obedb

When we dry camped with our gasser years ago I often asked to fill with water where we bought gas. Usually was not turned down.

Late afternoon will give you no really good choices. You are going to have to fight your way to either 294 or 355. The only really good time to go through Chicago is late morning to early afternoon or the middle of the night. I planned my trips as a trucker with that in mind.. Make sure that you have an adequate balance on your EZ Pass account. You will be running toll roads from where you exit I-80 to head north all of the way to the Wisconsin line. EZ Pass does help at the toll plazas. The folks that pay cash will be backed up while you roll through.

I looked back to 2012 and I saw nothing on the Casino Queen Park. I saw good reviews on it, but it must have been another website.

A method that works for me/ buy a cheap set of jumper cables and pull them apart. When the starting battery voltage drops to around 12.5 or so I hook the red half side of the cables house battery positive to starting battery positive. The batteries have a common ground. Leave the cable on for a few hours and then put it away. You will figure a cycle to use. I do use battery trickle chargers for the two vehicles that we leave behind, but to use one the road, I would have to run an extension cord to the battery compartment. As Brett said there are trickle chargers that can do the job on coach starting batteries. Some are even designed to be permanently mounted, but you would need nearby access to 120 volts or an extension cord.

Our rear a/c has to have the fan control switch moved from auto to run. The unit then comes on and cools just fine. Both thermostats are identical and digital. I am guessing our problem is thermostat.

Let me clarify my remarks. The cesspool I referred to is the New York/New Jersey/ Connecticut metro area. The GW Bridge is outrageously expensive, rough as a cob, and the Cross Bronx Expressway is just terrible. The debris along that stretch that falls off of vehicles and winds up on the shoulder is really scenic. Crossed the expressway and bridge many times over the years, but I would rather have a root canal than travel there again. The Tappanzie was an alternative,but Joe indicates that it is a mess now. New England is pretty. It is the getting there that I don't like. When we leave in August we plan on being gone for three months. I don't know what we would do there for that length of time in the northeast ,but there are camp grounds out west that stay open into November. Some all winter long (though not for us).

Now that I am no longer a trucker following customer dictates, you could not get me into that cesspool. If I lost my mind and decided to give New England one more chance, it would be 81 north and then veer off to wherever I decided to head to. The only pleasant experience we have had was NY State Park camping areas near Alexandria Bay, NY. Mostly it was old poorly maintained campgrounds damaging things on top because of poorly trimmed limbs. That was before the Internet however. Kinda flying blind because the campground directories put a smiley face on all.

Sounds a little too good to be true. The XRVs are probably being given to chassis manufacturers first and big dealers second. I smell a bait and switch, but I am a suspicious person. Guarantee you will pay top $$ once they are mounted and balanced. But!!! I could be wrong?

Why do many RV owners fall for snake oil?

Brett. Others are welcome too. With my recent purchase of an inspection camera recommended By Ray (Huff) and Joe I was able to confirm that our coach has a second opening to the engine through the closet floor. I had to trash the carpet, but a small area rug will take care of that. Through the opening I have easy access to the Zerk and a good vantage point to help with serpentine belt installation. I normally use tubes of synthetic grease for lube jobs. Will that grease be OK for the fan hub? I know that you have advised to not get carried away with strokes on the grease gun, but I doubt this hub has been greased since the factory (21,000 miles ago). Would it be beneficial to have the engine running applying the grease?? There is no danger from belts or the fan.

You have done more than enough. If there was something clinging to the sensor your efforts should have fixed it. Perhaps an electrical problem? Will the toilet with the macerator operate or does the sensor shut it down?

They are full timers. Why subject them to anything even near the NYC I-95 to Boston stuff?

You have the perfect Colorado Rocky Mountains wife. Head west. The youngsters can Kayak on the Arkansas River while your DW looks out for them and you can wait in the Boat House Pub in Salida for their return. Food and beer is really good, and the ambience is special.

As I post this comment, it is 50 degrees in Lake City Colorado at 9AM MDT. High will be 71 today. Cloudy today. When the sun is out it is warmer in the afternoon, but with low humidity. A/C is seldom needed. Overnights are delightful. There are many places throughout the West with similar temps. Most full timers that I talk to out west head to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, or the west coast for the winter.

Just a thought/ I have known people that are afraid of bridges.

