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jleamont

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Posts posted by jleamont

  2. Posted · Report reply

    I am pulling my Norcold 1200 out this weekend with a few friends, if anyone needs cabinet parts please feel free to e-mail me at leamontmobileservice@verizon.net. Everything on the box looks good, and the burner was replaced when the last recall was done this year.

    I bought a residential fridge for our Holiday Rambler the fridge cost me $700.00 it is slightly narrower but will fit in the hole. I measured the passenger side windows over the couch and both refrigerators will fit thru it.

    I tested the replacement unit by running an extension cord from the coach to the unit sitting in the garage and after two days my generator auto started and ran for about 2 hours, I had a concern it would not run off of the invertor, it worked great. Funny thing is the interior space is a huge difference from the Norcold unit; we have a lot more space. As far as the doors opening while driving, I bought a latch from Fleetwood that they install from the factory on the 2014 Excursion, they too switched to residential refrigerators from the factory, I bought a GE unit that looks just like the one Fleetwood utilizes.

    We very rarely dry camp at the most two days and I usually run the genset for an hour a day anyway for cooking (convection oven)

    As far as my Norcold 1200 it had all of the recalls completed and it still almost burnt the coach down, not sure what good the recall will do if it shuts off the gas and power after the fire has started.

    Here is how our almost disaster was avoided; I had my cooler next to the coach, I was going for a beer when noticed the unit was running on gas but it was set to "auto" I am thinking to myself why is that running on gas, I am connected to shore power, with that I open the side vent look around inside the access panel (it had a hot smell and I could feel excessive heat, anyone that ever worked on trucks or cars can relate to this), I walk around to the tower to make sure the power didn’t go out, it was still on, so I go inside and shut the unit off, (now I have had enough with this, as it was the inside of the fridge was already 52 degrees) in about 5 minutes we got an odor of ammonia thru the coach, I walk outside, and reach for the gas valve behind the fridge and gas burner attempting to relight itself (keep in mind the unit is off) I shut off the gas now the cooling unit is leaking bad and the burner is still attempting to light, in fear it will succeed and ignite the ammonia I grabbed a hand full of wires and pulled, tore it all out of the back while I am attempting to hold my breath from the ammonia gas. We were convinced this was by design to destroy all evidence of what actually caused the fire. I am just glad I was there to stop the disaster from occurring.

    To each his own with your preference, I did consider switching to a Dometic but the $2995.00 price tag made me rethink that idea. I did also consider switching the cooling unit out with the Amish made design but my wife told me she will not be able to sleep anymore if that Norcold is still in the coach after what had just happened.

    I hope if yours fails the way mine did you have the ability to catch it before life or property loss happens.

  3. Posted · Report reply

    UGGG, I worked for the local Utility co up until 2012 let me tell you how this broke down in the fleet of CAT, Maxxforce, Cummins, Detroit power and Ford Powerstroke diesel power (1998-2012 engine years). They bought a B20 to be more "GREEN" in the eye of the public, TV commercials the whole mess. Here was the results of the study we conducted after a storm and we had over 100 power units broken down and too many customers without electricity for much too long and it hit the fan!

    Below 45 degrees fuel filters would only last up to 80 engine hours average (2640 miles) if it was below freezing in some cases we were changing them every two days.

    Fuel economy was reduced by 8%.

    The Cummins and Maxxforce and Detroit engines only suffered slight power loss, the CAT powered units would ping and smoke, had to be driven at full throttle, Keep in mind a Utility aerial lift truck is a 33000 GVW and was every bit of 32000 lbs.

    The Cummins would fail at the injection pumps, The CAT had the HEUI injection and would wipe out fuel injectors as well as the Ford Powerstrokes. The Maxxforce, well lets just say they had so many problems we could not tell what caused it, mostly the exhaust could not get hot enough to regenerate, and frequent fuel injector failure, besides the frequent head gasket and EGR cooler failure, unrelated to BIO Diesel. I have photos in my work computer of the fuel separators looking like they were filled with butter.

    After we had the tanks cleaned, and they only use B5 now, too risky and costly. This fuel never got old either, we had fuel delivered weekly to refill the tanks, so it never sat long.

  4. Posted · Report reply

    I am parting out our Norcold 1210LIRM 4 door refrigerator it was built in 2001. It has an cooling system leak, otherwise its all there and was working, I caught the leak just before it burst into flames so there is no fire damage. The burner only has 20 hours on it, (just replaced in July).

    We will be at the Hershey RV show in Sept, let me know how to contact you if you are interested in any parts, I guess we could ship to you also.

    I am posting this since the parts for these are very expensive to help someone save a few $$$.

    Thanks,

    Joe

  5. Posted · Report reply

    Dodged the bullet this trip, Norcold 1200 started to warm up, I thought to run to Walmart buy a small fridge and transfer stuff, so I did, in plugged it shut off the gas. On the way to Williamsburg Va it blows the ammonia line.

