tbutler

It's a long list! I am thankful that we are living in the golden age of motorhoming. We live in a country that allows free travel from sea to shining sea. It is a country with a multitude of things to see and do, places and people, activities and events. We have great highways, a wonderful array of support from dealers and service centers to the many RV parks, fuel that even at today's prices is a bargain when compared to the rest of the world. I'm thankful for my wife who has been willing to go on this great adventure and deal with all the changes that are necessary to live in a motor home for all these nine years. I'm thankful for a family who has accepted this change in our lifestyle. I'm thankful for the designers, engineers, and staff of the company that built this wonderful machine which frustrates me when something breaks but is an absolute miracle machine when it's working right. I'm thankful for all the support services that make our lifestyle so convenient; the mailing service that handles our mail forwarding; the Internet services the keep us in touch with the rest of the world; the cell phones that provide instant contact with our family and friends; even the satellite television which informs and entertains us. I'm thankful for the men and women who serve this country to keep us free, from the president and congress to our military forces who put their lives on the line every day. I'm thankful for our police who keep us safe at home and our firemen who keep us safe in our homes. I'm thankful for the men and women who work to keep our water and air clean, those who keep our food safe and who provide our health care, and those who manage and protect our wildlife. I am thankful for our teachers who educate all of us so that we can exercise the obligations of citizenship in a country in which people rule. I'm thankful for those who maintain and operate our magnificent park system. I'm thankful for Wal-Mart and Flying J. I'm thankful for FMCA and the forum which provides us the opportunity to share ideas with one another. I'm thankful for a good nights sleep. I'm thankful for pizza. I'm thankful for good tires, strong batteries and wi-fi. I'm thankful for GPS, microwave ovens and automatic ice makers. I'm thankful for quiet RV parks away from highways, railroads and airports. I'm thankful for hot showers and cold drinks. I'm thankful for dark skies full of stars. I'm thankful for sunny days with summer breezes. I'm thankful for rain that settles the dust and clouds that hide the sun on really hot days. I'm thankful that PETA hasn't seen my windshield after a long hot day of driving. I'm thankful that I didn't hit that skunk! I'm thankful that I got stopped in time. I'm thankful that I made it up that hill. I'm thankful that I made it down that hill, around the curve and over the bridge. I'm thankful that overpass was high enough. I'm thankful that didn't fall off the ladder. I'm thankful the toad is still behind us. I'm thankful for left turns. I'm thankful that three lefts do make a right. I'm thankful for wide lanes and RV parking spaces. I'm thankful for air conditioning and power sun shades. I'm going to bed. You're thankful for that, I know! Goodnight, Tom

Thanks for letting us know how the problem was resolved. Now we have a solution that may work work someone else.

Susan and Charles, Since you have contacted Dometic and they have not been able to diagnose the problem over the phone you most likely will have to have the refrigerator physically examined at a service center. There are really two warranties when dealing with motor homes. You may not have the original manufacturers warranty on the motor home but each of the components, refrigerator, microwave, toilet, inverter, etc. may have its own warranty from its manufacturer. Thus you may find that Dometic will still honor their warranty of the refrigerator even though you are the second owner of the motor home. It is worth a try, in fact your extended warranty company may require that you use the Dometic warranty first and then after it expires their warranty coverage will kick in. In order to keep your extended warranty in effect you have to follow their rules. When Herman and Bobbie said "Follow the rules to a fault." That means that you should read the whole extended warranty very carefully. They have a whole set of requirements which are like hurdles. If you stumble on any one, you have lost the race. They usually require that you call them before any work is done. They may specify where the work is done, who does the diagnosis, etc. So before you take this to a service center, call the warranty people to discuss the problem with them. If they will cover the work, get it in to a repair center as soon as you can. Getting the work done ASAP will get the problem off your mind and will get the warranty benefit in your pocket before they find a hurdle that you haven't cleared. Be sure to mention your extended warranty when you contact the service center as there are some service centers that will not work with one warranty company or another because of previous problems or differences over payments for work done. Some warranty companies try to negotiate discounts for work done or try to pay only so much for each kind of repair. Doing the paperwork can be a hassle for the service center and they may simply refuse to work with a specific company which leaves you the choice of going to another service center or perhaps pay the bill yourself and then accept what the extended warranty company is willing to pay. When it comes to extended warranties, you must keep very complete records. Be sure that any service company puts mileage and date on any invoice and file them away in a place where you can find them when needed. Also make sure the invoices list clearly all procedures (oil changes, lubrication, adjustments, inspections) required by the warranty. If the warranty company wants, you must produce written records of satisfying all required maintenance. Most will allow you to keep a written log of any owner provided maintenance such as an oil change as long as you are trained or qualified to do the work. Anyone who purchases an extended warranty should take the time to read the actual contract very carefully before the warranty is purchased. Do not rely on the advertisement brochure that the sales person hands you, read the actual contract with all its legalese. Make notes or highlight the contract and make yourself a maintenance schedule that you can keep handy. If you wait until you have a problem to read your warranty you may have already missed one of those hurdles and lost the race. Each of their requirements for service or maintenance is an "out" for the warranty company. If you don't follow their rules, they don't have to give your warranty benefits. They have a legal contract and as long as you meet your end of the bargain, they will meet their end.

