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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…..

My TireMinder monitor continuously shows “noS” (meaning “bo signal”) for my right rear inside tire. In times past the “noS” message meant a dead battery. I installed two different new batteries in the sensor but the “noS” message remains. I thinking the sensor is dead and needs to be replaced. Does the forum agree?

I echo the comments on using Google Earth Pro to view RV parks / resorts for BOTH spacing and quality. I also like the Google Earth Pro "search" capability to find RV parks/resorts near a city/location where the wife and I have never ventured before.

kt -- A decade ago I spent two years on a capital project assignment as a Project Manager in the Texas Panhandle.. During my two winters during that assignment the overnight low temps dropped into the single digits and at times below zero. Having an insulated and insulated water hose and RV park water faucet were a must. Fortunately the RV park I used during those two years had their faucets wrapped with heat tape and insulated. A decade ago, "pre-made" heated and insulated RV water hoses were not available hence I followed the lead of my contract Construction Managers who had spent many winters in cold climates. I made a heated / insulated hose as follows: 1) Purchased flat heat cable such as this one that had a thermostat that was exposed to air temperature --> Pipe Heating Cable (pirithose.com) 2) Attached the flat heat cable "in parallel" to the full length of the hose using high temperature electrical tape --> 3M Super 33+, 3M 33+ Electrical Tape in Stock - ULINE -- didn't "spiral wind" the heat cable around the water hose 3) Insulate the hose / heat cable with gray foam pipe insulation for 3/4" pipe --> Frost King 3/4 in. x 3/8 in. Thick Wall x 6 ft. Tubular Poly Foam Pipe Insulation P11XB/6 - The Home Depot For both of those winters, my self-made heated water hose never froze. I didn't "live off the fresh water tank" method for winter RV'ing. I highly recommend that the RV park's water faucet have heat tape and insulation provided either by the RV park itself or installed by you. This is a good link for how to make a "home made" heated / insulated RV water hose at a much lower cost than purchased a pre-made heated hose --> How to Use Heat Tape for Your RV Water Hose - TheRVgeeks.com

jmansur -- To give you strong assurance that a Camco brand generator exhaust stack will not cause any safety problems for you, at LSU football weekends, LSU Safety and Security requires the use of a generator exhaust stack in all RV lots to route generator exhaust at least to the roof line of each RV. LSU has the exhaust stack requirement to protect the many fans in RV lots from carbon monoxide exposure at ground level. Most of the RV owners at LSU weekends use the Camco generator exhaust stack. I have used my Camco exhaust stack for decade - first for the two Honda 2000 watt generators used with the travel trailer I owned a decade ago and then for my previous coach and now for my current coach. On hot LSU football weekends in September and October the RV generators run 24/7 with no incidents of generator exhaust entering an RV causing problems. Rest assured operating your generator with an exhaust stack will not cause a safety problem for you and your family. To address your concern about rain getting into the Camco exhaust stack, in Baton Rouge heavy rain is inevitable at some point each football season. During the last ten years heavy rain has fallen on my RV while the generator is running with zero problems. As others have stated, the bottom of the Camco stack is open ended and include a venturi design to pull air into the bottom of the stack to mix with and help cool the generator exhaust and dilute CO2 / CO in the exhaust before the mix exits from the top of the stack. If for some reason you had a Camco stack attached to your generator, and the generator was not running, and heavy rain was forecast and you are away from your RV, you could easily cover the metal exhaust pipe at the bottom of the stack with Handi-wrap or duct tape.

Quick update. The TSR rates published the last week of July increase another 1.5% ! That increase would result in my lump sum pension value dropping very substantially for a November 30 retirement vs. an August 31 retirement (the value decline equates to a full year of salary!!). Since I don't want to work another year "for free", I am retiring on August 31. I'm getting more excited about retirement the closer I get to my final day. One 'nicety' of my new retirement will not be rushing to Baton Rouge late on Friday afternoons and driving home on Sundays for hastened an LSU football weekend. This fall's LSU weekends will be much more relaxing and enjoyable -- drive to Lake Charles on Thursdays to visit son and his family -- drive to Baton Rouge on Fridays -- drive to Lake Charles on Sundays then finish trip to Katy on Mondays. Not having to "push hard" will be very enjoyable. And will finally have time to likely attend our first ever FMCA International Rally in 2023.

