richard5933

Need more information... Are they getting the memberships for free with their rigs? Is the manufacturer paying? Or, is FMCA giving free trial memberships? How does this work? With the financial crunch in FMCA right now I'm afraid this is the first thing that came to mind. Great to have an extra avenue for new members, for sure, so I hope that this turns into something which can create more long-term members. It's nice to see something like this is in the works, and hopefully it will in the end benefit everyone involved.

The datasheet indicates that the batteries can be charged from -4F to 119F. Apparently they can be discharged at temps up to 140F. When I read your post though, my question immediately was why cross the Mohave Desert in summer? Isn't that typically done at other times of the year?

Coach had 315s when we got it, but the steers rubbed on hard turns, plus we have 8-1/4" rims. Proper size for us is 12R22.5 and not the wider 315.

Carrying a spare is all about what type of risk taker you are, as there are risks involved regardless of which side you take in this argument. We carry a spare, and fortunately we also have a designated compartment behind the bumper for it. Why do we carry a spare, especially since I have on intention of even attempting to change it on my own? Simple - we carry a spare because we have a tire size getting somewhat difficult to find (12R22.5) and I don't want to sit for a few days while one is found, which will be the case if we have a flat in the hinterland or on a holiday weekend. Getting someone to come help change the tire is likely going to be easy. Finding the correct tire may not be. If you have a common size tire, and if you generally travel in places where tire dealers are going to be nearby with a stock on hand of what you will need, then it might be okay to travel without a spare. However, if you have an uncommon size or tire type it might be better to be prepared.

Couple of thoughts... Rooftop solar is handy, in that it's always there ready to go. But, it requires you to park in the sun for it to work. Hard to keep the bus cool if you're in the sun without running the a/c, and if you are able to run the a/c usually that means you're plugged in or on generator. In that case, you don't need solar. Rooftop solar is handy during cooler times of year where a/c is not as necessary, but then the sun is lower in the sky and not as effective. We decided to start our solar with ground-deployed units. We have three Zamp 180-watt folding units and can charge at 30-40 amps easily. We set up the three folding units to run in series instead of parallel, which give higher voltage and lower amperage. This allowed us to run a 50-foot cable to connect them to the coach, and having such a long cable means the coach can stay in the shade while the panels are out in the sun. Having ground-deployed solar has proven to be a blessing up here in Wisconsin where the sun is at a lower angle in the off season and where it makes a really wide swing in summer. We can angle the portable units to capture as much of the sun as possible, and in the summer will try to rotate them through the day to capture sun from dawn to dusk. Hard to do this with rooftop solar where the panels are generally speaking flat on the roof. Our charge controller is capable of running much more voltage and amperage than we currently have available. Eventually we hope to add a few panels to the roof. While we've found the ground-deployed panels great if we're going to be somewhere for a few days or more, they tend to be annoying to set up for just a day or two. With a few roof top panels we'll be able to charge the batteries on shorter stays easily, and even while parked in a lot out seeing the sights. Make sure that whatever you get for your charge controller gives you room to grow. It's easy to run out of capacity if you only get one big enough for the first few panels. Much easier and less expensive to just get the larger unit to start with.

Placement is as important as anything else. We've got one next to the front door so it's easy to grab by someone either in the front seats or as they enter the coach. Another extinguisher is in the very rear of the coach in the bedroom in case there is something making exit difficult or in case we're in the bedroom when something in the kitchen catches fire. Two more are located outside - one is on the driver's side in the electrical bay, a likely place where it will be needed. The other is on the curb side in the bay immediately forward of the engine compartment. I was going to put it in the engine compartment, but if that's where the problem is I thought perhaps I might not be able to get to it. I also have lettering on the outside of the bays housing the extinguishers which reads "Fire Extinguisher Inside" so that they can be found by anyone. Those bays are kept unlocked whenever we're on the road so that they are easily accessible. Another thing we did was to mark the bay where our propane tanks are located with a small black diamond which reads "LPG" so that first responders will know where our tanks are and not waste time looking.

Really - enough with the conspiracy theories & cries of fake news. The posting is public on the CHP - Susanville page. Take it up with them if you think it's fake. There is no point in us hashing this out here.

Not sure why people are so intent on showing how we're not seeing what we're seeing... Look under the rear of the coach body - you'll see a number of faint markingts on the ground which are parallel to the broader white marking. It is clearing something that scraped the ground and created a line. Since the body was traveling in a straight line it shouldn't be an issue that the scraping on the pavement is straight as well. The nose of the coach has white bumper. The bumper would have stuck out proud from the body a tad, so it makes sense that it bore the brunt of the weight. Also, note that the white line in question ends directly under the coach. I'd guess that the very end of it is directly under the front bumper. This is not a matter of 'fake news', it is just that we cannot see the entire situation from the few photos that we're privy to.

?? I didn't mention anything about FB or joining any other group. Just for more information to help track down the wipers.

Can you post a few more photos? Hard to see much from that close, so maybe a foot back or so and include a side view. Also, how long is the wiper? I've found that nearly every wiper you could need is out there, and it's rare that you have to change out the arm to get new wipers. A little more information and someone will have the part number for you, I'm confident.

Welcome to the FMCA Forum! My first thought is the pressure switch as well, but I'm a bit confused by the symptoms. If you let it hum for a bit after the water tap is shut off, how long does it run? If only for a few minutes more, then it's just building pressure to the pre-set limit. If, however, it just keeps running and running and doesn't ever stop, then what happens the next time you turn on the tap? Does the water shoot out and appear to be under much more than usual pressure? If the pump did truly keep pumping I'd think that the pressure would rise above what's normally seen in the system and would be noticeable.

