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We have two dogs that are left in our MH in hot weather, but as we’re on the road about half the year, mainly during the summer, we worry about the park electric going off. (Our AC units manage to throw breakers from time to time.) The heat in some areas could become deadly, so how do some of you handle it? Our rig is a 2003 40’ Damon Escaper MH with a Onan 7500 genset.

Hello, Does anyone have a solution for the heat penetrating in thru the shower dome? I have a temporary cover ( reflective material duck taped) to the surface of the dome. Looks ridiculous. I really do not want anything stuffed up inside the shower dome. Is there a clear cover you can add that won't break the bank? Thanks in advance

Hello! My husband and I bought a used motorhome this summer (2005 Winnebago Journey) and discovered last week that the electric heat is not working. Propane works fine. Its out of warranty at this point, and I wondered if there were some simple things that we could check, before taking it in for repair. Thank you!

Heating--what would you do? I have begun living full time in my new (to me) Canyon Star 3856 Ford V10 gas. I work in the Tetons from late Apr to late Oct so the nights can get down in the low 30's during Apr and Oct. I am a little concerned about preventing my water pipes from freezing. I have 2 ac/HP and 2 propane furnaces. I am not sure if I can get propane delivered to my coach in the park. I have been looking into several things and was hoping to hear from some people with more experience than me (I have none). I was thinking of getting (2) of those little 200 watt heaters to put int he basement compartments near the tanks? These would be run off the site electric (something I am provided with for my employment). What do you think of this idea? Since the HP is not very good below 40 degrees, I was thinking of using space heaters in the coach and heating electrically. My options here that I am considering are: 1) Using the Dyson oblong/circle fan/heater--it is on sale at COSTCO, is very quiet, and I think if placed at the front of the coach by the driver area facing rear ward, it would heat the entire coach. On cold nights I could open the water cabinets to aid getting heat in there. 2) Using those oil filled old fashioned radiators to provide the heat. They are also quiet, cheaper than the Dyson (even if I buy two) but they would take up a bit more room. I was also looking at the Cheap Heat system I saw on one of the RV emails I get daily but I think I would have to install (by a professional) 2 of these since I have 2 furnaces. This would eliminate having to use propane, however, as good as this system sounds it may be way more than I can afford to spend between the cost of the parts and the extra labor charges for an RV professional to install. Anyone have this and what do you think? So, what would you do? Long post--I am sorry, but need your expert advice...or just your honest opinion. Thank you.

If you follow my topic last Christmas Holiday season http://community.fmca.com/topic/6353-our-holiday-travel-misadventure-so-far/, you would know about the basement heater failure and pipe freezing on the first leg of our trip dry camping in twin Falls, ID. No way to get a part quickly so I had to order from Monaco while at Las Vegas and have shipped to North Carolina hopefully before I arrive there. In the meantime I travel south to stay thaw out as I knew I was lucky not to have any damage. Now I paid big money for that heater box (Cargo Heat) plus shipping and it worked when I first installed it for the few times needed on the east coast. Got chased from there by a blizzard. Then I cross southern California and up into Oregon and the basement heater failed again. Well I got no warranty on the heater just sorry but you must check the wiring in your coach. Finally last week I got one tech at Monaco to tell me how to bench test it. I took them both in my shop and found that they both fail the bench test. No surprise there as I knew they didn't work in the coach and the wiring checked out. I first took the old one apart and remove the heating element and ohm it and it check out as well as overheat switch. I knew the relay worked as it kicked in with the 12 volt signal wire. I put it back together and it work like it's supposed to. I installed that one in the coach and tested the operation there and works OK so one down one to go. I took the new one apart and ohm it out the same way and found one wire broken to the overheat switch and a bad diode. I fixed the wire but could only bypass the diode as I have nothing like that. I put that one to the side for a spare in case of an emergency. The bottom line is that these basement heaters are not reliable as the should be and Monaco not offer a warranty even though I ask them for one. Instead the sent me on a wild chase testing wiring when all alone it was bad heaters. I even had to search and find the wiring diagram on the internet. So again with another new company owning Monaco/Holiday Rambler it's same old attitude of not caring.

I haven't been doing much work around the motor home lately. My left knee replacement is healing well and I'm up to getting out and around more these days. The water filters in the basement needed replacement so I waded into the midsection of our home. As I began removing stored equipment I noticed little chewed bits of the blue shop towels I use. So now my task becomes a project. Sure enough, there are more and more signs of a mouse. We haven't had one for eight years but it has finally happened again. As I dig through the stored materials, more signs emerge. Under the sliding drawer in the forward storage area I find bits of acorns. Somebody had a picnic here. There is only one answer here. Everything has to come out and a good cleaning is in order. One compartment after another is emptied and cleaned. Our son-in-law brings the shop vac which speeds the cleaning tremendously. The trash bag of mouse debris keeps growing. I've grown careless over the years, there are rags that should have been secured that now are waste. A used sponge has been gnawed to a nub. The motor home hasn't been cleaned this well in years. Did I mention that the temperature is 97 degrees on a clear sunny day. I have the large awning out and some shade on the other side of the motor home. I'm pushing hard to get done before the sun gets to the door of each compartment. Our grandchildren are enjoying the swimming pool and our daughter is supervising. We visit during breaks. I have to stand up and sit down occasionally. My new knee doesn't take well to all the bending and kneeling. I'm drinking water like a fish at every break. The mouse or mice have been throughout the basement. We have seen no evidence in the living area but the storage area has evidence in every compartment. It takes me four hours to finish working through the storage areas. I check every access point. The sewer hose has gaps around it so I rearrange my improvised collar to better block the space around the hose. Everything else looks secure, so this must be the access point. I have two old traps from our only other encounter with these critters. These are baited and and placed in the utility compartment. A quick trip to town secures four more new traps. Every compartment has two traps ... now I'm waiting. It's possible that our daughters family cat, Miss Race Car (named by our grandson when he was six years old), a Norwegian Forest Cat, has already caught up with the offending mouse. I had a conversation with Miss Race Car, who sleeps under the motor home regularly. I impressed upon her that I had been counting on her to keep the motor home free of mice. If she hasn't already done so, I'll get the little rascals. The water filters are changed and we have a good flow of water for my well deserved shower. Louise fixes me my favorite libation and sends me out the door to fire up the grill. We'll have steak tonight! We enjoy sitting outside even with the heat. One of the really unusual things about this heat wave is that there has been a light breeze constantly. I lived in Missouri for most of my life and my recollection is that when the weather got really hot the air would be deadly calm. This year we have a breeze and it makes the heat almost bearable. I'm glad to be out and about and back to work. There will be only a few more work days before my right knee replacement on Thursday next week.