redandsilver

I know this posting is a few weeks old but I'll put in my 2 cents worth. I was in the OP's shoes a few years back. So let me start by saying that I would recommend that someone buy the biggest MH they can afford. The OP limiting himself to 32 to 36 feet is only valid (IMO) if he can't store the MH in his driveway or yard or there are other restrictions that he can't overcome. The reason being is everytime you upgrade it will cost you a lot more money. So to avoid this, buy bigger than you think you need to - and you may not have to upgrade for a long long time, if ever. But you have to do your research before hand, to kind of know what you want first. My 1st MH is 40ft and I wouldn't want anything smaller and I'm alone, so that might go double for 2 or more people using a MH. The larger the MH usually the larger the motor. When I was shopping I knew I would be going over mountains too and so decided that I wouldn't accept anything less than 330hp. I ended up with 350hp and have a program that shows my horsepower and torque while driving, and I use 95% of the power and torque going up mountains, but I don't lose too much speed like Semi-trucks do. So I'm glad I have a little bigger motor than the minimum I would have accepted. A lot depends on how you plan to use it. If your going to live in it for more than a month at a time then a washer/dryer is a nice option to have. Again usually available in bigger units. There is more storage the bigger you go too. The OP asked about fuel mileage. Driving 55-58mph I get about 8.2mpg and it makes almost no difference if I pull my trailer or not. I you plan to pull a vehicle the bigger MH with a bigger motor will usually be easier. Some people are afraid to get something too big thinking they would be able to handle it. My MH + Trailer is 65ft and I haven't had any problems and this is the first MH I have ever owned. So it can be done. Another thing is don't limit yourself to only 10 years old. Mine was about 14 years old when I bought it. Because it was top of the line when it was made and the previous owner took good care of it - it was still in nice condition and should last me many more years. Most people commit how nice it is when they see it. If the OP sees this I hope it helps some. I know everyone is different and there are different strokes for different folks. So maybe not everything I mentioned will apply to this person. Good luck in you search if you haven't found or bought one yet.

I can tell you this - mine looked somewhat like yours does and it was NOT the transmission leaking at all. The hydraulic fan motor was leaking and spread oil all around the engine and transmission area making it look like they were leaking. Took a long time to figure out what was going on but after changing out the fan motor now everything is dry and nothing looks like it's leaking like yours does. So I know it's somewhat hard to get under the RV but I would look with a flashlight and see if any hoses and other areas look wet too. IF it's only the transmission that looks wet then maybe it is coming from there but if other areas are wet it might be something else. Put a old pan or plate or small bucket under the Transmission and see if it's indeed leaking and report back. I did all my own work as I couldn't afford the shop rates that most places charge. I see your from MI and now in FL - me too.

I understand some people like State and National parks, But is that ALL your planning to stay at? There are a lot of other places that are really nice too. Some of those S & N Parks will be booked a year or more in advance so you may not be able to get in no matter what size RV you have. So staying at a campground just outside the park will likely be able to handle a 40' RV with a toad without any problem. I can tell you this, I have a 40' unit and I'm alone and wouldn't want anything smaller. The unit I have I bought from a couple that were going to buy a 45' RV so they could full time in. So my point is, get the bigger unit now. It will save you from having to upgrade again, if ever. A few things to think about are: Do you want a washer/dryer in the RV? These are more commonly found in the larger units since there is more room for them. Larger tanks on larger units is normal. There is a huge difference between 30amp and 50amp and most larger RV's will have the 50 but smaller one's (like 32 -34ft) might not and only have the 30amp setup. It's good you plan on talking to people at the FMCA rally - but if you have any parks near you - go visit them in your car and talk to campers that are there now (for advice) and see if there are any spots that could hold a 40' RV. Just remember if you only visit one park that won't tell you too much. Good luck with what ever you decide on. PLEASE post what you decided on and why so others can learn from you.

