brocki

Yaa' know guys and gals, There seems to be something that is overlooked here. For all normal purposes, these motor homes we drive are made on an assembly line. Given the complexity of these beasts, to me it seem impossible to believe the manufactures are willing to slow down the line enough to do it right the first time. It just ain't gonna' happen. As was earlier said, we tend to vote with our wallets and until we are willing to pay for those units to be built the way we think they should be.......................Now I admit I'm not as particular as perhaps some of you are, but my wife and I target 5 year old units to be a good cross between having the bugs worked out and not "used up" We have had good luck so far. We love our '07 Phaeton.

Agree with Wolfe 10, I just keep a can of Plexus around and use as necessary.

Thanks Herman. I use the same trick. I'm just not as lucky getting someone in the US so I was glad to find another route. I hope this method helps some of you that just want to get the job done without having to learn another language or screw around with phone trees or having to "pull the plug for 10 seconds" conveniently located behind a maze of other wires. It really is quite efficient.

Herman, what number are you calling?????? Sounds like when you call, you somehow circumvent all the phone number crap. Enlighten us will ya'.

I would like to throw another item in to be considered. What kind of programming do you like? This is STRICTLY MY OPINION. If you are a sports fan, and have favorite teams you want to follow, Direct TV has it all over Dish. We had Direct earlier and you have extra cost options that may or may not be worth it to you but you don't even have the choices on Dish. Just something else to consider.

Herman, I'm not sure what number you call but part of my complaint is trying to get through the $&*^@$)&$ phone trees and then get some one from the Philippines who doesn't even know where Utah is. I am rather hard of hearing so you can just imagine how this phone conversation goes. I prefer to just log on line and type my request to someone who knows what a zip code is and be done with it. You are right. We are full timers and don't have a house to confuse the issue. I imagine if you didn't somehow separate the different devices, everything on your account would get changed. But if you're not home, who cares.

Some of you may know this but when I asked on this forum, no one seemed to know. I hope this works for you as well as it worked for me. To change your SERVICE ADDRESS when you arrive in a new location, you can do it on your computer without having to call. AND you don't have to crawl around and unplug your receiver. First log in to http://www.dish.com/. Go to MY Account and My profile. Down at the bottom of the page you will see an area that says "chat with a representative". Press the red "Chat Now" button and start by saying you want to change your service address. BE SPECIFIC. Say exactly what you want and give the person on the other line the zip code you are at. I did exactly this and in less than a minute I was connected to a real person and my request was handled. The person you are chatting with will confirm when this is done. This next part only applies to the VIP211v(or)k receivers. When you are done with the chat and have waited about 15 minutes for the servers to update your address, open the door to the buttons on your receiver. You can NOT to this from your remote. With the TV and receiver ON, press the power button for 5 seconds. The screen will go dark and after a minute the receiver will start the reboot process the same as if you pulled the plug for 10 seconds. Much easier.

Completely agree with Herman. We got a Traveler a few months ago and once we got used to it, we are quite satisfied.

As a fairly new dish customer, I admit to not having all the little tricks figured out. I am finding out that every time we move to another area and want to tap into the local channels, after calling Dish to reset the zip code, I have to unplug my receiver then re-plug it in to reset it. As you can imagine digging back in the overhead cabinet is a pain in the a@#. How are all you other traveling users doing it. I can't believe you are crawling around pulling plugs. My equipment is the SK-1000 traveler antennae and VIP211z receiver. As question #2, can't I also change my zip code on line and save calling Dish? What is it I don't know?

I just had a personal experience at CW. I had a new Satellite antennae along with the receivers installed at the CW in Boise ID. This was done against my judgement but sometimes we just have to do things and hope. This store did exactly what the said they would do. They did it right the first time and in the time they said they would do it and for the price they they quoted. I can't say anything but good about this store. BUT, I also believe each store is different. Check reviews on the specific store you are looking at.

Ron, thanks for clearing that all up. Sounds like our rigs are wired the same. I had been wondering how I was able to have 2 separate receivers. I'm not sure that solution would be acceptable. Herman, did you purchase your antennae through Winegard? And how did you pick the right receivers for that antennae? Guys, I am going in to Canada tomorrow AM and will be there for most of July. I will have very limited internet access. I will be thinking this all over and probably will have some more questions but it may be a week or so depending on where we are and Park access. Thanks for all your help so far. Brock

OK , thanks to all for the feedback. Ron, you cleared up a couple of things but now another question. In reading the specs on the X2, it says that it has 2 inputs for connecting 2 receivers for 2 TVs. In my '07 Phaeton, I have ONE outside coax input marked "tripod" that I think is for a satellite antennae. Somewhere inside my MH that cable splits as I currently have 2 TV's connected to 2 receivers on different channels and both operating off the same input. Can I do the same thing with the Winegard X2? Oh, and Bill, good thinking. Hermann, I'd be interested in what is involved in installing one of those big Kahunnas. Sounds like that is what you have and you did it once.

