tbutler

Thanks. Glad to hear that it is working for you David. It has been almost four years since we gave up our South Dakota address. My Home Address was always dependable but over time things change. Your note lets me know that their excellent service continues. It is true that almost everything can and is being done on-line these days but there are always a few things that have to go in the mail.

So this is a big milestone year for you Herman! How do you plan to celebrate?

Welcome to the forum! We got our loan through the dealer when we bought our motor home. Then, we refinanced after shopping around at an FMCA Convention. If you are going to be in Perry, GA, there should be vendors there that are brokers for the loan industry. Our refinance was done by Wachovia - which went out of existence in 2008-2009. So our loan was sold to Wells Fargo, their dealer services division. It is not a mortgage, it is like an auto loan or a boat loan. This is a good time to look for such a loan. Brokers don't charge you a fee, they get a finders fee from the loan companies. Our loan was done through Sterling Associates, Whitinsville, MA. They have offices all over the US. We were at a rally in Oregon, registered in South Dakota and processed the paperwork in California but the loan was done through the Massachusetts office. They are advertising loan rates as low as 3.28% on the web site. Once we had our loan, we never heard from Sterling Associates again, nor did we need to contact them. They were very efficient, did just what we needed and no more! One caution, we did reject the first loan they found for us as it included a balloon clause allowing the lender to call in the loan (require full payment) at any time. We were assured this wouldn't happen but if it is written that way, it could happen. I hate to think of what might have happened in 2008 as Wachovia was being taken over by Wells Fargo. You couldn't even get a loan for a regular home at that time. Read the paperwork carefully and/or take it to an attorney for review if you aren't comfortable with your own understanding of the language of the loan contract. We told the representative at Sterling Associates we weren't comfortable with that language and asked them to find a lender that didn't include this clause. The second try was good, that was the Wachovia loan at 4.99% in 2004. Because it isn't a mortgage, the bank may not give you a statement of interest at the end of the year as they do with a home loan. It is deductible on federal taxes (considered a mortgage for IRS purposes) as a first or second home. If you request an interest statement from the bank, they will provide you with one. Wells Fargo sent one every year after we made the request. As Kay said above, you would have to check state laws regarding deductiblity on state taxes - unless you live or are a resident of a state with no state taxes!

Eight years and no problems, traveling all over the US in all kinds of conditions. I would probably locate it away from the exhaust manifold! Ours is on the opposite side of the engine compartment from the exhaust manifold. We have a side radiator and a relatively open engine compartment. Yours may be different. Check the link in my post above. If you can contact Mac, he can probably answer your question about temperature in the engine compartment.

If your coach has an inverter/charger or a smart charger (tapers the charge as the batteries near full charge and won't overcharge them) then you should be able to leave the coach plugged in 24/7 for as long as you want. Most modern coaches have this kind of charger. If you are talking about a simple charger that you connect to batteries to give them a jump start, that charger will generally overcharge the batteries if left on for long periods of time. Our coach is plugged in all winter long. When we unplug, it's ready to go. All the batteries, chassis and house, are fully charged. A short read of your owners manual or a call to your manufacturers technical department should assure you if you are uncertain.

We have an automatic extinguisher in our engine compartment. We purchased it at an FMCA Convention about eight years ago. Mac McCoy, AKA Mac the Fire Guy, did the seminar he is a retired fireman. I just took our coach out for state safety inspection today. Before I started out, I verified that the extinguisher was still showing a full charge. When we purchased the extinguisher Mac came to our coach and recommended where the extinguisher should be installed (above the bank of relays) to be most effective. If you attend an FMCA Convention or other rally you should make it a point to get to his seminar. We were parked next to a coach that caught fire several years ago. The coach hadn't been moved in weeks. The fire started in the engine compartment (gas engine) and the entire coach was involved within 10 minutes. By the time the fire department arrived there wasn't much to save. I doubt our extinguisher would stop a fire like that but even if it slowed it down and gave us another minute or two to escape, it would be well worth the expense.

