judatt

We are currently in Elizaville NY having just finished the full timers/military/elks rally. We will be going over to west Springfield from here in a week or so. We came here from Richmond va and went north on 95 to Fredericksburg and cut over on 17 to 81 and picked up 84 in Scranton and then the NY thruway to near here. It worked great. Wanted to avoid 95 north of Fredericksburg and all the big cities.

Greetings everyone. Thanks for the info. The fridge continues to work fine but the freezer is now at about 38*. Needless to say won't freeze! Fortunately we have a cooler in our basement that can be cranked down and used as a freezer so that's what we are doing but need to solve this sometime soon. We will be incspringfield in a few days but have also notified Newmar about our problem and will be at the Newmar rally in September where they are sending techs to fix things. Hopefully we will be able to get something done. We don't do a lot of boondocking so I'm thinking seriously about Tom Butlers discussion about moving to a residential unit. Thanks again everyone - hope to see some of you in Springfield.

Yes, it's level and plugged in to a 50 AMP post. We do not do much boondocking but plan to on occasion. Thanks for the reply and yes, we also are looking for/hoping for a simple fix.

Greetings, everyone. First, when I logged on because I had a question I realized I need to get on the forum much more often. I see several names of people that are regular responders who helped me greatly when we first bought our motor home in November 2015. I met many of you at the FMCA rally in Perry at our meet and greet so it is really good to think about a personality when I see a photo or a screen name. Just wanted to say thanks for all the help along the way. I guess its a good thing that I haven't been on here more often - we have simply been having a ball in our motor home. We have sold our house and are now full time in our 2008 Newmar Mountain Aire. We have joined the full timers chapter and are attending the rally in New York in July and then will also be at the FMCA rally in West Springfield. Looking forward to seeing many of you. Now, the reason for my post. We have a Norcold refrigerator. At the Perry rally we realized that there were some problems with Norcold so we checked and ours has never been recalled. Even so, we bought the fire suppression bottle that you put under your fridge and have had it installed since Perry. Everything worked fine until about a month ago. We noticed it wasn't making ice in the auto icemaker anymore and checked and realized the temp in the freezer was about 28. The fridge temp runs between 36 and 40 so it seems to be ok. Had a guy look at it and he said the fan wasn't running properly. At first he put a paper clip in the wiring so the fan would run and it immediately got cooler. He put a thermostat in and it is cooler but not as cool as it should be. I'm assuming it is an original unit and so is about 8 years old. I guess my question is should I be looking at something else? Should I be looking at a more permanent fix for our current unit? I understand to get a new fridge in you have to take the windshield out and that gets expensive. We are going to a Newmar Kountry Klub rally in Colorado in September where they send techs from the factory in Indiana to make repairs. Thought we would try to do whatever we are going to do while we are there. Any thoughts would be appreciated. David p.s. Our unit has what looks like an ice chest in the first door of the basement. When you put it on its lowest setting it is a freezer and is keeping our frozen food quite frozen. Its about 14 degrees in there.

Well, today was our official departure date headed to Florida towing our CRV. We wanted to make sure we allowed time for issues to come up and potential problems to get sorted out. We only planned to drive less than 200 miles today. We got up early and had the toad ready to go in under 10 minutes. We thought it might be 10 or so before we got on the road but we were gone by 715. Had no problems or issues and pulled into our RV park at 11 am. Drove 61 mph the entire way. They graciously allowed us to park and set up and we had a free afternoon. Unfortunately we were less than 5 miles from an outlet mall so spent a couple hours there By the way it took me less than 10 minutes to disconnect the toad. I did think about the fact we didn't take a toad on our first trip to Texas. However, I don't have any regrets. That 4,500 miles without a toad gave us a lot of confidence in driving and we did have a rental car in Texas to get around in so it worked out. But I am glad to have our Honda and gaining confidence in hooking it up and driving with it. If we had one issue today it was related to a hubcap. On the drive from Lafayette LA to Victoria TX back in December we lost a hubcap. I think it was on a very rough I 45 through Houston. We didn't think much about it but when we had it in for service and to get everything set up to tow the RV repair place put on a new hubcap at a cost of $185. I'm driving down the road this morning on a very smooth interstate when a van pulls up along side me and motions me to pull over. I did and he said a mile or two back a hubcap came off and rolled out into a bunch of trees. I knew there was no way I could find it so I just looked and yes it was the same one. Always something but we are loving it. Look forward to meeting some of you in Perry.

