aztec7fan
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Posts posted by aztec7fan
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Welcome to RV'ing and FMCA! When traveling, we generally alternate between a free place to stay and then a campground/RV park the next night. You can usually stay in Wal Mart parking lots overnight, but check the link the previous post mentioned for stores you cannot stay at. You can also stay at Flying J truck stops and many other places for free which can cut down on travel costs. Check out this website:
http://www.freecampgrounds.com/
When stopping at a Wal Mart or other store, If we are the first RV there, we follow the FMCA Code of Conduct, and ask permission (of the store manager) before staying the night. If there are several RV's already in place, we assume it's ok. We try to buy a few things in the store to show our appreciation for this free service.
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Check your GFCI's in your kitchen and bathroom area. Although I would think the A/C would be on a dedicated circuit, it's possible this might be affecting part of your coach. I had the same thing happen on my southwind.
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So I've looked at the manufacture date on my tires and they all were manufactured in the early part of 2005 (January and February). This means they will all be 7 years old next year. So how hard/fast is the suggestion that we should replace tires after 7 years? I have done some checking on them and do not see any cracking, but I know there could be hidden cracking on the inside duals.
1) Should I have them inspected by a tire dealer and if no problems, just wait a year and have them inspected again?
2) Should I replace them at 7 years, no matter what the condition?
3) Being limited on funds, I was thinking about replacing just the fronts next spring and having the rear ones inspected and keeping them a while longer. Is it OK to do that?
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One thing you haven't mentioned is how much driving you will need to do in the winter months? Will you need to travel in the mountains, or just around the front range?
The reason I ask is, have you purchased chains for the vehicle? As you know, we do get snow, but the storms in Denver usually don't require chains to drive around, except maybe once or twice a year. If you will be driving anywhere in the mountains or between Colorado Springs and Denver, I'd reccomend getting a set for your size tire, and some heavy duty grommets, or "spider bunjies". I have some for my coach, but haven't needed them yet.
Almost needed them to get out of a campground on Easter weekend this year when we woke up to 8" of snow.
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Along with the other posters, I would agree that you shoulnd't try to drive too far, too fast.
The first mistake I made with my first motor home was treating it like a car. On car trips, we would generally try to drive as much as possible, before having to stop at a hotel. With the motor home, we drive about 3 hours in the morning and 3-4 hours in the afternoon, which gets us to the place we will stay in the daylight, and we are not too tired to do some sightseeing or just relax. Also, keep your speed at 65 mph or less, which will improve your gas milage greatly and reduce wear and tear on tires and engine.
I looked at the most likely route you will take from MO to Grand Canyon, (assuming you are coming from the Kansas City area). I mapped out about 300 miles from there which puts you in around Pratt, KS the first day (lots of assumptions here). I looked up campgrounds in that area on RVParkreviews (http://www.rvparkreviews.com/) and there appears to be a nice place to stay called The Evergreen Inn and RV Park.
This is how we plan our trips, and hopefully the info will help.
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Well said Brett, you are correct, and I should have been more specific. With our coach, we also have the Dual Range aux transmission from U.S. Gear installed and this basically doubles the gears I have available. On a long downhill grade (like from the Eisenhower tunnel to Dillon CO on I-70) I hit the button on the dual range to down shift and also down shift on the column. With downshifting this much, I never have to hit the brakes the entire 5 miles.
Equilibrium is the way I'd describe it too.
As far as the original post, the terrain they will follow is not as steep, but they will encounter some hills. Just check your fluid levels and maintain the engine properly, and you will really enjoy the trip.
When you're done at the Grand Canyon, I'd actually recommend coming back through Monument Valley and Moab in UT to get to I-70, and then come back though Colorado. You will really enjoy the scenery!
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Our 1989 Southwind (454 engine, 32') made the trip from Denver to the Grand Canyon just fine last year and has been very reliable for the last 3 years we've owned it. We love the coach and don't think we need to upgrade anytime soon.
If you take any hills or passes, keep in mind you may take a little more time than before. Ours usually take the steepest Colorado mountains at about 34-40 mph, and I take the downgrades at the same speed by downshifting accordingly.
The only problem I've had with mine is a small power steering fluid leak, which I plan on fixing this winter.
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My dad's was KDU3721. Why do I remember that? Anyway, I miss the 1970's when everyone had CB's and you could actually get some useful information. We were in the desert southwest one time (Big Bend I believe) and I came back with some bug bite that worried my mom. She called on the CB and actually got a peditrician. She described the bite and he explained how to treat it. Later found out he was at home in New Hampshire! Love that skip!!
