dickandlois

Bill, Way to far North ! 10 miles from lake Ontario - Stayed home for Christmas to spend time the kids and grand kids. The plan was to exit the end of December - no joy Never planed on it being the coldest weather in over 30 years. The Bright side is - the house is built to handle the temps. and with all the mess along the East coast. Snow on the palm trees. The big girl will just set on her pad for a few more days. Think the the week of the 15th. things might open up for a few days. 2 good ones to get to the warmer latitudes. You got to believe that 40 degrees for us will feel like balmy weather . Rich.

Brett, we will be keeping you in mind if you get up to 15,000 ft. in FEB. Rich.

Warm is all relative. 50 years ago I would be out snow skying in this kind of weather. Those where the days my friend ! Sure looks like the fuel clouded up some ? Might be able to make some good candles with the much wax. You know I have to ask where the driver got the last tank of fuel. D#1 or kerosene to dilute what is left. The reason we are hunkered down - do not need that kind of issue. Even though I added some 911 to the last tank back October, no way I feel comfortable using it at these temps. An temperatures like this sure makes me wounder what the winter blend is like in the South. ???? Rich.

Sure sounds like the threads are stripped. They make different sizes. There should be room to install a larger thread size grease fitting. The issue would be - no real depth to run in a tap because of the seal and the ram being in the way. Might be able to get a discount for a defective part. Can not remember the year of the coach? Rich.

Well, the temperatures will be around 0 or below for the next 48 hrs. with a wind chill of -25 to -30. We will be staying inside. No school tomorrow. Whiteout conditions because of the wind and the addition of 12 in. of snow predicted. Will letup on Sunday afternoon. Got some wood stacked up - so the wood stove might get fired up. Then it will be 25 to 35 degrees here Monday. Heat Wave !!! So the South should be in the 50 to 60 degree range. No real good predictions for next week yet. LOL Rich.

One can get a number of items that will increase HP and Torque, but will the changes meet the EPA guidelines when it is time to pass an emission test. Every engine builder in the world is trying to meet their requirements. VW Diesel tried and failed - cost them big time !!!!! Cat just got out of the market and stayed in the off road equipment line. The items one must consider like you mentioned and is the trade off worth the extra cost. You could invest in a custom engine and transmission and add all kinds of power. Not within the Reach of many owners. I'm thinking that overall - you might be using 40% of what the HP and Torque is with the stock setup and if you customize the drive train, you get into looking for shops that understand how and what might be causing issues down the road. Cummings might cover the engine if it is not reworked to much ? Allison 4000 transmission will handle about anything you power it with, but you get into custom software in some cases. I refer it to as the domino effect. Change something and how many other items need to be modified. Rich.

Richard, I would check with Manchester. Give them a call. The Forklift style tanks are still in use and Manchester's RV tank list is dedicated towards the newer coaches. They very well could also have the same style tanks still in the pipeline. Not likely a mainline item at the time. Our first coach had 2- 20 lb. Horizontal tanks mounted in an outside bay. They where setup so they could be slid out from the securing system to be filled. Rich. Other suppliers that might be of help. https://vikingcylinders.com/products/ https://worthingtonindustries.com/Products/Propane-Cylinders Compressed Motor Fuel Tanks.pdf

Richard, The fill valve is replaceable. see the frost and wonder if there is a cover missing from the current valve ? dirt or other contamination at the vale set is always a possibility. The tanks always need to be empty to replace any of the tank parts. The fact that the valve failed and that most of the LP has discharged. Manchester Tanks is a good possible source for the parts, but a good LP service center should be able to test and repair the tank. http://www.mantank.com/products/rvproducts.htm Rich.

Eric, there is a latching relay - that the water pump switch activates. You mentioned that the light is on at the switch. That would indicate that the relay energized. So 2 items to check have been mentioned ! The 12 volt fuse in the DC power panel. Could be a 7 amp, 10 amp or 15 amp fuse depending on the current requirement of the pump. The second - is the possibility of the pump being frozen and the lines between it and the water tank and between the pump and where the lines enter the coach. Water lines running to and from the water heater also could be frozen. Cold weather prodigal, is to open all the cabinet doors to allow more heat to circulate . Also--- you might need to add a heat lamp in the water bay and pump area to warm up the area. Trouble lights work and or a clamp on light with 40 to 60 watt bulb(s) Run your furnace(s) to raise the bay temperature, internal space heater does not help in this case. No direct contact with the lines, pump or tank. Rich. Fleetwood more often then not places the DC power panel right next to the AC power panels.

