jleamont

Any new recommendations for Key West? We are considering a trip next summer and I have been searching the web trying to find that perfect place. Full hook ups are a requirement, great view and some activities for the teens would be a bonus. I have looked at Boyd's and Blue Water. Since it is a family vacation I would spend the extra to camp like a king for a few days. On the days of rest it would be nice to have some activities to keep the teens occupied.

Any new recommendations for Key West? We are considering a trip next summer and I have been searching the web trying to find that perfect place. Full hook ups are a requirement, great view and some activities for the teens would be a bonus. I have looked at Boyd's and Blue Water. Since it is a family vacation I would spend the extra to camp like a king for a few days. On the days of rest it would be nice to have some activities to keep the teens occupied.

I have passed it dozens of times, in this coach and the last, I always look over to see if any of our work trucks are there, never have I seen a PO look my way as I passed by. I did get chased down a few years ago in an empty Ford F250 in NJ that was commercial labeled. That day I got the riot act read to me. Won't do that again.

I replaced my lift pump a year ago. It was located on the passenger side of the engine (opposite the turbo) on the side of the engine almost at the transmission. Mine had a two steel lines connected to the top, and several rubber hoses. The worst part of the replacement was hanging down and working while laying on the floor in the bedroom. The pump cost around $340. I was told it had been redesigned several times and they finally got it right around 2012. I was told the same pump is used on almost every on highway Cummins from 2000-2012, not sure how accurate that info is, the Navistar dealer I bought it from had 4 in stock,that seemed strange to me.

I have a similar problem with the kids slamming it closed. So far yelling just gets me I trouble with the DW, I was thinking about retrofitting something that would make it close soft. I am waiting for the door to break or the windshield pop out.

Wow, I would smile all the way to the bank with that outcome.

I was thinking the same...... So far the worst we have seen has been 8.5 best 10.1, (generator on and towing) wind, speed and terrain really dictate the mpg. I was told the ISL with the VG Turbo (2006 should be equipped)was better on fuel than my 01.I am running all synthetic lubes in the drivetrain and I have low rolling resistance tires, I am sure that might account for part of the reason for the decent mpg.

I was thinking the same, one on every corner around these parts

Wow, great trip! From Gettysburg to Niagara, what route did you take? We want to do this next year and I was also curious about border crossing in an RV, was it a hassle? The Grand Canyon, did you take the train ride from their campground?

No issues here either, I just replaced the top this year, not from towing....it was 12 years old and the zippers were breaking.

Good luck! There are some nice used units out there, depending on where you live and how far you are willing to travel for them.

rhart, Going back to some old...memories, we bought our 1st coach in Feb 2008 and a tow dolly but often the specific campground was our destination so no need for the car, plus the dolly when we did bring it was tough to find a place to park it and a bigger pain to tie the car down. One day late in 2009 I was under the coach installing roller wheels under the hitch since I had bottomed it out so often (11' of body after the rear axle) I was trying to save the coach underside, I looked up and saw a sticker on the front side of the hitch where no normal person could read it that stated something like "caution 3000lbs maximum towing capacity" "Coachmen part# xxxx00000". I started to feel sick to my stomach as I was calculating the weights in my head the dolly was a few hundred pounds and the car was 3000 + this decal was facing the rear axle under the back side of the hitch. Just under the bumper where you connect to the hitch was a decal from the hitch manufacture rated at 5000 lbs., I saw that and thought I could pull 5000 lbs. when we bought it a year ago great! Shouldn't have listened to the DW I wanted a Safari DP at the time and I just should have bought it then...different story. So I sold the tow dolly and we were not going to take any chances and tow our car any longer, at the time the kids were 6 and 8 so destination campgrounds for them became a routine and the lack of transportation was not a big deal. There were a few occasions I did unhook and go to a store, I ground my teeth all the way to and from the store. We started to only go to destination campgrounds that had a good size campstore, yea,everyone reading this is laughing right about now. Then we bought a golf cart and trailer, never brought the car again. Funny how towing the golf cart in an enclosed trailer was more of a drag on the unit from the wind resistance on the trailer than towing the car was, but I was under 3000lbs so that’s how we rolled for a few years. Now I very rarely go anywhere without the Toad and we pull with a tow bar (no more dolly). I finally bought the DP 5/2014 close to what I have always wanted so the jeep we had purchased in 2012 and only drove on occasion graduated to the "Toad" status. Before you make your decision, think about the future, how long you will most likely have the coach and don't do what I did, looking back that was a lot of money. Since you are looking toward the Class C be sure it is rated to tow what you have or are considering on purchasing soon since IMO you will be lost without your car.

