obedb

RV Upgrades is where I bought my Progressive Industries unit and the extension cord. It is a quality cord.

Looked up your chassis. Has a lot of parts to even include ball joints. You may need professional help. The bigger stuff that many of the folks here drive have solid I-beam front axles. Very durable and usually outlast the coach. Wish that I could help you.

Tom/ yes it is a generator, but I forgot to proof read my post. It has been modified. We don't know anything about their coach. Gas generators, especially on older rigs, can be quite noisy and of course bother everyone around the rv. Our 34 gasser had an Onan that was just plain loud. It would run both air conditioners and other stuff as well, but WHEW!!! I would have loved to have had the Honda back in the day because we were usually in Colorado in September at altitude. The Honda would have been all we needed.If they are going to do much dry camping, it would be a nice thing to have. I may take ours on the trip to Montana in case we decide to dry camp, although our Onan diesel generator is very quiet under low load.

If your budget can stand more money, a 2000 watt Honda Inverter generator at around $1000 is a great thing to have. Pure sine wave making it kind to sensitive electronics. It will keep your batteries topped off, the absorption fridge working, and computers running. Don't know the weather in Perry during the convention, but if no ac is needed it will be fine. Will not run an ac without a buddy. I filled mine and let it run all night to keep the battery up two years ago in a travel trailer. We were dry camping in late October (19 degrees). I let her run until out of gas. 15 hours and 40 minutes at 9000 feet with a frigid low on 1 gallon of gas and old people like me can't hear it from inside.

Why would you want to deal with LA on your trip? As Tom suggested, get on 99 to Bakersfield and then follow 58 to I-15 in Barstow. Short drive north and you will merge eastbound with I-40. The California side of the Colorado River south on US 95 is the way south to I-10.

5mbps will allow movie streaming?? Have not done that because we have slow Verizon DSL at home and of course slow park WIFI.

I have a Progressive Industry portable. Not as sophisticated as yours Joe, but a help anyway. I bought a quality 15 foot 50 AMP extension cord and when close enough to the electric pedestal I can keep it in the electric bay locked up and out of the weather. Oddly enough, I am usually able to do that most of the time.

I use our block heater with very good results on our CAT 330. As has been suggested, start the genset and turn the block heater on but I honestly don't know how long to be effective. Most places that I have parked big rigs over the years did not have electric. An ISX is a big rig engine. My guess is no manifold heater. Would be new to me if a large displacement engine uses one. Good batteries started my 12.7 liter Detroit Series 60 or my 15 liter CATs on zero degree days with short crank times. No experience with an ISX, but if your batteries are even in reasonably good shape it should start. Big companies use them and would not put up with a lot of no starts.

I could not be happier with our Cat330/860 torque. We are at the 29,500 limit for the coach and pull a 3400 lb toad. What is your Gross Combined Weight? A CAT 300 running well would be fine with me also. It is a large vehicle. At the end of the day, if you are able to soup it up, it will probably make little difference in your trip time and as Brett mentioned, burn more fuel.

Is this similar to an AT&T hotspot? Although an AT&T subscriber for almost twenty years, I have not had a good reason to try that service. Upon retirement in 2011 I stopped smart phone service. Probably required for either data source??

I am surprised that the really knowledgeable members haven't responded. A 2011 Dometic is new enough that no opinions exist? Swapping parts can get expensive as most all DIYSers know, but the power supply does seem the likely culprit. Perhaps a call to Dometic would be helpful? Let us know what you find out.

If you replace the residential with an absorption type many agree that a Dometic would be the way to go. They are quite expensive though. We have one that is over 12 years old and it still performs very well. In your situation, two more batteries would be much cheaper. If we had a residential frige, I don't think we would ever want to change back to an absorption type. The residential refrigerators ARE safer and more forgiving when off level.

The OP asked about damaging the airbags when lifting them off of the ground. We did spend one night during last Labor Day weekend in a park with only one site left. I should have moved on but I took the site. I did lift the tires off of the ground in order to get level for that stay. No harm done and the bags are original equipment (old). Perhaps there are control rods or suspension linkage that limit the extension? Would have to crawl under to check.

Tractor Supply is nearby. I have seen the stall mats. I will look into changing to them. Heavy and somewhat expensive when compared to pine, but worth it I am sure.

I have traveled Ca 20 a number of times with a Peterbilt pulling A 102" wide 53 foot trailer. Ukiah Harley dealer was my destination. You will be fine on that road. Washington does and Oregon (I think) require that commercial vehicles have them on board during snow season even if there is not a cloud in the sky. Did not know RVs are subject to that rule, but I have never RVed out there.

