RE: Glass replacement on Rexhall
I've had two replaced by Safelite Glass Corp in Florida. They are a franchise operation I think as they also replaced a jeep windshield for me in Seattle this summer. They charged my insurance company $243 in '03, in 06 that jumped to a whopping $1,151 - for the same windshield! Windshield was $656, freight 170. Don't have any idea why the big difference. The first windshield part only cost 109. I think the first one was a goof they had to eat because of a bad estimate to the insurance company as the freight was over half the cost.
Can't find the bill, but I think the jeep windshield was about $350.
RE: FCCC Rolls Out New RV Chassis!
And everyone will just love listening to that underpowered diesel beneath their feet, as it struggles to pull the toad!
RE: USAA experience...
Also a 50+ year member. Have experience of 3 minor fender benders in that time. Each time my rates went up enough for the next 3 years that they recovered every penny paid.
On the other hand they have always been responsive, and I really carry insurance for the really bad one.
Had a MH loan with their bank in 72. It had a nasty early pay penalty clause that bit me when I did a refi a couple of years later. Stopped banking with them after that.
They are rated one of the best for insurance. Still have all my vehicles with them. You can get better rates, but not better service.
RE: RV Caravans - Any Bad Ones?
HSIKES,
We rented in Aus/NZ and South Africa. 21 ft Maui's - Class C on a Mercedes or Ford (Italian made) diesel. Real sport learning to drive on "wrong" side and shift a 6 speed with your left hand - and if you kill the engine it will only start in park!
Used ours for Copper Canyon & Canada.
RE: RV Caravans - Any Bad Ones?
Caravan pros "It's a "nn" day party with 40+ great new, and soon-to-be long time, friends - and possibly a couple of soreheads. Someone else does all the planning, arranging, and worrying. The Wagonmaster knows the "off limits places, and the best times to be there!" plus the Caravan company has the contacts for the best local commercial tours along the route. Yeah, sometimes you think something else would have been better, but at the end of a 60 day tour we sat around trying to decide what we would change about the tour and found while each of us had those "could have been better" days - they weren't the same days. Every side trip/tour was considered a great choice by a Large Majority of the tour members (of course this is one of the "cons" - you will probably find one or two days you would choose other things.) For some the greatest benefit is the "tailgunner"/maintenance problem solver. On every caravan I've been on someone's trip was salvaged - from getting a tranny replaced to driving the MH for a couple of days when both of it's occupants got a bug and were too ill to drive. In my case a spare water pump in Mexico, where your really needed your own water, was a godsend.
Caravan cons: you are on a relatively fixed schedule. If it rains and you miss doing something you can't wait for a better day. The caravan moves on. (However, on each of the 4 Caravans I've been on someone has left for a day to a week on a personal adventure and then rejoined the group.) Caravans are not non-profit. But, if you did every attraction/side trip/local tour the caravan does your savings would not be large. The rolling party (see pro's above) can be a bargain - unless you don't like that sort of thing - and I know some do not.
We have also done a May until the snow started in Alaska on our own, and would do it again.
Each of our Caravans was money well spent. Our Caravans: Australia/New Zealand, Canadian Maritimes, Copper Canyon, & South Africa. We've gone with both Fantasy and Adventure Caravans. The Wagonmaster & Tail Gunner are more important than the company.
RE: RV SunScreen
Mine aren't so Prompt. My wipers park in the center of the windshield so I have to open them, then maneuver the bus mirrow sized screen over them. The first hook invaribly drops before I get the second in place. Real PITA. My Sunguards lasted 10 years and really didn't take more effort. Before my next outing I will install a metal oval in the center of the Prompt so I can hang it on the old swivel while I get the ends hooked.
I went with the Prompt as I'm nearing the end of ladder climbing years, but they definitely aren't as simple as advertised for my windshield - bought windshield only.
RE: Satellite vs. Cable
Just bought a new 52" LCD for the stick house. Then had Comcast installed (to also get internet). The Comcast HD digital box is pure junk. Picture is better without the box, so far. Just got it today so maybe some tweeking will improve. It's a Cisco box should be better than I've seen so far.
