wolfe10

My linkhttp://www.fmca.com/images/stories/pdf/conventions/ga11_directions.pdf Parking for FMCA’s 85th Family Reunion & Motorhome Showcase will commence on Saturday, March 12, at 7:00 a.m. The Holding Area will open on Friday, March 11, and is located at Elko and Starbuck Roads. Please go to the Holding Area if you wish to meet and park with friends; if your credentials are being held at Will Call; if you arrive before the date on your admittance card; if you are an individual family arriving for the convention without a specific affiliated credential (Governing Board, advance crew, volunteer,handicap, or in a registered caravan); or if you are not pre-registered for the convention. Brett

Yes, a properly functioning LP powered refrigerator is the normal way to travel with an absorption refrigerator. A complete "burner area tune-up" is part of the refrigerator's required annual maintenance-- should be a description in the refrigerator owners manual. No special tools and no parts are needed. From an energy stand point it makes much better sense to burn a small propane flame to produce the heat needed to run the refrigerator rather than to burn diesel in the engine (not efficient) to have the alternator produce extra 12 VDC (not efficient) to run an inverter (not efficient) to power an electric heating element! Running a generator just to power the refrigerator would be even more power inefficient, and over time would carbon up the generator from running at too light a load. Brett

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Indeed, the intrusion of warm/humid air is the cause of your frosting/need to frequently defrost. Check three places. Do the "dollar bill test" all around the door gaskets-- you are looking for firm resistance to pulling the bill out when the door is closed on the bill. The other place is the condensate drain. There should be a factory restrictor (either a plastic insert in the outside end of the hose or a crimped area of the hose. You can also use zip ties to make the drain form a "drip loop" so there is a water trap to exclude warm outside air from "rising" into the refrigerator. Also, check where any lines or wires enter the freezer unit from the back-- sometimes the putty falls out leaving an air gap. Different residential refrigerators have differing sensitivity to MSW inverters. Some will work fine on them, others will work poorly or shorten their life. Best advice is to check with the refrigerator manufacturer. As to whether a residential refrigerator would be a good solution for you has more to do with how often you are not plugged in to shore power than whether your alternator/inverter can keep up with the additional load while on the road. If you are not on shore power, you will need a large battery bank, large/high amp charger, lots of extra generator run time, etc. Brett

Often, local tire dealers participate in the FMCA conventions, offering discounts at the conventions. It is a little early to determine who will be at the Madison convention in August -- we still have the Perry Convention coming up. Here is a link to the "Rumor of a Michelin Tire Discount Program" thread: http://community.fmca.com/topic/2286-rumor-of-a-michelin-tire-discount-program-for-fmca-members/ Brett

You might call the Caterpillar RV Hotline (877 777-3126) with your engine serial number and ask whether there have been upgrades AND the reason for the upgrades. Upgrades could have been made for power, economy, drivability or emissions. Said another way, an upgrade (if available)may not give you an improvement an area of interest to you. Several of those factors are in conflict with others-- for example lowering emissions may hurt performance and/or economy. Brett

Actually, many propane tank valves are equipped with a safety device that shuts them off if they sense rapid flow rate. This is to reduce the danger from a ruptured line, massive leak in an appliance, etc. That same valve can be triggered by the inrush from opening the valve quickly with zero line pressure on the coach side. As Wayne says, opening it slowly (or closing it now and reopening it slowly can reset this. Brett

Barry, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Did you have the same symptoms before the fuel filter change last week? If not, check for an air leak at the fuel filter. If this is an on-going issue, I would suggest that you have a Caterpillar dealer check for stored codes in the engine ECM. It may quickly tell you the issue. And, if this is just upon cold start up, many engine ECM's are programmed to allow only very limited throttle until coolant temperature starts to rise (to keep a driver from starting a cold engine and immediately going to Wide Open Throttle). Brett

Bob, What chassis are you on? Looking at the location of tanks, heavy gear, slides, etc. would you expect that the heavy side of the rear is that much heavier? If on a spring suspension, is the ride height lower on that heavier side? We can't comment reasonably on the tire pressure, as we don't know what tires you have. Brett

Verify that the valve is open on the tank. Verify that any electronic shutoff solenoid is on. If you hear the "hissing" of propane/air flowing when you open a stove burner, both of the above are OK. You may still have air in the line that you need to purge. Light a stove burner. Keep re-lighting it until it stays lit. Then do same for water heater. Lastly, do same for refrigerator. Brett

Yes, as Bill says, the complete DOT number with the last 4 digits indicating the WEEK and YEAR of production is only molded into one sidewall of each tire. That could be facing in or out. This part of the tire mold is changed weekly, that is why it is usually in an indented area. Brett