Florida had snow in the panhandle today and there are freeze warning for Central FL for the next few nights. So most of the country must be pretty cold if it's cold in FL. Mother Nature must be laughing at us right now.

Never seen one. Got any pics or links to images. In my case that probably wouldn't work too well as my fuel fill is in the front and a bike would have to be lowered to add any fuel. But I would still like to see a lift in the front.

Thanks Herman. I was just interested in how many people carry, bring, or use a motorcycle while RV'ing. I do have a trailer as I have both my bikes with me - if one broke down, I wouldn't be totally stranded. Somewhat surprised that no one has answered the thread question - Do you have a motorcycle with you while RV'ing? I know it's the holiday season and many people are busy with getting ready to travel after the holidays are over. Oh well - I was just curious........

I was just wondering how many of you have a motorcycle with you while RV'ing? In my case I ONLY have motorcycles (2) with me. No 4 wheel vehicles at all. And I'm not about to use the MH to go get groceries. There are a few people in the RV park I'm in that have motorcycles but one has a car and a motorcycle and the other has a truck and a motorcycle. So I wonder if I'm alone in only having motorcycles? But that is one of the main reasons I'm in FL now, is so I CAN ride during the Winter which I can't do back at home. But my question is - do you have a motorcycle with you - and if so, how did you transport it along with the RV you are in?

Got any pictures?

If someone has a home Equity line of credit they can use it for whatever they want to buy. If they wanted to buy a 25 year old MH with 165,000 miles on it, no one is going to stop them as they have already been cleared up to what ever percentage of value their home is worth. No banker is really involved in what they spend their money on, as anyone that doesn't want to lose their home is going to repay the loan. That would be one way that someone could buy more than a 10 year old vehicle. Then again if someone had cash then there also would be no banker involved.

Very Nice unit. You even get to park on concrete.

I have to use blocks to raise the coach up high enough to get my 12 ton jack stands under the coach. I don't have a death wish and have worked in industry for 30 years which preached Safety Safety Safety so I know how to work safely. But thanks for your concern.

You have more money then I (we) do as I can't afford to have anyone do it for me.

Nice clean looking coach.

I spent about $250 on 5 gallons of fluid and about $70 on the 2 filters - So about $320 to do it myself. Most time consuming part was the gasket removal using plastic scrapers instead of any metal to keep from marking up the aluminum covers that the filters attach to. Drained into a big tray and then refilled the gallon bottles with the used fluid and took it to a recycle center. It's not too bad of a job and I cleaned everything real good so I could tell if there where any leaks - none found.

I used MOBIL DELVAC Synthetic ATF which is Allison TES-295 approved and on their list as OK to use and was more readily available at the time I was ready to do my fluid and filter change.

I know this is the full timing section of the forum - but my question is for a Part Timer. I'm planning on snowbirding for about 4 month's in FL this Winter. Since this will be my very first time to do this in my MH I'm not sure what to expect yet. I have heard that if I use USPS to forward mail it is hard to stop them forwarding it when I move back home. I had used them before but it was for 19 months and it was from my house to a house in NV - I had to change some addresses back when I moved back but I don't remember any big issues with most mail making it back to me in my home State. But this will be for a much shorter time - AND YES I have most of my bills paid via the internet or auto payments but not everything yet. So there might be a few things in the 4 months that I need to receive so I can either send a check or call them for a CC or Debt payment. Not to mention getting the FMCA magazine. I don't have anyone near that can send me my mail - because my neighbor is going to FL too. So my question is for a short 4 month stay in FL would you use USPS or some other forwarding service? ONE nice thing about using USPS is my mailman told me they don't forward junk mail.

