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Hello, I am new here. I also just got a 1976 Apollo 2600 RB motorhome. I have a starting problem after a month of driving. Maybe you guys can help me out. As I was driving, going around a corner I felt the engine rpm slowing down and it stalled. I started it again and made I a few more feet before it died. I replaced the battery, checked all the connections, I have spark and gas. I was wondering if there is a starter relay or any other component that could have failed. Thank you very much in advance! AndyK

I am in need of 2 drivers to drive 2 Class A to Utah from NC and back a week or so later. We would love to let our kids experience the national parks but can not afford to take 4 days off just to drive. I am trying to see if I could hire a driver just as cheap as it would be for us to stay in hotels out there. It would be for 2 family’s with motorhomes and towing vehicles. One is 45’ and the other is 43’. Does anyone know of a company that would be good for this? Thanks in advance!

Hey folks, thanks for any help you can give. The Problem: Today part of the power went out in my motorhome (2002 Monaco Diplomat 38' diesel pusher with 202,000 miles). 1. I'm plugged into 50 amp shore power. Volt meter has been stead 117 volt to 120 volts for 10 days. 2. Today I came home to the two a/c not working. Looked at the thermostat; it was blank...no indication of anything - no power. 3. All the outlets work and have power. None of the lights work. The TV and auto satellite dish work. Microwave and Fridge work (fridge is getting a/c, not propane power.) 4. None of the lights work. The thermostat doesn't work. The ceiling vent fans do not work. The outside light does not work. Where do I start working on to solve this problem. Thanks, Bill Cook 770-815-8727

We have enjoyed an adventurous 10 years RVing across the USA. It was a life change made not without some reservations, but our previous experience in a motorhome gave us confidence. Touring America was better than we dreamed. We visited almost all the states of this country. However, now we will be coming off the road, buying a house, and liquidating our motorhome and pad in Mission Texas. This will be another major life change. We are ready though to spend time with our grandchild. We cherish every memory from the years of traveling. If you are considering full timing go for it.

JUST FINISHED PLANNING OUR SUMMER HOPE TO SEE SOME OF YOU THERE. MEMBERS OF THOUSAND TRAILS. 6/14 MICHIGAN 6/18 NIAGARA FALLS 6/25 ORLANDO, FLORIDA 7/2 WISCONSIN DELLS 7/15 NAARVA RALLY, SARASOTA FLORIDA 7/23 FISHING, STURGEON BAY ,WISCONSIN

Obviously, washing a smaller rig like mine is easier... but, what do you guys do with the 30 to 40 foot rigs. How often do you do it and where do you do this? Or, maybe you pay someone to take care of it? My local carwash says that they'll do it for $45.... any Mercedes Benz dealership does it as a courtesy when I take it in for service.. What do do??

2008 Fleetwood Revolution require Regeneration. Shut down so...we had to get a mechanic to come and get the Regeneration to finish. When we pulled out, we have almost zero acceleration even with the pedal to the floor. Any ideas whether the regeneration process caused this.

