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Date Posted |
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RE: What is the Cost of a Voltage Spike????
As the old saying goes "there are those who do and those who will".
In the last 3 years ours has saved our rig twice.
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snail
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02/02/13 02:02pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Is this the power steering pump?
Check your instruction manual! My diesel pusher uses something like SAE 32 hydraulic oil in the system being described for the hydraulic drive on the fan and the power stearing. I don't have access to the information at this time.
It uses Dextron for the HYDRAULIC LEVERS for the motor home jacks. The large black tank is the supply for the hydraulic system but be sure your using the correct hydraulic fluid!!
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snail
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02/02/13 01:44pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: boondocking northern keys or florida city
You will love Blue Water. We camped there a couple years ago. Great place, very enjoyable. Visit No Name Key just north of Blue Water and eat at the No Name Pub--- great food, unique and lots of Key Deer.
The Truman Winter Whitehouse is a great visit.
Enjoy your stay in Florida. In our opinion, it's like most other places, look around and you;ll find lots of great things to do at not too high a price.
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snail
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12/29/12 09:40am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: A newbie needs help!
Our Dutch Star is 2 years newer than yours so it may be wired differently. This is how ours is wired and what we've learned over the years.
1) There are two sets of batterys for the motor home. Both sets are located in a slide out drawer on the rear passenger side of the coach.
2) Our coach (Living area inside the coach lighting, etc) consists of four 6 volt batteries mounted on the pull out drawer.
3) The diesel engine and generator starting batteries consists of two 12 volt batteries installed on this drawer.
4) The switch you mentioned located over the front dash passenger side is a disconnect switch to disconnect the coach batteries when not in use. You mentioned that you had lights in the coach so this indicates to me that this switch was and is in the "on" position.
5) There is a chassis disconnect switch located just inside the rear engine compartment at the front lower right side just inside the rear engine cover.
My guess is that you did not turn either switch off after last using the coach. We have found that the engine starting batteries will "go dead" in a couple of weeks if the engine battery switch in the engine compartment is not turned to the off position. The coach batteries will last longer but we have a solar charge panel on the coach to trickle charge the coach batteries.
Call Coach Net and have them send someone to help. Question them so that you understand the electrical cut off switches on the coach. They will likely have some answers for you. We always turn both the chassis and coach switches to the off position when the coach is not in use.
Good luck, you have a very nice older coach that you should enjoy very much. We love ours.
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snail
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12/29/12 09:23am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Flooring
I also do not understand jumping on this post. I've known Ernie for over a year and in May of 2012 he did the work to replace our carpet and tile floor in our Diesel Pusher. His work was superior quality and it is a great pleasure to know and have worked with him. Ernie has said he will answer questions if you have questions concerning flooring in your motor home--for free.
So if you have questions correspond with him. I guarentee you will find him a true gentlema, true craftsman and willing to share his 41 years worth of experience with you.
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snail
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12/29/12 08:33am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Trying to find a booth dinette
Try Colaw in Cartharge, Mo or Google Vision in southern Kentucky. Both have good used equipment at a decent price.
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snail
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12/22/12 07:55pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Bahia Honda State Park?
More luck in hitting the lottery, expensive but Bluewater is well worth it. Having your own dock to fish off and your own Tiki hut was nice. Forget the KOA was so small I could not even put my awning out and it was expensive also.
X2 For Bluewater. Great stay for us.
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snail
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11/27/12 08:08pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: satellite TV
Lots of good advise here. We went through a simular sitution last year. Our unit had a Winegard dish mounted on the RV roof and I made a portable dish unit from a dish someone gave me . After much trial and error, here is what we learned.
1) make a list of when and what you want to watch on tv.
Do you want to watch tv while in motion? This will limit your options and increase your cost greatly.
Do you always want to be able to watch tv when parked at your campsite? This will mean you will need to have a protable unit and move it around for reception when "under the trees".
Do you want to receive HD always?
Direct TV requires some different dishes for HD reception. It seems to me Dish Network can receive HD with more different dishes. If your a sports fan then Direct is the one.
Do you want to set up your dish after setting up the camper or do you just want to dial in the unit and watch tv?
Talk to someone at a shop like Campers World then do some research and read what has been posted on this site.
As you begin to learn you will have a better idea what best fits your needs.
MAKE A LIST OF YOUR NEEDS AND WANTS FIRST AND REFINE IT UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT FITS YOU.. There are so many things to consider before making the decision.....unless you have money to burn.
