lmsooter

Don't know what water heater was used on your coach but mine has the Atwood 94021 (GC10A-4E). I had a problem last summer with mine - red light at the control panel on electric or propane. I could leave it off for a while then turn on to electric but after a while, I would get the red light again. I replaced the ECO and Thermostat and have not had anymore problems. Take a look at this online manual - it might help with troubleshooting: http://manuals.adventurerv.net/Atwood-Water-Heater-Service.pdf

Bill, Wish I had a picture I could send to you. The pitting starts out as raised circular area less than 1/4" across. Most of the area will be detached from the surrounding fiberglass. If you don't bother them, they will eventually break loose and fall off. This leaves the Lauan plywood backing exposed underneath which is usually wet or at least damp and will drain a brown liquid until it is dry. It seems to really appear in colder climates. We have been in freezing weather and did not develop the problem but I keep all my seams well caulked so water will not penetrate to the plywood backing. We had the problem on a storage bay door but that occurred shortly after purchase and before I sealed that door. No more problems after I let the plywood dry out, repaired the blisters with Marine Tex and sealed the door.

kmsheets, Welcome to the forum. Answers to most Alfa questions can be found on these forums: ALFA SEE YA MOTORHOME - Yahoo Groups Alfa See Ya! Diesel Pusher Owners Group - Yahoo Groups For your problem with the Scare lights, check the #4 fuse in the fuse block located in the cabinet above the drivers seat. If the fuse is ok, check your bulbs. If they are ok, you may have a bad ground. Other coaches had problems with the pitting or "osmotic blisters" but not to the extent of Alfa. The problem occurs because moisture gets in behind the siding because of poor caulking of seams and soaks the lauan back on the siding. Various methods of repair has been tried. We had blisters on one storage compartment door. After the backing had a chance to dry, I sealed all seams well, used my Dremel to clean up the blisters, filled them with Marine Tex, sanded it down then finished with polar white spray paint from and auto store. Not really practical for large surfaces. The only way to handle large areas is to reside or as Kay said repair the pits and do a vinyl wrap. But before doing that, you would really need to be sure ALL seams are properly caulked. You might go on the Alfa forums and search for residing to see the discussions there. You might want to talk to McMiller Customs in Wakarusa, Indiana. PJ and Megan (the owners) have an Alfa and have resided and painted many Alfas. You can checkout their website here: http://www.mcmillercustoms.com/ Carl & Herman - Scare lights are large floodlights on the sides of an Alfa (and I am sure some other coaches) which will light up the area. May be what some people call docking lights? Google "Scare Lights" and you will see pictures of them even at Camping World. When I first heard the term, I had no idea what people were talking about - I was told they call them that because turning on the lights would scare away prowlers?

Dave, You may get some comments here from those who moved up to a coach from 5th wheels. I have no experience with them although we did look at them as an option. We had 2 problems: 1. I have a problem even backing a boat trailer. But no problem with the coach. 2. The large vehicle required to pull the trailer will be your means of travel when you are parked. My Jeep gets better mileage than a large diesel truck.

Carl, I had not heard this about HUD so I did some research. Found this from the National RV Dealers Association. https://www.rvda.org/RVDA/Media/News_Releases/16_News_Releases/February_Releases/Why_HUD_s_Proposed_Rule_Redefining_RVs_is_Critical_to_Industry_and_RV_Enthusiasts.aspx

Dave, If you happen to get up to the Palm Coast- St. Augustine - Jacksonville area on your shopping trips, let us know. We will go to Key Largo the 24th and 25th otherwise we should be around until we leave here to return to Texas April 1st.

Dave, Hopefully someone on the forum has some experience with the Legacy. We looked at a Berkshire in 2010 and were not really overjoyed with the quality of the interior. I looked at the current specifications and brochure for the Legacy online today. As you are looking at this coach for full timing, I would look at closet space in the bedroom (especially full length hanging) and storage space underneath. It may work well for you but I can tell you it would not work for us - but only you can make that decision. Also, what vehicle are you looking at towing? I note that the specifications state that the hitch is rated for 10,000 pounds but then it states the hitch capacity is 5,000 pounds. When you look at the GVWR at 28,000 pounds and the GCWR of 33,000 pounds that will give you 5,000 pounds towing. If you look online for Forest River problems, just keep in mind that many postings for any RV will be negative. Most people don't post when their experience is positive.

Dave, You must be tougher than I am! We do our winters in a warmer climate - Arizona last year, Florida now and Texas in the future years. Check these sites for average temps in Cody and Gardiner. http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/cody/wyoming/united-states/uswy0035 http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/gardiner/montana/united-states/usmt0131

Dave, Not sure about this breed. Each RV park may have different standards (and that may be dictated by their insurance). Best thing to do is ask when you contact a park. We have noticed some parks have weight restrictions - we have seen some restricted to less than 40 pounds and one less than 20 pounds.

You are not going to "fly" up any steep grade in a coach. We had a Four Winds Hurricane with the V10 engine. It was adequate for towing our Jeep Liberty through the Texas Hill Country and central New Mexico but we never had it in really steep mountains. While we enjoyed that coach, we needed more storage space for full time and the power and ride of the air suspension of the diesel pusher is great. Note that you will have a 5,000 pound hitch so you will need to consider the weight of what you want to tow - our diesel pusher has a 10,000 pound hitch. Have you considered a used diesel pusher? Many of us have bought used coaches with no regrets. You can get a lot of coach for what you would pay for a new gas coach. Check out RV Trader - choose your selection criteria of price range, distance from your location, year range, brand, etc. As you are looking at fulltiming in your coach, you need to be sure you have adequate storage - do you need full length clothes hanging?, storage for large items underneath - grill, patio rug, etc.

