hayesfamily

YOUR RIGHT! The Capital Area KOA in Millersville MD at minimum is 80 a night. I would assume it is because its right off the beaten path on I 97 AND its KOA. Its super clean from what i saw the other day but 80 bucks a night is a Hotel by the airport. Saying that to say - It doesnt make sense to camp when a flight and hotel end up being cheaper for 2 people. Unless it is off the beaten path like Ocean City where flying is, but isnt an option alot of places in my area of Baltimore out price themselves. OC ... your gonna PAY 3x's that for a hotel in June so it just makes sense to bring your own house on wheels if you can get a reservation. As for Baltimore, Its almost discouraging to a degree but at the same time it makes you a resourceful camper. The Walmart just 4 miles up the way from the KOA will allow you to stay a night OR 2 if your not a bother to folks. I mean ... I am not going to burn 82 bucks in gas for the genny in a 8 hour period that I am going to sleep. In fact, everything I need runs on 12V house batteries so I wouldnt even fire the genny unless I needed the AC. Now that I am thinking about it, 85 bucks is what I am paying to stay in Disney during SnowBird season so I am not paying that to stay in a KOA in Baltimore/Millersville MD; when you can run I-95 or i-83 and there are plenty of places to pull off and call it a night so you just have to be prepared to rough it for the evening. Word to the Wise, 83 from Hunt Valley to the PA line has Park and Rides. IF you stay at one be prepared to get out of dodge early because your coach will get blocked in and you might not be able to move it until 6 that evening. My $.02

Our two biggest trips will be a Week long in the Shenandoah the week of July 23 and we will end our week in Doswell VA at Kings Dominion Camp Ground Area. On this trip I am looking for things to do with a 19 y/o and a 8 y/o. The baby homeschool's and we tend to school year around so if anyone knows where I can find good Civil War stuff related in this area thats not traumatic for him that would be awesome. The grown kid has a phone so she would just need something that will hold her attention for 3 min. Also, October 18th we leave for Orlando for a 10 day in the Orlando Area. We are going to make stops in North and South Carolina's Georgia over 3 days and Finally sometime Saturday get to Orlando. On the way down I considered taking a day to head over to Cape Canaveral. No experience camping in that area so suggestions would be nice. Also, never been to Orlando with out Disney or Universal. I am staying in Fort Wilderness and we will have a toad with us but I would like to get into something other than Disney on that Saturday and Sunday. Does anyone know where the "Not so Tourist" areas are so I can get some authentic Mexican or Caribbean style food and do something other than seeing Mickey and his friends? There has to be somewhere that folks go to "get away" from the mouse and his money trap.

So ...our new to us Coach is finally home in its parking spot in the drive way and we are happy. This coach is bigger than the last one parked in that spot so it took some adjusting but glad it fit. I never took the time to introduce my family so I guess ill do it now. We are the Hayes Family from Baltimore Big Guy in the Middle is Keon (THATS ME!!!!) -- Pretty Lady to the Right is Michelle (The CEO of the Family) The Princess to the Left with her hair in Mickey Mouse ears in Nyere (My Little Strawberry) The Short Fella in front, that is Kyle (THE BIIIIIG BABY) Sense this is FAMILY "MOTOR COACH" ASSOCIATION and the family part is done, figured I'd introduce what our family travels in. This is our 1999 Fleetwood Bounder 34V. At 34'11" she is by far the biggest thing in our block on wheels. She stands 11'9" tall and currently weighs about 17147lbs (Something like that I think). As you probably can tell we like WDW and we love to eat. We will try almost anything that doesnt smell like it will kill us. So, if we are camping close to us and need taste testers ... we love a good greasy spoon. We also like to cook and I think my pork chops are the best on the grill - but fried in some old country LARD they are better. According to the keep it healthy folks that may not be the best to fry in as frying is now no longer good for us but COME ON ... I drive a vehicle that gets 7 Miles to the Gallon so if thats acceptable then lard will be too. We are open to most any adventure so feel free to invite us along especially if you cook and dont mind sharing. We dont mind sharing at all so it wil be fun. Most of our travels for 2017 will be along the I-95 east coast area just because vacation and conventions tend to be on the east coast for us this year. So, hopefully we will meet other folks that are members of FMCA along the way. Our two biggest trips will be a Week long in the Shenandoah the week of July 23 and we will end our week in Doswell VA at Kings Dominion Camp Ground Area. October 18th we leave for Orlando for a 10 day in the Orlando Area. We are going to make stops in North and South Carolina's Georgia over 3 days and Finally sometime Saturday get to Orlando. Will roll out Friday and come back up the Shenandoah Valley though southern VA and finally across I-70 home to Baltimore. Thats us ... Thanks everyone for being so kind. Hope to meet a BUNCH of yall real soon now!

