[Darrell]

I have mental problems today and I think the previous post was wrong. If you are getting power to other devices like the refrigerator then the problem with the outlets is not inverter related.

I probably should not be drinking or using uncontrolled substances when I try to respond.

[Darrell]

Dental, 6000 is very reasonable…bought one last year 7200 contractor price. Geo.

[Darrell]

I will be coming up from the south on route 41 and will exit at West Lloyd Avenue, route 62 westbound. I will turn left (south) at Mead Johnson Nutrition onto S St. Josheph Avenue which turns into Ray Becker Parkway. I will take that to the stop sign at S Barker Avenue and turn left. At the Marathon (which will be on the right) I will turn right onto Broadway Avenue. At S Red Bank Avenue I will turn left (there is a big church (New Bethel) on the RH opposite corner, and a sign for Burdette Park on the LH opposite corner with an arrow pointing left.

Follow Red Bank and at the curve it becomes Nurrenburn Road. The park entrance is a short way from the curve on the right.

There are at least a couple of ways to get to the park but I picked this one because it seems to have the widest streets and avoids some RR tracks that have humps that might drag the belly of some coaches,

If you want to see the route I described go to Google Earth and “drive” the route using an enlarged earth view. To get a mental picture of the landmarks zoom in and look at the street views.

Bob Glines may want to jump in if he knows of other routes more friendly to our coaches.

[Darrell]

Ben,

I have Magnum 2812’s and Lifeline AGM’s in My Liberty Classic. I would one day like to upgrade to some Li batteries. When the price of them comes down some. I do have a lot of roof real estate with it being a Liberty with cruise airs and OTR. One day soon I can see solar panels and LI being a viable option and upgrade to those that have their forever coach. They even have flexible solar panels now that can fit the contour of the roof. And 100% solar / battery operated split AC systems. Technology is evolving at at a rapid pace. I salute You for being a pioneer in researching and potentially offering new tech upgrades to older coach owners. Keep up the good work and please keep us informed.

Bsafe,

Rocky

[Darrell]

Hi Darrel, I believe it’s probably one of the ford starter solenoid looking master relay/solenoids in the 2nd driver side bay as pictured below. One of them is the master for the ceiling lights, the other for the tivoli lights. They are a common failure and should be replaced every 5 or 10 yrs. When I replaced both of mine I purchased Ametek continuous duty 12v 100 amp units. Here’s a link: http://texasindustrialelectric.com/relays.asp part# 15-132 or SAS-4201

[Darrell]

I would clean it off and leave it as suggested above.

Mine has looked like that for years, and not got any worse.

[Darrell]

Thank you all for the input and feedback. What I am proposing is power system upgrading. We have not touched the issue yet of ipad electronics control. That is CERTAINLY another possible area we have become very familiar with. Our approach, for anyone who has seen or owned one of our coaches, is that control systems are always to be an “add-on,” not a replacement for, the regular switches and controls in a coach. The way of looking at it is that the electronics and AV equipment will always need changed as technology changes, so treat the “control system” do the same. Crestron equipment becomes obsolete about every 7 years with non-backwards compatible new equipment. So when you change the tv’s and vcr to a smart tv and bluray, change what controls them at that time as well. It will most likely be necessary. Lighting control should remain more timeless so that all of that still works regardless of the remote you pick up to change the channel. This philosophy has served us well so far and that is the approach we intend to continue. We always have a manual override, a backup or work-around for everything possible in coaches we design and build, and so our remodels or updates follow the same philosophy.

As far as power system upgrading goes, I am not saying gut everything and replace with all that we put into our new coach. The total system including DC generator and batteries, converters, 48v alternators, and all associated equipment would cost over $100k, plus all the labor to accomplish. All of that is not absolutely necessary to get the benefits of longer-lasting and greater capacity Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries. Our DC roof airs, at half the noise level and half the electrical load of a Dometic, are not absolutely necessary, but they do improve further the dry-camping length of time. I know there are people with Cruisair ac’s that would never want to part with them even though they are space hogs and inefficient and ever increasingly expensive to repair/replace. That has always been a given for me.

TrigGuy, I believe we can do a lot better than the AM Solar setup you are looking at having put in, both in cost and overall servicability of the system. I looked into Victron energy a long time ago and found their way of approaching Lithium was incredibly cumbersome and space-robbing, but that is my opinion. We can discuss further if you are interested. Do you have a lot of roof real estate? That is the limiting factor for the amount of solar panels you want installed. For a Country Coach that lacks the ability to run roof airs or high load items like laundry and cooktop, combined with the amount of space you have for batteries, you could have a large boondocking reserve of battery power. 🙂 Do you still have the original Freedom 25 inverter/chargers in your coach or have they been changed to something else? If so, to what? Heart inverters are not adjustable like many others as far as charging points. I am still evaluating whether or not those can be used or if they would need replaced with Magnums. I’ll let you know on that.

Sawbonz, I am trying to place and remember your coach. Do you have a lot of rooftop real estate for that much solar? We are talking 6-7 panels that are roughly 2 ft x 5 ft in size. If it is a Liberty, you have the best shot at having that much room up there since no rooftop ac’s or roof-mounted awnings back then. Is your coach a Classis or Elegant? (The distinction being 12v or 24v house lighting loads). Finally, where are the batteries located on your coach? Thanks again for all of your input!

[Darrell]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will check them out, I think I know which relays you are talking about they are chear squair ones mounted to the left of the fuse compartment right?

thanks again

Darrell

[Darrell]

As we cleanup and put away the community grill, we have one final task. After we know schools hours have commenced, we will head over to the School’s administration office to “fessup” with Monte the Superintendant. Our parking fee of course was set. But we have big surprise to give our host, Monte. Thru generous donations by the group to the “Science Dept fund” we set up after asking school office what department was under funded, Chris, the Parker’s and I will present the High School with $681.00. Thank you all for your kind donations. Bet they’re not expecting this!

[Darrell]

I had Prevost JAX do a three axle alignment, tech determined the tie rods were worn (at 70,000 miles) and replaced them, had the tech replace a leaking seal in the tail of the transmission, tech deetermined that there was too much play in the universal joint on the drive shaft and replaced it, had Koni shocks installed on front and OEMs in the rear, and maybe a couple of other minor things. Happy with the work. Techs did a great job. I just called and told them what I bringing in, when we’d be there (gave them three weeks notice, end of January) and they were ready for us.

Coach drove MUCH, MUCH better after the three axle alignment. I’m sure the new Koni’s on the front helped dampen the porpoising. It was Peter Campbell who explained to me at Jeff’s why I needed a three axle alignment and that the steering box was fine and not to futz with it to solve a problem I had with the coach wandering from side to side with no wind.

[Darrell]

Dayco # 5120720 = 12 rib 72.0″; Dayco # 5120738 = 12 rib 73.8″

[Darrell]

The Marathon Cowboy’s bus apparently has been repaired, and looks no worse for wear. It is sitting here at Marathon Grand Prairie.

[Darrell]

I like that plywood idea what is the sizes of plywood how is it 6 inches? and you have a jack stand also?

Yes I do have a 20 ton bottle jack

[Darrell]

Months ago..got our favorite ? spot…between Jon and Truk. LOL Geo.

[Darrell]

Thanks again everyone. Called Troy and he walked me thru resetting Dash Crestron by going to the set up, interface; setting needed to be on 3 and it was on 8. No explanation as to how it was set at 8??

All good to go !