At the Monaco International Pre-Rally for FMCA 2017 in Indianapolis, Louise and I looked at a nice used coach. It was a 2008 Monaco Signature in beautiful condition. Louise loved it, very nice inside and out. I really liked it also but the price, the age and the 45 foot length were a problems for me. We ended up walking away from the deal. I told Louise that I now had a huge budget for making “home improvements” on our 2004 Windsor. So, I started by ordering something I had seen on the Signature. It had two pass-through storage bays, just as our coach does. Both those bays had slide trays. We have one slide tray and I have often thought about adding a second. At the FMCA convention I found one vendor offering slide trays for storage compartments. I talked to them, got prices that didn’t scare me away. I went back to our coach, measured carefully, and then went back to the SlideMaster booth and placed an order. It arrived on Tuesday, a freight shipment, on a huge 18 wheeler. Slide Master coordinated the delivery with the Emerald RV Park in Fort Morgan, Colorado where we are currently staying. The truck driver very generously agreed to unload the slide tray alongside our coach. So, there it sat, 229 pounds shipping weight including the 42” x 8’ pallet. I unwrapped it, operated the slide, looked at the hardware supplied, and began moving it toward its eventual home. Everything had to be unloaded from the compartment. Piece by piece I moved everything from the compartment. With the slide extended, the opposite end was easier to lift. I set it into the open compartment. Then I moved the slide to the opposite end, making the far end from the coach lighter and lifted it, sliding it into the coach. I scooted it this way and that way until I had it positioned so it would slide both ways with the desired clearances. In specifying the vertical position, I had given them the height of the lip on the storage compartment, 2 ¼ inches. The sliding tray needed to clear that lip. They supplied 2 inch aluminum block shims for each mounting hole and also one ¼ inch aluminum block for each mounting hole. Unfortunately, the desired shim that was needed to elevate the sliding tray was 1 5/8 inches and there was no way to get to that with the shims they provided. I ended up using a wood 2x2 plus some 1/8 inch stock that I had on hand. I wrestled the 8 foot 2x2 under the rails on each side of the tray. I drilled holes in the 2x2 shim and through the compartment floor at each end of one rail and anchored the tray in place. A check confirmed that everything cleared the doors, the position was good. Everything that fit in the compartment had to be stored for the night (we’ve been having frequent rains) so I reloaded the compartment. Good news, everything fit just as before. The next morning I’m off to Ace Hardware for bolts, nuts and washers. The two 3 inch bolts I used the previous day seemed too long so I got a set of 2 ½ inch bolts. I set about drilling holes at each of the pre-drilled locations. The first bolt went in the hole and it was too short. Back to Ace Hardware, longer bolts. When I drilled the holes, the standard 3/8 inch drill was too short, I made do with the 5” bit by inserting the bit only as far as absolutely necessary to get enough length and even at that the drill chuck was contacting the rail of the slide tray. I forgot to get a longer drill bit so it was back to Ace Hardware. Before the project was complete I was on a first name basis with the checkout clerk. I finished inserting the mounting bolts on one side of the tray on the first day. Day two I unloaded everything in the compartment – again. I crawled back into the compartment and began working on the other side of the tray, drilling holes and inserting bolts in those holes. I’m working in and out under the storage compartment doors. The slide tray has cross members so I’m laying over the cross supports and maneuvering in limited space. Every move is twisting and stretching, craning my neck to see through my glasses, using the mini-vacuum to clean up the drill shavings. Once all this is done I have the bolts in place. I can put the nuts on the lower side of the end bolts myself, working the top of the bolt inside the compartment and putting the washer and nut on under the coach. I even managed to do the second on one end of the tray. The rest will require Louise working from above, holding the head of the bolt stationary while I put the nut on below. So now I’m underneath the coach on pads, pinned between the gravel below and the coach above. I’m putting silicon caulk on the washers to seal the hole from the bottom. Maneuvering a caulking gun is never easy for me but doing it laying on my back under the motor home, well, let’s just say I was in danger of being caulked permanently to the motor home. I can maneuver all the way to the center but everything is limited, stretching, trying to see what I’m doing all the while. We got it done, the whole thing is in place and bolted down, ready for use. So, I reload the tray, everything back in place. “So, what does this have to do with Yoga?” You ask. Louise loves to watch Rachel Ray each morning. This morning Rachel Ray had a guest on the show. She was young and an author. It was a promo for her book on Yoga. She loves Yoga and she was demonstrating Yoga moves that you could do while reading a book, watching TV, vacuuming the house and many other ordinary situations. At one point while watching the show, I mentioned that this reminded me of my last few days of working on the slide tray. I said, “RV Yoga.” Louise laughed and said, “The topic for your next blog.”

