tbutler
-
Content Count
2713 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
44
Posts posted by tbutler
-
-
I'm with you Bill and Kim. I wish we could order only the stations we want on the satellite. I've heard talk of making that possible but the little used channels really don't want that. In reality, most of us would still order most of the expensive channels and it would eliminate the less popular.
Regarding Dish vs. Direct TV, we recently had to have our KVH dish repaired. A minor mis-adjustment was causing it to fail to find anything. The tech that made the repair told me that Dish was much more difficult to get a good signal than Direct TV. We were getting a Direct TV signal strength in the 90's after the repair. He said he seldom saw a Dish signal strength in the 70's. That pretty much matched my experience with Dish TV when we had it.
-
Welcome newbies from an oldie!
Tom and Marlene, I can see that you have ambitious plans for this fall, sounds like a great trip. You might want to start a BLOG letting us know how your trip is going, what your are doing and seeing and where you plan to go next. Each entry doesn't have to be long, just a few lines about what is going on as you travel.
Thomas and Deborah, I hope you will let us know what your experience with motor homes is and what plans for travel you have as they develop. Feel free to ask questions and to share your knowledge answering questions where you can help others.
New members are the life blood of an organization. This organization has many senior members which is great but those senior members have a way of dropping out or just fading away. Get involved as much or as little as you like. If you enjoy the forum, attend a rally, local or national. If you haven't been to a convention, try to get to one. Once you go, you'll be hooked!
Welcome and enjoy FMCA.
Tom (Hey, where did I see that before?)
-
Our manufacturer says there is no need for spraying the seals on the slide out. After almost 6 years in our current rig, the seals are still soft and pliable. The other area that needs attention is the mechanism that moves the slide in and out of the motor home. For us it is a tooth and gear mechanism and I make sure that this is lubricated periodically. It doesn't have to be done each trip but should be inspected every trip to make sure everything is clean and undamaged. I lubricate mine about every three months and if we've been parked for a long term, I lubricate them before bringing in the slides.
-
So where do you live GreenBeaver? Tell us all what state gives such great service! We'll all have to stop there and get weighed when we go through!
-
There are two possible scenarios here, parking and living in your motor home and parking it in storage, not living in it. They do require different considerations in some cases. Also, where you park/store your motor home may bring additional differences in what you need to do before parking.
Under Type A Motor Homes there is a posting titled, "Do you park your motor home with a full fuel tank?" This is definitely worth a read before you park or store your motor home for an extended time. This discussion has moved on to discussing fuel treatments for long term parking or storage.
Tires are another concern and there is a forum topic on tires. I thought I had seen a posting about storage and tires but it isn't there, probably in some other forum topic. Anyway, tires should be inflated to maximum cold pressure for the tire/rim. Be sure to check both maximums and don't exceed the smaller of the two. Tires should be stored on a level smooth, dry surface if possible and should have wood, concrete or synthetic parking pads under them during storage. Do not store tires directly on an asphalt surface. Some people will extend jacks or place jacks under the axles to take some of the weight off the tires as well. Tires should be covered with a opaque cover to protect them from UV radiation.
Other than those three main topics, I think that a close inspection of the roof with careful examination of all joints and the condition of the sealant on each one would be important. This would be especially true if it is a storage condition where a leak might not be noticed for months.
Batteries should also be checked and filled as needed before storage or long term parking. Some provision should be made for keeping them charged or preventing battery drain. Shutting off the battery switch may not turn off all applications and even short term storage may result in drained batteries.
An RV in storage should be checked periodically to ensure that squirrels haven't made a home in the air conditioners! In some parts of the country there are other varmints that may cause damage such as mice, ants, termites, etc. There are even some animals which like to chew on insulation on wires. That could be a nightmare.
Storing or parking an RV in cold climates requires winterizing the water system and even storing in warmer climates the water system should be drained to prevent algae growth within the system. Using an antifreeze solution should prevent any algae growth. Don't forget to treat drains with antifreeze to prevent drying out or freezing. Empty and flush all waste tanks.
If you have a generator, it should be exercised periodically. At least once a month it should be run for an hour or two with a moderate load on it.
Some kind of solar protection for the interior should be considered. Reflective or protective material in the windshield and curtains to keep the sun from fading fabrics and carpets would be advisable. In some cases, moisture in the motor home might have to be removed mechanically. Some people use dehumidifiers to remove moisture from RV's in storage. This only works if you have an electrical supply available where you store your rig.
If storing the motor home, the refrigerator should be emptied, defrosted, and cleaned thoroughly. To prevent fungus growth, prop the doors open so air can circulate and evaporate any remaining moisture. Showers should be cleaned and thoroughly dried, drain water out of the shower head and water line to prevent dripping.
