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Date Posted |
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RE: Dead Onan Generator
Mr. Pinky,
A common piece of advice I read on these forums is to find a good mobile RV mechanic and have them look at the situation. I think they would be more likely to just fix or replace the part or parts that need fixing rather than sell you a whole new unit. If nothing else, you'd be getting a second opinion.
Good Luck,
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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07/27/23 03:41pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Onan 5500 Gen in RV
dalefuji,
ON EDIT: Oops, I think I read your post too quickly on my first response.
There should be a breaker for each 120VAC line. Not sure about the inline fuses, they might provide protection for any 12V operated devices on the generator (choke, fuel pump, ?).
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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07/27/23 03:27pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Securing Portable AC unit When traveling
JCat,
As to your question for securing it, you'll probably need some combination of boards, netting or straps to keep it stable during transit, including not toppling over during steering or braking. However, I can see where such strapping could also hinder movement through the rig, as well, creativity will undoubtedly need to come into play.
Just out of curiosity, what's the BTU rating of the portable A/C you're planning to use? Most rooftop units are 13,500-15,000, and I believe the dash units are usually greater than that. I've seen some larger portable units rated in that range, but there are also a lot of smaller ones in the 5k-8k range, which I don't think will provide the amount of cooling you're looking for. I think you'll want that portable A/C unit right up front with you and then run a long vent hose to exhaust the heat. Maybe you could just vent it into your bathroom and let the bathroom vent exhaust the hot air. Though you'll still have to deal with the water condensate from the A/C.
I think you'll need to set up a fan to blow the cooler air up front. I did play this game for awhile when our compressor clutch failed on our rig. Both 15k roof A/Cs cranking with a fan blowing up front made it tolerable, that was in mid 90's heat. But nothing can compare to having that cold air coming out of the dash vents.
I know nothing about your specific rig, so if this is not on target, then just skip it. But, does your dash A/C work but it's just not cool enough? That was the case with ours and the culprit was that the coolant valve was allowing hot engine coolant to circulate through the heater core while the A/C evaporator was trying to cool it. I put a mechanical shut-off valve in line with the heater core and cool air was delivered once again. Just a thought that might help keep you cool.
One more thing, look for ANY air leaks under or around the dash that can allow hot outside air into the rig. Your DP is a higher class vehicle than our gasser, but I've found several spots in the firewall area that would allow air into the rig. Not usually a problem most times, but when travelling in temperature extremes, hot and cold, they were noticeable.
Good Luck, and let us know how you make out!
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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07/26/23 11:10am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: A/C on shore power trips breaker after 30 minustes
I think that electrical cord may well have been your problem, but doubtful on cutting the a/c cover opening...
I would tend to agree with your assessment.
wpatters1229, did you ever make voltage measurements at the A/C with the extension cord & adapter combination and compare it to the voltage with the generator running? Cutting the cover probably wouldn't change the voltage getting to the unit.
Anyway, whatever additional information you can provide that helped you to zero in on what you thought was the solution would be helpful should other folks have a similar issue in times to come.
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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07/25/23 12:23pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Clear oily liquid leaking from under kitchen cabinet
Nanooy614, Glad to hear you were able to trace down the source, and thanks for posting the solution for those who read this in the future! :)
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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07/20/23 05:34pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Clear oily liquid leaking from under kitchen cabinet
Not trying to be funny or anything, but does it smell like mouse pee?
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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07/18/23 02:45pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: A/C on shore power trips breaker after 30 minustes
One other thing. I have an extension cord going to a 20 amp wall socket that hooks up to my 30 amp cord using an adapter. It has never been a problem.
Are you saying you are running your rig off of a 20Amp circuit? If so, I would say you've been lucky to get it to work at all.
Certainly the higher heat can be a problem. Not knowing how long the extension cord is, but the resistance in the wires increases with temperature. As the wire resistance increases, less voltage gets to the A/C and the unit has to pull more current to try to compensate for the reduced voltage. Also, every connection, including the adapters, adds resistance to the path. And speaking from experience, if your 20A to 30A adapter is one of those "hockey puck" looking things, they're garbage and have a relatively short life span.
