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RE: Same money, older higher end coach or newer not as nice one
To Lone Cowboy,
It would help in the discussion for you to just say in what your budget is, to comment on your hands on DIY ability to fix common mechanical and electrical problems, and your tolerance for risk.
There is no right answer as you can tell from the previous posts. What works for me is totally wrong for someone else.
I chose the older high end. You can buy a mid nineties Newell, no slide coach for the low 100s these days. It'll have a Detroit Series 60 engine and really nice appliances, fit and finish. If you put money into redecorating, you are at least starting with really strong bones.
For 100 or so, I would seriously, seriously look at Foretravels, Newells, and Wanderlodges. I like those three because of their construction. God forbid you should ever roll it, but those three will stay together instead of exploding because of the construction design.
Of course, you can go the Prevost route, but I suspect for the money you are thinking that would only get you an two stroke DD engine and some pretty outdated interiors.
Just my .02, worth just that much.
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Bikeboy57
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05/05/12 08:51am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Auxillary Heater Resistor
it may be a diode. it may be a thermal fuse. you can get them at radio shack. 2 bucks and easy to replace if you can use a soldering iron.
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Bikeboy57
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04/11/12 06:42pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Aqua Hot Fan/Heat Exchanger noise.
Do a search on this forum for Monaco Aquahot loud and you should find that Monaco chose to use a different unit than AH speced and people complain about the noise. The AH supplied fans are whisper quiet. You do not know they are on.
Easiest solution is replace with the AH fans.
Second solution is to install the high low switch. The motors are DC. You control the speed of a DC motor by voltage.
If they were AC motors, lowering the voltage would quickly burn them up.
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Bikeboy57
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03/16/12 07:04pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Freezing RV
Does the dash heater blow warm air? If the dash heat is not blowing warm air, there are several things to check......is the hot water from the engine to the front turned off, or the valve that controls the hot water is notorious for failing.
How cold are you talking about when you travel?
For example, if it's below 45, I have to run the coach heat and the dash heat while traveling to keep my feet warm.
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Bikeboy57
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03/15/12 06:53pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: antifreeze question for diesel pusher
No one could accurately predict how much water was left in your system. Fretting over 1 degree difference is a wee bit OCD.
Both types of antifreeze are based on Ethylene Glycol, just with different additive packages, so the floating hydrometer should work.
As a sanity check, mix a known 50/50 mixture and test it with your hydrometer.
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Bikeboy57
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03/13/12 06:31pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: RV handling with toad attached
Hmmmmmmm, my experience is different than most. The two tow cars were Honda CRV and Subaru Outback at times towed behind a 42 foot Mountain Aire, and my current 42 foot Newell.
I can tell the difference in the amount of steering correction with a toad. I am extremely tuned in to the steering feel, and admiitedly the difference is barely detectable but it is there. It becomes more noticeable with speed. Below 60, very hard to tell the difference. North of 75 a very noticeable difference. And for sure a difference with a big side wind.
Yes, the tow bar is level, lubricated, well attached, and otherwise set up properly.
The passenger in many cases is more sensitive to car or coach movement than the driver because the driver has two advantages over the passenger. The driver is attached to the vehicle at one more point, the steering wheel. Plus the driver has the feedback loop from the wheel that automatically tells the brain to compensate with body movement to maintain balance.
She may be right.
Your results may vary, just sayin this is what I've noticed.
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Bikeboy57
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03/09/12 06:35pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Roadtrek with kids
Been there done that.
I wouldn't do it again. Class B for 4 was a failed experiment. It's not enough space when the weather is bad. Plus look carefully at the floor plans and make sure that when the kids beds are made that you are not land locked into the coach. Kids have different sleeping hours than the adults
Now before I get flamed, I bought another B recently. I loved it for just the adults, the kids are off to college now. I love B's, just not for four of any size.
An option to consider is pulling a pop up with a travel van.
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Bikeboy57
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03/03/12 07:29pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Anyone ever experience "radial tire pull"?
Yes, I have had this problem on a class A. Three alignments, cross caster adjustment, and still pulled to the left. Old time alignment guy suggested radial pull, and frankly I thought he just didn't want to mess with it. I swapped them side to side. Instant fix.
Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't lived it.
It's a quick and cheap diagnostic.
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Bikeboy57
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02/18/12 07:20pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Sprinter Diesel - Propane Generator
I have had a gas B with gas Onan. Convenient.
I now have a diesel Sprinter with propane gennie. It has a aux setup so I can pack a standard grill propane tank for extended summer camping setups. Yes, a little more trouble than a huge built in tank, but all in all doable.
I also have a diesel gennie in my class A. Although the dB ratings may be the same at 10 ft for a gas versus diesel gennie, I can assure you that the low frequency vibes from a diesel gennie will rumble the entire chassis of an class B unless an elaborate vibration isolation system is used.
Maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time sleeping with a low frequency rumble just under my bed. Others may think of it as magic fingers.
And I agree, boys, let it go.
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Bikeboy57
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02/08/12 06:35pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Class B with storage friendly roof?
