wolfe10
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Posts posted by wolfe10
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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
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Hello all, in the interest of being thorough you may wish to check your differential as well, there can be 20 or so quarts of oil and it could be leaking as well. Low probability of getting that far back but I would rather leave nothing to chance.And your nose would tell you INSTANTLY if it was gear oil. Really smelly stuff.
Brett
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Due to financial reasons, we had to move back to our house. Our Class A motorhome's registration expired after 12/31/09. I've heard that you have 30 days to register your vehicle after the due date, but I do not know if we'll have the money in that time for two reasons:1) Emissions will be required, because we live in the Phoenix Metro area.
2) If we fail emissions (which is possible with the engine problems we had this year), then it will cost more money to get it fix so we can pass -- again, more money that we really don't have at the moment.
We're not planning on driving the RV anywhere for several months. Has anyone been in a similar situation like this, and did you have to pay any fines or penalties when you were able to have the money to get your vehicle registered again?
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
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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
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Hello, John. I am kind of new to the Diesle tech end of Motorhomes but have read that on some of the Caterpillar engines the oil vent tube needed to be extended/rerouted as it would vent on to the radiator/fan, thus spewing oil residue on tow vechilce, etc. Apparently the vent tube modification is very simple and can be done yourself if that is the cause of the problem. Good luck.Mike
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.
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I have a 2005 Newmar Kountry Star 39-foot motorhome. We were going to Florida and on the way we stopped in Virginia at a campground.When I arrived there we noticed the towed car was covered in something that looked like oil or fuel oil. The whole front of the car and the hood were covered with this black stuff.
I checked the engine oil and it was full.
When we arrived here in Florida I asked around and no one heard of this happening to them. An RV repair shop said they thought it might be fuel oil.
Has this happened to anyone else and, if so, what did they say it was?
John H.
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
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My wife Susan and I have made the round trip from Winnipeg to Palm Springs California 5 times in our SUV twice with regular oil and three times with synthetic. I averaged about 75 mph. and travel the same road there and back. I got 1.5 mpg. better with the synthetic oil. I have synthetic in all of my vehicles and the cold starting in -35 is not even close. When we purchase our 1st. motorhome this past August, I talked with a Cummins mechanic here in Winnipeg. He told me that starting a diesel in -35 was like driving it a 1000 miles as far as wear was concerned. He felt that in those conditions tha synthetic was offering more protection. That was good enought for me and I proceeded to change all the fluids in our coach to synthetic. I'm not saying that synthetic is for everyone but until we can head south for the whole winter, it will be in our coach. Smokeater 75I agree. Starting in extreme cold is an excellent reason for going synthetic.
Brett
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To Wolfe10, why would you not use synthetic oil in your diesel ?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
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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
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What is the advantage of using synthetic oil? I have two gas motorhomes I rent one out and use regular oil and change the oil every 3,500 miles and the oil gets changed every month to three weeks. If I use synthetic oil, when should the oil be changed, or is there no advantage in using synthetic oil?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
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Hi Brett!Having scoured the web pages for the company called: CARE FREE CALIFORNIA, I could not find anything useful for maintenance of the hardware. If you know of something that might work, I would appreciate it if you could share the information with me.
Thank you for your concern, and I will look forward to hearing from you.
Pat Arthur
2007 CC Intrique
Saturn SW Toad
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
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Brett,Again, I appreciate your input and if at some point you think I've come down with a case of cranial-rectus-insertus, don't be bashful in telling me.
Dan
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
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Thanks Brett, I also had a question on using the exhaust brake. I did read some of the other brake related topics on the forum. When I turn on the exhaust brake it slows the coach down to a comfortable speed for the decline but than it seems to down shift or slow it down further which turns out to be too slow for the hill so I have to apply the throttle to gain a little speed. Am I doing something wrong or is the exhaust brake set up to slow down to a certain speed and than when rpm settle down it slows down further?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.
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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
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Thank you guys, I really appreciate your advise. I have to admit that coming from entry level gas RV's to a diesel pusher at first seemed overwhelming at first with all the new procedures, water/gas separators etc. I thougth that maybe I got in over my head but now things are making more sense.I skimmed through the 300 plus page owners manual and found a 24/7 Caterpillar help line and they also helped answer questions which I found to be really nice that they stand behind their product even on a used coach like mine.
Thanks again for your help
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
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Hi Brett!Thank you for your reply, but I'm not so concerned about the awnings, but rather the electrical components making them extend and retract. The only problem at this point is finding the manuals belonging to this coach! Thanks, again. Pat
If you identify the brand before finding the manual, let us know-- we may be able to assist.
