tbutler

Before we set out for Alaska in 2006 we called Coastline Cover Company and made an appointment to bring our motor home to their facility. They hooked us up to electric and we spent the night. The next morning they went to work and by late afternoon we had a bra for our motor home and our toad. They gave us excellent service and we have a very good set of bras for our vehicles.

Thanks for the great overview of your European explorations. There are some great ideas here that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. I hope you'll expand some of this in the future, giving more details - a little at a time as time allows.

If you haven't already found this, check the FORUM topics under Administration-Forum Support. There are a number of topics on handling photos on the web site including How to Insert Pictures. You can search for information on any topic using the Search function on the second menu line at the top of this page (and others) next to the Help button. I knew that the photo information was under the Forum Support section so just went there. You have to go to the second page of topics and look near the bottom (older topics) for a whole series of them in succession. If you don't find the help you need there, post your question in that section and you'll get the help you need. I don't see your BLOG yet so guess it must be in draft format so far. Looking forward to reading it when it is ready.

We had seams separate and tears in our slide toppers and took them to American Awning in Wheat Ridge, CO several years ago. They reinforced the seams and resewed them per my specifications. I was very happy with the result. Any awning company should be able to do the job for you. If these are seams that are exposed when you are driving, I suggest that you have them reinforced. I had a layer of fabric folded over the area that was exposed to the wind when driving and then had the seams resewed over this so now there are actually three layers with the outer layers being much wider than the original seam. Since I had this done only in the area that was exposed when driving, it doesn't wrap around the roller when the awning is retracted and the extra layers cause no problem with their additional thickness.

Pick any one year of our travels and that year is more than worth all the money we have spent on our motor home. We spent one whole summer in Alaska, (including British Columbia, Yukon, NW Territories). Another summer we traced the route of Lewis and Clark across country. We lived near Kitty Hawk, NC in December 2003 and celebrated the 100th anniversary of flight. I've gone snorkeling in the Pacific Ocean, sky diving in Reno, NV and taken gliding lessons and received my license to fly gliders in Boulder, CO. Louise went paragliding in Alaska! We've hiked up volcanoes, through canyons and over glaciers. We've ridden our bicycles through Death Valley, along trails where Lewis and Clark traveled, past moose and elk, and explored whole islands on bicycle. Along the way, we've met some of the most interesting and friendly people who walk this Earth. Everyone who owns a motor home has a story to tell. Not everyone expresses it in writing but start a conversation and you'll learn a lot about how exciting it is to live and travel in a motor home. We have a whole "family" of friends we've met on the road that we visit when we are in their neighborhood. Our motor home has allowed us to "live" almost everywhere in the US and Canada. We have had time to spend with family when and where needed. We've been there to assist our children when they became new parents and shared trips with all our grandchildren. We've touched base with distant relatives we hadn't seen during our working years. I don't have a lot of dollars in a bank somewhere but I have a million memories that are priceless! Now, where are my keys? Let's get this rig rolling again!

Can't help you much with Ontario but when you finish getting them straightened out, come to Texas and help them write a coherent sentence which clearly states their requirements! If you need a little something to make you laugh, read this discussion... License Required for Motor Home Over 26,000 Pounds

Well Bald Eagle it sounds as if you have some interesting stories and experiences to share. I'd be especially interested in hearing of your RV travels in Europe. My wife and I were just discussing our interest in traveling there but can't afford to do it any way other than via RV - not for the length of time we would want to stay to explore. Perhaps you could elaborate on your experiences here in the Forum and also share some of your stories in the Blog section of this web site. Welcome to FMCA!

Camping World has 15' and 30' cords in 50 amp size. Watch for sales, I think I paid something less than $100 for the 15 foot cord when I bought it on sale. The 30 foot cord was $129 on sale as I recall. Check them for current prices. With this combination I can use as short an extension as possible but also have a total of 45 feet of extension.

