throgmartin

I just got back from a Tiffin rally with the Tiffin factory team and the Lazy Days staff. Lazy days, for the month of January reportedly sold 900 New/Used RV units. This number included all of their dealerships in the USA. I know Lazy Days will do 20-30 RV deliveries daily at their Tampa dealership alone. They have a huge footprint in the RV world.

I know how hard it has been for Dav e to put on these Gatherings since the passing of Bill & Fred. He has been left with the task of handling this event on his own. Scotty and I have helped him the last 2 years but our contribution has been small compared to the work load Dave has. I attend many rally's every year put on by numerous associations and group/owner organizations. They require a great deal of work and along with the planning and organizing comes the task of getting the word out so the participation and attendance leads to success. I can remember one member tried doing a west/central Gathering and instead of the 50 - 100 coaches he thought would come only 14 signed up. Also finding a venue can be difficult. Not only do you need 50 - 60 spaces but the campground has to have a nice facility to hold dinners and seminars in. They also have to have all of the audio/visual equipment. The building also needs to be 100 % dedicated to the rally for the days we are there. In other words it cannot be used for any other purpose during the day or night. Many campgrounds wont do that. In regards to seminar topics I believe changing things up helps as long as the seminars are interesting and helpful to the coach owners. I routinely conduct up to 9 different seminars every year on different subjects. Some are Monaco/HR brand specific while others are not. I conduct seminars at Newmar, Tiffin and FMCA events and cover topics that are either brand specific or generic. I always research the makeup of the coach model years that will be in attendance 2 days prior to the rally so my seminars are more specific for the age group of the coaches. I am sure the Cummins Rep could have changed his if he knew there were very few newer model year coaches in attendance. Overall I like the gathering. It is small which makes it more intimate, you get to know everyone and as a matter of fact I have made some life long friends by attending the gathering. I am sure with the feedback here Dave will go back, make some changes and make the 2021 Gathering even better. My hats off to Dave for offering this event to us members every year. It is a time consuming affair with a lot of different pieces iof the puzzle that all has to come together at once.

If the TSD staff is on here I want to personally thank them for extending their savings plan from Truckers and fleet operators to us individual RV owners. I always smile after pumping fuel knowing I just saved money. My only complaint is actually with myself. Why didn't I think of this idea and start a new company. :)

Steve: I just had a meeting yesterday over this delay, ( not a pleasant one either ). They got delayed because of the sight glasses. I only use fused glass 316 sight glasses and the glass manufacturer back ordered them. I refuse to go with a cheaper version of a sight glass so it held up our manufacturing. They will be done in 2 weeks. I do not want a repeat of this scenario so told my staff to double the production. I apologize for this ship date getting pushed out. No one is more frustrated then me. Right now our economy is on fire and in the manufacturing sector high quality materials can be in short supply. They better be done in 2 weeks or heads will roll.

Bob: Yes manufacturer our own. Being an OCD guy who drives himself nuts I elected to build ours out of 304 stainless. Overkill ? Maybe. But with an aviation background and the guys who worked on the project with me are all aerospace engineers, I wanted something that we know would never fail for the life of the coach. I could have built them out of aluminum or metal and boosted my margins but elected to go with Stainless. Metal rusts and aluminum is not nearly as strong as stainless. Like I said I am OCD and like to overbuild everything. 🙂 http://talinman.com/talin-vector-coolant-surge-tank/

I was just wondering how many of you will be attending the Tampa Supershow ? For those who have never attended it is one massive show. We will have our Stone Vos booth in the main building this year. Our booth number is B-124. For those of you attending here is the link with an interactive map. https://www.frvta.org/show/florida-rv-supershow/ Hope to see many of you there. Be sure you stop by and say hello.

Scotty: My method for battery terminals that are corroded I steal some of Ingrids baking soda, mix it with a little water and pour it on the terminals. Then I hose it off. I then use what Chuck said NCP-2 battery terminal spray. For grounds I will clen the area and contacts with a wire brush and use the NCP 2 on them. On other electrical connections I clean them and then spray them with Boeshield T-9. It is an awesome lubricant but also seals electrical connections. Boeing Corp found all kinds iof uses for it on airplanes.

Mitchell: You can contact Amy at Talin RV at 352-942-2653. Talin is located 50 miles North of Tampa and does a lot of work on Monaco member coaches. Priced very fair and the tech, Dustin, knows Monaco coaches very well. In regards to power steering pump they can diagnose the leak. The best place to have that repaired is in Orlando at Josams. They are a chassis shop that specializes in Roadmaster chassis'.

