hayesfamily

I am glad I asked this question because all of the feedback has been helpful. The Keyless is simply a dream I will have in the next coach because the cost exceeds the value of the situation ($700+). If I would get more money when I sell the coach than OK, its not going to raise the value at all. i can get keys made which is good as the blanks are still available. I will try that route but as it stands this is one of those things you deal with when you buy a gentle used (or rough and ready) coach. The Key code is stamped on the key itself but I can not find the codes in the documentation - and I have a TON of it to still look through. I am going to call Fleetwood and ask in the AM.

As with most coaches the entry door handle has two locks, the top one being the deadbolt I guess and then the bottom being the regular lock. My coach never came with a key for the deadbolt so I'm considering calling a locksmith to make me a key or potentially changing the entire handle with some type of fancy push button combination lock like the one found in Ford Cars .... if they exists for coaches. That would keep me from requiring a key to get in and reduces the likelihood of me being locked out. So my question is, are handle and lock setups in most coaches standard?

October 2017

Hey Bill This year the foliage started late and then just disappeared. I just like looking at the mountains personally but the DW feels trees are more important. I forgot your from Alexandria, i think you told me that once before. Living in Alexandria you didn't have to deal with the Baltimore side of the 95 world too much but people here (how do I say this nicely) simply don't drive so we will have jams because a plane took off and idiots wanted to look. Yes I am trying to avoid DC as much as possible. ME and the stretch of 95 from DC to Richmond NEVER get along. The stretch of 295 though DC they were working on when you were in this neck of the wood and THEY STILL ARE do nothing but they working!! We are leaving Baltimore at noonish because the DW works overnight that Tuesday so DC wont be the issue per sae, but Richmond will. Some people say 295 around Richmond works but its just never worked in my favor. Now if you get me to Petersburg with out me having a coronary then I am Good. I want to got to Port Canaveral but I may be confused, I was told there was a Kennedy Space Museum or something near Titusville Is that not the case? Now i could be wrong, but I thought the Port and the Cape Canaveral were like 5 miles away? There is a awesome Golf resort that I have always wanted to see, and play so that's the reason behind Titusville - not to mention I have 3 other people to keep happy and thats where they picked. Golf was a plus 1 for me! To answer the extra 110 miles thing, my father in law (Should say OutLAW) asked me the same question because he felt that I was "Burning to much Gas" and it took me a few minutes to come up with an answer but i finally said in the nicest way I possibly could, "I just bought a house on wheels, and I am on Vacation. So in other words I just bought an opportunity to stop and explore everything I possibly can along the way so my 8 year old can see that there is a world outside of God Forsaken Baltimore City." So that would be the other reason, I have 3 days to kill to get to Disney and after having someone roll my Suburban and I walked away pretty much unhurt - I have learned to slow way down and take the high road in life.

I live just west of the Harbor Tunnel. I am right at the end of I 70 so avoiding the tunnel is easy because I get on 95 south of the tunnel. My issues is ALWAYS DC and Richmond. That's one reason why I am taking I 81 down not 95. Not for the Richmond or DC headache. Suggestion, if you ever have to come through Baltimore, take 695 toward Towson to avoid the toll on the bridge. Its a wee bit longer but it avoids the issues of bridge warnings and stuff. They are quick to through a bridge warning for anything under and 68K lbs.

Finally after much consideration and negotiating; we have our route to Walt Disney in 2017. I have a few questions and Im hoping someone could help. We are leaving Baltimore mid week and returning 11 days later on Sunday. Going down we are cutting across I-70 and through Harpers Ferry, WV through Winchester and on to 81. From there we plan to see as much of the foliage as we can down 81 but I am curious to know if anyone knows if 81 is finished all the construction down my Roanoke and what did they actually do? I remember construction back in December of Last year if that helps. Also, From there we are running 77 to Charlotte and staying at the Carowinds Camp ground for the night. - Any BBQ places in that neck of the woods that we can try? Leaving Charlotte we will continue down to 95 and swing into GA where I know boiled peanuts are at every exit but RV friendly Gas Stations seem not to be according to the internet searches. Any recommendations of places to get gas and a snooze between Savannah and Jacksonville? From there we are headed points south to Titusville - How far is that from Port Canaveral? I think or I should say it appears to be about 30 min but I want to be sure. Titusville to Orlando for the Mouse - Stating in Fort Wilderness for 6 days. Coming Back we are shooting up 95 and Havent planned that yet but it should be interesting.

