tbutler

The shower is the problem because we stand under it. Louise runs water for dish washing. When she turns on the hot water, it starts cold and then goes hot. The result is water as warm as she wants it. I tried to mix the water from the bath faucet and when I got it comfortable to the feel, the water heater shut off. So the shower isn't different than the faucets in that respect. The shower is a single control, turning it off with the main valve works fine. Any way you turn it off, the water heater shuts off. Then when it is turned back on, you have some hot water in the line. To get the water heater started you have to run it on full hot, then turn it down when the hot water comes through again. The problem is when the water is adjusted to a comfortable temperature, the hot water flow isn't enough to keep the water heater working and the water from the water heater is cold which mixes with the cold water very well but doesn't mix with me.

No, Herman, it isn't a pressure problem. And yes, jleamont, I know that you run full hot to get the water heater started. When we bring in the cold water to balance the hot the amount (volume) of cold water needed to get a nice warm shower (even with Louise's version of a nice warm shower which is at least 10 degrees warmer than mine) reduces the hot water flow (the shower head will only allow so much water through those little holes). We are on a private pump at my daughters house in Missouri at present, plenty of pressure. We were on the water pump for a week last week while in Louisville for the Kentucky Derby. Neither worked for us. As soon as we get enough cold water into the mix the hot water flow drops below minimum and the water heater shuts off. If you increase the total flow then you have problems with a rapidly filling grey water tank. The only possible solution I can see is to check and verify that the low flow sensor is working properly. If it is working as designed then the water heater is not satisfactory for our use. I'm making plans to go back to the standard 10 gallon water heater.

I had a tankless water heater installed during the winter. We have been living with it for two weeks now. I spent an hour on the phone with technical help last week. I'm still trying to get satisfactory service from mine. It is a Precision Temp RV550. It requires a minimum water flow to activate. Even with a proper minimum flow, it sometimes does not light. There is a pressure sensor for the exhaust fan, adjusting that has taken care of the problem most of the time. The diagnosis for this, the tech had me just hold my hand in front of the exhaust port and the back pressure was enough to light the unit. I suggest you contact the manufacturer of your water heater and spend some time on the phone (or take it to a service center) and get it adjusted to function properly. My current problem is in adjusting the temperature down low enough so I don't have to add huge amounts of cold water to the shower. If too much cold water is added, the minimum flow of the hot water is below the minimum for the hot water heater and then it shuts off, instant cold shower! So far no help from technical help on this one. I'm beginning to think that this type of water heater is not suitable for RV's. I think there may be issues with the quantity of water needed to operate the water heater and the need to conserve water volume in the grey waste tank. Technical help began by suggesting that we run a hot water faucet while showering to keep the minimum hot water flow high enough to keep the water heater operating. That was a non-starter!

Our electric (Thetford Aria Deluxe II) has two settings, one for regular, like house use, and another minimum water use for RV use. With ours set on RV, we (two of us) go for two weeks before needing to empty the black water tank (40 gallons).

If you are thinking short periods of time when you don't use it, a few hours to a day, leave it on. If you are thinking longer than that,turn it off. It takes about 15 minutes to heat up the standard 10 gallon RV water heater so you can have hot water on short notice. When we were full time we usually left the hot water heater on unless we were going to be out of the motor home for a while. It is very important that you turn the water heater off while fueling if you are using it on gas. If on electric only, it won't hurt to leave it on while fueling.

I am one that believes the best person to service a Cummins engine is a Cummins shop. I usually go to a regional service center, preferably one that is a Coach Care Center. They will have electricity hook-ups available and are aware of motor home owners concerns. Yes, the price will be a little higher but I don't like to go cheap on preventive maintenance. Considering your investment in your coach, what is a few hundred dollars to make sure that the engine gets proper care. You will be certain of OEM parts and they give the engine a thorough inspection. If you get all fluids and filters replaced, the cost will be much greater than I see quoted above. At Cummins they can test fluids like the coolant and may save you money by testing to assure you that it meets their standards. I go to Freightliner for chassis work but Cummins does my engine work.

I haven't been to this campground but RV Park Reviews has a listing. There are several reviews from people who have stayed there.

