mweiner
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Everything posted by mweiner
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A lot of manufacturers today market their coaches differently to get people's attention and highlight their particular features. When we started looking for an RV that was the right "fit" for us, we considered a Class B and a Class C... but, we were amazed by the subtle size difference of some of them. Some manufacturers call their coaches Class B plus.. like the Leisure Travel Unity while Winnebago calls their Navion a Class C even though they are basically the same size. The overall dimensions of the these vehicles are one half foot wider on average than a traditional Class B which is a van conversion with no cut away of the original chassis. Outside of vehicle length, there's no similar "marketing techniques" for selling Class A RVs. So, is there really a Class B plus?? Or is this just marketing hype?
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Comparing Coach Net, Good Sam & FMCA Roadside Assistance Coverage
mweiner replied to huffypuff's topic in Roadside Assistance
LIVNCOAST2COAST- I've learned over the years that price is only ONE FACTOR, and you have to consider performance...I don't think you'll be disappointed with AAA. As far as I know, they are the oldest roadside assistance motor club established 115 years ago. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Automobile_Association -
Comparing Coach Net, Good Sam & FMCA Roadside Assistance Coverage
mweiner replied to huffypuff's topic in Roadside Assistance
Sure, it's expensive, but, it's hard to beat the service of AAA Premiere RV and towing. The only thing is that each regional office has different service levels... They have a great trip interruption plan... again, you will have to weigh out the benefits for yourself. I've been a member of AAA for over 35 years... their roadside assistance team has NEVER let me down. -
A 2016 Winnebago Meridian is an awfully new vehicle to have these kinds of problems... Did you purchase this new and what was the warranty on this coach? I hope you have an extended warranty? Good luck...
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Guys- Regarding CA, yeah, we have a lot of regulations here.. BUT, let me tell you that I'm a native Californian and remember the "smog alert days" from the 1960s...it was really BAD. Today, the air quality is much better and EXCEPT for the mass of humanity that is here in Los Angeles where we live, it sometimes gets a bit overwhelming. LA has the dubious distinction of being "Number One" in traffic congestion...no kidding. SO, we enjoy VERY much traveling out of town and visiting smaller towns. We're taking a cross country road trip with the RS Adventurous this fall. It will be a 7,500 miles journey around the United States.. good thing we're getting 18 plus MPG. As we'll be on the road touring, you bet that safety is a very high concern of mine. Jim, as I stated earlier... we're all entitled to an opinion.. especially where to live, what type of vehicle you want to have, etc. BUT, there's only one set of facts.... There's incontrovertible evidence that seat belts, air bags and other safety equipment saves lives which is why it was mandated by the Federal Government in 1975... YES, it's still daylight in Los Angeles ...it's 7:05 PM here.
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K- Saw your Greyhound bus conversion in another post...WOW... What a magnificent vehicle..can you please post an inside picture.. how difficult was it finding this gem... paint and exterior look immaculate. I'm sure that the inside is just as nice. You could easily be living in it, but, know you don't. MPG- 7 ?
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K- Great video... thanks for sharing.... I personally replace my tires every 5 years regardless of mileage... And, after purchasing my RS Adventurous, I replaced all 7 tires, yes, 7... spare included with brand new Michelin Defender LT tires...215/85 /16 - the exact size required.. plus the Truck Systems Technologies monitor system. You can't fool around with safety... and I noticed that the video and several other posts above say that they ALWAYS use their seat belts.. good for all of you. ---MARK
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On the Truck Systems Technologies systems there's an on/off switch on the monitor. I like it. https://tsttruck.com
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Seat belts would have definitely helped here than being thrown around the entire coach.
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You mean safety like this?
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Herman, you may be entitled to your own opinion, but your not entitled to your own facts.. I'm not trying to upset you or anyone else, but, this is an important topic and the government regulations have really helped more than you think. I'm sure that you are doing all you can for driving safety, but it only takes one person to run out of control and hit you. http://www.youthforroadsafety.org/news-blog/news-blog-item/t/seatbelts_saving_thousands_of_lives_around_the_world_everyday https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812374 "According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 15,000 lives are saved each year in the United States because drivers and their passengers were wearing seat belts when they were in a road traffic crash.Feb 20, 2012" This below is simply NOT TRUE. Sorry. "I long for days gone by when we didn't have Seat Belts, Shoulder Harnesses, Air bags and Bolted down Car Seats. My kids were able to sleep in the seat with out being strapped in and their heads bobbing in a very painful way. Our child restraint was our arm. Back then I can't remember having accidents where so many children were injured or killed. We drove with the understanding that our first thing was to drive safely to protect those we loved. We drove knowing we had to be the one to protect and not some government regulation saying we are safe now since they required manufacturer to put in all the safety devices that don't help one bit." Seat belts, airbags and other new developments have made vehicle safety much better and it gets better every year.
