Koliver

tmoning: I just tried the image optimizer program that you attached. I still get a failure on the attempt to add a photo to my profile, although the size is now 205 KB. I will send you the photo, but I would prefer knowing how to get this feature of the FMCA site to work.

I just failed to add a photo. I selected a photo that was over 3 mb in size, and in properties it discloses that it is 3800 x 2600 pixels in size. I would like to know if this size, which is typical for my photos, is ever going to be acceptable to this software. If not, how do I reduce the size of the photo, and what size is acceptable?

At last! a sensible and cheap way to get past the latest pollution regs, and get rid of sewage at the same time. Instead of carrying a DEF tank that injects urea (piss) into the catalytic converter to eliminate soot from the exhaust, just patch the black water tank into the catalytic converter! Help the environment in two ways at once!

Controlling the odor that comes into the coach thru the roof vents can be easily done by attaching a pipe to the vent at the roof and leading the odors to the rear of the coach roof. In mine, the hallway vent is 18" from the black tank vent, and the head vent is only 36" away. When the fantastic in the head operates, and the power is off in the hallway vent, the odor is sucked down inside the coach. The Black pipe that protrudes thru the roof is 1.5" ABS, to which I have attached a 1.5" 90 degree elbow, a reducer to 1.25", a couple more 90s, to get down to roof level, then strait pipe to the rear. I know it works, because when I go up to remove it for travel, there is usually odor at the top of the ladder, but no longer is there any in the coach. The distance to the rear is easily covered with a pair of pipes, each the length of the longest available storage space in the basement, and a connector. I used white pipe, it fits the same to the black one coming thru the roof, but is no eyesore.

Sounds like they are set to come on proportionally with your brakes on the MH, whether by depressing the pedal or activating the Pacbrake. Sounds like they need to be adjusted. Sorry, I don't know how the adjustment works, but I think your trailer should always brake when the MH brakes, so rather than turning the controller off, you need to adjust it to provide the correct amount of braking. I have a Pacbrake that keeps the brakelights on when it is activated, and that also keeps the trailer brakes on. Mine works just as it should, so yours should too. If you find how to adjust, please post the solution.

I stopped at a truck scale that was closed, had the Co pilot go move the cones out of the way, then drove only the rt side onto the scale, one axle at a time. Combine that with weighing the whole axle, and you have all 4 corners. Nice they leave the scales turned on so you can do that. Yes, she put the cones back before we left.

I noted that the screw holes had been stripped in a couple of spots, and a new hole had been drilled nearby to get the full pressure required. You can drill them anywhere in the channel. I didn't need to, but was prepared to if needed.

You don't say what brand of windows you have, or whether you are concerned only with the seal to the side of the coach, or in the frame. I will assume you have a broken window that must be removed and replaced. I will also assume yours are SE-GI brand, or similar construction. -remove all the shades and valances. -then pull out the rubber gasket that covers the screws. It is about 1/2" wide, and goes all the way around the window. there is a join at the top. pull it up at the join and pull till the whole gasket has detached. -undo the screws. Watch it when you get down to the last couple. At this point it is a good idea to have a handle attached to the glass on the inside and on the outside, and a helper on a ladder outside to hold on. -cut any outside silicone or caulking. you may also need to insert a pry under the outside frame to get it moving. Here is where the helper comes in handy. -remove and lower carefully to the ground. -undo the screws that hold the frame together, 4, thru a piece of aluminum, about 1"x3", usually at the narrow end. take out the screws holding the divider. -hold the bottom of the window with your feet, lift the top part of the frame off the glass and while it is deflected away, lift out the slider and the fixed pane of glass. If you are also repairing creepy seals or fogged windows, post again and I will add the other steps necessary. Re-installation goes in the reverse order. It goes easier if the rubber bits are kept wet. Clean off all of the old silicone before getting your new windows near the coach. Do not use silicone to seal against the outside of the coach. Your original installation should have used a foam rubber gasket. If that is in good shape, re-use it. If not, go to a glass shop and buy the black foam with adhesive on one side. Silicone should never be used on your coach, anywhere, at any time. In fact, I doubt there is an application for it. If you need to caulk the outside edge to the coach, buy a decent caulking, 3M 4200, Sikaflex 290, Lifecaulk are good. they can be found at any marine store. Never, Never use Silicone. No particular skill is required, but it is a lot of work. Never lay the glass down against anything that isn't protected by rubber, carpet, towels, etc. Any contact with concrete, stone, granite countertops, etc, is likely to leave a permanent scratch, or worse.