I'm sure others will think of other considerations. Good topic for us all to consider.
-
Welcome to Keith (Letsgoagain) and Rcexplorer,
We joined FMCA when we purchased our first coach. We joined several other RV organizations but none has been as important to us as FMCA. Once you retire, you can really enjoy the motor home! For the young, great to get an early start enjoying the benefits of motor home travel.
We really enjoy the rallies and conventions. Hope to see you at one soon. Enjoy the trip from Cleveland to SF, great scenery on the way!
Tom
-
Matt,
I assume you meant to say you wanted to run the refrigerator on AC, not DC while driving. You did mention later that you wish you had the DC option so I understand that. We had a '94 Dynasty with a refrigerator that ran on DC as well as AC and propane. You don't need an inverter to run the refrigerator on DC. We ran ours on DC all the time while driving. Having that option allowed us to shut off our propane when traveling. Now our refrigerator has only AC and propane choices. On AC it uses too much electric from the inverter so we either use the propane option or run the generator.
Your answer on the engine alternator is yes/no/maybe. Every motor home mfg. designs their own system and a single manufacturer will change systems over time. Without having the manual for your rig, I couldn't guess if it does or doesn't provide enough charge to the house batteries to keep them charged. Our '94 Dynasty did charge the house batteries. Our 2004 is rigged to charge the house batteries if the chassis demands aren't too large. As a matter of experience, it doesn't really keep up with demand in our circumstances. At the end of a long day of driving, the inverter will spend several hours recharging the house batteries after we hook up to shore power. It does keep the house batteries in the working range so that is all that is really needed. You might try calling Winnebago technical services to see if they can answer this one for you if you don't have the manual.
Personally we find an inverter to be indispensable and I'd recommend you get one anyway. Everyone has their own preferences. I've talked to people who have inverters and never have used them.
-
Thanks for the tip to the web site. Our refrigerator has started limping when running on gas. Guess I'll have to dig in and clean the nozzle for starters. Ours works fine on electric, holds a temperature around 39 degrees in the refrigerator and keeps the ice cream nice and solid in the freezer!
-
My mother-in-law had a swamp cooler when she lived in Lake Havasu, AZ. I have never seen an RV application but if they do exist, they are less effective than an air conditioner but quite a bit less expensive to operate. It is true that swamp coolers work better in dry conditions than they do in humid conditions as they depend on evaporation for cooling. They do not have a condenser which is where the energy and cost savings come from. But the evaporative cooling doesn't produce the same cold coils for the warm air to pass over that the compressor will. As an add on to air conditioning, it might help cool the air before it goes into the air conditioner but I can't imagine it being practical for RV cooling as the evaporator is usually quite large.
When she got older, my mother-in-law replaced the swamp cooler with an air conditioner!
-
Regarding the drivers license issues, reciprocal agreements apply here. Where I am licensed, I have a legal drivers license but it doesn't meet the Canadian requirements.
The web site cited by Grandriver for Ontario regulations states:
Driver licence reciprocity
Ontario permits an out-of-province driver to drive a vehicle or combination of vehicles in Ontario if the driver is properly licensed to drive the vehicle or combination in their Province or State of residency and the licence is valid.
So the same conditions apply in Canada as the US. If you are legal in your home state, your license is good in Ontario. And yes, they do spell license differently in Canada, Queens (the monarch not the borough) English I guess!
-
RV Safety does workshops at the larger FMCA rallies. They schedule weigh-ins for the day the rally is over so you can pack up to travel and go through their weigh station. That is the best way to get weighed! They charge for the service and it is well worth it. You'll get a thorough report complete with a tire chart indicating what your tire pressure should be based on your weight. They also lead you through adjusting the weight for the varying amount of fluids in your rig. Things like the amount of fuel, fresh water, propane, gray and black water change so you have to know about what you have on board when you weigh to make this adjustment.
Another method I have used when desperate for weight information is to find a public scale that isn't so restricted that you can't get partially off the scale. It requires that you weigh twice and isn't quite as accurate. Weigh the first time the normal way with all wheels on the scale. Then pull through the scale again but this time leave one set of tires on each axle off the scale. This gives you the individual weights for the wheels on the scale which can be subtracted from the total weight of each axle to find the weight of the other wheel position on that axle. Simpler would be to pull through once with one side of each axle on the scale and then pull through with the other side on the scale but it is difficult to find a scale so open that you can be off both sides. Also that method will give you an error to the lighter side for each weight as most scales are slightly elevated related to surrounding ground. See the following paragraph.
