jleamont

Brett; Rich, I was up in the mountains of PA yesterday dealing with fuel filters that looked like this...anyway when I got back to my office late afternoon it was 27 degrees, I took my coat off it felt so warm walking from the parking lot to the building

Most RV's financed are "upside down" or "underwater". When you think about it...if you refinanced your house and bought it that way you could be worse off. I know people that did it that way and are paying on trailer #1 via a house mortgage and traded #1 for #2, traded #2 for #3, rolled #2 into #3 all the while the 30yr taken out of the house on #1 is still on the table . I have also had people mention "return on investment" while on the subject of RV's. I am certain there is almost no chance of making a profit on any RV (unless high end...maybe or bus conversion) after owning and using for a few years. You might breakeven if financed, but not likely. Best bet, get what you want, pre plan properly, go out with your RV of choice and enjoy life. We currently do not write off the coach, we have other property beyond the house we reside in and the accountant told us pick one, cant do all. In my experience from owning a small business, you spend $1000.00 you get 1 cent back

I'm still waiting for when my tax refund can purchase a post card

I noticed this yesterday driving home with some light out still, put a smile on my face

But the hammer to the inverter is still my favorite Roland, I have found on a large diesel 3-4 hours with the block heater on and a small Diesel (8 liters or less) 2-3 hours is adequate. Some engines have a thermostatically controlled block heater, (comes on and off as needed), you would need to call your engine manufacture with the engine serial number to confirm what was spec'd on your coach. When temps are below 50 I switch ours on just before making breakfast (switch is next to the shift pad up front of the coach) after we are all cleaned up it goes off and I start the coach. I have a Scan Gauge unit mounted to the instrument area, when I switch the ignition on I can see the coolant temp, I am not a fan of starting a diesel in cold temps. Air dryer; I replace our complete unit as Brett mentioned at the three year interval. My dryer runs around $190.00 for a complete remanufactured unit and it only takes around an hour to replace it. My air tanks I drain once a year at the time of the oil change, haven't found any water in them yet, but part of Monaco's cold package was heated automatic tank drains, personally I'm not a fan of them but I guess they or the dryer is working properly. Blocking the coach properly is critical before crawling under even if just to take a peek around.

I found on ours, not bad paint but poor prep work from the factory. I also feel that paint not properly maintained will fail prematurely with the UV conditions they are exposed to.

Yeah, the Detroit DD13 has a 35,000 mile service interval. Five, not a synthetic oil change but a lighter weight would also help. Discuss with your local Freightliner dealer, just might benefit you.

He said it cranks, will not start. I have seen fuse box problems cause that, which in turn shuts the fuel pump down and or will not power up the powertrain control module, the dead giveaway if the PCM has power is the Service engine soon light, illuminating when the key is on. Neutral safety switch cuts the starter off, so no crank/no start would be the complaint.

Five, we run the Rotella T5 10w30 at work, better fuel economy.

YUP, just like most, people flock to them with a wallet in hand.

YUP, same here!

Mike, if you have electric, turn on the furnaces in addition to what you have already done. I have experienced temps dropping into the freezing point over night, never had a problem, for a few days I wouldn't want to risk it to save $20.00 on RV antifreeze.

Dons, you sure about that? My friend just had his checking repaired on his Tiffin, just the paint and only on the black and charcoal gray stripes. Mine is just like yours, you have to be very close to see it.

Mike, a good point that emphases oil sampling. I run this oil (link below) in the coach and generator, now my generator on average only gets around 100 hours per year, I pull a sample and change it every fall before it gets put away for the winter. Oil samples on the coach and generator have not shown any viscosity breakdown what so ever and the coach in 2016 ran 14,000 miles. http://rotella.shell.com/products/t5.html

Fuses 3 and 10 under the dash operate the instrument cluster illumination, Fuse 8 is some engine controls.

Jim, when the problem occurs, just prior to cranking the engine over does the engine light come on (this will tell me if the Powertrain Control Module is getting power)? Can you hear the fuel pump buzz (might need a helper to walk back near the rear wheels to listen). You could try the code reader route, let me know the code/codes you retrieve if any. I would carefully inspect the fuse boxes, one under the hood and one under the dash, look for water signs or loose connections, mostly at the power feeds. The one under the hood unsnaps from its mount, you should have enough wiring to be able to flip it over, unsnap the back protective cover and look inside for loose connections again.

Really depends on personal preference. We only have an inline filter on the coach, but a softener system at the house. They do work but like everything else there is a cost for the luxury that you will have to balance out.

Sean, when you say "no dashboard lights" do you mean nighttime illumination or no warning lights when you turn the key on? Just to be clear, when you turn the ignition on does the engine light and others light up?

I have it on ours, but only on the black lines. Been that way since we have owned it (almost 4 years now) and who knows how long before. I had it looked at and was told not to worry about it, its only in the paint. I can have it fixed by sanding down the black lines and having them repainted, if it gets worse ill go that route.

Rick, looks good! The stuff around the coach is my fear when we move in a few years. Rich, I couldn't give up a house for that very reason. Next place will have a garage large enough to house the coach.

Bikeryder, post some photos of what you are considering. Ours is ugly also, it's on my list for this winter if the temps can get out of the teens . Im considering the look Blake has, even though we still have carpet I might just do the staircase in wood. My factory treads are lifting.

Carl, only ever passed through Arkansas, never stopped. We stayed at the KOA in Nashville next to Yogi, absolutely the nicest KOA we have ever been too. The ladies at the pool (employees) were hilarious. They have wine tasting nightly at the pool, one for me and one for you is how it's dispensed, after an hour came the entertainment .

Bill, thanks for the level of detail!! Wow!! From your recommendations I did book Oasis for one night on the return trip. DW wants to go back to the Big Texan. I'll check out the others.

David, you could still add air bags to the rear suspension along with an air compressor, mount a gauge and on/off switch to the dash area. Inflate when entering and exiting, deflate back to normal with a flip of a switch. We had wheels under the hitch of our last coach, I wished on many occasions I used the helper air bags in the rear like I described above. I even managed to get stuck once attempting to get gas, got hung up on a large wave in the parking lot picked the drive wheels off the ground . Funny now, wasn't then.

Rich, my coach only has maybe 20 gallons or so of winter mix Diesel in it, plus a bottle of Power Service treatment and biocide. I'm betting it's cloudy . On a positive note I'm not turning on the key until March. With temperatures this low I won't exercise the generator or Aqua Hot, not until we get into the mid to upper 30's.