majorberry

Dave, Made the trip to Moscow, IA., and had HWH Active Air installed in March. Active Air is much more than air leveling in that it solves the issues of coach leaning and rolling side to side while traveling. The change in handling characteristics can be talked about but difficult to understand until it is experienced. One example is I always slowed down below the reduced posted speed limit for curves because I was having a seat of the pants feeling that I was traveling to fast at speed limit due to lean of the coach. Since Active Air install I have not yet felt the need to slow below the reduced speed limit for a curve of any type. The sensor on steering column signals computer and air is quickly moved to the air bags on the side of curve and not allowing for the coach to dip or lean . Actually I've taken many of the curves above the speed limit, much as most of us do in our cars. One exercise HWH owner requested for my test drive was to make an emergency lane change at 65 miles per hour. My first attempt he said that's not sharp enough, so the other attempts were a significant jerk of the wheel into the other lane and then immediate same force steering correction back to my lane. Never did I have any feeling that I should never try that again! I will go so far as to say I now have a MH with handling characteristics of a sports car. No it is not a sports car but I like to refer to it as my sports motorhome. The handling is at a level I never dreamed possible after owning four MH's. My coach came with Comfort Drive but the Active Air added so much more than Comfort Drive was designed for. Comfort Drive assist very well with steering and the steering when fighting wind. CD automatically corrects steering for high crown roads and for wind forces at the same time keeping steering wheel centered, but, Active Air will do that and adds the addition of eliminating front tire corner dipping and body roll/lean, plus eliminating the back and forth rocking of MH. When driving into wind I can lower the front end so it deflects more wind and the rear of coach acting similar to a wing on the back of a car adding downward forces. Another plus is when refueling I can lower one side so I no longer get the burp of fuel. Active Air also includes air leveling and you still have the hyd. jacks for leveling. You chose one method or the other for leveling. They added an air compressor to maintain the correct air level. The computer checks every 30 min. in the background, and if coach is slightly out of level the air compressor will come on to adjust air pressure where needed. If during the night temp's cool and air contracts, the coach will be re-leveled in seconds. Air leveling shines when in rest areas, parking lots or sites with soft ground, so no more sticking the jacks into the mud. I received a preview of why air leveling would be a great addition the two nights before Active Air install started. I arrived in Davenport, IA., and setup in only park open. Now the winter snow had just melted and ground was saturated. Setup and started hyd. leveling by sticking my jacks 2" in mud, and over the next two days continued to slip up to 4-5" into mud. Upon arrival Monday morning the personnel at HWH stated they have seen few jacks stuck that deep into mud. A few of the materials and changes they made. Added additional air tank Added air compressor for leveling adjustments that are done in the background, to maintain level if needed. Changed all suspension air lines to 1/2" Repaired any air leaks in system Removed hyd leveling control board Installed new control board with screen which enables you to monitor as you travel the pressures in each air bag and make any changes you desire on the fly. This screen is also used for air or hyd. leveling. Entire system works automatically but user can take over if desired. Corrected ride height as specified by chassis manufacturer and tied HWH ride height solenoids into computer so height will be corrected as needed. Lost no bay space as the computer was mounted high on a bay wall between chassis rails. At current time the only place to get Active Air installed is at factory in Moscow, IA. A shop in Houston, TX. area has been certified to sell and install Active Air or just Air Leveling if desired. Do not know when they will complete build out addition to start installs. Only Foretravel MH manufacturer installs Active Air during their coach build. For factory install it is a five day install with coach on a 5' tall ramp inside HWH R&D building. Customer is allowed to stay in coach during the install with 50 Amp hookup and cable TV. Prior to entering building they have dump station and water to fill your tank. Also have showers and bathrooms for men and women. You are provided a door key so you may come and go 24 hrs. a day. The R&D works only one shift. A Google search will find threads in various forums of others experiences. Others perhaps provide a more intelligent review than I probably have done. It is expensive and after 1600 miles of use, I know it was a great choice for me. Recommend anyone interested to call HWH owner Paul Hanson, and engineer Mitch who designed much of Active Air, for specific information concerning your coach.

Thanks for posting your experience. It sounds like a very good plan for someone that just must have a connection or needs to stream high data from anywhere. Must admit I wish equipment was not so pricey as I really just need to surf and email. Nice to know other providers are available besides the cell carriers. Fair price $70, for unlimited data compared to cell carriers data prices for very few GB. My bride gets from Verizon 1 GB $20, 2 GB $30, 4 GB $40, you get the drift here. Can not do much streaming with that. Edit: Note after posted this I saw you had opened a new Thread on Maxxfi.

