hermanmullins

Sorry to all. One thing I forgot to mention, "LUBRICATE". It is a great help to lubricate all moving piviot point on you latches. A good white Lit. or silicone lube are good. Herman

mslin95, Welcome to the Forum. I had several break. The first was a booger. After the first I found the secret. The latch when closed goes over a bar at the bottom of the compartment. It is secured by two 5/16 nuts (7/8 wrench) one on either side. Now before your break, take a look to see if you have access to the nuts from the inside of the compartment or under the coach. I have access caps in the floor of my compartments and I was able to get my hand in with a wrench and remove the nuts. When you have removed both nuts you can then pull the door open and have access to the latch. I replaced mine before I found out about the metal latches. But I plan to purchase several to have just in case they break again. Hope this helps. Herman

trutone, Welcome to the Forum. You are correct about the unit giving Average MPG. I have a TripTec on our Dynasty. I just use it as a guide for the trips we take. It does have a setting that give life time averages that, as you said, can't be reset. However according to it my life time average bounces between 45.8 and 96.7 MPG. I think I need have it checked out, do you think? Herman

Alan, Just to add to Rich's answer. On all of my vehicles I have made a habit of turning off the wipers when I stop the engine. This way I don't have then trying to come on when the windshield is frozen or the windshield is dry. Just one of my quirks. Herman

Pat, here is a quick check of the solenoid. Disconnect the left side cable, cover the end so it doesn't come in contact with any thing, replace the fuse and turn on the switch. If the fuse does not blow then your solenoid has a dead short in it. You can buy the solenoid at O'Reilys, Auto Zone and most any parts house. What you need is a 12 volt continuous duty solenoid. Good luck, Herman

astmi, I was told by the owner of Extreme Graphics to use steam and not a heat guns. He said that with a hot air gun the heat just keeps on rising and can blister the paint if held in one spot too long. Where steam's max temp is 212 degrees and by the time it get to the 3M shield it is around 190 and is hot enough to help release the adhesive but not hurt the surface. However he also said with the best of care the paint can still be damaged by what ever tools you may use. He quoted me $3,000.00 to remove mine. That included removing the shield, and repainting the front of the coach from the windshield down. He said that the most of that was the labor to remove the shield. He said that he has had coaches that took up to 3 days to remove the shield. I may have him do it next year. Herman

Rich, FYI. I have a 2002 Monaco Dynasty with the Cummins 400 ISL. On the drivers side in front of the Front wheel I have my 12 volt panel. I have two solenoids there along with all of my relays, fuses and my Smart Wheel Control Box. In the Rear in the engine compartment I have two black boxes. Each has electric connections. The box on the right has three solenoids, two 12 volt continuous solenoids and one large (gold colored) solenoid. I believe it is part of the ATS. Just some more information to clutter up your gray matter. Herman

My thought, Yes. Herman

3. Not that anyone is counting. THANK you for your service. Herman

jgarner, Welcome to the Forum, Please don't jump in haste to condem Michilen. They are new to the program and need to make some adjustments. Check the program again when you need new tires. They may have made adjustment and will cover smaller RV tires. Please be patiant. Herman

Carlon, Welcome to FMCA and the Forum. The Michilen program is only a few years old. Like most new programs there are some kinks. Hopely they will make some adjustment shortly. Now that it has come to light I am sure the National Board will take a look and talk to Michilen. I love our 40 ft. DP but I envy you being able to pull into any station and go to any pump. Oh well. Herman

Gary, If the switch has lasted for 22 years I would try to replace it with the same mfg. if you can find one. Many really good thing don't last 22 years. Have a Safe & Happy New Year. Herman

Hello out there. I know some of you don't have a home Chapter yet, so let me invite you to come and join us at one of our Rallies this next year. We are the Lone Star Chapter of FMCA. We have members from Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas. We have 5 Rallies each year. Our Chapter is the 9th oldest Chapter in FMCA, 2013 will be our 46th year. Read about us in the August 2012 FMCA Magazine-- page 30. If you would like more information about Lone Star feel free to send me a personal message and I will give you all the information. We have a prospect list that we send information to folks interested in Rallies. Come, visit and get to know some really great folks. :) Herman Mullins President Lone Star Chapter

dd69, I can see into each cell but don't have the room for the bottle. I used one of these back in the 50/60 when I worked in a garage. Black rubber like material that you stuck into each cell pushed down and when you released the pressure the cell was full, that is if you kept the bottle full. My house batteries (4 ea 6 volts) sit in a tray under the other battery tray. Even when the tray is pulled out there still isn't room on the back two batteries for the bottle. And what more I can see if I have water in the spray bottle. (opps) Herman

