bestred1

2011 Coachmen Sports Coach Cross Country 390TS owner here. Its on a Freightliner XCS chassis with a Cummins ISB 6.7 diesel. Anyone ever had to replace the ignition switch? If yes, how did you find the correct replacement P/N? I'm having some intermittent issues with the switch. Gonna spray some electrical contact cleaner on it before next use but am anticipating the need to replace it. If you're a DIY'er you know the challenges with these vehicles. Not sure if I should reach out to Freightliner or Coachmen to find a replacement ignition switch.

This is one I hadn't heard before. I'll check it out................Thanks!

I installed it shortly after this post and no hum. Works great! Thanks for the feedback!

My suggestion would be to look for someone in your area that has worked on a Bus A/C system. There can be differences in the operating parameters for these systems as I recently learned on my Evans-Tempcon system in a 2011 Coachman. I previously posted my repair experience as I was misled by folks that work on auto systems. The suction side pressure is designed to operate considerably lower on my system as compared any auto A/C. This gave me issues for many months. You made no mention about the A/C compressor cycling on & off. Pretty hard to give any repair advice other than what has already been responded.

My 2011 39-ft Coachman Cross Country coach, 390-TS, which is on a Freightliner XCS drifts left & right a bit going down the interstate. A little over 50,000 miles on it and in great overall mechanical condition. Tires are just over a year old & properly inflated. I think it should run straighter than this. I'm an experienced DIYer and have checked it for steering gear backlash and its albeit perfect. I obviously need an alignment but aren't sure where to look after my initial experience. I live just to the north of New Orleans and called the Slidell Freightliner dealer whom directed me to a local shop. These folks didn't have the proper equipment to do a 4-wheel alignment. They checked front-end Toe the old fashioned way, which I could do myself, and couldn't help otherwise but did say there wasn't anything else to adjust on this chassis' front end. Suggestions on where to go next? There's a TA/Petro nearby but I've read mixed reviews on the brand having turned to crap. There are a bunch of RV dealers within an hour of me but seems like a bus shop would be better equipped to handle this. Not having much luck finding one via online searches. Any help is much appreciated. Would also like to hear about anyone's experience with alignment issues on this chassis.

Simple question to those of you that have an Automatic Transfer Switch in your coach: Do they hum continuously while powered? My coach is old school, no ATS. I've bought one but have yet to install it. Have had 2nd thoughts as I've read numerous posts here and in other forums I follow, regarding reliability. In some cases people have reported annoying noise. Mine will be installed almost directly below where I lay my head at night and I'm a lite sleeper. With weather being nice right now, I may install it next week so this is my last concern.

If you have a Trimark door lock on your motorhome with a few years on it like me, you've probably been locked out at least once. Fortunately my first experience like this was in a location where I could get to a ladder to climb in thru an unlocked window and open the door from the inside. No fun at all! The issue? With wear, the outside handle assembly gets some slop in the pin that holds the actuator tab. When you pull on the outside handle, this tab can then slip under the interfacing part that opens the latch. What's really aggravating is that this can occur intermittently since the tab can slide back into position when you open the door from the inside. This gives you the appearance that all is well until it happens again. Short term fix? I cut out a small piece of metal and used JB weld epoxy to attach it to the top of the tab (see photos). This makes the tab thicker so it can't slip out from under the inside latch mechanism. How long will this last? Who knows but it will keep me from climbing in thru the window until I can get the replacement part. Long term fix? Replace the outside handle assembly but you'll need to determine which one you need since they make numerous versions. This will require you to disassemble the entire mechanism since the part number is hidden from view. Since this comes with new keys, you'll have to decide what to do with that. A local locksmith can re-key them if you choose. Here's a video on where to find the part number and a source for replacement parts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F18N1r8zT8s You can also reach out to Trimark for help but their website doesn't seem to have any way to directly order parts. I've known some folks that wound up calling them and got excellent support. https://www.trimarkcorp.com/

Hi Tim, Tough one! Shot in the dark here but maybe a problem with the control panel? Since you're loosing both heat & A/C, the common thread is the control panel. Loose or broken solder joint on a circuit board could break continuity with a jolt from the road. If you can find the incoming positive power wire and check that its still live when the system goes dead, this may confirm the issue is with the control panel. Good luck, Jeff PS, added a snip from my manual. Granted my control panel is probably different but it may spur some thoughts for you.

