wolfe10

Hopefully someone else with your make and model will chime in, but look under the coach in the area of the potable water tank. You are looking for an open hose, usually 1/2-3/4" ID exiting the bottom of the coach. The drain valve is generally just above it. Brett

Assume you have a diesel. Let's cover two approaches: "Best Practices" is to use it at 40 degrees F or below. If around 40 for perhaps one hour. "When you must use it" varies with engine, but the further below freezing the more it helps. The colder it is the longer you would leave it on. As far as how long to run the block heater, most are around 1000 watt heaters. One to two hours is generally enough. I have seen people leave them plugged in overnight, but that is a waste of power unless you are in Arctic conditions. Brett

You are welcome. Glad it was so simple. Brett

I would not start under the dash. Start by locating the small 12 VDC vacuum unit/air compressor. Likely in one of the forward-most basement compartments (forward of the front tires) or in the generator area if that is in front.

Yes, many diesels have a separate electric vacuum pump to "power" the dash HVAC.

Yes, most of the dash HVAC systems are vacuum controlled. Start with the vacuum pump and work toward the dash HVAC control tracing the vacuum lines. Defrost is the default position in the absence of vacuum. Brett

Herman, Now, wait-- you live in Texas. You have to accelerate from a stop sign to more than 40-50 MPH or you would never get out of Texas. Brett

RJ, If the light illuminates when you press the mode button, you ARE in economy mode. Easy way to prove it: With engine warmed up and in power mode (mode button not pushed), accelerate at WOT (wide open throttle) from a stop sign to 40 or 50 MPH where it is safe. Note max RPM in each gear before the upshift. At the next stop sign, do the same, but after pushing the MODE button to select economy mode. Max RPM before the upshift will be lower in Economy Mode. Let us know what you find. Brett

Have them add a leak detector dye when they next work on it. Our dash HVAC works just fine and is 19 years old. You will have to determine the fix the dash A/C ($$$) vs use generator and overhead air ($$$) based on your needs. Here is a typical product: http://www.oreillyau...N1786&ppt=C0050

Make sure the viscosity of the oil conforms with both engine manufacturers specs for the ambient temperatures were you drive. 5-...... is lighter than recommended for most engines unless operated in Arctic conditions.

Our coach has that same ATS-- no problems. BUT, I do check all screws on ATS and 120 VAC breaker panel as part of the annual inspection. Absolutely, a loose connection causes resistance, which produces heat. I have no idea (and won't speculate) on whether there are other problems with the switch. But, a loose connection on any brand ATS will, under high loads overheat! Brett

Both inch-lbs and ft-lbs are common measures of torque. Inch-pounds being more common on low torque specs. I have both inch-lb and ft-lb torque wrenches. The inch-lb is 3/8" drive, the ft-lb is 1/2" drive. Brett

Tdalley111, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Can't help with a shop suggestion, but there are other causes of pulling than alignment-- including two you can easily check yourself. If you have a brake not completely releasing, it will cause drag and hence a pulling. Next time you drive, stop after a mile or so and use an IR gun or your hand (carefully) on each wheel to see if one is hotter than the others. Also, check the oil level in the front wheel bearings and look for signs of oil radiating from the center of the front hubs. If oil has leaked out, you may have a bearing that is seizing up. If so, do not drive it until this is fixed. Having a wheel stop turning at 60 MPH would be an eye opener. Another cause of pulling is the front tires. Rotate them Left/Right would tell you if that was the cause. And, yes, lastly it could be alignment. A good alignment shop will know all this automatically. Brett

I can address the first of you questions. Age of water heater is not a factor. Atwood water heaters use a nylon drain plug/no anode. Suburban water heaters use an anode. Both should be periodically drained and the precipitated minerals flushed out.

Sorry, where did you hear that Michelins dry rot faster than other tires??? Will there be more dry rotted Michelins than other brands-- sure, as the majority of chassis came with Michelin tires. From someone with 7 year old Michelins with no dry rot/cracking.

