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RE: Motorhomes with 19.5 vs 22.5 tires
There are more important factors that tire size that determine how the MH will ride. Weight distribution being one, ideally each tire should carry the same load. Front end alignment being another. Worn shocks front end parts like ball joints tie rods etc will affect the ride even more. All things being equal, which they never are in real life you would not notice a difference in ride quality based on just tire size. You will notice a big difference with too much weight in the rear and a light front end or a front end out of alignment.
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Gjac
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05/30/23 06:20am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Dead Refrigerator
The refer and MH is only 2 years old, seems strange to me. When you say the refer is dead do you mean not lighting on propane and not working on electric? Maybe the techs did all this already, but I would hook the electric element directly to 120v and see if it cools. If so, you refer is still good and your board or the circuitry to the board is bad. Is your board a potted board, (electrical components incase in plastic) or a open board where you can see all the components soldered to the main board? If the latter I would call a company called Parts for Tech, they service and rebuild boards. They have helped me several times with boards that have gone bad and were obsolete. My MH is 27 years old and when the board went on my steps, repairs shops wanted $1200 to replace the whole step unit because Kwikee no longer sold just the board. They told me over the phone what to check for and I replaced a burnt-out resister for $3 with their help and all was good again. Most shops and RV techs are in the business of just replacing bad control boards not repairing them.
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Gjac
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05/29/23 08:33am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: How to Restore Old Fiberglass
Here is something that might interest you. It's about boats but it'll work on RVs too.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=roll+%26+tip+boat+painting&form=ANNTH1&refig=dc3278fb54e740eaae58d6cb6d3ff915&sp=1&lq=0&qs=UT&pq=roll+%26+tip+&sc=9-11&cvid=dc3278fb54e740eaae58d6cb6d3ff915. I tried this technique on my back bumper but did not like the way it came out. The video I watched made it look easy but I think the guys were more experienced than me. As far as restoring a worn finish if your MH has some gel coat on the side walls, not filon and you have good shoulders I would try using the red max pro cleaning steps to remove the bulk of the oxidation then use a buffer and cutting compound followed by a polishing compound then a good wax. I have filon side walls and two repaired shoulders and used the red max pro process about 10 years ago and was happy with the results. I live in Ct so the sun did not yellow the finish. Friends that live in the south had yellowing and some peeling. The floor polish adheres good to a worn gel coat but will peel easy on a smooth surface.
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Gjac
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05/23/23 02:35pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: How long does a P32 radiator last?
Does your radiator overheat now when climbing hills, or idling on a hot summer's day? You can check it with a cheap IF gun from HF by taking temperature reading from the top to the bottom in a 4 in grid pattern. Cold spots would indicate a blockage. Pay attention to the area in front of the fan clutch, a radiator guy told me years ago that if they clog, they tend to clog there first. There should be a change of temperature readings from the top to the bottom of 30 or more degrees showing that your radiator is cooling correctly.
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Gjac
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05/04/23 06:49am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Battery drain over winter
Another thing I observed, is that my smart charger does not fully charge the batteries. I am guessing it charges to 95-97% SOC, because when I float charge with my old Magnatec 950 constant converter/charger at 13.6v for a few days after the smart charger says full, I can dry camp for a few more days without generator recharge. I have no way of quantifying this, but I think that this automatic charging to 97% or so when you keep your MH plugged in, builds up sulfate over time because the batteries never see 100% SOC. I don't know if anyone else on here has observed this or read anything about it.
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Gjac
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05/04/23 06:12am |
Tech Issues
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Battery drain over winter
I fully charged my 2 6V Sam's Club GC batteries as well as my 12v starting battery in Oct when I winterized the MH. I checked the SOC yesterday and the house batteries were still at 80%. Each year I expect to buy new batteries in spring because these are 16 years old. I have been leaving them off the charger all winter since new in 2007. On my starting battery I disconnected the neg post over winter and that battery only saw a 5% drop in voltage. I post this because a lot of people ask this question about whether to remove their batteries for winter storage and bring them into the house or keep a trickle charger on all winter and all year for that matter. Keeping them on a smart charger or trickle charger seems safer and I realize more batteries die from sulfation, but there is still a chemical reaction taking place while charging and some plate shedding going on. Even during camping season, the MH stays unplugged until they self-discharge 20% then they get fully charged. I'm just curious what others on here do to extend the life of their batteries?
