tbutler

SEAJAY, Loved the account, you have a great sense of humor considering the fun you've had - or not! Anyway, your account is typical of the things we have had happen to us. If you are going to live on the road, be ready for the fun, keep those shux, fudge and sunny beaches close at hand, you will get a chance to use them! But all in all, the life is well worth it! It does take a certain amount of patience and cool hand luke attitude to get through those rough days. And, oh yes, take it easy on those Marines, I think they are headed for Somalia!!!!

This device is for those who venture off the grid on a regular basis. I am talking about hiking trails in National Parks, National Forests, wilderness areas. Or do you drive remote roads in search of adventure? If you are a fisherman, boater, mountain climber, or just travel remote areas, this device is something you should have. I found this last year when it was mentioned in an article in the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). I think I have seen it also in an article in FMCA Family Motor Coaching Magazine but I can't find the reference. SPOT is a GPS receiver which transmits your location to a separate commercial satellite when you are in need of assistance. If you find yourself or your vehicle disabled by an accident or medical situation, you may need to get help. Your cell phone might help rescue personnel find you if you can tell them right where you are located. Of course if you are beyond cell phone range it will be of no use to you. If your cell phone batteries go dead you are out of luck. With SPOT you simply press the 911 button, make sure it has a clear view of the sky and it notifies SPOT emergency personnel of the your emergency call and gives your GPS location. They will then contact the appropriate emergency personnel and trigger a rescue. An insurance plan is available which will pay for your rescue expenses. Sounds expensive? SPOT sells for $169 and an annual service contract costs just under $100. The emergency rescue insurance policy is about $6 per person for one year of coverage! SPOT runs on three triple A Lithium Batteries which will last for one week sending out emergency messages. SPOT keeps sending until shut off. To make sure we have good batteries, I carry an extra set with us any time we are out using our SPOT. I figure that at my age (62) anything could happen when I am out hiking or 4 wheeling in some remote area. Accidents happen and a broken ankle could be life threatening if you couldn't get help. We have all read stories of individuals or families trapped by snow storms, lost hikers, an able bodied hiker gets his arm stuck under a boulder and cuts his arm off after several days hoping for rescue, boaters adrift in a disabled boat, the stories go on and on. I consider this device to be an excellent investment in peace of mind. Whenever we travel, SPOT is with us. I keep it in the backpack when hiking, on the dash of the airplane when flying, on my bicycle bag when riding, on the car dash when out exploring. In short, anytime we are away from civilization, SPOT is with us. There is an option to have SPOT keep track of your movements, it reports your location every 10 minutes and when you get home you can trace your movements on your computer. With a click, you can see your movements plotted on Google Maps or Google Earth! Rescuers shouldn't have to search any more, they should be able to see where you are on a map and plan a rescue to that point. Much simpler and much faster rescue is the result. Need help but it isn't an emergency rescue situation, you can select several people to receive a help message. Press the help button and your two people will receive a prerecorded message from you via e-mail and phone. They can then come to your assistance. They will know where you are located with the GPS information and can also see you location on Google Maps or Google Earth on their computer. This might be good if you have a flat tire and just want a nearby friend or relative to come give you a hand. You could notify your emergency road service with this method. Ever try to tell emergency road service personnel where you are. Imagine if you could send them your GPS location and they could look it up on a map on their computer. Our daughters enjoy getting regular check message e-mails from our SPOT. Each time we turn it on, we use the Check/OK button to send a message to ourselves and it also goes to our two daughters. It lets them know where we are before we start an adventure. Great peace of mind for everyone. Find out more about SPOT at Findmespot.com