I haave a Gulfstream G26 built on the long sprinter chassis that we bought based on the somewhat unique rear bed setup. The beds are two longitudinal fold down benches. When folded up the entire aisle is open for a tandem bike or kayak up to about 18 ft long. Of course it has to come out when you get to the campsite, but the toys are stored indoors, locked, and out of the elements.
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Bikeboy57
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02/03/12 06:05pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Air Suspension Pressure ???
Jeez,
OK, the height control valve let air into or out of the bag to raise or lower the coach to it's set ride height. The pressure in the bag will be whatever it takes to raise the coach to that height.
Messing with the ride height setting can shift the weight balance of the coach from front to back, but honestly the pressure in the bag will change very little.
It helps to understand the math of the air bag. Let's say that you run 70 psi in the bag. That's 70 lbs force per square inch. Let's say that the diameter of the bag is 10 inches. Pie are squared as they say. That bag will have a cross section area of 5*5*3.14=78.5 square inches Now 78 square inches at 70 pounds per square inch will hold up 5460 pounds.
The point is this, the weight on your axle requires a given air pressure to float the coach over the axle. Raising or lowering the height has minimal effect on the air pressure. As a previous poster said monkeying with the ride height upsets all the geometries on the driveline and steering setup.
First and easiest thing to do to change the ride characteristic is to weigh the axle, use the tire charts, and run the correct tire pressure.
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Bikeboy57
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11/17/11 04:43pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Charging Batteries
If the genny will fire, then crank it, hit the merge button for the two battery banks. You'll be good to go.
If the genny will not fire, plug the coach in, merge the batteries, and come back tomorrow. It should fire.
If you didn't leave something on, it is still a good idea to hit the disconnect on both battery banks when you store the coach. There are lots of parasitic loads that will kill the batteries.
Any RV owner should own a voltmeter. Check the voltage on your chassis batteries to make sure they are dead, and you don't have a blown fuse or loose connection that is really the problem.
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Bikeboy57
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10/05/11 06:06pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Tipping a Mechanic?
I too was surprised at the anti-tipping sentiment.
I do almost all of my own work. Once in a blue moon I will have another mechanic do something for me. If I observe a mechanic/technician performing the job with care and expertise I will always comment directly and specifically to them. Occasionally I will give them a friendly handshake with lunch money in it with wink and a nod.
Yes, I would be mad too if I were paying over a hundred bucks an hour shop rate. But look carefully at the folks actually doing the work on your coach. Do you think that many of them at the wages they make will ever be able to afford one of the toys that they are working on? Not likely. Are they greasy and dirty because they have been under coaches all day? Are they sweaty because they have been working in cramped space? Are their hands beat up from working in the confines of an RV?
Do some of your own work and get an appreciation of what the technicians deal with.
I have a friend who is NOT a mechanic. Great guy but not mechanically inclined. His method is that he finds a local RV tech who comes to him. He always tips the tech well. His logic is that good ones are hard to find, and he wants the tech to put him at the head of the list when the phone rings.
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Bikeboy57
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09/10/11 04:18am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: 04 monaco dynasty
Get the codes checked.
Check your coolant for any signs of oil or diesel. Check your oil for water.
Was the smoke when you had the bad startup black, grey, or white?
It could be an injector going bad, or electrical connection going bad that caused the injector to dump fuel into a cylinder when you started. Or you could have something more serious going on.
You need pro help.
R
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Bikeboy57
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08/06/11 08:15am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: 04 monaco dynasty
Turbo bad would result in very low boost pressure and way, way down on power. Do you build boost when you put your foot in it?
Does it idle fine, and miss when you are on the accelerator? Or does it miss while idling? Does it continue to miss when you rev it up?
Answers to these questions will help narrow the problem to turbo, fuel filter, or injector.
BTW, any hose clamp loose in the air system will result in low boost and poor performance. Don't jump all the way to bad turbo yet.
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Bikeboy57
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07/31/11 12:45pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Can stripped Allison pan/sump be fixed?
Brian,
Brett's solution is great if you can find an Ally dealer that has the stuff.
Ivy's solution will also work, and since the case is aluminum, just using a larger tap as he suggested will work. Make sure the larger head for the 12 mm will fit inside the rolled rim of the bottom plate before you go that route.
You can buy metric helicoils from McMaster, Grainger, and so on. UPS will have them on your door before the weekend. I personally would go this route with a 10mm replacement.
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Bikeboy57
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07/31/11 05:11am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Little known cruise control features on a DP
Let me add another cool feature.
Some Detroit Diesel engines rerate for higher horsepower when the cruise is turned on. It's true and documented in DD technical manuals. It is done to encourage truckers to use the cruise control. The engine will go up hills faster in cruise than it will manual. My coach climbs better in cruise than it does in manual.
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Bikeboy57
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06/28/11 07:49pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Which to buy in Class A DP
Cry once.
Start looking at Foretravels. You will not make money trading up. You always lose.
The coaches you are looking at are nice coaches, but they are not Foretravels. One comparison drive and the difference will be obvious to you.
Buy what you want the first time. You will save money.
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Bikeboy57
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06/06/11 07:05pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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