Hey Herman, I know what you mean about camping. I love a good gravel bar on a float trip for a campsite. Quiet, with just the sound of the water in the rapids to keep you company. I can smell the fresh fish cooking over the open fire and taste the cold beer to wash it down. The ground has gotten much harder in the last ten years! We're living in our motor home full time and the DVR (if I had one) would be here in the motor home. For us full timers, you can expect that we'll want to have all (well most of) the conveniences of home in our motor home. So yeah, we want TV every night. We have a generator and an inverter and we want AC electric on all the time in our (motor) home. We use the internet for correspondence, news, weather, finances, you name it, so we want an internet connection everywhere we go. We need to keep in touch with family and friends so we want the cell phones to work all the time. We love sitting in the lawn chairs watching the sun set with a nice bottle of wine between us. When we can't get all that, then we are camping! Sometimes we do that on purpose, sometimes we don't have any choice. I hope that when you reach your retirement you are able to experience the wonderful freedom and of traveling and living in your motor home (if you so desire). Any way you cut it though, life in a motor home beats the alternative all to pieces.

TV Stations haven't cut their signal strength, it is the nature of the digital signal that it doesn't transmit as far or as well. With digital you either have it or don't. There is no snowy picture when the signal is weak. So it is all or nothing. As you watch and the signal strength changes because a bat flaps its wing or a butterfly flits or a ship toots its horn, the signal fades a little and the picture goes... well... gone! Then the signal improves a little and it's back. As Jack said, there is a signal strength meter on many digital TV's. If you follow his procedure, you should get your best signal for any station. Just remember that all stations in Memphis aren't in the same location. This one is east of town, that one is on a hill to the west and another is north... That means that you may have to check the signal meter and re-align the antenna every time you change channels. And some of those stations may be 90 miles away. This is fun isn't it? Just remember now there is no snow just beautiful picture... when you can get it. I think over time many stations will set up remote antennas to improve their signal strength in remote areas. In the meantime, we'll have to cope the best we can. Good tuning...

It is a painful fact that the traffic engineers who program traffic lights don't always take into account the stopping time and distance for larger vehicles. Indeed, I think some traffic lights are not programmed by engineers but just done by the mayors cousin! Given this, a tip that I picked up several years ago in a safety class at an FMCA convention is to watch each traffic light as you come to it. If it has been green for a while, think of it as a stale green likely to turn yellow and prepare ahead of time. It means slowing down a little and having your finger (or foot) on the engine brake ready to pounce at the flash of a light. If you make a habit of watching the lights as you approach you'll likely be caught less often. It takes a little paradigm shift on our part, we aren't driving sports cars. We have to adjust our driving to match the vehicle. If you are in the intersection when the light is yellow and it turns red, you should not be ticketed by the laws in some states. I can't say that is true for all. We visited friends in Winnipeg a few years ago and they told us of local enforcement practices which included parking a vehicle on the roadside in construction zones. The vehicle had a camera and speed gun which photographed any speeding vehicle. Now there is a thought that will make you slow down in construction zones. They told us of that after we had arrived so I worried for several months afterward expecting a ticket in the mail for speeding in a construction zone. It's something that I try hard not to do but sometimes you get caught going a little too fast as you enter one of these and I was certain that had happened in one particular instance. It's been two years now so I guess they missed me!

