tbutler

Seatbelts for everyone! We have 3 seatbelts on our couch and of course the pilot/co-pilot seats. I have made one exceptions for my mother-in-law when traveling with us. We were on a long trip from Lake Havasu, AZ to Denver, CO. During that trip, my mother-in-law rode in the co-pilot seat for about 200 miles and then insisted in sitting in the recliner in the rear. At 81 years old, when she wanted something she got it. I wasn't going to argue so let her be as comfortable as she wanted. If we had made a hard stop or had an accident, she would have been severely injured. On another trip with my 85 year old mother, she also rode in the co-pilot seat from St. Louis to Kansas City but on the return trip insisted on sitting in the rear. She did sit on the couch with a seatbelt. We have had our grandchildren on trips and they have been raised with seatbelts and don't argue when told they must wear them. We put them on the couch with toys and games to keep them busy.

This recession or depression, depending on how hard it has hit you, has hit owners of all kinds of resources from rental business properties to boat and airplane owners, automobile owners and those of us who are RV owners. When this first hit I read of many boat owners who would tow their boats out to sea and sink them. I don't think our RV's will float that far! If you want to keep your credit rating high, you have no choice but to continue to pay on that loan. I don't think there will be any kind of relief from the government for what most people see as a luxury item. I hold out the hope, perhaps in vein, that motor home values will recover in the future. The large motor homes likely will not be manufactured in large numbers again in the future. I think most motor homes in the future will be smaller, 30 maybe 35 feet. Those that are manufactured will have environmental and energy saving features that will increase the price tremendously for new motor coaches. So people who want a 40 or 45 foot motor home at a reasonable price will be looking for a good used motor home. Let me draw a parallel from my experience in the aviation community. In the 1950's through about 1980, large numbers of airplanes like Cessna 172's and Piper Cherokees were manufactured. A new airplane cost in the neighborhood of $18,000 to $30,000. Today you can purchase one of these older planes in "good" flying condition for $75,000 to $200,000. The new planes of the same basic type with all the new required bells and whistles cost from $150,000 to $500,000. The reason behind this was that airplanes began to cost more because the FAA began requiring many safety upgrades and improvements plus the paperwork to get new planes and equipment certified drove the costs even higher. As a result, older planes increased in value as they became more in demand. When demand exceeds supply, price increases. So... If motor home manufacturers, the few that remain, continue to build large motor homes, I'm betting there won't be many and they will be quite a bit more expensive than in the past. At a recent Monaco International Rally it was pointed out that the old Monaco built 6000 motor homes in 2008 and that the entire motor home industry will build only 6000 motor homes in 2009. That is a startling drop in manufacturing. Will manufacturers be able to get loans to continue to build motor homes and expand their manufacturing to old levels? Will people who want to purchase motor homes be able to get ever larger loans to purchase ever more expensive motor homes? Will used motor home values behave the same way used airplane prices have? Only time will tell. In the meantime, I'm paying on my loan and I'm updating my motor home to keep it in top condition. I enjoy living in my motor home and if the values do come back, I'll be ready to take advantage of higher prices to move back to a nice sticks and bricks home when I have to give up the traveling life style. My conclusion: Be patient, enjoy your asset, you don't lose money until you sell it so keep it and see what happens... or you could become one of today's fire sale sellers!

Monaco International (MI) is a chapter of FMCA for owners of the Monaco family of motor homes including all Beaver, Safari, Holiday Rambler, Monaco and the new Monaco RV LLC motor homes. While MI was supported by the old Monaco company in the past, the organization has always been an independent organization and continues to operate with outstanding rallies around the country. Volume 1, Issue 1 of the Monaco International Newsletter can be downloaded from this web site. Read about organizational operations and get registration forms for rallies. The Monaco International Website has up to date information on the activities of Monaco International as well as helpful tips and information for Monaco family coaches. If you have a Monaco family motor home, check out these references for the latest information on rallies and activities of the Monaco International Chapter. Non-Monaco coaches are welcome at MI rallies at a slightly higher registration rate. Rallies featured in the current newsletter: Monaco International 2009 Balloon Fiesta Rally, October 7-11, 2009, Albuquerque, New Mexico Monaco International Pre-Rally All Roads Lead to a Rendezvous in the Desert, March 15-18, 2009 at Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson Arizona. Monaco RV's First International New Frontier Rally (Sponsored by Monaco RV, LLC Navistar, not Monaco International) will be held October 26-30, 2009 at Beaudry RV and Rally Park in Tucson, Arizona. All brands of coaches welcome at the same rate as Monaco family coaches. See the newsletter and/or web site above for more information and registration forms. I have posted this as a MI member, I am not an officer or employee of the Monaco International Chapter of FMCA.

