tcolburn

We have Corian in our kitchen at home (as well as in the RV) and we use Soft Scrub With Bleach, along with a Scotch-Brite non-scratch (blue) sponge. --Tim

'04 Fleetwood Revolution 40C with PowerGear Jacks. Pictured is the top of the fluid reservoir for the jack system. Fluid appears to be leaking from behind the fluid level sensor (the white plastic piece at top center of photo). Is there an easy way to stop such a leak? It looked to me as though merely tightening the sensor housing would be the thing to do, but I felt little or no resistance when I twisted it so I don't think it was getting any tighter. Moreover, the label just below it shows that the sensor is supposed to be set in a particular direction. I didn't want to mess up any existing settings, so I put it back in the same position and came here to ask for opinions. Oh, and I added some Dexron-III ATF since the level was down a bit due to the leak. Thanks for your assistance. --Tim Colburn F428940 Park Forest, IL

Our first motorhome ('99 Southwind) was wired for 30 amps, so we purchased and used a Progressive Industries 30A EMS plug-in unit. Now we own a 50-amp coach ('04 Revolution) and we purchased a Progressive 50A plug-in unit. We still have the 30A EMS from the Southwind. We also have a 30-amp male/50-amp female cable adapter. My question: if we are at a location where only 30-amp service is available, which way should we connect? A. 30-amp CG connection--> 30-amp EMS unit--> 30-to-50 adapter--> cable to coach -OR- B. 30-amp CG connection--> 30-to-50 adapter--> 50-amp EMS unit--> cable to coach Thanks! --Tim C.

Also, if the king pins have not been lubricated, the steering can be tight enough to require constant correction. I encountered this condition on our previous MH. Thought the steering was loose; took the coach to a truck alignment shop, where the technician advised me that because of the way the Steer Safe unit had been installed, the grease fittings were inaccessible. Since the king pins had not been lubricated, the front wheels would take a "set" and would require extra input from the steering wheel to change their direction even a little bit. This felt like loose steering and maybe poor alignment but the technician caught it right away. I reinstalled the Steer Safe correctly (a pretty easy job, by the way) and pumped a bunch of fresh grease into the newly-accessible fittings. Made a huge difference in steering feel and responsiveness! Interestingly, for convenience I had earlier had the coach serviced (oil change and lube) at an RV dealer, and they not only failed to lube the king pins, they never even mentioned the problem to me. So I learned (again) how important it is to check after anyone works on one's vehicle, and in fact how easy it can be just to do some things oneself! Good luck in your quest! --Tim

Thank you, Brett! That was exactly the problem--aerators were clogged. Everything is running fine now. Can't wait to get out on the road! --Tim

2004 Fleetwood Revolution 40C We purchased this coach last fall after it had already been winterized by the dealer. Now that the weather is starting to look better, we decided to flush out the antifreeze, sanitize the tank and water lines, and then test the water heater. Problem is that, while I've gotten fresh water to flow to the outside shower, water heater, indoor shower, and toilet, it doesn't seem to find its way to the lavatory sink nor to the kitchen sink. I get some dribbles but no flow. And it doesn't matter if the hose is connected and turned on (fresh water inlet valve is in "city water" position, of course), or whether I disconnect the hose and use the pump (seems to be working all right, and I now have about a half tank of water onboard, according to the sensor panel). There's no evidence of leaks, either. Any ideas? I'm guessing some sort of blockage in one or more of the water lines, or maybe some kind of valve that I might have missed, though I've searched thoroughly. Valve positions now: --fresh water inlet/bypass: Closed ("city") --cold water drain: Closed --hot water drain: Closed --water heater bypass: Normal --water heater drain: Closed --washer/dryer hot and cold: both Closed Thanks in advance! --Tim Colburn F428940 Park Forest, IL tcolburn@ix.netcom.com

Does it have to be a Jensen remote? Just wondering if one of those "universal" remotes would work...

