rsbilledwards

MWeiner The question you asked was about hybrid electric and gas in a coach. I commented that it would not be feasible or maybe practical is more reasonable in big rigs.Your next post articulated about your trip, how long it was and about all the diesel rigs about in the mountains. "As for big rigs in the mountains...I'd just like to tell you that a few weeks ago I returned from an 11,000 miles journey all across the USA..... went through the Northwest across to the East coast down to Florida and back through Route 66.." "Let me tell you... there's plenty of big rig diesels, motorhomes and yes, I even saw some Mercedes Benz Sprinters like mine and Class C Winnebago coaches out there along with plenty of other RVs... Even saw some Audi's..... " We were talking about ELECTRIC not big rig current diesels, of coures you will see lots of them it is the current technology and you will see them for a long time to come. In another post your argument shifts to safety. You keep shifting the thread from one point to another away from your original. What gives? My point and the issue is what happened in your PRIUS. Battery/electric will not work in the west's big mountains, others as well. The technology will be used on the flats where vertical climb resistance is lower and the distances are shorter. As for Europe's diesel being cleaner and the older technologies here versus there. I have been in the automotive arena for a long time. I was indirectly party to test work done by Audi through a couple of test/evaluator driver engineers that put corporate test cars through their paces prior to the ,model year releases. There were a lot of very interesting data points that were not common knowledge. Believe me some of the test cars were pretty amazing, shipped back to Germany or just plain crushed to death.

RainEx helps

The answer would be not a chance! I would rather have the load being stuff to live with rather than hauling around a bunch of batteries. Same kind of No on the second part of the question, not enough power and can you imagine the cost. Every one of these kinds of units are subsidized, imagine that bill. On the diesel side the Audis and MBs we see here, diesel powered, are several generations old compared to what is available in Europe. Our fuel is dirty by comparison in spite of the refining changes made here over the last decade or so. Their diesel is water clear. The current Audi cars will not run on the fuel we have here. I am willing to bet you do not see the big rigs in the mountains, on the flats and short haul applications sure.

Thanks for the confirmation as we plan to be there in April and have a visit with Kay...looking forward to it!I Want to see a cabinet makers custom build, maybe I can learn something.

See Level is a Canadian company and yes their stuff is very good and accurate if you follow directions...just ask me how I know the last two words were the important ones.

This is not rocket science but will take a little effort to get the correct rotor. First the wheel needs to be off. Measure the diameter of the rotor and the thickness. Measure the height of the hat from the base face of the rotor. measure the diameter of the hat and the number of studs. Go to a real parts supply house not NAPA or ORileys. Withthose dimensions they can find it from Centrix. Do not buy standard rotors, buy cryoed rotors, cryogenicly treated rotors, frozen in nitrogen, they will last far longer and dissipate heat much better than the standard rotors for not a lot more money. Another place that used to be very good is Ott's friction in Oregon 503 283 4165. It has changed hands a while back and is now owned by Fleet Pride. Word has it that it is not a knowledgeable as before. Another source would be Kaiser Brake and alignment in Eugene Oregon, 541 344 5887 These folks are also old time been around a long time. Pads and calipers from the same sources

Last year we stayed at the High Jolly camp ground just a bit north of town right side of the highway. It was great and only about 3 or four miles out. Rode the ATV to town numerous times, a bicycle would be no problem either BLM and free with lots of space.

Lou Ann, One place you should go would be Alamo lake. It is purportedly to be one of Arizona's best bass fishing lakes. It is in the middle of a very interestin desert area north and east of Quartzsite on BLM lands...in other words free camping on the east end of the lake. If you have an ATV or similar miles of trails to explore. It is the watershed low point from I 40 on the north side to I 10 on the south side. It is fed by two rivers when flooding the Big Sandy and the Santa Maria. Gotta run have a great time I will get back to you in a PM upper right of you screen

The least expensive place to buy the Power Service stuff is Walmart.

