richard5933

Glad it was something so simple. Thanks for letting us know the outcome. A cleaning brush has been part of my maintenance kit for a long time just for such things - should be standard in any toolbox if there is a standing pilot onboard. They do get dirty and need cleaning from time to time.

Any way to tell if that is the proper dipstick for the engine?

Are you positive that you have LP and that no one had turned it off (like a repair shop or a helpful spouse?) Have you tried cleaning the tip of the thermocouple? On my furnace the tip will develop a buildup after running a while, and this can make lighting difficult. I keep a toothbrush on hand just for cleaning the tip.

If he's advertising it for $155,000, that likely is not the price it will actually sell for. Advertised prices are always higher than sales prices. That said, I'm sure he's going to make money on the deal, and your contract should tell you what the consignment fee percentage is. Most consignment contracts I've seen pay a fee based on a percentage of the final sales price, plus a set 'processing' fee. Or does your contract just guarantee you a minimum payout to you? If this is the case, then as long as you get the amount you asked for I'd try not to watch how much the dealer does or does not make on the deal. While it may seem like he's making excessive profit on a deal like this, that extra profit gives him added incentive to move your rig more quickly.

That's not a bad discount, but it's hard to beat the deal the TSD is offering when buying Diesel at a Loves.

The price at the pump will show what it always shows, in my experience. Ignore that. There is an app from EFS which will show you the transaction report immediately after pumping the fuel, and it will show the actual amount the fuel cost you per gallon. That's not the amount that will be debited from your account though, since the program takes a fee which is 10% of the amount of your savings. You will receive a statement overnight on every day where you use the program to purchase fuel. This report shows the pump price for the fuel, the discount you received, and the actual amount that will be debited once the TSD fee is calculated. I posted below one of the reports I received so you can see what information you receive. We use Quicken to track all our account expenses, so I wait until I get my nightly statement to finalize the purchase in Quicken. I'm a bit OCD about Quicken, so I make two entries - the first is into an account I set up for the EFS account which I make at the time of purchase. For this transaction I enter the discounted amount the fuel cost as reported through the EFS app using a split transaction to reflect the pump price and the discount. This way I don't totally forget to enter things. The second transaction I enter into Quicken is the transfer from my checking account to the EFS account to reflect the nightly debit. In this transaction I add the fee that TSD takes. I separate the purchase in the EFS account from the debit since it's possible to have multiple fuel purchases in the same day, but the program will still only do one debit from your checking account overnight.

The best thing to do for your coach is to spend time blocking access points. A mouse can get into a hole less than 1/2" in width if it thinks there's something worthwhile on the other side. At home our pest control guys have spent many hours finding as many possible entrance points and stuffing them with stainless steel wool to block the mice. Having a stone foundation is so much fun. On our coach, I've spent many hours searching for every crack or opening that a mouse could use to gain access. Once found, I either fill with caulking or an appropriate seal/gasket/stuffing material. The ones that need to remain open for ventilation have had screens installed. The areas that need to remain open to allow for expansion have been filled with either copper wool or stainless steel wool. The ares for me which are most vulnerable are electrical and wiring areas that go beyond the sealed compartments, such as the engine bay. As much of our wiring as possible has been wrapped with appropriate wiring harness covers, but that's not mouse proof. We lost a generator on our first coach when mice ate the wiring in the control box and destroyed things. I've read about mouse damage to engine wiring as well, which is why ours has been wrapped. The area under and near where you store your coach is important to maintain as well. Keep the weeds and grass as low as possible. If you have gravel areas keep them week free. Mice don't like being out in the open, so don't give them hiding places to get into and out of your coach. If you store your coach indoors, have a pest control company come out and do an inspection to be sure that you're not sharing the space with a family of mice. Might be a good idea to put out some traps along the walls in the storage area regardless - get rid of the mice before they find their way into your coach.

It's not just the amps. Some of the smaller panels don't put out the correct voltage to effectively charge the battery bank.

If they're disc, probably not...

When is the last time the brakes were inspected? Sounds like your rear brakes are far enough out of adjustment that the shoes are no longer reaching the drums fully. They should self adjust, but those can get stuck.

Some states have EZ Pass offices located at the plaza/rest stops. In Illinois they are called Oasis. I believe that you can pick up a transponder at one of those offices. I'd suspect that the same is available in most states accepting EZ Pass, either on the toll road itself somewhere or in a state office building somewhere. Might be an option for someone full-timing or needing to pick up a transponder while on a long trip.

First step in any gauge malfunction should always be to check ground connections. Probably a vast majority of problems with gauges and similar instrumentation can be traced to ground faults, especially on earlier coaches like yours. Hopefully there is an access panel above the tank where you can get your hands on the fuel gauge sending unit. If so, then you'll have a much easier time finding the wiring and getting it repaired. You might also have ground connections behind your gauge cluster. While you're in the area, check all the other connections back there for anything loose or corroded.

Curious if there was a reason that you chose to get your transponder from NC and pay the $7.50 rather than from one of the states that give them for free. Did they have another benefit that outweighed the cost?

I'd replace both to keep handling the same on both sides. Wouldn't hurt to have the hub inspected while it's in for the alignment just to be sure there are no other.

Couple of threads on this recently with lots of ideas. You can get an EZ Pass from any stste, so shop around. Mine is from Illinois even though I live in Wisconsin. They offer free transponders. Each state has a slightly different setup.

