RE: Question for people running 19.5 tires.
I also purchased a set of Vision wheels out of CA. They are aluminum and rated at 5000#.
I picked up a set of Michelin XZE 245/70R19.5 LRF at Costco in Scottsdale and they mounted and balanced for me. I have about 20k miles on now and smooth as can be.
Maxed out at 95 psi they are rated at 4080# and at 80 psi rated at 3640#
RE: Seneca inverter outlets
WOW, you guys are good, really didn't think anyone else would be having this goofy problem.
The gen. start-up works just fine, then I shut everything down and tried to start it and kicked the inverter. Tomorrow I'll get in there and reset the inverter and try the "start the inverter and then plug in the TV" method.
Thank you very much.
Rich
RE: Seneca inverter outlets
Thank you for all the quick replies.
The TV is a Toshiba 27DF46 and it lists the power consumption as 140w, it does not give a start-up power. Both my inverters have an 800w surge.
I tried unpluging everything but the TV and with full batteries and still no luck.
At least I am now quite sure I only have one outlet on the inverter. I'll get into it further after this trip.
Thank you all again.
Rich
Seneca inverter outlets
I have an 07 Seneca 35GS, bought it used from a dealer long gone. Only have about five trips on it and hardly ever use the TV.
I am on a two week trip now on the Parker Strip in AZ with water hookup only. I thought I would watch a movie on the inverter but found that the front TV which is a replacement keeps kicking the inverted. I tried a little portable 400W inverter and kicked it also. TV works fine on the gen.
That's the history, my question is what outlets are on the inverter or should be on the inverter?? I have only found the outlet for the front TV to be on the inverter. Does this sound normal?? I would think at least one or two other outlets would be hot for charging cells and comps.
What is your experience??
Rich
RE: Driving in Mountains
If you do have to pull over to let people pass or stop to cool down or anytime you pull over after going up a long grade, do not shut your engine off. Let it idle until it cools down. If you shut it off while the temp is up it will boil over.
_________________________
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain and dodge the lightning"
I am a High Country Renegade.
Rich & Kathy (in the Creek)
RE: Need advice on Phx, AZ area RV garages
Thank you all for your response.
___________
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain and dodge the lightning"
I am a High Country Renegade.
Rich & Kathy (in the Creek)
Need advice on Phx, AZ area RV garages
We just got home from a three week 5000 mile trip and the motorhome
could use some general service, oil change, grease, and generator maint.
I could do these things myself but not in 113 degree heat. Please post
up any shops in the Phx. area you would recommend or not recommend for
this as it is my first service on the Seneca since buying it used.
___________
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain and dodge the lightning"
I am a High Country Renegade.
Rich & Kathy (in the Creek)
RE: Big Brown Jug's First Cross Country Voyage
Great post.
I think you should keep the trailer in storage until I get to AZ next March. I will take it off you hands. This will keep you from being stopped again for inspections. Please fix the taillight first. :B
The taillight problem was on the RV, trailer was great.
Stop in and say hello whenever you are in AZ, we always welcome visitors.
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain and dodge the lightning"
I am a High Country Renegade.
Rich & Kathy (in the Creek)
RE: Big Brown Jug's First Cross Country Voyage
We spent the night in Nebraska, the next morning I noticed some shifting of the curbs since the troopers cut the bands. We stopped at Walmart to buy more straps and got hit with a thunderstorm that sent shopping carts flying across the parking lot. The motorhome in front of us got hit with five of them, we took two hits on the trailer with no damage. Put two straps on and headed for Colorado.
We were taking a short cut off 80 to bypass Denver and stop at Colorado Springs. I think it was 71 and just outside of Last Chance pulling a slight grade we lost power and the engine light came on. At the top of the hill I saw a spot to get to the side of the road and stopped. I knew I should have bought a fuel filter but planned on general maintenance at home in AZ. I thought of trying to limp into the next town but as far as we could see with binocs there wasn't another place to pull off. This was a two lane country road but with many semis using it so I called Coach Net.
I had purchased Coach Net two days before the trip and printed out their receipt with phone number. I got their premium package for three years at $368.
Waiting for a tow.
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2998-1.jpg
This is cattle country so they had to come and check us out. I thought it was interesting at first but they brought their flies with them.
