elizabethmeyer

Figured out a path for the NSA cable. Not much room for error in drilling through the firewall. Also very close to cat converter so bought the NSA heat shield. So, yes, a WL (new body) GC can befitted with the NSA system. Here's a pic of set-up in street clothes and one in semi-tow mode. If you wanted to hide everything, it takes 5 minutes to remove 7 pin connector and tuck the USCAR plug and cable bracket into the fascia until you needed it again

Just bought a 2022 Grand Cherokee to tow behind our Tiffin. I want to continue to use my NSA Read Brute Elite surge brake system but am having a heck of a time figuring out where to drill a hole for the brake cable or if I even can drill one in a workable place. NOT a lot of room and what there is happens to be VERY close to the cat converter. I called NSA who has NOT done any 2022s but who pointed me to one of their best installers who was very helpful but who has also NOT done a 2022 either. Going off his latest 2021 GC, he had me pull back the carpet and cut out the rubber liner and insulation to look for certain landmarks and, low and behold, they weren't there because the 2022 changed. alot from the 2021! So my question is, has anybody with a 2022 or newer GC run a cable for the NSA product and if so, can you post a few pics of the engine compartment and maybe the interior where the cable comes through? Otherwise, I'm going to have to get a new braking system and break away cable Thanks, Mark

I'm good with the current setup with the single remote set to RF. Works great with all 4 TVs. I appreciate the suggestions that helped guide me to setting it up on RF. I don't need the second remote but plan on hanging on to it in case the RF remote stops working. I figure I can always reset the box to IR via the Directv front panel and then use the spare remote to reset everything to RF. Thanks again! Mark .

Not sure I follow. I only have one Directv remote and 4 Samsung remotes, one for each tv. The Directv remote, now set to RF, will fire up each tv individually along with the Directv box as long as I am pointing the remote in the general vicinity of that tv. The other three remain off. Happy to try anything as long as its easy to undo. I actually have an extra Directv remote from the PO but once I programmed the second remote to RF, the extra remote won't work with the Directv box. I didn't spend any time trying to figure out how to get it working with RF. Mark

Got the remote switched to RF and tested all the TVs while set on satellite and everything works fine. TVs each turn on along with the Directv box and ONLY the TV turns on that I am pointing the remote at. Was a little worried that all 4 would turn on at once. Changing did leave me with two anomalies which are no big deal. One is that I now get a message to program the remote every time I turn on the Directv tuner despite the fact that I select "Don''t show me this again" every time. The other is that the remote will turn on the LG entertainment box (DVD player and surround sound) but it won't turn it off. I don't think the LG box did that before but I really don't remember and don't much care. The whole setup has always seemed sort of kludgy anyway. Pieces have always randomly stopped working only to start again. Inelegant at its best and really, really frustrating at its worst. Just LED overheads so no worries there. Thanks for the suggestions! Mark

This is just a question of curiosity. I don't really need to fix the problem but I am curious about why the remote works very strangely in the bedroom. I have 2015 Tiffin with 4 TVs. Each has an IR extender/repeater device. They are all connected to the Direct TV box through an IR emitter that is glued to the IR window on the Direct TV box. When they are all set to satellite input, 3 of the TVs, the living room, the **** pit and the outside TV, all function perfectly in that I can be up to 10 feet away from the IR repeater and still control Directv via the remote by pointing it at the IR repeater located next to each TV. The problem is the bedroom. Unless I am holding the remote no more than a foot or so from either the repeater or the Directv box itself, the remote won't function. It WILL function, however, if I am it sideways toward the mirrored closet doors or at the headboard which is on the wall directly opposite of the IR repeater and the Directv box. Works very consistently that way. Yet if I'm a couple of feet away from the box and repeater and the remote is aimed at directly at either of them , nothing.. Like I said, I don't need to fix it but logic would have indicated that if I was going to have a problem it would be with one relatively far away from the Directv box. Go figure. Mark

Well, my non-powered Cat to HDMI converters worked, just not very well. The picture was lightly pixelated when compared to a TV connected via straight HDMI or powered cat to HDMI receivers. Was worth a try given the potential cost savings. . I'm going to end up going with Tiffin's replacement box because I can reuse the existing powered cat receivers and just swap out the converter box. That way I don't have to remove two of my TVs to access the powered receivers which are buried behind the TV. Thanks for all the help!

