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Wayne -- Best of luck for your next chapter of retirement and prayers for best health possible and more enjoyable years for you and Earlene. We'll all eventually get to the point due to age or physical abilities that enjoying an RV will come to an end. I keep debating if I want to purchase one final, three year old motorhome for Cindy and I to enjoy for another ten years (by then we'll be age 75) or just keep our current coach. We'll all miss you on the forum! I've greatly valued the advice and insights you've provided to me during the last ten years. At times I feel old thanks to visits from "Arthur Itis" and in those moments I remember the infamous quote from Walt Disney that my father (may he rest in peace) often stated “Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.” to lift my spirits. May you and Earlene never grow up!

If you watch the news video closely, he said he had gotten out of his seat (co-pilot) to use the bathroom, saw his wife had fallen to sleep and was headed into concrete barrier, tried to grab the steering wheel (while standing) but wife / coach drove into barrier the impact of which launched him through pilot’s window. He’s **** lucky he didn’t die!

This story about an ESPN reporter getting ejected from his motorhome in California this morning was on Houston's local Fox News station this morning. This incident is both horrid and miraculous! The good Lord was definitely with this gentleman! The lesson is NEVER, EVER, get out of a seat belt in a motorhome or any vehicle while in motion! This is the new report / video --> Former ESPN sportscaster ejected from RV on freeway (fox26houston.com)

Is it my imagination or during the last few months has the FMCA Forum totally collapsed. As this moment (9:30 p.m. on 10/26) there are a whopping two folks logged int the forum - me and one other! Is FMCA dead? Should I renew my annual membership which expires on 10/31? By contrast, iRV2.com currently has 7,000 members logged-in. What the heck has happened to FMCA? Everyone died??

I had a four year, $4,500 cost extended service contract from Wholesale Warranties that expired this past August 2023. I guess it's fortunate but I "lost" money on that $4,500 cost as I had no major repair work needed. The renewal from Wholesale Warranties was a whopping $7,500 for a three year extended service contract. Wholesale Warranties told me the huge cost increase was due to much high labor and parts prices. Not liking the offer, I'm trying the "self insure" route and will pay for repairs as needed. I'll sell some company stock to pay for repairs if ever needed.

BJ -- I can sympathize with your terrible service from FMCA Roadside Rescue (SafeRide). Two weeks ago my engine "died" and dashboard went "dark" late on a Monday evening on the way to my storage facility just a few miles from my home in the greater Houston area. I called the FMCA RR phone number to get a tow truck and after four hours of now towing help and several calls to FMCA RR I finally took action on my own to get a tow truck. Every time I called the FMCA RR phone number it was answered by a different person who could not find a record of a previous phone call !! The service from FMCA RR was simply "crap". The only good news was the towing company (All Out Heavy Duty Towing) was fantastic in working with FMCA RR to have them pay the $2,000 towing bill per the FMCA RR contract and reimburse me the $2,000 I had to pay up front. After this horrible experience with FMCA RR, when my contract expires I will try Good Sam Roadside Rescue or some other provider. I provided honest, candid feedback to FMCA RR / SafeRide about my terrible experience and received zero follow-up from FMCA or SafeRide which tells me they have ZERO concern for customer service!! I also contacted FMCA directly via the Contact Us link at the top of the FMCA homepage. I'm waiting to see if anyone from FMCA responds. BJ, when you get a chance please contact FMCA directly. The cause of my engine shutdown was found to be a bad ignition relay module.

I'm "guilty" of being "that" person who views the forum much less that I did before retiring from Phillips 66 a year ago after a fantastic 40-1/2 year career. While working, I'd spend my lunch time at my desk eating a Lean Cuisine while viewing FMCA and iRV2 forums. Now my new "CEO" has me busy with a long list of other activities leaving no dedicated time to view and comment on the forum. I'll strive to better. I will say my new CEO is tougher than my old CEO! The iRV2 forum also has less activity. My guess is the "Covid RV craze" has passed and what were many new RV owners with many questions are now more experienced. Also, the few times I have driven past the big PPL Motorhomes RV consignment dealership in Houston, they are fully packed with pre-owned RVs of all types to sell and per the PPL website many of the RVs are five years old or newer. I wonder if folks who bought their first-ever RV during the pandemic as an escape / sanctuary from the virus are not pleased with RV ownership and are trying to sell their RVs. Also with the horrid inflation they may trying to sell and get out from under their RV loans.

I have the small Porter-Cable 150 psi air compressor that works well and is relatively inexpensive versus other options --> https://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-CMB15-Oil-Free-Shrouded-Compressor/dp/B006CVXGR0/ref=sr_1_5?adgrpid=1331509144723937&hvadid=83219560664843&hvbmt=bp&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=73309&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=p&hvtargid=kwd-83219665374666%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=1673_13458132&keywords=porter+cable+150+psi+air+compressor&qid=1695058385&sr=8-5 I use this "lock-on" air chuck with the air compressor which allows the compressor to continually run while "topping off" a tire --> https://www.amazon.com/Haltec-CH-350-LO-1-Dual-Foot-Chuck/dp/B01938M520/ref=asc_df_B01938M520?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80470562648773&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584070147706798&psc=1

Wow. Wish I would have seen this thread earlier. I just paid $159 to FMCA Roadside Rescuce / Safe Ride for a new one year contract. Given that I recently retired from Conoco/ConocoPhillips/Phillips 66 after a 40-1/2 year career the wife and I finally have time for more adventures with our motorhome. We need a reliable roadside assistance service as we are in the "chit will happen" club with our motorhome.

