richard5933

Here's a question that I'm hoping someone can help with... My coach has radiator shutters. They work and do their job. The problem is with feeding them. There is an airline filter/oiler upstream from the air cylinder which closes the louvers, and it's supposed to be filled with about an ounce of Shutterstat Fluid. Kysor made all the components as well as the Shutterstat Fluid, but of course they are long gone and the fluid is nowhere to be found. So now the question... Anyone have a clue what the modern equivalent to Shutterstat Fluid is? My guess from reading what I could find about it online is that it's a pretty lightweight oil, similar to a penetrating oil but with good lubrication qualities. Thoughts?

Sorry you're having problems like this. Your coach is still under warranty - did the company have anything to offer regarding advice?

I wasn't so much talking about directly recruiting members, more so just promoting FMCA and getting the word out to people in the RV world who have no idea about FMCA and would not inquire on their own. However, if they can recruit members all the better.

Wouldn't be a bad idea to check for a loose ground connection. I know this is a new rig, but it seems that loose/bad ground connections account for lots of the problems in the electrical department. There are many more of these than most think about, so take a look for any which have come loose. I'm always amazed at the ability of ground screws to come loose no matter how much they are torqued down.

On the topic of the future of FMCA... I see a few YouTubers like Matt's RV reviews and Andrew Steele who make LOTS of videos and have a wide audience. They both do a lot of RV reviews and both of them do the reviews in remote locations all the time. Seems like it would be interesting to get them psyched up about FMCA and have them do something in conjunction with FMCA. Perhaps they could be invited to a rally where there are lots of manufacturers present and do a few on-site videos? Or perhaps do a remote from the FMCA HQ/campground. Just thinking of ways to get the word out, and since they are aiming at the RV buyers out there it seems like a good target audience.

Check for a loose ground lead to the speedo or the cluster. Find where your sending unit is on the transmission and check for connections there.

As they used to say in grade school, always show your work. Here's mine: Using tireman9's formula, I have calculated that the front tire pressure would be 95psi and the rear would be 90psi. How'd I get those numbers? I took the axle weights and multiplied by 0.53 to get the axle end weights. This provides a 3% buffer to account for side-to-side variance. Then I split that number again to find the calculated wheel weight. I used the calculated wheel weight and the charts from the manufacturer to find the recommended tire pressure. I rounded UP to find this number. Then I added a 10% inflation buffer, which I rounded up since most gauges only show larger marking at increments of 5psi. Anything higher wouldn't be justified by the numbers and will likely result in harsher ride and poorer handling. Of course, you'll need to tweak these numbers to suit your particular driving likes/dislikes.

A little over for a buffer is a good thing. Aside from allowing for temperature swings, it helps accommodate for side-to-side imbalance. On the other hand, over inflating tires too much can contribute to poor handling and poor braking.

See page #102 of this Goodyear publication for the load & inflation chart for your size tire: https://www.goodyeartrucktires.com/pdf/resources/publications/2020_goodyear_commercial_tires_engineering_databook.pdf Sounds like you may be inflating slightly higher than necessary based on the weights you listed.

Ours is 46 years old and we have never been turned away. I've seen rules enforced at some campgrounds for things like no broken glass, no tarps on roof, no missing body panels, etc. As long as your coach looks well-kept and isn't dragging pieces behind it most campgrounds will have no problem.

My coach is totally heated by three 1500-w heaters when we're plugged into the pedestal. They were originally installed in 1974 by Custom Coach, but the motors were finally starting to make noise. I replaced them this fall with three of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PS9NY6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 If you have an appropriate place to mount and wire a couple of these, it would be a great way to heat with electric. They don't look like much, but they put out a great deal of heat right on the floor where you want it. They can be setup to run on 750w up to 1500w in 250w increments.

I've had TPMS on our coach for a few years now. The sensors are removed a few times a year to confirm pressures, and they are totally removed before storing for winter. Have had the tires changed out once during this time. Never have had any problem with a valve stem sticking open. I'm wondering if they didn't get something on the inside of the valve when installed them - possibly something was in the soapy water that's used to lubricate the rubber as it's pulled through or when the tire is seated? My first attempt at solving this would be to have the valve stem pointing strait down and then pulling the core out. Hopefully whatever might be inside the tire will find its way out the open core. Don't let the tire go flat - just let 10-15psi out to flush out the valve stem. There is a tool which can be used to re-seat the seat inside the valve stem so that the valve can seal against it better. Shouldn't be needed on brand-new valve stems, but maybe the batch you have aren't made. If it

Congratulation! Wishing you both many happy miles in the new rig. I've also got a 35-ft coach and think that it's a great size. Big enough for comfort but still small enough to get in relatively tight campgrounds.

I hope you're correct about Covid-19 disappearing. However, I fear you are going to be very wrong. Viruses don't typically watch the calendar, and if this were truly a conspiracy theory thing all put on for the upcoming election, how would you explain the problems with it in the rest of the world?

This is just one of many examples of the balance between Federal and State power/control. No need to talk poorly about one state or another - that's how the system was set up. So that people in one state could decide things one way, and people in another could do things their way. Rules that work perfectly well in a largely rural state like Wyoming may not do so well in another more densely populated state like New Jersey. And vice versa. That's why the vast majority of things were left to the individual states to regulate. Do you really want one set of rules that applied equally across the US for EVERYTHING? My thought is that if that were done then lots more people would be frustrated than right now. As previously mentioned, there are some Federal rules regarding reciprocity, but they are limited and don't totally over-ride the specific rules in each state. Great thing is that no one is requiring any of us to travel through states we don't like.

Works for me - Logged into the dashboard, then clicked on membership directory. From there it had me log in again. I was able to search for members in Wisconsin, but since it limits the results to only 50 members you can't really search through an entire state easily.

Can you tell what function that part does? Almost looks like an inline air filter.

I had to remove all the cookies for FMCA from my browser, and then log into the main FMCA.com website first. Once my member dashboard opened, I was able to follow the links to the forum. There does appear to be something wrong with the forum itself, where the page doesn't present a link to log in anymore. It defaults to creating an account but doesn't have one for logging in. At least on my side.

Agree - glad to have the forum back.

Ground connection. Maybe to engine, transmission, and/or computer. One bad ground connection can wreak havoc.

I never got booted out... Wondered where everyone went

They used to put both - I've got an electric on the dash for regular use, and a mechanical wet gauge in the engine bay. The mechanical one is more reliable and helps when there is any reason to question the electric.

Don't know about Pennsylvania, but around here in the Milwaukee area the average humidity in the winter is only a few points different than the average in the summer, with a monthly average high of 76% and low of 69%. Indoor temps can vary much more, as many heating systems will drop indoor humidity levels to as low as 20% or so.

My reading of this was they are upgrading the software used in the office, not the forum. Is the forum also going down?

Are you talking about a mechanical gauge in the engine bay or up front in the dash? If it's in the engine bay, I'd check for something in the manifold blocking the works. My engine bay gauge mounts directly to a small oil pressure manifold block on the bulkhead. The 1/8" line should be adequate, if the path is clear. If you're talking about having a mechanical gauge on the dash with tubing running all the way back to front, then I would expect there to be quite a delay in the reaction time. Probably why electric gauges are usually installed.