    If I had left it on we would have lost the coach we've only had since May, thanks Norcold keep up the good work! FYI the recall parts did not work until after we set up did the red light come on to alert us of a problem.

    Good thing I was paying attention!

  6. Posted · Report reply

    This happened to us on our old coach, it was low voltage from the tower caused the amperage to spike melting my transfer switch wiring and Neutral Buss bar. I (got this from an electrician) I took the unit to our local RV dealer for other work and had them look over the wiring and make the necessary repairs.

    They told me they see this all the time and to buy a surge protector that monitors this situation and will shut the coach down in the event it happens again. I took their advice and I have had my fair share of power outages since with the surge protector cutting the coach power.

  8. Posted · Report reply

    I did not realize they were made by Thetford, they should stick with toilets seems like they got it correct with a place to put @#$%.

    I just fixed our gas burner now it cools the unit down to a wonderful 48 degrees from 62. I do not plan on using it much since I really love the coach and I would rather not have the side wall burned out or the coach totaled.

    When the season is over it will be replaced. I am beyond disgusted with their quality, customer service and the prices for simple items to make minor repairs.

    There is a post from a person selling parts off of his, it is in the process of being replaced with a residential unit.

  10. Posted · Report reply

    Keep in mind if your radiator cap is releasing pressure too soon it will cause the coolant to boil prematurely. See the chart below. Call me crazy but when I service a cooling system for repairs or a flush I either test the cap or just replace it.

    Table #2
    lists the boiling point of water at a particular pressure

    propan5.jpg

  11. Posted · Report reply

    I use Mobil Delvac 1300 Super 15w40 for my customers (fire apparatus and ambulances) If its a new Ford Diesel (6.7L Power Stroke) Mobil 5W40 Full synthetic Diesel oil.

    My Cummins ISL Mobile Delvac Elite 15w40 Synthetic blended. I am too cheap to pay for 34 quarts of full synthetic otherwise I would.

    Inline 5 cyl Sprinter Mobile 5w40 Full synthetic Diesel oil

    V6 Sprinter Quaker state 5w30 full synthetic european diesel blend.

    Strongly recommend oil sampling I could not tell you how many times the report saved an engine that no one realized had a problem.

    No one mentioned the filter?

    I use Fleetguard on my Motorhome, Ford or Racor on Ford products (Racor is the OEM manufacture for Ford)

    I prefer the engine manufacturer's recommended filter brand, I have see the aftermarket versions cause engine problems especially if it requires an adapter to fit, you should not use it.

    I have cut different manufacture filters open and sometimes what's inside is an eye opener.

  13. Posted · Report reply

    Brett,

    We are not sure, and we are open to suggestions, since we will have our jeep with us a drive to a destination from the campground would not be a big deal.

    I am thinking of a nice, clean place with a decent view or if inland to avoid the "tight rundown campground" I would not have a problem giving up the view for nice surroundings

  17. Posted · Report reply

    Please let us know what you find, I also have a Roadmaster chassis now. I can only compare to our old class C with springs and air bag helpers, I'm in heaven now with this coach but still very curious what the root cause of your concern is.

  18. Posted · Report reply

    We installed a Whirlpool Model ED2GVEXVD in May of 2011. I wrote up the process with photos in this forum, Replacing a Norcold Refrigerator. There is a good question and answer session that follows the initial article.

    We run with our inverter on all the time and thus the refrigerator is always on. We seldom boondock for extended periods but when we have running the generator for a while in the morning and/or evening will work to keep our standard four battery bank charged.

    In answer to the question of a direct replacement, I've never heard or read of one that fits right into the same hole in the wall. Ours required cutting the opening down about 6 inches. The hole in the outside wall should be blocked or closed off to prevent cold/warm air as well as insects from entering the coach. The Norcold refrigerator forms a tight seal with the inside wall of the coach. The replacement refrigerator does not seal the inside wall. Even if you put padding or insulation around the sides to form a seal, the bottom of our refrigerator is not sealed and would allow outside air and bugs passage into the interior of the coach. I put a wood panel over the roof opening and constructed a cover for the inside of the exterior removable panel on the coach so I can still remove that panel to access the plug in and for cleaning purposes.

    As to how the refrigerator looks, I was more concerned with having cold food and solid ice cream than looks but I'm very happy with the looks as well. I have all the ice I want through the door along with cold water. I never have to defrost this refrigerator and as said by others, I sleep better knowing that this refrigerator is much less likely to go up in flames.

    Thank you for the information and the photos were great. We are going to complete this task soon, I have had enough with the Norcold product safety record and reliability already and I have only owned this coach for 2 months. We have met people with Norcold products that have had nothing but bad things to say about their reliability.