Couple of thoughts... The amps being shown on the display are usually not the capacity of the batteries, but rather the amount of current going into or out of the batteries at that moment in time. My guess is that at the moment you pressed the button the first time it told you that 5.6 amps were going into your batteries. The next press of the button which showed 42.1 amps is likely a cumulative count of the amps either used or put back into the batteries. On my display, the number will go up while I'm discharging showing me how many Ah I've pulled from the battery bank, and as I charge the number goes back towards zero. Some count the other direction. As you run the charger make a note of which direction this number goes. On my display, I've programmed in the total capacity of the battery bank, and the percent of charge is based on the actual number of amps which have flowed across the shunt measuring them. The percent of charge (SOC) which is showing 50% on your batteries could be based on the voltage or on the amps going into/out of the batteries. Likely yours is measuring the voltage, but checking the manual should confirm which it is. Since you have four 6-volt batteries, you most likely have them connected in series/parallel configuration. That means that you have two pairs of two batteries. Each pair is in series to make a 12v battery, and the two pairs are in parallel to double the amps. (Series increases voltage, parallel increases Ah). This would mean that if you have the four batteries delivering 12 volts you have 450 Ah @ 20hrs, not 900. If your chassis batteries are showing 12.6v and your house batteries are showing higher, then perhaps you are not charging your chassis batteries while plugged in. If they were being charged you would have seen a higher reading. The difference between the two house battery readouts could easily being explained by either a margin of error (the displays are not all calibrated the same) or as a result of some minor voltage loss due to length of cables, size of cables, etc. Not something I'd worry about.

Or, you could connect it to your 12v house battery which is being charged while you're plugged in, without a doubt. Then the problem is alleviated. Of course, a multimeter will tell you quickly if your chassis batteries are being charged. Test them after you've been shut down for a while but before you plug in. Then test again after your house batteries are charged up and see if your system is sending any juice to the chassis batteries. Have you checked your manual yet to see what it tells you?

Has anyone installed and logged into the app yet? I have it installed, but it appears that you have to register with the app developer's site before using it. Not sure why this is the case - just one more place for our information to be out there. I have no idea who this app developer is or what their history is. Curious why the app doesn't let us log in directly using our FMCA credentials. Anyone from leadership able to explain?

Yes and no. Our 1974 coach had about 41,000 miles on the odometer when we bough it a couple of years ago. Nearly all the problems we've had are a direct or indirect result of the lack of use. Machines do much better when they are used. That said, the problems I've dealt with, as annoying as they are, are certainly less problematic than those from coach which has been ridden hard and put away wet. Or worse one which had not seen proper maintenance. And advice would be appropriate as with any rig... Get a thorough inspection and be sure to include all mechanical systems in the inspection. You also might want to investigate which house systems you will want to upgrade, not because they're worn out but rather because they are outdated and the newer tech is better.

Prevost conversions are nice rigs, for certain. Bus conversions, in general, provide many things that are not generally available in typical motor homes including ride, handling, and safety on the road. Be aware that even though you're looking at vehicles with a sales prices reflecting depreciation from the original sales price, you're still going to have much higher service and repair bills than a typical motor home. Not sure from your posts if you have previous experience with bus conversions or not, but this is one of the things that tends to surprise new owners. Doing lots of the work yourself can help you save quite a bit, but then you'll need to get a model old enough so that it doesn't come filled with computers which require proprietary software. This forum will be lots of help getting things on the house side in order. There is also a Prevost community online where Prevost owners share information specific to the Prevost, and there are a few good bus conversion sites which are very helpful with the bus chassis information. As a bus conversion owner I participate in the bus conversion sites along with FMCA to get information from both sides.

You don't need a commercial EZ Pass, just one suitable for your RV. You can get it from any state, so shop around. I have mine through Illinois even though I live in Wisconsin - they offer free transponders. https://www.getipass.com/ I can't advise regarding the number of axles being reported. I'd go with the category which most accurately represents your coach. The I-Pass (IL version of EZ Pass) just goes by the number of axles/tires.

Is the inlet vent pulling air directly from the wheel well? If so, perhaps you can mount a shield a couple of inches in front of it to prevent spray from the tires hitting your inlet directly. I'm picturing a sheet of 1/8" plastic mounted about 1.5" from the wall, sealed top and sides so that it pulls in air from the bottom.

The amperage shown on your surge protector is indicating how much current your rig is drawing from the pedestal, not how much current is available. The voltage shown is indicating the voltage at the pedestal. It is possible to have a low voltage situation with only 3 sites in use if the campground's system is not properly installed or not properly sized to handle the load being put on it. Remember that amperage and voltage will play off each other, so if the amperage being pulled goes up, the voltage goes down. Quite possibly the transformer and/or supply lines to the campground are not adequately sized. One suggestion is to be sure that nothing else on your rig is drawing considerable current while you're trying to run the a/c. Things like your inverter/charger can pull considerable current (even if you are not using the inverter outlets - the charger side can pull quite a bit on its own.)

Is there any type of centralized database showing problems with the different brands of tires?

Here's what I've come up with so far. It's a replacement pedal cover from a Kenworth truck which I hot glued to a 1" thick piece of very dense foam. There are two Velcro straps which hold it to the OEM pedal. This gives me about 1-1/4" of extra reach, which should be plenty. Not sure I can move the pedal assembly - looks like it's on the same mounting bracket as the brake pedal.