richard5933

Update time... I spent the past few weeks removing and redoing the upholstery on the pieces in the rear parlor (bedroom). The couch in the rear was kept as a couch, and it still has a working mechanism to make a full-size bed. The two side couches were reconfigured to be permanent twin beds. They are considered 'bunk' size - 30"x75". Slightly smaller than we'd like but we already had the memory foam mattresses from our last conversion and decided to keep them for now. The carpet has already been purchased and is on hand. We've got a good friend who is a specialty carpet installer who is going to do the install. Just waiting for it to be warm enough for him to be able to cut it in the unheated work space available. It's a plush in a mottled beige color. We wanted to tone things down a bit from the current red/orange shag carpet. We've tried to keep the 70s vibe by keeping the upholstery in the front and in the selection of the bed spreads in the rear. The new carpet should modernize things somewhat but still allow the 70s to show through. I found a few great tidbits underneath things as we pulled the couch out such as napkins from the Carnegie Deli dating from the 70s, a few pieces of school work printed on a Ditto machine (yes - I did give it a sniff to see if it still had that smell), and a few Polish language church bulletins from the 70s. For anyone into sewing, the upholstery work was all done on a vintage Pfaff 260 sewing machine which is mounted in a power head sporting a modern servo motor. No problem plowing through multiple layers of upholstery fabric, including installing the welting (which we made as well). I've done projects like this on my old Singer machines as well, but the Pfaff was handy and has a larger work table. Fabric was purchased from JoAnn Fabric while it was on sale. Had to special order it but it arrived in just a few days. Bedding came from Amazon. We were able to save and re-use the original foam since it was in really great shape and not damaged by water, mold, or mildew. More photos once the carpet is in place.

I follow quite a few online forum groups, and for many of them I'm able to participate easily from my Android smartphone using an app like Tapatalk. I've been unable to find any support for this forum on such an app. I've got the FMCA app on my phone, but it doesn't appear to have any forum support. Sure would be much easier to participate in the forum if I didn't need to drag out the laptop to do so. Am I missing something? Or, is this one that needs to be passed along to those that make decisions about such things?

I would tend to agree that there are many things that could be done to make RVs of all types safer. Sadly though, I think that the deciding factor for a lot of this is what are people willing to pay for. More and more I see that the bottom line is what companies are building to, and few customers are willing to pay the extra money it would take to get a safer vehicle. Once you get away from the high-end vehicles, I just don't see a lot of people wanting to spend the necessary money for safety. Not sure that airbags will work in a larger vehicle like a Class A, but there are certainly things that could be done to make them safer. No offense meant to anyone supporting the way things were done in the 'good ole days', but in many ways those days were not so good. Years ago many (MANY) people died in traffic accidents that people regularly walk away from today. It would be great to just let everyone use their common sense and take the safer approach, but as is proven time after time many people have no common sense. I'm not sure why there is such a tendency for some people to mock basic safety items like seat belts though. I'm sorry if someone feels that his/her rights are being infringed upon. Well, not really sorry. More sad that they think so. We all as a society decided decades ago that having people die needlessly in preventable accidents was a bad thing. We decided that having babies thrown through car windshields was a bad idea. And, we decided as a society that if requiring seat belts would prevent needless deaths and countless millions in medical expenses then they should be required. If one is so certain that safety features like seat belts are not helping, then I'd suggest a letter to congress asking that they change the law and go back to the 'old days'. Maybe I'm being too serious here, but I think that the OP asked valid questions. In reality there is not much each of us individually can do to change things, but as a community it would be possible to push for more safety features collectively.

