Emergency Situtations While Traveling....

October ’08
I recently witnessed an emergency situation handled by paramedics at a local golf course. We were eating a late lunch when one of the people at our table slumped over and became unconscious. EMS people arrived and soon had him stabilized. By chance, he had a friend there who knew his medical history (heart attacks, diabetic, and high blood pressure) and was able to help the paramedics save some valuable time in attending to him. He was rushed to a local hospital, diagnosed with heat stroke, and after spending the night, released in satisfactory condition.

I began thinking about RV travel emergencies and what prior preparation might be made to assist an EMS personnel in the event they were attending an out of town patient and/or someone who could not communicate with them at the moment. After looking on the internet and talking to the local EMS personnel, I have some partial solutions to this problem.

A: Carry a card in your wallet with your specific medical & personal info on it. This site will further explain where to keep it and help in creating one. http://www.medids.com/free-id.php

B; Use a medical alert bracelet. This is common procedure for diabetics

C; A key ring item such as a USB Flash drive. Commercial version http://www.medictag.com/index.htm, Homemade version http://www.ehow.com/how_2194339_digital-medical-alert-tag.html

D: Participate in the “File of Life” program. Life refers to (Lifesaving Information For Emergencies. At this site, https://www.vialoflife.com/vial_form.php, you can fill out on-line forms with your info, print them, get necessary decals, and get suggestions on how and where to keep them. “Vial of Life” is same program where info is kept in a large pharmacy drug vial. These “vials’ are usually available free at most pharmacies.

I subscribe to the blog, RV Net, and there is a posting there on this subject by a fellow RV’er who happens to be a paramedic. It’s worth a read. http://blog.rv.net/2008/03/03/when-everyone-doesnt-know-your-name/

Joe Moore

7-2-08
Hi folks, I was looking at my eight year old Travel Supreme 5er the other day wondering how I was going to improve the look of the finish. I was contemplating a paint job because lets face it there isn’t any source for graphics and the fiberglass was looking quite oxidized. After all it’s eight years old and has been living outdoors since it was born. Hell I can’t even buy a new one anymore, not that I would if they were available.

Well I didn’t get it painted and it looks almost new. The transformation took several hours of labor on my part and some of Meguiar’s and 3M Marine/RV products. I started with a good wash using Meguiar’s gel wash. Then I removed the oxidation on the front and rear caps with Meguiar’s #49 Oxidation Remover. This stuff really works and isn’t as aggressive as a pure compound. After the oxidation remover I used Meguiar’s High Gloss Polish #45 to bring out the luster of the gel coat and to feed it. As it turns out gel coat gets hungry living in the elements. Finally I applied a coat of Meguiar’s #56 Pure Wax that brought out the luster. Now all this stuff can be used by hand however I have always believed in as much help as I can get so I used my Porter Cable #7424 Dual Action Polisher. I used a red cutting pad with the oxidation remover and polishing pads for the polish and wax. This tool makes the job enjoyable. The results are quite rewarding also.

Folks I would love to take credit for coming up with this combination however it is known as The Meguiar’s Fiberglass Restoration System. It is available from Autogeek.net or at your local Boaters World.

Now everyone is wondering what to do about the graphics. The answer is a product made by those folks from Minnesota 3M Marine Vinyl Cleaner & Restorer. This product is in a spray bottle it removes oxidation and restores color and sheen. Our graphics still have the sun caused cracks however the colors are back to almost new and they shine.

Folks I have tried various products to remove oxidation and restore the shine to the fiberglass with varying levels of success. The procedure outlined above has had the most satisfying result of all. I won’t try to tell you it was easy, it wasn’t, however it wasn’t overly difficult either. If you have questions give me a call. Have fun making it look new.

Henry

From Gene Fisher: As of May 15, 2008, I have had a couple of good conversations with Don Brubaker who was head of service at Travel Supreme and now has a similar position at Entegra Coaches. For those of you that do not know, Entegra Coaches is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jayco and was formed when Jayco bought all of the assets of Travel Supreme. I was trying to get some information about the availability of TS parts through Entegra.

Don told me that Entegra Coaches purchased the Travel Supreme parts inventory and will have parts and service available to TS owners for the foreseeable future. The number to call to schedule service or order parts is 574-862-7100. Since many of the personnel who worked for TS are now working for Entegra, owners can also get technical questions answered through the above number.

The factory service location is the same as it was with Travel Supreme in Wakarusa, IN. Of course, parts are available to TS owners or local RV repair facilities by calling the above number (Entegra Coaches).

According to Mr. Brubaker, Entegra Coaches will have NO relationship with Travel Supreme Owners Association. Their association with TS owners will be solely through the availability of parts and service at their factory location. As I understand from Ray Wenig, the TSOA Wagonmaster, RCMI will continue to operate Travel Supreme Owners Association.

Gene Fisher

Testimonial From Henry Hauffe on the same subject.... 5-16-08 - Hi folks, K and I are here in Elkhart IN visiting friends. We went over to Entegra Coach Inc. to see what was shaking. They are in the process of starting up. There are some of the old folks working to bring the new company online.

