judatt Report post Posted January 12, 2016 Greetings, everyone. We are currently parked in a resort in Brownsville, TX in our 45' Newmar Mountain Aire diesel pusher. This is our first trip and we are enjoying ourselves a great deal. I got to thinking, what should I be doing as far as ongoing maintenance while we are parked here for 2 months. I have been running the engine every couple of weeks until it gets off the peg - it won't heat up to running temp. I also start the generator every couple of weeks. Should I do anything with the slideouts? Do I need to do anything with the heat pumps? air conditioning? heater? Everything seems to be fine - I just don't want to be neglecting something I should be doing? Thanks. David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildebill308 Report post Posted January 12, 2016 David glad you are having a good time. Best practice is to not start the main engine unless you can drive it to warm everything up to operating temperature's. When you do start it as soon as the oil pressure comes up go to fast idle This improves combustion when it is cold and helps reduce unburned fuel washing down the cylinder walls and contaminating your oil. 2 mouths isn't all that long. You can cut back on the generator to 2 hours once a month. I run the heat pumps to put a load on the generator. I try to find enough load to get to 35-40 amp. About the only other thing I might look at is the water in the batteries. OK thought of one more chore for you to keep you busy. Clean the air filters on the AC/Heat pumps they need to be checked and cleaned or replaced as needed. I am sure others will have a long list but the rest can wait for annual maintenance. Or we can send you a daily work list. Wash and wax the coach, clean and dress the tires and polish the rims. Bill Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dickandlois Report post Posted January 13, 2016 David glad you are having a good time. Best practice is to not start the main engine unless you can drive it to warm everything up to operating temperature's. When you do start it as soon as the oil pressure comes up go to fast idle This improves combustion when it is cold and helps reduce unburned fuel washing down the cylinder walls and contaminating your oil. 2 mouths isn't all that long. You can cut back on the generator to 2 hours once a month. I run the heat pumps to put a load on the generator. I try to find enough load to get to 35-40 amp. About the only other thing I might look at is the water in the batteries. OK thought of one more chore for you to keep you busy. Clean the air filters on the AC/Heat pumps they need to be checked and cleaned or replaced as needed. I am sure others will have a long list but the rest can wait for annual maintenance. Or we can send you a daily work list. Wash and wax the coach, clean and dress the tires and polish the rims. Bill Yep - Dave does not need to run the engine but do keep an eye on the water level in the coach batteries if they are wet cells. The water level should be good for 2 to 3 months on average. Might add-Clean the floor as needed, dust the inside surfaces, Keep the windows clean, might need to clean off the chairs and always have the wine-cheese and crackers ready! Rich. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted January 13, 2016 When I get bored "LOL", I get the metal polish out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jleamont Report post Posted January 13, 2016 Kay, if you get bored and you are up this way please let me know. Always travel with Wine and Cheese, Beer (for me) and whatever Rum or Vodka drink the DW is in the mood for that week, lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted January 14, 2016 Check for debris between slide out and slide awnings. Keep the mud dabbers out. Wine, cheese, Doritos and more wine! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted January 14, 2016 Wine, cheese, Doritos and more wine, who cares about maintenance. (that is until time to leave) Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
judatt Report post Posted January 14, 2016 Greetings, everyone. We cleaned our air filters yesterday. We have 3 units - total of 14 air filters to clean. Our 3100 sq feet house only has 2 - of course they are larger but was amazed at how many we kept finding. They are round and small but most were pretty dirty. Today I'll look at the batteries - don't want to get too adventurous. David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
judatt Report post Posted January 15, 2016 Greetings again everyone. I looked at the batteries this morning. There are 6 total - I think 4 house batteries and 2 coach batteries. The 2 coach batteries are sealed and I can't get into them. The 4 house batteries were all dry. I put distilled water in them. Also got some battery cleaner and put it on the connections. They weren't bad but there was some evidence of "gunk" on a couple of them. Interesting thing - don't know if I have messed something up in the process. I went to the panel to check the levels like I tend to do daily. There are 5 lights across. Battery is first so I pushed it first. It now has one solid light and 4 blinking lights. Fresh water is next - I know its full but it shows 2 lights. Gray water I have open so it showed only 1 light as it should. Black water is closed and it showed 2 lights as I think it should. LP Gas is full but it only shows 2 lights now. Yesterday the battery, fresh water and LP Gas all showed 5 lights. Have I done something or does it need time reset now that the batteries all have water. We plan to go to both the Passport America rally in Florida and the FMCA rally in Georgia. While I am there will there be a vendor/vendors that I can have check out everything and show me what I need to do when? Thanks for your input and help. David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted January 15, 2016 David, Charge up the batteries and give the "idiot gauges" another try. Or, to be more scientific, check voltage first with a digital voltmeter and let us know what it shows. Low voltage (like under 12.0 VDC) can give some very strange readings on gauges. Also, very likely the batteries that were boiled dry are shot and will need to be replaced. Exposed plates are extremely hard on batteries. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
judatt Report post Posted January 15, 2016 Hi Brett. The volt meter now shows 8.9. Yesterday it was 13.4 So how do I charge the batteries? Run the generator? The engine. Thanks Brett. David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
judatt Report post Posted January 15, 2016 Hi again Brett. I opened the main panel door and looked some more. I have a charger on the panel so I turned it on. Immediately, it started charging. I now have 14.2 volts. Right below the charger button is an "inverter" button. I have heard about the inverter but have never used it. Anything I need to do with it? Thanks again. David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted January 15, 2016 David, There is no "here is the charger/converter/inverter-charger" all coaches use. How it is wired and how it works varies by piece of equipment AND how the coach builder wired it. You should have a manual on your charge device. But, 8.9 VDC is a totally dead battery. Yes, you can try to charge it (shore power overnight) and see if you can "resurrect" them or if they just need to be replaced. And, on some inverter/chargers, if they sense that low a voltage, they will not even initiate the charge cycle. If that is the case, then a portable "stupid" charger will be needed to start the process. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
judatt Report post Posted January 15, 2016 Hi Brett. I checked again after the charger had been on and it is now 14.2 and the charger has turned itself off. We have a local handyman and he was doing some work across the street and I asked him to look at my batteries. He said they are all fine - he used a volt meter on each battery and said they were good. Everything seems to be working fine now and all the gauges show what they did yesterday. Thanks for your patience and good info for this rookie/newbie. David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted January 15, 2016 David, 4 6 VDC house batteries are around 440 amp-hrs @ 12 VDC. For a charger to bring them up to full charge from 8.9 VDC (i.e. totally dead) will take at least 12 hours, as charge rate tapers off as they become charged. Suggestion: Fully charge them and then go to any place that sells batteries and have them LOAD TESTED. Generally free. Again, only after verifying that they have been on a charger long enough to fully charge. This test will identify a battery that has materially lower capacity, but still shows a "surface charge" right after being charged. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
five Report post Posted January 17, 2016 Back to the OP's original question. When parked for a while in the same place, just look around. Here's what I routinely do: - Clean A/C filters. - Put Protect All (or something similar) on all exterior plastic...exterior coach lights, roof vents, solar panels. - Put seam sealer on slide out covers and awnings. - Lube steps and all moving parts. - Tighten all screws on door hinges. Just the part attaching to the door its self were a bit loose. - Clean and lube jacks. - Lube awning arms. - Put 303 on tires. - Put Rejex on windshield. - If a residential refer, vacuum under it. - Start late, quit early...and have a beer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manholt Report post Posted January 17, 2016 Yea, not to be done all in one day or week! I would replace all wet batteries! Un Official rule...Peace of Mind!!! Carl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