We have been making it out own the last few days. New bed (just didn't wanna sleep on someone else's mattress for obvious reasons) New sheets and just making it ours. Got the stove working and the furnace kicking (58 deg today) and now I just have to figure out Where the water pump is. The DW is happy with this coach. I'm happy that she is happy.

I have a 1999 Fleetwood Bounder 34V that I need to add an antenna for 2 way communication. My question is where is the easiest and best place to drill for an antenna that can be waterproof and will allow coax to be snaked through a side panel or something. Any suggestions or pictures would be welcome!

Made it to MD with little issues. Made our first Wal-Mart Stop ... Then our first Rest Area stop and on home. We filled LPG tank at a whopping 65 bucks. Last I remember LPG was like 2 bucks a gallon. What happened? Never the less for a few kinks to work out but she's road worthy.

This is the very reason why I don't let people under the hood of anything at home unless I'm standing right there. My impact has 120 pounds per square inch in the house however that doesn't mean that my impact gun is putting out a hundred twenty pounds. At its lowest setting that joker is putting out 250. So I like to hand tighten and then tighten with any means other than my impact gun to it I think I'm pretty close to torque specifications and then I use a torque wrench These clowns out here today will tear your rims to pieces if you don't watch them and it's not just a motorhome it's in regular cars too.

How about you enjoy this for the two of us cause they are booked SOLID.

This is Ocean City MD if I remember where Berlin is ... I am looking to go in August. Thanks for the tip about this place.

I got Good Sam because they were able to do somethings for me that other companies couldnt or I didnt feel the most comfortable with. The rate at 79 bucks was a good start or platinum and I paid for 2 years up front. This scared the heck out of me. I am calm now. I am going to chalk it up to BAD REP but I let them know in an email that this can not happen on a regular basis. I am on my way to get the coach now and I pray everything goes well on my 5 hour trip home. I need the assurance that they have my back if something doesnt and I trust yall - because you are the reason I chose Good Sam. (Yall being the folks here on the FMCA) So thanks for the encouragement and support as I bring the Big Gurl home. We are super excited because this coach everyone in the house likes and not just me and the Kid. The DW called me and said, "You should have listened to me the first time" and I just smiled and said, Your Right Dear!

So, today I needed to use Good Sam for the first time and IT WAS A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE 1. Called Good Sam and requested lock out service in GA 2. Good Sam sent Lockout service .... TO THE WRONG CITY AND STATE -- as the DW is in GA not here in MD. 3. Called Good Sam and Advised of the error and they told me "We sent lockout to your home address and we cant send another so you have to pay for the locksmith yourself" . So I asked if they had the information I gave them for the address in GA. She said no. ... Well where is the information i gave the first rep HERE IS THE WRONG ANSWER ---- They tell me I DONT KNOW! They finally fix it after a few choice words. The problem I have is - What if it was the Coach needing towing and were in FL-So they send a tow truck to my home in MD. And then tell me it was my fault and I got to pay for it? I think I should have gone with coach-net.

Yeah I noticed how much tail swing .... I assume I need to turn like school buses do? Is there anything I can do to minimize taking out idiots that are too close?

Actually WD-40 is more of a solvent than anything. If you're looking for a long-term project and I would also go with a silicone dry spray or something along those lines. I had a funky experience with WD-40 where is just ran away with the rain and left everything I did completely unprotected with my bike. So now for my bicycle chain I use a very thin layer of silicone and I've never had a problem if it rains while it was on the back of the car.

I got Good Sams Plat service which they had a great deal on. 79 bucks a year for 3 years. We will see how things work out.

TOM i am super shocked!!! I dont know what to say other than your better at handling that than me. They would have had to give me a better explanation than that. Thats a HUGE reason i elected not to get RV coverage from AAA. I asked them very specific questions and I got the same "we dont do that sorta thing" attitude. Like why offer a service that you cant do? After talking to Herman and a few other folks I decided to go with Good Sam. We primarily will travel the 95 corridor so I'm hoping that keeps down some of the potential issues with service providers and such. Man I am sorry that happened and glad your back home safe.

The Bounder is a v10 and the HR turned out to be a complete joke. The Bounder offer was accepted today and the DW is happy. Here are a few pictures ...

While on the subject of holding tanks, at what point do you replace the tanks? Is it an easy task?

Its the 34V with the Ford V10 and the DW likes the floor plan of the bounder more than the rambler. I have stopped looking for Chevy motor cause the seem to be the most problematic and less fuel efficient. I am a Chevy guy and I got to say the Ford thing is a huge change but that seems to be the go to for gas coaches. I think over all the Bounder is the "beefer" will take more "punishment" coach as I have never seen one look like the Winnies I have come across. Every winnie from that vintage has been garbage which is why we never looked at another. I mean delam and water damage in EVERY WINNIE. She likes the floor plans of the winnies but the bounder is very close and she will be ok with that i think! Someone warned me years ago that sliding "pluming" could present problems so i never looked at them. I know in alot of the Georgetowns the kitchen slides. I know people that have had leaks in the Georgetown among other issues so thats why i mentioned it.

