kaypsmith

When the purge valve went bad on my coach, no one could hear an air leak until we put a large portable compressor in line just after the governor. The compressor on the coach did not even start to build pressure, crawled under the coach and felt the purge valve, covered the outlet with a finger, pressure started to build, then removed finger to hear the leak. The valve was stuck open of course. I replaced the valve, everything has worked fine since.

Doesn't hybrid incorporate a transmission capable of combining both the power from the gas/diesel engine with the power of an electric motor? And if this is the case, then the transmission will be the key factor in how the power is transferred to the drive wheels. If this is the case then about any size motor can be used to power the rig up the hill, and the electric motor can be a helper when more power is needed and can be phased in on the downhill in order to produce electricity to recharge the batteries. In my understanding, hybrid is in no way the same principal as a diesel/electric locomotive. I like the idea of ideas in the arena for trying to achieve a goal of reducing fossil fuel dependence, but not at the expense of forcing it onto every poor sucker that cannot afford the expense of testing it out.

Mark, I did not look into the Bluetooth model, but if I were in the market, I would look into it. If it will send the readings to a smart phone, that would be a great feature for me.

Roland, glad you found it OK. If you don't plan to leave too soon tomorrow, give me a call, would love to share a coffee or a meal with you.

I started out camping many years ago as a boy scout, then as a scout master for 8 years in a pup tent, and never really enjoyed it that way. I then started vacationing by rent a motel room, and hated that because of the fact that I was always sleeping in a bed that I had no clue who had slept there before. I could hardly sleep there because of the eerie feeling that bugs were crawling on me. That's when I told my wife that we were about to own a motorhome. First two were used, we took everything out of them including the mattress's which went directly to the dump then thoroughly disinfected the coaches before putting new mattress's on the bed, and have enjoyed most every minute of camping in my own motorhomes. Now with all that said, why would I rent out my motorhome and begin sleeping on a bed that my wife and I were not the last people to sleep there? No, my motorhome is Not for rent!

Carl, with Jimmy Carter as president and rising interest rates due to inflation, the cost of material was skyrocketing at a faster rate than I could keep up. If I bid on a job, by the time I got an OK to build, the cost of material would be more than I had bid on the job. I saw the writing on the wall, and went to a local junior college at night to take course in electronics, by the time I finished the course, my brother was just starting his computer business, and was begging me to move back to Alabama from Florida. I moved back to Al., was the best move that I ever made. Although I still love cabinet and furniture making, it has only been a hobby since. Eddie, good thinking about using the thinner plywood, hope the project continues to go well, as I feel that it will. An angle drill head and a long extension may come in handy for reaching way back in the cavity to reach those screws, in case you still need to change them.

I have used Accurite brand, I think that Seelevel is just another brand name. This style uses capacitive coupling rather than the sensors inside the tank, making them much more accurate than the metal sensor inside the tank. Mine uses an aluminum foil strip affixed to the outside of the tank to gather its reading, very similar to Carl's method of checking the level of LP gas in a propane tank, except where liquid ends and air begins it uses an electronic measurement. Sorry for a bit of misleading info above, after doing a lot more research on the Seelevel brand, it is not the same as my Accurite brand which does use capacitive coupling, the Seelevel brand uses a series of sensors on the outside of the tank which uses a little different approach than capacitive. The claim is that each measures density of the tank wall, thus letting the control board know where liquid ends and air begins for its "more accurate" reading. I have had zero problems with my installed brand, but cannot attest to the accuracy of the other brand, but in theory, either system will be miles ahead of the old inside the tank system.

I was going to point this out to Carl, those descriptions are only there so you will know how to read, it does not indicate what is in the tank, only the supplier will know that answer. Or an analysis of the substance.

