TomV48

We have traveled the I-40 along the "Mother Road" California to NW Arkansas many times, 6 times in just the last 12 months. Although we are dry camp ready, the heat has caused us to seek many hookups this last trip. Twin Arrows Casino East of Flagstaff is an easy stop, 460 miles from home. It's free, quiet and almost always cool enough to dry camp. In Gallup, New Mexico our go to is always the USA RV Park. Well equipped, office open late, full hookups 60-90 ft level gravel pull throughs. Usually four sewer openings along the length of the site make it quick and easy to dump. Used to cost us just over $30 but like all things, more lately. I think last week was $39. If we elect to stay in Albuquerque it is usually the Enchanted Trails RV park on the West side of town. It is easy to spot on the North frontage, because there is a giant Camping World next door with their giant flag. We normally stay there between $30 and $40 and they have never failed to accommodate us for an overnighter. Watch out for the rates going way up during the first full week of October when the famous Albuquerque International Balloon Festival is in progress, but, hey even though the rates nearly double, they've even managed to accommodate us then, when the whole town is sold out. Amarillo offers the Texas visitor Center near the east side of town when it is cool enough to stay off hookups, parking is free and there are adequate RV spaces for our rig, 52 feet +/-, while still hooked up. When hookups are required as was the case with our last trip,. The famous Big Texan Steakhouse has a companion business, The Big Texan RV Ranch which has beautiful, huge, full hookup gravel pull throughs and is also available at a reasonable price. We discovered the Territory Route 66 RV Park in Hinton Oklahoma, West of OKC, just off the freeway a couple miles on old Route 66. With Passport America we paid $20 (half off full price) but the web said normal discounts would put it under $30. Amazing 100 ft pull through right off the Road in to our space. Quiet, farm land all around us. In Weatherford Oklahoma we have stayed for free on the airport property in the parking lot at the General Thomas Stafford air museum. It is worth staying long enough to see. It is supposedly harvest host but I don't think they really care. Four bus/RV spots. If you need hookups in Weatherford the parks are not inexpensive but they are beautiful. We've stayed south of the highway on the Airport, off ramp at a fabulous Park. But then I expect fabulous for $60. On the other side of the city, Shawnee Oklahoma has the Shawnee RV Park where we can always catch a very quiet full hook-up pull through for $25 plus tax. You just call a little bit ahead give him a credit card number and he'll give you a site number. Great place to stay. Those are just our highlights and favorite places. The I - Exit App is definitely your friend when traveling the interstates of the USA. And as always Google maps lets you search for RV spots along any stretch of highway that you choose bring up on the screen.

I concur. The X braces from WattsMonaco all but completely stopped my tail wag. I put the watts on the front which ties down sway, but now think I want the X on the front too.

Well the install of front watts bar and rear cross braces on my 2005 rr8r chassis was like night and day. Used to sweat bullets with trucks passing on I-10. The trip from so cal to Phoenix nearly took the life out of me. Now I'm fine with 400 Miles of interstate in a day. Last 4500 Mile trip was no sweat. (Oh except where the lanes were ten foot or less with k rails on both sides. That scares the hell out of me)

I use 30 amp resettable dc circuit breaker on 6 100 watt Renogy panels. I run two in series three times which hits about 40 v then parallel the three pairs so peak is normally 5-7 amps X three. Normally 25-35 amps to the batteries. Optomisticly I breaker the battery feed at 60 amps but it's a dream. Carry a spare 40 amp circuit breaker in case I am ever lucky enough to start producing more than 30 amp from the panels. Still looking for a day that perfect.

I understand the issue to be that your alternator MAY not be able the handle the load of charging LiFePo. Internal resistance of LiFePo is nearly non existent. It will take, in most cases, all your alternator can deliver, and then some. BattleBorn advocates a form of isolator BIM that only allows the load on your alternator about 50% to protect it from the possible overdemand by the batteries

Yikes. Now you have given me a complex. I see that I have a lot of cleaning to do As soon as this heat breaks. Thanks for re calibrating my standards of clean.

