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RE: Engine size?
As others have said at least less than 100lbs per HP and less is always better. Also include the toad weight and consider were you plan on using your MH. IMO 100lbs per HP is barely adequate; I run at close to 37k and pull a 4900lb toad for a GCVWR of close to 42k. I have 505hp for a weight to power of 83 lbs per HP and I'm happy with grade climbing out here in the west, it is as good as my old Winnie with a 454 gasser.
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chuck4788
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06/30/08 11:30pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Revenue Agent Searching for Montana llc's
This is a good one, I talked to a couple at LD in Tampa, there motorhome tags are from Montana,there car tag is from Ca.I asked him how that worked and he said he owns property in Montana and lives in Ca. he had a letter from Ca. telling him he has to pay the sales tax in Ca. because he has a Ca. drivers license even if the coach is registered to his property in Montana.:S
Owning property in a state does not make you a resident, this guy has a CA driver's license and a CA car, I bet he is a CA resident and keeps his MH there; so of course he owes CA the tax money, and maybe penalties.
States usually requires a physical presence in the state to get a driver's license which is one indicator of residency. Registering to vote and period of time living in a state are also indicators of residency. Owning property means nothing, other wise renters would not be residents.
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chuck4788
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06/27/08 03:59pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Revenue Agent Searching for Montana llc's
It is not the MT plates or the LLC that is the problem; it is out of state plates on a vehicle that has been in state beyond the time allowed. If I had been at the Rally and if I had other than IL plates on my rig and I were asked about my residence I would show my Driver's License because it is not IL. If I had a IL Driver's License I could have problems and would need to prove that the MH had not been in IL beyond the time allowed before registering in IL.
With the variety of tax policies among the states the higher taxing states always have problems with their citizens attempting to avoid taxes by buying in other states.
Basically if you live and work in a state you are probably a resident, if you want to store and use your RV in state there are no easy ways to to avoid paying tax and registration fees. CA does have a method to avoid sales tax but it is complicated; one element is documented out of state use for 90 days, thats a long vacation for working folks.
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chuck4788
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06/26/08 10:27am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: montana llc living in missouri
I used a LLC for my busines and the IRS does not have a category for LLCs, they requires a LLC to declare which entity it wants to file as; partnership, sole proprietor, or corporation. LLCs, just like individuals, are not required to file unless they have income.
These discussions about LLCs often miss the point: LLC are legal entities enabled by state legislation, and violating the tax codes of your home state is a personal decision that in some cases can be criminal. IMO the bottom line is if you live and work in a state you are probably a resident of that state. Each state has laws and rules about how long a vehicle is allowed to be in state before registration and taxes are due, it varies state to state and by the status of the owner(s)e.g.; residents, non-residents, students, military, etc.
This is a complex issue and as others have posted legal advice is recommended.
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chuck4788
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06/25/08 12:42am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: montana llc living in missouri
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chuck4788
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06/21/08 08:28pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Custom cabinetry - where do I go?
We have had some major cabinetry work done on our coach and were very satisfied with RV Outfitters, Inc. in Bend OR. Jim and Greg both worked for Beaver when the plant was in Bend and their work is flawless. They matched the corian counter tops, including the edging and the cherry wood cabinets with perfection. We highly recommend them to anybody.
I've also had work done by both Greg and Jim and I agree with Bob. I've seen their work on other MH and it is indeed flawless.
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chuck4788
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06/16/08 02:36pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: AIR COMPRESSOR FOR TIRES
My experience from inflating tires is that the air compressor needs to be rated at least 25psi higher than the desired pressure in your tires. Actually the criteria is cutin pressure for the compressor, which is about 20-305 psi less than the max rating. The air system on my MH runs at 125psi but the compressor cutin is 90 and it won't air up my 120psi tires. I bought a Porter-Cable 150psi rated air compressor with a 6 gallon pancake tank and it works great. You also need at least several CFM at 90psi and/or a tank or you will spend 15 minutes holding an air chuck on a tire to add a few psi, this eliminates most of the 12 volt compressors. My 2.5 ProSine will run my air compressor.