Richard, have you filled the tanks since you acquired the coach, or possibly may have been quite a while since it was filled? Reason for asking, butane is / was cheaper to obtain than LP "liquid petroleum" and at one time was sold during the summer months here in the southeast. Problem with butane is that in extreme cold weather, it will freeze, and if read it will show a zero reading due to no pressure. Not saying that is your problem, but in a warmer climate if the gauge starts mysteriously showing a partial tank, then this should help solve the mystery. I had written the above statement after your first post, but did not press the submit button. I used the vertical tanks in my conversion because of the ease of removal for refilling. Also the vertical style are much less expensive than the horizontal. Pressure is about 10# on LP but the regulators are normally preset, natural gas is 4#, this is why the orifice hole is much larger for natural gas.

dustyw8lje, First of all, welcome to the forum. Now with that out of the way, a bit more info about your fridge and RV when posting a question such as this will certainly get you better answers. Assuming that the fridge is an absorption type, this is the typical camper style fridge, first of all, I hope that the inside of the RV is now being heated in order for the fridge to start. Now if this the case, what is the inside temp of the fridge? If below the temp that the fridge is set for it will not start until it has been raised to above that level. Place a thermometer inside to verify this. If it is not, you will need to raise that temp before you can expect it to start, and that is assuming that all the lights are working on the fridge control panel and the fridge has been working on the last time that it was supposed to start. You can leave the door of the fridge slightly open to let the warmer air inside the RV enter the cabinet so that it reaches a warmer temperature, or place a low wattage 120volt light bulb inside, but placed so not to be lying on plastic or any other flammable or melting substance. Hope this has answered your question, but if not, please give more info and let us know, others will be around to give good advice.

This is why I would install a lexan or stainless steel bra rather than diamond sheild on the front of any coach. I do not like the vinyl bras because they are in direct contact with the paint surface and the movement directly against the surface will have a sandpaper effect on the paint job underneath. Also is why I decided to use vinyl instead of paint, after 7 to 10 years, just use a heat gun to remove, then re-vinyl.

The new tax bill increases the standard deduction from $12,700 for a married jointly filed deduction to $24,000, which means that anyone filing will have an auto increase in their deductions using the standard rate table, regardless of what you spend your money on, plus the fact that the rate cap is lowered in each category.

It's all because of manmade GLOBAL WARMING, thank you Al Gorrie!

We used to do this by custom building a "Cow Catcher", for the front out of steel tubing of 3, 4, or 5 inch metal tube then fill it with the metal punches from a machine shop, they could be purchased at scrap metal prices. It would sure improve that underweight feel on the front axel. There is a youtube video of a front mounted motorcycle on a C class.

Yep, I'm afraid that you and I both be 6 and 1/2 feet under before that happens.

Carl, I think he wants to use the porch light switch to tie into, switch is already in place with current already present, and will turn the entry lighting when the porch light is turned on. Eddie sounds like a very good plan, you may just as well served to add another 3/32 inch piece of luan plywood to the left side of the entrance before taking measurements for the corian. Wire runs can be more easily routed, or simply carved into the plywood with a utility knife and already in place prior to installing the corian, and will lesson the cost of extra lobor for the corian, and also weakening the more expensive corian. Don't forget to add the bull nosing to the two middle steps, and leave a 3/8 inch between between the riser and the turndown of the bullnose to hide the led strips so that the lights don't show when not illuminated. You are on the right track to a great looking entrance. Kay, by the way, most on the forum do not know that for 21 years prior to moving to the electronic field which turned into computerization, I was a professional cabinet maker, with 15 of those owning my own shops for building and designing the likes.

At least the tax deduction will not hurt me, as I have never had one on my motorhome anyway, because there was never a loan on it anyway. The new law will do just like the bill did when Reagan lowered taxes and got rid of deducting interest on everything else, people will turn more to second mortgages on their primary home to now buy a TT. As I understand the new bill, most middle class citizens will receive a substantial tax benefit, thus paying lower taxes anyway regardless of what you buy, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm still hoping for the day that I can file on a postcard. LOL!

The light on is a pretty good sign that there is power to the pump in most cases. I agree with Blake that the pump maybe frozen and can not operate, but if you haven't been below freezing as we have, there may be other issues. All have had to learn and after thirty+ years of RV'ing, I still learn something new almost everyday, by actually having the problem or just reading the forum to learn more. Never hesitate to ask questions here, no matter how simple or complex, helps us on our toes and helps us to learn also.

