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Herman, Thanks for sharing this video. We should all try to get off the Interstate some and see the real world. We did that in September with a 2 week trip based at Davis Mountains State Park with side trips to McDonald Observatory, Terlingua and Big Bend National Park. We saw some remarkable country.

Ron, Welcome to the FMCA forums. We have spent approximately 2 years looking at various caravans into Alaska. We have narrowed our choices down to Adventure Caravans. We talked to some of their representatives in March of 2010 at the FMCA convention in Albuquerque, NM. They were one of the couples who lead the caravans to Alaska, We are currently looking at the 58 day trip starting June 20th in Great Falls, Montana. I am sure it would be less expensive for someone to go on their own and you could spend more or less time at various locations according to what you like. But the security of traveling with a group, and directors who know the area, is a positive benefit.

I don't know if this will help with your current problem or not but various support material is available online for Winnebago - wiring diagrams,plumbing diagrams, etc. The link is: http://www.winnebagoind.com/html/resources/manuals.html

My wife and I just started fulltiming in November after approximately 3 years of preparation. Our winters will be spent in the central Texas hill country where we have lived for many years and our insurance is a PPO which covers our area specifically, and most of the state in general. Somewhere in Texas will always be our home base so the only time we will really need medical care when we are traveling will be in an emergency situation. Otherwise we will continue to see physicians we have always seen for annual exams.

Below is the stated purpose of the ordinance passed by the City Board of Van Horn: 12.12.020 - Purpose. A. This chapter is adopted in order to promote and protect the health, safety, welfare and property of the city and its inhabitants through the regulation of overnight parking, congregating, sleeping, standing and/or camping on and near public areas, vacant lots, roadways, alleyways, rights-of-way, and public thoroughfares. B. The term "camp" means to use a public area for living accommodation purposes for a period of time in excess of four (4) consecutive hours, for activities such as, but not limited to, the following: 1. Sleeping, or making preparations to sleep, including the laying down of bedding for the purpose of sleeping; 2. Parking of a motor vehicle, motor home, or trailer for the apparent purpose of overnight occupancy; 3. Storing personal belongings; 4. Making any fire; 5. Carrying on cooking activities; or 6. Doing any digging or earth breaking. Evidently RVers are considered a threat to the health, safety, welfare and property of the city and its inhabitants. And it appears you better not try to warm something in the microvave while you are stopped or you would be guilty of cooking. As Bill said "they are not doing anything to encourage the RV visitor".

Welcome to the FMCA forums. Please give us more information such as make, year and model of your coach. I am sure there is someone out there that who can help if they have that information.

Patricia, Thanks for your post. My wife and I have made fuel stops in Van Horn on several occasions but when this new ordinance came to light we had decided to fuel somewhere else. Although we have never stayed overnight (or even a few hours) at a truck stop there, we have at other locations. We had also discussed spending a few days at a campground there on our next trip but have changed our minds in light of this ordinance. This gives the appearance of either not wanting RVs in the city or considering RVers to be an undesirable element. Therefore, if they don't want me then why should I spend my money there? The city board should really reconsider this action because it will ultimately cost the city untold business as word of this continues to spread. Please continue to keep this forum updated on the situation.

I do not believe I have seen a very positive review on any forum to date. I believe I will stick with my DeLorme Street Atlas on my laptop for trip planning.

Welcome to the FMCA Forum and the RVing lifestyle. We made short 3 or 4 day trips and a few 10 to 14 day trips over the past three years but we closed the sale of our home last Friday to officially become fulltimers. We will be spending the winter in central Texas and begin our traveling adventures in the spring. Just relax and enjoy the trips you can make at this time and meet your neighbors wherever you go. You will find that RVers are a friendly and helpful group.

Let us be the first to welcome you to FMCA. To answer your question. I doubt that any registration information is available at this time but you might want to send an email to: convention@fmca.com or call: FMCA National Headquarters 8291 Clough Pike Cincinnati, Ohio 45244 (513) 474-3622 (800) 543-3622

We are planning a trip to Alaska in 2012 and had been looking at Adventure Caravans. We had planned to start heading north in mid to late May and were considering the caravan beginning June 20th but would love to hear more about your plans. I really love flyfishing. We take lots of photos although I would not say we are anywhere near experts.

