jleamont

Those Blue Birds have Character, Nice coach! What MPG did you get from the 8V92?

I replaced our front with an LED smart TV, I trimmed off the cabinet with wood from Home Depot after I stained it to match the interior. I have to agree with Herman, watch out those old TVs are heavy, ours sheared off the mounting bolts driving up I-81 from TN, good thing the trim was strong enough to hold it from falling out.

Walt, thank you for the information. I have recently been playing with the system to see if I can figure it out, here is what I have found: 1. When I pull into a campsite, I leave the engine running, turn on the leveling system and press the "Air" button twice. the system will dump the rear suspension, and thats it. 2. I have also tried to manually hold the "Dump" switch down until the coach is resting all the way down and then press the "Air" button twice, all it does is raise me back to normal travel mode (I am on uneven ground rear lower than the front). So for the past year I have been manually leveling the coach with the control panel, that works well except the constant playing with it to get it right. One thing I have noticed is once I manually level the coach I have to shut the control panel off or the coach will sink on one side or another usually within a day. If I shut the panel off it stays level. I have the 10 pin 600-680 series panel (figure 14) on the left side of the attachment you provided.

Rich, I think you are correct. I went right past that one....didn't see it coming. Thanks.

We went last summer, stayed at Pine Mountain RV park in Pigeon Forge TN. Nice place, clean, paved well groomed. We never use them but the bath house looked like a Ritz Carlton hotel bathroom, we were very impressed. Next time we are planning Anchor down RV resort, that looks very nice. Have a safe trip

We are planning a trip to Myrtle Beach SC this summer. I was thinking about Lakewood Campground so we could be beach front. After reading the reviews on Trip Advisor I am stuck. I could use some input from fellow campers that have been there. Since we will be there a week I do not want a disappointment or an out of control party zone. We experienced that in Virginia Beach a few years ago, we can live without that. I understand they are a dry campground which is OK with us. We prefer to take day trips from there and tour the area and not have to worry about the motorhome getting damaged from the party bunch you tend to find on holidays. Any one been there?

That sounds like a good idea. My wife and I are in our low 40's with two teenage kids, while we are not full timers we do enjoy meeting people our age but we also end the older folks also, I always love to hear the stories from the older folks and their experience is also great, we can exchange helpful hints back and forth.

Carlada, Good luck, we also made the switch from a Class C (coachmen Santara) to a DP last May. Looking back I wish I stared out with a DP, love it. Good luck We looked and almost bought a CC, just coudn't get there on price, nice coaches!

I have the auto start on ours turned on and set. Our old coach did not have it and when we were boon docking I would run the generator once a day for a couple of hours to recharge the battery bank. Now I do not worry about it, it does it for me, if we are out for the day I do not have to worry about the battery bank getting to low. Just a thought, I feel more comfortable knowing the coach is going to handle it on its own.

Herman, thanks again, I am going to locate a certified teach in the area. The system is to complex for anyone to tinker with, good recommendation Thanks again

Herman, my thermostat does not have Furnace as a selectable option. I have a rocker switch for the diesel burner and a rocker switch for the electric side of the system and three manual thermostats throughout the coach which turn on the baseboard heater fans in a specific zone. My Duo-therm thermostat only controls the roof top AC units and heat pumps within them. Is that normal?

Thanks guys, the system is operational and seems to work properly but I question the service quality performed by the previous owner. I did just locate a receipt for $2900.00 worth of parts purchased 3/20/2009 for the unit, burner, fuel pump, filter, control unit....the list is two pages, I suspect that was the last service. It is a modle AHE-100-01s serial number 01-720. Herman, I would love to go to a rally and have it serviced, there never seems to be any in our area and with working full time travel becomes a luxury at the moment. I am going to reach out to our local RV dealer and see what they charge to give it a tune up. What's the going rate for this work, just curious? Thanks again Joe

Joe, Can you post the Model number for your unit? That might lead to a Owners Manual and some feedback from a member or two. Rich. Rich, any idea where that information might be located? The unit is in a bay, one side is blocked by the 50amp electric cable reel and the other side is just the water manifold and pump, while I can see it there is no writing on the box other than the Aquahot logo. My gut feel is I will have to access it through the bay in front of it, there is a section of the wall that slides for access, model and serial are probably in there. I also have a very mild smell of diesel fuel in the bay when it is running on diesel, it's always had the smell but I can't help but think that is not normal.