Mikayla, Welcome to the forum. I know what you are saying about dogs liking to hang out the window and feel the breeze. I'm sure they would ride motorcycles if they could. The fact is that any object inside a moving vehicle that isn't tied down will keep moving at the same rate of speed that the vehicle is moving even if the vehicle stops suddenly as in a collision. At 35 miles per hour you are traveling the same speed as an object falling from a four story building. If the vehicle suddenly stops, any animal not secured in a safe location will hit whatever is in front of them at 35 miles per hour. I wouldn't toss a dog or cat off a four story building. That will be a serious if not fatal injury. The best you can do is to secure them in a crate which is anchored with a seat belt. I notice in your picture that you are wearing a seat belt. Good for you, everyone should wear seat belts when in any vehicle. Your dog doesn't have the ability to put on a seat belt or even know that it should be wearing one so it is up to us marginally smarter critters to take care of them. I would secure any animal in a vehicle for this reason. Keeping them in a crate also keeps them from becoming excited about something and interfering with the driver of the vehicle. I have heard of accidents caused when a dog jumped on the lap of the driver blocking their view or interfering with their ability to maneuver the vehicle. For your own safety and the safety of the pet you love, have them in a crate when traveling! As dervati says: "Training them as a puppy that a crate is a safe, comfortable place to be and normal while traveling, gives them a security blanket."

A few years ago friends were traveling with us. I noticed his tail lights were just barely visible. We got to looking and found that the inside of the light unit (reflector) was coated with dust. He gave them a good cleaning and they looked great. Next thing you knew, they were all dusty again. He sealed them with silicon and it helped but the design of those taillights was never going to keep them clean. Have you checked the inside of your lights? You might get better performance until you can find the manufacturer of the ones you want.

If you have a residential refrigerator, you should have an augmented set of house batteries. Instead of the industry standard 4 x 6 volt batteries, most are putting in at least 6 x 6 volt batteries. This will give a little longer time between generator runs. One possible means to extend this would be to pick up some dry ice and use it to help keep the refrigerator cold. Residential refrigerators are generally better insulated and a pound of dry ice should really help keep it cold so the unit runs less and uses less electricity. Of course if you are really in the boondocks, the dry ice will give out in a day or so and you'll be running the generator more eventually. On the other hand, the propane refrigerators have proven to be an real risk for fire and eliminating them makes your motor home much safer. I'm planning on replacing our propane model with a household model when it finally gives up the ghost.

Welcome NF: As above, please give us the manufacturer and model and year of coach. Let us know also the slide, front/rear, driver side/passenger side. As I understand it various manufacturers have different instructions for extending slides. We have two slides and each has a different method for moving the slide and each has a different system for adjusting the slide out. I had mine adjusted at a service center several years ago and watched/participated in the process. Now I know what to do on my own. If you have to take your coach in to have the adjustment made, ask to watch the process so you can see how it is done. Think of it as going to RV tech school! If you have a shift of the slide it indicates some failure of the slide out mechanism or a serious adjustment issue. Once we know the exact details of your coach, we should have someone on line who owns or knows a similar coach and can give you some help.

Matt, I was checking to see if you found a solution to your problem. Those of us who offer solutions would enjoy hearing what the actual solution to these problems is as it helps us learn from your experience. I'm not so much interested in being right or wrong, just want to know what broke and how it was fixed. One other possibility occurs to me. The pop you heard could have been the switch shorting out. The switch may also be a cause if the motor is not running at all.

