RE: Dometic or Norcold
We have the big Norcold four door unit, we got a lemon from the factory, months in the shop waiting for parts in 05. Once I got their attention (FedEx letter to the CEO of the parent company) They sent a factory rep from Valencia to San Diego to fix the problems. We were trouble free for about a year and it failed again, this time parts only under warr. Norcold, stepped up without any pushback at all, in fact I never contacted them, my service writer took care of it. They replaced the unit with a new unit and paid for the labor.
RE: Yosemite - Wawona Tunnel
We just went to Yosemite a couple of weeks ago. We are 12'7'' and had no problems, the 10'3'' at the curb is a bit misleading, the curb is pretty far over. There is plenty of room, I would not worry about it.
RE: Oil Change Myth?
The most expensive vehicle I have owned was an 1999 BMW M3, hand-built, blueprinted engine. The vehicle came with 4year 48 thousand miles of scheduled maintenance included. The computer would not call for an oil change, I thought it was broken, it was over 15k miles before the first change. I agree, I think we are all just marketed to death, convinced pistons will fly out of the hood if the oil is not changed every other day. I drive my duramax until the computer hits 25%, if you read about how GM does the oil life, it does use mileage or time as a factor at all, its based on revolutions of the motor, load on engine, cold starts, temperature of engine... I go by one year or until the computer tells me, including my motorhome.
RE: Someone slashed my PUP
Probably one of your gutless neighbors, neighbors and rv's don't mix too well. Ours are total creeps about us parking on the street before a trip, a rig none of them could affort. I think in 2007 our MH was on the street less than seven non-consequtive nights, yet they call the cops and lie about it being stored on the street and even gone so far as to call the fire department, saying their trucks could not get down the street. Creeps, total creeps. Sorry this happened to you, but I would not look much further then your own neighbors.
RE: Replace Window
Here's the skinny. I had forgotten about a technical contact I have at Fleetwood. I spoke to him this morning, and he said to do the following. Use a utility knife to break the silicon bead along the top of the window, then a putty knife or blade to break the seal against the frame and the coach. The frame is internally sealed with urethane sealant. This sealant can pull the paint off the fiberglass, so he warned me not to try and force out the windows or I could damage my paint. Clean up the coach, put on a bead of urethane, put it back together with a bead of silicon along the top and 1/2 way down the sides... done.
He also said they have worked out more favorable pricing for replacement windows, if I have a problem, call their cust service and they will help.
Thanks for all the advice.
RE: Replace Window
I wonder if Atwood would talk to me... The window did not ship with a gasket. Actually I am a little miffed their window failed in less than three years -and- it was 600 for just the window. I digress. Thanks for the advice, not sure what to do...
Replace Window
I need to replace a side window on my 05 Southwind. I have the window, came custom from Atwood. Before I start the project, I was wondering if anyone can share their experience replacing a window on a late model Fleetwood. I am uncertain what how they sealed the window in the frame. It does not appear to be the traditional puddy tape used in trailers.
Thanks!
RE: What if a manufacturer goes out of business??
It may just pay to do a little research before "investing" in a company. Consider National RV, deeply in debt, selling fixed assets to try to stay afloat, it is by no surprise when you look at their annual reports to determine they were going to auger into the Earth. The strongest competitors, in terms of balance sheet, are Winnebago with no debt on their balance sheet, Thor, a company that will grow stronger during this downturn purchasing assets from failed competitors and Forest River. Thor is 1st out of 28 companies in the Motor Vehicles and Parts industry of the Forbes 1000 with average EPS growth of 26% over 10 years, as well as 1st in profits as a percentage of total assets of 17%. If you don't have an MBA, these numbers indicate Thor is a very strong company, they are not going anywhere, neither is Forest River. Forest River is owned by Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffet's company) Of the other biggies, Fleetwood has lost money each year since 2001. Key indicators: ROE -72.3%, ROA -12.4%, Return on Invested Capital -21.1%. Losses from 2007 were largely from the RV Group at 67 million, of which 65.3 was from the travel trailer division. Fleetwood is hemorrhaging cash, good place to invest by purchasing their products? If I were in the market for a new rig, based solely on financial performance, I would go with a Thor, Forest River or a Winnebago product in that order. Do some research, read an annual report, if you cannot read one, get a friend with a business background to help. You may also want to look at the strength of the chassis manufacturer. A little homework can keep you out of trouble during these times. Everything I quoted here is from companies annual reports (except Forest River), most of the stuff came from the first couple of pages. Drop me a line if you are interested to know why I am down on Winnebago (as a company, not their product offerings)...
RE: Paint codes for motor homes ?
There is a company that makes sticks, cans and spray cans; paintscratch.com They will add your codes into their system if they do not have them already. My mh has five colors on it, they made their paint sticks for me in a couple of weeks.
RE: yosemite
My post got dropped...
Anyway, create an account in advance and be familiar with the reservation system in advance of the booking window. Best to have more than one person, with their own account, trying to make a reservation. Be logged in before 7a Eastern. We did this last month for June and within ten mintutes everything was gone. All the sites are nice, the great ones are few, so just take whatever you can get.
RE: dual pane window foggy
This just happened on my 05 Southwind. Replacement was 550 dropped shipped to my office. I did not know at the time, but Atwood made the window, I wonder if you can go through them directly and save a couple of bucks. It looks like Atwood made the window to order based on FW specs.
Replacing window
I need to replace a window in my 05 Southwind. I have the window, $550 thank you very much, but I am wondering what I need to do the job. Does anyone happen to know what Fleetwood used to seal the window? Is it caulking, or that glue tape? Any advice/hints are appreciated.
Thanks,
~David
RE: Satellite phones in Mexico
We have taken an Iridium phone to MX, not really worth it. I opted for an Iridium pager & a GSM (AT&T) phone. This way I can be paged anywhere on the planet, then find my way to a phone. In MX GSM (TelCel) is widely available in MX, especilly Baja, but there are dead spots (which is why I have the Iridim pager). Stay away from us providers offering usacell (verizon), small market share, small coverage areas, does not work well as opposed to GSM which is seamless.
Dual pane condensation
Is it possible to repair late model dual pane glass? I have condensation in one of my windows. I am wondering if a glass shop can repair or if replacement is the only option.
Thanks,
~David
RE: No 120 volt power inside of coach
Typically your outlets are not controlled by ems, only your hardwired appliances. I had this happen where the vac blew the cb in inverter, like AlanB suggested, check and see if you have an inverter. You may want to rethink running two space heaters, that is a large load...
RE: Weather Pro Wind Sensor
I heard their new design has the sensor in the awning, no more sensor on the roof.
Two trips to the dealer, I think I will forget about it...
Thanks,
~David
Weather Pro Wind Sensor
It seems pretty much a given the roof mounted wind sensor circa 2005 is not entirely accurate. Does anyone know if Dometic made any changes to this sensor, is there any point in having it replaced? Any happy stories out there where your awning rolled up in light wind, would not roll up in strong wind and a replacement sensor fixed the problem?
Thanks,
RE: Pulling larger trailer to Ocotillo Wells
We head out to the wells often, we take the route Lance recommended, its a bit longer, about 15 miles, but worth going around instead of over Mt Laguna via Julian.
RE: Why are RV roofs usually rubber or vinyl?
Has anyone actually read the "12" year warranty from Alpha? This should be illegal... year 12 - 1% of cost of materials, year four is .6 of materials, no labor. rather deceiving.
