richard5933

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.

That's why we carry the portable propane burner - no problem cooking without electrical hookups. Best $50 I spent on accessories.

Have you confirmed that the coolant you're using is compatible with both the engine and the radiator? Since you bought the rig used, there's no telling what was put in it prior to your ownership, so perhaps a thorough flush is in order. I'd assume that this was done during the radiator swap in 2012, but thought I'd mention it just in case. Some radiators and/or engine can be damaged by using the wrong coolant.

When we installed the new 15K BTU Atwood, the current draw was rated as the same as the 13.5K we were replacing since it was a more efficient unit and able to make more cold from the same current. There might be only a slight increase in cooling capacity, but since the difference in price was minimal we went with the larger capacity. The heat pump is an alternative to the heat strip. Where the heat strip works basically the same as a hair dryer by using electric current to heat the element, the heat pump in essence runs the a/c unit in reverse. Instead of absorbing heat from inside the coach and dumping it outside, the heat pump absorbs heat outside and dumps it into the coach. The only downside with the heat pump is that they don't work in extremely cold weather. We tested ours down to the upper 30s outside temp and it made heat nicely. Don't know what the actual limits are. The main purpose of the heat pump inside the a/c unit is not to replace a furnace, but rather to take the chill out of coach on a cool morning. Much easier to just flip a switch and run the heat pump for a few minutes than to get the LP system fired up in our coach, especially just for a few minutes of use. The heat strips would do the same thing, but generally are not as efficient and they tend to have a strange smell unless they are used often.

We carry one of the portable propane stoves with us just for such an event. They can run off the green propane bottles and we keep a couple of those. The stove will burn for quite a while on one bottle, and it actually is a great little stove. They also make two-burner models but we went with the single burner because it's really easy to stow away. When we were in Gillette on 30-amp hookups, the choice was using our electric stove or running the a/c. Since it was pretty warm we weren't keen on shutting off the a/c, so I pulled the propane stove out, set it up on top of the closed electric stove cover, and in two minutes was ready to cook dinner.

Every roof-top I've seen being sold will fit into the same opening, so you are not limited to the Duo-Therm. We had an Atwood Air Command 15K unit with heat pump and liked it very much. Not terribly noisy and both the heat and a/c seemed to work for us. Depending on how your current unit is installed, you may or may not need a new thermostat. If you are switching from 13.5K to 15K, you'll need to do a little homework first. First thing to check is the rating of the circuit that is powering the a/c unit - is it 15 amps or 20 amps? Remembering that you don't want to consistently run a circuit at more than 80% of the rating, get the numbers on the new unit and see what will work within the limits of what circuit you've got. Some of the newer 15K units will actually run on the same current draw as the older 13.5K units since they are more efficient, so you might not have any problems. When we installed the Atwood, we did the work ourselves. To get the unit up to the roof we had to be creative since I didn't feel safe lifting it on my shoulder while climbing the ladder. What we did was did was use one half of a 40-foot extension ladder as a ramp. I built a 'sled' (out of a piece of scrap plywood with two bottom side runners) that could run up the ladder ramp. Then I strapped the Atwood to the sled. We drilled a hole in the end of the sled for a rope, and then just pulled it up the ramp from the roof of the coach. Once it got to the top end of the ramp I tied it off and then lifted the Atwood from the ramp to the roof. It was slow, but I was able to get the Atwood onto the roof without injury or damage. Of course, you'll have to have a long enough ramp to make this work depending on the height of your coach.

I don't know much about the construction used to fasten the cap to the roof and cab, but I'd suspect that one of the weak points in the construction is going to be where the cap connects to the roof. Load the cap too heavily, and you've added quite a bit of stress to that joint. Looking at the info online about this model, it's easy to see how far that sleeper cap sticks out over the cab. Load that sucker too much and I'd expect problems. Perhaps you can rearrange where you are storing things and use that upper area just for storing items which may be larger or bulkier but not terribly heavy? Extra bedding, towels, sleeping bag, etc. take up a lot of space but don't add much weight.

Four Trojan T-105 will provide 450 Ah capacity. In the same footprint one could also use four Trojan T-145 and have 520 Ah capacity. We considered using the 8D batteries but the capacity to size/weight just didn't make sense.

Really depends on how you define 'best'. If 'best' means low-maintenance, the AGM are the way to go. I've not found them to have the same storage capacity as flooded batteries for the same physical size. If 'best' means the most storage capacity in the allotted space, then something like the Trojan T-145 would be my choice. They are only slightly taller than the T-105 but have considerably more storage capacity. We've got Trojan L16g in our coach. The height was not a problem and it allowed us to cram 780 Ah into the available footprint. I installed the Trojan watering system so I can keep the water filled without having to open the battery compartment. When shopping for your batteries, see if there is an industrial battery dealer in your area. I went through https://www.sbsbattery.com/ since they had a location in town. They gave me a good price and I was able to pick up locally and avoid shipping. If they don't have a location near you, do a quick search online for similar dealers in your area. Sometimes searching for forklift or golf cart battery dealers will help.

