NWJeeper

Thanks Herman, someday when I'm retired we will but it's just too far outside our "2-week trip" limit for distance. Funny though last year on our trip to AZ we travelled a stretch of road that many here may identify with south of ELY, NV. We woke up early and got underway. My wife said to me "good god we can see where we are going to be in an hour" because the road was so straight. We did actually trade drivers twice without slowing down so we could go to the bathroom (don't recommend doing this on a regular basis though) LOL....

On our last RV we ripped out the carpet and layed down the Bruce laminate flooring. It's available at Home Depot but we got a great deal through a building supply liquidator. Just clicked it together and layed it down just like a home installation. No glue, no nails as it's a floating floor. I trimmed out the stairs with the bull nose stair trim and it looked great! I have known several people that have done it. So much easier to take care off than carpet.

This would be a huge consideration for me if I were in your shoes. I recently had to buy front tires in a hurry (I don't recommend this) and paid $870 for a set of the Michelin XRVs in 22.5 while we were on vacation. I wished I had time to ask questions and do the research before I bought them but I was in a pinch. If I had known of the H rated tires I probably would have gone that route as running a lower pressure for a better ride sure sounds good to me!

I'm not aware that National RV was bought out by anyone else. As they put it themselves in an article I read here "There's a chance that Fleetwood or another company like Thor could just buy certain brands off them," Thompson said. "But at the end of the day, it's too much of a liability to buy the whole company." I would guess you may be out of luck on buying replacement parts. Is the damage something you can claim on your insurance?

We can't hit the road without ours, wife won't stand for it. She would have withdrawls if she couldn't play the Wii

Thanks Tbutler, I followed the link to the thread you provided and left a comment although I don't know if he is watching that thread or not anymore, it's a month old now. We wished we could spend more time down in Moab but the job thing is still in the way (only 6 more years to retirement).

Gary, Don't know if you are watching this thread or not anymore as it has been a while but we have been to Moab 3 years running. First year we stayed at Canyonlands RV park in town, 2nd year at a place on the south end of town by the stables, can't remember the name but it was horrid. Third year we went back to Canyonlands and will only stay there in the future. Lots of bigger rigs in there and we actually met some really nice folks from Florida there that were FMCA members and prompted us to join. If you haven't made reservations by now it may be too late. Don't go around Easter time as the Easter Jeep Safari is in town and it is a madhouse (unless that is what you are going for). We do our Jeepn' in September or early October down there. Spring and Fall are the most popular times to go as the temps are still comfortable and the heat of summer isn't a factor. Way to much to see and do in just a week and you may find yourself wanting to go back again. As I said we have been down 3 times now and plan on many more trips in the future. Have a great trip.

Kathy, It's not surprising that you haven't heard of CFM as compressor manufacturers don't usually mention it choosing instead to wow consumers with a large PSI rating on the box which doesn't really tell the whole story. Compressors can be made to put out 120psi without much problem but if they don't have the CFM to back them up they won't do much. CFM stands for Cubic Feet per Minute. CFM increases with the horsepower rating of the compressor. Typically electric compressors have around 1.5 CFM per horsepower. If you were to equate it to electricity, then PSI would equal Voltage, and CFM would equal Amperage. Think of it like trying to plug in to many hair dryers on one circuit, there just isn't enough amperage there to run them all even though you have enough volts and you blow the circuit breaker. Without enough CFM the compressors will just run and run and run until in burns itself up as it works it's poor little butt off trying to fill that huge tire. To be able to fill an RV tire and live a long and fruitful life you need a compressor with the largest CFM rating you can afford or fit in your rig. For a small portable type of compressor this won't come cheap. Units are made by Viair for 12 volt use which are small and are meant for permanent mount but their CFM will be low and they are very expensive for what you want to do. For most owners of larger coaches it is just advisable to bring your rig into a local tire shop periodically and have them check the pressure if you don't have access to an appropriate compressor. Even with the Viair you will still need a tank to store air, this is one way to increase CFM with smaller compressors. Coaches with large tires and needing PSI ratings of upwards of 110PSI just aren't synonymous with small air compressors to get the job done. Sorry for such a long response, can you tell I used to sell compressors for a living? An on-board-air system is a possibility if there is enough room to add an engine driven compressor to your engine. We actually do this on our Jeeps for airing up our tires after a day spent on the trail. However we use old air conditioning compressors on the Jeeps. For a coach you would want to use an engine driven compressor from a semi truck or one of the DP coaches. Systems like this also involve the installation of an air tank to keep the run time of the compressor down and not kill it. I do not know if there is anyone out there that does this sort of thing outside of do-it-yourselfers like me. My guess is it would be prohibitively expensive if they do.

Our '09 Georgetown on the F53 chassis and the V-10 came from the factory with synthetic oil. The fears of the oil ruining a seal goes back 15 or more years when synthetics first came out. They are much different today. I have always changed my own oil on everything I own. Also do most of all my own maintenance. I firmly subsribe to the old addage "if you want it done right you have to do it yourself" It also gives me a really good chance to wheel around under my rig on the creeper and look for damage and inspect the undercariage. I do agree with a previous poster though that a Fumoto Valve is a must on the F53 (and many other rigs). I can attach a hose to the barbed fitting, give the lever a 1/4 turn and drain the oil right into my old 5gal oil jug. On the filter I put a oil pan under it and use an old ice pick to punch a hole in the bottom then go have a cup of coffee while the oil drains from the filter. Removing it is then much cleaner and easier.

My biggest fear ... Glad you weren't hurt and the RV came through it undamaged. Hopefully you can replace Barney. Those Vee Dubs are getting harder to find.

The way I got around this with our previous motorhome was to buy a 5hp compressor mounted on a 20gal tank at Lowes. It was a rebuilt unit so the price was right. I removed the pump from the tank, mounted it to a plate and then mounted it in a side compartment. It was hardwired to the A/C power and plumbed to the tank which I welded tabs to the side of and bolted in between the frame rails under the rig. I had no problems airing up my tires as a 5hp compressor airs up to 120psi, but more importantly I had the CFM to do it in a reasonable time frame as well as being able to run air tools for removing lug nuts on the rig or the toad. I know this kind of project is beyond what a lot of people want to get into but it was fun to do and if you have the right tools and the do-it-yourself spirit it's not that hard. The problem with most small portable compressors is that they lack the CFM which is the true measure of how long it will take to air up your tires and it is very misunderstood by consumers. A compressor with 120psi but no CFM will take all day to air up a single RV tire. More importantly compressors with to little CFM will work themselves to death trying to air up an RV tire.

Hi to all here on the FMCA forums. Although we have only been with the FMCA for a year now we are no strangers to RV life. Both the wife and I grew up in western Washington state. Growing up I spent a lot of time in everything from truck campers, trailers, class C and Class A motorhomes. The wife grew up riding pack horses into the back country to set up camp. We purchased our 2nd Class A motorhome last year (September 2008), a new 2009 37' Forest River Georgetown tripple slide. Our favorite times are spent in Moab Utah and here at home in Washington on the Jeep trails and when we aren't doing that we love to take the bass boat out to the lake and spend the day castin' for small or largemouth and the occasional tiger muskie that may come along. We have met other great folks who have belonged to the FMCA in the past on our trips and look forward to meeting more of you on the road as time and my work permit.

Wow, nice work. As a kid my dad owned a Jamboree and I have lots of good memories of vacations across the west in it. As it happens we live just down the road from you in Enumclaw. Would love to see that fish decal on the rig, what a great idea.