richard5933

That's a complicated question. Many of the people who are licensing their rigs in Montana do so by creating an LLC in Montana, and then they register the rig in the name of the LLC and not to them personally. There are other ways of accomplishing this, but as more and more states share databases with each other there are more crackdowns on people doing this. I know I'm going to sound like my mother here, but even if there are legal ways to get around paying the taxes in your home state it doesn't make it right. For every person that skirts the rules (by legal means or otherwise) those left doing it the traditional way are carrying a larger share of the tax burden than they should be. My thought is that there is no free lunch. In Wisconsin we don't have personal property taxes on vehicles, so my annual registration is around $120. It would be the same regardless of the value of the rig. It may be cheaper to do the annual registration here, but of course the state makes up for it with higher taxes and fees in other areas. The bills have to get paid, one way or the other.

It doesn't matter what they book calls it - what matters is that the voltage levels for the various charging cycles are correct for your batteries. When we installed the Victron MPPT charge controller we had to compare the various options against the chart provided by Trojan for our batteries. None of the standard settings was exactly what Trojan called for, but they had one close. One phone call to Trojan confirmed that it was within acceptable for us. You might also be able to set custom levels, depending on your controller. We discovered that by using the Bluetooth interface on ours we could do that.

Looks like you have a number of Freightliner dealers in your area. That's where I'd start searching, unless someone else has a specific shop to recommend. In my experience it's sometimes best to go to the shop and talk to the service department ahead of time in person rather than by phone when bringing a coach to a commercial shop for the first time.

Here in Milwaukee the International dealers/repair shops have a/c techs that work on various make/model of vehicles, including motorhomes. You're not limited to an RV dealer - call around to the various places that work on trucks/buses and see who has an a/c tech. An added plus is if you can find a dealer from your chassis manufacturer.

Rims/wheels are the same all around for me.

Here's what I get from this thread... Engine was starting fine for months. Then it didn't. Starter was replaced, and after that it started once. Now it makes a rapid clicking sound instead of starting. This leaves me wondering what caused the starter to fail in the first place. Maybe it wasn't the starter, but something related to it. A sitting vehicle is prone to corrosion in the strangest of places, as well as mice damage. Battery cables were replaced, according to the initial post. What about the cable bringing power to the starter? What about the grounding strap between the engine and the chassis? Either of those could cause this problem, as they'd prevent the starter from getting proper voltage. They can look good on the outside but be nothing but rot inside the cable jacket. Have you gone through the engine compartment and underneath to inspect the wiring harness for signs of rodent damage? One piece of insulation chewed through could cause a short when you turn the key, causing all kinds of problems.

That's not happening today, unless you're volunteering to fabricate the hitch for us. Due to the unibody construction of our coach, the hitch needs to be mounted to the bulkhead supports on the forward end of the engine bay, and it has to be made to be removable so the lower end of the engine can still be accessed for maintenance. Apparently putting a hitch on ours will not be a simple install. We thought about it, and then decided it wasn't worth the hassles trying to find a shop that can fabricate the hitch and that can safely lift the coach to do so. So far it hasn't hampered our travels any. We either take the electric bikes or rent a car for the day. That might be what we do here. We'll be about two hours away where we are camping for the wedding, and we've rented in that area before. In the end, for the few times we need to rent a car or take Uber, it ends up being much less expensive than the cost of a toad - once you add up the purchase, maintenance, insurance, etc. a toad cost we have lots to play with for rental. and Uber.

You might be right. I was thinking that parking might be possible at the museum, since their lot looks pretty big. I'll have to call them to find out if the roads leading to them are weight restricted. We carry electric bikes and are good for about a 25 mile range, so once we get close and park we're good to go if the weather is nice. I was really hoping to find out if the stop is even worth the effort though, since sometimes these little stops are great and sometimes not so much.

Here's a longer description of what others have already mentioned - there is need for some cleaning in there. https://thenorcoldguy.com/blog/norcold-refrigerator-not-staying-lit-on-gas-mode-propane-lp-all-models/

That's a great point - I've done the same. No point in carrying a spare if you don't maintain it.

All ours are the same right now. When we change the fronts out to the proper size later this year, we'll change the spare to match. If a rear blows out I figure I can at least get off the road to somewhere safe. If a front goes out, you're stuck.

We're going to Virginia this summer for a family wedding, and I was looking for places to visit while we're there. Anyone have know if Walton's Mountain is worth a visit? If so, is it a place one can go in a 35-foot DP? I grew up with the Waltons, so I'd love to see the area where the story was based.

