richard5933

Then they best get to work building out a modern grid, cause they are like it or not EVs are coming, and it's going to be happening sooner than people expect. Maybe building a new electric grid will be the equivalent of a moon shot for the coming generation.

Here in the Milwaukee area, we're starting to see charging stations pop up in company employee parking lots, mall parking lots, airports, and other places. I've seen them along the Ohio turnpike in rest stops. Surprised that there aren't more in your area. My guess is that in the next couple of years you'll start to see them nearly everywhere, including on back roads.

I've read a mixed review about cover use. Seems like in some cases they do damage and/or actually promote problems (like mildew, paint wear, and mice). Any particular reason for getting a cover?

It will be interesting to see what develops in the future, especially with the regenerative braking. Given the proper towing set up, I'm wondering if someone will figure out how to use regenerative braking in the EV toad as sort of a Jake Brake for the rig. With just a little extra wiring and a control unit, the system could identify a no-fuel situation in the coach and activate the regen as needed. I would anticipate that as EV coaches come to the market, you'll start seeing charging connections at campgrounds, probably the newer ones and/or higher end ones first. Many stores and malls are now installing charging stations, at least around us. Most are Tesla, not sure if other models can use these. You could always use one of the charging stations like these as you travel.

It was explained to me that much more care needs to be taken with motor homes than commercial vehicles. It's not just that they have to spend more time prepping (floor covering, and other protective gear) but that there is a whole other level of expectations when dealing with the motor home owners. Not to be offensive to anyone, but if I owned a shop I'd rather have commercial vehicle owners as customers than motor home owners any day of the week. This includes myself... Let's face it, we are going to be fussier, likely to be less knowledgeable about the mechanics of the coach, and in general be a more difficult customer. We also won't have a commercial account with the shop and will require retail billing. Shops will always give their best pricing to the customers they want to encourage and that make them the most money.

Maybe an additional $25/hr

Buddy of mine runs a company doing "cash for junk cars", and the price he pays is much higher if the factory catalytic converter is still there. First thing he does is cut it out. Takes about 2 minutes with a Sawzall, usually while the car is still on the hook. Going to be a difficult item to protect - restricting access to the vehicle is the best way.

Does your fridge have an adjustable low voltage warning or is it preset?

If you have a heated wet bay, and if the outside temp is below freezing, might be a good idea to fill your tank and disconnect from the city water unless you are using a heated hose.

Bus conversions make wonderful motor homes, but they are really unlike most other commercial motor homes out there. True, house systems will be built with components and appliances common to all motor homes, but the mechanical systems of the vehicle itself are going to be quite different. They were built to go millions of miles carrying passengers, which is why we chose a bus conversion over a traditional motor home. We wanted the road worthiness that comes with a bus chassis, but of course that brings with it a whole new world of things that a traditional motor home doesn't. There a few really active bus conversion forums out there with a wealth of technical information and experience maintaining a bus. You can also find information on Facebook, but the really good stuff is on the main three forums which are filled with owners of bus conversions, both vintage and newer. It would probably be a good idea to get on one of these to learn the specifics of what you need to look at when evaluating a bus conversion for purchase. Bus Conversion Magazine, Bus Nut Online, Bus Grease Monkey. There are some great threads which talk specifically about evaluating a used bus conversion, and while many are about older more vintage models, the basics of the lists would apply to a newer one as well. You've got to look much deeper than just the miles on the odometer. There are some high-mileage coach in great condition, and there are some low mileage coaches I'd run away from rather than consider buying. This is where having someone with you that is experienced in bus conversions when you evaluate will be really important, or be able to get it to a shop that does bus maintenance for them to do a thorough pre-purchase inspection. To me, the number of miles on the vehicle isn't as important as how the vehicle was driven and cared for during that time. Mileage is one of those things that can go either way. Too many miles, especially if the appropriate ongoing maintenance hasn't been done, means that you'll be in for some repairs and have a bunch of deferred maintenance to catch up on. Some bus conversions are done on retired passenger vehicles, and they will have gone many miles before being retired. The condition at that point will depend largely on how well the company maintained the vehicle and whether they were southern or northern buses. It's not uncommon for charter companies to stop doing routine maintenance on buses they know they are going to sell off. Buses running in the snow belt states will deteriorate quickly due to the constant exposure to salt, so use caution if you're looking at a conversion that was a bus in the north. Too few miles can also be a problem. These vehicles were built to be driven, not parked. We bought our coach with about 41,000 original miles, which created its own problems. Our coach led a very pampered life, but the extreme low mileage meant that it wasn't driven often enough to keep all the mechanical systems in good shape. We've spent a considerable amount of money replacing seals that have dried out, and we've had our fair share of maintenance/repairs necessary not from miles driven but just age. It's possible to find some bus conversions like ours which were done on new shells and which have low miles on them, but which were owned by people that either had no clue how to care for them or that just didn't care. So, you have to do a full inspection regardless of the miles. Yeah - if the conversion is 15-20 years old expect some of the house components to need updating or replacing. In the grand scheme of things, it's a small thing though. If you find a conversion you like and that meats your needs, nearly everything can be easily upgraded to modern equipment. Depending on how the conversion was done, it could be quite easy to. Many conversions provide great access to the various systems and have wiring chases which are accessible. Some were built without a thought regarding future maintenance or upgrades. Look carefully at how things are put together so you can determine if you will be able to access things you need. Chassis electronics are much more difficult to upgrade though, so it would be important to confirm that the engine & transmission are still supported. Some newer systems also use proprietary computer systems and make doing the work yourself difficult. I'd assume that anything within the last 30 years is still supported, since many charter companies are still running coaches that old in commercial service. But it would be wise to confirm this with a shop that works on buses so you don't get stuck with an odd duck or an orphaned computer system in your drive train.

