wolfe10

teanob, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. The official answer from Subaru (as of January 2015) is that ONLY manual transmission Subarus may be towed 4 wheels down. If you find out something to the contrary from contacting Subaru (actually, were it me, I would want to see it in writing), please let us know.

daveandpete, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Very likely from underneath. Your chassis maker fit it (likely Freightliner, and then Damon built the house on top of it, so there is no "here is how they are all done". Very likely you have an air intake on the side of the coach, near the back and below the beltline. That leads directly to the air filter.

Yup, the Texas CDL Class B Exempt is a lot less expensive than a "real" CDL, does not require doctor's certificate, etc. As Herman said, the written test DOES have a number of truck/tractor questions-- Chapter 14 of the Texas CDL book if I recall correctly. It seems the driving part of the test varies by office. I know in Texas City where I took the written test and then scheduled and did the driving test, you back the coach straight back 200', then parallel park the coach as well as the actual on-road driving part. PLENTY long space to parallel park (same one used for 18 wheelers), but not a maneuver that one does very often in a motorhome.

That feature is often built into the cruise control. Check your cruise control manual/owners manual section.

Ya, but a lot more comfortable bed.

Brad, The chassis maker specs and installs the air filter, not engine maker. Then the coach builder builds a "house" over it. In many cases, the coach builder and chassis builder did not put servicing as a high priority. One of the things to look at when buying a coach-- whether you do your own work, or, even more importantly if you are paying for someone else to do it. Another example is a valve adjustment. The actual adjustment takes around 1 hour. But, depending on coach, it can take 4 times that long just to get down to the valve cover and remove it.

Yes, the proper driver's license in Texas for a motorhome over 26,000 pounds GVWR is a "CDL Class B Exempt". http://dps.texas.gov/DriverLicense/dlClasses.htm

Yup, nothing like the sound of a Detroit 2 stroke at higher RPM's.

While I like the idea of a large-gauge (8 or larger) charge wire from coach to toad, be careful to check your auxiliary brake specs for amp draw. I can see the auxiliary brake's high amp, short duration power consumption dropping voltage to where brake performance is compromised if it relies on power only from the long charge wire. Better to use the wire from the coach to keep the battery in the toad charged and use the toad battery as an "electrical reservoir" to power the brake.

Montie, Sounds like you are taking good care of the tires. BUT, you said you bought it used. Do you know how the original owner cared for them???

Probably two very different answers. Probably not a lot are stopped for length violations. But, were you involved in an accident, operating a vehicle illegal in that state would probably expose you to some real legal issues.

ObedB, Not sure there are "sides" here. But, I do agree that there are so many "if you read it on the Internet it must be true" statements floating around, that some substantiation is really a good idea. Much better to have FACTS rather than OPINIONS, particularly of 2nd or 3rd hand ones.

Ask for a "before" and "after" print out. You want caster set to the high end of factory specs. Same for toe-in. High toe-in will accelerate tire wear, but will give more stability/tracking.

Most side radiator coaches have either two speed fans or variable speed fans. So, first question is: Is your fan system operating as it should, or it is "stuck on HIGH". Note, high is the normal default speed, so if there is an issue, you will have the fan stuck on high. This leads to not only lots of dust at low speeds, but less HP and less MPG on the road, since you are using the extra power to power the fan on high speed. Monaco should be able to give you insight into how your system works and how to verify that it is working properly. With that said, most of the air forced through your CAC and radiator DOES exit the bottom of the coach.

The reality is that virtually all diesel engines used in RV's in the last couple of decades will far outlast the rest of the coach. Can you kill one-- sure, but doubt you will ever wear one out.

Same thing if too little caster.

Which Holiday Rambler model did you get?

And, I would suggest that better breathing, whether gas or diesel is better for BOTH power and emissions.

On the Diesel RV Club (an FMCA Chapter) Technical Website: http://forum.dieselrvclub.org/index.php/topic,7170.0.html

RJ, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Yes, the ISC as opposed to just the C engine does have 24 valves. I have Cummins literature going back to 9/98 showing the 24 valve configuration.

We still need to know if he has an ATS. If everything works fine on generator, that PROVES that from the ATS/coach-side plug through breaker box, etc all is OK, as they use exactly the same wiring. IF, repeat IF safe working around 120 VAC, check at ATS/coach-side plug with shore power on.

I would verify that the inverter does NOT power the ice maker circuit while dry camping, as that is a power consumer.

Marv, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Does he have an ATS(Automatic Transfer Switch) or must he manually plug in the generator lead or shore power lead to get power from the two sources? And, if power (hot) is applied to the main breaker, neutral to the white gang strip and ground to the green gang strip, All should work. If nothing works, that would suggest that all the breakers to the various circuits are bad-- not at all likely.

To answer your specific question, at highway speeds on flat ground most of the HP demand (read that fuel consumed) is due to Aerodynamic Resistance. Very little difference between the two coaches, as frontal area is virtually the same. On grades, weight is the factor demanding the significant increase in HP demand. So, yes the longer coach will be a little slower. But, I would not think the difference should outweigh other factors. Said another way, I would rather see you in a clean 38 than a neglected 35.

bjpeck, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. You do not say what refrigerator you have, but will give answers to the two types it could be: If two way (LP or 120 VAC): Operating on LP takes VERY little 12 VDC. Just enough for the PC board, gas valve solenoid and igniter. If three way (LP or 120 VAC or 12 VDC): Absolutely, you will need to make sure it IS on LP, not 12 VDC. Your real issue may be deeper and include condition of the batteries, total amp-hour capacity of the battery bank, converter/charger or inverter-charger, amp-hours of power used and generator run time/solar.