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RE: Tire Shop Recommendations - East San Diego County
Thanks for the suggestions. I made several visits around and was most impressed with TCI in El Cajon. Sean (sp?) took me back into the warehouse and showed me the tires he would recommend....Michelin, Sumitomo and BF Goodrich. Unfortunately they only had one 14 ply Sumitomo and I needed six. I decided to go with BF Goodrich. X6 mounted/balanced/taxes, etc $2500 driving out the driveway. I waited for the install....approx. 2 hours...no appointment needed. They apologized about being one tech short and it taking so long!!!
I'll be returning with my other light trucks and won't hesitate to recommend them to anyone needing tires.
Bumbie, Glad to hear that TCI took good care of you. Like I said in my post above I felt TCI went above and beyond making me feel like I was making the right choice. Like you, I too have not hesitated to recommend TCI to others.
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dezertcamper
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11/16/11 12:17am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Anyone pull a boat w/class A?
I have a 33 ft Southwind and a 20 ft ski boat. Total length with trailer is around 56 to 57 ft long. I have launched at the river using two different ramps. Both are well maintained ramps and I have no issues. The biggest concern I see is the angle of the ramp. As long as it is not too steep and I have room to swing around and back the boat down the ramp then I am good.
One time the place at the river we like to go had the main ramp closed. The other ramp on that side of camp is hard packed gravel. I did not feel 100% launching and pulling out on gravel. I know the main office has said they can get a work truck to launch for a price. The people next to me had a Ford F350 and offered to launch my boat for me. I typically launch and keep the boat in the water for the whole time I'm there. So they told me the would pull me back out the day we were leaving if I needed them too.
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dezertcamper
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11/14/11 11:32am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Suicide Knob
So many talk about this and that being illegal. How many of you have actually been stopped by the police in your Motorhomes? Also even if you were stopped the officer is most likely not going to see the steering wheel. They will be approaching from the passenger side or at your coach door. And if he was to see the knob, at most it would be a fix it ticket. Tell the officer that you did not know it was illegal and ask him to give you two minutes to remove it in front of him. But I doubt a officer is even going to care or pay attention. He will be having to really want to nail you with something to be wanting to write up a fix it ticket for that.
I am friends with 3 police officers. All were traffic or beat cops when they started. One is now a Detective, One is a U.S Marshal and one works in Intelligence. All three have told me they very rarely stopped Motorhomes. They all said you would have to be doing something very stupid or extremely dangerous for them to consider stopping you. They said it is much more dangerous to stop a Motorhome. For one they cant see inside the vehicle, It is much easier for the officer to be ambushed. Typically the office will request you step out of the motorhome, which is another act police officers dont typically like to do as it takes them away from seeing what might be going on in the vehicle. Also due to the fact that Motorhomes have different laws regarding searching as the coach is considered your home, they would need a warrant to do a proper search unlike you car, and this again makes more work for an officer. It would be much easier for an officer to pull over a speeding Honda.
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dezertcamper
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11/14/11 11:08am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: This may be a silly question on Bilstein shocks
Bilstein uses two different style boots on there shocks. The first is the ribbed style that compresses and extends as the shock cycles. This boot should have a zip tie around the boot on the body of the shock.
The second dust boot they use is a solid boot that moves with the shock shaft. This boot does not use any zip ties.
The third plastic strap you might be looking at is a plastic band that wraps from end to end of the shock keeping it compressed. This band needs to be removed or cut off. Many will use this plastic strap as a tool to help with installation. And in fact it can help as the nitrogen in the shock can make them very challenging to compress at times. But to be honest the plastic band is more for packaging then for installation help. Bilstien uses a limited amount of box sizes and by strapping the shock it reduces the size and length of the box.
Ribbed boot with zip tie
http://www.bilsteinus.com/typo3temp/pics/e4b94d9bd4.jpg
Solid boot with no zip tie
http://www.merchant-automotive.com/images/products/detail/BilsteinStkRear.jpg
Compression band strap for packaging
https://bputah.com/Disco%20Parts/Land_Range_Rover_Discovery_Defender_Bilstein_Shock_A.jpg
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dezertcamper
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11/04/11 01:36pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Tire Shop Recommendations - East San Diego County
Parkhouse is a good choice, but since you are in East County like me you might want to check out TCI (Tire Center Inc) in El Cajon on Magnolia. I bought my RV 19.5 tires from them and have had nothing but good things to say. TCI does mostly commercial trucks and accounts. They even do mobile road side repair for commercial trucks.