When you use your generator, you don't have those losses to contend with.
My guess is that you'll be fine when your rig is connected to a true 30A 120VAC connection, assuming the voltage is proper. That assumption, by the way, is not always a safe one to make. If you don't have a voltmeter, I'd recommend getting one and learning how to use it so you will KNOW if there is a problem with the supplied voltage to your rig.
Good Luck,
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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07/18/23 02:40pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Kwikee electric step
Sanediego,
I think you've received good advice so far. The only thing I would like to add is that you be VERY CAREFUL working around the steps while they are energized. It's easy to accidentally reach through the steps or between the linkages while trying to jockey into a better position, and if the steps energized during that time they could cause severe physical damage to fingers, hands & arms.
Be safe and Good Luck!!!
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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07/03/23 07:53pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Seat Covers For Tradewinds
Want to get her looking good to maybe sell.
If you're planning on selling it, I don't think putting seat covers over shoddy looking upholstery is a good idea. I know I would check under the covers to see the condition of the seats, and I assume most potential buyers would too.
My immediate thought is if you're willing to hide this relatively easy to fix problem, what else are you hiding on the rig that's harder/more expensive to fix?
If you DO use seat covers, I'd suggest that you inform any potential buyer about it BEFORE they look, so they know you're on the "up and up".
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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06/28/23 01:20pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: New need advise
Loaitayem,
Welcome to the Forums!!!
I think it would be helpful if you could provide us a bit more information about how you intend on using the RV.
For example: You said you want to live in it full-time with your dog.
Are you retired or are you working? Budget is a HUGE part of the planning process. Living in an RV is not necessarily cheap, depending upon where you need to be. That $75k you mention, I would suggest you have at least another $10k set aside as a safety net for on-the-road repairs. Knowing whether or not you're on a fixed income or have the ability to earn more money, if needed, can be useful. I ALWAYS over-estimate my expenses for projects of this magnitude. You don't want to commit most of your resources to find out you can't swing it and then have to sell everything at a huge loss.
When you say "full-time", does that mean you will have no "sticks & bricks" location to leave the things behind you won't be able to fit/bring in your RV?
Understand that all RVs have weight limits which should be obeyed. Just because there may be large storage bins on the rig, doesn't mean they can all be filled up. This is all part of the shopping process you should be familiar with BEFORE you put your money down or even get too serious. Some rigs run close to their weight capacities loaded just with fuels, water and minimal supplies.
How handy are you? Do you tend to do your own vehicle and home maintenance? If you can do a lot of the work on your RV yourself, you can save A LOT of money over the years. BUT...now you need to devote a good part of you storage space to carrying the tools you'll need. And some campgrounds are not too keen on any major work being performed in their campground.
It was mentioned that a van or even a pickup truck with a trailer would be a better option for you. At this point, I'd tend to agree with that. Perhaps in a few years after you get more comfortable with the RV lifestyle and you learn more about the ins and outs, then you could investigate the motorhome options. But it will probably be least expensive to do a truck/van and separate RV trailer. It just offers more flexibility. It does come at the cost of reduced convenience when setting up...BUT...having a separate vehicle while camped is, in my opinion, indispensable. Others do it, but if you need to run to the store to pick up something, breaking camp and bring the entire RV can get old quick.
That said, towing is a learned skill in itself. It's certainly easier (in my opinion) to back a motorhome into a spot than a trailer, but in the end, it comes down to what will work best for you.
I would also echo the recommendations to keep things as simple as possible. The newer the rig, the more likely it is to have fancy remote controlled devices. They're great when they work, but my preference is an appliance with a control panel of buttons and knobs! ;)
Well, Good Luck. Please feel free to ask additional questions. Just be patient. You have a lot of learning ahead of you. :)
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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06/11/23 07:24pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: One Place control panel lcd screen black out
Yankee Clipper,
Great to hear you were able to resolve the problem with a little bit of detective work.
As with anything which uses a computer circuit of any type, before you do anything...find the power connection and disconnect it for 10 seconds or so. Then reconnect it to see if it works. Or, in simple language "Shut it off and turn it back on again!". :)
Thank for telling your story. Hopefully it help others to escape an expensive repair as well.
