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Barnero

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Posts posted by Barnero

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Just wanted to update.

    I got a response from Alabama State Senator Paul Sanford today. He said he had reviewed the fee data from the Alabama Revenue Dept and he agreed the rates were too high. I left him a copy of my Tag & Tax Receipt per his request and he is going to work for some change. I ask all Alabama residents to write or email your legislators to support this effort.

    I reviewed the Tennessee fees and their tag totals ran from $25 to a little less than $102 a year. I got a response from Legislator Howard Sanserford earlier after much delay and sarcasm, which he basically said there was no point in trying to change things like that in fought budget times. I guess that is probably a typical response from a politician, especially these days.

    Senator Sanford was very graceful with his response and said basically he was there to serve. What a refreshing attitude for a public office holder these days. My hat's off to him!!!!

  9. Posted · Report reply

    I need a little help here with 12V power. I lost power to my A/C and it shut down. I went to the front fuse box and found that the 15 AMP fuse marked "Furnace/AC condenser" was blown. I replaced it and nothing. I started checking voltages in the box and the left bank of fuses (which the earlier mentioned fuse is in) was dead. Power comes in to the right side of the silver component in the bottom of the box and the feed to the right bank comes off of that same post. The feed to the left side comes from the adjacent post and had no power. What is that component, what does it do, and from what I explained, do I need to change it and where do I get one?

    Thanks for your help in advance.

    Rodney

  10. Posted · Report reply

    Does anyone have any recommendations for learning sources about the typical motorcoach electrical systems, mainly how the components of the AC/DC systems interact and function? I have a 1999 Odessa Industries Overland Loredo coach with an added bank of 4-6V batteries for a total of 8 and three soalr panels and it looks like the coach came with very limited documentation and none on the add ons.

    If there are any Odessa Overland owners that have and would share any documentation you have on the electrical systems that would sure be appreciated.

    Thanks for your inputs!

    Rodney Barnett

  11. Posted · Report reply

    I'll tell ya folks, we are really hurting for a customer orinted satellite tv service in this country. I have been really amazed how dumb or maybe sneeky, but definitely stubborn both companies are to deal with. Directv has a deal to just pay an additional $5 for RV coverage if you have their service in your home. I made the mistake of connecting my RV first and about a year later tried to get the home installed and do the $5 additional for the RV. They were most happy to help but since I was already a customer they would not give me the promotional rates so if I accepted their offer I'd have ended up paying about $20 more than expected and saving hardly anything for switching. Of course part of the savings erosion was Comcast increasing their in home cable internet service if I terminated my cable tv with them. I got frustrated and just told them to cancel my RV coverage and figured I'd maybe go back later and do the home first. When they started that process they insisted they had shipped me a receiver when I connected and requested I return it. Said they had records of the order. I told them their employee must have stolen that receiver because I had purchased mine with my RV. They told me at first you couldn't buy them so I asked if they had ever heard of EBAY?????????????????? Of course their are dealers too that sell the receivers as well locally. I am not sure I have ever had a good experience when calling either one of these services. Looks like to me with alot of the campgrounds providing service and digital free air service better now it may be best to stick with those. As far as setup of service at a site, Directv was a little easier to me, but if Dish could out their difficult customer service mindset I'd gladly go with them because it wasn't THAT much harder to set up the Dish system. Definitely easier though with the signal meter. Good luck!!!!

  12. Posted · Report reply

    Today I wrote both of my state representatives and the governor about what I feel are unreasonable tag taxes and fees in Alabama. I would encourage anybody who buys tags in Alabama to do the same. Not sure how they compare with other states, but they are unreasonable, in my opinion. Below is what I sent to the state fathers:

    Hon. XXXX

    I would like to bring to your attention the unreasonable tag fees and taxes paid for motorhomes in Alabama. No need to be long winded, but get right to the point. I believe it is very unfair to charge a different issuance fee for ANY vehicle, to start with. I just bought an old motorhome and my issuance fee for the tag was $275. Why would that be different for different vehicles, especially in this case? In addition, my taxes were almost $600. I fail to understand why we are taxed the same as a commercial vehicle that is for-profit and driven most of its miles in-state. Motorhomes are usually driven most of their miles out-of-state, and travelers often park for extended periods, unless they are full-timers. This seems like a tax that is a "share the wealth" tax -- unreasonably placed on prive citizens of Alabama as if they were a business. Is there something we can do about this injustice?

    Thanks for your time,

  21. Posted · Report reply

    I just happened to look at that for the first time today, going through RV BASICS and a discount was offered. For my money it's overpriced since I have so many other Internet resources that I can access. Putting money into another one just did not agree with me. I know that is not a good answer to your question. But if you can save money going through the Web site I mentioned, then the post is good for you.

    Good luck.

    He offered the lifetime service to me today for $17.

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Lawrence,

    Thanks for the data. Good info. I would have expected the insurance company to refuse coverage if they have the right to not cover you in a accident. Did they not ask what type of license you posessed when you applied for insurance? Mine did so.

    Rodney

    F409103

    FMCA recently received the following e-mail from Lawrence R. Babb, of South Carolina, concerning drivers license requirements.

    I am sending you this email to share my concern that a number of FMCA members may be operating their motorhomes illegally -- they wrongfully assume their normal auto drivers licenses are adequate for motorhome use.

    Reference is made to the article Texas Drivers License Requirements in the April 2009 issue of Family Motor Coaching magazine. I think FMCA would provide members a great service if that article were expanded to cover the license requirements for all states, for reasons shown below.

    I have been an FMCA member for five years. During that time I have driven my motorhome 60,000 miles through 46 states and eight Canadian provinces. I just discovered that all that travel was done using an unauthorized class of driver's license -a normal auto class driver's license (Class D). I only learned of my license shortfall while recently perusing another website -- fellow South Carolinian was complaining about the test that he had taken to obtain his license.

    Similar to Texas, South Carolina law requires that vehicle operators driving vehicles whose GVWR rating exceeds 26,000 pounds (includes most diesel rigs) to possess either a class E or class F (noncommercial heavy truck) operators license. The class F license is required to tow another vehicle (toad) behind a motorhome whose GVWR exceeds 26,000 pounds.

    According to information received from the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, I can expect at least two unpleasant results if I gain the attention of the authorities while driving my motorhome using my auto drivers license:

    - The annoyance of receiving a traffic violation ticket from law enforcement officials.

    - Denial of coverage/responsibility by my insurance company if I become involved in an accident. My insurance company can be expected to deny coverage on the basis that I was an unlicensed driver. I was not licensed by my state to operate the class of vehicle I was driving. Loss of insurance coverage could result in total financial disaster.

    I did a very quick Internet survey of neighboring state motor vehicle departments to ascertain what their requirements were. I found that NC has similar requirements as SC (and TX). VA, GA, and FL do not appear to have any such requirements. I also shocked my neighbor just before he left on a motor home trip -- he had no idea that South Carolina requires him to have a class F license.

    In summary, I think it is possible that dozens of FMCA members may be blissfully operating their motorhomes without having the necessary operators licenses. If even one member loses insurance coverage in an accident because of having an improper operators license, that is one too many. None of us need unexpected financial disasters.

    Sincerely

    Lawrence R. Babb

    F342790

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