NavyDad89

My experience is pretty much the same, as far as how often I need to use the 3 steps to log in sometimes after a few hours and sometimes after just under 24 hours. I hardly ever go more than 24 hours between checking the forum and usually check 2 or 3 times each day for new posts or replys. I read one other forum and can stay logged in there regardless whether I use park wifi or tether through my blackberry phone. I only have the one PC so it can not be related to being logged in on one and accessing with another PC. ON EDIT 11/24 5:20 AM EST: Today, much to my amazement, I bring up the forum and Lo and Behold - I'm still logged in!!!! Someone please tell me this does NOT prove that whining does help.

+2 (using IE & Windows 7 home prem)

Many insurance companies that write insurance on vehicles, cars trucks and RVs, also can provide what is called "full timer" policies for the RV. Many others do not have the "full timer" policies available. The "full timer" policies include the liability coverage that one normally has through a homeowner's policy. When we went full time in our RV I simply asked our previous insurance carrier if they could write a similar policy with the "full timer" coverage in the state of Florida, where we were changing our domicile, and found they could not. Then it was a search for a new provider who had the "full timer" policy option and I found several to request quotes from. It took a few phone calls and emails but was not that hard to accomplish. Good Sam being a part of the Infinity Group will help you get the type of coverage you need but most likely only from their in house companies. One of the brokers I called was Farm and City Insurance who were able to give me quotes from several companies. The ones I remember from several years ago were Progressive, Nationwide, GMAC, and a couple others. Once I had quotes to compare, I chose one and applied for the coverage on our RV and toad. Since then I have changed to a different provider due to rate increases and have also changed back to regular RV insurance since we now have a homeowner's policy that gives us the needed liability coverages. Do not confuse RV insurance like the Good Sam VIP road service insurance with "full timer's" insurance or you might get a nasty surprise when you try to register your RV or when there is an accident claim. This is not meant to imply that you might not want to have a good roadside coverage policy that will help you in case of a breakdown or flat tire while you travel. Just do not expect one policy to provide both and do a good job for you.

I've seen MPG range of 6.8 on first tank run through new 30' coach to a high of 8.0 on one tank while not towing 4700 # GMC behind us. Overall, I'm recording an average of 7.5 MPG over about 3200 miles.

Perhaps tethering to a laptop with a working space bar? That's the way I access these forums with my antique Blackberry.

KRJ8617 - but have not used it in years. Got rid of last radio with a coach trade about 4 years ago. If, in fact, cell phones have taken some of the garbage off channel 19 I might consider getting back on a mike again. I guess I could find out where our FRS radios are and charge them up for short term use.

We had a '99 Endeavor that had a similar gas flow problem a few years ago. I found that one of the leads to the solenoid valve coil had corroded and broken off right at the edge of the bakelite coil shield. A dealer bypassed the valve temporarily (not wise for long term use) until he could try and repair the wire and get the valve operating again. It was 3 weeks until he could get a new solenoid valve and reinstall it on the coach. I was quite worried about the bypassed safety valve for the whole 3 weeks. Ed

Thanks, I just missed the link. Guess eyes left was not working while I looked at the page bottom before.

I really like the "new look" but I also miss the <mark all read> link that was provided at the top right of the new topics page. I don't always read every new post and it appears that unless I do open each new post, it remains as a new topic or active post the next time I return. Am I missing it somewhere? Thanks, Ed

When we switched over, in our '99 DP, we mounted the new flat screen on a swing out mount similar to what you describe and since the new TV was about 2" wider than the opening for the old TV I put 3/4" foam self stick weatherstrip on each side of the back of the TV to keep it from rattling during travel and used a 1" nylon strap anchored inside the center top and bottom of the cabinet. When getting ready to travel, I simply swung the TV against the cabinet and pulled the nylon strap tight enough to put a little tension on the foam rubber pads on each side. It travelled well for a couple of years until we changed coaches.

