Lee Litchfield Blog

We're in Williamsburg, VA today as I took the kids to Busch Gardens and Pirate's Cove miniture golf. It was our youngest son's 13th birthday. We're heading to D.C. for several days.

Many of you have been hearing about the new EPA mandates that go into effect in 2010. Since there is a lot of misunderstanding associated with this, here is a quick overview.
The mandates went into effect January 1, 2010. However, any engines built before 2010, can still be used on a motorhome chassis and be legal.

Since motorhomes are titled with the model year of the RV conversion, you can have a 2011 or 2012 model for that matter, with an engine made before 2010 without the EPA mandates.

The main change is that the diesel engines must now have a urea or "DEF"� tank and Selective Catalytic Reduction equipment along with larger radiators and related engine cooling equipment. This adds more than a thousand pounds to the weight of the coach and uses up storage area.

The cost of these changes is between $15K and $20K.

Freightliner has committed more capital to being able to supply the old engines for a longer period of time than Spartan, and that is driving some RV manufacturers to switch from Spartan to Freightliner.

Newmar will continue to exclusively use the Spartan chassis on the Essex and King Aire. However, they are very close to running out of the K-2 chassis used on the Essex. I'm not sure about the King Aire which uses the K-3 chassis.

The extra weight of the chassis equipment that has to be added to meet the EPA mandate reduces cargo carrying capacity, affects fuel economy and costs more upfront. Maintenance will also be more costly. Needless to say, virtually no one wants the new engines as long as they have a choice between the old and new engines. However, no one will have a choice for very long as manufacturers sell out of the pre-2010 engines.

The coming controversy will be because of the extra weight the urea tank and Selective Catalytic Reduction and engine cooling equipment puts on the rear axles. Manufacturers are used to putting single rear axles on coaches 40 feet or less. The coaches with the new 2010 emission engines will exceed or come close to the single rear axle weight limit before the customer puts a single item in the coach! Manufacturers are faced with this dilemma--put a tag axle on the coach or take weight out of the coach. Some are taking a third approach--putting higher weight ratings on the rear axle than federal regulations allow.

The facts are that RV's are subject to Federal interstate axle weight limits. That means the maximum gross weight on any axle is 20,000 lbs. The maximum gross weight on tandem axles is 34,000 lbs. Unfortunately, some manufacturers appear to be ignoring the limits or don't seem to be concerned about how little customers can put in their coach without the axles being overweight. This is illegal at worst and unethical at best.

I looked at one manufacturer website and they list a 22,000 lb. drive axle rating and 13,300 lb. tag axle ratings for one of their entire product lines. This clearly exceeds both the single and combination axle limits. Another large player also significantly exceeds the 20K and 34K limits across all diesel lines. The exaggerated weight ratings puts the customer at risk of overloading their coach, making them subject to fines or denied passage on certain roads such as the Pennsylvania Turnpike. More and more toll booths are being equipped with scales that weigh by the axle as vehicles as they pass through. Obviously, being overweight could also create safety and legal issues.

It appears that some manufacturers don't think anyone will notice or don't mind reaping extra sales now at the expense of possible legal ramifications later. The Recreational Vehicle Industry Association, the RV association for manufacturers, has issued verbal warnings, but appear to feel they have no jurisdiction, as this is a federal issue. Many states have laws on their own books that mirror the federal laws.

There is also the matter of having a level playing field for both manufacturers and dealers. When a manufacturer builds a coach with axle ratings that exceed the legal limits, more features can be added or left in than competitors that adhere to the federal laws. Some manufacturers apparently believe that they can get away with advertising axle ratings that exceed the legal weight limits and hope the consumer is not educated enough to understand that their actual legal cargo carrying capacity is less than the advertised capacity. In case of a fine or lawsuit, it would be difficult for the consumer to look for a remedy from the manufacturer, since the coach was tagged with the correct GVWR. It's just unethical, in my opinion, for a manufacturer to advertise an inflated cargo carrying capacity based on higher axle weight ratings when in reality for the customer to is not be able to put more than a few hundred pounds of belongings in their expensive diesel pusher without be illegally overweight on one of the axles.