I think that the bigger point I'm trying to make is that until the basic structural integrity of motor homes, particularly Class A rigs, is brought up to what would be even minimal standards for passenger vehicles any talk of things like air bags is pretty much pointless. Smaller rigs like Class C and especially Class B will inherit some protection from the underlying cab structure. Unfortunately most newer Class A rigs have only minimal ability to protect vehicle occupants in a collision. I'm not getting this information just from the insurance adjuster. We were on-scene at the accident for hours and hours. There were LEOs from the police, sheriff's office, and the state troopers. All that we talked to agreed with the premise that had we been in most modern Class A rigs we would not have come through the collision nearly as well. Many of the less expensive rigs simply crumble on impact with pieces flying everywhere. The company rep from Tiffin we talked to at the RV show hoped his coach would do well, but his honest answer was probably not nearly as well as the bus did. He was not aware of crash testing that had been done. Maybe there is some data out there, and I'd love to see it if there is. I was allowed to open the front generator hatch on the Tiffin and was really surprised to not see anything to act to deflect the impact away from the passenger compartment (internal bumper, etc.) There was a pretty decent looking firewall and some structural pieces, but really nothing to deflect another vehicle and prevent intrusion. The rep did say that there is a lot of metal used in the overall framing, so perhaps the protection is better than some. I believe that things like accident avoidance technology would be beneficial, but I understand that it's not cheap. I'm not saying it should be mandated, but if enough customers ask for it I'm sure we'll start to see it in more and more rigs. Of course the best way to survive an accident is to avoid one, so anything that actually helps in that way would be a plus.

We were involved in a head-on collision last fall while driving a 1964 GM bus conversion. The driver of an oncoming Honda Civic fell asleep and crossed the center line, waking at the last minute he tried to swerve back but didn't do it in time and hit us in an offset head-on striking driver side to driver side. He died instantly on impact and we both walked away. (We were buckled into our seats with lap belts). Our bus was built from heavy-duty aluminum construction in a uni-body style. The bus was over-built and designed to offer protection to passengers. It sustained extensive damage and the impact took out our steering and brakes. The impact rippled the body all the way down the side, and when the nose of the bus caught the other side of the ditch it pulled the entire front end down a few inches and formed a crease across the bus (roof line down to floor) from side to side. Though the damage was extensive, there was only minimal intrusion into the passenger compartment. Had the oncoming vehicle been taller I suspect I would have sustained injury to my legs, at least. The insurance adjuster spent many hours with us a few days later going over the damage. She said that had this been a modern Class A they would still be picking up the pieces of both the RV and of the two of us. She said that the fiberglass front caps on most newer vehicles offer no protection and that the vehicles tend to just shatter and explode open. The Roadmaster video posted above is missing one very important thing - where is the crash test to show just how it will hold up in an accident. Their engineers can talk all they want about safety, but without a crash test I'll consider it just talk. They may be safe, but I'd like to see the evidence. When we were shopping for our first Class A it broke down to being more comfortable once we got to where we were going in a modern Class A or being in a vehicle more road-worthy while driving (a well-maintained bus conversion). Since we spend far more time on the road than in a campground, we chose to be in a vehicle whose design and features were aimed for safety and control on the road. This is why we chose another bus for our current rig. At the Milwaukee RV show this winter I talked to the Tiffin factory rep. I showed him the dash cam video from our accident and the photos of the damage to our bus. My question was how would the Tiffin vehicles hold up in a similar collision. His opinion was not that well. While there is some minimal steel caging in front, there is not even the most basic front bumper or crash protection. After this 30-minute conversation we decided that we'd continue driving our new bus conversion and not trade for a Class A until there is additional effort made to provide front-end collision protection.

I've got a carpet-installer friend who is going to install our new carpet in a month from now. He specializes in specialty projects and while this will be his first bus I'm sure he'll do a great job. But since we're in Wisconsin I'm not sure that this would be a great recommendation for you. However, in all the years we've been friends I've heard him talk about the importance of certification over and over again. If you can't find a specific recommendation in your area and have to start searching, you might try starting here with a search of certified installers: https://cfiinstallers.org/ No guarantees, but at least you're not calling blindly with no idea if the people are qualified. You might also find a carpet store near you that you trust (not a box store, but a proper carpet store) and ask for their recommendations for the project. I'm sure that there are people in your area that can handle the odd-ball job like an RV.

LASER engraver and a piece of colored acrylic and you can make one in just a few minutes. I've used mine to make the control panel on a genset. You could also make two from a piece of birch and upgrade them both to match the new trim you just added to the floor.

Story of my life.

I think the OP said this was the trim around the vent. Certainly seems like heavy duty wood for just trim. No wonder some of these rigs weigh what they do.