Wayne, I'm sour on extended warranty plans. I bought GS ESP when we purchased a used motor home in 2001. They didn't require an inspection of the motor home. When I called about a problem the first words out of the agents mouth were, "You haven't had this policy very long." Things went downhill from there. I talked to the shop doing the repair and they said they wouldn't work with GS ESP because they didn't want to pay for anything. Keep in mind this was a "minor" claim. It wouldn't have amounted to more than $500. So in late 2003 we bought our brand new 2004 motor home from a dealer at a manufacturers motor home show. This time we bought the extended warranty from the dealer. Within a year the dealer went out of business - bankrupt and then opened again on the same location with a new name. I never had to file a claim, we're now past the 5 years. But if I did have to file a claim I wouldn't have anybody at the dealer to back me up in the claim and with the record of the dealer I'm not sure the money ever was paid to the warranty service company. I'm not sure what assurances I would accept on such a deal. I consider extended warranties to be a scam where you are pitted against the warranty company. Their objective is to pay as little as possible on a claim, your objective is to get the repair done properly at no cost. They will deny a claim if they can find any reason to do so, e.g. inadequate proof of maintenance performed in a timely manner, etc. Read the contract very carefully. Remember they have a staff of lawyers to write the contract and you have, well, you. If you buy an extended warranty, make sure you have impeccable records. It takes better record keeping than TAXES! Keep receipts, make sure they always show mileage and date for service performed. Make sure that maintenance is performed per manufacturers schedule or in some cases the extended warranty schedule. The second contract had provisions for service (oil change, filter, etc.) that exceeded the Cummins recommendations. There is a big GOTCHA! Caveat emptor... Let the buyer beware!

Here is how our travel decisions occur. As full timers we don't have a home to return to, so none of those pressures factor in. We hadn't set a definite date for our departure from Sandpipers Resort in south Texas until today. Several days ago I picked up a message that mentioned the dates for the Sun 'n Fun Airshow in Lakeland, Florida. We were planning to be in Florida for the launch of STS 125 and STS 127. Those are two Space Shuttle launches scheduled for May 12 and 15. The dates for the Sun 'n Fun are April 21 through 26. So I checked out the RV camping facilities and it looked good. We talked about it, thought about it and today made a decision to go. We'll move our departure date up about a week from what we were initially thinking. I scheduled some work at Camping World for Tuesday the 14th. They will install a new sine wave inverter/charger in our 2004 motor home. Our old modified sine wave inverter had a few things that wouldn't work; in fact it destroyed the electronics in several inexpensive items. I tried an infinite number of doorbells but none would work with the modified sine wave inverter. We also like our heated mattress pad and we've ruined several of them, forgetting to unplug them before disconnecting the shore power. With several new TVs and an ever-increasing list of electronics on board, the risk becomes greater. Last year the generator auto start function failed so we decided to replace the old inverter. Camping World had a sale a few weeks ago and that pushed us over the edge. We'll leave the bay with access to the inverter open for the repair work and then do the final packing up when we return to Sandpipers for a final night before departing on the 16th for Florida. We will have 5 days to travel just over 1,600 miles. Our original plans were to spend some time exploring along the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle, but we'll sacrifice that for the chance to walk the flight line and see all the vintage aircraft, warbirds and current military hardware. We'll enjoy some spectacular air shows and just visiting with a multitude of other pilots. With the motor home we'll be able to eat many meals "at home." The camping is dry camping which is no problem with our motor home. We'll watch our water consumption and may have to restrict our generator use depending on where we are parked. Our costs will be less than the motel costs alone for someone staying there for the week. After the airshow we'll spend two weeks exploring Florida before we head for Cape Canaveral and our reserved spot at Jetty Park to watch the launch(s) of the shuttles. Sure hope they go off on schedule! So now we begin the final push to get everything in the motor home ready for travel. You can really get settled in when you park somewhere for five months. The motor home needs a good wash. I'll flush the water heater before we go. The water filters in the basement compartment will be changed, batteries and engine fluids checked. The tire pressure will be checked and the Pressure Pro sensors will be tested. There are things to be stored in the shed on our leased lot and things that have been stored in the shed to be loaded into the motor home. So when we get an opportunity, we are free to chase the dream! Look out Florida, here we come!

Thanks, appreciate you sharing your experience.