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM3009-1.jpg
Don't know what the cattle wanted but after about 20 min they left.
The people at Coach Net were great, this was my first time at this so I had no idea what to expect. With one or two bars phone service was bad inside the coach and outside with wind, trucks and dropped signals, it was hard to communicate, to say nothing of the fly problem.
We broke down at 1:30, called Coach Net at 1:47 and after several calls from Coach Net a tow truck showed up at 5:40 out of Parker. A young guy of 30, clean, well spoken, polite and he knew what he was doing had us hooked up and the drive shaft removed in about 40 min.
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM3010-1.jpg
We were towed a total of 125 miles to Henderson and dropped at a GM truck service center at 9 PM. The ride was not all that comfortable with three in the front of the tow truck. The service center was closed and we spent the night at their entrance waiting for them to open at 7 AM. We were supposed to go to the tow company impound lot and call Coach Net for a motel and rental car but chose to stay with the coach and the driver agreed to drop us at GM. Coach Net called us during the tow to check on us and again the next day.
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM3017-1.jpg
The GM store was great and had us on the road at 8:30 AM. This included a detailed lesson from the mechanic on how to install a fuel filter. They let me watch the install and it was hands on to disconnect the water sensor, clean everything and bleed the filter.
I purchased an extra fuel filter and the total bill at GM was $109. The tow bill was $750 paid by Coach Net and we gave the tow driver $60 for him and his wife to have dinner on us. She called him a couple times during the tow for an update.
I am happy with the service we received from everyone and will recommend Coach Net. Considering where we were the time line was not unreasonable.
_________________________
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain and dodge the lightning"
I am a High Country Renegade. Rich & Kathy (in the Creek)
RE: Big Brown Jug's First Cross Country Voyage
Well we are safely home in Arizona but getting here was an adventure. Our first problem was in Iowa.
Five Iowa state troopers, two with K-9 sniffer dogs, one sheriff and a total of five patrol cars.
We were delayed almost 1 1/2 hours because one trooper was certain we were transporting drugs hidden in the concrete curbs on our aluminum trailer.
This is what I was bringing back from Napannee, Indiana, a 16' aluminum car hauler with 5200# axles, brakes on all four and weight of 1500#
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2960-1.jpg
A lot of the roads across the country are bad so I wanted to put some bales of hay on the trailer for ballast to hold it down traveling mostly at 70 to 75 mph. My brother-in-law suggested I might get stopped for suspicion of transporting weed and he knew where I could get conc. curbs cheap and use them at our house in Overgaard. We put 2000# of curbs on the trailer and it pulled and tracked perfectly and stayed on the ground. Mileage only suffered a little. We did get 9.9mpg in Illinois where speed limit for RVs is 55. This is the only state I saw a limit for RVs.
I saw the patrol car at my corner but he dropped back and I thought he took the exit so I passed a semi at 75 and in a few seconds the trooper pulled up beside me and turned on his lights. I stopped on the side of interstate 80, he came to the pass side and asked for lic, regis, and trailer regis. He said he stopped me for a brake light out on the coach and that I drifted off the road for a few seconds. He asked me to come back to the patrol car and stopped to look at the trailer, asked all kinds of questions about it and wanted to know why I had the curbs on it, where I got them, where I got the trailer and to see the receipt which I didn't have. We got in the patrol car and while he ran all my info he asked about the trailer again, I asked him why all the questions about the curbs and he said he thought I might be transporting drugs in the curbs and didn't buy my story about weight for the trailer. He then called a K-9 sniffer unit to sniff the trailer. The dog went wild sniffing the trailer, finally stuck his head under one of the pallets and then sat down, a signal that he detected something. That was it, back on the radio and soon more units showed up and they cut the bands on one pallet and started turning over the curbs and inspecting them and asked me the same questions again, just trying to aggravate me or catch me with a different answer. Then they went to the motorhome and questioned my wife and got the same story.
Each time someone new showed up they had to inspect the curbs all over again. Everybody was especially interested in one curb and not close to the one that the dog indicated. I told the trooper if he was so concerned about that curb just take it off and break it up with a hammer, they were seconds and only cost me $5 ea. but they refused to do that. Finally the trooper called for another K-9 sniffer to sniff the trailer again. This dog did not indicate he found anything so they were talking to the sheriff about taking us somewhere five miles away but finally decided to give me a fix it order for the tail light and let us go.