Enter room - drop soap box - climb aboard. OK; this bugs me and I just want to blurt this out.....WHY DO PEOPLE STEAL LUG NUT COVERS??? What the ****? You can afford a 500 hundred thousand dollar motorhome, but you can't afford to your own lug nut covers? Three times...THREE TIMES...I have gone to move my coach from storage and covers are gone. The last time they were too lazy to put the tire covers back on. Can someone, ANYONE explain this to me? Thank you. Retrieve box and exit.......

We have all had them, those moments when we are so overjoyed to be motorhome owners and those other moments, the ones where you take a deep breath and ask yourself: "Why did I ever buy this big blasted thing?" Not So Good Coach Moments

Not sure if this is the correct place but I am interested in having someone redo all of the logos and pinstripes and art work on a coach should I purchase it. Not that I am a snob but I want the coach to be a representation of somethings and I cant pull a car thats all waxed and shined with a dull faded coach. I cant disrespect the coach like that. It is our home away from home. So this coach is in need of a "face-lift" as it wasn't covered and sat in the sun a good while because the owners were sick and couldn't take care of it. Provided I dont find anything horrible my family will take it off their hands because they need the money and we NEED a 38ft coach. Who would I go to to have this done and -------------- am i looking at a gagillion bucks to do it?

Hello, everyone !! I'm Ralph Baker A1519, an FMCA 'Associate' member from April 1972 to December 1979, now returned after a 35-year absence. Looking for anyone on this forum who is/was a member of the Northeast Chapter in those years - and hoping you'll come out of the woodwork and let me know you're here. Some of you will still be driving a motorhome or converted bus, but the rest of you will be long done with driving due to age. I always brought a camera with me to take pictures at the various rallies such as Stage Fort Park in Gloucester MA., Rocky Point Park in Warwick R.I., Indian Ranch Campground in Webster MA., and many other places. There also was one rally in my hometown of Cumberland, R.I., held in the Ski Valley parking lot in the summer of 1977. I'll post photos from those years later on. Thanks and cheers !!

2005 Coachmen 380D, diesel pusher, looking to replace the tires before next season. Currently running 275 80R 22.5's on 10-lug steel wheels with the fake wheelcovers. When I change the tires, I was considering replacing 4 of the wheels (front and outside rears) with forged aluminum wheels to save a little weight & upgrade the rig. Then a wild thought popped into my head...how about the 14" wide-base wheels & tires to replace the rear duals? I'm sure many of you have seen tractor-trailers on the road with the single wide rear wheels in place of the duals...I'm wondering if they would (a) work in an RV application and ( not look stupid. This coach does NOT have a tag axle, so we're talking factory configuration of 2 front wheels and 4 rear. Thoughts? Thanks Matt