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Gjac
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05/02/23 10:08am |
Tech Issues
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RE: Manifold Replacements
After 2 cracked manifolds I replaced the cast iron manifolds with Thorley headers, not only do they reduce the heat to prevent cracking, but your HP will be increased also. I think the total cost was about $1200. Looking back I wish I went to the headers after the first manifold cracked.
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Gjac
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04/30/23 06:35am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Fiberglass roof crack repair
Does the crack go through the entire laminate or is it just a surface crack in the gel coat outer surface?
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Gjac
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04/24/23 11:51am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Didn't Think Much of These - Screws Under Vinyl Insert Trim
When I pulled my trim off, I found a number of screws rusted badly some almost completely in half and a few with just the heads in tack. They were not SS.
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Gjac
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04/10/23 08:26pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Just Switched from Verizon to T-Mobile
What is the 5G box? I have T-Mobile home internet that is a 5G modem which looks like the former MacPro trash can. Had it since it was first introduced. Been very satisfied. Download speeds have been consistent at 500Mbps+. Not sure if that is as fast as some fibre optic connections which can be faster. Yes, it looked like a trash can that I called a box it is all wireless. It was $10-20 cheaper than the other two fiber optic providers in my area, they advertise 500 mbps.
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Gjac
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03/30/23 08:01pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Just Switched from Verizon to T-Mobile
Coincidently I was in Costco yesterday and T mobile approached my while I was looking at laptops. I am currently with Verizon on my sil family plan. Currently we pay about $35 per line for 8 lines. T mobile wanted $32/line after all their discounts. Not much difference in price. They also had a 5G box for internet for $30/mo supposed to be faster than fiber optics from Frontier or Optimum at $40/mo and $50/mo for 500 MPPS. Has anyone switched to T mobile 5 G and is it any better than fiber optics?
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Gjac
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03/30/23 12:20pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: How long should a battery last?
For two days I would just freeze ice jugs and put several in the freezer section and several in the refer section. You start with fully charged batteries frozen jugs, and cold food, while driving you are powering your refer from the alternator. Once the ice jugs melts after several days use the ones in the freezer section. If you use your battery power just for water pump and a few lights you should be fine for several days. When it comes time to replace the battery, replace it with 2 GC batteries wired in series and you will last a week and still be at 50% plus SOC, with your electric refer off.
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Gjac
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03/24/23 02:18pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Parking brake will not disengage
If it is the workhorse chassis which is what it sounds like from your post, there is a pressure switch inside the steel box. When you put the shift lever from park to any gear you should hear the pump come on. Do you hear the pump? If so, it is probably the pressure switch. The older ones were green, but I understand the newer versions are brown. If you can confirm you have the workhorse chassis with the auto park system, and the pump comes on you will get more help.
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Gjac
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03/24/23 01:49pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Battery isolator charge vehicle battery on shore power
I do not understand why I would add a solenoid? Wouldn't I add a wire between the 2 battery terminals on the isolator with an inline 12 volt
switch?? This is one way that is simple, another way that you probably have built into your chassis already, is to turn your key to ACC and that should combine both batteries. While plugged into shore power check both batteries to see if you get 13 plus volts.
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Gjac
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02/12/23 07:05am |
Tech Issues
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RE: New here! 1986 Holiday Rambler Alternator
Your alternator if original is probably around 80 amps. When mine went out on the road I replaced it with a 180 amp one which was able to charge my 2 6vGC house batteries as well as the chassis battery. If you go to a shop that rewinds motors and alternators, they can rewind one using your same case. I would check the alternator yourself before you remove it to see if it is actually bad. Jump start the MH and check to see if you can read 14v or so on the battery if so, it is still good. If not move up to the alternator output itself and see if it is outputting 14v's, if so, you may have a fuse or bad wire to the battery, if not you know for sure the alternator is bad. Just because you have new batteries doesn't mean your alternator is bad because the engine won't start. It maybe something as simple as corroded or loose wires to the battery or even a starter issue.
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Gjac
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02/05/23 01:01pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Dipping my fuel tank
I used a motorcycle jack to drop mine. It was not a difficult job. It took about an hr or less to unbolt and lower the tank, another 2 hrs to run to the store and buy a new pickup hose and then install it. It was a half day job when all was said and done. An empty or near empty tank makes the job easier to move the tank and line up the holes to reinstall the bolts.
