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On the coaches that I have seen with CBs like the Tiffins, they are using the metal CB antennas with the coil in the center (the fat round plastic part). The rubber antennas that I have seen are normally for the AM/FM/Weather service. If you are interested in the best possible performance of the CB and do not have a metal roof, you may want to Google/reseach "No Ground Plane" AKA "NGP" CB antennas. Two-way antennas need a ground plane to operate efficiently, and unless the antenna is mounted on a metal base, a ground plane (or ground radials when dealing with base setups) is required. Concerning the metal base, the lower the frequency, the larger the required ground plane, and CB at 27 MHz is way down there just above shortwave. I think one of the best NGP antennas out there right now are the Firestick brands, which come in three and four feet lengths. The problem with that is if you don't go to a side or mirror mount, sooner or later a 3 or 4 antenna on roof is going to get beat to death. Of course is reception is all that you're interested in, the ground plane is not as important, but does still play a role.

Herman and Brett, as always THANK YOU both! Well, it looks like I may have to just splice into the wire from the back making this a moot point. I was hoping to replace the jack/plug with a self wired plug from the EMS, thus leaving the original wiring unaltered. However, this looks like more trouble than worth unless I just splice instead. I'll probably still add plugs to the splice in case of future removal. My jack is a "Marinco", and looks exactly like the one pictured here except mine is white: http://www.wholesale.../p/MAR-6365CRN/. Herman, thanks for the compliment. Our maiden voyage will be to Williamsburg for the Memorial Day weekend, but I told the DW that I was not taking any trips until two major additions... TPMS (TST507 completed) and power protection (EMS-HW50C in possession waiting for installation). I have a BUNCH of other things I want to do, but these were my musts before any trips. Here are the pictures of what is probably Thor's entry level plugins:

To the Well of Knowledge I come again. I've searched here and Googled, but didn't see an answer, so please forgive me if I may have missed it. I just received my PI EMS-HW50C for my coach. I would like to install this device using plugs on each end... plug in, plug out if the need arises. What I don't know how to do is remove the 50 amp jack (male plug) on the side of the coach. This is the Thor Hurricane that uses the 125/250V 50 AMP twist plug-in directly on the side of the coach (it does not have any wiring coming from the basement). I can very easily get to the back side of the jack by removing a bottom dresser drawer in the bedroom. Looking at the jack from the back in the bedroom, I do not see any hardware that will enable me to remove this plug from its housing. Looking at the plug from outside of the coach, I see two small machined screws directly across from each other in the base of the plug. I do not want to just arbitrarily remove these screws for fear that there may be a nut somewhere on the back side that I may not be able to reinstall. Therefore, I ask those in the know here if these two screws on at the base of the plug on the outside secure the plug to the housing, or do they perform some other function that I will just complicate if I remove the screws. Thanks in advance...

Thanks... I'm writing them as well. Problem is the last time I wrote asking about long term parking with the slides out and levelers down, they ignored me until I asked a second time almost a month later.

Hi all... anyone know where the Low Point Drain is for a Hurricane 32A? I recently sanitized my fresh water system using the fresh water tank drain, but I understand that there may be another lower drain that I would use for winterizing. I've looked around outside the coach, and can't seem to find it... not odd, the DW says that I never see anything in front of my face. I've searched Google, but get more results on natural hurricanes than anything else on Thor/Four Winds. Thanks in advance...

While the amount is negligible, the difference will be .25% - .30% less on the speedo and odo. IIRC, anything below 1.6% is acceptable on cars, but I might be off. I got the % numbers from 1010 Tires Calculator (http://www.1010tires...p?action=submit) and Miata.net's Tire Calculator (http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html). I used 22 for 1010 Tires because it wouldn't take 22.5.

Not being smart, but I think that would be a given for any MH. I was more interested in the long term affects of parking for 4 to 6 months with the slides out and levelers down... if any.

Thanks Briarhopper. I don't mean to sound cynical, but this looks more like the standard "I don't really know, but here's what I do know" type of response.

Thanks to all. I was just "curious" (glad I'm not a cat!) as to why leveling was so important to the refer since traveling is a whole different story. It has been very well answered, and I again thank all.

I know a lot of coaches are different, but "in general" will the house batteries still charge if the house has been disconnected at the switch?

We're hearing the same thing in the DC area. The increase in accidents is rear end accidents due to panic stops when the light turns yellow when one could have easily completed crossing the intersection due knowledge that the camera is there. That "problem" is disposed citing a decrease in T-bone accidents, and an overall decrease in injuries per accident (since there is more chance of getting injured from a T-bone accident versus a read-end accident). This the lessor of two evils. The Northern Virginia portion of Metropolitan Washington DC actually stopped using their red light cameras for a while, BUT, reactived them a couple years later. In our area, red light camera and speed cameras all have the same effect... now people are "gun shy" and slow down/brake, even when not necessary.

Ok as a new MH owner, I guess I have all the "curious" questions. With all the talk about leveling to run the refer, what happens when driving? I would think that the refer is left turned on while drive to keep from spoiling the contents. If so, why do we work so hard to level the refer when parked, but go through all kinds of mountains and valleys without a worry while enroute.

