kaypsmith

Welcome again, where on Gulf Coast, that campground looks familiar.LOL I used to live in Lake City, I-10/I-75 exit, that's why the familiar statement.

Not enough info to give honest answer, need the year of the Volvo to give an answer. If you are a member of FMCA, you can go right to the tow guide, if not please post the year model and a member will be glad to look for you. I looked in both 2016 and 2017 and saw no Volvos listed.

Unless you edited the post, I fail to see anything about an Allison Tranny, and would concur that the 90% rule is a good rule for this reason as well as for the fact that you should never exceed the vehicles tow rating. As stated in my above post the Wrangler would be my preference due to resell ability over Compass or Patriot, there is a reason for this fact, the Wrangler is a far superior machine compared to the other two. I currently own a Ford L7000 dump truck with an Allison tranny and a Cat 3206, that combo doesn't seem to know there is a limitation, but I still never exceed gross ratings.

Your alternator may very well have a problem, or actually the voltage relay, which can and will allow the battery to overcharge and possibly explode. But the alternator probably is not why there is no ignition voltage. The relay that Brett refers to is the most likely culprit for no ignition voltage. The last explosion may have caused the relay to go bad. If you are overcharging you certainly must track down the reason for this happening. I don't know about your unit, the schematic is too small for me to read without downloading at this time, but many alternator systems have the charge relay built in and some have an external relay for this function, so you will need to verify which one and get this corrected. Sometimes a bad ground will cause the overcharging to happen, and a dead cell in a battery/battery bank can also cause same to happen. If I were troubleshooting, I would make attempts to locate the source that is causing no voltage on the ignition system first, then go after the reason for the battery overcharging very aggressively. Good luck finding it, and as stated by Brett, Welcome to the forum.

Welcome to the world of bus conversions. It is a beautiful coach, if you plan to convert or upgrade if it is already converted, the Bus Converters Bible is one of the most usable books that you will find. Here is one on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/141722835242

Never work under your coach on jacks, either on blocks or not without secondary jack stands or adequate blocking for safety sake. This is a rule that I have abided for fifty plus years, I have seen many needless injuries and deaths due to someone not following those warnings. Anything hydraulic or electric is probably safe 99.5% of the time, but never know when the unexpected will happen.

Just me two cents, the Wrangler will be worth much more in 5 to 10 years than a Compass or Patriot, making it my choice.

A turkey baster actually works great for this task, leaves no aftertaste either.

Most air systems on trucks, buses and MH's that I have had any dealings with over the last 50 years cut out at or near 120 to 130 psi, and will not restart producing air til down to or near 90 psi. For this reason, I use a cheater device which I made to make airing my tires easier. The device consist of a pressure gauge and a trigger operated valve. While in the process of airing tires, I set to high idle and walk around the coach from tire to tire checking the air pressure, my cheater is attached to the air hose and I monitor the pressure, my coach drier pops off at 125, so if the pressure reaches 123, I will relieve the pressure back to just below 120. My tires use 105 to 115 at different positions, so this method works great.

You may want to consider a tandem tow dolly instead of a trailer, there are several companies that offer them, some are expensive and some not so bad. Just Google tandem tow dolly, you might find something that will work for you. I use one that I modified to take care of my needs.

I suspect that they are under the bedroom, and there is a lot of hot air above them! LOL

Bring Roger up, makes you Smile?

Cinnamon biscuits are pretty good also, just roll the biscuit dough into a long string between your hands, sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar onto parchment paper, I have to use the granulated Splenda because of diabetes, form circles (pin wheels) from the long strings, bake till golden brown, top with cream cheese icing. Carl Crisco, then drizzle with REAL butter when 3/4 done.

I have a convection oven in the S&B's, no need for a turn table in it as the fan in the oven takes care of evenly distributing air around the biscuits. Have tried teaching DW to make them for 53 years, I can only eat them if I "knead" the dough myself. LOL I'm always needing the dough due to a nasty MH habit.

