wolfe10

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Flexing of the wall as you drive will be the biggest issue. You may need to use some green board or other more rigid backing if the wall is prone to flexing. And even with a reasonably rigid backing you need to use mastic/adhesive and grout that are slightly flexible. Someone who installs ceramic tile in RVs can likely recommend an adhesive and grout with this property. Brett

In addition to the height restriction, measure length and width carefully. Many RV's have shorter than standard length mattresses. Brett

Sounds like you are comfortable doing 120 VAC wireing. Yes, the proper way is to add a breaker (assuming you have a blank in your 120 VAC distribution panel). Then run a dedicated wire to the outlet. Since it is to power a heating element immersed in water, consider a GFI outlet. Running that high amp draw addition off existing circuits would not be a good idea. Brett

Just a quiet reminder. It is fine to disagree. It is fine to state your opinion. It is NOT fine to degrade others or call names. Said another way, attack their opinions, not them. I am not sure we will get any new information on this discussion, and with the personal comments that I have had to delete, I am closing it. LET'S ALL BE NICE OUT THERE. Brett Wolfe Moderator

To give best advice on how to keep both your HOUSE and CHASSIS battery banks charged while in storage, we need a little more information on your electrical system. 1. I assume you have shore power available while in storage. 2. What converter, charger or inverter/charger do you have? 3. Does it charge just the house bank or both banks? 4. If an inverter/charger, have you programmed it/set the "dip switches"? 5. Are you considering the Batterytender for the chassis battery bank only? Brett

And your nose would tell you INSTANTLY if it was gear oil. Really smelly stuff. Brett

The answers will be specific to your state (Arizona) as states set the rules. I would recommend contacting the Arizona Department of Transportation if you have questions. BUT, this is from their Website (scroll down to number 15): http://www.azdot.gov/mvd/faqs/scripts/FAQs...=2&Keyword= My vehicle has not been in use, and the registration has lapsed. How do I re-register my vehicle? If last registered within five years, provide the license plate and/or vehicle identification number and pay applicable fees. In most cases, a Registration Penalty Fee Waiver Request form # 48-9402 can be completed to waive the penalties if the vehicle has not been operated on any public roadway in Arizona. If your vehicle has not been registered within the last five years, additional procedures may be required. Contact Us to discuss any additional requirements. Brett Wolfe

I think there is universal agreement that ALL diesel engines built before 1/1/07 should have their blow-by hose extended to behind the intake for the cooling fan shroud (rear radiator coaches). But, he will also need to verify that he is using the correct quantity of oil. If he had both oil blowing by in sufficient quantity to cover the front of the toad AND when he checked it at the end of the trip it showed full, it is quite possible that the crankcase was overfilled at the beginning of the trip. An overfilled crankcase is the #1 cause of excessive oil blow-by. Because of the wide range of installation angles, it is not unusual to have to CALIBRATE THE ENGINE OIL DIPSTICK. It can be done easily at the next oil change and obviously starts with determining the exact quantity (including filter) that you should use in your engine: http://community.fmca.com/index.php?showtopic=388 Brett Wolfe

Actually, extending the crankcase vent tube is an excellent idea on ANY diesel engine built before 1/1/07-- Caterpillar, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, etc. From that date forward, all were required to have closed crankcase ventilation to meet the new stiffer EPA requirements. Prior to that, ALL diesel engines vent to atmosphere. But, that only redirects where the blow-by goes, not how much there is. Again, we need to wait and find out what engine/chassis he has to make specific recommendations.

John, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. What engine and chassis do you have? That will give us a better idea of where to start. And, by smell you should be able to determine whether it is/was engine oil or diesel-- they are very different. Compare what is on the toad with "smelling" the dipstick and then the fuel fill for your diesel tank. Brett Wolfe

I agree. Starting in extreme cold is an excellent reason for going synthetic. Brett

With annual oil changes (based on time, not miles) it is not cost effective. And the well-known diesel motor oils like Chevron Delo 400 and Shell Rotella T have proved millions of miles of trouble-free service in these engines. I am not against using them in a diesel, just don't find them cost effective for the number of miles we drive between changes. Brett

No easy answer to this one. You need to identify what is important to you and what is within your abilities. If you are considering carrying a mounted spare: Can you safely jack up each wheel position of the coach, break loose lug nuts probably in the 500-600 ft lb range (even slight corrosion will add to the 450 ft lbs you mentioned) and remove a 250-pound (depending on tire size) tire and wheel, wrestle the new mounted tire/wheel off the roof or out of a bay and onto the hub? And finally, can you properly torque the lug nuts? This lug nut removal and torquing is more complicated than you think on the rear wheels, as you can not just use a breaker bar and pipe extension because of the offset. And when you add the extension to bring the breaker bar to "outside" the surface of the tire, you have to have a fulcrum -- whether stack of boards, blocks, etc. to support the breaker bar. You also have to weigh the expense of purchasing a tire that will still need replacement due to age even if not used, the space and weight it takes up in your coach and your labor against the likelihood of a tire failure and your trade-off in terms of time to have roadside service come change your tire and wheel. Another alternative, particularly good if you travel to areas where your particular tire size is not standard (like Mexico), is to carry an unmounted tire (much lighter). There are few places you take your coach that do not have roadside tire service available. And the choice most make is to do nothing, knowing that they may have to pay a few bucks too much for a tire through road side service if one fails. No right or wrong answers. OUR CHOICE: When traveling in the U.S. or Canada, we carry no spare -- our size Michelin is fairly common. When traveling in Mexico, we carry an unmounted spare on the roof with a Sunbrella cover on it. And I do have the equipment to remove and replace the tire/wheel and have used it several times to do service work on the coach over the last 145,000 miles. Brett

What is the recommended oil change interval per your chassis Owners Manual? I would suspect that using a synthetic oil (of viscosity recommended by your engine manufacturer) you should be able to cut oil change interval in half (so somewhere around 6-7000 miles/6 months. BTW, I use synthetic oils in all my gasoline engines, but not the diesels. Brett Wolfe

Pat, I am not familair with Care Free of California. However, Carefree of Colorado is well known and has both installation and service manuals for their awnings online: http://www.carefreeofcolorado.com/techdocs.asp?m=01000000 Brett

Nope, you are doing it exactly the way I would. Research and then purchase what fits your needs. Much better than buying and then HOPING you can rig it to tow. Brett

You are not doing anything wrong. And the transmission is doing exactly what it was programmed to do. The chassis maker tells Allison what PRE-SELECT GEAR they want programmed into the Allison ECU for the exhaust brake. The pre-select gear is the gear that the transmissions down-shifts TOWARD (not directly to) when the exhaust brake in engaged. That gear will show up in your left (two window display) or only (single window display) shift pad (i.e. the display will go from "6" to the pre-select gear). Commonly chosen pre-select gears are 2nd and 4th. BUT, ANY GEAR MAY BE PROGRAMMED IN-- YOUR CHOICE. The cost of reprogramming is usually under $150 at any Allison dealer. Choosing a low pre-select gear (like 2nd): Advantage-- great for coming to a complete stop. Disadvantage-- exactly what you are asking about. Choosing a high pre-select gear (like 5th): Advantage-- gives driver complete control of gear selection for matching braking HP to the grade. Disadvantage-- driver must use the down arrows to select lower gears for steeper grades or coming to a complete stop. One does NOT have to be careful in pushing the down-arrow-- you can not cause it to over-rev the engine. In fact a second gear pre-select and a 5th gear pre-select where you hit the down arrow to select 2nd gear are EXACTLY the same as far as how the transmission operates. I grew up on stick shifts and we do a lot of technical mountain driving. We had our Allison ECU programmed for 5th gear pre-select. Until/unless you have it re-programmed, here are several fine-tuning recommendations: Learn to apply just enough throttle to cancel the exhaust brake. Use the down arrow to lock the transmission in the gear you need (so it won't up-shift when you apply a little throttle). As an example, if your are descending a grade in 4th gear with the exhaust brake on and that gives too much braking HP, by selecting 4th gear with the down arrow, you are toggling between 4th gear and 4th gear with exhaust brake on, rather than between 4th gear with exhaust brake on and 5th or 6th gear with no exhaust brake as soon as you hit the throttle or turn off the exhaust brake switch. Turning the exhaust brake switch on/off/on....... is another way to fine tune your speed of descent. And until you touch the throttle, the transmission will not up-shift from the gear it was in when you went from exhaust brake switch on to off. A lot of this is practice. These fine-tuning techniques that will become second nature as you practice them. Brett Wolfe No right or wrong answers here-- it is a matter of personal preference.

