wildebill308

I may make Coffey Creek. By the way I think I have figured out why you got such different mileage going to and coming back from the 6 state rally. You were going north going and south coming back. Everyone knows when you are going north it is up and going south is down. So going down south you would naturally get better mileage. It has to be true I read it on the web. Bill

Just a follow up on what some say about driving at 60 mph. I have found that my unit won’t shift into 6th till I hit 62 0r 63 mph. Just make sure you are going fast enough to be in top gear. I am going on a trip to Colorado in a couple of months so I will see what I get on reasonably flat roads heading up there. I got 8.5 towing a Honda Civic on a tow dolly before. Bill Herman, what kind of fuel additive are you using.....

I would look at top coating your roof and re doing the seams. There are several You tube videos showing how to do it. I bet it would be cheaper than Camping World. Bill

Why not see what the manufacture says in the owners Manual and follow that. If you can’t wait call Mercedes and ask them how to brake in the engine. I would not use any of the “tried and true” methods from 40 – 50 years ago. New engines are made too much tighter tolerances and much better quality than in the good old days. Bill

In the first post the OP said one or two doors come open. The latches may have been miss located when they were installed and don’t have enough of the latch catching the structure so they come open when the body flexes. Bill

No one has tried this? Or thought about it?

Yes a dolly can be extra work but I ended up with 3 vieacals that could not be towed 4 down. Who would have thought Honda would make the 2012 Civic so it couldn’t be towed 4 down. I didn’t want to spend the money on a different car right now so I bought a dolly from Acme. This unit has disk brakes. I looked at several used units but they were verrey used and were nearly as expensive as the new ones. So far I have used it on a couple of short trips (under 500 miles) and had no problems. The last campground had pull through sites that were long enough I didn’t un hook the dolly as it didn’t stick out in the way. I went to a bigger rally and they made you down load and park the dolly by the entrance. There was a stout fence to chain it to. Yes it is a little harder loading the dolly and getting every thing tied down but I watched some other people having there problems with their tow bar. Yes I may end up with something I can tow 4 down but for know this works. Just a note to Andy Shane, you have to leave the key on so the steering is UNLOCKED. I have read several posts that mentioned leaving the wheels locked when towing on a dolly and that is incorrect. Bill

tim1peanut,raystandley,RamblinFever,BlueBounder,Munro,speciald,richanb,luckyboat, welcome to the forum first time posters. This may be a record for first time post. I guess the problems with slides sparks lots of interest. Blue Bounder I looked at the service bulletin and my 2003 isn’t covered but thanks for posting it.What part of FW are you located? On my 38N Bounder I always have the motor running or the generator or hooked up to shore power. I wouldn’t try to move them just on the batteries unless it was an emergency. I like to put pads under the jacks before extending the slides as I don’t have to crawl as far under the coach. I don’t extend the jacks until the slides are out. I am a big believer in maintaining all the systems. Bill

Wolfe10, Thanks for that link it has a lot of good info in it. Bill

Well got back from Fredericksburg Texas yesterday. Short trip only 469 miles round trip. Went down the back roads going and coming back picked up I35 at Belton. I filled up and checked my mileage today 8.496 mpg. I learned that I wasn’t driving fast enough. I ran about 55 going down and on the way back on I35 I was running 60 –65. I was watching the tach and noticed that I was running lower rpm at 60 than at 55. Apparently I wasn’t going fast enough to get it to shift into 6th at 55. I was running in economy mode all the way. I am wondering if anyone else has noticed this happening on their coach. This is a 2003 Bounder 38N 300HP Cummins with Allison 6spd. The more I drive this coach the more I am learning, I almost have a 1000 miles on it since I bought it. By the way I like my Kroger fuel points my price for diesel was $3.296 lots better than it has been. Bill

Wolfe 10 is absolutely right any break in the duct going to the filter would have nothing to do with “dusting”. The only possible thing would be hot air from the engine compartment being drawn into the air supply. I would like to hear Cat explain where the dust came from. Do you have the air filter that was installed at the time this happened? Have you checked the tubing to the turbo? I hope you can find out where the dirt was getting in as it may do the same thing to the new motor. Bill

