hermanmullins

If you have the space you can get a reel at Lowes or Home Depot. You can get a thin type of hose reel at a welding supply store. They have ones made for welding cable. I had one that when out one pull and it would reel itself in. Herman

Thanks for your service Swabie. It must really be different coming from a nuke with 15 years of fuel to a MH and maybe 500 miles of fuel. And Virg. Welcome to the Forum.

Wayne, So it doesn't fall into unscrupulous hands just go ahead and charge all you want and just tell then the next time they see me I will ignore them. Herman

FYI Bill and everyone out there. The tragic accident happened on Saturday, September 29. Three coaches had left the Rally and were traveling together back to Texas. The first three coaches lost sight of their friends and pulled over to wait for them. If I understand it they were all out standing behind the last coach when a car or truck stopped and asked if they were waiting on another coach. they said yes and the driver told them that there had been an accident back up the road where a truck collided with a motor home and there was an explosion and every one was killed. The people in the coach plus the driver of the truck and her 4 year old daughter. As I have said it was a tragic accident. It was a very sad ending to a wonderful Rally. We had 528 coaches in Shawnee, Oklahoma at the Heart of Oklahoma Expo Center. Everyone make your calendar for next year, South Central Area will have their Six-State Rally September 11-12-13-14, 2013, at the Missouri State Fair Grounds in Sedalia, MO. Herman

Bill, we were there at Fishing Bridge about 7 years ago. We had a 32 foot Windsor. I saw them turn away 40 foot coaches. Do they have any larger spaces now? Herman

Brett, is that measurement to the top of the post? Herman

Larry, Baking soda is a neutralizer for the acid. A rubberized spray would be OK but be very sure to get all of the acid residue off before you paint the trays. If not you are just encapsulating the acid and it will continue to eat away on the tray. Herman

Mike, Sorry I can't answer the question about winterizing. We have a insulated building on the farm where we keep the coach and we don't have the severe winters you have in Montana. My feelings though about blowing out the water lines is if I have removed the water then I wont need the pink anti-freeze. My coach has three valves for the heating system but I know very little about the hot water side. Its the case where we all ways have more then enough hot water so I haven't check into that. Give Aqua-Hot a call and visit with a tech. They may be able to answer your questions and concerns. Be sure and have your model and serial numbers handy when you call. I have always found that when I have a problem with something on the coach and we haven't solved the problem at happy hour, I can always talk to someone with the mfg. I have never found anyone what was not more then happy to help. Kudos to the Techs. Herman

When our coach get 7.0 mpg I feel I am doing fairly well. Last month I had to carry about 1,000 lbs of wood and a full tank of water when we went to Shawnee, OK to the Six-State Rally. Not too far just a little under 200 miles. I was getting, per the computer, 5.4 mpg.. Coming home with a very low water tank and no wood, I was getting 7.1 mpg. Now I know that size, no that's not right, weight does matter. And while I am on the subject of the Six-State Rally in Shawnee, please keep the families and friends of the couple from Ft Worth, TX that lost their lives in the terrible accident on their way home in your prayers. Herman

I have had my card travel several times with out me, Mexico City $3,200.00 California $2,800.00. Since my card had its vacation I have put an alert on it. Now when we go out to eat and the charge exceeds $100.00 my phone will cherp with in 5 minutes to alert me of a charge. What I learned from my experience is to all ways carry two different cards. If your card is compromised the CC company will put a stop on the card and you will need a back up. One more thing, like the problem James had at that Flying J in South Carolina, both times my card took a vacation I could trace it back that I had used my card at the same Mexican Restaurant just days before. Coincident, maybe, but I haven't been to that restaurant since and I did advise the Dallas Police Department. And do you know that on both of my cards vacations, NOT ONE CARD or NOTE. Herman