One other thing to pass along. The reason give for our motor home using the Leece Neville was that their alternators produced a higher percentage of the rated amperage at running temperatures than the "other" alternator. I can't remember what the other generator was when this was given as a reason in 2002 when we had our work done. I know that the alternator that was in our rig was rated higher amperage than the Leece Neville but they specified the Leece Neville. Also, I noticed I wrote battery isolator when I meant to refer to the battery cut-off switch and a relay associated with that. Let us know what the resolution is when you finally find the problem.

I think About Schmidt comes closest to reality of any. Robin Williams, et. al. ended up being a feel good movie about RVing with great hilarity in the process. Never have been an Albert Brooks fan... So About Schmidt gets my vote! Oh, and we love Long Long Trailer! Pioneer of the living on the road movies!

midgarvservice, Great information, thanks for adding your experiences. They should serve to make everyone more cautious.

Wayne, You are such a well-spring of information! Thanks for the web site for towing laws. I have bookmarked it for future reference.

We had alternator problems on a used coach we purchased eight years ago. We went to Cummins in San Diego and they weren't having any luck finding an alternator. I called Monaco and talked to the tech people who gave me the information needed to find the correct alternator. It turns out the previous owner had taken the motor home to a truck shop and they had put a regular truck alternator on the motor home and then wired it to make it work with the motor home. A regular alternator has just a single post for the hot wire. The correct one for our motor home was a dual post alternator. One post for the engine batteries and the other for the house batteries. I think this is still the case with our current motor home. You didn't say what make/model motor home you have or if it is gas or diesel. I would check with the manufacturer if you can and if not find a reputable dealer who can help you. Non-motor home service centers may not have the information or experience to handle the special case of a motor home.

We have traveled through all of the continental US and Canada in our 40 foot motor home with a SUV toad. We are just under 65 feet when all connected together. Much of New England has legal lengths that are less than this but we were never challenged. I have no doubt that if we had been involved in an accident we would have received a ticket and may have had insurance issues as well. California does have restrictions on some roads (mountains, coast, etc.) but you would be legal with a 40 foot coach on most California roads. Check the references given above to determine where you would be legal.

One of the things to consider here is that digital signals are weaker, don't travel as far as analog signals. Unlike analog where you get a static filled picture with weak signal. With analog signal if it is too weak you get no picture at all. If you are in a fringe area, your converter box may be working but you may not be getting a strong enough signal to get picture. This could even be the case if you were getting good pictures with the analog signal. We have a standard bat wing antenna and find it can pick up only a few of the stations we were able to get with analog TV. I have seen the Winegard add on and would try it when it is available in stores. Our local Camping World doesn't stock it in store so we would have to pay shipping also. If anyone has had experience with this add on antenna I would like to hear how it affects reception.

I don't know about a signal but if you have access to the root of the harness you should be able to do a continuity test for each individual wire while testing for cross connections or shorts. Most inexpensive test meters have a continuity or resistance function or you can make one with a battery, two wires and a light bulb. I would connect one end of the continuity check device to the fixture and then test every wire in the harness to identify any cross connections including the ground to hot continuity. Do this with each bulb in place and without the bulb in the fixture. A slow process but each test gives you more specific information about how the harness is connected. I think the first step has to be to replace your compartment switch. If there is any arcing or malfunction detected by visual observation as you examine each fixture, replace them. The whole problem could be a fixture malfunction. I'll bring up one other possibility. In our coach, we have a battery cut-off switch. This switch activates a single Battery Isolator which is a relay that shuts off all 12V electric to our coach. When this fails we have no 12V electric in the coach. I wonder if perhaps you have two of these, one for each side of the coach? If so, perhaps one of them has failed. I am finding that this relay is prone to failure. Our coach is 5 years old and we are on the third one now.

Peggy, What are your travel plans? What direction is Minnie pointed this morning? I'm looking for your next entry. It will be fun to read about your perspective on the whole voyage of getting into motorhoming. I assume that you have not been out in Minnie before... or am I wrong?