Three weeks ago the wife and I were making a short, one hour drive to the Splashway Water and RV Park in Sheridan, TX to meet our three kids and seven grandkids for a week long summer vacation. After slowing down to make a right hand turn onto the final stretch of highway going to Splashway, the motorhome was very sluggish and I floored the accellator to reach 55 mph (my initial thought was the turbo charger had suddenly quit). My wife was driving our Jeep Wrangler behind me and suddenly she was beside me honking, waving, etc. so I immediately pulled over. To my surprise, I had a cloud of "burning brakes smoke" coming from my rear wheels! Being only an hour away from the Houston area, I called my "go-to" repair shop, Trucks and Such RV Repair in Rosenberg, to ask for help and advice. The owner Paul suspected an air leak and I didin't have enough pressure for the brakes to release (even though my dash air gauges each showed 120 psi). When Paul and his helper Tim arrived, the crawled under rear end of my coach and found the air "relay valve" had failed. Being an early Sunday afternoon, the "blocked open" the brakes and had my drive 25 mph for the last ten miles to Splashway having only front brakes that would work. On Tuesday of that week they returned with a new Bendix brand air relay valve to install. Paul told me it is not uncommon for a relay valve (or any other valve) in a coach's (or semi-truck's) air system to fail. Given Paul's comment, I curious if other forum members with air brake systems have had a relay or other valve failure occur? Your thoughts and comments please!

I haven't frequented the forum much since starting retirement last October from a 40-1/2 year career with Conoco / ConocoPhillips / Phillips 66 as most of my forum visits were during my lunch hour while working. Since the end of the LSU football season the wife and I have struggled with moderate cases of flu and Covid despite getting the annual flu shot and Covid boosters. Type A flu was rampant in the Houston area in November and December (infections lasted three weeks for me and two weeks for the wife) and then we both caught Covid from somewhere (wife for two weeks of bad head cold in February and me with two weeks of bad head cold in March). In addition, our coach was in our favorite repair shop for nearly six weeks for replacement of the Magnum charger / inverter which had its "mother board" fail" for unknow reasons. New Magnum 2000 watt pure sine wave charger / inverters were on back order for weeks. Now that our flu and Covid immunity are well boosted from infections and our coach has a new charger / inverter and annual maintenance completed, we're headed to our first ever RV rally (NIRV Customer Appreciation Rally) at Catherine's Landing RV Resort near Hot Springs, AR next week (April 12-15) The rally is also our first ever visit to the Hot Springs area so we're excited for this new adventure next week. Not to upset the forum moderators, but I wonder if vaccines really work?? Our annual flu shot and bi-valent Covid booster didn't do much to prevent very uncomfortable, weeks long infections.....

The wife and I are attending our first ever RV rally (NIRV Customer Appreciation Rally) in Hot Springs, Arkansas next week (April 12-15, 2023). The rally will be held at Catherine's Landing RV Resort. We've never visited Hot Springs thus I'm asking the forum for suggestions on the best route from Houston to Hot Springs. The RV Life App suggests this "RV safe" route: I69/US 59 from Houston to I-20 Follow I-20 to Shreveport, LA I-49 from Shreveport to Texarkana, TX I-30 from Texarkana to Rockport, AR US-270 from Rockport to Catherine's Landing RV Resort The Truck Map App suggests this 80 miles longer but roughly the same drive time route: I-45 from Houston to Dallas I-30 from Dallas to Rockport, AR US-270 from Rockport to Catherine's Landing RV Resort Does the forum concur with either of these routes from Houston to Hot Springs? Once in Arkansas, are their any big hills/mountains approaching Hot Springs I should be concerned about? My only "hills" experience are limited to big bridges on I-10 between Houston and Baton Rouge and small hills in the Texas Hill Country. As always, the good advice from the forum is much appreciated!

Very sad news about Herman. Without doubt his last coach ride was to heaven. Many prayers and condolences for his family.

Jl -- Welcome to the forum! There are many good members willing to provide help at any time. If you let the forum know the type of chassis you have (e.g Freightliner or Spartan), etc. then we forum members may be able to provide additional guidance. When you have a moment, create a "signature block" that shows your coach's year, manufacturer, model, chassis type, etc. which will help forum members in the future. You stated you have a 2014 Fleetwood 40g. Is this your coach model / floor plan? --> https://www.rvusa.com/rv-guide/2014-fleetwood-discovery-class-a-floorplan-40g-tr18264 If "yes", the sales brochure shows you have a 380 HP, 9L, Cummins ISL engine and not an 8.3L engine as you stated. As an example for coolant types, my coach is built on a Freightliner XCR chassis. For some reason, the coolant system Freightliner included on my chassis specifically requires "purple" heavy duty coolant meaning red, orange, etc. extended life coolants cannot be used. Reason is Freightliner used a "cheap" coolant level sensor that will only work with "purple" color heavy duty coolant. If you have a Freightliner chassis, there should be a label near the radiator or coolant reservoir stating the type of coolant that can be used for your coach. Hopefully this info is useful.

My big news is retirement arrived on September 1 after 40-1/2 years with Conoco/ConocPhillips/Phillips 66. Rising interest rates were leading to a lump sum pension value decline equal to a full year of salary. I and many, many heritage Conoco colleagues decided best to retire now and not work another year for free! To celebrate start of retirement and my 63rd birthday my bride and I took a road trip in her X5 to the Blue Ridge Mountains to AirBnB and fantastic cabin near Ellijay, GA. Had a great time seeing these mountains for the first time. A couple of work life items I don’t miss are the 5:00 a.m. wake-up alarm nor the Houston rush hours! One retirement unknown is how tough my new CEO will be…..