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timbo3404, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Is your salesman switch (the master switch normally located near the door) on?

Kimm, Yes, welcome to the FMCA Forum. I have no first hand information on your specific A/C unit. But most communicate by a cable that can be reached from inside the coach/in the lower (inside coach) unit. Remove the filters or what you need to to locate the phone-type/ethernet-type connection. Remove, perhaps use an electric cleaner such as DeOxit and firmly reinstall.

gglenn, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Might check with Monaco, or what I would probably do is just remove the lock and take it in to a lock smith.

Byron, Not sure no answer has anything to do with being welcome??? Freightliner Gaffney would be place to ask that question, as they were the ones who speced and installed it. Since it cost Freightliner extra $$, I suspect they had a good reason for installing it. Few companies spend extra $$ unless they feel it is needed. And only with the ISB engine, do it would not be on your coach.

Yes, it shows as a 104 micron screen. Really there just to catch chunks, rust, etc.

I pulled up the Freightliner specs for that chassis. Cummins ISB 5.9 liter. Shows 300 HP at 2,500 RPM, so cruise of 2,100 would be OK. You are correct-- too fast for a larger diesel.

lewp, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. One option is to disconnect the water supply line as close to the refrigerator as you can easily access it. Drain what you can. Apply 20 PSI of air pressure and turn on the ice maker. Let it operate until you hear air hissing in the ice maker when the solenoid opens.

As of this date (November 9) only 6 sites left for the Rally. Then we will start a waiting list.

Good idea. Done.

Me too. U.S. 90 San Antonio to Van Horn and I 10 the rest of the way. But, that is our standard E-W route.

We really need more information to keep from just shooting in the dark and perhaps giving you inaccurate information for your coach. Are you on shore power? Solar charger? What is voltage of chassis battery: Not plugged in? Plugged in? What is voltage of house battery: Not plugged in? Plugged in? How long did you run the engine/how far did you drive in your post immediately above where voltage started out at 13.6 and batteries (need to know whether both chassis and house batteries or just one) went dead. If you like, just click "quote" and then use SOLID LETTER CAPS BY THE QUESTIONS TO ANSWER.

The Diesel RV Club (an FMCA Chapter) will hold their winter rally in Camp Verde, AZ February 26- March 3, 2017 (the week before the FMCA Convention in Chandler, AZ). The rally features five nights of camping, four hot breakfasts, three catered dinners plus one cold breakfast, three days technical seminars, crafts and lifestyle presentations, and an owner round table. The technical sessions are NOT "gear head", but focused on having the average DP owner know what needs to be done to minimize cost of ownership, minimize breakdowns and maximize performance. For more information: http://www.dieselrvclub.org/event-2316575 Hope to see you there-- Dianne and I will be there.

Thanks for the update. Once batteries have been run that low on water, it is HIGHLY unlikely that they are still good. With the smart converter, might be a good time to replace those abused batteries.

And, do both house and chassis batteries discharge? What does your digital voltmeter say (digital voltmeters start under $20 and are very important in diagnosing RV issues),

I would NOT recommend jumping battery to battery OR from boost solenoid large lug to large lug-- you are dealing with a LOT of amps and touching either end of a jumper cable to any piece of metal could have catastrophic consequences. If you do that, be sure to use large-gauge jumper cables and be extremely careful to avoid contacting any metal (i.e. ground). As I suggested, use a small jumper wire from the lug with 14 VAC to the positive small/signal terminal and let that large surface area of the solenoid do the work. That small wire will only need to carry an amp or so-- just enough to close the contacts on the solenoid.

Tell us what area of the country you are in and what kind of coaches/features/price are on your short list.

No, the speed delta on a grade will not be 35 vs 50. Here is an excellent discussion of coach performance written by Caterpillar Corp. Physics is the same for Cummins, or any other engine for that matter. Go to the page showing HP demand at rear wheels on 6% grade: http://forum.dieselrvclub.org/index.php/topic,6594.0.html BTW, there is a lot of other helpful information on the Diesel RV Club Technical Site: http://forum.dieselrvclub.org/index.php?action=forum Agree with Frank, another variable is the EPA specs that the engine meets. As happened with gasoline engines in 1975 when catalytic converters were introduced, HP and MPG both went up. Same for diesels, with most improvement in engines built after 1/1/2007. But, they newer ones are more complex and require DEF.

jbikesv, There are a number of variables involved in fuel mileage including: combined weight, speed, flat/mountains, etc. Enough that anecdotal information would likely be of little value and may even be misleading. Consider the physics of the question: If same weight, speed, terrain (i.e. all the variables are the same) MPG will be almost identical. Unlike gasoline engines, diesel engines are most efficient at low RPM, low throttle positions. Unlike gasoline engines their fuel to air ratio can vary widely. The only reason the more powerful engine would use more fuel is that you ask it to produce more power than the smaller engine is capable of doing. In our coach with Cummins ISL 400, we get very close to the same MPG as with our previous coach with smaller 300 HP diesel.