David and Judy, Glad you enjoyed your stay in Brownsville. My how time does fly. You hit a really nice year this year, great weather most of the time. Our first few years here in the Rio Grande Valley we had limited stays and had to return north in late February. The first year we did this we left with roadsides brimming with brightly colored flowers. After a couple of days driving, Louise asked what happened to these trees? She thought they were all dead. I reassured her that they were alive, it was still winter where we were. We both had a laugh about that - until the reality of March in Pennsylvania hit! Regarding the furnace, I would certainly run it to stay warm. I stayed at my mothers home many years using only an extension cord (rated at 20a) from a 15 amp plug on the garage light. We never had a problem. Keep the extension cord as short as possible as long cords will affect the voltage and can increase amperage draw in the process. The batteries power the furnace and the inverter/charger will replace the charge used by the furnace but it isn't a direct replacement. As the batteries are drained while the furnace is running, the charger will increase the charge but it replaces the battery charge over a longer period of time. You can watch it as it runs sometime to see what the draw is and how much it increases while the furnace is running. The charge stays up after the furnace stops running and will slowly decrease until the furnace kicks in again. I wouldn't run the generator in a residential area unless there was some kind of emergency. Your parents won't appreciate the noise and the neighbors certainly won't like it. Yes, even the quiet generators can be an irritation to those trying to sleep nearby. When temperatures get below freezing I like to open the cabinet doors under the sinks to allow heated air to circulate into those cabinets more easily. If temperatures get into the low 20's you should probably use some additional heat in the water pump/waste tank drains area just to be certain nothing freezes. A small heater or trouble light will provide enough heat but be careful that nothing flammable is near any source of heat. Black ice is a genuine concern once the temperature nears freezing. Bridges and overpasses freeze first, sometimes even before the air temperature drops below freezing. They may look wet but it could be ice. We had a couple that put their rig, a van pulling an Airstream trailer, wheels up in a field when they hit black ice. Yep, both vehicles were on their roof when the excitement stopped. Fortunately only a few bruises for the occupants but both vehicles were trashed. Take your time. It is a long trip from Brownsville to Oklahoma and there is no good way to get there without experiencing some traffic delays. It is a fact that Amarillo is closer to Bismark, North Dakota than it is to Brownsville!

I have several sizes of plastic wheel chocks (3 of them) that can be oriented in various positions. I used to have 3 of 4 dense foam blocks used to put a canoe on the roof of a car but I lost them somewhere along the way. I use lightweight PVC drain pipe which can support the hose. For the shorter runs, this can be overlapped to add rigidity. If I need more than three supports, or something taller than what I have, I'll improvise with other small items. I've used spare sewer fittings, the campground sewer cap, the ever popular rocks that accumulate in the area of the sewer, etc. Speaking of those rocks, I don't have to use them to keep the hose in the sewer, I use small bungees (the little bitty ones), one linked around the pipe and the hose, that makes the hose and pipe combination heavy enough to keep the hose from jetting out of the sewer. Of course if everything is right, the connection screws into the sewer so it won't pop loose but how many sewer pipes have good threads? By the way, I use multiple bungees to keep the pipe and sewer hose together even in a good wind. If the run is short I can even put one piece of pipe over the top of the sewer hose to completely enclose it.

It's not a web site, it's a book, Choosing your RV Home. We looked at something similar before we chose our home state when we went full time. Consider the cost a tiny amount considering what you stand to save when you go full time. The link in my post above is still active and has advice but not a state by state comparison. Everyone has different circumstances, sources of income, other considerations so it is a complex decision. Take your time, read and then make your decision. Everything is a compromise.

Maybe it is the two axles, cars, light trucks, RV's? That is the only similarity I can see. Even with three axles, two carry most of the weight and weight is what damages the roads. If you put enough tires under the load it is distributed so that no tire holds a huge weight. In Australia they run huge loads on their road trains but they have 20 to 24 tires under each trailer. 75,000 pounds divided by 24 tires is a lot less than the per-tire weight of my front axle! The out back roads we traveled with these monsters were some of the best roads we found. Very few potholes and broken surfaces. All heavy vehicles should be paying a higher fee for the road damage they cause. And, yes, that is me. In a fair world, the weight of the vehicle (per tire) would be multiplied by the miles traveled and this would be multiplied by a dollar amount to produce the highway tax on the vehicle. Most states just make a stab at it by assessing a higher tax on bigger vehicles. The simple truth is nobody every said that owning a motor home was going to be cheap!

When your generator shuts off there should be a series of flashes of the light on the start switch. The pattern of those flashes indicate the problem. There should be a listing of the fault codes in the back of your generator manual. The series of flashes are in two bursts, the first burst is likely three flashes and the second may vary. If you get three flashes a pause and then six flashes, that would be fault code 36. Your manual will tell you what a fault code 36 is. If you don't have your manual, get the code and then call Cummins for assistance. The link will take you to their service locator where you can find the nearest service center. Having the fault code will tell them what the problem is and they may be able to tell you what to try to correct it. Everything from low coolant, overheating, low oil pressure, voltage irregularities, etc. will have a code. I made a copy of the codes from the manual, laminated it and keep it in the side pocket by the drivers seat.

