RE: DIY MH paint job?
For a new painter, I would also recommend an HVLP(high volume, low pressure) spray gun/rig. They allow you to float on a lot more paint with a lot less over spray.
Some of the pinholes in your paint, are called "fish eyes" and are caused by contaminants on the surface. Any silicone from lubricants, waxes, etc, can ruin a paint job, which is why you must you the proper paint prep to clean the surface BEFORE you do any sanding. Then they have a fish eye reducer that you should add to the paint to minimize them showing up on the surface.
RE: Replacement Dual Pane Window for 2004 Tiffin Phaeton
Since it was in a door I assume that it was safety glass and shattered completely when it broke. ANY glass shop should be able to measure and make you a new panel and install it. Dual pane windows are in houses all over the country and people do not take their stick houses down to Suncoast Designers for repair when a window is broken.
RE: DIY MH paint job?
This is not a job for beginners you will have thousands of dollars in paint and materials for a job done correctly You also will need a pressure fed paint application so you can mix and spray several gallons of paint. Enclosed building what type of ventallation will you use? The devil is in the details and doing this alone you will have weeks of prep work, masking,sanding and primeing. Then everything has to be perfectly clean dry and tacked I was in the auto body biz for years and would not tackle it.
And that is why you do it in sections so that you do not need to mix and spray gallons of paint and have weeks of prep work at one time. RV's have many places where you can have a paint break, both vertically and horizontally. Painting one section at a time will still allow you to use your coach between painting periods and also allow you to purchase exactly how much paint you need, as you need it.
RE: Class A in this campground is to big with toad...
A campground, generally, is private property, and the owners or their agents have every right to make certain requests of their customers. They've seen it all, believe me, and their job isn't to intuit what a great driver you are, it is to protect their property and that of their clients.
I think Huffmeister's reply above says it all about their responsibility to protect your RV:
I went to a campground in Rapid City some years back. The check-in guy said he would go back and guide us in. I told him my wife was more than capable of directing me. He said he was required to do the guiding to make certain there would be no problems.
So, I followed his 'precise' directions and even after pointing out where a potential problem existed, he told me he had been doing this for a long time and had never had a problem.
So, to make a long story short, his 'directions' led me to a place where a post (marker) scraped the side of my rig to the tune of ~$3-5000. When I asked for their insurance info, I was told it was my responsibility.
RE: DIY MH paint job?
Your motorhome is stored in an enclosed building. I see your first problem being ventilation, the other being cleanliness of the air. The paint is not something you want to be inhaling, and any dust will ruin your job immediately. Doing it outside is just asking for trouble, for the same reason - one gust of wind and you're screwed by any dust kicked up.
I have no experience painting, except some work I did in a motorcycle detailing and customizing class I took in college. One minor flaw will stick out like an obvious sore thumb once the paint is on and make you wish you had paid a pro to do it in the first place. There is a lot of work involved to have something go wrong and have to re-do it. If it were me, even having one of the best painters in Ottawa having showed me the ropes, I'd fork over the $ to him to make sure it's done right in the first place.
A little dust blown into the paint, or a bug, even if you use urethane paint, can be easily wet sanded once the paint has cured in a few weeks. Most shops wet sand their paint jobs anyway to remove any flaws and to give the "mirror like" shine that people like. Trust me, mirror like finishes do not magically come out of a spray gun. They are usually the result of after painting sanding and polishing.
RE: Cleaning Fiberglass Roof
One of the car wash solutions, like Blue Coral or Turtle wash, that include wax, works great for washing the roof and the sides of an RV.
RE: Class A in this campground is to big with toad...
Well, I can see with all the negative criticism that most of you don't have a clue to the point of my OP.
The ONLY thing that is accomplished by detaching the Toad is that I can back up if I need to; if there is not a perfect line that can be taken that allows for only forward motion (like a 3-point turn).
In my opinion, and it is obvious that not many (if any) will agree, that being able to drive the route without backing demonstrates better driver skill then someone who doesn't understand the angles and HAS to back up because they did not get it right.
I think that the only thing that you demonstrated was a blatant disregard for advice give from a more knowledgeable person at the CG - a 'I know better' and 'I am better than you' attitude that is far too prevalent in today's society.
And then you come on the Forum to brag about it with no comprehension for what you actually achieved.
Sad.
There is NOT ONE person at any RV park that knows my rig, or my driving abilities, more than me. Listening to someone at an RV park is a good way to waste your time and possibly get into more trouble because they DO NOT know your rig at all. If you depend on the advice of a total stranger when it comes to driving your own rig, then perhaps it is time to park it.
Sad when a driver of a large RV doesn't have confidence in his own driving skills.
RE: Class A in this campground is to big with toad...
Ok congradultaions on learning to drive your rig in tight places.
Now to play devils advocate, what if the perfect line you attempted turned out to be not so perfect and you are now forced to unhook your toad while half-in you site and in a bind. You will in most cases now be blocking the campground road for several minutes or more while others are trying to use that same road, that's a good way to endear yourself to your fellow campers.
I bring up this point because twice I have been blocked by people who "just missed" that perfect line and spent many minutes, one was 20, trying to get un-hooked and out of the way.
