dickandlois

Hugh, Welcome to the FMCA Forum! Getting to the Freedom units on some coach's can be and issue itself! They are generally screwed down. Reading your post, do you have the unit already opened up? Then its the issue of enough wire to allow the unit to be located so one can remove the top cover. The boards are held in place by clips or small screws. Some of the boards plug into other boards. Take some pictures before taking items loose. Disconnect all power from the unit before doing anything. Remove the 12 volt Ground and the Positive lead from the batteries. Could you post a few pictures of its location and the board layout, if you have removed the cover? Then the group can see what your internal layout looks like. You might want to call the company for some help also. Rich.

kadesh, Welcome! Sounds like a possible thermal cutout issue. How old are you coach batteries and what is the charge level of the batteries when you disconnect from shore power after about 30 min. ? Rich.

bestbums, Welcome to the FMCA Forum! Thank you for posting the information! Rich.

dkirk32, Think you started a new thread regarding the same issue. Power Gear Jack Extends After Retraction I did ask some questions regarding your issue. So if you can respond to the previous questions the group can try to come up with some thoughts regarding the problem. Rich.

Gary, Try to use a solution of soap and water to lubricate the gasket. That will allow then to slide on easier. Windex might work, just need something to make things slippery. Let me know how that works for you! The solution will dry out and seal will then stick in place. Making a tool is an option, but I do not know your skill levels and tools you might have to work with. Rich.

fmsonntag, If you do not have the Installation / Owners manual, this is a link for a PDF copy. http://www.jensenheavyduty.com/downloads/dl/file/id/98/vr209tpb_owners_manual.pdf Rich.

Gary, Could you post a picture or two of the area you are working in for the group? The top seal can be tough if your topper is installed, and the pictures might inspire some creativity. Rich.

David, Welcome to the FMCA Forum! Never have used the furnaces intentionally for heat while driving, but the system control board for the furnaces had a failure that activated the rear unit on our coach while driving. It took us a while to realize it was running with the road noise and the temperature being comfortable up front. The furnace worked fine, because the back of the coach was hot. Had to disable the Gas valve connection to turn off the unit so the blower could cool down the heat exchanger. Looked around the furnace from the outside and inside for any damage, thankfully there was none. That would lead me to believe its possible. The thing is, on our coach there are no registers located closer then 10 to 12 feet to the front of the coach. The other option might be to run the generator to power a small to medium sized electric heater, safely located up front. Rich.

Welcome! Glad you both where able to attend the Rally! One never knows what mother nature has in mind when attending a rally or just out on the road traveling. We have been to a number of the National Rallies and all have been a adventure in one way or another, but the time spent meeting old friends, making new ones, the seminars and the technical information is always rewarding. We did not make the Rally; still snowed in this year. Interesting you mentioned the tram routes and color coding them! The common practice has been to color code each tram route. Like your pencil art!! Rich

Ken, Not much information on the web covering your questions. This is a link to some images of your floor plan. https://www.google.com/search?q=2005+Coachmen+Santara+3480DS+Floor+plan&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=1I0rU8OpNYryyAHg4oGAAg&ved=0CCUQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=618 The Black and Gray tanks mount under the bathroom areas in most coaches and access directly to the tanks, often requires removing items if work on them is required. One can find them by looking for the Black and Gray dump valves and fallowing the lines back to the general location of the tanks themselves. Accessed under the coach or behind one of the storage bay doors. The fresh water tank is often mounted under the floor, just behind the driver / copilot sets. listen for the water pump when its running, the fresh water is generally close by. Accessed by opening a storage bay door in most cases. The circuit breakers, fuses, inverters / chargers and monitor panels are generally located mid ship. Yours might be in the area of the Hutch. The slide might need to be out a little to enable a door / cover to be opened to look at them. Your Generator is located near the rear of the coach and I think you need to make a manual connection of the shore cable to a connector at or close to the generator to enable the 120 volt generator power. The main AC circuit breakers should be close and the 12 volt inverter / charger equipment should be close the the Coach batteries. By going to this link you might find some information on one of the newer units that could prove helpful and when out camping, walk around and see if someone has a model like yours and exchange information about you coaches. http://www.coachmenrv.com/downloads.aspx Rich.

Underway, Welcome to the Forum! With the coach being New ! I would tend to leave things stock until the warranty period expires. A 35 ft. coach with a V-10 or 8.1L gas engine will get you around quite well and if you have a Cummings 6.7, one would have plenty of power for a 35ft. unit. Rich.

Well, Tango 64, things do not always work the way one thinks they should. So lets try this. http://www.fmca.com/chapters/chapter-search When the page opens, there will be a block asking for key word, to search. Type in Newmar . then click on search. I'm going to try it, to see if it goes where I hope and leads you to the information on the Chapter. Rich. Well it did what I hoped, so give it a try and let us know if you get the information link your looking for.

vickyr, Welcome to the FMCA Forum! I would venture that most Coach owner do not install supports under the slide outs. Having said that, what kind of Coach do you own, how big are the slides, do you just set up the coach a campgrounds for a week / month at a time or is it set up for months at a time ? Rich.

