tbutler

I've used a Garmin 3450LM (LM indicates lifetime maps, free upgrades) since 2012. I moved it from the coach to the toad for three years. Last year I found a Garmin 2757LM at Walmart for $200 and purchased it. I like the larger 7 inch screen, much easier to read on the dash of the motor home. Now the 3450 is in the toad and serves as a backup if there is a problem with the 2757. They both have the same maps which I've updated several times to get the latest information. I've used these all over the US and Canada. The were good in Newfoundland and Labrador last summer. We took the 3450 to Australia and New Zealand and purchased the micro SD chip with maps for both countries. The maps were excellent, took us through hundreds of round-abouts in both countries. I never found a problem with the maps in either country. It was really nice to have a familiar GPS for travel in a foreign country. I did have one funny episode in Australia. I wanted to put in a route from our current location to Broome. Every time I put it in it came up with a location in WA. I'm thinking, why is it listing Washington. After the third try I realized - Oh, dummy, WA is Western Australia! When I first started using GPS, we checked everything against our paper maps. Now it is pretty much just an occasional question about a particular route through or around a city. Louise will override the GPS decision on occasion. Otherwise, we find it to be quite reliable. Neither of the units above are specific for RV's. I've been quite happy without the RV specific units. I set the GPS for Bus routing and use lowclearances.com data for low clearance warnings and that works well. I just recently updated the low clearance data for this travel season. Garmin has several computer programs that work with the same map data for these units. The latest is Base Camp. It allows you to preview routes and construct several possible routes for consideration. I also use the older Garmin Mapsource which works with my Garmin topographic maps as well. I can plot a route and then switch to topographic maps which allows me to construct a route profile. I can see elevations of the entire route on a graph. It helps when planning routes near or through mountains.

The previous owner may well have left the manual with the coach. I believe that dealers who take a coach in trade immediately seek out and destroy the original manual. For what purpose I don't know. If anyone has purchased a used coach through a dealer and found the original owners manual in the coach I'd like to know what dealer!

Welcome Bill, We're just a little ways up-river from you! We are from this area but were full time for a while before putting a mobile home in the park we stay at each winter! Winter is so much nicer in the deep south! Now we leave the park each spring and travel for the summer. Next week we'll head NW toward South Dakota to visit with friends from our winter retreat. Then we're on to Colorado to visit with relatives. Just a couple of drifters!

On our coach the generator is extended by an hydraulic cylinder that is on only one side of the slide. This can result in the slide binding, pushed a little off to one side and it won't retract. The fix that has worked for me is to have someone hit the retract button as someone else is pushing on the generator. A good shove will usually release the bind and it retracts normally. To avoid this in the future, stop it's extension before it reaches the stop. It might help to also lubricate the rollers and check the track that they run on to ensure it is clean and clear of debris like small rocks, etc.

Walmart will give you the same rotation/balancing and road hazard coverage on automobiles and small trucks. I just had a flat repaired last week, no charge. Tire prices are excellent and the warranty coverage was only $9 per tire. I like Walmart because they are literally everywhere! Most tire chains will offer the same coverage but their locations are a lot farther apart than Walmart!

Good information Rich, I'll have to get busy cleaning those contacts. I pretty much disregard the instrument dials on the dash. We have the Aladdin System which monitors the engine and gauges electronically. When I fill the diesel tank, I reset the level at 127 gallons on the Aladdin. I tilt the coach (airbag leveling) so I can eliminate almost all the air space. I do this only when we are driving following the fill-up. If we are going to be parked I'll ease up on the tilting so there is some space for fuel expansion. Anyway, the dial gauge will show over full and will stay there quite a while. When Aladdin shows the fuel to be 1/2 gone, the dash dial shows 3/4 tank. When the dash dial gets to 1/2 tank we're at about 40 gallons on Aladdin. The pickup for the generator should be at about 32 gallons and that is where Aladdin shows it to be when the generator quits while parked, not driving. When driving I've had the generator quit around 40 gallons due to sloshing of fuel. How accurate is Aladdin? The fuel used amount shown on Aladdin will almost always be within a gallon or two of the actual fill. Aladdin does not monitor the fuel usage by the generator so this will account for small discrepancies. I consider an indicator that can tell me I'll take 72 gallons of fuel and be within a couple of gallons to be pretty darn good. There are exceptions to the use of Aladdin. The oil pressure is not a live reading. The dash gauge is the only live reading for the oil pressure. The propane reading is unreliable, there are times when the indicator system (float?) seems to get stuck at 80%. Driving will resolve this. Aladdin is close but I rely more on the dial indicator on the tank for the most accurate reading. The Aladdin fresh water indicator works well. I long ago gave up on the indicators for the black and gray water tanks. Having lived in the coach for quite a while, we have a pretty good idea of how showers and dish washing fill the gray water tank. Between the two of us we keep track of the likely tank levels and plan emptying them before getting to full.

