tbutler

For full timers, this is a constant challenge. Since we didn't have a home, we had to wash in parks where we stayed. Many parks don't permit washing but they will allow a bucket wash. When we are on the road I use a bucket, sponge and shammy to wash away the worst dirt. For the whole coach wash I use a long handled brush with hose attached, roof and sides. I've never used a commercial wash. I did visit a school car wash one time, after FMCA in Hutchinson, KS in 2002. We were pulled out of the mud. I had the kids wash the wheels and tires! They got a real kick out of tackling the muddy mess of the motor home! Not the usual charity car wash fare. On our way to and from and while in Alaska we found that many parks had wash facilities. Some were pay, others were "free," obviously included in the park fee. A few would allow washing on the campsite. The trip through Canada to Alaska was a very dirty trip to say the least. The year we went we were on wet roads frequently and washing was necessary most times we moved from one location to another.

We purchased a motor home from a Canadian couple in 2001. It was our first motor home and became our home as we full-timed. The motor home was a 1994 Monaco Dynasty and was manufactured in the US. As such, it was exported to Canada where it was sold to the original owner. Since it was manufactured in the US, we didn't have to pay any import taxes. We did however have to get a statement of compliance with US vehicle laws as of the date of manufacture from the manufacturer before we were able to get an import certificate. Most motor homes are manufactured in the US but if the motor home was manufactured in Canada or another foreign country, you will likely have to pay import fees. We could not register the Canadian title in the US without an import certificate. With many manufacturers out of business in recent years, that certificate of compliance may be difficult or impossible to obtain. I strongly suggest that you check with US Customs regarding requirements for importing the motor home you are thinking of purchasing. Assuming that the certificate of compliance with US laws is still required, you may want to contact the manufacturer and obtain that certificate. Once we had the compliance certificate, we filled out the import application and submitted it to Customs. There were no problems with Customs, it was a routine transaction. With the Import certificate in hand, we were able to get a US title issued and get our license plates. Although our motor home was manufactured in the US and complied with US standards, it did have a metric odometer/speedometer. The MPH numbers on the speedometer were too small to read easily so I created a MPH scale overlay for the speedometer. I also used a spreadsheet to keep track of the kilometers and do the conversion to miles. When we traded the coach for our present coach, it still had the metric odometer/speedometer. It also had daytime running lights which are required in Canada.

I'm in the camp that says the engine is way too expensive to tinker with the coolant, lubricant, etc. I take mine to the manufacturer and let them test and assess the coolant, filters, etc. Yes, it is expensive but the engine is way more expensive and I want it to last. If in doubt, change it out. Belts, filters, coolant, anything else is a minor expense compared to replacing the engine.

Spinning tires simply digs you in deeper! I've seen this in mud conditions. On sand one time we mired down, the front tires of the toad swung to the side and were at maximum deflection to the side, snowplowing through the sand. I stopped, got out and assessed the situation. I straightened the tires on the toad, put it in four wheel drive and pushed on the motorhome, still connected by the tow bar, while Louise put the motorhome in drive and accelerated. Once the wheels of the toad were straight and the motorhome was no longer towing the load of the toad, the motorhome was able to escape under it's own power. Other techniques that may work include putting somthing under (in front or in the direction of travel) the tires to improve traction, a door mat, fibre material such as plant materials and sticks, These coupled with excavating the material in front to the tires (all the tires, drive and steer) so the tires aren't in a hole may free you without a tow. There are other times when the tires are too deep in the ground to move without assistance from a tow vehcile. We backed into a site one time whre there had been some recent trenching. That coupled with rain made a trap for the rear wheels. We sunk in to the frame. Coach Net and a tow truck were the only solution. We were easily extricated once we had the assistance of a pull from the tow truck. I much prefer a tow truck operator to the inexperienced farmer with a tractor. With an expensive vehicle, there is no substitute for training and experience.

