hermanmullins

jsplia, Here is the advice I give to any one that has never had a RV. Rent one. Yes it is costly to rent one ofr a short trip. However if you like it, now you can decide what you want in your own coach. However if it turns out you do not like it, then it is a lot less costly then buying one. Buying a Motor Home is like signing up for military service. Once you sign there is no turning back. Hope you and yours find that you do enjoy the lifestyle, join FMCA and seek out a chapter that you like. Good Luck Herman ( the comments made here are solely Herman's and not those of the Forum.) :lol:

rlwatts, Before you put down your money get in the coach in 100 degree weather with the A/C on. That will be your deciding point. Good Luck, Herman

Ole, Contact Newmar. Have your VIN Number and coach number (if there is one) handy. Ask them who made your slide. Any time that I have had a problem with our coach the first thing I do is call Monaco. Then I have a starting point to find answers. Give Newmar a call and go from there. I hope the roller isn't marring the floor. Herman

Your coach is a 30 amp unit. 30 amps will not run both airs at the same time. There may be a selector switch to change the powere from one A/C to the other,but I have no idea where it might be. Your furnace may be located under a seat or cabinet. You will find access door on the outside of the coach. One will right where the fridge is. another other will be the furnace and yes your unit should have a pilot light. Most coaches do not have spare tires. They are very large and heavy. Take up storage space and most people would have a difficult time changing it. Tim and Alisa, Please dont take this wrong. Have you two ever been out in an RV camping? It seems that you had no idea what you were getting into. I have always said that if a couple thinks that they might like to go RVing, go and rent one. When you rent a RV you will get (sometimes) complete instructions on how to operarte the unit and where everything is located. After you have rented a unit you may love it and are ready to get an RV. However if you dont like it then it is a small cost againsts buying a RV and then finding that it is not your cup of tea. There are many things you will learn by going on a few short trips. No one can tell you what you need in your coach. Your own life style will determine what you do and dont need. Hope I wasn't too blunt and I hope you have a wounderful time on the road. Good Luck and Gods speed. Herman

hark, If you already have the Base Plates, check with the Manufacturer as to who in your area can do the job. If not select the one you want check with that company as to who is their local, to you, dealer. Herman

**** and Brett, Both have valid points. If I understand, when you turn the key and nothing? Do you mean that no instruments move or light up? If so as Brett said you have an electrical issue. Do you hold the key to the start position and then the dash lights up and the starter starts the engine and it will run for 10 seconds and dies. When you try to restart the engine does nothing happen again for 3 to 5 seconds then it starts and runs for 10 seconds and dies. Doe it continue to run that 10 seconds after you release the key? I would first change the fuel filter. Then check if it will stay running after that. If you still have the delay but it runs when it does start it sound like and Ignition Switch. I would be willing to bet that the switch is a GM. Herman

hark582, Welcome to the Forum. Check here on towing about the Ford Focus. You may change your mind. There are several problems with the Transmissions. Herman

QuiGonJohn, US 287 is four lane all the way from DFW to Amarillo. However you do go through some towns that have traffic lights but are still four lanes. Very good roads. Several really nice rest areas, one south of Childress and one north of Childress. They are also storm shelters in case of bad weather. By the way Childress has a WalMart on the west side of town that has a parking area for RVs. Northwest of Childress there is a small town that has a RV Park called The Cotton Gin RV Park. I have never stayed there but many of our friends have and say it is nice. As I said before US 287 is a good road but like any thing west of a line running north of Wichita Falls its going to be a boring trip. Herman

I had a Garmin 330, up graded to a Nuvi 2455. It got stolen from my truck. Found a 530 at a Garage Sale ($20.00). Found a Nuvi 1300 on craigslist ($50.00). Two months later the police called, "We found your Garmin Nuvi 2455 can we deliver it this afternoon?" There is no way I can get lost now. Herman

KamperAl, keep it, before too long you are going to need it. If you keep it you may never need it. If you sell it or throw it away, you will need it the next trip. Murphys Law. Good luck and keep flushing, sorry I mean RVing. Herman

Bill, Thanks for the mention of TEXAS. And US 287 from DFW to Amarillo it a very good Highway. However when you pass Wichita Falls to Amarillo (I-40) the scenery leaves something to be desired. This is from a Texan. Take books on tape or some CDs to listen to. QuiGonJohn, be prepared for some heat. We went to Colorado late August last year. The temp. was 105 degrees. Our dash air would not keep up even with the curtain behind the driver & passengers seats. We had to run the gen and turn on both A/Cs. When we stopped for the night in Vega ($22.00) we didn't have to use the hot water to bathe, it was warm enough out of the cold side. The next night in Pagoso Springs we had the windows open during the day and cover to sleep. While in Amarillo take a side trip to Canyon, Texas, South on I-27 16 miles, and see Palo Dura Canyon. Not as big as The Grand Canyon, but still awesome. Have a great trip from Florida. Herman

Dewat, It concerns me that you have all but one tire off the ground and that its almost off the ground. Having the tire off the ground is a help with a flat tire, however a MH can sway a bit in the wind. Your are putting a lot of strain on the small 2 inch shafts and pads. If you are concrened about your tires being on the ground, raise each one off the ground, one at a time, and put a board under each wheel. Then lower them back down and level the coach. I hope the area you are parking your coach at your home is so unlevel that it requires the tires to be off the ground. If you dont have the fridge on you dont need to level the coach just to store it. I dont want you to go out and find all of your jacks bent over from the wind. Good Luck Herman

Small board, several hooks, rubber band or small bunge cord across the bottom to secure the neckless so they wont sway.

