tbutler
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Posts posted by tbutler
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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.
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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.
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On the bright side, the days are getting longer, nights are shorter and each day brings us closer to spring! Happy New Year!
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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...
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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!
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2 hours ago, alflorida said:The few times I need to stay at an RV Park I use: http://www.rvparkreviews.com/ to check out places with full hookups. We mostly dry camp in National Parks and other places or boondock so not a lot of help with RV Parks.
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.
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3 hours ago, manholt said:So, it's a matter of personal taste! Now, it does make it easier to keep the toilet bowl clean!
What an interesting observation. I hope that you asked your dog about the taste part of this statement!
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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.
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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.
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Hey, thanks for the reference Carl. We took Canada 99 going N to Prince George. Known as the Sea to Sky Highway, for you it would be the Sky to Sea Highway! It is a great trip unless you have had your fill of scenery and remote travel in Alaska. We found interesting stops along the way north from Horseshoe Bay where there is a fantastic mining museum (Louise and I both enjoy mining and industry sites). We stopped to rest at a lake, lots of logs along the shore. We watched and heard an otter devouring a large fish, crunch, crunch, crunch, yummy with crunchy bones. Each town along the way has something to offer, great experience.
Going south, take the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island because, hey, when will you ever get a chance to get there again? The Dingy Dock Pub in Nanaimo is a unique and excellent place to have lunch or even better, a sunset dinner. Beautiful scenery and more on Vancouver Island, spend a day around the Provincial Museum in Victoria, see Buchart Gardens, absolutely spectacular, it's another day experience. Spend a week on Victoria Island. You can catch the Blackball Ferry back to the mainland, Port Angeles, on the Olympic Peninsula or take the Canadian ferry back to mainland Canada. Either way you will make your way back to I-5.
We also loved our time on the Olympic Peninsula, plenty to see in the National Park and along Hwy 101(small and curvy, take your time) on the Hood Canal (not a canal it is really a fjord carved out by glaciers) on the way south to Tacoma where you pick up I-5. Diesel was never a problem as long as you don't mind the prices, now discounted with the exchange rate with Canada being what it is. When we traveled to Canada in '06, the exchange rate was in their favor.
Now, 99 is not interstate highway. There is a short but snaky section which would be downhill going south and it is two lane all the way. We loved that part of the trip, would not have wanted to miss it. We did all this with the 40' coach in the signature below, towing a Trailblazer EXT.
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The Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville is a must see attraction at Christmas. It is a monster Marriott Hotel, shopping center, open air restaurants and more, all within a six story atrium (indoors). The whole place is decked out with outrageous decorations, Christmas trees, lights, and garland. Miles of garland, ornaments that are 10 feet tall hanging from the ceiling, Christmas trees 20 feet tall made entirely of poinsettias. You will have to pay for parking (not cheap for RV's - stay in an RV park and take the toad or a taxi to save on parking) but once inside, it is free for the seeing. Spend as much of the day as you want, have lunch, enjoy stretching your legs for a while.
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You have to remember that the furnace is heating not only the air but all the cold furniture and the walls and ceiling. If the outside temperature is really cold and if the insulation in the coach is thin, you could be losing heat to the outside through the walls and ceiling. All RV's are not insulated as a house is. We have a 40 foot coach and one furnace. It sometime takes 20 or 30 minutes to cycle off for that kind of temperature change then will run again shortly. This may repeat for several hours until everything (walls, floors, stuff in cabinets, clothes in closets, etc.) has warmed We have good insulation and double pane windows except the windshield. Do check the functioning of the furnace but don't expect home performance from an RV furnace.
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Safari was part of Monaco at the time your coach was manufactured. You could contact them and see if they can help you. Their customer service line is 877-466-6226. The line is still active, ask for the parts department. They may have information on your coach and be able to help you get replacement parts. When I have called they always ask for the last six digits of the Mfg. serial number (not the VIN) If that doesn't work, you may have to try salvage yards. There are a number of them devoted to RV's that are located around the country. The link here will get you to an extensive list of those salvage yards. You can also search for other articles regarding salvage parts by putting that in the search slot on the FMCA forum page, top right. Specify Topics under the search criteria (on the left) and that will get you dozens of discussions on salvage parts and possibly some other references. The salvage yard, Colaw, is widely used by people that I know. They do ship parts and stand behind them if there is a problem.
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I can't argue with you, we're having a cool spell right now. I cancelled out on golf today, rain showers and cloudy skies. Sun and 70's tomorrow. We had a touch of snow, just white on the top of the grass, Friday, December 8. That was our first real cool spell for the winter.
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Here is an extensive answer to your question about a home base, related to choosing a place, location, state, for establishing a domicile. Even if you have chosen the state, I think there are important issues discussed on this website.
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Here is a link to a reference that I submitted almost exactly a year ago. It has an extensive discussion of all the considerations you should take into account when selecting a domicile when traveling on the road full time. I did check and the link is still active. There is plenty to read here and all of it is important if you want to have the best possible full timing experience. There are probably some considerations you haven't thought of yet.
