obedb

Thank you Richard. I know there reputation with boiler units. Did not know that they make a compressor unit using only a 1K inverter. Gotta look in to that.

I do know that independent truckers have installed them. Truckers have to be on guard for erratic drivers that think nothing about cutting off an 18 wheeler that might weigh in at 80,000 lbs just to get to an exit that they decided they needed. Dash cams can often save a bump in insurance rates and even a citation. I am with Herman. I know that there are members that use them and maybe we should start. I would put one on our Phaeton's dash if I knew the best way to go.

Do not think that they are describing a compressor system on their website. The so called Amish Cooling unit is similar to Norcold and Dometic boiler units for cooling, but the company has a much better reputation. The Amish do not use electricity in their homes 😎 . Therefore they must use an absorption type fridge to preserve food. There are Amish in northern Indiana and locations in Ohio. Perhaps this company makes versions of what the Amish use or even make them to sell to the Amish. Have heard of handy people buying the unit that they offer for the do it your self crowd. Other RVers have gone right to the factory for installation. Have never heard a negative thing about the company. We would consider having one of their units installed while comparing the pros and cons of a residential fridge in the area our Dometic occupies setting over the coach circuit panel. Would be a job to move that.

My Cat has access to the ECM in the dash and in the rear. Surely most diesel powered RVs have the same. Sounds like jerk at work. They are a Cat dealer so why could the program be downloaded? Or is that possible?

"That's my story and I am sticking to it " is from a country song that is not all that old. After all, I am a trucker and country music on well placed 50,000 watt stations kept a lot of us awake at night instead of in the ditch. Would I do it all over for a better outcome if God gave me another chance. I would probably respectfully decline.

Have been east and west on I-10 and I-40 a ton of times. Guess that I have been lucky on I-40 between Armadillo (trucker talk) and Santa Rosa. I-10 has been a problem over the years though. When I had been on the road awhile I pulled into Wilcox and called it a day. My experience on 10,40, and 70 is to get going early. Right about dawn, to avoid the solar wind machine. That was in my 18 wheeler and my RV. No setting around the park drinking coffee and waiting on Mother Nature . Get going. But there was one day when I was all dressed and no where to go. Good nights rest in Tucson in my 18 wheeler. Great breakfast after a big sleep in. From just plain tired to charged up and ready to go. Then underway, local AM and CB talk indicated from maybe San Simon past Lordsburg I-10 was shut down because of high winds. Pulled off of the interstate at Benson to consider my options. Taking a nap was not gonna work. Had driven about 40 miles. The dust storm would probably settle down well after dark but I would have been wide awake all afternoon and evening. Instead, I headed south on AZ 90 through FT. Huachuca. Chuck Yeager graduated from flight training there during WWII so I read. Anyway on east took me through Bisbee AZ to join AZ 80 and on to Douglas Az. Missed a turn in Douglas and wound up on a local road literally following along the nearby border fence. It was a sturdy fence even back then. I came upon three Border Patrol vehicles. One was actually armored. I was greeted with "what in the world are you doing in this ....hole." I explained and they were all smiling when I left with good directions out of Douglas east bound. Knowing something about the area I headed east on NM 9 to Columbus NM. General Black Jack Pershing and Pancho Villa had a meeting there . Had loaded salad spinach nearby a few times over the years (the Johnson Ranch) and had been told that a dirt road between Columbus and El Paso was being paved . Rather than spending time running north to Deming I headed east. Things got windy and dusty. I had a large compass mounted top center of the windshield and it started a dance that was really something confusing to see. Out of a cloud of dust, I was confronted with multiple Border Patrol vehicles and many agents. Kinda unnerving. Rolled down the window, told the officer my story, and was motioned on. Seemed too easy. Must have known what they wanted when I pulled into the stop. I will wonder what caused the compass dance and the quick wave through for the rest of my days. Would I have run that way in my RV? Probably, but I would not have missed that turn in Douglas🙄. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

Kay/ I like that . The only thing better would be a double drop with the steel plate in the cradle. Invincible!😎 Over 46 years in trucking. Have been across I-40 east and westbound in that area, I could not estimate the number of times.The typical van today would be 53 feet long and 13' 6"" high. I can guarantee that in winds the OP has described, I would be running much slower that 70. Depending on my gross, might have even pulled off of the interstate..

