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kingfr

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Posts posted by kingfr


  1. We have towed 4 Jeeps over the years, a 1989 Cherokee Laredo, a 2005 Liberty Renegade, a 2007 Grand Cherokee Limited Diesel, and currently a 2012 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. All have been very easy to set up and tow 4 down, the last two don't even need a key in the switch because the steering wheels don't lock. Just put the transfer case in neutral, hook up the tow bar, install your braking system, and go. No disconnecting batteries, cranking every XXX miles, or any of the stuff that is associated with towing so many other vehicles. We towed the Grand Cherokee over 35,000 miles and have already towed the Wrangler for about 2,500 miles. We have used all of them as daily drivers, in fact, the Grand Cherokee and the Wrangler both serve or served as our only vehicle.


  2. Sooters,

    That's the same thing many of us have been dealing with. I now use the entry portal Brian links to above and I have not lost the log in since. I still have to click on Forums and then Recent Posts but it does save the one step of having to click on the Log In link as well.

    +1


  3. I tow a 2012 Wrangler Rubicon. Your 2011 is basically the same vehicle, with a different engine and transmission. I have towed it for 5 days in a row without disconnecting or starting the engine. You do not have to disconnect the battery or leave the key in the ignition. There is no steering wheel lock on this vehicle. The owners manual for the 11 and 12 models is incorrect, although they won't admit it. I use a Brake Buddy for supplemental braking. My Jeep has a 12 V plug in the center console which is always on (not key controlled) which I plug it into. (Also a 115V inverter plug!) No drain down problems with the battery.


  4. Bank of America claims that I must be able to provide a rent receipt, utility bill or similar to prove that I am a resident at the address that is listed on my drivers license. Unfortunately, this is my Mothers address and I cannot provide this kind of information. I cannot even get a CC with BOA as I cannot meet these new requirements. I would also like to know how others are handling these new laws which burden the full-timer with mandates that we are unable to meet.

    The law of unintended consequences seems to have struck again.

    We use the street address of the house that we sold 4 years ago on out drivers license's, auto registration, etc. The person who bought the house from us is a friend, and he ok'd our use of the address. We were able to secure two new CCs this year using this technique. We us a USPS PO Box in our old home town for mail, Premium Mail Forwarding gets the mail to us.

    This is the main reason why we have not relocated our mail, etc, to Texas or South Dakota.


  5. It would help to know what you are going to tow it behind. The Grand Cherokee is perhaps the easiest vehicle to set up to tow that there is. Setting up a Liberty is comparable to setting up the Wrangler. The Liberty is somewhat lighter than the GC. I have towed all three vehicles behind my current coach, you can't go wrong with a Jeep. The Grand Cherokee is by far the most comfortable to drive of the bunch, however my current Wrangler has more capability off pavement, which is why I traded the GC for it!


  6. My experience is pretty much the same, as far as how often I need to use the 3 steps to log in sometimes after a few hours and sometimes after just under 24 hours. I hardly ever go more than 24 hours between checking the forum and usually check 2 or 3 times each day for new posts or replys.

    I read one other forum and can stay logged in there regardless whether I use park wifi or tether through my blackberry phone. I only have the one PC so it can not be related to being logged in on one and accessing with another PC.

    Same here. Two other forums, Escapees and TiffinRVNetwork, never log me out. Running Vista, Firefox and McAfee.


  7. I experience the same problem of dead batteries when the coach is parked for 15 or so days; even when connected to 50 amp service. I thought that when connected both the house and chassis batteries were being charged. On this most recent occasion I was told that only the house batteries are charged, not the chassis batteries. I have a 2008 Monaco Diplomat. Is there any modification/addition that can be made to also charge the chassis batteries when connected to shore power?

    Get a battery minder. (Trickle charger plugged into a 115 outlet in your coach.) Mine came equipped with one, never had a problem, even going several months without cranking the engine.


  8. Ken,

    That is the right link! There is a wealth of information on TRVN about Tiffin coaches, and if you cannot find an answer by searching, then post a question and someone (like Cruzer) will probably know the answer and post it.

    I'm pretty sure that that recall is several years old, a Freightliner recall. There were just a few chassis's that actually had the problem. I had my coach checked at Freightliner in Albuquerque when that recall came out, no problem with my coach.


