jleamont

James, Welcome! You are around 2-3 hours east of us, depending on where in North Jersey you are located. I requested info from Jersey Gems and Penn Coachmen, they seemed like a good fit for us.

Dave, I requested information a month ago............still waiting......... busy time of the year up in this part of the USA. My guess is they are all prepping their coaches for the season. FMCA Admin, can you tell me if these two chapters are still active? When I looked up a few names they had not logged on in several years. Penn Coachmen Jersey Gems Thank you

John, I had a similar problem with our Class C we had. My driving was a white knuckle experience down the highway, I had a horrible side to side sway (felt like it was going to tip over) and when anything would pass me it would draw me into them and shoot me off the road onto the shoulder as they passed. I replaced my factory sway bars with a front and rear kit from Roadmaster, replaced all of the factory shocks with Bilstein and installed a Rear track bar. It eliminated my white knuckle experience and body sway but it did make it ride rough. I would weigh the unit first and adjust tire pressures accordingly like Rich mentioned first, then consider upgrading suspension component's if it still is uncomfortable to drive. The link below is where I purchased such items; you can also try an internet search to locate the best pricing for the items. With an F53 you will need to know your GVWR before you can shop. It is located on the chassis identification label in the coach. http://www.supersteerparts.com/products/motorhome--rv/class-a/f-53-chassis/index.html I has a friend that drove a 2016 Tiffin open road with and without Sumo springs, he told me it was a completely different drive from one to another, might be something to look into, I have no experience with them, here's the link; http://www.sdtrucksprings.com/sumo-springs/ford

Wayne, thank you for the information. its on my list of stuff to build, I was thinking about nails just the tips protruding out the bottom to be used a cleats and have the other wood above to protect the tires from the heads.

Tom, somehow I do not remember that post but it was fantastic! Many good points on there from everyone, Kay made a good point, my routine maintenance cost would not increase even if I doubled my miles traveled, it's just not due for any in that narrow window. DW and I often have this conversation, she grew up traveling by air and 5 star hotels, I didn't. When I run the numbers this is still more cost effective, or it is the way we did it. You can't put a price on family memories, we make much much more now than before. At the end of the day that is all that matters to us, making new friends along the way is a bonus. One thing I am sure of, none of our figures will match, too many variables.

I am challenged with this task often at work for maintenance costs for the fleet and report out on it. I am not sure what to include in the number, here is what just comes to mind; monthly payment fuel insurance maintenance/repairs I can say average cost per mile on maintenance for me will be different for others, year of coach, condition, manufacture, maintenance provider, average mileage estimate, MPG...etc...all will play a part on the calculation. For us average maintenance would be .12 per mile for maintenance (total so far with this coach) (national fleet average is .16 plus tires), if you added all of the above into the equation it would be somewhere around $1.60 per mile (we average 7000 miles per year, CG charges not included above). $13200.00 per year average out of pocket (including CG charges, fuel insurance, maintenance, coach payment) or $1.88 per mile. If you think about how many days we spend in the motorhome throughout the year my guess would be somewhere around $165.00 per day of use (in total). Still a little cheaper than a nice hotel per night (depending on where you are traveling). We will save on meals and you still have to get there somehow which is not figured into the $165.00 per day (that's just an average nightly average hotel rate) so if we took our SUV and stayed in a hotel, bought food out.... my guess with rough math would be $25,300 per year or $3.61 per mile or $316.25 per day of travel by car. It wasn't that long ago we traveled by car/plane everywhere. Being able to pull over at a rest stop, not get out, take a shower and go to sleep in your own bed is priceless when traveling assuming you can locate a vacant hotel room while traveling we spent many nights catching few hours of shut eye with the seat reclined back in a rest area since all of the hotels we called were booked, that is no fun and not a nice way to start or end a vacation. Wow, my head hurts hope that helps.

Wow, I see that trailer situation often up here, best when they pass me like they are trying to prove something and my wind blows them all over the road . I love the optional slide securement devices . Real class act there! Never thought of washing my undercarriage that way, learn something new every day .

You do not have buttons on your wheel for cruise control, wipers etc?

Wayne, I was considering making something like that. How do you back up onto them without the wood dragging along the ground?

Send me a PM.

Mtroise46, did they require you to bring a designated driver to the test? Curious what time of day is your test appointment?

