tbutler

If all else fails, pick the smallest window you can fit through and break it out. You will need tools to disassemble the door from the inside. It sounds as if you are correct, a connection to the lock mechanism has broken or become loose. Either way, you will need to disassemble the door from the inside. A locksmith might help but if the mechanism is broken, I'd be surprised if a locksmith could get you in without breaking a window.

I recently had an encounter with the corner of a slide-out. Visit to the urgent care center and a nice scar on my forehead. Previous slash from a lift storage compartment door. I'm looking for a rubber rocker panel cover. Reverting to my childhood!

We had this check valve problem. The factory installed a plastic check valve in the hot water heater outlet. DUH! When ours broke, the broken piece would periodically completely or partially block the outlet so we would get a little hot water and then none, back and forth. We couldn't get the valve out of the water heater but were able to get the obstruction out. That "fixed" it. Apparently this valve is required by the RVIA code. I think it is primarily there to prevent back flow into the hot water heater when using the bypass valve when winterizing the coach. When we finally did replace the water heater, I made sure they put in a brass check valve. These are standard items at RV supply stores. Should be no problem finding one.

I think of it as a matter of convenience. We have DirecTV in the coach and at home. We know what channels are available, where to find them. Once we are set up and the satellite connection is made, we have the same service we always have. No time finding the OTA channels and then figuring out what the programming schedule is for any particular program we want to watch. We looked at the streaming offerings while at Indy 2017 but just couldn't see it as a viable option. When it happens we get parked under a tree, it is a temporary situation and we'll use cable or OTA but it is definitely the desert as far as our TV is concerned. We also appreciate the time shifting that can be done. We have both east and west coast network channels so as we travel we can adjust our viewing for the local time. Finally, as we travel, we frequently stop at a rest area for the night or just for lunch. On numerous occasions we have checked the weather via the Weather Channel during these stops to determine future route or travel schedule to avoid bad weather. Having good TV service available no matter where we are located has proven to be a valuable asset.

As the news of Harvey begins to fade from the news, the next major disaster looms just off the southeast coast of the US. A hurricane that looks like a buzz saw in the satellite movie clips is making its way toward Florida. There are other states that may be the location of landfall, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi are all in the cone of uncertainty. So as I write I'm using Florida but this applies to many other states as well. The damage this hurricane causes could easily surpass Harvey, Andrew, Katrina and all previous hurricanes in recorded history. Each storm was different, none was good. If you own an RV, you are ideally prepared to evacuate. I can't imagine not doing so. There is nothing you can do to save your sticks and bricks house. If you are in it when it floods or is destroyed by wind, you are risking your life for no good reason. You are risking not only your life, those who may have to come rescue you are at risk as well. If you live in Florida, you likely have a good understanding of hurricanes. If you don't live there, you should be gone by now. For those not familiar with hurricanes, Irma is a monster. Wind speeds of over 180 MPH have been registered by the Hurricane Hunters. Wind gusts over 200 MPH have also been measured. Those are unencumbered wind speeds, taken over the open ocean, there is nothing to slow the wind. As Irma approaches land, wind speeds at the surface will be less, but not much less. But the wind speed isn't just wind. The wind carries debris. We're not talking about lawn chairs, we're talking about pieces of houses, 2x4's, roof shingles, broken glass, street signs, entire roofs of buildings, sheets of metal stripped off metal buildings and so much more. The faster the wind speeds, the more debris and the larger the pieces. When any of these objects impact your home at 100 MPH, it will cause damage. Buildings that are sturdy buildings sustain horrible damage during hurricanes. You don't want to be in the building when that happens. Flooding due to rain, storm surge and runoff in ditches and streams will be severe over a wide area. This storm covers a huge area, states other than Florida will almost certainly experience heavy rain and flooding. If your home is flooded and you stayed in it, now you are living in misery. The water is not pristine, it carries bacteria, chemicals, mud, insects, and more. There is no normal once water enters you home. The rainfall almost certainly will not be what Harvey brought. Unlike Harvey, Irma is in a hurry. It will be hit and run. Like any hit and run, you won't believe how much damage can happen in a short period of time. Following the storm, even if your home sustains no damage, life will be very difficult. There will be no electric service for many days, weeks or perhaps even months. There will be no air conditioning or fans. Supplies like water, groceries, fuel, batteries, toilet paper will all be in limited supply. Mosquitoes and other insects will swarm over the debris. An alligator was removed from one of the homes in Houston, Florida will likely see the same. If you are able to leave, do so. Do so now. You can return following the storm and be a helpful volunteer resource instead of being a victim. Don't wait for officials to order evacuation. Get ahead of the game, hit the road. Public officials have to balance many factors before ordering evacuation. You as an individual have only your own personal safety and your life to consider. Maybe Irma won't hit where you live. Why take a chance? Waiting will only make evacuation slower and more difficult. If the storm misses, you will have had a trip to remember. We are all rooting for a miss but everyone is planning on being hit. Hope for the best, plan for the worst. Good luck to those in Florida and along the East Coast.