Check your toad, on some the brake lights will not work unless you leave the key in the on position, which you don't want to do. An easy two minute verification.

Look for a GFI supplying those outlets that may be tripped. This is particularly likely if you also have outside outlets on the same circuit that may have gotten water in them. There may be several GFI's in your coach. Brett

Note, there are two numbers you need to verify: Look up the GCWR of your coach. Subtract the actual loaded weight of the coach with all you gear, full fuel, etc. The difference is one of the important numbers suggesting the maximum you can safely tow. This also assumes you are using supplemental brakes on the toad-- read that section in your chassis owners manual. The second number is the one you already mentioned-- hitch rating. The LESSER of the two numbers is your towing limit.

Note: Both basement AND roof A/C's can be reverse cycle/heat pumps. Brett

We have the Roadmaster Invisibrake on our toad (2008 Ford Focus). A good choice if you will be keeping the Jeep for awhile, as there is more initial labor than with the "brakes in a box". It takes virtually no set up time (other than plugging in the light pigtail and breakaway wire). There is nothing to remove/set up-- the components are installed in out of the way locations. The pump both creates vacuum to operate the power brake booster and pressure to activate the air cylinder that is hidden, but connected to the back of the brake pedal. It also includes a charge line to keep the toad battery up when coach running lights are on. If you tow more than one vehicle or change vehicles often, this would probably not be the right choice-- guess that is why even the company that makes the Invisibrake (Roadmaster) offers more than one type of brake.

In a word (actually two words): NO PROBLEM. Your Caterpillar 3126 has 860 lb-ft toque at 1,440 RPM. With the six speeds you Allison 3000 series transmission has, no problem. You might want to read the Allison "Mode Button" in the FMCA e-newsletter that came out today as well as use of the transmission and exhaust brake in descending those grades. Here is a discussion of mountain driving: http://community.fmca.com/topic/225-mountain-driving/page__hl__grade__fromsearch__1 Brett

From the FMCA home page http://www.fmca.com/, I clicked on Michelin Learn More and got this: http://www.fmca.com/join-family-motor-coach-association/member-benefits/fmca-connections/3455

An alternative if you don't get first hand feedback would be to call the largest 2-3 RV dealers in your area and ask them who THEY use to replace windshield on their trade-ins.

Desmo, Extrapolating results of a ride and drive of one chassis/one coach and applying to all chassis is FLAWED. Even within a manufacturer, say Koni, a Koni adjustable shock to Koni FSD will be very different. And a Koni adjustable set to firm will be very different than that very same shock set to soft. I am not defending/refuting any particular shock, but much of this depends on the specific COACH as well as CHASSIS. Said another way, if you have a longer, heavier coach, you will need stiffer shock valving to achieve the same ride and handling characteristics. Heck, on race cars, each shock on each car is valved differently, and can even be valved differently for the same car depending on what track they are on. These oversimplified "tests" on one specific coach and chassis really don't give you good input for choosing shocks for YOUR coach. Brett

Michael, Yes, the "math" changes. Many use a measurement from front axle to half way between drive and tag for determining "effective wheelbase". I have not seen and hard and fast rule on this, but that measurement makes sense to me as well. One of the benefits of a well designed tag axle is that it can be adjusted to better balance loads on EACH axle. At the last Caterpillar RV Engine Owners Club Rally, the Rally "gift" was all wheel position weighing by **** Lorentson of Precision Frame and Alignment. **** and I worked on several tag axle coaches to get proper weight on the tag. The critical issues here are not just weight on tag and drive, but more weight on the tag also shifts more weight to the front axle. Percent of weight on axle should, ideally, be close to the same. Example each axle loaded to 85% of its GAWR. We had one that started at 80, 110, 35. By taking more load on the tag (adjustable air pressure to tag axle air bags) we were able to get it very close to the same percent on each axle. The owner called me two days later and said the coach had never driven so well. Moral of the story, is particularly with a tag axle that is adjustable (not all are/not are easily adjusted) get yours "dialed in" after loading with your gear. Brett