Bob. Looks nice and clean now!😁

That is my problem. Finding a competent alignment shop to handle rr8r chassis alignment in my area of southern California. Any one find a place that had success within 50 or even 100 miles of Ontario, California?

Mike, Is that in a slide? Ours looks just like that but in the curb side slide next to our stationary frig with hose and wire conduits sweeping in and out, under the frig. Wondering IF I HAD ONE, how it would ride in the slide. I'm ready for it wife is not.

I too love this site since getting on here this year, but when we sold our old rig, a bumper pull toy hauler, RV trader got us not one call but two days on Facebook Market Place and it was SOLD.

Mike, Really amazing and helpful posts. Beautiful job on every bit of it. Thank you for sharing. And thank you for speaking to me yesterday about the chassis upgrades. This week brainstorming on the Frig upgrade or NOT to upgrade. Doggone frig you got is great but of course wife wants the Black one which seems to be back ordered until November 14th.

Thanks to those who responded. Just a new owner unfamiliarity. My gas gauge showed / 1/3 of what he supposedly a hundred gallon tank. Turns out it took 70 gallons to top it off and after some struggling to get fuel flowing again that solved the problem. Thanks again for the help right to the point and spot on.

Thanks that was my first thought. Gauge says above 1/4 but below 1/2 SO Taking it out for fuel later today. I have only put couple thousand miles on this since got it just before Pandemic so not sure how to rate fuel gauge accuracy YET. Under 400 miles on this tank of 100 gallons, so far but who knows! Thanks KEEP THOSE SUGGESTIONS COMING, I'm afraid of this becoming a late "Night before trip"!

Okay getting ready for a road trip went out this morning started the generator no problem it ran for about 1 minute sputtered and quit. Now I'm getting a 3 blink error code and all the tells me about that error code is service generator. Any quick ideas what's going wrong? It is a 2005 HR Ambassador if that adds anything.

I helped on one install, Thor gasser, that went down through the top of the right rear cap and down to a low point of the rear bay, which in his case is an outdoor kitchen, forward to the next bay where batteries are and bolted the 60 amp charge controller to upper part of the bay. Then short run to batteries below it. So far, so good and his went on six or so months age with no problem yet. He's camped next to me at the beach this week and his 8 100 watt panels and six GC2 batteries seem to be supporting his coach and Whirlpool res frig pretty well; overcast mornings and all. BTW, 4 ga seems a bit hefty. Run your panels at least pairs in series to a junction and it would take a big bunch of solar to need 4 ga down from the junction box. I have three pairs of 100 watt panels, to a 6 ga welding wire ( Windy Nation through Amazon ) and only justify that big wire "in case" I decide to add 2 or 4 more panels later.

I hired it done as my knees are not up to kneeling any more. Same coach and same reason. I was about to install 6 -- 100 watt panels and wanted to never have to remove them for roof work Lots of work to peel off the old decaying tape. Found a guy in So-Calif who does only roof work. He washed/scrub -brushed the old tape, and scrubbed the whole roof well, after scuffing and brushing the old tape and sealed areas. Then wiped with solvent. He masked off the areas to be sealed and then used a two part Rubber that was toxic enough that it is not available in California. He wore a Serious looking Respirator despite being 12 feet up in a good breeze. Painted on a heavy layer in all sealed areas. Let it partial cure then pulled the masking so it would not become permanent. Says the Rubber is warranted for 10 years. But who knows. I have a picture of the can somewhere. Claimed the stuff cost him $135 a gal and he had to go out of California to buy it. Looks great feels great. Only time will tell. 600 watts of solar works like a charm

New Tom here, I was able to buy a replacement for mine by asking auto parts clerk for a window motor for 1995 F150 (looks like might be same for all F Pick ups for about 10 years) left and right are different so she brought be both to choose from. The mount points on the UP SIDE were too tall, by 1/4 inch. They were plastic to two seconds with a grinder and bingo. $32 Chinese motor replacement. Lots of plastic but hey now I know $32 bucks anywhere I travel is cheap. Only thing wrong was the inner plastic hex interface to drive the outer Metal gear was stripped. Could fix with a 1/16 inch drill and piece of 1/16th diameter nail or wire so I kept the old one for future parts