I've read of a program that turns a cell phone into a wi-fi hot spot. Somewhere on this forum you will find the details. Search the technology section to find the info. If you have a compatible cell phone, you could use it for wi-fi when necessary. I'll edit this post if I can find it for you. The post is... What is the best way to stay connected online? Look for the forth or fifth reply by Geeks on Tour. This is one possible answer to your problem.

This problem sounds more like air in the line has somehow blocked the flow of fuel. The fuel line from the generator is a pick-up feed from the fuel tank. That is the line extends down into the tank only as far as the 1/4 tank level. There is nothing that tells the generator when to shut off. When the fuel level drops below the level of the fuel line intake, the generator runs out of fuel. Having hooked a direct line to a gas can, I ask, did you fill that line with fuel? Or was that line left with air in it and the generator still ran? Our generator requires an extended priming cycle when it runs out of fuel. It could be that an air blockage is preventing fuel flow even if the fuel line from the gas can was not filled with fuel before starting. Perhaps the route of the line traps air in the line. Another explanation I can think of is perhaps floating debris has blocked the fuel line intake in the fuel tank. If this has happened you could try blowing out the fuel line with an air hose and then try restarting. A final note of caution. I would search hard and long before sucking on a fuel line! In the old days, we used to do those things but now it is strongly advised that we not inhale gasoline fumes. Gloves are advised when handling diesel fuel. I wouldn't want a mouthful of gas. You should be able to find a suction pump for drawing fuel into the fuel line.

We have an HWH air leveling system, no jacks, and have had only a few problems with the system. I had to rebuild the mounting for the small air compressor that operates our system when it readjusts our level due to changing temperature/pressure which affects the air bags (full air bags respond more than those that are partially full). I did this in Fairbanks, AK after driving the Alaska highway. I don't know why the spring mounting failed!!! One adjustment we had to make was the sensor unit which lights those yellow lights on the control panel. Our system is automatic. It can be adjusted manually but then we lose the constant monitoring and adjustment that is necessary with an air system. The sensor box in our motor home is located on the ceiling of the basement compartment directly under the refrigerator. The first thing I did was to secure the box to the ceiling so it wouldn't move. The manufacturer install had one of the four screws loose, it hadn't bitten into a solid backing. Once that was done, HWH was helpful in the process of adjusting the sensor. Step one was to do exactly what you described above, we used a spirit level on the bathroom floor to manually level the unit using the up and down arrows for each axis. I refined this slightly to get the shower and toilet door to swing neutral in all positions. That is, I could put the door in any position and it would not swing closed or open. Well, I got them as close as possible. Step two was to adjust the sensor unit itself. I had my wife at the controls in the cockpit with a walkie-talkie. I was on my back in the compartment with tools, a walkie-talkie and HWH on my cell phone. Did I mention that I have six hands? It is a mutation commonly found in mechanics and jugglers. Anyway, they talked me through the process. With the unit level, several lights were lit on the control panel. Now I would adjust the sensor until the lights were out. At that point, the motor home and the sensor would both be level. It was made more difficult because I was upside down and talking to my wife in the cockpit on the walkie-talkie. After ten minutes or so of back and forth communication between HWH, Louise and I, we got it all to work. Once I had the process down, I can make minor adjustments as things go slightly out of alignment. Doing this has allowed us to use the automatic leveling system and we love it.

