genenick

I find that running the generator costs about 1/2 gallon per hour. In my wildest dreams I can't see the dash air using 1/2 gallon per hour to operate. I do know that when I measure my fuel mileage in winter vs. summer I do not have a boost in mileage >2/10 between the two normally when I do not run the dash air. I do run my roof air in the summer when I have passengers (grandchildren) for their comfort and find it works well. Sometimes I do turn off the dash air and place an oscillating fan blowing cold air on me, however I do not notice an appreciable increase in fuel mileage. Hope this helps you with your question. Merry Christmas, Gene

There could be some large capacitors (filter) that may be weak and need changing. The mfg can possibly get you a schematic and/parts list and you can determine if they are in the circuit. Just an idea. Good Luck, Gene

I had a Pace Arrow that had a solar panel on it with a charge light, so I'm going you the way I checked mine. There was a plug that disconnected the solar panel, that was on the panel for the A/C shroud that held the charge lamp. Basically the lamp was in series with one leg of the solar panel which would light up as current passed thru the circuit. You could disconnect the bulb and place a digital amp meter in series with the bulb to see if you are reading any thing. This would indicate the bulb could possibly be bad. Another test would be is to find the two wires coming out of the solar panel, and when the solar panel is in direct contact with the sun check and see if there is any voltage present with it disconnected from the system. Also on the first test make sure the solar panel is in direct contact with the sun. Being how your unit is 6 years old now (give or take a few months) the solar panel may be defunct. Any questions back channel me and I'll try to help. Good luck, Gene

That is a great suggestion and when raining in certain states it is the law. Thanks for the reminder! Gene

Hi GW, I agree with both the previous posts; but wanted to add this note. The cheater device will not work when the 15 A receptacle is a GFI Plug. It will set it off every time. I have had one of these for several years and they can be a life saver in certain conditions. Take care, Gene

I can't address specifically as to if your units can or cannot be recharged; but many years ago I had an old refrigerator that did not have a port to recharge. The old maintenance guy I called told me that there was a clamp on device which went over the suction or low pressure side that had a tip on it to screw on the line for the freon bottle. That was 30 years ago and I don't know if that is still an option or not. Good Luck!

I appreciate the responses but I am just sick and tired of being nickel-ed and dime-ed to death or having to play somebody's game to get something that used to be "good customer service." If we don't tell them how we feel then they will never know - not that it will make any difference or not. I see the states removing the parking areas along with dump stations. My home state seems to be leading the way; however they still have left a dump station about a mile from the Flying J so that solves our problem for the time being. I am fortunate that I can dump at my home. I seems like we are losing more things everyday. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, with the middle class being squeezed to death. I think it will be a struggle but my children will not see a decline in their overall lifestyle and have the ability to purchase RV and travel the great highways and byways of our wonderful nation. I pray for the same for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. My grandchildren are being introduced to the RV Lifestyle and hopefully it will continue on and on. Gene

I received an email from Flying J today telling me that they will be charging us to dump in the future. $10 if you have no Loyalty Card or $5 if you have a Loyalty Card and have made a specific purchase. I have always made Flying J my number one stop for fuel because of the convenience. There are other places to dump and it looks like now I will have to be more prudent in making sure I dump before I leave home and when we leave campsites. I have spent a lot of money a Flying J over the last 30 years and I feel like that I'm being dumped on. I intend on sending a "tart" letter to Flying J; but I doubt my one letter would do any good. If several of us do the same maybe it will bring a change. I have tried to email them on their webpage only to receive: You've experienced an error sending your message, try one of the following: -- Return to message and verify all fields have been entered correctly. -- Select the email link again and submit a new message. -- Try a related email link to send your message. -- If the problem persists, contact webmaster@flyingj.com They can be called at (877) 787-3595. Flying J needs to revisit this policy making it free when there is a fuel purchase in a specific amount and then maybe charge those who don't purchase fuel. I'm not trying to pick on big truck drivers, but the last time I stopped at Flying J to buy gas and propane, the attendant and I were talking about the dump facility and how the truckers with portapotties were misusing the facilities by leaving them in a mess. I always made sure that it was either as clean or cleaner as when I arrived.

