tbutler

This would be a great gift for friends or relatives new to RV'ing! I'll keep it in mind for a "housewarming" gift in the future!

I took a piece of PVC pipe, cut it to length and cut a slot in it so that it slips under the air brake release. When it is in place, the brake release can not be pushed down. I used a 1" x 3/4" pipe adapter, a left-over piece from some electrical work I was doing. The adapter is made to slip inside a one inch pipe and allow a 3/4" pipe to slip inside it. There is a collar on this piece that would match the OD of the 1" pipe. The collar gives it a wide base to sit on the screws under the plunger. It is small and easy to store when not in use. I also put chocks in front of and behind the rear dual tire on the utility side of the coach. I store them in the compartment with my electrical cord. They are the first thing to come out of the compartment and the last thing to go back in. I have a pair of the yellow plastic chocks from Camping World. Even with a large coach, they are quite effective. I had to push the accelerator hard to smash one last year when I decided to adjust the coach position after assessing the utility locations!

I would expect a considerable discount from the new coach price. Check Family Motor Coach Magazine Classifieds for used coach prices for Newmar coaches. Match the year and model as closely as possible and see what is being asked for these coaches. You should expect a price that is above the used coaches but not by a large amount for the following reasons. Now, I know that the mileage is essentially 0. That is the dealers main price point. From your standpoint, you are buying 4 year old technology. What does that mean? Go look at some newer coaches, Newmar and others and see what the new coaches have. Make a list of things that this coach does not have. Look at leveling systems, driver display systems and instrumentation, appliances, video-TV-DVD (digital?), etc. Consider the engine in this model vs. engines in newer models. Check the operation of all the electronics. Next, I would consider the fact that the exterior has been subject to the elements for four years. Look for sun fading on one side or the other. Is there evidence of cracking or damage to the clear coat or to stenciling or accessories like the mirrors. Examine the roof carefully. Get down on your knees and look under the air conditioners, look at the caulking and seals around antennas, fans, skylights, etc. Even if the caulking looks good, it is four years closer to leaking or needing replacement. Examine the general condition of the roof. Have the dealer pull the cover off the air conditioners. Now look at the interior. The interior has been sitting for four years without heat or cooling. Look for mold, problems with de-lamination, fading of fabrics, etc. Operate the window shades to see if any of them hesitate or are out of adjustment. Look inside cabinets and under drawers to see if there is evidence of mold. Remember that all the fabrics and interior furnishings, wood, leather, plastic, rubber, etc. have been subjected to extremes of heat and cold for four years. The coach was probably driven to the dealer so the engine and starting batteries have been run. Was the fuel tank stored full with diesel preservative? Has the oil been changed? All filters should be changed and belts should be replaced. The radiator should be flushed and the engine coolant should be replaced. I would ask that the starting batteries be replaced and check to see that the house batteries have not been activated with fluid added until purchase. If the house batteries already have fluid in them, they should also be replaced. If the dealer doesn't want to do some of the above replacements, this would further discount the sales price of the coach. Yes, you'll find some of the problems under the warranty but you will also find lots of things that wear out sooner than would be expected on a new coach. For that reason I would expect a considerable discount. The normal new coach discount from sticker in 2006 would have been in the 15 to 20% range so when I say considerable, I am expecting quite a bit beyond what would have been offered to someone in 2006. Keep in mind that the dealer has had this coach on inventory for four years. They have been paying interest and/or have had money tied up in this coach for four years. Their incentive for selling this coach is huge. You are in the drivers seat. Make sure you get a deal that you will feel good about when things start breaking down a few years before you think they should. These are a few things I can think of to be considered. I'm sure others will have additional advice.

Welcome back to the US Capt Cathe! We don't have a Kingdome, ours is KVH. When we went to Alaska we suspended our service for two months as we left the US. When we returned we called DirecTV and had them reactivate the account. We couldn't get signal so called them again. They had us re-set our receiver (unplug-wait a minute-plug in). That didn't work so I called them back and told them of the problem. They then reactivated the account again and viola, we had TV! I don't know if this will work for you or if it even relates to your problem. I don't even know why this worked for us. Good luck!

