First road trip with new/old mh

photobug wrote:
Just got home from the first long road trip with our new/old rv. On the whole a pretty positive trip, although there are some issues, both on my part and the rv along with.
Starting with the coach
weighing in at a bit over 12k lbs, the v10 worked well going through the mountains and around twisty hills. Gas milage was around 8 mpg so I wasn't all that thrilled about that. Only major issue was the heater core let go, blowing coolant inside the cab. $700 and an overnight stay, it was fixed, but still a bit an odor can be detected once in a while. Also had a check engine light on, codes show its an exhaust oxygen monitor sensor. Since the unit has a banks power pack system on it, the sensor is an aftermarket, they couldn't fix it, said it was wired wrong. Have to find someone that can look at it

extra stuff I added

LED turn signals, turn white when not in use, worked really well lighting up street signs and stuff. need to get relay swapped out, causes hyperflashing otherwise.

LED driving lights, worked well. Amazon reviews had people complaining they got wet inside, I sealed all openings with black rtv before installing them, worked like a charm.

DirecTV hr24 / Wineguard G2+
dish worked really well, took several minutes to align, but it takes me longer than that to do the manual one anyways. Got good signal every where I went ( 1-5 rt 101 along the coast)
HR 24 dvr eventually worked after some messing with it each time. lost programing once, but refresh from web site brought it back. Receiver doesn't like being unplugged, nor booted up with an antenna not aligned. Bitched the whole time about loss of signal, ran through the signal strength option, which showed signal on both receivers, mysteriously I now had a picture, imagine that.

Cell phone booster
This one is probably my fault. Booster runs on 12v, removed the tv plug and hooked up a 110v adapter, plugged into 110v coach plug. Problem is, I usually need the booster while driving, and the 110v only works while on shore power or generator, not while moving. Antenna is a magnetic mount, which I'm assuming need some of the metal body as part of the antenna. Problem is, my roof is aluminum, over wood frame, not enough magnetic grip strength to hold on, and the antenna kept falling down. I did see some company that sells 6" dia steel disks for mounting such antenna on fiberglass. Probably dig up something similar paint it, and glue it to the roof. That should fix that problem.

WiFi booster
only one place we stopped at that said they had wifi, but couldn't pick it up, booted up system, raised antenna (which is mounted on the tv antenna) still no signal. Phone didn't have 4g signal either, so no hotspot. (rebooted phone, 4g showed up. Stupid systems) Next morning, forgot to lower antenna, remembered several hours later. TV antenna mount missing pin, wouldn't lower all the way. Secured it for rest of the trip, have to look at it later.

New Stereo/SiriusXm
I've had the sirius system for several years, just a new installation on the mh. Car toys wanted to mount it on the van fender, would have blocked signal from most directions with overhead cab. had it mounted on roof. system worked as usual, doesn't like trees, but I knew that. I'd still recommend the system for anyone traveling outside city broadcast areas.
One thing I hadn't considered is road noise blocks out a lot of the midrange audio sound. especially when the volume isn't turned up too much. mid range and tweeters mounted in the doors. Haven't found a good place to mount subwoofers yet.

Bike rack
worked awesome. Hitch mounted type that has rails to hold wheels and hook to clamp to frame. Didn't even notice they were there, easy to access, secure when mounted. They do block the backup camera somewhat, so I'll have to look into a different place to put the camera.

Backup camera
worked ok, but as mentioned was partially blocked by the bike rack. Could have used some more light back there in the dark. looking at a location to mount bigger reverse lights.

GPS
a must for road trips, but the biggest issue is the routing taking me off the freeway and running me through downtown. Caught it several times telling me to exit 2-3 exits earlier than necessary. Don't really want to cut through an alley with a 26' mh when 100' further would have kept me on the main road. not sure how to fix this, maybe contact garmin to see if they can help.

Only other thing that bugged me was the outside mirrors, the support arm is a bit loose and they'd move every time you close the doors. didn't see any adjustment or tightening screws. something to look into. wish I had power mirrors.

Most hated sign... lane ends, merge right. stupid highways :P

Great ground plane for antenna? if you are a handyman . Bet you have some old circular saw blades hanging in your garage . Put out of sight on roof . Adhere with a couple dabs of silicone and you are all set . Because of the thickness of the metal . Makes an amazing ground plane.