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165,000 miles....do you think you got your money's worth? As for replacement, both Koni and Billstein shocks have been out there a long time. I would definitely go with whatever worked for you in past or the vehicle recommendations....if you could go another 150,000 miles, what's wrong with that?
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WOW, seems like I hit a "nerve" with several of you on "government regulations", sorry. All I can say is that seat belts, air bags any many other things save lives, it's been a proven fact for years.... I guess if you don't believe that, nothing I say is going to change your mind. jleamont-. I watched the Road Master video, and thank you, it was very impressive. K- I agree with you , good idea.... I use Bluetooth in all my vehicles and have integrated audio for the cellphone. In fact, Android Auto is especially good.
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CarlAda- GREAT... good for you... Forward thinking... Bill, KJNJ48-. YES, I understand that this is years away.... even though I'm 65, I'm not sure I'll see the full implementation of what I'm suggesting here, BUT, it's good to have a dialogue about safety. Yes, mandatory seat/shoulder belts... take a look at this website below, http://www.rvhelpdesk.com/seatbelt-laws.html "RVs are not required to have rear occupant crash testing or meet Federal seat belt standards for rear seating positions. ... Several state laws require seat belt use for the front seats only while other states say all children must be properly restrained.May 19, 2016" Some older coaches are exempted from regulations.. but, most of those will gradually be off the road with time... I am sure that I'm going to catch some flack for saying this, but, newer RVs on road, just like newer cars are safer older cars from 20 years ago and older. There's no requirement for rear passengers, but, I have three seat belts in the rear bench seat in my 2012 RS Adventurous. They were factory installed. AND, the two front seats and second row of bucket seats behind the driver do have shoulder/seat belts... We removed our 2nd row of seats and installed the optional cabinets for extra storage... works better for the two of us..😁😁 Our vehicle is primarily a two person coach... Google self driving cars have logged over a million miles... bottom line, in almost every case the self driving cars were NOT at fault.... almost every situation was caused by the regular person behind the wheel using poor judgement. All of the electronic gadetry that's coming to cars today are the cutting edge of self driving cars of the future. As I stated earlier, I think it's GREAT that we're living in the last phase of regular people driving.... You want to know who's going to pay for it? We all are..but, there's going to be a tremendous amount of money saved from the millions of dollars paid out for accidents every year....Self driving cars will ease traffic and make commute times faster... Someday, people will say ..."remember when we used to drive ourselves"... that will be sad for car enthusiasts. There's always going to be some exceptions.. and if you want to pay higher premiums, you'll still be able to pilot your own vehicle, but, it will cost more... Actually, those doing this, will enjoy fewer traffic congestion. Could I be wrong?? Perhaps, but, look at all the other high technology stuff that's happened in the last 30 years.
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Understood, if it's any consolation, the heavier the vehicle, the more likely you are to survive an accident, but, IF you get thrown through the windshield, you're probably NOT going to survive it under any circumstances. The problem with the Class A is that there's virtually nothing standing between you and the windshield, ergo, the street... At least with the front engine Class C or even my small nosed Class B Diesel... there's a barrier between us and the front end, plus, we have front the front driver's and passenger air bags.. side air bags would have been nice.... Don't really know if air bags would work on the Class A...? However, the airbag would come from the steering wheel or front dashboard ... anything to stop you from flying out the front.. We don't tow anything...I hate towing.....I actually have a small teardrop trailer that I'm trying to sell ...we tow it with our car... 😁😁😁 As for braking systems, we have four wheel disc brakes and ABS, plus electronic stability control... pretty good system.. much like our car.. I'm not worried about stopping.. With all of us "baby boomers" easing into retirement...and there's a legion of us out there, it would behoove us to push the FEDS to make this happen.... after all, they're all about road safety, why not trucks.. Will not happen if it isn't raised.. And, we're entering the period of "self driving cars"... this will be, in my opinion, the next cultural shift in driving.. As self driving cars become more and more ubiqutous, the insurance industry is going to write policies that penalize the driver who is NOT driving a computer controlled car.... WHY? Because, computers don't make mistakes people do and don't take unnecessary risks. We should all be "lucky" that we're living in the last phase of cars and RVs that are piloted by actual people....It might take a while, but, the days of getting behind your own machine and being on the road are numbered. Any safety developments are helpful in reducing road stress.
