richard5933

I had a small leak in the window next to the driver. Seems that the black rubber gasket had shrunk at the corner just enough for the water to get in the newly-formed crack. Not really wanting to take the whole thing apart and do further damage, I figured if I could get some black silicone in there is would hold for at least a while. The crack was really deep, but not that wide. Finally remembered that I have a box of hypodermic needles and syringes I used to use to oil antique sewing machines. I found an unused syringe, attached an 18 ga needle, and then filed the point off leaving just a blunt end. The syringes/needles are easy to find at any farm store. The syringe won't pull the silicone in through the needle, so I squeezed some in the tail end straight from the tube. Then I inserted the needle as deep into the crack as I could and pressed on the plunger. The silicone barely flows out the end, but it does flow. After a few minutes there was a small amount coming back out, meaning the crack was filled from the inside out. Slowly pulled the needle out while still gently pressing the plunger to keep it flowing. Neat and tidy application. Hopefully this will help someone else trying to fill a narrow crack in a gasket somewhere.

Very nice. That vinyl plank flooring looks like it has lots of potential.

Herman - is the carpet-like material in good shape or is it getting flattened out over time? Might be time to change out that strip to encourage better sliding action. Or, maybe replace it with thin strip of HDPE instead. (high density polyethylene - the stuff is used to make anti-friction points for equipment parts to slide, etc.) https://www.rockler.com/nylo-tape-friction-free-drawer-slide-tape?sid=V9146?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=PL&gclid=CjwKCAjwxrzoBRBBEiwAbtX1nx6j8isk9acOY3JK5z-uVjIJxtrqMPTcfpH-t7GG2CjyP7R8JXFRghoC_sMQAvD_BwE

According to this, specific placement of CO monitor is not that important in a residential setting. How it translates to a motor home or RV is beyond my pay grade. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21536403 I followed the manufacturer's recommendation on mine and placed it towards the upper 1/4 of the wall height. Hardest part was getting it in an area away from vents, windows, etc.

Whatever you put in your motor home engine, it's a good idea to use the same in the generator if it's compatible. Saves the number of jugs you have to carry.

Do the fans run all the time or are they controlled by a temperature sensor? If controlled by a sensor, you might investigate to be sure it's still in place and that the wiring is still connected firmly. You will probably need wiring diagram to determine if the temp sensor opens/closes the positive or ground wire, but once you know that you can do further testing with a multimeter.

Yup - like I mentioned above. The 315s we have on our coach are recommended to be installed on 9" wheels. We only have 8.25" wheels, and the result is that the weight limit on our tires is now reduced. The Firestone data book shows that when used on 8.25" rims instead of 9", the upper pressure is 120 psi instead of 130 psi. The result is that the upper weight limit is reduced from what would have been possible at 130 psi to what's possible with 120 psi. Always important to read the fine print in the Tire Data Book.

Some 315s are only approved on 9" rims or on specific widths only. Others are approved for narrower rims like our 8.25" rims, but this lowers the max inflation/weight limit on the tires. You've got to check each tire being considered to see if it's approved on a rim narrower than the book's listing, and if so how it changes the weight limits. Same goes for rear dual spacing - it's necessary to research requirements for the specific tire and compare against the wheels currently on the coach. All that said, I still see tires listed online for 295/80R22.5 size. They may be discontinued in one line and then appear in another. When I was investigating 12R22.5 tires the dealer I went to told me that they were being discontinued. Talking further, he meant that the current production/model was being discontinued and that another was be developed as a replacement. It's still possible to get tires in the sizes used on a Model T. Highly unlikely that this size would totally disappear suddenly. Perhaps get more difficult to find, but I wouldn't panic yet. If it does get more difficult to find, probably good motivation to carry a spare in case a replacement is needed in a hurry.

If it's just the rubber refill slipping, check that the metal clip at the end is not broken and that it's properly seated in the wiper arm/blade. I had a set of refills recently with defective clips - the fix was to used the clips from an old set of refills.

Yeah - I've had a few experiences trying to change wiper length on a vehicles, usually not ending well. Changing the adapter type is easier, but I've found that the engineers typically think through things like wiper length pretty well, trying to get the largest area of the windshield cleared with equipment being used.

Any commercial wipers or refills there?

Would the factory wiring and controller be adequate for installing a larger panel? Small (25w) panels are cheap and would at least be useful.

Good info - I'll see how the omni-directional one works out and then report back if changes are needed. Wasn't really wanting to punch a whole into the ceiling of the bedroom (where the antenna is) so I haven't gone to a rotating one yet.