Phil, If this is your first experience starting the engine in colder weather, it might be a good idea to either read through the manual or call the dealer for a few pieces of information related to how your specific engine behaves in colder weather. If you did not have an engine heater plugged in to pre-warm the engine then it is normal for a diesel to have a few moments of 'hunting' for the correct idle speed before evening out. During the time your engine is trying to get itself going there's a good chance that your alternator is not doing anything and the light would be on (or on & off). Even on our purely mechanically-controlled engine there is a specific sequence of things that take place on startup, all controlled through relays and pressure sensors. It runs through a series of checks before letting the next thing happen. In warmer weather these all happen so fast that you really can't see them, but on a cold start they seem to happen in slow motion. The system checks for oil pressure, coolant level, air pressure, and so on and so on. The regulator won't call for the alternator to make power until certain set points are reached to keep the engine from being taxed until all systems are good to go. I bet that your engine goes through a similar system, although electronically rather than mechanically. Once your engine idle smooths out does the light go off and the voltage read correctly? If so, I wouldn't worry too much just yet. If you've had a battery tender on while parked your alternator will likely not be calling for charge since there is no need, so the voltage might not be at peak and the gauge won't show a high rate of charge on start up. Also, on some systems having a external battery charger going simultaneously with your engine running will cause problems and errant dash lights to turn on. Some systems will see the outside charge coming in which causes the regulator on the engine's alternator to think it doesn't need to charge, and this will cause the dash light to come on since the alternator is not charging.

Have you tried your local hardware store or maybe even Amazon? Some of the house parts like shower door pieces are common parts, especially if you're talking about latches and such. If it's a specific part to your make/model then I'd second the suggestion to check any of the many RV salvage yards out there. If there is not one in your area there is a big one in Elkhardt IN that might have it.

Is your engine hunting for proper idle speed during this or is the engine running smoothly? If the engine is trying to find its idle after a cold start that may be the only issue. Otherwise, I'd first start with all the easy things like checking connections, belts, ground straps, etc. These can all create problems that are normally not noticeable but which will show at times of higher demand, like after a cold start. Beyond that I'm not really able to offer much advice since your system has many more moving parts that what I'm used to. On our bus I'd check to see if the regulator is sticking, but I'm sure that you have an electronic system and not a mechanical regulator. I'd would suggest though that any type of heater or accessory sounds like a red herring here, assuming that it hasn't been a problem in the past. These diesel engines typically have a more-than-adequate alternator which can run all the accessories installed and then some.

Have you talked to the shops that did the routine maintenance on the engine? If they did everything according to the manufacturer's recommendations and you still had problems then something is wrong with the denial. If you paid for them to do the recommended maintenance and the shop neglected to test something or to verify proper coolant in some way, then I'd be pushing to hold them responsible. Poor coolant maintenance can definitely be in play with this type of problem, as can things like using the wrong type of water to dilute coolant, etc. Difficult to make specific recommendations without knowing specifically what work was done, whether the work was done according to the manufacturer's recommendations and timetable, and without knowing if this particular problem is something that is excluded from your warranty. (There are always types of problems which are specifically excluded from coverage - usually located in the small print at the end of the warranty.)

I had an attendant at a Petro truck stop ask me once how much fuel I was going to pump. Of course I had no idea. Told her that I'd let her know as soon as I was done pumping. Surely you can see how this conversation went. She wanted to have me pre pay and I wanted to pay only for what I pumped. Finally I asked if I left my license with her would she just turn on the pump. She agreed, I pumped, then I returned to pay for tab and pick up my license. I'm sure that all these truck stops have been burned more than a few times by truckers and other drivers not paying, so I don't blame them for being careful. That said, it sure is a pain in the @$$ to have to go back and forth.

"Need" is such a relative term. If the vehicle has been properly winterized, there is no need for indoor storage in the winter. At least not any more than there is any other time of the year. Indoor storage makes some of the required winter maintenance like battery charging easier, but it's not a necessity. Someone that has the luxury of indoor storage can avoid lots of damage from the sun and potential for water damage should there be a leak, but in my opinion these vehicles were meant to be outdoors. Even more so for one like ours that was built to withstand daily commercial use. Anyone living in the city will have limitations for storage regardless of the season based on the size of their driveway and/or zoning and HOA rules. Our coach is only 35 feet long and 8 feet wide. Takes up about as much space as two pickups parked end-to-end. One of the 45-foot Class A rigs is another story all together. If we didn't have room for our rig on our own property we'd be in something smaller. Just my opinion. YMMV

