Chunkybeastracin@aol.com

I am not going to waste anymore time on this thread. Opinions are like rear ends; everyone has one.

Your statement of "people are afraid of big dogs, Live with it" is a perfect example of peoples uneducated judgment of something they know nothing about. First of all, English Bulldogs are not a Big dog nor are they a agressive loud breed, so you may want to educate yourself on dogs, breeds and temperments before making unfounded judgment which result in discrimination and prejudice. Big dogs do not scare people, only the people that choose to pass judgment based on lack of knowledge. I am not complaining just stating facts and informing people on practices of some rv parks. Since alot of RV'ers have "Big" and small dogs this information may be of use to them or not, so just because you have personal fear of Big dogs dont push your prejudice on others. Perhaps if you were to educate yourself on animals you would loose your fear. If what is written under the "Pet forum" bothers you than dont read it, but dont expect people that have a interest in pets not to discuss pet/rv related issues under this "Public Forum"

I couldn't disagree with you more, as it is discrimination and is about as intelligent as people judging a entire race based soley on their color of skin. Dogs bite people due to the way they were raised, not because of their breed (referring to your comment on the guy who let his pit bull off the leash). As far as liability and lawsuits, if that is the sole intention, then they would have to ban children from riding their bicycles in their parks, since a simple fall due to a tree branch, puddle, etc. would open them up to civil litigation as well. They would also have to ban golf carts, people walking after dark, etc. It is all about interpretation and just simply being responsible. It is not about banning a large dog. Wow, perhaps we should ban all the men who weigh over 220 pounds because if they got in a fight they could do some serious damage vs. a 100-pound female.

I couldnt agree more, Wayne. I found 99% of the dogs that I encounter -- husky, chow, pitbull, etc. are generally better behaved than most people. (You never see anyone putting a leash on the kid who continually rides his bike directly through your campsite or the guy who thinks everyone in the whole RV park shares his taste of music. Ironically, the same RV park charged additional for each slideout on an RV. Have a good day.

Hello. Just wondering if a section may be added to discuss various products like what users found best to work as a wax, black streak remover, roof cleaner/maintance, etc. RVers spend a lot of time taking care of their rigs and it would be nice to have a section just set aside to discuss what product works best for people pertaining to the washing, shining, etc. of their motorhomes. Just a thought.

We have recenlty encountered several RV parks that do not allow "aggressive breeds of dogs" in their parks. That includes the "bull" breeds like pitbulls, rottweillers, etc. We explained that we have two English bulldogs. After much discussion they reluctantly had us sign a waiver and let us stay. Pet discrimination is becoming more and more prevalent in a lot of parks. I have met many pitbulls and rotweiller breeds that were the most gentle dogs I ever met. And then I've encountered some poodles and Chihuahuas that wanted to rip off my ankles. To discriminate on an entire breed of dog is total ignorance. A dog's tempermant depends on how that dog is raised and treated.

Hello, Steve/Nancy, and welcome to FMCA. This is a great site where you can find answers to just about any RV topic. Many very helpful people here are always willing to give help out.

We have towed with a Blu Ox tow bar and a Dolly. We currently are using a Dolly as it was much cheaper for us. The tow bars are car specific as you need to have the tow brackets installed that are specific to your car and can be very costly depending on the type of car. The tow dolly we use is a Stehl and takes us no longer to secure the car on it than it did to a tow bar. Loading is very simple as the ramps tilt. The tow dolly is very light and one person can move it very easily. If you are tight on room you can disconect the dolly and slide the tongue under the back of you rv and it will only take up abouit an extra 3 feet of your space. (We have never encountered a campground that could not accommodate a tow dolly)We purchased our tow dolly used off of craigs list for $500 and bought new tie down starps for $58. We have towed thousands of miles with the dolly without any problems. For us, the tow dolly was more convenient and more cost effective than the tow bar we were using. (Also you can tow just about any car that is a front wheel drive on the dolly without any expensive modifications to your car) Be very careful if you select a tow bar method and check with the vehicle manufactore to see what/if any modifications your vehicle may need or severe transmission damage can occur and if you ever decide to tow a different vehicle you will need to purchase additional bracket specific to that vehicle (our saturn brackets cost $380)

