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RE: How old is too old?
These discussions always interest me.
Coming from the world of boats, age was never weighted as heavily as it is in the world of Class A's.
Good construction and good maintenance are what is weighted most heavily in the boat world.
That is what my guidelines were 4 years ago, the coach is now 15 years old and does not show her age.
Design, build quality, materials quality and craftsmanship trumps age IMHO.
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FormerBoater
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05/20/13 06:01pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Campground for Udvar-Hazy
The parking lot at the Air and Space museum is huge.
Give them a call to see if they will let you park there.
They have 40 spaces that are reserved for tour buses. You should be able to fit in there IMHO.
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FormerBoater
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05/20/13 03:12pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Big rig parks between Jacksonville and Richmond
Might be a bit early in your journey, but New Green Acres in Walterboro SC is all huge pull-thru's.
There is also a new KOA near the NC/VA line on I-95 (Roanoke Rapids area) which is all large pull-thru sites.
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FormerBoater
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05/18/13 08:12am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Trouble Free Motorhome Owner?
Not new (or even close to it), but our 15 year old American Eagle has been virtually trouble free in 4+ years of ownership and 30K miles.
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FormerBoater
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05/18/13 08:09am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: 97 american dream
Congratulations on your purchase of the Dream!
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FormerBoater
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05/12/13 02:10pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Having trouble finding 6volt house battery
Sam's Club, great price on Duracell GC2's - $84.52.
Item # 347700
They do not have them in all states, but you might be able to locate by calling with the item number.
About half price vs Trojans or Interstate.
Made in PA.
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FormerBoater
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05/12/13 10:40am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: 97 american dream
1997 American Dreams were the number 2 coach in the hierarchy of American Coach.
American Coach is the upper end division of Fleetwood.
Good solid machine, side radiator, Spartan Chassis, Cummins mechanical C8.3 engine.
97 was a solid front axle design (not IFS) and therefore you do not have ball joints or ball joint issues.
Fit and finish should be very good.
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FormerBoater
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05/06/13 05:17am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Tire Replacement on Class A Goodyear or Michelin
Like my new Hankooks!!
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FormerBoater
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05/03/13 02:32am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Bouncing Bounder!
That is quite a bit of air pressure in the steer tires.
I vote for adjusting your tire air pressure based upon weight before you do anything else.
Also an alignment is an inexpensive and good thing to do.
My bet is that she will ride like a dream and you will not have to do anything else.
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FormerBoater
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05/01/13 01:59pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: New tire psi question...
How do you know 85 PSI is the correct cold inflation pressure for your load?
Based upon your post, it sounds like it may not be.
Very rare for the same tire pressure to be correct for all six or eight tires on a Class A.
FormerBoater: Thanks for your reply. And, yes, I do not know that 85 is correct and yes I do know that having each corner weighed and then inflated according the manufacturer's chart is necessary (I did that on my previous MH). I haven't done so yet with this MH but have only made a couple of fairly short trips. I do, however, intend to have it weighed before my next trip. After having it weighed, let's assume that weight on one of the wheels requires that tire to be inflated to...say 90 psi. I inflate to that pressure and then when I start driving on these hot Florida roads won't the pressure still increase 10 to 15 pounds over the required pressure as is occuring now and again resulting in harsh ride and steering difficulties? I believe I know the answer to that question and that it is that there is likely no preventing pressure increase due to road heat. Am I correct? Again, thanks for your reply. / Larry
You are correct Larry. That is why the charts are all based upon Cold PSI....the pressure and temperature will increase as you roll down the road, but the tire manufacturer's engineers factor that in for their Cold PSI recommendations.
BTW, tire temperatures once a tire has been in service for a few hours will rise to as much as 60 degree F above ambient and that is also considered normal.
I use an IR gun and shoot the tires at each stop. My new Hankook's run quite a bit cooler than 60 degrees above ambient so far. Last week all six were within 1-2 degrees of each other on a 400 mile trip up to and back from a music festival.
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FormerBoater
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04/29/13 10:44am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Front and Rear air pressure
Gauges measure the pressure in the 2 separate systems for your front and rear brakes.
Sounds like you have a leak in the front system.
Not expensive, just very necessary to get it fixed as it is a safety issue.
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FormerBoater
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04/29/13 05:52am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: What presure>>>
I go by the air pressure needed for the MAXIMUM axle capacity of my coach.
My fuel usage will vary/shift 500 pounds of weight around. I start travel with a full water tank and then that 500 pounds of weight is also shifted around between the grey and black tanks. We also use groceries and stock up again maybe once a week or so.