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chuck4788
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06/14/08 10:46am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Prosine 2.0 battery bank question
I strongly recommend that you not do a whole house inverter install, especially because you want to run a small (relatively) battery bank.
Long run high amp loads should not be driven by an inverter even if the inverter can drie the load because of the very finite capacity of the batteries a lot of power for extended periods. These kind of loads are air conditioners, water heaters, electric heaters, crockpots, etc. ZXantrex recommends moving inverter loads to a subpanel and leaving the inappropriate loads in the main panel. The inverter has an internal transfer switch and will automatically begin inverting if shore or generator power is not present. I've had five large inverters in RVs and boats (some I installed) and all used sub panels for their loads. IMO that provides the most reliable and easiest to use system.
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chuck4788
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06/14/08 10:34am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Advice please - Hwy 101 from Seattle to San Fran
Do what Donn said but before going across the bridge to Astoria go west to Ilwaco and vist Fort Canby, the Cape Disappointment Light House, and the Coast Guard Station. The view from the light house of the Graveyard of the Pacific is worth the visit.
If you have the time drive a mile or so north to Seaview and have dinner at the 42nd Street Cafe, reservations suggested.
Fort Clatsop at the Lewis & Clark NP near Astoria is worth a visit for a bit of history.
Outlet stores and aquarum in Seaside, also Lewis & Clark salt works. Nice oceanside board walk.
Next stop at Cannon Beach, nice RV park on the east side of 101.
Visit the Tillamook cheese factory on the north side of Tillamook, and if you have the time and a toad take a day trip out to Cape Mears and Cape Lookout.
Spend a few hours in Depoe Bay, watch the boats coming thru the surf to the narrow entrance to the bay.
Explore the waterfront at Newport. Outdooor Resorts has a premier RV resort north of town, the ocean views are the price of admission.
Sand Dunes near Reedsport.
Jet boat rides up the Rogue River at Gold Beach.
The above are just the highligths of the Oregon coast, I left out a ton of nice places to visit, but you can leave some of them for your next trip. The OR coast on 101 is 425 miles long but you could spend a week and not scratch the surface of places to see and things to do; drive slow, stop at every opportunity, and enjoy.
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chuck4788
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06/11/08 11:27pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Monaco Diplomat Vs. Country Coach Inspire
I agree that your comparison of the Diplomat is closely aligned with the CC Inspire and Tribute.
I've looked at a lot of MHs in the past few years and as far as value for the dollar the Diplomat is a one of the best values out there. CC are nice, and they were on our short list, but we settled on a Beaver Marquis because of the experiences of several friends with Marquis and Infinity. Support from Monaco has been exemplenary.
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chuck4788
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06/11/08 09:50pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Monaco 8 airbag system question
Don't listen to the Saleman, they don't know. Go look at the rear suspension on a semi truck tractor; notice where the air bags are relative to the tires, there are 100 times more semi truck tractors with that suspension than MHs and they don't have problems. The salesman is selling BS that doesn't pass the logic test.
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chuck4788
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06/11/08 09:07pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: RV Communities in the West
You haven't define the climate you are seeking.
We stay the winters in Mesa AZ because of the climate, which is north Sonorian Desert. Tucson and Yuma have simular climates because they are also in the Sonara Desert. Mesa has the advantage of being close to a large Urban area and lots of Snowbird communities, including stick built, manufactured home and RV. We stay in a RV resort with 1900 spaces, there are half a dozen others of the same size in the area. Pacific storms are usually pretty benign by the time they get thru CA, and Gulf Storms usually go into Texaz and New Mexico, the result is nice temp in the winter and few cloudy days, plus the low humidity of the desert.
Boulder City NV is about a thousand feet higher than Mesa and a bit further north so is not quite as pleasant for climate as Mesa but it has several communities with stick built houses with on site RV parking, some with attached RV garages. Also BC has no gambling, you need to drive a few miles to Henderson or Las Vegas for the night life.
