jleamont

Congratulations Dave, I'm 43 and I remember Sgt Shultz. As far as knowing nothing about your coach you will pick it up as you go, there are enough people on this forum that is willing to help with questions and guidance if you should need it. Good luck and enjoy your new adventure. I know nothing about accounting other than how to turn on my calculator and I own a small truck repair business for 10 years now and I still manage to balance out the numbers and make it work, you just pick it up as you go along and learn as you go.

The old coach I pulled the sensors for the winter while in storage the 1st and 2nd year, now I let them on. Like clock work every time I sit in the drivers seat I run through the positions and check pressures on the display. I am a firm believer its easier and cheaper to address any issue in a shop or at home rather than on the side of a highway. The Pressure pro saved me twice on the old coach, one valve stem extension leak and a tire that the tread came loose and was flapping on an inner dual. both times I was able to slow down and look for a safe place to pull over and address the concern. ObedB there are a bunch of systems out there and they range in price, I bought this wireless system for 1/2 the price of the Pressure Pro thinking I was doing myself a favor with the sensor design that I could replace the batteries myself. The old saying applies "you get what you pay for". The pressure pro is a wired system and when the batteries wear out in the sensors you have to send them back for the batteries to be replaced (they lasted me 6 years). On our old coach I had the remote antenna located behind the rear wheels of the coach so the toad signal would not be missed, other than that cable that was all of the wiring (of course there is a 12v lighter plug, which they all have). I bought the Pressure Pro since it was suited for tractor trailers (RV version similar just a different screen)I figured if it could handle that environment it must be good, other than the sensors battery replacement procedure and cost the system was flawless. You are so close if you want to stop out and look them over let me know, send me a PM. Before you purchase ask on here who has the system you are looking into and what they think.

We use the non skid rubber mats and the expandable rods, when the food count is low. My wife also stores items in reusable plastic containers and does the same as Brett mentioned, minimize the "wiggle room". Placement of everything is key, we keep heavier items low and she packs everything in there very well so we have nothing moving around. The rubber seems to work well, the rods are just for piece of mind.

ObedB, I have a Pressure Pro that I pulled from the last coach, My plan is to install it this winter into this unit. I currently operate a Tire Minder Wireless system. There are several that are identical with different writing, mine has "Tire Minder" written on it, I do not recommend this system, while I like that you can change the sensor batteries they system constantly throws false errors. I have called their tech support and they tell me its interference due to the frequency they operate on. Plus the toad is so far behind me it looses sight of it and the alarm goes off for that. With that being said I am switching back to Pressure Pro, I will send my old sensors back to have the batteries replaced and figure out what to do with this system.

Yea....Great post Tom.

Renewed with Coachnet, never used it, fingers crossed I never do.

Lyle, I had a similliar problem with my bed slide which is also a king size. Mine was slow then it wouldn't go all the way out. I flipped the bed up and discovered the bed frame broke (wood) and was shifted off of its rollers. On ours you can lift the bed up (storage under it) and I also lifted the base off the floor (just slightly with a pry bar and looked used it to see how it worked. We have 4 sets of rollers built into the floor that the bed base sits on and somehow it shifted off of those and the screws were broken near the wall. I was able to reposition the bed back into its place and repaired the broken wood; I also reinforced it with basic corner braces from the hardware store. Had I not looked I would have never guessed it was off its track or broken since the actual slide was not sitting crooked like I would have thought it would. I am still baffled how it broke.

Ditto. I would not run without it either. I even check the tire monitor while its parked for the winter, if a tire is low I want it addressed before it damages that tire or the one next to it from carrying all of the weight while its parked. I have never heard of "dont use that because of......." I have heard many dealers and people remove the valve stem extensions (hose type) since they are prone to leaks. Never a TPMS system. I agree...some systems work better than others but any system would be better than no system in my opinion.

David, If the business name is on the registration card be sure to obtain a US DOT number and put it on the coach, its now a Commercial Motor vehicle and must follow all of the federal regulations based off of the GVWR of your coach, if its over 26,001 lbs its going to be a huge pain. I was going to do this a few years ago when I owned a small business, after speaking to a Federal Agent (at work performing a US DOT inspection) he advised me I was going to open a big mess I wanted no parts of. If its used for personel use and registered as such its just a motorhome. If used for commercial and registered in a company name its a CVM and is required to follow all regulations, driver licensing (CDL over 26,001 lbs GVWR), US DOT number on the sides, co name, address, driver to carry medical card and it just goes on and on. What type of business do you own or were you thinking about purchasing..just curious?

I tow a 2003 Jeep Wrangler Sport. I run the Demco Commander bar and I was using the Blue OX Patriot removable brake box until it broke. I am going to change over to the MG Brake system for the Jeep, mainly because of its simplicity and pricing. My jeep is wired using diodes to the factory lighting. For towing I shift the transmission (Manual 5 speed) and 4x4 Transfer case into Neutral, unlock the steering and away we go. I bought the Demco bar due to the company I worked for at the time was a large customer of Demco and I got the bar at wholesale, I will say it has been great so far, built very well.

Without a photo of the front of your coach it’s hard to say but most coach manufactures use other automobile manufacture headlamp assemblies in their build. My unit has Ford Econoline headlamps and turn signal lenses from 1998-2005. I replaced them with lamp fixtures from CARID.com, instead of the fluted lens I went with a clear outer lens and a brighter bulb. The original lamps were cloudy and with the old design lens they were horrible in the dark.