Thanks. While I was waiting for responses I mistakenly ordered an OREI HD-104 which is nothing more than an HDMI splitter only. That was before I realized I had an HDMI to cat splitter/extender/converter. So doing a little more research, I found some non-powered Cat to HDMI converters that connect to each end of the cat plugs and then plug into the TV and the HDMI splitter. Will know this weekend if they work or not. Not really hopeful but worth a try. All in cost would be $29 for the splitter and $12 each (need 3 sets per splitter) for the little non-powered converters. (JahyShow HDMI extender adaptor). Probably junk but worth trying before I send it all back via Amazon and order an HDMI to cat box with 4 receivers.. Potential problem I foresee based on the information that you guys provided is that the cat cable won't reach to the TV. Sounds like the receivers may be located a bit away from the TV with an HDMI cable connecting it to the TV. We'll see. Hopefully I'll have a big loop of cat cable near each TV.

I'll find out this weekend when I search for the receivers. I don't see any access panels on the cockpit or outside tv which is why I'm thinking I have to remove them to access the receivers. I think there might be an access panel under the main tv but don't know for sure. Even if I have to remove them, they're fairly light, just awkward. Thanks for the pictures. Very helpful. Mark

Was hoping that statement was correct and I didn't have to change receivers.. Would have saved having to remove and reinstall 3 tvs to be able to get to the connections. At least that's what the task looks like after an initial inspection. Mark

So to be clear, the OREI transmitter is compatible with the Tripplevision receivers installed at each tv? Thanks for the reply! Mark

I have a 2015 Tiffin with two 1x8 (4 ports unused on each) HDMI over cat converters/extenders/splitters. One just fried and one power module just fried leaving me with one working one. I want to replace both because they run hot and are notorious for breaking. Tiffin has a replacement that is a 1x4 that runs much cooler but sounds like it is a bit pricey. Haven't called them yet this morning to find out because the problem just surfaced over the weekend. Has anybody replaced these units? If so what with and do you need to pull the TVs to replace the cat to HDMI receiver at the end of each cat run (if there is one)? I know almost nothing about this stuff other than what I researched last night trying to find a replacement. Everything I've found seems to have a central converter/extender/splitter box that requires a powered receiver at the end of each cat run. Mark

I have a buddy who's kid built an RV out of an old school bus (known as skoolies). Unfortunately he broke down within a few a few miles of his inaugural voyage. The shop found both fuel filters clogged but also stated that they found pieces of rubber in fuel tank. I've never heard of that. I know rubber deteriorates and I make it a habit of replacing all rubber lines on old cars that I have restored including an old 76 GMC Eleganza motorhome. Anybody ever hear of that? If true, what else has to be cleaned and flushed to get the fuel system clean and reliable? I don't have the year or make of the bus but I can likely get it if important. Thanks Mark

Don't know. Factory installed on both furnaces. Don't have coach here but guessing there is a bead of silicone between that plate and the coach?

This may be an easy fix for anyone who wants to use their furnace on the road but can't because it keeps blowing out. My horizontally mounted rear furnace intake/exhaust kept doing that while my vertically mounted mid-cabin furnace intake/exhaust worked perfectly. After thinking about it for a while I decided to try introducing something that would divert/obstruct/change the air flow over the rear furnace intake/exhaust. Lo and behold it worked. I tested it at 65 mph multiple times and it hasn't failed yet.The 'device' is just a 2" pvc coupling that I first cut in half lengthwise then cut it in half again widthwise. Painted it silver and attached with clear silicone to the rear side of the intake opening so it could divert/obstruct/change the airflow over the intake/exhaust. I have no idea about the exact dynamics and whether it would have worked just as well mounted on the exhaust but it worked. Now I'm looking forward to a warmer coach on the road. Here are a few pictures. And yes I know even Suburban (spoke with them) recommends not using the furnace while traveling but many of us ignore that advice. Should think of a fancy name for it like the "Dynamic Aero Turbulator" and sell em.😄 Mark

As promised. I finally finished my testing of the slow key cycle method recommended by Allison to avoid randomly losing my full throttle downshift ability. The recommendation was to wait 5 seconds in the on position before engaging the starter. I exercised an abundance of caution and waited 10 seconds. I tested it 10 days in a row with 10 cycles each road test. I would start it up in the storage lot, get out on the road, do a full throttle downshift at shift points that I knew it should respond to a full throttle downshift request, validate it worked, then pull over and do another key cycle for a total of 10 cycles per trip. I have a call into Allison to review my findings and determine their next steps in fixing this bug or design issue. I'm not exactly sure how they are categorizing it. Please pass on this information to anyone you know that might be having some performance issues with their Allison trans. Hopefully Allison will communicate this and other issues out to their field team and repair centers. No one I dealt with, including the most recent team from Allison and Cummins, knew anything about this. It wasn't until I got these two tenacious individuals who chose to own the problem rather than simply say their side looked good, that we discovered it was known by Allison and I wasn't exactly alone in experiencing this. Mark

Day 4 and all remains good. 4 days and 40 key cycles. I'll report back when I finish the 10 days but the slow key cycle work around is looking good.