I'm no expert but if you have evidence of arcing at a switch, that would be a good place to start. A switch doesn't have a ground side so you are dealing with incoming hot wire and outgoing hot wire to the fixture. If there is grounding in the switch then it would be the cause of the arcing. If you have arcing there should be a blown fuse. Check all your fuses - but find the cause of the arcing or you'll just end up replacing fuses again. If you put in a jumper to ground part of the circuit and it doesn't solve the problem for the whole problem area then the ground fault must be at a point other than the circuit level. Check at the fuse board to see if the ground wire there is still intact and properly attached.

Several years ago I invested in a Flo Jet Macerator. Now I can pump sh*t up hill! I have enough pipe and hose to make a run of over 50 feet! Snap together fittings used for pumps in farming operations (look for them at Tractor Supply, Orscheln or Princess Auto (for you Canadians) make connections a snap and they don't come apart until I unhook them. Now I can't be stopped! The only time I use the stinky slinky is when I am within five feet or less of the sewer hook up. And, oh yes, give my sympathy to your wife. You should buy her some nice smelling flowers!

How to transfer the gray water into the black water tank for a rinse? I have a flo jet macerator on our system. After dumping the black water tank I can simply open the gray water valve. The macerator doesn't empty the tank like the 3" hose does. The gray water will back up into the black water tank. Shut off the gray water after a few minutes and let the gray water drain out of the black tank. You can repeat this if desired. When finished, simply close the black water valve and open the gray to let the rest drain out. Now, having said that... If you want a really good flush, dump a bucket of water directly down the toilet and see what comes out after the above rinse. The hose on the macerator is transparent so I can monitor the nature of the effluent. I have a clear adapter on the 3" hose when I use it. I have a built in spray rinse in the black water tank. Using the gray water back flush and the spray rinse, water from the black tank will flow out clear. Then dumping a bucket down the toilet directly brings out another charge of dark effluent and paper, etc. Check it and see what you get. I have three 2 gallon buckets that I use for washing, etc. When it is time to dump the black water I'll put 2 or three of these down the toilet to get it to finally run clear.