We have been Winter Texans for the last 10 years and are currently in Edinburg, Texas, just 25 miles or so from the border. We wouldn't be anywhere else right now. It's a cool day here, the temperature is 60 degrees with cloudy skies. I can hear a lawn mower cutting grass somewhere in the park. We have flowers blooming in our garden. Regarding the violence in Mexico, we remain unaffected by it. Some of it occasionally spills over onto our side of the border in the form of drug runners who are fleeing police. There is some crime here that may be related to that across the border but the Cartel violence is not here. We have friends who had their pick-up truck stolen off the local grocery store parking lot several years ago. It was recovered at the border crossing so it was headed to Mexico if it hadn't been stopped (the driver didn't have the fee for taking a pick-up across the International Bridge). That is the only negative personal story related to Mexico that I can relate. Our friends return to our park every year so their experience hasn't deterred them. Do we go to Mexico? Not this year. There is one small community on the border which is a Winter Texan haunt which we will visit during the day. The community of Progresso, MX is a concentration of pharmacies, bars, markets with inexpensive goods and restaurants. On a typical day the street is full of 60+ year old Americans and Canadians shopping for a cheap haircut, a year's supply of medicines at bargain prices, dental work at rock bottom prices, maybe some cheap liquor, etc. We park our cars on the US side of the border and walk across the bridge into Progresso. We would still go to this community but will not take any trips to other communities. Starting several years ago there has been a visible presence by the Mexican military in Progresso. They have a security patrol at the International Bridge as part of their Border and Customs facility. That includes soldiers patrolling with military weapons and a machine gun post in the middle of the approach to the bridge. Their presence could make you uncomfortable but I feel it is a good sign. So far Progresso remains free of the violence which is occurring elsewhere. In the past we have led groups on daytime bicycle tours to numerous Mexican towns near the border. Again, we park on the US side of the border and then ride bicycles across the bridge into Mexico. In one case we take a hand pulled ferry across the border into Mexico. We miss taking these trips and visiting the Mexican people who are always so friendly to us. We simply won't risk our lives until the violence in Mexico subsides. We have just moved to Edinburg and this will be our home address for the foreseeable future. We will continue to travel during the summers but are now Texas residents, living right on the border. It's a great place to live. And... we also play golf, lots of beautiful green courses with fees in the $30 to $40 range for 18 holes with a cart! Come enjoy.

And Flying J isn't necessarily the best price. We get propane delivered to the park where we are staying and the propane delivery to our motor home parked in our site is about 50 cents a gallon cheaper that the Flying J that is located about three miles from where we stay. As Brett says though, checking their propane prices is a good idea as you can see what is being charged in different locations. Sometimes when you are on the road you can choose where to fill up and save yourself considerable dough!

We were able to find parks, National, Provincial and private with pull through spaces for our complete rig (65' hitched up). In Canada-speak they have three way hook-ups, not full hook-ups. As Ward indicated above, the electric is generally 30A but the weather usually doesn't require more than one air conditioner and then only for a short time during midday.

Sounds like a routine for Robin Williams in RV2! Or maybe we'll call it 2RV or not 2RV?

Welcome to FMCA and the Forum, Thanks for the well written detailed account of your encounter with Dream RV. I'm sure your posting will alert others to their attitude about negotiation. At the very least, anyone purchasing a large item like an RV should check the BBB for any complaints against the company selling the product. If we all did that, dealers such as Dream RV would be out of business or change their ways. You have done a service for us all.

If you want some help here from people who are serious about their food, check out Roadfood.com. They have a database of restaurants with ratings by individuals/members. You can search the site by kind of restaurant or by state, etc. Their motto is: "The most memorable local eateries along the highways and back roads of America." Sounds like our kind of spots!

I have a friend who takes us to many interesting BBQ restaurants here in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. He says the thing to look for is corrugated roofing used as decor in the interior of the restaurant! We find that a pretty good guide for Texas. I contend there is great BBQ to be had most everywhere if you don't define BBQ by some very narrow artificial standard. Kansas City, MO has many fine BBQ restaurants. Memphis has already been mentioned. A favorite of ours for many years was Johnny's Smokestack (now Johnny's Pit BBQ) in Rolla, Missouri. We haven't been there in a number of years. The place did burn to the ground several times in the past - another good indicator for a BBQ restaurant! While checking on Johnny's I came across a web site called Roadfood.com which might be worth exploring if eating your way across country is what you do! They have reviews on 158 BBQ restaurants across the entire country. Their focus is: "The most memorable local eateries along the highways and back roads of America."