To that end, I am trying to educate consumers. Some manufacturers are unclear as they haven't put out specs for 2011 units. Others like Newmar, use only legal axle ratings and they are putting tag axles on the 40 foot coaches and trimming weight on the smaller coaches (read more cost-conscious buyer) to allow adequate cargo carrying capacity (CCC) on each axle. As far as I can tell, Brand F is adhering to the legal axle ratings and the resulting correct CCC. Brand T is NOT on their most popular models. Brand M is NOT on most all models across the board. Brand W is adhering. There are others that I'm missing and I will post when I get time to do more research. Lee

We're on a motorhome trip up the east coast from Georgia to New England. We're in a 2007 Newmar Essex that I've heard some call the "White Essex" on various message boards because of the custom paint job. It's a gorgeous cream color with black, silver and gold swirls.

We left Thursday night and plan to be gone at least 2 to 3 weeks. We stopped in Atlanta Friday and went to the world's largest aquarium with Patricia's sister and ate at the Atlanta Hard Rock Cafe.

We did the tour in Savannah today and are going to Litchfield Beach tomorrow in S. Carolina. I'm hoping to play golf at Pinehurst #2 sometime this week and then we're headed for Washington, D.C. to go to places we missed 2 summers ago. This time the American History Smithsonian, Post Office Smithsonian, U.S. Capitol building and the Washington monument.

I'm going to play golf at Bethpage Black in Farmington, NY and we'll go to Niagara Falls. We'll go to Boston and maybe take in a Red Sox game. Atlantic City is also on the agenda. We may even go to Chicago on the way back and take in a Cubs game. Wrigley Field is on my bucket list as is Niagara Falls, Pinehurst #2, and Bethpage Black--both recent U.S. Open sites.

I'm going to try to get back on schedule with my blog. I've got about 10 outlines, but haven't had time to post. My next one will be about the coming weight controversy on diesel pushers with the new 2010 engines with the EPA mandates. It will be ugly when the old engines are gone. If you're considering purchasing a new diesel in the near future, you will want to read this. My blog is at the end of the home page at leesrv.com and you can subscribe to it.

This past Sunday was Father's Day and it always reminds me of the summer of 1989. This particular one was a little more special in that golf's U.S. Open was held at Pebble Beach.

I got a bright idea 21 years ago this summer to take my Dad on a motorhome trip with my wife and infant son. A little background--my Dad was 68 and was twice a widower. My mom died of lupus in 1974 when my brother and I were 16 & 17 and on our twin brother and sister's 10th birthday. My dad remarried a couple of years later, but she died in a car crash 7 years later that also nearly claimed my Dad's life.

He retired from his Dallas V.A. Hospital job as a warehouse clerk at 55 and eventually my Dr. brother talked him into moving to Oklahoma City so he and I could take care of him. He was diabetic, but wasn't very compliant in regards to diet and taking his insulin. We frequently him took him places to eat and even took him on some manufacturer's trips. I can't ever remember him saying "Thank You" for anything my brother and I did, although he would sometimes offer to pay for a trip if we would just take him.

He wasn't always unpleasant to be around, it was just his personality change after his second wife died. She had double-indemity insurance that paid my Dad $100K. When $13K a year was your top pay while working at the V.A., $100K is a windfall that he found hard to even spend the high interest of the 1980's he was receiving! This financial independence seemed to make him think he didn't need to be nice to everyone outside the family and could embarrass us at times by saying rude things to food servers and the like.

Anyway, we decided to let him pick where he wanted to go on the motorhome trip and we would go there. I would take off 2 1/2 weeks. He decided to go visit his cousins in Lodi, CA so it would be a West Coast swing. Since this was pre-Internet, I wrote to all the states and got state tourism guides for him to look over and pick out places to visit. I think he almost as much fun planning our trip as he did going on it. We decided to take a brand new no-slide 37' Kountry Star gas motorhome.

He wanted to see the Grand Canyon and the Painted Desert in Arizona. He wanted to go up Highway 1 along the Pacific and also go to Sequoya National Forest and Yosemite. My one request on the trip was that since we were going up the coast, I just had play Pebble Beach. I did and almost froze to death in the middle of August! 50 degrees and 30 MPH winds off the ocean! Brrr!

