[Brett]

Please clarify this for me. Do the 30a and the 20a that you are plugging into both have gfi?

[Brett]

where is he located

[Brett]

A coach pneumatic system that has not been maintained has the potential to collect water. Once the system starts to collect water almost all logic associated with diagnosing and fixing problems gets complex and expensive.

There are two sources for water in the pneumatic systems. The primary is the engine driven compressor and any moisture laden compressed air is dried at the dryer. But the dryer requires a change of cartridge element periodically. I change mine at 2 years and as a result I have never had moisture from the engine driven compressor in the wet tank or the two brake system tanks.

Depending on the conversion, the second source for water in the system is the coach auxiliary compressor. Unlike the chassis system which uses a high quality high capacity dryer most if not all conversions use a poor quality means of trapping or containing water. As a result there is a potential for the aux compressor to deliver water into not only the conversion pneumatic system such as pocket doors, floor slide, etc., but also the chassis accessory system which includes the suspension system and its controls.

So how can an owner check for water? The first step is to insure the system is well maintained by using good dryer cartridges and change them as often as necessary. On the aux compressor side of the system, ensure whatever devices are installed are drained often and insure they are working.

To verify the system maintenance is working, drain all the air tanks periodically and do it in a sequence that also will verify the systems check and protection valves are working by starting with the wet tank, then primary brake tank, then secondary brake tank, then the accessory tank. If the converter has added a tank, drain that also. They have to be bled of all air pressure before moving to the next tank.

This procedure needs to be done beneath the coach. So any time the coach is in the air or over a pit, make sure the procedure is done. I check my tanks as described every 5000 miles or any time I am beneath the coach.

If you hire someone to do a coach service, make sure they follow the procedure.

Now if there is a suspicion the system has or has had water in it trouble shooting is going to require verification the 5 port manifold is functioning as required, based on electrical signals either from the Level Low controls or the over riding HWH. Once the electrical signal is verified to the solenoid valve coils, then check and verify air is passing through the valves to the various Norgren spool valves on the coach.

For example, if the coach needs to be raised to the driving or road height, verify air is passing through the center solenoid valve. That air will go to one of the small ports on the 5 port Norgrens. Verify air is getting to the port on the Norgren valve and if it is, air should pass through the 5 port Norgren to the ride height control valve which will pressurize the air bags.

All of this is shown in the Prevost Car maintenance manual available on line and is not only described in the section relating for the suspension, it is also shown on the pneumatic diagram for the coach.

Air can be at the control port on the Norgren spool valves but if the system has water in it, the valve can be hydraulically locked by water, or it can be locked due to an accumulation of corrosion caused by water in the system. The point is if the system should work, but doesn’t because the control manifold is functioning as required, the individual Norgren spool valves may not be able to work as needed. So a painstaking analysis following the air flow and verifying things are working is required until the failure point is identified.

I diagnosed a system problem when it was exposed to water and by checking for air flow at every point along the way it was determined the problem was a 5 port Norgren with so much sludge from corrosion it could not shift the internal spool to open the needed air flow circuit. The point being if any part of the system is found to fail due to moisture, it is probable the entire system has moisture issues and all working components need to be replaced.

[Brett]

I was there on 10/23 from very very early until about 3:00 PM.

[Brett]

This is an interesting thread. Keep in mind that if you underinsure there can be problems. Let us say you have a coach that is valued at $150,000. You insure it for $75,000 to save $$. If you have a fire and do $50,000 damage the insurance company will only pay $25,000 as you insured it for half. As for those that may be upside down in the value of their coach you may have bad times ahead. There is a 90 % chance that we are going into a full blown Recession. World wide. That $150,000 will drop at least 25% in value. Plus the market will be shrinking. Even the fairly new expensive coaches will be hard to sell. Although many are corporate owned many corporations won’t have the bucks to spend on a luxury coach. The only bright light in this scenario would be a prospective buyer with cash in hand!

[Brett]

Have a Level 3 done at a Prevost Facility and it covers quite a bit. I do it once a year and usually don’t drive 5000 to 7000 a year. Cheap Insurance.

[Brett]

The majority of my service was in Germany and I used the heck out of the military-only facilities. Spent our honeymoon at the facilities in Chiemsee and Wannsee.

As broke 20 year olds these campgrounds, lodges and ski slopes were wonderful- along with the outdoor equipment rentals.

[Brett]

Sorry Tom, I could have been more clear. A friend of mine has a 60 some foot cabin cruiser and installed two flat screen TV’s on lifts. His configuration with the pull cable release is similar to the picture you posted.

Harry

[Brett]

I was looking more into the trailer brake light issue tonight and found that if I turn the switch from Amber turn signal to Red turn signal in the top of the engine compartment then I get the driver side brake light on the tow vehicle to work. There doesn’t seem to be any changes to the bus lights. Any thoughts?

[Brett]

Sorry, this is probably not a constructive reply.

I would pick another service provider. How do they know it will take three days? They should be able to do a computer readout while you wait.

[Brett]

The Hogback is a great drive. Good two lane road with some pullouts but the pullouts can fill up with tourists pretty quick during the high season (being next door to Colorado that may be all the time now ). Good idea to occasionally pull over and let the impatient four-wheelers pass. The only bad part about the drive is you want to look out the window the whole time. There are several youtube videos about Highway 12 including a couple that make the whole trip.

[Brett]

Hi Tim, I think I could have explained it better. I didn’t mean the power pole has a DC side. I only meant that was the effect on my bus.

[Brett]

I would say 50k btu of heat is barely enough for that bus on a COLD winter day/nite. Just like 50k BTUs of air conditioning would barely be enough for that bus on a hot/humid summer day.

Art, convert it to the 2020 80K+ btu Webasto. You need something to do now that you have your bus whipped into shape, right?