Our Fitzjohn looked kind of like a greyhound bus (to the un-initiated). One time while driving down the highway, we hailed an ice cream truck on the CB and convinced him we had 30 hungry boy scouts on board. He was a little dissapointed at the next rest area when just a family of 4 got off the bus but we got our ice cream anyway.
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My son is turning 16 next year, and shortly thereafter, we will be taking a long trip to California. I am considering letting him drive our motorhome a small stretch of open highway in the desert southwest (middle of nowhere) if I'm satisfied with his driving skills with our cars.
What do you think?
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I have an Onan Emerald III Genset on my old 1989 Southwind that has never worked right in the two years we've had the coach. I can press the remote start button and it runs while pressed in start position, but when the button is released to run on it's own, it shuts off. I've checked and I'm getting spark, and fuel flow is fine. I've cleaned the carb, and replaced the spark plugs, and changed oil and filter, with no success.
I'm wondering if the remote switch could be faulty. How can you check this switch? does current continue to flow through the switch while the generator is running?
Note, the start/stop switch on the unit itself does not work at all, so I can't test operation from there.
Thanks for any info you can provide. This unit is gas only, does not run off propane.
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We live in Denver, and have cold weather camped several times. Our first trip of the year is in the 2nd week of March, and temps have been around 20 degrees or lower. I usually turn the furnace on and leave cabinets open near sinks and so far have never had any problems. A couple of times the water pump froze, but did not crack, so I now leave the light on in that compartment.
I plan on taking the coach skiing this winter, which will have much colder temps, in which case I will probably drain the water and use bottled water for the toilet and hand washing.
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Yes, I would like to know too! We got a barking dog complaint last year while sightseeing in Yellowstone.
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I hope this isn't considered "hijacking this thread", but I too have a revenue idea. Every January, I get the "large issue" with the list of members who have recruted 10, 20, 50, 100+... members. I am wondering, how do they do it? I know it might seem self-serving, but could an article be put in the FMC magazine highlighting one or more of the members who have signed up a large number of new members and how do they do it?
I've discussed FMCA with a couple of co-workers who have motorhomes, but they wern't interested. Aside from leaving issues of FMC magazines in Dr's offices, I really have no ideas on suggesting our great organization to others.
Thanks,
Chris G.
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For someone you know, I would think it would be perfectly acceptable to come up and knock on the door of your coach, just as you would in a sticks and bricks home. If it's a complete stranger, I might wait until they're out sitting on the "porch" or puttering around outside the coach and then approch them.
If you meet someone at a social activity, I'm sure you could ask them "what site are you in?" or something similar and see if they are open to visits.
As a side note, in the old days, at FMCA conventions, they used to hand out a cards with the word "yes" on one side and "no" on the other. If you were open for visits, you'd put the "yes"" side in your window, etc. I haven't been to a convention since 1982, so I don't know if they still do this.
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Hello. I've got a comment about the FMCA Code of Ethics, and I don't know who to write to, so I thought I'd post my question(s) here.
As some of you know, I've been a member of FMCA off/on since about 1970. One of the specific things I remember from the early days was that I felt FMCA members were "better" than the other RV clubs members because we held ourselves to a higher standard. When we held a rally, we left the grounds cleaner than when we arrived. My parents would always assist other FMCA members whenever possible, and when driving, they pull over to the side if possile to let faster vehicles pass. I still do these things today, primarily from what I learned from my childhood days with the club.
All of these actions were listed in the original FMCA Code of Ethics:
But they are no longer listed in the current (what I consider watered-down) document: Member Code of Ethics.
Although these items are common sence, it sometimes helps to have things in writing as a reminder how to act properly. I was wondering when was this changed, and what was the reason to remove some of these items? Also, the original COE had a strongly worded item saying essentially don't display your FMCA emblem unless you are willing to follow this code. I believe this says that if I display my "goose egg" I follow a higher code of ethics that those RVers who don't.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks for listening,
Chris G.
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I would also reccommend looking into some of the campgrounds in Custer State Park:
http://gfp.sd.gov/state-parks/directory/custer/campgrounds/
We drove through here a couple of years ago, and the area is just beautiful! The campgrounds fill up fast in the Summer, though, so I'd also suggest booking as soon as you have specific plans. Keep in mind that some of the areas might be inaccessable to a larger MH due to low tunnels.
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What Bill and Brett have explained is true. You need to weigh each corner of your coach to see how much weight you have on each tire. The proper PSI can vary greatly depending on how much your coach weighs.