We started with a used coach in 2001. You have a head start as we never owned an RV before. I think you will find many things familiar and some things much nicer. Enjoy your travels.

There are several programs that will provide assistance if you have tire or other problems which could leave you stranded on the road or even in a campground. Sort of like AAA for automobiles, they will deliver road service, fuel, jump start, towing if needed. There are always terms and stipulations which should be read carefully. As a rule they will pay for the service call, you pay for the tire repair or if needed a replacement (may be used or new) tire. You aren't going to get service that will pay for everything, at least I know of none that provides for that. I wouldn't be out on the road with a large vehicle like a motor home without such coverage. I've had at least 6 times I've needed the service. Twice it was engine problems, two times blown tires, two times stuck in the mud (campsite one time, FMCA rally the other). Without the service you are paying for the tow and the service call but you also have to find the wrecker or tire repair service that can meet the needs of a large vehicle. Having people on the line who have a network of repair services they can call on is invaluable. Even today with the internet, I'd hate to have to go find the repair I need on my own. How many calls do you want to make while sitting on the side of the road before you find someone to help? It's never fun but they can make it easier. FMCA has it's Roadside Assistance plan (see the banner at the top of the FMCA home page). Good Sam also offers a similar service. We have Coach Net which used to be the service provider for the FMCA Roadside Service. I have had Good Sam and like Coach Net better. I haven't used the current FMCA plan. I'd bet they do an excellent job since they are vetted by FMCA. Their prices are competitive with the other plans. You may get a better introductory rate, you may be able to get a multi-year policy for slightly less than $109 per year but that is really a pretty good price considering what one tow truck call will cost you. There may be other providers out there but these would be the "big three" that I know.

Russ, Good point. I've been stopped several times (at least 3 that I can recall right now) for speeding, never owned anything that would go 123 MPH. I've never had a speeding ticket. I never argue or deny. Yes sir, you got me, I was doing xx (whatever he said) MPH. No sir, no excuse. It's like talking to airport security or customs and border protection, answer the questions asked, say nothing more. Be polite. It may not work every time, it sure can't make the matter worse.

Wryonki, Welcome to the forum. We have the Michelin XZA2 Energy tires on our coach. Very happy with them, nice ride, excellent quality tire. Here is a link to dealers in the RGV. I searched the area around McAllen but you can search from there to find dealers closer to Harlingen or Brownsville. If this doesn't have the dealers I saw, simply put in your zip code and search, there were three listed near McAllen, one is in Pharr, the other two in Edinburg. All are National Account dealers which means they should be familiar with and able to accommodate use of the FMCA Michelin Tire Discount program. If you aren't familiar with this program, check the information on the FMCA website. It will save you considerable cash on this purchase. When you look at dealers, run the cursor over the symbols on the dealer information to find the symbol that indicates a National Account dealer. Here is some unsolicited advice. Any dealer, any company that you purchase your tires from will be primarily a truck tire dealer. You want your tires installed on your motor home, not a truck. You need to tell them that you expect all tires to be balanced. This isn't standard with trucks. Your ride will be better than a truck if you have all balanced. Once the bead is set, they can (should) put the tires in the vertical safety stands to inflate them to full pressure. Have them torque the lug nuts. I had an aluminum wheel cracked by an overzealous tech with an air wrench. It was also the worst tire mounting I had. We were traveling so I stopped at another dealer and they check for roundness and found it will out of round and they found the cracked wheel. Live and learn. You also will want them to check to ensure that the tires are mounted so they are as close to round as possible. How can a tire not be round? You want them within 0.006 inches of a perfect circle (difference between highest and lowest point on the tire). That's really round. Some dealers will have instrumentation to check this. I've had this happen with other brands of tires and had to have them remounted (rotated 1/4 or 1/2 turn) to get the wheel and tire together to produce the desired accuracy. I had a tire tech explain to me once that the tires should be inflated to seat the bead with the tire horizontal so the wheel is in the center of the tire as opposed to vertical mounting where the wheel is resting on the lowest part of the tire. As the bead sets, it will be slightly off-center and thus the tire will not be round. Using this technique, I've never had a problem with Michelin tires being out of round. I just had 4 tires put on, specified I wanted manufacture dates (stamped on the tires) not more than 3 months old. They had to order them but had them in stock within a week. I had mine done in the Austin area while I was there for an extended stay. If you talk to a dealer and they aren't willing to work with you to get the best quality mounting, find another dealer. There are no shortage of dealers!

