nitehawk

And they are diddly-darn noisy!!! One of the main reasons I switched all my lights & TVs to LEDs. Consumption is super low now!

"To each his own" is another saying that comes to mind. Our local dealer didn't want used no-slide coaches in inventory, and also some "off-brand" name they didn't know. We ended up with one heck of a deal on a 36' no-slide, "off-brand" Foretravel Grand Villa diesel pusher and couldn't be happier. A brand that has been number one and is still in the top five for quality. Only problem of any consequence in five years of ownership was a plugged fuel line.

"Different strokes for different folks" A no slide older coach is less likely to have expensive slide issues, be it the slide drive mechanisms or seals. We didn't want slides (only two of us & one cat) so didn't want the extra weight, room, and problems that most likely will occur with an older coach. The more complex, and used, an older coach is, the more likely you are looking at things to go wrong, even with the PO doing excellent maintenance. If up & moving a lot the constant in/out of a slide increases the potential for problems. The 102" width and proper layout of a coach makes a big difference, along with window size, placement, interior colors, all add to how roomy a coach feels.

Verify base type. It appears--from your picture--to be a 194 base. Very common and lots of compatibility with other bases

I guess the question to ask is: Does the non-locking small arm travel as far as the functioning small arm? If not, try the percussive persuasion Five suggested. (hit the darn thing with a hammer)

Sounds like the locking pawl is either stuck or broken. I wouldn't tow with it malfunctioning. Try to get some Corrosion-X or some other rust buster inside the lock mechanism. Then work the "locking lever" back & forth a bunch to see if this frees up the locking pawl end. Are you sure the arm is fully extended? Measure both the functioning arm and the one that won't lock to verify pullout. If all else fails try contacting Blue Ox for advice.

Got to warn you--you are going to fall in love all over again!! I know, and our coach is 27 years old!! (Foretravel GV)

Rain/snow all night and now 34 degrees. Grand daughter , her husband, and three Great grandsons will be here at 10:30 this morning for Thanksgiving Dinner. Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, hot rolls, ham, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, apple crisp and apple pie with the apples from our own Winesap tree. Sharp cheddar cheese and ice cream with the apple pie. Nap, football, nap, football, nap, snack for supper? Life is good and we are thankful. Rocket, our 15 year old yellow tabby master wanted the dining room patio door opened so he could go out on the covered deck. I opened the door and he got most of his body over the threshold, felt the cold air and did a 180 degree turn in midair--without touching the deck!! If looks could kill I would be on life support right now!! And it wasn't even my fault!! Normally when it starts getting cold outside he will sit about 5' away from the sliding door and meow until I come & open the door. He then lifts his right paw, shakes it a couple times and then walks away.

When we camp in the woods I use our propane fired Black Flag fogger all around our site several times. Seems to work well after about four applications. Must be done when the wind is calm though. We also have a screen house and do use personal repellent dispensers if the mosquitoes are persistently bad..

A month or so ago I took our coach in to have the valve stem replaced (slow leak) on the passenger side inner dual. They couldn't get the nuts off. Ended up breaking them off and having to replace all six. Budd wheels so parts not everywhere. When I bought new tires--there-- they apparently didn't use a torque wrench. Guess who paid for the parts & labor? NOT US!! But it was inconvenient for us. When they put everything back together guess what got used?? A nice BIG torque wrench!!! 450 foot pounds of torque. No way would I have missed seeing the torque wrench before. We stay with or in our coach every time. Did observe the manager giving "instructions" to the two mechanics about using the torque wrench. Just glad it wasn't me!! Imagine what we would have had to go thru if the "stuck" and then broken lug studs had occurred while on the road!!

I have the ones where I have to lay down on the ground/driveway and fish a bungee cord around the inboard side of each wheel and then push a plastic ball thru a loop. All this to hold the cover in place. Then repeat the process to take them off. Save yourself aggravation and time and just go ahead and buy the covers that have a built in spring. You merely spread the spring enough to go over the tire O.D. and then release it when the cover is in place. Reverse the process to remove. Sorry I can't remember the manufacturer but someone here on the site will undoubtedly know who it is.

It seems that no matter what you do it will bite you in the backside. We had a small buck run up on the frontage road in front of our Geo Tracker from the right ditch, We were doing 45 because of a bit of ground fog. Took out the driver's side headlight and the grill. The deer sailed like a Frisbee. Two weeks later, but on the highway about 200 feet north of the frontage road a hawk came up out of the median and took out the driver's side of the windshield in our Ford Sportrack pickup. We are now quite vigilant when in that area.

