Chezyrider

One of the pitfalls in owning a motor home that you never think of is the availability of parts when you need them. You take all of the precautions by routinely maintaining your coach, get extended warranties, get new tires, batteries, etc. when warranted, but when you have a repair issue, beware. I just had an issue where my fan clutch assembly seized up, broke up into a bunch of different pieces sending shattered fan blades through the radiator. Unfortunately, Spartan doesn't keep that particular radiator on the shelves, and claim it will take 12 weeks to manufacture a new one. My motor home is stranded 1,000 miles from home. The diesel repair facility is searching the country for a suitable replacement, but it doesn't look good. Earlier this year, I needed a new starter that is specific for my engine and chassis combination. They found only ONE in the entire country. As much a we all pay for these homes on wheels, you'd think they would make parts commonly interchangeable, or make enough beyond what the amount the motor home manufacturer orders. In this case, Spartan claims that Tiffin ordered 35 radiators, so the made just 35 radiators. Hard to believe. Anyone out there experience similar situations?

Had a similar problem with the Cummins on my Tiffin Phaeton. Would only overheat on climbs, but was fine on the flats. Turns out the fan clutch was bad, and not engaging when needed. Was replaced, and all was fine.

Anyone ever have a catastrophic failure of the fan clutch assembly, where, from what I can tell right now, the assembly is torn off of the engine, fan blades shattered, belts frayed, broken blades pierce the radiator, top radiator hose pulled off of water pump, emptying entire contents of the radiator. Ironically, this is the second fan clutch I've had go bad. First time, just overheating, but this time it was instantaneous while climbing mountains through West Virginia. Nothing like spending my holiday boon docking in a diesel repair facility parking lot until they can start working on it Monday. 2012 Tiffin Phaeton 42 LH Spartan Chassis Cummins ISL

My dash air works fine. I had a new compressor installed 2 years ago. Dash vents blow pretty icy cold air, but on a sunny day 95+ degree day, even with the sun shades partially down, and a curtain drawn behind us, it eventually is overwhelm by all of the front glass acting magnifying glass. It probably doesn’t help that our Golden Retriever hogs a couple of the vents. I think I’ll try a diverter, but the portable A/C does come with a window kit for the exhaust that’ll make a clean application in a side sliding window. Thanks for the ideas. Chezyrider

I have a 2012 Tiffin Phaeton 42LH on a Spartan Chassis with a Cummins ISL9 diesel. Couldn’t find any alternator info. The inverter/charger is a Magnum 2800W Pure Sine Wave with continuous power of 23A, and a 5 second surge power of 32.5 amps. Model #MS31884. I also have 6 new AGM deep cycle batteries. The portable air conditioner I’m considering draws 9.04A or 1,040 Watts/hr. I could always run this A/C off of my generation while driving, but was just wondering if running it off of the inverter was a feasible idea. FYI I just talked to an technical support agent at Magnum Energy, and they say on paper, it’s feasible, but in the practical sense, not recommended. Thank’s for y’all’s input. Chezyrider

Has anyone tried running a portable air conditioner off of your inverter will driving to help out the dash air in a Class A motor home? After a few hours of driving in 90+ degree weather, it’s like an easy bake oven. Have tried running the generator with the roof air on, but the ducts are block by my slides being pulled in. Installed a thermal curtain behind the front seats, but only helps for a short time. I was thinking that a little 8,000 BTU 115 volt portable A/C set between the front seats in front of my curtain. Then send the exhaust duct to the back of the coach since it’s going to be hot anyway. Would the inverter be able to handle the residential refrigerator, plus the portable air condition while driving?