I looked up the Villa Stone product and it looks like just what we are looking for. The installation guide says "DO NOT install this product in recreational vehicles (Fifth Wheels, Motor Coaches, Trailers or Mobile Homes that will be transported). Only approved for permanent on site locations that will not be moved from one place to another." I understand that most flooring manufacturers likely say the same thing about their product. I assume that you have had no problems with the performance of the tile in the four years since you have installed it. I looked up Habegger Flooring and they look like a good choice for information. They work with an installer in Elkhart so I think we'll be pursuing this. Thanks for the tip.

Where are you located? Can you give us the name of the company and perhaps contact information. We're very interested in replacing our flooring. I want a nice professional job so would like to find a quality installer to do the job.

I would second that list. It isn't possible to attend all those in one National Convention so see what you can and then keep the list and keep checking them off until you have attended the whole list. An addition I would suggest the diesel engine seminar (for those so equipped or considering going diesel) with reps from each of the engine manufacturers. There is a driving course dedicated to women that should be on their list. Louise also likes to get the latest information on cooking in the motor home. The vendor service center is always on my list. Make an appointment and get an expert to come to your motor home to identify and possibly fix your most irritating problem. Everyone should peruse the entire program, there are always new presenter who have special expertise like that guy who showed up several years ago, Tireman! Thanks for sharing your list.

Like most everything in a motor home or other RV, the systems are built to do so much that they are pretty much foreign to homeowners. Storage tanks, dual supplies, water pump or city water, everything is knitted together in a fine system but understanding it takes a lot of experience and analysis. Think about the electric, same thing. Generator, shore power, battery all sources of power and then there is the inverter and 12V and 110V systems. Add a solar panel and its controller and there is more to just turning on a light bulb! Understanding how they all relate to each other and what causes any particular problem is an exercise in the higher arts of problem solving. RV techs get a lot of grief but they are charged with knowing a great many systems. When you find a good one, stick with them!

Ours have been the same but I've had the same problem. Our problem wasn't the valve that switches the city water from coach to storage tank. The problem was the leaking back-flow prevention valve built into the water pump. Water was back feeding from the city water to the coach and then through the water pump into the storage tank. Installing a good quality in-line back-flow prevention valve at the outlet of the water pump will stop the problem. You can also install a pressure reducer at the city water supply spigot. This protects your hose as well as reduces the chances of the water pump back-flow problem. If reducing the pressure doesn't stop the problem then the water pump back-flow valve has failed completely. You can get a new water pump or install a separate back-flow valve.

