Country Coach Friends will rally in Texas this Spring and there is still time to get registered!
Visit this active club of motorhome owners today and learn more!
WWW.COUNTRYCOACHFRIENDSINCORPORATED.COM
Thursday, March 16, 2017
RV Air Conditioning
here is a NEAT little Piece
we read ONLINE regarding the RV AIR
CONDITIONING
written by Fred Smith as seen at www.lazydays.com/page/tech-talk-rv-air-conditioning
MAINTAINING YOUR
RV AIR CONDITIONING UNIT
Summer means RVers
everywhere are trying to tame the gods of heat and humidity with the divine
invention of RV air conditioning. Here are a few tips now to keep your RV air
conditioning system in shape through the upcoming sweltering summer months.
How an Air
Conditioner Works: The Simple Explanation - An air
conditioner essentially sucks air through its intake and extracts heat from it
by running the air through an evaporator. The cold air that remains is
distributed through the vents and cools the interior of your coach. The most
important aspect of a well-running AC system is airflow. Maintaining proper
airflow in your RV’s air conditioning system is crucial to ensure that your
unit runs as it should.
Filters-Keeping your
interior filters clean is a great first step toward maintaining airflow. You
can replace your filters when they get dirty, or you can clean your filters and
save the expense of buying new ones. To clean your interior AC filter, remove
the filter, wash it with water, shake out the debris and reinstall it. A clean
filter allows air to flow.
Roof Units - Your outside
unit can accumulate dust, dirt and leaves that can inhibit airflow. It’s always
a good idea to keep the unit clean so air can flow through it properly.
To clean your roof
unit, you must first remove its housing. Then take a hose and wash the
condensing unit by running water over the coils. The coils will dry naturally
when you restart your AC unit. There is no need to use a spray nozzle or attack
the coils with any kind of pressurized water, since this can potentially
collapse the fins and reduce airflow. If you happen to collapse your unit’s
fins, you can buy a fin comb at most auto parts retailers and use the comb to
brush the fins back to their proper place.
Know When to Call
a Pro - You got into the RVing lifestyle to have fun, not to deal with the
intricacies of malfunctioning air conditioning systems. (Leave that to the
technicians.) While it’s great to have a do-it-yourself attitude with your RV,
understand that the inner workings of your AC system are complicated and best
repaired by a certified RV technician. Remember that airflow is the most
important aspect of a well-running AC system. If your coach is still
uncomfortably warm after you’ve performed the tasks we’ve discussed in this
article, call a professional RV service center and have your system checked out
by a qualified technician. Have Fun
and Stay Cool!
MORE TIPS
What is a Thermistor? - A thermistor is an electronic sensor that
reads air temperature and sends a signal back to your AC unit, letting it know
how hot or cold the interior of your coach is. Your RV likely has several of
these devices placed around the coach. Be aware that thermistors are sometimes
aesthetically located in odd places, like inside cabinets or near light
fixtures, which can lead to inaccurate temperature readings. Running fans
inside your coach is a good idea. Fans promote airflow and help thermistors
achieve more accurate readings, since flowing air is easier to gauge than
dormant air.
Did You Know? -On average, a central AC unit in an RV can
produce air that is 20-25 degrees cooler than the temperature of the air before
the unit is turned on. So if it is 90 degrees in the coach when you turn the AC
unit on, your RV should be able to produce air that is 65-70 degrees in
temperature. By comparison, the AC unit in your RV’s dashboard can produce air
that is 15-20 degrees colder than the temperature of the air when the unit is
turned on.
Condensing Cleaner Caution - You should NOT use condensing cleaner on
your AC unit, as it can corrode the clear coat on your RV and ultimately damage
your coach’s paint. When certified technicians professionally clean a
condensing unit, they will use condensing cleaner. However, they will remove
the entire unit from the roof when they do this so the condensing cleaner does
not damage the RV’s clear coat or paint.
Shared as information only, please consult your own trusted RV Service Center for any questions you have regarding your RV A/C and its care and feeding. Country Coach Friends Club can provide recommendations for service centers too. Visit them online at Country Coach Friends
RV FRONT SUSPENSION AND ALIGNMENT
Front Suspension and Alignment Evaluation
by
John Davis,
(former service employee at the original Country Coach)
1 .Does your coach pull to the left or right?
