RE: Rent or Toad
I opted not to take a towed vehicle on our trip to Alaska and recorded every day we wished we had one. Total days we wished we had a towed vehicle: Zero.
OTOH, my next trip may include a towed motorcycle... not for security but because I enjoy exploring by motorcycle. For sure we will take bicycles.
The difference in gas mileage (per previous owner) is 7.75 mpg towing a Chevy Equinox v.s. my observed mileage of 9.96 overall for the entire 12,000 miles NY to Alaska and return. At $4 per gallon, that's about $1400 saved.
IMO, after watching people struggle in various ways with towed vehicles, going without is a risk I'm comfortable with.
RE: Please help me find an INSIDE rear view mirror.....
My motorhome has a mirror, but it's only good for seeing what's behind you inside the home. That said, I wish it had an internal compass and possibly an outside air temperature monitor. Are those readily available?
RE: Best tire pressure monitoring system
I agree-- the responses will not be able to give you a reasonable evaluation-- just a "the one I chose is best".
Bottom line-- look through the various threads on TPMS and GET ONE.
BTW, I chose PressurePro. American made and from a company that has been in business a long time. NOT a marketing company with overseas product.
I chose Pressure Pro for the same reasons. Worked perfectly for 6 years. I did have to get the signal repeater to report the rear tires on the toad dependently.
Maybe that's what one of the guys I was with had, because the toad tire was one of the failures.
RE: Best tire pressure monitoring system
Hands down best is a tire gauge used daily. Traveling with two other units with monitoring systems, I was the only one who successfully intervened in time to prevent catastrophic tire failure.
A tire gauge is not going to tell you anything is wrong while driving down the road JMHO
I will not disagree with you on this point. However, every time I did find a tire (or suspension air bag) low on air, the reason was the same: the schrader valve had loosened. My rule of thumb on checking the tires was cold +1 psi, -0 psi.
Besides, these guys' TPMSs didn't warn them when driving down the road either. And, although I did not inquire (they were in no mood to talk), I'd wager better than even money that the source of their problem was a loosened valve core.
My only tire check during the day was feeling the tires for heat build up. If you suspect a difference in heat, then next thing to do is investigate whether the rubber seems softer by indenting it with your thumbnail. Then... the tire gauge.
Of course, an object in the tire or impact damage could cause a failure... but that wasn't my experience. I try to stay off highway shoulders where debris builds up.
Some cars use the ABS sensor ring to detect a difference in revolutions per distance driven and give a warning that a tire is low. I'd place better odds on a correct and in-time warning on this type of system.
Anyway, I've stated my opinion and have nothing more to add since the OP wanted to know which is best, and I've never bought one.
:)
RE: Best tire pressure monitoring system
Ah HA! We have evidence of two units that were ineffective. What brand did your travelling partners have?
Now we're getting somewhere!!
I don't know, but knowing the people I doubt they bought cheap ones.
RE: Best tire pressure monitoring system
Hands down best is a tire gauge used daily. Traveling with two other units with monitoring systems, I was the only one who successfully intervened in time to prevent catastrophic tire failure.
RE: I-95 tolls in FL
Yep, all the deviation , is a good way to. Well to do what, ain't figured that out yet, the sooner I get off the road, wow that's a good idea in it self, the sooner and safer we will be, ok I like that, after that, it's all --happy-camping
You took the words right out of my mouth!!
RE: Used Class A - Does Age Matter?
I'll probably never experience a park with a rule that rigs have to be newer than ten years because those are parks I'd probably never consider staying in anyway. At least that's the feeling I get. LOL
RE: I-95 tolls in FL
I have a question. Why not take either US 441/27 south or US 27 south?
I realize for the OP that this is out of his way, but aside from that, is anyone else here inclined toward taking smaller roads to see the sights?
RE: Forum Conduct.... Again
People posting nasty and critical replies should surprise no one.
I've experienced nasty responses from people old enough to know their manners after asking them if they were in line at the bank when they were standing in an ambiguous spot.
I've experienced face-to-face nastiness from other campers, other boaters, other fishermen, and even other motorcyclists. Nothing surprises me any more. The advantage for a forum moderator is that he/she can simply ban these people. In the end, that is the only workable solution. It may be silly, but people don't like their on-line persona nuked. Just do it.
I've been on-line since before the internet we know today even existed; since the days of BBSs such as CompuServe. And since then, people posting nastiness has been a problem. Make them disappear. Warn once, then ban them. Close their accounts. Simple. Fair. Final.
RE: P30 starting
If the MH is not warming up to temp I would replace the thermostat.I bought a used MH once and it over heated and wouldn't start when warm went to replace it and found that someone had removed it completely. On the valve cover there was a sticker that said if you removed the thermostat the motor would overheat
Yes, that thermostat is another issue to investigate. I don't think I'll be able to do anything about it, though, until I get back to New York next spring. I'm very reluctant to trust work on my stuff to others. So long as it makes forward motion, I'll drive it until it's where I can do the work myself.
RE: P30 starting
Will it start on first try with starting fluid?
If it does, your ignition system is ignitioning.
