wolfe10

As a mechanical note, if you have hydraulic brakes rather than pure air brakes, change the brake fluid. New brake fluid boils around 500 degrees F. As it absorbs water to protect the metal components of the brake system the boiling point drops to 286 degrees F. Particularly for mountain driving, you want new fluid! Brett

Darrell, Then you will have just the two belts: Caterpillar part number for the water pump belt. Chassis maker speced belt for the serpentine belt. Look in your manual or contact your chassis maker for belt details. It is possible that a Caterpillar dealer may have one, but it will not be a Caterpillar part. Brett

You don't mention what chassis you have and whether rear or side radiator. With a rear radiator (so fan is direct drive off the hub) you have a Caterpillar speced water pump belt. And a chassis maker speced serpentine belt, since the chassis maker specs and installs things like the A/C compressor and alternator-- call them for belt size. If side radiator, you may have an additional belt driving the pump for the hydraulic fan. Labor cost will vary with how difficult access to the engine is. If side radiator, clearly less expensive and easier to service than a rear radiator. Brett

Ray, A couple of check you want to make: With a digital voltmeter (prices start under $20 at Radio Shack, Sears, etc) check battery voltage at the batteries before plugging in shore power/turning on generator. A fully charged 12 VDC battery will read around 12.7 VDC, anything higher is surface charge and will dissipate quickly with even a small load on the battery. A 50% discharged battery will read around 12.2 VDC. Plug into shore power and check the reading. If you have a smart charger (aka 3 stage charger) it will begin charging (bulk mode) in the 14.0-14.3 VDC range. That is of interest, but of more importance is after a few hours with the batteries 90+% charged and the charger in float mode what is the voltage reading. Should be 13.2-13.5 VDC. Note, most smart chargers and smart inverter/chargers have some programmable features. Be sure they are properly set. One that is often neglected is temperature. If set to cold temperature and it is 90 degrees out, it WILL overcharge the batteries. OK, so we have covered the charging part-- and clearly if the voltage is too high, you will get outgassing from a perfectly good battery. Now for the battery. The inverse is also true-- a perfectly functioning charger will outgas a bad battery! If one cell in a battery is bad, that would take it from a nominal 12 VDC to 10 VDC battery. But, the charger knows it is supposed to charge at 13+ VDC. Charging a 10 VDC battery at 13+ will cause severe overcharging of those remaining good cells. The best test for a wet cell battery is to fully charge the battery and test with a HYDROMETER. They are around $5 from any automotive store and very easy to use/read. Again, the battery must be fully charged for the results to be accurate. Look for one cell with a materially lower SG (Specific Gravity) than the others. Let us know what you find. Brett

What was 15 degrees out in the rear? Dog tracking? Did they check ride height before doing the alignment? On many front suspension, changing ride height changes alignment. Brett

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. There are such a number of sizes and models of refrigerators used in RV's, that what fit in another rig may or may not fit in yours. Go to your refrigerator manufacturer's website with your refrigerator model number to determine the dimensions of your current refrigerator (see links below). From the back of the refrigerator (outside of the coach) look closely to see what extra space you have in addition to the dimensions of the refrigerator. If you happen to have a Dometic refrigerator, here is there size chart: http://www.dometic.com/c17faeab-a5a2-436b-a032-b28317a7cff0.fodoc And, if a Norcold: http://www.thetford.com/HOME/CUSTOMERSUPPORT/RefrigeratorConversionChart/tabid/261/Default.aspx Brett

Jack, The ISB would be at the low end of the power/weight curve pushing a "just under 40' motorhome". Still get you there, but just slower on grades. The ISC or MaxxForce10 would give you a better power/weight ratio, particularly if looking at a 30,000 GCW coach/toad. The ISC is well known as a very long-lived engine. And with the new MaxxForce B50 of 550,000 miles I suspect it will be very long-lived as well. The Cummins B is also a good engine, but not necessarily in the same league with these OTR truck engines. But, with decent care, most motorhomes will have fallen apart before even the B engine wears out. Most engine work is not done at RV dealers. And since the MaxxForce (or any of the Navistar engines for that matter) are brand new to the RV market, few RV dealers would be familiar with it anyway. But, since engine work is normally done by engine/chassis dealers, the Cummins has been used in RV's for decades, so Cummins dealers are familiar with the engines AND the engines in an RV application. The Navistar engine will be familiar to Navistar truck dealers, but they probably have never worked on an RV. Brett

Kind of difficult to compare-- almost apples and oranges. It would surprise me that the same size coach would offer both engines. Most are familiar with the Cummins B engine in its current 6.7 liter parent bore rendition. It may be more appropriate to compare the Cummins C or L with the MaxxForce 10 in terms of size and performance. The International MaxxForce is new to RV applications and is larger, of different design (wet sleeve), different emissions control systems, etc than the Cummins B engine. MaxxForce 10 specs: Engine Type: Diesel, 4-Cycle Configuration: Inline 6-Cylinder Engine design: Wet sleeve Displacement: 9.3 L (570 cu. in.) Bore & Stroke: 4.59 in. & 5.75 in. (11.7 cm & 14.6 cm) Compression Ratio: 17.2:1 Aspiration: Two-Stage Turbochargers, Intercooler & Aftercooler Combustion System: Direct Injection Engine Lubrication: 30 Quarts (28 L) Total Engine Weight (Dry): 1,425 lbs. (646 kg) Dimensions: L 45 in. x W 42 in. x H 47 in. (L 114 cm x W 107 cm x H 119 cm) Valves: 4 Valves per Cylinder B50 Design Life: 550,000 mi (885,139 km)

No "clicks, creaks or bangs" would suggest either in interlock issue (things like engine on/off, in park, etc) or just no 12 VDC to the slide motor.