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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06/11/23 06:07pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: New Class C - murphy bed question
Before you buy one, find out how much it weighs. Try to find a similar total weight of a selection of objects, scatter them around the bed and see if the mechanism can handle the weight.
Be sure to report back with your findings in case others wish to know. ;)
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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06/06/23 01:35pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Need help to find a replacement fuel door - 2005 Gulfstream
Valpo Camper,
Just out of curiosity, does it HAVE to be a locking fuel door? That might open up some options for you.
There's probably nothing special about the lock used and a local locksmith shop could probably install one on a regular door, if you didn't feel up to the challenge.
Personally, I think the locking cap is more likely to encourage a bad guy to cut your fuel line and steal the gas that way than to move on to another vehicle. In fact, that's even faster than trying to run a siphon. If they want to steal your gas, they'll get it.
Good Luck,
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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05/23/23 06:33pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Class A Motorhome Gasser
wtmtnhiker,
Well, since they are both on floorplans you can live with, I think you've settled on the most important part.
As for Workhorse vs. Ford, those years were pretty competitive between the two manufacturer. You'll find proponents & opponents of both. For rigs that old, I have to say that overall condition is a major factor which would effect my decision. I don't necessary agree with those that say the WH will have parts issues. I haven't, yet. The low mileage on the WH does cause one to raise an eyebrow, but perhaps it was just driven to a relatively close campground several times per year or left there for the season. So it was driven every year, but just not far. On the other hand, if it's just been sitting with NO activity (and this goes for the Ford as well), I think I'd be more worried about possible water or rodent damage if it hasn't had regular attention.
Unlike TechWriter, our WH drives and rides very well. It's no DP, but I've driven much worse. The first thing that needs to be done for steering control is to make sure the front tires are at the proper pressure. Dealers and tire places inflate them to the maximum on the sidewall of the tire, and I can tell you that driving mine that way was a handful. Lowering the pressure to the proper psi made a HUGE differece. I also did upgrade the shocks a few years after I bought it which helped the ride over expansion joints and rough surfaces.
One thing you should know IF you're trying to compare specifics of each chassis, that it's quite possible that the 2005 WH is on a 2004 WH chassis, and the 2006 Ford is on a 2005 Ford chassis.
You also probably noticed that there are a lot more Ford mohos in the era than WH. The main reason for that is because the WH had anywhere from a $2,500-$5,000 premium on it over the Ford on the EXACT same floorplan. Most of us that bought the WH felt that premium was worth paying for (Allison transmission and lower doghouse, in our case. For what it's worth, I usually preferred Ford to GM). Anyway, dealers ordering models for their stock or customers who didn't know the difference, would order the Fords because of the cheaper price tag.
Can you see them for an in-person visual inspection and take each of them for a test drive?
Good Luck,
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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05/19/23 04:45pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: What broke my window?
I think I'm leaning toward the .177 caliber BB or pellet theory as well. Depending upon distance and velocity, BBs tend to bounce off targets and pellets tend to penetrate targets. Not that it matters, either way, your window is broken. Sad if it was a mischievous act.
When replacing it, you might be able to reveal further evidence of the cause.
Perhaps a slightly related story: Many years ago (early 80's) my mom was driving home from work and she heard something hit the roof as she was approaching a pedestrian overpass on the highway. My dad and I went out to look at the car. Right above the driver's side of the windshield about 6" back on the roof, there was a long, deep gouge in the roof. My dad grabbed a .22 bullet and it fit perfectly in the groove. Split second timing difference and it probably would've hit the windshield and my mom, probably causing a fatal accident at highway speeds. As we looked into it, apparently there were numerous reports of people throwing rocks and bricks off the bridge to hit the cars below as well. They put a "fence cage" all the way around the walkway to prevent objects from being thrown over, but the incidents continued. A few short years later, the walkway was taken down.
Just because we call it "civilization" doesn't mean all of the inhabitants are civilized.
