wolfe10

Small world. I just bought and installed a regular home kitchen sink faucet in our coach today. No problem as long as you VERIFY that the fittings/connections will work. I pulled the old faucet and took it in to match connectors. Found a better quality faucet at a plumbing store than at a box store for the same price. Brett

Not sure I would start by looking for either of those as used parts, particularly the brake master cylinder assist. Have you contacted Monaco for the part numbers? That is where I would start. Very likely you can get the manufacturer and part number information from them. And most radiator shops can repair a leaking heater core if a new one is too expensive.

Like Bill, we look at fuel prices for both coach and toad when planning fuel stops. I won't go out of my way for less expensive fuel, but am frequently able to take advantage of a price war in a particular area we are going through. Here is one of the sites we use: http://gasbuddy.com/ Click on the state. Click on the top line which will be the state's name and "gas prices". That will show you the least expensive gasoline in that state. Click on Diesel and it will give you the same thing for Diesel. On our last trip, there was a gas and diesel price war in El Paso, Texas when we were going through there. Saved over $.25/gal on each over the price for hundreds of miles in either direction.

Bryan, I would contact Silverleaf and/or Cummins for information on those codes. But, I would strongly suggest that you read your Cummins owners manual about your idle times: Recommendations are to start the engine and after 30 seconds or so use the cruise to go to high idle. As soon as the temperature gauge starts to move you can begin to drive at light throttle. Sure, if you are right at a freeway entrance, let it high idle a little longer before putting the "pedal to the metal" And, on shutdown, particularly if you have operated at low speed maneuvering off the highway, into a CG and on to your site, you are good to shut down immediately. If you have been at high throttle before stopping, idle for 3- 5 minutes. BTW, this applies to all modern diesel engines, not just Cummins.

Yup, I would put in order: 1. Determine towing capacity of your motorhome-- it is often NOT related to hitch rating, but to rating of least strong component. 2. Determine the weight of your motorhome when loaded and subtract that from the GCWR (usually on a sticker near the driver's area). The lesser of #1 or #2 determines what weight vehicle you can tow. 3. Shop for a vehicle that fits your needs that can be towed 4 wheels down. Here is an excellent starting place: http://www.fmca.com/...our-wheels-down 4. And if you read your chassis owners manual, I suspect it will state in plain English that the brakes were designed to stop the COACH, not coach and towed vehicle. So, from a practical standpoint, legal standpoint, etc. yes supplemental brakes are an excellent idea. Remember the weight limit at which towed brakes are required is determine by each state you drive in, NOT your home state, so if you plan on traveling, you need to meet the requirements of the state you drive through with the most strict requirements/lowest weight vehicle requiring supplemental brakes. Brett

Lon, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Couple of questions: 1. Do you have the 4 air bag suspension being discussed in this thread, or the 8 outboard air bag suspension? 2. What tire pressure are you running, and is it based on your tire manufacturer's recommendation FOR YOU ACTUAL WEIGHT? Unlike automobile tires that have a specific PSI recommendation, tires found on large vehicles such as your motorhome have PSI based on weight-- so the same tire may have a recommendation of 80 PSI on an axle of one weight and 110 PSI on a much heavier one. Clearly, if the coach where the recommended PSI is 80 were to inflate to 110 PSI, the ride would be terrible. 3. The next thing to check is RIDE HEIGHT. Monaco can give you the specs for your coach. If the ride height (which is easy to adjust as long as you have safety stands) is out of spec, the suspension can bottom out over bumps if too low and be near the end of suspension travel on extension if too high. So, before considering spending any big bucks on shocks, etc. get these basics dialed in. Brett

Since his "brake pedal to the floor" occurred AFTER stopping for 30 minutes, I doubt boiling brake fluid was the cause. I am not that familiar with the hydroboost brake system that I suspect he has, that is why I did not speculate on the cause of the pedal goes to the floor. Brett

Eric, My suggestion is to run the coach by any shop that works on OTR trucks. They use the same air bags, and they could do a better job of answering your question than our speculation without actually seeing them. That said, air bag failure is very rare unless there is a chaffing issue, puncture from road debris, etc. Brett

Gord, I am sure you will get some good firsthand information on your specific brake failure question. A couple of general comments: Be sure that you change you brake fluid every 2-3 years. As it absorbs water (as it was designed to do to protect the iron parts of you brake system) the boiling point of brake fluid decreases from close to 500 degrees F to 286 degrees F! Temperatures in your calipers under extended hard braking can exceed 286. The proper use of your service brakes while descending a grade is to NOT USE THEM. They are not there to help you maintain a safe speed of descent. They are ONLY to be used to slow you down enough to "grab a lower gear." Though your coach weighs many times what your car weights, brake surface area (dictated by size of wheels) is only slightly larger than on your car. So a very different driving technique is needed. The correct gear to descend a grade is the gear that holds your speed in equilibrium. That could mean 1st or 2nd gear, even if the road is dead straight for 10 miles. If you find that your speed is increasing, firmly apply the brakes enough to slow down enough to "grab a lower gear." Physics dictates that your equilibrium speed is slower than an empty 18 wheeler and faster than a loaded one. We assume that your toad has brakes as well. Your chassis brakes were not designed to stop the weight of the coach AND the toad. If you drive properly, you will not wear out coach brakes -- we have 158,000 miles on original brakes and have driven a LOT of serious mountain roads. Brett

Good idea. I would add to have the front end (grill end) up and protected from sprayed/splashed water. You don't need to soak your plugs and plug wires driving into hurricane force (60 mph) winds with rain. Brett

Eric, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. How old is your chassis? Like tires, air bags can have small cracks and still be 100% serviceable. There are a number of 15+ year old coaches with original air bags. Brett

From an earlier post by Tom Butler: http://www.marxrv.com/rvsalvage.htm

Might be worth pulling the fuel filter and verifying that it is not clogged. Also, many rigs have a sock-filter in the tank. It could be clogging. Fueling may knock the debris off the sock.

