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Good Grief…2 gallons +/- out of my Aux air tank!
I feel like an bean brain. I’d been draining water from the air system at the locations I knew about….that being in the steering compartmenet. There are 4 places there that will yield a bit of moisture.
My bad was that I would throw the lever under my (green) aux air tank in the generator compartment…nothing would come out. After all this discussion about draining tanks, I was determined to get something out of that tank. Took the drain loose and when I moved the lever down, dirty, rusty water flew everywhere…and it kept on flying everywhere. I finally cut it off and went to get a funnel and bucket. Got that in place and reopened the valve and another gallon went into the bucket. Geez…how dumb can you get!!!! The drain tube brass fitting was completely clogged! I got it freed up.
What I’m really concerned about is: Where are the other tanks I should be draining?
I’ve got the ones in the steering compartment. Now, I’ve got the aux tank draining. Exactly where are there other tanks that need draining?
CP has been such a great tool for someone who bought a motorhome without knowing alot about how to take care of it!!!
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14 Replies
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BTom,
You could have very serious problems coming you way or you can get lucky.
If I were in your shoes the first thing I would do is get under the coach and starting at the wet tank, drain the tanks in sequence, emptying on before proceeding to the next. If you have been good and the planets are aligned properly the tanks will be dry, with maybe a little coming from the wet tank.
But if not assume the air dryer at least has to get a new cartridge. With a new cartridge and dry tanks the best thing you can do is exercise the coach because averything that uses air can possibly be affected by moisture and use is going to purge most if not all the moisture. Spend some time and operate everything. Raise and lower the coach. operate all the converter installed air devices from the seats to the floor slide to dump valves, bed lift, pocket doors, etc. The object is to flow enough air through them to start to purge moisture.
My biggest concern is air bags and the Norgren valves that control the suspension system. Air bags will not drain so if the moisture has collected in them to any extent the internal volume of the air bags has changed and it will affect your ride and handling if severe. You can deal with excessive amounts by lowering the entire coach, but you will never completely drain the air bags.
I would be concerned about corrosion inside the Norgren valves and possible rusting of the bottom “can” of the air bags which will ultimately cause leaks. If your air bags and Norgen valves are getting near replacement the moisture problems (if any) associated with them go away.
Generally speaking if the chassis air system is working as it should the excessive moisture you are seeing is coming from the aux compressor and as you know that has to be drained routinely at the moisture trap in the steer comparrment.
The chassis air tanks are generally located above the drive axle, above the steer axle and on occasion there might be one above the tag, passenger side. If you go under the coach to access them make sure it is supported. Do not drain what we call “ping” tanks unless you are sure the coach is supported and you want to see if the air bags may have moisture. Those small tanks at each air bag will release air in the air bags and the coach will come down.
Working on the air systems is done from under the coach so if there is any doubt in your mind about where to support the coach, or how to do so please have someone that is completely familiar with Prevost coaches assist you the first time.
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To Cofirm one point Jon made.
“Do not crawl under any bus without proper blocking” make sure it is blocked properly
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Jon…Since I do not have a pit in my barn like you apparently do, could you recommend safety jacks to put under the coach and advise as to the locations they’re to be placed. One other question: Can I raise the coach enough with the air leveling to get under it or will I need a sizable floor jack? thanks.
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Tom,
A pit is convenient, but not required. You have a couple of options. One option is to find an interstate service facility with an empty pit and see if you can pull over it and drain your tanks. It may cost a few bucks but from a pit if you have the time you can see a lot of your underside.
Another alternative is to find a shop such as the charter company you have used and ask them to walk you through the process of servicing your air system with you allowed to watch.
The third is to dive right in and work from your barn floor with the coach raised as high as it will go, and you sitting in the wheel wells.
If you do intend to get under it locate the Prevost recommended chassis support points for your specific coach and use something substantial capable of handling the weight to support it so it cannot drop. When I support the coach I use a set of custom made stands or jacks such as this type from Harbor Freight.
I never rely on the hydraulic portion, but instead leave the jack all the way down, and screw out the center post until it is under the chassis support point. The advantage of having a set of the jacks linked above is they are multi-purpose. I can support the coach or I can use them to raise an axle or even the coach.
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Tom,
Your green air tank is likely the Marathon tank and needs scrapped.