New to the wonderful world of diesel... Our new-to-us '04 Fleetwood Revolution 40C (Cummins 8.3 ISC on Freightliner XCR) has an air chuck attached to a manifold in the frontmost left outside cabinet. I haven't yet checked to see what sort of pressure is available there. The dealer suggested that the purpose of this connection was to add air to the system if needed for towing if the coach were disabled, and not as a source of compressed air for, say, inflating tires. However, the Freightliner manual specifically says, "air the suspension through the Schrader valve on the air dryer." So I guess I'll have to check the air chuck to see if it will deliver enough pressure for tires and if not, carry my little auxiliary compressor. The manual also states that "Freightliner neither recommends nor approves tapping into the vehicle air brake system nor operating a towed vehicle ... by means of the vehicle braking system." Just sayin'. --Tim

Hmm. Sounds as though either the top of the slide unit is getting hung up somehow before it's all the way in (slide topper retraction issue?) OR maybe there's something stuck under the floor of the slide that keeps it from dropping into place. In our previous coach, I found all kinds of stuff in the corners and under the sofa (kids' toys, eating utensils, coins) left by a former owner. Could some object have crept under the slide when it was extended? Or could a piece of carpet or weatherstripping have gotten crumpled up under there? Either way, I'd guess that you can see from the outside of the coach that the bottom of the slide assembly is pulled in closer than the top and a look with a flashlight and mirror from various angles might reveal the culprit. Good luck! --Tim

I have an Onan 5.5 and changing oil and filter was easy. Might need special oil filter wrench if your genset takes the same filter mine does (but I already had the wrench 'cause it's the same one used for the BMW K-type motorcycle oil filter!). --Tim C.

Hey, I'm back. Happy to report that the system is working again! Turns out, I guess, that the pump was sticky, not having been run for several months. I slid under the vehicle and gave the pump/motor assembly a couple very light taps with a hammer, and when I tried extending the jacks everything worked. I've cycled them all up and down several times since with no problem. Guess that is is one of those systems, like so many, that actually benefit from regular use! Now, it's time to go RVing! --Tim

Rich, that was kind of my line of thinking too. This may be a more involved project than I want to get myself into, so I might resort to having the dealer who worked on it before take a peek at it. I'll certainly post results when it's fixed! --Tim

Umm, no. Guess I'd better do that. Thanks! --Tim

Purchased our '99 Southwind last August, knowing the leveling system didn't work. Eventually took it to a dealer for diagnosis and repair: they replaced the controller board. The system worked fine in their parking lot when we picked it up; since it was the end of the season we took the MH to storage and never touched the levelers after that... ...until a couple weeks ago when we went for our spring shakedown outing. Followed the directions in the manual but the jacks wouldn't respond. Here's the symptom in detail. Set parking brake, ignition on and engine running, press on/off button and green light illuminates. OK so far. Now I press "front" pad and I hear a slight noise--no movement of jacks--and voltmeter on dashboard deflects noticeably downward, indicating what looks like a large current draw. Release the button, and just for safety I press the "retract all" pad whereupon I hear a slight click. I reset the system by cycling the ignition per the manual and tried with each of the two rear pads; same result. System number is 500456. All the fuses are OK. I'm thinking it's either the solenoid or the pump. The big terminals on the solenoid show some corrosion but look like they've never been disturbed. What is the consensus of the group? --Tim

Thank you! --Tim

Join the National Motorists Association. www.motorists.org --Tim C.

I'm reading the Feb. issue on my 1st-gen iPad even as we speak. I discovered that it's possible to toggle between single- and dual-page mode by tapping the screen somewhere on the active page. So I can view two pages at once in "landscape" (horizontal) orientation, and one page in "portrait" mode. Didn't need to use the Tools menu!That's it for now. I have some reading to do! --Tim C. Park Forest, IL

I bought and installed one too. And I made a label for my awning rod to remind me that the lock is there, since it might be a little while before awning weather around here!

Hmmm. This is interesting. We just acquired a '99 Southwind in August and have been out several times. Jacks never have worked (we knew this when we bought it) so we've been fortunate enough to have had pretty-much-level spots to camp in. We've since had the jack problem diagnosed as a failed controller, and local dealer will be installing a new one when we go in for winterizing this week. I'll be sure to be careful in using them once they're working...