richard5933

I check monthly. It's easy for me to check the house batteries since I have a watering system installed. All I have to do is connect the water supply hose to the system, drop the other end into a jug of distilled water, and then squeeze the rubber bulb until resistance is felt. Here's a link to what I use - they are available to fit most batteries out there and will vary from brand to brand: https://www.trojanbattery.com/products/hydrolink-watering-system/ Checking the chassis start and generator batteries is done the old fashioned way - remove the caps and look inside with a flashlight. I do that about once every 6 weeks or so. To make it easier to get the water in those batteries I use a opaque squeeze bottle like you find at a restaurant supply. The more a battery is discharged and recharged, and the more it's charged at higher voltage levels (first stage of charging) the more water is lost.

als4life - Have you checked with your insurance company to see if you have roadside assistance included with your policy? Our Progressive policy does include some basic coverage, but we got the FMCA roadside assistance as well since Progressive's is fairly limited. Always a good idea to have a few hundred dollars in cash tucked away somewhere when traveling, as one never knows how things will play out.

A bad ground or a loose connection can cause all sorts of problems like this. Is the light strip in a location you can access to check to see if something has come loose?

When the alignment was done did they do a four-wheel alignment or just the front? Even with 2-wheel drive vehicles it's sometimes helpful to have both axles aligned, as you might have a rear axle mounted not square with the chassis. Are the new tires you installed the same as the old ones? If so, the tires might be the problem. I've had cars in the past where a particular set of tires just didn't feel right on the car - switch to a tire with a different tread design and things were much better. I personally prefer the feel of tires with a strong center bead and feel that it helps with tracking much better than tires which don't have the center bead.

Age and mileage are not the most important factors in my book - proper maintenance is. I'd be looking for a coach which has complete service and maintenance records. The records will tell you lots about what's going on inside the engine & transmission. Anyone can have an engine bay detailed to make it look great, but records are harder to fake. Testing the engine/transmission? You can pull a fluid sample from the engine oil, coolant, and transmission fluid. Send them to a local shop that does analysis - that will give you a pretty good look at potential problems. The test can tell you if there is any contamination (fuel or water in oil, etc.), and can let you know if there are any metal particles in the fluids. They can usually even identify where the metal particles come from. Might cost a few dollars to do the testing but it can save thousands if you can avoid buying an engine that's been overheated, for example. Next on the list for keeping an older coach in good shape is getting the coach out on the road from time to time. There's nothing worse for a drive train than not being used. Our coach is 45 years old with only 47,000 actual miles on the odometer. The majority of problems we've encountered has been related to lack of use, usually resulting in seals drying out and shrinking or rubber components not receiving proper lubrication from sitting for too long. I would avoid an older coach if it has spent most of it's life sitting at a campground, especially if never moved from the spot.

Our brake lights are on when the parking brake is applied as well. Threw me for a loop when we first had the coach, since I couldn't figure out why the brake lights were always on. You're right - it is a handy way to check the bulbs.

When you get the new batteries, you need to confirm the charging rates for your battery maintenance system (charger, inverter/charger, or whatever you're using.) There are specific voltage levels that the batteries need for the various levels of charge. Mine is set at 14.4v for boost mode, 13.6v for bulk charge, and 13.2v for float/maintenance mode. If your charging at too high a voltage for too long you'll lose all your electrolyte and do damage. A fully charged battery will not freeze at winter temps in the lower 48 states. Did you check the water level in the batteries while they were in storage? Probably a good idea to carefully check the area under/around the batteries to make sure that there was no damage done when they cracked due to leaking battery acid.

Must be a state-by-state thing. My Progressive premium stayed exactly the same, other than the extra $5 for the liability coverage I added for times we're using the motor home for living in.

Glad you got it fixed. Sometimes one pesky ground connection can take down an entire vehicle.

