RE: Transmission lines keep "blowing"
Then, when you come BACK down to reality, and realize your choices are $1000 for a lube pump to allow an existing (paid for) vehicle you already own to be flat towed, or spend 20 times that or go in debt for a new vehicle that is flat towable without modification.....Suddenly that lube pump, driveshaft disconnect or whatever seems like a very good alternative.
If nothing else, it provides a solution you can use until you'd be purchasing a new vehicle, anyway, at which time you can get one that doesnt require such.
Amen to that!!
That nails it on the head for most the Ford Escape owners who have blown trannys following Ford's instructions only to find out "it ain't so". The hit I would have taken to sell or trade our (paid for) Escape Limited would have been financially foolish, especially considering the additional cost of the baseplate, standalone brake/taillight wiring and semi-permanent braking system.
RE: Transmission lines keep "blowing"
BJean,
Based on what Remco told me when we installed a pump several years ago, I wouldn't think so.
For our Ford Escape, I was told we still had to lower the trans. fluid level as per Ford's instructions for recreational flat towing (strictly a Ford thing) because the Remco pump is not as robust as the when the engine is running in terms of circulating the fluid.
Call Remco and see if Drew Cohoon (800-228-2481) is still there. He was very helpful resolving a few issues we had in the beginning.
RE: E450 Lube-Oil-Filter Notes
j-d,
If you would like to make it even easier, replace the oil pan drain plug with a Fumoto valve. I installed one during my first oil change and it is wonderful - our 2010 model V-10 uses the F106 valve and it was $28.00 and change before tax (Oklahoma City metro area). Oil changes are now about as easy as it gets!!
RE: Weighing an RV in the Oklahoma City area
We live in far west OKC and I use the TA at I-40 and Council - south side of I-40. Go south on Council past the service rd that is on the south side of the Interstate - the next street that runs back to the west will get you to the scales - they are on the north side of the street, can't miss them. Then follow the instructions glennts posted above.
The Flying J at I-40 and Morgan also has scales.
Both of these locations will get you individual axle weights, but they don't have the room to run one side of the motorhome off the scales in order to weigh each corner individually.
I last weighed mine about 1 1/2 years ago and I believe TA charged me $9.00 - As I recall, you can weigh it several times within a 24 hr period for either no or very little additional cost.
RE: Glad I had a C
I am retired law enforcement and have had my RV's in off site storage facilities for 10 years now. I have seen every conceivable way in - including some pretty creative methods (roof entry through skylights).
Just two months ago, 9-10 units in our facility got hit - they got into several Class A's and Fivers - they gave up on my Class C and caused relatively minimal damage. Several of the $250,000+ A's sustained thousands of dollars of damage.
Bottom line is if someone wants in your RV it doesn't make a hill of beans difference whether it is a Class A, Class C, Fiver, Trailer or pup tent for that matter.
RE: Tank Heaters Pointless?
Posted: 11/08/12 05:41pm Link | Quote | Edit | Print | Notify Moderator
Greetings,
Our Winnie has all of the cold weather options that were factory available in 2010. That said, here's the problem:
We have water lines that run through the galley cabinet, the bathroom cabinet, under the floor across the hallway to under the shower pan, to under the bedroom vanity and under the closet - (just under the closet drawers) to the water heater.
Every single one of these locations - even though they are inside the motorhome, get well below freezing - I know this because we got caught for five days in a surprise snow storm and the temps did not make it out of the low 20's. - we rushed to winterize and lived out of water jugs - I put thermometers in those locations out of curiosity. These areas are closed off to any air circulation - even with the cabinet doors opened, the temps in those compartments remained well below 32 degrees for days. The park rangers came around and turned on all of the water faucets (full hookup Texas state park) and most of those still froze solid - (we have some cool pics!). (This was in an area of Texas that sees freezing temps for that long of a stretch once every 100 years or so!!)
As a result, I just this past weekend wired every single one of those areas with sockets for light bulbs. Granted, we need shore power for this to work, but at least if we get stuck again, we can leave the water system "wet" and functional in a pinch. We seldom dry camp, so we would likely be in a location with electricity (or would have to run the Onan).
