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RE: First time traveling long distance
We travel all the time with the propane turned on for the fridge. Some, though, are not comfortable with propane being on driving down the road. But I suspect most RVers do travel with it on.
If you get your fridge cold a couple days ahead of time it should keep things cold all day without being on propane. At least for 5 or 6 hours some say -- assuming you don't keep opening and closing the door. Why not run a test before leaving on your trip. Fill the fridge with stuff and see how long it stays cold. (You must have the fridge pretty full with something to do this test. An empty fridge would not work.)
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05/24/12 10:35am |
Beginning RVing
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RE: I Guess Camping Is Different Here....
As an ex East Coaster I'm pretty aware of how different things are between these two areas. On my first trip back east after 15 years out here I was truly shocked at how close together things were back east. It's a different world "Out West." The only thing I've ever missed from back east was the wonderful fragrance of your leaves in the fall of the year. But you've got some pretty nice country back there. Some East Coast people think parts of our West are a bit stark and bare but you soon get used to it. After all, everything can't be a lush green hardwood forest.
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05/24/12 10:18am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Ford owns it's logo again!
I think they pawned everything in '06 to get that line of credit. Gutsy move but maybe it was either "bet the farm" or just fade away. Didn't they bring in an ex Boeing executive to pound the old entrenched order into submission and turn the company around? The old order GM executives were absolutely so blind to reality that they would have taken the company under without some interaction from outside during the dire conditions after 2008. What kind of junk would those idiots be building if Japan, Korea, and Germany were not keeping the pressure on. Maybe the RV industry needs some outside competition - - - Competition. The consumers best friend.
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05/23/12 03:29am |
Tow Vehicles
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RE: How do you test an Onan genset's volt and amp output
Most problems with generators seem to be carburetor related. They sit around all the time with old fuel in them and get gummed up. Surging is one sign of a gummy carb. I'd start there before checking out electrical items. I use portable heaters to load my generators under load once a month. When you changed the brushes did you use new springs. Did you seat them in with a stone? There are a couple real generator experts that follow these forums so maybe one of them will jump in with some pretty good advice. They will probably want some detailed info from you about exactly what you have done so far, etc.
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05/23/12 02:48am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Motorhome Fire kills 3
Sad news. But over and over again this keeps happening. Somehow motor homes seem to trap people inside or they go up so fast you exit them in critical condition. Maybe in accidents those frames twist to jamb exit windows shut. Maybe in some situations the body cavities fill with propane to produce a flash fire impossible to escape. It might be wise for all us to have planned a very rapid exit from the rig with even the slightest possibility of a fire. Not that it would have helped these people obviously.
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05/22/12 10:04pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: external fridge fan
If you only want those fans running when your heating element is on I'd say set it for a fairly high temperature. Maybe 90 degrees. Now if the idea is to also keep the back of the fridge cool in general due to heat build up on the exterior side wall of your rig then maybe set it for 60 degrees or so. I suppose for a really fancy setup you'd measure the outside ambient air temperature and have your fans come on when it was warmer behind the fridge that outside. Just some thoughts that probably won't help you much.
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05/22/12 06:40pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Claim denied for lighting strike to motorhome?
Deal with them entirely through an INSURANCE attorney. You are playing their game and they will string you along forever. Refuse to talk with them. Refer everything to your atty. They will get the message pretty fast.
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05/22/12 11:18am |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: Looking for campground in MD, PA, WV, VA with hotel on site
I don't know how thoroughly you have checked out Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland, but if it were me I'd sure try and make that place work. The only campground is a state park but right next to it is the Carmel Cove Inn. I can't verify you could cut cross country from one to the other on foot but they are real close together. At least give them a call and ask.
Deep Creek Lake
State Campground
Carmel Cove Inn
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05/22/12 10:49am |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: tire pressure
Conclusion: The label in the cab is what the vehicle manufacturer says you should use - and it would be best to follow that unless you have the knowledge and the experience to know that is might be faulty. Even then, you should ask a lot of questions before deviating from it.
I have to take exception to this for older rigs. My nameplate says to use 65 psi all around. My bridgestone tires do not even go that low with a recommended pressure. I have to run at least 85 psi to be matched up with my weight on the bridgestone chart.
- - - - -
We are talking about cold pressures here. The maximum allowable pressure to ever put into a tire is the pressure given on the tire sidewall. I really doubt that very many rigs loaded to travel will be very much over pressure using that sidewall psi as a temporary measure.
Maybe some short rigs on a good chassis but those are few and far between.
And when you look at your tire mfg pressure chart it is true that you have to be careful that you match up with the load rating of the tire that you bought. If you bought a, say, load range E tire but read the weight and pressure for a load range F tire you will be overloading your tires - - if in fact you have to go that high up into the chart for your rig's weight.
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05/21/12 01:32pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: tire pressure
If you can find a platform scale that is level with the ground you definitely can put one wheel on at a time. There is also a way to put front, rear, right, left on such a scale and do some algebra to determine individual wheel weights.
Not knowing anything else and until getting some good weights, I'd just run the maximum air pressure marked on the sidewall of the tires.
My 1995 rig has a nameplate saying to use 65 psi all around but the rims are rated for 95 psi. Obviously tires these days are vastly different than back in the good old days.
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05/21/12 08:57am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Air Card for Internet Service
If you are going to be traveling cross country then Verizon cell towers are the only way to go. They have the best coverage by far. For that reason we use a Verizon 760 modem and just fund it each time we go out. Not the least expensive way to go but coverage is way, way better than any other carrier.
