ajshepherd

I will only use a National vendor type truck stop (No specific brand) to fuel up. Easy on and off freeway access and onsite maneuverability for 65ft and no back up capability. My other issues is fuel quality. I do not want to have to deal with that, so I pay more than others. Just as simple as that.

Hi Beschmidtke: I can only comment on our good experience with our 2012 GMC Acadia as follows: We need to pull both BATT and ECM fuses (Switch off switches we installed). They trans in neutral and the key in ACC to fee up the steering wheel. All other years seem to be the same. You may want to contact GM (Dealer) they should have good guidance on this. Good luck. Tony.

Hi Carl: When I registered I did include the safe RV driving class for both of us, and requested volunteering also. I had to call FMCA directly as they do not have the 50A available on the registration page. That option was limited, so I wanted to get registered early and avoid disappointment. Good to know we may be requested to arrive earlier, that will help with our forward planning. Thanks for the great guidance and advice. I will keep you posted, and hope to see you there! Tony.

Hello: I have registered for our first FMCA convention. What can I expect? It will be our first semi-boondocking experience, (We did reserve 50 amp power) but no water or sewer. I would like to come somewhat prepared and we are both hoping to meet a lot of new friends. Maybe get some education and provide some volunteering along the way. Any guidance you can provide us newbie's will be well received!

WeBoost. Clean installation, user friendly.

We have picked up the DP from County Coach. Very happy with the service and results. We can now get on the road with confidence! I promised the fix it list and here it is. While its extensive, I needed to get everything done while I'm still working. I hope this will be the last of the big ticket items. Major Items: Fixed crack in front cap with paint New custom BBQ Grill in the basement New Fridge/Freezer in basement Replaced entire exhaust (Rusted) PTO wet kit upgrade Replaced steering bell crank, several steering parts to resolve a very loose steering situation (65K miles) A/V Upgraded: New Wineguard Traveler HD Auto Dish 32” UHD Smart TV and sound bar in the basement with HD Genie 55” UHD Smart TV, updated surround sound and Blu-ray mid coach with HDTV Updated surround sound and Blu-ray in bedroom with HD Genie Replaced the dash unit with a Pioneer NEX Apple play Bluetooth and three new cameras Pulled HDMI throughout the MH WeBoost Cell booster JEFA Tech Wi-Fi booster Peal & Seal Seal all windows and windshield Upgrade headlights to LED/Polish lenses Minor Items: Annual service for engine, generator and aqua-hot - all fluids and filters. Chassis service with alignment Ride height adjustment/Auto level MB Carpet stretch Black Tank internal hose replacement Fix DS horn Fix PS footrest Install USB and 12 volt outlets Align cabinet doors Replace select basement handles

Hi Bill: Yes, two months is a long time. The part that held us up was a steering bell crank replacement. That part is a forged casting manufactured overseas. We had about 30 days of other work performed before they found out they needed to replace this part.

Well, we have returned from a long 6 days, and a shake down run between Junction City, OR and Las Vegas, Nevada. Overall the trip went well as we are still getting used to the new (Used) DP and we decided to make four overnight stops out of 700 miles. This changed to three stops, due to an unforeseen parts failure. Before departing to collect the DP R/T, I purchased the Coach-Net insurance plan. The second overnight while hooking up at the campground we had issues with shore power. We have a large DP and require 50 amps (3 air units). Once I got the electric to function after a few tries back and forth with the park breakers, I went back in to work on rolling the slides out and setting up. 10 min into doing this the entire MH went black (Now night time 8PM and 100deg still!). To cut a very long story and night short, my first call was to Coach-Net, both the initial call and the technical support were not that great. I did my best explaining everything and they came up with a best guess with what might be wrong (Switch between shore and generator power failure). The Generator did not provide power also. The inverter panel showed 13.5 and 110 power. Coach-Net said they could not do anything until then next day and maybe not until the following afternoon. We were in Northern CA. They also stated that we would have to drive the MH to the vendor for the repair. This did not seem like a good option as our Dish was extended with no power to retract it and I had no ladder the get on the roof to see of I could get it down manually. As I'm on the phone with Coach-Net, Sheri got on the phone with a local fellow that was listed in the camp directory. This is where everything fell into place! Joe, from "Joe on the Go", mobile RV repair agreed to come and look at what he thought might be the issue (He did agreed with Coach-Net and their evaluation and had a spare 50 amp switch), but was going to a concert, but would come out after he and his wife attended the concert by 10PM! At that point we checked into a hotel to get the dogs cooled off, then back to the campsite in high hopes to meet Joe. He was on time and in a good mood! Bottom line: After two hours of meter testing wire and equipment (Using logic) Joe found a bad solenoid controlling all of the house 12 volt power, buried in the inverter space, mid coach in the center of the basement. A simple hot wire (connected both wires to the same post) got us back up and running immediately. In fact I can replace this part myself once I get it in the mail from CC. So, While we got incredible service from a local small business, I'm now somewhat mixed about Coach-Net. I expected to use them more for tire issues, but my first experience has not gone well. The service provided by Joe was unexpected and well received. Elsewhere, I will provide an update over the weekend of how our MH finished up after 2 months at Country Coach, overall very happy, but some minor issues we are still working out. Enjoy the long weekend!