Was this the only thing on your coach they got wrong? Before we have a public lynching and drag the company's dead body through the street I think that more information is needed. I'm not saying I wouldn't be upset. I would be. I'm just saying that in the scope of a vehicle this large, with this many systems, and with this large of a price tag a change from one mattress type to another isn't the worst thing in the world. I've read of many people that had far worse problems due to poor workmanship or low quality of parts. Often times manufacturers swap out things like this because they run into a conflict during construction that was not anticipated when the order was taken. I would want to find out WHY they substituted the mattress like they did. Was it because they were just out of stock the day your coach's couch was installed? In that case, I'd push a manager to get things made right. Or, did they discover that something else conflicted with the air mattress and they had to choose between the two? (Like, it would have been too tall to fit with other chosen furniture, etc.) Maybe some other option you had requested used the power outlet that would be needed. Maybe they were having problems with the durability of the air mattresses. Maybe this or maybe that. Odds are that there is a paper record somewhere with the build sheet with some notes from production about what happened (or a digital version of same). What seems most upsetting is that they didn't pick up the phone and discuss this with you before you took delivery. If they had taken the time to contact you and involve you in the decision I'm sure you would not be so upset. They didn't do that and they should be pushed to make it right. To make matters worse, the person you spoke with at the company about this needs a lesson in customer service. The correct answer should have been something like "please allow me a few days to research this and find out what happened" followed by another phone call explaining things and then offering a solution that made you happy. However, until more information is available I'm not sure that bad mouthing the whole company in a public forum for this is warranted.

Maybe it's the PIN number I'm missing. Don't think I ever got one of those, so I'll have to call and see what they say. Thanks for the heads up.

Credit card, charge card, whatever you want to call it. I think technically you are correct calling it a charge card in that they don't allow a balance to carry from month to month. It's not a loyalty card and it is used to pay for the fuel being pumped. They do the billing and the full amount is paid at the end of each month. I also have a separate loyalty card which is not much use since the card I'm using to pay automatically gives me the discount from GS. Usually I can't swipe and pay at the pump though, so I'll have to check and see what needs to be addressed to make that work.

I also have a credit card from Pilot/FJ using the GS program that I use to fuel, but I have to bring it inside to get them to turn the pumps on. They don't charge anything until I'm done fueling, but not being able to pay at the pump is a bit of a nuisance. Would be nice to have a similar program through FMCA so I can get rid of the GS card.

Not a problem to get inside. Even if it freezes I can get it, I just have to stand there for 10 minutes with the hair dryer. Once the door is open a couple of screws and it all comes apart.

Here's what our dead bolt looks like. The rectangular bolt is having water enter around the perimeter of the bolt and essentially it gets frozen to the door. Since the dead bolt is what holds the door closed it typically freezes in the locked position.It's much beefier than the one posted in the photo above, and it looks like it fits into the housing with less clearance. Tight tolerances are usually a good thing, but apparently not when trying to keep a lock from freezing locked. There is a new gasket one the left door jamb. It has two parts that stick out. The outer one doesn't make a great seal until the door us closed from the inside using the driver's locking handle (you know, the old fashioned handle that the driver uses to pull and latch the door shut.) The inner seal make a fairly weather-tight seal and keeps the water out of the interior. Gaskets and door seals on these old buses are actually not a simple operation. Our door is slightly pushed out at the bottom (probably got pulled shut by the drivers at some time with something stuck in the door at the bottom corner.) I can add a stick-on gasket to the back side of the door skin, but my fear is that it will make the top of the door too tight and keep if from latching altogether. And, if I don't run the seal all the way across the top I'll still have water seeping in and around the door jamb. So, this is why I'm looking for a product to spray into the lock to keep it from freezing in place. I've got a can of Fluid Film on the way and I'll see how it works. Here's what our dead bolt looks like. The rectangular bolt is having water enter around the perimeter of the bolt and essentially it gets frozen to the door. Since the dead bolt is what holds the door closed it typically freezes in the locked position. There is a new gasket one the left door jamb. It has two parts that make contact with the door. The outer part is more of a wind block and doesn't make a great seal until the door us closed from the inside using the driver's locking handle (you know, the old fashioned handle that the driver uses to pull and latch the door shut.) The inner seal make a fairly weather-tight seal and keeps the water out of the interior. Gaskets and door seals on these old buses are actually not a simple operation. Our door is slightly torqued and pushed out at the bottom (probably got pulled shut by a driver at some time with something stuck in the door at the bottom corner.) Since we don't have any water getting to the inside of the coach or anywhere that it can do damage (other than freezing the lock) I'm hesitant to start trying to 'fix' the door. Any changes I make to one corner will only move the problem somewhere else. I can add a stick-on gasket to the back side of the door skin to augment the outer wind break, but my fear is that it will make the top of the door too tight and keep if from latching altogether. And, if I can't run the seal all the way across the top I'll still have water seeping in and around the door jamb. So, this is why I'm looking for a product to spray into the lock to keep it from freezing in place. I've got a can of Fluid Film on the way and I'll see how it works. Before spraying it into the lock I'll spray some into an old door lock I've got in the shop and then leave it in the sub-zero weather to see if it gums up the works when the temps drop. Want to make sure the cure doesn't cause any more problems. Thanks for the suggestions so far.