Food for thought......
RE: 2013 Escape Flat Tow
I purchased the pump from Remco for $995.00 through a local RV-Truck accessory dealer. They installed it for $450.00.
We blew a tranny with around 4800 towing miles in March of 2011. Ford replaced the transmission, but would not help me financially with the pump - I bit the bullet and footed the full cost myself. In August (travel hiatus due to car accident), I had the pump installed. We now have just over 7,000 towing miles on the Remco pump without any problems.
Ours is a 2010 model - flat towing was approved at that time. They rescinded flat towing on the Escape during the 2012 model year around Feb. 2012 - models produced after a certain date around that time frame were no longer approved for flat towing and would not be covered under warranty if problems arose from flat towing.
RE: Multi-Megapixels
I shoot using the highest possible resolution, 14 bit lossless compressed RAW format (36mp). This provides a native print size (at 300 dpi) of 16.4 x 24.5 inches with my camera. It results in a photo with the maximum possible detail as well as flexibility. Is it overkill? Perhaps. As others have stated - it depends on what your goal is.
There are real, tangible differences in the capabilities (and cost) between current generation full-frame sensor and crop sensor dSLR cameras and, of course, point and shoot's. (Discussion which is way beyond the scope of this forum).
What forum is this? An RV forum - compare a $30,000 trailer to a $300,000 Class A. There will be differences - is the Class A worth ten times more - to some it would be, others not so much. Cameras aren't any different.
Swing by sometime and I'll show you the 2 foot x 10 foot panorama of a 210 degree sweep of the Grand Canyon . . . that required stitching together 21 separate exposures on that 21 megapixel camera.
That must be gorgeous! I just started shooting with a D800 and am absolutely blown away at what it is capable of doing. We are heading to the Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce area (for the first time) this coming year and I am excited at the photo opportunities. (I don't think I will be attempting a 21 shot pano though!!) I usually average 2-3k shots during a typical trip and end up with about 40% of those as actual keepers. I can't even begin to imagine the possibilities out in that area.
RE: iPad - print to .pdf app
Thanks for the replies,
I've looked at "PDF Printer", but it is involved (too many steps) all things considered (read on). Plus, the steps are different depending on what you are trying to convert. I would like something that shows up as a (virtual) "printer".
In order for my wife to be able to use it, it really needs to be as easy as the OS X functionality, i.e. "File - Print - PDF" and give it a name!! It may be that it just isn't possible to be that easy from an iOS device.
The number of .pdf apps that are available is mind boggling - I don't think I have enough hours left to sift through all of them!!
iPad - print to .pdf app
Hi all,
I am a Mac user and use the OS print to .pdf functionality extensively to file everything electronically. Does anyone have a favorite "print to .pdf" app that they use? Preferably, as quick and easy as the Mac OS functionality.
I have perused the iTunes store and might be missing the obvious - all I want is to print to .pdf instead of a physical printer. Why on earth Apple does not include this in the iOS is beyond comprehension.
Thanks in advance.
RE: Ford Escape Report
Anyone with an Escape built before 2-27-12 should contact Ford regarding installing the Remco pump as yours will be covered and warranted. It will prevent you from having to lower the transmission fluid (which actually worried me anyway)
Actually, Remco also requires the transmission fluid to be lowered as per Ford's TSB. I have a post in a previous thread that explains why.
We now have 6300 towing miles with the Remco pump after blowing our first tranny at 4800 towing miles in March 2011. Ford would not pay for mine at the time, so I ate the cost myself to have it installed.
RE: So Long DISH DNS (Distant Network Services)
The problem with OTA is that many federal campgrounds and state parks are far enough out that OTA reception with the new ATSC system is a no-go. We only get OTA about 30% of the time we are out and usually that is only one network station and several PBS repeater stations at best. Frustrating to say the least.
I enjoy getting the local network affiliates particularly for weather - and we find it interesting to see what's going on somewhere other than home!