There will be an error based on any slant you have while on the scale as tipping the motor home in one direction puts more weight on the wheels on that side. If the tilt is small, the error is small, if the tilt is greater, the error will be greater. If you get total weight, and then weight on one side, at least you have a valid total weight and if one tire weighs a little light, the other on the axle will compute a little heavy. You set tire pressure based on the heaviest tire on an axle. If the heaviest tire is the weighed tire then it likely would be a little heavier still (add a little more to its weight when figuring tire pressure). If the heaviest tire is off the scale, it is likely slightly less (no problem, use the computed weight)
I have found public scales - not at truck stops - where this method works. Look around your community, farm products companies and trucking firms sometimes have public scales that aren't so confined and elevated and will allow this method to work pretty well.
-
If you have purchased an extended service contract, check the terms of the contract. We had one on our rig that required the first oil change well before the manufacturer specified. If you don't have the oil changed per the extended service contract, you'll void your contract as far as engine problems are concerned.
-
Steve,
You have to put the markers before and after the bold lettering. HA! I got it to work! Do that by highlighting the text to be bold and then hit the bold b... If you hit the bold b before typing it puts two b's together so it turns on and turns off the bold right together. Anything typed after that is going to be normal text. You won't see the bold until you post your comment. That is the reason for my exclamation! Had to try it several times to get it right.
Thanks for the great response. Funny, not dumb, that we think about some of the things that we were tired of when we decided to go full time. I also loved/hated shoveling snow. There was a certain vigor about being out in the cold and clearing the driveway and walk. It made you feel like you were accomplishing something and the results were visible. I think more than anything I would like to be young and vigorous enough to be willing to take on shoveling snow again. As for the grass, I mowed lawns throughout my teens in the days when you mowed with a push mower. I've had a lifetime of mowing grass! Glad to put that behind me.
I agree, after 8 years on the road the traveling becomes more routine. We have a few areas still high on our list to explore but they are getting harder and harder to get to. We visit all our children and grandchildren at least once a year and that dominates our travel agenda. In between we have time to ourselves. When we have a chance to get away without a specific agenda and no immediate deadline, those are the most relaxing and fun.
Tom
-
DoggyDaddy,
I believe your question was directed to Brett, not me.
Brett,
Enjoy your trip! Sounds like great fun. Yes, technology today is incredible compared to what it was just a few years ago. Another techno revolution or just a continuing acceleration of the long running one that started in the 1500's? Either way it certainly does make life interesting. Now get off your computer and enjoy the cruise!!!! lol
Tom
-
So the problem is that your slide out motor will run in one direction but not in the other. There could be a problem with the switch or relay even if you hear it clicking. It could be a bad or broken contact or a loose wire. One way to test this would be to reverse the wires on the motor as this is basically what the relay does when you switch from out to in. If the motor runs out when you reverse the wires (set the switch on in because we know the in switch/relay is working) then the switch or relay would be at fault.
If you can't get the motor to reverse to the out direction with the above, then it indicates some kind of problem with the motor. You could then take it to a shop or get a replacement.
-
Steve, Steve! Yuma, Arizona in August? That is why the motor home has wheels! lol
Seriously, there are things you can do which will help your air conditioner. As Gary mentioned, parking in a site facing east might help. In summer I prefer to face north. I have good shade on the sides of the coach from awnings and slide out covers. The front window is the worst and the engine compartment in the rear is ventilated so that makes it the side of choice to face south.
Being full timers, we have external solar screens for all our windows. If you are planning to be full time or are likely to be in hot places frequently, I would recommend doing something similar. A complete set of solar screens will cost less than a new air conditioning unit. My wife tells me she knows when I put the screens up because the temperature drops almost immediately inside. Even if you only purchase a set of solar screens for the driving windows (front and three side windows on most motor homes), you will gain greatly from them. Having reflective material inside the windows is better than nothing but you are allowing the heat of the sun inside and not all of it is reflected outside. That is why I prefer the external screens.
Your question about generators is yes and no. The larger coaches with three air conditioning units have 10 or even 12 KW generators. Our unit has a 7.5 KW generator and that easily runs two 13.5 M BTU units plus other appliances. I would imagine an 8KW would run two of the largest AC's for RV's though I don't know that for sure. Regarding electric supply, 50A electric really supplies 2 legs of electric at 50A each. I consider 50A electric to be essential any time you need to run two air conditioners. The largest motor homes use 50A electric hook ups so that should run most anything. Each AC will pull somewhere in the neighborhood of 12A (with a higher amperage needed to start each unit) so both would be 24 amps plus any other electric you are using. Most 30A supplies will not provide a full 30A without dropping in voltage and that will damage your air conditioners especially if they are running full time. I have had 30A supplies that wouldn't run one air conditioner without a damaging drop in voltage.
