wolfe10

John, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. We will need more details on exactly what electrical components you have as well as your electrical consumption to give you good advice. Is the generator gas or diesel? How many amp-hrs is your house battery(s)? Estimate your 24 hour amp-hr use. What converter, charger, or inverter/charger do you have? How much 120 VAC it draws at maximum charge rate will determine what size "small" generator you would need. If an inverter/charger, has it been programmed? This information will also give you a better idea of how many hours you would need to run the "big" generator to recharge the batteries.

Bill, If the temperature of the outside of the condenser case is below the dew point of the air inside your coach, you will get condensation on the outside that will drip. Insulating it should solve your problem. Also, running the dash air on recirculate should lower the humidity of the air inside the coach. Brett

Gary, Could be a very good reason-- he may be at or very near the load capacity of his present tires and desires some safety reserve. But, we would need to know the specifics of his weights and tires to know that. Brett

Alfred, If I understand the problem correctly from the title of your post, irrespective of where you put the switch, the fan blows out the defrost vents. If this is not the issue, please give more details. If so, you need to check the vacuum lines from the engine intake manifold to the vacuum storage reservoir and from the reservoir to the dash HVAC switch. Defrost is the "default" location for the system. Brett

If you only have one day to devote to a Convention, you will sure have to make some decisions about what seminars are most important to you. There will be a schedule out well before the Convention here on the FMCA Website. And there is no set time it will take you to go through the exhibits-- depends on how much you shop/what you are shopping for. Same for coach exhibits-- if you are only looking for a certain model or kind of coach, it can be done in a couple of hours. But, if you also want to drive those at the head of your list (a great advantage of coming to a Convention) it will certainly take longer. Brett

First, tell us if you are plugged into shore power where you store the coach. If yes and you have a "smart" charger or inverter/charger THAT HAS BEEN PROPERLY PROGRAMMED, it should keep the batteries up with no problem. If no shore power, you will need to find some way to charge the batteries-- solar is a good option if stored outdoors. Batteries naturally discharge with time, even with no load on them. Wet cell batteries do this self discharge faster than AGM batteries. Another option if you are not going to use the coach this winter is to remove the batteries, take them home and perhaps once a week put a charger on them for a few hours. Please, don't hesitate to ask questions if the language is not understandable. Brett

Jimmy, Is this what you are looking for, or are you looking for a layout of the Fairgrounds themselves: http://www.fmca.com/images/stories/pdf/con..._directions.pdf

Other than a very tiny one dirt street village (Boquillas), there isn't much for around a hundred miles of dirt roads from that crossing. Been there, done that in a 1958 VW panel truck many decades ago. Drove across the Rio Grande at the Boquillas crossing. Beautiful high mountains as you go south-- higher than on the U.S. side. Doubt I would venture into that area now. Brett

For storing diesel fuel, best advice is, as you say, to completely fill the tank. Also, add a Biocide if storing the fuel more than 3 months to prevent algae growth. Get it at most any marine store, as boats have the same fuel storage issues as do we. Here is one: http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/store...9&langId=-1 AND, if you filled up in the summer/fall (i.e. summer grade/#2 diesel) use an anti-gel additive to bring the fuel more in line with what you would get were you to buy fuel this time of year (i.e. winter grade/mix of #2 and #1 diesel with lower gel point than straight #2 diesel). Brett

Yup, contact Wingard: http://www.winegard.com/ Or for their direct contact information: http://www.winegard.com/about/contact.php Brett

Kjhein, Thanks very much for posting the solution to your issue. It appears that very few have had to do this replacement and/or have different coaches. Now someone else with a coach like yours will know how to do it. Brett

When considering waxing the roof, you need to weigh the "look" and fewer streaks with the risk that you or someone else working on the roof (A/C, antenna, satellite, etc) will be more likely to slip and fall, perhaps off the coach. My personal solution is to was the outer 2' of each side of the roof. Improves looks, lessens streaks yet doesn't offer an increased risk of falling. Brett

Yes, this it the "first suspect". Your front wheel bearings are likely oil bath. A leak of the inner seal will allow oil to leak onto the inboard side of the hub and then tire. A leak of the outer seal or as in woodlodge's case a missing plug will allow oil to leak onto the outside of the hub and then down the outside of the tire. If the vehicle is on motion when leaking, the oil "trails" can radiate from the hub outward. Remove the center cap and check oil level. Brett

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. The more you tell us about what furnace and what thermostat/controls you have, the better able we will be to help. Has it ever worked? If so, tell us at what point in the process it quits. Brett

Steve, Best advice on questions on safety-related system such as a braking system is to contact the manufacturer. In your case: http://www.roadmasterinc.com/contact.html You may also be able to find answers in their on-line manuals: http://www.roadmasterinc.com/support/manuals.html Brett