Sorry, need more details. Did you not find a section on proper sequence to deploy slides? Found it, followed it and it still did not deploy? If the latter, what sequence do they recommend? Thanks. Brett

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Best advice is to pull out your coach's owners manual. Each manufacturer has it's own sequence for proper deployment and stowing of slides. Some require engine on (to insure good voltage), some jacks down, in park, etc. Brett

I believe these are the links (if not, please let me know): http://www.allstays.com/iexit/camprv.htm http://www.allstays.com/apps/ Brett Moderator

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. We made the transition from sea to land as well. From a sailboat to motorhome. We still do both-- in fact sailed this winter from Texas to the Bahamas and back. Passed through your stomping grounds in SW Florida. Hopefully you will still be in the Great Lakes area later this summer and can attend the FMCA International Convention in Madison Wisconsin: http://www.fmca.com/conventions/madison-2011 A lot of fun and a great learning experience with many, many free seminars on topics of interest to you and your land travel. Brett

Herman, You are WAY past due for a coolant change, particularly on your linered engine. The questions you need to address are: 1. Do you want to do the work yourself or hire it out. There is nothing complex about doing it and most owners will do a much better job because doing it right is time consuming. 2. What coolant do you want to use. I and most others have switched to the OAT-based longlife coolants. Caterpillar has their ELC (Extended Life Coolant). Cummins/Fleetguard also has one. If you do switch from a regular diesel coolant to a longlife coolant, you will need to use a cooling system cleaner. Again, this is well documented by both Caterpillar and Cummins. If you plan to do it yourself, I will be happy to post the step by step instructions. One of the questions will be "where do I recycle the old coolant". A call to your city's vehicle maintenance department will answer that question. Ours happily accepts used coolant at no charge. Brett

Clicky: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_rdcZ1QQitemZ130495243135QQruZhttpQ3aQ2fQ2fshopQ2eebayQ2ecomQ3a80Q2fiQ2ehtmlQ3fQ5ffromQ3dR40Q26Q5ftrksidQ3dp5197Q2em570Q2el1313Q26Q5fnkwQ3d130495243135Q26Q5fsacatQ3dSeeQ2dAllQ2dCategoriesQ26Q5ffviQ3d1 Brett

No information on the clear film (you might post the link to the E-bay site or what product it is), but you sure don't want to use any porous material like leather that would absorb and hold water. Brett

Paul, Clearly if you are not using the awning, paying the extra fuel to carry it around (weight and wind resistance) as well as additional wind noise does not make sense. But, only you can weigh the occasional use of the awning against the small MPG gain. Brett

Sam, What chassis do you have? Do you have the "before and after" printout? Would be interesting to see what was out of spec and what was adjusted. Brett

Since the warranty for the "house" portion of the RV is covered by the RV Manufacturer, contact them for their advice concerning this dealer. It is a bit of a sticky issue. Certainly, a dealer could give preferential treatment to customers who purchased from him. Done all the time. As to not working on an out of state purchase at all-- again contact the manufacturer. Even if the RV dealer sticks by his statement, it does not impact chassis warranty, since you would rarely go to an RV dealer for chassis work. Brett

Have you contacted them for their input? http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/milcamps/48-florida/86-sigsbee-rv-park

CalRoadster, Were this my coach, I would lessen the weight on the tag from the numbers you posted. As much to lighten the front axle and load the rear axle as to affect the tag itself. Be sure they check the bearing end-play with a dial indicator gauge when redoing the tag bearings. Brett

Richard, Good call if those outlets don't work-- don't work from any source of 120 VAC. But, when powered by the inverter, he says they all work. Brett

You have pretty well zeroed in on the inverter being the culprit. Reason: You have confirmed that 120 VAC is getting to the inverter/charger from the 120 VAC breaker panel since it is charging the batteries when plugged in to shore power. You have conformed that the inverter (when not plugged in and generator not running) will supply those outlets, so the GFI's and wiring OUT of the inverter is OK. That would suggest that there is some issue within the inverter that is not allowing the pass-through of shore/generator power. IF you are good with electronics, get Xantrex on the phone and ask for troubleshooting help given these facts. Brett

Are those "3 120 VAC outlets on a different circuit - Refrigerator, block heater and washing machine" supplied through the inverter or directly from the 120 VAC breaker panel (i.e. could you run them off the inverter). I suspect the answer is no. So that still points to the inverter or breaker supplying the inverter with 120 VAC power as the problem causing no power to the other outlets since they do work on inverter power (so the GFI's are OK). Does the battery charger portion of the inverter/charger work-- that would suggest that you do have 120 VAC getting to the inverter/charger? If so, you need to call Magnum and find out where the fuse/breaker is for the pass through feature. Brett

Welcome the the FMCA Forum. This isn't something you (or anyone else) should be guessing at. You need to use scales to balance the loads between the axles-- individual wheel position scales are best, but even the scales that weigh each axle will get you close. Remember, changing the tag axle load not only affects the drive axle and tag axle, but also the front axle.