txiceman

The parks are getting filled with many permanent residents that treat it like a mobile home park. So it is getting harder and harder to get even weekly sites let alone monthly sites in some areas. Many construction workers are using RV for their jobs as they travel to different projects. So look in the future and be flexible. Ken

What??? You mean they will only tow the trailer? I have the coverage through Escapees and will check to see if they will tow them both. Ken

$$$ sound reasonable. Shop rates run from $120 per hour and up. With an RV that age with only 23,000 miles, you can expect repairs, especially if the previous owners were lax on the maintenance. Next areas of concern are tires, generator and sealants and caulking. Good luck and happy camping. Ken

Glad you found the forum. I think your coach in question is a Newmar....not a Newmarket. Ken

Rayin, You would be surprised at the number of people with VOMs and do not know how to use them. Ken

Seems we have way to many people having kids and not wanting to be "Parents" and take care of the kids and teach them proper behavior. My two cents worth on the subject. Ken

If I was getting a fault from the EMS or Surge Guard, no way would I simply bypass it and plug in directly without getting out the volt-Ohm meter and thoroughly checking the power pedestal first. Yes, they will fail, but I would trust it until proven otherwise. A few years ago, a friend had a PI EMS that would not connect power to the trailer. The park owner came down and "checked" the pedestal (50 amp) and all was fine and plugged him directly into the pedestal. They had $7,500 worth of damage to the electronics and 3 weeks to get it all working again. Turns out the electrician had miswired the pedestal and had put 240 volts on both L1 or L2 and smoked a lot of equipment. When we were volunteering, the refuge replaced the host pedestals. I had told them to leave us unconnected until I got back to the trailer. Lucky for me. I plugged in the PI EMS and it immediately showed a fault. Checked with my meter and found they had 120 volts across the N and ground some how. Trust the EMS first. Never trust an electrician. I am a retired engineer and ham radio operator. Ken

pfd 701, I have given up on Michelin tires for my truck. The LTX MS2 and AT2 tires only made about 35,000 miles the last two times. I used to get 60,000 miles from the tires. This time I went with a Cooper Adventurer AT tire and so far pleased. They ride better than the Michelins. Lets see how they wear now. Ken

We had a 1999 Minnie Winnie, 31 foot, no slides. I added the banks Power Pak and their Transcommand. While we did not see a seat of the pants acceleration increase, the RV had much better mid-range performance and not nearly as much down shifting. Driving 65 mpg and towing a 2800# dinghy, we generally got 8 to 8.5 mpg. Push to a higher speed and the fuel economy dropped. The fellow we sold the unit to complained that he could not get 8 mpg just with the RV. Turns out he was driving 75 mph plus and getting 6 mpg. Moral of the story, you will not do much better than 6 mpg running 75 mph. Ken

If you took the covers off up top, you only cleaned the condenser coils. There is an additional cover to take off once inside the unit to get to the evaporator coil. The evaporator coil can be seen from the inside by removing the interior ceiling assembly. If you keep your air filters clean on a regular basis, the evaporator will not get very dirty. Ken

https://winegard.com/plans/satellite-tv/dish Here is a Winegard list of antennas and receiver compatibility. My success with King has be very substandard. I's suggest a Winegard antenna. Here is thee King manual. https://kingconnect.com/content/Product Manuals/KING Satellite Antennas/KING Quest/KING Quest Pro Manual (VQ4800).pdf Are you running the cable directly from the antenna to the receiver? Often the wiring in the RV is the problem. Ken

All water has a little iron in it, and my sediment filter turn pink or red over a period of time. And I always turn on the faucet and flush it for a couple of minutes before I hook any thing to the faucet. I also plug in the RV and check the power at the EMS BEFORE I unhitch the trailer. Any problems and back to the office for another site. Ken

As noted, the DS does not have a brake controller. You will have to install a brake controller in the RV in order to use the brakes on the dolly. Anyone of a number of after market controllers will work. Ken

Have the DR. give her an lab slip indicating the test she requires. Then she can make an appointment at any lab like Labcorp or Quest for the test. Ken

Motorhome and economy mode are exact opposites. You do not buy a motorhome to achieve economy. As Herman said, you let it downshift on grades or manually shift down on long grades. You do not want to let the engine lug or bog down. Keep the RPMs up in the peak torque range for the engine. Ken

All too many parents do not parent. They buy expensive toys for the kids and as long as they are not bothering the grown ups, the kids can do as they please. Tell the manager, not a clerk, about the issue and let them handle it. Problem is some places do not want to ruin the campers fun, just short of destroying the place. Because of the lack of care from the parents and park staff, we no longer volunteer at any place that has campers. Ken

We are fulltime and used the Escapees mail service out of Livingston Texas for over 8 years now. Very good service. Ken

FMCA never sent any advisor notice to me. A bit unsupportive of their members. Ken

The TXV is mounted at the evaporator coil. The low pressure cut-out can be mounted anywhere in the suction line, but probably somewhere near the compressor. Ken

You need some training and instruments to properly diagnose a TXV issue. Just get it to a local automotive shop. Otherwise, you head off down the possibly expensive path of changing parts until you fix it. To replace a TXV, you need to replace the valve, pressure test and then evacuate the system and then recharge with refrigerant. Ken

It is easy enough to add an outside vent. Most manufacturers have a decal near the washer/drier on the wall showing where the vent goes. Ken

Best advice is to take it to a qualified shop. Not knowing what you are doing can not only be costly, but dangerous. Just adding refrigerant is not the fix. You need the right instrumentation to properly diagnosis the problem. Remember that the information and advise you get on the internet is worth exactly what you paid for it....nothing. It take a lot to filter the useful information form the manure. I have spent my career in industrial refrigeration as an engineer with many days in the field and still wind you getting help at times from the fellows that work on these units on a daily basis. Ken

You can add a device called Extend-a-Stay that lets you hook a 20# bottle to the RV. Ken

As noted, you do have a pretty demanding schedule. Before you get too far into this, you need to try and see about reservations in the popular spots. Over the past few years with the big boom in RVing, the sites are being booked a as much as a year out. You may have to stay at place quiet a few miles out from your destination area. Also, plan to spend several days in an area to see everything before you move on. Remember that vacations are supposed to be fun, not stressful days driving. Ken

Most folks use online resources to check the route (RV Trip Wizard) and campground reviews. I am afraid that you will have a hard time obtaining campsites on such short notice. With the big boom in RVs, campsites have become a premium items and most are booked weeks out for popular destination spots and especially weekends and holidays. Best of luck on the trip. Ken