vegaman19760

I will only discuss my experiences. Dirt kills engines and especially Diesel engines because of the huge amount of air that is consumed to make power. Many types of air filters will say they improve power and that is done by improving the amount of air intake. The only way to do that is to allow larger molecules to pass through the filter. As a former auto racer in many different categories, we had to make decisions on what type of air filter we used depending on how long we needed to have the motor last. When racing on dirt we used grease on the top and bottom of the filter in an attempt to seal the fine particles out from getting into the engine. After some long races when taking the engine apart to rebuild we could see the scoring on the piston cylinder walls from dirt getting in. I

We have DISH at our home up north and use the Dish Traveler folding antenna on top of our Coach when traveling (presently wintering in Florida). Works for us

Appreciate your time and effort to resolve those issues. Thank You!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Very glad the Webmaster got things going again. Safe travels to all.

I am hoping his charging system was not set for AGM style batteries and he does not have an inverter/charging system problem. The inverter/charging system must be set up for the type of batteries involved. Changing battery types requires changing the inverter/charging system settings. Ours is a Magnum and they have a great customer service to assist anyone with their products. Hope you get it solved and let us know your solution. Safe travels to all

We have had AAA RV for many years. We get all the maps and books and use them often. In our coach we have two GPS at our use. One is built in the dash and the other Magellan RV GPS is used to compare and check other on the go routes with. We also have the Next Exit and use our cell phones for close in destinations and weather updates. Some times it is the drive and not the destination that makes the vacation. Stay safe, Stay well and Save travels Dick and Sandy near Buffalo, NY 2015 HR Ambassador 38DB 2000 Ford Explorer Toad

I apologize for the double entry.

You can complain, bitch, blame, point the finger all you want. The truth is that for the most part we are spoiled. We have the most freedoms and quality of life than most. My parents survived the depression which is nothing compared to our situation now. Most of the world is glad to be able to find fuel and pay much more that we complain about in terms of price. We have the ability to adapt, to change our habits, change our plans and still keep going. Some will suffer more than others for many reasons but most will keep doing what they wish. The older you get the more you realize that money and possessions mean less than time and activity with family and friends. I will not be the richest person buried in the cemetery and will pay the price of fuel and food because it is available. These are not the bad times. Yes we can conserve fuel and many be cut back on food consumption. But the bad times are when there is not food or products on the shelves in the stores or fuel at the pumps as is the case in other parts of the world. Life is too short. Be grateful for what you have and if you can, help others not as fortunate as you are. Stay safe, Stay well and Save travels. Dick and Sandy near Buffalo, NY 2015 HR Ambassador 38DB 2000 Ford Explorer Toad

There was no auto retract feature back in the late 1990's.. That was a rail awning that required people to set out the extended rails connected to the side of the coach. That auto retract feature came out in the early 2000's. It was supposed to be a safety feature on automatic awnings that at a certain wind speed it retracts the auto awning and when the wind dies down it would extend the awning back out. Newer styles will retract the auto awning when strut sensors feel a certain deflection. and extend back out when those deflections stop. I have seen awnings strapped down with screw in ground lugs get pulled out of the ground and tossed over the top of expensive high end coaches.. Mother nature does not care what precautions you take. Stuff happens.

Back in 2001 with our 1997 Aerbus we were in the infield of Talladega Speedway for the Fall NASCAR race. We were in the Frontrunners club in the forth turn. Went to take a nap in between practice runs on Saturday. Nice bright afternoon, no winds. Then before I could even get out of our coach when I felt it rock, a microburst hit. Took our awning right off the side of the coach and laid it on the ground. Did the same to others. Rolled over a souvenir trailer and tossed tents around like paper bags. Was covered by our insurance. We always put our main awning in at night and when ever we are away from the coach. We had smaller strap awnings installed over each window so we have those out most of the time. We have turned off the auto retract wind feature as all it does is retract and then put the awning back out time and time again in a short period of time. There is no guarantee to prevent any type of damage from many situations. A good insurance policy to cover such incidents helps. Stay safe, Satay well Dick and Sandy near Buffalo, NY 2015 HR Ambassador 38DB 2000 Ford Explorer Toad