I have a Batwing on the other side. I was hoping to use the same hole for the Travler but guess that may not be an option. Can I still use the old dish for anything? It was put on the coach in 99 era of Television

Whats shaken everyone Jleamont ... Your right again. This is why we didn't get a 30ft coach cause we would have outgrown it in 3 weeks. Actually our Toad isn't a Civic, I used that for a example. We will be towing the XL-7. The issue with towing is finding a car that would haul 6 people (Well 5 and the pooch) comfortable with the least amount of weight. At a curb weight just over 3800lbs this was the lightest that would do it. The trailblazer we have weighs not much more - 4456 but 700lbs when pulling a mountain or hills makes all the difference in the world. Herman ... I called my insurance company and you'll be surprised at what the Hartford said: They don't require supplemental breaks AS LONG AS 1. I can stop in a safe distance (This is relative) 2. As long as the combination of trailer and Toad isnt over the Gross Combination Weight Rating (in my case 24,500) they will fight it 3. As long as the TOW vehicle is under the GVWR It took me a few days to get this answer but this is what they said. So there is a lot of ambiguity in their explanation because it leaves the decision to use the breaks up to the individual not knowing if they know how much they weigh. I think everyone agrees that Supplemental brakes are GOOD but there is the question of legality when it comes to the state your travailing through. To my knowledge the DOT will not stop you if you are not commercial; and make you pull on the scales just because. There has to be something they see that is WAY OUT OF LINE like your front end lifting out of the air as you drive down the street. Granted they could just be a alpha hotel (Hams and Military folks will get that) and randomly pull for the heck of it but over all it would be a waste of time.

So I have a dish on my roof but its the old round dish. How difficult is it to have that swapped out for a trav'ler? My main concern if the little crank up arm being removed from the old dish and this gapping hole in my ceiling.

Wolfe10 ... In simple terms CYA The reason why I wanted clerification: 1. If a tow truck comes and picks up a car very rarely do they attach any type of breake to the towing car so I tried to equate that to a motorhome in the sense that my coach I'm sure outweighs a tow truck and I would assume if I'm under my GVWR the breaks on the coach would stop the load (in theory) 2. There's also a pivot point involvement towing a toad and I wasn't exactly sure that had anything to do with it 3. The state of Maryland will allow you to tow a trailer under 3000 pounds without brakes as I happen to have a 12 foot cargo trailer without surge brakes or electric brakes for that matter. Someone telling something as small as a Honda Civic that may have occurred weight of 2500 pounds would definitely keep my entire rig under gross vehicle weight and technically according to the state of Maryland I'm under the three thousand pounds unless they have different rules regarding towing cars.

Curious ... Not looking to start a debate but I have a question If the actual weight of a coach + toad is less than the GVW of the coach why would brakes on the toad or trailer be needed?

