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Q&A Newbies & Wannabies
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Below
are E-mail questions and answers to RV Advice of the World Wide Web relating
to people new to the RV lifestyle or just casual RV users. You can send
your question(s) using the form at the bottom of all our Q&A pages.
This page last updated January 27, 2008 containing letters emailed to Pete from August 6th - October 14th, 2007.
I have a 1995 32' Coachmen Santara FL wide body Class A. When I winterize it and cover it, should I unplug my power cord from shore power or leave it plugged in all winter?
Dear Paul,
I would unplug it unless you are planning on opening it up monthly and checking the batteries, etc., and make sure all is well.
Is it easier to turn a fifth wheel as opposed to a regular bumper pull RV? I seem to have a hard time to get it into a certain spot and the dealer says a fifth wheel is easier to turn.
Dear Guadalupe,
A fifth wheel will turn shaper but has a large blind spot until you get used to following the trailer when backing it up.
I recently bought a 1995 Flagstaff by Cobra fold down. It has a tank to store water, and according to my manual there should be a pump to pump it through the sink. I can't find the switch for this alleged pump described in the manual so save my life. Is it possible there's no pump? The tank is completely useless without a pump, so I'm confused. Any ideas?
Dear Brian,
A lot of the faucets are also pumps; inspect it a little better to see if it's a manual pump instead of an electric pump. Gives you more of a feeling of being in the outback.
My concern is overloading the rear axle while towing. Had my 27 foot motorhome weighed - Front axle was 5310 lbs (GAWR is 6500), rear axle was 9940 lbs (GAWR is 10,500). If I filled the gas tank and the fresh water tanks to the max, that would add 513 to the rear axle making it weigh 10,453 lbs.
How much weight does the tongue weight add to the rear axle? I can't go over 10,500 on the rear axle even though the GCWR is 22,000 lbs. Correct?
Dear Penny,
Towing a car you have no tongue weight. If you plan on towing a trailer then you have to figure out the tongue weight of the trailer. If towing a car, you pay attention to the GCVWR.
My wife and I are planning to spend this winter in Texas, November through March. We have a 2005 30' Keystone Cougar travel trailer.
I have noticed that most of the people that use their trailers for extended periods of times place their trailers on blocks and remove the tires. I wish to do this, can you help me with the correct procedure?
We are novice RVers and need all of the help we can get.
Dear Ron,
I really don't know anyone that travels seasonal that removes their tires.
The proper procedure is to place the jack on the frame rail just in front or behind the axle to jack it up and remove the tires.
My husband and I have just purchased our first camper. It is a 30' Thoroughbred Ultra Lite.
We had to have an electronic brake control system installed on our 2002 GMC Sierra. At the first stop sign after leaving the dealership, we obviously had to stop. When my husband even touched the break peddle in the truck, the camper wheels seemed to lock up so hard that the wheels on the camper where leaving marks on the road the smoking.
The truck brakes did not even have a chance to engage. This happened all the way home (about 30 minutes).
We called the dealership and explained what had happened and they told us that this would get better with time. We went camping this weekend and we had the same problem, therefore, my husband tried to use the manual brake control, the brakes on the camper did not even engage.
Therefore, we unplugged the unit in the truck and the camper brakes still came on just as hard. This does not seem to be right to us.
But the dealership still thinks that it will get better.
What do you think? Could the electronic brake control unit be bad even though they just installed it?
Dear Amy,
You need to adjust the gain on the brake controller to get the desired braking you're looking for.
If you unplug the brake controller and was still getting brakes on the trailer when trying to stop, then they have something wired incorrectly and you need to have the wiring checked before you melt something.
Just bought a 2008 Rockwood Ultra Light, out of state - 800 miles away. In the walk through, everything worked - tech installed Prodigy brake system. Upon returning home tried camper out - continually blows both 30 amp fuses when plugging into either 30 amp or 110 (with adapter).
Microwave will work, and switching breakers in order, the GFI converter?, when switched on results in both fuses blowing.
We have gone through 12 fuses, no power. What is the breaker for GFI converter., what does it do, what can be done?
Dear Steve,
Sounds like you're talking about your power converter for DC voltage. The fuses protect the DC circuits.
I would look at the plug on the truck and be sure the charge line and brake wire didn't get crossed.
My son bought a 2004 Thor 28 ft toy hauler it was used from an RV dealer. After using it a few time my son and wife began to notice the vinyl floor near the bathroom was spongy and soon it began to sink. He contacted the dealer and they took it in for an evaluation. The dealer told him the floor was rotten and it needed to be replaced.
Since he has had it only a few months is there a possibility that he can get his money back? The dealer agreed to fix it but it looks very extensive and the coach will need to be disassembled. Is this a common problem with Thor?
Dear Ernie,
I doubt that he can get his money back. He should be happy the dealer is willing to repair it. A lot of dealers would tell him he bought it used "as-is".
I hate to say it, but I hear of complaints with Thor.
We are new to RVing and own a 2001 Kia Sportage we would like to tow. We have a 2006 Winnebago View 23' with Mercedes diesel engine. The Kia is an automatic. We would like to tow all 4 wheels down and want to know what needs to be done to be able to tow this vehicle.
We have seen quite a few KIA's being towed on the road and some people have said that they stop about every 200 miles and run the tow car through all the gears to lubricate the transmission, is that a safe way to go?
Dear Mike,
Not according to Remco, they are showing the drive shaft disconnect listed for your Kia. If it was safe to tow without modifications I don't believe Remco would have went through the process to develop a unit for your application.
You will also need a tow bar, base plate, light wiring kit, safety chains and auxiliary braking.
We are planning to motorhome full time starting next June. We have two cars which have lots of life left in them. Is there a way to pull one on a trailer behind our motor home? What would be the drawbacks of doing that?
Dear Jan,
Yes, you can get a car hauler trailer or a tow dolly. The draw back is loading and unloading and what you do with the trailer in the parks and campgrounds.
What do the lights means on the thing above the stove in the 1992 Catalina Coachman 260 FK? As far as full, gray, clean, which means full? Red or green? And is yellow medium orange? I know it's a dumb question but the vehicle manual does not describe in detail.
Dear Billy,
The thing is called a monitor panel. The green light should indicate empty tanks or full battery charge. The red light should indicate full tanks or a dead battery. The lights between them should be simple to figure. Gray is for your gray water tank. Black, is for your black water tank (sewage); fresh is for your fresh water.
You might want to purchase a video/DVD from our RV Store page.
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