richard5933

Lots of talk online about that engine with overheating issues. Aside from what the others said, I'd be curious about the condition of the belt running the water pump as well as the water pump itself. If downshifting (increasing engine RPMs), then perhaps the water pump is not pumping adequately at slower RPMs which might indicate a water pump issue.

My suspicion is that the ATS is doing its job. As voltage drops the amps go up. Running an a/c unit on 104v will increase the amperage draw and quite likely trigger the ATS to cycle like it did. When you got home and forgot to turn off the a/c it sounds again like the ATS did its job and kept you from overloading the 15-amp circuit. Any way you can test this on a properly built 50-amp connection?

There was a table for one of the RV resorts at Gillette that tried to hard sell us. I finally asked "What's the point? You wouldn't let our old coach in anyway." The sales rep asked to see pictures, and immediately said that they would be happy to have us. We lost interest at the mention of the ten-year-old rule, but it's interesting to notice how quickly things can change once pictures are shown.

There are a number of RV salvage yards, but I agree that much of the equipment is off-the-shelf stuff. The waste plumbing is standard till you get to the valves, and they can be found at most RV shops or Amazon. Can you give us a bit of information on what happened?

This is a situation where Amazon is a good friend to have. The elements are available, usually a save or next day. Be sure to get the wrench if you don't already have it.

Warning - I may be about to burst your bubble! Here's a link to an article about the subject. It's just one opinion, but seems pretty well reasoned. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that there are good options for properly securing a child safety seat in an RV based on the information presented in this article. https://csftl.org/rv-travel-children/ I imagine that there are manufactures out there that have thought of this and installed at least one or two suitable seats to secure a child safety seat. I also imagine that it would be possible to retrofit a vehicle to make it safe to use a child safety seat. However, I wouldn't even pretend to suggest I know how to make that happen safely. Carl - You are correct that people carry kids of all ages in RVs and have done so for a long time. Of course, we've all seen people do all sorts of things while traveling down the road that 'work'. That is, until they don't. Laws: Here's an online listing of state-by-state seat belt law related to RV. I did not verify so use the data at your own risk. http://camperguide.org/rv-seat-belt-laws-by-state/ Want to see how that dinette will hold up in a crash?

Actually steel in the front and rear caps, aluminum the rest of the way. Our antenna is a magnetic mount, so not sure how that plays with the requirement for a ground plane. I did have to move it around a little to find the sweet spot - otherwise I was not able to get the thing tuned. The front cap on my bus has the upper 'Astro Glass' windows behind it, and I suspect that the antenna was getting some interference from those windows and surround metal. In order to use the magnetic mount I needed to stick to the front cap, so luckily I was able to find a good spot. Why the magnetic mount? Simple - no holes means no chance for leaks. I brought the cable in through the side where it could go directly into a wiring conduit and where it was easier to get a good seal. There are a few really good antennas specifically designed for use on fiberglass or other non-metallic vehicles. Depending on the vehicle the blakleyfamily is going to be installing the CB in they might need to find that type of antenna.

What ever you get, make sure to tune it using an SWR meter according to the instructions provided by the antenna manufacturer. No antenna, no matter how good, will perform well if not tuned properly.

I think that a lot of the confusion, at least from Verizon, is of their own making. When they first were selling data plans a few years ago it was possible to sign up for an 'unlimited' plan that was truly unlimited. Use as much data as you cared to - no limits and no throttling. Of course, at that time no one anticipated how much data customers would use as phones and tablets grew more powerful. When things got out of hand they started to impose limits and for a while did away with the unlimited plans. They did everything they could to get people still on the original 'unlimited' plan off of it. Now they've started to do unlimited plans again, but this time around these are different and not really unlimited. I think that a more accurate description for these plans would be 'high limit' and not unlimited. They are not unlimited according to the definition Verizon itself created just a few years ago. My definition of unlimited is just what it sounds like - a plan with no limits on usage. Saying that it's unlimited but then setting a cutoff point for high speed use at 25 GB is pointless and defies the definition of unlimited. If they want to sell a 25 GB plan then call it that and leave the word unlimited out of the conversation.

That photo was really just to show the connection port. That black box with the two small round vents is the battery box. Here's a photo showing the watering system installed. It's kind of hard to see, but if you follow the black rubber tubing up the front of the left-hand battery you'll see the network of tubing running around the tops of the batteries. The Trojan system uses 3-gang covers which look just like the original covers other than the port for the Hydrolink system. This photo was taken before all the accessories and wiring was installed, but the Hydrolink system is in place. For those curious, that white plastic thing coming out of the back/top of the battery box is the powered vent. It feeds into the PVC pipe and discharges out the floor of the bay. It's on a voltage-sensing switch and comes on whenever the battery voltage is at or above 13.2, which is the lowest voltage to be seen on my system when the charger is running. This way the power vent is on only when needed and doesn't drain the batteries when there is no charge coming in. It doesn't matter which of the three chargers is running (solar charge controller, 120v converter/charger, or 24v-to-12v charger), if the voltage is high enough to cause gassing the power vent is running. The voltage-sensing switch for the power vent can be seen in the earlier photo hiding behind the PVC pipe.