We have had the exterior sun screens on both our motor homes. I consider them essential. The sun screens block the sunlight and infrared radiation (heat) before it enters the motor home. Our first set was white, the set we have now is black. Given my preference, I think the black screens are slightly more effective. The screens were the first accessory we purchased for our motor home when we bought it. We had them installed before we left the rally where we purchased the motor home. The screens we have are from Motor Coach Designs, 800-804-1757, www.MotorCoachDesigns.com The advantage of their product is the overall quality and the technique they use for attaching the sun screens. There are snaps on the motor home at each corner and additional as needed along the top or unusual shaped sides. The snaps at the lower corners have Velcro tabs which hold the Velcro on the corresponding corners of the sun screen. Attaching the screens requires putting the screens on the top snap so a ladder is necessary. The lower corners are attached by pulling the screens tight and then attaching them to the Velcro tabs. If/when the screens sag, simply pull them snug and reattach to the Velcro tabs. Our first set of sun screens were stretched out and sagged. There was nothing I could do to make them look better. When I saw the MCD design I was sold. Motor Coach Designs produces a quality product and their price is among the more expensive screens. I have had several repairs made, always at no charge. Recently I mentioned that I needed several replacement tabs to replace some that had the Velcro pulling loose from the tab. They sent me a complete set of new tabs. That is the kind of customer support I always hope for when I buy a product. I have seen screens that can be applied entirely from the ground, no climbing required. I don't know how well they work. The one that I saw was for the windshield only. We purchased sun screens for all our windows, a full set of four for the front and a set of four for one side of the coach and a set of five for the other side. They were custom made, I supplied window measurements and MCD installed them for us at the Monaco Pre-Rally in 2004 before the FMCA Convention in Redmond, OR. We use them all winter long in south Texas and the wind has only pulled a corner loose a hand full of times in five years.

I laughed until I cried. I've done that. Yes, she does say that. The only thing worse than disconnecting the quick disconnect before shutting off the water is trying to reconnect before turning off the water! Thanks, great entry. Tom

Welcome Mike, You haven't mentioned the specific motor home involved nor the specific name of the treatment. Both these important facts will help you get better responses to your query. We have Scotchguard on our fabrics in the motor home. The exterior has multiple layers of clear coat over the paint and that keeps our six year old motor home looking sharp. Both these features were standard on our motor home. We live full time in our motor home so the interior and exterior don't get any rest. Given the market for motor homes today and the fact that you are purchasing a two year old motor home (the 2010 models are out this month or next), you should be getting a real steal. Yes, the motor home may have been just sitting for two years but it has tires that will need to be replaced in 5 years or less. The technology (digital TV?) in this motor home is two years old. Newer models have more bells and whistles. The dealer is paying interest on the motor home or has money tied up in the motor home for two years. These are all arguments for reducing the price or asking for more perks! I would ask the dealer to throw this into the deal rather than paying extra for it. Generally this kind of extra is a high profit item designed to squeeze more profit out of the deal for the dealer. If they won't throw it into the deal, I'd pass unless you can get support from someone who has the system and can verify its value. One last thing. I'd be very careful about using a cover on the RV. Any cover will cause chafing of the paint in areas where it is loose and moves or flaps. I think there are as many negatives as positives to using covers.

