richard5933

Has anyone received the TCS card and successfully used ACH credit to fund it? I ask because both of my banks are unable to do the transfer according to the instructions provided by TCS. Normally an ACH transfer is done by providing the recipient's routing number and account number. In addition, TCS needs us to enter our company name and our specific card number. Problem is, both of my banks only provide data fields for routing number and account number. No place to enter my card's specific information. Hopefully I'm missing something here. Otherwise, it would seem that this system is just too impractical for regular use. There are two other methods of funding the card provided by TCS, but they both have fees associated.

Which card are you talking about? The EFS card obtained through TSD or the new FMCA card issued by TCS? If it's the EFS card you're talking about, then the card is supposed to be accepted at Pilot. From looking at the discount rates issued yesterday, there is about a 5-8 cent/gallon discount at Pilot. If you're talking about the new TCS card, then it's interesting to note that the card doesn't help at all at a Pilot/Flying J. I'm still waiting for my TCS card, but from what I've seen so far the program doesn't list Pilot as a participating location.

What are those called? Where do you find them? They definitely look like something that should be in the emergency repair kit.

Gas or diesel, I haven't seen a discount card that works with credit cards or that has monthly billing other than a brand-specific card. And, those usually only offer a few cents discount per gallon which is much less that these fleet cards offer. The TSD and TCS cards are intended to be fleet cards, where the goal is to minimize the cost of fuel for the fleet. They've recently allowed RV owners to become part of a 'fleet' and gain access to the savings. Since using credit cards would reduce the savings in these programs (someone has to pay the swipe fees) I don't see it happening anytime soon. All that said, if you do find one I'm sure that others would stand in line behind you to sign up, since it seems that many of the people on the various RV forums don't feel comfortable using ACH transfers to pay bills. At least not based on the comments I've read.

Herman - Both of the ones being discussed so far are for diesel, and only at the truck islands AFAIK. I haven't seen anything similar for gasoline yet other than brand-specific cards. Surely there are fleet cards for gasoline. The problem would be becoming part of their 'fleet'.

I also see a twist-on wire nut in the photo on the ground wires. Those have a tendency to loosen with vibration, so it would be wise to make sure that any wire nuts you see are tight.

https://www.tsdlogistics.com/services/fuel-program/

We use a small 700-watt oil filled heater in the wet bay. It's large enough to keep the temps above freezing in the coldest Wisconsin weather, but small enough to run on a standard 15-amp circuit. I got this one since it doesn't use an electronic switch and can be controlled with the unit I noted below: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FYNGQPP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I control it with one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BFR1Z4B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 These are nice, as you can set the unit to turn on the heater when the temps get down to 35 degrees, and off again at 40. It comes with a temp probe on a wire, which I suspend next to the lower plumbing on the tank to be sure it's reading the colder (bottom) portion of the bay. Keeps from running the heat when not needed so you don't waste electricity.

Sounds like we'd have to plan for it to take 24 hours to have the funds available to us if using the no-cost transfers. There are a couple of quicker options but they incur a hefty fee, negating the savings. There doesn't seem to be a security issue having the funds on deposit with them, it's just not a terribly convenient way to pay for fuel. About the only time that this card would have any advantages over the TSD card is if one is traveling to a place where there were no fuel stops on the TSD network.

Got in touch with Dan, and then with TCS. Apparently the problem is that I submitted my information through the FMCA website before the email was sent out announcing the opening of the program, and those early submissions did not all go through. The answer to how the program works is that this is truly a prepaid program. You have to transfer funds to your card ahead of time in order to use it to purchase fuel.

While I appreciate the additional information provided, still no phone call to get the card set up after two weeks. Has anyone actually gotten a call and been able to get the card set up? Dan - is there any timeline on this? Originally it was 24-48 hours, then 72 hours. It's been two weeks since I submitted my information, still nothing.

Do a quick search of the forum. There was a long thread about this about a year ago with great information.

Has anyone actually received the magic phone call? I completed their 'application' at the beginning of last week but so far nothing but crickets. Tried to call TCS directly, but every call goes straight to voice mail. Anyone from FMCA leadership care to join the conversation and supply some facts so we can stop guessing?

