cmipilot@dghyde.com

Hoping not to re-state the obvious, something a lot of folks don't realize is that the USB or PCMCIA style Air Cards/Cellular Data Device/Wireless Key usually have (if you look really close) a tiny rubber cap over an external antenna connection. Most larger cell stores either have in stock, or can order the 6" high, magnetic base antenna with a 6' long cable, and the adapter "dongle" to go with it. On top of a vehicle, or just in a higher place in the RV, these devices will significantly improve signal strength and overall performance. The whole package is usually under $40.

I have a friend who has a coach built on the same chassis I have, the V10 Ford, E450. He raved about the Banks system and since I trust his opinion, decided to go ahead with a purchase. I bought a Scan Guage system and installed it before my trip to Azusa from Dallas. On I-10, driving very conservatively, specifically to lay down a good baseline of data, between 60 and 62 miles per hour, pulling a 4000 pound Acura 3.2 TLS on a 1000 pound Demco tow dolly, the Scan Guage, which reads parameters directly from the OBD-II port, showed 8.0 miles per gallon average. Banks advertises a 7% fuel mileage improvement, or about half a mile per gallon. On the return trip to Dallas, I saw 9.7 to 10.0 consistently. The math shows that to be 20% or better. No zero to highway times but 6% grades going west pulling 5000 pounds were a strain and 45 mph was iffy. Coming back east, 55 mph up the grades east of El Paso were not a problem. Subjectively, the seat-of-the-pants acceleration improvement was noticeable, even by the co-pilot who usually doesn't give a rip about such things. I try to be as objective as possible in these type of discussions, and I do know that the tendency may be to try to pump the results a bit. Not the case at all here. I will say that based on other discussions I've had with Banks users, I wouldn't have anyone but the factory try to do the install.

Purchase was in July of 08 so warranty is gone. Dealer fixed the first couple of leaks but as luck would have it, the majority showed up in the months after the warranty expired. Coachmen is now gone, bought out by Forest River and so any after-care is iffy at best. I'm still looking for a viable clamp alternative (don't think the standard screw type hose clamp is the answer) and possibly a tubing type alternative as well. What I have now is the semi ridgid type which is nearly impossible to work with if temperature is below about 65 degrees. Thanks for the suggestions. I'm concerned about the mold as well.

Thanks for the reply...leaks on both pump and shore, and yes, I do have a pressure reducer between faucet and water filter, and then supply hose to outside water connection bay.

After having spent a LOT of money for a brand new, 2008 3 slide Coachmen Concorde Class B+, we immedately began to have issues with water leaks. The first one was a screw (during assembly) having punctured a plastic water line near the water pump. Apparently, the dealers don't fill the water and turn on the pumps to check for leaks before delivery. That problem solved, we now have begun to see leaks all through the coach. I have done my best to narrow down the problem and my opinion is that the type of clamps used by the manufacturers of these units may be inexpensive for them, but the result for the unsuspecting owner is that leaks are almost inevitable. The clamp is a one-time-use, metal, squeezed-into-place type which has no adjustment and to be removed has to literally be cut off with a dremel grinder. There must be a hundred of them on the coach and now the manifold behind the "water panel" on the outside of the coach where all the water connections are, seems to be leaking at 3 or 4 connections and soaking the carpet and wood under the bed. Does anyone have any suggestions for solving this problem other than cutting off and replacing every clamp? I've seen a spray material advertised that is supposed to fix leaks. Anyone have experience with that?

Tom: I spent about 25 years in the Industrial Water Treatment business. I saw many gimics come and go. This is snake oil in a different package. Unless you just have a lot of time to waste, don't bother researching this any further. As a rule, if a water treatment device's manufacturer can't explain the technology in commonly accepted scientific terms (beware references to 'mollifying' the electrons and such) it's bogus. Usually, the 120v power is to light up some LED's that make you think something is really happening. Believe it or not, the first restraining order against marketing these things was issued in the early 1900's, back when people were convinced electricity and/or magnetism could cure every disease.

I got the whole Banks system installed on my '08 Coachmen Concorde class C, 31' triple slide, last December. I don't know which "tech" you were talking to but my experience with the Banks factory in Azusa, CA, including the Banks family themselves, was simply outstanding. Not only did the installation go flawlessly and on schedule, but I am getting twice the advertised fuel economy improvement and the power is simply amazing. I tow a 5000 lb car and tow dolly combination. When a company underpromises and overdelivers, I tend to be really, really happy.