Hi Gayle: We just updated all of the A/V in our MH. The simplest solution is a sound bar. Our outside TV has one because of the small speakers and my poor hearing. You do not need an elaborate home theater system. Our sound bar was about $400. It also will link to anything Bluetooth, so you can play your apple tunes etc. Good luck!

Yes. In my case it was an air issue. I did not realize it as only the DS side was out, but the PS worked OK. When CC did the full inspection they found it. Their solution was to clear an inline blockage to the DS only side. Easy fix. Good luck!

Hi Bill. Will do. Thanks!

Ok. Thanks. We are you doing the next seminar? Sound like I should attend.

That's great news. Maybe nothing needed for now.

Hi Bill: OK, thanks. Biggest issue was fighting the wheel most of the 2K miles to JC. I have driven lots of miles and it did not seem like it should be that bad. My arms would ache after each day! It did turn out to be a major steering component, so I may not fully know if the shocks were a part of the swaying. CC has not commented yet on the condition of the shocks, but they should be all over it in the morning. I guess the good news is the major steering issue has been found (Steering bell) and that's what we were waiting on for three weeks to arrive and get replaced. They will do a full align and ride height adjustment. Appreciate your comments! Tony.

Hi Folks: I have seen some back and forth on shock guidance and wanted to get your most current opinion/guidance on the best choice. My steering parts made it into CC Friday, so I will be over the pit tomorrow to get that project underway. With 65K on the clock, I'm going to assume that replacement shocks may be in order while they are under the bus. I would like to provide CC guidance or at least see if they are providing me best advice for the shock updates. The DP is a 45ft Allure 470 with a tag and 500 Cummins, about 47000lbs. Thanks in advance for the good guidance!

Wow. Thanks guys. I feel a little dumb. LOL. Was just doing some random searching.

Very Nice Coach! It's a million miller for sure.

I expect to be able to report our (Cell/Wi-Fi) success and failures as soon as we can get the MH back! It maybe at least another two-three weeks before we go to JC, OR to collect it. Getting the steering parts have been an issue. I have never replaced a steering bell crank, but that's the hold up at this point. Once that's done, we will then be able to try out all of the systems installed and hope that we have made some good choices. More to report soon. But thanks for all of the good advise along the way.

Thanks Bill. Appreciate your response and good guidance.

Thanks for the great advise. I have looked at RVMobileinternet.com and they are loaded with great guidance. This worked well for us. We do plan on using a Jet Pack/Hot Spot for our internet access, but if possible, we will use the park Wi-Fi as an alternative (Hence the two systems) for a back up option our to lower our monthly usage. Using park Wi-Fi can be useless if the line of sight is hampered or the MH is (By its construction) hamstringing your reception. An external antenna with a booster for the Wi-Fi should provide the best solution if this option is available or the (MiFi, Jet Pack or Hot Spot) with Cell Booster should be the other option as both antennas will be outside of the MH. Were going to install both as they are reasonably priced and I want the factory to do the install so they run the wires and plug up the holes etc.! Thanks again.

OK, thanks for the update. I found both units were priced differently. I will do more research.

Will do, thanks.

Thanks!

OK, I'm not an IT guy, so go easy on me please! I'm going to add in some Cellular and Wi-Fi extenders in our MH and needed input please. The recommended solutions are as follows: Wi-Fi (JEFA Tech) Cell Boost (weBoost) Not sure the best choice as I reviewed three choices; weBoost 470510 Drive 4G-X (Mobile); Wilson Signal Booster 4G Extreme RV kit (Mobile) & eqo RV signal Booster kit (When stopped only). Thoughts please?