We went to Virginia City in Nevada, as my Dad was a huge fan of TV's Westerns. After spending a few days at the cousins, we headed to Oregon and Washington state. The 5-star RV resort park we stayed in Bend, OR was amazing for the time.

Next we went to Yellowstone and then to Cody, Wyoming to see the Wild Bill Hickok Museum as well as the Winchester Museum. I wheeled him around in a wheel chair and bought him the audio tour headphones. After that, we finally headed back to OKC.

When we got back my Dad pulled me aside and sat me down. He then shocked me by thanking me several times for taking him on the trip. He said it was by far the best time he had EVER had and how much he appreciated us taking him!

I talked to my wife and we decided we would try taking him every year, or at least every other year on a motorhome trip that my Dad would do most of the planning. We had fun too and it was unclear how long my Dad would be around with his diabetes.

Sadly, my Dad went on dialysis a few months later and was never able to go on those future trips. He died of renal failure 6 years and many amputations later. Most any in-depth conversation in those last years included my Dad giving highlights of our trip.

I have fond memories of that trip and my only regret is that we didn't start them soon enough. It's a mistake we haven't made with our kids. We go on 1 or 2 motorhome trips a year with our entire family. We have a blast and it's something EVERYONE in the family loves. It's not easy to find an activity that all 4 kids and my wife and I agree on!

I'm sure you've guessed the moral of the story. Don't wait to do things to enrich your life, or someone else's life. You never know when the opportunity to do so may be taken away from you. So, take your grandkids on that trip you've talked about. Get that new unit you've dreamed about. Take your parents on that trip. Sell your house and go full-timing. Whatever the plan is, start making plans today--not tomorrow. DON'T WAIT!! Lee

PS. We leave on a motorhome trip to New England the second week in July and we can hardly wait! Also, I've lost yearly 50 lbs. and am now off all blood-pressure medication!

That's a question that's emailed to me regularly. Since I've been soooo busy these past 3 weeks dealing with insurance adjusters from the hailstorm, I've decided to repeat a blog from back in January. It was titled "What's an RSS feed?" and tells how to sign up for the blog.

P.S. I'm doing better health-wise as I've lost 40 lbs. I've been able to stop taking blood pressure medication as well as some of the diabetes medication. I'm not playing golf as much as I planned, but I am getting away a few times.

What's an RSS feed?

Many of you have emailed me wanting to "sign me up for your blog". After asking around, I was told that what I needed was an RSS feed. I had heard of it, but really didn't know what it was. I googled it and there is a website that explains it and how to use them.

The short version is that RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It's the little orange symbol with curved lines that look like radio waves or something. RSS lets you have your favorite websites come to you instead of you having to search for them. When you subscribe to the RSS feed, you will receive an alert when the website or the section of the website has new information. You can subscribe to one or hundreds of RSS feeds. It's really cool! Of course, my kids can't believe I'm just learning about something they've known about forever!

You will need to sign up for a service to organize the RSS feeds, like Google Reader or Bloglines. They're free and only take a couple of minutes to sign up. After that, just click on the RSS symbols on websites you would like to follow and you'll get updates.

I finally got this blog on an RSS feed today. It's in the upper right corner of this page, just above the "Navigation" heading. Just click on it an it will walk you through it. Whenever I post a new blog, you'll be notified so you don't have to go look everyday. The other RSS feed we have set up for is inventory updates and you subscribe for that on the homepage. We also plan on doing more RSS feeds for service and parts specials in the coming weeks.

Here's a link to the site that I visited that does a good job of explaining about RSS feeds. http://www.press-feed.com/howitworks/what-is-RSS.php Let me know if you have any trouble signing up.

What you don't know can hurt you. Every year we get numerous service units in that has been victimized by old tires. Blow-out damage can range from a simple fender skirt replacement to fires and roll over. However, most blow-outs happen at high speeds because tires naturally warm up traveling down roads so the damage can be severe.

I've seen trailers where there was a blow-out and the steel belt flapped into wheel well and floor. Eventually, the friction causes the trailer to catch on fire. Sometimes fellow motorists warn the driver in time, but other times the trailer burns up.

