hermanmullins
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Posts posted by hermanmullins
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As Brett said, weigh each axle [each tire if possible] then look up your tire's chart and you will find the best pressure for your coach. Both front tire need to have the same PSI as well as all rear tires need to have same PSI.
As you stated you could have all problems rolled up in one. Balance {shaking in the steering wheel = front tires, shaking in your seat = rear tires are out of balance}, cupped tires {sign of tires out of balance}, bad shocks {front end will bounce}, and too much air pressure {rough/hard ride}. One thing you didn't mentioned was how the coach drove. Does it wander or pull {out of alignment}.
Good luck on finding your problem(s).
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While on this subject, does anyone make a dome satelite automatic dish with multi LNBs? I have Dish Network and would like to use a DVR so we can watch two TVs at the same time on diferent channels. Our King Dome in motion will move between 110 &119 when we change channels. As is said before we don't need HD.
Nice to hear you guys on lots of topics.
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I've been looking for a way to get rid of my J Lounge and replace it with a La-Z-Boy recliner. It sounded simple enough at first, but then there's the color matching, stray subwoofer for the sound system, and a cabinet/table my wife wanted to store our notebook computers, among other things to consider. I found a fabric from La-Z-Boy that matched our sofa and front captain chairs, so I ordered the new wall-hugger recliner in this fabric plus four extra yards of the material to recover the front captain chairs. I built a custom cabinet to house the subwoofer, notebook computers, and the computer charging devices. Here are some pictures of the project:
Nice job on the cabinet. I have been wanting to replace my euro chair and foot stool. It is very comfortable when you sit in the chair, however it sits so low to the floor I have to almost slide out on my knees then push my self up to get out of it. Your recliner looks very inviting. Is there a number or name for the chair you bought? Again great job.
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I have a 2005 Fleetwood Pace Arrow on a W22 Workhorse chassis that came with 22.5 steel wheels. I would like to replace those wheels with the aluminum wheels that are on the later W22 chassis. So far Workhorse and Fleetwood have given me zero help in identifying the specs on the wheels and if I need longer wheel studs. I even went to the local Workhorse service dealer, and they were no help. So much for customer support. Can anyone help me out with part numbers or specs for the parts I need? I would imagine that the wheels are Alco and the studs can be purchased from NAPA. Thanks, in advance. RichardNavy 8, Howdy from another swabie. You might check with the wheel manufactuer and ask what is the recommended stud length, and if a spacer is needed on the rear wheels [between the outer aluminum rim and the inner steel rim. I have a feeling that you might have enough length but I would check to be sure.
Good luck on adding the BLING to your already good looking coach.
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Now, Herman, connecting to an engine control circuit to power a fan will only get you 5 minutes in time out-- no big deal. You will be out in plenty of time to join everyone for lunch.But, it does bring up a good point. With today's electronic engines and transmissions (both gas and diesel), one needs to be very careful with modifications, particularly with things like fans that can produce RF Interference as well as being an electrical load.
Brett
Brett, Tom wasn't supose to tell you of my fupa.
[PS, now I know.]
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Welcome sancat11,Here, Smoking Engine, is a link to a previous discussion of a smoking/performance problem with a Cummins 400 ISL. While you have a different engine and the circumstances are somewhat different, you might take the advice in the that discussion. Contacting Cummins with your engine serial number might give you some help.
Tom, the 'Smoking Engine' was my post. If you promise not to tell Brett, I will tell you what my problem was. My 400 ISL has the Jake Brake.
Now for the story. I had installed a new fan on my dash and looked for a curcit that came on and off with the egnition switch. On a trip back home we came to a down grade and I stepped on the Jake Brake. which slowed the coach down. That was when I noticed the fan quit. When I let off the Jake Brake the fan came back on. [Jake brake on fan off, jake Brake off fan on]. I had a stop light and when I came to a stop the engine went into rough idle, no power with lots and lots of smoke. I got through the intersection and on to the side of the road. This was the same problem I had before. "What the H- did I do but reach up and turn the fan off. WALII the engine begins to odle smoothly and the smoking stopped. What ever hot wire I connected the fan to was also connected to the Jake Brake. Needless to say I have removed the fan wire and moved it to the elec. panel and put in a inline fuse.
