tbutler

Here is a link to the Golf Courses in the Rio Grande Valley. Most of these are public courses. There is a map so you can see the distribution of courses throughout the RGV and there is also a link to each of the courses so you can check their rates. If you come to spend the winter, you will find some courses that offer a winter season membership which will reduce your cost considerably. I'm certain there are also other RV parks throughout the RGV that have golf groups that get discounts for playing at a certain course regularly. Regarding golf and the weather in March, you can count on warm (80's daytime) windy (15 to 20 regularly) weather. Most of our spring weather is rain free and largely cloud free as well. The south Texas winds can be a challenge for any golfer. Yesterday we were on the Los Lagos course, an Edinburg city course. We play that course every Monday in a group from our park. The group rate is $32 with a cart, $21 if you walk the 18 hole course. We have also played a number of other parks in the area. Temperatures yesterday were 73 degrees at our 8:00 tee time and were in the mid 80's by the time we completed our round of golf. Winds yesterday were 20 to 25 with gusts to 35. I had to put my hat in the golf bag. It was that or lose it in a lake! Being used to the wind, my game got better as the day got windier! I play for the fun of chasing the ball around the course and for the exercise that results. Our golf courses are also populated with a variety of interesting and beautiful birds seen up close many times. American White Pelicans, Spoonbills, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Black Necked Stilts, Black Bellied Whistling Ducks, Long-billed Curlews and an assortment of ducks can be seen on the courses in the RGV. We do learn to watch out for fire ant mounds. Standing on one of them will definitely ruin your day. Some courses are better about controlling them than others. There actually are RV's headed north right now. That will accelerate as we get closer to Easter. By early April at least 50% of the Winter Texans will be on their way north. I can assure you that almost any park in the RGV has a place for you to stay right now. The area is busy with a population of over 1 million in the the RGV area. South Padre Island will have a booming population around Easter and spring break for Texas schools. Spring break activities (concerts, parties, etc.) are scheduled March 7 to 21 and Easter this year is April 1. I'd plan to be somewhere other than South Padre Island during that period of time. Stay elsewhere in the RGV and visit SPI once the spring break crowd has dispersed.

Another thing to check is the door hinges. Our entry door is anchored to a single swing arm at the top. When wracked by a gusty wind, the hinges will bend. I didn't know why our door was difficult to operate until the door was caught by a very strong gust that visibly bent the upper hinge. The door would barely close. After removing the door and straightening the hinge, the door worked better than it had in years. Now I'm very protective of the door in gusty winds. I went on to replace the original hinge with a new one. You can call Monaco Customer Service at the phone number in your owners manual, 877-466-6226, to get the replacement hinge. Then again, we're talking a 97 HR, maybe Monaco might be able to help or you might have to go to the RV salvage yards to find a replacement.

Like desertdeals69 we did the trip on our own. You will get hundreds of stories, some good, others not so... We like you had done extensive long trips and been in Canada and all over the US. We always travel on our own, did a tour with Fantasy RV this past spring, Kentucky Derby. Wasn't so much a tour as an event. We were parked the whole time. Travel was in the immediate area on tour buses. Your experience will be different. We traveled at our own pace, sometimes stopping at rest areas overnight, others in parks. This was 2006 and internet was still sketchy but most parks had service, slow but usable. We had mail delivered to locations in Alaska (full timers). Most parks along the way and in Alaska had wash facilities available and we used them frequently. Your coach will get dirty, again and again. Distances in Alaska are great, bicycles give you limited distance and being on a schedule you won't have the flexibility of slow travel. You may or may not find them to meet your needs. Among the trips we took was leaving the coach in Dawson City and driving our toad 500 miles one way (most gravel) to Innuvik, an Inuit village well inside the Arctic Circle in northern Canada. Wouldn't have wanted to miss this but doubt you will have that time allowance or even that particular stop on your tour. Fuel and food are available all along the route though you will want to fill up at most towns along the way as they are widely spaced. Your tour guide should be able to give you guidance regarding these but it isn't a major concern. There is a publication that I would recommend to anyone going on their own, The Milepost. It has tons of information and advice regarding your trip. Much more than I would ever attempt. Your tour I believe will give you some independent time to explore on your own and you may find interesting things in this guide as well as more specific answers to your questions about the coming trip. We took car excursions into Denali NP to the distance allowed (about 20 miles) and had time to do several hikes and stop for a ranger talk. Drove car several times into Wrangell St. Elias NP, once to stay several nights at Kennicott the other to do some remote hiking outside Gulkana, both long trips (70 - 80) miles on gravel roads. We had not one flat tire on coach or toad but some people undoubtedly did, no broken windshield, just dirt, dirt, dirt. And, we occasionally had a closet dumper, hitting the frost heaved road a little too fast will magically lift all your clothes hangers off the clothes rod in the closet. Happens to all, trailers, motor homes, nothing to do but laugh and try to go a little slower next time. We saw quite a few vehicles with visible damage, saw a wrecker haul a pickup with 5th wheel attached out of roadside brush/ditch and drive off. Drive cautiously at all times. Did I mention dirt? If it is raining it is mud, if it is dry it is dust. Dust on road repair areas where you are driving on dirt - they control the dust with calcium chloride which will make... mud. Parking lots at grocery stores may or may not be paved. Pull into fuel pumps, you will be on gravel or dirt. Alaska is a US frontier and you get the total experience in every way possible. Oh, one other thing you may want to consider. There are credit cards that do not charge for currency conversion. We have one that we use for any travel outside the US. Saves us a bunch not having to pay 3% or more to convert from $$ to some other currency. You will get a discount in Canada, their currency is something like 75 cents to our dollar. It wasn't that way in 2006! We crossed into Canada on Memorial Day and returned to the lower 48 on Labor Day. It is the trip of a lifetime. Enjoy.

