richard5933

Best advice is to look at LOTS of motor homes. Take lots of photos, compare specs, look at lots more. There are many differences between the gas-powered and diesel-powered units besides the fuel and engine. Suspension differences, braking differences, engine placement, steering geometry, etc. etc. etc. If you're able to go to an FMCA rally or an RV show, pick the brain of every company rep you can asking what the differences are. A ten-year-old coach with lower mileage is not always a problem. You do want to find out about the reason for the low mileage, and I'd personally prefer one that was used occasionally rather than parked in one location for a few years. In the end, you've got to weigh all the pluses and minuses and pick the one that meets your needs best.

Bad/faulty/weak ground connections seem to account for a great percentage of problems in an RV. Any time I'm working on mine I try to examine any ground connections in the area. If I have access and any reason to suspect them, I'll pull the bolt or screw and check it out. Sometimes a few swipes with a piece of 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper is enough to show shiny metal and get a solid connection. Then a quick spray of battery terminal protection and good for a while more.

Assuming this open ground warning is on the 120v system. Check to be sure that the ground connections are solid between the inverter and the chassis, the ATS and the chassis, and the shore power cord and the chassis. Even if you put everything back in the exact same place, a bit of corrosion or grim on the mating surface may be enough interference to prevent the system from working.

Hopefully this change will be communicated to FMCA members - maybe it will prompt more members to participate in the forum again.

Thanks!

Weather is just getting nice around here, so I've been out getting the coach ready for the season. Also getting ready to pick up our new-to-us 1994 Airstream in a week and a half. Not much time for posting.

There are also some out there which will work with either. Can't remember the name, but any place that sells air tools would likely have them.

Viair makes a number of compressors with good reviews, some which are rated for 100% duty cycle. If you're only using them to inflate tires you don't really need a compressor with a tank, so the Viair models are much more compact.

Companies like Trojan make true deep cycle 12v batteries.

It is confusing, for certain. The FMCA member's benefit page seems to imply that other owned vehicles are covered but there is no detail given on what that means.

We've had the FMCA roadside assistance plan for a number of years on our motor home. This year we are adding a travel trailer to our fleet. If I have a current/paid policy for our motor home does anyone know if the travel trailer will be covered as 'other vehicles' are covered, or will I need to buy a separate policy for it?

If there are more than Michelin and Continental participating, they are not listed on the tire discount page on the member dashboard. Do you know how to access the information?

Interesting - really shows how different every state does this. We used to get a paper title regardless, and if there was a lien it was just printed in the lien box. Now they don't even issue a paper title while a lien is on the title - just an electronic one to the lender or lien holder. Wisconsin is working to do all titles electronically, so I suspect that they'll totally move to this system eventually. I like having a paper copy for my own records, so hopefully that will still be an option. I can definitely see them charging extra for one though. Since Covid all the DMV offices here drastically changed their routine, and while the offices are open for some functions ALL title and licensing happens online or through the mail. I just bought a new tow vehicle and was able to process the entire thing online in a few minutes. Then I mailed the old title to them, and once it's processed they'll mail out the new title and metal plates. I was able to get my receipt and paper temp tags immediately. Apparently this is the system that the dealers in Wisconsin have been using for a while. I liked the convenience of doing this at home, but it was nice to be able to walk out the door with metal permanent plates same day.

If you are a member of FMCA you can see the membership directory by logging into your Member Dashboard at FMCA.com Once you're logged in over there, select Dashboard from the Membership drop down menu. If you scroll down the page you'll see a red box in the left-hand column where you can click and see the membership directory.

Sometimes it's necessary to step outside the FMCA program to get the tires you need or to get the best deal on price. The FMCA program is a great tool to have when trying to get a good price on tires, but it's not the only tool out there. I just did a quick online search for the 295/80R22.5 tires and see multiple options in good quality brands for tires in the $450-$550 price range listed as 'in stock and ready to ship'. This included both a Continental option and a Toyo. My suggestion is to get busy with an online search. Find the tires you want, call to confirm in-stock status and DOT production date, and then have them shipped to a dealer near you for installation. If ordering online isn't what you want to do, I'd suggest working with another dealer - perhaps there is a truck tire dealer near you that is willing to do the research to find you alternatives in the proper size tire at a good price, even outside the FMCA program. As a side note - when the Hankook stop being listed on the FMCA tire program?