No more problems. [but Tom please don't tell Brett]
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Montie,
I have a Trip Tec and I called them on my unit. According to the readings my lifetime average was 98.46 MPG. Wouldn't that be lovely. Trip Tec told me that that information comes from the engines computer and needed to be re-calculated by Cummins. Maybe you could visit your local dealer and ask if they can make the needed calculations.
Hope this helps.
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Thanks Brett,All I need is a little direction and I become dangerous. I'll have the Caterpillar folks check it out at my next service date.
And by the way, I should have mention it is a Cat 330, and again thanks for the help.
Jimmy
Jimmy, You have one of the best go to guys in Brett. He will research your problem and get you the correct answer. I have a Trip-Tec in my coach between it the coach speedo and my GPS I have 3 different readings. I will have Cummins check mine the next time I have it in for service. In the mean time I set my speed by the GPS. It may be slow some times to react up or down but it is right on the money for speed readings.
Happy RVing
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We recently picked up our new 2010 Tiffin Phaeton 40 ft diesel pusher. Driving it home towing our 2000 Chevy Tahoe, the Tahoe's battery was drained. We followed the Tahoe's manual instructions explicitly for towing it 4 wheels down, removing the 10 amp fuse marked "ING 0" (PRND21 Display, Odometer, VCM/PCM). The fuse has to be pulled to not drain the battery, since the ignition switch on the steering column has to be in the "on" position to unlock the steering wheel. Not only was the Tahoe's battery discharged, but the odometer still racked up miles on the 4 hour trip home. The dealer installed a Blue Ox Aventa 10,000 lb tow bar and used totally separate wiring for the towed vehicle running all the way back to the Tahoe's taillights, including separate bulbs. So, the battery drain can't be from the brakes, lights, turn signals, etc., since they're hooked directly to the motorcoach with totally separate wiring. The dealer also installed a Blue Ox Patriot electric brake system in the Tahoe. The only 12v connection from the Tahoe to the Patriot brake system is for a 'back-up' charge to the internal battery of the brake system. Has anyone else experienced a battery drain on their towed GM vehicle when the directed fuse has been pulled? Also, anyone experience the towed vehicle with an electronic odometer, still registering increasing mileage when towed, even with the fuse pulled? There are 2 other fuses in the Tahoe fuse box labeled "IGN 1" (Ignition, Instrument Panel) and "IGN 3" (Ignition, Power Seats) according to the manual schematic. Even though the manual doesn't reference pulling these fuses as well, I'm wondering if that would fix the problem the next time I tow the Tahoe. Any assistance / solutions, would be appreciated. Thanks.GWJohnson
new member 2010
GW, it seems [in my openion] your did everything right with the exception of the brake system. I have spoken several times about the MG Air brake unit: http://www.m-gengineering.com/
Knowing what I know now, after several mistakes, I would do the following:
1) Tow Bar, you have a good one.
2) Lights, the dealer did a good job by wiring your light with diodes and direct connections to the coach.
3) Steering wheel, Go to your local mechanic and have him remove the steering wheel locking pin.
4) Braking system, see if your dealer will replace the Blue Ox brake with a MG. The MG has no electrical hookups. one air line and safety cord and your are hooked up. And you don't have to move it every time you want to tow or drive.
By the way Congratulations on your new coach.
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I ended these issues, towing our Jeep, by installing a simple blade switch on one of the battery posts. 2 seconds to flip, no fuses to pull, and no question about any power drain.Sorry JMonroe, when you open the connection on the battery you also delete your computer codes. It takes time to reset the codes, sometimes 100 miles.
The 2000 Tohoe doesn't have a streeing wheel locking pin [at least my 2002 doesn't have one]. The odometer racks up miles with the key on.
My toad is a 2003 GMC Yukon 4X4. Blue ox tow Bar, M. G. Brake [air brake]. When leaving I hook up Yukon to tow bar, plug in the lights, plug in air line, connect brake away lanyard and put Yukon in neutral and trans in park. I then move coach to make sure Yukon is in neutral and all lights work. I then remove the key, lock the Yukon and go RVing. Hope this helps everyone.
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Go find you a older mechanic. He will have the experience and knowledge to adjust your toe-in and your caster where it will follow your coach with no problems. If your caster is too little it will not follow. He will also know that there are spec for all newer cars & truck but very few on the older ones. If your Toe-in is not enough your car will wander down the road trying to find the center. Hope you find that old mechanic and you get your problem solved. Your are right about not believing that some cars won't toe. You just need the right person to align your 63 Ford.