I know that not all business use results in profit - I was just using that word for convenience. Of course a business can lose money and still own a CMV. Again, I don't agree with what people do when they register out of state to avoid taxes. But, I think that the law might be technically on their side in some cases even though it might be very difficult to prove it in court and win. Reading online court cases this morning, it appears that there are judgements showing both sides of this. The big question seems to be whether this is tax avoidance (legal) vs. tax evasion (illegal). The answer to that seems to vary from state to state. There are lots of examples of people using a privately registered RV for business purposes that would make the RV a CMV. Consequences follow if proper registration is not done. However, the default for a privately-owned & registered RV is that it is not a CMV unless something about the situation gives the officer/official reason to suspect something. The opposite is true of a vehicle owned by a business or corporation. The assumption is that it's used for business and/or commercial purposes, and it will be necessary to provide evidence that it's not being used for business purposes if/when stopped by an officer. It might be difficult or nearly impossible to prove this when push comes to shove. Can anyone provide me with an example of a definition of a CMV which references who owns the vehicle or in whose name the vehicle is registered? The initial post was about the IFTA license, which is a whole other conversation and brings its own complications. Here's a piece of the information about this from the Wisconsin DMV: Licensing Persons who operate "qualified motor vehicles" are subject to IFTA licensing, reporting and record-keeping requirements unless the vehicle is exempt or a trip permit is obtained as described below. Qualified motor vehicle - a motor vehicle used, designed, or maintained for transportation of persons or property and: Having two axles and a gross vehicle weight or registered gross vehicle weight exceeding 26,000 pounds or 11,797 kilograms; or Having three or more axles regardless of weight; or Is used in combination, when the weight of such combination exceeds 26,000 pounds or 11,797 kilograms gross vehicle or registered gross vehicle weight. Qualified motor vehicle does not include recreational vehicles. Recreational vehicles exempt. Vehicles such as motor homes, pickup trucks with attached campers, and buses when used exclusively for personal pleasure by an individual are exempt from IFTA. In order to qualify as a recreational vehicle, the vehicle shall not be used in connection with any business endeavor. The key here is being able to prove to a judge that the use was personal pleasure by an individual, since the vehicle is owned by an LLC. Again - notice that the RV exemption discusses use of the vehicle, not ownership. I'm no lawyer, but I'm guessing that's one of the purposes of rental agreements when an RV is rented out - it's still owned by the rental company, but the paperwork demonstrates that it's being used by an individual for personal pleasure and not for business. Otherwise, most larger rental RVs would require an IFTA license and associated paperwork, and I don't believe they do.

First - I am in agreement that the most simple and clear-cut way to avoid all this is to register your motor home in the state where you are a resident. I'm not in favor of playing games to get out of paying taxes. For every vehicle that gets registered out of state, those left doing it the right way have to pay a larger share of the tax burden than they should. Now that states are starting to crack down on this, I believe we'll see more and more tickets being issued. As annoying as that is, it's still better than having the state audit your taxes or charge you with tax evasion. But, the line between a commercial vehicle and a non-commercial vehicle is very fine. Without a doubt, there are some judges that would agree with the officer that wrote the ticket. There are also judges that will not agree. Any motor home can be used for commercial purposes - for example if you use your personal motor home to organize a paid tour across the country for a family. It may be registered to you, but the use is commercial and you'd better have your paperwork (and CDL) in order. However, just registering a vehicle in the name of the company does not make it a CMV. Especially when the vehicle is not a commercial in nature. I wouldn't try to convince a court that the quad-axle dump truck I'm driving is for personal use, but a motor home with my own family on board is a different story. The law that you quoted says it all: If no profit is being made through the use of the vehicle then it's not a commercial vehicle. Of course, proving that in court will be a totally different story. Like I said earlier, as states crack down on this it's going to get harder to play the game.

Get a bottle of fiberglass safe polish and it should come off. I get that on our white paint and use Turtle Wax cleaner wax to get it off. Follow up with some good wax to help prevent future staining.

What law is that? This starts to get really confusing, since the definition of CMV varies by state as well as the Federal definition. In Wisconsin, the weight for a CMV is generally 26,001 pounds - but of course there are all sorts of exceptions (like a motor home) as well as vehicles which weight less that are also considered a CMV. For example, if you use a light 1/2-ton pickup to haul hazardous materials for a business it is a CMV. The fact that a corporation owns a vehicle means absolutely nothing when it comes to determining if it is a CMV. If that were the case, then any time a company issued a pickup truck to an employee as a personal car as a benefit it would be considered a CMV. What if someone worked for a company that had a motor home available for personal use by executives for non-business purposes? Would that be a commercial vehicle? Not in Wisconsin. I just read through the entire definition of a CMV in Wisconsin, and there was not a single mention of who the registered owner was. There was lots of talk about the weight and capacity of the vehicle, talk of use of the vehicle, talk of how many passengers it could carry, but not a single mention of who owned the vehicle. The Illinois definition also does not mention the owner as being a factor in whether or not the vehicle is a CMV. It has to be used in intrastate or interstate commerce. (http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/fulltext.asp?DocName=062500050K18b-101) I'm sure that other states have similar definitions. If ownership were the key, then would any sole proprietor that owned a semi be exempt from CMV status if he/she owned the truck personally? Of course not - it depends on the use of the truck.