Our inverter is buried deep in the heart of the basement compartment, center coach. To get to it I have to unload the largest storage compartment and then slide doors aside to get into the compartment where the inverter resides. Once there, the little red button is right on the front. After I did this once, I tried using the awning hook to solve the problem. Sure enough, I can slide the doors with the hook and then by twisting it, the pivot point on the door and the hook on the red button, I can reset the inverter without doing all the work to get to it. Take that you nasty engineers (Xantrex) who couldn't put the reset button on the remote control panel above the entry steps inside my motor home! There must be a reason that the little red button has to be on the unit I suppose, but if that is the case then the inverter should be located in an easier to access location.

It's a really old post. Wouldn't it be great to hear how they are doing now? Hope all is well.

It's tough duty in the best of weather. The sacrifice of the honored dead of course is even greater. We are all thankful for their service, keeping America strong and free. Each generation takes a turn and our young people today are answering the call just as their parents and grandparents did. Don't forget all the others who are out in the storm and cold rendering assistance to others. There are firemen, police, National Guard, tow truck and wrecker drivers, power company workers, ambulance crews, hospital workers, and so many more on duty helping us all deal with this storm and hundreds of other events we have, hurricanes tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and more. They are our friends and neighbors, our children and grandchildren, all helping out those who are in need. Contribute what you can to help, money, time, thanks, everything helps. Thanks to them you all!

I just checked your information, you joined in April 14, 2011. Click on your picture (or silhouette) and you'll find your date of joining at the top of the information right under your handle! Isn't it amazing how time passes! It's a great forum with great people.

It is just a choice that you can make when you set up your blog. I'm glad to have comments on my blog and don't screen them. Others feel differently. It is meant to be a screening process, if comments aren't negative they should be cleared for posting unless the blog owner simply doesn't want any comments posted.

I had Cummins/Onan replace ours. It had about the same number of hours yours had. When they brought me the old belt, it had places that were in shreds. It was shot and would have broken within a very short period of time. As it was, I was amazed it was still working. The generator won't run without the water pump working so I'd have it replaced as soon as possible. It is possible to remove the cover and get to the 7.5 KW Onan Quiet Diesel. If you have reasonable mechanical ability you should be able to do it yourself. I'm sure you can order the belt from Onan if you can't get it from an auto store.

I share your feelings about floor plans. We have seating for six without using the dining table chairs, a nice pantry and some counter space. With one bath and a good size closet plus a coat closet, we found it very comfortable for full timing for seven years. We're still out on the road all summer long and this coach meets our needs. I haven't been looking at the newer coaches too closely. When we were looking before buying this coach we saw many coaches that were not really designed for eating meals on a regular basis. Small pantries, hardly any counter space. Many had outdoor TV's in the basement storage area so you could entertain, watch a game, outdoors. Quite a few have very little cabinet and storage space which makes the coach look much more open but isn't practical for full timing. Not everyone wants the same thing in a motor home. Some use their motor home for weekend trips and don't need a lot of storage. For some it is an ideal tailgating vehicle, impress your friends and live in comfort while you party before the game. You'll also find some today with built-in space for the quads. If they can sell them, they will keep building them. Keep looking, I'm betting you'll find something that fits your needs. If not, our 2004 is still a dependable coach. We parked it with 150,000 miles this fall. If you don't have to have the latest greatest thing, the one you have will last you a long time! Remodel if needed and keep her rolling.

One other favorite highway I forgot to mention, US 2 runs along the northern border from Duluth, MN, to Glacier National Park and beyond. Two lane and easy driving with only a few small but interesting towns along the way. We loved Duluth. North of Duluth there is Voyagers National Park. The park has interpreters that will help you understand the lives and times of the early fur traders and Great Lakes travelers. There is an RV park at the marina in Duluth right next to the "High Bridge." You can sit in your motor home and watch the lake freighters coming and going from Lake Superior into the port. We got a real kick out of seeing the Algowood pass under the High Bridge. Several years earlier we had watched her pass through the Eisenhower Locks. We followed her up the St. Lawrence Seaway and saw her several more times that year and then never saw her again until we were in Duluth. We were only there for a few days but there she was again. A walk across the bridge and you will find a nice array of restaurants and the Great Lakes Aquarium. The Fort Peck Dam in eastern MT is on the Missouri River and is the largest earthen dam in the US. There is a Corps of Engineers campground there but I'm not sure if it can accommodate large motor homes. US 2 also takes you by several US Air Bases. It's not uncommon to see some of the Air Force planes out practicing take-offs and landings as you travel near those bases.