Jerry, the D-42 is a twin diesel. Cruises at 175 at 60 % power. Ceiling of 18,000 ft. It climbs out at around 1,500 fpm. It is a very docile aircraft and handles real well. The hardest part for me was learning the avionics. It is more advanced then some airliners. I admit the work load was busy in the cockpit. I am going to log more time next year in it. I had no problem adjusting to the stick controls as I have flown other stick aircraft. I am too old to build time so I just log hours in unusual aircraft ( Tiger Moths, etc. ). 2020 will bring more variety as I am going to log some time in a T-6 Texan and I have some sim time scheduled in a 737 NG. Next on the list will be a WACO and more time in the D-42. In other words, I will fly anything with wings and an engine. I fly for the fun, excitement and freedom of the skies. I must be doing something right up there as I haven't killed myself yet. 🙂

Mike: That is hilarious. Ingrid and the kids said they would approve my retirement under one condition..... No More Businesses. 🙂 We shall see. 🙂

I wanted to post this since the pres srelease came out today. More importantly I wanted everyone to know I am not going anywhere. I will continue to participate in this forum, take phone calls and answer e-mails from members who have questions. It just may take a little longer for me to respond. I also will continue to attend rally's. I have been working towards this goal and I am not getting any younger so with the staff we have now the Getting was Good to fly the coop. I just wanted to dispel any rumors that I was packing up and heading off into the wild blue yonder never to be heard from again. God Bless & Merry Christmas everyone 🙂 Press Release: https://rv-pro.com/news/throgmartin-holdings-president-retire-jan-1?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20191223 RVP ENEWS (1)&utm_content=&spMailingID=22624233&spUserID=NjE3MjYxMTUxOTYzS0&spJobID=1641601232&spReportId=MTY0MTYwMTIzMgS2

Once you get one or two bad batteries wired in a series the good batteries start doing more of the work. So essentially you run off 2 batteries instead of 4. Reach into that big 401 K of yours and head to Sam's and grab those AGM's while they are on sale. If the wife gets mad blame it on Bill Groves. He has broad shoulders and will take the heat for you. My last battery purchase I blamed Bill. Actually any electrical purchase I make I blame him. Your current batteries are on their way out. You already know never replace a bank of batteries one or two at a time. Get after that Sam's sales now while the getting's good. Don't forget to change your converter setting to AGM's. 🙂

Joel, I cannot speak for anyone but myself. My travels are uniquely different as I tow an enclosed show trailer. I am 70 ft long and there is no way I can skip into a regular gas station to fill up. I have to use a truck stop and even then I have to use the truckers fuel islands. In regards to knowing what the discount is before hand ? No. You will never know till after you pump your fuel and check your account. I have heard of discounts of up to 50 cents. Most seem to be in the 30-40 cent range. Despite our fuel being tied back to our companies in regards to tax write off's I still appreciate the discounts. While it may be a $ 20 per fill up savings that all add's up over the course of a year and a heavy travel schedule.

Just wanted to say thank you to Scotty and several others here who mentioned the TDS Logistics fuel card. Ingrid created a separate corporate checking account that ties back to this card. We keep high balances in all of our corporate accounts for payroll and other daily expenditures and did not want this card tied to one of those accounts in the event the card was ever compromised. I used the card at 2 Loves fuel stops last week and it worked like a charm. No need to pre pay and the transaction was smooth right at the pump. What I really liked was the discounts - 38 cents / gal for one fuel stop and 35 cents on the other. If anyone is interested here is the link. I highly recommend getting this card. It will save you money and pretty much painless in getting your account setup. https://www.tsdlogistics.com/services/fuel-program/ Thank's again everyone,

I just wanted to say congratulations to Dave Pratt on the new forum. This is a move I have wanted to see happen for a couple years now and to see it come to fruition is awesome. First let me say thank you to all the moderators and forum owners for all of their work and dedication for making this transition. But most importantly I have to say thank you to Scotty Hutto who poured his heart, soul and massive amounts of time downloading, uploading and capturing data. I watched from behind the scenes as Scotty dedicated weeks on end making this new forum happen. Lastly, I want to personally thank one individual who made all of this possible. I know he is reading this and will continue to watch over this forum from afar. He has demanded that he remain anonymous and Dave and the entire moderating staff have agreed to his requirement. When Yahoo decided to pull the plug on groups I requested his help and support and this person stepped up in a huge way and funded this entire forum. It would have been an expensive venture for the Monaco group and without him this new forum would not have been possible. I thank this individual from the bottom of my heart for hearing my plea, stepping forward and waving his magic wand to make things happen in cyberspace. He is a remarkable individual and has been a big Monaco supporter for many years. Once again, Thank you Dave, Scotty and the rest of the Mod gang and congratulations for making this all happen. I hope all of the members here enjoy this new home. I know I will.