Monkeyman_and_L
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Re: Thinking of buying a Class A and seeking advice
I've had a lightweight trailer and fell in love with the RV lifestyle. When the time came to upgrade our system (13 years in the trailer needed some AC repairs and the Tow Vehicle was in need of replacement), I opted for a gas class A. I have worked with the guys at CMI in Columbus. These guys gut new and used rigs to customize for corporate and private customers. If anyone knows what to look for in a new rig, they do. Their advice to me was: Don't get a full wall slide on anything. The structures are susceptible to warping and misalignment. Stay with higher end manufacturers. Winnebago, Fleetwood, Newmar. Avoid Thor brands. I took that advice (see signature) and am very happy I had that information. My V10 gasser isn't whisper quiet, but I never deal with the engine noise that others complain about. The handling is decent, as long as you remember you are driving a giant box down the road and don't try to race to your destination, especially on curves. Since I don't leadfoot it (65MPH on the high end, but where the traffic paces and I feel comfortable is where I drive it) I get 7.5 to 8 MPG. My one piece of advice to you, since you live in Ohio and plan on using it during the winter months - ensure you check the frame for rust, espc. on the fluid lines. If you buy new, get rustproofing on the chassis. Good luck and I hope this information has been helpful.783Views0likes0CommentsRe: Thinking of buying a Class A and seeking advice
pianotuna wrote: I'm old school. No slides for me. What will we do when fuel reaches $6 per gallon? I'd really love to move to an electric RV. Electric? You're kidding right? Unless the energy density goes up many factors BEV is a pipe dream for the RV industry. As long as you're not lead footing it a gas Class A is not horrible for MPG. I get 7.5 to 7.85 MPG in my rig and I've got a Toad behind me. So $6/gal would suck, but my calculations for our most taken trips to Orlando show that once you factor in hotel costs that it takes it to $7/gal before you're not saving money taking the RV. Factor in "I'm in MY home, not some hotel room" and you can take it even further.783Views0likes0CommentsRe: Practice makes perfect
Report on first long haul trip with the Toad. MY OH MY, that's SO much easier! The battery upgrade seems to have been the fix. No issues at all with the brake controller. I do think I will put in a 12VDC splitter to power the brake controller and the wireless puck from RVi so I get data readback consistently. The tiny battery in the puck only lasts for like 4 hours. Also not a fan of the RVi commander software. It's the equivalent of an idiot light on the dashboard. Report the voltage seen by the controller ("hey, the voltage is going low, maybe I should check the charge line when I stop next") perhaps a readout of the G sensor condition so you can judge if you need to up the sensitivity. I thought the car should brake a little more, but I would be more likely to make an adjustment if I saw the sensor data. I'm a systems analyst in some of my job duties, think I'll reach out to RVi and suggest some updates.395Views0likes0CommentsRe: R-Vision Pro/Con’s
If the class A trail lite was built anything like the travel trailers you'll do great. My old 8304S 2004 travel trailer served us well over 13 years. We upgraded. But we were able to sell it to a military family in very good condition. Good luck in your travels. If you're considering other manufacturers, Newmar. They make an excellent product!1.6KViews0likes0CommentsPractice makes perfect
Going to tow my Ford Escape Hybrid for the first time on a long distance trip. The RVI brake unit was having difficulty operating when I picked up the Toad from the Tow Bar installation. We did eventually get it to operate, but being an engineer and a stickler for detail, I wanted to do dry runs of the setup before I went 900 miles. So, tried it in the driveway, didn't hook up because that part is straight forward and I understand that and was able to do it with the tech watching. Their words were "you do that better than me" I don't know if that's entirely accurate, but the blue ox bars do make it pretty simple. Back to the brake controller. Kept getting low voltage alerts. Checked all wiring, was getting 13.5 Volts from the charge line. Battery was showing an output of 12.1 volts (So the car battery is lower than the charge line. Not surprised). Tried a number of things but could guarantee that the charge line was working and the voltage was there. Read up on many places that many of many of us had issues with T4 45Ah battery that was OEM. Decided to bump to a Group 48 size with 70Ah. So far, no low voltage complaints from the RVI. Figured its something to do with a barely sized for the car 12VDC battery. I did not go AGM this time as it was more than I could spend on an experiment. Best guess is the RVI is picky about voltage drops when it turns on the internal compressor. I can understand that, but I sure would like it to have a display installed to show error codes and voltage levels so we'd know what's going on. I almost put my meter on the unit in min/max and put in a 12VDC T device I use for voltage measurement on these types of things to determine how low it's dropping. Figure that if it was at 12.1 and pulled a lot on the compressor start it probably dropped to 11.5 and that triggered the alarm. Anyone have a hard fast rule on these things? Personally if I'm designing the circuit I'd design it for 6 VDC operation with a better margin for failure. But I like margins on safety equipment. At least it gives warnings instead of just NOT WORKING. So that's a plus. Anyone else have info on the RVI, Ford Escapes, or anything about towing a toad in general that a newbie to the method like me could use as good information??1KViews0likes2CommentsRe: Orlando area campgrounds
Scottiemom wrote: Lake Magic, Clermont, Florida, 6 miles from Disney. thanks! Okay, a bit closer and off of Irlo Bronson. Good rates too. I move here from my current KOA Southwest I've booked and I save $200??? Going to call and change my reservation!768Views0likes0CommentsRe: Orlando area campgrounds
YC 1 wrote: KOA next to I4 and Hwy 27 Davenport. Tropical Palms in Kissimmee. KOA in Kissimmee. Florida Camp Inn/Davenport How's that? yeah, was hoping for others that I may not have been able to find. I've been to each of these. the KOA in Kissimmee isn't bad. The tropical palms is serviceable, but some of the sites are dodgy. The Davenport KOA I stayed at last year. It was fine, but the commute between the parks and the campground was a bit overwhelming after 10 plus days back and forth. I was hoping for something North of the Orlando metro area, but it's a desert.767Views0likes0CommentsRe: Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems
SHRED wrote: Beverley&Ken wrote: What type of system does your LazyDays have? If it is TST, they have a kit with the four sensors and a REPEATER to add on there system. If not TST they also have a 4 sensor kit with repeater and Monitor. Most systems are not interchangeable with other manufacturers. Ken It's the built in FORD E-450 system. Is the built-in just the idiot light version? If so, get a TST with enough sensors for all your tires and roll with that. Depending on your pressures that dashboard warning light might be set for way lower than what you should run your tires at for the rig you drive. That way you can monitor temperature too.515Views0likes0Comments
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