So how did you find all this? Is this your home area or did you just take US 93 and go exploring. We love to do that and just wander along to see what is along the way. There are books that feature "off the beaten path" tour guides. I've used them occasionally. If you've got a favorite guide book, share it with us.

The forts were built in the early 1800's and they were building them to military specs. There was a plan and you followed it, no allowance for rain or snow or heat. I suspect that Lewis and Clark only had a hint of what the winter would bring when the chose the site for the fort and built it in that location. Traveling in the footsteps of the Corps of Discovery impressed me in many ways. The men were no strangers from hardship. They did things in the wilderness that I can't imagine any modern man attempting. Ferrying their large wooden canoes and their gear around the Great Falls of the Missouri River 20 miles though lands covered with cactus plants in thin leather moccasins had to be just one of the miserable experiences the Corps of Discovery experienced. These were hearty men and one woman with a baby who fought the elements to achieve their goal. What's a little water! As I'm writing the above, I was thinking there are so many things that could be mentioned. I agree, I'd definitely see the Badlands of South Dakota (but not in August), Mount Rushmore any day, Little Bighorn, all great stops. There is a Smokejumpers Base in Missoula, MT that I would recommend and Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho is fun for those of us who love exploring volcanic features. We've been criss-crossing the US and Canada since 2001 and there are still things we haven't seen. It's a great country and we're fortunate to be able to travel and see whatever we're able to in the time we have here on this earth.