Or it could be a defect in the control board. These washer/dryers have a computer board that controls the unit. If it malfunctions the unit is dead. I've replaced the control board in our W/D twice. Checking to see if the power is working is just step one in troubleshooting. Call Customer Service or read your manual for step 2 and step 3... Westland Sales is the US distributor for Splendide. I don't know who you called when you say you called service. If it wasn't Westland Sales, give them a call and discuss the problem with them. Even if you called them before, call them back and let them know that the power is working. They'll talk you through the next steps in testing the unit. I've found them to be very helpful and knowledgeable. This is the web site if the link above doesn't work. http://www.splendide.com/index.htm

I don't have a Sani Con but do have a macerator and the connection sounds similar to what you have. 1. Use a drip pan to catch any spillage when you disconnect. Size it so it will contain the usual amount plus more. Dump the pan down the sewer drain and rinse before you put it away. 2. Use a rinse hose (garden hose) to flush the connecting hose while the macerator is still running. 3. Cap the hose with a cap with nubs to connect to the hooks on the hose (available at Camping World and other suppliers). That's what I do.

I too would highly recommend the Natchez Trace National Parkway. It's a nice trip back in time and leisurely travel to boot. The speed limit is 50 and there are no trucks. They post all the point of interest stops with signs to indicate if they have pull through driveways or if there is no turnaround so you have no doubt before you go in whether you'll be able to get out without unhooking the toad. Almost all of the stops have turn-around drives. In Natchez each spring and fall they have the Natchez Pilgrimage with many of the historic and interesting mansions open for tours. A few of these homes are open year-round. Guides in each home are dressed in period costume and the home owner is usually on site to greet you with a little history of the house before your tour. Across the river from Natchez in Vidalia, Louisiana, is a very nice RV Park, Riverview RV Park, just south of the Mississippi River bridge. It is a county park with full hookups. You can sit on the levee and watch the barges and riverboats go up and down river. After you take the Natchez Trace to Natchez, you could take the return trip along the coast. After some midwest heat you'll be ready for some beach time!

But having the RV in Hawaii would save you so much money. Think of the cost of hotels! The drive is usually under water but if you catch it in the right ice age you might be able to make it. And once you are in Hawaii how would you ever drive far enough to use a tank of diesel?

Once again, I will post the definitive source for RV Electric Supply answers. There are pictures (worth a thousand words), diagrams, wiring size tables, etc. This link even has a page for you to print and give to your electrician. This is especially important if your electrician is asking questions. The fact that he is asking questions is a really good sign. That's a smart electrician, keep his phone number on your list for any electrical problems! This is RV Electric. Bookmark it for future reference. Just for grins!

This is interesting. It has been 8 days since the original posting. We have with this comment, 20 comments with a nice variety of opinions and supporting ideas. We're having conversations among ourselves and nothing from RVPA, the original poster. We can thank him or her for starting a good conversation on the topic of dishwashers. Just wondering if he/she is reading any of this?

It is so much more than the question of where to park the dolly. When we started out we used a dolly to tow. It had surge brakes that applied when we slowed. Good idea, poorly installed. The flange which held the brake against the compression caused by the slowing of the coach broke. We had that repaired twice. We had a flat tire on the road in the middle of Kansas and could not find a replacement tire anywhere. I had to go to the nearest dealer for the tow dolly to get a tire and it was on a rim so now I had an extra rim (at extra expense). I figured I'd get a spare tire but now searching in the St. Louis area at major dealers I still could not find the correct tire size. That was it. I called the manufacturer and told them the whole story which included signs of failure in the arm. They agreed to replace the dolly. I returned it to the factory near Houston on my way south. I picked up the replacement brand new dolly and put it up for sale. It was gone in two weeks and I never looked back. It is just one more piece of equipment to cause problems. I heard a speaker who said one time, the more tires you own the more complicated your life is. I think that is true!

The site is working perfectly for me. I just used the reference in your posting and it connected right away. I visited the 30A page and the 50A page, finding no problems.

50A service should be 220/240V service. If wired correctly, it shouldn't damage the coach. Wiring diagrams and information for 30A and 50A are available at RV Electric If you are planning to do any wiring for an RV outlet, you should study the information on this site. Obviously this is true even if you are planning to hire an electrician to do the job. This isn't difficult but if your electrician makes one incorrect assumption real damage can occur. You would also be making a mistake if you simply ask an electrician to install a 50A outlet without mentioning that it is for an RV. I would print off specific information from the site for the electrician before they show up for the job. Then discuss the installation with them. Make sure they understand that the installation is for an RV. This is especially true for 30A RV's as 30A for an RV is never 220/240V. Once completed, test the outlet with a voltmeter or other test equipment before plugging anything into the outlet.