Yea! She is the boss. Seems to me that the RV park is kinda close to Gillette Stadium?

The camera footage sure looks good. I remember when Joe and family stayed there. He was obviously impressed.

The Turning Stone Casino Campground would be on our way to Maine. We would take a leisurely trip on our way to Maine. Just waiting on the Maine State Bird to be out of season(Black Fly). Good advice on passports . We will get that going as soon as Betty is better. The pics and other stuff are done in the York County Courthouse. Same place that I get my carry license every five years. Would leave them at home on our travels through NY and the possible visit into Canada. Thanks again. Got a year to get it done

Been to Maine quite a few times over the years as a trucker, but never as an RV owner. Probably just about always ran the GW enroute until I wised up later and realized that were other roads to get there. Never questioned it. Maybe it was the traffic jam after midnight on a Saturday night or the guy running frantically along the shoulder to get to his car before a tow truck hooked to it. Cell phones were not widely available yet. Probably broke down and had to walk back to the previous exit ramp to find a phone and call for help. Doubt that the tow truck driver was there that quickly to help. Maybe to impound the vehicle or just steal it? I guarantee that next season we will leave early and run gently to Maine. Maybe the Turning Stone Casino Campground. It really is a nice one. The area also has the Erie Canal Locks to visit. That was quite a project and it is still used commercially. Joe/ I am a beer lover. Will have to take your advice and Bill's advice on eateries will be observed also. I wish that it was next summer already. By then my Bride will surely be ready to go. It is still a struggle for her. She meets with her Surgeon next week for the follow up visit after the knee replacement.

Going to try Bar Harbor area next year Set your GPS for the Buffalo area. Go visit with family. Younger we both are not getting. Always liked western NY.

Betty is still in rehab. Probably done for this year. Maybe next year to Maine after the Black Flies leave. Bill/ never cross the GW😉.

Carl has an extra axle. He paid $80 I think.

Walmart in Telluride😊. Nope. There is a rather large complex with fuel and I think a store just outside of town. Busy there. I have seen 18 wheelers resting there for awhile. Save room for some fuel, head in and ask if you can leave your coach for only a few hours to sight see in Telluride with your toad. Be pleasant. Offer to buy some diesel. Whatever. Never be afraid to ask, unless you are a player in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. The town has become extremely popular since we were first there. Very early 90's. We took our 34' right through downtown, to their park. Left it there for a few hours unbothered. There was a hang gliding event starting several thousand feet above the town. It was something to see. A fellow landed very close by. We exchanged pleasantries and he went on about gathering up his gear. It is not like that anymore. The park is now only a parking lot. Yes,,there are a lot of trendy stores and interesting places to eat, but when we were first there, people stopped in the middle of Main Street to talk. Dogs under benches while the owner was inside. Bothering no one. The fall adds extra beauty with the Aspen and snow cover up high.

Another way to avoid the GW and the traffic around NYC. Against your better judgement you fought your way north on 95 through the perils of the DC area and and the Baltimore beltway. You are now headed north on the Jersy Pike possibly dreading what lies ahead😉. Leave the pike at Exit 10 and head around the Megalopolis north on I-287, cross into NY State, get on the NY Thruway I-87 heading north to I-84 at Newburgh NY. East on 84 will take you to the Mass Pike. Exit the Pike at I-495 and follow that route around Boston. When you rejoin I-95 north of Boston most of the congestion is behind you except for some work traffic late afternoon. Not far from Maine's southern border.

