Bernard
Forum Replies Created
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Nothing wrong with a 5th wheel Chip if it fits your mission. You’ll for sure throw a hell of a lot less money at it. As to restricted campgrounds, there are plenty of alternatives that are accessible and usually less money then the premo class A parks. There are a lot of younger folks out there that can’t afford the premo campground rates especially during peak seasons.
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RON, Check your radiator fill tank. Could be low on coolant.
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I don’t have a smart charger for chassis batteries. As noted above, hardly ever use the charger that is there. And even if the charger was on when the alternator is running, it’s unlikely that a 120 volt source would be present for the charger to operate.
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Harry,
I have to ask since you mentioned it in your post above. You never have seen a Prevost coach with slides? When you found your coach, you didn’t even peek at a Prevost ‘slide’ coach?
You said that you had a coach on order with slides, did you not take delivery? Just wondering.
I’m not at the coach as I’m in Manzanillo, MX, with a group of friends for a week. I think the hallway in our coach is larger than 18″ as that’s only a foot and a half. Our half bath is across from the kitchen (no slide area) and we certainly have had more than one person passing by using the hallway. I’ll measure when I get back.
We can certainly manage with the slides in but our full bath is in the back with the half bath in the middle. We would have to go over the bad to use the shower but doable if needed.
Anytime we park we put all the slides out as that’s what they are for.
Safe travels,
Mark -
Merry Christmas to all from warm and sunny Florida…
Second picture is at home in Michigan this morning…
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Yes, a different person. I want to win the Membership Drive.
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Charles has a Liberty, so probably no “boost” button which as I understand it gives the chassis batteries power from the house batteries on other conversions.
Charles: (1) when you turn the key to the “ON” position, what does the chassis battery voltage gauge on the dash read?
(2) Do you recall how long its been since you started the coach? Do the headlights and clearance lights work? Bright?
(3) You mentio0n you leave the chargers on all the time. “chargers” plural, concerns me. Are you referring to the house battery chargerS? The chassis batteries should have only a single charger, which is probably on a dedicated circuit that on your circuit breaker panel is labeled “24 volt charger”.
(4) What kind of chassis battery charger do you have? Are you using the large 24 charger that Liberty installed which is fastened to the ceiling of the engine bay? Or have you removed that and installed a new technology, three stage, smart charger?
(5) Call my cell at 262-365-9088 if you want to exchange ideas.
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Jimmy,
When driving and needing more heat than the dash can provide, turn on the 12v heat, then set your SMX controls for heat (double tap) and whatever temperature you want, the Webasto won’t fire, but hot coolant will be circulated through the heat exchangers and you’ll be toasty. If you’re parked and no generator or shore power, the Webasto will fire and keep things warm.
The 110v heat is for your kick heaters and you would have to have the gen running or shore power. Same with the heat pumps, you would need shore or gen power, but you could run two heat pumps off inverter for a limited time.
For hot water, you have 3 sources, 110v if on shore or gen power, 12v with Webasto and also heated from the engine when running.
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Andy,
I’m not sure you answered my question about how much data you’re allowed on the FMCA program.
Unlimited data or the 24G data is for the actual device, in my case an iPhone X. Now, when I use my iPhone X as a hotspot for my Mac or Apple TV, Verizon allows me 15G of 4G, before they throttle my “hotspot” to 3G for the rest of the month. However, my actual iPhone X data does get unlimited data for the month, although I believe it could be subject to throttling if I surpass 50G in one month.
TMobile has an “unlimited” plan for two lines for folks over 55 for $60 per month. But your hotspot is 3G unless you upgrade to another plan.
So does FMCA include LTE data for your hotspot in their plan or is it 3G like TMobile.
Tim and Cindy,
The short answer is that your phone has a “personal hotspot” feature and the FMCA/Verizon plan is for a dedicated hotspot. Here’s the long answer:
Since the FMCA/Verizon plan is for a dedicated hotspot that does not have any other purpose or features (such as a phone or web browser) built into the device, it’s used solely as a hotspot that grants internet connections to other WiFi enabled devices (computer, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, tablet, etc.). So, this plan includes an actual 24GB of bandwidth per month and is not limited to the 15GB of personal hotspot data streaming of your phone.
The FMCA/Verizon hotspot data is only used when it’s connected to a device that is in turn, is connected to the internet.
Your phone has a plan that is commonly known as a “Personal Hotspot.” It’s not uncommon for a phone with a built in personal hotspot to have a lower data threshold than the actual device. This way, if you’ve reached your phone’s personal hotspot threshold, the phone still has data available for uses other than for a hotspot.
The FMCA/Verizon plan allows for 24GB of 4G LTE streaming (where available) per month. Since this thread has become a long one, I’ll provide the highlights of the information I received from Verizon:
– Unlike some other hotspot plans, there is no roll over for the unused data allocated each month on the FMCA/Verizon plan. For example, my other Verizon Jetpack device is on a $110 per month plan that allows for one month of roll over. So, if I don’t use it for a month, I could have preserved that unused month and have 48GB of data accumulated for usage. Please note that data only rolls over for one month. So, if it’s not used for three months, the maximum accumulated data amount is limited to 48GB before possible throttling to 3G.
