LCHammer

My DH and I have discussed this back and forth. We like the idea of FMCA being for motorcoach owners. Attending rallies is informative and instructional for us. We went to the Indy rally and had a nice time (our first rally). We liked looking at all the new coaches on display, and the unique vendor opportunities. Our thoughts are this: if towables are allowed, you'd "muddy" the informative aspect of the rally (how much info does a trailer owner really need/use?) We owned several trailers through the years and I can honestly say I wouldn't have seen any value in attending a rally with my trailer. Kids - could be an issue but maybe not. The one thing I think would draw the families is looking at new coaches (and there goes the pleasant experience of strolling through new coaches...sigh) but entertaining throngs of kids would be a BIG issue. The Energized group does a nice job with the handful of kids at rallies now and if the number grows, families will really want on-site activities for kids. Lots of planning, but in reality you'd have to really think about how many families would find rallies interesting AND plan a rally as a family destination... I wouldn't have done that...

We bought the Carefree EZ blocker - it was quick and easy to install. Sadly it was too long and bunched up when we rolled up our awning. Carefree took it back no problem gave us a new one. We use ours all the time. Works wonderful when you're at a site without a tree in sight. The one thing about the EZ blocker - about 9in of fabric stays in the awning groove and rolls up with your awning. You zip on the lower part when the awning is deployed. It also has stakes to pull the awning away from the rig at an angle. Love it!

Forgive me I just jumped in this (Just don't have the stamina to read all 11 pages) but honestly, I think the writing is on the wall - or rather the home page of FMCA with the "under construction" banner. I think that towables will be allowed and it's already a done deal. Personally, we joined about 2 years ago and liked the idea of a motorcoach only organization. I'm glad I'm attending the Indy convention. May be the last true MH convention. Once towables are allowed the balance of what will be offered will change and at least half of the offerings will have to be geared to towables. Since I've never attended a convention, I'm guessing that there are not a great deal of children about. With the addition of towables, more families, more kids (in and out of display vehicles much like at any rv show).

I always seem to have RV envy.... sigh... each one looks prettier than the next!

I90 is my personal nightmare. If you are trying to take that route, heading south (I assume) and around the city, your absolute best bet is to take 90 to the 294 tollway and use that to bypass the city (again going well off rush hour - which in Chicago is pretty much always! I can't stress enough DO NOT take 190 into the city!) But I'm just guessing that you might be heading to Indiana. No matter what route around Chicago just take a happy pill before hitting the road! Good luck!

So after all this it turns out that we need a thingy called a diode when connecting the wiring. Easy $12 fix. Thank heaven! Thanks for all the suggestions!

Great idea about the battery. We were very lucky that the campground owner/host had a charger handy and the Chevy was up and moving. So our Chevy is so old (insert joke here) that no fuses need to be pulled. Looking through the manual we just have to put the transfer case in neutral, car in run position etc. So I'm thinking it must be the DH and his do-it-yourself wiring.

We used our Brake Buddy for the first time towing our Chevy Suburban a 2006. What a fiasco! We were about 25 miles from our destination and we got an alternator light on the dash of the MH. Made it to the campground only to discover the Suburban was totally dead. DH and buddy did the wiring from the bus to the Chevy and set up the Brake Buddy and Blue ox tow package. He's thinking we've got a mis-fire somewhere! I know we have issues because when we test the BB the brake lights all work on the toad, but once it's under MH power we only get the right rear brake light to come on along with turn signals. (so the upper brake light bar and left are dark). We still got the alternator light on the MH dash, but the gauge on the dash showed good voltage. What a hot mess! Sometimes do-it-yourself just ..... stinks....

Thanks for the welcome! just got our "goose eggs!" in the mail!

We recently purchased our first MH - a 2006 Monaco Knight - after starting many years ago with a pop-up and followed with a Jayco Kiwi, and Jayco Eagle we now own our MH.

We just joined FMCA and we're looking for a semi-local chapter to join. Any chapters around the Chicago area? I know the Badger chapter is Wisconsin. Any help would be appreciated!