I know the concern comes from membership numbers and a desire to keep membership high to support a full-service organization. It is, I think apparent to all that the motor home industry continues to produce far fewer motor homes than during the peak years. The reasons for this are not complicated. Fewer people are able to purchase motor homes. The cost of motor home ownership has risen faster than salaries and many people who are currently retiring are not beneficiaries of stable well-funded retirement plans. Not many people on Social Security are buying motor homes. So, if we restrict membership to motor home owners we will necessarily have fewer members. To the idea of attracting younger members. This is always good for an organization. In our case, almost anyone would qualify as a younger member. The truth is that I could never have afforded a motor home before I retired and supplemented my retirement with another job. That alone allowed me to go shopping for a motor home. Prior to that time, I had done extensive tent camping with my family. When I married Louise she had a favorite saying, “Her idea of roughing it was staying at a Holiday Inn.” That set an expectation of a higher standard of travel and camping than I had done previously. I did manage to get her out on some canoe camping trips on a few of Missouri’s southern streams. She was a good sport about it. Clearly, if I was going to do more than a short trip now and then, Louise was going to want something better than a tent. So, at age 55 I came to RV ownership in the form of a used motor home. Before that time I had neither the disposable income to purchase nor the free time to use a motor home. My daughter, now approaching 50, and her family purchased a pull-behind camper several years ago. They may well be on their way to motor home ownership some day. Of our four children, they are the only family that owns an RV at this time. My youngest sister, also about 50, and her husband have just moved from a Class B motor home he used primarily for mobile work assignments to a Class A and are about to take it on the road for the first time. So, the history for our family is 50+ for motor home travel. It is true that we have much in common with other segments of the RV industry. We also have distinct differences from towable RV’s. I started with membership in several RV organizations when we purchased our motor home. I still am a Good Sam member, primarily for the campground discounts. I dropped my membership in Escapees when numerous articles in their newsletter expressed hostility to motor homes and motor home owners. There exists in that organization a portion of the membership which frowns upon anyone who isn’t boondocking. It was the kind of “we’re better than they are” attitude that will quickly divide an organization. We see a little of that sometimes from Class A, Class B and Class C owners within FMCA. Once in a while someone expresses a feeling of being left out. Families traveling with children have expressed this feeling of exclusion in FMCA magazine articles and rallies. In each case, FMCA members have pulled together to try to make everyone feel valued as members. Criticism is welcome if it is constructive. Hostility will divide and destroy an organization. I believe that FMCA has a unique organization that addresses the specific interests and needs of motor home owners. I think it would be to the detriment of the organization to try to expand to include towable RV’s in the membership. Welcome them to rallies as visitors but keep membership to owners of motor homes. As membership declines the organization will necessarily have to adjust but that happens.

There are some nice places around Santa Fe, NM, elevation 7199 feet. This was the first capital of New Mexico. There are numerous artists in the area and at Taos, about an hours drive from Santa Fe. You are also about one hour from Albuquerque which is a much larger town with air service and all the big name stores and restaurants. We stayed at a large park south of Santa Fe, Santa Fe Skies. This link is direct to the park. It is about a five minute drive from downtown Santa Fe. I don't know if this will fit your resort category but I think I could spend some time here and look at what else is available in the area in the meantime. Another area with many summer residents is in southern Colorado along highway 160 in the San Luis Valley around Alamosa and to the west. There are many parks at elevations near and above 7000 feet. We've not stayed there but have driven through the area several times. Again, I don't know if any of those parks will meet your definition of a resort.

If you are shopping truck stops like Flying J/Pilot, they have handy booklets with locations and they list services (propane, diesel, DEF, etc.) offered at each location. I'm certain other truck stops also have similar information booklets. Many of us have found that the prices at truck stops these days are nowhere near competitive with other local stations. I do check web sites like the Pilot/Flying J web site to get an ideal of relative prices from one state to another. If I know I'm heading into a state which has lower prices, I'll wait to fuel until I get to that state. If fuel in the next state I'm headed for is higher in price then I'll fuel up where I am before entering the higher priced state. Over time you get a feel for which states tend to have lower prices but it pays to check. Once in a while there are surprises. As Brett mentions, Gas Buddy (an app for phone or tablets) is a very convenient way to find the best prices for diesel or gas. You can search near your present location or you can switch to the map view and scan other places along your route to see where the best prices can be found. Pulling into a regular gas station with a big rig takes some careful study and steady nerves. I look for the dip at the curb of the street (look for scrape marks left by other big rigs as they drag their hitch or more). Then I size up the location of the diesel pumps and determine the best way to enter and what the exit route would have to be. You can tell some of this from Google Maps but you may find a fuel supply truck or another customer parked in a way that makes the diesel pumps inaccessible. You may be able to wait out a temporary obstruction or you may just have to pass that station up and find another. On my first try in a regular station I scraped a cargo door on one of those barriers they put next to the pumps to keep you from running into the pump. Lesson learned, I stuck with the truck stops until I had a better sense for maneuvering around fuel pumps and other obstructions. Now I regularly refuel at Sam's Club, Walmart and grocery store stations. With Gas Buddy I have saved as much as 40 cents per gallon over a Flying J that was just a few miles away. One scrape though will wipe out any savings for a long time.