Day 3 tests all positive. Tomorrow, Day 4, will be statistically significant because it has never stayed in "working" mode 4 days in a row since I have been aware of the problem and starting tracking it. I'll post Day four and then wait to post until I have finished the rest of this week's daily tests until I finish Day 10.

Day two: slow key cycle worked again. 10 cycles of off, on, wait 10 seconds, start, drive, try a couple of full throttle downshifts at known shift points. Repeat.

Hi, This is Mark, the OP. Thought I would give a quick progress update. It may help people with an Allison 2500 who are experiencing no downshifts even at full throttle. I've worked with two different teams of Allison and Cummins techs over the last 6 months. That is in addition to the original time and money spent at Allison and Cummins trying to get this thing diagnosed. The first team worked with me down at Tiffin in Red Bay. That ended up with no fix and Cummins and Allison nicely pointing fingers at the other and Bob Tiffin pointing me to Freightliner. By this point the ECM, TCM and TPS had all been replaced without fixing the problem. The coach still would randomly not downshift at full throttle under conditions I knew it should and could. I had demonstrated that to the techs over several days. I had just about given up when I called Cummins about warranty coverage and got a tech person who was genuinely interested in my problem. That got be kicked up to Level 3 and I got a tech that was EXTREMELY tenacious. He ended up arranging a meeting with me, himself and an Allison tech for two days down at a local Cummins shop. Best two days ever with both guys taking turns plugging in their PCs and discussing possible theories as they were gathering and diagnosing data and findings. The end result is that it looks like it is a software bug on Allison's side. Not confirmed yet but data is pointing that way because they are seeing this problem elsewhere on other vehicles. It is is tied to, and triggered by, cycling the key on and off. The thought is If you cycle the key off and then on too quickly, the software pulls the wrong value for the "road speed limit" parameter and that in turn causes the transmission to not downshift at full throttle. I am just starting to test this theory by cycling the key from off to on and then waiting 10 seconds before starting the vehicle. This slow cycle supposedly allows the data to fully load into the TCM. Quicker cycles cause that load to get interrupted somehow. I should finish my testing this week. Today it worked correctly 10 times in a row but my experience is that those results are not definitive. My data to date says that anytime I leave the RV sitting over night I have about a 50% chance of it being in "working" mode versus "not working" mode" the next day. So until I get a few more days of those data points I won't really be comfortable saying this slow cycle works. Allison says that they are doing the slow cycle on a fleet of garbage trucks and it has worked 100% of the time. Just to refresh what my problem is. I know my trans shift points at full throttle by heart now on flat roads in good conditions. It will downshift at 25, 35, and 45 (other points too but these are the three I use as test points) at full throttle every time when it is in "working" mode. When it flips over to "not working" mode after a key cycle, it will NOT downshift at those same points. It just slowly accelerates. I'll keep everybody posted on the rest of my testing this week. Mark

I purchased the coach 1.5 years ago but never tried driving with the furnace on until this fall. It happens every time from what I can tell. Just went on a short trip today at a max speed of 45 and it was off when I arrived at my location but nowhere near it's setting of 68. I'm assuming it is the outside wind but as I'm sitting here typing I can't say for certain. Could be other reasons for shutting down. When I get to where I'm going I just flip the switch to off and then back on and it starts up immediately.

My rear Suburban furnace blows out when I drive. My mid-cabin furnace works fine when I'm driving. The only difference that I can see is that the mid-cabin intake and exhaust vents are vertical and the rear furnace vents are horizontal. I'm pretty sure on my unit the rear heats the wet bay so I would like it to work. One difference that I just thought of is that the mid-cabin may be a few more BTU. I know that Suburban doesn't recommend this use and I've read that there may some states that don't allow it. I want it to work. Mark (aka Elizabeth, the true forum member)

It was fine but very slow to load up or recalculate. That may be because the memory module was failing and ultimately failed. The screen would blank out and fill with hundreds of little blocks with the words "GIR LOW MEM" in them. You would have to shut it off and then go into settings to select the map which the memory failure would un-select. This worked a few times but the problem quickly got worse and it would fail within five minutes of resetting. Stupid money to get repaired and the part is taking over two months to arrive at the repair facility. I was in a hurry to get it fixed which is why I went with the repair but I would do a lot of research on alternatives before I would go this route again. Mark

I was asking in general. Thanks again to all who responded and Merry Christmas! The bus video more than convinced me there will be no "winging" it.

Ouch!!!! Yeah, don't want to do that. Not even at slow speeds. Mark