If you have been traveling, the engine compartment will be hot. After traveling on a hot day, I'll open the engine compartment to allow better ventilation and help it cool down faster. If we've been running the generator, I'll run the generator slide out to allow it to cool without adding heat to the motor home.
-
I have looked at these before and wondered if they perform as advertised. If you have these on your RV Brett, how about sharing your thoughts with us?
For RV'ers, we may never recover the cost in fuel savings, we just don't drive the miles that truckers do. Do they really improve handling and prevent dirt accumulation on the rear of the vehicle as advertised?
On my RV there are surface seams (1/2 inch above surface) near (about a foot) the rear edges on each side. How would they affect installation and performance? Would the Air tabs be installed in front of this obstruction or behind it? This seam also would make it near impossible to install these in a straight line.
I did notice that they are available in clear as well as the white and black. As far as the appearance, I have never noticed them on a truck or RV. Am I just not seeing them or are they just not very common? If they are common, they couldn't be that ugly to me since I haven't seen even a single vehicle with them.
-
Thanks for asking such a great question. I'll be interested in the responses. I have used tankless water heaters at commercial locations and find them to work very well. There is the initial period (a matter of a few seconds) that it takes for the heater to switch on, triggered by the water flow. After that there is endless hot water. As long as the water runs the heater runs. These heaters would seem to be ideal for RV's as they also save weight. No more hauling around 10 gallons of water that you can't use except in an emergency. In terms of the space required, they may be difficult to fit into a confined space. The models I have seen are flat. I'm not sure they would fit where my 10 gallon water heater is.
We will be facing replacement of our hot water heater in the not too distant future. I planned to investigate the various models available at that time and install one if possible to get them to fit. I think that they make models which are powered by gas or electric. I believe that choice is an either/or choice as these are currently manufactured for the home market. I haven't heard of a dual fuel model being developed. I would prefer gas but if not that, could certainly use an electric model.
Manufacturers could install these and make plumbing simpler. They could put one under the kitchen sink or in the basement to feed a shower and washing machine and another under the bathroom sink to feed the sink and shower. They would only need a cold water pipe to feed each location saving running dual lines to each water use location. For the RV'er, this would have the advantage of not having to run water for a minute or so to get hot water from the tank to the faucet. It would reduce our water use. I think that tankless water heaters are more expensive than the usual home water heaters but I would guess they are similar to RV water heaters in cost.
-
A company called Rock Lizard 4x4, 2344 Butler Avenue, Kingman, AZ 86409, 928-716-0738, rocklizard4x4@yahoo.com, produces a product called Tow Minder Fuse Replacement. It does everything that Wolfe10 describes, put it in place of the fuse and move the fuse to their circuitry then install the switch under your dashboard. Here's the catch. You don't indicate what the amperage of fuse #8 is. We have to remove 2 50A fuses and they do not have a product that will work with 50A fuses. I called them several times over a two year time frame and they said they were developing a product to do this but the last time I talked to them they said the trial product they had didn't work. I'm not sure where their development problem was. I'm supposed to be on their call list when they do get a working product for 50A fuses but haven't heard from them in a year and a half.
If you call, ask about the 50A fuse replacement also and either way, let us know what you find out.
-
I'm surprised that the anemometer has been discontinued. I just got a replacement (my 4th) in May of this year. I had two broken by tree branches and two were broken by hail. I got mine from a local RV dealer who was able to order it for me from a company in Oregon. You might try another supplier. The anemometers are made by Somfy and they make anemometers for other applications, home awnings, etc. I tried a local Somfy dealer but they were unfamiliar with the RV market. You might try to contact the Somfy company headquarters to see if they are still making them or have any in stock somewhere in their distribution system. Another source might be to try RV salvage dealers. Wolfe10 just posted a listing of RV salvage dealers nationwide. Many of them will provide parts even if you aren't local and can't get to the dealer to pick up the parts.
If or when you find a replacement, Lawler Specialties Inc., 7027 Highway 25, Montevallo, Alabama, 35115, 205-665-7914 makes a metal frame that fits around the anemometer without interfering with its function. I installed one in 2007 and the only damage since then was a hail storm which broke one this spring. At that point I purchased a vent cover for hot water heaters and put it on top of the Lawler frame like a hat. I'm hoping I won't have to replace another one.
-
We'd be less than truthful if we said we had no regrets after going full time. There may be the lucky few who miss nothing from their previous lifestyle but I suspect most of us have some lingering desire for some aspects of our previous life.