Joe, As others have said, there is always something to service, check, or repair on any RV to keep it operating successfully on a trip. That trip can be a weekend jaunt or a trip across the country. One of those items that quite often is forgotten is that all the connections to both the 110 volt breaker panel as well as the 12 volt fuse panel and batteries need to be checked periodically and re-tightened. Even cleaned, especially at the batteries. Since your coach is almost 30 years old, and I will almost bet that no one ever checked the terminal connections, it is not surprising that you found what you did. It is also likely that your repair has solved that problem, maybe permanently. I'm fairly confident that the ground wire lugs on your breaker panel were loose for some time and eventually built up enough heat to burn the wires right at the connection. You mentioned that the panel remained cool after you made the repair and that is why I am so confident that was your problem. I suggest you remove that panel cover again (with all power off and your shore cord unplugged for safety) and check each connection, both positive, neutral, and ground, on every breaker as well as the incoming power leads from your shore cord or automatic transfer switch. If you do have an automatic transfer switch (many older and most newer coaches do have them) make sure to check those connections as well. Even a half turn on the screw on a connection can cause quite a lot of excess heat as well as current load where the cable is not securely fastened. Good Rving! Ed

Have you checked RVparkreviews for each of your intended stops? I have found the site to be an excellent site to check on amenities the park does or does not provide as well as fellow campers opinions of the sites along our travel routes. Granted, some posters there use the review to vent but where there are several reviews I have, for the most part, been happy with any site that was picked based on the reviews and what I desired for an overnite or longer stay.

Bill, I'm not familiar with your specific unit but others I have owned with the rack and pinion slide operation all had the motor access through a compartment underneath the slide. On the motor or gearbox was a lever or knob to release the brake and some way to turn the motor and gear pinion with a ratchet for emergency operation. The unit we have now has a switch on the panel for the tank gauges etc to open the brake so the slides can be manually closed. This requires 2 people to operate where the older method could all be done manually in one location.

I have to guess, but in my experience with washer/dryer units that sometimes were not regularly used, the washer drain pipe trap has dried out and is allowing air from the waste tank that it feeds to enter your closet area. I would suggest finding a way to put a few ounces of water (or even better some RV anti-freeze) down the drain pipe and then seal the top of the pipe with a rubber plug or some tape to prevent recurrences. It may be that your tank vent is not working properly, but even if that is the case, filling that trap and plugging the top of the drain will eliminate the foul smell access point there. Normally, the washer drains into the gray tank and not into the sewer or black tank and you do not have quite as obnoxious odor but if you (as we did at times) do not regularly allow the gray tank to fill with soapy water and then dump the tank, you could have sewer gas backing up from the park sewer drain hose and that is what is coming into your closet through this empty trap. Good Luck! Ed

I agree, it is a good idea and we made cards for several years in much the same way. There were many passed around over the last 5 years. A few months ago, we ordered a pack of cards through FMCA at a reasonable price and in my opinion they look better and are less hassle than printing our own.

Indiana has taxed RV units as far back as I was a resident. We moved there in 1984. Previously, trucks over 3/4 ton, RV's, boats and other recreational units that required any kind of license were taxed as personal property and had to be declared on your annual personal property tax form and then you paid the bill sometime in June and November if you chose to break the payment. Once they started checking the licensed recreational vehicles being licensed to those declared on the personal property rolls I guess they decided to do the exise tax similar to what they had been using on autos. In April of 2007, after becoming a legal Florida resident and licensing all vehicles in Florida, I was assessed tax on our RV based upon the previous annual assessment. They informed me that I owed over $3000 tax plus 15% for filing after the deadline date PLUS 25% for not filing the personal property tax form at all. They expected me to send them a check for $4500 or they threatened to send the sheriff to take care of the problem. I waited until the last week before their deadline and called the assessor's office to let them know I was no longer an Indiana resident and would not be paying them a cent. They wanted copies of Florida domicile, registration etc. I emailed them the copies and was told they would remove me from the rolls. In our case, changing domicile to Florida has save more in vehicle licensing and taxes than the small increase in insurance costs we have had. Indiana may claim to be the RV capitol of the world, but I do not believe them. Besides IMHO there might even have been more RVs produced in other states the last 3 or 4 years.

We had good results using wet "Magic Eraser" sponges to clean the mold or mildew spots of the vinyl trim on a coach a few years ago. Took lots of sponges and elbow grease but it did the job for us. I coat of sealant of polish for the vinyl helped keep it clean after then.

That form they need filled out as well as the charge of $6.00 per month would be for the DNS (distant network service) would replace the present cost of local channels, or at least it did for us when we changed. It might be possible to simply call when you are in a location other than home and change your service address to the campground address where you are staying. I was never charged a fee to do that, but I only changed when we planned to be in an area for a month or more. Now, we just use the digital over-the -air antenna for locals wherever we happen to be.

