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deenad

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Everything posted by deenad

  1. Does anyone know what's going on with them? Tried to order new FMCA decals, no way to do it on their website (and the website says it was last updated in 2005) so I sent an order and check in on about Aug 26th. Check is uncashed. Have sent several emails with no answer yet.
  2. I have a picture of a liner pitted all the way through. Actually I have two pictures one from a local shop and another from a retired Fleetguard engineer. this is the one from the Fleetguard engineer.
  3. Brett: Maybe some but I have my doubts with the ISX!
  4. Cummins called today, said it wouldn't be ready on Friday the 10th as they needed to run it on the dyno and no one was available to do it till Monday. They also found a cracked DPF and that's going to add over $2,000. I need to find the Federal MH warranty info as I think that's covered for 8 years but not totally sure on a motorhome.
  5. Our new, to us, 2009 Magna with Cummins ISX 650 shows 7.1 mpg going from OR to AZ and almost home to WA. That's also the mileage that showed on the VMS when we did the PDI.That includes Tehachapi, the Grapevine and several hours stuck in traffic with the Odysssey in tow. Max speed is supposed to be 65 due to the Odyssey limits. That's not much worse than our much lighter Dutch Star with ISC 350 and the Magna weighs some 46,500 empty and the Ody is 4,400 at least.
  6. Gary has the correct answer. Some states, like WA and OR have a requirement for being able to stop in XX feet from XX mph with a "combination vehicle". If you can meet that then supplemental braking is not required. BUT then WA also requires that there be a breakaway that can hold the unhitched vehicle on any normal highway grade for 15 min. I know of no way to do that without a braking setup on the towed. Our Magna has disk brakes all the way around and a three way engine brake. Due to time constraints we did tow it 2,600 miles with no brakes on the Odyssey and I never really noticed any need for more braking. HOWEVER, as soon as it gets back from Cummins after the engine rebuild I have all the parts to hook up to the air lines for the braking system already in the van. You must comply with every states braking requirements that you travel in, not just your home state
  7. The Magna we just purchased has 4 - 8D AGM's and four 1000 CCA sealed no maintenance batteries. The charger can only have one setting so, as I understand it, they co-exist just fine although they are the OEM batteries and are 2009 era and might need replacing soon as they seem to be weak, but, until we get it back from Cummins I really don't know.
  8. Our, new to us, Magna is 45' and weighs about 49,000#'s towing a Honda Odyssey so figure 53,000#'s or so. VMS shows 7.1 mpg for the only trip we've taken with it. That includes the Grapevine, Tehachapi and being stuck in traffic after an accident. Stay away from the Cummins ISX 650 as it's not reliable unless rebuilt with the new parts, estimate was $29,000, but Cummins is kicking in $10,000 so we only owe $19,000 for 3,000 miles of use!
  9. Previous two MH's were Dutch Stars, then we bought the Magna because we wanted it (well, actuall I wanted it). Found out the Cummins ISX 650 is NOT reliable and it cost us big time after only 3,000 miles. Look, ask questioins and decide on what matters. We had a '98 Santara and had to repair the cabinets almost every time out. They were made of a pressed cardboad with a vinyl overlay and the screws just wouldn't hold. When we ordered the Dutch Stars we paid for the hard wood cabinets just to get away from the problems with the Santara.
  10. It was rebuilt at a Cummins dealer, came with the, not friendly for RV'ers, standard Cummins truck warranty of 1 yr or 100,000 miles. They really need to go to a 4 or 5 yr, 50,000 mile warranty on the rebuild since the failure came at 4 yrs and 25,000 miles. They found that it needs new liners in 4, 5, & 6, new head, new valves, new turbo and cleaning out everything as metal pieces passed through. They also found water stains in #4, possibly from the previous repair. Cummins did decide to kick in $10,000 or so. Went to our broker today to close out an IRA to pay for the remaining $19,000. And yes, I did join the Power Club, the $19,000 includes the discount. Cummins admits that there is a problem with this engine at the 650 rating and opened a study on it. The "fix" is a new head and valves. Still don't understand why they won't stand behind a known problem engine though. Sure has ruined the good feelings I had about Cummins. Our previous Dutch Star had the ISC 350 with a Banks on it and I never had a bit of trouble with anything engine related. Anyway, Cummins NW was supposed to start on it today, depending on parts availability. Sure has thrown a wrench into everything too! Need to do a brake job on the Civic and guess where my tools are? Need to fix a faucet in the stick house and guess where the tools are? Waiting for the speeding ticket I picked up just before I got to the OR border. Just wasn't used to the "feel" of it and let the speed going down a hill get too high. First ticket in about 25 years!!
  11. Bought it Feb 19th, went to the GS rally in Phoenix (actually Avondale). On the way back we got 40 miles from home the engine blew up. Estimate is right at $29,000 to fix and we only drove it 3,000 miles or so, as is sale and didn't have time to purchase a service contract. The engine ate the valves in #6, which took out 5 and 4. This is the second failure for this with this engine. Engine failed at 19,032 and was rebuilt under warranty. About 1,000 miles later the turbo went out again, and now the third engine failure at about 44,000 miles. Cummins admits there is a problem with the ISX 650's and the have new heads and valves in the supply line. But, when it's running its a real rocket! Usualy don't have to use all the acceleration lane and overall average was 7.1 mpg including the Grapevine and Tehachapi passes plus sitting in a traffic jam for overn an hour, just barely moving.