    Funny story, I called Norcold to see if I could use the 1200 on the invertor since the gas burner is not working, the tech support person was very numb, his response was "no, it draws to much power and no invertor will handle that load", funny my invertor will run the microwave, that fridge pulls that much power, I doubt it.

    I have to do my homework a little and seek out the best price for one and make the switch. I am tired of looking at the thermometer inside and seeing 45-50 deg, good thing we only use this for mini weekend getaways a few times a month.

    My wife is very concerned over the safety record the RV refrigerators provide. Funny you mentioned frozen ice cream, I put a bottle of cranberry juice in our freezer for three days and it only turned to slush not even a firm slush, pretty sad. Our old RV was equipped with a Dometic Americana, and the fridge was 16 years old, other that routine maintenance I had no issues with it, in fact it would have froze the juice and split the bottle in a day.

    After speaking to their customer support center I can see why they have product issues.

    Thank you again for the information. due to safety and cost this sounds like the best approach.

    Joe

  19. Posted · Report reply

    We just returned from a trip, our first long trip with our 2002 HR Imperial (40PKD) Cummins ISL 400 Allison 3000 6spd. We were towing our Jeep Wrangler which I believe weights around 3300lbs. We had the generator on for 7hrs of the 11 hour trip North on Rt81 from Tennessee. MPG 10.05. I ran the hills at 55 the flats at 62, I tried to accelerate above 62 down hill for the next hill to get a little extra push and I actually stopped to top off the tank, I thought the fuel gauge was broken. We were very happy with the MPG and impressed with the power. :)

    At 60mph I was at 1500RPM's seemed a bit high but MPG was better than I expected, compared to our old coach (1998 Coachmen Santara 311SB Class C V10) this journey would have been 6mpg towing with the engine next to me at 4000 rpm most of the time.

  20. Posted · Report reply

    We just returned from a trip, our first long trip with our 2002 HR Imperial (40PKD) Cummins ISL 400 Allison 3000 6spd. We were towing our Jeep Wrangler which I believe weights around 3300lbs. We had the generator on for 7hrs of the 11 hour trip North on Rt81 from Tennessee. MPG 10.05. I ran the hills at 55 the flats at 62, I tried to accelerate above 62 down hill for the next hill to get a little extra push and I actually stopped to top off the tank, I thought the fuel gauge was broken. We were very happy with the MPG and impressed with the power. :)

    At 60mph I was at 1500RPM's seemed a bit high but MPG was better than I expected, compared to our old coach (1998 Coachmen Santara 311SB Class C V10) this journey would have been 6mpg towing with the engine next to me at 4000 rpm most of the time.

  22. Posted · Report reply

    I have a Splendid 2000 series, does anyone have an issue with water reentering the drum after you are done washing, We purchased it and the on/off switch was already pushed to "ON" and the drum had about 6" of water laying in it, so I put it to spin and it did its thing, and drained out, I ran a load thru it, worked great, shut it off after it was done drying and the next day I had a small puddle in the bottom, we just purchased the RV used and I am not sure if this is normal or not?

    Any tips?

  23. Posted · Report reply

    Ok, we looked at a new Fleetwood Class A, it had a residential unit from the factory, it ran off the invertor. Seemed like a smart thing to do. We purchased a used Class A with a Norcold 1200 series, of coarse it only works on A/C, (im impressed it worked at all at 12yrs old) I ordered a new burner and i am thinking of tossing it in the trash since it has out lived most Norcolds being 12 yrs old. Maybe a Dometic I would reconsider but thats $3000.00 away, not going to happen.

    Our new/used coach has an invertor built in, as soon as i figure out how to use it throught the RC7 GS controller I will be set to switch over. Plus it has an auto generator start to replenish the batteries if needed, so I feel good about that.

    My question is what trimming did you have to do to fit the standard fridge into the RV hole in the wall?

    Do they make a direct replacement for specific sizes?

    What about the hole in the outside wall will it help or hurt?

    the interior of the coach is very nice, I do not want the fridge to look out of place.

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Did Cummins correct any of this on line prior to releasing later engines? I have a 2001 ISL400 I just replaced the lift pump and all suction fuel lines, I am familliar with the connector you spoke of (big round twist connect with multi pins) under lift pump. Usually the first one-two years out on a new product are the problem units and as time goes on service bulletins get corrected on the production line as redesigned parts become available.

    Does the message above have a serial number range, production date range?

  25. Posted · Report reply

    I have repaired this before on a 6.7L (2007) Cummins, the "quill tubes" that feed the injectors leak fuel into the valve spring area next to the injector, usually the injectors get replaced also, strange design, no seal between the tube and the injector, just a press fit from tighting the tube on the outside of the head where the fuel rail connects. I have had other techs tell me that they just replaced the tubes and it stopped the leak.

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