With shore power and generator off, go up and remove the cover. Access the electrical area and make sure it is dry. Same for fan motor. After drying completely run for at least one hour to make sure windings, etc are dry. Brett

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Very likely unrelated. Assume you have an ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch). If it is working correctly, it allows only one 120 VAC power source to access the RV-- either shore power or generator. It is designed to prevent problems arising from two different 120 VAC sources. A starting problem would more likely be in the 12 VDC system or generator itself. Please describe exactly what happens: 1. Does the generator turn over at normal speed? Starter just click? Nothing? 2. Does it start and then die, run rough, other. 3. Runs fine but no 120 VAC to coach? 4. What generator brand and model is this? Brett

To expand/modify a little on Larry's suggestion. You DO need to be careful to not cut into any below-floor beams, wires or plumbing. But once you have "cored" the floor to determine it's thickness, and have checked in the basement that nothing is "notched into" the flooring (very unlikely), you can set a saw to cut through all but the last 1/32" of the floor thickness to give a clean, quick cut. You will need to determine where the support "joists" are in splicing in a new piece of floor, just as if this were a stick built house (or do some "re-engineering" to support it). Brett

Troubleshooting: With a digital voltmeter, check voltage: 1. House battery bank with inverter charger on, shore power connected: voltage should be from 13.2 to 14.5 VDC depending on whether the inverter/charger is in bulk, absorption or float stage. 2. Check voltage at the chassis battery, same conditions. If Echo charger is working, voltage at the chassis battery will be the same. If #1 is below about 13 VDC, the Echo charger will not "connect" the house to chassis battery. If #1 OK, but chassis batteries are lower than house batteries, check for an in-line fuse to the Echo Charger. If OK, then check voltage IN and OUT of the Echo charger. Your Echo charger book will give you the exact voltages at which it will "connect/combine" the battery banks. Brett

As Tim suggests, check out that other thread. Sadly, there are many coaches that do not charge the chassis battery from the inverter/charger. Many others do. You will need to determine if your does/is supposed to charge both battery banks from the inverter/charger. If not, there are several excellent devices that will keep the chassis battery charged up. Two different methods: A separate small output charger for the chassis bank. A battery combiner such as the Xantrex Echo Charger that combines both banks for charging when certain criteria are met (proper voltage) yet separates them when outside that voltage range so a load will not take down both banks. Brett

Ride and handling are, to a large degree, subjective. There is one FACT: a longer wheelbase coach with everything else being the same WILL handle better. It may also ride better, if the front axle weight is closer to the GAWR than a shorter coach. My suggestion is to ask for axle weights from the seller, as most have weighed their coaches- the closer the percents of weight on each axle are to the axle GAWR (i.e.each axle loaded, to say 85% of their GAWR) the better. You don't want the front axle at 75% of GAWR and the rear axle at 95%, as that would likely ride and handle poorer than one that was better balanced. And more importantly, drive it. A rough road, particularly with a cross wind or 18 wheeler traffic blowing by would be the best test. Brett

Mike, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. There are a couple of ways to answer that: Two 6 VDC batteries in series (i.e. golf cart batteries) are the least expensive way to get deep cycle batteries in the 220+ amp-hr class. They are no better than a true deep cycle 12 VDC battery of the same amp-hr rating, but you will generally pay more for a 12 VDC one or get a "multi-purpose" battery less suited for deep cycle work. Main reason, there are a LOT of golf cart batteries sold, and they are generally good quality to be able to stand up to golf cart use. If $ are not the primary consideration, consider AGM batteries-- either 6 or 12 VDC. They are more expensive, but are maintenance free, long lived and do not out-gas except under extreme overcharging. Here is an example of an AGM: http://www.lifelinebatteries.com/ Brett

Herman, Actually, I hope RV'ers read this and quit trying to make their holding tanks smell "nice". Not possible and some of the chemicals really do harm sewer treatment plants and have an even worse effect on septic systems. RV's are (or should be) designed to keep holding tank odors out of the RV, rather than trying to make a holding tank smell "nice". If holding tank odors are noticeable in your coach, you might post that in the "Water and holding tanks" topic. Brett

http://intellitec.com/pdfs/BATTERY_web/5300066.000.pdf If that doesn't do it, Intellitec's technical contact information is at the bottom of that document. Brett

Herman is correct if you are talking about a recent model gasoline vehicle with sealed gas tank which vents only through a charcoal filter. Ovefilling will contaminate the charcoal vapor filter with liquid gasoline. And that extra vent will cause the vehicle to fail the emissions tests-- at least the ones performed in most metro areas. Best answer is to insure that there are no sags in either fill or vent line and if still an issue, contact your chassis maker/coach maker. This can be more of an issue on coaches where the fill is installed lower than on others. The more elevation drop between side of coach and tank, the better. Brett

I think there would be universal agreement among all TPMS manufacturers that even if you don't buy their system-- buy someones. Kind of like toad brake systems and their manufacturers. Brett

Don, No, not on our coach (36'). Brett