But, the picture from HD DTV was plumb awesome!!! May have to rethink and go back to DTV.
RE: Steering issue while braking on a grade
Forgot to mention - shimmy happened before hydraulic steering dampener was installed, and also after. Couldn't tell the dampener did anything.
RE: Steering issue while braking on a grade
Suspect it's the brake fluid getting hot instead of the rotors. My 2000 F53 has always done that on long grades. I always descend in the same, or lower gear than required to climb the grade. I only use the brakes to quickly slow 10mph and then let the tranny do the braking again. The shimmy in the front end never starts until about the 4th or 5th braking event. Turning the rotors, replacing the pads, and alignments have never changed it.
My suggestion is to change the fluid to the highest temp rating you can find. I replace my brake fluid every two years. Next time I change I will be looking for high temp fluid.
RE: Moble 1 or Ford Blend
I send my Mobil 1 for analysis. Used to do it every 6-7k, now annually, which is 10-15k. Change filter at each analysis. Last time I had a recommendation to change the oil had 45k on it. Ford 2000 V-10. Amsoil dual filter system. Engine uses about a quart per 3000 miles; has always done so. Now have 115k on engine, no measurable change in performance. Gas mileage actually went up from 7.75 to 8.0 for this summers travels.
RE: solar panels and controls
My Solar Boost 2000E (now Blue Sky)started showing zero, and even negative numbers this spring. It was 10 years old; had to sent it to Blue Sky for refurbish. Part of the problem seemed to be the slide switch (probably well worn) and part internal components. Took about 10 days turnaround. $40 plus shipping. Works fine now.
RE: Infrared Temperature Gun
My F-53 is at near max weight on each corner (based on Aweigh-WE-G0) check. Tires are inflated to 5 psi above the mfgrs chart recommendations for that weight. I've been checking tire temps at most stops for over 4 years. Goodyear 670's usually ran 110-135, but on a 100 degree day the sunny side and inside duals could reach 145. A strong wind will add 10-15 degrees to the downwind side. Sun will do the same thing on the sunny side.
This summer switched to Toyo's. They run 5-10 degrees warmer.
You have to adjust for braking influence. If you've ridden the brakes hard pulling into a rest stop you'll see higher temps. Shoot at the front rotors after a steep descent and you can easily see over 350.
The IR temp won't really give you a PSI reading, or one that can be reliably extrapolated, but it will give you an early warning if one of the tires is substantially different than the rest.
And, you don't get your hands dirty doing a "touch test".
RE: ford v10 problem
I have a 2000 f53. Had a coil problem at 45k miles. Seemed like the tranny was slipping during load imposed by hills. Turned out to be 4 coils.
Recently had similar problem when starting after a stop. No power and seemed like engine was going to quit until throttle reached about 60 percent. Turned out to be a problem in the PCM ground harness. PCM thought the MH was traveling at 20mph and in 2nd gear. Most of the time I got a service engine light on that failure. Others with the grounding harness problem had stray imputs from coils and other stray electrons. Good idea to have the codes checked with a shop meter. My Scanguage II did not find them all. Don't change any sensors until the harness has been eliminated as the problem. Took me 10 days and $900 to find isolate the problem.
RE: How to get Directv Service? UPDATE
DTV has a "basic" package for about $30. It's called the family package. Unfortunately all you get are jewelry, religious, and cartoon channels - no CNN, ESPN. Nothing of interest to most RV'ers. I tried to go the cheep route with it last summer & learned the hard way. Had to upgrade. As stated earlier, with your registration and a waiver request you can get East (NY) and West (LA) network stations. You can drop them when you return to a base area, but will have to go through the registration/waiver dance by letter the next time you want them. No restore option!
RE: Had a blowout Friday, just got it fixed today. UPDATE
I've had two rolling blowouts - both on Goodyears at 5 years of age. The first was out the sidewall like the OP's. No damage, and only a 1 hour wait for repair service to change the spare, which I had (and this was on a Sunday). I also caught a bubble on a sidewall before it blew out; also a 5 year old Goodyear.
