BMB2311

The same thing happened to me on a recent trip. When I opened the engine compartment on the coach it was pretty obvious what had happened. My oil dip stick has a rubber plug around it that expands to plug the tube by turning a handle on the end of it. When I checked the oil before departing on this particular trip I had over tightened the seal which forced the plug out of the tube. Put the dip stick back in, tightened it properly and no problem since or before for that matter. The oil level was still full. It doesn't take much oil to make a big mess.

I also have traveled into Canada towing a car on a tow dolly (which did have brakes) and back into the US and never have been asked any questions about auxillary brakes or anything about sytems on the motor home or car. The same is true going into and out of Mexico several times. The only people you will encounter at the border coming into the US are Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers (ICE) and perhaps Department of Agriculture officers depending on where you cross. Neither of which care anything about enforcing motor vehicle laws.

I recently purchased a 2011 Lincoln MKX with the idea of towing it behind our motorhome. The owners manual describes what must be done for RV towing but the description is obviously for a vehicle with a key. There is a description in the owners manual of how to remove a panel in the usb compartment to put the vehicle in neutral without starting it however it again does not apply to a vehicle with the push button start. If you remove the access panel described you can take a small mirror and look back toward the shift assembly under the center console. Put your foot on the brake and push the button to start the vehicle while watching in the mirror. You will see a little plastic plunger pop out that unlocks the shift lever. After you find where this is at you can pull the plastic plunger out with your finger with the car off and shift the lever into neutral without turning anything on. The steering wheel does not lock on the push button start MKX so no need to worry about that. This may apply to other Ford vehicles like the Edge.

I recently purchased a 2011 Lincoln MKX with the idea of towing it behind our motorhome. The owners manual describes what must be done for RV towing but the description is obviously for a vehicle with a key. There is a description in the owners manual of how to remove a panel in the usb compartment to put the vehicle in neutral without starting it however it again does not apply to a vehicle with the push button start. If you remove the access panel described you can take a small mirror and look back toward the shift assembly under the center console. Put your foot on the brake and push the button to start the vehicle while watching in the mirror. You will see a little plastic plunger pop out that unlocks the shift lever. After you find where this is at you can pull the plastic plunger out with your finger with the car off and shift the lever into neutral without turning anything on. The steering wheel does not lock on the push button start MKX so no need to worry about that. This may apply to other Ford vehicles like the Edge.

My wife and I have owned camping trailers and fifth wheels nearly our entire married lives (45 years) and relish the many memories that have come from our travels. Several years ago I also bought an airplane in which we've done extensive travel (including across the pond to England). Again the memories are priceless. I always said my airplane was going to be my motor home when I retired. I retired a few years ago and we did in fact buy a motor home which we enjoy immensely. I still have the airplane (a Mooney 231)which sets lonely in its' hanger most of the time these days. Soon to be for sale. When we bought the motor home I simply took the position that that money was gone. Only the memories justify the expense and they are worth every penny. We only go around once.

I thought I’d post this issue and solution as it may help someone in the future. At a recent rally when I turned on the key to start the motor home no lights what so ever came on in the transmission shift panel and the coach would not go in gear. (So much for diagnostic codes.) After checking fuses, wiring, etc. I took the shift control out and took it to a local Allison transmission repair facility where the hooked it up to a computer and told me it was fine. After a couple of conversations with Monaco tech support I located and removed the Allison ECM and took it back to the repair center where they verified that it was defective. I have no idea what made it fail while sitting idle at an FMCA rally. I installed the replacement ECM and everything returned to normal. The repair facility was United Engines in Shreveport, LA and they were absolutely great.

I recently had my problem correctly diagnosed and thought I'd post the solution in case anyone else might be having a similar problem. When I mentioned the problem to Brett with Alliance Coach at a recent rally he replied instantly that I had a bad ballast in a fluorescent light fixture. Sure enough when turning on the fluorescent under cabinet light in the kitchen area the air conditioners would quit within about 15 seconds. There was no indication of any problem with the light such as flickering or slow to start but none the less the ballast was generating enough spurious frequencies that it interfered with the thermostat voltage. Interestingly enough prior to being told the problem I had also found that when the air conditioners would quit the tank and lp monitoring system would show everything full even when I knew they were empty. We had fought this problem for nearly a year and much hair pulling. The offending light was one of my wife’s favorites when she was in the coach which explained why I never experienced the problem when I was in it alone or when it was stored at home.

I doubt that using the exhaust brake on wet roads is nearly the concern for a motor home that it is for a truck trailer combination (18 wheeler). The exhaust brake provides braking effort through the drive axle which in a class A motor home is in the rear of the vehicle. With a Jake Brake I doubt that there would be sufficient braking to lock up the drive axle except maybe on ice. With a truck/trailer combination the braking effort is only on the drive axles of the truck and none on the trailer. With a heavily loaded truck/trailer the trailer may be more than 3 times the weight of the truck and it indeed will push the truck down the road on a wet or slippery surface very well leading to loss of control. The Jacobs Brake website does caution against use of their exhaust brake on wet or slippery surfaces, however there is no differentiation between types of vehicles. In fact the type of vehicle is not mentioned. Any type of braking, service brake or exhaust brake needs to be done very carefully if the road is slippery. In my case if the roads are very slippery I prefer to park my motor home and wait for conditions to improve.

When cleaning the radiator I wouldn't use Simple Green. I am an airplane owner and on several airpane forums there are posts that Simple Green is corrosive to aluminum. Most if not all radiators are constructed from aluminum. I understand there is a new Simple Green formulation for aircraft that is not corrosive and I would think it would be safe for radiators as well. From Simple Green's web site: FAQ Aircraft Cleaning – Is Simple Green® safe for cleaning aircraft? Simple Green manufactures products specifically designed for use on aircraft. Products available on the market are Extreme Simple Green® Aircraft & Precision Cleaner and Simple Green® Pro HD. These products were initially developed for the aircraft industry and extensive testing shows that they are safe for use on aluminum, plastics, rubbers and high tech alloys, even in the most extreme circumstances. These products conform to both Boeing D6-17487P spec for general aircraft exterior cleaning and Pratt & Whitney PWA 36604revC spec for aircraft engine cleaning. 2003 Monaco Executive 500 Cummins ISM

I do have the wiring diagram, however the wires don't seem to run where the diagram says they do so I have not been able to trace them out. Thanks for the Cummins RV hotline number. I'll give them a try.

I have a Cummins ISM 500 in my coach with an Allison 4060 transmission. The Jake Brake will only work in hi (braking with three cylinders). Changing the hi/lo switch makes no difference. I've had the switch out and checked it elecrically and it works fine. The brake is controlled with a foot switch and when I depress it the transmission shifts down to third gear and I can hear the Jake Brake working, but changing the hi/lo switch position makes no difference.

I have a 2003 Monaco Executive with three heat pumps on the roof. Intermittently they will not cool the coach when in cooling mode. When this happens they typically all will not work. I switch them over to heating mode and they come on and work fine. This happens when using the generator as well as shore power. There are two thermostats. One in the bedroom with two zones and one in the living room with one zone. Every indication is that they are OK. I even tried swapping them, to no avail. Also did the reset. As I said, the problem is intermittent. The heat pumps have been working the last two weeks on 50-amp shore power with no problem, yet prior to that, they wouldn't work for two days straight, also on 50-amp shore power. The start and run capacitors look fine and all of the wiring (visable) looks fine.