TCI
1743 N Magnolia Ave
El Cajon Ca 92020
619-596-8473
My experience with TCI,
First thing they did was look at my tires and check the dates to see if I really needed tires. My tires only measured having used only 2/16th inch of tread. Basically no tread wear, but date wise they were 6 years old. He said the side walls looked really good and he said if they were his tires he might try to get another year out of them. At the time I was ready and had the money to buy tires so felt doing it now was the best time for me.
My RV had Michelin's and TCI is a Michelin dealer. The manager asked me about how many miles we put on the RV and what future trips and mileage we might expect to do in the coming years. Since our trips pretty much consist of the river and desert he suggested not spending the money on Michelin's. He said the tires will be out of date before we ever use 1/4th the tread. He had a few other brands that were good tires, with a substantial price reduction compared to the Michelin's. Two brands he suggested were Sumitomo's and GITI. I had never heard of GITI and new very little about Sumitomo's. He took the time to show me each brands website and compare both those brands tires to Michelin and GoodYear. We looked at ply, load range and tread depth. Both Sumitomo and GITI were the same or better then GoodYear and Michelin, but with a cheaper cost to me. He also showed me what brand of tire was on all their own service trucks and it was not Michelin!
After seeing and comparing brands I chose the GITI tire and he told me if i was not happy I could come back and we could work something out to put a Michelin on. He checked his stock and had plenty of tires in stock, but noticed the tire dates were at least 6 to 8 months old. He said he could get a fresher set if I was willing to wait a few days. He said since it was going on a RV a 6 month fresher date might be worth waiting a few days. I agreed and scheduled an appointment a few days later.
I dont know if TCI goes the extra mile with all there customers or if he could see the apprehension on my face about a tire I had never heard about. But I feel they took very good care of me and I now have 2 years on the tires and have ZERO complaints. My next set of tires will be from TCI.
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dezertcamper
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10/30/11 11:08pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: soundproofing
Check out B-Quiet. They have exactly what you are looking for. I used their B-Quiet Ultimate on my 2004 Southwind on a Workhorse chassis. I bought the 50 sq ft roll and I did the whole engine compartment, doghouse cover, and the under side of the dash board that is visible from under the hood. After all that I still have 1/3 of the roll left if not a bit more.
The results were worth every penny. I found the engine noise was reduced by half, when the fan clutch kicks in the noise from that was greatly reduced to the point it does not freak you out when it kicks in, and you can still talk over the fan noise. The floor temp was maybe reduced by 15%. I was hoping for more, but I was told to use B-Quiet's H-Liner as it is more designed for that. I also found by laying the B-Quiet on the back side of the dash I was able to add some better insulation value vs the bare fiberglass Fleetwood leaves exposed. Also the B-Quiet helped reduce some of the squeaks and rattles you get as it dampens and makes the dash more solid.
My goal with the rest of the B-Quiet Ultimate that I have left is to someday try to insulate above the transmission and to drop the generator and insulate the whole generator compartment.
BTW if you are not sure which sound deadening material you want to buy, you can order a sample kit from B-Quiet and in that kit comes samples of each item they sell.
Good luck and what ever you use it will be better then what you currently have.
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dezertcamper
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09/24/11 12:43am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: When to replace Serpentine belt?
Your serpentine belt should last a long time. My suggestion on a RV that only gets driven a handful of times a year. Check it once a year or at every oil change. If you are planning a long trip add checking the belt to your check list.
If you are needing to replace a water pump, alt, ac compressor. This would be the time to replace the serpentine belt as you will have to remove the belt anyways. And for those who have not changed or replaced on on you gas engine class A, well they are a PITA!
My 2003 Southwind had around 8,500 miles on it last summer and the day we were leaving for the river I had my alternator fail. Even though I only had 8,500 miles on the RV I changed the belt because I was already there and pulling the original off.
BTW if you need a alternator for a 8.1, most parts shops dont list Workhorse and only certain Chevy dealers carry Workhorse parts. The alt for the Workhorse 8.1 has a Workhorse PN# and cost a fortune. AC Delco makes a 200 amp alt that you can buy at the dealer for $400+. Or you can do what I did and research that the mid 2000's Chevy Suburban 2500 series could be ordered with the 8.1 and they came with the 200 amp alt. Then go to Napa and have them look up 2004 2500 Suburban. You will see it is the same alt that is in the Workhorse 8.1. Napa # NNE 1N4812HO. I got a brand new (Not reman) alt for $260 with a Napa warranty and in stock. Both certified Workhorse and Chevy dealers were needing to order the Alt as they dont stock 200 amp alts.
