wolfe10

Does it have to be.... alone???????????

Wait-- are you saying that you go through a tank of water a DAY? How many gallon tank do you have? And, (only reveal if you want) are you allowing a whole girl's basket ball team to shower in your coach daily? I know, put Brett in "Time Out".

janz13732, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Some good questions. Over the winter, the house batteries froze. What do we do now? Once froze, they are shot. Can they be recharged? Must they be replaced? Suggestions for replacements? There are several choices depending on your needs (amount of dry camping), size of battery box and budget. With more information we can make recommendations. Did we do something wrong in storage? We took it to dealer to be "winterized", but that only included the systems with water. Should we leave it plugged in to the 50amp outlet we had installed? Tell us what converter, charger or inverter/charger you have. That will help us with "best practices" for YOUR electrical system. What are the proper battery settings if it is plugged in? See question immediately above.

I very rarely weigh in on FMCA governance issues, but I will on this one post: It is a matter of economics. If we want the benefits we currently enjoy through FMCA, including FMCAssist, we MUST balance our older demographics with younger members. Ask any actuarial! It is or at least should be a business decision, not an emotional one. Also, most RV'ers don't start in "qualifying motorhomes". They start in trailers, 5th wheels and toy haulers. But many will "graduate" to motorhomes-- that progression is going on stronger today than ever. Why wait until they "graduate" to include them in our family.

Sharon, Excellent question and thought process. Couple of points: What is access to batteries and how likely are you to check the water monthly. If difficult or too much hassle, AGM's are a good "upgrade". As far as what batteries (6 volt in series vs 12 volt) and number, since you are interested in dry camping where maximum amp-hrs is a plus, measure all three dimension of your battery box (length, width and height). Then go to any battery manufacturer's website and see what is the largest amp-hr @ 12 VDC what will fit. Make sure you only look at deep cycle wet cell, AGM and/or gel. Marine or dual purpose batteries are not as well suited for your needs. Also be aware that if you will be running your generator to recharge them, AGM's will take a charge faster due to less internal resistance. This is particularly important if you have a high-amp charger or inverter/charger.

Pteljeur, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Please tell us more about your coach/fuel set up so we can give you accurate advice: Do you have only one fuel filter or two? What engine? If Caterpillar, do you have the Caterpillar (yellow) secondary fuel filter? If so, is there a manual primer pump on it?

Ya, with no draw, 4 hours a day would be plenty-- remember if a smart charger it starts in bulk mode every time it comes on, so higher voltage and charge rate. I asked if anything else that runs on 120 VAC works to find out, not did you use them, but that there WAS 120 VAC power to the coach. Have you checked the battery water level?

We need some clarification, the 15 volt is confusing: Are you plugged into a 15 amp house-type outlet then using adapters to get 30 and then 50 amp shore power cord? Were other 120 VAC appliances working in the coach over the winter (showing whether you indeed had 120 VAC into the coach)? What did the Intellitec monitor show?

Comparing the same engine pre-DEF with those using DEF, most are UP in HP and MPG, as the engine can be tuned for HP and economy and the "dirtier" emission produced by the retuned engine can be cleaned up downstream. Would love a link to different information. Same as what happened between 1974 and 1975 with gas engines from the "pre-catalytic converter" to "catalytic converter" engines. The 1975's had more power and better MPG than the 1974 engines.

Carl, Yes, suspect 200 watts of solar, not 200 amps. But, that is certainly enough to keep up both battery banks while in storage if stored outside AND they feed through a smart controller (regulator). And, of course that there is some method of charging BOTH chassis and house banks. Concerning mixing batteries: The primary issue is: "is one battery more likely to fail/have a cell go bad"? That is why mixing batteries of different ages is not a good idea, as the newer battery will likely fail when the oldest battery fails. So, anytime a new battery is added to the mix, assume its life will be similar to the oldest battery.