I sounds as though the off air local channels and cable TV are routed through a switching box (common in RV's) and the cable from that box to the bedroom TV might be loose at the switching box or at the bedroom TV. If the satellite is unaffected then I would assume that the wiring for the satellite to the bedroom TV is by direct cable, not through the switching box. So I would ask, do you have a switch box to change from different feeds (off air - cable - DVD - games)? Usually there is a single cable from that box to the rear TV. Check both ends to see that they are tight. While checking the cable attachment to the TV, note whether there is a separate cable connection for the satellite. If there is then this would explain the fact that the satellite signal is coming through undisturbed while the other signals are weak. If both ends of the cable from the switch box are tight, then the cable itself may be damaged somewhere between the switch box and the rear TV. Tracing any damage might be very difficult. To test for damage you might hook up a separate cable from the switch box to bedroom TV. You don't have to route it right now, just lay it on the floor and connect the box to the bedroom TV. If that clears the problem then the original cable must be damaged. There is another possibility. The problem could be in the switch box. If the test cable doesn't clear the problem then the internal wiring in the switch box or the TV connection to the cable could be the problem. These connections can be almighty confusing so I make careful diagrams and label all cables as I disconnect them from any source. I also try as much as possible to take only one cable loose from a box or TV at a time. This isn't always possible but if you don't take careful steps you can get three or four cables disconnected and then be faced with a guessing game as which goes where. I would also mention that every manufacturer of RV's has their own unique ways to hook up all the electronics so you may find different connections than described above. If this is the case, let us know what connections you have and don't have within your motor home.

Thanks to everyone for their responses. Some good suggestions here. I have no problem with the automatic leveling system. I dump air completely and then let the auto level bring us up to level. Unless we have a very uneven site it will reach level in a couple of minutes at most. I prefer to dump completely as it lowers the coach to its lowest position. That makes the door step as close to the ground as possible. Louise (5'3") likes that! If the system is turned off temperature changes will cause the coach to come off level as the sun shines on one side of the coach or the other. I have tried turning off the auto leveling and it will over a matter of weeks become out of level enough to cause doors to swing. There may be a very small leak at work but this would not cause the problem we have had. I could periodically level again and may end up doing this. The system is not consistent. If it behaved this way every time we parked, I could anticipate the problem and act accordingly. Where we are now, we have been on auto for three weeks and I have very seldom noticed any adjustment of the system. Everything seems to be working fine. The next place we stop it may adjust five or six times during the night. It hasn't been a problem lately so I'm watching it for now.

It's not exactly the southwest but the prices are right and you'll find a wide variety of facilities available. The Rio Grande Valley in Texas has parks from the coast inland to the Mission/McAllen area. The latitude is near that of southern Florida giving us a mild climate for most of the winter. The usual pattern is for cool temperatures in December and January and then warm temperatures return in February. During December and January we may have a day or two of temperatures at or below freezing. Of course weather is never really predictable. There have been wet winters, dry winters, windy winters, cold winters and warm winters. We've been wintering in the Rio Grande valley for 9 years and will return for our 10th this fall. The RGV has world famous birding with many migratory birds and sub-tropical birds from Mexico. The same is true for butterflies. There are preserves for both throughout the valley. All areas have active parks with dance halls open to anyone in the valley. You can take dance lessons almost any day of the week. There are many great bicycle trails in the valley and in better times bicycle trips into Mexico were popular. Needless to say, the ventures into Mexico have been greatly curtailed lately. There are also quiet parks with few activities. You will find high-end parks with paved sites with storage sheds on your site. Some parks have tennis courts, volleyball courts, etc. Most parks have swimming pools and many have heated pools for year round use. There are also low end parks with unpaved roads and parking on grass. Most parks have as many activities as you wish. There are senior softball leagues, musical groups, hobby groups of all kinds and colleges and universities with classes, sporting and cultural performances. Finally, you will find malls with all the usual city shopping, most any chain eating establishment you want and some of the best Mexican restaurants to be found anywhere in the US. On the coast there are deluxe parks and state parks on South Padre Island and up the coast to Corpus Christi and beyond. Charter fishing trips in the Gulf of Mexico originate from most ports along the coast. There are numerous excellent golf courses throughout the valley. We play golf once a week with a group from our park. The rates for a round with half a cart average around $30 for the valley. You can find more expensive and less expensive courses. We also bowl in a league once a week. The RGV is a longer drive from Portland but would be worth your consideration. It is a great place for full timers and snow birds who want to be south in the winter.