I am very happy with our insurance from GMAC. They have full timers insurance that covers contents and liability in campgrounds as well as the usual auto and motor home vehicle insurance. Their motor home insurance includes replacement value for motor home and toad. We've had several claims and they have always been most efficient and have paid fairly in each case. We get a person assigned to our case immediately and they are very responsive in handling our claims. All this is done via the phone and internet (send photos of damage) which might suggest an impersonal approach but we've never felt we got anything but the best service.

Kids and motor homes are made for each other! Can't beat the fun you can have with both. Bet you're glad you aren't at Virginia Beach tonight! Hope the campground doesn't suffer too much damage. Always enjoy your blog entries! Thanks. Tom

Was the popping noise an electrical pop like a short or was it a pop like something breaking? When you activate the switch do you hear the motor running or is there only silence? If the motor runs but the slide doesn't move, I would look for a keyway or shear pin on the drive shaft. It is basically a safety feature to keep the motor from being overloaded. If the resistance is too great, the keyway or shear pin will break and this keeps the motor shaft engaged in the shaft that turns the screw to move the slide out. This has happened to a friend of ours with the rear slide on his Windsor. He found a suitable substitute at Home Depot and then got the proper size later from Monaco. He gave me one to keep in case I had the same thing happen. I keep my slide out well lubricated and haven't had a problem yet... This is how the Windsor slide outs work, I don't know about La Palma. If the motor doesn't run when you activate the switch, then I would look for an electrical short though that should have blown a fuse. The slide out motors are 12V motors so it isn't a circuit breaker but instead it will be a fuse. Check in the bedroom 12V fuse box and in the fuse box under the drivers side window for a multitude of other 12V fuses. They are all clearly labeled. If you replace the fuse and it blows again then you have a more serious problem and need to find the short to fix your problem. Of course there could always be something like a piece of your personal gear that slipped under or between the wall and the slide out and is jamming it. Examine the slide out around all edges, sides, bottom and top, both inside and outside to look for something which might be wedged into the space between the slide out and another surface. A final possibility I can think of is a possible failure of the mounting for the motor, breaking loose from its mounting or a failure of the mounting of the track where it attaches to the slide out. Either would result in a failure to move. Most RV parks have service people on their quick call list. If you are in an RV park, check with the office in the morning and get a recommendation for a mobile repair service. If you are on the road somewhere, consult the Family Motor Coach RV Marketplace online service directory or, if you have the Trailer Life or Woodall's Campground Directory, look for nearby service centers for help.

Alamo Fiesta RV Park in Boerne was one of the first stops we made in 8 years of full timing. The park is welcoming, has nice facilities. It is close enough to San Antonio (which is a fantastic city to tour/visit) and is in the heart of the hill country to make this an ideal destination. The rates are in the $30 to $40 range. Nearby are the WWII Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, the dance hall in Gruene, all the German communities of the hill country, and the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Ranch near Johnsonville. Austin is within reach but you may want to move there to explore that area. The state capital in Austin is worth a visit and if you enjoy the city life there are dozens of great restaurants and things to do there as well. In Austin (on I-35) we have stayed at La Hacienda RV Park in Lakeway, Texas, on the outskirts of Austin. We found San Antonio too cold for our tastes (recently retired from Missouri) in December but February is a whole different animal. When I moved from Missouri to San Antonio in January 1969 when I was in the military everyone in the apartment complex thought I was crazy to go in the swimming pool but I thought it was a trip! Hey, it wasn't frozen over like every pond in Missouri! We love the "Hill Country" and stop there frequently on our way into and out of Texas.