Have you read this thread? Marathon Aux Tank
Al has a 2000 H and will probably jump in here. If you didn’t have the yellow valve open in your steering bay, your contamination will be restricted to the Marathon side and not the Prevost side.
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“If you do intend to get under it locate the Prevost recommended chassis support points for your specific coach and use something substantial capable of handling the weight to support it so it cannot drop. When I support the coach I use a set of custom made stands or jacks such as this type from Harbor Freight.
I never rely on the hydraulic portion, but instead leave the jack all the way down, and screw out the center post until it is under the chassis support point. The advantage of having a set of the jacks linked above is they are multi-purpose. I can support the coach or I can use them to raise an axle or even the coach.”
Jon: Your approach then is to acquire four of these jacks so you can use them to support the entire coach using the jacks (in the full down hydraulic position) as a jack stand?
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I use four jack stands at 20 ton rating and four hydraulic jacks rated at the same be safe !!!
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You are right Tom , scrap the green tank and put new one in with manual drain in it!!
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Tom…Yes I have read your thread relating to changing your aux air tank. I probably am a good candidate for doing that. I talked to Jon today about my problem…he indicated you are probably the guy to talk to regarding my coach since yours is similar. I have 2000 Marathon on a ’99 chassis.
I am getting ready to get under my coach…rounding up jacks, etc. From what I can determine, I will be looking for the wet tank,main tank and the drier,plus one more in the aft end and probably a couple more tanks up front…all of which need emptying..
thanks so much for your input on this website…it’s an absolute treasure for newbies like me….ty
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Not counting the ping tanks, you’ll have two in the rear, the primary brake and wet tank. Up front you’ll have the secondary brake tank and the Prevost aux tank. On mine, the Prevost aux tank it mounted vertical, has no manual drain valve and can only be acessed from behind the bumper after removing a panel above the two cruiseairs.
My Marathon tank is on the starboard side, first bay behind a panel. On Al’s 2000, his Marathon Tank was under the front starboard fender and is a pancake tank.
Not sure what configuration your’s has, but probably will be closer to Al’s than mine. Any help you need, just call or e-mail.
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Dick,
If I have a jack under the coach for support I never ever extend it hydraulically. On my coach lately I use the hydraulic jacks in the front because with the jack fully collapsed and the center screw extended it is the right height to reach within a fraction of an inch under the chassis support points.
I also will use my support stands. It all depends on if I leave the wheels on, or if I need the jack to raise the wheels while I support the chassis on stands.
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I have to ask.
has it been said that a lot of folks have support stands/jacks made for their coach that you can bring the coach to full height and then install those stands at the 4 Prevost defined points and basically release the air from the system which virtually makes the coach stationary on those 4 stands with no opertunity for any type of the coach dropping creating a safe environment to be under the coach.
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Paul,
Yes.. Our very own Jon years ago had tons of stands made and many of us have them. Not available anymore, but I’ll let him expand on that.
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One thing I became very concerned about was owners going under an unsupported coach. So years ago I designed support stands that were specific to the coach models, such as an XL or an H3. I took orders for them and sold them at cost and distributed them at rallies in Sevierville TN and Kerrville TX.
My daughter owns my last factory and she produced them and sold them to me at cost and I sold them to owners at the same price. I delivered them at rallies so the shipping was not adding to the cost. But I stopped having them made because it got to be a real hassle. Owners would order them and then not show up to pick them up. It became too difficult to get owners to give me the dimensions needed. But that doesn’t mean you are without an alternative.
I posted a link to the type of jack I also use as a support. By not relying on the hydraulic portion, but by extending the center screw post the jacks are as safe as using stands. Prevost has varied the chassis support locations on their coaches so the required heights are coach specific. Measure from the ground to the underside of the support points for your particular coach and when bottle jacks are on sale at Harbor freight or Northern or other sources get them and use them. Make certain the height with the jack in the down position is low enough to get under the coach, and that the center screw post can be extended sufficiently to reach or come very close to the chassis support point. Some coaches have a high space between the ground and the support point so if necessary use a solid material such as a hardwood plank to support the jack and get it closer to the required height.
Even if you have a pit or have access to a pit do not assume you do not need support stands. There are things that are done beneath a coach that require you to reach over or between pinch points. To prevent those types of accidents support the coach or if you lack supports at least lower the coach all the awy down so you are not at risk of a coach dropping.
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