Blake, if you notice carefully, those lights are led, on the right and left side there is a semicircle that is actually routed into the material with an inlay appearance. Also under each bullnose of the stair treads there is a cross from side to side. These lights can be obtained through ebay and other sources, they can be cut at the three light intervals and wired so that a single source can operate each section. It is best to buy the waterproof version because they have a plastic sheath that cover the lights already made onto them with 3M peel off adhesive on the back side.

That's why I try to caution about these conditions also. Now for another statement, if one does not want to put skid runners on the steps and just want take chances, there is a commercial floor finish, it's not called wax, but does the same job as wax, Johnson wax company makes it and can only be obtained at a janitorial supply, not many will sell in small quanity but well worth trying. This is called non-slip floor finish, the product needs to be buffed very frequently with the use of a spray bottle to apply very small amount just pryor to buffing, it will buff back to a very lustrous shine and looks great. Your rubber or leather sole shoes will not slide if you use this product, even wet. Same stuff that hospitals and other industrial establishments use. I'm not trying to sell this product, and other companies may offer the same stuff, but I have not seen it offered in any box stores.

Welcome class B, and C, and A, and TT's now. Wishing all a happy NEW YEAR!

Eddie, yes it is a much better choice than natural "rock", 1/2 inch thick is the best thickness and will definitely withstand the jolts better and about 1/3 the weight of rock. As I said several times before, be sure to put some nonskid on the treads for safety because this material is also slick when wet. The picture that you showed has that also, and is inlaid which tends to make the looks more appealing, and Corian is easy to do this to. Be sure to use a good urethane floor adhesive to attach to the existing plywood. Kay

Great looking entrance. The material does appear to be Corian. This is a solid surface product made by the Dupont company. It is the same material that most countertops were and still are made from which is used on most new coaches today. The good news about the material is that it can be worked with the same woodworking tools used by cabinet makers today. In other words, a good saw with a fine tooth blade will cut it just fine, just don't crowd it. It can be shaped with a hand held router to inset the led lighting, and a good bullnose bit to round over the edges. It is rather expensive but well worth it. The coloring goes all the way through the material, meaning that if it does get scratched, some two thousand grit sandpaper will easily take the scratches out and four thousand to polish back to a lustrous shine. It can be glued onto the wood that is currently in place without any additional backing. Again most cabinet supply sources will be able to order it for you, or check ebay or Amazon. Corian is the name of the substance, if you can get a small piece in advance to just do a little practice on, it will be well worth your time, unless you already have cabinet making experience. Good luck with the project and keep us up to date. I forgot to mention that there is a special solvent based adhesive used much like PVC cement to join it together that looks like that it is just a single piece.

The bottom tread is usually steel, but .125 / 1/8 inch, still too springy for stone, any movement with stone with weight on it, will crack. The underside of the plywood on the remaining steps and risers is normally overlaid with not much more than 26 gauge metal for the purpose of sealing out water so that the plywood underneath will not rot or delaminate. The Kwikee steps are attached to angle steel that is attached underneath to hold weight of the movable steps. By the way, stone is beautiful, I have 50% of my coach covered with absolute black granite, was used for beauty and also for the purpose of balancing the load within the coach in order to help balance the load between the four corners, and also to help do away with the top heavy feel of the coach while driving without a load. Happy new year to all.

If you use the same riser panels on each tread the bottom step will be decreased by the thickness of the panel, the rest of the steps will remain the same as they are now. Some decorative trim can be used at the back of the step covers, and can be made from granite or marble if that is what will be used for the back panels. Also if you do use stone, or hardwood, you can get the adhesive backed narrow tread layovers. Safety is my only concern for using anything made of stone. One more thought, for risers, you might think about mirrored stainless steel, looks beautiful and can be ordered on ebay in 20 or 16 gauge. It is very forgiving with flex and very easy to keep clean.