Our motor home has a Cummins 400 ISL with Allison six speed transmission. We have a gross weight of 36,000 pounds and our tow vehicle is just under 6000 pounds. And, yes we could travel in a smaller, lighter vehicle and tow. Given that this is our rig, what can I do to reduce my fuel usage? No, I'm not going to park it! Last year as I was driving through Ontario I was driving to obtain the highest efficiency. I could improve the mileage from 8 to 9 miles per gallon (12%) by using a few techniques outlined below. The press mentioned a number of these techniques called hypermiling. You can check the Internet for entries under the category of hypermiling to find all the suggestions. These are applicable to motor homes. Simple ideas like finding the shortest route between two points can reduce fuel used without affecting the mileage of the vehicle. Removing articles not needed or reducing levels of water or propane in a storage tank if they aren't needed can help. Look far ahead to see what traffic changes are coming up. As soon as I see a sign indicating reduced speed ahead I'll drop to a coast. I will even begin to slow if there are signs coming up indicating a community ahead, a water tower or a grain elevator, etc. If you practice this you will find that you are able to accommodate the reduced speed without using brakes. Using brakes indicates wasted energy because you had more energy than needed to get to the point at the speed desired. It is impossible to not use brakes but try to anticipate slowing traffic and speed limits so you don't waste fuel maintaining speed only to find you need to use the brakes to get rid of some of the speed. Monitoring my turbocharger pressure and keeping the turbo at or below 60% if possible seemed to make the biggest difference. That meant letting the speed bleed off as I climbed hills, topping the hill at a slow speed and letting the motor home accelerate downhill mostly from gravity. This works well on small hills in light traffic. For mountain grades the momentum of the coach won't really do much after the initial climb. Still we didn't shy away from the hills on the North side of Lake Superior as was advised by a truck driver we met near Nipissing. He recommended taking Highway 11, further north across flat country. We of course wanted to see the best scenery, not necessarily make good time so we stayed with Highway 17 and enjoyed the trip. This does slow down our travel but frequent passing lanes assist other drivers in getting past us. I seldom held up another vehicle for more than a mile if that. Another technique that helps with fuel mileage is to observe traffic signals carefully. If a light is green in the distance it will likely change to red before you get to it. Slow down and let your speed deteriorate well in advance of the light. If this works properly the light will change to green again before you have to come to a complete stop. Then you can continue through without having to come to a complete stop and accelerate from a stop. This process is what causes fuel mileage to drop so much in city driving. I have noticed that truck drivers are using this method. The one drawback here is that some auto drivers will pass you and then pull in front of you, shortening the distance you have to coast before stopping. Auto drivers can also be helpful when a light has a pavement sensor to trigger the green light. A car pulling up to the stop line will trigger the sensor and cause the light to change to green earlier. Simply observing speed limits will help reduce fuel usage. After all, we are usually the out-of-towners. I make it a point to observe speed limits as closely as possible. Slowing down will improve your fuel mileage. Even though the shift point on my transmission is 60 to go into overdrive, I still get better fuel mileage at 55 or even 50. If the wind is blowing in the opposite direction of your travel (in your face) it is even more important to slow down. Driving 55 miles per hour in a 20 mph headwind is almost the same as driving 75 miles per hour in a no wind condition. Minimize idling time to reduce fuel consumption. Diesel engines can be shut down after a brief period to cool the turbocharger. If you have been traveling slowly before stopping, no cool down is necessary. Attend a workshop by the engine manufacturers at a convention and you will learn more about this. Your fuel mileage while idling is exactly zero. Avoiding urban areas during rush hour when possible will also help improve your fuel mileage while you preserve your sanity! Our motor home manufacturer (Monaco) indicates that using the generator to run the house air conditioner is more energy effective than using the dash air conditioner. This may not be possible or correct information for all vehicles but if you have a large motor home with a generator, it likely is true. A generator will run on about a half gallon of diesel an hour. Our motor home will use about 6 gallons of fuel an hour when driving cross country. If you have an instant mileage readout on your motor home you can drive for a while with the dash air conditioner on and then turn it off to see how it affects the mileage you are getting. It does make a significant difference. Lets start a discussion, please add your own techniques as replies.

We have had a Roadmaster Sterling Tow Bar to tow our 2002 Trailblazer since we bought it in 2002. We are full time so the tow bar gets a regular work-out. I have weighed the Trailblazer in tow behind our motor home and it is just barely within the specified capacity of the Sterling. In 2007 the bar finally broke. During the time used it, we towed approximately 70,000 miles. I called Roadmaster and they told me to ship it to them and gave instructions. About a week later they called to tell me that they were unable to repair my bar. They said they had a reconditioned one at about half the price of a new one. They shipped it to me and I had it in about 3 days. It has been working well for two years now. At every rally, Roadmaster comes around and inspects the tow bar, leaving a note to let us know what service they performed (usually just lubrication). I had one piece of the mounting hardware (holds the crossbar) crack and it was repaired while we were at the Convention in St. Paul. It is holding just fine. The Sterling is easy to use. I consider it an excellent product with a good company to back it up.

We have an XM Radio installed in 2004. We lost the radio coverage as we neared Dawson Creek, BC, the beginning of the Alaska Highway. We didn't have it again until we were south of Dawson Creek. Our antenna is on the outside of the roof of our motor home. It is possible that some of the roof top equipment was blocking the signal. We also have the same XM set up on our Trailblazer and had no luck with receiving signal in the Trailblazer when we were out exploring around Dawson Creek. The Direct TV on our KVH dish dropped out before we got north of Prince George, BC. As you go further north, you will find even small trees will be above the horizon and capable of blocking your signal. When you get to Alaska you will find that everyone has an oversized dish (about 3 feet in diameter) on their home. We saw some RV'ers who came from the lower 48 and carried one of these larger dishes with them. Of course they had to set them up manually to use them. Most campgrounds have cable service, at least a half dozen channels, Canadian TV. The Red Green Show! We really enjoyed the Canadian coverage of the Olympics last year when we were up in the Rockies near Jasper, AB. Good luck with your reception. Let us know how it differs from our experience!