Yes, you are correct. At 80 psi you should be able to support 4190 pounds with a single tire and 3970 for each tire in a dual position. The weights you give are all well within these ratings.

The chart that Kay linked has the information you need. A 20 foot trailer with a 40 foot coach would work in some states, those with a 65 foot combined vehicle length. Assuming some distance for the hitch, you would likely come in at 62 feet more or less. There are states, Mississippi, New Jersey and a few others that are significantly less than 60 feet. With our toad, we come in at 65 feet. We just came through Mississippi so we were clearly over the limit. We've traveled every state in the US (except Hawaii) and every province in Canada (except Nunavut) and never been questioned or stopped regarding our length. If you were over the limit for a state and were involved in an accident, you could have a problem. So legally, you may encounter a problem but practically, you likely won't have any problem. Check your GVWR to ensure that you will come in under the weight limits for your coach. You would have to know what your loaded trailer would weigh to compute this but it could be calculated if you knew the weight of your cargo and then the weight of the trailer you intend to purchase. Exceeding the GVWR would exceed the limits for your coach which take into account the capacity of the braking system and other handling aspects of the chassis. Finally be sure that the weight and tongue load of the trailer won't exceed the capacity of your hitch.

I said it and I'll say it again... oh, I already did say it again. Sorry guys. I didn't get feedback that it had been submitted. In fact, when I went to send this message the above was already reloaded so I almost did say it one more time!

Besides the value of having a dash camera which I purchased last year, there is another lesson here. When I first entered the Army in 1969 everyone in our unit was required to take a series of classes on defensive driving. The class highlighted some of the common driving mistakes and what a careful driver could do to avoid those with less skill or sense for driving a vehicle. The basics of the course were to be cautious about any interaction with another vehicle and it's driver. Staying within the speed limit was an obvious one. With greater speed comes greater stopping distance. Driving a motor home this is extremely important as our stopping distances are already far greater than we're used to when driving our cars. Stopping distance is the reason that we need to allow plenty of room between us and vehicles ahead of us. In the video, there were several examples of a vehicle that suddenly is out of control. Having a safe following distance and a slower speed will allow more time for you to react and keep your vehicle clear. Watching any vehicle which is approaching you or which you are approaching with an eye for the skill and attention of the driver is another defensive habit. This has become even more important with the distracted driver factor becoming a huge factor. Drivers merging into traffic are sometimes very aggressive, changing multiple lanes while accelerating rapidly. Other drivers move into traffic like a timid mouse. Both present their own kind of hazard. We encounter many vehicles traveling slowly as the driver talks on the phone. The distance between your motor home and a slow moving vehicle in traffic can decrease rapidly. Staying alert while driving and watching out for the other drivers, expecting the unexpected, and ensuring that you have positive control of your own vehicle can help prevent a very bad day. At each FMCA National Convention and at other RV gatherings, the Recreational Vehicle Safety Education Foundation (RVSEF) offers classes in safe driving for RV's. If you haven't taken this course, I highly recommend it. The course covers many aspects of safe RV operation in addition to driving. There is a fee for the two day course and it will be money well spent.

Besides the value of having a dash camera which I purchased last year, there is another lesson here. When I first entered the Army in 1969 everyone in our unit was required to take a series of classes on defensive driving. The class highlighted some of the common driving mistakes and what a careful driver could do to avoid those with less skill or sense for driving a vehicle. The basics of the course were to be cautious about any interaction with another vehicle and it's driver. Staying within the speed limit was an obvious one. With greater speed comes greater stopping distance. Driving a motor home this is extremely important as our stopping distances are already far greater than we're used to when driving our cars. Stopping distance is the reason that we need to allow plenty of room between us and vehicles ahead of us. In the video, there were several examples of a vehicle that suddenly is out of control. Having a safe following distance and a slower speed will allow more time for you to react and keep your vehicle clear. Watching any vehicle which is approaching you or which you are approaching with an eye for the skill and attention of the driver is another defensive habit. This has become even more important with the distracted driver factor becoming a huge factor. Drivers merging into traffic are sometimes very aggressive, changing multiple lanes while accelerating rapidly. Other drivers move into traffic like a timid mouse. Both present their own kind of hazard. We encounter many vehicles traveling slowly as the driver talks on the phone. The distance between your motor home and a slow moving vehicle in traffic can decrease rapidly. Staying alert while driving and watching out for the other drivers, expecting the unexpected, and ensuring that you have positive control of your own vehicle can help prevent a very bad day. At each FMCA National Convention and at other RV gatherings, the Recreational Vehicle Safety Education Foundation (RVSEF) offers classes in safe driving for RV's. If you haven't taken this course, I highly recommend it. The course covers many aspects of safe RV operation in addition to driving. There is a fee for the two day course and it will be money well spent.

