wolfe10

Yes, as we have discussed several times, a complete "Burner Area Tune-up" is REQUIRED Preventive Maintenance for any absorption refrigerator. It needs to be done annually or sooner if the refrigerator is not performing properly on propane. Only after doing the complete tune-up should you look at other causes of poor performance on propane. Brett Wolfe

Because warranty is an important part of a new car purchase, the BEST source for reliable information is the HONDA OWNERS MANUAL. Not a salesman, but read the manual itself. Even if someone has successfully towed one, but Honda does not recommend it, it will void your warranty an quite a number of vehicle components. In that light, any Honda dealer is a good source. Brett Wolfe

If I were going to park it for awhile, I would change it BEFORE storing. If not, keep driving until the one year mark/mileage specified for your engine. Brett Wolfe

If, as Tom suggests, that question is directed at me-- yes, I would do it again. They are easy to install (peel and stick with template for spacing). Painting is also easy with FUSION paint. I found a green that was a perfect match for our coach. And I use the same long-bristle wash brush on them as on the rest of the coach. Brett Wolfe

Tom, Yes, we have had Air Tabs on our coach for a couple of years. Ours are white with FUSION paint to match the coach. They do function as advertisedâ€"the physics is well-proven. The two websites I posted above make good reading. The error I feel their detractors make is to expect silver bullet that will correct all the aerodynamic ills of their coach. NO device will do that. What the Air Tabs will do is improve: 1. Handling, particularly in cross wind and passing 18 wheelers. 2. Reduce dirt accumulation on back of coach and toad. 3. Give SLIGHT improvement in MPG. Their website only claims 3-4% and I suspect that is accurate. With the differing terrain (flat when we head east and mountains when we head west), differing head winds, etc all I can say is that our annual MPG is up slightly since adding the Air Tabs. As a side note: Sometimes it is easy to take modern technology for granted. We are in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico on the Carnival Conquest on the way from Galveston to Jamaica with a satellite Wi-Fi connection back to the rest of the world. Brett Wolfe

Here are two fact-based articles on AirTabs and their Website: http://www.sti.nasa....ff2008/t_3.html http://airtab.com/vm/newvisual/attachments...eNowArticle.pdf Brett Wolfe

Veronica, Yes, a toilet "burping back" is normally a symptom of a defective vent. The vent pipe to the roof may be blocked by insect, animal or bird nest. The vent pipe may have fallen too deep in the tank and be below tank content level, etc. If safe, go up on the roof and blow down the vent. Verify that there is no back pressure and have someone near the black tank verify that you are not "bubbling" below content level. Brett Wolfe

Greg, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. I would agree 5.7 MPG is low. Questions: 1. Is your speedometer/odometer accurate (vs GPS or Interstate mile makers)? 2. Are you "subtracting for fuel used by the generator? 3. What is your GCW (Gross Combined Weight-- loaded RV plus toad? 4. Flat ground or hills/mountains? 5. Regular or economy mode on Allison? 6. How fast do you drive? As you can see, there are a LOT of variables when it comes to MPG. And 9-10 MPG AVERAGE (not one tank) would be FANTASTIC-- bordering on EXCEPTIONAL for your friend's/ANYONE'S late model heavy coach. Brett Wolfe

While unplugging (or otherwise forcing the fan to high speed) is an excellent diagnostic tool (just as cwmarch dithermostatd), please do not consider it a long-term solution. You will be giving up way too many HP and MPG. Brett Wolfe

Gibson DOES make headers: http://www.gibsonperformance.com/ And I would call Ford directly with your chassis VIN. I suspect you do have the 460. Brett Wolfe

Molded into ONE sidewall of each tire (could be facing inward) is a complete DOT number. The last four digits are molded in and are the WEEK and YEAR of production. So DOT................2304 was made the 23rd week of 2004. If there are only three digits, the tires were made before 2000. And I am not sure automatic replacement is needed at 5 years, but clearly they need to be checked carefully by a tire professional. You will never wear out the tread on an RV tire-- you will replace them based on age/side wall condition. Brett Wolfe

The wire "out" of the fuse could be wired through a simple toggle switch then back to the "downstream" side of the wire. May be more difficult than it sounds, depending on access to the wire coming out of the fuse block. Another alternative that is not quite as clean is to replace the fuse with two metal prongs. From one side's prong, wire through remove fuse, then toggle switch, then back to other metal prong in the fuse block. With either alternative, all you have to do to disable the fuse is "hit the switch". Brett Wolfe

Yes, it is quite possible/quite common for a chassis model year to be prior to the coach model year. You check by calling your chassis maker (Workhorse) with your Workhorse VIN. And if you are resorting to using the service brakes because of fear of over-reving the engine, the transmission ABSOLUTELY will not allow the engine to over-speed. And if still concerned, a safer approach is to slow down and use a lower gear-- one that holds your speed in EQUILIBRIUM without using the service brakes. Brett Wolfe

Have you verified that the hydraulic system (pump, controller, lines, filter/reservoir and fan) for your side radiator fan is working properly? If the fan is not going to the designed RPM under high-heat conditions, it will cause the same symptoms. Brett Wolfe

This FMCA chapter has done an excellent job of compiling just such information: http://www.nationalrv-centralstates.org/Maintenance.html Brett Wolfe