Bill Herman and anyone else What is your personal opinion about late 90s holiday Ramblers? And it appears to be in very good condition but I'm torn between going with a Bounder that I'm guaranteed to be able to get parts for and for the most part works very straightforward or going with a 98 Holiday Rambler that appears to have a little bit different floor plan. I'm not so sure if I like the idea of my Plumbing on a slide but I figured let me bounce this off of the folks here and get an idea. I probably should change the post and put it under a different form but never the less let me know what you guys think I got about 24 hours before I need to start making some concrete which one to spend the money to go see

Yeah Gas - WOW I know he was peeved!!! Again I am not looking for a Coach in 100% perfect condition but can the jacks and AC at least work?

I know this post has taken a turn from where it originally was supposed to go so Ill apologize now. I have learned that people in Maine LIE like people in Maryland. How about this guy altered or I should say only showed what he wanted me to see in the pictures. I turned around after 5 hours of travel and left that crap he called a coach with him. WATER damage and Delamination are deal breakers. He knew this from the beginning. Coupled with the furnace and AC didnt come on and the jacks didnt work after he said they would made me leave it in ME. Delam was so bad that I almost could push through the side wall. The AC and Jack I would have fixed myself if he had been truthful. So, prayerfully Ill be bringing the back up to plan a home next week from TENN.

Welcome to the gud ole USA!!!!! Where the people can't but the white house can! The reality is unless there are air levels more than 15PPM we aren't required to wear masks in the undertaker shop. So that little cube of stuff we drop in pre packaged has less than .002% of CH2O so we would never get close to 15PPM ... not to mention one HUGE thing about CH2O, we produce something every-time we hit the head we neutralizes it. When we pee we release ammonia which is a natural byproduct of metabolizing protein. So that little itty bitty bit of CH2O is gone as soon as the first person takes a whiz. So how do I know this for fact, some idiot spilled about 36 oz on the floor and we swore tear gas was in the room. Our instructor told the women to leave and the guys to whip it out and neutralize (Read between the Lines) and 3 min later we were good. The real purpose of CH2O in the holding tank is simply to keep E. Coli from being super stinky --- that's all. Its just enough to retard the anaerobic bacteria from multiplying and being too stinky! The government and media wants to scare everyone into believing they are the supreme whatever and everyone should listen to them. What if they actually told the truth that CH2O is actually in cleaners, antiseptics, dish-washing liquids, fabric softeners, carpet cleaners, glues, adhesives and lacquers and even ARMPIT GREASE!!!!!!!

One thing I did was purchase ALL NEW sewer stuff. I got a Camco Rhino hose, not the extreme but the one right under it. I got a clear 90º elbow to see the poo and wee wee and will pick up an extension of about 10ft for the Parks around MD where the dump site is about 30 ft away to cover 4 sites. I did that because I didnt want to handle someone elses poo (And I am an Undertaker so someone elses Escherichia Coli isnt what i want to handle) AND i wanted to make sure I had seals and equipment that didnt have holes or dry rot. Now, I am one who used Formaldehyde (CH2O from this point on) for a living and I see no adverse affects on out septic systems in the funeral homes. Therefore I dont know why CH2O chemicals are deemed "BAD". I think poor judgement is the biggest culprit in septic system failures. CH2O itself is not doing anything but changing the PH of bacteria and retarding the growth of Anaerobic Bacteria. Septic failure is mostly due to stupid people (and ignorant) doing stupid things such as disposing of Diapers, sanitary napkins, tampons, and the C word ... CON**MS!!! But to be politically correct I purchase CH2O free toilet gook and I am sure it wont work as well as some good old Cavity Max 2000 (generic Term for Super Strong Embalming Fluid) but its cheaper and I wont get odd looks from the DW telling me how "strong" the smell is. Actually the more I think about it I prefer the smell of the Ju ju juice in the funeral home over doo doo any-day.

1. No I dont ... I saw it (Smelled it) at a rest stop and got to wondering 2. FINALLY ... We are so happy to get into a larger coach. Older but better suited for us. 3. I tried to tell him he just shrugged it off.

Me ... absolutely I do. The reason I asked is because if we cant dump the poo tank just anywhere i wouldn't think that it would be wise to just let it leak and this guy didn't seem to care. I have RV insurance but I am not sure if it would cover me getting sued cause black tank leaked. If it leaked off my boat my insurance allows 860K to cover any spill recovery.