I don't know what tires you have so here is a random example:
19.5" rims with Michelin 245/70/R19.5 XRV tires.
Coach weight tire PSI
3640 80
3740 85
3890 90
4080 95
Other tires can have even larger variances depending on coach weights.
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Everyone, I don’t know if you saw it, but I wrote to FMCA about getting more younger members with kids back in January 2010, and they published it:
http://www.fmcmagazine.com/back-issues/2010/january/73-readers-forum-january-2010
Dkhender:
After you get settled in Colorado Springs, look me up. I know of a place in the mountains about 2 hours from you that has great fishing, large open areas for your kids to ride bikes or shoot BB guns at cans, it’s right next to the Colorado Trail which is great for hiking, and the best part, it’s FREE. Maybe we can have an old-fashioned FMCA rally with a large fire to roast marshmallows and sing stupid songs and have our kids run around and make some noise.
Finally, I too find it interesting that no one from the FMCA board has responded to any of these posts.
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Tom, welcome to FMCA and I do hope you decide to stay with us. I too have kids (two boys ages 14 and 10) and I enjoy my membership with FMCA, but also realize it's limitations. I do understand that the majority of FMCA members are at or above retirment age and are not traveling with children, except for the occasional trip with the grandkids. I still find FMCA benificial in several ways:
1) The FMC magazine is the best resource for motorhome owners around for information on maintenance, repairs, and just enjoying your coach to the fullest.
2) This website also provides a lot of valuable information for the motorhome owner. I've asked many questions here and gotten very useful information back very quickly.
3) The local rallies can be enjoyable for members of all ages (at least in my area). Sure, some of the activities may be geared to the older members, but pick and choose what you and your family would be interested in. I remember a local rally a few years ago put on by the Rocky Mountain Chapter where they had a demonstration of trained police dogs that my 6-year-old really enjoyed.
4) I know you might be hard-pressed to find time to visit a national convention, but try to. Your kids will really enjoy the activities put on with the various age-related groups (PRE-TEENS, TWEENS, TATS, TOTS), and you will learn something from the presentations.
I hope this information helps your decision to stay with FMCA (or not). I know you have a separate issue in your area where the general population and the FMCA population is mostly retired, and you are having a hard time finding camping locations. It sounds difficult, but you may have to just make plans farther ahead during the busy months.
If you ever get the time to come to Colorado, please look me up and I would be happy to point you in the direction of kid-friendly activities.
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I would recommend calling ahead of time to check on prices. In a single day I have seen a price of $4.86/gal (at area rent-Alls) and $2.60 at another dealer here in Denver.
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Not a bad idea! My wife and kids love to fish and our motor home is fully stocked to fish anytime. There have been a couple of times we had the opportunity to throw a line in, but the inconvenience of getting a licence stopped us.
I would suggest there be one license, and when you get it, you pay for stamps for states you plan on fishing in that season. That way, each state could get their revenue, and the DOW would get theirs.
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OK, I've only been a member for two years, so maybe it's already been discussed in a previous FMC magazine, but has anyone seen one of these:
http://www.terrawind.com/terrawind.htm
Does anyone own one?
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In Colorado Springs, you might want to stay at the Mountaindale campground:
http://www.mountaindalecampground.com/
It's a little outside of town, but very clean, quiet, and the managers are very friendly. The Rocky Mountain Chapter has stayed here before.
Also check out Garden of the Gods, and if you have young kids, they might enjoy Santas Workshop (open all year).
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This is my opinion, not based on any laws:
I would put the child under 1 year of age in a car seat facing backward in the co-pilot seat. I would put the 2 year old in a car seat appropriate for her weight (or age) in the swivel seat behind the copilot (if so equipped) or sideways on the couch behind the driver. I believe this would be the safest for the age of the children. When my oldest was 3 in the late 1990's, he sat in the swivel seat with the seat belt on all the time, except when using the bathroom or getting a drink, but things have gotten more strict and so has my opinion on car seats.
Winter Use of 2000 Safari Zanzibar
in Type A motorhomes
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I got my set of chains in Grand Junction before I had to make a trip through the tunnel in the winter for about $120.00 (I didn't have to use them). I just checked with O'Riely Auto parts in Denver and they have a set for my tires (225 70 R19.5) for $70.00. Here's their info:
5861 North Broadway
Denver, CO 80216
(303) 298-9124
Other auto parts places should have them as well.
As far as the previous post goes, you may have seen the signs entering the mountains around here that say "illegal to proceed without required equipment (chains) Sept-May." I don't know if they are required on motor homes, but I wouldn't want to be un-prepared.