I agree with Robert. I use any available wifi access. Where I am presently, there is a nearby unsecured that I am presently using. It is anonymous, so I can't go and thank its owner. I would. When it is down, I have to go to the nearby clubhouse. Not a problem.

When we bought our first Motorhome this past spring, we had looked for a few years, and had a long list of cheaper rejects that we had seen. We hadn't yet seen either CC or Beaver. The first one that was good enough to put an offer on was a 2000 CC 40'. It had the layout that we wanted, was in good condition for its age, and had fairly low mileage. Once it was tied up with our offer, I got my coveralls on and stayed with the guy the dealer hired to do the PDI. I asked him to explain to me what he was looking at, what he expected to see, and what he actually saw, as he went thru all of the systems. The most interesting, to me, were all under the coach. I got a pretty good education in what quality was built into the CC by doing that. unfortunately, as I wanted to import to Canada, and CC hadn't done any CSI inspections before 2004, I couldn't buy that unit and let it go. The next MH that interested us was a Beaver, a 98, 38'. It has the same layout that we liked in the CC, just short the washer/dryer and one cabinet. Again, as part of the process, I spent quite a while under the coach, and was happy with the quality of everything I saw. We have put only about 5000 miles on since buying this coach, but so far, it has been exactly what we expected. The critical thing is to get familiar with whatever you are going to buy, so there are fewer unexpected events.

Already done the trip, but thanks for the suggestions. I was surprised (pleasantly) by the quality of the road, all the way to Bend. The scenery is impressive too. Found a great place to stay in Bend, then were on our way to SoCal. Now in the sun for a month or so, before heading back home for Xmas. I can't say i like the freeways around LA. The closer you get to LA, it seems, the worse the roads, and the more people on them.

I store my coach on Saltspring Island, where I have rec property. I ferried across from Vancouver to Nanaimo, then from Crofton to Vesuvius. The day I chose, the regular Crofton ferry was in the shop, and the replacement (smaller) ferry was one with a single overheight lane down the middle. That was fine, except that, over the years, they have added stuff to the side walls of that lane, to the point they added a couple of 4" steel pipes at each end, standing off from the sides of that lane far enough to protect all the added stuff. I stopped just before entering, and had to go find the 5/32" allan key to loosen my mirrors so I could swing them out of the way, in order to fit the much reduced lane width. The ferry crew were fine with directing me through after I explained by newly acquired blindness. Those little ferries also have a very steep ramp, so you should be prepared to drag your trailer hitch, or worse, as you get on and off. I returned to Vancouver via Fulford to Swartz bay, then to Tsawassen, and had no issues with the boats on those runs. I pull a dolly with a car on it,and I found that you can save a few bucks by separating the toad from the coach, if you have a willing extra driver.

from http://www.roofhelp.com: "Sealant & Roof Tape - This method of repair can be used on most smooth surfaced systems including Built-Up-Roofing systems, but is suggested for use on Single-Ply systems such as E.P.D.M. or PVC Thermoplastic. To make emergency repairs using a sealant or roof tape membrane, start by cleaning the membrane surface with alcohol or a household cleaning solution, such as window cleaner. Then wipe the surface with a clean cloth and "splice cleaner" or white gas (use rubber gloves and proper skin protection). After the membrane has been cleaned, apply a butyl or polyurethane sealant (caulking), or roof tape to the damaged roofing material. (Note: The surface must be clean for the repair material to adhere.) When using roof tape, pressure should be applied over the entire surface of the tape to ensure adhesion. Sealants are available at most hardware, builders supply and home discount stores. A variety of roof tape products are also available. These products typically have a release paper on the backside and are a few inches wide. Roof tape products are also available through membrane manufacturers, roofing materials distributors, and roofing contractors. "

Brett; Thanks for your input. Yes, with a voltmeter, and also at the end of the cord that plugs into the circuit board. This connection was so loose I thought tightening it would be the answer, but no, didn't help. I pulled the small fuse (3 amp) and it looks as good as new. Beside the fuse are some more #12 wires with extremely loose connectors, those tightened, again didn't help. Is it possible this isn't about the fridge, but rather about the power coming in?, Is there some load shedding feature in the inverter, that I just have to wait for?

I thought about that, and turned off the water heater, topped up the batteries, waited almost 24 hrs. So I will keep and eye on it, in case there is a load shedding feature that finally puts the fridge back in the system. This would also mean that the 120v at the circuit board is measurable but not strong enough to run the fridge.

