eric@babin.com

Dang it! I have much more fun writing happy / good reviews of places we travel.... this week it's just not possible. Here is a letter I'm working on to send to Thousand Trails corporate. It's just a draft for now, but you'll get the jest of our experience. If anyone knows a good contact email for someone high up in the TT corporation please share that info with me. I'm truly trying to help them know what is going on at this park. THOUSAND TRAILS PIO PICO JAMUL CALIFORNIA JUNE 22, 2018 (APPROX. 2 PM) I MADE RESERVATION FOR FULL HOOK UPS / 50 AMP / WATER / ELECTRIC AT FIRST GLANCE AS WE ENTERED THE PARK IT LOOKED DIRTY, DUSTY, UNKEPT, AND NOT COMFORTABLE. THE PADS WERE IN MANY CASES UNLEVEL DIRT TRAILS NEAR SOME BEAT UP ELECTRICAL BOXES. AT THIS POINT, IT’S NOT LOOKING LIKE WE’RE GOING TO ENJOY OUR STAY… BUT, WE WILL GIVE IT A CHANCE. YOU NEVER KNOW. WE FINALLY FIND A PLACE TO PARK THAT WE CAN FIT, RIGHT NEXT TO THE “BROWN BOXES” THE RANGER SAID WOULD WORK FOR OUR RESERVATIONS….. WELL, GUESS WHAT… THEY ARE ALL 30 AMP. NO 50 AMP AVAILABLE. OF COURSE THE RANGER STATION DIDN’T OFFER THAT INFO WHEN WE CHECKED IN. WE ASSUMED WE WERE GETTING WHAT WE HAD A “RESERVATION” FOR. WHEN I RETURNED TO THE RANGER STATION TO REQUEST HELP FINDING A 50 AMP SPOT, WHICH I HAD RESERVED, THE REPLY WAS “OH…. THOSE ARE ALL UP HERE… AND THEY ARE FULL. YOU ARE NOT GUARANTEED ANYTHING WITH YOUR RESERVATION… NOT SEWER, NOT ELECTRICITY, NOT WATER.” YES, THAT WAS THE QUOTE FROM THE PERSON IN THE RANGER STATION. AT THIS POINT I’M WONDERING WHAT THOUSAND TRAILS BELIEVES THE DEFINITION OF “RESERVED” TO BE? I DECIDED TO ATTEMPT TO SQUEAK BY WITH 30 AMP. I HAD TROUBLE FINDING A 30 AMP THAT DID NOT HAVE THE “L1 & NUETRAL” REVERSED. 9 OF THE 12 I TESTED WERE WIRED INCORRECTLY. OF THE 3 I FOUND THAT WERE NOT WIRED INCORRECTLY THE TREES WERE SO BADLY OVERGROWN ON 2 OF THEM WE COULD NOT FIT IN THE SPOT. THIS IS VERY COMMON… WHILE LOOKING FOR OUR INITIAL SPOT, WHICH ENDED UP HAVING REVERSED WIRING, MORE THAN HALF OF THE OPEN SPOTS HAD OVERGROWN TREES MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCESS TO THE PAD (WELL, NOT REALLY “PAD”, AS MENTIONED, MORE OF AN UNLEVEL DIRT TRAIL BETWEEN GRAVEL ROADS.) IF YOU DON’T MIND TREE SCRAPS DOWN THE SIDE OF YOUR RV, OR A BRANCH KNOCKING OFF AN A/C UNIT… THEN YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SQUEEZE IN. HERE IS THE BEST OR WORST PART OF THIS ENTIRE STORY, WHEN I WENT TO EXPLAIN TO THE RANGER I HAD TO PLUG INTO AN EMPTY SPOT NEXT TO ME, WHICH I COULD NOT FIT IN, BUT THE WIRING WORKED, HE TOLD ME I COULD NOT DO THAT, AND I MUST MOVE. HE WAS NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THE REVERSED WIRING WHICH HAS THE POTENTENTIAL TO DAMAGE SOMEONE’S RV, INJURE THEM, OR EVEN WORSE. NOT THE BEST COSTOMER SERVICE. ALSO, THINK OF THE LAWSUIT THAT WOULD HAPPEN IF SOMEONE IS INJURED BY THE WIRING PROBLEMS AFTER THOUSAND TRAILS HAS BEEN NOTIFIED OF IT AND THE RANGER FAILED TO ACT ON IT. I CAN ONLY IMAGINE IF A FIRST TIME THOUSAND TRAILS CUSTOMER ROLLED INTO PIO PICO ASSUMING ALL OF THE PROPERTIES WERE OF THIS POOR QUALITY. YOU’D NEVER HAVE A REPEAT CUSTOMER. IT’S THIS TYPE OF PROPERTY THAT HAS ME CONSIDERING CANCELING, AND SHARING MY EXPERIENCE WITH ANYONE WILLING TO LISTEN. WE HAVE TRAVELED THE COUNTRY, AND HAVE STAYED AT NUMEROUS THOUSAND TRAILS. OVERWHELMINGLY IT’S BEEN A GOOD EXPERIENCE, AND IN SOME CASES GREAT. THIS IS SO BAD, IT OVERSHADOWS ALL THE GOOD. THIS PARK IS TRULY A “WORST CASE SCENERIO”. I ENCOURAGE SOMEONE HIGH IN THE THOUSAND TRAILS CORPORATION TO MAKE A VISIT AND SEE FOR YOURSELF HOW POORLY THIS PARK IS REPRESENTING YOUR NAME.

