richard5933

It's been a while since this thread was last active, but I wanted to add the final chapter to the story... Today I took the coach to a local commercial tire dealer(Pomp's). I had met with the manager there over the winter and he seems to be on top of his game. He was happy to do the inspection, including un-mounting the tires if necessary, before talking about buying new tires. Bottom line on the inspection, he was really surprised to see the condition of the tires. Same for the tech he called over to confirm. They found no sidewall checking/cracking and no cracking in the tread pattern. No visible problems. He did not feel that un-mounting the tires was necessary at this time. I'm sure that he would have liked to sell me a new set of 7 tires, but couldn't find a reason to recommend replacing what I have. My plan is to use them this summer and bank the money to buy a new set all around when we pull it out after next winter. The only issue remaining is the slight contact between the tires and front air bags on hard turns which will require me to be mindful and avoid hard turns (full to stops). I did look into adjusting the stops on the power steering, but apparently on a system this old it's like opening a can of worms and would likely require some repair work - once seals are moved they don't always reseal easily. I was told that this is best left alone. Based on the information I got when I bought the bus in Oct. 2017, it sounds like the tires were installed sometime around 2014-5. The original owner of the bus was a charter fleet owner, and the guy I bought it from (Tom) is a used/vintage bus dealer. Not sure which installed the FS400 315 tires that are on there now, but it happened around the time the bus was sold to Tom. I'm guessing that these tires were bought in some quantity by one of them, and then sat on the rack for a couple of years until they were installed. Then the bus was stored indoors for most of the time till I got it. That, combined with the fact that these L-rated tires are way more tire than needed to carry the weight of the 35-foot coach probably has helped them stay in good condition. I know that not everyone will agree with my decision to continue with these tires for one more season, but I feel comfortable with it after having two sets of professional eyes confirm what I thought. Had there been any external indication of damage/repairs/previous flat repairs I would have insisted on having the tires un-mounted, but that wasn't the case.

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.

This is the Dairy State, after all. Would you expect anything less? ☺️ Something very cool that I've only seen up here is the little milk door with a cubby inside it which is built into an exterior wall of the kitchen in many homes, especially those built before WWII. The milkman would leave the milk delivery inside the little cubby built into the wall rather than a box on your porch, that way the milk didn't freeze in the winter. Our milkman just leaves the delivery in the fridge we keep inside the barn.

Thanks. No on the 5-gal milk delivery. We still have a milk man, but they don't bring it in the cans, just 1/2-gal bottles. We keep the can to hold a flower pot in the summer.

Decided to tackle the look of the steering wheel today. It was tolerable last year, but it seems like the extreme cold this winter didn't do the plastic steering wheel any favors. You can see the cracking getting bad in the 'in-progress' photo as I'm sewing on the leather cover. Seems as though these old plastic steering wheels have a definite end-of-life. I was unsure what I'd use to cover such a big steering wheel (it's 22"), and then I found http://wheelskins.aapd.net/t/wheelskinsspecialorder where it was possible to order a custom made steering wheel cover to fit perfectly. I was a little concerned at first since I couldn't get them on the phone and they didn't respond to email, but I finally decided to just follow the directions on their site for measuring and order the thing. Order was placed on Monday for a custom cover, and it arrived today. That's quick, especially for a custom order. Not sure my install was perfect, but the end result is so much nicer to look at than the cracked wheel. I know there are others driving older or vintage rigs, so I thought I'd share this in case someone else finds it useful.

It doesn't seem too far from the State Highway. Have you 'run the route' using Google Maps Streetview yet?

I'm scheduled to take my coach to a commercial tire dealer in town next week just for this purpose. The tires all look great to me, but they're 8 years old. I'm open to replacing them, but cash is tight. Hopefully a pair of new tires on the front is all I'll need, and I'm hoping that being stored indoors for the majority of their life the tires in the rear can last one more season. I 'interviewed' a couple of shops in town until I found this one - I didn't feel comfortable taking it to the first two shops since it sounded like they just wanted to sell me tires and nothing more. The third shop had a manager that seemed to know his stuff and was more interested in earning a long-term customer than a one-time sale. I'll report back how things go and what I think of the inspection process.