Bill, I was saying that older fridges had pilot lights (propane) while the newer ones have spark ignighters. I agree that when moving that LP is the way to go. I always keep ours on Auto so when we have shore power it will switch to AC.

From a guys stand point go like Mr. 'T', wear them all. Or you could place each one in a zip lock bag.

Bill correct me if I'm wrong. If the 1987 Bounder has the original fridge it would have a pilot light? That along with cooling may use more Propane then a newer fridge. I also think that back then the propane tanks weren't that large. Alisa, Has your fridge and or micro wave been up dated?

You are about to live Willies song, "On the road again". Alisa you spoke of a storage door under your bed. Lots of MHs have storage under the bed that can be accessed by lifting the deck the bed sits on. A far as cooking, check to see what kind of Micro Wave you have. If you have a Convection Micro Wave you can do alot that you were able to do in your stick house. Carrying water, how much? As said here try half a tank and adjust from there. Dry camping is not so bad but hook ups are nice. Consider the cost of dry camping to RV Parks. In really hot weather you will need AC. If you have to run the Gen. the whole night there will be a cost. Your Gen. will consume 3/4 to 1 gallon per hour under full load, at todays cost of fuel that could be $3.75 time 10 hours = $37.50 per day. For that cost you can go to a RV Park have Elec. Water, Sewer and Showers. Just a few thoughts I had, hope they help. Herman

Larry, there are several places to start. One question, was there fuel in the tank when it was stored? If yes, it may have evaporated and varnished the tank or the tank may have rusted. I would replace the fuel filter/s then remove the fuel line from the carburetor. Have someone bump the starter and check to see if fuel comes out. BE CAREFUL. If fuel does come out, pump is OK, weak maybe but still pumping. If no fuel comes out, pump may need to be replaced or lines blown out. Then if you have fuel flow its time to go into the carb. The carb may have had fuel in it when stored and it has evaporated and varnished it up and will need to be cleaned. A vehicle that has been stored for a long period can form varnish, rust or even have water in the tank and that can be a real problem.

cstice, Welcome to the Forum. According to the towing guide here, the answer is yes. Your Lexus RX 300 2 Wheel or 4 Wheel drive are towable 4 down with limits. Max speed of 55 MPH and max of 200 miles with out stopping and starting the engine. Most time they require you to run the engine for 5 minutes and to shift it through the gears while you are running it. Check Blue Ox, Roadmaster, Falcon and see which one has Base Plates for the Lexus RX 300.

Awhine, Welcome to the Forum. Sounds to me like you were at the KO North of Pueblo, CO. And by the way Thank you for coming to McKinney, Texas to see and buy from Paul Davis at Mr. O's.

PDGoto, Welcome to the Forum. If you haven't joined FMCA please do. You will meet many wonderful new friends and have a blast. bizsmith has a point about the front entry. Its not ab problem for us but if that might bother you there are several manufactures that make mid-entry coaches. As bizs. said a pusher is much quieter then a FRED or gas coach. FRont Engine Diesel. We are on our third coach, the last two being DP. Loved everyone of them. Again Welcome and will be looking for you on the Road. Herman

Never had our patio awning come out but did have a window awning come out. We were going throught the Petrified Forest and the wind was so bad from the west that our awning blew out at least 25 times. I would slow down to a crawl and BAM it would roll back in. We change our route and headed to Albuquerque. When we got to Gallup the wind seemed to die down so we headed north again. Bam it started to blow again and the awning popped out many more times. I had an idea, I know they are few and far between, I stopped at a hardware store. I bought PVC Pipe 3/4", pipe insulation, Duct Tape and cable ties. I had them cut the pipe to 5 feet. Put about 6 inches of insulation on both ends of the pipe and Duct taped it to the pipe. I then lined the pipe with the insulation down the arm of the awning, 3 feet on the awning arm with 2 feet below the arm. I then tied the pipe to the arm with the cable ties. This was a lock per say to kept the arm in place and safe from the wind. Hope this helps someone if they have a problem on the road. Herman

Skip & Nancy, Welcome to the Forum. Forming a Chapter is very easy. Post a Blog to have RT owner send you a personal message so you can contact them. When you have 20 people or more that are FMCA members sign a request form and send it to the FMCA office. There will be a few steps to take that the people in the office will help you with. It will take a short period of time for this to all take place, but in the mean time get all those people that signed up together for a Rally. tmorning will see this and he can direct you through the paperwork. Hay, even if the people you know are not members of FMCA give them a sign up form and get them to join, New Members, New Chapter.

I believe that Firestone is one of the worst tire made. They may be able to make racing tires but have great difficulty making a tire that will stand up for the long haul. I have been down the road with Firestone's 500, 721 and so forth. One came apart on me driving down the highway and tore my drivers side front fender off my car. The tire had less then 3,000 miles on it and after I sent the carcass to Firestone they said it was drivers error. And before you ask, I did not purchase them, my wife did when I was out of town. She thought her tires, GoodRich AT Radials with 48,000 miles on them, needed replacing. We had words about that. As for my last comment, I cleaned up what I really wanted to say, " when better tires are made, Firestone wont a have a ******* thing to do with it". I am sorry if I sound a bit harsh. Herman

BrandM, Welcome to the Forum. I just purchased tires, 295-80R X 22.5. I only bought three this time, I had replaced five last year. At the current cost for the tires I bought, I saved $125.00 over the same tire by Michelin. That would make $1,000.00 savings on 8 tires. The cost of my tires went up over $160.00 per tire in the past year. As to Firestone tires (my opinion only) when better tires are made, Firestone wont have anything to do with it.