Carl, You hit it on the nail head. Completing quality paint work is EXPENSIVE. Not only is the time and effort expensive, the QUALITY paints and associated materials have become absurdly expensive. These materials are expensive, largely because of environmental issues and the quality of such has diminished as a result. The number of toners to match previous colors have been reduced dramatically because of the apparent unfriendlyness of the ingredients to the environment. The introduction of WATER into automotive primers and paints has lengthened the application process considerably, hence a lot of additional cost on the time side. The manufacturers of these RV vehicles so not have the same paint application systems in place as the automotive industry where the car bodies are painted completely prior to assembly. They do not have paint drying systems anywhere similar to the automotive industry. The coaches are assembled completely and then a base color applied. They are then re masked for each additional color. This could be 4 times as on my coach. It takes man hours each time. It could take a week or more for 2 or three people to accomplish this effort. I described the process further in a previous note to Tom. The way it is done is just like the after market repair shops have done it for the last 80 plus years. Yes now we have heated and down draft booths. These pale in comparison to the other guys. We can only force dry the water born, catalyzed paint being used today. The automotive industry shoots the car, it tack drys and then is run through an oven where the paint literally is heated to almost hot and allowed to re-flow to the finish we so admire and think is the way it should be. This completed the, primers, paint and clear coat are only 1.5 mills thick and will last in many cases 20 years + and still be nice and shiny!!! The after market is a horse of a different color... Our paints do not reflow, air pressures used in the various paint shops to shop is different. The skill level of the painter differ from applicator to a real guy that knows the tricks and how to get out of trouble and still produce a smooth, slick, dust free paint job. On this side of the industry the clear coat must be a minimum of 2 mills thick to achieve a surface that will last 5 that's right 5 years. That said 3 mills may get better than 15 years. The problem with this is the expense of the material and the honesty of the shops to do what they say. The other issue in this picture is the unwillingness of the buying public to require quality. Instead they want price and the two do not get along. Lastly is the knowledge of the consumer is minimal and many of the shops play to that. I would venture to say that 75% of them do not do what they say they are going to do because when it is done it is bright and shiny. Who is to know what was not done. At this point reputation and the length of it is key. Did I mention additional sanding and buffing and then polishing...more time and money for quality. I could elaborate a lot more but I hope this may draw a clearer picture .

I must say after 40 years in the autobody business, Gelcoat fracturing????????????? not if it is mixed properly. If it is mixed hot then yes it can and probably will fracture. Every Fiberglass boat made in the world, the outer part you see is Gel Coat, see any fractures in them...NO and many years old. I would bet a 6 pack that you are looking at paint. To have a stripe or graphics in Gelcoat would be quite a feat knowing what I know. The physical properties make it extremely difficult. But what do I know. The industry has tricks for sure. As for plastic filler being thin, it had better be thin or it will not last. If thin it will probably out last you. I have said it here before that the clear bra material does not have a lifetime expectancy. It does have a life span of something around 7 years and should be removed and replaced. You are quite right no one ever told us this and we made the assumption it was for ever. It is like you oil a maintenance item. No bidy complains when the have to change oil once a year. Add that up over 7 years and see what it costs. The plastic does what it was intended to do and if removed when it should be then it would not be such a strain to accomplish the removal. By the way I am suffering the same pain as anyone else trying to get it off. The stuff on the front of my F350 Ford is shot and ugly and still doing it's job.

As Brett said No just power usage. I leave it on in my skidsteer for days keeps him nice and warm

The likelyhood that a two day freeze even a hard one will freeze a coach in inside cold storage is at best unlikely even outside not likely, as you have the unit mass to help slow down the freeze. However, if outside, add a breeze or a wind, horse of a different color. If outside open the blade valves for the grey and black water tanks to be sure no water there. Yes best to open the low point drains and remove or disassemble the toilet valve assembly. Easy a couple screws to remove the shield and a nut to drop the remaining spring and plunger. Pink stuff in the traps.

Tom, This is how it should be done. I did not see your coach so do not know color scheme. But Base color is applied and a single coat of clear is applied maybe two (best) then allowed a dry time called tack free. Then it can be masked for a second color/stripe. After this is applied it too is cleared in the same manner and so forth. When the last stripe is applied and cleared, the entire assembly is cleared and sanded to remove any of the joint ridges. It is at this point that the last two coats or one very wet one, depending of course upon painter skill, is applied. Hopefully it is done skillfully enough it needs no sanding and lint is at a minimum they can walk away done, after removing the masking. I will add that all base coats have a window of time that the clear must be applied within or the base coat must be sanded and re applied. If not applied in the window but after adhesion issues may occur, ie later fracturing and long after the job is out of warranty

This is generally caused by time, on "Lacquer" finishes. It is also caused by too heavy a paint film though not likely in this case. It is a common element on Safari coach murals. In this case once the murals were painted they were then clear coated. This is a problem because the mural base color cannot be sanded for obvious reasons. Therefore, there is no mechanical bond to the substrate. It is very likely that this is the same thing on many of these coaches where the stripe was painted and the clear was applied after the application window had passed and the bond is failing. We have a saying in this industry "Paint will stick to anything for a while". If the prep is incomplete it will eventually give up. If it is fracturing...it will eventually give up and begin delaminating...yes it can take a very long time. No polishing will not have any effect on it only enhance the appearance. The effect can be mitagated appearance wise but not eliminated. The fractured edges roll up ever so slightly at the break, this can be sanded lightly to flatten and then re cleared. The trick is to get the new clear coat to bridge the breaks/fractures thus sealing them...takes a lot of effort. Then it can be sanded again. Then a final coat or two of clear will complete the leveling process and the fractures hidden as much as they will be. How long will it last, anybody's guess, some times a long time sometimes not. It is going to be determined by the level of deterioration of the initial clear coat. But at least now the elements are held at bay by the new coat of clear. This is not very practical for most but on a Safari with a mural which is not replaceable...

