wayne77590

Hi all! That device sticking up is the "Anti-billowing" device. In most typical applications for A&E Awnings it is positions at 11:00 O'clock when looking towards the rear from the front, and 1:00 O'clock when looking from the rear to the front. It's purpose is to prevent the awning from billowing out when you encounter some side winds. it is designed to hit the placed stop on the side of the coach. Some use the awning fabric trough. It is positioned so that on extension of the slide, the rotation will clear the stop, but when it is retracted it will have about a 2 inch play and then hit the stop, keeping it from billowing out. Happy trails. Edited: Make it a part of mainenance to check that the anti-billowing device is not loose. It is retained by 2 self tapping screws. I lost mine on my recent trip and billow the awning did do.

p.s., if you do have to use blocks and you also block the leveling jacks, don't overdo it. If you put the rig up 3 inches and use 4 inches under the block, when you retract you may not have enough retraction slack to remove the blocks from the jacks. "My specific" manual states to not use more tha 3 inches under the jacks. Manual, manual, manual.

Had a 2005 F350 King Ranch pulling a 13,000 pound trailer. When the trailer was hooked up, I engaged tow haul. It is a greatly appreciated feature when towing a heavy load. As you found, a light will come on in the dash. Yes, on the downhill side you have a little more help in breaking and maintaining an even speed. I was happy I had it when towing. Happy trails.

This has been discussed a few times all over the Intenet. It really depends on who you are listening to and what manufacturer they have. Some will state that their manual says it is okay. Some will state that their manual says not to have the wheels off the ground. If I remember correctly, my manual state not to have the wheels off the ground. With that said, never have the rear wheels off the ground as they are the only ones that have a brake engaged (on an air-brake system for sure) and their is a possibility of the MH rolling, even if it is on the levelers. Yes, I have been in situations where the wheels would leave the ground in leveling. These are rare case for me, and what I'll do is put the 2 x 10 with 5/8" plywood attached under the wheel that wants to be the culprit. It only takes a minute. As I'm leveling I'll as DW to check. She lets me know when a wheel is starting to leave the ground. Depending on how much more I have to go in the bubble decides my next choice(s). 1) retract and place my leveling pads (2x10) under the offending tire(s) by backing up an placing the boards in the location and rolling up on them. 2) in the case of one front wheel, raise that side an inch or two more and place the board under, then retract and let the tire settle on the board. This is helpful if you still have the TOAD hooked up and backing up is not an option, but you could just place a board on the ground and pull forwar. That may cause another area of the four points to be more unlevel. Read your owners manual. My personal preference is to not have air under any tire, and if it is one rear dual, I'll run both up on a block to distribute the weight evenly when I lower onto the block. I carry 4 16" 2x10" with 5/8" plywood screwed to one surface. The en of the 16" is beveled at 45 degrees for easy roll on. I also cary 4 12" of the same. The 16" can be a ramp to the 12" on top, effectively giving me approximately 6" of rise. Happy trails. Others will be here with their thoughts shortly. Oh! Those plastic blocks you can purchase that are not sold hex, but open ridge hex do not support the footprint of the tire. If you have to use them, a thin piece of plywood on top will not cause tire damage.

Sounds like a plan. Thanks.

Thanks. Let us know how it goes.

John, I have never seen an awning lock advertised for a topper. They may be there, I just don't ever remember seeing one. I really don't think you are supposed to lock the topper awning. Here is a link to A&E Dometic instructions for installing a slide topper: Slide Topper installation PDF File: worked in Safari - not FF: http://www.dometic.c...a80b54963.fodoc Let me know if the links do not work. Notice they use the 12:00 position. My specific installation, and the instructions I got from the "C-clamp" was 1 o'clock and 11 o'clock depending on your orientation. Editied: p.s., whatever position it is in make darn sure that it has the clearance when the slide opens. If your's is on the rear, passenger side, then the operation will be (I think) a counter-clockwise directon of the roller as it unfurls, and the driver side rear would be a clockwise direction as it unfurls.(That needs confirmationa as I'm just running it through my head - and that's dangerous. At 12:00 O'clock there has to be enough travel for the lever to clear the "bumper" or "Stop." Good luck.

QuiGonJohn, I'm going by what I have been told and read about regarding the anti-billowing mechanisim. You say that your (let's call it AB) AB is on the rear and when viewed from the front is at the 1:00 O'clock position. Looking at it from the rear would indicate that it woud be at the 11:00 O'clock position. That doesn't seem right to me. Let's look at it from the rear of te MH, and the passenger side. Your present configuration would be 11:00 O'clock. To me, that would allow the awing to billow out about 2- more inches before the lever hits the stop on the side of the MH. You could reduce that by moving the lever to the 1:00 O'clock position, reducing the amount of travel but still giving it some "give." There are two screws, self tapping, in the C-clamp portion of the AB device. Just remove them and you can set the AB to the 1:00 O'clock position. I would strongly recommend using a drill to make a starter hole for the screws. I watched a technician try to use the self tapping screws and he finally got the drill in frustration. It has been my understanding that the AB device is positioned to allow some movement of the awning and that it diminishes the chance of tearing. I'm just repeating what I was told here. A call to A&E could confirm that. Now we are both smart, you know as much as I know. Hee hee! Edited: I just found this video and show at the beginning where the AB device is located. To me it should be in that same position when the slide is in. That is where mine are set. At the end they state 1:00 O'clock. http://www.shademyrv...tall-video.html