I never thought about this, but it would work :headbang: (I know, the icon is not supported). I would really only have to put one two inch under the front driver's tire. I could get a little more OCD and put 1/2 to 1 inch under the other front tire to really get level. But with that said, to be in "total" compliance, I would still have to put the levelers down due to the sticker at the slide controller that reads "Jacks must be down before operating slides". I think I will still look at using a little wood just for leveling sake. Thanks again.

Thanks Bill. I understand your point... see it all the time at the shows, coaches bouncing around while people are in and out due to the extended slides, and undeployed levelers. In my situation, my pad has a slight front left tilt. Lately, I have been manually deploying the levelers enough to take the bounce out of the suspension while removing some of the angle. The coach is not fully level, but we're not running the refer either, we just use it as a study room and escape from the house. I stopped using the auto level feature because it was the reason the coach was actually being "lifted". I also feel like the levelers were not properly set from the factory or dealer, something I plan to do when I get to a truly flat pad one day. The main thing that I wanted was Thor's stance on the situation (in adition to the opinions here), which is what the "bummer" is.

Well.. Thor finally answered me today "You can leave your slide room out if you are using the coach. If not using it you should store the coach with the room in and the jacks "up" BUMMER!

DC has been using red light cameras for years! They also have a large amount of fixed and mobile speed cameras deployed as well. Traffic citations are meant to discourage citizens from breaking traffic laws which can lead to other serious events, not as revenue generators. However with that said, DC has publicly said how they increase traffic enforcement and traffic fines as a means of bringing in additional cash. There was just a story in the news a couple weeks ago how a pickup truck legally parked was repeatedly ticketed because each time the speed camera on 16th Street in NW DC was triggered, it captured the parked pickup instead of the lane of travel. Of course the city fixed that by relocating (notice not removing) the speed camera. AAA has repeatedly bashed the city (DC) about how the cameras appear to be deployed based on amount of revenue to be generated (such as major thoroughfares OUT of the city) instead of safety, but DC just gives a song and dance while collecting $$$. Metropolitan Maryland and Virginia don't want to be left out of the cash loop, so they have really stepped up their photo enforement as well over the years.

Thanks much Bill, this is the kind of information that I am seeking. Naturally, I know that in a direct stike, all bets are off... and maybe everything else as well. I'm just more concerned/curious as to if I would be a lightning rod. Your reference to Faraday Cages was also well understood as I having worked in the radio and cell phone fields since the 90's Thanks again... Thank you as well Herman. I had a feeling that I would get a comment about my leveling, and was kind of hoping for it as an aside. Yes, the position bothers me, but this is the position that the LCI's auto-position always uses (the pad itself has a very slight forward left tilt). Because of this, I generally don't keep the levelers down, and I already have a series of questions about this in to Thor, but no response yet. Again, thanks to you both!

Thanks, that was very educational.

Since we are expecting storms this weekend, it made me think about the coach as a new owner. I am one who has always heard, and believed that cars are gounded due to their rubber tires. Well, when my Hurricane is on its levelers on my home pad, three of the four wheels (I'm counting the dualies as one) are off the ground, and the fourth is not exactly on the ground either. Well, due to this, I am reasonably assured that the tires are not grounding the MH. With that said, if I am on the levelers boondocking and not connected to shore power, what happens if a lightning storm approaches? Again, this is a curiousity question.

I am probably the least qualified to answer here, but I have been reading stories where the relays for the chassis can, and will fail in a open or closed mode (Ford F53's). The symptoms that you are describing sound like what happens when the chassis and house switches at the entry door are turned off, which sounds like a failed relay once the chassis switch is turned on. Again, I am only taking a shot in the dark based on other things I have read, but that is what it sounds like.

I thank you both for the answers thus far. I did intend on calling the manufacturer, but I really like the advice that I see coming forth in these forums. While I am new to the RVing lifestyle, I have been on various forums for other hobbies for years on end, so I do know that forum advice can be wide ranging from excellent to downright wrong (naturally, nothing intend here), which is why it hit me to post the question. If at all possible, I don't want to lower the jacks because I am talking about when I'm parked in my own yard at home. I don't want to damage the driveway from the repeated and constant pressure of the jacks always supporting the weight in the same general area of the parking pad. BTW, I had a 4-5 inch concrete parking pad and driveway just for the MH completed this week .

Are there any dangers/concerns/potential problems if I keep the two slides on my Thor Hurricane (Ford F53 gasser) extended while parked on my home pad for two to three months at a time? Since my pad is level, I do not plan on using the jacks, but I want to make sure that there is no harm in leaving the slides out for extended periods of days into months. I am talking the Metropolitan Washington DC area where wind gusts are rarely over 30-40 mph, and strong thunderstorms are occasional in the spring and summer months. My main concerns are future chassis problems and leaking, but any other warnings for anticipated problems would be appreciated. Of course I can be totally off base, but I just thought that I would solicit help from the veterans. Thanks.