  12. We're in the process of buying a 2009 Magna from Premier RV in Junction City with the 650 ISX and 47,000 miles. I've seen several reports on the Internet from people who have had a valve drop! Makes me wonder.....
  13. Wth the optional 15,000# receiver. Owners manual states: We would only be towing a Honda Odyssey and it weighs less than 5,000#'s. How does the unit know that something is being towed? How can the disable feature be disabled? If I was towing a large stacker trailer I could see the reason for disabling the tag raise but not for a 5,000# Honda towing four down.
  14. I though all FMCA members were good/nice people. Found out differently at Redmond today when we went to leave. We were parked as per parking crew, when a lady came over and asked us to move as she couldn't get her full-sized Chevy SUV into her spot, leave a walkway between it and her husband's handicapped scooter! To be nice, I moved over about 20" (I measured it), breaking my wheel well in the process as I forgot to let it air up fully ($500 or so to repair). After I moved we didn't have enough room to open our Odyssey doors fully without hitting our neighbors or our rig, but she had a 4' walkway between her SUV and the scooter. Then today I went to pack up to leave and found my window awning strap CUT on that side! It wasn't that way when I pulled the awning down and I didn't see anyone do it, so I can't accuse them outright, but it wasn't that way when I parked!
  15. Our 2000 DSDP had the two converters like yours and only a 450 watt inverter to power the TV. I had CW install a 2,500 watt inverter thinking they would know how to do it correctly. They didn't!
  16. I don't think FMCA "recommends" them. FMCA does accept their advertising money.
  17. I figured our 2005 Odyssey at about $2,200 in '05 and I did the wiring myself. Everything new from RoadMaster, including the Sterling towbar. I see Camping World is running some specials too. RoadMaster Falcon2 and brackets (no brake though) for $1575.99 installed.
  18. Yep, too bad about the automatic one not being towable. Wife can't drive a stick (never learned how) and I won't anymore. Guess I'll have to keep towing our '05 Odyssey or get a CR-V.
  19. The Element was never officially approved by Honda for four down towing and since the OP wants to haul a non approved vehicle there would be no warranty anyway, plus I think the 2011 was the last year they were produced so the warranty would be up or about up anyway. Honda did say there was no known reason it couldn't be towed but it wasn't officially sanctioned like the CR-V and Fit were. An aftermarket service policy wouldn't help either since you're doing something not approved by the manufacturer, which voids the policy anyway.
  20. In Dec 2004 we bought a 2005 Odyssey. Got it in writing on Honda letterhead that it could be towed four down using the CR-V instructions. Got it set up to tow with all RoadMaster gear. Only towed it aobut 300 miles before I saw it on various forums that Honda was saying it couldn't be towed four down. After some "negotiations" with Honda legal and the CA and WA AG's office they agreed to pay for my towing setup. Went and bought a Demco KK-460. Then, a couple years ago I saw that several people were towing them four down so I started towing ours four down. So far no troubles other than operator error in forgetting to release the parking brake and running the battery down. I did install a charge line to alleviate the battery problem. Honda went so far as to send a letter advising us that the trans/engine warranty was extended. Hard to fathom Honda's refusal tow cover the damamge since they say the Fit is towable. In order to deny warranty coverage the manufacturer has to absolutely determine what the root cause of the damage was, if they can't then it should be covered.
  21. There was one case where a couple had a transmission failure, the insurance company asked for all service reports. The people were 750 miles past due on one ENGINE oil change so the company denied any payment for the transmission. We've put money in the bank to self insure and have saved enough to pay for all maintenance and repairs over the 12 years we've had our present rig. The insurance company (they are not, by most state laws, a "warranty" as only the manufacturer can offer a warranty) is betting you won't need repairs, you are betting you do and the insurance company wouldn't be in business for very long if they pay out more than they take in. Besides, if the salesman thinks you need a high priced policy to protect against repairs do you really want something that they think will fall apart under you? Consumer Reports recommends not buying them.
  22. I went with RoadMaster because of my engineering background. I like the extra bracing the crossbar the RoadMaster has as it adds to the strength. Over the years I've seen several BlueOx bars that broke either at the frame or the bar itself broke. I did see one RoadMaster that broke, but it was apparent from the pictures that the bolts were not tightened to specs or not checked enough. Plus, they were only about 20 miles from home and, now that they've moved they're even closer.
  23. What I've saved over the years by not getting a service policy (by law they are not "warranties" unless bought direct from the motorhome manufacturer) I have paid for a new set of tires and all maintenance over the 12 years we've owned the RV. So, for us the answer would be NO.
  24. First off, the vent covers are specific to Fantastic Vents so you have to go to them for replacements, but they have a lifetime warranty. On one of ours the mounting boss broke, called the co. All they asked was my address for shipping. Then I inquired about the double walled, insulated ones. He asked how many I need and I said two. They upgraded to the insulated ones at NO COST to me, not even shipping. However this was before they sold the company and now they charge shipping.
  25. After 2005 model year the only Honda vehicle that Honda would cover under warranty for towing was the CR-V, then in 2007 they added the FIT. As to the Element, according to Honda it is not towable four down. BUT, it shares the drivetrain with the CR-V and they are towable. So, it's up to you since any damage would not be covered under warranty (which is gone by now anyway due to age). Our '05 Ody was supposed to be towable, got it in writing from Honda that it was, then in early '06 Honda said it wasn't. They paid use $2,200 for the towing gear we bought (RoadMaster BTW) and we got a KK-460 dolly. Now I've gone back to towing four down. Your AWD Element is NOT towable on a dolly unless you remove the driveshaft but is probably towable four down with no problems.
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