We did a lot of dry camping with our first coach and because of that I often had to lift the front tires off of the ground to get level. 1988 Georgie Boy 34' / Oshkosh chassis / HWH levelers. Never a problem. Maybe a 34 foot chassis is less flexible?? I have seen plenty of critics on different forums saying you should not do that. Perhaps the 40's are a little more flexible? I have had my front tires off the ground just a few times with our 40 Phaeton. No problems so far. Per the Tireman/ I run all tires onto 2 by 10 sections of pine cut into 2 foot lengths for storage making sure to have no tread hanging over the side. I use blocks of Oak under the leveler feet to avoid over extending the jacks. I run'em down enough to take most of the weight off the tires and inflate the tires a little above sidewall pressure. I store the unit on a LEVEL gravel. Kinda figure the wood is a good idea. The oak comes from a sawmill 4 miles from our home. The wood is 2 and 3/4 inches thick just over 10" wide and cut in 2 foot sections. HEAVY but I use them when traveling also. Never sunk into the ground.

Thank you both! Words of encouragement right away.

We are heading to Montana in early to middle August 2016 from south central PA. Non interstate travel is often more interesting, but fewer RV parks seem to be the case. I am considering heading north to Michigan's UP and joining US 2 for the trip to Glacier National Park. I have run stretches of US 2 as a trucker. All of Minnesota, part of Wisconsin, part of North Dakota, and the UP to be exact. I have been as far north as Great Falls MT, but I don't remember US 2 in my travels in that state. The road less traveled has been of interest to me for many years. Accounts of that route if any are welcome.

As Brett said/ a little extra positive caster can help handling. Proper toe is also very important. The steering gear can sometimes be the culprit. Like Carl (Manholt) I have started running a few pounds cold air pressure over the sidewall number. Our Phaeton just handles better doing that. So far the tires are wearing well. Complaints of poor handling are common. Goes with the territory. Just look at the add on devices designed to "improve" handling. As well as our Phaeton handles, it doesn't compare to a premium 18 wheeler that is properly maintained or most any car, but it does ride better.

Before retiring we cat napped in truckstops, rest areas, or any place that looked safe enough for just a few hours sleep. We ran flat out to get west because vacation time was usually short. Since retirement we only stop at RV parks. I try to plan for no more than 300 miles a day. I rarely go over that. Less is better. This coming from a guy that used to log 800 or more miles every 24 hours when involved in frequent "missions impossible" in 18 wheelers. Take your time. You have received very good advice from all responders. I learned much from the school of hard knocks in 86 when we joined RVing. Al Gore had not yet invented the Internet.

That is a ringing endorsement! WhenI retired four years ago I didn't know of any truckers using TPMs. Apparently they are now. Thanks for your offer.

I met a very pleasant fellow at the KOA in Limon,CO early September this year. Retired accountant with ConocoPhillips , but raised in a family that operated a public garage. He worked there as a teenager before college. He and his DW had taken delivery of a new Dutch Star 40' with a tag axle. Didn't know a 40 came with a tag, but that is what they wanted for their new ride at 78. God love them. I outline this comment and question because he had a TPM system that he was very proud of. He was a very smart guy with years of RVing. He told me the name of his system, but I can't remember it. He did mention that he stored the sensors over the winter in egg cartons and he labeled each sensor with tire position because if they were not placed in the same position as before they did not work as well. If this rings familiar to either of you I would like to know the name of the system. I will spend the money necessary for a good system. I do not want to buy substandard. Brett/ you make an excellent point about trashing a toad with a flat and not knowing about it. 4wd would probably sustain high dollar damage.

I am interested in opinions on the best system to buy. I still like to gauge mine before leaving on each daily adventure, but if I can find a quality system I will bypass that. Like Carl, I run mine over the side wall pressure on a cold start (6pounds in my case). The unit handles better and fuel mileage has improved somewhat.

If you are inquiring about replacing the chromed steel or stainless traditional hubcap that snaps into the large opening hiding the oil or grease lubricated wheel bearings, there are different configurations. One way to be sure about buying the correct one would be to take the one that you still have into a truckstop or truck parts supplier that has some chrome accessories for sale and match it up. There are some differences that do not allow a one size fits all product. The chromed steel ones are cheaper and last quite awhile. $8.00 or so before tax is a typical price. I have found the stainless ones to not be worth the extra $$.

Dual chains are very heavy and more difficult to install. I carried a set when trucking, but almost never put them on. When the authorities relaxed things and allowed singles on outside tires after conditions got better, it was time to go. High quality cable chains are OK in most jurisdictions. They are somewhat easier to install. Mind you/ I did say somewhat. Never used them on motorhomes though. They would have to be snugly installed to avoid damage and that would be easier with cables.