GW. Yeah kinda a thing. There are many people that do not read maps. Guess that I am a dying breed. My dad used aviation charts in the early days of piloting and then modern avionics when available. After retiring from piloting a C-131 (Convair 440) hauling a General around as an Air Force officer, he used both maps and modern avionics. When I was lucky enough to fly with him, he flew with the electronic stuff, but he always kept an aviation chart folded on his left knee. He always knew where he was, just in case. Riding around the country listening to an artificial voice is not me. Crossed the GW first in 1969 as a part time trucker but full time Nike Missle tech stationed at Camp Kilmer, NJ. Special Troops Ft. Dix. Living where we lived and doing what I did often took me there, but there was a reason. Not because some computer application with a feminine voice told me to do it. An expensive bump in the road with some danger involved/ the GW Bridge.

I know that it is an old topic but let me join in/ our 40' Phaeton tag cost in PA April of this year was $126.00. Kay/ I remember my career military dad using Alabama for the annual tag on our car. If memory serves it was absolute chump change. Also remember him referring to Alabama as a non title state, whatever that means. That goes back into the 60's and earlier. His permanent home of records was Missouri. So what happened to Alabama?

I read yesterday that the GW is the busiest vehicle bridge in the world. It is owned by the NY/NJ Port Authority. I am sure that towing wrecks and breakdowns off of the bridge is done under contract. Imagine your Allison transmission equipped unit needs to be towed off of the bridge. The police are there and order the tow driver to get it off of the bridge NOW. Or perhaps the driver is poorly trained and does not know how to drop the drive shaft anyway. Keep your GPS systems programmed for the Tappan Zee bridge. You too, Bill. 😎. There are plenty of ways to avoid the Big Apple area on your trip to Maine.

In most of my 18 wheelers, I had an on/off toggle switch to over ride the sensor. When starting up a steep grade on a hot day, I turned the fan on early. I have known big fleet tractors to shutoff on a steep grade on a hot day. The temp rose so rapidly, that when the fan kicked on, it was too late to recover the cooling system before shutoff point. Have seen it many time in deserts out west on summer days. Sometimes well over 110 degrees. Guess the big fleets did not think that the driver was smart enough to handle something as complicated as an on/off switch. Also used it when Idling with the A/C on. I remember temps as hot as 121 degrees. OK! Maybe only 120.😎

If you are still checking this website, there are shorter ways but they are busier. Busy # 1. From the Scranton Pa area you can take I-84 east through eastern Pa. Follow it into NY State and thru to Connecticutt. I-84 will take you thru Hartford on to Mass and the Pike east to the Boston area. Do not go thru to Boston. Exit the pike at I-495 and head north around Boston. It will join I-95 well north of Boston. Head north from there to Maine. # 2/ not really that busy, but I-88 from Binghamton used to be quite rough in spots on your way to the Albany area and I-90 east to the Boston area. In an RV I prefer I-90 from Syracuse east towards Boston. It is further, costlier, prettier, and the Turning Stone Casino east of Syracuse maybe 25 or so miles has a very nice RV park there. Maybe a mile or two south of the casino. Free transportation to the casino 24/7. Lots of places to eat. No, you do not have to gamble to stay there. Do not cross the George Washington Bridge in your travels north. Very expensive, rough, and scary.

Too late for this maybe. Take either I-64 west to I-81. Or if to late, run the Washington beltway aroud the west side to I-270 to Frederick then west to Hagerstown. North on 81 to Syracuse then east on the turnpike to the Boston area. Runaround the west side to I-95 north into Maine.

The fan clutch was the suspect by several of us. Glad that you finally found a fix. What an experience for you folks.

Do not run west of Denver on a Friday. The traffic is such a mess that you will not be able to enjoy the scenery. People are headed to their cabins, preferred weekend resorts, whatever. Westbound, do it earlier in the week or maybe a Sunday when the weekenders are headed home. There are some hard pulls and some down grades to be careful on. There is a pretty good pull west of Green River Utah and the downgrade on that one can get you rocking if not careful. All in all, a very scenic drive.

You will occasionaly see a sign when approaching a weigh station telling operators of all vehicles over 5 Tons to stop . Those instructions are only for commercial vehicles. I have never pulled into a weigh station with either of our class As. Have gotten up close and personal with them many times as a trucker though.🙄