Simple would be I 4 to I 95 and head north. 95 after to get into South Carolina will seem like FOREVER because there is nothing to see by trees. But its a straight shot with plenty of places to camp and boondock for a night. Stone Mountain is AWESOME but your looking at of course I75 to GA and then you could run 85 to 95. Pros and Cons of 75/85/95 TRAFFIC at the wrong time of day. Go through ATL at the wrong time of day and your kick you and everyone else around you. 85 from Lawrence area North is pretty country and a lot to see and eat. IF you want I can go into picky details but dont be afraid to stop and just explore. I75 has some cool stuff just be super careful of So. GA as they can be picky about speed. When you get up to Greenville Spartanburg area can be congested a bit but overall smooth and the folks will treat you good. Cracker Barrel is a favorite in my house because the grub is good and they are usually always RV friendly if they are near the interstate. They are all up 85 so feel free to eat well. Gas prices are good along SC 85 route and big rig friendly from what I remember. When you get into NC around Durham be very careful when you leave your coach. Typically not a problem but im from Henderson NC and being a native I have had issues - not with my coach but issues never the less. LOCK YOU DOORS and treat Durham to Henderson like the big city. Southern VA to 85/95 is pretty boring so try not to stop too much. Once you get on 95 the fun begins. Any and everything you want is available. REMEMBER Richmond traffic during the day is OK ... from 3pm to 7 is ****. So may places to stop if you end up in that Richmond to DC traffic you'll be fine --- did I mention good eats too? Once you get north of Richmond your in Fredricksburg so thats a quick skinny.

I know this has been hashed out before but I'm to the point where I'm so confused I figured let me just ask some people that have been through this a lot longer than me . When I brought my Coach home from New York a friend of mine did the navigating and the map work and he took us on Garden State Parkway which clearly said no trucks. Now I understand that we drive non-commercial motor homes however, even the shortest Class A it's probably close to 15 -16 thousand pounds. A lot of those no truck roads are weight restrictions not necessarily truck restrictions. My question is how do you know? On a similar note I noticed yesterday in my travels that a Class A coach came through the Baltimore Fort McHenry tunnel which from what I understand is technically a No-No. I can only assume it's bad Juju because of the propane tanks that we carry. I don't mean to sound clueless but to be honest with you I am clueless. Where do we sit in this mix.

I just looked at them and the wires appear to be ok from the inside. There is some brown growth on them where it was previously sealed but the wires are not exposed or anything like that everything lights up like it's supposed to and I don't see anything abnormal as far as the function of the coach. I did not run anything sharp thru there but I will take a look again to make sure everything is good.

hey man ...I'll make it happen. I'll keep you posted

Few pics of the install. Will post Antenna when I get it installed.

The day I finally got the Icom installed and RAM power to the battery. Apparently whoever owned this coach prior to me getting it was either a ham or some type of radio op as they mounted some type of radio and antenna in the coach. Now that I think about it they may have had a satellite radio in there I don't know but nevertheless they already had a hole drilled for me in the firewall. Going back and forth with this antenna idea I decided to go with a mfj 1734 Through the Glass Mount then I'm going to put on the DW side windshield. The antenna should be here sometime next week and I will post pictures of the install in the event someone else needs an idea or two. I'm not exactly sure houses antenna is going to work but I will be honest with everyone ...can't be any worse than a rubber duck on an ht. The next challenge is going to be the HF antenna which of course I would only use when stationary but I'm going to have to come up with a way to put a suitable counterpoise in place or I'm just going to be warming clouds. I have considered a rotatable dipole configuration of Hustler antenna resonators as I have had really good success with those on the boat so I'm not exactly sure why I should have less success on the coach especially when I can mount them 10 to 12 feet above the roof when at a campground. Pics soon to come.

Thank You Sooooooooooo much!

I have a 99 Fleetwood Bounder and this device is located in the storage compartment above the driver side next to the TV. Does anybody know what it is or what it does?