I nursed along a cheap hose from Wal-Mart for seven years before purchasing Rhino-Flex. That is as up-scale as I would go. The Rhino-Flex is really great, collapses and stays collapsed. Once collapsed, rinsed and drained, I store the hose horizontally and don't need end caps. We also have a macerator so we don't use the 3" hose as often as others though being full time for 9 1/2 years meant heavy use by any standard.

Good idea. Here are a few on the top of my list. McAllen, Texas - Republic of the Rio Grande - 10th Street just N of US 83. This is fine dining, full bar, excellent wine list, great steaks and brick oven pizzas. Great "atmosphere" dining inside or casual outdoor dining when weather is agreeable. McAllen, and other locations in Texas - Double Dave's Pizzaworks - 7700 N. 10th Street (just N of Trenton Road and 10th Street - Reeealyyyy Grrrreaat Pizza! Sikeston, Missouri - Lambert's Cafe - Home of Throwed Rolls (look for the billboards!) - Family style meals and watch out for those rolls! We used to fly to Sikeston to eat here, frequently brought friends along. Westlaco, Texas - Fat Daddy's BBQ - on FM1015 (International Boulevard) at the south edge of town. Generous servings of good BBQ. A favorite stop on our way back home from a day trip to Progresso, Mexico. Mission, Texas - Danny's Mexican Restaurant - Business 83 one block west of TX Hwy 107. Real Mexican food, not Tex-Mex. There are several Danny's Restaurants in the Rio Grande Valley, all run by the same family. San Antonio, Texas - The County Line BBQ - On the Riverwalk. A fancier restaurant than most of those above but great food. County Line is a local chain in Texas. Most anywhere in Texas - Whataburger - Yes, seriously, we love their hamburgers. Great fast food with good service. This is always our first stop for food when we return to Texas in the fall! St. Louis, Missouri and other locations in the midwest - Steak-n-Shake - More fast food, steakburgers and real shakes and malts (with a cherry) served on glass plates! Wentzville, Missouri - Fritz's Frozen Custard - I-70 Service Road E of Wentzville Parkway on Pierce Boulevard - A St. Louis area legend. Great stop for Ice Cream, Shakes, huge menu. Usually real busy on summer evenings! Closed through the heart of the Midwest winter!

First of all, there is plenty to see, do and eat in the maritime provinces of Canada. We have friends that run a whale watching boat out of Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick (NB). Whales and Sails provides one of the best whale watching experiences I've ever had. You have to take the ferry, we took the motor home over and stayed a week. The ferry to the island is free, they charge you for the return trip. From there, continue along the coast. You are along the Bay of Fundy which is famous for its extreme tides. Near new moon and full moon you will experience tides with as much as a 50' range from high tide to low tide in some places. This provides an opportunity to walk on the sea floor in several locations. It also creates some interesting formations. Along the NB coast, there are formations called "flower pots" at Hopewell. You can walk around them at low tide and kayak around them at high tide. We enjoyed spending several days at St. John, NB. There are rapids that connect an interior lake to the coast and they reverse, flowing inland at high tide and out to sea at low tide. If you really want to see these tidal differences, you have to observe them over a 12 hour period so it isn't something you just drive to and take a look and move on. The really amazing changes happen very rapidly when you consider the amount of water movement that has to occur but they take some patience to really see. Also in St. John is the Provincial Museum, well worth a day to explore and understand the resources and history of NB. In a separate trip we drove north along the Maine border in NB. The St. John river scenery is spectacular. We took the highway all the way north to the St. Lawrence Seaway and the border with Quebec. In Nova Scotia (NS) we stayed for a week in the area near Truro. Again, there are many places to observe tidal extremes. One of the best is the lighthouse at Burncoat, NS. The light house houses a museum of local interest. At low tide you can walk out onto a rocky sea floor. I pursued the retreating tide for better than a quarter mile across the rocky sea floor observing sea life on the rocks and in the pools. Unlike the Hopewell site, this site is free, no admission charge. Don't take the motor home (even a Class C) here, there is only parking for cars. We spent time in Halifax, touring the Citadel, eating dockside in the harbor, touring the cemetery where the victims of the Titanic were buried. There is much more to see here, we'll return some day to explore more. Heading east from Truro, we encountered a distillery for single malt liquor (called Scotch only if it comes from Scotland). We enjoyed a nice tour and sampled their excellent product. Cape Breton is a must see for spectacular scenery. We drove the whole route with the motor home and stayed at parks in the National Park. We enjoyed hiking several of the back country hikes which gave us good encounters with moose. Coming out the east side of the National Park, we visited the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, and a site where Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic wireless signal in Morse Code. There is also a coastal coal mine complete with original residential buildings and a restaurant. The mine shafts extended under the sea for some distance. They have a tour of a "model" coal mine that is very realistic and there is also a very nice museum that documents the history of coal mining on that site. The ferry from Nova Scotia to Prince Edward Island (PEI) is free, they charge for the return trip but we left PEI via the Confederation Bridge which was about half the cost of the ferry. We spent several days on PEI, could have stayed longer. We bicycled some of the extensive "rails to trails" bicycle trail that runs the length of the island. We had a fine dinner at a restaurant on the dock in Charlottetown as we watched a large tanker maneuver through the port. We haven't made the trip to Newfoundland but it is high on our to-do list. There is much to be seen there for the history buff. The Viking community that predates Christopher Columbus is on our list of places to visit. Your choice of time to visit is a little later than we would schedule a trip. Most parks in New England close or go to limited services after Labor Day. We've been in New England in September and many attractions are on limited hours are are closed. We found beach parks closed along Lake Ontario in New York. Temperatures are cool enough to make a summer visit quite pleasant if you can get the time off to go that time of year. There is a previous discussion on border crossing web sites in the forum discussion under Outside the USA. There are definitely things you can not take into Canada and things you can not return to the US with. Do a little reading and know what you are allowed, stay legal and you'll have no worries. I've heard of coaches being searched but those are rare experiences. We've been across the border with Canada all along the border and never experienced any delay or challenge. We don't do it casually, we plan our trip across and prepare to be sure we are legal. For your dog you will need to have specific records with you for crossing. That information is available at the sites listed in the discussion above.