It's important to consider not only the amp output of the solar charge controller, but the voltage it can handle as well. Our solar panels are wired in a combination parallel/series. Putting them in series increases the voltage and reduces the required cable size for connecting the solar bank to the charge controller. We chose our solar charge controller so that it could handle the anticipated voltage after we add a few more panels. Always good to consider future expansion.

Interior or exterior? What are you attempting to mount?

First thought would be a leak. Sometimes difficult to see, so you'll have to get in all the nooks and crannies to inspect while it's running. Might require cover panels to be removed to find it.

A cost, for sure. But, in the scope of this project not by any means the largest cost. Some of the newer batteries are designed to charge with the same charging parameters as flooded cell batteries and can use existing chargers. Not sure how well that works, but it's an option for the short term. We have a stand-alone battery charger, and the lithium-specific model to replace it is only about $250. Not free, but a relatively small piece of this puzzle. However, if you are using a combination inverter/charger and yours won't work with lithium batteries, then you're going to have to figure out a new plan.

Not all economics is about money. There are a few reasons we're considering lithium batteries for our next go around... Faster recharge time Ability to charge at higher rates when solar is performing at peak Much more capacity per pound Constant voltage level from fully charged to lowest usable point in SOC For some these things don't matter as much. For some the money aspect is the primary one. Since we tend to do quite a bit of dry camping/boondocking, having the ability to fully charge during a few hours on the road or with a few hours of peak solar is important. The lower weight is also important, as it will be the key to allowing us to carry the necessary solar to keep things recharged. (Yes, I can use the generator to recharge the batteries, but I truly hate having the listen to the generator when we're camping in an isolated lake front site.)

Just take the measurements to an appliance parts supplier near you and get the closest equivalent.

If you have an RV 50-amp receptacle like in the photo above, simplest way is to just use an adapter. Best way would be to have the pedestal box swapped out for one with both the 30-amp and 50-amp receptacles on it. Also would work to make the cable you're talking about.

Making a cord like that would work as long as you get the conductors attached to the proper terminals. Leaving the extra terminal in place will help the plug stay put in the socket better and make it less likely to pull out - I'd just leave it in place. It will do nothing since it won't be connected on the inside of the plug. Depending on the gauge wire you use though, it might be possible to have a cord plugged into a breaker which has a higher rating than the cord. You can either change the breaker to a double 30-amp breaker to prevent any problems, or you can use the proper gauge wire for the 50-amp breaker. Probably cheaper to swap the breaker, and the 30-amp cord will be much easier to handle. If you make the cord this way, it will be a good idea to permanently mark it at both ends somehow. After a few years you'll likely have a stack of cords & adapters, and it will always be possible to pull the wrong cord from the stack if not marked.

Functionally the same. Which to choose depends on the particulars of the application. I like the adapters without the cable between the ends, and they tend to be durable. However, they also make the cord stand out far from the outlet and can encourage the weight of the cord to pull it from the outlet. When I use the short adapters I will bungee the whole works to the pedestal to make sure things don't pull out over time.

Big difference in plugging in an RV at the pedestal and all the household devices your electrician was talking about. Usually, the household devices are turned off and not going to cause a problem. If (big 'if' for some, small 'if' for others) you have all the major power-using devices turned off in the coach when you plug, there shouldn't be a problem. The problem that comes from plugging in with the breaker turned on is damage done to the outlet/plug from the arcing. If you plug in with the breaker off there is no chance of arcing at the plug/outlet which is why many turn off the breaker first. All that said, I am not that familiar with newer hi-tech systems that automatically control things in the coach and switch power as soon as it's detected. For example, some people will pull into a campground with the generator powering the a/c units. When they plug into the pedestal and switch on the breaker the automatic transfer switch will automatically switch the loads to the shore power. I can see where in those cases it could potentially do some damage. My advice is to switch off the loads in the coach before plugging into the pedestal. Having the breaker turned off is extra insurance against damaging the plug on the shore power cord. When possible, I have things off at both ends before plugging in.

Lots of great suggestions made to the OP. Probably time for them to chime in and let us know which way they want to go so we can focus on that and help them further rather than going in circles.

That makes sense for the TSD card which draws money after you make the purchase. The TCS card done on the FMCA program is a pre-pay card, and you need to manually fund the card before using it. From what I can see, the TCS app still has no provision for easily adding funds. I tried this when I first got the TCS card. We bank at Associated Bank, and they are not set up to do the direct bill pay per the TCS instructions. That seems to be available at our bank only for commercial customers. The only way I was able to make it work was to use the 'Send Money With Zelle' function, and this involved a few emails to TCS and at least a day of waiting for confirmation. Not what I would call automated by any means. I still have the TCS card with a few hundred on it, but it's really only there for an emergency payment card when all else fails.

Those will work with a properly-wired RV 50-amp receptacle, but they leave your cordset unprotected. Using an adapter like this means plugging a cord rated at 30 amps into a receptacle protected by a 50-amp breaker. Those extra 20 amps can do quite a bit of damage before the breaker does it's job.

A properly wired 50-amp RV receptacle will have two 50-amp breakers supplying it with power (not 25-amp). Each leg of the 50-amp receptacle provide up to 50-amps @ 120v, and combined can provide 240v. If you are unsure of how things work please have someone that does assist.