I would contact M&G and ask-- see Herman's post above with their website. Brett

Yes, I am sure those prices are out of date-- they are more than 4 years old. CALIBRATING THE ENGINE OIL DIP STICK We continue to see questions about oil "consumption" and oil on radiators and toads on the FMCA Forum and other RV websites. It seems to be universal across all brands of diesel engines. THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE IS AN OVERFILLED CRANKCASE. CALIBRATING THE ENGINE OIL DIP STICK TO ENSURE THE CORRECT OIL LEVEL IN THE PAN "FIXES" OVER 90% OF THESE PROBLEMS. If you "think" your engine has an oil consumption problem, you are seeing oil mist on your toad or you just want to verify that yours is correct; you need to verify that you are using the correct amount of oil. Note: the quantities listed INCLUDE the oil filter and is the total amount of oil you put in when changing oil and filter. Now, CALIBRATE THE DIP STICK. Since the same engines/dip sticks are used in many different applications with different angles of installation, do not ASSUME that the dip stick is correctly marked. Calibration costs $0. At the next oil change, drain oil, remove old filter (as usual). Then install the drain plug and new oil filter and add the engine's correct oil capacity LESS THE NUMBER OF QUARTS you want between the "ADD" and "FULL" marks (let's say 2 quarts). So for an engine with 20 quart capacity you would add 18 quarts. Run the engine a few minutes, shut off and wait until oil has descended into the pan (at least 30 minutes and an hour is safer). Pull the dip stick and use a file or dremel tool to mark the oil level "ADD". Add the remaining two quarts, let the oil settle in the pan, pull the dipstick and mark this the "FULL" mark. In many/most cases, you will find that your engine "throws out" the access oil and then "consumption" settles down to next to nothing. Put in the correct amount and your "consumption" issues may go away. This applies to all ages (including brand new) of motorhomes and boats with every brand of engine. Also, when checking the oil level with the dipstick it is safest to do it in the morning after the oil has had all night to flow back to the pan. Do not add oil until the level reaches the ADD mark. Finally, make a sticker to affix near oil fill: OIL CAPACITY INCLUDING FILTER: xx QUARTS. Brett

Jim, Probably not as much difference as you suspect (between 19 and 22qts). The quantities in my post above were taken from the latest Caterpillar document and shows 22 quart capacity (including oil filter). BUT, that quantity is followed by this advice: Do NOT add oil until the oil level falls to the ADD mark (on a calibrated dipstick). Said another way, do not add oil if it shows down a quart. Each engine will seek its "proper" oil level and throw any "extra" oil out the crankcase breather. Also, only check the oil (any large diesel engine) after the engine has sat for at least an hour-- even better overnight so the oil will all have drained back to the crankcase. Did you get the fuel system primed up-- what was wrong? Brett

I would caution anyone contemplating the use of a house-type wall mount for a TV to VERIFY with the manufacturer that it is designed for the much higher stress levels encountered in a moving vehicle (as compared with mounting it in a stick home). Brett

Here is Tom's thread that Tim is referring to: http://community.fmca.com/index.php?showtopic=72 Brett

John, The lighting sequence can interrupt at several points. How far does yours get before it quits? Push in the oven control to allow gas flow to oven pilot. You should be able to see a flame fairly quickly (meaning no air, just propane in the line). If it doesn't light right away, turn on a stove burner to purge any air ifrom the line. Until the thermocouple is up to temperature, you need to keep the knob pushed in. If this takes over 20 seconds or so, verify that the thermocouple is properly aligned over the flame. Misalignment of the thermocouple, dirt or rust in the pilot burner which can reduce the size of the pilot light flame, etc can cause the thermocouple to not allow the pilot to stay lit when the knob is release. Once the pilot stays lit, turning the oven control knob to a higher temperature should allow the gas to flow and for the pilot light to light it. A few second delay is normal. Brett

http://www.dualdynamics.com/crossfires/index.shtml This system does not "take care of itself" in the sense that it inflates by itself. You have to inflate manually just as you would on a front tire. What it does is equalize the pressure between the two tires on the dual application and gives you a visual indicator of high/low PSI. But, let's back up one step. The ONLY way to determine the correct tire pressure is to weight the axles or even better, the individual wheel positions. Then go to your tire manufacturer's PSI/load chart which will tell you the MINIMUM PSI for a given weight. Many recommend adding 5 PSI to this minimum as long as it does not exceed the tire or wheel maximum pressure rating (on sidewall of tire and on rim). All tires on an axle get the same pressure based on the heavier side. 95 PSI may be correct, or may not. It may be correct for front axle and incorrect for the rear axle. You can also give them a call to confirm how the low/high "flags" are set: 1-800-228-0394 402-441-4300 402-467-5035 Fax Brett

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. For a good start on getting information on macerators, click on "Search" above. Then type in: macerator. They are mentioned in several different threads. Brett

To make a wise decision (and it sounds like you are looking at many of the important variables) you need to look at the NET cost of each choice. And it will be different depending on your particular situation (income, value of RV, etc). Example: Texas does not have income tax. Texas RV registration is fairly low. Texas has no personal properly tax on RVs. Some of the reasons Texas is popular as an address for full timers. I am not familiar with Ohio. Brett

If you are going to flush and fill a couple of times to make sure any dirt that got in the open plug is removed, you can go with either kind of oil. I flushed mine and went with synthetic-- front wet hubs and rear axle. Brett