rsbilledwards

Joe, I owned a body shop for the best part of 40 years and removing clear plastic is slow and tedious. Your best friend will be patience and then when removed the chips will appear, dang at least they could not leave for a long time. I need to remove the same from my 350 Ford dually as well, not looking forward to it but after 16 years and I will do it again. It is great protection. The Panther has a clear plexiglas cover from the windshield down with no cutout for the gen set access. I think I am going to remove that too and section it. Cutting of the upper portion and retain the section at the bumper, sectioning it into 3 pieces and allow it to protect the textured bumper like portion of the cap only. Joe you might ask your body buddy (that sounds odd) about adding a flex agent to the clear coat on the cap. It will do pretty much the same thing protection wise as adding the film. It is on all front bumper finishes on cars today and they do not chip up like other areas of the car that are not so covered. Finishing the cap with an added flex agent takes skill as it does not set as quickly as without, and sags are easily acquired and not pretty on his or her face, the coach that is. Oops, was that politically correct no pun intended... Thanks for answering the spacial questions about your coach and the living room slide. Very similar to ours as it allows me to visualize how the same would work in the Panther. The front seat very similar spacialy as well. We have only one slide, none in the bedroom, plenty of room. I did not want a slide there with that big honkin engine hanging back there. Not enough engineering back in those days at SMC to head off structural issues showing up now in coaches with bedroom slides. Bill Edwards

Joe, Ok just figured out that it is Holiday Rambler similar interior to our Safari. I sure do like the way it looks as updated and the couch great! What is opposite the couch? Another slide? Single slide?, how deep iis the slide? I was thinking of installing a riser to lift a TV from behind the couch or a sectional like yours opposite in place of the rocker, would end up with 2 couches or recliner type like yours. How comfortable are the kitchen table benches, firm or soft? The outfit that you bought them from can they do any embroidery logo work? really looks good Bill Edwards

Gary, No, I did consider doing this as a very worthy idea. It turns out to be pretty impractical, one, space is very limited, and two, expense very high for 700 pounds. Three, there is no good place to install a master cylinder, an air tank would not be needed as it is mounted in such away as to be integral with the coach and very unlikely it would be disconnected. Syncing the brakes with the trailer and the additional components from M&G make it an awkward addition. It turns out this toad does not need the DMI hitch as it is mounted rigidly to the coach. There is no pivot joint at the coach. It is a complete extension of the hitch and the pivot point, trailer ball, is on the tail end of the toad. There is however a joint/hinge between the mounting point and the axel assembly that allows the toad to bend or flex with dips and bellies in the road so it does not support any weight from the coach as it travels down the road. Seems difficult to describe, hope I am clear. I will take some pictures and then someone can help me post them. I am not so sure I would do all of this were it not for the having the ability and the shop equipment to accomplish this without paying someone else. It would cost to much to play this hard. Bill

Yes, and acknowledged of course, I only want to add a couple thousand and make it easier on the coach. Thanks bill

Ok guys the TRAILER TOAD arrived today. I must say it is a real piece of equipment. I am unable to find fault in its assembly, welding or the overall finish. Attention to detail, aside from five missing pieces of assembly hardware (nuts and a couple washers) appears to be a well thought out towing aid. It's construction is heavy, 1/2 and 5/8ths plate steel and plenty of well placed gussets. The axel is a reinforced short torsion axel. The center bearing and housing are heavy duty and is 5 bolt pivot. Axel movement is substantial, close to 30 degrees from the looks of it. It came with a 3 foot handle used to push it around and shipping weight was near 700 pounds. Lastly it is powder coated a silver and black hammer tone finish including the chains with a spare tire artfully mounted on top with a weather cover. I tend to revert to common sense around mechanical things. This coach powered by the same components installed in the big rigs hauling as Gary indicated, 80,000 thousand pounds. This includes the rear end, axels, transmission and the engine. The brakes with the help of the engine Jake are good, are they great I do question this but with a brake system and a caliper service with current technology pads, pretty good. The chassis I suspect lighter than the semi and therefore a potential weak spot. Tires, in this instance there is little additional vertical hitch weight being applied to the back of the coach and so little tire wear from that point of view. The real question here, are the trailer brakes adequate to stop their part of the load? In my opinion, a resounding no!! The next project, improve the trailer braking ability by retrofitting 12 inch disc brakes to the FEATHERLITE trailer. The last part of this project is adapting the M&G braking system to the trailer. I have spoken to them and yes it is possible and not difficult. It requires a master cylinder sized to the rest of the system, a small air tank as the reserve source for the actuation of the braking system in case the trailer decided to leave the coach. I expect this to cost about $3,500. Last on the lists of weak spots... would be the driver and his skill level, experience, and miles driven. This maybe the weakest link for the majority of coach operators. How many folks have CDLs, how many of us should have a CDL driving one of these behemoths and the trailer behind. I think this is a big limiting factor on towable weight limitations and do not disagree. This forum exercise has made me think of and aware of, positions not thought of previously. Thanks for all the input, Bill

