tbutler

David, I'll bet you were awake last night! Wintry north winds hit us at 3:00 a.m. We're in our mobile home and the wind woke us up. Had a small trim piece on one of the bedroom windows come loose and had to take it down so we could sleep. We haven't slept in the coach here in the RGV since we put our mobile home in. Wind is a constant companion here in the RGV. The norm where we are, about 80 miles inland is 10-15 with breezy days being winds to 25. I played tennis yesterday in those nice warm southerly breezes. My flying experience gives me an edge as I am used to thinking about the wind direction and speed constantly while flying. When you think about it, there are many sports that are affected by the wind. The only sport that I play that isn't affected by the wind is bowling! Our coach had slide toppers that were flappers when we first got it. I replaced them due to wear and tear several years ago and tightened the spring by giving the spindle an extra turn when the toppers were off. That took care of the problem without having to deal with things like ropes and straps. Using straps might work for someone who doesn't move frequently and parking for the winter falls in that category but if you remove the toppers and give the spindle a turn to tighten it, the replace the toppers, you have a solution that works every time you extend the slides with no additional thought or effort. This also worked to help the rain to drain properly off the slide cover instead of pooling and then dumping periodically. There is one caveat for my solution. An additional turn makes it a little harder to extend the slide. On our coach that was insignificant but on some coaches it could be a concern. Anytime we leave our coach for a day or longer, we will bring in the slides. We don't do this for trips out and back in a day, just when we are going to be leaving the coach overnight. It reduces the load on the heating or cooling system and it makes the coach a little smaller, less likely to be hit by flying debris or falling tree limbs or as I observed one time a lawn mower with a roll-over bar that hit the underside of an extended slide out. I would not bring in the slides for day trips, the wear and tear on the slide moving mechanism might be much more costly in the long run than replacing the slide toppers.

Sometimes you don't have to click on anything, the auto renewal is in the fine print and you have to click to stop it. With Sirius/XM Radio auto renewal is auto matic! Caveat Emptor! Let the buyer beware! This is why you should get on-line and check your credit card charges frequently. Don't just pay the bill, check the charges carefully when each bill arrives.

You might be surprised, the living here is definitely metropolitan. I-2 stretches from Brownsville to Mission and the population of the area is about 1,250,000. There is a brand new, just opened, Performing Arts Center in McAllen, right next to the Convention Center. We have a major shopping mall which is expanding, adding about 60 stores. This time of year you can hardly find a parking spot and a significant number of license plates are from south of the border. There is an huge outlet mall, also popular with our neighbors to the south. You will find all of the major restaurant chains well represented throughout the valley and there are dozens of mom and pop restaurants with specialty foods from all over the world. We have great restaurants for fine dining and real Texas BBQ, Tex-Mex to genuine Mexican fare. There are college sports and basketball, hockey and soccer minor league teams. A new soccer stadium is almost finished in Edinburg. There is an agricultural field behind our park and I can drive 30 minutes, even in heavy traffic, and be in downtown McAllen, population of 130,000. Edinburg, where we are, is just north of McAllen and has a population of 77,000. Mission, just west of McAllen, has another 70,000. Pharr to the east of McAllen has another 70,000. These are all part of one large metropolitan area that continues on to the east with little or no break between communities. You have all the great things a city offers without the extreme traffic congestion we all associate with large cities. Traffic is always busy here but seldom comes to a stop As Wildbill mentions, the distances in Texas can be daunting. There is four lane divided highway all the way from San Antonio to either Edinburg/McAllen (I-37 toI-69C/US 281) or Harlingen/Brownsville (I-37 to I-69E/US 77). The drive from San Antonio to the RGV will take between 3 and 4 hours. Going north you will pass through a US Customs and Border Protection checkpoint about an hour north on either route.