It sounds like button pressing might be the problem. I would get out the manual and check the settings. If we're talking about the Dometic Duo-Therm thermostat, check the mode-- should be on furnace. Check to see that the fan is on auto. After that, go outside and have DW turn up the thermostat. Listen to see if the ignition is sparking. If no spark it could be a loose connection or it could be a computer board problem. If it sparks but you get no ignition, clean the burner tube to make sure there are no obstructions (even spider webs can cause it to fail to ignite). If all else fails, it could be a reed switch in the fan housing which detects the fan operation. If the switch fails to close the computer will not know the fan is working and will not start the furnace. We had ours replaced several years ago, took several days for the repair center to get a replacement switch. Let us know more about your system and what you have found so far. Perhaps others can suggest other things to check.

Chuck, Regarding the license, both Louise and I were given a Texas Class B license without any test other than vision which is required at any renewal anyway. Our South Dakota license was a standard drivers license, not a class 1 or 2 or CDL. The license clearly stated car and light truck. However as you know, that license is all that is needed in South Dakota to drive a motor home of any size as long as it is privately (not commercially) owned. We were surprised. We were prepared to take the written and driving test for a Class B license. I don't know what the clerk at the license office was looking up on her computer but suspect that it listed licenses with equivalent driving privileges in other states. For those familiar with South Dakota licensing procedures, the Texas process is completely primitive. We stand in line for an hour and a half to get to one of two or three clerks working. After submitting all our documents, getting photographed and taking eye tests, etc. we are given a paper license which is good for 60 days during which time we should get the actual license in the mail. Mine had a misspelling on it so I had to wait in line again and get another paper license until the corrected real license arrives in February (I hope). We have a friend who has been brought to tears by repeated attempts to deal with this system. Regarding changing our domicile, we have indeed done that. We have a permanent address here and are still learning about how that will affect us. The licensing of vehicles was fairly simple but the expense was about 20% greater than South Dakota with the car being the biggest increase. There was an initial tax on both vehicles which accounts for part of this. That tax ($60.00) was the same for both the car and motor home so I would guess it is essentially a processing fee. As the year goes on, we'll see how the other expenses shake out. We should be getting our assessments for property in the near future and that will be an expense we didn't have before. The bad news is that Texas is pretty much in the same financial situation as the state of California. I'm bracing for a series of tax increases or serious curtailing of services. As this process goes on, I'll keep everyone here on the forum posted. You might also check my BLOG here at FMCA for some of my reflections on changing states and changing from living full time in the motor home to living in a sticks and bricks home again.