I formerly had both a '99 and '04 Holiday Rambler Endeavor and the procedure on those units was to have the engine shut down, the parking brake set, the ignition key turned to the left for accessory, and then turn on the power for the leveling system before you press the "Air Dump Switch" to lower the coach. Neither of those coaches had the exact chassis as your Neptune but I would expect the process to be quite similar. There should be some instructions for your coach as a part of the instructions for leveling and extending the slides in your owners manual. All of this is working from my memory, which is certifiably lacking in recall of anything more than 30 minutes in the past but give it a try. Good Luck Ed

Mike, I guess I'm not too old to learn that what I thought I knew about Monaco coaches, based on the Holiday Ramblers I owned, was completely wrong.... My apologies for the assumption. Ed

I have not seen any Monaco Class A Diesel chassis as far back as 1999 that had grease filled front hubs. Our '99 and '04 Endeavors both had oil filled front hubs on them. The '99 was on a Freightliner XC chassis and the '04 was on the Roadmaster 8 bag system. I'm sure your unit is on the 10 bag Roadmaster chassis and I am wondering if you have checked to be certain that a change is required at all. On our '04 unit the chrome hub cover had to be removed to check the oil level in the hubs, but I am certain they were wet hubs.

Lynsay, we used the Flying-J for almost all our fuel while we were full timers. A stop around mealtime, fuel up, fill propane when needed, and park conveniently out of the traffic flow in the RV slots while we enjoyed a great meal in the restaurant while getting a discount on fuel and even gasoline for the car. Those are the things that kept us coming regularly. At least wherever a Flying-J was close to our intended route. Now, we are no longer full time RV'ers so the occasional trip with the RV has similar driving day length and miles but with our new smaller gas powered RV, it is far too complicated to jump through the hoops included with reauthorizing our FJ RV card to overcome your companies price disadvantage. We never used the free dump so charging for it now isn't that big a deal and we never used your overnight parking either so I see no advantage to my loyalty to Flying-J/Pilot. If we want to eat deli style meals, we can go to almost any convenience store or eat in the RV. We no longer frequent Denny's franchises since they seemed to downgrade their service and quality a few years ago, at least in their restaurants we encountered.

I got caught in the shuffle and could not reply to posts for a few days. That was repaired today but I somehow lost all my settings including signature, icon, etc. Now I'm showing up as a Newbie even though I have been on this board since right after it opened. I looked back at some of my old postings (which my pofile says I do not have any) and they show that I had been a senior member when they were posted. Any ideas what happened there?

I needed 2 replacement doors for the cargo bays on the 2004 HR Endeavor we previously owned and the body shop in Port Charlotte, FL fabricated them in far less time than they could have gotten them from the Monaco factory in Elkhart, IN. Friends of ours needed the same doors about a year before I did and their replacement doors were ordered from the factory and after taking almost 6 months to get them - they were a few inches too wide. The body shop who did their identical coach to ours took the new doors apart and re-sized them. That process took almost 8 months to complete while our coach was repaired and repainted in 5 weeks from the time we dropped it at the shop. I do need to mention that both of us needed these doors right at the time Monaco was restructuring after being taken over by Navistar. I'm sure that was part of the reason for the long delays in delivering new doors, not an excuse for them not fitting our friend's coach though. We have camped together for 25 years and have had matching RV's a couple times over the years. I guess that's why we both had run-ins with RV park posts within months of each other and 1000 miles apart. LOL (it wasn't nearly as funny at the time as it is more than a year later) I would try and contact an insurance adjuster in your area and see if he can recommend a shop that is capable of making a new door to the dimensions you need and if that is not successful, then try calling Monaco with your coach VIN number and see what they have to offer in a new door. They might be able to paint it but I think it is easier to match the paint and lines if you have it painted after it is installed on your coach.

There, it appears, we have in common the inability to find a chapter in the state of Florida that appears to match our interests. The only difference appears to be that we do not expect any of the existing chapters to change in order to "work" for us. We simply have decided that joining a chapter is not the best situation for us. There, IMHO, you have taken my comments regarding what you initially expressed that FMCA chapters you have contacted should provide what you expect in an agenda and applied your opinions of those chapters and members to us. I have to assume that, up until now, we have not been in the same park as of yet or you just might have a different opinion. Why do you not attend a chapter function that fits into your agenda, even if that chapter may not seem to be the best fit for your family, and see what actually happens? We have gone to the SEA rally several times and completely enjoy the experience and have felt completely welcome even though we do not belong to any chapters. It is also possible that we will attend the Eastern Area Rally next October. As for pointers on new gasoline Class A RV's, I'm open to pointers myself since we just bought one a month ago (also a Four Winds product) to make going on short campouts in state and local parks easier. So perhaps we all will benefit when and if we do meet in a campground in the future. AMEN Cheers Ed