Some humor for your day in relation to the new 87,000 IRS auditing agents. My eldest son saw this photo on his Facebook account yesterday. Enjoy! 😆

Wayne -- At the moment my retirement plan is similar to dbenoit's except my retirement hours are a bit shorter -- 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Bill and other folks -- I met with my financial planner yesterday to discuss interest rate impacts on my lump sum pension amount after now 40 years + 4 months of service with my large energy (oil & gas) company. My lump sum pension calculation is complicated based on PBGC rates, corporate bond rates and 30 year Treasury rates. Since PBGC rate covers the first 28 years of my career I had thought PBGC rate increase would have the biggest impact on the lump sum pension amount. I was totally wrong! To my surprise the 30 year Treasury rate (TSR) has a much more significant impact as each 0.5% increase in the 30 year TSR reduce my lump sum pension amount by $100,000! So needless to say, I and my financial adviser are closely watching interest actions by the Federal Reserve which could drive up the 30 year TSR rate. The next TSR rate is published on July 15 for retirement dates in the fourth quarter this year. If that TSR rate jumps much at all, I will very likely retire in August / September to not lose six figures in my lump sum pension benefit.

Herman -- Good suggestion! I will call Dometic tech support and get their advice to share with the forum. In the meantime I ordered and received a new "spare" climate control center from Amazon for $160 ($25-$45 cheaper than Camping World and other suppliers) as replacing the controller is a simple "plug and play" with a phone cord type plug-in on the back side of the controller.

My other very usual experience from this past weekend's Memorial Day (2022) outing was moisture build-up in my Dometic Multi-Zone Comfort Control Center which looks like this --> Amazon.com: DOMETIC 3314082000 Thermostat : Automotive Weather conditions this past weekend were typical southeast Texas for this time of year -- sunny, hot, a bit humid and a bit breezy. A/C's were running continuously Friday and through Saturday morning with zero problems with both A/C's set at 72 F. When the wife and I were leaving early Saturday afternoon for some sight seeing and beer tasting, I wanted to adjust the temperature setting to 74 F while we were away. To my astonishment, there was moisture behind the "glass" of the controller which caused the digital readout to be garbled and there was no responsiveness from any controller buttons. Luckily the A/C's did not shut off. We delayed our sight-seeing / beer tasting and placed our 12" oscillating fan to blow directly on the controller with hopes of "drying it out" which after two hours the moisture was gone and the controller worked normally. While the fan was blowing on the controller, I got on the roof of my coach to assure no condensate from the A/Cs was finding a way into the wall where the controller is mounted (which is the wall next to the entry door). I found no cracks, gaps, etc. in any of the sealant areas on the roof. The roof itself is in perfect condition. My roof inspection suggests no water intrusion into wall and controller. My coach had sat in storage since late February until this past weekend in the usual very humid, quite warm southeast Texas weather conditions. I do keep the large "bucket type" Damp Rid in the kitchen sink to help control moisture inside the coach while in storage. To my surprise the bucket was fully saturated so I don't know for how long no moisture was being absorbed from the inside of the coach. So, with no "humidity control" inside my coach for an unknown period of time, the Dometic controller was sitting in high humidity and perhaps "saturated with moisture" that then "condensed out" when the coach was cooled to 72 F on Friday night / Saturday morning? If any forum members have this Dometic Mult-Zone Controller have you experienced moisture problems inside the controller? For all forum members, does my "moisture saturated controller with condensation make sense"? Given that the Controller is working without problems, I presume the condensation caused some electrical continuity problems in the controller? OR, it the controller simply "going bad" and I should order a new spare to have on hand. Apologies for the lengthy post. "Gremlins" were indeed present this past weekend....

The wife and I spent this past Memorial Day 2022 weekend at the new "The Retreat RV and Camping Resort" on Lake Houston / Huffman, TX. This new RV resorts is great for "campers" of all ages. The weekend was going great until the entry door awning (Dometic Oasis brand) operation became "glitchy". The awning extended flawlessly as usual. Except when the wind got rather breezy Sunday afternoon, wanted to retract the awning. When I push the "retract" button nothing happened -- no motor sound, no awning movement, just "dead". Tried pushing the retract button a couple more times on Sunday afternoon and evening and still nothing. When preparing to "pack-up" to head home yesterday (Monday) morning I had planned to back my Jeep to below the awning, get on top of the Jeep and wire / duct tape the awning closed for the one hour drive from "The Retreat" to my home in Katy, TX (no I don't carry a ladder that can access the top edge of my motorhome). However, before moving my Jeep into position, I pressed the retract button one last time and "walla" everything worked as normal and the awning retracted. I have absolutely now idea why the awning "worked" yesterday morning but was "dead" Sunday afternoon / evening. I did check the blade fuse for the awning as it was OK. Does the forum have any suggestions on diagnostics I should try to determine why my door awning was alive / dead / alive again? Thanks for any help you can provide!