So whenever you travel Iowa, try not to look suspicious !!!!!!!!!!
__________________
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain and dodge the lightning"
I am a High Country Renegade. Rich & Kathy (in the Creek)
RE: Big Brown Jug's First Cross Country Voyage
7-13-09
Tomorrow we head West on our way back to Arizona, can't wait to get back to the 115 degree days, had enough of this sunny 70s and low 80s with a slight breeze weather in Indiana.
Jayco got some good marks and some not so good. We got a new fridge door for $90, no charge to install it, had to take at least 5 min. The door is the same as the old one. Was told there was a directive on the exhaust hangers but had expired a year ago. Jayco would repair as goodwill for no charge, great but they put the exact same type hangers on the exhaust that failed within a couple years.
They put some extra staples in the fascia over the dinette which was coming down for $18. My rear cap bracket was hanging down so they removed, straightened and replaced for $27. They said they spent a few hours trying to find out why the reverse lights were coming on with the headlight switch and traced it to the GM harness so they could not fix it and referred me to GM. Did not charge for this but charged $27 to disconnect the reverse lights.
The balance for parts and labor was a total of $184.00, not bad and we were on our way by 3PM after our tour. Their labor rate is $90/hr.
Today we went to ATC in Nappanee to pick up our all aluminum open car hauler trailer that we had them build. It is 16' in length and weighs in at 1548# with two 5200# axles and brakes on all four. We loaded it with 2000# of concrete curbs for ballast and will use them at our house in the mountains. I'll post pics and report on how the Seneca pulls it after we try it tomorrow.
For anyone who owns a Jayco product and ever travels near Middlebury, IN I would suggest you stop in, check out their new products, take either the motorized tour or the non-motorized one, and stop at their gift store. It doesn't have much in product but has a lot of history of the family and the Jayco business. All told it was a very interesting visit and the countryside and Amish shops and restaurants are fantastic.
Thank you
Rich and Kathy
RE: Big Brown Jug's First Cross Country Voyage
Back on the road and headed for Goshen, IN we made Chillicothe, OH the first day and decided to stay at the Fairgrounds. $20 a night for elect and water and a dump station.
1100 camp sites and it was just us
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2894-2.jpg width=500
The bolt I put in the tailpipe hanger held up but the metal part broke so same result, tailpipe hanging low. I wired it up with four coat hangers.
275 miles to go and getting around Dayton was some very rough construction so the fridge door decided to fall off again, I see my JB weld did not fill the voids on the glued hinge.
Spent the night in Goshen at our destination, relatives side lot, and headed to Jayco for a 6:30 appt. I went over all my problems with the service mgr. We left and returned at 11:30 for a tour of the motorized plant and the new Embark. This was by appointment only and we brought another couple with us. The people at Jayco could not have been nicer. We got the complete tour, took our time, asked all the questions we could think of and they let us climb all over the units that were being built as they were working on them, even talked a little with some Amish workers. I couldn't believe they let us take pictures and get inside an Embark while they were working on it but nobody seemed to mind. The Embark is one beautiful coach with some great features.
Here are a few pics of assembly and some finished units:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2909-1.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2911-1.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2912-1.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2917-1.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2918-1.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2923-1.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2925-1.jpg
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2927-1.jpg
All the pics of the tour can be seen here:
http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/
Thank you
Rich & Kathy
mod ed: fixed one picture size, made link clickable
RE: Looking for boondocking suggestions US35 in Ohio
We decided to stay at the Fair Grounds at Chillicothe. They have eleven hundred spaces and we were the only ones there! Twenty dollars for the night with electric and water hook ups, with a dump station.
Ross County Fairgrounds at US 35 and State 104.
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2894-1.jpg
Rich and Kathy
RE: Big Brown Jug's First Cross Country Voyage
Rich,
You got good info on the leveling jacks, topping up the tank fixed ours too.
The fridge door hinge is also a common problem, happened to our friends fridge also. He fixed it with JB Weld similar to what you did and it is holding up well, perhaps better than a replacement hinge unless Norcold has an improved design.