Seen that, but it really doesn't show much information. Be nice to have details about how transactions will be processed, will the ACH transactions be automatic or will we have to do them ahead of time (pre-pay), etc. etc. Can't imagine that commercial drivers have to manually transfer funds before each fill-up, or that companies are required to keep funds on deposit with them. When more information is released I guess we'll see. The programs we've been seeing are tapping into existing programs designed around commercial trucking. They'd have to find another program based on commercial gasoline fleets for that to happen, IMO.

If this is a prepay system, then it doesn't have nearly the advantage of the TSD card, which is post-pay. I'm not really interested in keeping money on deposit with TCS so I can take advantage of their discounts. Doesn't seem practical to have to manually predict fuel costs and transfer money to the account so that it would be available for use while traveling. Hopefully more information about how this works will be made available soon.

I believe that TCS is the name of the partner. https://www.tcsfuel.com/lp/fuel-card/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw_absBRD1ARIsAO4_D3txAlBsn8mjTcZYm8QYIesW6zZETL8z3aM5CZ8Ywt1ktTwbbDeIA6AaAt2jEALw_wcB Guess it's just a waiting game now. Disappointing that FMCA leadership didn't do a better job of getting all their ducks in a row before posting this on the website.

From what I see, the FMCA card is not through TSD, it's through TCS. Looks like a very similar program though with a card that looks similar. The reason I'm interested in getting the TCS card is that it appears the FMCA TCS card has discounts at locations/brands not covered by the TSD program. I called the FMCA office today to ask what the plan is. The person who answered didn't know, and said that someone from the TCS program would call me. So far, no phone call. Not sure how this program works, but it seems to sign up you've got to get a call from TCS since the online application only asks for the barest of contact information. I already have the TSD card and was hoping that this one from FMCA would provide additional options.

Can you post a photo showing how they are connected?

After reading about the new FMCA benefit with the TCS fuel discount card recently, I filled out the brief online application. It appeared that a phone call would follow in a day or so. Today an email was sent out from FMCA announcing the program. I still have not received a phone call or heard anything more from my application. Puzzled what the plan is. Has anyone been able to learn more about the program? Anyone gotten the return phone call to fully get signed up? Curious if this is worth pursuing or if it is the same as the TSD program.

Thanks - now I have garage envy. 🙂

This is how we did it. Leaned one section of a 32-foot extension ladder (16-feet) against the coach. I used scrape plywood and 2 x 4 to make a sled which we placed on the ladder. A rope was tied to the upper end of the sled, and once the a/c unit was placed on the ladder one person pushed from below while climbing the ladder, and I pulled the rope from above. The sled had side rails on the bottom to keep it from sliding off the ladder, and we strapped the a/c unit to the top of it. Worked really well getting it up to the roof, and then we both lifted the sled up and over the top of the ladder.

Did you measure voltage at the chassis batteries to confirm that they are in fact charging when the engine is running? If so, then perhaps the signal wire to the warning system is loose and not getting a proper voltage reading. On my coach, which is much older than yours, the warning system gets it's voltage reading from the regulator. If one of the connections on that circuit came loose or became corroded the warning system would fire even though the system was charging. If you discover that your system is not charging the chassis batteries properly, then perhaps your regulator is not doing its job. Don't remember reading about that being changed.

Not limited to just the RV world either - we bought a sofa for the house once thinking it was leather. Looked and felt like leather, but after a short time the same problem occurred. Turns out it was bonded leather, and the top layer of leather separated from the underlayer is was bonded to. We've been much more careful buying furniture since, both for the house and the coach.

I'm still using my Garmin 760 RV. There are a few models between the 760 and the current model, the 785. If it became necessary to replace mine, I'd look at those in-between models. Lots of them are still available, and even at Amazon prices you can buy one for much less than the latest model.

Right now the FMCA card through TSC is a big mystery. I've downloaded the app, but it's useless until you have a card. Maybe when they start making the phone calls to complete the setup procedure this will make more sense. It's starting to sound like the program the Prevost owners group had before they switched to the TSD program.