I have found that the better run KOAs are the franchises and not company owned. We had a great trip one year that we stayed in three different KOAs in Wyoming. All were very nice and all were very different. Casper, Cody and Rock Springs. We have stayed in WeKeeney, Kansas. Also a realy nice park. My favorite KOA was before we had an RV. We took 18 Boy Scouts to Camp in Arkansas and on the way back we stopped in Hope Springs so the boys could go to Magic Springs Park. We arrived at the Hot Spring KOA about 8:30 PM and took up two RV spots with our Vans. It was after hours and we didn't have the code to the Showers but a nice gentleman gave us the code and all of boys had a hot shower for the first time in a week. The next morning we went to the office to pay for the site. The office manager asked if we were the scouts that slept on the ground, in the vans and under tarps. When we said yes he said that a lot of the RVers had came to the office saying how well mannered the boys were and how quite they were. If he only knew how tired they were he would have understood. We asked how much we owed for the two sites, he asked if $11.00 would be too much. That is my favorite KOA story, with the scouts and not in an RV. Herman

Its that long thing between your shoulder and hand. It keeps your hand from falling off. In the north it may be arm but down south it can be either since the "N" and "M" are so darn close on the key board. To this day I can't figure out how to get the spell check to work on this site. Thank you both, Ruth Dowell would be proud both of you. Herman

Drill, If it hasn't been said before, Welcome to the Forum and the wonderful world of RVing. As has been said, many things go in to figuring the cost when Rving. Vacation by car: Ten nights on Motels and or Hotels, avergae cost $100.00 per day = $1,000.00 Mileage in car 16-18 mpg time 1,500 miles at $3.75/gal. = aprox. $330.00 Fuel cost Meals, 40 (2 people X 2 per day) times $10.00 per = $400.00 Basic Cost, $2,200.00 (daily expenses added in) Vacation By Motor Home: Ten night in RV parks aveaage cost $40.00 per night = $400.00 Mileage in RV 7 mpg times 1500 miles at 3.75/gal = $805.00 Meals in coach 10 days at $10.00/day = $100.00 Meals out 20 at $10.00 = $200.00 Basic cost, $2,000.00 ( adding in same daily expenses) Pluses for Vacation by Car: 1) you already have the car and can use it all year long. Negatives For Vacation by Car: 1) You can't just jump in any time or week end and go to a state park or lake and camp. 2) When you go and visit relatives you have to stay with them or Motel/Hotel. Pluses for Vacation by RV: 1) You never have to carry suitcases to unpack and pack each night. 2) If you have to you can spend the night in Rest Area. WalMart or Sam's Parking lot. (In your own bed) 3) You can always have the food you want with in arms reach. Negatives for Vacation in RV 1) Extra vehicle in the family. 2) Added insurance. 3) Place to keep the RV. Sorry for carry on so much but I wanted you to know MPG is very low in the scheme of things. Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of RVing. Herman

ranchmink, Several factor are in play here. How long since the transmission was serviced? It may need the filter changed and fluid replaced. Where does the rise in heat happen? In the summer or winter, in the mountains or flat land. Have you had your coolant checked? Your coolant may need to be drained, flushed and replaced. As deserdeal said you may have a fan problem not moving enough air when under a load. As I said, many factors. Herman

Welcome to the Forum. As Andy asked, what year is your coach? If it was made before Monaco went Bankrupt you have no recourse. Sorry. However if it was made by Navistar them your exit avenue would be to go after them under the Lemon Law, unless you live in Canada. Overall Monaco built fine Motor Homes, however when any company goes under lots of very nice people get hurt. Good luck and don't give up on Rving. Herman

Mike, Welcome to the Forum. Unless they changed, you have an Aqua-Hot System. The system needs to be serviced every year to 18 months. and Run at least 1 a month for 45 min. to 1 hour. You may need to change the fuel filter and check the coolant level. The Aqua-Hot unit will heat by electric, diesel and by the engine as you drive down the road. You have two switches, 1 for the hot water and one for diesel. Unless it is really cold we use the electric side when we are in a CG (use their power and not our diesel). I don't know where you live or how you store your unit but the Aqua-Hot unit has a thermostat in the basement to protect the water and holding tanks. If you can you need to have it hooked up to elec. when parked. This will keep the Aqua-Hot unit warm and keep your batteries charged. Hope this helps. Herman