Paul
I'm thinking once you glue it back on and fill in the hollow spots with JB Weld it has to be stronger than the original. We will see how it holds up on the trip to Indiana and what Jayco has to say about it.
Thank you
Rich
RE: Big Brown Jug's First Cross Country Voyage
On the Kodiak Chassis Class C forum. I have seen this problem mentioned a few times. Most common fix is topping off the jack reservoir right to neck with Automatic Transmission Fluid. My tank has the type of oil required printed on side of tank.
We have a travel blog to post our travel log in. It is linked in my profile. Seems to be the most common way to post travels.
Thank you for that info, I belong to that group also. I searched it and also found that fix which I will try before we leave on the next leg of our trip. I never thought of overfilling it and just checked that it was full.
Thank you
Rich
RE: Big Brown Jug's First Cross Country Voyage
I see that the pictures posted by my wife have been resized and I received a PM asking that we post smaller pictures and also tie in our posts to the Class C forum and not just a trip review. I have not posted much to the RV Net forum even though I have been a member for several years so I guess I need to re-read the rules. I'm not sure why the pics have to be so small on this forum, none of the others I belong to have this small a requirement. I thought I saw them resized to 620x480 but today I see they are even smaller. I will upload future pics to my photobucket in a smaller size and if it still creates a problem I can just discontinue posting them.
So here is my update on the Seneca for the first leg of our trip. We only checked the mileage once and it was 7.45, not good but there are several reasons for this. My lead foot, as I like to cruise along at 70 to 73 and if I need 75 or more to get by a truck quicker I have no problem with that. I don't like being alongside a semi any longer than necessary to pass. With just under 13k miles the engine is not broke in yet. I also carry probably too much stuff in the MH when I travel but I like being prepared. At this point I don't care to change my driving habits.
So far only minor problems with the Seneca on this trip. I had one latch on a storage door that would not catch and needed adjustment. Several screws have fallen out on the inside, most of which we were able to find and reinstall. A couple of the light covers fell off and cracked so all were taped with clear tape. The rear AC interior frame was hanging down from a bolt that fell out, should have put thread locker on it but forgot, I'm sure I will get another chance.
We did run into one problem I would like feedback on. When going over consistently rough roads, not just a couple of filled potholes but roads that have that crack every section and rattle everything for miles, our leveling jacks alarm goes off and all the lights on it start blinking. After pushing the off button a couple times it stops. This happened a few times in 2136 miles but the first time is scary, your first thought is that the jacks are coming down.
Another check of our fuel mileage for 450 miles netted 8.52, not great but better even at 70 to 73 mph although there were some sections I had to keep it down to 65.
We arrived in Nashville, NC around noon on July 1st and set up at my daughter's place on one acre, so lots of space. Their shed has a 30 amp outlet and we hooked up to the house water. The AC is a must with these temps and humidity and the Seneca heats up fast with three slides.
Last night as DW opened the fridge the door fell off, she caught it before it hit the floor to save everything in it. My daughter had an empty fridge in the shed so everything went in it and I started repairs. Twin tube epoxy glue to attach the broken hinge, then lay the door on the floor and fill in the hollow spaces in the back of the hinge with JB Weld. Let set overnight and install this AM. So far it looks good but we will travel with nothing in the door until we can get a new door or hinge from Norcold.
The next leg of the trip will be to Goshen, Indiana leaving Nashville on the 7th. We will pick up an aluminum car hauler trailer that ATC is building for us and hope to stop at Jayco while we are there to go over some of our minor problems. I'll let you know how we are treated.
Just a few pics:
Coming out of Indian Springs
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2873-1.jpg
Only a couple of turkeys living here now
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2872-1.jpg
Our camp for six days
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2875-1.jpg
Hooked up to the shed
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2874-1.jpg
Hope everyone has a safe and happy July 4th holiday, will see you on the road July 7th for the next leg of our trip.
Rich & Kathy
RE: Big Brown Jug's First Cross Country Voyage
Big Brown Jug’s First Cross Country Voyage - Day Four
Tuesday morning was beautiful as DW walked around the camp at Natchez, wanting to stay a few more days. This was not to be, DH has a destination.
