akadeadeye

Thanks for the replies. Yes, the garage is built and prior calculations by our contractor indicated there would be enough clearance. But we are short about 2 inches from the trailer hitch clearing the garage slab. I have attached a picture. I know, not good planning but I didn't think this would be a problem and trusted those who agreed. Don

We are building a garage for our MH and have found the need to install a trench drain in front of the garage to handle some water run-off from the driveway sloping toward the garage. This is to avoid excessive slope we would need if we didn't do the trench drain. The slope could cause clearance problems either at the front and/or the rear of the coach. Question. What load rating or type of trench drain do we need? Our back axle weighs about 19,000 lbs. and the front axle weighs about 12,600 lbs. Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks for your response. Don

The few times we have stayed at Walmart/ Sams I have been able to park near an outside curb such that the slides open out on the driver side over a grass area or landscaped area. That is sufficient for us and frees up our bedroom. We do not put jacks down. I would if it happened to be a concrete surface but haven't run into that option yet. Common sense goes a long way. Don

We stayed in the dry camping section about 3/4 mile from the balloon field. They have shuttle buses that came by where we were about every 20 to 30 minutes. Here are some photos of our area.

Our Newmar experience has been very good. We have friends who had a Newmar before we bought ours and they always were saying how great they were to deal with and after sale service and tech assistance and the same tech assistance even after warranty expired. We have had the same experience. We went to the factory in Nappannee near the end of our one year warranty and had a list of things for them to fine tune. While there, we took a factory tour and watched the service department and factory workers. Their work ethic and dedication was beyond expectations. The comment above about the Comfort Drive is a good one. This technology is truly amazing. It is actually a reason to find a Newmar that does have it. I don't think it was being made in 2005 and 2006 but I could be wrong. Good luck. Don

Good looking coach and a great gift to yourself. Enjoy your travels and be safe. Don

You will not encounter any steep grades on IH10 in Texas. You will in central Arizona. Brett is correct about the temp. It will be hot but as you go farther west and north, the humidity drops rapidly, so it becomes a "dry" heat. You have a great trip planned. Enjoy it. Don

That depends on how wide your toad vehicle is. Our Master Tow 80HD has served us well. We did replace tires with radials after about 10,000 miles. We tow two different vehicles which is why we opted for a dolly. One of the vehicles is wider than the other and on sharp turns there is tow dolly fender to car contact ever so slightly. There are rub marks on the car and one of the tow dolly fenders has cracked but I don't know if that is due to contact or normal vibration wear and tear. Don

We highly recommend Bauer's Canyon RV Park in Glendale, UT. We did the same thing you are planning. Not too convenient to Moab but it is to Zion, Bryce, and the north Rim of the Grand Canyon. It is a small park with owners on site well kept and we would definitely go back. Check it out here. http://www.bauersrv.com/ Don

I have done this as well. I also put a light bulb in the compartment behind the frig to keep the icemaker line from freezing. Don

Hey, RVerOnTheMove................ I was trying to answer the OP question to the best of my ability. It seems you have a little attitude with which I will not tangle. The best to you. Don

1) Our Mastertow Dolly does 2) I have no idea 3) If you turn the ignition off and then try to turn the wheel it should lock down.

Newmar's Comfort Drive is really hard to beat. I am not familiar with other similar drives with other coaches but service techs always tell me they love maneuvering Newmars around their lots because you can steer them so easily. Our Newmar is also very well insulated. We parked next to several 18 wheelers at a Walmart one time and they had their engines running all night. We could barely hear a humming sound. Slept soundly. Don

I need to replace a battery for our 2008 Toyota Sienna. Which brand and type would you recommend. Flooded cell, gel cell? Thinking of just going to AutoZone and getting one. What do you think? Don

That's a great picture and a great looking MH. Congratulations. And, I wish we were where you are! Don

Agreed. I would only add, when towing, accept 6.5. Speed, climbs, and wind are enemies to mpg. Especially speed. I notice a significant difference between 60 mph and 65 mph. 60 mph gets (for us) at least 1/2 mpg better mileage when towing. Use of the generator will alter results somewhat depending on usage. You just bought a 40 ft. motorhome rig with a 400 hp diesel engine (and a good one) pushing 33,000 lbs. . Don't sweat the mileage. It is what it is and it is not good. Whomever told you over 10 is smoking something they shouldn't be smoking. I figure it costs about $0.40 to $0.50 per mile for fuel. Add in all the maintenance, storage, insurance, etc. and...............I don't want to know the per mile cost. Don't anyone tell me. Don

I can't understand why you would try to save 50% on a pair of tires, steer or drive. There has to be a catch. I want 100% reliable tires all the way around, especially on the steer tires. There is no better insurance. There has to be a reason they are 50% off. Don

We have a pair of these exact ones and they are great. Best we have ever had and we use them a lot for inside/outside communication when setting up and departing especially, among other times non RV related. They do not work for us much past 2 or 3 miles even on a line of sight interstate highway (we occasionally give one to a fellow traveler to keep in touch so we have tested this with them). Don

I have you bookmarked. Be safe and have fun! Don

We have a MasterTow Dolly 80HD simply because we have two front wheel drive cars and we may tow one for one kind of trip and the other for another kind of trip. So this was the most economical route to go rather than out-fitting two cars for 4 down towing. Regarding the physical challenges. I installed a flip-up dolly wheel ($20 at Northern Tools) on the tongue of our dolly and it helped tremendously in moving it around. You do have to get down on all fours slightly under the front of your car after it is loaded on the dolly to deal with a hinge pin when loading and unloading the car but this is not terribly challenging. I would say the weight and shape of the dolly is more awkward than heavy. Although we were warned to the contrary, we have never encountered a problem with the dolly and RV parks. Either we got a long enough pull through site or we were able to unhook and store the dolly next to the rig. Good luck with your decision. Don

We have not had this problem but as I was reading your post I thought to myself that there are mice involved. I can't think of another explanation except for the inevitable construction debris that happens during manufacturing, but all of that should have been blown out long before now. Fleetwood's suggestion seems a little extreme unless you have been racing down some pretty rough roads. Don

How about your refrigerator number (temperature) setting? What number is it on? 1 is warmer and 9 is colder. Don

I would inflate based on the higher weight in each case so there is no chance of being underinflated. Don

Good suggestion on RVSEF schedule. There is also a couple who full times and they do RVSEF weighing where ever they travel. We got our MH weighed by them in Kerrville, TX while they were there for a couple of rallys. They, Howard and Linda, have a website RVDreams.com. Absent meeting up with RVSEF or Howard and Linda I would highly recommend finding a moving company where you can weigh each of the four corners. It is next to impossible to do this at truck stops. Axle weights are better than nothing but the weight on one end of the axle to the other can vary several hundred pounds and this can be enough to require more air pressure in each tire across the same axle than might be indicated by just dividing the axle weight by two. Don

Ditto for me.