richard5933

We're going to Virginia this summer for a family wedding, and I was looking for places to visit while we're there. Anyone have know if Walton's Mountain is worth a visit? If so, is it a place one can go in a 35-foot DP? I grew up with the Waltons, so I'd love to see the area where the story was based.

If it started once and then not again, I'd suspect the wiring going to the starter from the ignition switch. What I'm thinking is that maybe your first starter wasn't bad, but the connection from the switch failed. When you installed the new starter it made enough of a connection to start it once, but not again. If memory serves me correctly, your starter has the solenoid built into it. Hopefully someone else can confirm that. If so, you can try jumping to the post which normally gets the 'start' signal from the ignition switch and see if it turns over. Could be something as simple as a failed ring terminal on the end of the wire.

Not sure how others would do it. According to the operator's manual for my coach, the outside rear can be changed by running the inside rear up on the ramp (ramp came with the coach), and the inside rear and front are change with the bottle jack that is stowed with the spare. Do I really think I have the strength to lift the bus with a simple bottle jack? Don't know for sure but I seriously doubt it. Again - I'm carrying those things for an case of extreme need, as I am counting on there being a mobile tire repair place around somewhere. Back to the thread... I'm truly surprised that the Loves wouldn't change a tires. I understand shops not wanting to work on mechanical systems or more involved repairs, but a tire should be somewhat universal between vehicles.

It's not so much about being manly enough to change the tire yourself - it's about having the tire available so that all you need is the assistance. It's usually possible to find a mobile tire repair truck that can easily swap the spare for the flat tire. Not always so easy to find the correct tire, especially when you're off the beaten path or have a flat when the warehouse is closed. We also never leave home without a mounted/inflated spare and a way to call for a mobile tire repair if needed. I've also got the tools to change it myself, but I'd have to be pretty desperate to even make the attempt on that.

I searched for "country coach rv apparel" and found this: https://country-coach.squarespace.com/ Seems to have what you're looking for. Scroll down on the page and select the 'accessories' tab.

When you are at the tire dealer, be sure to ask them about the date codes on the tires. You want them to be within the past few months only - you don't want to buy old tires. For your fridge - another thing to confirm is that you have 12vdc at the fridge when you are trying to use it on LP. In an earlier post you mentioned that your batteries needed charging/replacing. I'm not sure, but I don't think your fridge will function on LP without the 12vdc so that may be your problem. Start with the simple and work up from there.

I just read through the spec on the B.I.R.D. unit. Seems like it's a bi-directional version of the Echo Charger with one big difference. The max output on the B.I.R.D. unit is 1 amp and not 15 amps like the Echo Charger. At 1 amp, it will take a long time to bring up a discharged battery bank, especially a large battery bank.

Thanks for the recommendation. Always nice to hear about shops that can fix the little things without them becoming big things.

Brian - Before you even think about looking for the leak, please read and learn about how to properly block your coach for safety. The leveling jacks are not safe to use to support the coach while you're under it, and there are specific points that need to be supported which are make/model dependent. Newmar should be able to provide the needed information. When you are looking for the leaks, have a spray bottle with soapy water and take your time. Be sure to check all fittings, as well as the leveling valves/height adjustment valves themselves. If you don't find any air leaking externally to the fittings/hardware, then you might have a failed or dirty check valve.

Any commercial tire dealer should be able to properly mount, balance, and install the tires for you. I prefer commercial tire dealers over RV repair shops since tires are their specialty and they typically have better training.

Even me, who is trying to nurse a set of tires just a bit longer than most, would draw the line hard at 10 years. There's just not a good reason to use those tires any longer.

Can you just run the OTA antenna to your TV through a second signal input? Then you can select the input through your TV's remote control. I'm assuming that you are connecting the Dish receiver to your TV through an HDMI cable, which should leave the coax input free. Any type of converter is likely going to affect the signal to some degree. Doing a little reading online, it looks like some of the Dish OTA usb adapters get hot while in operation, and then they stop working. Maybe you have a similar problem? Also, have you confirmed that the Razor antenna has its power feed turned on while you're doing all this?

Your problem is a great place to install something like the Xantrex Echo Charger - it will send up to 15 amps from your house system to your start bats whenever the house system is being charged.

Date code on my current tires is from the end of 2011, making the tires about 7-1/2 years old. Just on the cusp of being too old, but it seems that there are mitigating circumstances. Again, I know that not everyone agrees, but the manager at the tire shop mentioned that years sitting on a rack out of the sun/weather don't contribute to breakdown nearly as much as years holding up a stationary coach in a campground while exposed to the sun.

Good catch - somehow I missed that. That being the case, then I agree that the battery isolator would be a good place to start troubleshooting to see where the charge is/isn't going.

