richard5933

Definitely a known issue, which is why I also have the amateur band hand held (and license). Still doesn't sound like it provides the level of coverage of the GIR system though. I'll have to explore it further as the budget allows.

Haven't used the Garmin in Reach, but this type of situation is why we carry a hand-held CB in the car and have a CB mounted in the coach. If I'm going to really remote places I also take a hand-held amateur radio, but that requires a license. All that said, I'd be curious to hear what experience others have with the GIR technology, as it might be something worthwhile.

Every time I read about someone's ATS failing (which seems to happen with some regularity on this and other forums) I am thankful that we have a purely manual switch. Almost makes up for the inconvenience of having a manual switch, but not quite. Ours came with the Kohler generator and is labeled as such, and it's located in a control panel just above the outside 50-amp receptacle where the shore power cordset plugs in. This is the same control panel where the generator start controls are (also manual). Our previous coach also had a manual transfer switch, which I replaced with a new one from Blue Sea. They make a great manual switch that works great with 50 amp service. We used one that switched both hot lines (L1 & L2 as well as the neutral). Of course, the whole reason for using an ATS over a manual switch is convenience and not having to pay attention to where the power is coming from. The system just switches to the highest priority power source if it's available. If not, it goes to the next highest priority. As to the question about why not permanently wire the shore power cord to the distribution panel without a transfer switch? That one is easy, as you never want to have the possibility of having both the shore power and the generator connected at the same time. Let's say you are plugged into shore power. For whatever reason power goes out so someone starts the generator. Now you're back feeding the pole with deadly current and who ever is downstream has no idea that you're running a generator. Same reason that home generators require a transfer switch. I've read about people that set up their rigs to either plug in the shore power cord OR a power cord running from the generator. They manually go down to the bay and unplug one cord and plug in another when they want to switch power sources. Problem there is switching in the middle of the night, when it's raining outside, or at other equally inconvenient time. Inevitably the wrong cord will be plugged in when you pull over and decide to run the generator for some reason at a rest stop, etc. I'd love to see a chart with a listing of parts that fail, listed in the frequency of failure. My money would be on ATS being at the top of the list, with remote battery switches running a close second. Anyone know if this forum supports surveys? If so, perhaps I'll put one together and we can see just what has failed people the most.

I also read the forum on my Android, and it took a bit of searching to figure this out. First, bookmark the forum. Easy if you're using the stock Chrome brower...click on the three dots on the top right of the screen, and then tap on the outline of a star at the top of the page. That creates a bookmark. You can also put the bookmark directly on your home screen if you want. Once you're at the page for the forum, there is an unmarked icon at the top of the page that sort of looks like a miniature newspaper. On my phone it shows just to the left of the search icon. Tap on this and it will bring up all your unread content on the forum. It is possible to mark everything as 'read' if you want to start over and only have the latest stuff show as unread as it appears. Hope this helps.

Another way people get around this, at least with the similar system in use in Wisconsin, is to book a longer stay starting before they actually want to arrive. They then later cancel the first half of the trip and keep only the part they want. This allows them to book earlier than should be allowed, Would be nice if there was a way to fix this, but I'm starting to realize that no matter what they do people will find ways around the rules to mess up those of us that try to follow them when booking.

I have not found any sign on 3-in-1 on the first basement a/c fan motor that I did this spring. Hoping that this one is the same. I must be getting old, because I still expect electric motors to have oil cups on each end. Still boggles my mind that they make things with no expectation that anyone will do maintenance in the future. The OTR (over-the-road) compressor is being sent to US Coach in NJ. They are the go-to shop for all things old bus. Luke and Bill have been in the business for decades, have many OEM and NOS parts for coaches that are decades old, and still can do repairs that others only read about in history books. People with older bus conversions would be lost without them. That is my plan - once the bus is back in my driveway I plan on setting the rpm on the governor just a tad higher than it is now so that it's proper under half load.

Not totally sure on that. I'm going to run some tests to compare the current draw on both of the units. My guess is that the front unit is drawing more than the rear, and whether one or both of the units is running it's straining on the generator. My first steps will be to pull the cover on the basement unit and check the easy stuff...air flow over coil, fan motor lubrication (motor has oil cups), relay contacts, wire connections, etc, etc. Then I'm going to double check the generator to be sure that every connection is tight, that the brushes are in place and clean, and that the idle is set to provide proper voltage/hz at a medium load. Right not the coach is in the shop to have the OTR a/c worked on. My Freon disappeared, and apparently it was due to the seals in my compressor drying out. These compressors were meant to be rebuilt and not replaced, which makes finding a replacement difficult. A seal kit is only $35, but they don't have anyone at the shop trained to rebuild a compressor or that has the needed tools. So, I'm having them pull the compressor to send to a shop in NJ that specializes in vintage buses. It will be another week or so till everything is worked out, but at least I'll avoid having to buy all new components to keep the OTR a/c going. Once I get the bus back I'll start on the house a/c and generator issues.