Until they switched to electronic processing of titles a few years ago in most US states the owner would get a paper title regardless of whether or not there was a lien on the title. The only thing is that if there was a lien the title was marked to indicate who the lien holder was. Now that they've switched to electronic title processing, (at least in Wisconsin) the buyer doesn't get the paper title if there is a lien, the lien holder does (electronically), and the buyer just gets a paper registration receipt of sorts. Don't Canadian titles have a place to do the same? Indicate if a lien is on record for the title?

I get it that not every company sells the tire size you need, but some do. Why not just stick with the correct tire size from another company? There's a substantial difference is dimension between these two tire sizes and I can't think that having them on your coach is going to make anything better.

If the people currently with the RV bought it from a Canadian owner, hopefully they got a proper title to it and had it transferred to them in the state where they live. If not, I'd require them to do that before paying them a penny. Not every state requires the seller's signature on a title to be notarized. If your state does require it, make sure that the seller takes care of that before giving you the title.

I drove an Excursion before deciding on the Suburban. Loved everything about it except the way it handled. I was exhausted after a 20 minute test drive. The Suburban is a tad lighter and shorter and should do quite well being a 3/4-ton chassis. We plan to keep the Airstream looking the same outside, but will update the upholstery and flooring to something more modern. The biggest change I'll make is installing a hybrid inverter, lithium batteries, and solar on the roof. Aiming to have maximum self-sufficiency for dry camping.

Sounds like the same truck I found. This one was a Red Cross vehicle up till recently, and it looks to have been used as some type of executive transport and well cared for down south. Same 454, so I'm excited to have found it. The only other good option I found was a Ford Excursion, but I was never thrilled with the way Ford's handled on the highway - too much wondering about for me. Plus, they are much heavier and longer and wouldn't be an easy fit for my garage. All in all, I'm excited and am looking forward to bringing it all back from NC in three weeks. Going to be an adventure, for sure. Unknown truck, unknown trailer, and a long road-trip alone.

Had a chance to pick up a 1994 Airstream Excella 25 in really great condition, and we thought it might be good for times we don't need the coach. Also thought that it would be great to use in the colder weather when we want to pop south for a trip, as it's much easier to winterize/dewinterize than our coach is. Going in a few weeks to pick it up from North Carolina. Of course, this travel trailer required a tow vehicle, as the Subaru just wasn't up to the task. As it happens, I found a great 1999 Suburban 2500 with only 48,000 miles only an hour from where the trailer is. The plan is to pick up the truck and then go get the trailer. After new tires and bearing re-pack drive both back to Wisconsin. Now I've got a rig that will fit into the barn where I can work on it during the winter months. The Airstream doesn't need much outside, but the decor and the electrical systems could be use a refresh. That's where I'll focus for now.

The issues I was referring to are not limited to engines. Even things as normally benign as wheel/hub seals can encounter problems if sitting for too long. The portion out of the oil can dry out, and the bearing surfaces out of the oil can eventually rust if any moisture is present in the oil. Rubber in tires does better when they are used periodically - you'll often notice that vehicles used regularly will have fewer problems with cracking sidewalls than those sitting for long periods. There are many other issues which can develop when a complex machine designed to have moving parts has stationary ones instead. Sometimes you get lucky, but often not. In 1993 I bought a 1968 Cutlass with a hair over 3,000 miles on the odometer. The original owner died a month after buying it, and his family put it in storage till I bought it. Every problem I had with that car resulted from lack of use, from the flat sided bias belted tires to the leaky carburetor, from the rotted heater core to the dried out gaskets on the transmission. None of the problems was catastrophic, but it added up to a few months of headaches.

If I had the choice between a 10-year-old coach which has spent nearly all it's life sitting in a long-term campsite or one which has been driven regularly and had proper maintenance, I'll take the one that's been driven.

I think that the comparison is apples to oranges. Good Sam is connected to (part of) Camping World, which is a retail for-profit company. To me it's kind of like buying a discount card at any large retailer which happens to also have some other discounts from other companies. In my opinion the reason Good Sam exists is to help Camping World sell stuff. FMCA is a membership organization which has negotiated discount programs with various vendors for its members. But, selling stuff isn't the primary focus of FMCA.

I know that this is a disputed position, but I'm not sure that any vehicle 'needs' an exercise run. That said, all will benefit from being driven regularly. Vehicles (our motor homes are vehicles as well as houses) are designed to be used, not parked for long periods of time. Seals & gaskets dry out, tires don't last as long, fluids don't get to temp and can accumulate moisture, etc. etc. etc. In my opinion, a vehicle which is well cared for and driven regularly will see far fewer problems than one which is parked for extended periods of time, regardless of the type of fuel in the tank.