Hello Marshal, glad you found some helpful advise. I am new to owning our first diesel pusher after 3 gas rvs. The engine being in the rear is a huge part for us as the noise of the engine is almost none existant especially like that of the gas engines that you constanly hear the rpms going up and down as they struggle to carry the heavy weight. Another factor you may want to consider is the location of the generator, preferably should be up front simply so you dont hear it running when you are sleeping if you do a lot of dry camping. A few people pointed out on here that the 190hp may be an issue. This may or may not be an issue, depending on the size of the coach, weight and if you will be towing. Best to test drive it up some hills and see if it performs adequatly for you. So far we are extremly happy with our pusher and would never go back to gas. Good luck with your selection and hope it treats you well.

No problem, I was just passing along our personal experience with gas vs. diesel. We had a Coachmen Mirada no slides with a 460 Fuel Injected Engine, it was only 33 feet, towing a Saturn and would barely do 35-40 mph up the passes. Our second rv was a 34 foot four winds hurricane with a 460 ford and was equally under powered. Every motorhome is different as is the driving habits of rv owners, its kind of like the guy that thought he won the race when he was the only one racing. Our current diesel is 300 hp, on a 36 foot rv with one slide and it out powers any 460 ford we had, so I am sure that everyone has different experiences and each owner is equally proud of their rig whether gas or diesel and will defend the performance of whatever they currently have. HP is really relevant to the weight and driving habits.

Another campground close to these locations is the Golden Clear Creek Campground located right in the small town of Golden, CO. Majority of their full hook up spaces are right on the river which offers great fishing and a nice paved walk way along the river. This camp ground is right next to the 5 star Briarwood restaurant and just 30 minutes from the Black Hawk/Central City Casinos. Golden has much to offer, from the Historic Train Musuem, Coors Brewery to the Buffalo Bill Grave site and Musuem on top of Lookout Mountain.

We too travel with pets (two english bulldogs). We have been to parks that not only charge extra for pets but actually charge a extra fee if you have a slide out and they charge per slide out (We never went back). Some of the parks are ridiculous in the extra charges they incorporate in their already high fees. If your cat stays in the coach, I would not declare him as that would be like asking you what personal belongings you have in your coach and than charging you exgta for them. We have seen some cat owners have a leash on their cat and walking them outside which may be a situation to declare your cat to the park. (The cat in my picture would have been difficult not to disclose to RV parks, just wondering how they would access a fee, perhaps by the pound)

Well, still just getting my feet wet with the operation of our first diesel. I decided to try the economy mode on the Allison 6-speed transission to see if it really made a difference. We drove over 300-plus miles towing our car down to Ignacia, Colo., without the economy mode. On the way back we took the exact same route, which went over several steep passess up to 11,000 feet throught the Rocky Mountains. Wen we finished our trip we got an extra 1 mpg using the economy mode. I really did not notice too much difference in the speed we were able to maintain, other than the transmission seemed to work a lot less hard. To me, it's an easy decision on which mode to use.

Well it sounnds like you wouldnt enjoy our home town of Morrison too much as two weeks ago our night time low was -18 getting up to a day time high of +2. Our neighbors in Kremmling, Co got to -27 during the night so I guess we didnt have it too bad.

We too were always torn between gas and diesel motorhomes. For us it was always the larger up front expense of the diesel motorhomes. We have had 3 different gas class a motorhomes and just recently purchased our first diesel motorhome. (We would never go back to a gas RV) While the diesels are more expensive up front, they out last and out power the gas coaches. The ride is superior with the air suspension and better fuel mileage. Diesels are more dependable than most cars on the roads, hence why all the big trucks are diesel as they log hundreds of thousands miles. You are lucky to find gas coaches that last 50k miles without major overhauls. The diesel motorhomes are barely broke in at this mileage and run to 300k plus miles with proper maintenance. The main thing to look at is your budget and family needs, then select what fits for you at that time.

