jleamont

Good! VA is sketchy when you get to the coast.

Here it is from Ford and Nexus advertises the same. I'm sure it would move it, struggle....but move it, now trying to stop that would be ugly without a strong supplemental brake system. http://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/brochures/Class_C_brochure-2014_LoRes.pdf

Just in case anyone was looking for replacement air bags on an older Monaco product. This topic has come up in the past, when I stumbled upon the information I figured I should pass it on.The link below has them listed along with many, many other air bags. http://firestoneip.com/-/media/www/fsip/files/CommTruckTrailer/Aftermarket/Aftcat_smweb.pdf Here is the part numbers for Monaco products; W01-358-9376; 9.12" WIDE BAG W01-358-5319; 6.62" WIDE BAG W01-358-9651; 7.75" WIDE BAG W01-358-6905; CONVOLUTED BAG One the internet these average $180.00 each, REV $490.00

Bob, what is your coach rated for to tow? We towed with our C more than it was rated to do. The Mpg difference was surprisingly minor and so was the handling characteristic change. You knew it was back there when hitting bumps it would make the coach buck a little, stopping was the huge difference. A good supplemental brake system will solve that problem.

I figured I would post this service bulletin for anyone with a DD13 engine in their coach. Proactively replacing the belts on your engine with the revised part numbers might just save you a road call. Problem; the belt material causes the tensioner to bounce violently thus wearing out the pivot, when this occurs the pulley's will lean outward and throw the belts off. The new design belt is stronger and doesn't make the tensioner dance. If you make an appointment just make sure the dealer actually installs the revised belts and not old stock on their shelves. The Service bulletin attached doesn't mention Coaches, but the one I saw at the dealer had the exact same set up as the trucks, and it was getting a tensioner and a pair of belts, towed in off of the highway. 17TS9.pdf

John, by design there is still room above. Our fill necks are not on the top of the tanks so when you fill it up the level only goes to the bottom of the fill neck, from the photo below that is still well below the top.

DD, where in VA? PM me if you want. There are a few along the beach areas to avoid. Just trying to save you as headache..... Unless you want to be a fill in bystander on an episode of C.O.P.S

Bob, living up here in the NE, I would book them! Just give yourself adequate time so you are not killing yourself to get there on time. This area is flooded with RV's and not many campgrounds, especially campgrounds that can accommodate an RV over 28'. If you need some recommendations let me know where you are traveling (route). If headed into New England stay clear or I-95 in NJ, NY, and CT. You drive an RV up I-95 in those states you will begin to dislike mankind, the tolls will kill your pocket and the road's will kill the RV. I wont even do it in a car when I travel up there for work. When we travel out West we usually just wing it unless as Tom mentioned there is a place we want to park the coach and explore for a few days.

Herman, yea....you do get some funny looks . We just returned from a weekend trip, I put 150 miles on the coach, its still at full. The only problem I have is how long it takes the coach to get back to its normal position. I usually go and wash my hands while its adjusting back to normal so I can move it. Its all good until I take the cap off at home to add an additive or syphon some fuel to replace a filter and get a lap full of diesel . Someday I will have a shirt for that also

Carl, truck tire shops up here will buy them at 5 years or newer and sell them. At the 5 year mark they can run them off and recap them once. The tires I just removed this year I got $700.00 back for them. I was told at year 7 they are almost useless unless someone wants to put them on a dump truck's lift axle, at that point you give them away just so you don't pay for disposal. It gives me an incentive to keep newer rubber on the coach. I run Centramatics on our coach (well...they were on it before we bought it). I had the steer tires Roadforce balanced anyway, they used stick-on weights on the inside of the wheel. The Roadforce balancing only cost me $25.00 per wheel if I carried them to the shop.

135 gallon (of useful space as Monaco calls it) on ours also. The tank is actually 150 gallon, but there is a large air pocket on top of the fuel. When you tilt the coach you have around 5 gallons of air space instead of 15. When I would fill up the gauge was below full. Herman posted how he will lean his coach to one side and fill it up, then his gauge reads full. Ours does the same, now I do that every time.

5 years for me, why? Glad you asked.. At the 5 year time line my old tires still have a dollar value, once the tire casing hits year 7 they cannot be recapped and there for they have no value. So I can sell them and put the money towards the new ones. At year 7 I have to pay to make them go away.

PA also has the law. Both states have signs posted all over the place. Here is the common one from PA

I installed the EGT gauge last year. To my surprise it cools rather fast even on high idle with the cruise on. I can pull a hill on the highway let off the accelerator pedal up the ramp and coast. at the end of the ramp I'm below 400 degrees when I was at 1100 prior. Carl, I didn't shut it down before, after Herman posted how he tilts his coach to actually fill the tank I do now and dump the bags on the right side. My gauge actually goes to Full now! Before I would turn the cruise on and bring the idle up to 1100. But my HWH system will not come out of travel mode with the engine running

YUP, especially when they are not in the schematic and you forget they exist

Well, it was the old thermostat. A wire popped off of the circuit board inside. I bypassed it all together. And put it back to cover the hole. Not sure why I didn't do that in the first place

September?? You need to take a few short trips between now and then!

WOW, that's a new one for me! I would have to wonder was anyone ever inside of that engine prior?

3 times on mine also. I leave both closed, empty the black when its 3/4 full or just before we leave, gray as needed. I have seem some pretty disgusting stuff happen from leaving the gray open. Snake got up into a trailers gray tank. Campground has a clog down a bit, everyone that left their gray open had everyone else's sewage and waste water in their gray tank, the poor guy all the way down had it coming out into his sinks . Clogs are common, especially when one person drops 8' of hose down the hole and blocks the pipe under ground. The particles in your gray water will also build up in that tank, most often it can make it stink worse than the black tank. The only way to keep it somewhat under control is to empty when almost full. Think about it.. food particles, tooth paste, soap scum.......all laying on the tank floor due to lack of water. I will open the gray when there are multiple showers going on in a row, often close it when the last person is 1/2 way through the shower process to keep some water in the tank.

The tool in the link looks like a neat gadget to have!

Kay, the last coach had some crazy wiring nightmares, I am actually surprised it didn't burn to the ground. I found a 120 volt outlet that had a wood screw going through the romex above the couch (outlet didn't work when we bought it) Several 12v butt connectors not crimped properly that came apart in the walls and below cabinets in the channels. Coachmen didn't believe in loom or anchors, so when they were running screws through stuff it wasn't uncommon to hit a wire or two along the way . I got pretty good chasing electrical problems in that coach. This one has been solid with wiring....well so far anyway. I'm betting the old wall Stat died as the ceiling fan in the kitchen is still looped through it now that I think about it, I completely forgot that was still part of the circuit. Funny how you sit and stare at a photo and the light bulb turns on in your head

When we bought the coach it originally had a kitchen fan that looked like something from a food truck on the roof (motor was seized, big ugly metal thing), the old thermostat is on the wall and the switch is glued to the ON position. I tried to bypass it and throw it out when I replaced the fan, but there is a large hole behind it so it was left there. Wonder if it failed internally....?

Thanks Kay! It does have the snap up channel between sections, you could hide wiring along it easily, just not my preference for proper routing.

OMG, just thought of something while looking at the photo...cant believe I missed it! On the kitchen slide is the old fan thermostat, I wonder if the problem is in that old switch box?

Any thoughts on pulling the ceiling down for access, anyone ever attempt that?