For those who aren't aware of the Senior Pass in the America the Beautiful Program, there is the text from the website at www.nps.gov Check out www.recreation.gov which allows you to search for RV sites by state or park/facility name or date. I'm not sure that this covers everything covered by the pass but I suspect it might. Louise and I both qualified for the pass this year and even though we don't have to have individual passes we have purchased one for each of us. You may bring everyone in a private, non-commerical vehicle under your pass. Take your children and grandchildren to a National Park! Everyone in the vehicle with you gets in free! Here is the scoop! America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass – Senior Pass. - Cost $10. America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass – Senior Pass America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass – Senior Pass This is a lifetime pass for U.S. citizens or permanent residents age 62 or over. The pass provides access to, and use of, Federal recreation sites that charge an Entrance or Standard Amenity. The pass admits the pass holder and passengers in a non-commercial vehicle at per vehicle fee areas and pass holder + 3 adults, not to exceed 4 adults, at per person fee areas (children under 16 are admitted free). The pass can only be obtained in person at the park. The Senior Pass provides a 50 percent discount on some Expanded Amenity Fees charged for facilities and services such as camping, swimming, boat launch, and specialized interpretive services. In some cases where Expanded Amenity Fees are charged, only the pass holder will be given the 50 percent price reduction. The pass is non-transferable and generally does NOT cover or reduce special recreation permit fees or fees charged by concessionaires.

Our bicycle rides from our winter retreat take us to many places. We visit a number of wildlife parks that feature a wide array of animals. If you look at a map of Texas and find the southern tip, you will see that it is well south of much of Mexico. Many animals from Central America make their way as far North as the Rio Grande River Valley. As a result this area is known for its variety of animals. We aren't the only snow birds here. Many bird species that summer in the Arctic spend their winters in South Texas. The Rio Grande Valley is a mecca for bird enthusiasts. This is the only place in the U.S. to see many of the birds that are here. These are a few of the places we visit on our bicycle rides. There are a series of locations that have been designated World Birding Centers all along the Gulf Coast of Texas. These extend up the Rio Grande River as well. On our bike rides we visit a number of these parks. The Bentsen World Birding Center near Mission, TX is a particularly rich environment for birds and other animals. Javalina are common and some members of our group have spotted Bobcats as well. There are numerous feeding stations throughout the park. Chachalaca, a raucous large bird similar to a chicken, travel in flocks. Catch a group of them at a feeder and you will see some entertainment! Many of the feeders here have blinds set up so you can be just a few feet from the birds and get excellent views as well as pictures. Near Bentsen is the North American Butterfly Association (NABA) International Butterfly Park. On a still warm day you can see hundreds of butterflies. You will find butterfly experts roaming the grounds frequently. They are more than willing to share their experience and knowledge of butterflies with visitors. Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge near Alamo, TX, has many acres of land with numerous lakes. There is only one feeding station here and it is near the Visitors Center. Here as well as at Bentsen, there is no automobile traffic permitted in the park. People may tour on bicycle or foot. At both parks there are trams that circulate to take people into the park and pick them up. At both parks there are viewing stands or towers. This time of year, both parks are manned by birding experts who are counting the hawks as they return from the southern migration. Great groups of hawks known as kettles will gather and migrate northward together. We have seen kettles with over 200 hawks at Santa Ana NWR. A special treat this last year was the sighting of several Coral Snakes. Laguna Atascosa NWR is on the coast just north of Port Isabel. This is a large tract of land with a large lake or laguna. Many shore birds are seen here and American Aligators live in the inland bodies of water. There is a 13 mile loop which can be driven or ridden on bicycle. The loop runs along the coast for about 5 miles. In addition to these, the Audubon Society has several parks in the Rio Grande Valley. Their parks can be toured only on foot but are somewhat smaller in size. Still they have a wonderful array of animals in a natural setting. Most of the animals in the album with this entry have been seen at the above parks. Some of the photographs come from other areas because they were the best pictures I had of these animals.