[Davy]

Bill,

Thank you for the response very informative and look forward to the receipt of the itinerary.

Jon,

We are unable to head out till the 25th as we are still bundling the Benjamin’s at work. But look forward to meeting you and many others.

[Davy]

Ken was a big help at the time. It never did it again and if I remember is was a write error of some sort. For what was going on at the time DD said it wasn’t the battery. Who knows…

[Davy]

The damage I saw on the starter suggested the gear was spinning before it fully engaged. The resulting noise was likely undetectable because you cannot hear it from the driver’s seat, and even if you did a rear start it took place over a fraction of a second. So over the long term the damage seen accumulates. One of the worst sounds is when the flywheel damage ends up with the starter engaging and spinning, but the motor doesn’t turn over. That would be my concern with a partially damaged flywheel.

But if the flywheel is showing any signs of similar damage replacing the starter is postponing the inevitable.

I like the looks and size and weight of the replacement. It looks to be high quality and is the way to go.

[Davy]

My first bus was a 1994 Liberty. On that coach I removed the tube TV, bolted the new arm mount to the side of the existing cabinet. We found a 32″ model that just fit in the vertical space out side the opening and rested on the lower upholstered rail, and then used heavy velco on either side to hold the TV up against the old opening. It looked great and I could pull it out and to the side if I needed access to wiring on the Cruise Aire to the left of it.

[Davy]

So, the folks that produce stuff in CA can ship it out, but no one can ship things back in??? How stupid is that?

I am glad that we got to go to Californication this summer but, truly, there was nothing there overly exciting. Mostly I couldn’t believe the costs of things or understand how normal people (not the movie stars) live. Couple that with everything being brown because they have no water….. Florida looks better all the time!

[Davy]

Good to see you on this site, Mr. Ekberg.

I know who you are and your reputation as a master floor guy is well known to many.many customers and friends.

Thanks for getting involved on PC

AL

[Davy]

I’m just curious, but why do so many campgrounds have coaches back in on the blind side?

It’s not that big a deal, but it shows the folks laying out the sites probably have never owned an RV. I can imagine the new owner of a fifth wheel see-sawing his way into the site,

[Davy]

Based on research and phone calls today there is not another relay in the system.

Jon’s suggestion is a good one but the tickle to engage the blower has been moved to an enclosed clear epoxy sealed heat sink pack. This is controlled by the touch pad on the dash control. a signal is sent to this sealed relay box .mounted inside the air exchanger with the blower.

Tom’s suggestion on the temp sensor I learned controls degrees of air temp and not blower speed increase or decrease.

Prevost search of wiring diagrams shows no other control modules, boards, relays in blower system.

Making a long story short there is only one other electrical unit, that being dash control box. So after lunch I ordered the dash control.

Interesting the original has been superseded by an up dated model and this unit includes a wiring change adapter for my existing control. Sales on dash control box about 20 some every 6 months.

Cost….$793, shipping is free

[Davy]

The ones you tap are about 1/4 ro 3/8 diameter, and they look like they are pushed into the hole. In reality there is a serrated spring steel sleeve around them that holds them in place. Yours are not the ones to be tapping.

[Davy]

Thanks Steve. Sorry you couldn’t get in. I’ll post a report once we get there.

[Davy]

Alain, if you’ve read some archived posts and even some recent ones, you probably know why I think ’97-00 XL’s are very good first busses. Check out the 99 CC that Steve at California Coaches just got. Geo.

[Davy]

Over time this is why valve stem extensions need to be part of a periodic inspection.

That extension was used with the rubber grommet installed in the outer drive wheel. The wear you see is from road grit that gets between the extension and the grommet. The grit wears the extension and will not wear the rubber grommet. Centrifigal force is why it is worn only on one side. The extension flexes significantly at highway speeds and if you do not wear through the extension, you still risk a fatigue failure on the valve stem where it bends after coming out of the wheel.

For the convenience of valve stem extensions you have to be aware of the tradeoff.

[Davy]

I removed the unit from the coach and thought that I would send it in for a rebuild – then I opened it up and it was fried…

I installed a new Magnum unit with a new remote. Took about 2 hours with a little phone help from the guys at inverter services.

Really like the new unit and the remote panel makes it very easy to see what is going on.

[Davy]

RVAC is a two stage park type unit used in the basement. It was used on many RV’s incl Vantare. Unfortunately they are out of buisness. A competent AC guy can repair them and a really good one can repair or retro-fit a control board, otherwise the only option (6-8K) is a Coleman-Mach upgrade and retro-fit. Geo.

[Davy]

I do not have specific numbers on ownership costs but this is a real life comparison.

When I bought our bus it was 13 years old. I have two friends that do the exact same thing we do for a living. One was traveling in an older motorhome and the other was in a truck and fifth wheel like me. They both purchased new diesel pusher motorhomes the same year I bought the bus. They paid $15-30k more for their new sticks and staples than I did for our pre-owned bus.

We had lots of conversations among us three about the best way to go, new S&S or old bus. We discussed it as friends for months before the purchases and many times since. The consensus opinion of my friends was that I was off my rocker and a few fries short of a happy meal. I was buying an old bus with no warranty and unknown past. They were buying new, new, new with a warranty with very few unknowns. There was no question that I was insane in their minds.

I must admit there were times in the first few years that I thought they might be right. I replaced tires and more tires and batteries and more batteries. By the time Jeff changed the air bags, norgrens and brake chambers last year I still had not spent a bunch of mony but not enough to equal their purchase price difference. They were doing oil changes and regular maintenance like me so we were equal there.

Fast forward nearly 8 years and their coaches have been out of warranty at least 5 years. They now have way over 100,000 miles on their motorhomes. The diesel motors and transmissions are in good shape but their motorhomes are not made to live in and travel every week of the year. Both have been trying to sell for at least two years but they owe at least twice the market value.

My bus is now nearly 21 years old. It could quit tomorrow. I understand that but it could have quit in 2008 just as easily. The value of it may be in the tank too, I do not really know. But the difference is that it is still in great shape compared to my friends’ motorhomes. The bus had 184,000 miles on it when theirs had zero. Mine now has 296,000 and although it is far from perfect, it looks way better than theirs inside and out. I plan to drive it 3,000 miles in the next two weeks without any hesitation.

My point is that the costs of ownership are probably pretty close equal but the consensus among my friends now is that maybe I was not quite as loony as they thought! IF bus costs are a little more, it is probably worth it in the long run.

One additional thought. I take no credit that this old bus is still going down the road. I give that credit to God, the good guys and gals of PC, Jeff and Prevost.

Davy