  9. Hi Frank,

    With the cost of Diesel these days, I'm wondering if the deals out weight the cost of the trip back :-). I belong to the Tiffinrvnetwork and I just saw something on there you may or may not know about. Seem's Tiffin is having a recall on the Phaeton's and something about some brake issues. Here are the links for more information: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/re ... furl=email and viewtopic.php?f=119&t=38057. Most of the posts says they're referring to the FRED's and some people say they never go a notice so they called Freightliner and were told their coach was not included. Might be something to check out. I'll check some places on the web to see what kind of deals they are offering in Alabama. I own a Honda Motorcycle and when I was investigating them I learned the Dealer's paid the same cost for shipping whether they were right next store to the plant or on the West coast. I thought that was kinda strange :-).

    Thanks

    Ken & Karen Miller

    Oregon City, Oregon

    I would suggest that you contact the dealers directly, you'll get much better pricing that way. The internet posted prices are never as low as they will go. You can get a retail price list from TRVN, (Cruser posts them) and decide what you want and price it. Send the configuration to a number of dealers and get bids. Often you will get better pricing if you are willing to do a special order, because the dealer does not have to floor plan the inventory. If you look around TRVN, you will find which dealers people have had the best luck with.


  10. Hi Frank,

    With the cost of Diesel these days, I'm wondering if the deals out weight the cost of the trip back :-). I belong to the Tiffinrvnetwork and I just saw something on there you may or may not know about. Seem's Tiffin is having a recall on the Phaeton's and something about some brake issues. Here are the links for more information: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/re ... furl=email and viewtopic.php?f=119&t=38057. Most of the posts says they're referring to the FRED's and some people say they never go a notice so they called Freightliner and were told their coach was not included. Might be something to check out. I'll check some places on the web to see what kind of deals they are offering in Alabama. I own a Honda Motorcycle and when I was investigating them I learned the Dealer's paid the same cost for shipping whether they were right next store to the plant or on the West coast. I thought that was kinda strange :-).

    Thanks

    Ken & Karen Miller

    Oregon City, Oregon

    Not so on Motor home, at least not Tiffins. I don't know what the difference is, but it is more expensive west of the Mississippi.


  11. If you buy a coach in Alabama, Tennessee or Mississippi and title it and tag it in Oregon, you will pay no sales tax in those states. You will deal with whatever costs are involved in titling and tagging in your home state. This is why Montana LLC's are popular with people buying new coaches. The coach is titled and tagged in Montana, which also has no sales tax. In this (Southeast) part of the world, you should expect to pay 25 - 27 % under list price for a Phaeton level coach. I suggest that you go to www.tiffinrvnetwork.com. You will find out more than you ever wanted to know about buying a Tiffin coach! I bought my coach in Huntsville, AL, and I get my service in Red Bay, at the factory or at some service facilities near by. (We spend time in Alabama every year so that is not convenient.)


  12. We spend a lot of time in the west in our 40 footer, and the only parks, so far, that are an issue are Yosemite and some of the California coastal State parks. As for Mountains, the ISC has had no problems, even driving over US550 from Durango Co to Ouray Co, towing a 5000 lb Grand Cherokee. Tiffin does make a 40 ft Phaeton model with bunk beds! They are on the street side rather than the curb side as in the 38 ft RED. Good luck in your search. You might want to come east to get your coach. Many people find that it is worth their while to make the trip from a cost standpoint.


  13. Since the RED is only rated to tow 3500 lbs (GVWR 29,500 - GCVR - 33,000), your towed vehicle will already have the coach overloaded, and the 1500 lb bike + lift won't help. The rear axle on the RED is an 18000 lb axle. You should look at a Phaeton on a Powerglide chassis for the kind of loads you are talking about. It is rated to tow 10,000 lbs, due to having an Allison 3000 series transmission. The tow limit on the RED is due to the Allison 2500 series transmission in it, not the engine. The Phaeton/Powerglide will have a 22,000 lb rear axle plus almost twice the torque. (660ftlbs - ISB vs 1050 ftlbs - ISC)


  14. We have been without power since 8 pm last night, due to "Lee". It is now almost 10 am. The prognosis from the park rangers is "we don't know when power will be back on!" I am not technically "dry camping" because we have water and sewer, however! I'm glad that I added the extra battery capacity when we put in the RR! :)


  15. If you plan to dry camp with the RR, you probably will need extra batteries. If you will run it on batteries, either dry camping or going down the road, you at least need to be sure that your inverter is a pure sine inverter. Modified SW inverters have been known to fry delicate electronics. We upgraded to a Magnum 2800 Pure Sine inverter and 6 AGM batteries when we put in our RR.

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