We traveled on our own, we took a month to get through BC and Yukon. We enjoyed the trip at our own pace. We left the lower 48 on Memorial Day and returned on Labor Day. Among our highlights were driving the toad from Dawson City to Inuvik, into the Arctic Circle and to the Arctic Ocean. We drove the Top of the World Highway and didn't find it that intimidating. We took a flight to Barrow, AK from Fairbanks and had a campsite looking out on Resurrection Bay at Seward. We enjoyed staying several days at Kennecott in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park. We stayed two weeks in Fairbanks and explored that area thoroughly, two weeks in Anchorage, a week in the Denali area and a week in the Kenai Peninsula. We spent a night on a parking lot at the toe of the Matanuska Glacier listening to the ice grind and pop. The next morning we walked onto the glacier and enjoyed looking at the various features (be careful, very careful). On our way south we stopped at Stewart/Hyder and enjoyed the bears dining on salmon. We saw the northern lights in Yukon as we were leaving in late August. There are so many things to see that it is hard to do justice to Alaska in the short time we were there. We had no damage to our coach or toad. We had a cover for the toad that covered the hood and windshield plus the Roadmaster Guardian to keep the rocks off the toad. We also got a bra for the coach. Both covers came from the Coastline Cover Company and we had them installed on site on our way north through California. Drive responsibly, don't get in a hurry. It is a long distance and if you don't allow plenty of time you will have to choose between sightseeing and just getting there. I would rent as mentioned above if you are worried about the trip. Our experience has me convinced to take our own coach next time. I like sleeping in my own bed and having all my stuff with me makes the trip like living in these places instead of being on vacation. How much stuff can you take with you on an airplane flight? You will want some warm weather clothes and plenty of cool to cold weather clothes, cameras, binoculars, hiking gear, fishing gear, who knows what else. BC and Yukon are a good part of the fun of the trip. You'll miss out on some great things to see if you don't see them on the way. Our next trip to Alaska is likely going to be 2016 and we plan to put the coach on the ferry to make stops on the inside passage as we go north. Then we'll drive the highway for the return trip home. This summer we have Newfoundland on our itinerary.

Our coach has HWH active leveling system. We love it. It has limitations but we find them generally easy to live with. You have to have a fairly level spot. You won't get the range of adjustment that you will with jacks. Because the front to back is a longer distance, the leveling in that direction is harder to do (a given change in height gives a smaller angle range) than the side to side leveling. A site with opposite corners at the highest and lowest elevation will be the most limiting. That said, we have seldom had a spot that we couldn't level out. Once the coach is level it goes into automatic mode and keeps the coach level with a small pump. You can hear the pump run but it doesn't run often or long unless you are near the extreme limit for the system. I met a man who had air leveling in his coach and he didn't like it because he could always feel his wife moving around the coach. I don't notice that much movement so that isn't a factor for us. I love the convenience of one button leveling, no jacks to worry about sinking into soft ground or asphalt and it maintains level without any input. The system has been reliable, Our coach is 11 years old and has 132,000 miles on it. We've traveled all over the US and Canada. The system has had a good workout and I've never needed to have it serviced.

If you are on the road traveling from one place to another, then the dishwasher might not be useful. If you tend to go to a destination and stay for weeks at a time, you wouldn't have to worry about the water usage and gray tank storage. It also depends on how much you use the kitchen. I've known people who never use their stove. They eat out all the time! They wouldn't need a dishwasher. Think about your individual habits. Do you use a dishwasher at home? Do you cook most of your meals on the road? You are getting a 43 foot coach, do you really need additional storage space or would you use the dishwasher? I see so many different ways that people travel, many assume everyone does the same things, goes to the same destinations, have the same needs. It simply isn't true. We are all different in our preferences. You can read the responses here but I think the answer has to be yours depending on your own needs and travel plans. We were full time for 10 years and still on the road. We've never had a dishwasher but we have had and couldn't stand to travel without a clothes washer/dryer. Who wants to sit in laundromats doing laundry all the time? Throw it in the machine and go somewhere for the day. Dishes would be the same. Washing dishes is busy work. There are better things to do. At least you don't have to go to a dishomat to do the dishes if you don't have a dishwasher!

