StellersJay

I had a Canadian camper move in adjacent to me a couple of days ago. He has a fairly new coach (about 2010) and it has suffered major corrosion damage from calcium chloride on the roads. His hydraulic unit for the leveling jacks was leaking because it had rusted through. Also, some of the aluminum trim on his fiberglass coach had galvanic corrosion damage. He has replaced some of the aluminum and other is corrodied for a second time. Just a heads-up to be aware of potential damage from road salt. Sam

Fellowship #89; Marion, IL

Briarhopper -- any connection to Dwight Moody? I use the Verizon Jet Pack $50 per month for 5 gb data. Haven't stayed in a campground yet where we didn't have service on the device. We rely on it and our ATT cell phone data plan for our home internet service, also. Sam

I have a 30 amp coach, but if I was installing an outlet at home, I would install a 50 amp outlet. Gives a lot more options. If you ever want to install a 220 volt appliance such as a welder or air compressor, the 50 amp plug can be used. Many campgrounds out west only have 50 amp service. Sam

One way to help learn where the back of your toad is in relationship to a vehicle being passed and the view in the side mirror is to observe the shadows on the highway on a day when the sun is to the drivers side. By observing your side view mirror, you can tell when the shadow of your toad is past the front of the vehicle you are passing. As a precaution, don't cut the vehicle you are passing short. Allow plenty of room between the back of your toad and the front of his vehicle. And be for the the inconsiderate drivers who will try to pass you on the right before you pull back into your lane. Sam

As you consider new floor covering, I would like to recommend cork. We installed solid (not laminate) cork about 18 months ago in our coach. Some pluses: it is light weight, a good insulator (warm feeling floors on cold mornings), flexible, water resistant, a green product (renuable resource), can be refinished, and is not hard underfoot. The cork we used came in foot square tiles and was applied with a contact cement. As I recall, it was 1/4 inch thick. We do not live in the MH fulltime, so the flooring sees a full range of temperature extremes. Our slide does not contact the main floor, so we did not have to be concerned about that. We are very pleased with our flooring selection. We left the carpet in the doghouse area of our front engine MH.

One thing to put into the equation is the maintenance costs on both types of rigs. Total investment and depreciation may be something to consider. Cost of insurance could be much different on the two types of rigs. A potential plus on a MH is that you can use a smaller toad for getting around once you reach your destination, Odds are, the toad will be more comfortable to drive (easier to park, etc.) and will be more fuel efficient than your 5th wheel tow vehicle. If your plans including finding a perfect spot and then leaving the RV for more than the season, the 5th wheel may be a better choice. Any motorized vehicle likes to be excersized on the road. We have had many types of RVs, but never a fiver. Our thought are that when we get to an age where we are not comfortable driving the MH on the annual migration to warmer climes, we will trade it for a travel trailer and leave it year round at our winter spot of choice.

I carry a "free with purchase" VOM (volt ohm meter) from Harbor Freight. Also carry a kit with crimping plires and misc. wire connectors. Also, don't forget duct tape. I carry a fuse and bulb selection for the MH in addition to misc fasteners for both wood and metal. I also carry motor oil, transmission fluid (recommended for my leveling system), antifreeze, RV antifreeze, car wash soap, car polish, a battery charger, Silicone spray, WD-40, and a wide selection of hand tools. I also carry a four foot ladder and an air compressor (150 PSIG). As far as how to carry, look at available space and look at a number of smaller containers that will fit in space available. A plastic tray is good for the "wet" items in case they leak. A canvas tool bag might be a good choice for your misc. hand tools. Leave room for the necessary pots and pans. ;-) Sam

Google "Fresh Cab". It is said to deter rodents, but I have not used it. I think it may be available on Amazon. Sam p.s. -- Snow birds are heading north!

I second "macandphyl" on the SMI. We have their unit in a gas motorhome and a Toyota Corolla. It is unobtrusive and set up is to flip a switch next to my left foot in the driver's compartment. Sam

This is not your problem, but after de-winterizing I have had plugged strainers on the faucets and they had to be cleaned before I had flow at the faucet. Since you have pressure on the cold side, but not the hot side, I would suspect what "Newbie" above said. Sam

Google Land Yacht Harbor; Melbourne, FL. It is a No Pet park located just off I-95 and near all RV necessities (Camping World, Cracker Barrel, Walmart, Sams, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, etc.). Many Hoosiers in park. Sam

The way I do it is as follows: 1) When I use RV antifreeze, I leave the water heater on bypass until all the RV antifreeze is out of the water system. 2) Open the temperature/pressure relief (TP) valve near the top of the water heater. It is a lever located on a brass valve and is accessed from the outside door where you access the water heater. 3) Locate your water heater bypass valves and turn them to where water enters the water heater (Not bypassed). 4) When water starts running out the temperature/pressure relief (TP) valve, close the valve. Since this valve is slightly below the top of the water heater tank, there will be an air pocket above the valve. As an aside, if during normal operation, the air pocket is lost (a sign of this is leaking from the pressure/temperature valve), shut off the water supply (pump or valve supplying water to your coach), open a hot water faucet, then open the temperature/pressure relief valve and allow the water to run out of the valve. CAUTION: if the water heater has been operating, the water from the TP valve will be HOT!! From a safety standpoint, this procedure is best done with a cold water heater, but with caution, can be done when the water is hot. Hope this helps. Sam