– Unlike some Verizon hotspot devices with monthly fees that are more than double of the FMCA plan, when the monthly data allocation is reached, it MAY throttle to much lower speeds…most likely 3G. On my other device, the plan states that the carrier has the right to throttle (not their words) based on demand in that location. On the FMCA/Verizon plan, I’m to understand that when the 24GB threshold is reached, it WILL throttle to 3G.
– The actual hotspot (Jetpack) device that has been sold for $200 independent of a plan, costs $01 with the FMCA plan.
– When you sign up for the FMCA/Verizon plan, you are committing to a two-year contract.
I hope this information helps clear the confusion.
– Like any connected device, of course, speeds will vary based on a variety of factors such as LTE availability in a specific area, signal strength, etc.
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When I joined FMCA Prevost and Prevost conversions were a part of the organization. They had ads on the inside of the covers and back page of the magazine. There was a huge Prevost conversion display at conventions.
There were often articles relating to conversions. People associated with Prevost conversions were the subject of articles.
There were ads for goods and services that Prevost owners would find valuable. But at some point 15 or 20 years ago Prevost and the converters pulled out. The magazine shrunk, articles were aimed at more conventional RVs and it became clear to me the FMCA organization focus was not on Prevost conversions and they had very little of interest to me.
What prompted me to stop paying dues however was seeing every issue of the magazine aimed at seniors and that just turned me off.
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Shut the valves to the coolant loop at the heater and forget them, you have electric to heat water. FYI, if you turn it off at the water heater, the Webasto will not heat your water.
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So after much searching and very little results, I finally gave up on “repairing” the faucet. Of course replacing the entire faucet meant I had to replace two (double vanity bath setup with the shower in the middle).
Stayed with the chrome finish, but wanted something that was as solid as what was there. Seems most stuff out there isnt as nice as the price tag says it should be.
Found a nice Delta setup. Solid body (not a two piece body), chrome and looks nice in the coach.
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Tom, in reference to the two year contract, I’m less concerned about the carriers raising the rates at the end of the two year period than I am being locked into a contract with a technology that could be soon outdated.
My reasoning is (like battery technology) the wireless industry is on the verge of some major breakthroughs and by signing a two year agreement, we’re locked into a 4G system when 5G is on the horizon. FYI, it’s predicted that 5G will be here within the next two years and will increase the speeds 10X over 4G LTE.
4G LTE transfers data at a max of 1 gigabit per second. 5G has the capability of downloading data at 10 gigabits per second. So, in a perfect world, by the time this contract expires, there will be a new and faster way to connect.
This may not be of interest to everyone, but with the increased speed will most likely come better signal strengths and more secure connections. How does this pertain to the motorhome world? I’m glad you asked!
If you’ve camped in a packed campground, you know there’s only so much bandwidth each tower can handle and this results in dropped signals. New technologies are hoping to address these issues and provide viable wireless alternatives to wired connections. I guess we’ll find out at the next large FMCA meetup where many of the members have opted-in on this program, if there’s any complaints.
We’re also on the cusp of having new over-the-air Wi-Fi systems that could also be game changers in the way we connect to the internet without the need of wires or hotspots.
Back to the FMCA program, as you know I’m fairly critical about technology, but it seems the FMCA struck an advantageous deal for its members based on currently available subscription programs. As stated, the only negative I could find with the plan is the omission of unused minutes rolling over to the next month. I’ll add the hotspot device that’s being offered by Verizon is one of the best on the market and Verizon has pretty good coverage across the USA.
One final note…
When the iPad first launched, AT&T offered an unlimited data plan that cost $30 per month. This plan came under scrutiny as when it became popular, AT&T pulled the plan and started throttling data usage to the grandfathered users. The courts got involved and AT&T lost the case and those of us who have kept the plan in continuous operation get a true unlimited plan for $30 per month. The good news is that it can be transferred to new devices with the only caveat being the subscription must remain continuous. So, as new iPad models came out, the user could simply transfer the plan to the new device to keep it up and running. I’m currently using this plan on an iPad Pro (the jumbo model) and I’m happy I have it as it’s great not to have to connect to unsecure hotel or campground WiFi connections when traveling. However, it cannot be used for tethering so, unlike most phones it cannot be used as a personal hotspot to connect to a computer or other device. Otherwise, it’s a great plan.
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if only 25gigs would be enough….
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Just based on gut feel I would opine the vast majority of members are in the second category.
Despite a history of doing my own mechanical work on my cars and trucks when we got our first bus I was clearly in the second category. But when I took the bus for service I watched everything that went on. I did not intend to do work on the bus, but wanted to understand it.
But Prevost was the catalyst for me doing my own work. When they moved from the little shop on Williams in Jacksonville to the present facility they also put up fancy yellow chains and made it clear if you were a customer you belonged in the waiting area and not in the shop.
It was that moment I knew from that point on I would do my own work. I had had my coach for several years at that point and after watching the mechanics do their thing it was obvious these are not that unlike my cars or trucks, just bigger.
So in addition to providing a great means to travel, when the bus is in my garage it is also a hobby.
My advice to those who might want to be in the first category is to not be afraid of the bus or conversion.