TPMS = Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Sometimes you get some warning. I had a blowout several years ago, the tire monitor didn't alarm until we were stopped. Great for catching a slow leak, even a fast leak but may not give any warning before a blowout. I put a system on our coach after we had a blowout on the left front tire. Don't want that to happen again but then there is no guarantee. The alarms have been well worth it for the several puncture/leaks that we had. Stopped before significant tire damage, no damage to vehicle. In one case, we were headed off into never-never land, hundreds of miles to next service. The alarm when off right at the road that was our last chance for repair before going into the wilderness. Back on the road in three hours. Without it may have been days and who knows how many hundred dollars more to get the help we would have needed. We have Pressure Pro, there are many other brands, each with their own differences. Search the forum (top right on this page for search box) for TPMS or for tire pressure to get quick access to past discussions and thoughts from others on different brands. As far as valve stems, Monaco at the time of your coach manufacture used flexible valve extensions which attach to the wheel hub, about as convenient as you can get. If your coach still has them, I'd use them. We haven't had any problems with our is 14 years. I am in the process of replacing them this year. I ordered a set from Monaco. Despite the bankruptcy (post 2008) and several sales and reorganizations, you can still call Monaco Customer Service at the phone number in your owners manual, 877-466-6226 to order parts. They will want your coach serial number (not the VIN) and will be able to look up all the parts that were used to build your coach. I had my coach in the shop, had the parts person call, he did use the VIN, got the correct parts to replace a couple of corroded dock lights on our coach, exact replacements! If you need replacement extensions or other items, try them first to get original equipment items.