Yes.... that is how I found out what the code meant! Cummins help line is a great thing! Issue resolved..... wife was cruising the other forums.... Bad sensor? nope. Clogged fuel filter? nope. Water in fuel? nope..... A guy had his rig in the shop for 3 days of tests...… nothing found..... he stopped on the way home to fuel up.... his gas cap was loose..... She read me that..... and I realized we did just fuel up about 100 miles ago...… I went out, took gas cap off, put back on tight..... ran engine..... code resets after about 30 seconds. Easy day!

I have a 2014 Itasca Ellipse Cummins ISL9 (450hp) Fault code: SPN 5571 FMI 0 SA 0 fault code says fuel rail sensor problem. The repair facility is closed for the night. Any ideas of the best way to correct the issue I could try before bringing it to the shop tomorrow?

Ye, that is what I was guessing... maybe we'll shorten our stay in SF and add some less expensive days in Reno? (edited original post to include Reno). Any casinos in Reno allow boondocking for a day or two? What about any with full hook ups? Thanks

I'm looking for recommendations for RV park for 42' Class A near San Fransisco July 3-8. Obviously I've found some but at a very high rate, and reviews aren't good. Any assistance on a good park for a fair price would be appreciated. Thanks! Also.... info on Casinos in Reno.... boondocking authorized at any? Any have hook ups?

Coach: 2014 Itasca Ellipse 42QD Our insurance way to high. (opinion) We are paying $3,200/year. Our driving record is clean. Coach is based in Texas / North Dallas. (zip 75007) Any recommendations for a better deal?

Good idea..... torque check will be step 1.

The 2 lights are on the ceiling of main coach, not slides. Rain was coming in from the side. Which is why I thought to look "under" the A/C unit. If the rain was coming straight down the A/C unit would "shade" the rain from that gasket, and run down the sides of the coach..... rather than towards that gasket. I think I'll contact Winnebago and get the part number for that gasket...and place the order. What is the best source for online ordering Winnebago / Itasca parts online? As always, you guys are a great source of info and help!

We talked to them (North Trails).... Lazy Days, and LaMesa...... Lazy Days were very overpriced.... but, you already knw that. North Trail was great.... but, they just didn't have what we were looking for in stock. We went with LaMesa RV Port St Lucie. They gave us a fair trade value and fair deal on 2014 Itasca Ellipse 42QD. (Winnebago Tour). Drives great.... very nice coach inside... a few small issues with it being a "used" coach but nothing that I can't work through! I appreciate all the great input! Thank you guys!

Maybe 10-12' from the front cap..... and there are 2 pair of lights that are NOT leaking between the cap and the lights that are leaking.

I have a 2014 Itasca Ellipse 42QD. (Winnebago Tour) It was raining pretty heavily, and wind was blowing rain at about a 45 degree angle. We began having water leak from 2 lights, side by side, that I now know are directly under the most forward A/C unit. I got on the roof today and can't find any obvious issues that would cause a leak. I took off the A/C cover, then another cover under that and I think I found the issue. If you look in pic 1901 you'll see the hole for wires and air flow for the A/C unit (Unit is a Coleman Mach). There was some water still in that hole. There is no way for water to get into that hole from the A/C unit... HOWEVER, the A/C unit does sit about 2 inches above the roof. There is a foam gasket (about 2" thick) that sits between the A/C and the roof, around this hole. I THINK the rain, when blowing sideways, got under this gasket and into the hole. Has anyone had this same problem. In order to seal that gasket using silicone or caulk, I'd need to find some with a very long applicating nozzle. about 3x the normal caulk nozzle length. Or..... I guess the "right" way to fix it would be have the gasket replaced. My guess is I could do this myself. I'm just wondering of anyone else has had this issue and had it fixed??????

Today Gulf Shores AL. Next weekend Panama City Beach, then back to Gulf Shores for a few days, then down to Key West until June 11. Then off to San Diego, Olympia, Chicago, Tulsa, Nashville.... well, you get the idea. Does that answer the question?

I travel in my coach. Can't drop it off.