Brett Wolfe
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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
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HI!As a lone driver in a 2007 Country Coach, 36', quad with a toad, I have found that using my electric awnings causes some obvious squeeking noises.........the type of noise that begs for a lubricant. I know using silicone is not the perfect choice, nor anything that might eat thru the fabric or steel, but someone suggested corn silk powder! The only thing I could think of using corn silk would be a hearty laugh, but when one thinks about it, it is slick, and if it doesn't clump during a rain storm, well........? What do you think would be the ideal slick to use on those gears? Thank you.
Welcome to the FMCA Forum.
What brand awnings?
Have you checked their website or owners manual for their recommendation?
Brett Wolfe
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Looking at different vehicles to use as a toad, there are several that would be great around town that are RWD. Checking Remco's site I find that some need a lube pump and others use a driveshaft disconnect. I would think that the driveshaft disconnect route would be pretty bullet proof, while a lube pump would still have the tranny turning causing some level of wear?Any thoughts and comments about your experiences of one vs the other, and about Remco products in general, would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan
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
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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
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Brett,Thanks very much for that information! It does drive me nuts letting the thing do that. I wonder why they don't program the 'latch mode' into it in the first place?
By the way, I can't tell you enough how great I find the FMCA forums!
JT
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
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Brett,My question is - am I doing any harm by leaving the retarder on all the time?
JT
The simple answer is "not enough harm to be concerned about it".
Certainly, repeated high RPM downshifts will shorten engine, transmission and drive shift life. BUT, all these components are well over-designed. Also, be aware that you are going to burn more fuel doing this, as exhaust brakes on, then throttle to re-accelerate does take extra fuel, particularly since this eliminates coasting (my favorite "gear").
Personally, it would drive me crazy to have the transmission downshift, engine RPM's go way up and rapid deceleration every time the throttle is closed.
And, with your Caterpillar C7, you have other options that can be programmed by a Caterpillar dealer including "Latch Mode" in which the exhaust brake is applied when the service brake is applied and stays on until you go back on the throttle.
Were I to be inclined to drive with the exhaust brake on, I would pay a Cat dealer to reprogram to this options. Latch Mode allows full use of the exhaust brake in emergency stops (applies instantly when you step on the brakes) and allows the exhaust brake to stay on for long descents without coming on every time you let off the throttle.
Brett Wolfe
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It is my understanding also, that when you use the down arrow to shift to a lower gear, say 6 to 5, then 5 becomes the highest gear it will use until you push the arrow to 6, or exceed the RPM's for that gear, or shut the engine off and restart. So, if you need 4th gear and down shift with two clicks of the arrow, when the engine RPM's dictate, you will be in 4th gear, and it will not come out until you use the arrow to shift up, or exceed the RPM for that gear. I use it sometimes going down grades to keep off the brakes and let the engine do the slowing. So far so good.Brett, if I'm not correct in this, please post here. I'm always open to good savvy information. Your explanation above is great.
Wayne,
You are correct. Just as in your car, or other vehicle, if you downshift the Allison (using the down arrow), it will not shift above the gear you select until you up-arrow OR if you want all 6 speeds available, by pushing "D". The exception is if you try to take speed in that gear to above design perimeters either with the throttle or steepness of the grade. Said another way, the transmission will not allow the engine speed to go high enough to harm the engine-- it will up-shift.
And you are correct in how you descend a grade. With any heavy vehicle, the service brakes (brake pedal) is NOT to be used to maintain a safe speed of descent. Using the exhaust or engine brake in combination with the transmission down arrow to choose a condition where your speed of descent is in EQUILIBRIUM. The equilibrium speed is one where you are neither accelerating nor decelerating. It varies with slope of the grade and your total weight. (GCW). As a guide, physics dictates that your equilibrium in a motorhome will be faster than a loaded 18 wheeler and slower than an empty one.
If you do have to use the service brakes, do so in one reasonable application (no pumping), slowing down enough to down-shift to the next lower gear. Repeat until you find a gear that keeps speed in equilibrium. At first, it may seem strange that your speed of descent is much more related to this equilibrium speed than to road conditions. Said another way, on a given grade, your safe speed is the same on a straight road and a curvy one (assuming curves can safely be driven at or above your equilibrium speed).
We were on a 10+% grade coming out of the Green Mountains in VT in 2nd gear with the exhaust brake on-- no use of service brakes at all. Dianne was concerned that someone would run over us (we were going about 15 MPH). We came around a corner, and a loaded logging truck was descending at around 5 MPH-- his equilibrium speed.
Brett Wolfe
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2004 Fleetwood, 40' Providence diesel pusher. Drivers side window fogged up. Can this be repaired or does it have to be completely replaced? This is not the windshield but it is the side sliding window.Here is an ongoing discussion on just that subject: http://community.fmca.com/index.php?showtopic=289
Brett Wolfe
Dogs traveling on the dashboard
in Pets
Posted · Report reply
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