We spent our first December in San Antonio. On New Years Day our stay at the park was over and we decided it was too cold there. We decided to head south to the "Valley" that a lady in Spring Texas had told us about. A lovely land with golf courses and RV parks everywhere. She wasn't far wrong. When we got to Edinburg, the temperature was about 30 degrees warmer, the staff at the park was most welcoming and friendly. Even our fellow campers were going out of their way to welcome us! How could we leave? We paid for a week, before the week was up we paid for a month and by the end of two and a half months there we paid for the next season. Been here ever since. We've had dry winters, wet winters, windy days are common and sometimes even long cloudy periods that give us all the blues. Our plan is for them to carry us out of here feet first! Unfortunately, that is far too common when you live among all these retired old people. Did you know that Amarillo, Texas is closer to Bismark, ND than it is to Brownsville? No wonder that Fort Worth is in the frigid north!

Unless you are going to need it, drain your fresh water storage tank for the winter. You will want a fresh tank of water when you leave in the spring. It will be easier to rinse and sanitize your fresh water tank if it is empty for the winter. Depending on the surface you are parking on, you will likely want to put some kind of pads under the tires. Definitely the case if on soil, grass or gravel. We use cutting boards from the cheapest source you can find (Walmart, Dollar General, etc.) Wood is another alternative and there are specific pads you can purchase from camping stores. Be certain that the pad will support the entire "footprint' of each tire. Critters are active all year round here in the RGV. One year I looked under our coach and there was a termite tower about 8 inches tall coming through the asphalt parking surface. We paved the pad with concrete shortly after that. Ants are also active in the winter months here, treat the area around the coach for ants and watch for their activity. The cooler winter weather drives mice indoors and RV's are often an easy target so block all entries into the coach basement. Wasps and birds build nests very early in the spring. Look for their nests starting in mid-February. Warmer weather and humidity can cause batteries to show corrosion fairly quickly. Periodically examine and clean as needed to prevent early failure.

Bill's advice is right on. Here is a link to a reply I gave here on the forum about a month ago. The information is current. Take a look at a map and you will see how much further south we are than all but the southern tip of Florida and the Keys. We have cool weather but nothing like the cold weather in San Antonio. Our temperature today is currently 85 degrees with south winds at 15 with gusts to 22. This is a little warmer than we would expect this late in the year but it will be like this again later in the coming week. Then the end of next week the forecast is for high temperatures in the 50's. We play golf all winter long. By February, temperatures usually start warming up.

Louise loves the microwave/convection oven and does everything we need with that combination. It all depends on what your wife wants and is comfortable with. The easy solution is to put in the microwave/convection oven (takes up the same space) and if that works, you are done. If it isn't satisfactory then you can explore a regular oven. We use our microwave frequently and the convection oven feature only occasionally. Everyone has their own special needs and preferences for cooking and preparing meals. Yours may well be different than ours and in that case you may find this information irrelevant.

We have stayed at campgrounds which are wired as Brett mentions, both of the hot feeds are coming from the same source, not opposite phase sources. Each will test 110/120 against the neutral or the ground but when tested against each other, they will test zero if from the same phase source and will test 220/240 volts when tested if the hot feeds are opposite phase. The Intellitec system reads this as a 30A system. There is no way to defeat this when it occurs, it is not a defect in your Intellitec system, simply the way it is designed. The only real impact is that Intellitec will limit your usage to 30A, shutting down excess usage (above 30A). Complain to the park owners, report it when you rate the park on RV Park Reviews, move on to a better campground, those are some actions you can take.

We're out! We never leave the RGV that early in the season and if we do it is to visit family. We have a springtime cruise coming up, Tahiti and the Society Islands, April 1-15 and we're going to spend a week on Tahiti before the cruise. Needless, we're tapped out. You'all have fun!

