6Wheels

David, your story is interesting. Especially the part about "Sandy wanted to get a coach with a bath and half". My DW had the same request, and I was wondering Sandy's reason for this so I can compare to mine. I think it will be funny, right?

She likes to ride bicycles (electric), walk in the park, swimming, boating, fishing. Since we previously lived either on an acreage or in the coach, the only way to do these things (except bicycle and walk) was to be camping on the lake. See picture. I forgot my '77 Ford PU with camper shell. I custom built the back panel and installed a 10k BTU gas furnace. We used it for camping, skating, and snowmobiling in Illinois and Wisconsin. Now that we have lake access and the boat the camper is of less interest. Incidentally, we returned to the Smokeys last summer. I took her to a hangout from years gone by atop Balsam Mtn. where the bears and elk are known to frequent. It is dry camping, but the Arctic Fox (and the generator for coffee) did fine. She made coffee for everyone in camp that Saturday morning, and was nicknamed camp mother. Saturday night campfires up there are abundant as you can see in the picture.

Started with BSA in early '60s in Army wall tents and pup tents, as well as in '65 family bought 2 umbrella tents. We camped in these for 4 years, then Mom & Dad found a '57 Apache fold-over trailer tent. We had that until I was about 35 when Dad lost interest in camping and I inherited the trailer and tents. I used them over the years off and on until I loaned them to my younger brother. He offered to store them in his yard and I accepted. Two years later they were completely destroyed with mold. Ugh. Fast forward to 2010 when my DW got a wild hair (...) and took me to an RV dealer in NW Georgia. We bought a 2005 Tiffin Allegro 32BA and other than it was a gas coach it was perfect for us. It had a large window in the rear cap for a good view when we parked by the waters of Lake Lanier. We were blissfully satisfied. We took a trip with our Tiffin and the motorcycle trailer (5,000 lb.) to Smokey Mtn Natl Park in 2013, and on the way back I found out about how pish poor the brakes on the Workhorse chassis were. I had to stand on the brakes to keep it below runaway speeds (25). We went shopping for a DP soon after, and ended up with the current '13 Fleetwood Discovery 40G. I love this floor plan and could go on as to why, but that is for another day. After 30,000 miles, 2 full time summers, and 6 years, my business started to slow down, so I let the kids assume the Discovery and the loan. We now have a '13 Arctic Fox 22G that I fixed up, but recently moved back to the lake and are probably going to sell it. She has lost interest in camping. We are now a golf cart ride away from the tri-toon and Lake Lanier. Not a bad circumstance.

The difference in fuel cost for an 8,000 trip @ $6/gal. vs. $3/gal. is $3,450 (assumes 7 mpg) Not too bad, considering the return on investment in beauty, knowledge, and companionship. After returning on a trip like that it is likely that repairs will cost more than the total fuel bill.

A dealer once told me that every used coach no matter how nice they allow at least $10,000 for repairs. On one this old I would think twice that.

$4.999 for Marine grade gas at the dock on Lake Lanier. $4.39 at the local QwikTrip for diesel (up 50 cents from last week)

She's a beauty! How about parts and technical ability for maintenance? Scotty - I did not intentionally hijack your post - sorry. And know we are still praying for Debbie.

Wow! An '81 Newell, have never seen one that old and would be curious what it looked like. What does winter demo refer to? Love the Newells.

That's great news! And you even have a nice comfortable bed for her to ride back in. Watch out for pot holes.

That applies to trailer tires, but I bet the steer tires and at least one drive axle had newer tires.

May God's hand be on the team for your surgery, Debbie.

I ran over a steering knuckle in Kansas on I-70. The front axle cleared just fine, but when the flap hit the object, it kicked up and took a chunk out of the rear cap, and then hit the trailer I was pulling. Also bent the chrome strip across the bottom of the flap. Expensive repair. Maybe replace it with a brush style flap to keep rain from spraying other vehicles in the rain? I also see trucks with a piece of metal welded to the frame to keep the flaps from kicking up.

Paul, Any issues with sliding shelves while cornering? Does the door come open? I like that solution, maybe take it up a notch and convert some of the shelves to drawers to better hold the contents in place.

