jleamont

Wildbill308, I have the unit in the link you mentioned above. It is a neat device, works well.

Friends; need some help on deciding where to stay close to Niagara Falls. We have passports but I am apprehensive if I want to cross the boarder with the Motorhome or stay on the NY side and day trip over in the toad. Any recommendations, campground suggestions? I always look for that nice campground that's well groomed and it must be able to handle 41' or motorhome, full hook up 50 amp. Sharing your experiences and recommendations would be greatly appreciated for sites to see (besides the falls) and Campgrounds. I have never crossed the boarder before so I am a bit nervous about the process, this is the reason I figured crossing in the toad would be easier, maybe its just a fear I have. I have looked through http://www.rvparkreviews.com/, most for that area were old and poor from Motorhome folks, so that is making it worse. Real experience would be a huge help. Thank you.

Ian, just check your weather before starting each day. I ran from CA to LA on I10 in December 2013 and there were many ice storms in the higher elevation of Texas. Oddly it didn't look like ice, just a fog that froze to the roadway, you didn't realize it was ice until you stepped on the brake and it wasn't there. We had to settle down in Van Horn for 1 day, the roads were pretty bad. The worst part is east of Van Horn in the mountains, that year I saw what looked like an 18 wheeler junk yard and one DP that was rear ended by a tractor trailer going up hill. the boarder patrol check points are interesting on I10. Did you resolve the over heating issue?

rwitt, keep us posted. I have to change the end of my cord soon, I just noticed it has a crack in it.

rwitt, how old is it?

We do mostly long weekends from March to November and long trips two times per year. This our second Motorhome, started with a Class C and moved up to a DP (in the picture). The draw for us was being able to use your own rest room and meal prep while traveling (plus no electric which means no A/C). Most trailers you cannot access the unit without opening slides. All of the other reasons we did not realize until we camped with friends with trailers and observed their discomfort during set up and tear down. We had the vehicle to tow a trailer at the time and it was still an easy decision for the Motorhome over the trailer since the benefits were staring us in the face. Cost isn't much different when you look at the entire picture. We have friends with a newer Diesel truck and a fifth wheel travel trailer and they have over $110000 invested which is $30,000+ over what I have invested in a nice clean used DP. And I don't have to drive that big fuel gobbler truck all over the place when I am not towing the camper. I work with one of my camper friends he spends $2300 per year more than me in fuel to driver that big truck to and from work. It all adds up.

Dennis, looks great! Was the coach equipped with a rubber roof, I couldn't tell from the photos?

ObedB, if yours only covers surges look into www.50amppowerpal.com. Brett turned me onto this gadget a few months ago. It will test the tower prior to connecting. I picked one up from their website. I love gadgets like this especially when I can justify it with the DW as something that could "save the coach". I call it my second line of defense to protect us from the miss wired tower that is becoming more and more common. After the last coach started to catch fire from a bad tower she has no problem with gadgets like this.

We use the TRC model 34850. I like it because it also handles the following; Voltage and Amp Draw (RMS) Surge Failure (light indicates when surge protection has expired) Reverse Polarity (miswired pedestal, elevated ground voltage) I have the lock for it and that is the one thing I do not like is it could be stolen easily. It has saved me twice so far.

blakeloke, I have the same and I have removed my trim already to run wires for my awning lights. One thing I noticed mine had screws and glue holding the panels on and removing them wasn't much fun, they all interlock as well. Monaco builds them like a tank.

Thanks Brett, I have a kit from Napa in my tool box, now that I think about it I have to check the expiration date.

I have the same experience as Jim, we run 14-16 hours (depends how many times someone opens the door and lets the cold air out). Our generator is an auto start and I have no solar. I have the generator programmed to come on at 60% and shut off at 98%. Personally I would never switch back to absorption type. I recommend taking a look at the following; battery condition energy rating of current refrigerator regroup with your findings afterwards and make a decision that works best for you.

When I worked at the dealership we always used the coaches jacks to lift it up and then set it down on jack stands. At a campground (I only have air leveling) I request the site to be level or relatively level, if my coach cannot level in it with minimal effort they need to move me, if they cannot accommodate I leave. I have seen many motorhomes with the wheels off the ground, some front some rear, I have been there with are old class C (front wheels). If its the rear you can be certain I will not be the site down hill from that person. I can count on one hand how many times I have seen duals up on levelers with both the inner and outer tire supported, usually its some rigged up wood trick that makes your hair stand up on the back of your neck with only the outer wheel supported. Here is something to think about: Travel trailers have no parking brake, now that makes you think....funny Dexter axles (most common small trailer axle manufacture) offers a parking brake kit with a cable controlled handle. Makes you wonder why this options is never on a Travel trailer? Sorry for drifting off topic. I also always look around me when setting up, if I see something unsafe that could present a concern for me and my family I will ask to be moved. I am there to enjoy my time with family and friends, not have my friends or family injured or our time ruined by the guy in the site across from us. I have a theory that I camp by "if a campground doesn't care to maintain their sites and keep them as level as possible I will give my business to the campground that does". I now park our coach on plywood when it is sitting for an extended period. Tires are expensive and there is so much riding on them.

judatt, do you have a surge protector plugged into the tower or is your coach plugged directly into the tower? Do you have a way to test the campground tower prior to connecting?