On a motorhome, a blow-out on a rear tire usually results in just some body damage that can easily be repaired. On a front tire, the damage can be catastophic. The blow-out can cause the driver to lose control of the motorhome. Going into oncoming traffic, going off the road & turning over, or going into a concrete median wall can be some of the results.

We had a 2003 Essex towed into us a couple of years ago that was on its maiden voyage with a new owner. Less than 20 miles into their trip, the front left tire blew out and put them into the concrete median. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but their tow vehicle was totaled and the motorhome sustained over $100K in damages. It took months to repair and the owners had to wait because the motorhome, being an Essex, was not totaled. The tires only had a little over 20K miles on them!

The culprit is usually old tires--not a road hazard. A little known fact is that all tires have a "birth date" stamped on the sidewall of each tire. The average "life expectancy" of tires is 5-7 years. That's usually not a problem on car tires, because we normally put 12K to 15K miles a year on them. That means we usually replace them every 3-4 years before they become aged.

But trailers and motorhomes are usually a different story. It's very normal for RVs to only be towed or driven 3K-5K miles per year. That means that many tires need to be replaced because of age instead of miles. If you're buying a unit secondhand, you should always ask the age of the tires, as well as the miles since replacement.

However, you should make sure they're not fudging or mistaken. There is a way to learn the age of the tires by numbers that reveal when the tire was manufactured. Every tire has the DOT (Department on Transportation) number on the sidewall. There will be several numbers/letters that follow the DOT. Any tire manufactured in 1999 and prior will have three digits at the end. Any tire manufactured in 2000 to current will have four digits at the end. For 1999 and prior tires, the first two digits indicate the calendar week (52 would indicate that last week of December) and the last digit will indicate the year. For 2000 to current, the first two digits will the calendar week and the last two digits will indicate the year. For example, DOT1008 would indicate the tire was manufactured in March of 2008.

Obviously, any tire with three digits after the DOT would need to be replaced immediately. I would suggest replacing any tire over five years old, whether there is any noticeable dry rot cracks or not. This is especially important on the front tires of a motorhome.

Checking tire pressure before each trip will help your tires last longer as will filling them with nitrogen instead of air. I also highly recommend getting some kind of "run-flat" installed on the front tires of a motorhome. We sell a lot of a brand called Tyron because we feel it's the best on the market for RVs. Here's a link if you want to check it out: http://www.certifiedrvservice.com/tyron.php

My advice is to not mess around with safety issues. Go check your tires today so you will know when you need to replace them. Also, consider getting a run flat system for your coach. I know tires and run flat systems can be a little money, but it's hard to put a price on protecting loved ones! Have a great Memorial Day! Lee

Yesterday we got hit by the worst hailstorm I've seen in my 34 year career. Living in Texas and Oklahoma, I've probably been involved with around 25 or 30. I've seen the results of worse, but the dealership wasn't hit by those storms. Just last week I saw where a hailstone when clear through a rubber roof, through the wood decking and finally through the ceiling panel! It looked like a small fist had punched through it.

Most of the hail we've been hit with in the past has been of the pea and marble size variety. Yesterday's hail was pea size and marble size, but mostly golf ball size and baseball size! The ground was covered with several inches--it looked like snow! Every roof vent and most air shrouds were broken.

A half-hour later I was driving around and there was so much steam rising from the ice that it created a fog so thick you couldn't see more than around 50 feet or so! Unbelievable! Traffic lights were knocked out and cars were driving with windshields and back windows out. Some looked like their vehicle had a sledgehammer taken to it! We were doing everything we could today to procure vents and shrouds and to replace our own and sell to customers. There was a steady stream of customers buying up what we could get and bringing their units in for repair today.

Now you're probably wondering why I would question why something so horrible could possibly be good? It can be good for both customer and the dealership because of the insurance money. If a customer can live with a few dings in their motorhome or trailer, they can pocket the money. Nowadays, it's mainly the economy line trailers with aluminum skin that's involved, because many motorhomes and trailers are fiberglass. Of course, we will have all the repair business we can handle, so service and parts will benefit

In the sales arena, it's usually good for the dealerships because they can pass the insurance money on to the customer by selling the unit for less. We usually can sell the coach for much less than your competition and still make the same margin. For example, if we have a trailer that sells for $20K, but we get a hail settlement for $3K, we can then sell it for $17K. The competition can only say that theirs doesn't have any damage and that's why they are higher.

