Posted on 12/21/2013
Robert had been suggesting a quad-shock installation for quite a long time, and I was admittedly reluctant. My coach has always been a “rough rider”, and adding shock absorbers seemed to be a sure way to transmit more road bumps up through the suspension to my long-suffering box of rattles. However, the lure of better handling overcame my reservations, and I decided to go for the mod. My risk was small… Except for the expense of the installation, any “damage” could easily be un-done by simply removing the extra shock absorbers. Although straightforward, the installation requires some sophisticated mechanical skills. Among other things, special brackets need to be fitted, formed, and welded; tapered washers must be installed and rotated to correct positions; all bolts need to be fitted, spaced, seated, and properly torqued. In short, although I’m really good mechanically, I’m very glad I let the experts do this one. Clearances checked, welds insp ... read more
Posted on 12/10/2013
If you want to head south for the winter to enjoy the freedom and flexibility of the RV lifestyle, now might be a great time to invest in a used motorhome. There are a lot of folks who took their turn using theirs in the summer and now they want to avoid storage and maintenance costs over the long winter season. Taking advantage of this opportunity can be a good deal for you. Typically an RV has been depreciated about 50% in the first 36 months. After that, depreciation slows down considerably. Want some good advice on RV ownership? Here are a few suggestions you might find useful. 1. Determine your needs Make a list of the features you will need to comfortably spend weeks on end in a relatively confined space. Is the bed big enough? How about the shower? What do you need in a kitchen? How about additional beds? Storage? TV? Satellite dish? Once you’ve gone through the list of creature comforts, you need to think about drivability. How big ... read more
Posted on 12/4/2013
28 November Thanksgiving Yesterday ended successfully, with all vehicles finished and running like champs. Although late-ish in the evening, everybody went home happy for the holiday weekend. Today, Robert and Barbara Henderson (of Lineup fame) have graciously invited us for a Thanksgiving get- together, and we’re looking forward to a pleasant afternoon. The weather forecast for this coming week is stormy across the entire western seaboard, from Seattle to San Diego. We’re not excited about getting caught out in snow country and sub-freezing nights, so our plans are to head back to the coast, tomorrow (Friday). It will still be stormy, but warmer. And watching heavy weather along a coastline is a marvelous experience in itself (with proper precautions of course). After we’ve taken enough pounding, we’ll head east-bound toward the Sacramento area and touch base with friends/family there. The quad shocks we ha ... read more
Posted on 11/30/2013
23 November 2013 A Good Start The evening is fading to black. We are ensconced in Howie, seven paces from the edge of a 50-foot cliff high above a sandy beach. Off-shore rocky outcroppings give picture-postcard grandeur to an already- grand scenario. The gentle, but insistent, surf forms the backdrop for our night’s reverie – - we are only 250 miles from home, yet a universe away from only two days ago. d Yesterday, we trudged out of the Bay Area, up the monotony of SR880, across the zip-line of the San Rafael Bridge, and into the beatific beauty of the Mendocino coast. Although it’s only a half-dozen travel hours from our front door, it might as well be another planet. Last night, we stayed at Caspar RV Park, a pleasant but snug little place just across the street from a sandy beach. Our $40 fee got us power, water, commercial-laden cable TV, laundry, and restrooms – - none of which we had any need for. But we also got a guaranteed parking site in a strange locale ... read more
Posted on 11/19/2013
In this article, guest blogger Greg Illes masterfully shares his keen observations of the incredibly deft way a pelican navigates the bumps and ripples of wind currents, turning them into a smooth, precision ride for the pelican. At Henderson’s Line-Up, we like to think of our SuperSteer line of products (bell cranks, sway bars, motion control units, Koni shocks and Safe-T-Plus steering control units, etc) as helping RV owners achieve “glide like” ride quality as their coach skillfully navigates rough or narrow roads, windy or harsh conditions. Enjoy the read and enjoy your ride… RV travels take us to a diversity of places, sights, and sounds. There are so many special scenes to be found when RVing around the world. For me, Pelicans are one of the most unique. It’s mid-November, and the Brown Pelicans are everywhere along the California coast. This is just a small representation of course; these large birds populate virtually the entire range of North America and South America coast ... read more