Unfortunately an oil test will only tell you how much Silica has gotten by your rings and is in suspension in your oil. It will not tell you what your oil filter has trapped. I wonder if there is any damage being done to your turbo, valves and heads. I have seen enough evidence in that test data that I will not be running a K&N. I was a believer in them and had one on my last truck. Just as a note: I use to run an oil test lab when I was in the AF. Bill

I installed a Banks stainless steel muffler which is straight through with a venturi effect. I looked at the Aerodine at The 6 state rally and I decided to go with the Banks. I almost went with the K&N but found this filter test and I am glad I didn’t. This is a link to the filter test. You might want to read it if you are using a K&N filter. This is the only test that I have seen that used lab test equipment to do a test that is repeatable and to a given standard ISO 5011 test standard was used. http://www.billswebs...rFilterTest.htm I am in the process of upgrading my air filter. I ordered a Racor/Ecolite filter part number 62891-003 from Filter Barn and waiting for it to arrive. This is a 13 1/2-diameter filter. I looked up the flow rate on their website and it list 1375 to 1900 CFM. I will have to use adapters to get it hooked up, as it is 7 inch in and 7 inch out. I was looking at the K&N but after reading the test results on them I changed my mind. I think this filter will give better airflow than stock and better than the K&N (I have never heard what K&N claims), and hold more dirt before needing change. Hear is a link to the filter site http://www.parker.co...nextcat=ECOLITE SERIES&vgnextdiv=687630&vgnextpartno=062891003&Wtky=FILTERS Fleet pride is ordering the adapters that I need to connect the new filter. I probably won’t get the filter installed before I leave on a little trip next week so we will see if there is any difference with just the muffler. Bill

Herman has a good suggestion for you and if you just need a generator worked on, assuming it is Onan try this. http://www.cumminsonan.com/locator Bill

What I really need now is feedback on Banks EconoMind® Diesel Tuner + electronic DynaFact pyrometer and boost gauge assembly. This is for the Cummins 2003 –2007 5.9 ISB-CR engine. Has anyone installed this system and what were your results. Thanks for your input Bill

What I really need now is feedback on Banks EconoMind® Diesel Tuner + electronic DynaFact pyrometer and boost gauge assembly. This is for the Cummins 2003 –2007 5.9 ISB-CR engine. Has anyone installed this system and what were your results. Thanks for your input Bill

Yes my bad. 2003 Bounder 38N with 300 hp Cummins and 3000 Allison. I am familiar with modes to gas motor homes but new to the world of diesel. I understand using a light foot but wonder what else is out there. Bill

Just a note, All synthetic oils are fully compatible with regular oil. The guy trying to tell you that you had to flush all the old oil out and change the seals was looking for a fast buck. Bill

If you are plugged in to shore power and have power a couple of electric heaters will save you a lot of propane. Bill

What if any modes have you done to your exhaust or air cleaner. Has any one added a chip to improve performance or mileage? For instance a Banks power pack system. Bill

Do not use to high of pressure as you might bend the fins on the radiater or cac. I would rinse every time I sprayed with degreaser. Bill

Brett, That is a great reference. Looks like he needs to crawl under his coach and find the data plate. Is it a limited slip differential? If so you will need to add friction modifiers. The chart on page 160 does show use of synthetic gear lube. Bill

Thats the problem with long range diagnostics. Whether the screws are on the inside or outside snug them down per my earlier post and don't over torque them.

Robert, Welcome to the forum. I need more info. Is the squeak coming from the glass rubbing in the channels or from the window frame rubbing in the cut out in the side of the coach? Try what Nighthawk posted first. Then try going outside and tightening the screws around the window. You don't need to get crazy with the torque I would say 35 inch pounds should be the max. Let us know what you find and if it fixes the problem. Actually I would do both then take it for a ride. Bill

Go ahead and push it, you will be able to tell if it is in T/H or not. You can do this when siting in place so you can look for an indicator light. I have a Chevy truck with a T/H button and it stays depressed till you push it again. Bill