Has anyone solved this problem? There is AC to the circuit board. The 3 amp fuse on the board looks good. I have tightened all the connections to the board, as several weren't tight, and felt like I had found the problem. But alas, the fridge is working fine on propane, but reports "NO AC" when I try to force it on to AC. The fridge has been off for 3 months while we did other things. Now that we are going to head south on Monday, it has decided to act up. The Coach is presently plugged into a 15 amp extension cord in front of our house, this was adequate to run the fridge in June.

Brett; I too was surprised, and delighted when I consulted the owner's manual and found the towing protocol allowed this. Towed from Palm Springs to Coquitlam (1500 miles) in 3 days with no issues, in March. Since then, no evidence of anything amiss. I will not likely be towing that car much, as it is a tad large for a toad, and I also have the smaller FWD Volvo S70. Regrettably, the Infinity QX4 that my wife would like to bring along states clearly in the OM that it can't have ANY wheels on the ground, if towed. So unless a driveshaft disconnect is a simple matter, which I haven't taken the time to research yet, that one will not get any vacations.

GR: Sorry if my post was confusing. The XC90 is AWD, can't be towed flat, hence the dolly. The key needs to be on to keep the alarms from sounding (funny I should know this!). Power to the battery was necessary, as we were starting a 1500 mile trip, which we did in 3 days. The S70 is FWD, can't be towed flat either, but as the dolly takes care of all lighting needs and brakes, and tehre is no alarm on this 2000 unit, no battery supply needed. I have had the cars for 6 and 11 years respectively, and the MH was new to us, so no way were we also going to change cars, just to get something to tow flat. With all the wingeing I have read here over brands that say they can, but actually can't be flat towed, I am content to keep using my dolly.

I use a dolly. I have towed my Volvo XC90, and I added power from the MH to the car battery, as I had to leave the key on, in neutral, alarms disabled, so there was some power usage in the car. Adding a pair of wires from the dolly plugin to the car was no biggie. The car towed well on the dolly, and with high ground clearance, was easy to load. I have also towed my Volvo S70, FWD, so no need to connect the battery, no leaving the key on. Low ground clearance means I have to watch the ground contours where I am loading or unloading, or carry some boards to raise the ramps a bit. Tows very well.

I have to disagree. Note the amount of surface of his mirrors the video guy recommends wasting. All that part that looks at your coach is totally wasted. If you turn the mirrors out a little further, just so you have to move your head to see ANY of the side of the coach, you will gain 1/4 to 1/3 more visibility, and all of it is where, in the video, you are totally blind. Eliminate the blind spot if you can, but don't follow that guy's advice and create more area of blindspot. Also, the convex mirrors can be adjusted separately to overlap the flat mirror slightly, eliminating more of the blind area. Have someone walk around in what used to be your blind spot, just to see how well your adjustment has eliminated it.

Seems to be a frequent problem. In my case, the chassis batteries were supposed to be kept up by a combination of: 1 alternator (when the diesel is running), 2 solar panel (14x14), and 3 echo charger (for when the AC charger has brought the house batteries up and it reaches sufficient voltage to now give a little to the chassis batteries. When parked, there are loads that don't turn off unless you put on a disconnect (see my post earlier in this thread). You need at least one of the charging sources noted to be working at a level that will exceed the draw. In the winter, in northern latitudes, forget the solar panel, as it is not adequate. If plugged in, the echo charger should do it, but, as I discovered, those fail. I now have a dedicated trickle charger plugged into an AC outlet, that gives the chassis batteries all they need, provided there is expernal AC available. For the times there is none, the positive cut-off is a must, or the Chassis batteries will die.

I am a firm believer in the old "you get what you pay for". Most on this forum have paid a lot more than you have for their Coaches. Some 10 or 20 times what you have paid. You will have to expect a few teething problems in order to get your coach roadworthy. Once you have done so, you will know your coach better, so will be able to anticipate problems and take care of them before they get you to the "turn around" stage. Presumably you bought this coach "to see if RVing is for us" with the intention of trading up if the experience was positive. Maybe you paid too little and should start a little higher up the market. Don't give the whole concept a bad rap for a single problem in a cheap coach.

I too just checked. In March, when I bought, I paid close to the NADA "average retail". In 6 months, number is now 20% less!

Once you get your batteries back up, you need to put a positive cut off between the ground (black) and the battery post, so as to be absolutely sure there are no parasitic loads draining the batteries while you are away. There are knife switches and fancier things that operate with a remote fob. Just be sure the circuit is demonstrably open while you are away. My own experience was to find new batteries drained in under 3 weeks, by those loads. I blame principally the ECM on the CAT engine. It is not necessary to keep that energized while not using the coach. The only reason I could find for keeping it on was to keep the ECM warm, so as to avoid condensation. If that is a concern, you will need to be plugged in to shore power.