Thanks for the replies. I setup an appointment for Active Air install in March. Looking forward to the added benefits of unit automatically making micro-second adjustments for handling. For the air leveling part of system I will enjoy, especially when only stopping short term during the day or one night. Trying to put together a 10K+ mile trip this summer with some pull off the road overnight boondocking. Expect the air leveling will come in handy. Install will be at HWH R&D building in Moscow, IA. Time for install is 5 full days and they allow us to live in coach while it's up on rack inside building. They also supply a key to building and fence gate so we are free to come and go after hours. They have a very good understanding that RV'ers like to stay with coach.

Thanks for the information. Both programs seem to provide all one can expect with about the only difference, collision interruption vs. mechanical interruption. Each of those two differences can be substantial if needed. Perhaps Herman has the best plan by purchasing both. I've been very lucky and never had to call Coach-Net. I have tentative plans for a 10K+ mile trip to this summer, so both plans purchased may be a great benefit if mechanical or collision coverage is required. It's like insurance as it is only needed when something goes wrong. Thanks

We had been planning FMCA rally Madison, WI., this summer, but, diesel is on sale about 33% off now. So instead of Madison we are seriously considering Alaska this summer. We are always happy when we can make any purchase on sale, so how fuel is on sale and we think it's best to buy all we can at these prices by enjoying longer cheaper trips. Summer 2016, diesel may not be on sale and will then stay inside lower 48. Had been doing a lot of planning to spend about 6 weeks before and after WI rally. Have shelved that planning and already obtained a Milepost, Alaska travel info, Yukon info, BC info, etc. Now busy Alaska planning our routes and stops, side trips and activities. We will travel alone, as I did enough convoy's in the Army. We want to stop and go on our schedule and feel we will be able to do what interest us instead of what interest part of a crowd. We will greatly miss the WI rally, we had so much fun at Perry in 2014. Hopefully a 2016 rally will be in a location of interest to us.

Trying to find reviews from people who have this on their coaches? Thinking about adding but would like to get current reviews from users instead of just from HWH website. Thanks

My contract with Coach-Net will expire in 60 days so I'm trying to get information on FMCA Roadside Assist. Does anyone know where to get a copy of contract so I can compare to my Coach-Net contract? Have read the highlights of FMCA program from this website but the details are what I would like to compare. I do like that FMCA provides trip interruption for mechanical breakdown, but maybe not for collision. Coach-Net seems to provide for collision but not mechanical breakdown. Would be nice to read each contract so I can make an informed choice. Thanks

Louisiana I-10 will probably be the worst interstate road you will ever drive on. It's as rough as a Texas cattle trail. IMHO

Attended the generator seminar at the Perry Rally. They flatly stated that non-use is the biggest enemy of your generator. Stressed the importance of at least monthly exercising under load. Told story of numerous generators running strong with more than 7,000 hours. But you must do your maintenance which is minor and not very time consuming. KirkDavis post above is also good information about how long they last.

Enjoyed the Rally and the organization of all events. Impressed with the parking crew and how fast they moved our coaches to parking spots in the rain. Some coaches did not get to final spot until Monday a.m. but that was not FMCA fault. Tram routes were color coded with flags and maps very detailed showing where all seminar buildings and exhibits were located. Entertainment was good and my favorite was Miss. Sarah Getto. And not because she is an FMCA member whom also attended the Rally. That gal can sing and is funny. Just ask Charlie our President how funny and sweet she is. More vendor coaches than I had time to tour. We attended between us about 14 seminars and all but one had more seats available than were used. Never seen coffee flow as it did each morning along with what seemed to be all you can eat Krispy Kreme donuts.lol Perry mayor and the president of the event grounds did a warm welcome and poked fun at themselves due to the weather. FMCA tried hard to keep us updated by texts when a tram was shut down or an event rescheduled. Every major event can be improved but we went away very happy with the Rally, and thank all the staff and volunteers who made this such an enjoyable experience. Only improvement we can suggest is less golf carts going every direction and angle. Golf carts and pedestrians are personal gripe of mine. This was our first Rally.

Received our Rally packet on Saturday, we enter the Rally grounds on Sunday 16th, A.M. Herman we will be looking for a cowboy in a orange hat.lol We have received so many great ideas for stops enroute and afterwards, thanks to all for the suggestions. Many of the towns suggested we planned to visit but the details everyone gave us for places not to miss at each town is great. And suggestions continue to be provided.

As I expected I was reading you incorrectly. Thanks for clearing this up for me.

So you are saying a $30,000 value coach gets a new $8,000 paint job will be worth $90,000? I have a little trouble believing this. Perhaps I'm reading you incorrectly?

