new owner with questions
Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 1:55 pm
First I want to say how appreciative we are to have been able to access this BF site as we were in the process of deciding which motor home to purchase. Not only are we new to Born Free, but this is our first experience with RV'ing. The Born Free owners on this site have provided us with a wealth of information, much of which has been printed and carried along in our manual for reference. Issues addressed concerning tire pressure, Firestone airbag pressure, winterzing and more, have all been incredibly helpful. Lessons learned from this site, and other research as well, helped us greatly in our final decision to purchase our 2005 26RB, a decision which we've made with absolutely no regrets.
As you can imagine, we still have many more questions. Kim at Born Free has been wonderfully responsive and helpful, yet we also appreciate hearing from other BF owners experiences as well.
1. At the RV Life on Wheels conference, (highly recommended) we attended a workshop on weight/tires sponsored by the RV Safety Education Foundation. After picking up our coach in Iowa in August we had it weighed by RVSEF w/ full water/fuel/LP and found that the rear of the coach is about 200lbs over the recommended axel weight and that the rear driver's side tires are about 60 lbs over weight (calculating 80psi rear/65psi front). It was suggested that we drive w/ less fuel/water, which we can do. We would like to carry two bicycles and debating whether we should put a hitch on the front of the coach and carry bikes/chairs up front where we are 900+lbs underweight. We would appreciate your thoughts/insights re: rear axel/tire weight issue...how to remedy with other suggestions....front hitch option.
2. We live in Montana and would like to do some late fall/early spring camping...(not mid winter, however). It was suggested that we could put 1gallon of RV antifreeze into each of the holding tanks and as long as the coach was warm enough for us when in use, that the water lines and fresh water tank would be fine. We purchased a cube heater, which we haven't needed yet, and not sure if we can use it efficiently while dry camping. In between these weekend trips, we've been leaving the coach parked in our driveway where temps are now near freezing at night. We set the furnace for 50-55 degrees and opened the cabinet for the fresh water tank. Along with the antifreeze are there any other suggestions for these in between periods before we fully winterize? Would also appreciate any thoughts/experiences with adding insulation to holding tanks/water lines/other places that are vulnerable to cold weather, ie. outside shower.
3. Our preference is for dry camping, so we equipped our coach w/ two solar panels, two additional batteries and an inverter. We are still learning how to maximize the use of these additions and would appreciate your thoughts.
4. With the couch/jack knife bed slanting somewhat toward the wall when it's opened I would like to know if others have found a pad/remedy of some sort.
With a few more trips I'm sure we'll have many more questions. It's good to know that there are so many experienced BF owners out there whose knowledge we can tap into.
MB & Tony Goodman
As you can imagine, we still have many more questions. Kim at Born Free has been wonderfully responsive and helpful, yet we also appreciate hearing from other BF owners experiences as well.
1. At the RV Life on Wheels conference, (highly recommended) we attended a workshop on weight/tires sponsored by the RV Safety Education Foundation. After picking up our coach in Iowa in August we had it weighed by RVSEF w/ full water/fuel/LP and found that the rear of the coach is about 200lbs over the recommended axel weight and that the rear driver's side tires are about 60 lbs over weight (calculating 80psi rear/65psi front). It was suggested that we drive w/ less fuel/water, which we can do. We would like to carry two bicycles and debating whether we should put a hitch on the front of the coach and carry bikes/chairs up front where we are 900+lbs underweight. We would appreciate your thoughts/insights re: rear axel/tire weight issue...how to remedy with other suggestions....front hitch option.
2. We live in Montana and would like to do some late fall/early spring camping...(not mid winter, however). It was suggested that we could put 1gallon of RV antifreeze into each of the holding tanks and as long as the coach was warm enough for us when in use, that the water lines and fresh water tank would be fine. We purchased a cube heater, which we haven't needed yet, and not sure if we can use it efficiently while dry camping. In between these weekend trips, we've been leaving the coach parked in our driveway where temps are now near freezing at night. We set the furnace for 50-55 degrees and opened the cabinet for the fresh water tank. Along with the antifreeze are there any other suggestions for these in between periods before we fully winterize? Would also appreciate any thoughts/experiences with adding insulation to holding tanks/water lines/other places that are vulnerable to cold weather, ie. outside shower.
3. Our preference is for dry camping, so we equipped our coach w/ two solar panels, two additional batteries and an inverter. We are still learning how to maximize the use of these additions and would appreciate your thoughts.
4. With the couch/jack knife bed slanting somewhat toward the wall when it's opened I would like to know if others have found a pad/remedy of some sort.
With a few more trips I'm sure we'll have many more questions. It's good to know that there are so many experienced BF owners out there whose knowledge we can tap into.
MB & Tony Goodman