I'm also in the take the toad camp! The hassle of moving for every little trip takes much of the joy out of having the motor home. Think about it, do you really want to take the entire motor home to town (some really small towns out west) for a grocery run? Sure you can plan ahead and pick up these things while on the road but eventually you'll run into a need for something and it will be pick up the motor home and take it to town for some silly little thing you need. If you had a medical emergency, do you hop in the car and run to the hospital or do you pack up the motor home, bring in the slides, disconnect the utilities and then go to the hospital? You could ask a neighbor to take you to the hospital, we did that one time, a woman and her mother, mom fell and she asked us to take her rather than driving their class C at night on unfamiliar roads. We put about as many miles on the toad as we do on the motor home in a typical summer of travel. What it costs in additional diesel to haul it along is more than offset by the convenience and the reduced cost of driving a smaller, high mileage vehicle (compared to the mileage of the motor home) for all those side trips on small roads and into parks with roads that are unsuitable for motor homes. Now about the trip. Leaving NY you are headed into PA, OH or KY. I'd stay to the north, you are leaving in late July. It will be hot across the west until you get to the mountains. I would guess that you have probably explored areas close to New York or at least have an idea where to start there. Here are some suggestions for things to see as you travel. These reflect our interests and may or may not appeal to you. If you love National Parks, buy a National Park Annual Pass at your first park if you don't already have one. If you are over 65 you can pay $10 for a pass for the rest of your life! When we did that I made a commitment to join the National Park Foundation which supports our national parks as a way to keep contributing to this wonderful resource we have. In 2004 we took at history trip following the route of Lewis and Clark across the country. That was the 200th anniversary of the beginning of their trip. It added an interesting theme to what would have been an enjoyable trip under any circumstances. There are guide books for such a trip. We picked up Along the Trail with Lewis and Clark at the visitors center in Clarksville, IN (across the river from Louisville, KY). Louise, my navigator and literary muse, read an entry from the diaries of Lewis and Clark that matched the area we were traveling. The route runs along the Missouri River into Montana and then over the mountains into Idaho and Washington. Along the way you can see a variety of other spots by making side trips. Yellowstone and Grand Tetons are great for hiking and sightseeing. Glacier National Park and Waterton Glacier International Peace Park are sisters across the border from each other. Both are worth a multi-day visit. You will need a passport to cross the border into Canada for Waterton Galcier Park. There are also restrictions on what materials, food, liquor, guns, etc. that you can bring across the border going in both directions. A toad is much easier to take across the border than a motor home but we have crossed the Canadian border with our motor home many times without any serious incident. Going west from the area of Glacier, the Lewis and Clark Tour follows a tributary of the Columbia River and then the Columbia River out to the Pacific Ocean. Stop and see Grand Coulee Dam and learn about the process that formed the Grand Coulee terrain. The Columbia River Gorge has some spectacular waterfalls along the southern shore of the river. There is a small road that leads from one to another. Basically all the falls are dropping from the slopes of Mt. Hood into the Columbia River Gorge. Follow the Columbia out to the coast to Ft. Clatsop National Park where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1805 before their return to the east coast. There are great sights along the Columbia River east of Portland. More than a few of the dams have tours, some better than others. There are fish ladders at some with windows where you can watch the salmon that are climbing the ladder to go upstream. Portland has some interesting old mansions to tour. Mt. St. Helens is just to the north and there are several visitors centers there as well as plenty of trails to allow you to explore the area around this most recent volcano to erupt in the US. Mt. Ranier National Park is larger and has great scenery and trails. We put off a visit to Olympic National Park and the Olympic Peninsula for many years because we felt it was just too far. When we finally got there, we had many great experiences traveling all around the peninsula. It is a temperate rain forest but during the summers and early fall there is very little rainfall. There are great bike trails along the northern end of the peninsula. The coastal highway, US 101 is a scenic route south from the Olympic Peninsula. We enjoy Astoria, OR which as a nice marine museum highlighting ship traffic along the coast and into and up the Columbia River. South of there is the Tillamook Dairy Cheese Factory which is a must stop for cheese lovers. There is even an RV park across US 101 from the factory and if you aren't ready to stop for the day, the parking lot is very large with plenty of room for RV's. Florence, OR is a quaint town with many interesting shops and stores. We can never pass through Florence without a stop at the Olive Shop. Louise loves their specialty olives. There is a huge sand dune field south of Florence. We've stayed at a campground on the fringe of the dune field and hiked in the dunes. You can also rent ATV's or take ATV rides with experienced drivers to see the dunes. The first time Louise walked over the top of the first dune she was completely stunned at the sight which is right out of the movies of the Sahara Desert. Sand as far as you can see. There are other stops along US 101, the Devils Thunder Hole, Devils Elbow State Park, lots of beaches and small state parks along the beach. There is Seal Rock and Seal Cave, the list goes on and on. Inland in Oregon, Crater Lake National Park is awesome. The lake has to be seen to be believed. There are trails, a boat ride, just scenic views driving all around this lake which is in the caldera of an ancient volcano. South of there Lava Beds National Monument has lava caves that you can explore and the history of volcanic activity in the area which leads back to Mount Lassen, Mount Shasta and others. In California there is a whole year of things to see from the Redwood Forest, both the state forest and the national park are worth a stop. Walking among the Redwoods is an experience that you will never forget. The same can be said for the Sequoia National Park. Yosemite never fails to amaze, waterfalls, sheer cliffs, beautiful country and great trails. Death Valley National Park sounds foreboding but a fall visit there would be well worth the stop. The stark scenery has its own beauty. Stop to see and tour Hoover Dam and everybody has to stop in Las Vegas once. There are parks in the downtown area that have you within walking distance of the "strip." They are parking places on a parking lot with full hookups but for a city residence, they work well. South into Arizona as the fall becomes colder there are desert parks like Saguaro National Park and Organ Pipe National Monument. In northern Arizona along I-40 you can see the Petrified Forest National Park and Meteor Crater. New Mexico has interesting sites near Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Taos has some great examples of pueblos that you can visit and learn about the native culture. Carlsbad Caverns National Park is a great place to visit any season. Stop to see the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City or visit the River Walk in San Antonio. Come see us in Edinburg, Texas and I can show you the border fence that some people seem to find such a panacea for our immigration problems. You can visit the NASA Manned Spaceflight Center in Houston. Visit the Texas Gulf Coast and follow it through Louisiana, New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. There are great beach parks all along the way. Another alternative would be to take the Natchez Trace Parkway, a great drive through the southeast along a trail followed by the early settlers in the area. If you time your trip right you can see the Natchez Pilgrimage which features some of the most amazing house tours you will ever take. The Natchez Trace ends in Louisville, KY, back where you started the Lewis and Clark tour. Along the Natchez Trace you will find the grave of Meriwether Lewis. Now there is no way to do justice to all of this so you just set out and pick what interests you. What you miss this trip you can stop to see on your next trip. Check in at each states welcome center or regional visitors center and pick up the brochures that interest you and travel on. We frequently set out to do or see one thing and find amazing things to see along the way. I never plan a trip in detail before I start, I'm always looking at the map and visitor center information to find the interesting things. I never plan RV park stops ahead unless we are headed into a high use or urban area and then only a few days in advance. I'm willing to settle wherever I can get the services I need. We don't stay in RV parks for the experience of the park, we're interested in the natural areas nearby, the parks, trails, volcanoes, beaches, trees, cactus, and so much more. We love the freedom the motor home gives us to live comfortably wherever we travel. Even if only traveling for a short period of time, wherever you go, you're home! If you are looking for luxury RV Parks there is a publication for Big Rigs that lists parks that cater only to the biggest of RV's. I'm happy if I'm near the place I want to spend time. We're frequently the most classy rig in the park. All I want is good electric, water and electric. I have everything else I need. We use RV Park Reviews to find our parks. Another useful source is an app for your phone, ALLSTAYS Camp and RV. They also have ALLSTAYS ONP Walmart which will help you find Walmart stores that allow overnight parking and also let you know those that don't allow overnight parking. We stay at Walmart on occasion when we can't find a park where we want. We do this mostly when we are traveling cross country but occasionally when we are touring we'll make an overnight stop at Walmart. For service I recommend that you find a regional facility for your engine like Cummins Coach Care, check your engine manufacturers web site for their facilities. Freightliner facilities are good for chassis service. Find a dealer for your brand motor home for any manufacturer installed items. The internet is your best friend when looking for service. If you let them know you are on the road, not able to leave the rig and go home, they will usually work with you to get you in and out quickly. Depending on the job, quickly may be a week. In that case, find out what is interesting and take the toad and go exploring while they work or wait for parts. Finally, if you prefer smaller roads, there are many like US 20 across the Great Plains and pick it up again in Oregon. There aren't a lot of tourist spots or National Parks along the way but it's a great trip through backroads America. It rivals US 50 across Nevada and Utah for the loneliest road in the US. Look at a map (computer, paper, gps, take your pick) and take the smaller road. There is an app for our Garmin GPS that lets us travel with confidence, Low Clearances POI works with many GPS units and has worked well so far to warn us when we are approaching roads with clearance that would stop our travel in the motor home. Louise likes a large print truckers atlas, expensive but really easy to read, which shows all the truck routes, also a way to ensure you are on road suitable for a large motor home. You can pick up an atlas at most any truck stop.