As Carl says, find the original tire size on the wall behind the driver's seat. That is a fixed requirement for your tires. Next, answer - for yourself - how many miles you will drive your coach each year. Being new to this, you may not have a real good idea, just think about your plans for travel. Are you taking off across country and doing that year after year, or is this for weekends and the occasional week of vacation. If your driving plans involve occasional short trips you will want a different quality of tire than someone who is traveling 10,000+ miles a year as we do. Either way, you won't wear the tread off those tires in the 7 years that will be the age limit for the tires. There are many foreign brands of tires on the market with strange names, some are good, some perhaps not so. I've had Goodyear and now Michelin. I like the Michelin better but they are the most expensive and may not be justified for your travel plans. I have run the standard truck tires on our motor home, the Michelin tires we now have are a standard truck tire. The Goodyear G670's that Wayne mentions are built specifically for motor homes. I've had those, also good tires. With high mileage you may see some uneven wear but for limited use you should never notice a problem. That is basically all you need to know to select your tires. You will want the front tires balanced (for smoother ride) and aligned (for better steering). You can also have the rear tires balanced. I've done it both ways and now have the rear tires balanced. Since you are new to the coach, I would have an alignment done. Once you experience driving with a properly aligned coach, you will be in a good position to judge when the next alignment might be done. I always align new tires when I put them on just to make certain that I get the best life from the tires. Poor alignment can cause uneven tire wear and if bad enough can make the tires unserviceable in short order. You will have to request these services as an extra expense, most tire dealers will tell you that truckers don't have their tires balanced. You want your coach to ride more like a car than a truck. Weighing your coach is necessary to determine the proper inflation for your tires. Your tires will be capable of carrying a greater load than will be on the tires. Inflating them to the maximum allowed may result in a stiff ride which can be uncomfortable. You can get tire loading charts from the tire manufacturer's web site or perhaps from the dealer where you purchase your tires. Inflate your tires to support the weight you get from your weighing. Add 10% to the tire pressure again to ensure safety. Slightly over-inflated tires will be safe. Under-inflated tires will fail, sometimes catastrophically. Because these are large tires, small differences in temperature can make real differences in tire pressure so it is good practice to check the tires each time you travel in the coach. Yes, that does mean when you are in a campground for a weekend and start to leave to return home you should check the pressure of each tire to ensure it is properly inflated. Before you weigh your coach, you should load it with fuel, propane, water and all the things you plan to take with you on a trip. It is important to know what weight the loaded coach will be carrying. If the weights show considerable variation from one side of an axle to the other side, try to adjust the loading to get them closer to the same. It will not be necessary to get an exact same weight, 10% or less difference would be ideal. While we are at it, go back to the information on the wall behind the driver's seat in the coach. It lists several weights for your coach. You want the total weight for your fully loaded coach to be less than the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). GVWR does not include anything you are towing. That would be the GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating). The chart also lists limits for each axle separately so check your weigh ticket to be certain neither of your axles is carrying more than its limit. If that is the case it will be necessary to shift some of the things you are carrying or to leave more stuff at home. Then, start with the weight of each of the tire locations. We refer to that as corner weights. Because motor homes can be loaded very unevenly, you need to know what weight each front tire is carrying. The same is true for each pair of rear tires. The weight and inflation chart will show the weight dual tires carry differently but it is the weight for each tire (half the weight of that end of the axle on each tire). For each axle you will use identical tire pressure for all tires on that axle. All tires must be able to hold the weight on heaviest end of the axle they are on. If you are unable to find a location where you can get corner weights, go to the local truck stop and get axle weights, divide by 2 and add 10% to get a reasonable estimate of your required tire pressure. Welcome to motor homes. Don't let all this overwhelm you, take it one step at a time. Buy your tires, have them mounted, weigh the coach, adjust tire pressure to match the weight of the coach. Go out and have a good trip!

Campus RV in Independence, MO is where we frequently stay. It is a small park with concrete pads and full hookups at a reasonable price. Sites are all back in, no pull through sites. The obligatory railroad is not far away if you like to sleep to the sound of the occasional train! It is kept clean and the management has always been friendly. You can walk around the downtown area just as Harry S Truman did years ago! The Truman presidential library isn't far away. FMCA discount. Definitely get reservations, city parks can be busy for any number of festivals and other events, holidays, weekends, etc.

The sail switch on our furnace is easily accessible. It is in the fan housing mounted on the side toward the outside opening. I think it was four screws to remove the cover from the fan and the switch was right on that cover. The coach isn't in the driveway right now so I can't give model and year information. Ours failed once and I had it replaced by a repair shop. The second time I removed it myself. I was showing Louise how it worked, flipping the switch, and a ball of fuzz fell from the switch housing. I put the same switch back in the furnace and it is still working today, something like ten years later. Depending on your furnace, it might be a user serviceable or replaceable part.

Very nice account of your return to the RV lifestyle. I hope you keep writing, even after the "new" wears off the experience.

With fond memories of our last convention in Gillette, WY we have jumped at the chance to register for 2018. The facilities were excellent, we enjoyed the various trips offered and had a lovely time. I used the link on the e-mail announcement to get to registration. I looked for a way to access registration here on the website but couldn't find it. I guess it will surface sooner or later. Louise and I are going to try working the welcome committee this time. We're looking forward to welcoming you to Gillette in July!

Less than 15 hours from problem to solution. What a great crew this is!

That is pretty much my point. If you are taking money you have stored away, you have to consider the returns on that money which you are giving up. In the case of current returns in the stock market, that would not be a good exchange unless you have a horrible interest rate on our motor home loan. If you have money in a savings account, sure withdraw it, I don't know where you can get a return on savings or even money market accounts that equals a loan interest rate. But then if your savings account is your emergency fund, you are giving up that level of security that you have built up. Come one emergency and then you have to find a loan at the going rate. You could secure it with your home or with your motor home.

I'm interested in the details of "self financing," how exactly do you do that? Where exactly does that money come from? Savings, retirement plan, investments?

No insurance won't cover that - unless you smash into something! I decided not to try that! I'll wait to see the result before I make any recommendation. Dealings with the shop have been shaky at best. I expect to see the result in the next few days. I'm going to stop by the shop this afternoon to see the progress. Last visit it was primed and ready for paint.