Again, not ideal, but as long as all batteries on the charger or inverter/charger want to be "treated the same" (charging voltages, particularly in float mode) it can be done. The biggest negative is if one of the batteries is bad/has a bad cell-- it can cause the charger to overcharge all the batteries in an attempt to supply correct voltage to the low battery. Said another way, even the smartest charger producing exactly the correct float voltage for a 12 VDC battery (say 13.2 VDC for example) will be WAY overcharging a battery with one dead cell so it is actually a TEN VOLT BATTERY!

Bates4cs, First, welcome to the FMCA Forum. I agree, mixing types of batteries is not ideal. But, if all are the same technology (i.e. wet cell, AGM or gel) and the smart charger or smart inverter charger is properly programmed for them, if you already have the battery, do it.

Yes, B.F. Goodrich is a part of Michelin. Continental-- no relationship to Michelin.

A lot of the cost of a paint job is the prep-- which can vary from a quick wash to a deep sanding. Kind of hard to compare without a lot more facts.

Yes, as has been discussed many times, best to go into any discussion about new tires telling the salesperson the smallest date code= oldest date code tire you will accept. And, if the salesman looks at you like a deer caught in the headlights, talk directly with their warehouse manager. If he looks like a deer caught in the headlights, RUN!

Be aware that this thread has separated into two related discussions: 1. The "care and feeding" of the house battery bank-- correct charging voltage, if wet cell, checking water level, etc. 2. How to keep the chassis battery bank charged. Two basic methods: a. A "smart thief" such as Xantrex Echo Charger that charges chassis battery bank when house bank is above a certain voltage (basically a smart battery combiner). b. A separate small smart charger dedicated strictly to the chassis battery bank.

Is time out far over the horizon for the "Texas Trio"?????????????

The 6CT's are too tall for my application. I use the GPL-4CT which is more a "standard size" 6 VDC deep cycle AGM battery. If the 6CT's will fit your application, go for it.

Me too. And, the harder it is to access the batteries and/or the older I get (stress the second part) the more I appreciate the Lifeline AGM's. Basically install them, program inverter/charger and forget them. Works in both sailboat (where batteries are more critical and exposed to more "stress") and the motorhome.

Gerry, Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Don't know specifically on the 2002, but on older Sahara models the jack reservoir and motor are behind the passenger's side rear wheel. Have to climb under to see it. Dipstick is on top. To confirm the location, have someone deploy the jacks while you listen back there for the jack motor to operate. What is your question about the slide awnings/covers?

The build date of the ENGINE dictates the emission codes it must meet. So, very likely a coach built 3/05 has an engine built before 1/1/04. But, from the engine serial number, VERY easy to tell. Just give the engine manufacturer a call with the engine serial number. Assume Cummins, so: Cummins 800 343-7357.

With the Cummins ISC, he will have the Allison 3000 and Monaco used the push button/electronic membrane pad gear selector so common with that transmission.

It was a two stroke engine-- think giant Lawnboy. 3 cylinder, 3 one barrel carbs, 850 CC. Redline-- ain't no stinking redline. No valves to float and roller bearing crank. Lots of fun. Killed dead by EPA in 1968. Sorry, did not mean to stray off course. Back to the OP's issue.

Absolutely true as long as your smart charger or inverter/charger has been properly programmed. SO, AGM's plus proper programming= trouble-free 12 VDC system.

Sail boats.... motorhomes.... houses...... Yes, compromises. But, there are coaches that can meet both needs. Just keep looking. And, newer diesels with DPF filters sometimes DO have a (read that ONE) spark plug. Would love to be the guy that goes in to a NAPA and asks for a spark plug for that diesel-- Caterpillar C7 for example. Must be my evil side. Enjoyed going into a gas station in central Texas in the early 1970's and pouring oil into the fuel tank of my car. Just told them it burned so much I might as well put it in the gas tank. Yes, it was a 1967 Saab 96 with the last of the two stroke engines.