The box stores (HD, Lowes) sell adhesive specifically designed for bonding foam panels to walls. It might work as well.

Login on the regular FMCA site (not the forum) and click on the icon on the right side for 'dashboard'. You'll then see a red link on the left-hand side for membership directory. Once you're in the directory you can search by member number.

The decision would be easy - get the brakes. Do you really want to wake up every day knowing that a decision to save a few bucks caused an accident or took someone's life?

Or maybe that no one is wearing seat belts? Or maybe that the little girl in the foreground is about to fall out the window? Or maybe that the dog isn't restrained in any way and looks like he's about to jump out? To be honest, I never really gave it a good look until you mentioned it. Now that I see the details, kind of makes one wonder who staged the photo?

I couldn't get a good handle on how the front a/c reacted when operated on the generator by itself. Seemed to do better, but to be honest by that time we were so hot and irritated that all we could think about was closing the bedroom door and retreating to the coolness that the rear a/c provided. My initial gut feeling is that the front unit hasn't aged quite as well as the rear for whatever reason. Possibly its location in the bay behind the wheel well caused it to catch more road spray? Who knows, but I'll hopefully find out if there is something going on when I open the cabinet. I'm also going to see what they used for a relay in the circuit that energizes the compressor. It's a mechanical relay/switch, so possibly it's part of the problem. I'll be doing some more testing and inspecting over the next week, including opening the inspection doors to be certain that all connections are tight between the generator head and the control box, as well as in the manual transfer switch. Thought it would be good to eliminate the easy stuff first. Also going to open and inspect all components of the front a/c itself to eliminate obvious problems. Once I have a better idea of the complete situation I'll figure out what to do, hopefully. Additional suggestions are welcome.

We had a great trip over Memorial Day weekend, but the temps were extremely hot (for Wisconsin) with daytime temps nearing 100 degrees. We ran the generator a few hours at the end of the day to allow us to run the two basement a/c units and get the coach cooled down for the evening. The rear a/c seemed to work well but the front a/c cycled the compressor off after only 3-4 minutes. It would cycle on again after a few minutes, only to repeat this over and over but never run long enough to actually cool the front of the coach. When we got home I confirmed that both a/c units run fine when plugged into shore power and cool nicely. No short cycling or other issues. Just to be sure, I'm going to pull the cover on he front basement unit to confirm that things are okay inside and that nothing is visibly wrong (coil clogged, fan motor binding, etc.) My hunch was that the problem is with the generator. Generator is a Kohler 12.5 RCOP67 The power coming from the generator is steady at 117 volts 60 hz with no load. As the load increased with the first a/c unit the voltage dropped to about 112 volts, and with both running it dropped again to 108 volts. My thought is that the second a/c unit was having to work too hard to cool at the low voltage level and shut down. The manual lists low voltage as a possible cause of short compressor cycles. Replacing the generator is the long-term goal. Either we'll put a brush-less 13 kw head on the existing Perkins engine, or replace both the engine and the generator with a new unit. Since the remote radiator and associated install of a full replacement would be difficult and too expensive right now, we'd probably opt for the generator head only. Either way, we'd like to push off replacement for now if possible. For now, I'm trying to get information about how to remedy things for the short term. I've read elsewhere that I should set the engine RPM to provide for the proper voltage & 60hz operation at load (instead of at a no-load condition as it is currently set). This would mean a slight increase in the governor RPM speed. Seems like a simple solution which necessitates only turning a few screws. However, my experience teaches me that simple is not always best. Anyone have experience with these older generator that can lend a bit of advice here? Is this a workable short-term solution? If so, should I aim for proper settings at a full-load situation or split the difference and have the unit run at 120v/60hz with half-load? My thought is to set it for half load so that on either end of the spectrum (no load or full load) I'll only be slightly out of spec. If I set this for proper setting at full load I'd be way off when at a no-load situation. Thanks.