You hit the nail on the head! I spent many years camping in state and national parks, canoeing down rivers and spending nights on gravel bars, backpacking into the mountains for long weekends. I miss it for the extended away from civilization time that it gave me. Clearly as I've gotten older I've become softer. Now my wilderness experiences are limited to day hikes. It isn't the same but at my age, it is appropriate. Besides I married a woman whose idea of roughing it is spending a night at the Holiday Inn. She was a really good sport during our four month long trip through New Zealand and Australia in what I could only call a camper. It was a really small Class C and we were living a whole lot simpler than in our 40 foot coach. Still, by definition we were RV'ers because we were in the vehicle every night and on the road almost every day.

I'm enjoying following along as you go. We hired this done on our coach, 3 days and we were on our way. I don't envy you having to do this all on your own. I think you will really enjoy the finished job and the really nice refrigerator.

We used a tow dolly for the first year on the road. Since then we have towed 4 wheels down. I never looked back. You might like it but I would never use a tow dolly again.

I've had several water pumps that did this. I had one factory rebuilt under warranty, it was leaking back into the freshwater tank and overflowing that tank again. I went back to the original pump that was installed in our motor home and no more problems. The leakers were Sureflo, big name, big advertising. I gave them a chance to fix it bit it still allowed backflow. So I'll never buy one again.

With a diesel, you will want a system which does not operate via inertia. The portable systems I am familiar with operate with an inertial switch. A system which senses the braking of the coach with a change in momentum will set off the toad brakes when the jake brake is applied. The toad brakes will be on during the whole time the engine brake is being applied. This can result in long periods of brake application and overheating of the brake pads and possible damage. A system which operates off the braking system of the coach, either electrical or physical is the best choice for diesels. I've been using the Brakemaster system since we first began towing. With almost 200,000 miles, I've had no problems with the system. Some people don't like the fact that you are tapping into the brake system but it makes the system very simple and it is proportional. Apply the service brakes hard and you get hard braking in the toad. A light application of brakes in the coach gives you a light application in the toad. Apply the engine brake and nothing happens in the toad until you apply the service brakes. Air from the coach braking system activates a pneumatic cylinder which depresses the brake pedal of the toad. Once installed, hooking up requires only the connection of an air hose from the coach to the toad. The pneumatic cylinder to depress the brake pedal is installed hooking it to a peg on the floor under the front seat and then attaching it to the brake pedal. An air hose from the pneumatic cylinder attaches to an air connection under the dash. There is an indicator light for the dash of the coach which is activated by a wire to the toad. This can be wired into the wiring harness that controls the lights on the toad when you are towing or can be run as a separate wire that accompanies the air line. Either way, hookup is very simple. The addition of a small cylinder for reserve pressure in the toad and a thin wire cable from coach to a switch on the toad adds a break-away system which will apply the brakes of the toad if it ever should separate from the coach. Your decision to put a braking system on the toad is a very wise decision.