What you have is refereed to a flexible conduit. It is used in industrial machinery. What it sounds like is that yours may not have been lube enough. It is most likely exposed to road dirt and debris. Check with some industrial machine tool companies. Good Luck. Herman

Jocelynn, Talk about a stinky problem. There are sewer connections that come in a "Y". this way you may connect two hoses into one. It would take a little more setup time when dumping but you could pipe both drains into one then you could dump both tanks without moving the coach. This would work well when you are camping for several days in the same CG. One of the good things about a single outlet for the tanks is that when you drain the Holding tank firsts you can then drain the Gray water and it will flush the hose. So remember if you do go with the "Y" setup to be sure and flush the short hose from the Holding tank with water before storing. Good luck and good draining. Herman

Rocky, My son loved all your movies. Sorry wrong Rocky. As Brett said, when you use a step up transformer it robs power from the grid. If two or three coaches all had step up transformers working at the same time other folks in the park would have below safe voltage and start to burn out appliances. If you stay in newer parks I fell you would have adequate power. Herman

Bob, Welcome to the Forum. Sorry for the problem. One thing you may try are Velcro straps. You can put one around arm and strut, tight and as far up as you can reach. I had this happen to me is AZ. But was the driver side living room awning that blew out 15 to 20 times in one day. As you had, we had heavy gusting cross winds. However I could slow down to a crawl and BAM it roll back end and just a little bit later flap it would unroll again. What I did was stop at a Hardware Store and bought some PVC pipe, Pipe insulation, duct tape and cable ties. I got 3 foot pipe. Dust taped about 6 inches of Insulation to each end of the pipe. I placed the pipe about 18 inches up the strut with the same amount below the bend and cable tied the pipe to the strut. This would not allow the awning to unroll. Kept it on that window, except when camping, til we sold the coach. This would not work on your large awning but is great for window awnings. The Velcro Straps works on the large awning. You could lock the arm and put the strap around the strut and lock. FYI, if you have ever had your awning straps flutter and roar in the wind, try this. Twist the strap once or twice and re hook the strap. No more flutter and roar. Herman

racecar, I visited with James, sorry I forgot his last name, of Extreme Grafics in Nacodoches. Texas. I spoke to him about removing the Diamond Shield from the front of my coach and repainting the lower half of the front cap. James quoted me a price of around $3000.00, however that included the labor to remove the D. Shield. He said that that was the very hardest part of the job. I have seen his work on full body paint jobs and they look terrific. Sorry I don't have his number but he has a web site. Give him a look see. Herman

Jim, You are in a position that a lot of us wish we were in. You don't have a dish at this time and can install a new 3 LNB auto seeking dish. It may cost a few dollors more then a dome but a lot more if you decide you want the 3 LNB. The only thing you will not have is in motion. I don't know of many people that use the in motion while driving. My suggestiion would be to go with the 3 LNB dish. Good luck, Herman

Larry, you are right, lets get back to your question. When you are in a RV Park and see someone displaying their FMCA Plaque/Goose Egg. Stop and visit. Invite them to your coach for Happy Hour or as some call it "Meet and Greet" time. You could drop a note by the office or leave a note on their coach. I have never met a FMCA member that wasn't proud to be a member. Some are members of Chapters others haven't found one to join yet. This way you can make new friends and no one has too many friends. Good luck, now go out and shake some hands a meet some nice folks. Herman

Kevin, Our Momaco Dynasty can with a keyless entry system. I love it. when I open the coach it unlocks all compartment doors and locks them all when I lock the unit. I am not sure how hard it would be ti install a aftermarket unit. I think it may be very difficult. Herman

Pappy, Welcome to The Forum. You have two Tee Handles you pull to dump your holding and gray water. The smaller one is for your gray water. These are your slide valves for each tank. Purchase a valve from your local RV Supply House. Drain the tanks. Use your jacks to raise that side of your coach. Remore the 4 bolts remove and replace the valve. Be sure the two gaskets are in place before you tighten the bolts. You should be good to go. The reason for tilting the coach is to move any water residue away from the drain. Good Luck. Herman