Your welcome Jeeper. There are alot of great four wheel drive roads here. We do alot of off roading by 4x4 and also our atv's but this time of year most of the roads are inaccessible due to snow but you can explore them on a snowmobile which is also fun (they also have alot of places to rent snowmobiles here). Telluride is another beautiful place a couple of hours from the camp ground here. Alot of the movie celebrities have homes there. If you ever get out this way, let me know and I can get you some great places to go Jeepin off road. My wife and I do the begginer to intermediate trails. We saw some of the expert 4x4 trails and they require winching yourself over most of them. (just not our thing) Take Care

That is some good information. I know most of us are willing to tip our waiter or waitress for a good meal but usually don't take the trouble to make donations where needed (myself included).

Well we got bored this weekend and decided to drive the RV down to Ignacio, Colorado. They just built a new Sky Ute Casino on the reservation. We are currently here in their on-site RV park. Nice amenities, and the RV park has only two other RVs besides ours and a total of 24 full-hookup spaces. I imagine in prime season reservations are a must (very reasonable rates -- $25 for any space any time of the year). The casino is also very nice. It has great food prices, steak and eggs for breakfast for $4.99. My wife enjoys the slots a lot more than me, so I took advantage of the great indoor pool with the river walk and spa. If you are ever down this way, it's a great place to stop. Durango is just 23 miles down the road and has a great narrow gauge railroad to take sightseeing, and Pagosa Springs with their natural hot springs is about an hour away. Well, I'd better go check on the wife to make sure she hasn't gambled the RV away.

Well I am certainly not defending this driver but have to admit that I too have done something similar not on this level but..................many years ago in our first RV a Coachmen Mirada we were in Estes Park, Colo going to get gas at a local station, my wife told me just before we pulled in that she didnt thing we would fit under the awning of the gas station. With all my expertise I reassured her that, "dont worry Honey, we will be fine" I figured our rig would fit (but forgot about the extra height of the ac units). Just as I hear the "crunch" I was already dreding hearing those famous words come out of her mouth "I told you so" By now there were several people arleady gathering around pointing and laughing. After having to let the air out of the tires enough to be able to back out, (destroying one ac unit) I suffered much humiliation and certainly now pay "much" attention to height restriction signs posted everywhere and anywhere

I just recently found out that on the side where the inspection area is for the engine where the dip sticks etc are, there is a air hose connection which can be utilized to hook up a air hose to air up the coaches tires, run air tools etc. Next to that are two T valves which I was told need to be periodically turned to drain any water/oil build up. My question is the water just built up condensation and where does the oil build up come from. I assume these are to clear the air bag lines and must be powered by some type of air compressor. Does this air compressor need service, checking the oil etc.? Just when I though I was getting a handle on operating our first Diesel they sprang this on me..........aaaarrrggggg. Thanks for any tips

Hello. We searched aorund the Colorado area for chapters close to our home, but they are all too far north or south. Just wondering what it takes to start a new FMCA chapter perhaps dealing with our interests, which of course first is motorhomes, then pets and drag racing. Thanks for any tips. We have many varied interests and would welcome new ideas.

Wayne/Brett, you guys are making me jealous with all your talk of orange trees and warm climates. We woke up to a low of -18 degrees here and a high of 1 today.

Definatey good advice, I am just learning about diesel coaches and need to figure out how to locate/drain the air tanks.

If you have clearance issues loading a car on your dolly and dont have any blocks etc to adjust the angle, a temporary fix we used was to use the rear leveling jacks on the motorhome to raise the rear thus decreasing the angle of the dolly ramps allowing the car to clear while loading. For coaches without leveling jacks, you can put a bottle jack under the hitch to get the same results. Hope this helps. Please note always check weight limits before using any jacks etc, and just plain common sense for safety.

Thanks Wayne, maybe you can clarify what a glow plug is, does it take the place of what a spark plug does on a gas engine. I was told that the catipillar engine I have did not have glow plugs? I did however notice that when I turn the key on there is a light on the dash that says "engine preheat"