Guess I was more thinking of where the shaft would penetrate through the roof so that it can be rotated from inside. Never have seen one in person and fear of having a leak point has kept me with omni directional antennas to this point.

The Wingman is a rotating antenna, correct? If so, what keeps it from leaking into the coach?

Last week I added a coax to my OTA antenna wall plate so I can plug into campground cable when it's available, and then my OTA antenna stopped working. Not sure exactly what happened, but it was starting to have poor reception for a while now. Only pulled in 6 channels at home this week, where it used to get 30+. Antenna was a Wineguard Roadstar. Tried replacing the wall plate/power injector but it didn't help. Antenna itself is not currently available so I had to look elsewhere. Today I replaced it with a King OmniPro antenna. Install was pretty simple since the coax was already in place between the antenna and the wall plate inside. New antenna is pulling in 40 channels right now. Much better. Happy camper. We don't watch lots of television when camping, but it's nice to be able to pull in the local news in the morning or a rerun in the evening if it's raining outside. We went with this style of antenna since it's got a simple install and operation. What experience have others had using OTA antennas? Anyone else using this style of omni-directional antenna?

Just a reminder, this thread was originally started by someone wanting to downsize and travel without a toad. The request was for information on how to do that and which of the smaller rigs would be most able to handle getting around in tighter quarters. It's obvious from many of the responses that many members consider a toad essential to their travels. Not a problem, and those that want a toad are certainly welcome to have one. There is no shortage of threads with lots of helpful information on how to select, configure, hookup, and travel with a toad. But, how is pointing out what's lost by not having a toad going to help someone reading this thread looking for information on traveling without one? I know that people travel without toads - we meet them all the time as we travel. It's a totally different way of going about things and does require a different type of trip planning, but it can be done and can be enjoyable.

I get it Bill - you and Carl have a strong opinion on the necessity of having a toad. I have no problem with that at all. My point is simple though - not everyone wants or needs a toad. We get around fine doing what we do, as do others as mentioned in their posts. We miss out on absolutely nothing that we want to do. Everyone has a different style and different priorities.

Wow - sorry to hear about that. Hopefully they got it resolved now and you can move on. When they lifted/towed the coach, did they support the lifted axle or just let it hang? If they let is hang, check to see if the leveling valve's arm got bent or if an airbag was damaged. Can't say for your coach specifically, but leaving an axle hanging during tow on some coaches can cause problems with the air bags & leveling valves. Just mentioning it so you have a place to start looking.

I know what you mean - they don't last as long as they used to and seem to be made from thinner rubber. We have 20" wiper blades on the coach. I've found that using commercial-grade wiper blades has two advantages - first they are a bit more heavy duty, both the blade and the rubber refill, and second there are refills available. I could easily get 'regular' 20" wiper blades, but they don't seem to last long at all. Sometimes they are hard to get, but using the commercial wiper refills means that I can get a full season from the refills before they start to fail. When they start to smear instead of wipe, I wipe them thoroughly with rubbing alcohol. This removes much of the build-up on them and helps greatly.

Not sure of how else to take this. You clearly are saying that anyone that camping without a toad is not camping "like a RV" and is using it like a tent. If that's what you think, then you must think I paid way too much for a tent. Re-read your own words and see if you can make suggestions to other without implying that not doing things your way is wrong or less worthy. There are lots of ways to enjoy using a motor home, and none of them more correct than another.

We have two cars, neither of them can be flat towed. We'd either need a trailer or a new toad. Our coach would require a custom hitch to be fabricated, as there are no off-the-shelf hitches available at all. Then there are the mods for braking, lighting, etc. And on, and on, and on. The dollars add up fast. And, we just don't want to. More important, why the push to have others use their coaches the way you do? You assume that your priorities are everyone's. You imply that camping without a toad is the equivalent to camping in a tent. Kind of degrading to those who choose to do things differently. How about helping those who choose to travel without a toad instead of trying to convince us to do like you do?

For those with lithium batteries already, how do you handle the problem with charging in freezing weather? What I've read so far shows that they can be used in temps below freezing, but that they don't charge well (or at all) as the temps get below freezing.

I think what this points out is that there are many ways to enjoy an RV, and that not all of them involve towing a vehicle behind. We also do not have a toad, and for us the electric bikes fill most of our need for getting around. Uber, rental cars, etc. provide mobility in other situations. If we were going to be parked in one campground for a lengthy time it would be different, but that's not the way we travel right now. That being the case, we don't feel a need to spend the money to get a toad. Could it change one day? Sure it could. Just not today.

That's an easy one. You need something like this: http://www.rvcritterguard.com/