Good luck,
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snail
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11/15/12 10:09am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Labor charges forcing sale
I agree rving can be expensive but there are some ways to reduce maintenance cost. Several have been mentioned previously.
Our approach has been to:
1) Absolutely, find an independent shop and don't be afraid to ask questions before you commit yourself. Local shops in our area range from $125/hour for dealer type larger shops to around $50/ hr for smaller independent shops. Ask what there extras are--shop supplys, environmental fees, etc can add up. Some charge for them and some don't. We found an excellent local independent shop for around $70/hr and not every hour the rv is on his lot does he charge us. Go talk to some shops before you need to have a repair.
2) Do the jobs you can do. Forums like this one are a good source to ask questions about the problem or how much a repair should cost.
Some jobs like lubrication, oil changes, checking the tires, simple repairs are not as difficult as some believe. My thoughts are "so i screw it up, now i have to take it to the shop". Us common sense with this: i would not attempt to rebuild our diesel engine but i would replace an alternator, microwave, fuel filters, etc. Just use common sense. With some research and thought, i've learned i can do much more than i thought.
3) As i've aged, i can no longer do some repairs. We have a teenage grandson who lives in the area and he and I spend some quality time together doing repairs. I can still think and talk and he listens most of the time; so he always helps change oil, filters, troubleshoot, etc. He's learned to troubleshoot, use common tools like wrenches and vom's.
By working together and talking he now understands basic dc and ac electrical systems and together we solve many of our mechanical and simple electrical problems. He can do a lot of work for $50 to 100 and we have a great time. It doesn't have to be your grandson who helps you. It can be a friend or youth from church. Some of the tech training schools are happy to find sources for teaching. Maybe they will accept your unit for repair. Some will say "no way" but be careful, use common sense and think: is it worth trying or do i have to give up rving which is something i love.
Good luck and don't give up rving, look for alternate ways to accomplish your needs. It sounds to me like its time to think "outside the box".
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snail
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11/15/12 09:45am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: LOCATION OF BLOCK HEATER
Found the heater and repaired the problem. What a dog. On our ISC 330 the heater is located in the block, directly behind the alternator on the drivers side of the engine. Had to remove the alternator to find and remove the heater.
The problem turned out to be a damaged power cord to the resistance heater. The heater was really stuck in the block and took lots of power to get it out.
Don't know how the cord was damaged.
All is good now and we are ready for cold weather.
thanks for your input, it is appreciated.
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snail
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11/12/12 09:02am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: BRANSON, MO TO BELLA VISTA, AR
Thanks for the input. The route planner says there are only 20 miles difference between the route through Missouri and the 412 route. It's been several years since i've driven through southern Missouri but it was not a pleasant drive with all the hills and curves. The streatch of US 62 just west of Eureka Springs is definatey a dog. Great for the Corvettes but not for 35,000 + pounds.
thanks again
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snail
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11/12/12 08:54am |
Roads and Routes
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RE: SOUND PROBLEMS WITH TV
Thanks for the comments. The tv is a Vizio. I have gone to the tv menu several times and adjusted anything indicating it involves the sound settings on the set. I believe it has to be the signal or how it's delivered to the set. I can blast the walls off the motor home when I play a movie and turn the tv volume to 100 %.
I'm about to think it's the "nature of the signal and wiring". I do plan to bypass the digital to analog box temporary to see if that makes any difference. The signal will then be direct from the antenna amp to the tv set. I've thought of adding a splitter to allow the antenna signal direct to the tv input and see if this solves the problem, but that's adding more connections and hardware to the input.
thanks again
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snail
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11/12/12 08:48am |
Technology Corner
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SOUND PROBLEMS WITH TV
Our tv sound volume varies between loud and low. We have a "new" digital tv and and "old" analog tv in our mh and experience sound volume problems with a wide variation of sound. We receive our signals via antenna, Direct TV satellite and when campgrounds have cable by cable. Normal reception is via antenna or satellite.
Our sound seems to vary "all over the map"! When receiving via cable the sounds seems to be relatively consistent with only the commercials increasing in volume.
When on antenna the signal is fed from the antenna, through the amplifier, to the analog to digital converter, the multi input/output splitter normally found in an rv with two tv's with a disc player, to the "new" digital or old analog tv. When using satellite the signal is fed from the satellite box to the multi splitter normally found in an rv with two tv's to the desired tv.
With both antenna or satellite the sound setting on the tv can be anywhere between 30 % and 100 % on the tv for us to receive a sound we can hear. Sometime when at 100 % the sound is still very low.