One of the questions that came up was whether we had our motor home in Australia. This is something that one might consider for an extended trip but it isn’t really feasible. There are numerous problems, the first is that the campgrounds aren’t set-up for our motor homes. The power cords we use don’t fit anything here. Current is 220V but the plug is unlike anything we use in the US. They don’t have sewer connections similar to ours, they use one inch hoses for grey water and toilets are a special kind, a small canister which holds toilet wastes. The canister is removed from the vehicle and emptied into specific dump locations. Grey water drains into sumps in some campgrounds but it is quite common to drain grey water onto the ground near the rear of your campsite. Even in campgrounds where sumps are provided for grey water people will drain to the ground if their hose isn’t long enough to reach the sumps. Utilities are not located like our in the US where the electric, water and sewer are all in one place. One electrical post has four or more outlets and would be located on the common corner of four lots in most cases. The four lots being two facing one street and two facing another street. The lots vary in size but most are fairly small. Our 40 foot motor home would not fit on most of these lots. So there are many reasons why a US motor home would be a problem when traveling in Australia and I haven’t even addressed the possible problems with driving on the left side of the road with the driver’s seat on the left side of the vehicle. With a US built vehicle, the driver position when driving on the left side of the road would put the driver on the edge of the road, not in the center of the roadway. Passing vehicles are on the right side of the car which is the far side from the driver in US vehicles. Then there are the roads. The campervan we are driving feels like a very large vehicle on many of the narrow roads here. There are trucks and large busses which travel these roads but I would not feel comfortable driving anything larger than what we have now. Also, campgrounds trim their trees for campers like ours to drag their way through the low hanging limbs and large leaves. We have seen a few large motor homes. When we started our travels in New Zealand we stopped at a rest area. As we were standing there looking at the scenery a 1990 Safari pulled in. We took pictures and the owner came over to talk to us. We told him we were amazed at seeing a US motor home in New Zealand. He said he had purchased it in the US and shipped it to New Zealand. This particular chassis was easy to move the steering wheel to the right side of the vehicle. He had the electric cord modified and a few other changes made. We asked how he felt about driving on the roads and he said he didn't travel much. He has a few places he goes to and they have a special lot for him. The only other big rig we saw is in the picture with this posting. We saw it at Exmouth in Western Australia. It had two of the Australian 220V power cords which look like a normal extension cord. We didn't visit with the owner of this rig. The final nail in the coffin as far as I’m concerned is the price of fuel. We are getting around 15 miles per gallon (in US terms) with the campervan. Fuel prices in Australia have been about $1.55 to $2.45 per liter. So here is the conversion to US terms. It takes 3.785 liters to make one gallon. Multiplying the above dollar figures times 3.785 gives us $5.87 to $9.27 per gallon. These figures are in Australian Dollars which are worth about $0.92 US at today’s exchange rate. Multiplying 0.92 times these figures gives us $5.40 to $8.53 in US Dollars for a gallon of diesel. The prices are lowest in cities and highest when you get way out into the outback, especially on highways to nowhere, those roads that are one way in and one way out. For most of the outback, we’re paying between $1.80 and $2.10 for a liter of diesel. Unfortunately, there is a whole lot of outback in Australia. Needless to say I’ve left a few dollars at Shell, CalTex and BP stations around the country. There are a few other fuel companies but these are generally the least expensive. Frequently there is only one station, no choice at many of the roadhouses in the outback. If the tank is empty, you pay the price and say thank you! With two weeks to go, we have driven about 15,000 kilometers or 10,000 miles in Australia. Most people here camp in trailers pulled by an SUV or small truck. They frequently attach a tent or screened apparatus to the side of the trailer to give them plenty of protected outdoor area. Camping trailers are almost always pull-behind trailers. We’ve seen just a few fifth wheel trailers. It is not uncommon in the outback to see camping trailers which are built for high clearance being pulled behind a beefy four wheel drive SUV which is used for the many dirt and gravel roads which penetrate the outback. The roads we are traveling which are paved are often the only road in an area with all other roads being dirt or gravel. If you really want to get away from it all in Australia it is easy, most of Australia is away from it all but you need a four wheel drive to explore this area. The alternative for us is to take tours which will haul us into those areas for day trips.