Next step....why the open fuse? High resistance in the fan motor? Chafed harness? Perhaps try and shake the wiring around while the fan is running (keep your fingers, hands and loose clothing away from any moving parts), look for chafe points where the wires pass through.

Thanks Brett. Hopefully next year one will be closer to home.

Tom, good points mentioned above. I have washed our several times and I just had it waxed for the first time to protect the fiberglass from UV. I just have to remember to walk carefully now as it may have become slippery with the wax.

Does anyone know if any are planned for PA,NJ,MD, VA in the future? I would love to go and experience it, working full time with a family makes it tough.

Good to hear, with the different floor plans sometimes it can be tough. Nice looking coach also. Safe travels!

I did it on our last coach by 400 lbs. Much different coach than what you have. We had a Class C With a V10 Ford, it pulled......OK, no over temp transmission issues, really no concerns ever noticed other than a serious lack of power and it killed what little gas mileage I had. Our jeep has a floor positioned brake box so stopping was not really a concern, although you knew it was behind you until the box kicked in, I increased my following distance just in case. I had done this a few dozen times before I realized I was over, once I did I stopped and we upgraded the coach. Knowing it is over I would not take the risk. Just curious, what is the hitch rated at on the coach? The reason i ask is my hitch was rated at 5000lbs, Coachmen had a sticker "do not tow over 3000lbs", on the opposing side of the hitch facing forward, I noticed it long after I towed with it.

Good to hear. How hard was it to access on your coach?

rhart, Our last coach had rubber, when I bought it the original roof was on it and it was dried out and cracked, so I had the dealer replace it. The dealer told me every six months climb up and inspect all of the lap sealant around the roof vents, antenna's etc. If you see cracks, remove it carefully with a putty knife and replace the lap sealant. There is a bunch of videos on YouTube that shows how to do it. While it was a pain and involved a little labor I didn’t mind so much. The original roof was 9 years old when it failed, it looked like no one had ever took care of it, by that I mean keeping it clean, and once/twice a year spraying the rubber roof conditioner on it to keep the rubber soft. We have a fiberglass roof now, I would have preferred aluminum, I still have to do the inspections, now I use the rubber roof tape in lieu of the lap sealant and I still have to wax the roof, from what I can see the maintenance on fiberglass is easier and cheaper but the initial expense is more. One thing I noticed the fiberglass roof is quieter in the rain, much less interior noise. Personally I would not do anything less than fiberglass if I had to do it again. One thing to caution, what is on top of the slides?? I have seen some new Jayco products with raw luan wood under the topper with a painted product on it, which looked like to me a huge miss by an engineer. When I asked the dealer their response was "well it has a slide topper no water will get up there, what else do you need"? Anyone who has ever camped in the rain will tell you water will find it's way under the slide topper and on top of the slide. Some have the rubber membrane and some have an aluminum or Stainless steel caps, try to save yourself headaches down the road, see if they can be aluminum or stainless steel capped with a topper above it.

jbrooks357, I just went through this for a friend with a Ford battery cable. I searched the web and found a co in Texas (oddly it was a family owned oil co, I cannot locate the name) but they buy obsolete parts from the Ford and resell them and there are several companies around the US that does the same. I started by searching for the part number on the web.

Tireman9, well said and I agree. I am sure Born Free is holding their vendors feet to the fire, most likely they are recouping some labor back as well. They obviously care about their customer's enough to staff accordingly to handle such a task.

Considering you are basicially removing, other than what kaypsmith said you should be good. I did the opposite, I removed the 2 chairs and the buffet/hutch and installed a booth. The only two concerns I had was the Hydro heat exchangers and fans, and when I mounted the booth what was underneath the floor that I could possibility drill into. I made a box for both heat exchangers from the left over wood from the hutch I had removed, remounted those, removed the basement ceiling and pulled all of the wires, air lines, fuel lines aside drilled, bolted and put all of that back, reinstalled the ceiling. good luck with your project

Paulrl, I agree with Herman. While you are in VT and if you like ice cream, add the Ben and Jerry's factory tour to your list. We have always wanted to go and check the place out, from what we saw on the travel channel it looks like a neat stop. safe travels!

rwitt, What model A/C units do you have? Do they have heat pumps in them also?