Has this always been the case or is this a new development? How long does the fast flow last? If it is just a momentary gush and then a trickle, it might be a fixed obstruction where the drain pipe exits the tank. If the fast flow lasts for something like a minute or two then slows suddenly, it could be something loose in the tank which is washing around in the tank when it is full but then drawn to the drain when the tank is emptied. That could be a rag or a loose piece from a tank cut out. In either case, it doesn't sound like a sludge problem. Sludge should be washed out by the fast flow unless you have one heck of a hairball! There are tank treatments that will reduce buildup in a tank. These usually function best if left to set in the tank when near full and then emptied after driving to stir the tank thoroughly. Check any RV store for cleaners, Thetford makes several variates. I've heard some people recommend using a septic tank cleaner which could be found at any hardware store.

April, I'm reading your post and it seems to me that you want to be able to record shows while on the road (driving) thus the interest in an in-motion system. I'm also seeing in your post an interest in your local channels which I interpret to be an interest in network or broadcast TV. Let me try to address these aspects of TV in an RV. It is generally true that when you are away from home in your RV (more than 100 miles) you will not be able to receive your local channels via satellite in your RV. This is because most TV markets are "spot" broadcast from the satellite. This makes them available only in the immediate area around that TV market (generally in the area where the stations are available via antenna). Once you get beyond that spot, you won't receive any local stations. However, if what you are interested in is network television (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW), you can receive network stations in your RV via satellite. You will be required to complete an application from the satellite TV supplier (Dish or DirecTV). This will be your certification that your receiver is located in your RV. With that certification, they can offer you nationwide stations. We receive both east and west coast stations via satellite from DirecTV. Our stations are out of New York City and Los Angeles. Even though we are currently in California, we get the local New York stations. Likewise, when we are on the east coast, we can also get the Los Angeles stations. When we first started in the motor home we had Dish TV and we were able to get Chicago stations. DirecTV currently only offers NY and LA stations nationwide. We are currently paying $2.25 per month for each channel we receive. That is $9.00 per month to get ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX and multiply that by 2 to get both east and west coast stations. You can pick and choose which networks you want and where you want the feed to come from. We did have a national PBS feed until it became available by satellite in our "home" market. FCC regulations don't allow us to get the national PBS feed if it is available in the local market. We protested this and were told a solution might be coming but it hasn't happened in the five years since we lost PBS. Given the above, you might be able to use a stationary system to be able to see or record the programs you want. Having TV feeds from east and west coast allows us to do some time shifting. We are on the west coast right now and can watch late night TV on the east coast stations three hours earlier than the local broadcast versions of the shows. You could be on the road driving during your show on the east coast and then see or record the show after you stop for the evening on the west coast feed. You have noticed that broadcast TV since the digital TV conversion is not what it used to be. In places where we used to be able to get a snowy weak signal and still have TV, we no longer are able to pick up signal using an antenna. Unless you are close to a metropolitan area, you generally will be unable to receive broadcast television. I know there are people who are still receiving broadcast TV in their RV. Their travel and TV needs must be significantly different than mine. Right now we are in a place that has no broadcast TV available. I'm watching US Open Tennis on either east or west coast feed via satellite. We have a stationary system and are quite happy with it. We'll drive for a day or two and then park for a week or two. When it comes down to it, we really aren't on the road that often. Your habits may be different but I would guess not. So on the few days when you are driving, you could stop for lunch and record or watch your favorite program then continue on your way. With satellite feeds from east and west coast, you could make minor adjustments in your travel schedule and still get the TV programs you want to see or record. Also, I'd mention that it is possible to find used equipment. We upgraded our satellite dish two years ago. We were at a rally and got a slightly used dome from an installer who had taken it in trade from someone who wanted an in-motion system. We got a $1500 dome for $500. It works much better than the old dome we had, finds signal better and we're able to use current DirecTV receivers with all their capability. The old system was tied to an antiquated receiver which didn't have any of the modern features. I consider it just luck to have gotten the new equipment at such a good price but you might watch for deals.