Dan - Welcome to the forum! Solar and the inverter often go together, but they are not the same thing (and you don't need an inverter to add solar). The primary piece of equipment other than the panels that you'll need is the solar charge controller. There are two basic types, and the one you choose will depend on the ultimate size of your solar array and the way you're going to use it. The charge controller takes the power from the solar panels in on one end, and puts it out on the other end in a way that can be used to charge your battery bank. The better ones will have a good multi-stage setup so that they can charge your battery bank without damaging it by overcharging. The output of the solar charge controller is typically wired to the batteries directly and can run parallel to the input to the batteries from the converter/charger or inverter/charger. Do you currently have an inverter at all? In order to be able to use the 120v output current from the inverter it will need to be wired to the inside of your coach. If you currently have an inverter alongside your converter/charger you can replace both of those with an appropriately sized inverter/charger. If you don't have an inverter yet, you can either keep your existing converter/charger and add the inverter to the system, or you can change the converter/charger for an inverter/charger. Either way, you'll also have to bring the inverter into the 120v wiring so that you can make use of it inside the coach. The switching between the inverter output/shore power/generator output can be as automated or manual as you want. A little more information about your current setup and your end goal with the solar will help us help you better.

I've got the Trojan Hydrolink system installed on our house batteries - four L16 six volt batteries which are installed in a sealed/vented battery box deep in one of the bays. I installed the hose connection port in an easy-to-access spot, and to fill the batteries I just connect the hose with the hand pump bulb and fill. If you look in the lower left of the black battery box you'll see the connection port. Helps to purge the air out of the bulb pump and tube before connecting to the system so I don't have to pump the air through the battery tops. The system seems to work well. There are floats on each of the cell caps which shut off flow to that cell when the proper level is reached. No leaks or problems yet. This is the second coach we've installed this system on. My suggestion would be to make certain that the system you're getting has fill caps that match the batteries they'll be mounted to, and make sure that the caps are fully and properly seated on the top of the battery. On the Trojan system there is a distinct click heard when things are fully seated, but it's easy to miss it if not paying attention.

Not sure if that model would have provided protection against a low-voltage situation. Here's the unit we use, specifically to avoid situations like the problem you had with the low-voltage on one leg. http://www.progressiveindustries.net/ems-pt50x

The 8D I got from Napa came with a cardboard cover, and it had the date actually printed on a label. I would hope that a reputable parts supplier or battery dealer would have the ability to interpret the date codes. Not sure about Walmart or the local farm store.

This seems to be something that brought a mixed opinion. I vote for yes - if you can fit one in somewhere you should have a spare. Others are not so worried. Here's the thread that was referenced by Carl. Scroll down to the tail end of the conversation to see the bit about spare tires. Welcome to the forum and look forward to talking with you more.

Does your insurance cover trip interruption? If so, maybe it's time to look into that so you can get home and take care of things that need to be taken care of.

The guy at the counter said that they normally try and keep batteries no more than one year old on the shelf. I've read that even that can be too long, since batteries will lose charge over time, and a dead battery left for too long may be permanently damaged.

Just a heads up for anyone getting a 'new' battery, especially one which is an unusual or less common size... Check the manufacturing date on the battery. Sometimes it's in code on a sticker, sometimes it's printed on the box, and sometimes you've got to ask the dealer. Our generator uses a dual-purpose 8D battery as a start battery. (I know it's overkill, but it also acts as a back-up to the house system - long story for another post.) I went to Napa to get a replacement since they had a good battery and a decent price. They brought one in from another location since the local store was out. I went to pick up the battery and noticed that the cardboard cover was stained, tattered, and torn. When the guy lifted the box I saw that one of the posts was slightly out of line with the other, probably took a knock from another battery while being shelved. I asked him to check the battery before loading it just to be sure that the damage didn't go any deeper. Nothing showed on the tester - no current, no nothing. The guy checked his tester and came back to say the 'new' battery was defective. As he was doing all this I took a look at the date on the box. It read 2013. This battery has been sitting on the shelf for about 5 years, probably with no charge and no maintenance. So, end of story is I'm really glad I noticed the bent post and thought to have him check the battery. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have noticed the date issue until I lugged the thing home and into the coach. Lesson learned - check manufacturing dates on batteries.

Glad to hear that at least one dealer knows how to properly package things for shipping.

Don't know about 55+ parks, but the weather here in Wisconsin is really nice this summer. Days mostly in the upper 70s to upper 80s with nights in the upper 60s. It will probably warm up, but so far this has been a great summer for sleeping with the windows open. I lived in Texas for over twenty years until I could leave. Not sure why anyone would stay in Texas for the summer if given the option.

If you have a place near enough to drive to, you might consider going to pick up the unit if at all possible. The place that I purchased from warned me that the a/c units are not typically packaged for individual shipping. They usually arrive to a dealer on a pallet - when they break the pallet to ship the units individually they are just labeled and shipped out as they are with no additional padding/packing. I drove from Milwaukee to Elkhart IN to pick up our Atwood to make sure that it arrived without damage. If you read the reviews on Amazon (or other online retailers) you'll read about people that had units damaged in shipping.

Where are you located? I got my unit through a small shop in Elkhart, IN.

What torque wrench do you carry? The ones I've seen were huge, heavy, and expensive.

Yup. Spare tire, bottle jack, run-up ramp, and tire changing tools. Not that I'd ever think of changing it myself, as I can barely get it out of the area behind the front bumper. A 315/80R22.5 tire mounted on a steel wheel weighs a couple of pounds, at least. Nice to know it's there though. I just assumed that for the money charged for the new Class A rigs they'd include a spare tire. There's got to be room on them for at least an unmounted tire, no?

All the more reason to always carry a spare, even if it's not mounted. Finding a mobile tire service to swap the tire for you will be relatively easy in most locations in the US. Finding the correct size tire may not be. Having the tire with you might be the difference between a few hours on the side of the road and an expensive tow into town waiting for a tire to arrive. The troopers will usually only have so much patience waiting for road side repairs before they call for a tow, especially in dangerous or busier stretches of road.