There was a long discussion of this several years ago. After reading that, there are several other discussions you may want to read. Use the search function above and put in Montana. You will get several other discussions that you may want to look at. Most of these relate to cautions and unhappy stories. Lot's of people do it, probably most get by with it. I wouldn't want to be looking over my shoulder worrying about getting caught. Sleeping well at night is worth a whole bunch of money.

Herman, What a difference one "O" can make!

There is a real difference between a destination RV park and your run-of-the-mill short stop park. Like rossboyer, our park offers a variety of activities, in the park, that are quite attractive if they fit your interests. In addition, you get to know the rest of the people in the campground, they become a second family for you. Some great friendships from all over the US and Canada.

It could be a faulty sensor. We had an overheat code but the temperature sensor was at fault. It was replaced and worked fine.

The 7.5 KW Onan Generator will shut down for any of a number of reasons. This is to protect the generator. As jleamont said, look at the blinking light on the on/off switch on the dash or on the generator. If it is blinking it is giving you an error code. To interpret that code you need the operators manual. If you don't have it handy or can't find one, you can get it on-line. Here is a link to help you understand and operate your generator. It doesn't have the error code information. To get to the owners manuals on-line, you have to register with Cummins Quick Serv. If you call Cummins you can discuss the problem with them. (800) 888–6626 They can talk you through reading the error codes. Be at the gen set when you call.

Rather than turning off the inverter at the rotary switch which would I believe cut off all power to that circuit, there most likely is a switch on the inverter or a way to turn off the inverter in the operation menu on the inverter control panel. Turning off the inverter on the control panel would be the most likely way to get battery charging while having the inverter off.

If you have the standard Splendide washer/dryer combo, their website indicates that it operates on a 15A 120V circuit. Ours has a 20A breaker on that circuit. Either way, you should be able to operate that unit when on 30A shore power. If you have a different washer/dryer, you can look in your manual as Chris says or check the circuit breaker in your 120V power panel. You can also look up the model you have on the dryer manufacturers web site.

I agree, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) completely escaped any damage, no wind, no rain, no flooding. None of the storm water goes to the Rio Grande River. All those rivers drain back into the Gulf of Mexico. There may be some people relocated to the RGV but there are plenty of RV parks in the valley and most have had empty spaces during the winter. Generally FEMA relocates people close to their home and job. Corpus Christi is three hours travel time from the RGV and that is the closest area that sustained severe damage.

Every RV'er should have a good understanding of electricity and the various kinds of connections you will be making with your coach. My favorite reference is RV Electric. This is a complete reference that covers the basics of 20A, 30A and 50A wiring, how it works, how you test it, what problems may occur, even how to wire an outlet for your RV at your home. There are also instructions with labeled pictures to show you how to build your own test equipment for 30A and 50A outlets. If you don't have a good understanding of the electric power supply then you absolutely must have a surge guard to protect your RV. The potential damage that can be done with a mis-wired outlet can be very expensive. If it only catches one bad power post in your RV'ing experience, the surge guard will have paid for itself. As WildBill says, current can fluctuate faster than you can detect. A surge guard will protect you from current changes that you can't detect with an ordinary tester.