Rich, yes everything now works. I was convinced he had a ground issue on the chassis Brake/turn circuit somewhere in the rear especially when the headlights were turned on the chassis brake and turn signals would disappear, never had any rear top marker lights either which made me think there was a corroded multipin connector somewhere in the the coach with an issue. Puff, the connector looked similar to the one in your photo, just with more pins. Not a weather tight connection at all. After it was cut out it wouldn't separate without prying it apart, completely full of corrosion. He has begun the process of cleaning up a coach someone didn't take care of trying to make it nice again for his family to enjoy. Other than the lighting everything mechanical appears to be working properly. I told him in the spring to bring it over and we will replace all filters and fluids so he can establish a baseline on his maintenance (coach sitting the rest of the winter), I just want to test the coolant to make sure it can handle the cold winter temps up here. He has begun to pull out the carpet in the back to start replacing that first. Looks like a long winter for him to play with it and make it suit his needs. Funny from the dealers photos it looked pristine.

Rich, it was the main connector that feeds the rear of the unit, completely corroded up and pins were rotted off. Nice to hear from you, I haven't seen many posts from you recently, I was getting concerned. Thanks again, Joe

bstar04, Welcome to the Forum. Congratulations with the new coach, it sure is a beauty!

I struggle with this every year. Do I run the generator or not is the age old question? Our coach will sit from November through March, plugged in and charging the batteries. I can unplug it and run the generator but I don't feel the one small space heater would suffice as a enough load to build heat. The roof top heat pumps will not turn on in the temperatures that I will experience through most of the winter months. All I get on the display is "ICE" which according to the manual is a safety mode when the compressors are too cold to cycle. I have anti gel additive in the coach fuel tank and I have ran the generator prior to parking it under load to circulate the fuel and the coach is parked with a full tank of Diesel. I certainly do not want to start the coach engine, much to cold and I have no intentions of driving it for a full warm up on these roads in the NE especially after they start dropping the calcium chloride salt brine on the roads. So back to the question.....do you run it under a light load just longer or forget about it?

Good article Kay. Fuel quality is a concern I always have. I now keep a large mason jar and funnel in the bay where my fuel tank is. If I am unfamiliar with a station I will dispense some into the jar and look at the color and to see if there is any water in it, smell it prior to filling the coach. I have a Cetane tester at home but I have not brought that with me yet, hopefully I never get burned and feel forced to start testing fuel. I cant count how many times I had customers towed in after fueling to find they purchased Diesel and what they got was a watery mixture of flammable something or a clear fuel that burned like alcohol. 10 years ago it was more common around here. Now we mostly see the Diesel fuel tank with 10+ gallons of DEF in it.

Thanks Rich, I will have him make the call.

Bill, to answer your question, Yes I have seen that before, where you go to a specific branded gas station expecting only their product line and one product will have a label stating that it is not their fuel. It has made me nervous before and a bit hesitant to purchase the product, here is why. I had a friend that owned a gas station back in the 80's and early 90's, he told me that he had to purchase so much fuel from the franchiser, at the time it was Exxon, and some fuel he could purchase from a brokerage company to save a few cents per gallon. Back then I do not believe he had to advertise this on the pump, It wouldn't surprise me that now they would have to affix a sticker to let the consumer know.

I have a friend that just purchased this coach in Louisiana on Friday. Upon picking it up the dealer informed him the unit has no lights on the rear what so ever, come to find out his brake and turn lights on the rear only work when the headlamp switch is in the off position, as soon as the headlamp switch is turned on, no lights in the rear. Either way none of the rear marker lights or tails lighting will illuminate. Seems like a two part problem to me, the first being a bad ground and the second being no power or a completely open ground for the parking lamp circuit to the rear. Anyone have any places to start chasing this electrical problem down, known common areas of concern? I am thinking there is a corroded connector somewhere at the rear where, where to start looking is the question. One thing, the dealer just had the Speedometer replaced, so the dash would have been apart during that repair. The chassis is a 2004 Freightliner Raised rail side radiator with a Cummins ISL400 32,000 GVWR. I have not seen it yet so I do not know what model the chassis is. My instinct tells me I will be at his house this weekend trying to figure this out. Any ideas?

One thing I found surprising is how many RV dealers will sell you a $500,000 unit and refuse to work on it. I have two local RV dealers one is a Monaco/HR/Tiffin dealer, I called them for a Chassis question, they explained to me that they do not perform any chassis work, not even an oil change or a light bulb replacement. If you have a problem with your furnace we will be glad to help I was told, I explained to them I have an Aqua Hot....yep you guessed it "we cannot help you if you have a problem with that, its to technologically advanced and I am not sure we could fit a 40' bus in the shop". Seriously you have no problem collecting some ones money during the sale but provide no service after? I cringe at the thought I may need service one day I cannot perform myself. The other one is not trustworthy and they are known for it so I am on my own out here.

I blow them off prior to leaving the campground with a leaf blower. If it's really bad when I get home or to our next destination I will do it again if there is less foliage coverage the campsite. I bought one of those little electric cheap ones from Sears for $19.95 a few years ago. I also use it for keeping the patio mat clean. When we get home I will put both slides out and the awning out get my step ladder and do it again if it was not so successful at the campground.[/size]