Mt. Rushmore is great any time of the year. South Dakota is hot in the summer but at altitude it is a little better. If you miss the kids there, you miss a chance to see the wonder in the eyes of the little guys. Kids can be fun if taken in small doses! Be sure to visit Custer State Park. They have large herds of free roaming bison in the park. We've had our best luck seeing the herds at their best with summer visits. It will send chills down your spine watching several hundred bison wending their way across the landscape. There is great scenery all over the Black Hills and Custer State Park is no exception. Badlands National Park is also nearby. This is spectacular scenery but can be very hot in mid-summer. Still, watching a summer thunderstorm in the distance from any viewpoint in the badlands is spectacular. On I-90 you will see many advertisements for Wall Drug, might as well stop to see this 1940's tourist trap, everyone should stop once. Deadwood is more than Casino's, it is a National Historic Site. They have a variety or reenactments of events that occurred in the area. The actors are professionals and they do an excellent job of explaining what the whole scene is about. They will also bring visitors into the play including children. The results are some charming situations. There is a campground in town on the grounds of the Deadwood Historic Museum. Water and electric only but they have very nice showers and restrooms for the campground. Those are housed in the Museum with access from the campground only. There is a shuttle that runs through town, it stops at the campground entrance. For those who enjoy walking, the main strip in town is well within easy walking distance from one end to the other. There are plenty of shops, stores and bars to provide rest stops along the walk. And, yes, there are several casinos. The Crazy Horse Memorial near Custer, SD is worth visiting, we have enjoyed the Volksmarch which takes you to the outstretched arm of the monument. Admission on the day of the event is a canned food donation. There is a small fee to the Volksmarch organization for the walk and you can purchase medals commemorating your participation. They are now doing one in the spring, June 3-4 2017 and another in the fall, October 1. It is a five mile walk through the woods where you see the monument from several different viewpoitns before climbing the maintenance road to stand under the face of Crazy Horse! We've done this several times and will do it any time we're in the area when the hike is scheduled. There is a nice museum there and during the Volksmarch they have many of the native American vendors with their wares. There is also a restaurant on site so you can make a nice day of it there. South of the Black Hills is the town of Hot Springs. They have an incredible fossil quarry there, The Hot Springs Mammoth Site has an indoor excavation of an ancient hot spring that became a trap for Mammoths. Dozens, perhaps hundreds fell into the springs, were trapped and died. Their skeletons are slowly being extracted from the quarry. Visitors can tour the quarry from an overlook walkway, There is a museum featuring some of the skeletons and information about the site. If you are interested in pioneer history, Scottsbluff, Nebraska has a number of points of interest. Located on the Oregon Trail, they have a nice museum with historic records and stories of the pioneers who traveled through the territory in the mid-1800's. Scott's Bluff National Monument provides scenic views of the area and there are a number of other scenic landmarks that guided the pioneers westward. Several years ago we enjoyed following Lewis and Clark across country from Louisville, KY and Clarksville, IN, all the way to Ft. Clatsop, Oregon. We purchased a guide book at the visitors center in Clarksville and Louise read an entry from Lewis' journal related to our travels each day. It made for a wonderful way to explore their historic journey. The same could be done with the Oregon Trail. A little further afield is Yellowstone National Park and to the north, Glacier National Park. When you finish all that, you could head south to Arizona, Texas or Florida for he winter before returning home to Boston in 2018!

Herman, Thanks for the invite for the rally in Bandera. Once we get to the RGV, we're in for the winter. Our coach is in the shop getting prettied up for the spring. Weather here is nice, playing tennis this morning at 67 degrees, just perfect. When we got our coach and realized that the tank wouldn't fill completely I learned the trick of tilting the coach to get a full tank of fuel. I had them reset the Aladdin System from 120 gallons to 127 which is what it does now. I get a good true fuel reading from the Aladdin. When I fill the tank it is almost always within a gallon of the amount shown on the Aladdin. By the way, if I'm not going to drive after a fill-up I won't pack the fuel into the tank, have to allow room for expansion, but most of the time we're on the road and that seven gallons gets us 50 or 60 miles down the road. Our analog fuel gauge is crazy, it sits past full for several hundred miles. At the 3/4 mark the tank is actually about half full and when it hits the half full mark I'll lose the generator because the tank is actually at 1/4 full.