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dezertcamper
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09/09/11 04:17pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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Free Bilstein shocks & Alignment & tank of fuel for a (FRED)
Posting for a friend who works at Bilstein in the off-road dept.
Bilstein is looking to design and build a new shock for the Freightliner FRED. If you are in the Poway (San Diego Ca) area and dont need your RV for two weeks you could get hooked up with 4 new shocks, get a four wheel alignment and a full tank of fuel for FREE.
Details;
BILSTEIN looking for 2008+ FRED Chassis RV for ride testing!
21.06.2011
Vehicle: 2008+ Freightliner Front Engine Diesel (FRED) - Class A
Timing: As soon as possible (for up to two weeks)
Vehicle owner will receive, at no charge, one set of shock absorbers (front & rear) installed on his/her vehicle.
Vehicle owner is required to deliver vehicle to the Bilstein Aftermarket headquarters in Poway, CA, and make arrangements for alternative transportation during the time of product installation and tuning.
The aftermarket development department of Bilstein shocks absorber is seeking the aforementioned vehicle for the purpose of design / installation confirmation and tuning of dynamic characteristics (damping/valving). Vehicle usage would encompass approximately 200 miles of on-road evaluation within a week’s period of time.
In exchange for use of subject vehicle, vehicle will be equipped with lifetime warranty Bilstein shock absorbers, four wheel alignment and a full tank of fuel.
ThyssenKrupp Bilstein provides a full “Garage Keeper’s Endorsement” providing vehicle owner insurance.
Interested parties please contact the Bilstein Development Department (800) 537-1085 ex 5934.
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dezertcamper
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07/15/11 10:46am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Shock absorbers - on-line shop recommendations please
Call Shox or go on their website www.shox.com. They are based in San Diego and are huge dealers for Bilstein shocks. They have free shipping and no tax if you are not in California.
Also just a FYI Bistein Corp is also in San Diego so Shox's should have no issues getting product.
Shox.com
800-683-2890
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dezertcamper
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06/30/11 06:01pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Workhorse Dashboard
Your dash is a computer and sometimes an electrical surge or brief voltage drop may cause the dash to reboot. If it happens only once in a great while not to worry. If it happens regularly start looking for a loose connector on the back of the dash or a shorted ignition switch harness in the steering columm.
Yes Actia who makes the gauge cluster claims when this happens this is the the panel rebooting or calibrating itself. Mine has done it a few times. Every time mine has done this is has beeped for 2+ seconds and the gas gauge drops to empty and goes back to where it was.
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dezertcamper
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06/15/11 11:29pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Workhorse Brake Flush durring recall work
I had San Diego RV Center do my recall and they told me that they recall kit comes with 2 qt of brake fluid and that the whole brake system holds just under 3 qt. SDRV had asked Workhorse why they dont add the third qt so they can do the complete fluid flush as moisture was the reported cause of the caliper failure and the reason for the recall. SDRV told me that Workhorse felt replacing 2 qt was enough to remove the moisture and contaminates in the brake system.
So SDRV chose to add the 3/4's of the extra qt that it takes to completely remove all of the old fluid. They were doing this at no charge, but were letting their customers know that they were doing this for them at no charge. (My guess is the bottle of fluid is less then $3 there cost) They felt this showed their customers that SDRV was willing to go the extra mile for them. When they told me this I offered to give them $5 for the extra qt. I was told no thanks, We will take care of you and in the long run you will take care of us.
My guess is they have made back their $3 in repeat customers.
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dezertcamper
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06/14/11 09:59am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: 2003 Bounder Headlight Assy
I dont know exactly which headlight is on the 03 Bounder, but I do know the 03 Fleetwood Southwind is a 2001-04 VW Golf headlight assembly. It took me a ton of searching to find out what Headlight my Southwind took. When I called Fleetwood regarding the headlights they were not much help, but did give me some Fleetwood PN#.
Maybe if you called Fleetwood you might get better results regarding your Bounder. Also consider calling a RV shop that does body work. They should be able to tell you as this is a fairly common replaced part when doing front end accident repair work.