There have been a number of discussions of this topic on the FMCA forum. You can find them by typing the word domicile in the search box at the top-right of this page. On the left side of the search box, select topics from the drop down menu. My posting a year ago was in a discussion titled, Domicile, Which is Best?
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A poisoned mouse that dies where other animals can eat it will still be poisonous to the animal that eats it. It really doesn't matter if the animal is endangered or not, human activity has reduced the habitat for many animals, all owls included, to the point that further damage to the population will eventually put them on the endangered list. Taking small steps to protect any animal is better than having to take large measures to prevent their extinction. Traps and methods that discourage or drive mice away are the best solution. Poison should only be used as a last resort solution.
The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America (which does include Mexico) lists 19 species of owls, there is no Mexican Owl listed in this authoritative listing of birds. The term Mexican Owl is a common name used locally for another species of owl. This guide also shows a small area in western Texas where Spotted Owls do live. It would be a very rare sighting if Spotted Owls showed up in Galveston as their normal range is in thickly wooded canyons and humid forests. Besides the Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis), we also have Barn Owls, Long-eared Owls, Short-eared Owls, Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, Eastern Screech-Owls, Western Screech-Owls, Flammulated Owls, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls, Elf Owls, and Burrowing Owls in Texas. One or more of these species may be what is locally referred to as a Mexican Owl.
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I just posted in your other query on annual fees. We found our friendly place January 2002, the first year we were full time. We have wintered at Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg, TX every winter since then. Until 2010 we were on an RV lot. In 2010 we put a mobile home on a larger lot and that is now our official residence. Prior to that we had a mailbox and an official residence at My Home Address in Emery, SD. Like Texas and Florida, South Dakota has no state income tax.
For years our doctors were in St. Louis, MO, where we were employed before retiring. Our health insurance was linked to our employer and we had family in the area so we usually made that our first stop when we headed north each spring (late spring, end of April or early May).
When my daughter and family built a new home in a rural area west of St. Louis I paid them to put in an RV pad for us with water, sewer and 50A electric, and we spend a month (or so) with them visiting family. We give them a generous contribution each year to pay for our electric and also helped with babysitting when their children were younger.
We also have a daughter in California. They have a gravel spot next to their house and we've been parking with them for about a month each year, usually in September and early October before returning to Texas. They put a 50A outlet on their garage wall that we can use. Water and sewer are available but I have to use the macerator to access their sewer clean out. We have the same arrangement there, babysitting (until their girls are a little older) and a payment for our electric.
For several years, 2003 through 2008 we spent a month at my mother's house near St. Louis with facilities much like those in California. That worked well as it made it convenient to do odd jobs and fix things around the house for her. We had some very nice visits, quite valuable in her final years.
When we set up housekeeping in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, we moved our medical connections to the RGV as well. I will visit my doctor for my annual check-up next week, about six miles from our park.
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I had to look it up because our rates went up last year. This is the rate for a mobile home lot at Sandpipers Resort in Edinburg, Texas. We paid $3440 for our annual fee on a lot, 40 x 100 for our mobile home. We have to pay for our electric separately, otherwise no additional fees related to the lot. Water is included in the annual rental fee. We have our motor home parked in the driveway next to our home. The annual fee for RV lots is less, I don't have a current amount and I can't quote a monthly rate either. We have a heated pool, hot tub, tennis courts, shuffleboard, frequent dances, karaoke nights on a regular basis. Each week a group of about a dozen or more motorcycles set out to explore the Rio Grande Valley. There are a host of other activities in the park. We have an active golf group and a bowling league. There are no pull through lots in the park so you'd have to learn to back it in.
There are some parks here in the RGV that are more expensive and others that are less. Granted, the Rio Grande Valley is not the place to be in the summer time unless you are really looking to lose some weight by sweating but it is a great place to spend the winter! Right now the high temperature for the day is 49 degrees but we will see 60;s and 70's for highs next week.
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On 9/2/2017 at 11:46 AM, FIVE said:When I look at some of the many wiring systems, and various other systems on these beasts, it's a wonder any of it works.
At FMCA in Indy, they had a Prevost with the wiring compartment opened, no way to work on that, just go to the manufacturer and pull out your credit card. I was amazed that Talgutbir was able to trace the wiring through the spaghetti that exists beneath my dash.
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My solution was not as elegant as the fancy swing out mounts. We picked up a bargain (what was a bargain at the time) when Circuit City was going out of business. Floor model, fit inside the box. You can see results in my posting from many years ago here on the forum. Screen size is sacrificed but the increased resolution more than makes up for that. I had to use the base mount as the rear mounting apparatus on this TV was plastic. It would not have survived the frequent earthquakes we experience. With the space around the TV, I didn't have to worry about speaker location, it works fine in the small space of the bedroom and a viewing distance of about 10 to 12 feet.
Paint Checking: 2005 Monaco Executive
in Buying an RV
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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.