I suspect a lot of customers buy the hail damaged unit, pocket the savings and then file a claim again when their neighborhood gets hail. You can pretty much count on getting some hail every 3-5 years in Oklahoma, although most is very small and doesn't damage trailers much. It's wrong, but many will do it anyway because of the amount of money involved.

The upside and downside is this interesting fact--it costs the same to replace a badly damaged aluminum side as one that has only damage you can see by looking at it in the proper light. The best for everyone is the latter. I call it the 10-foot Rule. If you can't see the damage at 10 feet when approaching the trailer, you've got a real winner hailstorm. Customers then don't care if there's hail damage. Even if it's heavier on the off-door side, they will dismiss it because they don't see it often.

This was not a 10-ft Rule hailstorm for us. You can clearly see the damage from afar in most cases. That means that we will probably lose on this hailstorm. We have $1000 deductibles and we'll probably have to discount more than we'll get from the insurance company. Normally, they'll pay us 40% of the negotiated repairs, less the deductible. If you repair it, they'll pay you the rest. I've only replaced the metal once in the past, and that was years ago when we got a rare hailstorm as we were going into winter.

Surveying the damage today, it wasn't quite as bad as I thought, but still bad. Fortunately, most of our new damaged units are Jayco and they have a little heavier metal on most units. We also have a lot of used FEMA units that have aluminum sides. On used units, the hail doesn't matter as much, as most used units older than 3 or 4 years already have hail damage of some kind.

Even when the hail is good, it's quite a hassle dealing with the insurance company and the adjusters. They want to haggle on everything and their favorite line is "We don't insure profit!" Technically, they are right, but I can usually work things out. I tell them that I don't have time to repair them, so they will need to make arrangements with another dealer to get them all repaired and back to me within 60 or 90 days! Of course, they realize they will have to pay retail at another dealer and they don't have time either! Then they usually become a little more reasonable.

Most adjusters are very nice and professional. They are mostly reasonable and really do want to do what's fair. The easiest to deal with are the independents. They definitely don't want an upset dealer that's going to complain and cause problems for the insurance company that hired them. Too many upset customers on their resume' with the same insurance company and they won't be rehired.

The tougher ones are the insurance companies that employ their own adjusters. They have a built-in conflict of interest. Adjust low and the company likes them. Still, they don't want a lot of complaints either. What I hate is occasionally they will tell me something like they only allow an hour to remove and replace a window and all the flat-rate books are higher. When confronted, they just say that's all they pay!

The really big hail in thunderstorms is usually in a very narrow path, measured in yards. This one was rare as it was several miles wide and ran a long track. The insurance adjusters will be snowed under locally and they'll have to fly in a bunch more. That's means it will probably take awhile to get things ironed out.

The insurance companies make us come up with a ton of information, so it's a real hassle. I'll probably be dealing with them for several weeks. Good news is we were are already selling some of them today. Bad news is the insurance companies expect you to stop doing business until the adjuster can actually view the damage. That's not really feasible most times, so we just take pictures and hope we get a reasonable adjuster. 99% of the time, you can't see much hail damage in the pictures, so you need their cooperation. Like I said, most are reasonable and adjust like it was there.

We are getting slammed with the huge number of customers wanting us to repair their units. There's no way we can handle all the roof jobs this time of year that the hail is bringing in. We'll probably ask for volunteers to work after hours to help us catch up and for them to make extra money. Still, as it gets hotter, it will be difficult for techs to work the extra hours as they eventually will get worn out.

Wish me luck with insurance company--we're going to have a "hail" of a sale! I love the RV business! Lee

The hydronic heating system is rapidly becoming a must-have for many motorhome buyers. The systems consist of either propane or diesel. The two brands most used in RVs are Precision Temp and Aqua-Hot. The Precision Temp is a propane system and Aqua-Hot is a diesel burning system. The propane systems are less money, and some models require you to switch between summer and winter modes to get hot water and heat. The diesel systems do not require different modes and you don't have to worry about running out of propane. The diesel tank is much larger and easier to get refilled. That is why most choose the more expensive diesel system.