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dezertcamper
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06/01/11 05:08pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Snake in the RV
If I had a snake in my moho the first thing that would come to mind would be to burn it. I am not nearly as snake tolerant as you . Good luck. I have a friend that gets black snakes in his house every year, every year he finds them and removes them, every year they come back, about twenty years now. There again I would have torched the place at year one.
Best answer so far! At least this is what I would be thinking about doing. I am so not into snakes!
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dezertcamper
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06/01/11 04:44pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: workhorse front end question (UPDATE)found problem
I have a W22 and I too had a front squeak on the passenger side. It was the nylon bushing in the leaf spring, where the spring wrap bolts to the frame bracket. What happens is they wear out and most likely yours has pushed itself out of the spring stack. So now you have the two spring rubbing each other and making a squeaking noise. Have been told this is really common and besides the squeak it is no big deal. In order to fix it you have to pull the front leaf springs off and have them insert a new nylon bushing. What I have done and have heard others do is spray some motorcycle chain lube on the spring and bolt area and the noise stopped. The chain lube lasts quite a while before I need to spray more. So check the springs where they wrap and mount to the frame. You might see part of the plastic nylon bushing sticking out or might be gone. If so I bet this is what you are hearing.
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dezertcamper
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04/29/11 12:18am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Slide-out awning fabric replacement....tackle myself?
OH I forgot to post this. If your interested in doing the slide toppers yourself, here is step by step instruction on how to replace toppers on A&E models.
A&E Slide Topper Installation Instructions
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dezertcamper
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04/23/11 11:47pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Slide-out awning fabric replacement....tackle myself?
If you have yet to buy your slide toppers you might want to check out Shade ProThey sell both Vinyl and Acrylic toppers for both A&E and Carefree awnings. The material they use is thicker and they double stitched the top and bottom and also wrapped and stitched the sides to keep the material from tearing due to wind.
I chose to buy mine from them. I shopped around and their pricing was better then all the other RV shops I check with, and the other shops were replacing the toppers with original specification toppers. The originals were not double stitched and were not doubled over and stitched on the sides. Even though the price is based on slide length both my bedroom slide and main living room slide were the same price $129 each. I too planned on doing the install myself, and when I asked what they charged I decided to let them do it and not worry about it. It was nice, they came out to my place and did the whole job in about an hour and a half.
Oh and while they were there they pulled out my main patio awning and checked it out and adjusted and tightened all the hardware. They also did the same to the window awning over the main slide windows.
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dezertcamper
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04/23/11 11:39pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Slide out awning replacements
Check these guys out SHADE PRO
I just had them replace both my slide toppers on my Fleetwood Southwind. The replacement fabric is much nicer then the original material. It is thicker and has stitched seams on the ends to prevent tearing and flapping. Shade Pro's offer both Vinyl or Acrylic fabrics and in several colors. Since mine were originally vinyl I chose vinyl again. Also they said the vinyl will not flap in the wind as much as the acrylic would.
Shade Pro's charged me the same price $129 for both the main slide and for the bedroom slide. And installation was the same price for both. I think install was around $75 each.
They are local for me, but they said close to 50% of there sales were not in San Diego. You can order online and install yourself or have a local RV shop do it for you. I was told it is a fairly easy install, but having a helper is suggested. The guy who came out and did ours, did it by himself, but he was pro.
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dezertcamper
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04/20/11 12:45pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: headlight recommendations
Convert your headlight to HID. It is easy to do and its now cheep too! Check out DDMtuning.com. They sell 2 headlight HID kits for $30 to $40 depending on if you want the Standard ballast or the slim Digital ballast. These kits are built to plug into your existing wiring harness. For a street vehicle you will want the 35W kit as the 55W is to much for highway driving. Also the DDM kits come with a lifetime warranty. BTW when choosing your bulb color you will want either 5000K or 6000K. The 5000K is a true white light, where the 6000K will give you a hint of blue. I personally prefer the 5000K. But that could be because that is what I have used for years in the race car.
We have used DDM's HID kits in everything from our cars and trucks to our off-road buggy's and UTV's. I have yet had a single issue with the kits. The toughest part is speaking with someone at DDM. They are so busy it can be hard to get through sometimes, but if you know what you need and want you can order online. DDM is in San Diego, so for me I just go directly to the shop to get my kits.
DDM also has a link to an application chart to see what bulb your vehicle will need if you dont already know what bulb fits your vehicle.