Update on this issue... We've used the coach a few times since I added the extra valve to the black tank outlet. Today was the first time to dump since the new valve was put in place. (There are only two of us, and we are very frugal with our water use.) I've been running with the end plug on the discharge pipe just in case the new valve didn't cure the problem. It didn't. Glad I took precautions. In spite of the original valve being closed AND the new Valterra plastic valve being closed, there was still about 1/2 to 1 cup of liquid in the pipe downstream from the two valves. Was wearing gloves at the time, and the cap is under the floor of the bay, so no biggie. But, I'd sure like to have this thing work properly and be more sanitary when dumping. Not sure what to think other than the new Valterra valve is just defective, since it obviously should have been able to seal against this liquid since the old valve was clearly still holding back the majority of the pressure from the 50+ gallons of waste water. I do have another Valterra gate valve I could try - this one with a plastic body as well but with a stainless gate instead of the plastic one. Any thoughts? BTW, the combined black/gray dumped with absolutely no issues through the 2" outlet. My guess is that having a combined tank is what makes the smaller outlet possible.

Obviously my engine is out of warranty... I was thinking of those that still have a warranty. I'm still not sure I agree with your premise though. Are you saying that anyone whose engine calls for 15w40 can substitute the T-6 at 5w40? Seems to me that they are showing this comparison to make the point that the new product provides excellent protection. I don't see anywhere that they state it can replace 15w40 in any engine. Some engines specify 15w40 (or other grades) for a reason beyond the lubrication itself. For example, a pump may be designed to move oil at a certain pressure based on the viscosity, and if the viscosity drops the pressure might not be the same. I still think it best to check out the manufacturer's recommendations before making a change.

This test was done at -34 C. Of course 5w will reach areas of the engine faster at those temps. However, if my engine manufacturer (the people I'm hoping will stand behind their warranty) specifies 15w, then that's what I'd use.

This might not require a permit by you, but around here they'd consider that a structure and want a permit. They don't care how permanent it is, just if it is safe and meets code. Put up something around here without a permit and get caught, and they'll charge you triple the fees to get the permit retroactively. That is if they decide that it's a permissible project and allow it at all. The good news is that almost every municipality has posted their codes online, so it's pretty easy to know ahead of time what requires a permit and what does not. Better to check and not assume no permit is required.

We just had the carpeting in our coach replaced by a good friend who is a certified flooring installer. He has done a number of RV installs in the past. I actually had the conversation with him about finding someone to do the work, since if it wasn't for him we would not have known where to turn. I just checked out the website for the certified flooring installers, and they don't list anyone in your area. That doesn't really mean anything though, since I'm sure that there is more than one place to get training and certification. Seems like the place to start would be to talk to the people who run a couple of the privately-owned flooring stores and ask who they know in the area that have done RV installs in the past. This is a specialized type of installer you're looking for, and word of mouth will probably be the best way to find someone. Probably best to stay away from box stores and chain flooring outlets, as they may not have as deep a resource stack as the smaller stores. Once you find someone and talk to them, then it's just the standard procedure of getting references from other RV owners and check them out. We have a 35-foot coach without slides, and we spent about $450 on the new carpet and then $906 on the install including pad. If you add tile to that it will obviously cost more, but I think that if you find an experienced installer you can do much better than $10K.

Echoing what has been hinted at and said before by Rich and others, it is vital that every coach owner read and understand the manufacturer's recommendations regarding oil. While many newer formulations might state that they are backwards compatible, it isn't 100% and should not be relied on. Like has been said, a 2-stroke diesel is just one example, and anyone putting the newer oil formulations in an older engine needs to do his/her homework first.

Sounds like you created a short between the turn signal circuit and the light circuit. I'm guessing that the ground is the housing of the lamp socket and that the two contacts are for the signal and light circuits.

My research showed that Trojan batteries were worth the extra expense. On our first coach we used T-145 batteries since that was all we had room for. Our current coach has much more room so we went with L16. Obviously you'll need to pick batteries that fit the space/setup you're working with. But, keep in mind that there are different capacity sizes available in the same physical size.

We'd love to meet up with everyone we met online. Looking forward to it.

Sounds great. I'd love to be able to meet everyone.

We'd love to get together with others, but we won't be arriving until early on the 18th. We kind of decided to go to Gillette at the last minute, and that's the soonest that we'll be able to pull in.

You are correct - 8V71. On my trip from NJ to Wisconsin it actually used almost no oil at all. The engine has less than 42K miles (actual original miles, not since rebuild) so it's really still a new engine in many respects. I do carry a few gallons with us, but unless something goes wrong I don't expect the oil use to go up suddenly.