or, if dry camping, be sure we had plenty of DVD's lined up to watch (walMart's $5 bin when we camp there is a good source!). By our big trip next year we plan to have the system with the automatic signal finder and will gladly give our radio Shack one to whomever buys our dish and tripod!! That man in Albuquerque was right. We have learned about jacks, pads, batteries, etc. in the same fashion and know that you will too.Happy travels. Judy and Jerry Aselton Ellijay, Georgia

Another Perry, Ga., area eating place is a Mennonite buffet called Yoder's. It is near Montezuma, Ga. (on the road to Andersonville, Americus and Plains), west of Perry. Yoder's also has an in house bakery shop that sells great breads and desserts. Judy and Jerry Aselton Ellijay, Ga. 2006 National Dolphin LX 5355 2008 Jeep Liberty

We are thinking of attending Perry also and it will be our first event of this type. Since it is so expensive to buy this "Passport", would someone please share your experience and say how to best use a day at an event like this. Without knowing which seminar is when (looked over the list - see several that would educate we newbies), about how much time does a seminar take, how long should we expect to spend in the exhibit area (I know "looking time" is relative, but, in general, how many are there - is it just motorhomes to go through or are there other types of booths to visit also). I guess if you have never been, you just don't know what to expect or how to plan to wisely use your time there!!! Judy & Jerry Aselton Ellijay, Ga. 2006 National Dolphin LX 5355 2008 Jeep Liberty PS: glad someone explained the "Member since" date in one of the posts. I was curious about that also.

Newbie here. We had our motorhome winterized and we made sure the master "disconnect" switch was activated so we believed everything was off. When we went to check on it after recent snow storm the steps went out OK. A few weeks later, we went back to get something out of MH and the steps went out only 1/4 of way and stopped. The engine would not start either. We jump started the engine and ran it for awhile, but the steps did not move. All of the above info is very informative, but in a foriegn language for newbies like us. I think we need the professional, but which kind? Do we go to a battery professional, an inverter/charger professional (I read that manual, might as well have been written in Chinese) or just a regular RV repair shop? We live more than 50 miles in any direction from an RV repair place, so if we have to tow the motorhome there, we want to get to the right place first!! I have learned a great deal from these forums and I thank all the experienced and knowledgeable people who respond here. Judy and Jerry Aselton Ellijay, Ga. 2006 National Dolphin LX 5355 2008 Jeep Liberty

We are new to RV'g and relied on our RV service person to get a braking system for us. He installed the Blue Ox Patriot. We tow a 2008 Jeep Liberty and one has to be a contortionist to set up the Patriot! Our installer had trouble a few times also and suggested we back the seat as far back is it would go and also as high as it would go, install the unit, then drop the seat down on top of the unit just enough to stabilize and get it set. We spent many frustrating mornings trying to get that "OK" to head out. We also seemed to have issues with the car battery running down because we could not disconnect the negative cable as Jeep suggests because the brake assist unit had to be connected through the cigarette lighter and needed the battery. We headed out on our trip leaving North Georgia and getting as far as Paducah. We had to have the battery charged there before we could go on. We also bought a battery charger, just in case. We made it to St. Louis next and had to charge the battery. We next made it to central Iowa and had to charge the battery again. Since we were close, we went to the Blue Ox factory in Pender, NE. We stayed there 2 days hoping to find an improved method of getting the unit to work better with our Jeep. Doug at Blue Ox couldn't have been nicer, really tried to resolve the issue and most everyone else we came in contact with there were nice. Their campground was great and we were allowed to stay 2 nites. We did buy a tow bar while there to replace the older one that came with the motorhome that had not been well maintained. We love the Blue Ox towbar and it has made hooking up a breeze. We bought a new car battery in Pender. We were told by Doug that installing a custom cut board between the unit and the seat might solve our problem. We still found the tight quarters in the Jeep Liberty were not a good fit for the Patriot. We finally solved our battery issue in Lincoln, NE by having an RV dealer add a connection through our light line between the vehicles that let the motorhome's battery constantly charge the toad battery while motorhome is on. We do have to remember to turn key off in toad if we stop for extended time with motorhome shut down. We went the rest of the trip, after Lincoln, NE, without the Patriot connected - too frustrating. We went to Wy, spent a month in Utah, went to lower CA. then back along I-10, home to Ga. We just returned this week and the 2nd day we were home, we took the Patriot to the dealer who installed it to see about returning it. On the road, I heard about the SMI unit that fits under the hood. I see it recommended in above posts (the Duo) and came to this forum to ask about experiences with that unit. We have our dealer checking into it and I have been to their website. Sounds easier than wrestling with the Patriot, but I would like to hear from some users on pros and cons. Thank you. Judy & Jerry Aselton 2006 Dolphin LX 5355 2008 Jeep Liberty Ellijay, Georgia