The second was through the tread which unwound with all it's little grabby steel threads and took out exhaust, generator exhaust, a couple of cross braces under the floor, a deep gouge in the sidewall of the other dual ruining it, and wrapped the exhaust around the drive shaft damaging it. Can you say $1500 blowout? And that doesn't include the towing costs covered by road service. It took 8 hours for a wrecker to arrive, from 80 miles away (I was only 40 miles from Seattle!!).
Key point #1: 5 years old Goodyears.
Key point #2: Both were inflated to 5 psi above the recommended weight for the load (each wheel was weighed separately). Neither had been damaged, nor showed any signs of cracking.
At 5 years you "takes your chances". Some go to 7, or even 10 without problem - and save money. Alternatively, couple of days ago there was a post of an accident near Jacksonville - front tire blew; lost control, couple of trees jumped in the way - that'll make $1500 look like small change!
RE: Koni shocks on Ford F53
Like Ro646a, the OP, I have a 2000 F53 with the V-10. Put new Koni's on in Feb of this year. After 10k miles my experience is like the OP's - ride is very harsh oh rough surfaces. Mine are not FSD's.
I would not install Koni's again!
RE: Question Toyo tires pricing and balancing
You'll get strong opinions, both ways, on the 5 year issue. Some folks run 'em longer without problems and believe that very safe.
FWIW, my experience was a blowout with no other damage at 5 years, 3 months of service on set one, set two a blowout at 5 years 1 month of service (5 years 3 months after build date)with damage equal to half the cost of a new set of tires. Both sets had over 50k miles and lots of tread left; no visible cracks on either set. Both were Goodyear. My new set is Toyo. No difference in ride feel. They do run a few degrees warmer than the GY 670's. They really stink, literally!
I'll never drive on a 5 year old tire again.
RE: Country Coach Debacle is not over yet
Just history repeating itself. In 1972 when gas went from 25 cents to a dollar a gallon, and even got scarce at that price RV manufacturers and Campgrounds went out of business all over the country. No different this time, except the units are 15-20 foot longer and the prices have a couple of extra "0's".
Some will become orphan junk, some collectibles, and others will re-invent themselves to satisfy the "new norm" that evolves. Having tasted this lifestyle, how many of you are ready to abandon it rather than adjust as necessary? Will none of the "baby boomer retirees (when they reorder their finances and are able to) join us down/on the road? My prediction is that in the next decade we'll see a revival that starts with smaller, high tech RV's that grow over time. Ken Burns series starring this countrys fabulous National Park treasures could well be the catalyst that begins to create action at dealerships with sustainable business models.
I drove my first RV, the newly introduced Ford Camper Special pickup, with cabover camper, off the lot 44 years ago (that pickup cost me a whopping $2,700). There was even a magazine devoted exclusively to pickup campers then. Two class A's, two class B's and a van since then, and I fully expect find someone making an RV to replace my 10 year old Class A 4-5 years down the road.
RE: 30 amp vs. 50 amp hook ups
The real problem with 30 amps has not been addressed, but one poster hinted at it. Older parks with only 30 amps usually do not have 30 amps (they were built when "big" RV's were 27 foot and only had one a/c - and there weren't many of them!). You may read 110 volts on plug in, but as soon as you induce an a/c or microwave load it will drop to 105, or less. Either the older park simply does not have enough current arriving from the transformer to give each pedistal 30 amps, or the wiring connections are burned/corroded and the resistance reduces the amps available. Some parks have both problems. On a true 30 amp circuit my EMS will run both a/c's, or 1 a/c and the microwave.
In more than one park I could only run the microwave by unhooking at the pedistal and using my batteries & inverter.
Sounds like you will be ok in the park you are going to for the weekend.
RE: temperature gauge on ford v-10 gas
Like everyone else who has posted, and every V-10 owner I've talked to in the last 10 years, my temp gauge never moves after warm. Ford made it that way to avoid all the questions they got on the old V-8's.
Something is wrong if your gauge moved: either the gauge or the engine. You should get a ScanGauge, which will not only give you a real coolant temperature reading, but also a tranny temp, and at less than a good tranny temp gauge will cost you. Best money I've spent on my MH.
