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I have a copy of all the notices if you need them. The files are too large to post here. Contact me so that I can e-mail them if you need them.

I spent 12 years Rving year round in new England. I belonged to an RV club that would plow out spaces to park. The heating strips are problematic. It depends where the holding tanks are located. If they're not recessed enough and you can't put insulation (fiberglass only, foam will melt) over them and the tanks, forget it. Too much heat will be lost to the outside air. Remember, they are 12 volt and can drain the battery. I've been in Vermont in the winter and you would have to go nuclear to heat holding tanks that aren't designed for it. Many motorhomes now offer what's called an "arctic pack" which are insulated and heated holding tanks. Same for the fresh water lines. Some are mostly inside the motor home and are okay if you can drain and isolate the hot water tank. The others that have external water lines are very difficult to insulate and heat. What most of us did for winter camping was totally drain the water system and keep gallon jugs inside for drinking and cooking. For the toilet, we bought winter grade windshield washer fluid and flushed the toilet with that. I am not aware of anyone having a problem with the windshield washer fluid. There's not much that can't be repaired on an RV furnace unless it's rotted out. What's wrong with yours? If you do have to buy one, get a remote thermostat ignition. I rigged a fitting to the regulator of my propane tank for using external bottles http://www.marshallbrass.com/rv.htm . It's great for winter camping. My old Dolphin didn't need it because it had a removable horizontal tank. You could disconnect the regulator and hook it to an external tank.

It looks like you have a Winnebago. They have a few thermal overload breakers in the coach battery compartment. You may want to check them out. The terminals get rusted and the points on the bi-metallic strips inside get worn or get tits on them. Read the resistance between the terminals. It should only be a few ohms. You can buy them in any auto parts store.

I couldn't figure out why my gas mileage dropped a year ago. I recently found that it is probably due to the mandated increase in ethanol in gasoline here in Orygone. Has anyone done any reprogramming of the engine computer to compensate for the ethanol?

I am always trying to tweak more gas mileage out of the MH. On my first MH many moons ago, I had installed a roof mounted rear spoiler. The idea was to break the vacuum that forms in back to lessen drag, increase gas mileage and keep the rear window clean. I know that it did keep the rear window clean so it must have broken the vacuum. Any thoughts ?????

Have you ever driven in the Boston area? There's a story written about it titled Stop on green, go on red. Red lights and stop signs mean nothing there. And while your at it, throw all your trash out the window. They drive like they're flying a Japanese Zero trying to crash it into an aircraft carrier. A favorite game there is bowling for pedestrians. Using a turn signal there is an invitation for someone to cut you off.

You didn't say whether you have a V6 or four cylinder and what the mileage is. I believe both have solid valve lifters as opposed to hydraulics which are self adjusting. Check your valve lash according to specifications before you assume that one is sticking. Does the noise quiet down as the engine warms up?

Chances are that you may have the old freon cfc-22. You can tell by the fill fitting. If it was converted to the new 134A it will have a quick disconnect fill fitting. Despite what the dealers may tell you the old freon is available and is not expensive. It can be ordered from Mexico. It's just an excuse to gouge you. The new freon pumps have a higher compression as the new 134A type isn't quite as efficient. Don't let that scare you off. I was warned by a dealer that the new would not work as well. I bought a conversion kit and did my own. It worked just fine. I don't know if the Toyota system has a drier in line which would need to be replaced. You also should definitely add AC oil or get the 134A with the oil already in it. What can happen if there's moisture in the system is that the pump can wear and self destruct. I would shop around and find a repair place that is more reasonable and reliable. Wanting $400 for replacing a hose and recharging sounds like a hold up artist.

I'm assuming that it's reasonably dry in Bakersfield. You might consider an evaporative cooler. These use water and minimal power to drive a fan and possibly on some models a water pump. When water evaporates it's absorbs energy. In drier climates the effects are amazing. It feels like iced air coming out. These are also called swamp coolers. There is a roof mount unit from Turbokool. http://www.turbokool.com/ They are spendy at about $564 . But it does work and is reliable. There are a bunch of portable units out there although you have to fill them with water. I have used them on three RVs including my present Toyota MH. It's better than listening to a generator and AC compressor. The moisture in the desert sure feels good.