Two of the problems could be eliminated easily... If the problem is with the tires, the problem would be there anytime you are in motion and not connected to whether or not you are accelerating. You would hear/feel the problem when coasting. Since you did not notice it while coasting, I'd feel comfortable crossing that off the list. The Turbo issue also sounds like a red herring. If it were problematic you'd hear it every time you revved the engine, even when standing still. I'm with the others - something wasn't done correctly when your driveshaft was disconnected/reconnected. That's where I'd focus my attention. Hopefully it's something as simple as your driveshaft being out of phase. But, possibly you had a failing U-joint before all this happened though. Your coach is at the age where things like U-joints can begin to fail. It wouldn't be uncommon for things to hold together until they are taken apart, and then once opened up things can go wrong. A good shop can inspect all the U-joints to be sure while they are evaluating things.

Welcome to the forum. It would be helpful for us trying to help you if you could provide more information. What make/model are you talking about? What troubleshooting steps have you done. Have you done any preliminary diagnostic measurements yet?

Fascinating to watch that steam engine push that freight train like it was nothing. Incredible, the amount of brute force in those things.

Can't answer with certainty on those. I asked when I signed up, and the only fee I was able to discern was a $10/mo fee if the account is inactive for 90 days (three statement periods). If you cancel, it was my impression that they would send a check for the balance after a brief period to be sure that there were no transactions in the system waiting to be processed from retailers. Seem to remember a few weeks on the waiting period, but can't be sure on that. I've got about a $400 balance with them. Like I said, it's really just a backup to the TSD card or if I happen to be somewhere that the TCS card has a better discount. I like redundancies in all things, payment methods included.

Before doing lots and lots of guessing, it seems that we need to know if the problem is limited to the water pump or if there is also a problem with other 12v systems when the coach is not plugged in.

Choosing tires is similar to choosing oil brands - we each have personal preferences, but most of the major players are going to be pretty close in performance as long as the specs are met. The top-tier tire brands are pretty much all good quality. I think that every major player in the tire world has had problem tires models over the years, so that in itself shouldn't disqualify a company's products. I know that this isn't directly what you are asking, but I'd suggest finding what's available in your area. Find a good commercial tire dealer that's willing to spend time with you going over the options, and then explore. Even better if that dealer participates in the various discount programs FMCA has to offer. Come up with 2-3 possibilities based on your budget and availability in the size you need, and then perhaps ask for people to give opinions on those particular tire models.

Any way that you can re-arrange things to bring your tongue weight down?

I agree - there is absolutely no reason to go with anything else if insurance is being used. You'll never have to worry about blinking check-engine lights, and any future owners won't have problems with emissions testing.