Being retired, I stick to the speed limit, to the letter. There may be occasional minor lapses but it is my intention to be at or below the speed limit at all times. Yes, I've heard it all. In the Rio Grande Valley, there are several small towns along TX 100 on the way to South Padre Island that are well known for their ultra-strict speed limit enforcement. Not only do you have to be at or below speed limit at the sign but you also have to watch out not to start speeding up before the sign that raises the speed limit on the way out of town. Right now we are staying with our daughter and her family in Foristell, MO, a tiny community on I-70 about 40 miles west of St. Louis, MO. They are on constant patrol in the town with 45 and 35 mile per hour speed limits and they freely patrol I-70 within their city limits. If there aren't cars passing you, slow down! It isn't only this, we were traveling through a small town in eastern Washington State in caravan with friends when a car in front of him slowed for a left turn. With plenty of room on the shoulder he passed the vehicle on the shoulder (a common Texas driving pattern). He was immediately set upon by a patrol car and ticketed, fined $300 for careless driving! I am certain that this was a set-up as the police car was waiting on the opposite side of the highway off the roadway in the grass. Times are hard for small towns, taxes are hard to raise and tourists are fair game. If you are out-of-town, you are vulnerable. Out of state is double jeopardy! Your license plate says tourist. Driving a motor home means rich dude! That means a bigger fine! Forewarned is forearmed! Slow down, travel safe this summer!

Glad it all turned out OK! We've done the turn-around after leaving the shop with new tires. Good move, they would never have gotten better!

Tricializ, I recently faced a similar decision in my life. For almost 20 years I have flown airplanes. I never owned one but rented them all over the US and flew in several foreign countries. I love flying cross country flights and have had some really memorable experiences. Our lifestyle has made it difficult to keep current with my flying and as I flew less and less, I felt less comfortable in the cockpit. At that point I faced a decision. Do I devote more time to flying or do I let this part of my life go. I have decided to give up flying. The fun I had at one time just isn't there any longer. I was spending considerable sums on insurance and just flying a few hours to keep my currency. I was no longer flying to interesting places on a regular basis. So the costs of continuing versus my use finally pushed me to the decision to give it up. You mention the knowledge level of posters on the forum. Do not let this intimidate you. If you are interested in using your motor home more in the future, this is an excellent place to ask questions and to benefit from the knowledge. When i began motor homing, I read everything I could, attended rallies and took classes and workshops to help me learn about the motor home and how to keep it in good condition. Following posts on the forum is a way to increase your comfort level. The other way is to use your motor home more often. In your post regarding tires, you mention a trip to Disney in Florida. A long trip like that will make you more comfortable with operation of your motor home and may be the stimulus you need to get the motor home out more often. If on the other hand the trip causes more stress and concern on your part, you may want to reevaluate your decision ot keep the motor home. I am guessing that you are still in the working phase of life. Disney World sounds like a kid trip. What a great kid trip. If it works, there are so many other places to take the kids. Start by taking some other trips to national and state parks. Travel to places with interesting museums and zoos. Use the motor home to expand your children's horizons. If it is useful to you, the work and money you put in to keep it on the road will be worthwhile. Regarding weighing the coach. If you have axle weights, you can work with those. You will need to make an allowance for the lack of specific knowledge of the weight of each wheel position. You do that by putting more pressure in the tires than the manufacturers chart specifies. The standard rule of thumb is add an additional 5% to the weight to allow for differences that may occur. If you don't know individual wheel position weights, add an additional 10% to the weight when you look up the pressure on the manufacturers chart. If you have an opportunity to get individual wheel position weights, take it and then you'll have a better idea of your coach weights. Once you weigh your coach, if you don't make significant changes in the way you load the coach, where you put heavy things or how much material you take with you then there is no need to re-weigh. If you begin taking longer trips and you start packing more clothes, a tool box, some bicycles on the rear ladder, more appliances, more food and other materials, then you should re-weigh the coach as you travel with it fully loaded, passengers, fuel, water, etc.

Finding a Michelin dealer that can handle the FMCA Michelin tire program shouldn't be a problem. Here is a link to Michelin Dealers. There are six truck tire dealers listed in Omaha. Four of the six service National Accounts (the FMCA program). You can go through the six one at a time, fly the cursor over the key and find the symbol for national accounts and then check with the dealer to be certain. Most we've contacted are familiar with the FMCA program and will ease your way through the process. If you don't find one that you like, widen the search area to include Lincoln and Council Bluffs or any other area you want included. Once you have the dealer and give them the tire size you need. Tell them you want tires that are no more than three months from manufacture date (stamped on the tire) and have them order them for you if necessary. If they don't have them in stock, they should be able to get them in a week or two. A good dealer will meet your needs. If they hesitate to get recently manufactured tires, talk to another dealer. Make certain they can mount them the way you want, balanced, checked for round, mounted for a motor home, not a truck (see my post above). A caution. I went to the general Michelin site which itakes you to auto tire dealers by default and could find no national account dealers. I had to find the way into the truck tire dealer finder (see my caution above) to find the national accounts.