Jim, That would be one thing they may be doing since on 15 Amps AC is available. They could also be running the fridge since 15 Amp power is available. I know when we stayed at relatives homes and all they had to offer was an extension cord plugged into the side of their house, we would use it for the fridge, electric blanket, and coffee maker. Since our unit charged the house batteries when plugged in, we got that benefit also. 15 Amps does not give you the luxury to run too many things. Hope this helps, Gene

Yes we belong to both Good Sam and FMCA; in fact Good Sam offered me a lifetime membership a few years back and after crunching some numbers I felt like it was a great deal. The magazine Good Sam publishes is great and the discounts are everywhere. I would reccomend that you keep both.

Well to write a conclusion to this problem I never was able to find any limit switches or anything to adjust for that matter. I broke down and took it to the dealer that sold me the rig and they advise that the entire "stepper motor" has to be replaced as there are no adjustments outside inital installation. That sounds crazy to me but I have an extended warranty package that authorized the replacment (parts and labor) at no cost to me so that will be the conclusion of this particular problem...

When I was explaining all of this to my son I was telling him that motorhomes only use the 2 circuits of the 120 Volt, never the 240 Volt. 120 covers part of the camper and one a/c, then the other leg of the 120 covers the other a/c. If you have a 50 Amp camper and pluged into a 30 circuit then there is a smart switch (usually) that will only let one a/c work at a time. Everything else works as normal. If you are using the front a/c and want to use the back a/c then you will have to shut down the front one and wait a few minutes; then turn on the back one. And Vice Versa if you need to change back to the front. I know some of the older Fleetwoods had a manual selector switch as to which a/c you wanted to run. One the newer ones and the one I have now (Damon Challenger) it is all automatic. Maybe this is add a litttle clarity for a couple of people. Gene

Thanks Dave. We discussed having an alternate location in one of the compartments; which would be where the park cable hooks up at. I really want to find this roof cable as I am putting in a roof mounted unit. My next best guess is that it may be buried under the front A/C housing cover. The area at the front cap seems to be well sealed and no indication that there would be a cable there; however that may be the magic location. Take care and Happy Easter. Gene

I have a 2006 Damon Challenger Motorhome and I have a question. I called Damon (Thor) and asked them where does the gray satellite wire that is in the cabinet beside the TV on driver's side terminate. I was told that this was for installation of a roof mounted satellite antenna and the wire would be in a 1/2 piece of plastic pipe that pokes up from the roof forward of the front air conditioner. The pipe would have a cap on top of it sealing it off. I climbed back on the roof and scoured the entire unit and could not find anything that remotely resembles this piece of pipe. Can anyone who has a Damon unit shed any light on where this cable may terminate on the satellite side. Also one other question I have that might save me some looking it the other cable that runs from the cabinet on the drivers side, behind the TV, to the opposite cabinet termination location. The guy from Thor indicated that it should have terminated on the top coax connection on the amplifier card. The bottom coax connector is the amplified signal from the existing Winegard Antenna on the roof. Has anyone put a satellite dish receiver on the cabinet on the drivers side and used the factory wiring to hook up their unit? I plan on taking it to the selling dealer in a couple of weeks to seek their assistance if I cannot get some help here. So far all the questions I have asked on this unit have been answered correctly and promptly. Thanks in advance for your help, Gene

Yes I have 2 lugs that have the little slots in them. SO if I understand you right just remove both at one time. I'll have to see if I have a lug wrench to fit it, if not I know I'll have a 1/2" scoket. Thanks for the advice. Gene