Sounds like a good percentage of you have the big automatic stand up and be counted dish on the roof. I was thinking more of the less expensive portable versions. It seems that I will be buying 2 receivers for our 2 TVs anyway. I am bit of a babe in the woods regarding this satellite world. When we had a house, all we used was over the air. In the MH, we have had the original OEM dome SD antennae and have been hooked to direct TV which worked satisfactorily until just recently. So do I understand that Dish has 2 sets of satellites, one East and one West while Direct TV has one set for everywhere? And if that is true, some or all of these portable antennas only work on the (Dish) western set? As full timers we travel all over North America. I don't want a system that limits me to one coast or the other. RonaldNC, if I understand you right, the Winegard X2 will find both depending on where you are? Another question; Whenever I would ask Direct TV to hook me up to local channels, they pitched a fit. Is Dish much more accommodating regarding this issue? I'll quit for now. Thanks for the feedback so far and please help me continue this thread to help me figure out what we want.

The original satellite dish that was OEM on my 07 Phaeton seems to have gone to the junkyard in the sky. I have been looking on line at the (my term) pod type receiver dish antennas King Tailgater, Dish Playmaker, Wingard Roadtrip, and they seem to look pretty much the same. Interested in opinions from users as to what many of you are using and how you like what you have. We would also switch from Direct to Dish as there seems to be a real price difference between the two. Your opinions on that also. Dish has a terrible reputation for customer service.

OK, my remote is beside the thermostat so the AC and heat would be the same on both controls. That is still only 23 ft. away. Supposed to be well in range. When I get it back from Onan (again), I will try it where you put it. The last time we installed it, it worked about 7 or 8 times then lost contact. That means that many days that we were on the road. Lets see if this makes any difference. BTW, when yours DID lose contact, did it re-establish contact automatically or did you have to do some manual gyrations?

nctox, Is inside the coach where your module was/is mounted?

Sorry for the delay. My module is mounted on the inside of the coach on the firewall. It is only just over 20 ft from the remote module.

Yes, all those things seem to be OK as far as I can determine. All you can tell of the module that is hooked to the generator is if it is powered on and that is confirmed with two of the 3 normal lights being lit. And remember the local (dash) controls start and stop the generator just fine. As I said earlier, I know this has been a problem in the past but I am guessing by the lack of responses that there has not been and field solutions.

I am of the feeling that this is an old subject. Bought the unit about 2 years ago but never used it much. After about 10 to 15 days on the road using the unit, the remote control looses contact with the generator module and you no longer have any control over the generator through this unit. The manual buttons on the dash still control the generator manually. I have tried all the little fixes suggested in the owners manual to no avail. Entire unit was replaced under warranty by Cummins Onan of Elkhart. Have had this unit about 3 months and have the same problem. Has anyone with this unit found a solution for this problem? I know from conversations with Cummins Onan that there was serious problems with software in the early units. Supposedly those were worked out. Apparently not so. We really like the freedom the unit gives us when we are boondocking, but not when it doesn't work.

Congrats to AndyShane. His list is better than the one we have developed. I couldn't stress enough the good judgement of using a list EVERY time you start the engine. Most of the repairs neccessary from not checking are dreadfully expensive. Have you ever been around a pilot? Any one I have ever seen always uses acheck list before taking off. Good choice!!

Wow. I now feel better. We have Geico. We are registered in South Dakota and got a 17% increase this last renewal (about 4 months ago), and when I called I was told that all South Dakota got that increase from them. But I must say when I went price shopping, they were still the best for comparable coverage. That includes FMCA. Don't know your situation but you might give them a try.

We bought a Tire Minder and are basically satisfied. We bought a 10 transmitter system with the booster amp package and it seems to work fine. I am not sure I needed the aux. amp but I bought it. On the plus side, at around 50 psi. the reported pressure on the screen is within a fraction of a pound of 2 different tire gauges. This unit has replaceable batteries and the factory will furnish new batteries yearly for 4 years. On the minus side, at around 100 psi. the sending units are plus or minus around 5 psi. As long as the pressure stays steady, the unit doesn't seem to care. I have had minimal false alarms. One sending unit is a little unstable but I haven't taken the time to get it replaced. Overall I wouldn't be without one and would buy this unit again.

As this affects many of us full timers I am posting this here. In the state of New York, current law states that any prescription generated in OR TRANSFERRED IN to a pharmacy for filling can have ONLY ONE RELEASE transferred out of the state. This means that for many of us on the road who have our maintenance prescriptions filled at wherever we are can have our medications held hostage in New York after having one of them filled in a local pharmacy. The only resolution is to have your doctor re-issue a new prescription and have it started and filled in any other state. As an example, run across the state line to VT. This applies to chain and local pharmacies alike. Don't ask me how I know. I would imagine that somewhere along the line, this may have been a knee jerk reaction from a legislature when us seniors discovered Canada for cheaper meds.

Thanks to all. We plan on using the vacuum bags. Photos will be stored separately. Thanks for the replies.

Within several months we will be leaving for full timing and are selling our home. We will be having an estate sale to get rid of most of the rest. This means that the photos and family mementos that won't be sold will be stored in my sons barn. Here is the question. We plan on storing the remaining articles is plastic totes. Does anyone have any experience with these type of containers against mice. Barn + out in the country = mice.