Nothing wrong with the gasket. Just replaced it this fall. For some reason, the dead bolt is situated in a place that will get water going past it from time to time. Look at any household front door and it will be the same thing - lock bolt is often outside the gasket. With the way the bus is parked right now on an incline, combined with the position of the rain gutter (on the bus, not the house) above it results in water making it to where I wish it wasn't. What I'm looking for is something to spray in the mechanism to keep water from sticking around in there. I'm going to try silicon spray, but would love to hear if anyone else has suggestions.

Our entry door is held closed by a Yale dead bolt. It looks to be the original one installed by Custom Coach in 1974. The lock is a high quality lock, and it's not the lock cylinder itself I'm having problems with. When the sun warms the roof a bit and snow melt drips from the roof, it is working its way down the rubber gasket between the door and the jamb, and then it finds its way into the bolt mechanism. When this happens I can turn the lock cylinder. However, the bolt will not retract and is frozen into the mechanism. It takes a few minutes with a hair dryer to get it to free up and then everything works as planned. I've opened things up and sprayed liberally with lock anti-freeze/lubricant. It seems like the lubricant is really lightweight, and it almost totally evaporates after application. Must be some type of dry lube. My thought is that I'm going to have to use something which will stay in place and help prevent the water from entering the bolt mechanism, but I'm afraid to use a regular oil-based lube since in the sub-zero temps it will turn to molasses and probably cause more problems than it fixes. Any thoughts on some type of lubricant which will keep the moisture out but not thicken up to the point of non-functioning in the freezing temps?

I'd never use the terms motor home and investment in the same sentence. You buy an RV because you like it, because it suits your needs, and because it fits your budget. You get rid of it when these are no longer the case. There's no magic to these things. Some keep their rig till they rust into pieces. Others trade up every year or so. Keep a rig long enough and in good condition and maybe it'll end up having value as a rare or collector piece like the older GMC motor homes. Or maybe not. Wouldn't be my plan to buy any vehicle with an eye towards these things if it fits my needs and I can afford it. Now, on the other hand, how you treat and maintain any vehicle while you own it will have a tremendous bearing on its ultimate value at sale. A well-maintained twenty-year-old rig will have more value at sale than a ten-year-old rig which was poorly maintained, misused, or butchered by someone trying to "upgrade" it. If we were to ever replace our older bus conversion with something newer, our plan would be to find a 2-3 year-old model that suited our needs and budget. That way the initial depreciation hit was already taken. We'd then keep it until either it didn't meet our needs or until the maintenance costs started to exceed its value and/or replacement cost.

While you're in there cleaning contacts and checking on things, don't forget the ground connections and cables. Not sure specifically how many or where yours are, but you've got them. If your hot leads have corrosion then odds are so do your ground connections. On bus conversions they are one of the leading causes of electrical problems of all sorts. I've got ground straps/cables going from engine to chassis, from battery to chassis, from generator to chassis, and a few others I can't remember right now. Whenever I'm near them I give them a good test pull and look for any signs of corrosion or scale (the stuff that just looks dull and not like corrosion but still creates a problem.) Also check any ground straps exposed to the weather or road debris for physical condition along the full length of the conductor. A friend had one that looked great on the ends but when he pulled slightly in the middle it just broke in two. Road salt had gotten to the cable through a crack in the covering and rotted out the copper from the inside. Gave him a long-standing intermittent problem until he found it. Go figure. Takes just a few minutes to get these cleaned up and save headaches down the road.