Riotravelers

My side entry door lock broke internally locking my wife inside. The lock is a Trimark 60-650. I was able to remove the inside plate then drill multiple holes in the casting around the broken keeper operating bar. I was then able to tap the keeper back into retracted position to get the door open. I have attached pictures of the lock and broken parts as well. I am interested to know if anyone else has had this problem as I am considering notifying the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to create a recall. I know of at least two other failures of this same type of lock on different brand motorhomes. If you have had this problem please respond with Make, Model, Year of M/H and month and year lock failed.

Use vin and engine serial number and go to chasis manufacturer first and engine manufacturer second.

It is a combination viscous and electric clutch. The viscous works to certain point when the fluid thins out from temperature then a temp sensor activates the electric clutch allowing full engagement for maximum cooling. According to the Freightliner help line they are still using these. The purpose is to reduce the horsepower used to run the fan in light load conditions thus saving fuel.

In most cases you are correct radiator blockage is the cause however on my 2007 Freightliner chassis, rear radiator I have had the electric portion of the viscus/electric fan clutch fail twice. The engine will run at normal temps until you pull a load on a hill then the electric portion of the clutch activates and kicks the fan into high speed. I don't know how long the clutch was bad as we don't have any mountains in Florida, but the Rockys did me in. Freightliner help line told me to stop for about 15-20 min which would allow the viscous portion of the clutch to basically thicken so that the viscous clutch would then work again. We limped lots of miles until we made it to a dealer to replace the clutch. However the first time it failed the dealer blamed the radiator as being blocked. I insisted that he do diagnostic on the fan clutch as It had had an electrical issue when the coach was new and I did not want to pay 8hrs labor for an unneeded maintenance item (clean the cooler) that the Warranty company would not cover. Guess what the electric clutch had failed and was covered under my extended warranty plan. I questioned Freightliner and they have a new and improved clutch however the second time I had a failure it was the new and improved one that was installed. I don't know when they started using this type of clutch sometime prior to 2007 and to the best of my knowledge they still use it. It does not matter what engine you have as it is a Freightliner supplied part.

I can understand people being concerned about violence in Mexico but how about other places. Like the movie theater in Colorado, and shootings that go on in every major city in the US on almost a daily basis. With violence everwhere maybe you should sell your RV and baricade yourselves in your homes.

The problem with barges and tugs is most if not all are not licensed or inspected as passenger carrying vessels. There is also different crew licensing for passenger carrying vessels as well. The primary reason for this is passenger safety. The Coast Guard marine inspection office is responsible both programs. I do not think it would be possible to get the proper inspection certificate for a barge and tug for passenger carrying. As I recall passenger carrying vessels are inspected cradle (plans) to constuction and use to grave (taken out of service). A possible solution would be someone with deep pockets to buy a flat top ferry that was already constructed for pasenger service likeone of the larger Lake Champlain ferries. Then find some possibly retired captain and crew with the proper licensing. There would be other possible areas that they could cruise as well if planned out properly. How about cruising the Hudson River, Long Island sound and some areas down south during the winter months?

Just think about this. Breakdowns, road closures etc. do occur. Do you want to be alone with no cell service or would you rather be with a group for support? Also make sure you have spare tires for each vehicle not bologna spare and not necessarily on a rim, and if you are a trailer/5th wheel at a minimum shackles and pins and a spring would be good also. Check out all carvan companies they are not created equal.

This is an interesting topic to me as I have an appointment to have the annual service. We have been in very hot weather the last month and have felt the refrigerator has not been cooling the way it should. Unfortunately I have not been able to find any performance specs as to what temps should be and at what ambient temps. The specs on the dometic website do not provide that or I was looking in the wrong spot. Can anyone provide that? My model is a NDR 1292