Lighted switches will continue to work as a functioning switch even when the indicator light fails. Find the 12V fuse panel in your coach. Your owners manual should have information on where it is located. Fuses should be labeled and are usually easy to pull and examine. If the fuse is good, put a test meter on the incoming line to the fuse to determine if power is arriving at the fuse. If so, pull the switch and test it for power. If you have power through the switch then it is time to go back to the owners manual to determine where to find the water pump. Take your test meter and check the power supply at the meter (be sure the switch is on). If the power is good to the pump and you have determined that it isn't frozen, the the problem must be a failure of the pump.

On our coach it is the deep red accent that shows checking. It is made worse by buffing or polishing. It is the kind of thing that you really only see if you examine the coach up close. The integrity of the paint isn't affected, no peeling or discoloration shows on our coach, now 14 years in service. The 3M coating on the front of the coach is a different story. Our coach is in the shop right now having the entire front cap repainted.

On the bright side, the days are getting longer, nights are shorter and each day brings us closer to spring! Happy New Year!

Our coach has a winter kit installed. There is a heating pad under the fresh water tank and an electric heater built into the compartment where the waste tanks and the water connections are located. The water pump and other water distribution is located in the same compartment as the water heater and the inverter which keep those warm. So some coaches may be not for winter, ours is well equipped to withstand normal cold weather and some sub-freezing. I wouldn't want to subject it to constant below freezing temperatures without some additional basement heat. Use of the heaters does require at least a 30A connection or the generator to operate them.

Yes, that route is good for RV's. If you don't have the Milepost, you might consider getting one. This guide is revised every year and gives current information on road conditions, fuel, food and things to see. You will be with a tour group but it also covers all the route to get to and from Alaska and is a guide for those parts of your trip as well. You may also find something of interest you would really like to see on that day when the tour group doesn't have something planned. It is a great guide to making the trip to Alaska and we will have one anytime we are on our way to Alaska.

No matter where we go, we're home! A second motto applies to our winter residence, "You're never too old to have a happy childhood."

No motorcycle, sold it when we went full time. No longer have the bug but I still recall some great rides. St. Louis to Lake Havasu City, AZ one year for spring break, cold, rain, flu. Snow on the roadsides in Flagstaff, great to get into the desert and smell the flowers. Met Louise's mother for first time. Rained all day the last day returning.That ride proved Louise was a gamer so I married her that winter. Just celebrated 25 years last week. Mississippi River, River Road, St. Louis to headwaters, Lake Itasca in MN, crossed the Mississippi on every bridge going both directions. Fourth of July in campground in Minneapolis. We're in a tent, some idiot built a campfire with several wood pallets. Flames 30 feet high! Nearly drowned in storms on the way from St. Paul, MN to Wisconsin. Spent that night in a motel with a hot tub. Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox standing guard outside the motel. Crossed border into Canada and couldn't get Canadian Pike in restaurant because there was no shipment from US because of the 4th of July holiday! Poured water out of our boots on the way to the Corvette Museum, Bowling Green, KY. Visited Mammoth Cave, rode through Thoroughbred and Bluegrass country to Louisville and KY Horse Park then froze all the way back to St. Louis. I went out for pizza while Louise soaked in a hot bath in hotel on way home. Hauling pizza and beer on a motorcycle! Rode to Hilton Head, SC to visit Louise's oldest daughter. Summertime, hot weather all the way. Spent considerable amount of time working on bike! Did a weekend tour of Missouri wine country, came home with a case of wine in the saddle bags. Loved staying at biker motels. Then I took up flying! More great stories...

I have often thought of making a PVC pipe frame to insert under the canvas cover on our slide outs. I've never done it but this would be light weight, could be push together and take-apart for easy storage. I would use an inverted T to support a single pipe under the canvas. For longer stretches you could insert several inverted T's to support a longer stretch of pipe which would establish a peak or simply prevent sagging. I think the latter might be the better approach as a peak drains both toward and away from the sides of the coach. We had a heavy snowfall on our coach one winter, six inches on the roof. It was several days before I got on the roof to clear it. The slide out covers were completely flattened on the slide out roof. The following summer, the large slide out snapped a spring. I lay the cause of that on the extended time that the spring was at max torque. It could be a coincident but it is the only time I had a spring break or should I say a broken spring. As a teacher I had regular spring breaks!

Then the AllStays Camp and RV (phone app or computer linked) would be an excellent resource for you. They have extensive listings including city parks and out of the way small spots that allow RV parking. They also have all the Walmart locations and indicate those that allow and don't allow overnight parking.

What an interesting observation. I hope that you asked your dog about the taste part of this statement!