David, congratulations and nice coach. I read through the blog and loved it, it just made me want to take some time off of work and travel the route you took, and the photos were breathtaking. Welcome, if you should have any questions thee is a lot of knowledgeable people on here that are always willing to help. If you are ever headed this way (PA Dutch Country) and need some recommendations send me a message. Good luck and safe travels from my family to yours. Joe

Herman, I am always a fan of your responses, this one was probably one of my favorites. thanks for the laugh.

Wayne77590, I use a fire pit poker, I cleaned off the burrs and coated it with rubber that you dip it into (like handles on plyers), when it hardened its not likly to scratch the surface. It works for me. I am probably going to replace the wiper seals in the spring, hopefully I can retire the tool then, I might try the silicone trick if the new seals do not flip on their own.

Great service interval recomendation Brett. Thanks, Joe

HAHA, it sure is working. I think we all know the answer, we just want closure.

ObedB, I believe it is lack of maintenance. In the world of RV's they do not get used as often as a road tractor, valves stick from the moisture and lack of use and they stop working. My old dryer I took apart just to see what the inside looked like after 12 years, it looked like you reeled it in on your fishing line, gummed up rust inside. On the road tractors at work we see heater failures and heater electrical connection failures, we replace the cartridge every year if the heater works. Any valve concerns, leaks or heater failures we swing the entire dryer. During our four PM's per year we test the heaters (ohm test), check the electrical connector for signs of high resistance (burning of the plastic melted wires etc.) Otherwise no concerns. As you often read on here if its an older unit with low miles you have more of a concern than a higher mileage unit. same applies to the air dryer....my guess.

Your welcome. good luck.

jimnorman, let me help. When you apply for the EZpass you are presented with options, basically what is the weight class of the vehicle it is intended for. In my situation I bought two, one for the coach and one for our cars, the toll charges for the higher weight vehicle are more. When I am towing the jeep it does not have the 2nd EZpass inside. When I go through a toll booth it follows the coach EZpass and that EZpass gets the charges applied to it. When you set up the account you must fill in all vehicle information that belongs to each transponder, so the one for the RV only has that listed, the other one we just keep in case were going somewhere and we just snap it to the windshield in what ever car we decide to take. In our situation the Jeep is listed on our vehicle list, so when it goes through a toll booth in tow the RV transponder gets charged for both based off of the weights of the axles. Now, if you place the RV transponder into your car you will supposedly pay a higher toll, this is the reason we have two. they also have an option to keep a credit card on file and when your account goes below a certain dollar amount (I think it's $70.00) they charge your card. PA EZpass usually sends me emails to keep me up to date on the account status. I hope this helps.

Obed, mine failed due to lack of service from the previous owner. I would have heard it purging and known it needed to be serviced. When I bought the coach in 5/2014 it wasn't purging, I thought it wasn't equipped, after crawling around under the unit I found the dryer hidden inside a make shift box. Since they are fairly inexpensive I opted to replace the unit rater than rebuilding it, I got lucky, the desiccant wasn't compromised. My coach had an older version of the Meritor SS1200 dryer, I installed a remanufactured Meritor SS1200. From what I could see it was hidden by some genius that enclosed the unit in a wooden box, my guess is so they wouldn't have to hear it cycle. Needless to say I removed all of the surroundings. They also had the governor set to 110 psi which I adjusted to 125psi. Now when it purges if you are anywhere near the passenger side rear wheel area you jump out of your shoes, just the way I like it. Unrelated but when I bought the coach it was "turnkey" completely serviced and all ready to go. You should have seen all of the stuff that was missed.

richmargroup, Depending on the amount of miles you travel, could dirt be a factor again. I have a few questions: 1, "radiator flushed" did that mean internally or externally? 2, "cap" not replaced, assuming radiator cap, was it ever tested? If your radiator cap is releasing pressure to soon it will cause the coolant to boil prematurely. 3, what temp is the Silverleaf displaying, or are you boiling over? 4, coolant tested recently, proper ratio? You may have an issue with the CAC being blocked with dirt between the radiator and CAC. I have the same model engine (non emission version) my combination is 35,000 lbs towing, I have pulled 9% for a few miles at 40mph around 2100 rpms and my "Scan Gauge" never went over 189 degrees (dash gauge was buried at 230, none of my gauges are very accurate).

Herman, same here. the worst part is when it breaks and the awning slams against the coach. I keep extras with me and I always look at them to see if its time to replace.

Blake, I recommend replacing the dryer with a factory rebuilt unit. The cost of them is reasonable and the quality is much better that someone trying to rebuild the old one in your coach. Just add the filter replacement to your list of things to do, thats what I have done so it doesn't get forgotten about. Good luck

msu1966, I spent a small fortune on a brand name RV cover on the last coach and this one, both scratched the coaches (all 4 corners) and were a pain to install, remove and store when not in use. I gave up, this year I cleaned the unit and had it waxed....no more cover for me. Funny you mentioned the mice, I only have ever experienced mice when it was covered and I never made the connection until I just read this post.

Brett, as I was typing it I was out weighing the pros and cons either way. I figured changing it in the spring was probably the best route since I can assume there will be moisture collecting from sitting in the winter that could potentially be riding along all season unless it’s dumped ASAP, this is when I also pull an oil sample. Up here in the North East I will not move the coach or start it until all of the road salt and brine has been washed away by late winter/early spring rain so I can complete a through warm up cycle. The stuff that gets put on the roads up here makes sulfuric acid look like something you would consider placing on your pancakes in the morning. Thanks again