I had GS and they gave me the same run-around. We had a flat that ruined the rim. All they were concerned about was getting me on a tire that I could drive away with. A rim and tire that I couldn't use would have cost me $700 and that was their solution (period). I paid to have a company come in and bring me the proper tire size on a rim that would have to be replaced. I came out way ahead. In this case, no company was better than what they offered. The emergency people are concerned with minimizing their costs. There are likely circumstances where this solution is the best, but I'm not so sure. Their solution is a tow to the nearest place where you can get service. Their cost trumps your cost. I had a broken oil line to the turbocharger in the mountains in California. It took much negotiation to get Coach-Net to tow us to a repair center. Another 100 miles and I could have had warranty service with Cummins but -- no -- they would pay for the nearest service where I would have to pay for the cost of the service. It doesn't matter who is providing the service, their cost trumps your cost. As far as they are concerned, the cheapest service is what works for them ... I've been pulled from a stuck-in-the-mud situation by both services and they both performed well, service was excellent. In each of the above instances, I felt as if there was a better solution in my interest, but their interest ruled.

I posted a rather lengthy piece on Moisture in Your Motor Home several months ago. There is a discussion of dehumidifiers there. You may want to take a look a that thread for some detailed information. If you can find no leak in the fresh water system and the trash can itself isn't leaking, then I would suspect that the floor beneath the trash can is not insulated and this allows that spot on the floor to be cold because the trash can is insulating the floor from above, keeping warm air from reaching it. This could be solved easily by elevating the trash can off the floor. You could suspend it from a cabinet wall or place a short stand beneath it to allow inside air to circulate over the floor and keep it warmed. If you have problems under the trash can, you should also check the walls behind the couch, in the back of cabinets and in other areas where the outside wall of the motor home is not directly exposed to heated indoor air. All these areas could be problems as well. In my article, I listed a number of steps that you can take to reduce moisture in your motor home. Compared to the effectiveness of the steps listed in the article, any dehumidifier will be much less effective in removing moisture from a motor home.

We were there in 2007 and stayed at Portal RV Resort. The place was very nice, plenty of space for our rig and toad. We paid $32 a night, you might get better rates for a week. Arches National Park is just a few minutes drive away. Canyonlands National Park is a little further away but easy to get to. If you've got a 4WD you might enjoy the White Rim Drive in Canyonlands, depending on the condition of the road that time of year. We loved the drive from I-70 SW to Moab on Hwy 128. It is slow but beautiful. Your weather in April is likely to be cool. The elevation at Moab is 4000+ feet. We were only there for a few days to see these two national parks so didn't explore much of the town.

California is 55 MPH if you have a toad. The toad qualifies as a trailer. Illinois is posted 55 for motor homes. There are other states that may be posted specifically for motor homes but those are two that I encounter frequently. I make it a practice to follow the truck speed limits just because I would rather travel a little slower and I figure I'm a larger vehicle like a truck. I also follow the truck restrictions for left lane that you encounter on some hills and in some cities. I figure if those working guys can slow down and follow the rules, I can too. I too will be in the right lane most of the time. It minimizes the lane changing and makes driving so much more relaxing. The exception would be in city driving. I prefer to be one lane over from the right lane to allow entering and exiting traffic to get on and off without having to maneuver around me and vice versa.

Look for the annual buyers guide issue (magazine). Any large book store should have them. I can't remember the exact title but we used it when we were beginning our search. There are only so many things they can compare but it gives you a starting place to do some eliminating and make your search a little more focused. It is also good for listing all the possibilities so you don't overlook one just because you haven't heard of it. We also used the web reference above. It is a paid service I believe but well worth the money spent when you consider the size of the purchase. We felt it made us much more knowledgeable consumers. Their information discusses safety, weight, maneuverability, and lots of other things to consider. As you begin to look at various motor homes, salesmen are also good sources of information. They will emphasize what is good about their product but it does give you something to consider as you look at other motor homes and will help you ask questions.

I don't have a macerator toilet but have a macerator on the waste drain that we use when we want a simple hook-up. Even before we had that, we have never hesitated to purchase the soft paper. I prefer Northern, Louise recently picked up angel soft. We use Happy Camper tank treatment and it seems to break down any paper just fine. If you find the paper causing problems there are specific paper dissolving products available at RV stores. The nature of any macerator is to grind up materials and liquify them. It should handle toilet paper with no problems. As Brett said, check the manual for the toilet. If it doesn't mention anything about the kind of toilet paper to use, pick you favorite!