There are several resorts in the Indio, CA area that specifically state "Class A Motor Coaches only". But they describe themselves as upscale five star resorts. I truly believe they are the exception and not the rule.

Our coach had a combo when we bought it - we removed it 2 years ago. It did not have the capacity we need fulltiming. I wear jeans most of the time and could wash and dry one pair at a time. And 90 minutes drying time. Really did not want to wash everyday. We usually go to a laundromat wherever we are every 2 weeks - much more simple and less noise in the coach.

Welcome to the FMCA forum.

A lot depends on what you are looking for in an RV park. We spent last winter in Arizona - $385/mo plus electricity for full hookups and WiFi. Had swimming pool, pool tables and shuffleboard. Other parks in the area had more - wood shop, lapidary, ceramics, silversmithing, etc - but prices were in the $600 - $800 range. We are in Florida this winter. Nice small RV park - no pool or other activities but for $400/mo plus electricity we have a nice site on a creek, great WiFi and 169 channel DirectTV furnished. Other parks here have more amenities but again prices are higher. We are from Texas and will be spending our winters there on the future. And prices vary just like Arizona and Florida based on the amenities you want to pay for. I know of a nice park in Rockport, Texas that is $300/mo plus electricity. Cable TV is available for $25/mo. Concrete roads and sites. Another park on the McAllen, Texas area has lots of amenities for $750/mo. We will spend next winter at a small park in central Texas. Rate of $450/mo includes electricity and WiFi - no pool or anything. Just decide what amenities you want to pay for in a park and then start looking at parks that meet your needs. That should give you a fair idea of costs. Enjoy the full timing!

Ron & Sharon, Welcome to the FMCA forum and to retirement. I can't tell you anything personally about the FMCA mail forwarding service but I am very familiar with the Escapees program after having used it since November 2011. We have our mail delivered to us on a weekly basis but you can select any time period. In 2012, we traveled from Texas to Alaska and back to Texas with no problems in receiving our mail. In 2015, we left Texas the end of May traveling through the midwest then east across the northern states to New Hampshire, then down the East Coast to Florida. Again, no problem with mail. If you are not an Escapees member, you will need to join to use the mail forwarding service. https://www.escapees.com/support/mail-service Enjoy your trip to Florida. Many nice RV parks here at various price levels and amenities. We are currently in a small park (31 sites) a few miles outside St. Augustine. Reservations well in advance are highly recommended at most parks.

We have traveled 281 many times from San Antonio to Lampasas. It was good all the way but lots of red lights coming out of San Antonio until get out of the metropolitan area. 183 from Lampasas to Brownwood is good but we have not gone further north on it. I assume you plan on staying either at Boone RV Park or Bent Tree RV Ranch in Lampasas. If you are at Boone, request a site away from the highway - you will sleep better further from the noise of trucks slowing down for the red light. If you will be at Bent Tree, the sign is easy to miss - start watching for it on the left when you are about 9 miles north of Burnet. Bill is right about Miller Creek RV Park at Johnson City south of Lampasas - very easy to get into their pull throughs. A very nice park. We are usually in Lampasas during April and May of each year for our annual doctor visits and to visit with our son and daughter-in-law. Have a good trip. Leary

Welcome to the FMCA forum! I don't know where you are in Texas but you might give Ronnie Wolfe at **** Albrittons' shop in Choudrant, Louisana - 318-372-8225. They have put in a lot of roof units on Alfas. They installed the residential refrigerator for us June 2015 and did a fantastic job. **** Albritton has an Alfa and he and Ronnie know the Alfa coach inside and out.

Joe, Take a look at IrFanView software. I use it a lot to compress photos from my Nikon camera for posting on Facebook, sending with email, etc. http://www.irfanview.com/ When I need to download free software, it will come from CNET. http://download.cnet.com/IrfanView/?part=dl-&subj=dl&tag=button After you get the software installed. Open your photo with the software, select "Image" from the menu at the top. Then from the popup menu select "Resize/Resample". Then select the pixel size from the selections on the right, click OK. Then File, Save As and name it what you like.

Bill, You are probably right. I don't know how we would do without our toad. From the end of May 2015 to the 1st of November we traveled 5500 miles in the motorhome from Texas up through the midwest then east along the Great Lakes to Vermont and New Hampshire for a couple of months then south to Florida. Used the Jeep for side trips along the way into Maine, Boston, New York City, Washington and just viewing the Fall colors. I think we probably put 5000 miles on the Jeep.

Interesting concept. Do you rent a car when you arrive at a destination such as Yellowstone or rely on public transportation or scheduled tours?

I don't know anything about that company but have you thought about using USPS mail forwarding. For just six weeks it might be a good option. https://www.usps.com/manage/forward.htm

Probably the best place to ask this question is on one of the Alfa forums on Yahoo. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/alfaseeya/info https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SeeYaDP/info I am assuming you are talking about 2 knife switches. I am not familiar with the 2004 model and my 2006 does not have the knife switches but many people on the Alfa forums have 2004 and earlier models and are very knowledgeable. When you ask your question, be sure to sign off with your name, coach year and unit number (should be on your spec sheet and begins with a 7 - mine is 74151).