Coach will also be warmer if the slides are in. Since the slides roofs are fiberglass perhaps make a frame that you can slip under the canvas part and make it peak so the water will run off or the snow will run off as it melts. Frame does not need to be heavy so 1 X 3 material will work be sure long part, ridge is on edge not laying flat.

There is a lot of BLM land in the Southwest quadrant still available...no plugs or sewer connections though.

Going to Ashville Joe is worth one day. If nothing else go to the Biltmore, it is spectacular and historically amazing . You can spend a week there over all and more. The Omni Grove Park inn is also another terrific stop. Go up stairs and there is a picture wall on how it was built. People of the era were not afraid of work. The rocks were hauled down the mountain with huge teams of oxen and old time trucks Carl refers to the "Tail or the Dragon" it is "Tail of the Dragon" Yes it is quite the drive...we followed some idiot of a truck driver with a semi trailer down it, a real hassle because he caused quite a mess fortunately no one was hurt. At the time 5 or 6 years ago it was two way. Bikers loved it

Great write up and clear with out grammar or spelling issues. Well done and thank you!

Bill In spite of how you feel you are added value here. Quirky perhaps, most of us are not exempt. I for one have found your attitude just fine it takes all kinds to make a picture complete. In Bill's defense of leaving, If we all wrote our responses as though we were the ones receiving them there would be a lot more civility in how they were written in the first place. I try diligently to write with courtesy and with out innuendo, with succinctness and avoid pointing fingers, It does none of us any good when a guy like Bill and his wisdom of electronics leaves and there is not as good a replacement. Bill Edwards

I would agree with Rich. To protect the terminals after a through cleaning as Rich suggested, coat all the connections with "dielectric" grease. It is a bit messy but works far better than the spray, as the coverage is better, no missed spots under where the spray does not go. The stuff is available from NAPA in a small tube that will last you quite a while. This is a normal maintenance procedure, done periodically. He mentions a hydrometer. There are a variety of these things. it is best to buy the instrument type as opposed to the type with the squeeze tube and floating balls generic type. The more sophisticated instrument type costs more but the information supplied is more beneficial to knowing the precise condition of the batteries since you spent a whole lot of money to get and install them. It gives the specific gravity numerically of the acid over a scale rating condition. This information can be tracked in a notebook over time to see how they are holding up.

I have a similar coach `1999 Safari 455 Panther. your coach probably came originally with larger 275s. They will haul a larger weight at a slightly lower air pressure leading to a nicer ride. However the 275 may not fit the front tire space at maximum turning stop and hence the reason for the differential. If the larger tire will not fit i would stick with the setup. There is no other reason to change this set up. There should be a sticker around the drivers area or in a cabinet above the passenger seat with original tire sizes in all locations. If the 275 does not fit in front then the original tire was the 255. It was the common tire for all Safari and Beaver coaches. The larger tire was common for all the larger big engine coaches Beaver and Safari What engine is in the coach?

40 watts will trickle charge a battery only. If you want to power refrige and lights and really service drawn down batteries from normal living you will need a lot more than a 40 watt cell. $2,500 in material costs will build a simple system that you can easily dry camp with and generally cover "all" you needs. There are of course limitations, but the frige, lights, microwave, and TV can be covered. Size and battery type will also be a determining factor. You have two systems to deal with house and chassis. That "little" cell can be directed to the chassis batteries to keep them topped off when not in use. The wiring for that cell will be too small to be effective for any additional panels added too it's circuit as it is unlikely to be bigger than 12 or 14 AWG. What it is powering is this, a trickle to your batteries, house, and possibly to the CO and fire/smoke detectors, that is it. I may not even have a controller in it's system. It will not be servicing the chassis batteries directly but possibly thru an echo charger. Since the coach is a 40 footer there will be plenty of room to put an adequate system to serve your needs. I suggest you visit www.handybobsolar.com for a through introduction to the use and construction of a useful solar system. It is a a comprehensive look at what works and what does not. Pay particular attention to the "Charging puzzle".

Yes what do you whant it to do? How much room do you have dimensionally length and width. What Travel Supreme? What size? Please pardon my ignorance. As Kay said there are many choices. I have installed several and am doing one in a couple weeks for another forum reader large enough to power a large Class A Pusher on my way to Quartzsite. I have the same system on my coach. Glad to help. Merry Christmas to all

That is a real shame and shame on them. B