five

To answer the question in the subject, I signed up with FMCA ERS on 1/20/20 for three years at $74 a year. So yes, the price has gone up. It is called the FMCA Roadside Rescue Program.

It's a long story, here's the Cliff Notes version. The tire company put Continentals all around. I didn't like the ones on the rear (they put on 295/75s), so they swapped out the six Continentals, 295/80s were not in stock, for 295/80 Toyos.

I don't care what you do, Carl....you're going to lose.😟

If you have a washer/dryer, don't forget to check the outside vent. My coach has a flap that opens when the dryer is on, blowing air out. Last year the mud daubers built a nest on the outside of the flap, that was so big, it would not open. The flap is tucked inside a small indentation on the side of the MH, and, when open it hits the outside wall of the MH. In this case the nest prevented the flap opening at all. I now have three Walmart bags rolled up and stuffed in the small opening in the side of the MH. As an aside, the reason I was checking this vent was because our dryer had just broken the belt. The Splendide tech was not sure if the heat not expelled would have caused the belt to break. Regardless, no operational vent didn't do it any favors.

I hate to see threads like this. I'm afraid some govt employee from the IRS will see this and decide they are missing a golden opportunity to tack another license and associated fees on the already over burdened consumer/tax payer. The IRS does not miss many occasions to generate revenue.

Same here, Carl, it's good you finally got some adult supervision.😂

- I normally use the electric preheat that came with the coach and do not use the AH for engine preheat. - Normal driving will heat the coach water, none of the AH items need to be turned on. Driving will also provide coach heat by just activating the coach thermostat and call for heat. - Most of us have AH 450 or 400 models. If the coach heat is running, and hot water is turned on, the coach heat will stop until the demand for hot water has stopped. These two AHs have single heating elements. The AH 650, has two elements and you can have both coach heat and hot water at the same time. - Wayne, $350 seems a bit high. Lloyd DeGerald, one of the AH gurus, goes to our AC rallies and does the full service, with parts, for $200.

I read Dave Grossman's bio, interesting guy.

Last summer I swapped eight cracked five and a half year old Michelins for two Continentals and six Toyos.

As a follow up, the link said to add a pint of "Powercool (now called Pencool) 3000 System After Treatment (p/n PIC23507854." I got a bottle of the additive this morning from Freightliner for less than $7. I will add it to the cooling system, and check it after I've put some miles on the coach. Again, I appreciate your help, Joe. The DD tech did not know about this bulletin when I called last month.

Check dealers other than Michelin. Most other tires will be cheaper than Michelin even with their discount.

Great, thanks a lot, Joe. I'm going to copy the link and give a copy to my tech.

Thanks, Joe. I talked to a DD tech on Thursday, I noted his comments in my original post.

I'm not sure what you are asking. This is new coolant precharged with SCA, you are saying test it? As a point of information, the old coolant tested out fine for all the basic items...freeze point, boil point, anti- freeze percent, PH, Total hardness, Nitrite, specific conductance, and SCA number. The only items out of range were copper and aluminum. I have the test strips and routinely checked the old coolant, and added SCA when needed.

Last December it was time to change my coolant, at that time the coach was six years old with 36,000 miles on the OEM coolant. However, first I sent a sample to J.G. Lubricants to test to see how they rated the OEM coolant at that time. The test came back saying there was way too much copper in it, too much aluminum, and to change it ASAP. So, I changed it. In the course of that process, when the old filter was pulled out, it was packed solid with a dark gray sludgy mess. So we put in a new filter and new coolant and the tech said drive it a while and recheck the filter. After 1,200 miles, I pulled the filter Monday. The filter loosely contained (in between the sections of the filter) a soft slushy material with the consistency of sherbet, and the approximate color of the coolant. Both my tech and the Freightliner tech had never heard of a coolant filter containing whatever this stuff is. The plan is to repeat the process again....once the powers that be decide it's okay to go out and about...and see what it looks like. Freightliner also said the OEM coolant was Shell Rotella standard ethylene glycol, they do not use ELC. The only recommendation they had is to use heavy duty truck coolant that is not ELC. The coolant I put in, in December, was/is "Peak Fleet Charge, SCA precharged ethylene glycol, fully formulated for all heavy duty engines." I talked to DD yesterday. The tech said clogging of the coolant filter is a very rare occurrence and when it happens it is usually the DEF header unit or the DEF coolant valve leaking DEF into the coolant. Both require testing procedures that must be acquired from DD. I talked to Baldwin, the filter maker, this morning. Their tech said it is a "synthetic media" filter, that contains no additives for the coolant. The filter is a Baldwin P5092. Has anybody had any experience similar to this with their coolant and coolant filter?

Don't know about Dometic, but Carefree has all their manuals on a web site that you can down load.

Ditto!

Sometime you just have to be lucky....I bought three years coverage at $74 a year.

As my favorite talk show host says, "follow the money." The younger generation, who assume they won't need the FMCA Assist Program, think $85 is a bit steep for a monthly magazine, a magazine, which in IMHO is not as good as the main competition. So the question is how do we gain members and increase revenue? - Like Carl, I like the hard copy magazine, but if it will save $300k to eliminate it, do it. Most mags, and now even local papers operate that way. - Drop FMCA Assist., then.... - Cut the dues in half. - Reduce staff and/or salaries. - Charge for using the FMCA CG. - Fixed facilities....reduce those/move to a smaller cheaper location. - Increase new membership. That is the problem. Going up to an RV in a CG and try to convince somebody to join FMCA is tough. What do we tell them? FMCA Assist and maybe a deal on tires are the only real advantages over anything else. I don't think advertising rallies will sell many memberships. Otherwise it's $85 a year for a magazine. It has been inferred that if you have a full time job you don't have time for an RV. I must disagree with that. The "RV" doesn't have to be a high dollar MH. My first RV was a 3/4 ton truck and a slide in camper. When not RVing, the pick up was my daily driver and the camper sat in the yard in the back. I not only had a job, I was in Army. When I got orders overseas, the truck/camper stayed with my in laws for three years. When we returned, we picked it up enroute to my next duty station.

Novus is not free....unless you have a zero deductible insurance policy.

Any time I refuel, and the MH will sit for a while, I add a biocide.

If anybody on this forum is seriously concerned about diesel prices....you have the wrong hobby.😁

If it is a star chip from a rock, Wal Mart sells a kit for about $10. If you don't want to fix it, call Novus, they will come to you.

You Marines must be special😀. This is from the AH web site, note the third item: Specifications 400D - Maximum Interior Heat Exchanger BTUs 65,600 - Continuous, Tank-less Hot Water 1.25 GPM - Engine Preheating No - Electric Elements 1-120VAC, 1650W - Fuel Diesel - Max Fuel Usage .41 GPH - AVG Fuel Usage /Day Dry Camping 1-4 Gallons - AVG Fuel Usage/Day Shore Power 1-2 Gallons

I think they are all about the same, they are all using the same contractors.