We have been in Missouri visiting our children, grandchildren, my mother and other friends. Our visit has been punctuated with numerous trips for repair of our motorhome. We've been in the shop three times now to get the Carefree awning properly installed, painted and adjusted. Our KVH dish has taken two repair trips. An oil change and wheel bearing service took two trips. Each trip requires picking up and moving to the repair shop and then returning to base to set up house again. Normally we move once during this visit, from my daughter's driveway to my mother's driveway or vice versa. We got all our visits, friends, relatives and repairs done, but we were always under pressure to get from one place to the next. There were very few lazy days spent relaxing in the shade and listening to the birds. Today we had the final two maintenance stops. The Carefree awning had a pivot pin dropping out of the support arm. It was fixed in a few minutes by two techs who knew what they were doing. Then it was off to Clarke Power for the wheel bearing job. We got there early and checked in. Louise decided to stay in their comfortable waiting room rather than accompany me to the airport to sit in their pilot lounge while I did a little flying. She normally loves to fly if we are going from place to place, but today was "batting practice," as she likes to call it. The FAA says that if you make three takeoffs and landings in 90 days you can keep flying. In truth, the takeoffs are easy; the landings are the challenging part of the flight. I left for the airport early, a bonus for me. One of the rules for safe flight is to have your mind totally on the flying and not have distractions dividing your mental abilities. Safe flying is an exercise in mental discipline. It does require your total attention. Having the pressure of a time schedule causes pilots to cut corners and make poor decisions. These have a way of coming back to bite you at just the wrong time. So after considering the day's schedule and putting myself in a time box, I was having second thoughts about the wisdom of flying. Should I cancel and hope to fly somewhere else in the next two weeks? At the airport, I took my time preparing for the flight. It was my first flight since getting checked out at this airport in June. Once all the preparation was done, I climbed into the cockpit and began to run through the checklists. Flying is serious stuff. You can't just say, "Wait a minute, I'll pull over here and look at the map." Everything has to be at your fingertips so you can stay mentally ahead of the airplane. I took off from the incredibly rough runway and flew to a nearby airport with better runways to make several landings. The first landing was not my best. That is why we practice. The second and third were better. Now I had to return to land at the home field, that rough, narrow runway. I made a wide circle over the countryside to enjoy the view. I'm flying out of St. Charles, Missouri. This is the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Everywhere I look I'm seeing flocks of white pelicans, some on the water, other flocks in flight. Thousands of white pelicans were on their way south to our winter home in south Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. Over there is a huge tow with its barges making its way north up the Mississippi River. Water is everywhere, with two major rivers running near full. It has been a wet summer in the Midwest and the rivers show it. This is one of the major perks of flying. I love the scenery. Even dismal places look awesome from 2,000 feet in the air. Landing at St. Charles Municipal airport, I am on my game. I make the required soft field landing to save the nose gear from the abuse it would get on this rough runway. If I touched it down at high speed, the relatively fragile nose gear could be damaged. It takes a fine touch to keep the nose wheel up but not so far up that it brings the plane up into the air again. I was pleased with the landing. I taxied to the ramp and parked the plane. Once all my belongings were gathered, I stepped out of the Cessna 172 and as I did, I realized that I hadn't thought of the motorhome once in the last hour and a half.

In addition to the above, I always try to empty the black water tank after driving rather than before driving. That means when you are traveling from one RV Park to another, I dump the tank right after arriving at the second RV Park. That way, everything in the tank should be well stirred. If you dump then, the solids won't have a chance to settle to the bottom. If you are going home, it means dumping the tank at home or at a RV Dump somewhere on the way home. The longer and rougher the drive, the better for dumping tanks afterward! One method we use when dumping that I think will work for the macerator toilets also is to fill the bowl with water and then flush as the Sani-Con pump is running out of fluid. I use several 2 gallon buckets and fill them with a hose outdoors. This process puts a large amount of water down into the nearly empty tank directly below the toilet drop zone which is where solids tend to accumulate. I do this after running the tank rinse for the entire dumping process and it runs clear. When the toilet is flushed, significant solids come out with each flush up to the third time. By then, everything is running clear. This indicates to me that the standard tank rinse system doesn't really move nearly all the solids out of the tank. Another thing you might try if this is possible. If you have an option to unhook the Sani-Con, do so and put a regular 3" hose on to dump the black water. We have a macerator and it doesn't empty the tank as rapidly as a 3" hose. That means that with the macerator, the water isn't flowing out of the tank with anywhere near the speed and energy as with the 3" hose. The faster the water flows, the more solids it will move out of the tank. I try to use the 3" hose occasionally while traveling and all the time when parked for the winter. I save the macerator for those times when I want a quick convenient dump or when using a sewer connection designed by someone who didn't understand the finer points of waste plumbing and gravity! My black water tank gauge hasn't worked accurately for years. I had it recalibrated at the factory but that only lasted for six months or so and soon the readings were off. In the meantime, I figured out by experience how long Louise and I could go before the black water tank would be at a critical level. I also learned how to tell that the black water tank was nearing full! So now I know our tank will hold almost two weeks of flushes. I make a note on my computer calendar (BWT Dump) and plan to dump somewhere near the end of the two weeks from there. I no longer even look at the black water tank indicator, I don't need it.