If it started once and then not again, I'd suspect the wiring going to the starter from the ignition switch. What I'm thinking is that maybe your first starter wasn't bad, but the connection from the switch failed. When you installed the new starter it made enough of a connection to start it once, but not again. If memory serves me correctly, your starter has the solenoid built into it. Hopefully someone else can confirm that. If so, you can try jumping to the post which normally gets the 'start' signal from the ignition switch and see if it turns over. Could be something as simple as a failed ring terminal on the end of the wire.

Not sure how others would do it. According to the operator's manual for my coach, the outside rear can be changed by running the inside rear up on the ramp (ramp came with the coach), and the inside rear and front are change with the bottle jack that is stowed with the spare. Do I really think I have the strength to lift the bus with a simple bottle jack? Don't know for sure but I seriously doubt it. Again - I'm carrying those things for an case of extreme need, as I am counting on there being a mobile tire repair place around somewhere. Back to the thread... I'm truly surprised that the Loves wouldn't change a tires. I understand shops not wanting to work on mechanical systems or more involved repairs, but a tire should be somewhat universal between vehicles.

It's not so much about being manly enough to change the tire yourself - it's about having the tire available so that all you need is the assistance. It's usually possible to find a mobile tire repair truck that can easily swap the spare for the flat tire. Not always so easy to find the correct tire, especially when you're off the beaten path or have a flat when the warehouse is closed. We also never leave home without a mounted/inflated spare and a way to call for a mobile tire repair if needed. I've also got the tools to change it myself, but I'd have to be pretty desperate to even make the attempt on that.

I searched for "country coach rv apparel" and found this: https://country-coach.squarespace.com/ Seems to have what you're looking for. Scroll down on the page and select the 'accessories' tab.

When you are at the tire dealer, be sure to ask them about the date codes on the tires. You want them to be within the past few months only - you don't want to buy old tires. For your fridge - another thing to confirm is that you have 12vdc at the fridge when you are trying to use it on LP. In an earlier post you mentioned that your batteries needed charging/replacing. I'm not sure, but I don't think your fridge will function on LP without the 12vdc so that may be your problem. Start with the simple and work up from there.

I just read through the spec on the B.I.R.D. unit. Seems like it's a bi-directional version of the Echo Charger with one big difference. The max output on the B.I.R.D. unit is 1 amp and not 15 amps like the Echo Charger. At 1 amp, it will take a long time to bring up a discharged battery bank, especially a large battery bank.

Thanks for the recommendation. Always nice to hear about shops that can fix the little things without them becoming big things.

Brian - Before you even think about looking for the leak, please read and learn about how to properly block your coach for safety. The leveling jacks are not safe to use to support the coach while you're under it, and there are specific points that need to be supported which are make/model dependent. Newmar should be able to provide the needed information. When you are looking for the leaks, have a spray bottle with soapy water and take your time. Be sure to check all fittings, as well as the leveling valves/height adjustment valves themselves. If you don't find any air leaking externally to the fittings/hardware, then you might have a failed or dirty check valve.

Any commercial tire dealer should be able to properly mount, balance, and install the tires for you. I prefer commercial tire dealers over RV repair shops since tires are their specialty and they typically have better training.

Even me, who is trying to nurse a set of tires just a bit longer than most, would draw the line hard at 10 years. There's just not a good reason to use those tires any longer.

Can you just run the OTA antenna to your TV through a second signal input? Then you can select the input through your TV's remote control. I'm assuming that you are connecting the Dish receiver to your TV through an HDMI cable, which should leave the coax input free. Any type of converter is likely going to affect the signal to some degree. Doing a little reading online, it looks like some of the Dish OTA usb adapters get hot while in operation, and then they stop working. Maybe you have a similar problem? Also, have you confirmed that the Razor antenna has its power feed turned on while you're doing all this?

Your problem is a great place to install something like the Xantrex Echo Charger - it will send up to 15 amps from your house system to your start bats whenever the house system is being charged.

Date code on my current tires is from the end of 2011, making the tires about 7-1/2 years old. Just on the cusp of being too old, but it seems that there are mitigating circumstances. Again, I know that not everyone agrees, but the manager at the tire shop mentioned that years sitting on a rack out of the sun/weather don't contribute to breakdown nearly as much as years holding up a stationary coach in a campground while exposed to the sun.