Where to start: I guess an introduction would be appropriate. Hi, I'm Marianne Edwards. After twelve years of RV travel and welcoming fellow RVers to come and spend a night or two on our property if they ever find themselves in Ontario, Canada, it occurred to me that establishing a network of like-minded RVers would be a great idea. With the help of my daughter, Anna Maste, who had the know-how and technical skills I lacked, the idea came to fruition in 2012. Through www.boondockerswelcome.com we are now facilitating lasting friendships and driveway-parking invitations between RVers across North America (and all over the world) - giving you an easy way to meet and connect with fellow RVers along any route you travel. The idea for Boondockers Welcome came about in 2010, when I decided to take off on my own on a month-long RV trip. My husband and I had done a lot of boondocking together so I figured I knew the ropes and would be able to find free places to park most nights; thereby, stretching my budget so I could see and do more things. With no one else's interests and opinions to consider, I wanted to visit every attraction that appealed to me. Everything was going smoothly until I arrived in a popular tourist area on the first long weekend of the summer without a campground reservation. I found myself driving on a country road, where, with evening approaching, frustrated and unable to find a suitable, safe, and affordable overnight location, I noticed a farm laneway with an RV parked in the yard. I thought to myself: If they're RVers, they'll understand. I drove in, introduced myself, and asked this middle-aged couple if they could allow me a small corner to park just for the night. They could not have been more welcoming and, in fact, offered that I make this my home base for the weekend. It occurred to me that there must be thousands of RVers like them, willing to share their driveway for a night or two in exchange for the same privilege down the road. Wouldn't it be great if they had a sign hanging from their mailbox that read: "Boondockers Welcome"? What if we could arrange free, safe, legal, overnight parking like this along any route we travel? We might even begin amazing new friendships. Who better than locals to hand us maps and tourist brochures and point out the hidden gems, favorite hikes, best restaurants, or cheapest fuel price? We don't necessarily need to become best friends - just be willing to offer and accept a convenient place to park for a night. It took two years, but with my daughter's help, the idea for this network materialized in the form of a membership website and, I'm pleased to say, it has been very-well received. We now have more than 750 host locations across the country (and growing). You don't have to join as a member to browse the site and see all the details of each host location. You can scan listings by area, zero in on those along your route, check for availability, and read comments and references from fellow members. You can even narrow your search to include only results that suit the size of your RV, whether generators are allowed, or pets are welcome, etc. Although, the minimum requirement we ask from hosts is a free parking spot, many generously offer electric and water hookups as well. Of course, not everyone has an extra parking spot to offer. A separate membership category exists those who can't reciprocate. Over the coming weeks and months, I'll tell you more about some of our experiences (both as guests and hosts) as well as feature the stories of other Boondockers Welcome members. I hope you'll enjoy the trip, check out the website, and add your comments or questions below. Finally, I hope we'll meet - not just on this blog but face to face. Whenever we're not traveling ourselves, Randy and I welcome you to spend a night or two on our property while you explore Elora, one of Southern Ontario's prettiest towns.

Currently own a 2004 Holiday Rambler Endeavor (38'/2 slide/330 Cummins/8 bag Roadmaster). Looking for advice from all of your on our next coach. We are primarily 3-4 day weekend RV'ers as we both work, with typically a couple of two week trips each year. We are out at least 2-3 weekends a month in the coach and live in Oregon so would like to be able to use the coach year-round. Happy with our coach but would like (1) smoother ride and better handling, (2) more room with extra slides, (3) aqua hot or system that would give us more flexibility in the winter, (4) layout with 2 euro chairs & flatscreens. Here are the type of coaches we are looking at (primarily to get better insulation and Spartan chassis): Newmar Ventana/Dutch Star, Country Coach. Would LOVE an Entegra Aspire, but that will have to wait a few years as our price range needs to be under 200k. I would love to your advice on what coaches you think we should explore further...or are we already on the right track? I would also like your advice on aqua hot or not for winter camping (winter here means no lower than 25 in the winter) and LP versus diesel fired Aqua Hot? Thanks in advance.....love to hear from the experts on this board!

I was standing at the window of our daughter's home looking at our motor home parked in their driveway. I was baby-sitting two of our grandchildren, the payment we make for camping in our daughter's campground. I do the early shift because our son-in-law and daughter leave for work earlier than Louise likes to rise and shine. I enjoy the early shift. If I'm quiet, the children will sleep until my shift is over. I can use the time to read the paper and catch up on my computer communications. Anyway, back to my original thought. Looking at our motor home, I realized that our motor home offers everything we need to be at home. This is not a new thought, we've been living in it for 9-1/2 years. We are able to live independently of our daughters family even though we are parked right next to them. We interact as much or as little as we or they desire. For an extended stay that could turn into mooching on the kids, the motor home allows us to stay independent and out from underfoot. We have been here for almost two months and will be here for another two months until both my knees are replaced and I'm healthy enough to travel again. When we do hit the road again, we'll head west to California to visit with another daughter and her family and see two more grandchildren. We aren't traveling right now. We aren't parked in some exotic scenic location. We aren't in a cool summer location. Parked or on the road, our motor home enriches our life. This is one versatile machine.