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I travel the Oklahoma Turmpikes almost every month. They are the best roads in Oklahoma. However if you are not in a hurry try taking Historic Route 66 from Oklahoma City to Joplin. There are lots of nice little towns to visit. You will go through Claremore between Tulsa and Miami. There you will find the Will Rogers Museum and the Davis Gum Museum. That being said, if you take Route 66 stay with in the posted speed limits. The small towns budgets depend on that revenue.
Have a great Trip.
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Here is a web site that has the information on cable size, amp load and length. As has been stated before welding cable is your best bet.
www.directwire.biz . Click on downloads, then click on item one brochures and go to page two. There you will find a chart with the info. you need.
Happy camping and keep on breathing at night wit out worry.
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The loss of home/local channels when you are traveling outside of your home zip code area is NOT the fault of either Direct TV or Dish. It is the fault of your local TV stations. They wanted protection from the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and they got it. The resulots is that Satellite companies may not provide a customer serivce outside of the local area. The "RV Exclusion" that was referred to is a piece of paper that the RV user states that he/she basically is only using the East/West feeds in their motorhome while on the road. FYI, East/West feeds are NOT your local home channels but east or west coast feeds thus if you are in Oklahoma City you won't get the local OKC channels but will get either a feed from the East or West Coast. If you want local channels in the area you are in just call your providers customer service number, give them address you are parked at including the zip code and tell them that is NOT your billing address but your service address. They will then program your account to receive local channels for that location.Thanks Texnet. I have done this before and have received the areas we are in locals channels. I had to laugh the first time we did this. when we returned home we had to call to have our home area changed back to our home address. On the same note we have several shows we like to watch so when we are going on the road I will set the DVR to record the shows. When we returned from one trip I had no shows recorded because I had moved to our mobile location and I didn't have my locals at home. Now we just hope for cable where we park or watch some movies we have.
Thanks again for everyones responce to my question.
Go RVing and go often.
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Hey, this is REALLY good stuff. We purchased our RV new, but it had sat on a lot for over a year. Should I expect there to be any substantial damage to the tires from just sitting? It's a Damon Essence 40ft/built on a Freightliner chassis with a Cummins 425 Diesel and an Allison 6 tranny. My tires are H rated Goodyears and after weighing the coach, it appears I need 80psi in the front 2 and 85 psi in the back 4. From what I'm reading, we aren't anywhere near the load limits of these tires.There is so much stuff out there that seems to be hype.......tyron bands for blowout control (1,995 a pair), remote pressure sensors, Nitrogen inflation instead of straight Air.......
Seems to me one really needs to keep the tire pressure at the right levels and check each day before driving.....Inspect them monthly for deterioration......easy to do while you're "exercising" your generator under load.
I don't see any advantage to using Nitrogen......which is simply not available everywhere......
I can possibly see where the remote sensors are valuable.......but are an expensive technology that is subject to faulty readings.
Yes there is a lot of valuable info on this subject. As for the sensors, I'm not sold on them yet. In the summer I have checked my tire pressure in the morning. I have my fronts at 90 psi and the rears at 95psi. Later in the day after several hours of driving I checked them again all were 120 to 125 psi due to the heat. Sensors on cars only have a very small window of difference before they send a warning, as I understand. I don't know about the after market units.
As for Nitrogen, race cars use nitrogen in their tires because it is not effected by heat. So if you have your RV tires filled with nitrogen you will have the same smooth ride all the time. However it is expensive to have your tires filled with nitrogen and there are not many places to have then filled or added to. You can go to your local Welding Supply store, purchase a Nitrogen cylinder (very heavy) for about $300.00 and a regulater for about $100.00, have a long air hose (50 Ft.) and you can service your tires yourself. Oh you also have to find a place in the coach to carry the cylinder and you have to take it to a W/S store to swap it out.
So from this post I know that truck tires are OK for an RV. Recaps are not good. Sensor are up in the air. Nitrogen is expensive. And we all love our RVs and care about their shoes.
Man I love this forum.
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Post deleted.....super squid571
Mr White, If I read your post correctly, you went from boot camp to become a Mustang and rose to the rank of Admiral. I joined in July of 1956. You must have passed me like a streak. My salute and congratulations.
