Questions On 1998 Coachman Mirada

[allbifaith]

Hello everyone,

I am a newbie in RVing and I have been reading and leaning a lot about RVs

I bought my 1998 Coachman Mirada about 2 weeks ago and I am trying to get things going before i am ready to travel, may I tell you that the person that sold it to me said he never used any of these features

1. The RV has 2 TVs - one in the Cabin and 1 in the Room....How does the TVs turn On ?
   
2. The other day I had the generator on and I tested to use some Appliances like Space Heated and Iron, they work but as soon as I turned the Generator off, nothing works...how can I use the appliances when Generator is off
   
3. The RV has a Battery Monitor panel when i try to see how charged is the Battery it has the letters E F G AND C ..I believe E= EMPTY, F = FULL what does G and C stand for....The tested indicated that the battery if on F (the green light indicator lighted up) but the letters C and G are still above the letter F Can you tell me about this..I will appreciate it.
   
4. If anyone lives in California....how much do a Smog Check for RV cost ?
   
5. iF my TV comes on, can I watch TV with without getting a subscription to one of this cable or sattelite company ....what I am asking is: has anyone used a Digital Antenna successfully.
   
6. Is it true that if you want Direct TV or Dish Network you have to buy your own Dish?
   
7. How much does a Solar panel cost and does anyone know who is the best Honest one in Long Beach California area or nearring Cities where to buy and install one?
   
8. Also where is an RV Dump closest to Long Beach, California ?
   
9. What is the difference between an Inverted and a Converted ?
   

Thanks Guy, I was happy when I found this site that is still alive...most of this other sites have not been updated since...say 2010

Thanks

[ronnieg]

Hi

I see no one has answered any of your questions to date, so I'll make an attempt.

First your coach appliances, like your house, run on 110 volts A/C current for these appliances like your space heater, Iron and usually your Front (main cabin) TV, Microwave oven and your rooftop airconditioners etc.

Your generator supplies 110 A/C to your Coach when it is running. For normal camping you would hook up to "shore power" which is an external connection to a electrical connection at the campground. Today it is either 30 or 50 amps. I'm not sure what yours might be, probably a 30 Amp. In your "sewer connection" area which is generally around the left rear of the coach, you will find an electical connection for the "Shore Power" connection with a special connector for this purpose.

The rear TV, can be both a 12 DC (this is battery current from the coaches batteries) or 110Volts A/C (this is generator current, or shore power current, the same as the power company supplies to your house), they should both turn on if properly supplied with the appropriate current just like any other TV (on/off switch or remote).

Not being familiar with your coach, I don't know anything about there electrical gauging system so I won't attempt to answer that question. I live in Florida, so I won't go near the smog question. The TV, like any other TV in the world, has an antennae attached to it. usually this is on the right side of your coach, above the passenger seat. It lays flat to the roof for travel and is raised and lowered by a crank handle inside the coach. All TV stations (major networks) are required to still transmit to the "airwaves" therefore you can recieve these stations with an antennae. In your coach if they are original TV's they may not be capable of HD reception.

If you want satellite TV, and there is no dish on your coach (usually mounted to the left side roof and flat to the roof for travel) you must purchase either a roof mounted dish or an external dish that can be connected to the TV at the campground (110 volt A/C) and then subscribe to a satellite service just like you might do at home.

Solar panels can run from $39.00 at Harbor freight to several hundred dollars, depending upon what you wish to do with it.

Dump stations? If you mean for your "Black water" and "Gray water" most any campground will have a dump station and allow you to dump for a minimal fee.

Inverted and Converted--OK you got me there, the only thing I can think of is that you have a "INVERTER" which is a electrical mechanism used to convert 12 volts DC (battery current) to 110 volts A/C (house current) but in a limited amount. The converted I don't know.

Last but not least GET THE APPROPRIATE MANUALS FOR YOUR COACH AND APPLIANCES. These are either available free on-line or available from the manufacturer at a minimal fee. I'm new to the RVing world, but I have a mechanical background, so I researched all aspects of my coach and others after I obtained my 2000 Southwind by Fleetwood.

Good luck and most of all have fun!!!

[Guest BillAdams]

If you have a 1998 coach with original equipment then the TV's that you have are not digital and you will not be able to receive the digital TV programming as it sits. You can buy a digital to analog converter. This is the one that I recommend. http://www.radioshac...oductId=3150939

You would need one for each TV for the maximum convenience and function. If you want to actually view the over the air programming in high def. you would need to replace those analog TV's with the current HD TV's.

[cfamrace49]

We bought a 2000 Coachmen Catalina and had trouble with our TV's too. We found the GFI reset in the bathroom was tripped--reset it and see if the TV's work. The antenna cranks up and there is a button you need to push so it lights up in order to get reception. If you don't have one of the convertors for the TV's, you will need them---we replaced the TV's w/new digital ones. You will pick up local TV stations, and with our digital TV's, we get a lot of extra channels. We haven't purchased a cable box or service yet as it doesn't pay for us for how little we travel right now. You can subscribe to Dish or Direct or if you have that at home, take your receiver and connect it and alert the company you will be using it on the road in your RV.

The gauges in the bathroom (?) show your black tank, grey tank, fresh water, propane tank levels--of course "F" on fresh and propane is good, on B & G tanks means you need to dump! The other one means your coach batteries are "C" charging--"G" is good. Most likely you have an inverter. When plugged in (our plug is in a door above the controls for tanks), you should be able to use your appliances--change the switch to "in use" from the storage position. The refrigerator will cool faster on gas, but will take 12-24 hours to get cold or longer.

If you don't have the manuals, google it online.

Happy camping to you!