We live with 2 Motto's Every Day is a good day,but one needs to remember that some are better then others ! Every sunrise is a gift and every sunset is a blessing ! A Great New Year to all ! Rich and Lois.

With it being so cold in the eastern half of the country, I started thinking of the years that come to mind. 1949 The upper Midwest snow and wind that lasted for weeks. Months to dig out. 1965 The Northeast and great lakes got pummeled. Took almost 3 weeks to dig out. 1972 Cold stretch and snowed almost everyday for 6 weeks. Big piles of snow. 1991 March Ice storm that coated everything with over an inch of ice, power outage lasted for 2 to 3 weeks and again about 5 years later when areas got hit with 3 plus inches of ice. The power grid got pummeled. 2017 Has been very cold - not that much snow and with it being so cold, the big lakes are icing up. That fact kind of makes great lake residents smile. with an ice lid on the big lakes, it turns off the snow Hopping this extended cold spell has a killing effect on the Ash Bore, the Maple Bore and the evergreen Bores that have been killing so many trees, because of the lack of extended cold spells. We mess things up - but nature can cause extreme weather swings, that have had profound effects. So I keep thinking that things could always be worse. Rich.

Thank You for posting the information! Thinking that the coach might have 4 slides? That there is very little slope to the toppers, that kind of means there is very little space between the slide tops and the topper material. Bladders - filled with air might slide between the topper and the slide roof could work to keep the center a little higher then the outer edge - the other edge connects the the drip rail. Link to a possible source. http://www.atlinc.com/inflatables.html Installing and removing them could be challenging. Anything made of ridge material could very well damage the material and the roof top of the slides. The water might drain off the top by setting the coach at a slight angle front to rear. Toppers where not designed to be extended in winter conditions. Moving the coach to add fuel and LP in cold weather is no fun. Rich.

Rick, We have the same issue. LOL DW loves to sew and being creative - she has a good number if items. Then through in my items, it is almost to much to comprehend. Kind of like birds of a feather. I have been well schooled in redundancy and back up and she has some back up equipment and a good stock of fabrics. I do a lot of my own maintenance and giving up the sticks and brick location and the tools is kind of terrifying in a way. Rich.

bdersham, Welcome to the FMCA Forum! There are a few options, but first could you post the Make, Year and model of your RV. Not all are constructed the same and the information will help the forum members to offer the most relevant information. Rich.

How long does the voltage stay at 12.02 volts? Does it continue to drop? I have run into a case where 1 of the cells of a relatively new battery had just water in it. No lie. And if memory is correct, that battery would read real close to the readings you are getting. A battery hydrometer is the only way to test the cells for this type of problem. One bad cell on a 6 volt battery would drop the voltage by about 2.08 volts. A 12 volt battery with one cell with a water reading would drop by 2.08 Volts. You have a o.72 voltage drop. That kind of reading would indicate to me that the water to acid mix in one of the cells could be off by around 50 %. I do not know the acid to water mix percentage, but I will see what I can find regarding that number ! Rich. Back to the chemistry book(s) Battery acid is sulfuric acid that has been diluted with water to attain a 37% concentration level.

Five, I installed a new sine wave inverter and the only way to stop all the power draw is to install a disconnect switch at the battery, but that resets the unit to factory defaults. The other issue is the initial high current surge when the power is reapplied. So I just let it draw a few mil. amps. A small solar panel or trickle charger covers that and One needs to remember that the chassis, ECM, TCM and other modules are also drawing a small current. Disconnecting the Chassis battery places the ECM into a relearning mode and the system will fail an emission test until driven around 100 miles. Doing that legally could be a challenge or a paper chase in many states. Rich.