Oh yes, on our "maiden voyage" I did drive some and found it not as intimidating as I feared. I don't think I am ready to do a lot of backing and adding the toad will lengthen that tail swing area, but my husband, as a former trucker, says it will come with time and practice. Straight driving seemed fine. Judy Aselton

Not sure how you feel about being our forerunners and experimentors. However, we appreciate your writing your blog so we can feel more confident as we follow in your foot steps. We still have lots to pack up and are leaving some things in the house for showing purposes. We were thinking of getting a pod, but haven't fully researched that yet. We did a preliminary overnight camping trip last week just to learn, without pressure, how to set up and take down while being only 50 miles from home with back up at home to bring us a vehicle if needed. All went well except we need to practice the leveling thing better. We relied too much on the bubble and only after seeing the motorhome from the front in the light of morning did we realize how "unlevel" we were. We have ordered our Blue Ox hook up and that should be in next week. We also want to get the full check up for the Motorhome as you are doing. We were told it was recently washed and waxed so hope we don't have to redo that right away. Since I am working with the Census, we won't be able to take off until August ourselves. Maybe we will cross paths somewhere out there in Adventure Land!! Judy and Jerry Aselton, Ellijay, Ga.

OK, now I have 2 "mentors" blogging to be my guides in this journey of "newbies". We just picked up our first motorhome 2 days ago, spent most of yesterday trying to find a place to kep it parked while we prepare for this first adventure. Both Bran and Wendy, and ,Jack and Peg, are going where we want to go, even if only figuretively-we will head to SW Utah for our first adventure-hoping that can be a future base for exploring the west. I like Brad's positive attitude, acknowledgement that for every great adventure there is bound to be also a great learning experience, otherwise known as a "misadventure". We may have possibly already had ours. We parked the RV at the Real Estate office I call "home" when I am "working" because they have a huge parking lot! When we went to pick it up to take it to the "by the month" parking lot, our key would not open the door to even get in!!! Teeth gnashing, mumbling, a call to AAA to find out this vehicle is not covered by their service-all led us to the close by Home Depot to get a tube of graphite. Luckily, that solved the problem and we proceeded to the lot without further incident. OK, we have survived the first mishap (like the Steeles with their bathroom door) and we are all moving forward now. So. Brad. Wendy, Jack, Peg - lead the way, document it for those of us following this gypsy band of merry people and let's have fun!! Judy and Jerry from the North Georgia Mountains.

I plan to follow this blog, considering it to be a learning experience. My husband and I just bought our first motorhome and will be taking off possibly in August, following in the footsteps, if not the tire tracks of Jack and Peg. I hope what they learn and pass on will be fair warning or fair learning for us!! We have our house for sale and are still going through the "junk", trying to cut those emotional ties to some of this "stuff". However, the call of the open road is strong and time to respond seems to get shorter every day. So, to Jack and Peg I say, Go forth, leave plent of bread crumbs for those of us coming behind you and lets all have a great adventure!! Judy and Jerry - June 24, 2010.