I'm thinking there are too many connections between signal and tv. Does anyone have ideas for a solution?
At times we have the volume tuned to 100% and still are barely able to hear the sound.
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snail
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11/10/12 06:12pm |
Technology Corner
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BRANSON, MO TO BELLA VISTA, AR
Anyone have a good route for this drive. We drive a 38 ft. diesel pusher and tow a small pickup.
thinking of taking us 65 south to 412 then 71/540 back up to Bella Vista as opposed to hwy 86/112/90. Any comments appreciated.
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snail
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11/10/12 12:38pm |
Roads and Routes
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RE: Balance rear tires?
Winnebago does not balance 22.5" tires. If yours are 22.5" there is no need to balance as there rotational speed is too slow for any out of balance condition to have and effect.
My 22.5" tires are not balanced and I can drive 75mph with my hands of the wheel.
I TOTALLY disagree with this statement for two reasons.
1) been there done that. After installing 6 new name brand tires on our DP and not balancing the rear, we experienced rapid cupping and wear on the tires. After properly balancing the tires all wear went away and the ride improved greatly.
2) Assuming a tire is out of balance, the larger the rim and tire the greater the forces exerted on the axle bearings, shocks, springs, what ever suspension system your coach has. Yes a 22.5 inch tire turns less revolutions than smaller tires but if it's out of balance, it will still exert forces on the suspension system.
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snail
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09/28/12 01:22pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: 2000 Dutch Star 40'
Get the model and serial number from the present owner, then call Newmar and talk to them. They are great and will answer your questions. We drive a 2001 DSDP that was built in late 2000.
The Dutch Star is quality built and in our opinion a great long life coach.
Find a shop (Cummins or Cat shops can do the drive train and genny you will need an RV shop to check out the appliances) in the area of the coach and arrange for it to be inspected by that shop. You will have to pay a few hundred dollars but it's a great investment before shelling out many thousand dollars and finding out someone did not monitor the anti freeze and you have pitted cylinder cans or something worse.
The propane genny is a pain in several ways. If you use a genny often consider installing a diesel and forget it. You can get a quote for a new diesel genny and use that to deal on price. If your able to do some mechanical work, consider installing the new genny yourself.
If maintenance records are not available, get a quote on replacing ALL fluids--transmission, rear transaxle, hydrolic, coolant, jacks, etc and again figure this into the price your willing to pay.
You will not go wrong with a Dutch Star that has been taken care of.
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snail
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08/26/12 07:24pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: LOCATION OF BLOCK HEATER
Of course the best thing is to call Cummins...but I can see mine plainly on the "passanger side" of the block. Near the port used for diagnostics
I have called Cummins and they were no help! That's why i've posted here hoping some one could give me some idea. Thank's, i'll look in that location.
snail
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snail
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08/26/12 06:46pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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LOCATION OF BLOCK HEATER
We have a 2001 Newmar Dutch Star diesel pusher class A motor home powered by a Cummins ISC 330hp. I think the block heater is bad and am trying to locate it and to test it. Can anyone help?
I know it's located someplace on the engine block but have no idea where to look. I can find the power cord but it disappears into the bowels of the MH and I can't find where it exits to the engine block.
It's a resistance heater but I have no data on the correct resistance reading I should get on the VOM.
The 120 volt breaker serving the heater was tripped.
Any assistance is appreciated before I crawl up under the unit and try to find the heater sticking out of the block. I'm not a young man and it gets cramped up under there.
thanks and have a great day.
Snail
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snail
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08/24/12 10:16am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Desperately seeking New Wood Floors in Central CA
Installing flooring in an RV, especially one with a slide out, is not as easy as a home. Ernie just completed our 38 ft. class A in May 2012. It took 7 days and we worked hard all day every day.
I would not take my MH to just anyone to install flooring. I would never take it to someone who did not have extensive experience doing RV's. Just too much involved. Removing furniture, drivers and passenger seats, fitting around the brake, accelerator, etc. I don't want someone inexperienced messing with the flooring around the brake.
If it's not done properly, who knows what's going to happen when you put your slides in our out.
We are very happy with our coach and expect many years of enjoyment from our new floor.
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snail
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07/27/12 06:54pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Austin Texas Area RV Carpet Replacement Help
X 2 FOR ERNIE ECKBERG.
He installed new flooring in our coach a couple months ago. He does great work and is a nice guy. You won't go wrong with Ernie.
snail
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snail
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07/17/12 11:15am |
Class A Motorhomes
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