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Ron, as I had my $6.95 coffee at Starbucks this morning we discussed the topic of the rising cost of living. We came to the conclusion that we would start having our coffee at McDonalds, they still offer Senior discounts on coffee. This would help us all. So Ron you see we all have to make our way around these increases to adjust in other areas so we can continue to enjoy the thing we love, our families, our RVs, and last but not least FMCA. Through my membership I receive discounts at many RV parks and by golly I have saved ten bucks. Park 10 times a year and I have saved $100.00. and it only cost me $40.00 to save $60.00. So please pay what you can and I will buy you a cup of coffee at McDonalds should we ever camp together. Welcome to the Forum and I applaud your years with FMCA.
PS: Your goose egg will look better right side up and people won't think, "Didn't that old feller read his sign before he mounted it?"
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I'm looking at the new Blue Ox Patriot braking system and wanted to get some feedback on this system as well as what people think of it vs. the competition, which is Roadmaster EvenBrake 9400 and Brake Buddy Vantage Select.You did not say what coach you have. If you have a diesel take a look at the M & G Enginnering unit, low in cost and a great unit.
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Montie, I assume that you have a Aqua-Hot in your coach. I just had my unit serviced. It would run the fan but there was no heat, the burner would not fire off. I found that the coolant for the unit was low. There is a safety that prevents your unit form firing off. Find your over flow tank and check the coolant leval. There is a clod line and a hot line. If there is no coolant in the tank then you will need to add some. There is a type of antifreeze for boilers that does not have Etholine Glycol (spelling ?) and is mixed half and half with water. Hope this helps.
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After we bought our first MH, from an individual (death of her husband), we had lots of questions. I looked at so many coaches I got cross eyed. But one thing I found to be true were the salesman. I can only speak of used coaches since that was all I was looking at. I found that the majority of the salemen were very easy going and would answer any of your questions honestly. So if I were to give give you any advice is to look at what you like and ask many questions. There is not anyone out there that after buying their coach, they thought "what have I done". But then you look again and say "I did good". Good luck and enjoy what ever you decide on.
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Butch39, I had the same problem on my previous coach. It was the postive wire connection to the post on the blower motor. It was loose. I crimped the connector a little bit where it made good firm contact. Wala! no more problem. Hopes this helps.
Herman
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Well I guess we have beaten that dead horse enough. Happy Rving.
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Warning or no warning, we have been doing just that for the last 10 years and it works great for us! Sometimes my wife says "you're sick", but I don't think that's what she is talking about. We don't keep water in our tanks for very long since we full-time, but I guess we also have the same charcoal filtered water in our tanks all of the time since every drop in goes through the filters.Now, the question becomes how long are the filters really filtering (did I change them often enough) how well are they actually filtering (did I buy the cheap stuff) and how much could they filter in the first place (I think you can figure that one out).
I use, and will continue to use, a sediment filter followed by a charcoal filter, before I allow any water into my fresh water holding tanks. I then use a super fine filter from the tank to my drinking water/ice maker connection but I often drink water right from the tap (GASP!).
Bill I mean you no disrespect. However if you will look in the FMCA Forum under "Water and Holding Tanks", "Mold in fresh water hose", there are several comments about mold. As of today my reply of Decemder 14, 2009 is the last post in that topic and you may see where I quoted a Fox News.com report.
I wish only good health to you and your wife.
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WARNING! WARNING! Wil Robins. You do not want to use a carbon filter for filling your fresh water tank. If you use a carbon filter you remove clorine from the water going into your fresh water storage. Clorine keeps your water free for Bacteria and Algee. You can become quit ill from that water if it sits for any length of time in your tank. Your are much safer putting your filter inline after the tank and fresh water inlet and the pump. Then you are filtering only the water just before you use. There was a hotel in Florida that filtered it water through the whole system and 1 guest died and several became ill. (sorry for any missed spelled words)
Most city water is fine for your tanks then it can be filtered for taste and smell just before you use.
Happy RVing
Easy Way To Top Off Battery Water
in Modifications
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I keep distilled water in a pump up sprayer. I took off the spary tip and just use the tube to place over each cell. The sprayer has an spring loaded valve. right amount of water and no drip. Hope this helps other as it has me.