With Windows PC machines it's always possible to do a total reinstall from a blank formatted hard drive. Then you have a bone stock system, no matter the manufacturer of the PC.

I tried to go with open-source software for a while. Open Office was generally okay for my needs, but then I started to run into problems when Microsoft updated Word and Open Office wasn't able to open the new file format. Some of the other software I use has modules to automatically synchronize with Microsoft products as well, and they didn't play well with Open Office. Corel is necessary for us because our LASER engraver is very quirky - it won't recognize a cut commend unless Corel is used. Tried a number of open-source alternatives but just couldn't get things to work right. I tend to be the outlier in many areas of life - my bus for example. Software is just not something that I have the patience to deal with so I have accepted the fact that I'll have to pay for it and use the commonly-accepted software packages.

Welcome to the forum. I don't see any information about where you're located, but be sure to also check the DMV in your state to be sure that the combine weight and/or length doesn't push you into the requirement of a higher class of driver license. Some states are starting to require a non-commercial Class A or B for the longer/heavier rigs.

You have power through the master switch, but have you checked that you have power on both sides of the solenoid. When the "salesman" switch inside the coach is turned on there should be power to both sides of the solenoid - when the switch is off you'll have power to only one side. The controls for the generator might be running from the house system, regardless of where it's pulling the power to actually turn the starter on the generator.

Personally never liked Apple products, largely due to the limitations placed on modifications and ability to personalize the setup. I know that their interface is somewhat more user friendly, but I just don't care for it. I also don't like the way that Apple attempts to own the entire ecosystem for their users. Yes, they say it makes it easier to prevent hacking and malware. But I don't buy that being their primary reason. I've been a PC guy since they started in the 70s and have stuck with it since. I've used MAC at various workplaces and never grew to like them. The current Win10 seems to be about as stable as any other previous version I've used. I'm not a fan of subscription-based software though, and that is what Windows has become now. You don't own it, you just use it. Most of the software that I pay for is also now subscription based. Microsoft Office, Quicken, Corel, etc are all subscriptions and I actually own nothing other than the right to use the software. I suspect that the cost for these software platforms are pretty much the same regardless of the platform. Most other software I use is either specialty software that was provided by my equipment manufacturers (like for my LASER engraver) or freeware.

I'd suspect that the noise level will vary depending on the quality of the build and the type of materials used for the walls/framing.

We've got an Interstate dealer in Milwaukee with a great a/c tech. They work on all makes/models of trucks, buses, and RVs. Best best is to find a shop in your area that services the a/c for one of the local charter bus company's coaches. Next best is a truck repair center with an a/c tech. There should be at least one such place in every major city. I suspect in Michigan you'll find many.

Both are correct. Our bus a/c is r22, but it's been switched to a modern replacement refrigerant. The two basement units are r12. One has already been switched to a modern refrigerant. The other is still running r12. I will probably need to purge/refill it at the end of this season, so I'll send a PM about the r12.

Circuit boards? We don't need no stinkin' circuit boards!

Correct - OTR (dash) a/c is an r22 system. It was recently upgraded to one of the modern r22 replacements. Both of our basement a/c systems use r12. All three have sight glasses. Oh - the joys of older coaches...

I suppose that all this is part of the reason that some states are starting to require an upgraded license to drive the larger RVs. I wasn't able to get the air brake endorsement on my CDL until I could pass a basic knowledge test on the subject. It's probably a good idea for everyone driving a vehicle with air brakes to get a copy of the air brake manual from their state's DOT and learn the material, even if it's not required reading/testing for them.

Is there a sight glass? On our system the tech filled till the bubbles stopped. Did the tech use a leak detector to check for leaks? These a/c systems are closed systems, so if you're low on refrigerant there's likely a leak. Sometimes they are so small or hidden that it's impossible to find them till things get really bad.

That's the way it's done each time our coach needs adjusting. No way to safely get under without blocking the suspension, and there's no way to reach the adjusters without being under the bus. I could jack/block it myself, but fortunately I'm able to take it to the shop. They raise one end, use jack stands to ensure safety, and then go under on a creeper. With brakes released and transmission in neutral it takes just a few minutes to adjust, spin a tire, adjust some more, and then do the final spin check to be sure there is no drag. Then on to the other end. In a pinch when the only way possible to gain access underneath is with a ramp, the procedure would be to fully snug up the adjusters and then back off a certain amount. On our coach it's 1/2 turn. The whole process is infinitely easier with a service pit to drive over, which is most likely how things would have been done 'back in the day' when a coach like ours was in commercial service. Ownership of a bus conversion like ours is not for the faint of heart or those unwilling to either do the work or pay to have it done. Again - I wasn't trying to give instructions on adjusting brakes. I was just trying to point out that every make/model has specific requirements and that following a one-size-fits-all video probably isn't the best approach.