RE: Let your brakes cool down..but for how long? Tragic
I have spent several summers at Indian Campground in Buffalo, WY, not far from the site of the accident. I've seen several rigs being towed into the CG after either not being able to make it up the pass or having lost their brakes coming down the pass. Most of the rigs that didn't make it up were trucks, pulling 5th wheels, that lost their transmissions. One gas motorhome I remember lost his brakes on the same stretch of highway and made the decision to call a tow truck which dropped him in the CG. The next day his brakes were fine. The point is if you have any reservations about continuing downhill, call a tow truck.
George
RE: sealand toilet
The following is a good source for Sealand parts:Sealand Sanitation. Last summer, I had them overnight a complete rebuild kit($99 + $50 shipping)from NY to WY. My toilet was 8 years old at the time and after many seal changes, broken springs, etc., I replaced everything at the same time. Boy does it work a lot better.
George
RE: Motor Home Tires
Justiceb, check out the Michelin XZE tire. It is a truck tire, but it comes in the 235/80/R22.5 size. In 2005, it was the only tire other than the XRV that came in the 235/80/R22.5 size and that size, at least in 2005, was unique to Michelin. It is a much better tire than the XRV. Also, I kept the best one of the XRVs and put it in my pass through storage (no wheel) for an emergency.
George
RE: Direct TV Distance Package
I find it interesting that PBS, at least in some locations, won't allow you to have the national PBS feed as part of distant network services (DSN), yet PBS is funded, to some extent, by the taxpayer. It's one thing for commercial networks to protect their market, but we as taxpayers are paying some of PBS's expenses and can't get it. I have had DNS for many years and have never been able to get the national PBS feed. As a public corporation, PBS has, in my opinion, no basis to protect its viewing market.
RE: Removing large chair from MH
donsuefuggrwe, you didn't mention the model of your Tradewinds. But having a 99 Tradewinds 7370 with a center door, I removed the large recliner with no problem. I replaced it with a Stressless euro recliner. Stressless makes their recliners in small, medium and large. We purchased the medium with footstool and it fit easily in the door and actually gives us more room in the motorhome. Be warned, however, that stressless furniture is expensive. We paid $1000 for the chair, but it is an almost perfect match for the other leather furniture in the coach. Palliser also makes some nice chairs (we have two in our house), but they are rather large and would have been too big for the coach.
George
RE: Michelin tires
I also have that size tire. The original tires were XRVs. I was unwilling to purchase another set of XRVs due to having a blowout with one and reading many post of others having blowouts with XRVs. I wanted to keep the same size tire and did a great deal of research. What I found was that, at least in 2005, only Michelin made a 235/80/22.5. However, I did find that Michelin makes the XZE in 235/80/22.5. It is a more durable tire. I've had the XZEs for 3 years and am very pleased with them. The XZE does, however, carry more air than the XRV. The XZE's max is 110# vs 100# for the XRV. George
RE: New guy
George, I have a 99 Tradewinds and have had excellent service from it. It will be 9 years old in May and has had a hard life. It only has 50k miles on it, but we have lived in it most of the 9 years. We also replaced the carpet and tile in 2006, but most of the components are still working fine. I have had problems with the Generac twice. We did have to replace the motor to the hydraulic levelers because of severe corrision due to many years in Florida. My windows have the problem mentioned above and I haven't yet done anything to fix them. The coach gets excellent gas mileage. One thing you might check: make sure there is a band that holds the leveler's hydraulic tank to the frame. There was a problem with tanks falling off on the Tradewnds and National RV provided a band that attached the tank to the frame. All in all, it is a great coach.
Good luck, George
RE: I guess I CAN drive 55.
Big Katuna, have you ever thought about blowing at tire on you motorhome at 75 mph? We once saw a 99 Tradewinds that blew its right front tire at 75 mph. The owner controlled it, but the front of the motorhome was not a pretty site. We drive our 36 foot, 300 CAT at about 62 mph across the Florida pandhandle on I-10 often. We usually get between 10 and 11 mpg. I appreciate you analysis, I may slow down even more. Thanks.
George
RE: towing vw beetle
I've towed my 2001 turbo Beetle, 5sp approximately 35000 miles over the last 6.5 years. Roadmaster towbar with Brake Buddy. Wired a new set of bulbs in the tail lights.