If not, I would hook up a 12 volt bulb to the positive lead going into the distributor and see if it illuminates on the first two tries.
If it illuminates, stick a spark checker in one of the leads and try again.
Then go for the fuel system.
I think trying starting fluid on first attempt hot start is a good idea that I'll try.
RE: P30 starting
Had the same problem in my 1985 454. It was vapor lock due to manifold heat. The problem was solved by adding another fuel pump at the gas tank to over come the heat surrounding the carb.
Vapor lock (or pressure leak-off) was my leading theory, which is why the first thing I tried was to turn the key on and let the fuel pump pressurize the lines. But as I posted earlier that did not seem to work, probably because fuel injected systems are not prone to vapor lock in the first place. Still, the injection system does exist inside the upper portion of the dog house cover where heat could build up...
RE: Rv storage in Florida
Marianne,
My wife and I took our motor home to the Orlando area for the winter because we have a small house here and there is a good public storage area near by where the people who run the storage live on the property. A 40' site cost us about $90 per month with no minimum or maximum length of stay.
I think your idea is not only doable, but a good way to get extra use out of the investment you made in your unit AND escape to a sunnier climate to see if you like it. Florida is very busy in the winter, but you won't really notice that unless you've seen it off-season.
As far as Florida's climate affecting the longevity of your unit, this is a non-issue IMO. Regardless of where your unit is, just like anything else, it will require attention, maintenance and care if you want to prolong it's life.
Once we got here (Orlando area), we washed our unit because it was pretty filthy from a summer's worth of use (Alaska). Washing it took the two of us working together only about an hour, including doing the roof. My theory is that work expands to fit the time allotted for it, so if you think it'll take most of a day to wash your rig, you're going to spend that much time. I decided an hour was what I would devote to the job and that's what it took us. We used Maguire's car wash soap, a long brush, one bucket and a hose. I washed and she rinsed and handed stuff to me, especially while I was doing the roof. It looks great now because last spring we applied Zep Wet Look to keep dirt on the surface rather than working it's way into the fiberglass.
I happened across your question while doing a search for the answer to a question of my own: We plan to leave our motor home here in storage while we go back north until early January. Should we winterize the unit before going? Yes, it is possible the outside temps could dip briefly to the 20s F., but with the ground here being warm, is a rig in danger of freeze damage?
RE: P30 starting
Well as dad would stay the problem is either lack of spark or lack of fuel or a mix of both. :)
What does it do when you shut it off and and count to three and try to restart it? Try the restart by shutting off 15 seconds after the initial start that takes three attempts.
I'm going to have to run that test in the next few days. Right now, I *think* it may restart more reliably if the restart is attempted after less time has elapsed, but I do NOT trust my memory on this. I will have to get it out and run it.
Thanks, everyone for your input!
I'll report as soon as I run the test.
RE: P30 starting
hot restart problems, are a KNOWN common problem with the 454
a couple of things you can do
one is a heat sheild for the starter,
and the other is replacing the oem starter with a gear reduction starter
It *has* the gear reduction starter, *with* a heat shield.
Gear reduction starters were used (IIRC), according to the manual, for only a year or so, but mine has one. I had it in my hand when the solenoid was replaced by a highly qualified shop.
But as someone else said, this is not a starter problem.
RE: P30 starting
First, my 1998 454 c.i. Chevy P30 motor home always starts and runs well.
The problem is limited to this: When hot I usually have to give it three tries. On the third try it always starts, then runs well.
How are the first two tries?...............Does it spin rapidly but fail to fire?
Or does it spin slowly?
Tt spins rapidly but fails to fire.
RE: P30 starting
These units have sensors for oil pressure that shut down fuel pump, which is in the fuel tank. It is possible that the oil pressure is not read or it's giving it a signal that the pressure is to low. These units also have an on board computor that will have stored a code to indicate what is wrong. It is under the dash near steering wheel. It requires a laptop and the proper installed softwear. Watch your oil pressure gauge when it is running, if it does not go to reading good pressure, increasing as you kick up engine RPMs, and goes back to low reading, it is bad. There are more sensors that shut down engine via cutting off fuel pump like the overheating sensor. That could be the problem, as when it's hot then shut off, maybe the fan does not run to cool it down and sensor waits for the cool down shuting off fuel. Also they have a crank shaft sensor that is reading the spin of the crank and they sometimes become dirty and stop sending signal, again shuting off fuel.
The rig seems to run quite cool (per temperature gauge) compared to other similar year GM trucks I've owned. The t-stat might need replacing. Could this be the cause?
P30 starting
First, my 1998 454 c.i. Chevy P30 motor home always starts and runs well.
The problem is limited to this: When hot I usually have to give it three tries. On the third try it always starts, then runs well.
I thought lack of fuel pressure, so I would turn on the key and give it plenty of time to build pressure to the injectors. No improvement.
Next thought was too much fuel, so I tried holding various amounts of throttle while cranking. Again, no noticeable improvement.
Prior to my purchase, the motor home was tuned up with new spark plugs, wires, etc. I replaced both the fuel and air filters as needed during the 15k miles I've put on it.
A brief search here found nothing. Any suggestions or knowledge about this issue?
Thanks for any help.