Fuel capacity translates into greater choices of where to take on fuel. With GasBuddy and a general knowledge of the relative fuel prices ( I check Flying J just because that gives me an index of fuel prices) across the US you can pick the place with the best rates along your route. The greater your fuel capacity the greater number of states and stations you have to choose from. I have 127 gallons of fuel on board at full tank, 32 gallons when the generator runs out of fuel (keeps Louise happy when we have air conditioning, etc.). Generally when traveling west, I'm looking at the prices where I am and where I'm going. I try to fill up as I go because generally the prices increase as you get to the west coast. When traveling east, I'm looking at how far I can go without having to fuel up and what the price options are at stations along the route because generally prices decrease as you travel to the midwest. On a good trip, I never purchase fuel in California! This year was an exception, fuel was cheaper at Sam's Club in Sacramento than anywhere in Oregon (including 7 Feathers). Given the topic, cost of use, fuel prices are only one factor. Campground prices by the way, are not an expense of operating the vehicle. That is a whole other topic that depends heavily on what any particular person prefers in the way of campground amenities and their predilection for boondocking. If you just want to know what it costs to operate a particular vehicle, other costs incurred in the operation are irrelevant. It is entirely possible that someone might never stay in a campground if they were really determined not to do so. In the way of credit cards, the Sam's Club (not Good Sam) Synchrony Bank credit card offers 5% cash back on fuel purchases at any fuel station, not just Sam's Club. Grocery stores are the only exception (Kroger and Safeway). Five percent on fuel at $2.00 per gallon is 10 cents a gallon. It beats Flying J (Good Sam) more than double their 4 cents per gallon and you can shop at the cheapest station. I've bought fuel 40 cents per gallon cheaper than the Flying J in the same town and received the discount to boot! There is the club membership fee but if you can offset that with fuel savings, it can reduce your fuel bill nicely. That card also offers 3% cash back on travel (airlines, travel agencies, cruise lines, hotels, etc.) and 1% cash back on everything else. They pay cash back once per year at Sam's Club, either in purchase credit or an actual check. This year I'll get a check for over $500. It does add up but it only really works if you pay the entire bill each month, no interest. (The fine print... I own Synchrony Bank stock). If you can't read that, when I got the credit card, I bought Synchrony Bank stock. Cash? That's so 20th Century!

I don't think any of them are something any of us want to lift. Herman is correct, there a number of devices for hauling these behind a vehicle that have a lift. I've seen platforms that lift and also some units that have a wench to lift the scooter onto or into the vehicle. Obviously, the lighter the scooter, the simpler and easier on the vehicle the scooter will be. Some are quite large, I've seen some that are pretty small, it all depends on what suits your wife best. Almost all have batteries and that means weight. Batteries plus a sturdy frame is more than most people want to lift, at least on a regular basis. I started checking and this site has the widest variety of scooters. Take your time to find just the right one. There are a variety of ways to haul these, Some possibilities here. I am always sorry to see someone on a mobility scooter. Loss of personal mobility is a major change for anyone. Give your wife all the support you can to deal with this. The scooter will never replace her ability to go on her own. Best to you and Linda.

Interesting since many tire shops that I have encountered have no torque wrench! I've even encountered shops that have a torque wrench where the tech had no idea how a torque wrench works.

Mail order from Camping World if you don't have a supplier nearby. They handle a full range of sizes.

