QuiGonJohn

At the beginning of April, I will have the RV near where I bought tires last April. This was a tire dealer in Port Richey, FL, they work on a lot of RV's, (big snowbird traffic in that area). Anyway, do you think they might have the spacers or be able to get them? If I could get 1 inch more between them, that'd be great, Even just a half an inch would help. Last time I checked and put air in all the tires, I got a rub burn on my wrist, squeezing it in and out of the space between the dualies.

I'm real happy with my Tire Traker system from Lawrence, as well. Had one sensor go wonky and they exchanged it, no cost, no hassle. I like having the piece of mind to be able to see the status of each tire whenever I want. And I think the pressures are more accurate than from a gauge. In fact, when I put air in, I use the sensors to set the pressure. Typically getting the pressure slightly higher than I want, then letting a bit "leak out" while putting the sensor on and off, until I get it where I want it. Now if I could only find a solution to having a little more space between my dualies, I'd be real happy. I have the sensors right on each valve stem, with no extender, (as I don't trust extenders).

We bought our first RV during 2012. I heard from some people that we can get certain tax advantages as the Motor Home could be considered a second home. Where can I get good information on what we can claim and how to claim it, in regards to having an RV as a second home? Thanks!

I've never been able to find the powdered in Walmart, but I have been buying the liquid and it works fine too. In fact, I believe the GEO method mentions you can use the liquid, it's just a little more costly per use.

I have the Z-Metro Z-Boost YX540. I use it in my home to boost the signal and can take it in the RV when we travel. If the signals are weak at the campground, I can hook it up and get a nice boost. You do not have to put the phone "real close", same room is good enough. Even helps outside the range, but not as much as being in the same room with it. Was a good price, about $130 from Solid Signal. http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=yx540&d=wi-ex-zboost-yx540-metro-dual-band-wireless-cell-phone-extender-%28yx-540%29&sku=186639000458

Hi agiewagon. Well starting from JAX saves you a bunch of miles and time that I had to do from Ft. Laud. We drove straight the first leg, 5pm Fri to 11am Sat, (to Shreveport, LA). It took us 11 hours to get from home to the FL/AL state line, west of Pensacola. A little info on the train trip you mention. If you are interested in it, just to ride a train, fine. But if you're looking for views of the canyon, then it's not a good choice. It runs from Williams up to the Canyon and then back. Even where it terminates in Grand Canyon Village, you cannot see the canyon until you get off and walk around, up some small paths to the rim. We stayed in Mather Campground, in Grand Canyon Village and it was great, albeit dry camping. But for only $18 a night, being right there, was nice. Our RV is 26' and we did not bring a tow vehicle and it was fine. They have shuttles that go all over the Grand Canyon Village area. The other mention, did you mean Palo Duro Canyon, in the Texas Panhandle. If so, they have several campsites down in the canyon itself. We plan to do that in the future. Website http://www.palodurocanyon.com. I don't think that time frame should be too bad, cold nights and probably cool days. I'd lean toward the later end of that window, just to be safe. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Jay, nice to hear. I bought my used RV this past April and in may, I too went with Wholesale Warrenties. Sound like a made a good choice.

Is it fairly common for these to malfunction? I found recently, a couple months ago, that mine was unplugged. I reconnected it and it seemed fine at first. Then I began having problems with it going off at gas stations and also recently, while camping, we had trouble getting the stove lit, we could smell propane, but the sensor did NOT go off. Then after my most recent trip to the gas station, it seems to want to alarm now, more than it will be off. So, at present, it is disconnected once again.

Got this a few weeks ago: http://awninglock.com/index.shtml?utm_expid=1952912-2 And installed it over the holiday weekend. Was not too hard to install, just took a bit of precision lining it all up. Very happy with how strong it seems to be able to hold the awning roller, as well as the look of it. It looks like it was always part of the awning design.

Mine are very similar to the Snap Ring, just do not have the inner steel-ring. Got them in Walmart. Easy on/off, no tying in place, etc. They fit so snug on the tire, that's all that is needed to keep them in place. As mentioned, go with WHITE, keeps them cooler, as Tireman actually tested this with a heat sensor.

I thought he wanted to know what the large device on the left side of the roof was. I have no idea what that is.

Well my in-laws are full-timers and they have their daughter's home (my S-I-L), listed as their home of record, that is where there DL's are and that is where they are registered to vote. I imagine they pay NY State Tax on their taxable retirement income, as well. So even though they are there for less than half the year, it seems to work out fine. And they are on their 3rd coach and never had an issue with a bank denying them because "they don't live anywhere".

Do you have any family that you can use their address as your home of record? A son or daughter? Then apply in your name only.

Is there a link to a good guide for the best maintenance practices of deep cycle batteries, including not only water level, but useage, discharging and charging practices, etc.?