Diesel hydronic RV heating systems provide you with endless hot water and are very quiet. The heat is more uniform, and there are less hot and cold pockets. Most also employ a engine pre-heat feature so that start-ups are much easier in cold weather. There is also no need to have unsightly vents in the floor. Most have several zones so that you can control different temperatures in different areas of the motorhome.

The diesel system uses a special antifreeze that circulates throughout the motorhome. It goes through heat exchangers and continues to circulate in a continuous loop. After flipping a switch to turn the diesel burner on, the system quickly warms up. If you've been driving, the system transfers some of the engine heat, so you actually have warm water before the burner comes on. The diesel burner will automatically turn off when the temperature of the fluid reaches approximately 190 degrees. It will automatically turn on when it falls to around 150 degrees. Wow, it's great to have continuous heat and/or hot water!

Just 5 or 6 years ago, we sold about 20% of the diesel pushers with hydronic zone heating. Now, it's around 90%! I think once you use it, you'll never go back.

To update my health, I have not had any lightheaded spells since going in the hospital 3 weeks ago. I went to the cancer center Monday to get the results to the bone marrow biopsy. It was negative and I want to thank everyone for their get-well wishes and the prayers.

It was sort of funny when the nurse took my blood pressure before seeing the doctor. She was amazed at how good my blood pressure was and shared her amazement with me. She said mine was great (110/70) and said most patients had sky-high blood pressure on their initial visit to the cancer center. I told her I just don't really worry about things I can't control. It's in God's hands and if I had cancer I would deal with it, but I choose to believe I don't until proven otherwise.

They still don't know for sure what's wrong. The doctor told me that my red blood cells were low and weren't "maturing" at a normal rate. He wants me to try an iron supplement and go back to see him in 6 weeks.

I told him that I had a hard time understanding how I could be dehydrated this last time. I drink water all the time. He said I could still get dehydrated if my blood sugar was elevated. I told him the new blood sugar medicine was not controlling it as well as the old, but I was going to see the diabetes doctor Thursday. I've been drinking even more water than usual, but all it has done is give me sleep deprivation from going to the bathroom all night!

I've lost nearly 30 lbs. and 3 belt notches! Yippee! Again, thanks for your prayers. Lee

I just spent 8 days in the hospital as I passed out again a couple of weeks ago. I feel fine now, but my health is still not good. I was passing out and going to my knees to keep from passing out. My brother, an anesthesiologist, insisted that I go see the top cardiologist in town, who would admit me to the hospital for tests.

I had a battery of tests done to ascertain what was wrong. The initial diagnosis was that I was having the problems due to a combination of several things from the doctor's perspective. Among them were a new weight loss diet, excessive medication for diabetes and high blood pressure, dehydration, internal bleeding, anemia, exhaustion and stress. I was experiencing extremely low blood pressure and low blood sugar, so they took me off those medications.

The doctors treated the dehydration with saline solutions through an IV. With readings of 80/40 blood pressure they thought I had internal bleeding, most likely from a bleeding ulcer or in my colon. However, my heart rate was very low, in the 40s and 50s and that didn't match up with what usually happens with internal bleeding. Stool samples were negative for blood, but they scheduled a colonoscopy and stomach scope anyway. Both were normal.

After a couple of days, my kidneys were functioning fine and my high blood pressure and blood sugar returned to normal. They treated with non-beta blocker meds and insulin, respectively. They then did an ultra sound test scans on my carotid arteries and my heart which were negative. Next they did a stress test and a CT scan of my heart. An hour later a CT scan of my heart at rest. Both were clear. Next they did a bone marrow biopsy. It was very painful, but they explained to me that I had a low red blood cell count and they needed to know if the bone marrow was not producing enough or I was losing red blood cells somewhere else, such as my spleen. Cancer was not mentioned, but they set me up to see a cancer specialist next week after he gets the biopsy results.

I was released from the hospital last Thursday afternoon and I feel fine now. I even went to work on Friday. My blood sugar is high, so the medication will need to be adjusted again. I have several doctor appointments with specialists the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, the biopsy comes back negative and they can find out what's wrong and fix it!