Yes they should be named. The last one we named naturally "Z" as it was Safari Zanzibar seemed natural enough. Gonna name the new one "PORSCHE" seems natural enough too C12 425 horse 31,000 GVW very quick in a manner of speaking. Bill

The Panther I just bought has a, I think, plexiglass cover from the w/s down to the bottom of the cap. The genset is dead center and no provision was made to access it, except by removing all mounts on the top 2/3s. What are the chances it has been serviced or checked in the 110 hours it has ben run. I am not sure how I am going to cut it so it is a serviceable addition. It looks brand new as the coach has all of 11,800 miles on it. Any suggestions? Bill

Huffy, I have been watching this forum now for nearly 6 years, you were one of the original posters on one of my "newbie" questions and always a had a sensible and pertinent reply. Your input always appreciated. I like the sewer hose storage solution a lot, frees up one tub for real stuff. Bill Edwards

Why don't you look for a owner sell as opposed to a dealer. There are many very good deals and even better coaches available from owners. Do you home work, take time and ask questions, lots of them and use this forum to find your ideal rig. Good luck Bill

1. Bill Edwards 2. U.S. Navy, Naval Air 3. May 1966 August 1970 4. E 4 5. Tradevsman enlisted, 6. Flight captain, N.A.S.Ellison Field/ Electronics A school Millington, Tenn./ Huey Instrument flight instructor, 2 yrs N.A.S. Ellison Field Pensacola, FL / Yeoman, Atsugi,Japan FA2PAC 1 year. Early out The year in Japan, taught English 4 nights a week 2 hours each evening for 11 months, never missed an evening, EXPO 70..10 days .fabulous, bicycled all over Thanks to all of you for your service Bill Edwards

This is just to good! B

Herman you are Good sport for taking all this Super High Intensity Training. Best part I am sure there is more to come. Hence my scrap book. I have a Texan friend living high above me here in Evergreen and you all have something in common being Texan. I will tell later. Bill

Carl, Please get to the point, quit wasting time! Ha Bill

Since you brought it up Brett I will but I think I was it was 12 some place could be wrong, a good thing. It is OK I would have figured it out when I change it the first time before bringing it home. B

I change my own in the 3126 only 6 gallons at the end of the travel season usually around 5,000+ miles and change the oil filter at 10, fuel filter at 10K. The fuel filter is most important with respect to keeping the oil clean. I run straight Shell Rotella 15/40. Cat does not allow increased change intervals if using synthetic. Now I will probably rethink this with the C12 and 12 gallons of oil any input will be appreciated. Thanks Bill

There is always the tendency for the non-professional and capable individual to include all of the parts when making a minor maintenance like changing a seal "just because I am there". This is not always necessary or prudent. If you have a fat one in your left rear pocket that is ok and you can walk away fiscally unaffected. Bearings and races and the seals are pricey, NAPA wanted $92 a seal for the ones on my little coach. I ended up paying $48 wholesale. The bearing itself was near $100. It takes a lot to warp one of these rotors and a turned one will warp faster than unturned. If your rotor shows fractures in the middle of the rotor you are due. A better solution and one all will smile about many miles down the road is to replace the rotor with a CRYOGENICLY treated one. These will outlast untreated rotors 3 or 4 times. They dissipate heat much better and resist wear which is heat induced. These rotors , the short version, are frozen in nitrogen which changes them molecularly and allows them to be just so much better. I thing the smart way to approach this is replace only the fronts as this is where most stopping, heat and wear is generated. Rear rotor and drums do not wear as fast as the front as evidenced by the frequency of Pad replacement. To offer an example of this, our coaches do not wear as fast as our everyday or toad transportation since we have additional stopping aids like PAC brakes and JAKE brakes. CENTRIX ROTORS Made in the U.S.A. You must request this process when ordering and the best part it is very cost effective. I know off topic but part of the overall. Bill

I agree the bucket is great idea and the one we haven't thought of hummm. I agree on the surge protector but on our coach I hard wired it, too easy to steal if plug in model. Shop Amazon, I got the current 50 amp last month for $274 and free freight and no tax! Bill

Any body with the name "Herman" needs a "recuperating" saw for sure. The last time I teased you Herman I didn't get much this time I got what I expected. Good, You are on the "meet' list but it will have to wait as we can not get out of the Colorado high country, too much snow. My other excuse is I do not yet have my newly purchased PORSCHE Safari Panther motor home and there is a lot of upgrading to do to it before it hits the road. We get to go get it in April when the snow slows down and the roads dry out. I have considered the all electric but do not think I am old enough yet to handle a "recuperating" saw so it will have to wait. When you see a PORSCHE motor home you will know who it is. Never seen one, just wait... Bill PS, Herman are those saws expensive? I'm laughing so hard it has been hard to get this done. I sure hope this is not the end of this! I'm going to start a scrap book. ha ha

