Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Class C Motorhomes: B+ motorhomes

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Topic: B+ motorhomes

Posted By: Snowman9000 on 09/27/12 05:32pm

What I'm finding from searching is that on a commercial Chevy van of that vintage, not equipped with a factory radio, which means ours, there was no ACC wire conveniently available.

The aftermarket sells an all-inclusive multi-purpose wire harness which connects into some main wiring junction under the dash and does include an ACC wire then. But it's $200 because of its complexity. So forget that.

A kludgy workaround is to go underhood and piggyback off the wipers fuse. Apparently they work on ACC.

* This post was last edited 09/28/12 12:04pm by Snowman9000 *

Currently RV-less but not done yet.

Posted By: Snowman9000 on 09/27/12 05:37pm

I'm sort of curious if you folks who bought your TL new received a pair of sheet metal removal keys/tools for the radio. Nothing in mine, and they don't seem to be available on the internet anywhere. I don't need them; I figured out a workaround. Just curious if others might face the same issue if they ever want to take out the radio.

Posted By: Gene in NE on 09/27/12 06:20pm

Snowman9000 - My unit is already winterized and in storage, but my recollection is that my 2002 radio is also a Blaupunkt. We are not fervent radio listeners, so not sure but believe that the ignition key has to be in the on position - not in accessory.

As to the keys/tools for radio removal, I think the automotive electronic shops have those just laying around and probably would give you a pair. They are always swapping some fancy radio for the factory ones. I watched them slide these flat pieces on either side of the radio and then slide the whole radio out of it's housing.

2002 Trail-Lite Model 211-S w/5.7 Chevy (click View Profile)
Gene

Posted By: Snowman9000 on 09/28/12 12:12pm

I had to go back and edit two posts about the radio hookup. It is not hooked up under the seat. Something is, with a red wire, in conjunction with the Kwikee step IGN signal. But it's not the radio.

The radio play mode (red wire on radio) is powered off a brown chassis wire behind the radio. It came from a 4 wire plug, which now has only 3 wires remaining: Red/white, black, and white. The red/white is always hot. The radio does draw power whenever it is available, even if the radio is not turned on. The clock and all the feature messages are displayed.

One way to have the radio available at all times, but with power management, would be to wire an on-off switch from the red/white chassis wire, and feed the radio from the switch. Then use that switch instead of the radio switch.

Alternatively, the (non-GM?) power mirrors run in the ACC mode. A person could track that supply wire down inside the cab. If R-Vision added the mirrors, it probably isn't fused, lol.

Posted By: Snowman9000 on 09/30/12 06:14pm

This weekend I got the roof side seams done. Thought you might be interested in some photos "before".

[image]

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Same location after caulk removal. That is mud under the caulk:
[image]

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A better look at the mud:
[image]

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The other end before caulk removal:
[image]

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I got them cleaned up and put Dicor non-sag caulk in there. I'm glad that is done!

Posted By: Snowman9000 on 09/30/12 06:29pm

I found another thing, I hope it is only a problem on my coach and no one else's. There is a painted aluminum channel that makes the bottom edge on the exterior wall panels. Under the chassis, that channel is supposed to hold in place the black plastic sheeting that protects the inward sides of the wall panels where they hang down below the frame.

Underneath the sheeting is the same paneling you see inside the coach.

Well my assembler did not get the sheeting under the channel in quite a few spots. Resulting in a path for water to get into the wall panel when driving in the rain. For most of the problem areas, the sheet is still adhering to the paneling except for the bottom edge of the sheet, less than an inch. Nevertheless I have to seal it. The right way would be to remove the channels and reinstall them, but they are super tight.

Almost nothing adheres to polyethylene. That's why they make glue containers out of it. [emoticon]

But since Dicor sticks to TPO and it is a close cousin to PE, I figured I would try it. I cleaned a spot and stuck a blob of the non-sag Dicor to it. Dicor stays soft for a long time but it did seem to stick very well. Today I cleaned up all the suspect areas with lacquer thinner and will seal them with the Dicor. If that doesn't hold up, there is a tape made for the poly under-RV sheeting. The tape is called Flex-Mend. Whether it sticks to metal, I dunno. I hope the Dicor holds.