Pensacola is a stop we have planned so will make sure we get to the Naval Aviation Museum. I am aware of Ft. Rucker but it never crossed my mine that they probably also have a nice museum. Being Army retired, not as a pilot, few many times on helicopters as well as enjoying them providing close air support in some dangerous situations. So I have a connection to helicopters but not in the way of a pilot. We will put that museum on the bucket list. We do have the Prisoner Of War Museum on the list and then on too Ft. Benning where I also served. Oh yes the Boil Weevil monument sounds like a fun picture stop.lol Thanks so much for the tips. All the tips we are receiving is going to add greatly to what is shaping up to be a wonderful trip.

Thanks for the tip on the cemetery as have not heard of it. Hope to visit the Mercer House. Was not aware of the Hunley being on display and we will make it a must see. Have been looking into campgrounds in the areas and will pay more attention to the two each of you have listed. Just last night was reading about Beaufort and now get a recommendation so it will move up the list of places to visit. We are expecting these two cities to be the highlight of the entire trip. Our research indicates these cities will test our ability to get to most of the history sites in our time allowed before heading back west. We have never been to these areas and are so looking forward to seeing where much American history has happened. Have visited New England history sites but never these southern history sites.

Comparing prices for a few of the same tours offered at Perry 2011, and found 2014 prices a few dollars less than 2011. The Quilting tour that DW is attending is $22 less than 2011. Of course this year they are offering some different tours and those prices are comparable to pricing for tours in 2011. Thank you to the tour organizers for working to keep prices down. This will be our 1st FMCA Rally and looking forward to the trip. Can hardly wait to receive our rally packet. Just for grins does anyone know how the Rally pricing compares to 2011?

If you get a NSA ReadyBrute Elite tow bar you will also get toad brake system included. You can research the ReadyBrute and find many happy users. I went with Blue Ox base plates due to quality company and install was easier than Roadmaster. For lights I went with CoolTech which is easy install and priced reasonable. You can Google to find vendors and pricing. I think you will find this system much less than MH dealer.

x2 on 2014

Not between the two towns but we stay at Downtown Riverside Park in N. Little Rock in October. Really just a big parking lot with FHU on the river. What made it great was that it was walking distance across river bridge to Pres. Clinton Library. From PA website: Unique metropolitan RV Park. Fantastic view of downtown Little Rock skyline, Clinton Presidential Library, and the beautiful Arkansas River. Gated park with 24 hour on-site managers. Total of 68 riverside RV sites in Downtown North Little Rock, AR. All sites are 50 amp. 61 full hook up RV sites. Can accommodate RVs up to 50'. Laundry facilities, Boat ramp 100 yards away. Wi-Fi available, Showers & Restrooms, Pavilion, club house, canoeing, fishing, ice, 15 Mile Bike & Walking River Trail, River Trail Bike Rentals, Arkansas Queen Riverboat, USS Razorback WWII Submarine, Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum, and Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Verizon Arena two blocks, Dickey-Stephens Baseball Park four blocks. The River Rail Streetcar and the Junction Pedestrian Bridge connect NLR's Argenta Entertainment District to LR's River Market. Both venues feature restaurants, museums, attractions, and shopping. Easy access on and off I-30 and I-40 within 1.5 miles.

Just read on Roadtrekingmike Blog about Camp Sumter which was a prisoner of war site holding up to 45,000 Union soilders during Civil War. Now has the National Prisoner of War museum. This is at Andersonville, Ga. Sounds like a good stop.

Yes, I have one and it is a great money saver. We are planning stops around Gulf Shores, Biloxi, Pensacola, Ft. Walton, Ft. Benning(Columbus), Perry, Savanah, Charleston, and Memphis. Hopefully if we are missing any important stops someone will make a suggestion of a stop not to be missed. We are just trying not to drive past a great place to visit.

We have Savanah on the list to visit. Will look into Tybee Island and see what information I can find. We are also going to put Ft. Pulaski on the list. Thanks for the tips.

Departing Houston on March 1, enroute to Perry FMCA rally. Want to drive most southern route going east but not through New Orleans. After Rally continue to South Carolina and then start heading home on a more northern route with a stop in Memphis. We plan to visit coastal areas going east and up to Charleston before making U-turn taking the more northern return route. Expect trip to last no more than 6 weeks. Would like to hear about interesting places to tour/visit throughout the trip that others have experience with? As for campgrounds we stay at PA campgrounds when available. Any roads to steer away from? Thanks

On top of toad is as you know, an excellent haul method. I use the trailer when without a toad. But I have recently purchased an inflatable pontoon craft that when deflated I stow in a bay. Have started spending most of my time fly fishing and floating rivers and this type of craft is better suited for these activities. Still use the kayaks when fishing lakes, marshes and bays. I'm sure people have found a way to stow kayaks on the roof of MH, however, it would be impossible for me. lol

Surge brakes have break away protection. I use a tow dolly with surge brakes and it came with break away to engage brakes if needed. The Ready Brake tow bar also has the break away protection.