Ben, Check both your front end and rear axle. Do they both have sway bars. If no then you may need them. If you do then you may need to have stronger sway bars. There are several companies that advertise in Both FMCA and Motorhome mags. having sway bars. Good Luck, Herman

B Welcome to the Forum. Several question that might help you get some answers. Independent or solid front axle? Does the body sway back and forth or does it seem to road walk? It could be any thing from bad sway bar bushings to alignment. Post some more information and you will get some ideas. Good Luck. Herman

Most ovens, Gas Electric, convection and Microwave will all have hot spots. When we use our oven for baking we will set the timer for half the cook time rotate the dish and finish cooking. This way the hot spot cover all and not just one spot. Hope this helps. We are going to have Dianne as our cooking moderator.

Since I can't get the afore mentioned bottle to the back batteries in my tray I had to go another direction. I got a two gallon pump sprayer. I took off the nozzle and fill the bottle with distilled water, pump up the pressure and I have all the water I need to top off my batteries. Besides I don't have to keep refilling the bottle. Works for me. Herman

dd69, We had an Amana in our home before our current Samsung. It preformed very well for a number of years however the one thing we noticed from the get go was the noise. It also ran quite a lot. We had it checked and were told that that was nornal. Hey, just my 2 cents. Merry Christmas to you and yours

BJ, Welcome to the FMCA and Forum. You will receive your plates (Goose Eggs) in the mail. It being Christmas Time it may take a little longer then normal. What area of the country do you live? The reason I ask is that when you join FMCA the office sends notification to all of the Chapters in your area. Some will notify you and invite you to come visit them at a Rally, sadly some won't. But be assured that if you are in the South Central Area, AR., LA. MO. KS. OK. or Texas you will get a letter from Lone Star. Our secretary is very good in sending invites to new FMCA Members. If you have any questions about chapter please don't hesitate to send me a personal message and I will happy to help. Merry Christmas Herman Mullins President Lone Star Chapter

Andy, Did you have to replace the frames? I lost the cover on our first MH and my son found it on the road where it had come off. I was able to fix it, tire marks, and put it back on. When we lost one on our second coach I had to replace the cover but not the frame. I took another panel to my local auto painter and he matched the color on the new panel. I wonder why they put the panels on with the spring loaded tab. It must be to sell replacement panels. I can think of many better ways of securing the panels. On the subject of heat guns. I spoke with the owner of Extreme Grahics in Shawnee, OK at the Six-State Rally. James told me not to use a heat gun but to use steam. He said that a heat gun if held in one spot too long the heat will just continue to rise and could damage the paint surface. Where the most the steam will every get is 212 degrees and be around 200 when is hits the surface. Jame gave me the advice when I asked about removing the wonderful 3M Diamond Shield. Merry Christmas Herman

Where was it and how did you find it? Your answer may help others. Merry Christmas and a Happy & Safe New Year. Herman

Sue and sky, I don't know the Rexall Rexair units. Is it Gas or Diesel Pusher or FRED. We had a 454 gas unit that continued to throw the A/C belt. The last time I had to replace it I found that from the Factory the belt was in the wrong location on the shive (Harmonic Balancer on the crank shaft). This is my story and does not help you with your problem. Do I understand that you have had your compressor replaced several time? One of the problems with A/C units is that when the compressor goes, trash goes into the lines and Dryer. Lines must be purged and the Dryer replaced and a new compressor installed. System must then have a vacuum pulled on the unit and then refrigerant put in. You stated that the last time your unit lasted 20 minutes and burned up. This I don't understand. Did the unit just stop cooling? Did it ever cool after the repair? Did the clutch just stop turning? Did the compressor seize up and burn the belt? There are so many questions to be answered. By the way has the shop making the repairs stood behind their work or do they just discover and new problem each time? Let us know some of these answers and maybe we can find some help out there. Good Luck and Merry Christmas. Herman

We had GMAC from 2001 until last year. We had it through Good Sams. When I checked on it through FMCA it was a slight bit higher. I understand, FMCA didn't have a history with GMAC yet. Last year I got a quote from my local Kemper agent. What to my suprise and wondering eyes was a price for 1 yaer that I had paid for 6 months with GMAC. It was just over $2,000.00 for the Motor Home, My truck, and the wife's car for 1 year. Please don't take me wrong, GMAC handle every issue I had very well. But in the end (retirement) we had to go with the dollars. Herman

Come on guys. Why would you want to interupt the peace and quite of driving on the open hwy. with headsets or cell phones.