cdsuggs

Just sticking my nose in because I tow a 2011 AWD Equinox with the 4 cyl. Been pulling it for about a year and 8000 miles with no problem. Don't know if I've been lucky, or the 2011 has something different. I do pull the #32 fuse. The YouTube film of the Jeep is pretty scary though.

My discovery of my 2010 Discovery continues. Friday, I went to the garage just to look things over. Upon opening the entry door, the steps didn’t extent. Uh oh! I climb up over the stairs into the motorhome and turn on the overhead lights over the driver’s seat. They work. By the way, I am still plugged into 50-amp shore power. I turn the ignition key on and get no power for about five seconds. Then the power comes on for the dash. I turn the key and the engine starts and runs for about 5 seconds, the shuts down. The next two starts do the same thing. On the 4th start, as soon as the engine starts, I reach down and press/hold the aux start button. The engine remains running. About 30 seconds later the lights flicker and the alternator appears to come up. I let go of the aux switch, and the engines keeps running. Drove down to the battery shop, and the tech said the batteries checked ok. He also said to consider a loose ground. The engine has run every time that I have started it since then, but I don’t know when it will happen again. Has anyone else run across something like this. What would I check And who would I have look at?

We've been using the Verizon system for a few years. Seldom had problems with coverage, just data limitations. The unlimited plan definitely isn't. They just don't tell you that.

I've had a Patriot for the last year. Seldom get it to work right. I just may not be smart enough.

Patrick AFB always reminds me of a fighter in full burner and a lot of very large windows in the O'Club.

Different aircraft, same town. Wouldn't expect the fees down or back, but $50/night is a lot less that the hotel room. Have to ask about the legalities if the colonel thinks it will work. Doesn't hurt to ask.

Uncle Sam (that's you and me) is paying a couple of hundred dollars a day for a couple of hundred hotel rooms in the Orlando area for IT folks from all of the services at bases all over the world to talk about military medical record data migration that is a couple of years behind schedule already and won't be complete until after the DW retires. This conference happens every year. If I can help save the taxpayers (you and me again) some money while getting me off my southwest Oklahoma red dirt road for a few days, while getting to enjoy the motorhome and maybe getting to visit some family members and friends between here and there, seems like it should be my patriotic duty. Have to check out the legality of the billeting funds though. I used to know a guy who quit flying on airplanes after 9/11 and the Air Force used to pay him to drive all over the country inspecting flight simulators, when everyone else on his team was going by air.

Sounds like I didn't state the question right. It was actually her idea to go by motorhome. Unfortunately, it's still in the shop with a bad turbo. The idea is to provide justification to the Med Group Commander that it would be cost effective to the Group to authorize POV travel and billeting the next time she has to go to the conference for per diem and travel purposes. It's not business purposes. I just happened to remember running across the spreadsheet and thought it would be fun to look at again on this trip. Just LEGAL help with the expenses, since DOD/USAF is footing the bill anyway. I got the company that I worked for several years ago to pay me mileage when I had to go to Long Beach for a conference developing the FFS for the C-17, and those guys are pretty tight, since it comes off their bottom line.

Several months ago I ran across a spreadsheet showing how using a motorhome on a business can be cheaper than flying, renting a car and staying in a hotel. Yeah, it had some shortcomings and holes that I could drive my motorhome through, but it was neat for argument purposes. Does anyone remember seeing that? I have driven myself to distraction trying to think about where I found it. Trying to build an argument to justify driving the DW to Orlando and back from Oklahoma next time she has to go to an annual conference. Gets me a few days in Florida and her not having to decide whether or not to take her laptop or tablet. Of course, have to convince DOD That it's beneficial to the mission.

Sorry it took so long for me to get back to this. The motorhome is in Oklahoma City waiting on a turbo replacement. When Cummins in OKC called me to tell me that the actuator was find but the slider on the turbo was frozen, they told me that it has the 15 qt pan, just like the Quick Serve list I looked at says. They didn't feel comfortable trying to adjust the level without draining it all out, so now I'm paying for another oil change after 300 miles. It just keeps getting better and better. By the way, during my investigation of the situation, I called both Fleetwood and Spartan with no result. Cummins made the engine, so I'll go with their answer, after I, or the warranty company pay for the new turbo.

Yep, Registered the engine (still need to put in the generator), went to the dataplate page, selected the CPL (CPL279) and scrolled down until I found the oil pan. If my addled brain remembers, it said 15 qt. I used to know how many rivets it took to completed the cargo floor of the aircraft I flew, but am having trouble wrapping my brain how to learn what I need to know about owning a motorhome. It doesn't help that I don't know anyone else around here with a DP.

Didn't mean to cause confusion. A year ago I bought a Fleetwood Discovery. Someone had written 20 qts on the rear next to the filler. With 20 quarts in the oil is approximately 1 1/2 inches above the full mark. I've had the oil changed twice now. Both times they put 20 qts in. However, logging onto Cummins Quickserve shows that there are possibly 4 different capacities. I called Cummins with the ESP and was told to ask a mechanic. The listing in Quickserve indicates to me that the engine probably has a 15 qt pan. Haven't seen any spray on the front of the toad, except for the coolant from a cracked surge tank (another horror story). Hopefully I will have a real answer next week. The motorhome is at a Cummins Service Center about150 miles from home with a Check Engine light dealing with a VGT actuator. I asked them to give me an answer. This has been an eye opening introduction to motorhome ownership. $7,000 above and beyond the little that the overpriced ESP paid for. Right now the DW would like our old fifth wheel back. I don't do my own oil changes because of lack of a place to do it. They frown on doing maintenance in my rental spot in the shared garage. By the way, the owner's manual uses a circular argument about determining how much oil the pan holds and calibrating the dip stick.

I know that my dipstick isn't even close to right, but don't know how to calibrate/mark it. When the oil is changed, I can see where the full is supposed to be. Just look at the level. How do I know how far below that is the add mark?

Thanks for the information. I think I'll try to get in touch with the technical folks.

I have a 2010 Fleetwood Discovery that I bought about 10 months ago and have been trying to figure out an electrical problem. I have decided to try to learn as much as I can about how the battery charging system works so that I can at least understand what the system is telling me. I have 2 ms2000 from Magnum Energy in the coach. I know that there is a lot of info available at the remote control panels. My present question is how do I know what model of remote control I have so that I can try to find an instruction manual?

1) Charles Suggs 2) USAF 3) 20 years + 3 days, 1974 to 1994 4) Major 5) Navigator, Pilot 6) Mather AFB CA, Dover AFB DE, Columbus AFB MS, Charleston AFB SC x2, Hahn AB Germany, Altus AFB OK and about everywhere/anywhere/nowhere you can land a strategic airlifter. Plus: Wife recently retired from USAFR after 33 years, starting out as a C-141 loadmaster at Charleston AFB, SC, then cross trained to flight operations specialist. Served the last 27 years at Tinker AFB, OK, retiring as SMSgt (E-8).

I'm trying to do a little do-it-myself on the Fleetwood Discovery that I just bought. One item I'm trying to figure out is how to open the metal panel that is on top of the dash right in front of the driver. Don't want to try to just pull it. Not knowing what I'm doing, I could probably cost myself too much money. I'm actually trying to get to the back of the Clarion Multimedia system to install a satellite radio input. Any suggestions would be helpful.