Wiring Problem
I'm having problems with the toad connection wiring on a 99 Tradewinds on a Freightliner XC chassis. I have power at the connector pins with the turn signals on, but no power to the connector pins for the running lights. I have tested the connector pins and and the wiring on the motorhome side of the connector. There is no power getting to the back of the motorhome along the connector wiring with the motorhome headlights lights on. The motorhome head and tail lights are fine, however, I find it odd that running lights on both sides of the motorhome near the rear tires are not working. There must be problem toward the front of the motorhome, but I have no idea how to troubleshoot it.
Thanks, George
RE: deisel consumtion
Be sure to fill up around the last exit in Georgia to save a few cents per gallon. If you are coming down I-95 into Florida, there's a nice truck stop on the northwest side of Georgia exit 1. Going south on I-95, take exit 1, turn right and the truck stop is right there. It has RV lanes, however, I prefer the truck pumps because they are covered and there is more room to maneuver. Also, if you are continuing south on I-95, you would do well to avoid I-95 through Jacksonville. We always take 9A east just below the Jax airport. It is the shortest way to St Augustine or Daytona.
George
AT&T DSL Xtreme
I currently have ATT FastAccess DSL at home and ATT has offered for me to upgrade to Xtreme DSL for an extra $5 per month along with $20 cash back. They claim Xtreme is twice as fast as FastAcess. I'm satisfied with FastAccess, but was wondering if the additional speed would be worthwild. I mostly surf the net, view YouTube, read blogs, and e-mail pictures. Don't download video or music. Thanks for your comments.
George
RE: Trade-In Value with Replaced Speedometer
I have a 99 Freightliner MH with a Cat engine. The computer that drives the dash gauges failed twice. This caused the speedometer to gain anywhere from 5 to 10k miles overnight. The first time the computer was replaced the speedometer reset itself to zero. At that time, the technician connected a laptop directly to the engine to get the correct mileage. I observed the technician do this. The point is that, at least on a Cat engine, the correct mileage is stored in the engine regardless of what the speedometer says and is readily available to the buyer. By the way, the second time the computer was replaced, the speedometer reset itself to the correct mileage as stored in the engine.
George
RE: Power Gear Jack Repair
Try Dick Gore's RV World. It's near the Jacksonville airport (14590 Duval Place West, Jax, 32218). I plan on taking my Tradewinds there to have the motor on my power gear levelers replaced. I had a large amount of work done there last year, expensive, but well done. Call Jose Melendez, 904-741-5100.
George
RE: Excel
OpenOffice's spreadsheet is great. I'm running a spreadsheet was created in Lotus and converted to Quatro Pro, before going to OpenOffice. OpenOffice converted it easily. I've also converted Excel spreadsheets to OpenOffice. No reason to buy Excel since the entire OpenOffice suite is free.
George
RE: Mom's Cell Phone Died
Update: The manager at a Verizon store offered to replace the phone free even though it was out of warranty by about a week. However, after I received the phone from my mom I determined that the phone was fine and the battery was bad. She is back in business now. Thanks for the input.
George
Mom's Cell Phone Died
My 83 year old mom's LG VX5200(Verizon) died 2 days out of warranty and was not at the point that it could be upgraded free. Verizon recommends that we upgrade my wife's phone (LG VX8300) free and activate it on her number. Then Verizon would let us switch numbers and and give the new phone to my mom. Supposedly, this approach would result in my mom getting a new phone albeit with my wife extending our contract for 2 years.
I'm not sure I like this approach and would appreciate some advice. Our goal is to get my mom a simple phone. I would even be willing to buy a phone from a third party if Verizon would let us activate it.
Thanks in advance,
George
RE: Personal Liability Insurance ("Fulltimers Coverage")
Hank, if you are eligible for USAA insurance you can get everything from them. When we full-timed I had auto, motorhome, and renter's insurance with USAA. The renter's insurance covered our possessions (both in the Motorhome and items in storage) and personal liability. The motorhome insurance covered the vehicle liability, collision, and comprehensive damage to the motorhome, but excluded possessions which as I said were covered by renter's insurance. USAA had absolutely no problem with us not having a stick house.
George
George
RE: VW New Beetle as TOAD
You can not tow an autonmatic new Beetle. However, the manual transmission Beetle can be towed four wheels down. I've towed my 2001 5sp manual turbo Beetle for over 35k miles.
George
RE: 10# Propane Tank
I've used a 10# tank to power my grill for years. Very handy for carrying in the Motorhome. I saw them at Camping World (St Augustine, FL) last weekend. Around $59. George