I didn't sign ... I feel bad now. de KE3HAY So I have considered the Larson Through the Glass Mount but I was under the impression I was not able to mount that to the windshield. I know that the windshield is it 2 pane laminate but is that the same as double? The only thing I need to be able to do on teammates is get on .520 and whatever repeaters I have programmed into the radio. Typically before I take any trip I have software that tells me exactly where repeaters are along whatever roads I tend to travel. Right now I currently have from Manchester Maine all the way down to Fort Lauderdale Florida covered on 95, from Pittsburg to atl via 81 77 and 85, all of I 85 fro Petersburg to atl, and all of Maryland lower PA and All of VA. So the repeaters themselves I'm not really worried about as I'll find somebody talking somewhere, I'm just more interested in making sure I don't fry a radio with and antenna that is going to go bad. I'm not interested in running any more power that is absolutely necessary so as long as the antenna can handle about 25 to 30 Watts I'm good but in all honesty I do want the antenna with itself outside of the coach because I just have this thing about last thing that close to me. As far as HF goes I have an idea for an antenna but I am not interested in running a job while I'm driving that coach at all. Trying to listen to weak signal high frequency anything is the quickest way to run your car off the side of the road therefore 2 meters is the only thing I'm looking to have and that's simply for local information only. I thought about putting a CB in the coach but I cannot bring myself to do it. Between the lies about how much power they are running and the echo from a Connex board I would just prefer not to have any radio. Not to mention the amount of obscene language that I refuse to have my family listen to is simply not worth the hole Id have to put in my coach for the antenna. WB3DJU is a dear friend of mine who is a member of FMCA. He has agreed to take a look at the cap to see what the best option would be but after hearing everyone's comments I think I am going to try the through the window mount if it can be mounted to the windshield.

I am an Amateur Radio Operator so I would be looking for something in the 144-148Mhz band. They make Thru the Glass antennas but I am not sure about some of them. <May have to cause but I have 7 months to figure something out.

Your CORRECT AGAIN!!!! A lot of people use Stated Parks in then South and West for Camping which typically have a reduced rates compared to private CG's. However the state parks here in MD your only going to get a space for something 30ft lets and 30ft is asking a LOT. IF your over 11 ft your in a whole different ball game. I can take my short 35ft coach to 1 campground that is a state park but If I come in, i can only use one entrance and it only has 20 amp service. So on a hot day, one AC and no one washes their hair and uses the dryer. I tried booking at Castaway's for 3 days in July and they said I should have booked in late 2014 early 2015. Any they are 115 a night i think? Anyway ... Welcome to the Mid Atlantic

Unfortunately Carl, camping in the Baltimore area sucks. My response to the original quote is simply saying everything in this area is super expensive. The reason that the campgrounds on the Eastern Shore are so expensive is the same reason that the campgrounds in Baltimore and surrounding areas are so expensive ... Supply vs demand. There are only 4 campgrounds in the immediate Baltimore area that are accessible to the major highways. 1 being Millersville that is directly off 97, the next closest campground is off of I-70 which is over in a town called Lisbon comma about fifteen Miles or so outside of Baltimore and then you have Freeland Maryland which is less than a mile from the Pennsylvania line on Interstate 83. Getting back to the response, What I'm trying to say is you're not going to spend 80 some dollars using the generator for 8 hours. Therefore it's cheaper to Boondock somewhere than it is to stay at that KOA Campground. its the closest to Baltimore city and your gonna pay a preimium for it. If I have to travel let's say from Norfolk to Baltimore for a visit, round trip that is about $150 maybe two hundred bucks in gas and your looking at 240 to stay at the camp ground. For 390 bucks you can fly and stay at a hotel. There's absolutely no incentive to drive your coach and stay at that KOA for time in Baltimore. That's ultimately what I'm trying to say.

Keep me posted on your plans for this trip. I am planning to leave the coach at Fort Wilderness and driving over to Cape Canaveral but I wasn't exactly sure if camping in that neck of the woods was even available because I would like to stay a day or two there. Nevertheless keep me posted I'm kind of sort of planning a trip for 2018 similar to what you're talking about.

Drove through that Campground in September and I got to admit, they do a very good job of keeping it maintained. I am not going to lie and say I wasnt concerned about its distance from Fun World and that traffic activity but once you get back into the Community it's very quiet. I also explored to other campgrounds one being the KOA closer to the Walmart and Medieval Times as well as the one closest to Summer Bay and if I had my choosing of the three it would definitely be the KOA. The reason for that is very simple, the KOA was just absolutely fantastic in the ground I mean 10 out of 10 out of 10 from what I saw. There was no question whether or not the sites were reasonably level and the ambience was that of a 4-star hotel. Everything that I would have wanted to do within walking distance and that was a humongous Plus.