Chuck B 2004 Windsor is totally correct about enough coverage but you can also help yourself more when submitting a claim. I will give you an example of what happened to us years ago. Back in 2001 we did not have the large property we have now to store our coach at our home. We used a local storage facility. We were getting prepared to go to Talladega, AL for a NASCAR fall race and started to purchase lots of stuff to put in our coach for that long trip. Anything we purchased for our coach we save the receipts in a separate envelope in our home. Unfortunately our coach and five others were broken into while at that storage facility. They trashed it and stole what ever they cold carry off. Lots of finger prints collected but never caught. We put a claim into our RV insurance with the police report and pictures for items that were attached and damaged or stolen, TV's, VCR, Microwave, Backup camera, shower wall, cabinets and more. That was all covered (except deductible) and repaired in time for our trip. However they also took or damaged clothes, dishes, pot and pans, bedding, anything they cold carry off or ruin. I put in a claim for those possessions with our Home Insurances and submitted the police report, pictures and a copy of all the receipts of what we had purchased that was not part of the coach. I got a check back for all those possessions in 10 days. The moral of this story is that things do and can happen. I suggest everyone keep all receipts for anything you purchase for your RV, your home and cars in separate files or envelopes. Make a video of every part of your RV and your home inside and out because it might help your insurance company respond to any claim you have. Insurance is just that, something to protect you if something happens. But you also need proof of other purchases and such to help in any loss. I hope no one has to go through what we did, but we were prepared and did not have to suffer more if unable to prove what our true losses were. Stay safe, Stay well Dick and Sandy 2000 HR Ambassador 38 DB 2000 Ford Explorer Toad

Chuck B 2004 Windsor is correct.. There are many clauses and provisions in every policy. Know your coverage. There are lots of ways to lower your premium but that will most likely lower your coverage and/or deductible. Our insurance is more than the minimum required and if totaled in the first 5 years it would have provided a new coach of one year older. If after the first 5 years (where we are now) if it is God forbit totaled, we get our full purchase price back. Is that expensive compared to others not having that provision, yes. Not all companies can provide that kind of coverage and can usually only be done for new purchases. If I change companies I will loose that coverage if totaled. That is the coverage we wanted and our premiums reflect that coverage. Your RV coverage is limited to what is part of the RV only. It does not cover your clothes or dishes or anything that is not presently attached to your RV. New additions such as more awnings, satellite antenna, etc would be covered. But everything else from your sewer hoses, water hoses and anything not presently bolted down is not covered in your RV. That is why people who are full timers must get a different type of policy to cover their possessions. If not a full timer, your home insurance can be used to cover your possessions in your RV depending on your home insurance coverage. That home coverage not only goes for what is in your RV but also what is in you cars. and is in effect for any issue not just in a totaled vehicle. Do not be afraid to talk to your agent and ask questions about your coverage and make the changes you feel necessary and can afford. Not everyone can afford the coverage we have so I don't tell people what to get. I will make suggestions and provide information but we all need to know what coverage we have to be sure it is what we want and need. Stay well, Stay safe Dick and Sandy near Buffalo, NY 2015 HR Ambassador 38DB 2000 Ford Explorer Toad

Maybe this is not well known, but you can not compare insurance premiums from one state to another. It is based on your primary residence. Even one community to another can have a different premium for the same coverage from the same company. Your only recourse is to check many insurance companies who can write an insurance policy in your state. That does not mean only companies in your state. There may be insurance companies outside of Florida that can write insurance policies for residents of Florida. We live in NY State. Years ago I had a Progressive insurer in Ohio (that was able to write a NY State policy) give me a lower premium than my Progressive insurer right down the street from us. The reason is that each insurer has an overhead tied into their premiums. You can only insure with companies that can write insurance for residents in your individual state but that may not be confined to companies outside your state. I am only familiar with companies that can insure residents of NY State. We have a Department called New York State Finance Services that regulates and determines what insurance companies can sell insurance of any kind to the residence of NY State. I can go on their web site and f9nd an alphabetical list of every company allowed to sell insurance. That Department also accepts claims if I have a problem with my instance company but that is another discussion. No matter what state you are in only certain companies are allowed to sell insurance in your state and comparing premiums from other states or even other communities in your state is comparing apples to oranges. You have to do some homework. In your case get whatever insurance you can just to make sure you do not have a laps in coverage. Than you can do a lot of homework to check around to see if another company can do better, maybe much better maybe not. If you find someone that can do better, have them take over and drop your present insurer. I suggest that before people move their residency not just from one state to another but even from one community to another to first check with your insurance company about your home, car and RV insurance to see what changes may be involved. Your credit report also makes a difference on your premium and that too is another discussion. Good luck. Stay safe, Stay well Dick and Sandy near Buffalo, NY 2015 HR Ambassador 38DB @000 Ford Toad