DakotaPost has taken over the FMCA mail forwarding function. They are a full service mail forwarding service offering services beyond mail handling to include vehicle registration and resident services for South Dakota. You can contact them and get their rates for short term mail handling. You could have your US mail forwarded to them but any magazines and other special mail would have to have the address changed for each magazine to their address as the post office won't forward those items. There is another company in South Dakota that we used for many years, MyHome Address, located in Emery, SD. It offers the same services as Dakota Post. Check their rates as well. It is a smaller company and may offer more personalized service. This is how it works with the mail forwarding services. The mailing service is set up to accumulate mail for a period of time and then forward it to you as a single package or envelope. We usually had our mail delivered once a week but you could change that depending on your needs. A priority mail envelope holds a good deal of mail and will reach you within two or three days of the time it is mailed from the mail forwarding facility. You will have to plan on this when selecting an address to have the mail forwarded to. If you are changing locations we always tried to have mail delivered near the new location when we arrived. That way we could pick it up on the way to the campground (yes in a 40' motor home - but we didn't drive into the PO parking lot) or if it hadn't arrived yet we could go back a check on it in a day or two. If you have mail sent to an area where you are and it is to arrive just before you leave, you will have a problem if it is late in arriving at the post office. Your choices will be to delay your departure or simply wait for the mail to be returned to the mail handling service and then forwarded again (at your expense). If you are going to be staying at a single location in Florida, the USPS service may work for you but if you are moving from one location to another during the six weeks the services listed above can forward to different addresses with an e-mail or phone call to give them the new address. Many campgrounds will not accept mail for residents. When full time we always had our mail sent General Delivery to the nearest small post office. You can check the USPS web site for nearby post offices, get their zip codes and confirm the services they offer include General Delivery mail. We liked the small post offices because they generally know when they have general delivery mail and can locate it quickly. They are also easier to get to and from than larger city post offices. Enjoy your winter respite from Chicago!

I replaced the belt on the generator (7.5 KW Onan) at 1028 hours - and it was in shreds in places, probably only a few hours from failure! I tend to take manufacturers recommendations as the maximum and try to schedule things before their limits. Until the Cummins Coach Care facility asked about the belt for the generator I didn't even know it had one. I'm so glad that they asked.

I think it is the Commemorative Air Force!