Y'all should head to the Canadian border after Florida, THAT would be an upgrade to their caravan. Hopefully that mess will be over soon.

Bob, What type of piping delivers the hot water to the toilet? There have been issues with the Upinor PEX-A (expansion) with recirculation systems.

Oh dear! One of the wheels has fallen off.

It might be a backflow preventer, in which case you would want to leave it in place. However, they can fail, so you might want to check it out.

If you have a picture of the filter housings it might elicit some helpful answers. Most coaches are equipped with standard 2.5" x 10" filters. They are available just about anywhere. This topic was covered recently here in the forum:

Here's my 2 cents. 1. Before connecting always flush the water source for at least 1 minute to get debris and stale water out of the lines in the ground. 2. Take an alcohol wipe and clean the faucet and threads of the hose connection. (What did the last person use this water source for?) 3. Connect your pressure gauge and if the reading is over 60 p.s.i. (or per your manufacturers specification) use a PRV. 4. Gradually open the valve so as not to have a rush and test for leaks. 5. Always turn the water off at the source when leaving camp. There are horror stories available to convince you of the necessity of doing this. 6. Some areas require water softeners or filtration systems, carry them with you. Suggestions for products are below. CARBO Instruments 2- 1/2" Pressure Gauge,Water Pressure Test Gauge, 3/4" Female Hose Thread, 0-200 PSI with Red Pointer $8.95 Renator RV Water Pressure Regulator Valve. Brass Lead-free Adjustable Water Pressure Reducer with Gauge for RV Camper, and Inlet Screened Filter. M11-0660R $28.00 Camco 40043 TastePure RV/Marine Water Filter with Flexible Hose Protector | Protects Against Bacteria | Reduces Bad Taste, Odors, Chlorine and Sediment in Drinking Water. Nominal 20 micron granular sediment and activated carbon filter. $18.53 Camco 40019 TastePURE XL RV/Marine Water Filter with Flexible Hose Protector | Protects Against Bacteria | Reduces Bad Taste, Odor, Chlorine and Sediment,Extra Large Filter & Hose Protector. nominal 20 micron granular sediment and activated carbon filter, extra large lasts longer. $28.84 Beech Lane External RV Dual Water Filter System, Leak-Free Brass Fittings, Mounting Bracket and Two Filters Included, Sturdy Construction is Built to Last Beech Lane filter comes with 5 micron sediment and 0.5 micron carbon block filters. Standard 2.5x10 form factor. Carbon block is much more efficient than granulated carbon. $64.99 As far as water softeners, I am not as familiar since we normally get water from the mountainous areas near us. I have used all of these products and can attest to their effectiveness. No affiliation.

As stated start with a good level floor and check for soft spots. That is the most important thing to address. After that just make sure the gasket is seated properly and hand-tighten the bolts, then just a couple more turns. After sitting on it for a couple days it will settle and you can finish tightening the bolts. If that doesn't work you have a problem with the floor. Setting toilets is not hard, the worst that can happen is cracking the base.

Our Discovery (SOB) has a stackable W/D and it is wonderful. Towels, jeans - no problem. Just like home. Sheets, even most blankets wash and dry perfectly. If I had an older coach I would give up storage for this. It's that good, especially when you are living in it full time with no home to go to. And, I hate doing laundry at the laundromat, always drama, kids running around or something. I must be an old fart fuddy-duddy but that's my opinion.

The Miller Agency - Paul C. Miller (knew him well, rest in peace Paul)

Traveling for business changes the schedule, but when loafing we try to keep it under 8 hours. Try. The trip to the FL panhandle used to be 6.5 hours in a car, now it takes 8.5 in the bus. Did a trip from Atlanta to Loveland with the load in the belly of the beast also pulling a fully loaded 7,000 trailer, back through Illinois for a visit, and then Indiana to REV, then to FCCC for service and back home. Other than the stops for service it was travelus maximus with only overnight stops. Not fun.

Van - pictures say a thousand words.

Chris, With regards to your new yacht: https://boatingfreedom.com/boats/DeFever-50 Pilothouse--6072170/pdf/