After years of enduring hard water we purchased a Travelsoft water softener in the fall of 2013. This isn't the blue in-line filter that you see some people using. That is simply a water filter. The Travelsoft water softener is a real water softener that works the same way a household unit does. It requires salt, crystal, not pellet as you have to feed the salt through a 1" opening. A charge of salt will last several weeks to several months depending on the water where you are staying. One of the primary driving forces for us was the water at our daughters home. They have a deep well in Missouri limestone and the calcium from the rock is a significant part of their water. People in our Texas campground, now home, said that water was soft water but when we put a Sears home water softener in our mobile home, there was a real difference. I transport the water softener in the storage compartment next to my water/electric compartment and pull it out and hook it up in a few minutes. One hose from water supply to water softener, another hose from softener to water input for the motor home. I have always used the quick connectors for our water connections so the number of connections is never a problem. I also carry several additional lengths of hose for the occasional long distance water supply so that also isn't a problem. When finished I shut off the water at the supply spigot, release the pressure with a drain at the bottom of the water softener and that also drains it as I'm unhooking and storing hoses. You don't have to drain it to store it but it makes it lighter to handle. Still, it will be 31 pounds, I have the model 1200 which is the smallest. It can be stored/transported lying down, it measures 21 inches tall. I get a 40 pound bag of crystal water softener salt and carry it in a plastic container. I keep a two charge supply of salt under the kitchen sink and when that runs out, I dig out the container with what remains in the bag and refill my small container. We are out on the road in late April or early May and return home in October so that works for the long haul. If you were vacationing using the small container would last you for a month or more. It takes six pounds of salt to recharge this softener. We have used this for four seasons now, I use this at every stop, even a single night stop. Besides conserving soap for shower and laundry, soft water also leaves less residue around water fixtures and on the shower walls, etc.

That looks like a great trip and the time of year should make for some interesting sightings. If you have time, I would suggest continuing on north from Jasper to Lake Louise and then to Jasper. We found all the national parks along here to have full hook-ups for RV's available. We were able to get reservations on short notice at each one of these locations. There are great hikes all along the way and plenty of wildlife to be seen while driving as well as hiking. Don't overlook Waterton Lakes National Park which is the Canadian park adjoining Glacier, just across the border. We saw more wildlife there in a single day than in Glacier in a week. There is a great hotel there, stop and get lunch. It could be a good spot to start and end a bike ride as this park is less mountain and more valley. We hiked extensively around Lake Louise and enjoyed a great serenade by alpenhorn or alphorn, outside the Fairmont Chateau at the lake. Continuing north you will travel a part of Hwy 93 designated the Icefields Parkway. The highway continues on to Jasper National Park and the town of Jasper. At Jasper we took the Skytram and hiked the high country. Called to return as a storm approached, we had lunch at the Summit Restaurant, sharing a booth with a group of Canadian college students and enjoying the thrill of a mountain thunderstorm at a table under a glass roof. We bicycled among a herd of Elk and luxuriated in the warmth of Miette Hot Springs. I'm not sure what the weather would be here in September, if you were there in late August, weather would probably be excellent. Out of Jasper if you head west on Hwy 16 through the mountains then south on Hwy 5 to Kamloops, you are on your way to one last treat. Heading west on Hwy 1 out of Kamloops to Hwy 97, just a few miles north on Hwy 97 is the turnoff to Hwy 99, The Sea to Sky Highway or as you would be driving it, the Sky to Sea Highway. This will take you to Vancouver. This is a scenic road, not to be rushed and you won't be able to. It is two lane and has a short section of switchbacks, nothing our 40' coach with Trailblazer in tow couldn't handle. There is plenty to see along the way so allow several days on this road. Sidetrips for your trip might include Calgary where the Stampede is held in July. Drumheller, east of Calgary, has a the Royal Tyrrell Museum, a spectacular dinosaur museum. South of Calgary is the Head Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site. We arrived and parked in the parking lot for RV's and were met with a golf cart ride to the entrance where a Native American (First Nations) group was performing native dances in costume. The site has a great visitors center and trails. You can also visit the site of the Frank Slide which occurred in 1903 and buried part of the town of Frank. Ninety people died in 90 seconds as the summit of Turtle Mountain tumbled down on the outskirts of Frank. The interpretive center has great displays. Parking is limited but we found parking for our rig with car in tow on the weekend of the grand opening of the interpretive center so I'm guessing you should have no problem. RV Park Reviews has campgrounds in Canada, with reviews of people who have visited. We have also used AllStays Camp and RV, the phone app for the US sites and the web site for the locations where we don't have phone service. AllStays also has reviews and covers Canada as well as the US. I find their scope of campgrounds much more comprehensive but some of their listings are not RV or full hookup sites. They are very good about indicating the type of facilities and their features. Whatever route you take and places you visit, I'm certain you will enjoy your trip.