Eric, See the leveling system is using power gear equipment. That being the case, power gear installs grease fitting at the bottom of the hydraulic cylinders. The shiny part you mentioned - is called the Ram. The grease fittings are in the cylinder portion. Kind of hidden from view by the foot of the jack when it is retracted. ONLY use white lithium grease to grease the fittings. I have a small grease gun I use only for the job. The grease keeps the seals clean and the hydraulic fluid in. Whip down the shiny portion with silicon when it is extended. NOTE ! only use 2 shots of the grease. !!!!!!!! Cycle the jacks 2 or 3 times. and keep an eye on things for a few days. THE jacks need to be greased after 30 cycles, that information is buried in the power gear jack manual. One of those routine maintenance issues. Rich. Been there done That including the leak ! Many service centers know they need to be greased or that the manual mentions using lithium grease !!!

Carl, There is a reason it's colder if you think about it. Warm summer and the big lakes got warmer then nominal this past summer. Got to think that the real big ponds are also a little warmer and with hot air being lighter then cold air. That leaves the door wide open for the cold air to drop in. Regarding the Great Lakes - areas around them are setting record snow levels. Hope that I mixed enough 911 into the diesel on the last fill up and fuel filter change. Will also fined out if the block heater will do it's job. Then there is the job of removing any snow build up off the top of the coach, if we need to stop because of weather. The state police do not take kindly to snow and ice flying off the roof of any large vehicle. Rich.

Rick. Nice job! I Did not know that there was a wire raceway running the length of the enclosed bay area> That sure saved some time and parts. As you mentioned , a project like that enhances ones knowledge of how things are wired and where those wires run. Rich.

The Blade has a pin at the left end that hols the arm and the right side of the plastic clip locks the blade on the the arm. Pressing down or sliding a small screw driver under the right between the mattle arm and the plastic clip should release the blade. Rich.

Well done JK, Excellent pictures and description! There is a possibility that the wire lug in the fuse holder that you circled is broken. If you look real close the circled lug wire end is inserted farther then the one connected to the heavy wire lug. This might indicate that the fuse holder is damaged and it sure looks like it is part of the relay molding. So, look for an in line fuse holder and just bypass the circled unit. The good thing is it is just a fuse holder and not connected directly to the energizing coil wiring directly. The color of the day for the wire was yellow, even though the relay coil label says White / Purple and is the grounded lug. The black strip on that wire was put there most likely by the installer. He got some black line on the relay label. One can read the circuit wire number the fuse is wired to --- 163716-01-000 and another circuit wire is labeled 163106-01-000. With the wiring number chart / this ID's the what and where of the circuit. Much more reliable then the wire colors in most cases. Real good job and not simple to fine these little snakes. Remember the devil is in the details !!!!! Rich.

Would the sound still be coming from the transformer even when I turned off the inverter and charger? YES, The reason is AC power is going into the unit from either the line directly or through the 30 amp breaker in the power panel. There should be no buzz when not connected to shore power or when the circuit breaker feeding the unit is off. Do check the ground copper wire to the unit is tight as well as the ground points / connections at the breaker box and the chassis frame. That should not change things, but it is always good the check them - things just giggle loose driving down the road. Rich.

Carl, I have the feeling that the road might just have some snow on it now ! June is a lot different then December and January in the Smokes ! All the talk about good videls and we are stuck in the cold and icy road zone for a few days. The trade off was spending some quality time with the kids and grand kids. Now we just wait for the warm air to run North for a few days so we can get on the road. Rich.

Went back to read your original post. The Inverter / Charger is OEM equipment. So - the humming sound is being generated from the transformer. After time the steel plates used to make the transformer start to vibrate / buzz. This is caused by the brake down of the lacquer used to isolate them. It do not effect the operation of the system, but they do buzz. No real fix for that problem - for the majority of owners or even the service centers. Should you send the unit back to Xantrex - they could replace the transformer. The Total cost of the labor and shipping gets to a point close to replacing it. So I would just use it until it has electrical issues and then replace it. Think you will find it is a 2500 Watt / Modified sine-wave unit. They are still in production and used frequently in many new coaches. The Pure sine wave units are more expensive, but do have the ability to be used with the newer electronic equipment that use Computer style circuits and control systems. Hope this information helps answer your question(s). Rich.

Recheck the series / parallel wiring for the house batteries and that the battery wires for the chassis 12 volt batteries are correct. I did rewire mine wrong one time and the charger was not happy. Humbling experience, but if one places there fingers into a mouse trap enough times it will get you. Rich.