We've had heat pumps in both our rigs. We use them when the weather is moderate. Our Duo-Therms work well, putting out plenty of warm air. The one disadvantage is that the warm air is put into the rig at the roof and it tends to stay there. The floor will be the coolest part of the coach. Louise doesn't mind the cold floor if the weather and the floor aren't too cold. When it gets really cold, she wants the furnace. Using a fan on low would help circulate air and move more warm air to the floor. Having heat pumps gives us flexibility in fuel choice. We can use the heat pumps if we are parked for a while and the propane is running low. Currently we are in my mother's driveway and we'll use the furnace if necessary to avoid running up her electric bill. In moderate weather, they should generally cost less to operate than the propane furnace depending on the rates for electric and propane. Having dual sources of heating also helps if the furnace quits working! Using the heat pumps gives us zonal heating. We can use the front or rear or both as desired. Our ducting is connected throughout the motor home so some heat from the back comes to the front and vice versa. This allows us to do the same we do with the air conditioners. We can use the rear AC during the day and the front at night which minimizes the noise level where we are. I think you'll be very happy with your modification. It makes your motor home more versatile. When you are full time, that is important.

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

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.

We have moved in with my mother! A failure at 63! No, not really, just a temporary setback. We're having some painting done on the motor home and it has been in the shop for three days now. I just talked to Mark at First Class Fiberglass in St. Peters, Mo., and he has promised to be done about noon tomorrow. We'll be glad to get our little home back again. We have one more repair to accomplish and that is to get the KVH dish fixed. It quit working several weeks ago. I think we are lined up to have it fixed Friday afternoon, and if that goes as planned, then the ball will be back in my court. Seajay just posted some help on fixing RV refrigerators on the forum and I can use that information. Our refrigerator has been puny when working on gas, so I guess I need to clean up that system. I checked the vent and it is open. So I'll dig through that information to see what else I can find to try to get it to work better. There are a number of other fix-its and improvements on my to-do list. I'll tackle them as time permits in the next week or two. Then there is my mother's fix-it list. Once we get our home back, I'll have my tools and I can get to work on her list. Mom is 85, so keeping her three-bedroom home in top shape falls to the children now. No one complains, everyone takes a turn at one thing or another. Being a full-timer in an RV, I can park and live here at Mom's house and take on the bigger tasks that take time. Several years ago I built a porch for her side door to replace a set of concrete steps that didn't even have a banister. Before that I cleaned out my dad's work shed. It was a clap-trap operation as was typical of my father's construction skills. We loved him dearly but always joked about his skills with tools. Dad never saw the need for any but the simplest tools and he would find a way to fix most anything with a hammer, saw and screwdriver. Oh, yes, and lots of bailing wire and binder twine -- you could never use too much bailing wire and binder twine. Dad kept everything he ever thought he might use someday, so cleaning out the shed was a two-week operation. Mom put "checking the shed to see what it looks like inside" on her to-do list again. I think she is afraid to look inside, fearing there might be some other homeless people living in there! We'll spend most of next week here with my mother before starting our trek west. Louise's mother, daughter and other family in Denver will be a quick stop this time since we were there for a month in the spring. Our real time this fall will be spent in California with Louse's youngest daughter and her family. We have two granddaughters there that have grown quite a bit since we last saw them. We'll be glad to get some grandparent time with them before we flee south for the winter. Living full-time in an motorhome gives us the freedom to do all these things and more. We enjoy our travel time together and we cherish our family time. It's a perfect retirement lifestyle for us.

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.