Posted on 11/1/2013
Greg Illes is a terrific writer, adventurer and happy customer of Henderson’s Line-Up. In this series of posts, Greg gives a humorous but serious account of his journey to Grants Pass and why he came to Henderson’s. We serve thousands of coaches each year from all over North America and would love to hear your story and hopefully select it for our travel blog. If you have a story to share and some good pictures as well, we’d love to pass them along to our readers. Please send them to Robert@Henderson’sLineup.com and you just might see your story featured here. Now, here’s Greg… 25 November Unlike most RV-service shops, Henderson’s is so courteously RV-oriented that they provide free overnight facilities for visiting customers. These facilities consist of a parking spot, and (next to the shop) 30A service. You (we) can literally live in your/our RV while it is being serviced. There is also a nice warm waiting area, a wifi-café, and a lovely showr ... read more
Posted on 10/31/2013
Henderson’s Line-up has joined with good folks like Uncle Si from Duck Dynasty to help Samaritans Purse send God’s love in tangible form to children in need from all over the world. For years it has been a tradition at Henderson’s Line-Up and SuperSteer products here in Grants Pass, Oregon to work with Operation Christmas Child and the local community to pack up thousands of shoeboxes full of toys, gifts, personal items, etc that children are excited to receive. November 23rd and 24th is the last weekend to get these boxes in. We will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 to 1:00 to receive the last minute gift boxes that will make a difference in the lives of so many children. If you haven’t already, be sure to drop off your shoebox gift at 458 Redwood Highway here in Grants Pass no later than the last weekend before Thanksgiving. Thank you
Posted on 10/30/2013
When I first heard about the Road Performance Assessment, I dismissed it as just another fancy marketing gimmick, like the old gag of calling janitors “sanitation engineers”. All hat, no boots, so to speak. It’s a test drive, right? I was in for a surprise…. At that time, I barely knew Robert Henderson. A lean, unassuming middle-aged guy smiled at me and confidently took the helm of my precious RV, “Howie”. We pulled out of the shop and onto SR199 in gloomy Oregon Fall weather and headed out of town. Robert’s self-assigned task was deceptively simple: drive my RV and analyze its handling characteristics. Determine if it had any worn or misadjusted chassis components, and identify opportunities for after-market improvements. My job was even simpler: shut up and try not to scream. You see, Robert has been doing “RV stuff” for decades, and his driving and road-savvy abilities far exceed anything that you or I a ... read more
Posted on 10/29/2013
When I bought my new-to-me motorhome, it was truly a “foreign object”. We immediately named it “House On Wheels In Excess”, or Howie for short. The 27-foot class-A was the biggest thing I had ever driven, and I was deeply focused on how to manage the size and handling from the moment I drove Howie off the lot. One of the most challenging aspects was the steering response, or rather lack of it. The power steering on the Workhorse chassis was — powerful. So powerful, in fact, that there was almost no force required to turn the wheel. Howie was nearly effortless to maneuver, clearly a benefit. Maybe. The problem was that there was no feedback, that subtle sense of what the coach was doing. It was almost like operating a video game, where you turn the wheel and the picture moves. Another more insidious fault with the steering was its lack of self-centering. The very nature of the fingertip steering forces meant that there was not enough “urge” from the steering gear to make the tires ... read more
Posted on 10/28/2013
The biggest flux of Americans into retirement status is well upon us as baby boomers born 1945 – 1955 lay aside their careers and businesses and settle into their golden years. For many, that not only means a change in their daily routine, but also a change in the way they live and where they live. Many are exchanging their now oversized, pricey homes for a comfortable home on wheels. Overall there are about 35 million RV enthusiasts in America and a growing number are the baby boomers as they near or enter retirement. One of the reasons for its growing popularity is that it combines the potential for life simplification with elegance. A retired couple can live very comfortably in a quality RV with the significant advantage of being able to change scenery on a whim. You can wake up to a glorious sunrise in the Arizona desert and bed down with the sound of the gently crashing waves of the Pacific in a Southern California RV park. Not only is a change of scenery a simple decision ... read more