Each of us have our own comfort level on when to drive, how long to drive and what roads to drive on.. I will only tell you our experiences. Depending on our destination, I will not hesitate to drive 500 miles on the interstate during daylight hours. I love driving our DP because it drives as the saying goes "like a Cadillac." In 2009, from late June into early September, we did a 12, 806 mile round trip to Alaska and back. We drove out coach on one stretch between Rapid City, SD to a place in Wyoming for an overnight stay before crossing into Canada. That was over 800 miles. We left just before the Sun came up and got there just as the Sun was coming down. As part of our Alaska adventure we drove the "Top of the World Highway" from Dawson City, Yukon Territory Canada to Tok, Alaska, about 90 miles. It is far from a highway, dirt and gravel about the width of a two car driveway, no shoulder to speak of, 11 degree inclines and declines, hair pin turns, sheer drop offs, no guard rails, about 3 foot from the side of the road to the tree line so you can not see any animals crossing until they are right in front of you. We took our time and it took a full 9 hours to make that 90 some mile drive and we had no issues with broken windshields or anything. But those that were in a hurry did have problems. People with trailers passing us going too fast for the conditions broke springs, flat tires, broken frames. Motor homes had issues when driving to fast when encountering frost heaves. If you do not drive according to the conditions and in your comfort level, it is not a matter if problems will happen but when problems will happen. So you can get advise from others as to what they or what we did. The bottom line is to do what is comfortable for you. The more experience you have, the more miles you put on may change they way you drive. Stay well, Satay safe and Happy New Year to All

Thanks for sharing. We have a license plate that says "THIS RV IS PAID FOR BY OUR CHILDREN FROM THE MONEY THE WILL NOT INHERIT". Life is to short, enjoy to the fullest, be safe, be well and Happy Holidays to All

Frank McElroy... That is a great system you have for your home. Back in 2006, a week after returning from a 3 month motor home tour of the Maritime States, We had what is known in these parts as the October Storm of 2006. The trees still had all their leaves and we got hit with snow and then a 1/2 inch ice storm and the trees could not hold all that weight and the sound of them cracking and falling sounded like a howitzer firing rounds. Of course that took down power and phone and cable TV lines. Well our power poles are in our back yards, not on the street. So we were the last to get power restored after 13 days because everything had to be done by hand. The power pole in my back yard was broken in half with the transformer buried into the ground.. So knowing we travel a lot and were Snow Birds back then, we got a hole house generator system. Unfortunately it only lasted 5 years and they could not get any parts to fix it so I put in an insurance claim and the insurance company paid most of the cost of replacing it with a larger 10 KW whole house system. I have thought about getting a UPS set up but have yet to follow through. Just my story. Works for us. Stay safe, Stay well and Happy Holidays to all.

Depending on what coach you have and what electronic devices you have in your coach, there are electronic devices such as flat screen TV's and other devices that you may thing you have turned off but are not. Many electric devices, especially in newer coaches when turned off still draw current, although minor, unless completely unplugged from their power source. Those are called "parasitic current draws". Any kind of battery memory and other devices will do the same. When boon docking, all our TV's and associated amplifiers and satellite receivers are plugged into power strips so they can be completely isolated from any power source and will not draw power when not needed. So just turning off TV's and the lights will not stop parasitic draws. I switched from typical acid type batteries to all AGM. My inverter could work with AGM batteries and they hold their charge longer and no topping off because they are called "maintenance free". All batteries require some kind of maintenance but not having to worry about battery acid works for us. Stay safe, Stay well and Happy Holidays.

Chuck B 2004...... Your thoughts on the effects of the Exxon oil spill in Alaska of "not finding any evidence of that spill today" in your opinion are not correct. You can refer to the article below and maybe try to reflect on the lives of all the thousands of people that lost their jobs and their possessions to the impact of the closed fishing industries involved. https://e360.yale.edu/features/twenty_years_later_impacts__of_the_exxon_valdez_linger Stay safe, Satay well

The front steer hubcaps can have different configurations on different makes and models. Not only the diameter but even more important the number of tabs and the position of the tabs that hold the cap on. Take the front cap off that you still have and take it to any large truck shop or dealer like Freightliner (just an example). Then they can match it up. The new cap may not have the logo on it for your coach but you will have a cap that fits. You may or may not have noticed (maybe you will now) that many large trucks are missing their front steer hubcaps. At first you may think that wow these guys are going over some pretty bad roads and loosing those hubcaps. But you won't find them on the side of the road and it's not from metal pickers on the highway. It's because they also have hub oil in their front axles just like our coaches have and with the cap off they can easily check the fluid level with a quick walk around at every stop (or when they choose) to make sure what the fluid level is and that the seal has not or is not failing with the number of miles they put on. So the next time you are on the highway and can safely check out the front axle of the truck that is passing you or you passing it. take a quick look to see if it has a front hubcap or not. Checking the level of the front axle fluid on our coaches is one of the many maintenance procedures we are supposed to do. Some people do, some don't but those that make a living driving over the roads do and taking that hubcap off time and time again gets old so they just take them off and make their job easier. Stay safe, Stay well