Well, I must not be paying attention! I missed this post originally. I have copied a reply I made to a similar inquiry earlier this year. My information and advice remain the same so here goes... Posted August 27 We've been wintering in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) since 2001. We obviously love the area. There are plenty of RV parks to choose from and they range from the really nice with paved parking and ready storage sheds for your outdoor supplies to simple gravel and dirt parks. So you can go as inexpensive to as expensive as you desire. Parks are located generally from Mission to Brownsville along US 83 and US 83/77 and also out toward Port Isabel and South Padre Island. You can find several sources of information on parks in the RGV. Selected RGV Parks, Many More RV Parks in the RGV, You might find other references, there are something like 70 different parks. The cost of living in the RGV is really low. We now have a lot for a mobile home and can park our motor home on the same lot. Rent is less than $4000 for the year. RV lots in our park rent for less than that but you have to pay your electric bill. You can of course get a lot for a day, a week or a month. Many people decide to make improvements to their lots and thus rent them for the annual fee. You won't find that arrangement in every park but some allow individual improvements. Another reason to go seasonal is that if you are staying for four or five months the difference becomes smaller and if you like the location, the annual is the way to guarantee your lot. You will find parks that have many organized activities to keep you a busy as you want to be. Likewise, if your idea is to relax, enjoy the sun and warm weather and maybe make a few friends, you don't have to go all out chasing every activity. Some parks have heated pools, others have dance halls with a regular schedule of dances. There are parks located near state parks and parks located right near the beach on South Padre Island. Some parks are located in or near cities and others are in rural areas. The RGV is a major metropolitan area with plenty of shopping, dining, entertainment and recreational activities within an easy drive from almost anywhere. We play golf once a week almost all winter. There are always a few days when it is too cold for us (but not the Canadians). If you play golf you'll benefit from the experience you have gained with windy days. You will have no problem finding people to join you in golf, tennis, instrumental and vocal music, theatrical performance, and a host of other activities. Fishing opportunities abound with the ocean fishing out of South Padre Island being the deluxe version. If you are interested in wildlife, the RGV is a major destination for migrating birds. They come from all over North America, some winter here others pass through in fall and spring as they journey to Central and South America. In addition there are quite a few birds that come from Mexico and are found nowhere else in the United States. Numerous nature centers as well as the State Parks feature the wonderful variety of birds and people come from all over the world each fall for the RGV Birding Festival in Harlingen. The RGV also features the National Butterfly Center in Mission. Butterfly enthusiasts journey to the RGV as well and the wide variety of North and Central American butterflies can be see There are several college campuses, multiple quality hospitals with many specialists in senior care. The valley is definitely multicultural and as far as we are concerned, this is a delightful experience. There are many immigrants from Mexico here, some have been here for generations and others have very recently arrived. You will find several languages spoken almost everywhere. I always recommend that you come south without reservations or with reservations for a short period of time in one park. Use your time at the first park to go out and explore the valley and visit several other parks to get an idea of what is available. In recent years parks saw a decline in visitors with the increased prices for fuel but that has now passed and there are more visitors. The peak time is in January and February, at other times, most parks have some spaces available. The hot summer weather begins to abate in early October. We usually return sometime in late October, family schedules dominate our timing or we would be there in early October. Our winter months are December and January. During those months temperatures will frequently be in the 50's and 60's during the day with night temperatures in the 40's and 50's. There are usually a few days when the temperature drops below freezing by a few degrees. Last year we had no freezing temperatures and several years ago we had three periods of freezing temperatures for two or three days. We even had snow one Christmas Eve, about 3 or 4 inches that melted by the next afternoon! February usually sees temperatures starting to warm and by March days are usually around 80 degrees and nights in the 60's. April and May it warms up by the end of May we are long gone for the summer. April generally begins the real retreat of the snow birds, Easter and tax schedules drive people back to their northern homes. We pack the motor home and head for cooler weather, family visits and exploring the USA and Canada. If you have specific questions, don't hesitate to message me or post your question here for all to discuss. If you would like to read more about the RGV and what others have to say or recommend, use the search box at the top right of this page and simply type in Rio Grande Valley. You will get quite a few links to related discussions.

Monaco Coach: http://www.monacocoach.com/ You can also call customer service at 877-466-6226. Have your coach number handy, it is the last six digits of the coach serial number (not the VIN). If you don't know the coach number look behind the drivers seat on the wall. If they can't replace the key the can replace the lock.

Sorry I missed this post originally. I was at the factory service center in Oregon several years ago and they noticed there was some corrosion on my slide-out control module. I purchased and have in the coach the back-up module ready for that failure. If both are failing, it is likely that module. Anyway, anyone who has a Monaco coach should have the Monaco Customer Service number in their phone ready for a call. The records from before the 2008 crash are still intact with Monaco under the current ownership (REV). Your records survive. Give them your coach number and they can find the part you need or something equivalent. Give them a problem and they can solve it. Need service, you can schedule it with them, the real factory workers that built these coaches. Call 877-466-6226, the customer service number in your owners manual if you can find it... They can help.