It has been two weeks since my last entry. In that time I've made great progress in my recovery. I had doubts about the wisdom of doing the recovery from my knee replacement while living in the motor home. After two weeks any doubts have been erased. Actually I believe that the recovery has been easier in the motor home than it would have been in an actual home. From the time I opened the door and faced the five steps to get into the motor home I found everything worked very well. There are grab bars on both sides of the entry stairwell so it is easy to find something to hold onto. While holding the grab bar on the dash, I was able to also brace myself against the floor in front of the passenger seat. Then I could use the seat and the dash to steady myself. Once inside, my recliner was just a few steps away. The walker I was to use was pretty much unnecessary in the interior of the motor home. I had a cane also and with it, I was always within reach of a counter, chair or table to steady my other hand. So getting to the toilet was about eight steps from my recliner and the bedroom another three. I could prop the cane against the wall by the bed within easy reach. The trip from the bed to the toilet was a three step dance. Even getting onto the toilet was easy. Cane in one hand and the other braced against the magazine rack. There are built-in courtesy lights in the bathroom and the kitchen so I could get up at night without turning on the overhead lights and still see to get around. My knee is healing nicely. The staples have been removed and the incision looks clean and infection free. Swelling and bruising are both in serious decline and I have recovered full range of motion. There is still some discomfort when I sit in one position too long and walking isn't completely pain free. Each day brings noticeable improvement. I'll see the surgeon in less than a week for my first follow up visit. I'm almost ready to take on the replacement of the other knee! The motor home has been a great place to recover!

I've been up on the roof washing and cleaning for the last few days. The experience brings to the fore one of the conflicts that plagues me. At heart, I'm a big advocate of trees. They are essential to our existence. Trees are beautiful and useful. Trees are also a nuisance. On the good side, trees provide shade and keep our motor home cool. We're in San Andreas, California, and the forecast for the next two days are temperatures in the 100s, so I'll really appreciate the trees around us. I have many favorite memories of trees, but one of the best was in 2003 in northern California, riding my bicycle on the Redwood Highway. To ride along through a forest of these giants was inspiring. It was early morning, there was little traffic, so most of the time it was me and the trees. I've stood in awe looking up at limbs on a Sequoia that are the size of other large trees. Trees anchor the riverbanks on streams I've canoed. Trees and other plants made coal that provides much of our electricity. So what could possibly be wrong with trees? A year ago we were parked under the tree from h*ll. It was early spring and the leaves were popping out. With each leaf came a few fragments of the bud packing a very sticky sap. They covered the ground, stuck to our shoes and showed up on the carpet in the motor home. Unfortunately, they also fell on the toad and on the roof of the motor home. A year later, I'm still trying to get the sap off the roof. There are a few spots that won't come off. Fortunately, a year of sunshine had dried most of the sap and it's chipping off a little at a time. I know that the trees contributed only a small amount of the dirt on the roof, but still, I hate to park under trees. We stayed at a park in Golden, Colorado, recently. It was a park without trees. I really enjoyed the stay. The sites were side-by-side sites with about 6 feet between us and the neighboring RVs. We had large 5th wheels on either side, so they provided good shade for the morning and afternoon sun. It was life without trees and I enjoyed not worrying about what was dropping on the motor home. One afternoon I helped my brother-in-law clean the leaves and maple seeds out of his gutters. At our current park, we cut tree branches to get into our site without scraping the paint off the motor home. Once in place we carefully located so we could put our slides out without having branches in contact with the sides and roof of the motor home. Today on the roof, removing dirt and sap, I'm ducking branches. There are two large oak trees to our west that give us some great shade in the late afternoon. We didn't park under them because we listened to the acorns dropping on the roof of RVs in those spaces last year. Tomorrow I'll tackle the air conditioners. I need to blow the leaves out of the cooling fins. I love trees.