I've encountered the USPS and Government identification of our address in South Dakota as a business address instead of a residential address. The FAA balked at changing my address for my pilot's license to that location. I sent them a letter explaining that we lived full time in a motor home and had no other address than our legal address at the PMB in South Dakota. I also pointed out to them the utter nonsense of the most mobile of all transportation refusing to accept a motor home as a legal residence. This resulted in their accepting the address, no further problems. It did take a little more communication to clear this up but it was done even with a federal agency like the FAA. In recent times I've seen less of this problem to the point that I can't even think of a recent event where this has cropped up. Regarding the Texas license requirements, I have just received my Texas drivers license (Class "B") which entitles me to drive a vehicle of greater than 26,000 pounds towing a trailer with a weight less than 10,000 pounds. This license was obtained without taking a test (written or driving) because the license I held from South Dakota entitled me to drive the motor home and Texas granted the license on that basis. Louise and I simply turned in our South Dakota licenses and received the Texas license. Now, if you are a Texas resident and purchase a motor home with a weight greater than 26,000 pounds you will have to take a written and driving test to get your class B license - go figure! The Department of Homeland Security is making everything more difficult for those of us who live below the radar! We will have continuing challenges in the future but organizations like FMCA and others will be working to explain our existence and purpose to those who restrict our activities. We are the envy of many but few really understand us!

We've enjoyed our Sirius/XM satellite radio for most of our time on the road. Can't beat having that variety of stations available almost anywhere you travel. One of my nieces just clued me in to a free Internet service, Pandora, that will give you custom-designed radio stations much like Sirius/XM offers. Try this for your computer when you have a good Internet connection. I'm listening right now! You can create your own station, customize it any way you want and then as it plays, select out songs as favorites and others as not your cup of tea -- so they won't be back again. It gives you something like 400 songs a month free and if you want you can subscribe. Enjoy!

One other suggestion. You might check the FMCA membership directory on line here at FMCA.com to see if there is someone in your area with a similar coach who might be willing to come take a look and walk you through some of the basics of your coach. You can specify your coach model, city and state or zip code which might be enough to get you several close members you might try to request help. Go to Members in the top menu line on this page and under that you will find Member Directory. It comes up with a page with search criteria, you can select as few or as many categories as you want.

Thanks BarbRN, I wouldn't call myself a writer but I've done quite a bit of it as part of my job over the years. When I started out, I was pretty rough but with lots of practice I've improved a lot! Herman started me thinking with his comment about the cost of a trip. I did a few calculations and our current motor home has cost us about $65 per day to own! Add another $35 for the average campground and I'm looking at a cost of $100 a day. I guess I could write a book, America on $100 a Day!

Of course the value of anything is ultimately determined by the demand for the item. When the fuel prices skyrocketed in 2005, we saw huge numbers of motor homes with for sale prices parked along roadways and very few motor homes on the road. If you wanted to sell in that market you would have been competing with many other sellers for the money from very few buyers. Buyers were scared away by the operating costs for a large vehicle that gets under 10 MPG when fuel was selling at over $4.00 per gallon. I'm sure many didn't sell their motor homes because they simply weren't able to find any buyers. The motor home resale market is still soft and prices for older motor homes are low because that is the only way to sell them. Some of this is due to fuel prices but at the current time an even larger factor is the anemic economy. Loans are hard to get and many people who would love to have a motor home are more concerned about having some savings in case their job suddenly disappears. If you have a clear vision of the future of the economy, fuel prices, and a host of other factors that are going to influence buyers then you can make a good estimate. In reality, owning a motor home is, as said so well above, an investment in "fun, adventure and memories." If you can't afford to throw that money away for that purpose then don't take the plunge. Consider anything you recover in the sale at the end of your adventure as an unplanned gift. We've lived in our current motor home for seven years and in that time, the money it cost us to operate it and keep in on the road would be an incredibly small portion of what it would have cost us to travel full time all over the US and Canada by any other means. We're on a car trip right now and I recently remarked to Louise that the $80 to $100 motel prices we've encountered (nice motels) sure make the $35 per night RV campsite look like a great bargain. And then there is the convenience factor of traveling in your own vehicle, sleeping in your own bed every night, setting your own schedule as you travel. What is that worth? Priceless!