One topic not mentioned here is how tight the nut should be after you remove it to do all that needs to be done. If the bearings are not being replaced. Then count the number of revolutions it takes to remove the nut and replace with the same and replace the cotter key. There is play allowed but not very darn much so play it safe and count particularly if not familiar with how tight is too tight. Some times getting the seal to slide over the hub shoulder can be a bugger, it takes patience and make sure you do not leave parts behind where they do not belong like the last guy that worked on the coach before I got it. He left part of the old seal, metal part, on the shoulder and then jammed the new seal over the top of that. It lasted quite a while until I was in there and then it started leaking like crazy..go ten miles , stop fill it up and repeat. It took a quart and a half to get home to find out what happened. Bill

Yes welcome There are a lot of well informed folks here ready answer your questions, and remember the only dumb question is the one you did not ask. Bill

Do it yourself!!! I did a Dometic and a Norcold last summer...not problem. It will take two people however. You will need some power. The units are screwed in pretty well so be patient and it has been there a while. When you are ready to pull it out one person will push from outside and the other pull and control what is happening by the pusher outside!! That said make a table about a 1/2 inch shorter than where the refrigerator sits and about 20 inches wide and 3 feet long. 2 X 4s work for legs, just make it sturdy!. It is not necessary to remove the doors. Use some padding for the floor and put it face down with some blocking to prevent it from rocking all over and to make it steady while prying the old one out. Getting the old unit out is the hard part. Pay particular attention to where the temp sensor is placed inside on the cooling fins. Get the extra cooling fan kit and the internal fans. It made a huge difference where it was placed on the one I did. It took a few days for this one to settle in and since it has worked perfectly. I'm 70 and unless you are older than Herman and he is several years older than I am you can handle it. Jusst pullin you leg Herman. Seriously it is not a tough one, physics will be your best friend. Once you get this one done you will be ready to do Hermans...I can hardly wait to meet you Herman, but I have to get all my upgrades made on this new coach before I can come out to play. Good luck, If you need more info send me a PM. Bill

Brett, I concede the locale, I had not considered that kind of environment, EAST as have never lived there. Thanks Bill

Gary, Go to http://dmihitch.com/ for the hitch. looks to be a great idea. Just had a great conversation with the I think owner about this unit. tongue does not move during tow but does to hook up. Unit is 26 and an eighth long less receiver 30 inches wide for receiver type hitch weighs 143 pounds and on a pallet You sent me the above so you know. Jock just called and as for plating, no it does not need a plate as it is an extension of the hitch. Its mounting to the coach is ridged, no movement except in the direction of the tail of the coach. Axel has a lot of rotation somewhere between 20 and 30 degrees. Newer version greater than the on in the video. Trailer Toad 319 404 7001

Gary, Towing the Featherlite with the Z, I had no noticeable front end float. The wheel base on the Panther is about a 12 inches + longer than the Z and do not expect any float. No there is no vertical tongue weight imposed by the Trailer Toad so that eliminates any possible float. There were no good pictures of the hook up of the toad but there is a stabilizer setup between the coach and toad to aid in keeping the toad square to the coach and good one on the plate, and minimal at worst but another good one to ask. I am titled in Montana. I called M&G this morning about the brake away stopping aspect. It is not a problem. The basic system, short version has an air driven piston driven by coach air system that has valve of some sort that modulates the air pressure determined by input hydraulic brake pressure that is then applied to brake master cylinder installed on trailer. This then actuates the disc brakes on trailer. The lock up is achieved by installing small air tank on the trailer and I assume a one way valve of some sort. All in all about a thousand dollars buys real brakes, assuming discs and master are on the trailer. I did run at La Junta many years ago 70s and 80s. It was not my favorite track though I did run a plenty at Pueblo. I ran a 1960 E production 356 Porsche Roadster that ate many a 911 thru the 90s. In Vintage Racing I was classed with the big bore cars since I was grandfathered in the club and running slicks. It was no contest as I could out brake them all and if I made it thru the corner first they could not catch me. I was a legal 1600 CC with a .040 over bore, 7800 red line and 140-150 horses and legal SCCA weight.

Herman, You had better put that rig in gear and get down the hiway so you can wear some of that rubber money out before it ages out. I just replaced the rubber on the Panther with another Goodyear but not the 760. It was 140 a tire more a tire for the 760s and I thought I could get buy covering the tires to slow the aging process. The young guy that put them on said better deal for the money and I went with it. Primary difference according to a guy I spoke with at Goodyear is that there are no UV protectants in what I bought. I suspect that too you may have a better rolling tire as well. 275 R70 22.5 little tires next to yours, Load rating was J , 18 ply coach originally had 16 ply and speed rating was J=75mph Now can you tell me why so many have had it with Goodyear? I priced the Michelins and could not justify the difference. Bill