akadeadeye

We are stuck in Memphis with a "Range Inhibit" light when I put it in gear and release the brakes. It will not go into gear. I get a 6N instead of a 61 to start out. Checked fuses. Had our first tow to the shop. What an experience. Can anyone suggest anything? The transmission guys could not get it to do it for them, of course. I drove it back to an RV park for the night and it did it two more times after idling for a minute, then slipped into gear. It would not slip into gear at all before the tow. Spartan Chassis Allison 3000 Transmission Don

Someone mentioned a booster to turn on for Air TV. Where might that be? Don

I can second the recommendation of Farm and City Insurance. They write for several companies. Our insurance ended up being with Allied. We have had one claim for minor body damage and there was no problem with payment or the adjuster. We were adamant about replacement cost coverage and some companies will not offer this. Don

OK. I think my batteries are OK, but have probably had their life shortened a bit. First, I was mistaken about having 12v batteries. I have four 6v deep cycle Interstate batteries. RC@75 amp 122. And 20 amp hour rating 232. I charged them up until I got a float charging message on the monitoring panel, then disconnected them overnight so I could test them this morning. They tested by digital voltmeter as follows; 6.65 6.68 6.65 6.68 Then I tested for specific gravity using a hydrometer. The results, by cell, were as follows. 1.225 1.225 1.225 1.225 1.225 1.225 1.225 1.225 1.225 1.200 1.225 1.225 These results would indicate the State of Charge is about 75% while the digital voltmeter results indicate 100%. Any explanations are welcome. (Brett?) Don

I am finally convinced that even though my co-pilot and I have been successfully communicating with walkie talkies, we would be more efficient (me as the driver, primarily) with a headphone setup. Can anyone recommend some brands/models for us to check out? Thank you, Don

Thanks, Brett. I will charge them and check with a newly purchased hydrometer. Don

Well, will this first-year learning curve ever end? We got back from a long weekend trip over the 4th of July and took our MH in for a couple of minor service items. The dealership was running behind so it has been there for 12 days now. I awoke in the middle of the night last night remembering I had not turned off our Norcold 12v/110v refrigerator/freezer unit we have in a basement compartment. So, it has been running on 12v house batteries all this time and the MH was not plugged in. I went out to the dealership this morning and checked on it. No power in the coach at all. No lights, no radio light, nothing. I turned off the frig unit but it did not have a power light on anyway. Nothing but beverages in there. I assume the batteries were drained all the way down. I added this to the "minor" repair list. Is there any way they can be completely recharged, or did I ruin them? There are 4 deep cycle 12v batteries. If they are ruined, what batteries should I replace them with? Don

I agree with Brett on the BetterRVing.com article. That is how I adjust my mirrors. I also have put "dots" to help me know where my rear axle (pivot point) is and where the back of the coach is. I use the rear camera a lot for a number of issues not the least of which is backing up, checking to see when I am clear when passing a vehicle (together with my passenger side mirror), and checking on the toad and how close/far the following vehicle is. I use the passenger side camera sometimes when I am not turning but just want to confirm there is or is not a vehicle over there. Sometimes when exiting a freeway I can't always tell if vehicles are yielding, and a lot do not. The driver side camera is pretty much useless to me since I can see everything a need to in the driver side mirrors, but I suppose I have used it at times to confirm what my rain soaked driver mirrors are trying to show me. Don

Thanks for the suggestions. Don

I also tried running the AC unit which would be applicable to Line 2, thinking that 1/2 the 30 amp capacity would apply to 1/2 of my Line capacity (without the frig) which would mean the AC unit would be on one Line and the frig on the other, and still the generator would kick on. Don

Brett, The shore power volt reading was 118-121, but it would change to 108-110, unpredictably, and at one point I thought I saw a reading below that. Bill, The reading on Line 1 versus Line 2 would be..........Line 1 -- 14 amps (occasionally spiking to 18 or 19) with the AC unit running. This was also the line with the refrigerator. Line 2 would read 0 amps. Don

Well, we are new RVers and have a new motorhome that has 50-amp service. We recently went camping with family at a state park and experienced our first 30-amp experience. I knew enough to only run one AC unit at a time and to watch the monitor when anything else was running and shut it off if the amp reading got too close to 30. We have a power management system and an Auto GenStart. At times, the generator would start, unexpectedly, when only one AC unit was running and nothing else. Once, we had a multitude of things running and it started and I very proudly explained about our power management system. But, after that, the gen would start without anything else running but one AC unit. It would also trip the breaker switch on the Onan 8000 gen unit, but not always. Could this be attributed to a drop in voltage at the shore power hookup? Any hints as to what was going on? We camped at a 50-amp site the following weekend and there were no problems at all. Don