I did a little bit of it today as a trial. The sheeting has taken a set with a curled up edge and kept pulling away from the dicor. I used masking tape to hold it down tight on the dicor and we will see how it goes.

One spot was really bad, the sheeting was able to pull completely away. This is the back driver's side corner in the following photo. The plywood was actually soft. I'm real glad I caught this before it got any worse.

[image]

Posted By: Rolin on 09/30/12 08:43pm

Currently looking at a 2005 Kodiak VXL2200 with a slide because I want a motorhome that is narrower (8ft or less), not as tall, that gets better gas mileage (hoping for an average of 12mpg) and will work well for us as we get older and mobility is not as great. Bigger is nice and more comfortable when parked, but we like to travel and hope to find something that is easier to drive in traffic and park.

Some Bigfoot and Born Free units also seem to be in our price range.

Sleeping on a jack knife sofa doesn't sound too attractive, but maybe that can be replaced with something better.

Any recommendations or things to look out for with Kodiak?

Posted By: Orion_42 on 10/01/12 05:40am

Snowman, thanks for all the great info and shots. That heads-up no the underside trim is a good one as I've got the same problem!
By the way, it looks like you've got two loose bolts on your upper awning brackets.

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2001 Trail Lite B+ 211

Posted By: John / Angela on 10/01/12 06:01am

Rolin wrote:

Good morning. Here is a picture of our VXL2200. For the exact reasons you mentioned we love our little rig and have put a whack of miles on it, over 30,000 of them in Mexico. We bought it with 90000 km and have around double that now. Ours doesn't have a slide as it is a 2001. Yes the Jackknife bed takes some getting used. The fiberglass roof is great and ours is covered in solar panels.

By the way if it looks like it is being towed by our A class', it is. It has more than a few miles being towed on it as well.

[image]

2003 Revolution 40C Class A. Electric smart car as a Toad on a smart car trailer
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but rather by the moments that take our breath away.

Posted By: Snowman9000 on 10/01/12 06:33am

Orion_42 wrote:

Not anymore! [emoticon]

I also cleaned up inside the awning mounts the best I could, and pushed a load of caulk up above the bolts.

I'm glad it is helping to post the info. These units are all about the same age in that 2001-2007 time frame so I was hoping to provide info that can head off future issues. While it has seemed like a lot of work to me, each major recaulking job has been roughly a half day job.

-Cleaning the front and rear roof seams and putting Eternabond on them.
-Cleaning the Dicor caulk and applying new stuff over the cracks (which were not bad, really).
-Carefully slicing out the wrong caulk from the roof side seams and replacing it with Dicor non-sag.
-Cleaning and caulking those underside situations.

So, four half-days, one to two tubes each of the two Dicor products, a some lacquer thinner and rubbing alcohol for cleaning, 20 feet of EB tape. Less than a hundred bucks and it's ready for the long haul, I hope.

BTW the EB job was mostly preventative. It did go over some gaps towards the sides. I've put EB tape on 3 RVs now, on the front and rear seams. Yes, it's good stuff. But I also think that if a person keeps Dicor in good shape on those seams, the EB is not needed. I did not remove the old Dicor where the tape was going. I cleaned it and put the EB over it, then put Dicor along the tape edges where the tape did not fully span the Dicor. Removing all that Dicor is just way too much work, plus it is still doing its job. Removing it takes away a line of defense. I already had 4" tape but 6" would have been much better. It would have completely spanned all the Dicor and probably not made me feel the need to lay caulk along its edges.

I've got a somewhat bum knee, and all the ladder climbing plus kneeling is killing me! I have been on the roof so many times I couldn't count. I hope I don't have to go up there again for a long time! [emoticon]

* This post was edited 10/01/12 09:46am by Snowman9000 *

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