I set up the Zelle contact using the account number and routing number that they provided in the instructions. Then I sent an email to TCS to inform them of the transaction details. This was per the instructions I received from one of their managers. Email should be sent to their accounts receivables department: tcsar@tcsfuel.com What I sent them were the following details: Name on Account: Card Number: TCS 000000 Transaction Date: Transaction Amount: $ Sending Bank: They replied within a few hours with a confirmation they received the email. They will then manually match the transaction with your card and put the funds in your account. When I did this I first sent only $5. This was to make sure things were working. Once they confirmed receipt and I was able to see the funds on my TCS app, I went ahead and transferred over a few hundred dollars so I could use the card for fueling. For now I'm keeping the TCS card as a backup to the TSD card. The discounts aren't as good, and the convenience isn't there yet. That said, it's good to have multiple options and I will keep it funded with enough for at least one fill up for now. Perhaps the program will evolve into something more useful - hopefully.

Doesn't your comp insurance cover this? Maybe it is worth a call to your agent to see a claim would make economic sense.

There are two things to look for in a smart charger - amps and volts. Those numbers you're talking about are the amp output maximums. Obviously, the smaller the number the slower the charger is going to put power back into your chassis batteries. The batteries will only pull the amps that they need, so if you have a 20 amp charger and the batteries only need 2 amps that's all they'll take. If you get one with too low of an amperage output, it won't be able to keep up with the parasitic draw from your chassis systems. All those computers and onboard systems draw current even with the engine and key turned off. The more important issue on a charger is the voltage. What makes a smart charger smart is being able to vary the voltage output. A 12-volt battery needs a voltage higher than 12 volts to charge. Most smart chargers will start at a charge level of about 14.6 volts and stay there for a couple of hours. They will then lower to a mid-level. Mine drops to 13.6v and stays there for another 12-24 hours. After that time, the charger will drop to a maintenance voltage of only 13.2v on my unit. Each model will vary slightly, but for a flooded cell battery the voltage levels will be about the same. If you have AGM batteries you need to get one which has suitable voltage outputs for AGMs. If your trickle charger output doesn't drop down low enough it will continue to cause water to evaporate needlessly, possibly ruining your batteries. If the output is too low constantly, it will never charge your batteries. Another way to go is something like a Xantrex Echo Charger. Other companies make something similar. They are designed to pull up to 15 or so amps from your house battery charging system over to your chassis batteries, and they only do this when your house charger is charging. They make it simpler since they don't require you to remember to turn on/plug in another charger. They'll just work whenever your house system is charging, whether it's from the 120v charger or from the solar charger.

Or, possibly a bad ground. You've had an intermittent issue during recent travel with a low charging light coming on. If you had a failing ground connection it could cause such an issue. Possibly now that ground connection has failed totally and is not providing a good ground to the dash and/or starting system controls.

Curious how you're calculating this? The 5000# tow rating assumes that one has 5000# available in the GCWR after calculating the weight of the coach itself. Just because a tow hitch is rated to pull 5000# doesn't mean that the coach can safely do so, especially if it would put the combined weight over the limit. The weight rating on the rear axle is not the only factor in play here - also have to be concerned about the ability of the coach to pull the total combined weight, handle the load at speed, and to safely stop. That's why the vehicle weight rating is often lower than the combined limits of the individual axles. Unless I missed it, we still don't know the ACTUAL weight of the coach, or the GCWR of the rig. Jarjour - could you please fill us in on the specifics (actual weight of coach and GCWR of coach)? That would help greatly.

Not sure your math is correct, although it might be. You've got to use your View's ACTUAL weight, not the GVWR. The GCWR is the maximum combined weight of your coach plus the actual weight of whatever you're towing. You've got to use the actual weights of both vehicles when calculating this number. The GVWR is the max allowed weight of your View - ideally you'll weigh in at less than the GVWR. Have you had your View weighed? The weight you're looking for is with the View loaded as you would be when traveling down the road, including passengers, water in the tanks, propane, toys in the bays, food in the fridge, etc. Once you have that weight, you can determine how much you have remaining of your 5000 pounds tow capacity. If you are flat towing, your tongue weight is not relevant here. That only comes into play when you are towing on a dolly or trailer, but it sounds like you're planning to tow the Canyon with four wheels on the pavement. While the tongue weight is not relevant, the weight of the hitch and tow bar are - you've got to include those in the GCWR when doing the calculations. The GCWR includes everything that you will be rolling down the road, including the bits & pieces that hold the two vehicles together.

I was just finishing up winterizing our coach and came across something I'd forgotten - the batteries in the remote controls. Good thing too, as the batteries in one of them was already starting to ooze a bit. Just a reminder to pull the batteries from all the various remote controls in your coach so there won't be any surprises come spring time. This is also a good time to check the batteries in your smoke detector(s) and CO monitors if yours have batteries, especially if you leave the rig plugged in over the winter or run the heat.