Full timers. If you are not in a hurry, find I-66 off of the DC beltway, head west to I-81. Stay on I-81 north to Binghamton and then head east towards Albany on I-88. Then head east on I-90 NY Turnpike (toll$) into Mass also toll and exit in Mass onto I-95 north. You will run around the most congested part of the Boston area but it will still be very busy. I-93 will be joined north of Boston and take you north into NH. Lincoln is a small town/ must be something you want to see? The way that I have suggested will still,be busy in places, but the scenery is better, and it beats the heck out of north on 95 up the east coast.

We use bathroom rugs to cover our dash. Brown in color, with a non skid backing. Three of them cover the Phaeton dash and protect it from our cats claws. They look just fine and Walmart sells them. They have been on for a year with no discoloration.

When I install replacement starting cables for big engines or house battery cables I use 00 welding cable. Very flexible and imagine the amps going through the cable when welding. I don't use the crimp terminals. I use copper sweat terminals, separate flux and solid core solder. More expensive than store bought cables but they do not fail. Learned the technique in the late eighties. No internet. Probably read a how to manual when installing golf cart batteries in our gasser.

Trying to pull a test for a bad ground connection or cable up out of my mind. Have not used it for many years. Meter positive to negative post or ground post on the starter . Meter negative to a good ground preferably the starting battery negative post. Someone engages the starter while the measurement is being done by another. The measured voltage on a good ground should be in the low tenths of a volt. Probably anything over .4 volts indicates a problem with the ground circuit. A good heavy ground circuit should be a dead short to ground with almost no measured voltage. I read about this test eons ago in Commercial Car Journal I think. Actually helped a good wrench get a truck no start problem fixed. It was a bad cable. Buddy called me for advice. The wrench worked for him. I didn't even get a beer out of it. Oh! Resistance test for starter cables is not reliable. If just a few strands are intact the multimeter will show OK no resistance. The multimeter is powered by double a or triple a batteries. Starters are powered by huge amperage for short periods. Just an afterthought.

Long way to Key West from Key Largo, but you don't have to go all of the way. Looked like there was a lot to see and fish in between.

I kinda thought he was referring to the voltmeter while starting read at the instrument panel. In that case it would be normal. Of course as you have suggested, Brett, dropping to 12 volts at the battery terminals seems strange, especially since the batteries are new and apparently properly charged. I normally see voltages on a starting battery freshly charged with my voltmeter in the high 13s. 14.5 volts seems like alternator voltage to me. Something is in sight and it is being missed. Unit is too new for this to happen.

Spin balancing makes good sense, but I have not seen it done in many years. Never been offered to me as a choice. My guess is that quality control at high end manufacturers (especially Michelin $$$) would not let a bad build out the door. Maybe truckers around here are just a bunch of rubes, and don't demand the best. Getting the wheel centered on the studs is easier with the new standard of hub piloting, but still not perfect in every case. Regardless/ couldn't be happier with our new tires. Quality manufacturer, gold standard dealer, and centramatics $$$.

Corrosion and ground cables seem to go together. The volt meter readings seem normal to me. When the starter is engaged readings head south. If the starter was installed by a shop, they should have checked your ground. Cables that are old do occasionally corrode internally (out of sight) and they fool a lot of mechanics, but your unit is way too new for that to be a problem, unless you live in Upstate New York and do a lot of winter driving. Something is right there for you or the shop to see. Let the forum know because it helps others.

The experts are probably all traveling to Madison Wisconsin or busy setting up. Hopefully you will receive some advice soon.

I have not seen tires balanced on a vehicle in many years. There are probably shops that still do it but could be difficult to find. Since Brett mentioned it, he probably knows where to find them, but my guess is they are few and far between. Of course I could be wrong, but it has never been offered to me over the years. I do remember seeing steer tires, after being put on the rim, placed on a rather high tech looking machine that spun them for computer balancing at Service Tire in Harrisburg. I was told that if the tire exceeded normal balancing weights, it was rejected and sent back to the manufacturer. They never offered that service when drive tires were installed on the trucks I ran over the years. When I had 6 new Michelin XZE tires installed June of last year, I brought Centramatic Wheel Balancers with me that I ordered from the manufacturer in Alvarado Texas. Have used them for years on 18 wheelers with very good results. They are expensive, but they can be moved from one unit to the next. On the rare stretches of highway that are really smooth, that is all that I feel. SMOOTH!!!