We ran Goodyear tires for years. Now I have Michelin all around. The ride difference is quite noticeable. The coach handles better, rides smoother and I know I can trust the tires. A key part of the process is finding someone who will mount the tires like they would for a car, balancing, checking for round, torquing the lug nuts if you have aluminum wheels is important. If they sell large tires, they service mostly trucks. You will likely have to stress to them that this is not a truck unless you love to "feel the road." I have tried it both ways and it does make a difference to balance the rear tires. Have all tires balanced! I've never had a problem with Michelin tires being out of round but Goodyear tires had to be checked for round. Some shops don't even have equipment to test for round. Once mounted, the tire should be rotated on a stand and the roundness measured. If it is more than .006 inches out of round, have it rotated a quarter turn and remounted. One way to avoid this problem is to have them set the bead with the tire horizontal. Lay it down with the wheel inside then inflate until the bead sets. This helps keep the wheel centered as perfectly as possible in the tire. Michelin tires have tested well within tolerance for all six tires I have purchased. Goodyear tires were always near the limit or needed to be adjusted to get within limits. It really does make for a smoother ride. Omaha to Disney and back is a long trip that will be made much longer on rough riding tires. And yes, your tires are 11 years old, a long trip like this will likely result in one or more of the tires failing. That means delay, possible damage or worse. You will be running them long days in hot temperatures, check the pressure each day and adjust as necessary to keep them within specifications. Know your individual wheel position weights and consult the tire manufacturers weight and inflation chart to find the correct pressure. You have saved a nice pile of cash by running these tires as long as you have. Now, spend that on some good new tires and for good measure and peace of mind, install a tire monitoring system on the coach and the toad if you have one. Consider what is at risk (the cost of our coach and the lives on board when you are traveling) and the safety equipment makes sense.

We stayed at Buckhorn Lakes Resort last year and were quite impressed with the resort. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a quality place to stay in the hill country. We paid $43.xx a night for a short stay. We'll stay again the next time we are traveling I-10. The resort is just off the highway but the highway noise wasn't bad at all. If you haven't discovered RV Park Reviews, you should take a look a the site and start posting reviews there.

Our coach is set up to activate the coach brake lights with the engine brake but the toad brake lights don't come on until the service brake is activated. I like this arrangement as it indicates an additional level of braking when the service brakes are used. We don't have the Invisibrake so can't speak to that question.

Here is the web link for Canada Border Services Agency. There is information there to cover what you need to know. Once you are in Canada, you will want to know the regulations for returning to the US. You will go through U.S. Customs as you return. Here is the web link for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. We've enjoyed many trips to Canada and highly recommend crossing the border with as much information as you can. Good preparation prevents many problems. You will be asked about firearms and ammunition, both at home and any on-board (on-board must be none - penalties are severe - don't risk it), There are limits on tobacco products and alcohol, make sure you are within the allowable limits for each. Food restrictions apply and they change from time to time. Review the website shortly before leaving. As mentioned, Canada requires brakes on your toad, no matter what it's weight. I've never had them ask but they could. If you had a accident, that would likely come up and be a problem if you aren't in compliance. Enjoy your trip.

We purchased our first motor home, a used 38 foot Monaco Dynasty, for almost exactly what it would have cost for a new heavy duty pickup and a 40 foot fifth wheel. We traded that for a newer coach after living in it for two and a half years. The new coach now is 12 years old and has 150,000 miles on it. I don't think that we would have gotten 150,000 miles out of the pickup truck and fifth wheel. We chose to go the motor home route for all the reasons listed above and have never looked back. Of course asking this question on a website for motor home owners is asking for a biased opinion. If you want the other side of the decision you should ask this question on a forum for all types of RV's. I'm sure that many of those with trailers can cite some good reasons for their decision.

I love to read a post where the OP returns to let us know what the solution was! Thanks John.