It's not preparation, just management that is a concern. Be certain that the dump valves are closed! You should dump the black water tank when it is near full. If it isn't full after a weekend trip, it should still be dumped, don't let the black tank sit for long periods of inactivity in a partially full state. We dump several buckets of water down the toilet after the black water tank has emptied. This will attack the solids that can tend to build up under the toilet. Dumping the tank after driving will also help as the movement will stir the tank helping to liquify the contents. The gray water tank should be nearly full before dumping the black water tank. After dumping the black tank, close the valve and dump the gray water. This will rinse the sewer hose.

Our slides cover some of our AC vents but the ones covered have louvers which can be aimed out into the center of the coach. Beyond that, I've read of people using a shower curtain rod to hold a curtain behind the front seats to help retain the cool air from the dash air. If you have passengers (children or pets) beyond the front seats that may or may not be a workable solution. We have a small Vornado floor fan which we have at times used to circulate air while driving. It runs off the inverter power with no problems. Use whatever internal window curtains you have to limit heating by the sunlight.

Welcome to the forum. Where do you call home? Are you traveling regularly or just when you can get away? FMCA has a national rally in Indianapolis this summer. It's a great way to meet a lot of other motor home families.

I would start by examining the one component that isn't working. Start with the switches for the water pump. Check them to see if any have shorted out. Check the water pump and the power supply to it. If it has DC power then the pump must be bad. If not, find out why it doesn't have power. Much of what you are describing sounds like the solenoids that Herman is describing and they could be the problem. By the way, the switch that -Gramps- mentions is connected to one of those solenoids, the "house power" runs through that one. You can test this by bypassing the solenoid, connect the incoming 12V wire to the output 12V wire (a solenoid is just a switch, connecting the two wires does the same thing as flipping a switch, completes a circuit). The "panic switch" -Gramps- refers to just activates that solenoid switch. In our coach I removed the solenoid that controls the house batteries after several had failed. I simply wired the two 12V wires together. The switch by the entry door now does nothing. If I want to cut battery power to the coach I have to go to the main switch (near the battery compartment) to turn off the power. It is less convenient but really, how often do you need to cut all power to the coach.

Brett has the right idea. When we had our old NoCold we ran it on gas while traveling. Now we have a residential refrigerator and it works fine on the inverter. Unless I'm mistaken, you probably have a 2000 Watt inverter, not 2000 Volt! ZZZapppp!

I've had miserable parking experiences and some that were just fantastic. It all depends on who is running the parking volunteers. If they have a plan, it works great. If no plan, you are caught in a miserable traffic jam. My absolute best was at Bowling Green, OH. Pulled in, plenty of room to unhook toad as soon as you were unhooked you were guided into your site. Sites were pull-in, easy to park, no fuss no muss. Worst experience was Redmond, WA (2004). They were totally understaffed and no one knew how to organize the operation. Sites were back in, absolutely the worst. It gummed up the whole operation. I certainly hope the crew at Indy has some veterans from Ohio on the crew! Planning is everything. By the way, both these experiences were based on a caravan of many coaches arriving in a short period of time. That is the real test of a parking crew.