Basically, weighing each corner I feel is a waste of time, since it varies daily. It also means that once any tire loses a few pounds, it is now overloaded, which is especially important on the duals.
By inflating to the air pressure needed for the maximum allowable axle weight in the front and the rear, I have avoided all tire problems for many years of RV travel. I see no reason to change from what has proven to work.
X2
(And I still have a very comfortable ride!)
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FormerBoater
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04/29/13 05:11am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: New tire psi question...
How do you know 85 PSI is the correct cold inflation pressure for your load?
Based upon your post, it sounds like it may not be.
Very rare for the same tire pressure to be correct for all six or eight tires on a Class A.
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FormerBoater
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04/29/13 05:07am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Winnebago and Fleetwood
Not even a contest. Go with Winnebago. They will still be in busisness tomarrow!!!
There is NO CHANCE that American Industrial Partners will not still be in business tomorrow.
Fleetwood is an absolute pleasure to deal with.
Tankage is very important.
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FormerBoater
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04/25/13 05:24am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Newby needs info
I am lookin for some Info on a 97 American eagle w/ N14 cummins,
Present owner says engine is set to 450hp w/ 6sp allison on Spartan Chassie. Is this a good thing or not? I believe the engine was a 330hp originally.
Welcome to the Forum!
I personally have not heard of an N14 Cummins in a 1997 Eagle.
Factory was a C8.3 and the N is a significantly larger displacement if my math is correct.
Factory HP on my 98 Eagle is 325 HP and the top as the American Dreams and Traditions received the 300 HP C8.3.
With a Banks kit boosting to 450 HP you are looking at one quick MH.
Spartan chassis and Allison 3060 six speed transmission are excellent.
The 97 has a solid front axle so no ball joint worries.
Very well built solid machines, but closely inspect for rust. It should be rust free if properly maintained.
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FormerBoater
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04/24/13 01:36pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Generator Question
It should run at a constant speed regardless of load.
This is certainly not true for an Onan diesel generator.
The other responders appear to all be gas powered.
Your diesel genny will vary rpm's depending upon load. They do not like it when there is no load at all.
Using the inverter while the heat pumps cycle on and off is the solution and will cause you no problems as the generator is powering your converter and re-charging the house batteries.
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FormerBoater
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04/24/13 08:12am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Bought the wrong motorhome!!!
Just returned from a 3 day music festival.
No hook-ups, 5 adults, who all showered each day.
Did not fill a tank, did not empty a tank. Carried way too much food and drink and did not want for anything.
This was in a large field in northern Florida.....not very level but we were able to level the coach and have a fine time.
Your seat belts are likely tucked into the couches. We did not discover ours until we had the coach 2 years +.
Four feet and six inches will not make any noticeable difference in where you can travel.
Here in the Fort Lauderdale area, I can fuel at almost any service station. Diesel pumps are normally on the outside, clearance is way more than the 12' 6" that I need. Remember, these stations have to be able to accommodate the fuel tankers for their inventory.
In order to travel comfortably you need:
-large tanks
-plenty of storage space....it was simply astounding to see how much food and water adult women feel that they need in order not to worry. It is also astounding to load it all and unload most of it when the trip is over.
-plenty of cargo carrying capacity for the crowd that you want to travel with
Going smaller will not help in any of these areas.
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FormerBoater
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04/22/13 05:01am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: D'o's & Don'ts of Camp Grounds
Let's see: Don't let your dogs on my site, don't let your kids on my site, don't run your Generator, don't crank your diesel early, don't bring your diesel in late, don't park too close to my unit, don't have your radio too loud, don't look at my unit as you walk by, etc., etc., etc. Why in the H**l don't you just stay home? Oh, I get it, you can't control the situation at home so you figure it's better controlled at the RV Park.:S
x2
X3---now I know what all those folks that never leave their unit except to go to the laundry or showers are thinking about.You do not see much of them and they sure do not want anything to do with you!
If I have any friends that really cannot afford a MH threatening to pull the trigger, I'll have them read this thread and try to convince them to buy a boat instead!
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FormerBoater
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04/10/13 04:48pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Macerator or not?
Had them in boats, cannot imagine why anyone would want one in an RV.
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FormerBoater
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04/10/13 06:02am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Batteries, batteries, batteries
DuraCell is the "label" on the 8D...who knows who actually makes them?
They are made by East Penn / Deka under agreement with Duracell.
Just put 4 of the Duracell G2 six volts in the trustee old Eagle.
$79.99 each at Sam's Club.
States right on the battery...manufactured by East Penn in PA.
Also all components and materials are "Made in the USA".
Sweet!!!!!
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FormerBoater
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04/08/13 02:16pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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