Norcold has an ongoing recall for their refrigerators. You should go to the Norcold site and check to see if you have one of their refrigerators subject to recall. They have detailed information on what models are affected and where to find the serial number that applies. If you don't find the serial number (not refrigerator serial number, the serial number on the boiler/heater unit on the rear of the unit), check back frequently as they are constantly expanding the list. Your problem may or may not have been related to this recall but it has resulted in many fires. This information is obviously more directed to others who might read this thread. If you can locate the serial number on your model, it might help your insurance company with their case against Norcold. I would expect that insurance companies are aware of this recall. The fix as I understand it is to install a heat detector which will shut off the refrigerator if it gets too hot. You should have no problem finding others who have had fires related to Norcold refrigerators.

The previous two adventures occurred in our first year of full-timing in the motor home. By 2005 we had been in our new motor home for several years and were in our fifth winter in south Texas. We were getting a little stir crazy sitting in one place for four months, so in early March we decided to take a couple of weeks and head out west to Big Bend National Park. We would arrive during the peak season at Big Bend, spring break for colleges. Big Bend lies at a road to the end of the world! It is about 50 miles from town of Marathon to the park, with nothing along the way. The Rio Grande Village RV campground (the only one with hookups) doesn't take reservations so you have to get there early and wait for someone to leave. We stopped at a rest stop north of the park and stayed overnight getting up at dawn to enter the park and line up for a campsite. We were lucky, being third in line we got a site and settled in for a stay of eight days. After checking in at the Park Visitor's Center, we set out to enjoy something we couldn't at our previous desert visits. We now had a Chevrolet Trailblazer 4WD for our toad so we took the Glenn Springs 4WD road back to the campground. Slow, rugged, beautiful scenery, this was our first real 4WD experience. Once back at the campground we broke out the bicycles and rode back to a viewpoint where we could watch the sunset colors on the spectacular Sierra del Carmen Mountains. We were lucky this time, the desert was in bloom. We hiked from the campground to the hot springs. Along the way we saw spectacular flowers of all kinds. I love to take pictures and this keeps us from wearing ourselves out on hikes. When I get out of breath I stop to take a picture or two! Along the trail we found a tiny cactus with a huge bloom. Any other time we'd have walked past and paid no attention to this tiny jewel of a cactus but today it was begging for attention. There were fields of cactus in flower, ocatilla and yucca also blooming spectacularly. We lounged in the hot spring then jumped over the wall into the Rio Grande for a cool dip. Back into the hot tub to warm up before heading back to the campground. The ultimate 4WD road, the River Road, runs from one side of the park to the other paralleling the Rio Grande River. Along the way we explored the Mariscal mercury mine, enjoyed the gypsum cliffs and the view of Mule Ears Peak. Stops for wildflowers and the mine plus the scenery and I had to empty my compact flash card for the camera several times. The drive took the entire day. The road would descend into one arroyo after another. We watched the sunset on the way home and arrived back at the motor home in the dark. On a hot day we headed for the Chisos Mountains and hiked the Window View Trail to an opening in the rock that looks out on the desert from 1,600 feet above through a gap in the Chisos mountains. We ate lunch at the overlook and then returned to the car to continue exploring. In the Boquillas Canyon we enjoyed the call of the canyon wren. People used to cross into Mexico here, wading across the river. Now it is illegal to do so. It is also illegal to purchase the goods offered by Mexican artisans who offer hand carved canes and other merchandise for purchase. They wade across the river and leave the goods on the river bank with a can for payments. In a previous short visit we had stopped at St. Elana Canyon and hiked the trial into the canyon. This hike is spectacular and not to be missed. You can almost reach out across the Rio Grande and touch Mexico. Big Bend National Park is one of the least visited national parks, so most times of the year there will be few people in the campgrounds or on the trails. It is well worth the trip to reach this out-of-the-way gem of the U.S. National Park system.