John, Welcome to the FMCA Forum ! I have used XZE tires and have had good over all performance. Tires on Rv's tend to age out before they ware out. I must admit that I'm not much for driving 70 MPH, as the mileage drops off considerably and we are not in any real hurry when touring around the country. You my want to look over FMCA's tire program, when pricing tires. I also have friends that use Hankook - AH-12 tires and they have been very happy with them. The Key is to watch the clearance between tires on the rear, the weight of the coach loaded relative to the tire weight range and tire pressure. You might take a look at the Tire safety thread and the post by Tireman, a retired tire engineer. Rich.

Tango64, Welcome to the FMCA Forum ! There is a Newmar Chapter in FMCA. It is a International Chapter and they have coach owners from all over the US and Canada primarily, but any Newmar owner can belong to FMCA and to the Chapter. Fallow this link, for contact information, officers and other related information. http://www.fmca.com/index.php?option=com_fmcachaptersearch&view=search&Itemid=98 Rich. Must say that it was nice to see #3 come out of the stable this year !!

Good News Frank! I was looking over some drawings and was going to ask if the ICC Switch, would allow you to flash your marker lights. It looks like the power for that circuit is supplied by the same fuse the powers the Low Beam lights. Rich. Note ! A damaged circuit board at connection could mean it was not tight, corroded or overloaded. Overload due to different / Higher rated lamps being installed ?

Frank, Welcome to the FMCA Forum! The power for the low beams and fog lights are connected to the same relay for 12 volt power in most cases. Think you may have a relay loose in one of the panels. The power should be supplied to all the headlights and the fog lights through the same fuse that is an auto setting type fuse, so one can not rule out a short in the wiring going to the Low beam headlight circuit. That kind of short would also kill the fog lights when they are active. HR Coach Owners Manuals generally have a section that covers the fuse and relay panels well! I will look and see if I have any wiring information on file for your coach. Rich.

For the most part, the Green / Primary air supply, supplies air to the rear brakes and supplies air to the Red / Secondary air supply for the air ride, so the red gauge will change more often then the green one. When you mention fluctuation, are you seeing a rapid swing in pressures or swings that would be more in line with the Air Compressor cycling to maintain the air in both tanks ? Rich.

Tilldee, Welcome to the FMCA Forum! A line of generators made by Generac for RV applications, there are a number of Generac units around, that supply backup power for residential applications. The home owners that have them tend to be very happy with them. With only 27 hrs. on the meter it should be in good condition. What year coach is it in? and do you have any maintenance records. The only item(s) would be oil and filter changes, and only if it is 2 or 3 years old. It is always good to get the oil and filters changed on a yearly basis. Good to run them monthly with at least a half load to warm them up to remove any moisture, stir up the oil, use a little fuel to keep the carburetor in good condition and to check the voltage level. Rich.

Allegiance40x, Interesting, but I find many things interesting. PG = power gear and most are setup with a single valve to both rear jack and one valve for each front jack and a common dump valve for all jacks. The odds of having two valves bad and doing the same thing at the same time would be real strange. The only common item in a system configured that way would be Air in the hydraulic lines and I can not remember you posting any repairs to your jacks. Loose connection allowed air in at some point, but a loose connection would be in only one jack at a time as there is no common point beyond the Hydraulic manifold and the attached control valves. Must admit your issue is a real head-scratcher !!! Rich. You do not have hydraulic fluid pooling in your jack pads by chance ?

Hi Dan, Welcome to the FMCA Forum! When you mention, the jack will slowly extend out. Will the Left Rear keep dropping or does it stop at some point? Have you noticed a fluid leak in the jack, the hydraulic hose or in the area of the hydraulic fluid manifold? I have to believe your rear jacks do not have springs, so that rules out a weak spring! Edit, What is the model number of your Power gear system? Rich.

Stanpack6, Brett Covered things well. I will add, check all the Coach Battery connections at the batteries. Make some good drawings or take pictures of the battery cable connections before starting! Clean starter solenoid / Starter on the positive side and also check and clean all the ground connections. With the ground connection removed from the battery terminal, what is the voltage reading of the Chassis battery(s)? How old are the Batteries? Then read each of the battery cell with a Hydrometer. If you are not familiar with the process, suggest you get some help. Battery acid can cause severe burns !!! Rich.

Keoweekat, I have a Diagram of the step and entry lite circuit, that might prove helpful. I will try to attach it to a Private Message to you. If it does not work, replay to my message and add your personal email and I will attach it to my reply to you. Rich. I looks like it attached and you will receive a notice in your personal mail. Reply and or open the information from the PM box at the top right of forum page left of your sign in name. Looks like an envelope !!!

hugger, Take a look at this link. Think your awning may have been made by Carefree. The newer ones are totally different, but one of the trailer stiles might match. https://pictures.dealer.com/trailblazerrvtc/ecb626910a0d02b70141b7369d28aab8.pdf Rich.

Hugger, They are built to do just that. The reason for the flame turning off before the blower stops, is to prevent the possibility of a fire. Should the flame stay on to long with the blower off, the stainless steel heat exchanger will get red hot. That much heat in the confined space surrounding the furnace, would be a fire in the making at some point in time. RV furnaces are built to provide maximum heat at the lowest weight. That is also the reason the blower must start before the gas valve is allowed to open! Rich.