This is our first coach with an Aqua hot system, what maintenance should be done annually on this system to keep it working properly beyond the diesel filter replacement once a year? No service manual in the document box for the system other than basic operating instructions. Thanks Joe

I just pulled the cover off for the season and I have some interior work to do to get ready for this camping season. Our coach is equipped with a electric/diesel Aqua Hot system and two roof top heat pumps for interior heat. The Aqua hot system has RV antifreeze in the water side of the heat exchanger (it's 24 degrees outside). Can I turn this unit on so I can run the floor heat exchangers inside with RV antifreeze in the fresh water side of the heat exchanger system? Unfortunately my heat pumps will not come on below 30 degrees. Anyone ever do this?

Boy I can relate to this, our last coach was an E450 chassis 31'6" of body length, there were times when someone would pass me I had the steering wheel at 5:00 to stay in my lane. I installed Roadmaster sway bars, Bilstein shocks and a HendersonSuper Steer track bar kit model SS450 (keeps the rear axle from swaying back and forth). Expensive but well worth it, no more upside down steering wheels or being pushed whan a tractor trailer would come up along side of us. In fact it handled so well you often forgot what you were driving, which can be dangerous.

Frank, check above the accelerator pedal, Ford has been installing a plug for a brake controller there for at least 10 years now, its a White square connector, In your glove box (Assuming you bought it new) is the other end that you will have to splice into the brake controller you purchase, wiring and instructions are usually in the bag with any relays and fuses you will need to complete the installation. If you still cannot locate it let me know. good luck.

We looked at several Newmars and American Coaches, I have always admired the "American Dream" models, I really liked them both, one thing I noticed on the Newmars was leaking roofs, I know this is not normal but three of the four we looked at had roof problems, one in particular was a 2004 Dutch Star, it was the perfect coach for us, color and floor plan, but the roof was wavey to the point you could lift up the rear A/C unit and wiggle it around, the surrounding roof material would bounce up and down with it. After the first three the fourth one was nice but I could not convience my wife on Newmar. Whatever you purchase just give it a good look over or have someoone do so for you. Good luck with your shopping

Guys, thanks for the info in the "Echo Charger" I just ordered one, for $112.00 including shipping that is a cheap piece of mind for me. Thanks again!

I couldn't agree with this post any more than the way you put it. Well said!

Rich, thank you for the words of wisdom. My wife and I discussed this last night, there is just too much riding on those tires to try and save a few bucks. We have not had this coach out west yet coming down those mountains like our old coach did on a few trips, I strongly feel this one would not stop if I needed it to, we are going with the best of the best, once I pull it out this weekend I am going to make a list of what I need and make it happen. Thank you again! Joe

I have been thinking about this lately, our coach is parked for the winter against the side of the garage on its pad and the battery access is not accessable (up against the wall), it is plugged in so the Coach batteries are being charged, but I have to admit I am loosing sleep over if it will start this weekend when I pull it out. Worse case I will have to use the transfer switch and start the engine with the Coach batteries or jump it at the starter. Next year I am going to put a charger on the Chassis battery bank that will maintain them also, too much stress worring about it.

How well do these work vs. Propane? if I switch ours out I will have no use for the 60 gallon propane tank I have under the coach, I could really cut down on weight if that was out of the compartment, plus gain more storage. Thanks

Update: the tire installer in Lancaster PA that installed the tires is going to give me full credit for the ones they installed that were the wrong size and load range. I just have to pay the difference for what tire I choose, they will pick up the mounting and balancing also, seems fair. The brake drums in question are made by Webb and the model is Vortex, I was looking at the model with the cross ventilation option. Standard vortex http://www.webbwheel.com/pdfs/literature/VortexFlyerOEM.pdf. "Cool Running option" Vortex http://www.truckpro.com/Content/Resources/vortexflyer-crt.pdf So far everyone is trying to talk me out of these, "these are overkill in an RV application" they were designed for excessive stopping, correct me if I am wrong but don't we frequently stop traveling through towns...and how often do we stand on the pedal when someone tries to beat you out of an intersection? Pricing is $50.00 more per drum, based off of the mileage I travel per year the aggressive shoe and these drums I should get 10 years out of them. Any thoughts...overkill? Thanks Joe

I agree, No real advantages, also the axle hubs and bearings are different due to the load displacement on the axle hubs with the singles. I just went throught this at work with changing a tractor over to singles. A regular dual wheel combo has one wheel riding to the inside of the hub center and the other wheel is on the outside of the hub center which displaces the weight evenly over both bearings and across the hub. The single wheel places the load all to the outer bearing, this is the reason for the special hubs and bearings to handle the weight imbalance, most trucks when this option is ordered also changes the axle tube strength for additional support. The main concern I have is once you have a flat you have to stop and stay there until help arrives, there is no "limping it" to a safe place without destroying a wheel.