I had the same problem on my Alfa See Ya. It is a simple matter to remove the screws and replace the bulb if it is like mine. Check this listing on Ebay and see if the bulb matches what you have http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150574197892&refid=store

I had already tried going as low as 60 pixels and it still gave me the same message. And the pic is jpeg. I just tried on that is 278 x 208 pixels and received the same message. I have tried this with several different pictures and receive the same result.

Hope you have better luck than I have. I tried to change my photo last night and again tonight without success. I keep getting a message of "Failed to set new photo". No other information is given. I have reduced the picture to various pixel sizes and still get the same error.

Was this a Patriot sytem or Brake Buddy? I note that you said Patriot at one point and the Brake Buddy later. I have used Brake Buddy for three years without any problems but I have heard some people have experienced problems with Patriot.

Does the power light on the monitor come on? There have been lots of problems with Weldex. Mine would work for 30 or 45 minutes and then have nothing but lines on the screen. Then it would be a blank screen. As far as I know all Alfa See Ya motorhomes had the Weldex system and most owners who have not already changed them out are looking at doing it. I cleaned the cable connection to the camera and it helped some but the picture is still borderline. Probably will change the system out when we get back home next week.

You might check out this website: http://www.americandreamvacations.net/

I do not know what route you will be traveling but you can use the link below to find Wal-Marts which do not allow overnight parking. http://www.walmartatlas.com/no-park-walmarts Enjoy your trip. I try not to travel more than 300 miles or 6 hours per day. Since you are trying to make the trip in 3 days (I am assuming that because you mentioned 2 nights), I would think you would want to get started in the early morning and take short rest breaks to just get out and walk around for a while. That should give you time to reach your destination for the night before dark. The main thing is to relax and enjoy the trip.

I just cleaned the rubber trim om my Alfa with SOS soap pads. I worked better than anything I have tried. It take a little time and be sure and keep everything wet when you are working on it.

We have a storage building in which we have numerous items stored. We use the two piece plastic totes for almost everything. In almost 10 years of using these we have never had mice get into one. We got these from Walmart and they are a heavy plastic with a lid that snaps in place so it is really a tight fit. Good luck with the sale of your house. We are in the process of doing the same thing. Some things will be stored, some go to our son and daughter-in-law and the rest goes into an estate sale.

Herman, I think Wayne and I have taken off on a tangent and did not explain. I had commented on his stays at Braunig Lake RV park and that we were having a WesTex chapter rally there next month. Sorry for the confusion but we do that really, really well. Thanks for the info Wayne. Maybe we will meet on the road someday. If you are in Kerrville in the future we will have to have lunch and talk. My son just retired last year after 21 years in the Navy and his oldest son is currently in his Navy hospital corpsman A school. He has asked for assignment to the Marines.

Welcome to FMCA. We made our first FMCA convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico last March. It was very educational and also fun. You will meet many fine people. We are new to motorhoming (a little over two years) and have decided to fulltime for a while. We currently have our home under sales contract so we hope to be on the road by summer. We will be looking at buying a diesel pusher coach with a little more space so your concerns and the response from Brett are of particular interest to me. Good luck with your travels. Maybe we will meet sometime on the road.

Wayne, We have a WesTex chapter rally scheduled at Braunig Lake RV Park next month. We have never stayed there but we did drop in to look it over in October 2010. It looks like a nice park and you have a range of sites available from standard to premium. As you say, they are a Passport America park and they will be giving any Passport America member those rates during the rally. It's nice to hear you have had good experiences there.

Herman, Thanks for the info on this park. I will definitely avoid it if they have that kind of attitude. If you want to try a great park checkout Buckhorn Lake RV Resort in Kerrville. We just had a WesTex chapter rally there in January and it was very enjoyable - nice spaces, nice people, beautiful views.

My question would be if your hitch on your motorhome is rated for 5500 pounds. My rig is similar to yours in GCVW rating and has the same engine. I know my hitch is rated at 5000. Most are usually 5000 or 10000 pounds. Is that 5500 pounds with a full fuel tank and any other things you might put in there that you do not have room for in the motorhome?