Thanks Bill. The manual says run it through the gears and go to neutral from drive. I have been going from park to reverse to neutral to low to second to drive. Then you leave it in drive for 5 seconds and then put it in neutral and let it run for 3 minutes. Sounds like I could leave a few of those steps out and just go to drive, wait 5 seconds then go to neutral and let it run for 3 minutes. Headed out tomorrow for about 2 months. David

Greetings, everyone. We just got our motor home back from the shop after they had it for 10 days - 4 of those were weekend days so I guess only 6 work days. They did maintenance and they also got everything set up for towing. We have a 2008 Newmar MountainAire that had 41,000 miles on it when we bought it in November and we have driven almost 5,000 miles on a trip to Texas and back. As I have said since joining FMCA, I know nothing - absolutely nothing - about mechanics so I want to make sure I get all the routine maintenance done that I possibly can to keep our unit in good shape. They did a 5k maintenance on the engine including checking everything and changing the oil and all the filters (oil, fuel, air). They did a generator service. They did a transmission service which they said will not be needed again for 3 years. The replaced a hub cap that I think we lost driving on some pretty horrible interstate roads through Houston. They replaced the 50amp cord - I had told them that it wasn't going in and out like it was supposed to and asked them to check it and they said it needed replacing. I do know there was some electrical tape on it in places so replacing seemed like a good idea. We had one slide out that wouldn't lock when we put it in and they fixed that. Had a hard time getting that done they said but it locks now when it is supposed to. They checked all the slideouts. They checked and serviced the leveling system. Wasn't cheap but I think we are set for awhile. Look forward to seeing everyone in a couple of weeks in Perry. David

Greetings, everyone. Just got our coach back after having all the work done to flat tow our 2014 Honda CRV. They put the base plate on the car and the tow bar - we went with Blue Ox equipment. They put a charge line in to keep everything charged while we are driving. We chose the IRV supplemental brake. I took lots of pictures as we connected everything at the shop. Now we'll do it again Wednesday morning when we pull out headed south to the Passport America rally in Tallahassee, FL. By the way, the total bill was about $3,800 which I thought was ok. I had been quoted $4,500 for our 2014 Buick Enclave which we decided not to tow. David

Probably not what you are thinking of when you ask about "interesting" but it is probably when we had to go to Oklahoma for 3 weeks when my father was in the hospital. He had an infection in his pacemaker after they replaced the battery. They did a 4 hour surgery to take it out and clean up the infection. What is interesting is that they put a new experimental pacemaker back in that doesn't go in the chest wall like his old one but rather looks like a 22 bullet and goes directly into the heart. It works great so far and was much easier on him. We also went to Progresso, Mexico. That was an interesting place. Stayed in several RV parks and some were more "interesting" than others. Look forward to lots of experiences in the years to come. Look forward to meeting you and others on this forum as time goes by. David

Bill, they are prepping our 2014 Honda CR-V EXL right now. Front wheel drive with 28,000 miles on it. Even matches our coach. We have been driving Buick enclaves (2 of them) since 2008 and we decided this vehicle was an enclave "light". Not the same size or all the amenities but we are very pleased with the ride and style. Thanks for the recommendation. David