Bill, I read this thread very differently. I read it as someone who IS familiar with tires and tire safety (not only from posts on this thread but from his many other posts about tires and tire safety), but wants more factual data on actual coach weights. Said another way, would like to add more current factual data to his presentation. Presenting that XX percent of coaches surveyed in the last year were overweight could be used as a motivator to get more people to avail themselves of the RVSEF weighing. Brett

Actually, for camera 12 VDC that is only hot when you are driving, use any "ignition hot" source. As mentioned, the alternate is to tie into a clearance light or tail light. Negative to that is that you have to leave the lights on in order to have the camera on. Brett

Al, Look forward to seeing your posts as you get into this. Brett

Al, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Perhaps the lack of responses is due to the magnitude of the question. Generally, you will get better responses to specific questions. A good place to start learning the "care and feeding" of your rig is with the owners manuals for each piece of equipment. If you don't have the manuals, many companies now have them available on-line. Same for the chassis. Specific questions are more likely to get good responses. With your background, you should be able to pick it up quickly. Brett

Jim, Their answer makes no sense. The secondary fuel filter can be mounted anywhere. On our coach from the factory, both primary and secondary filter with manual primer pump are mounted next to each other in a compartment behind the right wheel. Said another way, the primary and secondary filter can be mounted ANYWHERE as long as this order is followed: Fuel tank, primary filter/water separator, transfer pump (aka lift pump), secondary filter with manual primer pump, engine. The only limiter on secondary filter location is how much custom hose you want to have made. Brett

Skyking8, When were you last on the Fair grounds? I know they have made some substantial improvements to the parking areas and their access in the last few years. Brett

Skyking8, When were you last on the Fair grounds? I know they have made some substantial improvements to the parking areas and their access in the last few years. Brett

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. You will have a great time in Perry, and it will be an excellent learning experience. Be sure to highlight your program with the seminars of interest to you, as they are a great opportunity to learn about your new hobby. I would not worry about Caterpillar parts availability-- Caterpillar still makes engines-- for everything except on-highway. These same engine are used in marine, stationary power plants, off-highway, Caterpillar equipment, etc. We were at a Caterpillar RV Engine Owners Club Rally (an FMCA Chapter BTW) when the question of parts availability came up. One of the club members works for Caterpillar in Peoria. He laughed and came back from his coach a little later with a copy of an invoice for a set of pistons for a 1934 Caterpillar dozer that had just shipped. He joked that he didn't know if they would still be available when the engine was 80 years old, but right now, no problem. And, they make money on the parts they sell. So it would make poor business sense for them to quit making parts available. Over the years, Caterpillar engines have been used by virtually every large truck manufacturer. There are literally thousands of trained technicians around the country who know the Caterpillar (and Cummins and Detroit Diesel engine for that matter). Though we have had great service from the Caterpillar engine in our coach over the last 160.000+ miles, I guess I would say that there are no bad diesels out there in the last 15 years. The Caterpillar vs Cummins debates are much like the Ford vs Chevy debates. Said another way, I would not use engine manufacturer as a major factor in selecting a motorhome. Find a coach you like and you will likely never wear out the Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, MB, etc. Brett

Jim, Let us know what they found and did. And, applying air to the fuel tank inlet could not cause an air lock. The fuel pickup tube is near the bottom of the fuel tank. Slight air pressure in the tank would force fuel through the line to the filter. The only way air could be forced through the line to the filter is if the fuel level in the tank were below the level of the pickup tube in the tank. Brett

Jim, As discussed throughout this thread, getting an air lock is not that difficult-- if the level of fuel is below the filter housing, it is easy to have that 30+ feet of fuel line all drain back to the tank-- leaving 30+ feet of air to be purged. With no manual primer pump (which some chassis builders left off to save a few $$, an air lock is difficult to purge. A manual shut off at the primary filter housing intake (fuel tank side) would prevent this. The new manual primer pump on the secondary filter will also allow you to easily bleed the air from the system. Bottom line, this is not an uncommon problem, but one that can be easily prevented. Let us know how they removed the air lock-- the common way is to slightly pressurize the fuel tank with compressed air while opening the bleed screw on the filter. Glad you got it going-- now you and Willie Nelson can go back to singing "On The Road Again". Brett

Where are the new residential refrigerator condenser coils located? Do you have adequate air flow to it? Brett

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Tell us a little bit about what kinds of things you enjoy or what kind of CG you are looking for. Brett

RVSEF's Weighing Schedule: http://www.rvsafety.com/custompage7509.html?pg=weighing But, as Tireman9 said, one of their guys may be on the road near you. Their phone number is: 321-453-7673. Brett

For a year-by-year towing guide, go to: http://www.fmca.com/motorhome/towing/204-towing-index Click on the model year of interest. The 2009 Mustang is not listed as towable 4 wheels down. Best advice is to read the owners manual. I know our Ford Focus manual has a page dedicated to "how to tow." Brett

And most of the owners manuals and many troubleshooting manuals for equipment and appliances are also available on-line from their manufacturer. Brett