From time to time there are possessions that I miss. A rock and fossil collection that my grandchildren would enjoy. My old easy to assemble telescope. My collection of topographic maps. An occasional book or other resource I used to have. Louise misses a home to decorate with art objects and memorabilia. We had many friends from our past but we can still visit with them several times a year which is about as often as we used to see them.
Life used to be predictable and routine. We used to fit into a category. We lived in a sticks and bricks house and our circumstances took no explaining. Now we are the exception to everyone's experience. We move frequently, not every year or two, every month or two, frequently more often.
We're recently involved in a variety of maintenance and repair projects. We won't be here forever so our time line for these actions is different than those used to dealing with sticks and bricks homes. The movie "The Money Pit" described a remodeling project that took forever. We don't have that luxury. Our remodeling has to happen this week and next week. We want to be gone the week following. The old axiom about a kitchen remodeling taking two weeks but no one said they would be 14 consecutive days hits home here. Amazing to me is the fact that even people who deal with, even make their money from RV'ers are quite unprepared to deal with full timers who are on the go.
We have been without satellite service for almost two weeks now. Our dish suddenly quit working last week. As soon as we had a stable location we visited a local service center. Now, the end of the week, we have no answer. The tech who examined our KVH dish determined it was not a repair he could make. His inability to communicate with KVH technicians has locked the problem in repair purgatory. I called KVH today and waited 25 minutes to talk to a technical representative. He needs to talk to the local technician who analyzed our problem. The case dropped into another black hole. When will we get this dish fixed? Is anyone impressed by the quality of local broadcast HD TV? Yeah its a pretty picture when you can get it. I think it's the end of broadcast TV. Broadcast TV will become a vestigial remnant of the past. It is just a matter of time.
We used to belong to that "normal" group of people who will be here today and here tomorrow. Now we are here today and gone tomorrow. Now when I need some repairs, I have to surrender my home to a repair shop. We'll have some painting done next week. On Tuesday we'll drive to the paint shop and they have promised the project will be finished on Friday. The refrigerator must be emptied and we have to shut down everything using electric to preserve the batteries. Everything of value should be secured or removed. Then we just have to hope and trust. It's a lot different than having a house where service people visit while you are there to supervise. Now you can't even get into the shop while they service your rig because of "insurance requirements."
So you would guess that we're ready to give it up. No, I can't imagine another way to live. All these tribulations are temporary, given a week or two and they will be all but forgotten. We'll be down the road visiting other children and grandchildren. We'll be reading about snowstorms and cold weather and playing tennis and golf every week.
So what is it that you regret after going full time? Share your thoughts.
-
Under the category: Technical:Engines look for a forum topic on Improving Fuel Mileage. I started this discussion quite a while ago and it has had many comments. Among them you will find many suggestions for improving fuel mileage beyond avoiding jackrabbit starts. These may help you improve your fuel mileage if you find no physical problems with your rig.
Also, keep in mind that some people only have a rough idea of what fuel mileage they get. Your mileage will vary considerably based on a number of factors and some people, like fishermen, grab the best mileage they have ever had and tout that as their fuel mileage. I have a record of every gallon of fuel I have put in my RV, where and when it was added. In a spreadsheet I maintain this record and at each fill up calculate the fuel mileage for that tank of fuel. I am also able to calculate the cumulative fuel mileage for my motor home over the period of time I have owned it. That is a fuel mileage figure that is 100% certain. Few people are this obsessive about their fuel mileage! So I take most fuel mileage claims with a grain of salt.
-
I'm sure that the location within the coach affects how much vibration you get. Our unit is located just forward of the rear axle on a side wall facing the center line of the coach. When it goes into the spin cycle which doesn't last too long, we get a good bit of vibration and noise. We hardly notice it running at other times. Load balance will affect how any washer spin cycle shakes. An unbalanced load in a home washer will set it shaking violently. Experiment with your washer, a larger or smaller load may work better. Obviously, a single garment like a pair of jeans could put it off balance. With a side loading washer, you can't open the door and redistribute the garments around the tub so there isn't much you can do other than enjoy the ride!
-
Welcome mkminewine! I love the handle! Isn't it great to find something that works for you and still have the option to be able to pick up and go see other parts of the country. You made a good case for volunteering when you mentioned all the wonderful people you have met. I'm glad you found a way to make full timing work for you and thanks for sharing your experience with all of us.
Surgery
in General Discussion
Posted · Report reply
Wayne,
Good luck with your surgery. Your hard work comes afterward! I hope you get a good therapist to get you back on your feet soon.
We'll be thinking about you.
Tom