Don't bother with putting ice cubes in the tank unless you are willing to drive down the highway swaying back and forth violently across both lanes like a rodeo contestant attempting to win a barrel race on their horse. (you will most likely also get to meet your local law enforcement officer) There is a video out there somewhere demonstrating just what ice cubes do to a holding tank under normal driving. NOTHING!!!

Drive like everybody else out there are idiots trying to "get" you because they think you are rich and you might survive longer!

The vinyl ceiling in our coach was also hanging down. The thin foam rubber above the vinyl had disintegrated and the glue on it had also let go. We were fortunate in that there is a six inch wide vinyl covered strip running from front to back in the coach. I took the strip down, took it apart, installed new foam & glue on the luan board, then tackled the ceiling vinyl. I removed hundreds of staples that were hidden under the ceiling covered strip, pulled the vinyl towards center, after getting what decomposed glue and foam out, and then restapled the vinyl. I then added about 36 snap/covered buttons spaced about 12" apart in rows front to back. Replaced the now reconditioned center strip and ceiling looked like it was supposed to. But what a job!! Sore arms & shoulders working overhead. Sticky glue & foam seemed to go everywhere! No one ever seems to notice these additions as they ARE additions to the existing snap/covered buttons. The "buttons" have a wood screw in the center and work very well. Why not try to locate some compatible buttons for your ceiling, pull the ceiling over to the cabinets, staple in place, and then add a cover strip along the wall to hide the staples?

We have tested a number of different brands using the:" put two sheets in a pint bottle filled with water, cap it and then shake." If the TP dissolves it is OK to use in the RV. We have found that Walgreen's house brand works just fine and is reasonably priced--and available almost everywhere.

Front tires at 90 PSI and rears at 85 PSI help the ride. If overheating try flushing the radiator after soaking with Dawn. Flush from the back end of the coach, not the front! Use garden hose, not pressure washer--unless you keep the nozzle quite a distance away from the radiator. I even used my leaf blower to back blow thru the fins. Oh, cover the engine and alternator before flushing!!! If you normally are in the southern states where temps are higher I would investigate the dual electric fans from O'reilly's and mount them on the rear bumper side of the radiator. These, in conjunction with the engine fan, should help keep engine temps.

Our experience with DirecTV is not to call their line before 3:30 PM Central time. Before then it seems the folks east of the Big Muddy that answer don't comprehend that one is in a RV and want their service switched to their present location. We have been accused of trying to defraud DirecTV by getting reception in one area and having a billing address in another location, not knowing what we were doing, changing something and now not getting any signal, and the list goes on. Call after 3:30 Pm and you will usually get someone west of the Mississippi that understands what you are trying to do, and that you do NOT want the "special" RV package that costs more $$$.

Same here, Billadams & Huffypuff. Seems once a "moderator" takes exception to anything one says, then EVERYTHING said after that is scrutinized far in excess of other posters. Language using the actual banned words seems acceptable for the privileged few and banishment to others. I had enough of their double standard so dropped off their forum.

Buy some aluminized bubble wrap from Lowes, Ace, Home Depot, etc. Available in rolls of different width. Put snaps above and below each window and matching mating snap halves on the bubble wrap after sizing the bubble wrap to fit. I did that for all my side windows and no one ever sees the fixed snaps because of the valances above each window.

Rinse a soda pop aluminum can, cut in half--crosswise, cut vertical tabs (along can axis) about 1" down toward bottom of can. Place cotton balls in can bottom, squirt Peppermint oil on the balls. Then bend tabs over to hold cotton in place. Poke a hole thru the cans and wire tie them in assorted places. Renew peppermint oil periodically. Works great--and lasts!

You can go to a Aero resonator. Just remember you have a 4" in and a 4" out exhaust, unless someone put a 5" outlet.

I had the same thing happen. Turned out the faucet washer on the shutoff valve for the tank water inlet was leaking very, very slowly, and was not apparent until the tank overflowed. Changed the faucet washer and it stopped. Then, a year later the same thing. Now I replace the washer every spring when we take the coach out of storage. Works for us.

We average 8-9 MPG towing our 2006 Saturn Vue. Our coach is a 36' Foretravel ORED (Oshkosh chassis, Rear engine, Diesel) with the DD 8.2L turbo-charged V8 with straight exhaust. and a 4-speed Allison transmission. Hills used to be quite a challenge until I ditched the muffler and went straight pipe. A bit louder but much better pickup, more power, and we even passed semis while climbing hills on a divided highway!!

Lift up the bed and look at the engine. If a DD 8.2L you should see exhaust piping coming from the exhaust manifold on each side of the engine that goes up to a turbo housing, then flex exhaust going over and down to the muffler.