If you have jumper cables, you can jump the car to the house batteries to start the generator. + to +, - to - just like jumping another car. Both systems are 12V. The car has plenty of power to crank the generator. Once started, the generator shouldn't need battery power to continue operation.

Our hearts go out to all who are caught in the midst of this disaster. The pictures are horrible and the personal pain is unimaginable. Be well, and carry on.

I posted a few pictures from our expedition. Check out my blog here on FMCA.com

Haven't been there but have nothing but good experiences with Cummins Corporate Shops. There is one at 3025 North Home Street, Mishawaka, IN 46545, 574-252-2154. Seeing that it's near Elkhart and Elkhart is RV Central and has been for years, I'm certain they would do a fine job on your coach. By the way, exhaust manifolds must be a problem with the 400 ISL. We are on our third replacement.

Ouch! Hate to hear bad news like that. We'll hope for the best for you.

The Junior Play when I was in high school was Harvey. My best friend played the lead role, Elwood P. Dowd. Elwood, a grown man, had an imaginary friend, Harvey. Harvey was a rabbit, a six foot tall rabbit, according to Elwood. I had a minor part, acting was never my thing. Anyway, these days there is another Harvey and it isn't a rabbit. Harvey is dumping a huge quantity of rain on the upper Gulf Coast of Texas and now Louisiana. A stalled storm can unload a huge amount of water on any given spot. Think of it as a conveyor belt, picking up water from the warm water in the Gulf of Mexico and carrying it to the coast of Texas where it deposits it, continuously, in huge quantities. Several years ago we had a single thunderstorm that sat right on top of our RV Park in Texas, Sandpipers Resort. I can say that the thunderstorm sat there for one hour because I looked at the radar record as and after the storm was over. In one hour this thunderstorm dropped 5+ inches of rain on our park. The low spot in the park became a lake, we dubbed it Lake Sandpiper. Our mobile home was on the northern edge of Lake Sandpiper. Fortunately for us, 5 inches wasn't enough to do any damage but a few other homes sustained some minor damage. Lake Sandpiper, having no drainage outlet other than a 2" pump, persisted for a week. That was but a single thunderstorm. I used to live in a rural area in Missouri. We had a thunderstorm that dropped 11 inches of rain in one hour. It was an amazing to watch the water come down in such a torrent. Immediately, the local river became a rolling current, filling it's banks and then spilling over into adjacent agricultural fields. Tiny creeks became impassible, low areas flooded and became stagnant for weeks. Crops died from excess water, people were delayed on their way home but no one died and the area recovered almost without any concern or help being necessary. Harvey is a different matter. Harvey is a succession of such storms. And the storms aren't falling on an agricultural area, not even a hilly area, Houston and many of the other towns along the Gulf Coast are on the coastal plain, a wide flat area along the coast of Texas that extends from Louisiana all the way to Mexico. Drainage is slow in flat areas particularly when they are only a few feet above sea level. Add to that the fact that much of the Houston area is covered with pavement which doesn't absorb water but sheds it into nearby ditches. Pavement isn't the only impermeable area, homes themselves have roofs which are by design impermeable. Who would buy a leaky roof? So lawns and parks are the primary areas that absorb water when it rains. Urban areas are particularly prone to flooding. I can recall a visit to Houston many years ago, on our way from Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio to Fort Bragg, NC. We were visiting some relatives that lived there. During our visit a short thunderstorm passed over the area. Upon leaving, we saw significant street flooding. Nothing that prevented our travel but we drove through six inches of water in places. So Houston and it's surroundings are prone to flooding and Harvey is the perfect storm for the area. I'm not ignoring other towns, many towns further south along the shore took the brunt of the winds of Harvey. There have been many clips on the news showing the destroyed buildings. Some towns are nearly completely leveled. Fortunately the death toll in those towns is amazing low. Within Houston, the disaster is multiplied by millions of lives. A city has problems that no other area has. The density of population multiplies the inconvenience, loss of life, financial loss by millions. Ability to move the population, evacuate the area, is highly limited by the sheer numbers that are involved. The after-effects of this storm are going to be sobering. Katrina and now Harvey have inflicted huge losses and pain on populations in large cities. Anyone involved in disaster planning for large population areas should be alarmed and should be working to re-evaluate their disaster plans. Metropolitan planning needs to account for population density and evacuation routes and plans need to be studied and improved. We can do better if we will learn from the past and present. Our home in Edinburg, Texas was spared. Harvey hit land far enough north that people staying in our park sent messages via Facebook and other communication letting us know through pictures of sunrises and sunsets and words advising us of no wind, no rain, that all was well in Sandpipers. In fact, announcements about RV Parks recently have focused on a very few that are taking storm refugees. I can't imagine a park that wouldn't take refugees from Harvey if space were available. In the RGV there are about 80 parks that will accommodate thousands of RV's during the winter. Those parks are largely empty right now and could provide a place for RV refugees to stay. If you are looking for a place to go with your RV to get out of the way of the clean-up, call any of the parks in the RGV. With luck you may even get a site that might last through the winter. There is no doubt that complete recovery will take years. Tonight I sit in a safe and secure place but I can imagine the intense concern and dread of those in the Houston area. It's called empathy, a normal human emotion. Don't fight it, consider your life and what you would feel if you lived in the Houston or central coastal area of Texas or Louisiana tonight. Our thoughts are with those in the grip of the storm tonight and into the future. "Lake Sandpiper" April 10, 2015