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Hmm, reading these posts above and reminds me of my nextdoor neighbor about 3 years ago. He had an old 1983 Winnebago Itasca , 33 foot motor home in pretty good shape with only 33,000 miles for $12k. He got rid of it after a year and two trips... NOT a very good use if ask me. I asked, why don't you use it more. His answer was...it gets 5 MPG and it's so UNSTABLE on the road... very hard to control and he hated driving it... said it was too much work and driving it was "exhausting". So, it sat around for a very long time....I imagine that's why it had 33,000 miles from the previous owner.. Maybe you folks with the DP's don't have a similar experience with the swaying of the coaches you drive? But, when I read stories about doing "everything you can" and the ride still is unstable, I don't know.... kinda makes me wonder why the issue of steering stability is still a very big problem... Why isn't this baked in from the manufacturer of the coach when you buy it? This doesn't sound like something you would expect to be added on later as an option? Maybe it's just a size thing or not? I really don't know. Hopefully in your cases with the rear Diesel pushers it's better...? Good luck..
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Most smaller rigs like my Class B have driver and passenger air bags and so do many Class C's, but, there's a lot of Class A motor homes out there with no electronics or even air bags; there just NOT required. The reason most Class B coaches have them is because the vans are also used as passenger buses in certain applications. And, none of the vans I looked at featured some of the other electronic safety features or even offered them as optional equipment. Isn't it time to include air bags on Class A's, and offer features like forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot warnings including lane departure and rear cross traffic as optional features? I'm having rear proximity sensors put on my coach and have already upgraded to a high definition rear camera and front camera for ease of parking. When you're on the road, safety is first. What's your opinion about this?
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I agree 100 percent. A motor home or car... all require vigilance to keep your power up while you're on the road. We all try very hard to avoid an interrupted trip and unplanned event. It's very stressful. As far as fixing it yourself or having it contracted out realize that you should only purchase a vehicle that you can afford and if you don't know how to fix something, have the money to call a professional.. Everything is easy when you know what to do... and many people like myself would rather have a professional do the major systems while I enjoy using the vehicle as much as possible... the more you use your motor home, the better value for the per mile driven you'll receive. There's no value with a car, or motor home sitting in your driveway or the vehicle storage lot. You should always budget for repairs, they're inevitable... parts cost money plus labor... Finally, try and get the vehicle you want with the features you deem necessary... keep it and use it for 5 or 7 years minimum...if you are constantly trading up for your next coach.. because you're not satisfied... you're going to pay more thru depreciation and loss of value.. every time you turn that over.
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A TPMS is a very good idea... especially if you have dual wheels in the back. It's also essential to have valve extensions on the rear wheels. On a recent trip, we experienced an alarm and discovered that we had a couple of defective valve extensions. A good visual and audible aid for something as important as tires in an RV is a PRUDENT investment. It doesn't cost that much and the safety benefit greatly outweighs the extra expense.
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Congratulations and welcome to the forum. Beautiful coach... enjoy.
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DJ- can you quantify how much approximately were talking about in relation to the purchase price? Have you sunk more than 40 to 50 percent of your original price into repairs? If you got this for a reasonable price ...it might still make sense to just repair it and use it.... Unless you really don't like the coach anymore? If that's the case , then, I would consider swapping it for something else. How often do you use it and how many trips and annual miles? I guess you have to weigh how much your enjoying the coach and figure that things do go wrong especially with a 13 year old vehicle.... older vehicles have a period of repairs then things plateau for a while...at least that's what I found with cars I kept for 20 years... I always travel with my AAA Premiere card.. I looked up the Winnebago Veckta and it looks beautiful.. nice and big. DIESEL V8? Good luck..
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Did You Purchase A Late Model Instead Of New Motorhome?
mweiner replied to mweiner's topic in Buying an RV
Bill, Thank you. Just looked at the site you posted...too much for me.. but, they're beautiful... ---MARK -
Roland- Thanks, I'm not really that offended... but, I'm going to call it as I see it... Look, there's plenty of room for discussion on these subjects..and I love a good debate, however when people make comments like it's a done deal or baked in without even a vote or survey... they are trying to over shadow and color the election. I don't appreciate people trying to influence others through assumptions and innuendos about something that is going to happen .... people read this and they think..why should I vote... it's all decided...The idea that it's a done deal is offensive...and frankly they should NOT be allowed to make these wild unfounded assertions.... kind of like "fake news".. All I'm saying is let the vote decide the outcome. ---MARK
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rhinderber-. I thought that you may have overheated... that caused the engine damage...did that warp the heads? I guess you didn't see the warning light? What a bummer... sorry.
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Did You Purchase A Late Model Instead Of New Motorhome?
mweiner replied to mweiner's topic in Buying an RV
Spuds- yes, finally looked up Foretravel.. very nice..I guess their marketing isn't robust.... http://motorhomesoftexas.com/rvcoach/foretravel_motor_homes