We are currently in the gold hills of California near the town of San Andreas. The abundance of turkeys in this area is amazing! Today we were sitting outside beside the motorhome and I saw a turkey fly by behind Louise, along the main entrance to the park. It landed within view and then circled around the motorhome next to us and back up the road behind me. We went to look and there was a whole flock, more than 20 turkeys. They were just across the road from us. This flock wanders through the park on a regular basis. I got up early last to play golf and looked out the window and they were moving through the empty space right next to us. Louise and I played golf at a golf course near Valley Springs one morning last week. When we reached the 14th tee, there across the fence from us, less than 50 feet away, was a flock of turkeys resting in the shade. We teed off and they didn't move. We had a great time playing golf. At our daughter's home there are turkeys in their yard almost every day. The other day, Louise and I were there in the afternoon. Our granddaughters weren't home, so we settled into a couple of chairs on the back yard patio. There was a small flock of male turkeys (gobblers) in the back yard. They moved away from us but didn't leave the yard. As we sat quietly, they moved back and forth through the yard. They left the yard after about two hours. We went bicycle riding yesterday. We did 17 miles on the American River Trail in the Sacramento, CA, area. At the western end of the trail is Discovery Park. Discovery Park is right across the river from the location of Sutter's Mill, which is where gold was discovered in 1849. That started the California Gold Rush. I knew the history, but never knew where exactly Sutter's Mill was located. It turns out we've been by it many times. It is almost directly under the I-5 bridge over the American River where it meets the Sacramento River. We had great weather, cool and sunny. Louise blew a tire shortly after we turned back toward the car. Fortunately I had the tools to change the tire and a spare tube with us, so it just delayed us for a little while before we were back on the trail. As we returned to the car, a flock of 20 hens crossed the trail in front of us. We were less than 15 feet away and they calmly kept crossing the bike trail. I've seen flocks of turkeys in other parts of the country but they are always wary of people and sightings are brief. In my experience, turkeys are seldom observed at close range. It is certainly not true here in this part of California.

Thanks for the information. As soon as I can get to Harbor Freight to pick up an IR thermometer I'll give this a try and report back on my findings.

Hello Tireman9, Can you give me the model of IR thermometer and information about where I can obtain one? I'll try your test on black tire covers.

I received the same letter maybe a month ago. As I recall the letter indicated that Pilot would be adding RV lanes in the future. I'm sure that will be a slow process if it happens but perhaps we'll see them start to appear in the next year or two! They certainly would be welcome. I'd love to see some design improvements on the Flying J RV lanes. The Flying J lanes are better than regular service pumps but nowhere near as good as truck pumps. A straight through lane with pull ahead space to stop while paying would be a huge improvement. It would also be nice to have at least one large capacity nozzle at each installation. Consistency in the propane delivery location or even separating it from the fuel delivery lanes would also be welcome. I'm not asking for much!

The current schedule for the Spring Convention has never matched our travel plans. They are always scheduled too early in the spring. We are still happily enjoying the mild southern temperatures and not about to head north for a rally or convention. We also winter in the central US and the conventions are always (recently anyway) on the east or west coast. So we won't miss the convention. I know that the people who plan these conventions use considerable research to determine when and where to hold these conventions. Obviously they want to plan the convention when most people are on the road, so this makes the likelihood of scheduling summer conventions near the same time very likely. I don't know what the solution to this conflict is. All three organizations are going to want to take advantage of the peak summer travel period.