Assuming that your system uses pressure sensors/switches, it sounds like maybe you have one that's getting a false/incorrect reading or where the wires have come loose or shorted. Whatever you do for troubleshooting, please do not get under your coach for any reason unless the coach is properly blocked to prevent the body from falling on you. Especially when the problem you're troubleshooting is related to the air suspension system, you don't want to be under the coach at all without the proper safety precautions. Leveling jacks are not considered proper safety precautions and shouldn't be relied upon to hold up the coach if a person needs to go underneath.

Not sure about which side (or sides) carry the tension on your awning - manual hopefully will tell you. If you are unsuccessful finding the part through the manufacturer(s), you might have luck with one of the RV salvage yards.

If there is still tension in the awning use caution. There are specific methods used to 'unwind' things in a safe way to avoid injury. Do you have the manual for your awnings? If not, getting the manual from the company's website would be my first step, as it should have instructions for safely getting the tension off the thing.

Thanks. Mom always taught us that neatness counts. And she was right - especially in wiring things like this. I hate opening a compartment and seeing a tangled mess instead of something that can be easily understood or worked on. I try to make sure that the next person needing to work on this system can easily understand what I've done.

Eventually, perhaps. I tested the wiring, and it all tested good so far. It is all protected from weather, heat, and sun and I didn't see anything that was of concern. That said, it's on my list to install upgraded wiring between the converter panel and the headlights. At 13.8v, the halogen sealed beam headlights draw just under the 10a max on the 16ga wiring - not an ideal situation but it will work. In my earlier testing, the resistor panel was the choke point (just like in your cartoon). Proper 24v system voltage going in, but not proper 12v+ coming out. Even with the engine running and chassis voltage at about 27v, the output from the resistor panel was only 11.9v. That's no where near enough to properly power sealed beam halogen lights. My suspicion is that the resistors themselves have started to break down and have increased resistance. Whenever possible, I like to make changes incrementally so that I can do binary testing along the way. Change everything at once and you never know exactly where the problem is/was and you don't know which upgrade actually solved the problem. By just changing the resistor panel to the converters, I can easily compare the results between the two (I'll post photos showing the results). Like many vehicles, the factory installed wiring that was barely up to the task at hand - they used 16 ga wiring for the headlight system. With 24v headlights that might have been okay, since the current draw is lower on 24v systems, but when they installed the resistor panel to use 12v headlights they should up upped the wiring in the final few feet in front of the resistor panel. That final few feet is where I'm going to focus when I start upgrading the wiring. At least they had the wisdom to install the resistor panel as close to the headlights as possible (it's about 12" from the driver's side headlights, and about 6 feet from the curbside headlights). My plan is to eventually run 12ga wiring forward of the converter panel to the headlights. That should provide a good buffer for an eventual upgrade to higher power headlights later on. Or, another option is to use something like the Cibie headlamps, which use modern halogen replaceable bulbs. If I do this I can get 24v bulbs and eliminate the converter panel altogether, and since 24v systems have a lower current draw the wiring once again becomes a non-issue.

Sorry to hear about this...here's to a quick and full recovery!

Finally got the new 24v-to-13.8v converter panel built. Photo shows the new next to the old resistor panel. I'm waiting for one old-school (Pack Con II) connector to arrive on Friday so I can plug it into the harness where the old panel was. The OEM wiring has a separate circuit breaker and power feed for each of the four headlights. Just gotta love the redundancy they built into these old coaches. I followed the same four-circuit system to maintain the redundancy, and I used converters which have far higher capacity than needed (they're rated at 40a each) to ensure lots of overhead since capacity will be reduced as these things heat up. I did some preliminary testing and found absolutely no discernible flicker at all. The light output from the headlights was also considerably higher, as it should be raising the voltage feeding them from about 12v to 13.8v. I'll post some lights-on photos once everything is buttoned up.

Don't the MSW inverters play havoc with some multi-meters? It would seem to me that if digital multi-meters are confused by the output of a MSW inverter, some digital equipment might be as well if it's doing any type of voltage monitoring. Of course, all I have is anecdotal accounts to rely on, but there does seem to be a functional difference in some cases between PSW and MSW inverters. We had a power supply for a tv which wouldn't work on our MSW on our last bus, but it works perfectly on the PSW we have now. I always assumed it had to do with the difference between the two inverters.