Greetings, everyone. Judy and I just arrived back in Virginia last night after our first trip in our new (to us) motor home. It was a fabulous experience. Thanks to many of you for your excellent advice along the way. We drove about 5,000 miles through 11 states and were gone from December 6 to Feb 16. Really only had one negative experience and that was yesterday - stopped in a park we had a reservation in for last night and paid our $27 and then went to the site and it was not level. Couldn't get our coach to level at all. Tried another spot with the same result. Refused a refund but as the manager says "the world is not flat so deal with it". I think if that is the worst thing we encountered in over 2 months on the road we did pretty well. We just got in the coach and drove the 3 hours to Richmond and parked here in a familiar spot. We are here for 2 weeks and then head to Florida for the Passport America Rally and then a week in Florida and then the FMCA reunion in Perry. Then back to Florida until the end of April. Looking forward to all of those experiences. We have a lot to learn and plan to attend every seminar we can at both of the rally's we are attending. Our first order of business is to buy a toad. I think we have narrowed it down to the following: Honda CRV (2014 or older) Ford Fusion Energi or Hybrid Ford Edge Chevrolet Malibu Chevrolet Equinox We hope to buy in the next couple of days. If anyone has any thoughts we would be glad to receive them. We parked our MH in an RV park where we can plug in and run the furnace. I thought about storage - it was cheaper but couldn't plug in. Temps tomorrow night are supposed to be about 22. A couple of other nights while we are here it will be 28 or so. We are staying in our house for these 2 weeks - have some things we need to do to get it ready to sell to our daughter and her family. I drained the black and gray water and fresh water tanks. I filled it with diesel. I plugged it in to shore power and have the furnace on 60. I put the jacks down. I put the rear slides out and left the front ones in. Friday I have an appointment to have the oil and all the filters (oil, fuel, air) changed. They will also check the generator to see if it needs serviced (we haven't used it at all on our 2 month trip - just ran it every couple of weeks for a few minutes). They are also checking on all the slides just to make sure they are OK. I have one slide up front that goes in and out fine but the lock doesn't come out when we put it in. All 3 of the other slides the lock works fine. The big slide up front sometimes hesitates but always works. Just want to have them checked to make sure everything is ok. Once we buy our car, the same RV repair shop that is doing the maintenance will do all the work to get the car ready to tow. Overall, we are very pleased with our motor home. It drives like a dream and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and look forward to this lifestyle for many years to come. In fact, my wife said a couple of days ago "you know we could just stay in the motor home and go back and forth to the house". I think she likes it :-). Looking forward to seeing many of you at the rally in Perry. Thanks again for all of your help along the way. David

Sorry to hear that you are having to sell. But I'd do the same in your situation. Trust things will get better and you may have an opportunity to go again! David

Hi Carl. That's the way we would normally go. However, we were in Granite in December and that's the way we came back to Texas. There was a stretch of road that was under construction and was in really bad shape. The road surface was completely gone - they were working on it so it may be finished by now but it's only a month later so just assumed it was still under construction. That's why we chose a similar but alternate route. I grew up in Granite. The sign at the edge of town says population 1,714. What they don't tell you is that about 700 of those are inmates in the local prison. They don't have much choice about being included in the population! David

Before I retired I flew into DFW quite often, rented a car and drove up to Granite. I think 183 in Ft Worth has been under construction for decades! I think we are going to take 77 out of Brownsville to I 37 into San Antonio and then 281 North out of SA, spend the night in Lampass and then take 183 to Vernon. Then straight north to Granite. Also, think we have decided to just take the straight route home on I-40 since it looks like the temps will stay above freezing all the way. Are you going to be at the FMCA event in Perry? Look forward to meeting you sometime. David

Prior to our motor home days we actually stayed at the big Texan motel and have eaten at the steak ranch a couple of times. The 72 oz steak is huge and you also have to eat a baked potato, salad, roll and I can't remember for sure but maybe a shrimp cocktail as well. I didn't even try but the other steaks were good.

I'm thinking sw Oklahoma to Dallas and get on I20 to Atlanta and I85 up to Richmond. We could go straight down I 40 to knoxville And then I81 to Virginia and may yet do that. The most recent weather forecasts have warmed up a little and it looks like we may not need to do the southern route to stay above freezing. By the way it looks like the lowest temp in ok will be 30 one night. I'm thinking I probably don't need to be too concerned about that because it will only be below freezing for a couple of hours. David

My folks live in Granite in sw OK - just above Vernon TX. So we are going from here in Brownsville to an hour or so north of San Antonio and spending the night. Well then go on in to Granite on Tuesday and will leave Friday headed to Virginia but going the southern route and taking a few days. David P.S. In December we went to OKC because that is where my father was in the hospital. We were in the car so traveled a little faster.

As we were researching motor homes prior to our purchase 3 months ago, in our price range we narrowed it down to Tiffin or Newmar and then started looking. We wanted one that was previously owned so we started looking at these two brands. We found a Newmar and bought it but I think we would also have been happy in a tiffin.