I took a look at your full report and it is clear to me that Blue Ox has no suitable mounting bracket for your car. I think your choice is to look elsewhere for a bracket and tow bar combination that will fit the car. The other choice would be to get a different car which does have a proper Blue Ox mounting bracket and use the existing tow bar. I would not use the bracket that was recently installed. It is clear to me that it is not suitable for towing. I can't believe that the factory did that install. My impression was that they were a more competent company than that. As to recovering costs for the damages from the previous installation, There is an advocacy column in Good Sam Magazine that has a record of success recovering some or all costs related to similar problems. Your other choice would be to file a claim in small claims court to recover the costs. I was frankly amazed that the damage cost you no more than it did to repair the car.

I have a Sharp LCD I bought as a display model from Wal-Mart. I installed it almost two years ago in our overhead front TV cabinet. It is working fine. We are full time in the motor home and have been across the country and into Canada several times since we purchased the TV. I replaced the bedroom TV at the same time. It was also a display model I purchased from Circuit City as they were going out of business. It is a LG LCD and it also has had no problems. You can see both installations in my article Replacing Analog TV.

Since this occurs when driving, I would look for something related to motion. In other words, it could be an intermittent short or loose connection caused by shaking or movement. It may be related to an AC short in a circuit powered by the inverter or in some device powered by the inverter. Check the connections at the speaker and on the receiver first, then start looking for other sources.

Hello Explorer, I'm puzzled... Was there a web site that you were referencing? A reference to a blog but where is it? I'm always a supporter of the National Parks and would love to more about your experience. Fill us in...

Marci, I am sure that many campground owners want their campgrounds to be shady camps much like state and national parks that are managed primarily for the wild conditions. Our winter park was managed for several years by a man who used to say this is an RV park, not a tree park. He was never hesitant to lop off a branch here or a limb there. After being there a while he would just say if a branch is getting in the way, you can cut it off. That is still the policy at that park. We have plenty of trees but everyone can trim the trees on their site to their needs and desires. As a transient, we can't do that unless the owners allow it. I do stop and go to the office when I have trees that are a problem. I've had places find us a different site rather than cutting tree branches. In other places, someone will be sent out to cut off the offending branches. If we all notify the campground management or owners when we have problems with vegetation, perhaps we could keep the trees under control. The only good tree is a trimmed tree! Now there is one caveat to the above. I often forget that our full time lifestyle isn't the norm for everyone. Our motor home has ample air conditioning and since it is our house, we don't hesitate to use it any more than you would when you are in your own home. We also have awnings on all our large windows and a power awning that we can use even if it doesn't extend fully. We have sun screens for every window on our motor home. So we are equipped to handle the sun and heat. Not everyone is so well equipped for the heat and sun and for them, trees are an essential part of summer camping. This would have to be a consideration of park owners when it comes to providing shade in their campgrounds. Warden, I feel your pain! I wish I knew what would remove sap from a surface without damage. I've tried many cleaners and tar removers. The only thing I found to work is simply wait for it to become brittle so it can be broken loose from the surface. My thumb nails take a beating every time I clean the roof! We sat out hurricane Katrina in Maine a few years ago. We were parked under several huge pine trees that shed huge amounts of pine needles as the winds blew. I was finding those needles for years as I cleaned air conditioners and awnings. We replaced the TV dish/dome and sure enough there were the needles under the unit. Love 'em, hate 'em!

Several years ago we were occasionally smelling the gray water tank while driving. My wife swore it was coming from the shower. I put water down the drain but the smell persisted. I stopped again and put water down the drain for the washer/drier and the smell went away. The shower is on one side of the bathroom and the washer/drier on the other side. Where the smell was coming from was not easy to determine. If you have a washer/drier, make sure that drain has water. It might not be the shower drain at all.