Two things come to mind here. 1st is maybe in 2002 not all diesel fill lanes had duel fills so they decided to put one near the center so it could be filled from either side, 2nd is they could argue that you can fill from either side but it only cost them one fill point to be installed instead of two. I also "fixed" the need to go to Photobucket to view the image I had posted through them and then they decided to take away third party posting of images unless you paid them an outrageous fee - which I assume is not a popular option for them but I also assume they are making more money then they did before as some might feel it's worth - I'm not one of those that feel that way. But at least now anyone viewing this thread won't have to be redirected to another website and wait for an image to load.

Looks pretty nice and you even have a garage for it - Lucky you.

In my case my system is totally Manual. There are lights that show which side is low and then you raise that side up until that light goes out. Then if another light lights up, you level that area til that light goes out etc. In most cases yes it is common practice to dump the air before you level. However there have been times when I wanted the coach higher than normal because I planned to work under it so I put extra blocks under the jacks so they didn't have to extend all the way down and to coach was still higher then when a normal leveling job was done. But that's just how I do it when I might need to work under it and it's not something I would do when camping.

Very Nice. Where was that picture taken?

Congrats on buying a work in progress. Your going to learn a lot about it. If you have no flame it could be that the lines have air in them from sitting so long. Try to light the stove top - once those are going turn them off and then try the fridge again. Does the fridge work on shore power or with the generator? Not sure how the inverter works fine with no AC and no charging of the batteries? Good luck and post a picture of it when you can.

If your looking for good fuel mileage it will be only slightly better in a small 32ft coach but you will be giving up comfort and storage space for sure. Tanks sizes will likely be smaller and many other things will be a compromise going so small especially for 4 months at a time. Boondocking could be a challenge. One thing I see very often on this and other forums is people buying something too small and then upgrading over and over which gets expensive. Starting out a little bigger then you think you need will pay dividends down the road in many cases. Being able to tow a car (or truck) behind the MH is something many people do and it's usually easier with a bigger coach which most likely has a bigger motor to do the job you want it to do and not struggle especially going up hills.

Here's my 2¢. On my coach they may start out in pairs - like if the right side is low then the front and rear jacks on the right side will deploy. Then when that is lifted it might show the front is now low, so pushing the button to raise the front will then deploy the left front jack (by itself) until pressure is on that jack, then right and left jacks will work in unison to raise the front up more. Then if the rear were to be showing low, the left rear jack (one that hadn't been deploy yet) will start down and again when pressure is on that jack then the right and left rear jacks will work in unison like the front jacks did. I believe that any adjustments after all 4 jacks are down would be 2 at a time whether it was the left side or right side, the rear or the front. I have never heard of deploying the front jacks just to reduce body flex/torque when the rear jacks are deployed to level the coach. Sometimes only the front needs to be raised to make my coach level - but I will usually deploy the rear jacks just so there is a little pressure on them to help stabilize the coach some, but not enough to raise it out of level. My owner manual says to level first then extend the slides. I have been pretty level and tried to extend the slides with the jacks up and they go out about 2-4 inches and then stop. Once I deploy a set of jacks even a few inches (not touching the ground) then the slides will extend as normal, so there must be a switch that says if jacks are not down the slides don't work. I have never tried raising all the jacks and then seeing it the slides will retract. But with hydraulic slides I don't think you need to be perfectly level as sometimes after a rain I tip the coach down in the front so water runs off the slides before I retract them in and I don't have to re-level.

Can you get inside the coach? I would think something broke or shifted in the handle that is not allowing the handle outside to open the door. I think I saw a post somewhere where a rod inside the handle had bent and therefore wouldn't release the jaws. If You can't get inside - a Locksmith MIGHT be able to help - but repair to the door frame is a possibility too. Good luck and please report back when you get this figured out.

It's in the front Just right of center. It's been close a few times but I've always been able to reach with a fuel hose. Although I'm training myself to pull to the left more if the hose is on the left which seems to be the most common situations I've run into. And of course I do have to stop with the front of the coach at the fuel hose and not go past it or I would not be able to reach the fuel fill on the coach. But like everything you learn what you have to do to get the job done.