Here is a good HOW TO VIDEO: http://www.shademyrv.com/how-to-install-video.html They also sell the replacement tops, looks like they custom size them based on the measurements you give them.

I tried it recently going up, and then down, the Skyway Bridge in Tampa. A light comes on on the end of the shift lever. Didn't notice much difference in performance, maybe a bit more speed control on the down hill. But my cruise handles that pretty well, also.

Just tested this and it works fine at the 12:00 position. With the slideout extended to where the tip of the AB Lever is closest to the stopper on the wall, the tip of the AB Lever is about 1.5 inches away from the stopper. This position will put less stress on my RV Cover which previously got a hole in that spot.

Well I got Tire Traker TPMS and took off the extenders as I read that makes the TPMS more reliable and reduces chances of leakage.

Thanks Wayne. On the lock, the same manufacturer that is in this thread with the patio awning lock, has one available for the slide topper. But I think I am only going to get the patio one. I don't want to have to unlock and lock the one for the slide each time I bring the slide in and out. I put the AB at the 12:00 position and will test tomorrow to be sure it clear the stop when operating the slide. In doing some Google searches on this I found info that said viewed from the front, it should be at 11:00 if the slide is on the passenger side and 1:00 if the slide is on the driver's side. (Opposite positions if viewed from the rear of the MH). But I'm pretty sure mine will work at 12:00 position, as just a small movement of the slide out ought to allow the AB to clear the bumper. If not, I can easily move it back to the 1:00 position.

Well from the video it says Driver's Side 1:00 position. Of course, as I said, on mine, this is viewed from the front and the AB is mounted on the rear of the roller. I think I'm gonna go with it straight up, 12:00. Will reduce the play a little and align it better for the RV Cover I use when parked for several weeks. What I still don't get is, (as you say, it should be allowed to have some "play"), but if someone were to use an Awning Lock, that locks the roller from turning at all, then from what you said, that might cause the awning fabric to be torn.

I too keep a spreadsheet. One for overall, every time I gas up, since purchasing the RV. I did a separate one for the Grand Canyon Trip and will probably do separate ones for any other major road trips. But it is all strictly odometer. I don't use a GPS except when I get in an area where I am unsure or need a little extra directional help.

Yes Wayne, I am talking about the Topper Awning. Mine is on the rear and viewed from the front of the RV, it is at about the 1:00 position. It seems that allows it to unfurl a lot and I was thinking of moving it a bit closer, to the 12:00 or straight up position. Would that work or would that not allow enough play? So if one were to use an Awning Lock that kept the roller from turning at all, are you saying the wind would tear the awning? Would this be any different from the Patio Awning. Most of those do not allow any movement, as you have to flip the latch to change directions to bring the awning down, but those don't usually tear, unless the locking mechanism fails and the awning begins to unwind. Anyway, the guy with the Awning Lock said that the "C-Clamp and Lever Sticking Out" could break and that is why he recommended the additional lock. I just think that would be too much trouble, we put our slide in and out a lot, we usually don't stay in one place too long. And my thinking was the whole time the prior owners had the RV they never had an issue with this. Since we bought the RV we have never had a problem. So I was thinking just staying with the existing Anti-billowing Mechanism would probably be sufficient. But I do want to get his lock for the Patio Awning, (which besides all else, is much larger and I'm sure greater forces at work).

Well I contacted the seller of the Awning Lock that Born2travel mentioned and he put me in touch with the inventor of it. He has a modified one that will work on the Slide-Out Awning. He said the "peg" lock the slide-out comes with might break. I was leaning toward getting that one too, but then I started thinking, do I really want to have to get the Awning Rod, walk around to the slide out and undo the lock every time I want to open the slide-out? And what if me or my wife forget it, then we will rip the awning. Operating the mechanism when doing the Patio Awning is no big deal. You have to be out there anyway, you already have to work with the Awning Rod, etc. I am starting to think I might just do better to rely on the "peg" interlock for the slide-out awning, maybe reinforce it. What do others here think?

We have a 2006 Winnebago Aspect 26A. We just did a 2 week trip in Sept from Ft Lauderdale to the Grand Canyon and back. Average MPG for the trip was 8.8 MPG. No tow vehicle and mostly drove 65 MPH on Cruise Control and mostly the RPM's were at 2500.

Well we have had our rig since April and just went to the Grand Canyon and back in Sept. We have had no problems with the awning, even though we were in some good wind. But still, I think I may have just been lucky and I want to look into getting some kind of lock. In comparing the self-made one that ClayL listed vs. the one Born2travel listed, I think the bought one seems more reliable and more user-friendly. Has anyone else had experience with this one? Also, we have an awning that covers our slide out. Do you recommend something to be used with that or are they usually not a problem.