We drove around the park to the lodge, boat ramp and and trailer parking area. Driving the eleven miles out of the park to I-40, we saw two deer and lots of vine vegetation. The vines seem to be taking over the forest.
We did check our mileage, in response to a question, it was 7.45. Not as good as we would like, but the diesel engine has only 13,000 and DH feels we will get better mileage when we hit 20,000.
Driving on the freeway, it was over three hours before we saw more than one motor home. Very sparse recreational travel out there. Semi travel is heavy. Tennessee has some interesting state parks, Toad Suck and Frozen Head to name a few. They are very well marked on the highway with their amenities included on the signs, with plenty of notice when the exit is approaching. We drove with no problems through Nashville and Knoxville and enjoyed the scenery at the Great Smoky Mountains. The Seneca had no trouble going up through the mountains.
Having left the well-signed freeway in Tennessee, we were surprised by the no-sign freeway in North Carolina. Ready to stop for the night, we assumed that we would be able to find a state park easily. This was not the case. With our experience of the travel centers being closed in Tennessee over the weekend and Monday, we were fairly confident to find them open on Tuesday in North Carolina. We were wrong, North Carolina has chosen Tuesday to be closed. (We certainly can't complain, since we found out this morning that Arizona has closed almost all of its State Parks). We exited at Morganton, with no luck, even on the computer and Good Sam. We drove into town, asked questions and got no answers. Back to the internet, we found James Lake. Luckily we found on the website that there are walk-in campsites only and that it is quite a drive.
A Google search found us a great spot in Hickory. Set back in the forest, we spent the night at Indian Springs. A small, beautiful camp with one pull through available. The couple running the camp ground are very nice and keep a well kept, enjoyable camp. Too bad we could not enjoy the catch and release pond or a hike on the river, but we did get a chance to walk around the property before dark.
I will leave you with a few pictures.
DW = Kathy
The vines at Natchez
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2853.jpg width=480
Catch and release at Indian Spring
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2860.jpg width=480
Into the Smokeys
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2859.jpg width=480
Too late for a hike on the river
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2863.jpg width=480
RE: Big Brown Jug's First Cross Country Voyage
Big Brown Jug’s First Cross Country Voyage - Day Three
We left the Firelake Casino on Monday morning and traffic was light on I-40. Before we left, we dumped the motor home in their free dump station, filled up the tank with cheap gas (no sales tax) and received a three cent discount for DW’s player’s card. On the way out the door, they told DH to help himself to a free soda and coffee for me. What a great time we had at Firelake, too bad it was only one night.
We shook, rattled and rolled our way out of Oklahoma. Arkansas was better, but not great. Again, we both noticed how few motor homes and trailers are on the road.
DH wanted to drive to the other side of Memphis before we stopped for the night. Our “Free Campgrounds” book was for the Western states, so Tennessee was not included. We looked through our tour books and couldn’t locate anything suitable. We stopped at a station that advertised travel information, but they did not have any maps or camping information. We then stopped at the first Travel Center we found, it was closed. It does not open on Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Guess everyone traveling on the weekends and Monday know where they are going in Tennessee. The next rest stop had travel information, but they were out of camp guides and the attendant was not leaving the phone in his office to go get any.
DW pulled out the computer and had internet access as we drove towards Jackson. She located the best camp spot ever! Natchez Trace State Resort Park is located at exit 116 in Tennessee. Covering 15,000 acres, it is wooded and the roads are paved. We are camped tonight on one of the three lakes. This is a true find. The next time we are bringing our boat. The site has full hook ups and costs $25 per night. Things happen for a reason. All the aggregation to find this place was well worth it.
DW plans on a later start tomorrow, can’t waste this lake and the scenery. Then we will be finishing off Tennessee and on to North Carolina.
Here are a few pictures - DW = Kathy
The Casino camp spot in Shawnee Oklahoma
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2832.jpg width=480
Memphis skyline on the way in
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2836.jpg width=480
Camp spot at Natchez Trace State Park
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2841.jpg width=480
The lake at Natchez
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w186/katvans/Big%20Brown%20Jug%20X%20country/HPIM2844.jpg width=480
mod edit: reduced picture size to width=480