Does that model charge house batteries from the chassis alternator? I've looked in the manual and don't see any mention of it. https://winnebagoind.com/resources/manuals/pdfs/Operator2001/01Journey.pdf

That is a lot of money, for sure. What I've seen is that states with lower income, real estate, and/or sales tax have to get the money to run the show from somewhere. Personal property tax seems to be where your state is getting a chunk of their operating budget from. Not that it will make you feel any better, but South Carolina ranked 40th in tax burden this year at only 7.55% overall. Compare that to where I live in Wisconsin, which ranks 16th at 9.15% overall. (Source: https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-highest-lowest-tax-burden/20494/) I only pay about $120/year for my coach's registration, but I pay more in other areas than you do. My feeling is that it all works out in the end, as there is no free lunch. Seems like states are starting to crack down on people registering vehicles out of state, as that lost revenue has to be made up somewhere else. Be careful when you do this - if your state is one that is coordinating with other states you might get an unwelcome letter in the mail from your revenue people.

I'm assuming that you are talking about the manufacturer's inflation chart based on your actual weight. If you mean, instead, the max inflation stamped into the sidewall you could still be way off the mark.

Long-shot here, but does the engine have engine brakes? (Jake brakes) This happened to me once when the Jakes were set wrong. They are only supposed to engage when the throttle is in a no-fuel position. As soon as you touch the throttle the Jakes should disengage. When this happened to mine they were on all the time and would not permit any acceleration. The engine idled perfectly, but as soon as I touched the throttle the engine stumbled badly and sounded like the engine was about give out on me. Diagnosis was simple - I turned off the Jake brakes and the engine ran fine again.

I can't speak to the air leak issue other than saying that sometimes these things are a bear to find. Time and lots of soapy water are the only way I know of to find them, and the search is made more difficult needing to block the coach up each time. I've finally found a tech that's good at finding and fixing such leaks. The 'chase it' down the road issue sounds like you're describing a vehicle that doesn't want to drive a straight line. We've got Firestone tires on our coach, and the thing will drive straight as an arrow. I don't know if the brand itself makes that much difference (assuming that you don't have a bad tire) as much as the tread pattern. In my years of driving, some tread patterns just don't do as good as others pulling the vehicle in a straight line going down the road. And to make it more confusing, we've installed the same brand/model of tires on two cars here at home, only to have one perform wonderfully and the other to be horrible on the road. Some tires just don't fit some cars well. When you had the steering/suspension work done, did they do a proper wheel alignment? By proper, I mean setting ALL the front end adjustments to spec AND doing a 4-corner alignment to make sure that you're not dog-legging it down the road. In other words, are the tires in all four corners pointing in the proper direction, and are both axles perfectly parallel to each other and centered to each other. If you've ever seen a semi going down the road with the rear end cocked off to one side, that's dog-legging.

You're missing a big chunk of the east coast on that route. I could understand wanting to stay away from the traffic in the zone from D.C. through Boston, but there is lots to see and do from Virginia down through the Carolinas and into Georgia. I'd head east from Tennessee into the Blue Ridge Mountains and then south from there if you want to get to Florida.

The final electrical connector arrived today, so I was able to get the last pieces installed. I was waiting for the correct plug so that the new panel would simply plug into the harness in place of the old one. I'm going to call this project a success. So glad that I finally have enough light to drive safely at night. I have ordered some properly colored & striped wire to do some upgrading to the wiring, and eventually once that's done I can re-evaluate my options for installing updated headlights which are better than the sealed beams. But for now, this is a huge improvement.

I remember those Firestone 500 tires well! My family was driving on an elevated section of Rt 22 into NYC when it sounded like an explosion took place under the car. It was one of the tires blowing itself apart and putting holes through the fender of the car. I don't think my father ever bought Firestones again after that.

The differences between the answers on this forum (and in the RV world in general) as compared to other places I've asked this question are astounding. In the course of maintaining my coach I regularly talk with a few men who have been in the bus industry for decades, including a few who have had responsibility for maintaining fleets in the past. They are all involved with bus conversions now which are used for recreational use. While in the RV world the prevailing wisdom is to replace tires at 7 years or before based primarily on age, many of these bus guys seem to be more inclined to keep a set of tires till the ten year point, IF they pass their pre-trip inspection and show no signs of problems (as well as annual inspections after a certain time). One of the bus 'gurus' was actually surprised I was considering replacing my tires - his answer was get them properly inspected and carry on if they pass. My observation is that many of the tires marketed towards the RV buyer are simply not up to the task as well as some other tires out there. They may provide a softer ride, but this is done at the expense of shorter life. Michelin tires seem to be more prone to sidewall cracking than many other brands - so much so that they even talk about it in their owners' literature. Worries me that a company has to specify how much cracking is acceptable. The other thing I see in many RVs is the use of tires with marginal weight load capacity. Running any system at or near its capacity is not a good idea, even more so with tires. The added stress doesn't add to the life of the tire, that's for certain. My preference is to make decisions based on facts. One of the facts I'd love to find is this - Of all the RV tire failures in recent years, how many were due to age alone vs. how many were due to tires which were damaged by some other factor such as being run low on air, being used over loaded, physical damage to tires, etc.?

Are you talking about a natural color leather or the natural color of the steering wheel? Steering wheel was white from the factory, so I kept the cover white. I thought about going with something different, but the only other color that would work would have been black to match the vinyl and trim in the front. Just couldn't imagine a black steering wheel being that comfortable if the sun was shining in the windshield for a while.