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Gjac
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02/05/23 12:23pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: yet another door look bites the dust
I have replaced mine twice over the years when they broke and the third time, I made a steel backing plate to join the two pieces of the zinc alloy striker bar that broke. It has held up well. Someone posted on here a while back about a new lock that he thought was steel but could not verify that it was. This alloy which some call pot metal is brittle and soft, it is cast and not forged or drawn like steel making it much weaker. You need to take it part to see what is actually broken. It could also be the plastic cam inside that moves the sticker bar.
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Gjac
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01/26/23 08:34pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Roadtrip by car vs RV, a couple of thoughts...
For short trips with lots of miles, leaving the RV behind often makes sense.
- You can travel faster.
- You buy less fuel.
- You are paying premium short stay rates for campgrounds.
- You are probably going to go out to eat several times anyway.
Reduce the miles or longer duration trips and it starts tilting back toward RV. This has been my experience also. When I retired in 2004 I kept track of each trip we made on a spread sheet. Trips less than 3 days it was cheaper to take the car, longer than 3 days the RV was cheaper for me. 95% of my trips were dry camping no FHU campgrounds so this might factor into costs. My trips averaged from $67/day in the lower 48 states to $107/day for a 3 mo trip to Alaska. The biggest expense has always been fuel. Fuel to Alaska and back was about $5000 about 1/2 the cost of the total trip. However, by car and hotels where can you find a hotel for less than $100/day let alone eating out and fuel for the car. An RV trip is totally different experience, I had my bike, fishing rods and rubber raft with me, was able to stay inside the NP's and NFS campgrounds with the RV instead of trying to find a hotel outside and driving into the scenic areas. The trip up and staying at the NP's in the US and Canada was just as nice as the destination. Having said all that, we flew out to Las Vegas last Nov. for my nephew's wedding, rented a car and went to Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Sedona, visited friends in Snowflake and Phenix AZ and returned to LV to fly home. It was a good trip now that we are older, just not the same as taking the MH. I did not figure the cost, but it was much more than a MH trip.
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Gjac
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01/25/23 09:39am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Flying J / Pilot to install megachargers for med/heavy trks
There seems to be a lot of peripheral arguments both for and against EV's. As run100 just posted above its hard to get all the facts about EV's, but to me math does not lie. So, if you look at it in simple terms and compare apples to apples most EV's that I have looked at take 30 KW's to drive 100 miles. In my state they just raised my electric rate to 33 cents per KW. So, to drive 100 miles in an EV it cost $9.90. My Rav4 hybrid gets 42 MPGs on average, so it takes 2.4 gals to drive 100 miles. At $3.00/gal that is $7.20 at $4.00/gal that is $9.60. That is not cheaper for me where I live. When I looked at a tesla several years ago, I plotted a trip to Florida. Their GPS gives you all the charging stations along the way. They varied from 34 to 50 cents /KW which I'm sure by now they have gone up also. At 50 cents a KW it would cost $15 for every 100 you travel. $225 from CT to Florida vs $144 in my RAV4 at $4.00/gal. So, unless you live in a low-cost state, have access to free charging and don't drive long trips where you need a fast charger, to me an EV is not cheaper to drive.
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Gjac
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01/22/23 12:43pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: generator fuel line
I have a 2003 Duch star on a spartan chassis. I figured out the fuel line to the gen set must have an air leak. Or something I have to keep bleeding the gen set. Has anyone ever had with problems and got it fixed? It runs great from a 5 gallon can.
Have the identical problem. Dropping my fuel tank is the LAST thing I want to do to fix it.
My current "fix" is to detach the fuel line at the generator, connect it to a pump action siphon, and start pumping until I get flow. Then reattach to the generator.
However, I'd like a better more permanent fix before dropping my fuel tank.
So I'm going to try the "catheter" approach. Got this idea during an angiogram when my doctor routed a catheter up my arm vein into my heart. Very slick.
I'm buying a small fuel line to run inside my current fuel line.
We'll see. I had this same thought I spent hrs trying to fix it without dropping the tank. I had some small dia plastic tubing which was stiff enough to push through, but it could not make the right angle bends. I think the fuel line would be much softer and would tend to bunch up when you push it in. Dropping a near empty tank was not so bad, probably an hr to actually drop it, going to the parts store to buy a new line installing the line, and reinstalling the tank was about a half day when all was said and done.
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Gjac
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01/16/23 10:53am |
Class A Motorhomes
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