richard5933

There's an Interstate shop in Gary IN. Not sure how far that is from you. Their shop in Milwaukee works on our coach. They are an Allison dealer/service provider. Might be worth calling for a price quote if you are near them. They are not the cheapest, but they do good work and seem to be honest in their dealings. They deal mainly with commercial vehicles, but I've seen lots of coaches and motor homes in the Milwaukee location getting service work done. I'd rather deal with them than an RV dealership any day.

There are lots of places to search for leaks, especially if you have an Aqua Hot or similar device which is tied into the engine coolant, a driver's heater, or anything else that brings coolant out of the engine bay and into the forward areas of the coach. Ours had a small leak in the circulating pump which was used to bring coolant to the front so that the defroster could get heat. See if you can find the route of the coolant hoses running from the engine bay forward, if you've got them. Check the defroster's heater core as well as the driver's heater core (they may or may not be the same). You many have to really search for the leak, but if you're losing a gallon every 100 miles then it's going somewhere. Best case is you find the leak and can fix it. Worst case is that you're losing coolant through an internal leak in the engine (head gasket, cracked block, etc.) Like the others have suggested, pressurize the system and leave it for a few days. If the leak is external you'll find it. If it's internal to the engine the oil level is likely going to go up as the coolant leaks into the engine.

Larry - Thanks for the update. Just as a suggestion, but a heads up would be nice when we are going to be seeing strange screens pop up. With the way things are today everyone is on high alert (or should be) and seeing the strange screen when logging in created concern.

Starting yesterday, whenever I load the FMCA forum the browser pauses for a moment on a page telling me that the site is testing my browser. What's the deal? Is this some type of new security protocol to see if my browser is updated? Or is there something wrong on my end? Anyone else seeing this out there? I just tried this and it happens in Firefox, Explorer, and Chrome, and it happens on both of my computers. A screen shot is attached.

If the coach is plugged into 30-amp service, then the current is coming from somewhere. Perhaps the inverter is automatically supplying the deficit from battery?

A 1500-watt water heater element would draw about 12 amps when running. Was every breaker turned off except the a/c when making this test?

This would indicate that they are wired to the 'load' side of one of your GFI outlets in the coach. By wiring this way they still have protection from the originating GFI outlet, even though they are not GFI outlets themselves. Hence the labels.

Often times the back of the GFI receptacle will have labels for 'load' and 'line' on the back, with a black and white wire going to each. The 'line' connections should be the coming from your circuit breaker, and the 'load' connections are the wires that go to outlets further downstream. If the GFI outlet resets properly and is working, it should pass the power through the 'load' connections to the outlets downstream.

But if the interior lights don't work, it sounds like nothing more than a dead house battery. The slide probably works from the chassis battery, but I'd bet that the generator starts from the house battery. Put a meter on the battery and see what the voltage is.

We accomplished this by breaking apart a 40-foot ladder into the two 20-foot sections. We pulled the coach alongside a loading dock to give a bit of extra height to the lower end of the ladder, and then laid a section of the separated ladder against the coach to use as a ramp. We made a sled from a scrap of plywood and a pair of 'runners' underneath and pulled it up to the roof of the coach with a rope. The runners made sure that the thing didn't go sideways off the ladder and tumble. To make sure that the a/c unit stayed on the sled I bolted a 2x6 to the lower edge of the sled, and then strapped the a/c unit to the sled. Sometimes when your back is not up to the task creativity is necessary. No way was I going to wait weeks or more for an appointment only to have them charge me an arm & a leg to do a job I could do in an hour. That is, if I had a way to get the thing up there. Took a while to figure out, but the actual implementation didn't take that long. We got the a/c on the roof and installed, and no one's back was injured in the process.

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.