Are you talking about the A&E Topper Awning that has a "C-Clamp" with a lever sticking out? The technical name is "Anti-billowing" mechanisim, lock, gadget, etc. That clamp is designed to allow the awning to unfurl just a few inches before the "Tab" on the C clamp bumps against the stop. Typically if the C' Clamp is on the forward edege of the awning the Tab is positioned at 11 O'Clock, and if it is on the rear side of the awning it is positioned at 1 O'clock. It allows the awning to move about 2-3 inches when the slide is retracted and there is a bump stop on the wall of the RV. If the awning were tight without movement the wind would cause it to tear. I lost a C-Clamp lock on our last trip. No damage to the awning, but frightful when it billowed out about 4 feet. Immediately slowing down caused it to wind back in. From that moment on I kept the speed down and we then changed directions and the wind was no more problem. Replaced the C-clamp and all is fine. Anyhow, that is for the topper awning.

We live in the hurricane prone Gulf Coast. We evacuate for all hurricanes. Consider that there are 4 points normally on the ground at all times, The front and rear wheels. Putting the jacks down for stability give you 4 more points. I personally would rather have 8 points of stability then just four. We also bring the slides in when the wind gets to 45 mph or more. Why, protects the toppers. As stated, probably better to have the rear facing the major force of the wind. However, be aware that when hurricane/storms pass that have high winds, the wind reverses sometime during the storms travel, depending on the trave of the storm. A North/South storm will start out with winds coming from an Easterly direction, but as it passes the circular motion will have the winds coming from a Westerly direction So how did you do?.

I also use black wire tie-ties on the lader. Easy to snip and replace if necessary. Usually it can be stepped over and if it is mounted toward the rear of the ladder the step is still available. For the front, I went to a hobby shop (Hobby Lobby here in Texas) and picked up a bag of suction cups with removable hooks. I use a small set of suction cups with the hook stuck to the lower passenger side front window. Works for me.

Ah! Who to blame. Was it the cashier, a clerk nearby, a passerby. To many variables. I hate to say this, but women are the most apt to lay their card down with the numbers showing. Any passerby can steal the numbers. There is now a big problem with the cards that have the RFID (Radio Frequency Identifiation) chip embedded. A proximity scanner can capture the informaiton off the card by just getting close to your wallet. They make foil sleeves to eliminate thist type of thread, or you can do what I do. Take a hammer, put the card on a hard surface and smash the chip. The card will still slide and scan through a reader but the RFID will be inoperable. Herman, send me your card for a few months of vacation time. I'll make sure you get a "card" back.

I would suggest the Traveler if you wish to have full functionality of your receiver. There is no dome presently on the market that can provide more than one satellite at a time. So unless you wish to only watch one channel at a time, unless they happen to be on the same satellite, then a dome would suffice. If you wish to have the full featured functionality of the receiver, then the Traveler is the way to go. I personally would opt for the Traveler.

Call whichever card services you used and advise them of the situation and to not pay the next request from that company. Would that work?

I run my DP at about $.50 a mile so for a 1000 miles it would cost you about $160 more than me for fuel at $4 a gallon Just don't buy a few cases of beer, wine, or whiskey, don't chase the girls, and you can make up the difference. You maintenance costs on the gasser are going to be considerably less than a DP. Good luck.

I have a 2007 Saturn Vue, and the steering wheel does not lock. Now I don't know if that is a design of the car, or if the previous owner broke the locking tabs off, but it doesn't lock.

X2 for Columbia Falls RV Park. We just left there about 4 weeks ago. I found the entrance about 16 or so miles from the RV Park, but a nice easy ride. When you get to the NP, go to the village and look around. If you go to the left, there is not much to see except some burned forest land. the road dead ends into a "T" about 12 miles up and the new road is unpaved and was a washboard when we were on it in the TOAD. We turned around about a half mile down and went back the other direction. Now that, toward the Lodge, is a great ride and great scenery. Have fun.

Natchez Trace Parkway

I'm happy this tread has been rejuvinated. We are now wanting to replace our carpeting with flooring of some type. I'd like to go with the least weight. It's just a matter of time before we get-r-done.

Not me.

I'm just going to ask a dumb question. Does the control unit have an Auto/On position? Is it in Auto? If it is the On position the fan will not shut off. Just a thought.

We have a KOA card. We use it. The KOA CG's are no better or no worse than any other group of CG's. Just read the RV Park Review on the web to see what other's are saying about any campground. Just remember that competitors can post a review also. I really enjoy the KOA for those times when we are traveling and need to make a reservation ahead of time, like for holidays. I can go on to the KOA web site, pick my area, and pick my KOA campground. When I arrive all the paper work is ready for me. For us, it works. Yes, I have stayed at some that I would not return to, but then I have stayed at many other CG's i would not return to either. A grain of salt.

When it comes back fixed, make sure it is documented as to what exactly was the cause and what was fixed. Remember the 30 days or 30 feet, which ever comes first warranty rule.

Don't have reservations yet, but sometime the end of August we will also be in the area. Stay tuned, and thanks for the information.

Try this. Open up a map of the location using either Google, or Bing. I prefer BING (http://www.bing.com/maps) When the location opens, in the BING search line type in the type of restaurant you are looking for, like Mexican Restaurant, and the map should be populated with those type restaurants. Maybe just using the word "restaurant" would show them all. Click on any balloon to get information. If you need clarification let me know. I use the same technique to find "RV Parks."