Even if the diameter didn't change, wouldn't the larger wheels/tires increase the mass being rotated? Which would require more stopping power?

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Sorry your first post has to be about something so irritating. My guess is that they know you're unlikely to return to their area to contest the ticket in person, so they have no real incentive to do anything other than what they're doing. Have you officially contested the ticket with Illinois yet, or has that deadline already passed? Sounds like they are saying that every vehicle owned by an LLC is automatically deemed to be a commercial vehicle, regardless of whether it's used in commercial service or registered as such. On the surface it doesn't sound correct, and you could probably hire an attorney to fight this. They might win the case in Illinois, but it probably will cost more in legal fees than the $1000. Also, you stand the chance of raising the hackles of the authorities in the state where you live, as more and more states are starting to crack down on residents with vehicles registered in other states.

Have you ever heard of issues with the sensors changing their accuracy? I've got the TireMinder system installed. Last year the system read about 2-3 psi higher than my manual tire gauge. This year it's consistently reading about 6-8 psi higher than my gauge. I have changed the batteries in all tire sensors, but the readings remain the same. Tires are all set at 97 psi - used my main gauge and my backup which show the same 97 psi. The TPMS is showing 103-105 psi for the tires. I know that what's important is for the TPMS to show me when the pressure changes, but it is puzzling why the accuracy seems to have changed from last year to this year.

My reply was written because you mentioned being near the upper weight limit on the tires. I wasn't aiming the comment directly at you, but more so at anyone that might be reading this thread and mistakenly think that we're talking about the overall load limit for the vehicle. I've read many threads on other sites where people seemed to think that bigger tires would increase the load capacity of a vehicle. Sorry if I came across wrong.

Just have to be careful to still take into account load capacity of axle and the other suspension components. Sometimes putting higher capacity wheels/tires doesn't matter since the axle and springs will still be overloaded.

If I understand correctly, all your 120v outlets and appliances function. It's the 12v power which is not working, and just in the rear of the coach. Correct? Do you have 12v power working elsewhere in the coach from the house batteries? Just trying to get understanding of the problem. If you have power from the house batteries in some locations but not all, then I'd start by tracking down all the fuse locations. Then I'd check and double-check all the wiring harness connection points to be sure that a cable or piece of the harness hasn't worked loose somehow or become disconnected slightly. If you don't have power anywhere from the house batteries, then you start at the battery bank and work out from there.

First - welcome to the FMCA forum! if you have rot in the wood, the first thing to do is to find and repair the water leak so that whatever you repair won't rot again. Those struts place a lot of torque on the mounts, especially when they are cold or if they've become stiff. If the wood is rotted and the screws won't hold, then you'll probably have to either repair the wood or replace that section of the wood. Can you post a few photos of the damaged area so that we can better advise you on possible repairs?

No problem. Forgot to mention that you can also pre-drive the route using Street View on Google maps for any segments of a route you're uncertain of, and if you are trying to plan around mountain grades you can also find elevation information on Google Earth.

This is what we use in the bedroom. Quiet and doesn't use very much current. Plug into any USB outlet. Moves a surprising amount of air. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077SDZL88/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You could use a combination of various resources, depending on your comfort level using them. The RV version of Garmin GPS units allow you to set vehicle parameters (height, length, weight) and it will then set your route considering them. Mountain Directories are available in both printed form and as an app. The FMCA atlas is a great resource as well. Then there are various apps which can show you campgrounds such as RVParky.

Saw this in my news feed this morning - looks like RV safety and crash testing is finally getting some attention. After our head-on collision year before last, this issue has been one of importance to us. Perhaps if more people pushed manufacturers about this they'd start making safer rigs. Perhaps not. https://www.motor1.com/news/349337/sweden-rv-crash-test-video/amp/ Here's the direct link to the Swedish page: https://www.trafikverket.se/resa-och-trafik/Trafiksakerhet/Din-sakerhet-pa-vagen/Sakerhet-i-bil/Krocksakerhet/krocktest-husbilar/ You can use Google translate to read the page in English. I think that the one take-away for all of us is the recommendation to be sure that there is nothing lose in the rig while traveling, as anything not fastened down can become a projectile.

From the manual, it looks like you'd only need to tell the Tracer what the total Ah capacity of the battery bank is as well as what type of batteries you're using. It will do the rest of the math.