We've been back at our winter residence for nearly two months now. When we were full timing the motor home was our residence. How different things are now. We moved into a mobile home (they call them manufactured homes when they sell them) in 2010. Manufactured is a better term. The home was mobile for about 500 miles but now that it is on its foundation, it likely won't be mobile again until it is hauled away in pieces. Anyway, it is a house and has all the joys and responsibilities of a house. Once the motor home is parked next to the house and its contents moved to the house we take care of cleaning the motor home and give it a good washing. Tires are covered, and tanks are drained and rinsed. Water lines are drained. The batteries are kept charged since we keep the motor home plugged in to a 50A outlet that I installed on the side of the house. The air conditioners are set at 80 until cold weather arrives and then I leave the furnace on 50 just to keep things from getting too stale in the motor home. I put the sun screens on for the winter, the slides are in and the awnings are stowed during cold weather. It rained today and I always go through the motor home after a rain just to be sure that everything remains nice and dry. If there is a leak I want to know about it as soon as possible. With the motor home sleeping next door my attention turns to the house. The lawn needs mowing frequently until the cold weather slows it down. Keep in mind we are in the southern tip of Texas, Our latitude is 26 degrees 24 minutes north of the Equator. Cold weather is 50 degrees. At 40 degrees the natives start wearing hooded coats and gloves! When the temperature drops near 30 degrees we are busy rescuing the Kemps Ridley Sea Turtles from the shallow waters of Laguna Madre, the inland waterway between the mainland and South Padre Island. Of course the other outdoor activity that demands attention is trimming the shrubbery which thanks to frequent rains all summer and fall have been growing like crazy. The Turks Cap in the back garden had branches almost touching the house. They stretched across an 8 foot patio between the house and the garden. We enjoyed watching groups of Kiskadees, bright yellow tropical flycatchers, picking the red berries from the Turks Cap so it didn't get trimmed until almost all the berries were gone. I'm still waiting for the last of the butterflies to drift on south so I can trim the Blue Mistflowers in the front yard. Both these plants are native to this area and provide a natural source of food for the animals that live and migrate through here. The mistflowers frequently have 40 to 50 butterflies on them and when I walk by I am in a cloud of Queens, an orange and black butterfly in the Monarch family of butterflies. The Turks Cap attracts the Sulfurs, the medium size yellow butterflies. So we have the Monarchs in the front yard and Sulfurs in the back yard. Having a garden and shrubbery really does have some advantages. Indoors we are still settling into our digs. We have a two bedroom mobile and the second bedroom has been a catch-all since we moved in. My "office" was a built in desk in the kitchen. Now I don't keep the neatest desk so when we entertained I would have to gather up all my detritus and find a home for it. Plus, working from a small desk was challenging when working on a big project. So I spent several weeks looking at office furniture before selecting something suitable for the space. Now this isn't real furniture, it comes broken down in a box so I get to build it, reading instructions, putting screw A into hole AA and tightening it by hand so it won't strip in the stuff they call wood. With that all done I have moved my operation to the office. Now I know that you are thinking, "This dude is retired, what is all this talk of work?" If you are thinking that you haven't retired yet. I don't know many retired people who don't manage to fill their lives with something that resembles work. It really isn't work because we aren't getting paid for it and we don't have to all that much but somehow we just have to keep busy at something. See, here I am blogging. I know retirees who are making quilts as if the whole world will end if they don't get 20 quilts done this year! My own mother sowed clothing for charities and did quilting for the church well into her late 80's. My father did the yard work at the church until he could no longer physically manage to do that. He delivered meals on wheels and did odd jobs for any number of people around town. My parents never really quit living and I guess I won't either. My major activity is the Texas Master Naturalist Program. This is a program that trains and certifies volunteers to work with various agencies, parks, recreation facilities and natural areas. As a retired teacher I chose to apply may talents to the training program. This time of year I'm deep into getting the next training session under way. We have orientation on January 14 and after that, 10 weeks of classes and field trips. So yes, I'm working. After three years of settling, the dirt under the patio (mentioned above) had settled and walking across the patio was reminding me of trying to walk on a cruise ship in rough seas. So I spent several weeks during the summer re-leveling the tiles. All this was done after our trip to New Zealand, Australia and Fiji Cruise, and before we left on our late summer and fall motor home trip to visit our children and grandchildren. I was able to get everything leveled except the tiles under the air conditioner. So two weeks ago I had a local heating and cooling company come out and re-set the air conditioner after I moved it off to the side and re-leveled those tiles. Our park, Sandpipers Resort, is in a rural area. Across the fence behind our mobile home is a 40 acre field which has one of the large rotating irrigation systems. The field is actively farmed. This fall the entire field was plowed and left bare, ready for planting in early spring (February). All the mice that lived in the field are homeless. Just across the fence are all these nice mobile homes. We and all our neighbors have enjoyed hosting many of our furry friends as the colder weather drives them inside. I remarked to Louise last week that the stove and refrigerator have traveled more miles this winter than the motor home. We've managed to dispense with four of them and for now that seems to be the total of our guests. This is a new experience for us, we've not had problems in the past but the field has never been fallow during the winter before. I moved the dishwasher to check for mice and found an entry where there was a half inch diameter hole for the power cord. It was unsealed so I fixed that. The dishwasher is a factory installed unit. It makes about as much noise as the diesel engine in the motor home. The layout of our mobile home is such that the kitchen and living room are one room separated by a counter which houses the dishwasher. So when the dishwasher is running it really makes the living room unlivable. The cabinet for the dishwasher has one eighth inch thick walls made of paneling which are as soundproof as the skin on the head of a drum. I lined the cabinet with Styrofoam. The dishwasher is still too loud for my tastes so I ordered a real quiet dishwasher. I told Louise it was a Christmas present for me! I'll install that after we pick it up at Sears this weekend. We had ceiling fans installed in the living room and the master bedroom. The one in the living room had developed a squeak so I took it down and replaced with a new Hunter fan that has a remote control. The manufacturer installed fan is now in the second bedroom which is now the office. Whatever I did when I took it down and re-installed it has taken care of the squeak, at least for now. There is a door from the kitchen out to the front porch. It looks like a double door but one half doesn't open. The door knob is round and I'm finding that round things are getting harder and harder for me to get a good grip and turn. Am I loosing my grip? I guess so. Anyway, I went to Lowe's and picked out a door entry set that has a lever instead of a round knob. I had done that with the pantry closet in the kitchen earlier and love how convenient is is. So now I have new door hardware for the entire house. One by one I'm replacing the round knobs. When that is done I'm going to be after the knob on the shower! It's a round knob and really fun to turn with soapy hands. Louise got me a Gramin Vivofit for Christmas. It is a wearable band that keeps track of my walking and sleeping and other things as well. Right now it has a red line on it. If I sit too long the line gets longer and longer. It is telling me that I need to get up and walk around. When I walk enough, the red line goes away. The Vivofit interfaces with the computer so I can download my activity and see it displayed on the computer. It only took me three hours Christmas afternoon to get the thing to talk to the computer. It came with a single 2 x 3 inch piece of paper that had a picture of the Vivofit and a Computer with an arrow from the first to the second with the word Sync. It made perfect sense to me. Apparently the computer wasn't in the mood to work with something else. There was no instruction to download and install a program. Once that was done I found out that I needed to turn off the Bluetooth feature on any devices like my iPhone and iPad. Anyway, times up, I've got to run (or walk) to get rid of this red line. I'll be back with more next year!

