richard5933

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.

In some states with mandatory liability insurance the companies contact the DMV if coverage is cancelled. I've gotten letters from DMV in the past when there was a hiccup in the renewal process. With computerized systems it's not that difficult for them to keep up with things nowadays. Cancel your policy after registration/inspection at your own peril.

Partially the case but not totally. If you go into the Group Policy Editor it is possible to control (to some extent) the ability of Microsoft to apply these 'upgrades' and to delay or even stop some of them. Some of the upgrades can be delayed for a short time, some can be delayed for a longer time. The only ones that I have been unable to have control over are the critical-need updates for security issues. I know this because I've got some equipment in my shop which relies on software that doesn't update frequently. The Microsoft updates and upgrades were causing conflicts if they were installed before my own software developers were able to do their upgrade. That's when I found out about going into the Group Policy Editor to take some control over these things. Once my equipment manufacture comes out with drivers compatible with the latest Microsoft update/upgrade I can go ahead and and let Win10 do its thing. I just did a quick Google search on the subject. Here's the first link that popped up about the subject. https://pureinfotech.com/prevent-windows-10-installing-creators-update/ Please don't rely on this link as an authoritative source - I'm only posting it to show that I'm not alone on this. Since many businesses would stop using Microsoft altogether if it disabled their software during updates, there has to be some degree of control. The Group Policy Editor is one of the ways to have the control over the timing and installation of updates AND upgrades.

Do you have a wiring diagram for your coach? This might help you track down exactly how things are put together. If you don't have one, I'd call the manufacturer and see if you can get one. Even if it costs a few bucks, I'd consider an accurate wiring diagram a valuable tool for the tool box in general, and specifically for things like the problem you're having. You may be surprised what else is on L1 that you're not aware of. I'm not certain from your description, but are you saying that L1 goes directly to your inverter? Or does it go to the load center (circuit breaker panel) and then feed the inverter through a breaker? If it feeds through a breaker, then you should be able to connect the dots to see what else is being fed from L1. If it's being fed directly from L1 (which I doubt) than you have your answer as well. Also, have you done the math to calculate how many amps your inverter/charger is using on its own? Battery chargers can easily draw 12-20 amps, so perhaps the reason your is set up with everything on L1 limited to 30 amps and running through the inverter is to leave the rest of the capacity on L1 to power the inverter/charger itself?

Be careful what you wish for. After living in a state with no safety inspection at all for decades, I wish we had some type of safety inspection in place here. All we have is an emissions check, and that's only in some counties. I cannot tell you how many one-eyed bandits we see on the roads, how many cars with headlights so badly out of adjustment that they blind others, and how many cars which are missing basic safety equipment such as tail lights and working wipers. Sure, they can get cited for these things if they are pulled over, but the truth is there is very little traffic enforcement done in some cities here as it is and I just don't see equipment violations being high on the list of anyone in enforcement. When I lived in Texas years ago it seemed that at least once a year every vehicle had to have demonstrate a least a basic level of functionality. Don't know if that is what they still do, but up here it would certainly help keep some of the more dangerous vehicles from being registered and on the road.

Actually, last time I looked one of the few controls that Win10 users have over updates is if they are on a metered connection. The Verizon Unlimited should be connected to your PC as a metered connection. If not you should check the WiFi settings on the PC. Somewhere under the 'manage known networks' there is a toggle to set the connection as a metered one. This will have an effect on how Windows downloads updates. Depending on the version of Windows you have, it is also possible to change settings in the Group Policy Editor which will either delay or stop updates. Some you can delay, some you can choose to skip. You can also have the computer ask you before downloading any new updates once you're in the editor. All these setting will affect different updates differently. Some of the more important safety ones do occasionally push through in spite of all the settings you make if Microsoft deems them critical. These settings are designed for the business world where the updates may conflict with proprietary software being run so that the business has a chance to update their own software to a compatible version before installing the Win10 update. You may have to upgrade your version of Windows to gain access to the Group Policy Editor since it's not included in the free or lower level versions. If you're able to make the changes needed to delay or stop updates, then you have to be sure to connect to a 'regular' internet once in a while to manually go look for updates. For instance, if you've set the system to delay updates for 35 days, then you'll need to check manually about once a month. This can be done by either plugging into an Ethernet port or by connecting to a WiFi connection. Hope this helps. Lots of good information out there on the internet about changing these settings if you need it, but check a few different sites to be sure the information you're using seems good and that it's for the version of Windows you have (this can vary depending on which Win10 update you're running.)

This is easy. You can get an adapter like this most anywhere, including many Walmart stores. Shouldn't cost much to get and you should carry one with you since you never know when you'll need it.

Those all-in-one systems are really nice, but for someone in a Class A or a larger Class C (or a larger fiver...) they don't have all the wanted features. The RV version of the Garmin has a feature not found in most other Garmin units. The RV version sets a profile for the vehicle which includes weight, length, width, height, etc. When the routes are calculated the system takes these factors into account and won't put you on a route which won't work for the vehicle. I don't know if the all-in-one unit you have can do that. If the original poster has a Class B or other smaller vehicle the all-in-one would be an option I'd consider.

I've got a Garmin RV 760 LMT as well. I've used Garmin GPS in all my cars and have found them to be the best for my purposes. The 760 (and I assume the newer version currently sold) seems to do a good job of calculating route using height, weight, and such in the equation. If you are not on an active route it will also warn of restrictions ahead based on your vehicle. Of course, like others have said it's necessary to double check and not blindly trust your GPS. They don't always have the latest road construction details and will on occasion ask you to do stupid things. I've found it helpful to have a paper map on hand as backup since it never fails that when the GPS can't help the cell phone also can't get a signal. Doing a route review on Google Maps using street view can help you see particular intersections if you have any you are concerned about being able to maneuver.