I've been up on the roof washing and cleaning for the last few days. The experience brings to the fore one of the conflicts that plagues me. At heart, I'm a big advocate of trees. They are essential to our existence. Trees are beautiful and useful. Trees are also a nuisance. On the good side, trees provide shade and keep our motor home cool. We're in San Andreas, California, and the forecast for the next two days are temperatures in the 100s, so I'll really appreciate the trees around us. I have many favorite memories of trees, but one of the best was in 2003 in northern California, riding my bicycle on the Redwood Highway. To ride along through a forest of these giants was inspiring. It was early morning, there was little traffic, so most of the time it was me and the trees. I've stood in awe looking up at limbs on a Sequoia that are the size of other large trees. Trees anchor the riverbanks on streams I've canoed. Trees and other plants made coal that provides much of our electricity. So what could possibly be wrong with trees? A year ago we were parked under the tree from h*ll. It was early spring and the leaves were popping out. With each leaf came a few fragments of the bud packing a very sticky sap. They covered the ground, stuck to our shoes and showed up on the carpet in the motor home. Unfortunately, they also fell on the toad and on the roof of the motor home. A year later, I'm still trying to get the sap off the roof. There are a few spots that won't come off. Fortunately, a year of sunshine had dried most of the sap and it's chipping off a little at a time. I know that the trees contributed only a small amount of the dirt on the roof, but still, I hate to park under trees. We stayed at a park in Golden, Colorado, recently. It was a park without trees. I really enjoyed the stay. The sites were side-by-side sites with about 6 feet between us and the neighboring RVs. We had large 5th wheels on either side, so they provided good shade for the morning and afternoon sun. It was life without trees and I enjoyed not worrying about what was dropping on the motor home. One afternoon I helped my brother-in-law clean the leaves and maple seeds out of his gutters. At our current park, we cut tree branches to get into our site without scraping the paint off the motor home. Once in place we carefully located so we could put our slides out without having branches in contact with the sides and roof of the motor home. Today on the roof, removing dirt and sap, I'm ducking branches. There are two large oak trees to our west that give us some great shade in the late afternoon. We didn't park under them because we listened to the acorns dropping on the roof of RVs in those spaces last year. Tomorrow I'll tackle the air conditioners. I need to blow the leaves out of the cooling fins. I love trees.

There have been several previous discussions on this topic related to other states. I don't think the discussion got around to New Mexico but I'll refer you to License for Motorhomes over 26,000 pounds. This was an extensive discussion that could give you some background. Another discussion, Drivers license in South Carolina and other states covers additional information. One factor which may affect the answer from the NM DOT would be whether your coach has air brakes. As you will surmise from the above discussions, states range from very lenient to very strict about licensing requirements. Whatever you find, be sure to post it in this discussion to help others in the future.

Not all side mount radiators are created equal. The challenges of locating them on the side of the coach result in some manufacturers using under-sized radiators. I base this statement on discussions of overheating of engines of the same size as ours. We have had no problem with overheating while people with other manufacturers coaches with the same engine have experienced overheating. Use the search function to read discussions of overheating. Also, I've known people who found it necessary to construct additional barriers to debris to protect their side radiators while we've never had a problem. The side mount radiator is located behind the rear duals on the coach. This is a high debris location so you should look at the protection from debris from the rear wheels if considering a side mount radiator. Look at the access provided to the engine on side radiator models. I can crawl into the engine compartment and move all around the engine for inspection, maintenance and cleaning. I like to be able to easily inspect the condition of my engine and find rear radiator models to be less than satisfactory.

There have been a number of recent discussions on tire selection, sources of RV tires, and specifications for mounting, etc. I suggest that you use the search function (see the second menu line on this page next to help). Enter tire and look at the selection of discussions for further information. There will be a multitude of discussions as this is a very high interest item. Read as many as you like. There is great wisdom in these discussions. As to the alignment question, I consider an alignment a small investment in a new set of tires. If it has been some time since realignment, I would do it upon purchasing a new set of tires. I'd rather spend several hundred dollars on an alignment than discover that my new tires were wearing unevenly after just a few thousand miles. Just my humble opinion.

This is a great web site, wish I had discovered it years ago. I've entered ratings of all our campgrounds from this year. I'll keep posting as long as we are traveling. Furthermore, I'll check ratings for campground choices in the future.