Staying there that long, I got to know some of the nurses, nurses aids and trainees. It was a little funny when they did the bone marrow biopsy. I guess they don't do these often and there were quite a few that asked to watch. The doctor told them that was up to me. I was a little surprised, but thought "What's the harm?" Soon I had quite an audience.

The doctor was an lady in her 70's and was hilarious. She told me she was a P.A and did I know what that was? I told her it stood for Physician's Assistant, but thought she was just pulling my leg. She then told me it stood for pain in the a**! Then, to my horror, I found out where she was going to do the biopsy in front of everyone and why her P.A. joke now had new meaning!

She then explained to me and everyone that she was going to deaden the area to the bone with her Mohammed Ali move--Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! It did, and soon I was wondering how much worse it could be to not deaden it? I found out how much worse when she drilled out a bone sample to get to the marrow. There is nothing they can do for the pain of taking the bone marrow. It shoots an excruciating pain all the way down your leg. Fortunately, the 3 samples she took only lasted few seconds. Morphine helped with the pain of both my hip and the pain of thinking about having a gallery watching!

The next day they did the bladder scan and I all the doctor's came by to see me and set appointments for follow up and prescriptions. They let me go home late afternoon and I ran by the office on the way home. It was great to get back to work the next day!

I'm back to my plan of losing 30 or 40 lbs. I am more conscious of drinking more water and slowing down a bit. I walk most days. I try to get home by 6:30 or 7:00. I resigned as school board chairman from my kid's church school. I am going to play more golf I'm determined to make this a permanent lifestyle change.

Today is a special day for me in many ways. 34 years ago at the age of 19, I began my RV career by taking a sales position at a small RV dealership in Texas. It was also 2 years to the day that my mother died of lupus. She died on my twin brother and sister's tenth birthday. It was also the birthday of my first parts manager that treated me like a grandson and mentored me for a couple of years before he died of lung cancer. His wife was like a grandmother and we continued to see her for another 25 years.

I'll let everyone know how the biopsy goes next week. I've got a backlog of blogs ideas relating to RVs--I've just looking to find the time to write them. Many thanks to all the well-wishers and prayers from everyone. Lee

Sorry about the last blog--I saved only part of it and when I finished it, I was interrupted for about 30 minutes and I guess it timed out. However, I finished it again yesterday.

Now back to today's blog. Where have all the small motorhomes gone? Today I found out that Newmar is discontinuing the 40' Mountain Aire. Seems that the new 2011 Mountain Aire has been a huge hit, but only in the 43' floorplans. While they've sold several dozen of the 43' versions since its introduction in January, they have yet to have taken even one order for the two 40' versions offered.

This got me to thinking about how the motorhome market has evolved over the last 20 or 30 years. Consumers tastes drive the market, but oh how they've changed! Seems most now want them bigger, with more slides and even more amenities.

Back in the early eighties, I started selling a few diesel pushers. I remember selling a current Newmar owner a 34 or 36 foot Sun Voyager with no slide, and get this, a 190 HP Cummins! It sold somewhere around $75K.

Newmar pioneered the slide out in a motorhome in their 1989 models. The 38' Kountry Star had a slide and a 225 HP engine. I remember there was an upgrade option to go to the huge 250 HP! You would have to spend around $100K for it. If you wanted a 300 HP or more you had to with a $200K or $300K coach.

For several years, Newmar was the only manufacturer to have slide-outs in their motorhomes. Everyone said there was too much liability attached to having a big hole in the side of a motorhome. I remember sitting at a table of Fleetwood motorhome engineers at a Fleetwood dealer meeting in the early nineties (We handled Fleetwood's Coleman tent trailers at the time) and asking them when Fleetwood was going to come out with a slide on their motorhomes. That question was met with a round of laughter and a reply of "Never! They're just asking for trouble and I guarantee you it will come back to haunt Newmar. It's just crazy!" By the mid-nighties almost everyone was offering motorhomes with slides. There were a few laggards and they paid a steep price as they lost market share and some even went out of business.

In 1999, Newmar introduced the 2000 4095 Dutch Star with a double slide. It had a 300 HP engine. It was a huge hit as it sold in the $125K area. The previous Dutch Stars were 38 footers, but before long everyone was selling more 40 footers than 38's.