2. Do you feel as if you
are fighting the wind on days that
aren't windy?
3. Are your tires
showing signs of abnormal wear?
4. Do you feel a
vibration or "shimmie"?
5. Poor returnability?
6. Does it take
excessive effort to steer?
7 .Does your steering
have excessive play (too "loose")?
8. Does speed / braking affect create a
change in any of the above conditions?
If you answered yes to
any of these you should have a Qualified Tech inspect your front-suspension and
alignment and recommend any potentially needed repairs. This can reduce costly
repairs at a later date and also greatly reduce driver fatique.
COUNTRY COACH FRIENDS CLUB has several recommended RV Service Businesses they recommend for excellent care and maintenance of your Motorhome including John Davis at JDRV Services here in Oregon, a CCFI partner.
Give Jerry OConnor an email at jerryobusATaolDOTcom and he will be happy to help you out with a recommendation based on where you are located.
Norcold RV Refrigerator Question
NORCOLD REFER QUICK Q&A
answered by Kevin Kiscoan, Premier RV of Oregon
Q My Norcold 1210IM refrigerator in our 2007
Allure 470 won’t obtain a temp below 50 degrees F. Outdoor temps here have been
in the high 80’s but that shouldn’t matter on propane or AC (which both those are
working fine). If defrosting doesn’t help, which we will do first, what next? A
new condenser unit, perhaps?
A Defrosting
the refrigerator and/or freezer is important to proper refer function. If the
temperature still doesn't decrease, then it could be the condenser. Or it could
easily be something else. I recommend having a qualified service center
troubleshoot the cause. Replacing parts without knowing for sure may waste
valuable time and money.
Premier RV of Oregon
325 E. 1st Avenue Junction City, OR
Telephone: 541-998-2640
Thursday, January 26, 2017
RVing, It's About the Adventure! RV Business Opinion Column from Sherm Goldenberg Strikes Note
OPINION: Remember, It’s About The Adventure!
*I reread this recently and thought what a good article from industry icon Sherm Goldenberg on the FUN people discover from the cockpit of a motorhome.
by Sherman Goldenberg RV Business
“It kind of gives us the opportunity to see places and do things that we wouldn’t typically have a chance to do if we had a home and, you know, a typical 9-to-5 job,” Kim added. “We’ve seen people that we probably wouldn’t have seen had we not been living this lifestyle.”
RV industry people understandably spend
the bulk of their time absorbed in conversations about the merits of
things like hitch weights and interior decors, awnings and tag-axles.
But many of us probably lose track at times on a personal level of the
real-life consumers in whose hands all of these recreational vehicles
eventually wind up.
With that in mind, we visited with a few RV enthusiasts during the Florida RV Trade Association’s (FRVTA) Florida RV SuperShow
in Tampa and, by and large, found them to be intelligent, educated,
clear-thinking, serious-minded people — retired and otherwise — who tend
to view themselves as free spirits. When they go to a new state, they
told us, they want to see more than the state capital, visiting some of
the lesser known, off-the-radar locations as well.
They want to recreate at their leisure while staying in both public and private parks instead of the Marriott Courtyard.
They want to go someplace and stay for
two to three weeks and then move on down the road to another state for
another few weeks — just like that – while staying in their own rolling
homes.
And while they disdain air travel, they
love the flexibility and open-ended freedom that they experience through
an RV lifestyle to which they seem deeply committed.
In other words, snowbird retirees like Nancy and Jerry Smith,
who winter in Sarasota, Fla., and summer in Hot Springs, Ark., don’t
take their recreational vehicle travels lightly. On the contrary, the
former owners of a Florida agency specializing in malpractice insurance
for physicians are invested heavily in it, having owned six motorhomes,
and they’re on the brink of acquiring their next one, a Newmar Class A.