Flying J, in the past, was my "go to" fuel stop. Since joining Pilot, it is now my station of last resort. I stopped at one this past Monday in Oak Grove, Kentucky and followed the notice on the pump to use my rewards card. The pump didn't prompt me to enter my Flying J Rewards card, and after pumping, the pump didn't print a receipt. I hate it when a receipt is not printed at the pump, but this seems to be common now at Flying J. I went inside, waited in the always long line, and got my discount and receipt from a clerk. Since my rig is gas, I now use Sams Club as my "go to" fuel stop. Sam

Sorry to hear about the end of your traveling adventure. Here's wishing you even more adventures in your new location. May you find great joy in reliving the many happy times you found while on the road. Sam

Their factory is located just east of Evansville, IN in Newburg, IN. They do installations at their shop and will recommend other installers. A local shop in Evansville installed my SMI system and I was not pleased with the way it responded when I put on the coach brakes. I took it by the SMI shop and they adjusted the unit inside the tow vehicle and got the response set properly (this was at no charge by SMI). SMI seems to be a great company to work with. Sam

Black Point Wildlife Drive, east of Titusville, FL (Google it). It is a well maintained gravel road about seven miles long through the salt marshes of a wild part of costal Florida. Entrance is free with the Golden Age Passport. It is a great birding spot, but other native wildlife can be observed. There are camping sites in the Titusville area. The same area is the home to Kennedy Space Center. A good place for a seafood dinner is Dixie Crossroads in Titusville. Their speciality is rock shrimp.. Sam

I went to a local RV service shop. They ordered the base plate, tow bar, brake system and installed it all on our 2012 Toyota Corolla (manual transmission). I also took the MH in and they did the wiring and made sure all the systems worked together. They had to install a drop bar on the MH to make sure the tow bars were nearly level while towing. They also installed a hot wire from the MH to the toad. The systems work great. sam

At least in 2004, there were more "hoops to jump through" to close a mobile home park than to close an RV park. We were in a leased RV park in Florida and we lost our lease. The owner of the land gave us notice to vacate the park when our lease was over. Our board of directors tried, but couldn't find a way to reinstate the lease or keep the park open. Different State; different laws. You might check local and state laws concerning closing a park. Sam

I replaced my carpet and vinyl flooring with solid cork tiles, approx 1/8 inch thick and 12 inches square. We are very pleased with the flooring. It is light weight, flexible, water proof, insect resistant, a very good insulator, and slightly gives underfoot. I felt all these were very desireable qualities for RV flooring. We have had it down about nine months are still delighted with our choice. We do not have pets, so would have had to have done more research on how the cork would hold up to claws. Sam

If your external slide seals (the ones you see from the outside the coach) are a lip seal, the lip should be pointed toward the outside. If the lip is pointed inside, I run my finger or the awning rod inside the seal to make it point out. Do this carefully so as not to damage the seal or coach paint. When we extend the slide, the lip seal sometimes needs help to make sure it points out. Sam

Yosser, welcome to the forum. Tell us about where you like wild camping and tell us about your rig. This is a good place to get answers to any of your questions about travels, rigs, camp grounds, etc. Sam

I ordered mine from Tire Rack (they were sent directly to an installing dealer). Tire Rack asked if I wanted express shipping; I said standard would be OK. Tires arrived at dealer the next day (we are in the same state as a Tire Rack distribution center). Tire Rack has agreements with a number of tire dealers across the country. The local tire dealer will accept shipment from Tire Rack and install the tires on your rig for a service fee. My local Michelin dealer suggested I buy the tires from Tire Rack instead of having him order them for me.

I was well pleased with the performance of the Turtle Wax Label & Sticker Remover I purchased at Walmart. Earlier I had tried WD-40, but it didn't seem to work very well. My technique for goo removal was to wait until I had removed the film from a complete section, spray the section until the total surface was damp, let the spray set for a couple of minutes, use an orange scraper blade to further loosen the goo, then wipe off with a paper towel. I then repeated the process with a little less spray. After the second application, there were typically just a few spots left that needed additional spray and scraping. When the surface looked clean, I lightly scrapped the total area with an orange, plasitc blade to feel for any areas that were not totally clean. The final step was to apply a couple of coats of wax or polish. After this, the newly exposed paint looked no different than the paint on the sides of the coach. Sam

As an engineer (BSME 1963) I didn't see any humor in them; they just looked like cold, hard facts to me. ;-) It was a good insite to our way of thinking. I will also pass them on to some of my engineering buddies. Sam