FMCA's Motorhome Rally - Indianapolis IN

The FMCA's 87th Family Reunion and Motor Home Rally was hosted at the Indiana State Fairgrounds August 27-30, 2012.  More than 160 seminars covering technical, lifestyle, and other topics are offered for attendees.  Here's the caravan entering I-69 South towards Indianapolis.  The pictures were taken by Margie & Vaughn Wood who was holding up the rear of the caravan.

We were number three out of five coaches that traveled together for the rally.  We met up with the group at a local fuel stop off of I-69, to configure the caravan.  

We arrived safely midday Saturday at the fairground and were parked in the 30-amp electric area.  Due to the extreme heat, they turned on the generators early and allowed all the rigs to hook up to cool down.   

Just our luck, we were parked right next to the generator.  You have great power when you are close to the unit, but sleeping is an entirely different matter.  Not so bad when the rear A/C is running as it does drown out the generator noise somewhat. 

I would estimate there were 500-600 coaches parked in the in-field and almost that many parked in various other areas of the fairgrounds.  

After Ron & Janice had to move their coach because they had been erroneously instructed to park directly in front of the generator, the group settled in and discussed how we would have parked all these rigs. After careful consideration, we decided that dinner was more of a priority.  So Pizza it was!

On the second day it started to rain, and rain, and rain.  Did I say "It Rained".  The water got so high that the generator stopped since most of the electrical connections were under water. Keep an eye on the smaller coach to the right of the generator.

This is a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Notice the guy in the right side of the photo.  The water was up to his knees.  A few more feet of water and the little coach may have drifted away!

After the rain settled down everyone came out for a look.  We had to take up our Welcome mat as it started to float away.  Three hours after this photo the water subsided enough that we could again hook up to the generator.

At the Pepsi Coliseum for the first night performance.  

Wednesday night we visited downtown Indianapolis with Todd and Gloria and had dinner at a local restaurant.  We decide to leave the rally on Thursday to beat the rain to Campbellsville Ky.   We did not want to arrive on Friday and have to set up the coach in the pouring rain which is expected from hurricane Isaac. 

During the rally we purchased nine MCD Gold Series Day/Night Shades for the inside of our motor home. The shades will take about four weeks to arrive and we will install them ourselves.   We also purchased several replacement cabinet door hinges from the Alliance Coach mobile parts trailer.  

We thoroughly enjoyed the company of our fellow rally members Ron & Janice, Vaughn & Margie, Terry & Kathy , Jerry & Sharon, and Mick & Chris .  We thank them for the great hospitality, food and camaraderie. 

The Old & the New RV Faucets

Here is a photo of the original sink faucet that came with the RV.  It's a delta knock off and once it starts leaking you cannot replace any of the parts so you have to purchase a new faucet. You can see it has a single handle and the front head pulls out as a sprayer.  The unit to the left is for filtered water which Dave only used for making spaghetti. 

We decided to upgrade the unit for something more practical.  We examined all the faucets from Lowe's, Home Depot and Menard's.   We decided on the Delta Bellini from Lowe's.  It provides a single handle, side-sprayer, soap dispenser and  incorporates a high arcing spout.  With our military discount, the unit and supplies were slightly under $200 dollars. 

Here's a close up view of the new unit installed.  The unit provides excellent water flow for the spout as well as the sprayer.  The soap dispenser can be easily refilled by removing the head and pump assembly and pouring the new solution into the bottle. 

The Bellini  has a stainless finish and incorporates diamond embedded discs that offer unsurpassed protection against leaks.  The unit has a lifetime warranty from Delta. 

Remember when I mentioned the high arcing spout.  Look again at the first photo.  With the old faucet it was impossible to fill even a glass of water with the top sink covers in place.  You can see here that you can easily fill a large pot with the new spout.   

Here's a photo of the shut off valve connected to the water supply line.  I used plumber's goop between the brass fitting and the bottom of the shut off valve.  This will ensure no leaks.  I do not however recommend the use of the plumber's goop on the plastic connection from the main water supply. 

Here's a photo of the new faucet in the bathroom.  We also replaced the faucet in Kathy's sink. The old units leaked had to be replaced.