I'm stumped ... I have a 2006 Damon Challenger with 19.5 wheels that have chrome covers. It appears that two lug covers hold the chrome covers in place. The other six lug nuts look like they are just there for decoration. I have tried pliers to remove these covers and prying them with screwdrivers. They don't budge. The coach has 7,000 miles on it and appears that it came from the factory like this. I was thinking about rotating the tires; however, a longtime friend who is also a longtime professional truck driver is telling me to leave them alone after looking everything over. I cannot get to the valve stems on the inside duals and purchased valve stem extenders. I can't put the extenders on unless I can remove the outer tires. I can't do anything with the tires because I can't remove the wheel covers. The front and rear have the same covers. Can someone give me an idea on how to remove these covers? Thanks, Gene

I have Kwikee Electric Steps on my 2006 Damon Challenger Motorhome. When they go from the fully closed to open position there is a pop. I crawled underneath there today after doing my monthly lube and watched the movement of the steps. It appears to me there needs to be an adjustment made on the steps. I got out the manual today and it refers to steps on adjusting the cam stops; but gives no information or pictures of what needs adjusting and where. I went to the Kwikee web site and downloaded what is the same manual as I have. Is there anyone who can give me an idea of where the cam switches are located and which one would be the one to shorten the travel distance when the steps retract? Thanks in advance. Gene

There other question I have is have you had your batteries tested lately? You can go to a good battery shop and they can do a load test to see just exactly how they will perform. One other thing to consider it that the colder the environment is, the lower your battery will performance will be. Enjoy your trip!! Gene

$275 is a chunk of change. Is that for one year? Here in Louisiana I pay $25.00 a year (issued for 2 years at a time totaling $50.00) for my rig. I use USAF Veterans Plates which I understand gives the two year option. Normally I belive they are renewed annually for $25 as a private bus. If you are a 50% for greater disabled vet you can get the tags for free. I have handicapped tags on my car and pickup truck and those are renewed for $10 every 2 years. The normal published rate is $1 ofr each $1000 of the purchase price with a minimum of $10 renewable up to 4 years for each renewal. If you bought a car/truck for $28,000 then your rate would be $28.00 a year. Before 2000 it used to be a flat rate of $3 year for cars and $10 a year for trucks.

I'm fairly new to FMCA and understand rate increases. I just renewed for 2 more years at the old rate. I like what I see at FMCA and maybe one day they will make me an offer like Good Sam did on life membership. Take care, Gene

Installed the Hott Rod in the hot water tank earlier today. Pressured up the water system to make sure there were no leaks and then plugged it in. Went back and checked on it about 90 minutes later and had a full tank of hot water. I was surprised that it heated up to temp so fast. I'm a pleased customer. I'll finish up the electrical touch up later this week. Thanks for all the input. Gene

2drifters, Thanks for your input along with Wolfe10. I hope you get to realize your dreams of fulltiming soon! Take care, Gene

I ran the calculation and it called for #14; however I always like to plan ahead so I bought #12. My plan is to put a duplex breaker with a switch with indicating light for the hot water leg. Now I have an extra plug under the sink on a seperate circuit for a "just in case". You never know what the future holds.....

2driftrs - There was plenty of room to insert the element. I need to put it on a yearly checklist to remove & check for deposits. How did you run your electrical? There is one plug in the bathroom; however if it is used for the HottRod that will max it out while the water temp is low. There is one other circuit in the belly for the outside plug. I have thought about using that one. There is one other that is used for the battery charger, but the factory blocked out the other half of the plug to make it a dedicated circuit. It is a long run from the breaker box to the hot water heater.... Thanks for the reply. Gene

Greetings Brett, Yes I did order a GFI breaker for this circuit. I did notice Atwood did not advise doing so due to galvanic reasons; however if they had so many concerns why didn't they place an anode rod in their tank? I figure they want you to spend the money on an electric/LP tank instead of the upgrade. When (or if) replacement this tank happens, I will replace this unit with the Elec/LP feature. Thanks for the response. Gene