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dezertcamper
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04/14/11 12:14am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Looking to buy new mh tires. Suggestions
Buy whatever brand you want but check prices at Costco. I saved about $400 buying my tires at Costco. They had to order them but it was worth the savings.I'd check it out if I could find one! None around where I live. Think there might be one about 4 hours away. Maybe... I like Pat's post here also on Costco! Many Costcos will not install MH tires. They are not equipped to do them.
That is the biggest issue I had with buying RV tires at Costco. The actual price of the tire was better, but then I would have had to pick them up in my pick up truck and deliver them to a tire shop. Then go back home and get the RV and take it down to the tire shop. Also by the time I payed the second shop to dismount, mount and disposal I was not saving much if anything. Plus my time running around getting the tires. Also the two shops I got quotes from to mount the new tires were charging more to mount because I was not buying the tires from them.
Instead I bought my tires from TCI Tire Center Inc. Even though they are Michelin dealers the manager looked at how many miles I had on my RV tires and how old they were. He suggested another brand of tire as my tires will be out dated before I ever wear 1/2 the tread on them. He suggested GT Radial (GITI) and I was a bit skeptical. But then he pulled up their website and did comparisons vs GoodYear and Michelin. The GT was as good if not better in every category. He also pulled up to see if their were any recalls on GT's tires. Not a single one. He said to look at what tire they have on all their mobile tire service trucks. They were all GT Radials. So far I have absolutely no complaints. The GT rides as good as the OEM Michelin's and I saved hundreds of dollars.
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dezertcamper
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04/13/11 02:24pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Fleetwood vs Winnebago
Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. In our case, we are looking at a 2007 Itasca Sunova 35J (same as the Winnie) with 12,000 miles on it and a new Fleetwood, so the Itasca is actually the cheaper option. I prefer the 35J floorplan for the living space. In the 32BH the sofa and dinette are opposite each other, so there's a lot less room...BUT it has the drop-down queen bunk in the front and the second dinette with the bunks. (If you haven't seen the 32BH, here's a link:http://fleetwoodrv.com/brandtomodel/models.aspx?brand=storm). We are basically deciding between living space and extra sleeping space.
We are stationed in Washington state right now and have read some excellent reviews of the repair shop at Valley Auburn RV, so that will be where we go if we have troubles. If we buy the new Fleetwood it will be in Oregon since my husband's home of record is there and there's no sales tax. The used Itasca is in Nevada, so it will be a fly and drive deal.
We're going over to Poulsbo RV in Everett today to play with the Fleetwood - haven't been in one yet. We've been in the 35J and know it will work for us. We are a family of 5 that probably isn't finished growing and would like to be able to travel with another family, as well...which is why we were thinking that the extra queen bed would be great. BUT, if we have that many people with us we may feel claustrophobic in the living space!
Has anyone ever traveled with 10 people in either model? 4 adults, 6 kids?
Here is something to think about.
When your camping your spending a huge part of the day outside. But at night the family is in the coach and the sleeping area's are at a premium for a family. This is why I think Class C RV's are much more family oriented vs a Class A as they accommodate family's better.
I currently have a 04 Fleetwood Southwind 32V and have no real complaints (Wish the bathroom was a bit larger) If we had the opportunity to buy another coach it would be a bunk house, and if I could get the fold down bunk over the drivers area that would be a plus!
The reason I say this is, Yes the couch and kitchen table fold into beds. But until you have done this you dont realize what a PITA it can be. Your constantly removing everything off the table and finding a place to put it. (BTW the kitchen table works for kids, but that is it!) Same thing in the living area when pulling the hide a bed out of the couch. For us we have to make sure the recliner is against the other wall in order to clear the bed. The in the morning it is put all the pillows and blankets away and put the table and couch back, so you can move and live in the RV. With a bunk you can remove the pillows and leave the blankets and just lift the bed out of the way.
Or better yet use the upper bunk as storage during the day. I have kids too and they bring allot of stuff with them, and there is not always a lot of room for all their toys and treasures they cant live without.
If you think about it the drivers area is not really used in day time living. Yes you can spin the seats around and let people sit in them, but for the most part that is dead space. My daughters toys get piled up in this area!
Since you are going to look at the Fleetwood 32BH this week, pull out all the bedding as if you were preparing to go to sleep and see if it works for you. And like I mentioned think about all the stuff the family brings with them and where you will store it during the day, and especially at night when the couch and table will be used for sleeping. The when you get to see a Winnie/Itasca 35J do the same thing and compare the two.
Good luck!
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dezertcamper
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04/13/11 11:15am |
Class A Motorhomes
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