Unfortunately, I'm not benefiting from the arrangement that Herman mentions. Guess I'll have to check on that. I don't mow grass in the summer because we are GONE! We hire one of our friends in our park (an independent contractor with a lawn mower) to take care of our property. He doesn't weed the garden so that is a task for me when I return each fall. When we had an RV lot, the park took care of the mowing in the summer. Once we put in a mobile home, we have to foot the bill.

Still working? That's sad... We retired in 2001 and went full time, living in a motor home for almost ten years. After almost ten years on the road without a fixed home, Louise decided we needed a home. Now I'm mowing grass six months a year.

We got on the Garden State Parkway a few years back, same confusion. I took the first exit after clearing about three overpasses that were at or near our height. As I approached each one (they are arched), I would pull to the center of the divided highway two lane pavement to get under the highest point and then slow down to inch my way under. I certainly didn't want to bounce. So in that case, no trucks also means no RV's. It's a problem with the signs which should have indicated a height limit or indicated no trucks or RV's. One of my favorite situations was a border crossing into Canada at Sault Ste Marie. As we approached Canadian Customs the first sign was for trucks. Well, I'm not a truck so we went on. The next sign was for cars. That could mean narrow or low clearance problems, we aren't a car so we continued on. That led to the only other passage through the checkpoint which was labeled buses. So I stopped at the appointed place. After a little wait I was greeted by an irritated CBP agent who groused at me that I should have gone through the car entrance. He processed us through and we were on our way. My hope is that it made him look at the signs and consider suggesting a change to indicate RV's on the car sign. Part of the problem is that we are a tiny portion of the normal highway traffic and most people have never owned or driven an RV so we are completely off the radar for decision makers and designers. When it comes to signs, there is no rule because we often aren't considered when wording the sign.

We have for many years made the Cummins Southern Plains Shop in San Antonio our primary service center for engine and chassis work. Frequently it is our last maintenance stop on our way south to the Rio Grande Valley. The last few years the oil change mileage hasn't favored them but we'll be back there again in the future.

It's a great big wonderful world! Have a great time! Nice rig, nice green grass. Are you thinking of heading south for the winter? It's the best way to winterize your rig!

A lot depends on your coach. In our coach, the corner panel on each side of the windshield is a conduit for any number of cables and wires. Adding an antenna to the roof and routing it down through that panel works for our Sirius/XM antenna. I installed a Wilson antenna several years ago and drilled down through the roof into a cabinet above the drivers seat. I could house the equipment I had in that cabinet with power from an outlet. There is always a chance you will drill into something vital like an electric line, look at what connections are around where you plan to drill. Sealing isn't a big deal, just one more spot to check periodically to make sure the caulking is in good shape to prevent leaks. Several years ago I removed the Wilson antenna (cell phone service is much better these days) and installed a second feed line from the roof dish antenna so I could have separate TV stations in the front and rear TV's. Now the grandkids can have their programs and I can have mine! The cable runs down through the roof into the cabinet, down the panel along the edge of the windshield into the generator compartment, through several basement compartments and up into the bedroom cabinet where the TV is located.

This occurs with our slide toppers. It is just a matter of tilting a slight bit. Once water starts to drain off, it generally will tighten up as the weight becomes less and less. We also sometimes simply bring the slide in a few inches, wait for the water to drain off and then bring in further in steps until the water is all off. Snow is another matter. We were in a good snowstorm once and it was several days before I ventured up to remove the snow from the slide toppers. The snow had pinned them down flat on the slide. I broke the snow into chunks and pushed it off. The next spring I was sitting in the the coach when I heard something snap. I went outside and the slide topper was slack, the spring had broken. I'm convinced that having it wound tight with the snow load is what weakened it until it broke several months later.