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It is likely on steep down-grades that you will have slow down (service brakes) and manually down shift to a lower gear than that selected by the grade brake feature. Similar to what those with larger Allison transmissions in diesels have to do-- with, say a 4th gear pre-select, they have to use the service brakes to slow down enough and use the down arrow to select a lower gear. Again, your safe speed of descent is really UNRELATED to curves, etc. It is based on a gear/speed that holds YOUR SPEED IN EQUILIBRIUM. That speed will be faster than loaded 18 wheelers and slower than empty ones. Brett Wolfe

I am not aware of any diesel engine manufacturer who approves of the use of K&N or K&N style air filters. They DO let in more air (and more critically) THEY ALSO LET IN MORE DIRT. I can tell you that Caterpillar specifically recommends against them in each of their maintenance seminars presented at FMCA Conventions. And this is NOT to sell their own filters-- Caterpillar does not spec or sell air filters for RV's-- the chassis makers do that. Brett Wolfe

Carb or fuel injected? What model year chassis?

Please let us know what chassis you have so answers will be relevant to you. What is your GVW and when towing GCW? Do you drive in flat or hill/mountain country? As far as engine tune, best answer is to go to virtually any auto parts house and have any stored engine codes downloaded for free. Brett Wolfe

Mikes, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. The brake light switch was fit by Freightliner. Have you called Gaffney with your serial number? They are your best source of information. If you need the information this evening, might call a Freightliner dealer with extended service hours. And it is also possible that someone else with your same chassis will have the answer. Brett Wolfe

This ASSUMES you have a voltmeter and are safe working with 120 VAC. Start by verifying that you indeed have the proper 120 VAC. If on 50 amp, check CG outlet from each outer straight to inner straight and then inner round. Readings whould be 120 VAC. From one outer stright to the other, reading should be 240 VAC. And from center straight to center round zero. If the CG outlet is OK, check at the coach-end of shore power cord. If OK, next place to check is at the ATS (Automatic Transfer Switch). If only inverter powered circuits are not working, check for power in to the inverter. Many inverters have a pass through feature with a small fuse inside the inverter case. Brett Wolfe

Gary, Glad you got it done. Ya, depending on access your chassis AND coach maker gave you, it can be quite a job. 10 minutes on some coaches and 2-3 hours on others. However, I recommend replacing air filters based on BOTH restriction (air filter minder reading) AND based on time. Remember, the filter elements are made of paper and glue. They degrade with time. Three years is the recommended change interval unless the air filter minder suggest more frequent changes. And when you replace the filter, reset the air filter minder (reset button on the bottom of the minder). Then after a few hundred miles (enough time that you will have been at WOT [Wide Open Throttle] enough to give an accurate max restriction reading) RECORD IT. That way you will know your base line restriction and can monitor changes. The base line restriction (restriction with the new filter) is the "total report card" on the air intake system. The air filter minder reading is affected by size of opening at the side of the coach, plumbing between side of coach and air filter, air filter (both size and condition) as well as plumbing from air filter to turbo intake air "inlet". Brett Wolfe

You make some good points. I will address two of them. First: how condensation forms in the tanks was discussed here on another thread (concerning diesels). Using that as a basis, I will post it here: First, let's look at what happens if you park your coach with 1/3 tank of fuel -- assume total capacity 75 gallons. As you burned the 50 gallons of fuel, that space in the tanks was replaced with AMBIENT AIR, at whatever temperature AND HUMIDITY the outside air is at that time. So you now have 25 gallons of fuel and, particularly, if driving in a hot/humid area, 50 gallons of hot HUMID air. OK temperature drops to the dew point OF THAT HUMID AIR IN THE TANK. It CONDENSES. And since water is heavier than fuel, it goes to the bottom of the tank and contaminates the fuel and/or rusts the tank. Each day, as the temperature rises, air and fuel in the tank EXPAND-- actually, air just goes OUT of the tank through the vent line/charcoal canister. This happens even if the 50 gallons of air in the tank was dry and/or cold. Each night, as the temperature falls, air is sucked into the tank through the breather line. As temperature continues to drop, the water vapor CONDENSES and goes to the bottom of the tank. Repeat 30-100 times. NOT GOOD!!!!! And yes, even if you are a desert area, your tank WILL get down to the dew point and there will be condensation. If you fill the tank before parking, there is a MUCH smaller volume of air to condense. Also, liquid (fuel) expands and contracts much less with temperature change than a gas (air) so there is far less "breathing" of the tank. Second: If you start the engine while storing the coach, you need to run it long enough that the OIL gets up to operating temperature. This generally means 25 or so highway miles. The object of driving while stores is manyfold as you point out, but one of the primary things you are doing is riding the crankcase of moisture. This only occurs when the OIL (not just coolant) gets hot and stays hot long enough to "vent" the moisture (through PCV valve on gasoline engine and through crankcase breather on a diesel). Brett Wolfe

You need a biocide IF: 1. As a remedy if you ever see black slimy "gunk" in your fuel (usually first visable to you in the primary fuel filter/water seaparator). 2. As a Preventive if storing diesel. My basic benchmark is that I use it if I will not be burning a tank of diesel within 3 months. I know of no hard and fast rule that says not needed if XX days but needed of XX plus 1 day. It is merely added to the tank when you fill up. It will circulate throughout the fuel system within a couple of miles. There is absolutely no change in the way anything works. The biocide I use doses at 1.5 oz/ 100 GALLONS. Ask anyone who has had "algae" contamination and they will tell you an ounce (OK 1.5 ounces) of prevention is worth a LOT of $$$ worth of cure. Brett Wolfe