I use a 2016 Escape, and dolly tow it. I like the Acme brand also, but Acme requires the steering wheel to be unlocked, meaning that the key must be in accessory mode. One will be OK up to about 4 hours without a charge line. My dolly is a retired United rental that I modified to accept pulling the golf cart while towing the car. If you do not want to use a charge line, be sure to look for a dolly with a swivel for your car. I have no problem towing with a dolly, can load in 7 minutes, unload in 5. Only draw back to dolly towing for me is storing it in some campgrounds. I did add a tongue wheel lift jack due to extra weight of the golf cart add on.

I would suspect that J8 is an electronic voltage, low as -10v dc, or may even be a ground voltage. The manufacturer would not expect you to install a jumper if it were a lethal voltage there without instructions to use an insulated device and a huge warning. Good job Carl.

No I do not have an FR3 but, cable slides are like everything else on a MH, they require routine maintenance. This includes dealer prep, and regular inspections of the working mechanisms, including lubrication, checking for slack in the cable assembly, and always being mindful about any binding and or obstructions that may cause problems. I personally would prefer hydraulics, but cost could easily become a deal breaker. Welcome to the forum, hope you find what you are looking for, and it is good that you are checking systems out before making the plunge, hopefully someone will see the post and have direct info for you.

Good thing, DW is a wanderer, so I am not inclined to worry so much about her seat being as comfortable as mine. I usually drive 3 to 5 hours non stop, while she will routinely goes to the restroom, or to the fridge for cold drinks, or to the sink to check on the soup, crockpot in the sink for safety, or an occasional nap on the couch. And I left the modesty panel in front of the passenger seat, so no stairwell cover necessary, also no need to add handrails for handicap reasons, they are already there.

If this one was ever replaced, whomever replaced it may have used the incorrect one, and probably got rid of the coach because of the mistake. Probably only one number or letter difference in the two. Or it could have been rewired incorrectly to the wrong position. I would suspect that the purple wire should be wired to the key switch, for the purpose of activation for charging house batteries while the coach is running. If wired that way, it would need to be normally open. Need to know what supplies purple wire current for that reason.

Tom, if you carefully shop, in most cases, you can usually use your same pedestal with very little pedestal modification. The last one that I helped with, only had to use an 11 gage plate of steel, drilled holes to attach the plate to the old pedestal, them drilled to attach the new seat, that ped was a swivel type. Can do the same thing to move a seat position in many cases. Joe, yes the Viking does offer an adjustable lumbar support, I've never seen a power leg rest, may have them, just not saw one yet myself. Sue uses a power leg rest, she has a bean bag that she powers under her legs. LOL

Thanks Chris for the updates, and the good job.

If you are a DIYer, it is not real difficult, as with any changeout there may be some modifications required. Such as height from the floor to the top of the seat is the most difficult to achieve in many cases, but careful planning will net good results. One of my favorite changeouts was a driver seat from a junkyard Chrysler 300, less expensive than the new otr seats, but boy was it comfortable. Also most coaches have a skirt below the seat to the floor just to hide imperfections. In my current bus conversion, I used the original seat, and had it recovered, that was a very good decision, it has an air adjusted height control, although it actually uses a foot pump at the base of the pedestal. I decided that if greyhound was good with letting their driver sit in the same seat 4 to 5 hours, then into another bus for the same time frame to return to their home base in another bus just like he drove to destination, it must be pretty comfortable, and that is correct. The seat has 9 inches front to back travel, 8 inches up and down, coupled with a steering column that adjust from straight up to 60 degrees towards the driver, and 6 inches up and down for height. If one cant get comfortable with those adjustments, it wasn't meant for that person to drive.

I would look into having the seat pedestal relocated further back from the current position.

Bostrom Viking makes the most sought after seats in the OTR industry. I have used many over the years, air ride is my favorite. Just Google the name.

If no delamination yet, that is a good thing, only thing that can be done to prevent it is to make sure that no more water gets into the sidewalls. If rubber roof, reseal all seems now, including the roof edges. If fiberglass, then I would still look at those edges and make sure there is no way for water to get into those sidewalls.