I have really experimented with spark plugs on both the four and six cylinder Toy engines. I thought that I was doing good buying Bosch 4 element platinum plugs for my six. Wrong! They started off good but after a month degraded. The reviewers said the same thing. I was going to buy NGK iridiums which have very good reviews. However, I stumbled across some reviews of Autolite XP Iridiums. I usually would ignore Autolite but there wasn't one bad review of these plugs. The thing that also attracted me was that that the side electrode had a platinum button which means longer life. Anyway I tried the Autolites and they work great. I think there's still a rebate on them. Be careful that they're properly gapped. Autolite screwed up a batch. There's two gap specs for the six, 0.028 and 0.032. The iridiums are very difficult to re-gap because of the fine center iridium electrode which can be easily damaged. If the store won't re-gap them for you then stick to the NGK iridums. They're expensive but good.

There's one manufacturer who makes the batteries for about 18 brands. It is Johnson Controls. IF you buy one from Wallyworld you are getting the same manufacturer of Diehard, Optima, etc for half the price. Wallyworld has the best price and warranty. Most small RV deep cycle batteries are size 27. If you go up to size 29 it is much greater capacity for a small increase in cost and is only 1/4 inch longer in size. Many deep cycle battery RV systems have in line circuit breakers that are little rectangular metal jobs that look like fuses. They are auto resetting. If yours are old or corroding, replace them. They're inexpensive at most auto supply stores.

The only decent air bags are the ones that go directly over the axle. The over the axle is a job and a half to install. Sunrader uses the good ones like the Firestone Ride-Rite. They're around $275. The ones that go in front of the axle over the springs are junk. People either love or hate air springs. You can get two types of full length leaf helpers. One type you have to unbolt the spring shackle while the rear is jacked up enough to take the stress off the springs. Then you slide the booster spring in and re bolt. There is another that fits right over the shackle. Both are 2,000 pound and cost about $36 for a set. I've used the helper leaves and was very satisfied.

Okay, now I think I remember. It was 18 years ago and I'm now suffering from "old timers disease" It was the throttle plate not seating. I had to oil the heck out of the cable line and readjust it. I think that I had to make a new clamp to hold it in place. After that, it started okay. I think somehow the choke was effected, but it was so long ago. I bought my rig when I lived near Boston and every thing rusts up there. Eventually the poor little motor home just dissolved.

Arghhhhh, I almost forgot about that problem. My first TMH which was a 1983 with carb had that problem. It appears that the carb fuel drains back so you have to crank like oooo to get fuel back in the carb. I used to automatically spray starter fluid in the intake before even trying to start the MH. Also check the accelerator cable. It tends to come loose so that you loose full range of throttle and the throttle plate won't seat. I like Moosepucky's suggestion of installing a Weber carb.

After having a class A with a 5K generator, I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to sleep with a generator going. Many Rvrs hate the sound of their neighbors generator running all night. For just stopping to eat, I left the motor and vehicle air on. I live where it is dry in the hot weather so Installed a third air, an evaporative roof cooler. They use just a few amps draw and are relatively quiet. They're amazing in dryer climates. The air comes out ice cold. Of course they won't work where it is humid. On my Toy I installed a size 29 coach battery and an inverter. For the amount of time a microwave is on, I run it off inverter power. I don't even have to turn the engine on. It works great and again I don't have to listen to the generator. If you do go the inverter route check the specs on your microwave. They draw more than their power rating. Just some food for thought. They are starting to make fuel cells for Rvs. When they mature, I'll go that route.

