markandlisav

Good point! It is nice having the storage underneath.

nothing fancy like stain and polyurethane - just good ole exterior paint :). I'm sure you could stain them if you wanted to. The trim was nothing fancy either, just standard baseboard molding mount upside down. The cornice 'box' was just 1x5 pine trimmed to meet the specs of the one being replaced. Since we were painting them, we did not go overboard on the wood selection.

It has been almost a year since we visited the Florida Keys. We stayed at Bluewater RV resort in Saddlebunch key – about 14 miles to the north of Key West. A truly epic vacation adventure. Six weeks after we left, hurricane Irma hit. We watched the updates from the park on Facebook as the hurricane moved in. Then silence… I would check daily to see if there were any updates on the staff and the park we grew to love. Finally, after what seemed forever, there were words and pictures. My heart sank… The damage to the park and the Florida Keys was devastating. No other way to describe it. As we started planning our summer trip for ’18, the overwhelming destination vote was Bluewater Key… Checking on the park from time to time during the winter, I was amazed the staff had the facility up and running. What better way to help the Keys recover than go down and spend some dollars. On the trip down, the damage was still evident (especially on Big Pine Key), but we were all amazed at how far the recovery had come. Pulling in the park our hearts lifted – it was just how we remembered, even better. I have to admit, I worried that going to the same spot it would somehow not live up to the expectation. Thankfully, that was not the case. Once again, we had a great time – different experiences and adventures all their own - connecting with some really good folks during our stay.

Thanks! It really gives the coach a different look. We thought about just changing the fabric covering, but really happy we went this way.

I have wanted to do this upgrade for some time now… Looking at the dated fabric on our cornice boards made our coach feel old, even though it is a 2011. Pulling the old ones down was a breeze since they were barely attached with a couple of small screws… Let the fun begin… I have never seen SO many staples holding something on in my life! As I started pulling them off (and killing my fingers in the process), I thought maybe there was a better way. Since the fabric coverings can fade and go out of style (as ours did), I decided to take another tack. How about wood cornice boards? I could either stain them or paint them as desired… hmmm… off the Lowes for materials to build a prototype… Three prototypes later, I decided on a somewhat basic configuration with some extra trim pieces to make it look a bit more elegant. Measure twice, cut once… A few hours later I had the first one complete. We decided to paint ours to give a contrast against our light stained cabinets… I trusted the wife on this one and boy was she right! The added bonus is that each one of these new cornice boards are only on average 2.1 pounds heavier than the original. What a difference. Four down, two to go…

Ray, I am the one faking the mechanic gig (and not very successfully I might add...) Thanks again for the assist!!!

I would say it depends on your policy and deductible. Most cover front windshield but gets hazy on the coach ones. I had a cracked window over our dinette after hurricane Irma, but my deductible is higher so it did not make sense to use insurance. Hope this helped and happy / safe travels.

Spot on Ray! Strap wrench did not work. Pulled out the impact wrench and viola!!! Thanks everyone!

I just replaced my old 255x70x22.5 (6 total) with new Michelin XZE's on my Freightliner XC chassis. Is it best practice to get an alignment for the new tires? There were no issues with the tires that came off - just old Chinese rubber. Thanks!

I park the majority of the time on concrete at my house. Get rust stains from level pads - these help.

I guess like all RV’s, ours started showing the dreaded window fog in the double panes. Since we have decided to keep the current rig for the foreseeable future, need to address the issue. Now the fun part. Replace or repair? A little research into window replacement left us in sticker shock. Luckily, in my Google travels, I ran across a place in Hudson Florida that did repair. All the reviews looked good so we scheduled an appointment. What a setup they have. For those coming from out of state, the have areas and hookups that allow you to stay with your rig while they do your windows. Luckily, it was only a three hour drive to Hudson so we dropped it off. It was very comforting to see so many nice Class A rigs when we pulled in. After checking in, we went over our requests with one of the technicians. These folks are window pros so I was looking for recommendations for a couple of windows since it looked like they had been ‘repaired’ by the previous owner. We decided to do all the windows – 8 in all with 4 needing glass replacement. It took a bit longer than first thought due to glass replacement. Moment of truth, Lisa an I set out on the 3 hour drive to Hudson FL. I have to admit, I was apprehensive on the drive over. Once we pulled up, my apprehension vanished. The rig looked great. It cost a bit more than quoted, but that was due to additional parts need to correct the previous ‘repair’. It was totally worth it. They got it done on time and the windows (all double pane and defogged) never have looked better. SunCoast really are RV window pros. I cannot say enough about SunCoast Designers in Hudson Florida. Great people and quality work. Oh yeah, by the way the - windows come with a lifetime warranty against any additional fogging. I hope my next upgrade adventure (Tires/Shocks) turns out as well as the windows... Update / Tip: After getting a few trips on the rig, I noticed I was getting a lot more wind noise on the driver side window. Turns out Suncoast Desginers also properly cleaned and fixed the weep holes on all the windows when we did the repair. Once I installed weep hole covers the noise was gone. These covers block the wind noise put still allow the windows to drain water as needed. What a difference.

I have a Lippert LCI automatic leveling system installed on my rig. A few weeks ago I bought these cool 'snap pads' for the landing gear. The landing gear are standard Lippert 9 inch steel pads, but one is 11 inch ( must have been replaced by previous owner). Not a problem, ordered a new 9 inch pad to replace it. My question is, how do you get the installed one off? I put a breaker bar on it and the hydraulic shaft just spins... I looked around for a lock - stick in a screw driver or something to hold it but did not see one. Greatly appreciate if someone could point me in the right direction.

Nice rig(s)

Our next excursion had us running up the coast to Hilton Head South Carolina. Since it was the week before Christmas, we figured it would not be overly busy. All packed up, so off we go. We did not get far up the interstate when the TireMinder TPMS went off in it’s oh so subtle way… Funny, when that particular alarm goes off, the dogs completely freak out. Maybe the alarm broadcasts on the frequency only dogs can hear like a dog whistle? Whatever the reason, good time to pull off and check it, calm down the pups, get fuel and a propane fill since it is going to be cold in SC (we hope…) The TireMinder alarm turned out to be ‘Nos’. ‘Nos’? What the heck is that? While the diesel pump continued to drain my wallet, I grab the TireMinder manual… ‘Nos’… ‘No Signal’. Ah… one turn on the valve stem and back in business. At that point I gave them all a ‘twist’ just to make sure we did not get the ‘Nos smoke alarm’ again. Back on the road. We arrive on time at the Motorcoach resort that is literally smack in the middle of town. What a fantastic place! It’s hard to describe since you are in the middle of town, but seems like you are in the woods. We could walk or ride our bikes to anywhere we needed to go. As an added plus, there are really good bike paths everywhere. I highly recommend this resort if you are in the South Carolina. Jacks down, all hooked up – time to sit back and enjoy the area. As Lisa and I walk through the park (daughter and pups in tow), we are again struck as to how many friendly people we run into from all over. I have to say that Hilton Head generally has very nice / friendly people. Maybe we hit at the right time and everyone was in the Christmas spirit. Either way, the beach area is superb and dogs where allowed on the beach (which they enjoyed immensely). The shopping seemed to meet the approval of both my wife and daughter which like the diesel pump, tends to drain my wallet. Glad to do it as they are totally worth it! I have to give the park an A+. The staff was very friendly and accommodating and the resort was spotless. The spots were large and well cared for. I would be curious to return in the summer to see how the experience would be different with a summer crowd - the pool at the resort looked amazing, but i was not brave enough to jump into the cold water. Well, back home to map out our next outing….