We have owned our Newmar mountainaire 4523 for almost 3 months and continue to love it. It only has one bathroom but the toilet is in a room by itself with a second sink. We have the two facing sofas and I think if I had one wish it would be to have a sofa and a recliner. We have 3 TVs and they all get used. The one in the front more than the one in the bedroom. I like the outside tv - I can go out there and sit with my iPad and watch the markets on CNBC while Judy is doing something inside and watching tv there. We have tons of storage and a full size fridge and a king size bed which were all important to us. I think we did pretty well for the first time buying a motor home and don't think we would want to change much. David

Thanks for the good info Herman and Bill. My propane is at 100% - or should I say on the scale on the panel all 5 of the 5 lights are lit. So it's at least almost full. A dumb question (or two or three) about plugging into my folks house. Their house was built in the 40s or 50s and is small. Will plugging into their house potentially blow a circuit? Also, I assume I would need to get an adaptor that would take me from 50 amp plug to 110 plug. Could I run the generator instead to keep the batteries charged? I just don't want to do anything that might potentially harm their house. Thanks again. David

Greetings, everyone. We've had a very enjoyable 2 months (with about 3 weeks taken out for a trip to Oklahoma in our car) here in Brownsville, TX. We are getting ready to leave next Monday to start making our way back to Virginia. First we are headed back to Oklahoma to see my folks and then will head to Virginia. A couple of questions: 1. What do I need to do to make sure that we are ready to go in a few days? Let me tell you what all I've done and see if there are other suggestions. I've posted a couple of times asking various questions a few weeks ago and everyone was very helpful. I have cleaned all the air filters and they are good. I checked the batteries and they were dry but I filled them with distilled water, cleaned all the connections and even had a local guy check them out and he said both the 4 house batteries and the 2 coach batteries were good. The volt meter on the panel above the drivers seat consistently says 13.4 for the volts. I washed and waxed the entire motor coach and treated the tires. We have a retired heat and air and general handyman guy in our church that we have been attending here in Brownsville. Yesterday he came out and climbed on top of the motor coach and looked everything over. Said the roof was good. Used silicone to seal a couple of places around machinery. He checked the air coming out of the ac and said all 3 units were working fine. Said on one of the heat pumps on top the cover had a little damage but he wouldn't mess with it unless there were other problems so we didn't do anything. We checked all the fluid levels and they were good. He said the oil looked good and we'd be fine to go back to Virginia to get it serviced with oil and filter changes. He looked at the generator and said it looked fine. We pulled in the slideouts and then put them back out and they are working well. We've had a lot of wind so wanted to make sure they were still OK. So, what else do we need to do to prepare to pull out on Monday after our motor home has been sitting here for 2 months? 2. What can the temperature get down to and everything in the motor home be okay? I've been checking the temps pretty closely and it looks like while we are in Oklahoma to check on my folks the overnight low one night will be 25. That day it will have been 50 and the next day about 50 again. For the 2 or 3 nights we will be there the motor home will be parked. We'll be staying in the house with my parents. Should I do anything the night it will get down to 25? I suppose I could run the furnace that night if needed? If I run the furnace do I need to turn anything else on? Thanks again to everyone for the good advice along the way. So far I think our first trip has been successful. We intend to come back to Brownsville next year anyway so I guess that means we had a good time and enjoyed ourselves. Look forward to seeing many of you at the big event in Perry, GA. David and Judy

Judy and I will be there as well. We just registered today for our first event with FMCA. Looking forward to meeting everyone and saying thanks in person for all the good info you all have given us. David.

We took the Butlers advice and are using My Home Address. We are very pleased. Personalized service. They registered our MH in SD and all went smoothly. We call every few weeks and get mail. They do great and it seems to be very reasonable in cost. Thanks Tom and Louise. David

When we bought our motor home a couple of months ago I stopped by the hoa office and asked if we could park for a few hours just to load up some things. She said she'd check with the board. The next day I stopped by and she said they indicated absolutely not. Then she said I can't tell you this but if you park it on the street in front of your house and not in your driveway there is nothing they can do - it's a public street. I ended up not doing anything but good to know. David.

Hi Brett. I checked again after the charger had been on and it is now 14.2 and the charger has turned itself off. We have a local handyman and he was doing some work across the street and I asked him to look at my batteries. He said they are all fine - he used a volt meter on each battery and said they were good. Everything seems to be working fine now and all the gauges show what they did yesterday. Thanks for your patience and good info for this rookie/newbie. David