The interesting thing is that the service department is doing some retail service/repair work. This is not warranty work, I repeat this is not warranty work. If you have a coach that is out of warranty and need work they will be glad to make an appointment to do repairs. They have access to all of the parts and materials used in our coaches. For appointments call: Don Brubaker at 877-862-7101 toll free, or 574-862-7101.

There are also two additional service facilities staffed by former TS employees. They also have access to all of the parts and supplies to affect repairs to our coaches. They are;

Supreme RV Service
574-206-1302
Bishop Christensen

And the old faithful has reopened:

All Brands RV Service
574-903-3099
Jerry Ryman

Hopefully no one has occasion to use this information. However if there is a problem then you have a solution.

Henry

5-08
Q. I have a question for the membership. I have a small amount of water accumulating between the layers of the skylight. Has anyone had that problem? Does it require draining it, replacing it , resealing the roof? The sky light is not cracked. Could it be condensation trapped? Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks, Lynn Burkhardt

A: I will answer your question in two parts. First the Best solution, second the best solution for now.

The best solution is to replace the dome. There is a potential for mildew or mold is the standing water has contact to air. When the dome is replaced, use a wide butel tape sealant to attach the dome to the roof and screw it into place. Then generously seal the edges with a self leveling sealant, I recommend Alpha or Dicor.

The best solution at the moment is based upon the fact that you don't have a replacement dome in your hands right now. You can drill small weep holes into the inner dome, 1/8" drill should be plenty. But be very careful not to puncture the outer dome. Next, scrape and reseal the edges of the dome with self leveling sealant, again Alpha or Dicor. The sealant in either case will need a day to set up to with stand traveling. Good luck

Bishop Christensen, Supreme RV Service

Bridgestone/Firestone’s 18 page brochure “RX for Light Trucks, RVs, Mini-Buses & Ambulances” found on the internet at: http://www.trucktires.com/bridgestone/us_eng/press/zip/RV_Brochure.pdf
This is a pretty through article on Overloading, Weighing, Axle Capacity, Tire Ratings, Load & Inflation Tables, Speed Ratings, Care & Maintenance.

Bridgestone/Firestone 6 page brochure “RV Weight Forms & Procedures”
Found on the internet at: http://www.trucktires.com/bridgestone/us_eng/press/zip/WeighForm.pdf
Forms are almost identical to Print-outs used by RVSEF, Recreational Vehicle Safety Education Foundation. Some of us have had our rigs weighed by RVSEF at past TS International Rally’s

Goodyear’s “RV & Truck Load Inflation Tables”
http://www.goodyear.com/rv/pdf/rv_inflation.pdf contains the load – inflation tables for tires normally on our Fifth Wheels.

Michelin’s “Truck Load And Inflation Tables” http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/tires-retreads/load-inflation-tables.jsp contains the load – inflation tables for tires usually installed on Travel Supreme Motor Homes.

Michelin’s Truck Tire site found at http://www.michelintruck.com/michelintruck/toolbox/videos-demos.jsp#FundamentalsofTireCD
has some excellent videos about truck tires that will also encompass Motor Homes, Light & Medium Trucks, and Fifth Wheels. These videos are very detailed and through within their subject matter. There are a number of videos here, but two I think are particularly applicable to our group: “Pre Inspection” & “Fundamentals of Tire Wear”

There are other sites and locations where tire information and safety can be found. Please let us know about them and share your favorite ones.

Be Safe In Your RV Travels,
Joe Moore

Fluid and Filter Change Recommendations for Allison Transmissions
The type of fluid and the frequency with which the fluid is changed can noticeably influence the performance and reliability of Allison automatic transmissions. Allison transmission and general motors have designed extensive specification and testing programs to verify the quality of fluids and, as a result, have specific fluid and filter change interval recommendations, which closely match today’s operating environments.

Local conditions, severity of operation or duty cycle may require more or less frequent fluid change intervals that differ from the information contained in the charts. Allison transmission recommends that customers use fluid analysis as the primary method for determining fluid change intervals. In the absence of a fluid analysis program, the fluid change intervals listed in the charts should be used.

For more information, email Henry Hauffe and he will send you the full documentation.

If you have questions regarding fluid or filter change intervals, or model not listed in the documentation booklet, contact the Allison technical assistance Center at 1-800-252-5283.

LED UPGRADES FOR BARGEMAN 84-86 SERIES STOP/TURN/TAIL, & WRAP AROUND CLEARANCE LIGHTS

Yep folks there is an upgrade for the lights on the rear of our coaches. Unfortunately it is only for the 84-86 series lights. In other words if you have an Express or one of the newer coaches you have the new lights that aren’t included.

This is a replacement lens, which has the LED bulbs built into it. It comes with a standard 1157 bulb bayonet connector on it so all you have to do is remove the old lens and bulb and plug in the new connector and install the new lens and you are done. The total process takes about 20 minutes for four lights including finding the Phillips screwdriver.

The new LED lenses for your lights are about $30.00 each and are available from several mail order outlets; here are two I have used:
www.pplmotorhomes.com
www.campingconnectionrv.com

There are pictures of the LED lenses on both sites. I attempted to take a picture of mine to show how much the light output has increased. Don’t know if you can tell but here’s the picture.

Henry