2 or 3 years later Newmar added a couple of triple slide models. Engines were 350 HP standard with an option to go to a 370 HP on the Spartan chassis. By the mid-2000's we were seeing quad slide models and the 38 foot models discontinued except with the Kountry Star.

We still sold a lot of 2 slide models back then as some customers made the argument that they liked not having slides on the doorside, because it prevented them easy access to their baggage compartments. That was true, but soon the 2-slide models were omitted from the line-up as sales dwindled and shifted to the 4 slide models.

About the same time, 43 foot models were introduced and they came with a tag axle and a 400 HP engine. They were bigger, had more power, had a smoother ride and were only about $25K more. Previously, you had to go to an Essex or Mountain Aire to get even a tag axle. We've seen sales climb on the tag axles until they represent about 90% of our sales today. They all have at least 425 HP.

Today, it's hard to sell a used coach with only one slide and even a little difficult to sell those with two slides. Values also plummet on coaches with less than 300 HP. Everyone wants tag axles, 400+ HP, 4 slides and in a lot of cases, Comfort Drive as word gets around.

Somewhat the same thing with gas coaches. Everyone wants the big coach with lots of slides. The extra slides have added weight so that it requires a heavier chassis. That, in turn, has added cost--so much so that high line gas motorhomes get pretty close to the entry-level diesel's cost. Ten years ago we sold approximately 10 gas motorhomes to every 1 diesel. Now, that's reversed!

So, what can we look forward to in the future? Maybe the new 450 HP engine is the old 300 HP. Is today's 43' the old 38' and the new 45' the old 40'? Will Comfort Drive be as common on all diesel motorhomes as hydronic zone heating is today? Will full-wall slides be the next must-have?

I don't know those answers now. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to find out! Lee

Yesterday I posted a newspaper article on Montana LLCs in our news section of our website. The state of Massachusetts is billing residents for the taxes on their RVs, even though they have registered them in Montana. And they are collecting! I guess there's too much cost involved with fighting it and probably losing anyway.

Most states reciprocate when someone moves into their state. If you paid sales tax on your vehicle in one state, you didn't have to pay again in your new state. This is different in Massachusett's opinion, because there was no tax paid. However, in the article, it's made to sound like that if someone moves to Massachusetts, after 30 days they owe taxes all over again on cars, trucks, RVs, etc. I'm sure that's not right--probably they are just required to purchase new MA license tags within 30 days. That's the law in Oklahoma (not really enforced unless expired) and it's less than $100.

For those of you who don't know, Montana has no sales tax on vehicles registered there. In recent years, several lawyers have promoted and campaigned for out-of-state residents to form a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) in Montana to avoid paying sales taxes on their RV. For about $1,500, they will form the LLC and then the customer can register their vehicles in it. The customer creates a name for their LLC, but the lawyers recommend not using their actual names in any form, (presumably to avoid easy detection) i.e. Happy Wanderer, LLC--not Lee and Patruicia.

I know of customers that have put their coaches in RV parks in Nevada for 91 days to avoid paying California sales taxes. Later, I heard California increased the time a new motor vehicle had to be kept out of California to one year to avoid taxes. Oregon has also been a tax haven in the past. There was even an RV dealership there that had salespeople who "sold" addresses to out of state customers. If I recall, there were substantial fines levied and even jail time for at least one of the salespeople. Also, in Kansas a few years ago, fines of $10,000 plus the taxes were levied against several resident RV buyers who registered in Oregon.

Some RV buyers find out too late that having a Montana LLC can be very expensive for more reasons than the cost up front. You have to file a separate tax return for it each year, but sometimes it can be rolled into your personal tax return if the IRS grants permission after a few years. The bigger expense comes if you require financing. Most all the national lenders will not finance a Montana LLC. Any that do have virtually no competition and you can expect to pay a point or two higher than taking out the loan in your name. On a small note, no big deal. On luxury diesel pushers, that could be many thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

I believe we will see more of these crackdowns as states look to solve revenue shortfalls. We stay neutral when asked whether they are a good idea. We never advise customers to take this route as we could possibly be considered liable for the taxes. We just tell them that many of our customers do use them if they don't require financing. Many will still decide to take the risk, but now you should know some of the potential pitfalls. Lee