Dan, The primary reason that FMCA's list and several others have fewer vehicles that can be towed 4 wheels down is that these lists are obtained from the vehicle manufacturers. So they contain both mechanical "reasoning" and legal/liability "reasoning." As an example, some Ford and Mazda products share the same platforms, but Mazda does not recommend towing while Ford does. Clearly, on a new vehicle with manufacturer's warranty, some weight must be given to the warranty implications of towing a vehicle that the manufacturer does not recommend towing. Brett Wolfe

You might want to consider joining the Caterpillar RV Engine Owners Club, an FMCA Chapter. http://catrvclub.org/ And the Club's technical website (one of the Yahoo Groups): http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/CATRVClub/ Lots of fun AND you will learn a lot about the mechanical parts of your coach. Next Rally with Maintenance Seminars is in March before the FMCA Convention in Albuquerque. I understand there are still some spots available. Brett Wolfe

If you identify the brand before finding the manual, let us know-- we may be able to assist. Brett Wolfe

Before "settling" for a vehicle that requires either a transmission pump or drive shaft disconnect, you might want to go through the FMCA Towing Guides to see if any vehicles that are towable 4 wheels down would fit your needs. http://www.fmca.com/index.php/magazine/tow...04-towing-index Remco products are good, but if either device fails you are into major expense that does not fall within warranty coverage. Transmission pumps are prone to some incident of failure, as a failure of toad battery power or the pump or plumbing from transmission to pump to transmission can cause transmission failure. Brett Wolfe

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. What brand awnings? Have you checked their website or owners manual for their recommendation? Brett Wolfe

Dan, Some more information on what vehicles you are considering may elicit more comments. Also, to they fall within the towing capacity and GCWR of your coach? Brett Wolfe

While you should read your Engine Owners Manual for specific protocol, here are the basics for all modern diesel engines: If below 40 degrees or so, use the block heater (shore power or generator) if available. Turn it on 1-3 hours before starting, depending on ambient temperature. Most engines have an intake manifold heater, so there is a "wait to start". On some, in very cold temperatures, you cycle the key on then off, then on again to fully heat the intake manifold, on others you just wait for the light to go out (this is where reading your Engine Owners Manual comes in). Once started, after 30 seconds or so you can use the cruise to raise the idle to high idle for quicker warm-up and air pressure build. Once the temperature gauge starts moving off the cold peg, you can begin moving. Many engines, including your Caterpillar engine have a built in "de-rate" when very cold, so their is little power at very low temperatures. This feature was designed to keep truck drivers from jumping in and flooring a completely cold engine and doing damage. If this persists past the time that the temperature gauge moves off its cold peg, take it to a Caterpillar dealer for a checkup. And no need to let it get completely up to operating temperature before driving, UNLESS you are immediately jumping up to freeway speeds. Said another way, low speed operation in the CG and city streets does not require a fully warm engine. Brett Wolfe

JT, Thanks. And the chassis maker is the one who tells the engine manufacturer how they want the engine programmed-- perhaps with some input from coach builders and/or owners. I really don't know the "decision process". But I do know that for the cost of reprogramming the engine's ECM at a Caterpillar dealer, you can "have it your way". Brett Wolfe