Brett, It is a 2009 Newmar with a fiberglass surface, full paint. There are some decals. Don

Very simple question. What do you recommend for a wax for a motorhome? Don

We are rapidly approaching a decision on whether to buy an extended warranty on our 7-month-old coach and with which company. We have 42-foot 2009 Newmar, mid-engine 400-HP Cummins engine, and Allison 3000 Trany, which will be 1 year old October 21 and currently has about 6,900 miles on it. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. We are currently looking at proposals from Protective and Good Sam. Don

On a few motorhomes I have seen a bracket specifically made to attach the FMCA plastic member plaque to the rear ladder in a manner where it does not interfere with climbing the ladder. I do not see this in the FMCA store. Does anyone know where I can get one? Don

We are coming up on a decision about extended warranty coverage. We bought a 2009 Newmar last October and need to decide what kind of coverage we need. Any thoughts would be appreciated. One recommendation so far has been Protective Extra Ride coverage. Don

Thanks Bill and Gary, I did call the AZ Highway Patrol and an officer said it should be fine. We have a trucker's Garmin and have discovered that it sometimes takes you on routes that are 100% safe for trucks instead of 99% safe. That's why we question it and check it out. My wife looked at it on Google Maps and said it looked OK. So much for Garmin. On to the Grand Canyon tomorrow. If you have never visited Sedona, AZ, put it on your list. It is indescribably beautiful. Don

We will be traveling to the Grand Canyon this Wednesday and after a few days on to Utah to Bryce Canyon. I had assumed that we could cut over to Hwy 89 on Hwy 64, but our Garmin is routing us back to Flagstaff and then north. That is out of the way to say the least. Does anyone have knowledge about Hwy 64 so far as being OK for a big rig, towing? Don

Brett, I do not know the brand of the jacks. It is a Spartan chassis. We pulled into Sedona, AZ last night and all four jacks deployed after the air dump. It still does not seem that we are level, but we are very close. I will take your suggestion about leaving the engine running at our next stop. It could be the jack motor gives out in the leveling process as voltage is depleted. You do a great service to the FMCA community. Thanks, Don.

Brett, Thanks for your speedy reply. We are in Gallup, NM, now and all 4 jacks went down, but the coach is not quite level. I will reply to your questions. 1. Did air dump as it should (If that is the first step per your coach maker)? Yes 2. If kick down jacks, did they kick down normally? Not sure about this question. They are hydraulic and it is an auto-level system with manual adjustment buttons. 3. Did the jack motor sound normal as it started to deploy the jacks (at normal speed?)? Yes 4. Was the process interrupted, either by you or did the jack panel turn off? No 5. Was the engine running and therefore supplying electrical power to the batteries/jacks. If not, was battery voltage at or above 12.5 VDC? I had the ignition key set one click to the right to provide power, but the engine was not running. Battery voltage was above 12.5 VDC. We are hooked up to our tow dolly and car while leveling. Would this affect the leveling process? Until we get to where we are going to stay for a while, I resist un-hooking since we don't need to go anywhere. Thanks for your help. Don

Pulled into a KOA in Carlsbad last night on our way to Sedona and the Grand Canyon from San Antonio. We have a Type A motorhome with a Spartan chassis with auto level. I pushed the auto level button and the jacks extended, but only the right front went all the way to the ground. It was the rear of the coach that needed to come up a bit. The other jacks stopped about 2 inches from the ground. Any hints would be appreciated. Don

We are pulling out first thing Friday morning for a two week trip. Any recent knowledge about highways, campgrounds, etc. is appreciated. Our first night will probably be in Carlsbad, NM, second night in Gallup, NM, and third night in Sedona. Thanks to all, Don

We are on a short trip and discovered that when we turn on the furnace (hydronic) we have furnace heat and hot water. But, when we turn the furnace off we no longer have hot water. Of course, we turn on the electric element for a short duration of hot water. But the propane heated water on our Allstar it is propane. I know others run on diesel, which is far more reliable and plentiful. We are taking it to our dealer when we get back but I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions. Don

OK, Another question for some clarification. I had a private message from another FMCA electrician. And I am very grateful at the generosity from people to help those who are new to all this. But, he offered an alternative set-up which, he claimed, could save on some wiring costs since I have two relatively long runs. His suggestion was to use 2-pole 30 amp breakers at the pedestal, from which could be run a 50 amp plug, and a 30 amp plug. I am sure I am leaving out some details. He also mentioned alternating feeds from pedestal to pedestal to keep the load even overall. He and I talked on the phone and his knowledge of all this is way above mine, but he is right that the cost of long runs of heavy gauge wiring is significant. Any thoughts? Don