We travel too much to do that. I didn't say I wanted them to be "comfortable". LOL. ^^very good info.... thank you! I'll research North Trail.

We've been doing a lot of traveling in our 2017 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 36U. Because we spend SO much time traveling, we are thinking we may want to "upgrade" to a larger coach. We are looking at : -2012 or newer -40' or larger -Tag axle? -A Coach that is better for entertaining.... we need a sitting area that would allow 8-10 folks to sit and converse easily. In researching over the past couple of weeks I think we may have it narrowed down to Tiffin or Entegra. Any suggestions regarding these would be appreciated. Customer service and the availability of service and repair is an important consideration. I also would love your thoughts on tag axle vs. non-tag. Our current Fleetwood (non-tag) rides pretty rough. With that said, maybe I should also ask which drives smoother..... Frieghtliner or Spartan? While I'm stacking questions into one post.... what about a financing recommendation.... right now we have Bank Of The West and have %5.99 for 20 years. Anything better out there right now? Lastly, we are trading our Fleetwood in (obviously) and still owe..... we are waiting on appraisals from Lazy Days (Tampa) and MHSRV (Alvarado TX). If anyone has recommendations on where may be a better place to trade / purchase I'm interested in that information as well. I find FMCA forums are the best for discussion and advice so, thank you in advance.

Yes....we hung out at T-Bones that evening. We own an online radio station www.RadioTropRock.com and our purpose for being there was to broadcast the Pirates & Poets Songwriter Showcase live on air. The show must go on, and did. Luckily since we own the station the boss has no problem with me drinking a few beers at "work". I've always had good luck at REV Group Alvarado but never had engine work done there. With that said, I'm going to give Texas Custom Coach in Pipe Creek a call. Thank you for the recommendation. ************EDIT: Texas Custom Coach only does maint. They don't do this type of work.

$829.43 later it's patched up. Will probably order the OEM part from Freightliner and have the patched part replaced next time I can make it to REV Group Alvarado. But.... for now..... we're back on the road!

They offered... but I'd rather not have it towed unless it's 100% necessary.... as of right now.... I think it can be fixed where we are.

I've got Mike from Mobile RV Repair working on it. The part (pipe) is on 1 month backorder according to Freightliner. Mike has a welder that works on high performance boats working in it. The guy swears it will be better than new! We've decided to stay in town for an extra couple of days to "test" it before we hit the interstate. I'm also thinking of placing an order for the OEM part to switch it out when I get a chance. I'll update you later today...... ETR is mid-afternoon today (March 29).

I just crushed my coolant line at the bottom of the engine driving into a steep parking lot. Looking for mobile RV repair recommendation in Kemah TX (Southest Houston) Looks like the pipe carrying coolant is crushed and the two rubber hoses attaching that to the engine are also torn. Anyone know a good mobile RV repair in SW Houston?

UPDATE: I contacted Fleetwood to ask if this would be covered under warranty since my coach is less than 10 months old.... They replied "Yes", then I said, "to be sure, I should let you know I'm over 15,000 miles". She replied, "Oh, no, you are over 15,000 miles, it is NO LONGER under warranty". I then ask where a recommended repair facility near San Antonio is.... she recommended Ancira in Boerne. I contact them..... no appointments until April.... that doesn't work for us... we live in it, and travel full time. Ancira RV recommends Boerne RV (830) 816-3883. I give them a call and they can take a look at it in a few days, the exact date I'm driving through Boerne. I drop it off, and explain about it not being under warranty..... he looks puzzled and said he'll take a look at the issue and see what is wrong with it. One hour later I get a call telling me it's the compressor, and COLEMAN is going to cover it under warranty. He didn't have to make that call, but he did. If you are in the San Antonio area give Boerne RV a call for repairs! (830) 816-3883.

I'll check that... unlikely it was the issue... we had just been plugged in for days.

Thank you! Will check them out next week!

Both legs getting 120 V. (according to my onboard central monitor panel) Not frozen since we just turned the A/C units on. Warranty? I hope.... we are now over the 15,000 mile warranty period, although still within a year. I'll call Fleetwood once I'm sure it's not something simple I'm missing. I won't have time to have anyone look at it until next week. Anyone have recommendations for an RV A/C tech in the McDade TX area? (Just SE of Austin).

I have a 2017 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 36U with 2 roof units. They both are Coleman - Mach. The controller is an RVComfort.zc It seems the compressor for #2 is not working properly.... #1 is only appears to be drawing 4 amps.... and really doesn't feel like it's cooling much. #2 is not pulling anything (so not on) but then it kicks on for a second and amps jump to about 50 for a second, generator struggles.... then it stops drawing...... it kicks up like that very randomly.... maybe a minute or two apart. I've shut them both off for now..... Right now I am not at a location I can plug in so I can't see if it does this same thing on shore power. Ideas of what it may be?