The fact that the fuse burns out immediately means that you have some kind of short in the system. It could be a wire worn through or a loose wire. It's a 30A fuse so that means a good size wire. I'd start by trying to identify the circuit that the fuse protects and then try to follow that wiring from the part in the circuit back to the fuse. I'd try Monaco again, I've always had excellent service from them. You may have caught someone at a busy time and they lost information to contact you again. Have your coach number (last 6 digits of your vehicle serial number - not the VIN) handy when you call.

Borrow a Dyson and vacuum with it, then tell me it does a good job. We have a compact (fold down handle) Dyson. The first time Louise used it she said, " Where did all that dirt come from?" We have carpet. The built in may work OK on tile or hardwood floors.

We have the standard 4 x 6V battery set-up. They are AGM batteries and on their fourth summer. I'm suspecting they are nearing replacement. They used to run the furnace all night and the refrigerator as well without a problem so I'm seeing some reduced performance. I'll keep an eye on them. We don't do the off-the-grid thing that often so I don't worry about the defrost. In fact, I get a certain amount of pleasure not having to do the dig-into-the-ice thing like I used to do with the Nocold.

The RGV escaped without wind or rain. All the resorts from South Padre Island to Brownsville, Harlingen, Weslaco, San Juan, Pharr, McAllen, Mission and Edinburg, etc., all good, not a problem. Come on down.

I have the decal on the "eyebrow" on our motor home. You can get any color. I put these on in 2013. I found a vendor, Simply Etched Stickers, at the FMCA Gillette Convention. They are easy to put on the coach and mine still look great. I didn't want to drill holes for the FMCA plaque for the front of the coach so I put these on. The link above has a photo of a coach with their stickers (decals) on the "eyebrow" (above the windshield) of the example coach. I have the regular FMCA oval (mine are the earlier design with raised letters) on the rear ladder as is traditional. The raised letters are loosing their ink. When we go to Gillette next year, I'll look for this company and may order one for the rear of the coach and get rid of the physical plaques entirely. In 2013 they did this on site. I paid and left the information one day and picked up the finished product the next day. Highly recommend their work.