Good Luck,
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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05/12/23 12:21pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Older Class A Electrical
Hi Dmeyer07,
Congratulations on your first post on the Forums!!! :)
1.) YES, your 50A shore power plug should have four conductors at each end. Two hots (L1 & L2), a neutral and a ground. Any properly wired campground you go to with 50A service will have a 50A receptacle for a 4 prong plug. Personally, I would CORRECT this issue IMMEDIATELY. This could be a safety issue and depending upon how it's wired, you might be jeopardizing the electrical appliances in your motorhome. (See additional comments below about it being wired for 30A service only.)
2.) 50A service is 120V/240V service. The vast majority of RV's internally use the connection as two 120V, 50A lines sharing a neutral. There will be 240V across L1 and L2 (L1 and L2 are 180 degrees out of phase with each other), but there will only be 120V between either L1 or L2 and Neutral. Your generator is also 120V. It puts out two 120V hot lines, but they are in-phase with each other, so you won't see 240VAC across the generator hot lines. You'll see approximately 0V across the two generator hot lines. Most likely nothing in your RV uses 240V. However, some newer, mostly high-end rigs, DO have 240V appliances with 240V generators as well.
3.) I'll let someone with more experience with inverters answer this question. :)
50A RV service is the exact same service you will see on a modern 50A electric range or electric dryer outlet in a house. Same NEMA receptacles and plugs.
Thinking more about your 3 conductor plug...I think it's likely the previous owner decided to only use a 30A connection to the rig so he wouldn't have to handle the extra heft of a 50A shore power cord. Can you post a picture of the plug? The 50A cord uses much heavier gauge wire and the cables are definitely much heavier, bulkier and harder to wind up, especially in cold weather. The previous owner might never have needed anything other than 30A, so they just used a 30A cord. (30A service is one hot, one neutral and a ground.) If this is the case, you'll be OK to use it. It's not a safety hazard or a hazard to the appliances on the rig. BUT you'll only have 30A of electricity available.
You probably know this, but just to be complete. A 30A service can provide up to 3,600 Watts of power to your RV (120V * 30A =3,600W). A 50A service can provide up to 12,000 Watts of power to your RV (2*120V*50A=12,000W). So there IS a noticeable difference in available power between the two systems.
Good Luck,
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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05/04/23 09:24am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Fiberglass roof crack repair
As others have said, since the crack can't spread any more, just use Eternabond. It's great stuff. Applied properly you'll never have to worry about it again.
Good Luck and let us know how you make out with the project.
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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04/29/23 10:14am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Weight question
two travelers,
I second rjstractor comments.
If the numbers you stated are the numbers inside the rig, they differ from the Winnebago website. Here's the chassis specs for the 2023 Sprinter View.
These specs show a GVWR of 11,030 lbs., front axle rating of 4410 lbs. and rear axle rating of 7,720 lbs. Total axle weight rating is 12,130 lbs. It is not uncommon for the GVWR of the vehicle to be less than the combined GAWRs. Mine is that way. (For ours, the sum of the axle ratings is 22,500 lbs. (8,000 + 14,500) while the GVWR of chassis is 22,000 lbs.) It allows for more flexibility in loading the rig to avoid overloading an axle.
By the way, it's also not uncommon for a rig to exceed its GVWR even when lightly loaded. If the stats on the website are correct, then you're slightly over the GVWR. Not so much as to be worried about, but I wouldn't consider adding much more. Your weight also suggests that your true towing limit is about 4,000 lbs., and every pound you add inside the rig should be taken off the tow rating.
Perhaps you should give Winnebago a call and ask them to confirm the ratings shown in your rig. Or ask them to correct their website. :)
Good Luck,
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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04/26/23 01:57pm |
Class C Motorhomes
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RE: Door Won’t Open
Wow!!! That's GREAT NEWS!!!! Glad to hear it all worked out.
And thanks for posting your solution!
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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04/18/23 02:04pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Door Won’t Open
CJOnTheRoad,
The repair kit available on E-Bay is this one: Tri-Mark Replacement Door Bolt
I don't know if it'll fit your lock. You'll need to check the actual model number of the lock to determine that. The price has risen over the years, but it's still money well spent if it'll fix your problem.
Good Luck and please make sure to let us know how things turn out!
~Rick
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Rick Jay
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04/18/23 10:03am |
Class A Motorhomes
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