That sounds like a great place for viewing the eclipse. Still, as large as the area is, it will be possible that the entire area could be cloudy. In the weeks before the eclipse, I'll be watching the long term forecasts and sources like the Weather Channel's Weekly Forecast to help me narrow down the area where I will view the eclipse. I'm going to plan to be mobile, with the motor home up to the day before the eclipse and then with the toad as the day of the eclipse arrives. If I'm lucky, I'll be greeted by clear skies on eclipse morning. If not, I'll be in the toad heading for the nearest clear skies that are in the path of totality. If cloudy weather is moving in on us I can either try to stay ahead of it or try to travel to clear skies behind the weather system or front. Until eclipse day I'll have the ability to move hundreds of miles east or west to get the best chances of seeing the eclipse. Regarding the glasses for viewing the eclipse. I've been using aluminized (aluminum coated) Mylar for solar viewing for years. At one time I had a roll of the stuff so I could make solar filters for my use. My blog entry has several links to information on the weather and also several sources for the glasses. I just checked and one of the sources has the glasses priced at about $10 for three. In quantity you can get them for less than a dollar, the quantity being 250 or more. That won't change much if at all as the eclipse approaches. There are multiple suppliers that are competing for your business. Some are of the non-profit type. You may even be able to snag a free pair. When we were in France, the glasses were available free in Paris. These glasses are made of cardboard with eye cut-outs covered with Mylar. They are completely safe if handled properly. Make sure that you don't puncture the Mylar. I have a small notebook in which I store a pair of Mylar glasses for viewing the sun. I have it with me often and use the glasses to observe the sun on a regular basis. There are frequently sunspots on the sun, the larger ones are easily seen with the naked eye. With bulk Mylar, you can make your own filters for binoculars, small telescopes or even cameras. The filter always goes on the front of the device, not at the eyepiece. The sunlight is filtered before it enters any optical device. That protects your camera and your eye. Eyepiece filters are very dangerous. They will be heated by the sun and can break or melt. I would never use an eyepiece filter for viewing the sun. The glasses are for viewing the partial phases of the eclipse. Once the sun is completely blocked by the moon, you remove the glasses to see the solar corona, any solar prominences or solar flares that might be erupting at the time. During totality you should also be able to view the bright planets, Jupiter and Venus in particular should be easily visible and brighter stars can also be seen. When the first beam of sunlight shines through a lunar valley (an effect called the diamond ring) it is time to look away and put the glasses back on.

You will want to check the weather as eclipse day approaches. I plan to stay somewhere near but not on the line of totality. As eclipse day approaches, I'll adjust where we are based on the forecast. Then on eclipse day, we'll locate at the best weather location we can using the toad. For best chances of clear skies, eastern Oregon, western Idaho gets the highest rating. Choosing the location to view should also take into consideration the road network. Western states don't have nearly as robust road network as the mid-western and east coast states do. There is an interesting connection to FMCA and this total eclipse. Check out my blog here on FMCA.

We've stayed at Walmart stores all over the US and in Canada (yes, they have them in Canada and some allow overnight parking - Newfoundland in 2015). The FMCA rules listed in a previous reply should be standard operating procedure. Most stores we have encountered have a preferred area for parking so we always ask before getting set for the night. We have only stayed more than one night one time and that exception we parked the motor home in a different location (visitors center that didn't allow overnight parking) then returned to the Walmart for the night. We generally try to arrive shortly before sunset and get away before the store gets busy, 8:00 a.m. or before. One of the reasons we like Walmart is the ability to get in and out easily and quickly. They are usually near the road we are traveling, there are no utility hookups, we don't have to disconnect the toad, they are usually quiet and there is some security around the store, private and/or police. We use Walmart, Sam's Clubs and other places of business (listed in the AllStays Camp & RV app mentioned previously. Walmart is our preferred on the road traveling stop. You can use AllStays to find the store, even get directions. They also have many other camping spots (small parks, community parks, etc) that aren't listed in larger books. On the issue of slides, we use ours as the bedroom is locked up tight with the slides in. The pantry with food and dishes is also occluded by the living room slide. We park with the slides (2 on the drivers side) over the grass or next to a fence at the edge of the parking lot whenever possible. If we park in the lot I park so there is room between our rig and the line that separates parking spaces on the other side of the parking row. I make sure that the slides when extended don't intrude into the parking spots which are usually vacant when we park. I carry four 12" orange cones that I put out at the corners, mostly to make sure someone doesn't walk by and walk into a slide. It also helps ensure that people short cutting across the Walmart lot don't drive too close to the coach and hit one of the slides. Our coach has air leveling so we are usually able to level without a problem. Jacks will damage the parking lot in many cases as the asphalt isn't supported underneath with a base strong enough to carry the load of a small jack pad. Unlike a tire, a jack pad is solid metal and doesn't give or spread the load evenly over the area. One jack pad can carry a significant portion of the weight of your rig. Most lots are close enough to level to be livable without leveling. We purchase food and supplies at each store. Sometimes just something from the deli or ice cream for desert but I always try to pick up some needed item. I always return my shopping cart to a cart carrel and often will round up and return carts left by truckers or other RV'ers at distant corners of the lot where we are allowed to park. I'll also pick up trash if it is located near where we are parked. I want to leave the area where we are parked cleaner than when we arrived lest we be blamed for leaving the trash behind. Parking at Walmart and other stores is a privilege that we should protect for all RV'ers by following the rules and being good citizens. Consider it good PR. Stores where we are allowed to park will notice how we use or abuse the privilege.

Here is a link to a previous discussion. It is several years old but the product hasn't changed and the references given are good. Some actual RV experience information as well. You can use the search icon at the top of this page to search for other discussions related to this or any other topic.