We had a similar problem. We couldn't get hot water at times, other times it would work. There is a check valve in the hot water heater where the cold water enters the heater. It allows cold water in and hot water is kept from circulating back out. Our valve had plastic parts and the lifetime of the parts wasn't too long. The first stop to fix it the tech couldn't get the valve to unscrew from the tank so we had them just remove the broken piece which was blocking the water flow into the tank. That solved the problem and I never noticed any problem with the check valve out of commission. I don't winterize and I believe that is one reason that the check valve is there. The bypass valve would feed antifreeze into the water heater when winterizing without the check valve. It is industry standard to use this system and when that valve fails, it can block the water flow. Ours was intermittent but it could also be continuous I suppose. We had some other plumbing done since then and the check valve was replaced but I made sure that the new one was brass.

Everything is relative. What I call good road and what you call good road may differ greatly. That said here are routes that we travel frequently. From Phoenix, US 60 to US 93 then onto I-40 Westbound to Kingman where you pick up US 93 again. That takes you on to the bridge over the Colorado River at Hoover Dam, a spectacular sight that makes the route worthwhile, and then into Vegas either on the Boulder Highway or I-515. There are some long grades on US 93 but it is the direct route and I've had no problem with them. Traffic is generally not too busy once your are out of Phoenix until you get near Las Vegas. US 93 is designated the Joshua Tree National Parkway for a good distance north of Phoenix and there are also Saguaro cactus along this route. This has become our route of choice traveling between our grandchildren in Northern California and Rio Grande Valley of Texas. I've traveled US 285 from Ft. Stockton to Carlsbad, NM many times. It certainly isn't interstate but I can't recall anything that I consider to be terrible road. It is one of the routes that we travel going to/from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas to Louise's family in the Denver area.