RE: Winter and New to US RV
Greetings,
Our Winnie has all of the cold weather options that were factory available in 2010. That said, here's the problem:
We have water lines that run through the galley cabinet, the bathroom cabinet, under the floor across the hallway to under the shower pan, to under the bedroom vanity and under the closet - (just under the closet drawers) to the water heater.
Every single one of these locations - even though they are inside the motorhome, get well below freezing - I know this because we got caught for five days in a surprise snow storm and the temps did not make it out of the low 20's. - we rushed to winterize and lived out of water jugs - I put thermometers in those locations out of curiosity. These areas are closed off to any air circulation - even with the cabinet doors opened, the temps in those compartments remained well below 32 degrees for days. The park rangers came around and turned on all of the water faucets (full hookup Texas state park) and most of those still froze solid - (we have some cool pics!). (This was in an area of Texas that sees freezing temps for that long of a stretch once every 100 years or so!!)
As a result, I just this past weekend wired every single one of those areas with sockets for light bulbs. Granted, we need shore power for this to work, but at least if we get stuck again, we can leave the water system "wet" and functional in a pinch. We seldom dry camp, so we would likely be in a location with electricity (or would have to run the Onan).
Food for thought......
RE: Verizon new plan - droid & pda net- question
Be sure to run the numbers carefully before making any changes. We have two smartphones and three basic phones on an unlimited data family plan.
The smartphones never see more than 4 gb combined. Do we need unlimited data? No, however; if my son upgrades his iPhone at the "discounted" price, we will be forced to change to the new shared data plan. Going with the 4 gb plan will cost us 25.4 % more each month - essentially, we are getting less service for quite a bit more money. It would be cheaper in the long run for him to pay full price for the phone and hang onto the existing plan. Needless to say, I am rather disappointed in Verizon at the moment.
The new plan really does not offer much incentive - they jacked up the basic service cost - our three basic phones combined would go from $30.00 to $90.00 a month, while the smartphones will basically stay about the same, but with data capped. I'm fine with a shared, tiered data setup, but not one that is going to cost me that much more for nothing in return.
RE: Good Sam ESP/Roadside
Hi all,
We have "AAA Plus", their middle tier service which includes RV's. We have never used them for the RV, but many times for the cars (especially when the kiddo was a "new" driver), and have always had excellent service. They do have mileage limits for towing - I don't think Good Sam does.
We do make extensive use of our benefits for discounts, paper maps (I carry a set that includes all 48 lower states and part of Canada everywhere we go) that are updated regularly, smaller road atlases, tour and camp books and, they just partnered with Woodall's and now provide the Woodall's directory broken down into Regional guides at no additional cost.
I've thought about checking into Good Sam's service, as we are also GS club members, but we have been with AAA for 30 years and have been happy.
RE: Atwood water heater issue
As an fyi,
If it has ever been filled with water, it will not be empty. The Atwood heaters are designed so they will not drain completely, so if they do accidentally get turned on, the water heater will not incur damage. The water remaining after the heater is drained can also freeze without damaging the water heater.
RE: L.P. TANK EXPIRED ?
My 20 lb. cylinder for the gas grill is stamped: WC 47.6. The WC is the cylinder's water capacity in lbs.
To calculate the amount of liquid propane it will hold (legally) is as follows:
=WC x .8 x .509
The .8 = filling the tank to only 80% as per fed regulation
.509 is the specific gravity of liquid propane (basically, it is half the weight of water).
We then have 47.6 x .8 x .509 = 19.38 lbs. of propane.
1 gal of propane = 4.24 lbs.
BTW, the removable containers on travel trailers and fifth wheels are "cylinders" and a 20 lb cylinder holds roughly 20 lbs, at 80% of it's total capacity, a 30 lb cylinder holds 30 lbs., etc.
A mounted motorhome container is a "tank" and it's capacity does not account for the 80% - if your tank capacity is listed as 76 lbs, then you really only (legally) have 60.8 lbs of usable propane when properly filled.