Sharing a successful repair of the dash A/C on a Class-A motorhome in hopes of helping another DIY'er..................................... Its easy to see why so many folks give up when it comes to getting these systems working properly after your coach has a few years on it. Finding replacement parts can be a big challenge because some parts of the system are installed by the chassis manufacturer while others are put in by the coach builder. There’s also the challenge of finding information on the operational parameters of the system as not all A/C systems are designed the same, especially large volume bus type systems. In my case Evans-Tempcon designed the system on my coach & they are no longer in business. I stumbled upon their document set thanks to a fellow DIYer via Face Book and this ultimately gave me the information needed to get mine working properly. I had previously searched the web numerous times without success. My successful repair journey: I’m the 2nd owner of a 2011 SportsCoach 390-TS. The previous owner had the compressor, drier, & expansion valve replaced just prior to my purchase. It operated properly for several thousand miles but then developed a leak which I found to be in the evaporator. I purchased a replacement online & installed it but struggled to get the system operating properly. It kept freezing up which can often be the result of low freon. I added more freon to bring up the low & high pressures as indicated by online generic R134a charts but no go. It still froze up. I then discovered that I could manually cycle it on & off to keep it from freezing up. On for 10-minutes then off for about 5. Gave me something to think about during long drives, LOL, but it worked & kept me and the wife cool and comfortable. These thoughts led me to believe that I needed to replace the thermostat. Upon returning home I began searching for a new thermostat and at about the same time found all of the manuals for my Evans-Tempcon system via Face Book. It included a troubleshooting guide which gave me exactly what I needed. The biggest discovery was the as-designed operating pressures. This system is designed to operate at much lower pressures than you will find on a typical auto A/C system. I also found the thermostat requirements which saved me about 50% on the price of the replacement part. After replacing the thermostat & removing some freon to bring the pressures in-range, it operated great. Fast-forward to about a month ago. Outbound 800-mile trip & system ran fine the whole time. Camped for 10-days then moved down the road about 100-miles to visit some family for a few days. Turned on A/C after about an hour on the road but it wasn’t cooling. Stopped at the next rest area and discovered that the compressor was not even cycling. After the visit with family, we drove home over the next 2-days while running the generator & rooftop A/C. I’m totally disgusted at this point but don’t easily give up. Yes, I’m stubborn! At home I threw the gages back on the system to discover that most of the freon had once again leaked out. Added two 12-oz cans with one of them containing leak detector dye so I could get system running again. Was pretty sure it was at the compressor because I could see oil on its backside but couldn’t tell which line was leaking. Once running and using a black light I discovered that it was leaking thru the bottom crimped hose fitting (beadlock). My first thought was to replace the entire line but quickly changed my mind after crawling underneath the coach to look at the routing. That would be a nightmare and I would then need to get a custom hose built. After discussing it with my fellow DIY son-in-law, I decided to just replace the fitting and buy a crimper. After viewing some YouTube videos I ordered the crimper and started looking for fittings. I knew that NAPA had supplied the replacement compressor so I started there and purchased what appeared to be the correct fitting based upon the ½-inch hose size. Guess again! It turned out to be a reducer fitting of which I struggled to find. I determined this by using my vernier calipers to measure the thread size (3/4-16) which cross references to a #8 nut. Already knew the hose size (#10) so went looking for the part. It turns out that automobile A/C fittings are normally not reduced. In other words, a #10 hose has a #10 nut on the other end. Of course, NAPA didn’t have one but I eventually landed on a fitting manufacturer’s web site which led me to several Bus parts suppliers. In the end the cheapest available option was an eBay supplier which sent me the part via USPS 1st class mail and no charge for shipping. The hose fitting replacement took me about 2-weeks to gather up parts and tools but my cab A/C system is now back up and running perfectly again. Moral of the story? Don’t give up too easily if you can repair stuff like this yourself. Just be patient & keep plugging away until you find what you need. I wound up only spending about $1200 between parts, tools, & freon. The most expensive part was the heater-evaporator coil assembly. Of course, I also spent many hours of research along with about 16-hours of my labor. I can’t imagine what these repairs would have cost me if I went to a repair shop. There was a point where I admitted defeat and just ran generator & rooftop A/C for a few trips. The radiant heat from the windshield we all love just kept cooking me up front so I went back to searching for solutions. Hope this helps someone else that is struggling with their dash a/c system!

Has anyone ever had to replace the dash Air-conditioner evaporator coils? I'm the recent new owner of an 11-year old coach. The previous owner had a shop that replaced nearly every major component late last year. Exception being the lines, condenser, & evaporator. Its not holding a Freon charge but cools great when its full or nearly full. I have a leak sniffer & the only place its hitting on is the dash air coming into the coach which means that somewhere around or in the evaporator assembly its leaking. I'm about to pull its cover off, which is a knuckle buster, to get a better look. Been a DIY person all of my life & owned numerous vehicles that developed AC issues but never had to replace the evaporator coils. Of course this one is a single unit that includes the heater coil & makes it more pricey. Curious about others experience. TIA!