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chuck4788
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06/11/08 09:03pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: mountain driving
Also remember to use at least as low a gear descending a hill as you would to climb the same grade. If you are using the service brakes too much you need to reduce speed and shift to a lower gear. I use the posted descent speed for trucks to begin all down hills. The problem is long descents with curves; just remember that you can only go down a hill too fast once but many times too slow.
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chuck4788
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06/11/08 08:47pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: OR 20 Burns to ID/OR border...OK for 40' RV?
We drove that road with our 40' and toad last year, nice drive. There is a RV park on the east side of Burns. No cheap fuel between Bend and Caldwell.
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chuck4788
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06/06/08 06:59pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Dynasty vs Camelot/Scepter
The Camelots and Scepters are built in a different factory than the Dynasty. Monaco has a factory at Coburg that builds all of the Dynasty/Executive/Signature, Imperial/Navigator, and Patriot/Marquis models on a single assembly line. The "S" chassis did not appear until the 06 model year, although the earlier chassis are certainly very good.
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chuck4788
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06/06/08 06:35pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Why 2 Fuel Filters on a Cummins B-Series??
To clarify some of the previous posts:
There is a fuel pump on the engine, referred to as a "lift pump", that sucks fuel from the tank and pushes the fuel thru the engine mounted filter on its way to the injection system. The engine mounted filter is pressurized by the lift pump and the frame mounted filter is on the suction side of the pump. Any leaks on the suction side will let air into the system.
The engine manufacturer installs the filter on the engine to protect the injection system, the chassis builder will often install a filter on the chassis to assist the engine mounted filter by trapping water and large particles. This prefilter allows the engine filter to operate longer without fouling.
The good news is most automotive diesel fuel is pretty clean so we don't have many problems with bad fuel, plus a fouled filter is just an inconvenience on the road. On a boat a fouled filter can have more severe consequences so all boat diesels have water separator primary filters. All of my boats were setup with Racor primary filters in addition to the filters on the engines.
The best way to protect your fuel system is to buy from large volume dealers and have the tank full during storage, the reduced air space from a full tank helps reduce the amount of moisture that can enter the tank. Fuel bacteria need moisture, diesel, and warm temperatures to grow; so eliminating moisture is usually the easiest way to prevent the growth. Bacteria bodies can quickly foul filters and continued growth can become a maintenance PITA.
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chuck4788
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06/06/08 12:36am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: On the road observation!
Good post thanks
Cat has published test results that show their filters work better than non-Cat filters. Besides the prices are about the same so I see no reason to use other brands. At my last service the dealer even had a Cat cartridge for my Racor fuel/water separator, same price as I've paid for Racor cartridges.
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chuck4788
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06/03/08 06:03pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Dry Camping - Need solution for electric source
I've used inverter/chargers for more than a decade in boats and MHs, plus installed a few. I suggest you go to the mfg website and download an installation manual to research what you need for an install. The Xantrex installation manuals are very good so I suggest that as a starting point.
IMO you should install the inverter as close to the batteries as possible, but not in the battery compartment. The inverter also needs plenty of air for cooling so make sure any enclosed space such as under a bed has adequate venting and air circulation. The inverter should receive its AC power from a breaker in your 120volt AC panel and its output should feed a subpanel. Also the white wires from the inverter loads must be controlled by the inverter and not be connected to the main panel bus bar.
Good luck.
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chuck4788
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06/01/08 05:00pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: No More Detriot Diesel's In Motor Homes
Its called vertical integration, the goal is to produce all of the components under one corporate umbrella.
So far we have:
Daimler owning MB, DD, Sterling, Mitsu Fuso and Freightliner.
Volvo Trucks owns Prevost.
Peugot owns Mack.
PACCAR owns both Kenworth and DAF and I've read that they want DAF engines in KWs.
So we are left with only one major independent OTR truck builder (Peterbuilt) and two independent engine builders (Cat & Cummins).
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chuck4788
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05/31/08 03:03pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Phoenix Area Storage
Most of the RV Resorts in east Mesa have RV srorage for about $55/month if you contract to rent in the resort. Mesa is close to Sky Harbor.
Check out Cal Am Resorts
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chuck4788
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05/30/08 08:32pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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