Old post and I wanted to update it; We just returned from a long weekend to New York City. We stayed at Liberty Harbor RV park which is located across the Hudson from NYC (in Jersey City NJ) but next to the Statue of Liberty and a large marina. The CG is just a Parking lot with Water, 30/50 Amp electric and honey wagon service ($20.00 per day up charge for honey wagon). No issues getting into the area with a 41' 6" coach (no toad). 10 minutes from I-78 easy on and off. The area is under a revitalization project which is raising the bar for the area, many upscale restaurants in the area. The people were very nice. The CG has a restaurant on the water at the marina (it wasn't open yet for the season but looked nice). They have 24hr security and at no point in time felt uncomfortable or unsafe. The local Police patrol the marina often (must be the high dollar yachts and sail boats docked there?). They have a ferry dock at the marina which is about 1000 feet from the sites, the boat will take you to NYC with a rate of $7.00 per person. If you want to see NYC I recommend giving this place a try, it is as close as you can get, honestly it felt odd sitting outside and looking at the NYC skyline at night which was neat...just different. I prepaid for the honey wagon service and I just left that basement door unlocked for them to handle it while we were out for the day, no issues and they left me a note on the door to let me know the tanks were empty. Defiantly would return to this place. It could use some sprucing up but for what it is it just works. web site http://www.libertyharborrv.com/

Roy, we have similar coverage. I have a mileage cap per year I can run which will dictate my rates, otherwise it is assumed its parked and it is covered in case of storm damage etc. I plan our trips every year, total up the mileage estimate and contact our agent, I add some fluff into it just to be safe. I also let them know it sits from November to March at home, if in storage it was more $$, since its at our house it was a little cheaper. We have Erie Insurance for everything.

This is where a "like button" would come handy . shorbus, you will find a lot of good information on here from mostly friendly people.

ObedB, you would hope they wouldn't but just take a look around, name brands with low quality, It's everywhere these days.

Bill, I use this one, if you have the space they work great, I am trying to make space and these take up so much. My goal is to keep the hose and the water filter in the wet bay. http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/white-never-kink-rv-marine-hose-50-x-5-8-/26451 Great hose, I have two different lengths (25' and 50') it just takes up too much space. I use the Camco quick connects for all of my connections. http://www.etrailer.com/Plumbing/Camco/CAM20143.html?feed=npn&gclid=CNzF4buKxswCFQ9Zhgodh2cOgA

Rick, you can post photos in the gallery section, and copy and paste the link on here, I gave up on trying to post photos on the forum. I did get your email and responded to you.

Anyone using this hose at this time? if so can you provide some feedback? https://www.apexhose.com/zero-g-rv-marine-hose Two of us on here have been considering the purchase of this but do not want to spend the money for another "snake oil" gimmick. My current traditional white RV hose is huge when rolled up and takes up too much space. Looking for alternatives. Thank you

Carl, I second Brett's idea and Kay's. could just be as simple as the battery is tired or a connection has become a problem. Wave; I usually wave to fellow motorhome's passing me, especially when I see an FMCA goose egg. In CG's I will often talk to fellow motorhome folks, if you haven't noticed I like to talk .

LIKE

This is exactly how I run ours! At a 1/2 I ask the DW to look ahead for the best bargain on fuel with gas buddy app. She tells me what is ahead and I make the decision where to stop. I also try to keep it full for the reason Brett mentioned, the fuel tank gets hot with returned fuel from the engine which will create more condensation in the tank and also for weight distribution. I have a 14,600lb steer axle, my fuel tank runs parallel to it (just behind the axle, genset hangs out in front of it) my holding tanks are just in front of the drive axle, due to the high capacity of the steer axle I try to keep weight up there for handling. I also do not like to run below 1/2 since our last coach, you had to be careful, if you went below 1/2 your distance was not good, and you had a great chance at running out of fuel, especially when you could watch the gauge drop if you sunk your foot into it.

rdjl972 sending you a PM with my email. I will send you photos of my set up from Monaco, maybe it will help put things into perspective. Can you put spacers behind the rollers on each side and maybe tack weld a shim so it stays square?

I have worked on many Dodges with Cummins power, the engine layout was different than any medium duty truck/RV engine, including the color of the paint. The block and head appeared to be about the only common component, everything hanging off of that looked different. I suspect most items hanging off of the pick up was Dodge, the items on the medium duty engine are all Cummins.

Well...look at the positive side....at least we all are happy chatty, not tearing each other up like the other RV forums, I guess