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05/21/12 08:01am |
Technology Corner
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RE: tire pressure
That nameplate was put there for the factory tires put on to sell the rig. It becomes meaningless when any other tire is put on. You need to get the chart of weight vs. air pressure for your tires. For example, I run Bridgestone tires so I would go to their web site and look up my model tire. They list various weights the tire will carry and how much air pressure should be in the tire for each listed weight.
Now all I need to know is how much weight will be on my tires as the rig is loaded for heading out on a trip. The best way to do that is to find some shop that will weigh my rig on both sides for each axle. It's not easy to find a shop with a portable scale to do that. On any axle (right and left side or a rig) you use the side with the most weight on it as the tire pressure for that axle. (In other words, on any one axle the tire pressure must be the same on all tires.)
If you can't find a shop to weigh both sides of your axle, they you just weigh front and rear weights on a scale and use that as a starting point of how much weight will be on the tires.
For example, if your front tires weigh out at 5000 pounds you can almost be sure that it is not divided exactly at 2500 pounds on the right and left tire. So for a bit of margin you would have to assume maybe that each tire was carrying maybe 2750 pounds.
Then go to the tire chart for your brand of tires and see what pressure they tell you to use for that weight. You might have to interpolate since the chart will only give certain weights. Then maybe carry 5 pounds more that that in each tire as a buffer so you are never below the recommenced tire pressure.
You also need to know the maximum cold air pressure that your rims are rated for. It should be stamped on them somewhere but likely only visible when the tires are off the rim. Would not worry about this too much, though.
For the rear tires you use the same idea but you are working with duals on each side and of course take that into consideration when figuring out how much air to put in each tire.
A bit long and messy but this is the general procedure you need to follow. The important thing to keep in mind is that the only thing that matters is how much weight will be on each tire. Not the model of rig you drive or anything else.
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05/21/12 07:45am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: How do you handle leaving pets while site seeing?
We installed an Alarm System that for us monitors AC power for failure and also temperature inside the rig. If power fails or temperature rises above what we set the thermostat for we get an immediate cell phone call from the alarm system with a text message (and optional pre recorded voice message). We never go so far that we could not be back there before too much time would pass. Approximately $500 total cost for the equipment. This is a professional grade alarm not some patched together system to meet a bottom line price. It has multiple inputs so you could also alarm anything else you could think of -- like the doors, etc. We've had it for a couple years now and it has been full proof. There might be some "budget" solutions around by now using a cell phone to call out, but you get what you pay for as they say IMHO.
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05/20/12 10:56am |
RV Pet Stop
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RE: Lube on Lug Studs
When you add lubrication to threads the torque that you apply with your wrench is roughly 20 percent more than what you intended. Key work "roughly." You are going to get lots of opinions on whether to apply anti seize compound. I've never used it on lug nuts. If you do use the compound then the torque wrench setting should be something less than what the recommended torque is supposed to be. You will sometimes see references to dry torque values and "wet" torque values. In critical situations they do make a distinction between dry and lubricated values.
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05/19/12 09:14am |
Tech Issues
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RE: BLACK MOUNTAIN RV PARK near Oatman Az
Not familiar with the place. Did find one reference to it: Black Mountain RV Park, 6600 W Oatman Rd, Golden Valley, AZ 86413. There isn't much RV traffic along that stretch of road because of the stressful mountain grades getting up into Oatman. It's probably one of those secondary parks that don't get covered in any of the standard guide books or web sites. I'd love for somebody to put together a guide of all the minor RV parks scattered around the country that don't get covered. We use them all the time but it's just dumb luck finding such places at the right time of day.
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05/18/12 03:09pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: Fluid For Leveling Jacks
200 series manual says to use universal multipurpose or Dexron ATF.
1 inch below top of reservoir.
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05/14/12 04:47pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: For those who visit Ocean City Maryland
I seem to remember that years ago (many) they passed an ordinance that guys could not wander around without a T-shirt on. Though maybe it only applied to riding around in a car.
The big conflict. People who want peace and quiet vs. those who think you really, really do like their choice of music and want to hear it at that moment.
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05/14/12 12:04pm |
RV Parks, National Parks, State Campgrounds & More
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RE: New Orleans to The Woodlands TX
I always run 105 between Beaumont and Conroe when in that area north of Houston. Conroe is still some distance above The Woodlands, though, so maybe at Cleveland take 59 down to 242 to get there.
I'd avoid rush hour traffic anywhere near I-45. And if they have heavy rains around the time you get there it could be a real fun time. They use road under passes to collect water for use during the dry spells.
On 105 west of Conroe about 10 miles there is a KOA on the south side of the road near Lake Conroe. A really nice campground and in a great area. I'd much rather bum around there than down in the congestion of The Woodlands. But then the shopping is better at The Woodlands.
Getting about in Texas is pretty easy. Any road you see on a Texas map will be excellent traveling. I just draw a straight line between the two places I want to travel between and then follow all the Farm to Market roads along the way to get there.
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05/14/12 11:13am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: What is your favorite pass in Colorado?
East side of Independence Pass just for the absolute scenic beauty climbing up towards the top along 82. No other pass can come close for lush green scenery -- IMHO as they say. Of course higher up you drive out of thick green fields and forest. But every pass has its own character. For scarey? Which ever pass causes the tranny and oil temps to keep climbing. I always assume we are not going to drop a wheel over the side. Or at least hope so.
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05/12/12 10:53pm |
RV Lifestyle
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RE: Generator fuel line from gastank
You probably do not want to tap into the fuel line to the engine as a "fix." That line is pressurized by the in-tank pump supplying fuel to the engine.
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05/05/12 11:04am |
Class A Motorhomes
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