Harvey, A little clarification. Indeed, if both battery banks are fully charged, no need for the boost/combine feature as a fully charged chassis battery bank should start the coach. But if the chassis battery is discharged, you will see low voltage reading on the lug going to that bank. And, the other lug going to the house bank will be higher-- maybe even a full volt higher. With the combine feature (switch activating the solenoid) the battery bank with higher voltage (virtually always the house battery bank) will send power to the other battery. So instead of a very different voltage reading on the two lugs, they will "average" and be the same. This shows that the system is working. The reason for the jumper wire test is that if the chassis battery supplies the boost/combine switch, and that battery is deeply discharged, there may not be enough voltage to turn on/close the solenoid. A related issue is that you need to VERIFY how the chassis battery bank is charged when not on the road. Many coaches were not equipped with a means to do this! If this is the case, let us know and we can make suggestions. Accepted methods include: "Smart thief" devices that take power from the house bank when it is fully charged from shore power or generator and send it to the chassis battery. There are also smart small stand alone chargers that can be used. Another option is solar. Depends on where you store and whether you have shore power available.

Harvey, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Could be a minor problem. The auxiliary start switch (aka battery combine switch) activates a solenoid that joins the chassis battery bank with the house battery bank. If the switch that enables the combining is supplied by the chassis battery and voltage is very low, it may not be enough to close the solenoid. So, locate the solenoid. With a digital voltmeter, check voltage on both large lugs (one large lug to chassis bank, one to house bank). What do you get? There will be either one or two small terminals/wires to the solenoid. If two, one is ground, the other comes from the swtich. If one, it comes from the switch and the solenoid body serves as ground. Have someone activate, hold down the switch and measure voltage at the signal/positive small terminal. What do you get? If you suspect low voltage at the signal terminal is the culprit, use a short jumper wire (doesn't need to be large-gauge-- will only be handling a small amount of current). Remove the positive wire from switch at solenoid. Jump from the large lug with higher voltage to the signal terminal. The solenoid should "click" and battery voltage on both large lugs should now be the same/close to the same. Let us know what you find.

At least on current model year chassis, the type of brake (at wheel or driveshaft) depends on GVWR. Lighter chassis have the parking brake at the wheel/brake. Heavier chassis have drive line brakes like edprice posted.

Tom, What coach do you have. Then we will know exactly what suspension you have. Freightliner offers the same chassis in different configurations depending on what the coach maker wants. So, some XC chassis have solid front axles, some have IFS (Independent Front Suspensions). Very different. Tire pressure will not affect alignment, but over or under inflated tires can have not just safety concerns, but can make handling squirrelly. Ride height CAN affect alignment.

In the upper right is the "search" box. Just put in "Steps". Yes, it will bring up other topics with the word steps in them, but quite a lot about your steps.

Carl, You probably need to contact Todd at FMCA. Perhaps he can help figure out the anomalies you are experiencing. Double posts and delayed posts are not common-- at least, no one else has mentioned it. Anyone else experiencing either of these issues? Details please. Thanks.

Tom Tire pressure speced by manufacturer is for the coach with each axle loaded to GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating). If you are under that (and I assume/hope) you are, you could be running well over-inflated. For example, correct tire pressure for the tires on our coach is 70- 120 depending on weight. If you are, say 20 PSI over-inflated, it will make for squirrelly handing. So, step one is to weight the coach: Individual wheel positions best, but axle weights second best. Then go to your tire manufacturer's inflation table to determine the minimum PSI. And, with a new coach, I would have RIDE HEIGHT checked and then alignment checked. This is recommended as soon as a brand new coach is loaded. Only after the basics are done would I look at after-market devices. If coming to the FMCA Convention in Chandler AZ next spring, some to the Suspension Seminar-- will be discussing this kind of thing.