Glad you figured out it was the ice maker line. A few years ago our ice maker stopped making ice. I know how to take the cover off the ice maker and using a paper clip as a shorting device I put the ice maker through its full cycle. I heard water but it was not going into the ice maker. Long story short we had to remove the fridge out of its cabinet and out onto the floor so we could get to the back of the fridge. A lot of work and a real pain in the you know what. Upon inspection of the back of the fridge, the plastic water line had disconnected from the 90 degree fitting at the top of the fridge going into the ice maker. So when ever it tried to fill water to the ice maker it was just sent up a stream into the air and onto the floor behind the fridge. I reconnected the plastic line to the 90 degree fitting with a small radiator screw clamp and taped the remainder of that plastic line all the way down to the water relay at the back of the fridge to keep it from vibrating. Then we had to wrestle the fridge back into place and secure it back into its cabinet. Hope I don't have to go through that again. Only other problem we have had with our residential fridge is I had to replace the fan at the back of the freezer compartment that moved the cold air into the freezer compartment and down into the fridge. But that was easy working on that compared to removing and reinstalling the fridge from its cabinet. Stay well, Stay safe and HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all

Back in 2006 we had just returned from a tour of the eastern maritime states. A few days later we had what is known in these parts as the October storm of 2006. It was a wet snow and then ice storm when the trees still had all their leaves on and thousands lost power when the branches and trees came crashing down. We were without commercial power for 18 days. I knew I was going to use our coach generator to power things in our home so the first thing I did was disconnect the two hot and one ground wire coming into the house to our electrical box that came from our outside meter. There was no way I could get electrocuted or shocked because the transformer attached to the pole for our house was broken in half and laying in our back yard as the pole came down when large branches pulled the lines down. That way my home was totally isolated from any outside power source. I then used many extension cords connected to our coach generator to power the fridge, freezer, the furnace and satellite tv system and some lights in our home. It was just luck that we were home when the storm hit. When power was restored in our area the power company was happy at how I had isolated our home from the power grid and gladly reconnected the wires back to my service panel. Since we are Snow Birds and travel south for up to 5 months at a time, we purchased a 10 KW full home backup generator for the house and we sleep better any time we travel on short or long trips knowing our back up generator is guarding our home power needs when we are away. Stay safe, Stay well

Not everyone has the same inverter/charging system. Some inverter/charging systems are much different than others and require them to be on to perform certain duties. If my inverter is off, as the batteries drain they will not be charged up at the correct discharge point. That is one of the functions of my inverter system so it is left on to cycle the battery charge and discharge cycles that keep our batteries from freezing . Otherwise I would have to remove the house and chassis batteries from my coach to keep them from freezing. I'm sure there are other ways to keep batteries from freezing but that is how I do it. Stay well, Stay safe

Over many years I have heard many stories of those who took chances with freezing temperatures and lost. Mother Nature has no idea and does not care what your situation is . Blowing out the water lines in a trailer or an older smaller 5th wheel works fine. But in the newer larger 5th wheels and large motorhomes you take a chance because not all the water lines are level and there is no absolute assurance that you have blown out all the water in the system. And most of those water lines were installed way before much of the walls and appliances and features were installed. That makes the majority of the water lines unseen and much harder to get to for repairs. I can only speak for myself. Because I have a hot water heater, I by pass it, drain it and flush it out. Then I take the time to purchase enough RV antifreeze (if I need more) to winterize my coach. With the shower, a bath and a half of two sinks and two toilets, the double kitchen sinks, a stacked washer/dryer, an ice maker in the residential fridge and the outdoor shower hoses, there are too many places for water to stay inside that hundreds of feet of pex and other types of water lines and drains. It takes more than a few gallons but I sleep better at night knowing I will not have to deal with broken water piping or fittings and such. ALSO, RV Antifreeze is reusable. You do not have to toss it out and can put it back into the jugs you used to winterize in the first place. For me our rigs are way to expensive to play games with Mother Nature. Just my way, works for me. Stay safe and Stay well

AGM batteries (with low to no maintenance) is the way we went. We chose Interstate as my dealer removed the old wet acid type and replaced the new AGM batteries at no charge. 3 year warranty. Stay safe, Stay well

Subscribe (free) to RVTRAVEL.COM which has lots of different subject columns for all RVers. This piece of humor was from that daily newsletter. The original person posting (in my opinion) should have listed its source. Stay safe, Stay well