Usually pays to think more about what happens if a plan goes wrong than right
Yes, paranoid thinking is always the way to enjoy your trips. There are a million things that can go wrong with any trip and you cannot avoid all of them. The OP did the RIGHT thing, considering his coach and his driving ability. To speculate on a bunch of "the sky is falling" scenarios is just ridiculous. The fact that someone was blocked in by a driver that did not know what he was doing has absolutely no bearing on drivers that DO know what they are doing. I have seen RV owners get stuck in fueling stations where hundreds of other RV owners go into every day without a problem. Some people just can't drive their rigs, period. The only way to avoid bad drivers is to stay home. The OP knew what he had to do and did it, end of story.
RE: Vin and Serial number versus title
Thanks for the replies so far, the chassis is a 2004 F53, the MH is what is called 2005.
2004 Chassis sold as a 2006 coach would raise a red flag to me. 2005 would be OK, but a 2006, especially since HR says it is a 2005, makes me think either an innocent or intentional mistake was made.
RE: Class A in this campground is to big with toad...
Congratulations on NOT driving beyond your abilities. Most people on this forum only put a few thousand miles on their coaches and do not like to take any chances whatsoever. There are many that will not drive over certain bridges, will not go through certain tunnels, and will not drive through certain big cities, because of traffic.
You obviously know your abilities, and your coach's maneuverability enough to know when you can and cannot fit into a place. The PROOF is in the outcome, not a bunch of opinions. For that you are to be commended. The more I travel around the country, the more people that I see that have no idea how to maneuver their coaches around in tight quarters. I am sure that the park owner was making his recommendations based on SOME of the RV owners that he has seen come in to his park, that do not know how to drive their rig with any confidence.
RE: WATER DAMAGE????????
Electrical problems today, and in the future, from corroded connections, are the biggest problems that come with ALL water damaged vehicles. Most competent mechanics, and DIY's, can deal with mechanical problems and wet floors/walls, but electrical problems, especially badly corroded connection problems, can cause intermittent electrical gremlins to show up in various electrical circuits as well as engine and transmission control boxes. Repairing these issues can be very expensive and very frustrating for the usual mechanic and the hourly labor rate can quickly make that bargain purchase in to a black hole that may never be free of problems.
RE: DIY MH paint job?
Floor polish? That is a new one on me. I have waxed and buffed it but never ever thought about using floor polish on it.
It is recommended regularly on this forum to use some floor polish from Home Depot to put a shine back on an RV. Zep and some other wet look floor polish brands has been used by several posters. It may work fine for them but I would never even attempt to paint a coach where it has been used.
RE: DIY MH paint job?
Good info. I have not painted auto but have done cabinet work using lacquer. Much wet sanding. Anyway the quote I go locally was in the $10.ooo range for a 34 foot motorhome. I believe the hardest part would be getting all the decals off the thing. I will be doing more research on this as I do not want it to end up looking worse then it does now.
Just remember to do all of your cleanup of contaminants on the existing paint BEFORE you start sanding. You have to be sure that you get rid of all silicones, or other things, that will make the paint bubble or fish-eye. If you do not remove those contaminants first, sanding can drive them into the crevices where they can ruin the finished product. They make special paint prep liquids to do the job. If the coach was ever coated with floor polish, I would pass on ever trying to paint the coach.
RE: DIY MH paint job?
Painting a MH is easier than painting most cars and certainly easier than painting an airplane. You are dealing with large flat surfaces rather than a bunch of curves, hood, trunk, roof, etc.
At the factory there will be several painters on a coach to keep the paint flowing and the surfaces wet. When painting something that big, you need to break it into sections that you can handle by yourself. With most coaches, there are seams, or other breaks, that will allow you to mask off one area at a time for you to paint. It is not that difficult as long as you do not try to tackle more than what you can handle alone. A moveable scaffold helps to give you access to the upper sides. As far as vehicle painting goes, MH's are easier than a lot of other vehicles. One other thing to consider is that when you break the coach into sections, it allows you to buy paint as you need it and not "guess" at how much total paint you will need.
Be sure to closely monitor the temperature and humidity and mix your paint accordingly.
RE: Trouble Free Motorhome Owner?
My trips have been pretty much trouble free for many many years. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I do not wait for something to break before I do any maintenance. I lube the entire chassis, and check everything out underneath, every 3000 miles. I check my tire pressure before hitting the road every morning. At each stop during the day, I use my IR gun to check tire temps to see if I have a problem starting. I change belts, filters, tires, and hoses on a regular basis. I travel with an OBII scan gauge connected all of the time and monitor various engine components to identify a problem before it gets serious. I check my roof for potential leaks every few months.
I have no idea how many problems I have prevented by doing routine maintenance but I will continue with my way of servicing my coach. I find it much easier to take care of things on my schedule than to deal with them on the side of the road. .
RE: WATER DAMAGE????????
The water level may have only been up to the first step, but if there was any wave action, the water could have penetrated areas a few feet higher. If it was salt water, PASS.
RE: Pulling my hair out talking to India!!!!!!!
You will have an "output" on your DVD player. Just find a compatible "input" on the TV. A problem may come up if your output on your DVD player is an HDMI output and your TVis an older model that does not have an HDMI input. If it is coax to coax, it is a simple connection to make.
RE: Beware of Flying J
Quite a few gas stations are posting "Cash" prices on their main signs. Naturally the "Cash" is in small letters. It pays to be vigilant today about the cost of everything.
RE: Water leak from area behind Frig
The water line to the ice maker is notorious for leaking. We really had no need for the ice maker so I removed it from the freezer, and closed off the water line. This gave us more room in the freezer, which we did need, and took care of any future water leaking problems.