I think that the greed factor is involved with the MH manufacturers. The first Mercedes Sprinter based motor homes weren't too bad in price. Now they extended them to 25' with slide outs and what not. Initially gas mileage was in the 20's now it's down to 16mpg with diesel . No one's interested in making and selling basic motor homes. I remember someone in a local RV club saying "if you can't afford the gas and maintenance then you shouldn't own a motor home". I guess that we're a different breed. I bet no one did marketing to see if they could sell basic economical motor homes. My first real MH was a 20' 1968 Dreamer which was a class C chassis mount on a Chevy one ton with a granny four speed and the 350 cubic inch. I installed headers, ram air, roof spoiler, etc. I got 11MPG and it hauled. I could spin the rear wheels in first gear. I remember zooming up the mountains passing semis and other RVs. I noticed drivers staring at me. Well, my rear bike rack had broken and I ground the bikes on the road like they had been put on a giant grinding wheel. We couldn't figure out what happened to a bike wheel that was totally gone. We put what was left of the bikes inside and kept going. After a few miles we heard the truckers over the CB calling "watch out for bike wheel in the middle of the road"! This went one for quite a distance. Every time we heard it, we'd crack up laughing.

This has been a cool wet spring although it hasn't stopped me. I have been going camping/beach combing up and down the coast. We'll be starting kayaking this week. I have some extra kayaks if anyone is down this way. You really need time to indulge in what the Oregon coast has to offer. I will be going camping in central Oregon this summer with the Mineral and Gem club although all Toys are welcome. We have permission to camp on someone's ranch to prospect. There is a great 4th of July in Yachats. They let you park over night in the street. The day of the 4th we "homestead" on the beach. People use rocks and driftwood to stake out their site. Very nice crowd of people with world class fire works and entertainment. Give me a good look ahead if you're coming by this way. Or I can help with a travel agenda like I've done for others.

Okay, here's my first try at a decal that can be used for bumper stickers or T shirts. What I would like is some artistic talent out there to do a cartoon drawing of a Sunrader. You know, with eyes in the headlights , etc.

What are the experiences out there with spark plugs for the V6? I had put in Bosch 4 element platinums when I got mine. They were good in the beginning buy now don't seem to run as smooth and I lost a MGP. I wanted platinum or iridium so that I didn't have to change them.

If you have the older style 100 to 12v inverter, get the upgrade kit. It's usually a Parallax and runs about $200. It does a much better job of maintaining the coach battery. Also the older inverter output will not charge cell phones and is generally not good for electronic equipment. If you do a lot of winter boon docking, think about the kit that allows you to hook external spare propane tanks. It's a bit of a pain to install on the location of the Winny tank but worth it. I keep a spare 5 gallon tank under the dinette.

I had an 83 RBR 20 ft. It was my first Toyhome. It was real amateur built. The wood frame sagged bad in the roof. The emergency brake was a jerry rigged affair. Fortunately New England road salts eventually dissolved the whole thing.

This is probably unrelated but it's something that you should know. A woman friends Sunrader heater did not work. I checked the schematic and found that there's a sequence of operation before it can ignite. The first entails a solenoid that turns on the motor. Like all solenoids, the points inside can wear. It is round about and inch in diameter with two wires in and two out. I checked it with a voltmeter and it had failed. I replaced it and every thing worked just fine.

Sunrader uses more premium parts and better engineering than Winnebago. The Winny rear air bags are junk and poorly installed. Sunrader uses the best over the axle bags. They last a lot longer. The Sunraders use a ducted premium premium propane heater, Winny uses the cheapest. Sunrader uses remotely ignited automatic water heaters while Winny uses the cheapest manually ignited ones. Winny assembles things by having intoxicated workers fire staples at a hundred feet distance (at least it seems so). The aluminum Winny roof is concave letting water collect.The Sunrader roof is slightly convex keeping water off. Winny uses tons of pressboard which swells and rots. No contest as far as quality and engineering.

I'm not familiar with Sunrader wiring but I will say this about coach batteries. Obviously you want a deep cycle battery. Surprisingly,only a few manufacturers make all the brands. One of them makes the batteries for about 18 different labels. You can pay twice the price for different labels that are the same battery. I found Walmart to have the best price and warranty. Most deep cycle batteries for the smaller motor homes are size 27. Size 29 is only a 1/4 inch longer and much greater capacity while costing not much more. I use mine to operate a 1,000 watt inverter and it is close to two years old. I paid about $65 in Wallyworld with exchange. The gel types are nice but very spendy and do not have the capacity of the regular ones. The ultimate is the combo of golf cart batteries but again there is the price and no WalMart guarantee.

Well, they're not kittens but their look says it all. Now I also have my girlfriend's Pit Bull in the MH.