Mason, Mich., residents Don and Shaun Sherwood
were shopping for a new fifth-wheel in Tampa as Don anticipates
retiring from his truck-driving job while Shaun plans on maintaining her
position in a township trustee’s office. The Sherwoods, the parents of
three grown daughters, started out tenting 20 years ago and still like
to camp as a family on long weekends and holidays in public and private
parks.
Tom and Jan Guy
have been RV owners for four years, during which time the retired
engineer and former coin dealer have enjoyed sightseeing, mostly staying
in Encore and Passport America-affiliated resorts while
living in Clearwater, Fla. The current owners of a well-maintained 2005
Newmar Kountry Aire Class A, the Guys were checking out RVs and
accessories to see what’s new and “learn a little bit about what we have
and what we might want to do in the future.”
Perhaps our most memorable chat, however, was with full-timers Ryan McCready and Kim Thomas,
a 30-something couple who sold off their home last summer in Clermont,
Fla., to work from the road — he as a triathlon coach, she for a home
automation company. They travel all over with a nine-year-old black
Goldendoodle named Jet overnighting at Thousand Trails resorts in a 2008 Fleetwood Discovery Class A.
We asked McCready and Thomas, who left
some of their belongings in a storage facility, about their freewheeling
lifestyle and what prompted them to so audaciously cut their links with
a more normal day-to-day existence. And their
answers still stick in my mind because they were so, ah, casual and
spontaneous, especially for working stiffs like me. “We like nice
weather,” said Ryan, strolling through a sprawling Camping World
display at the Tampa Show. “So, we can go wherever the weather’s nice
and just get to see new places. I think we’re both sort of nomadic at
heart. I’m former military, so I get a little anxious when I’m any place
too long.”
“It kind of gives us the opportunity to
see places and do things that we wouldn’t typically have a chance to do
if we had a home and, you know, a typical 9-to-5 job,” Kim added. “We’ve
seen people that we probably wouldn’t have seen had we not been living
this lifestyle.”
So, what they have in their RV is, for
the most part, everything they need on a day-to-day basis. “Oh, I’m sure
people thought we were nuts, absolutely nuts,” said Kim. “But once we
did it, people really envy us and understand what we’re doing, and I
think that also makes us feel like we made the right decision, you know,
being able to just kind of go wherever you want to and that’s home for
awhile. That’s really cool, it’s really cool.”
The two plan plan to continue their
full-timing adventure for the foreseeable future. “Yeah,” said Ryan, “we
have no plans of stopping yet.”
“We don’t really have a plan,” added Kim. “We just are going to do this until we don’t want to do it anymore.”
Monday, August 8, 2016
Attend a Motorhome Rally in August 2016 on the Oregon Coast!
COUNTRY COACH FRIENDS INC MOTORHOME RALLIES ARE AMONG THE BEST YOU WILL EVER ATTEND! Here is the proposed rally agenda for their August 22-27 event! Call Jerry OConnor at 775-742-4627 to register...A couple spots are still available
Country Coach Friends
Inc.
Friendship Rally
August 12-17, 2018
Mill Casino RV Resort/Casino
THE FUN IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW! TONIGHT COUNTRY COACH FORMER BUS SALES STAR JAMES COGLEY AND BAND TAKE THE STAGE!
(always a favorite act of mine personally)
The club is going to be in MISSISSIPPI next for their Spring Rally.
--Friendliest Group of Motorhomers I've ever known
--Great discounts to members at Service Centers, Resorts, etc
--Like minded travelers who like to explore new locations together!
--JOIN THE CLUB, JOIN THE FUN
Learn about this fantastic RV Owners club open to all brands of motorhomers by visiting their website.
Make friends4life!
www.countrycoachfriendsincorporated.com
(always a favorite act of mine personally)
The club is going to be in MISSISSIPPI next for their Spring Rally.
--Friendliest Group of Motorhomers I've ever known
--Great discounts to members at Service Centers, Resorts, etc
--Like minded travelers who like to explore new locations together!
--JOIN THE CLUB, JOIN THE FUN
Learn about this fantastic RV Owners club open to all brands of motorhomers by visiting their website.
Make friends4life!
www.countrycoachfriendsincorporated.com
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