[Davy]

Fred, Thanks for the kind words. My checklist for purchasing has not been universally received because buyers who were using it were making it difficult for some sellers. But in the long run we all benefit.

When we bought our first coach as newbies we not only did not know a soul that owned a Prevost that we could talk to and learn from, but there was no internet or forums as we have and use today. We now have an entire marketplace that is better aware of how to inspect and purchase a coach and we as owners all benefit because the bar has been raised. And those sellers who have responded to the marketplace’s expectations are excellent. We all win.

We know exactly what it is like when something is wrong and there is nobody to turn to or no resource available for information and help. It is not fun. So now all of you who can benefit from a site like Prevost Community can share. It will be your way to pay forward. Answer questions. Post your experiences, Help others who might be in trouble and maybe just need the encouragement of knowing that sound when they turn the steering wheel is normal.

Tom and I are still developing the site (actually we are not, but we have a great web guru) and while we have been extraordinarily protective of the personal information of our registered members, we might be able to figure a way you can list contact information so you can hook up with others for help, advice, to get questions answered, or just to meet and have dinner. Our problem is we do not want ANYBODY who is not entitled to the information to ever get that information.

[Davy]

With the heat we have been having campgrounds are going to be stretched thin repairing or replacing breaker problems and we may be confronted with poor voltage due to the loads on systems.

Since we (http://www.jamestownadvanced.com) have been making outlet boxes for RV parks we have learned a few things. First, even the newest outlet boxes with tight connections are only going to reliably supply 40 amps per leg. A breaker will easily handle 80% of its rating, but beyond that a breaker can trip at any time.

But if we manage our power requirements and limit loads to 40 amps per leg maximum we should expect uninterrupted service. HOWEVER>>>>>>>>>power managment requires us to understand we could have loads we are not thinking about when we select the circuits we want powered. For example, if we choose to run 2 ACs per leg we are likely to draw 26 to 30 amps total on each leg. That leaves us with a margin of safety between the AC load and the magic 40 amp limit. We are likely to leave the inverters on so whatever phantom loads we have on the inverters, plus whatever loads we add such as lighting are going to be added to the AC load. We can help that by resetting the inverter chargine rate to a low amperage. When the AC loads are low, such as at night the inverters should fully charge any battery power deficit.

But don’t forget we also have periodic loads. We have water pumps, hot water heaters, air compressors and other periodic electrical loads that can kick on unexpectedly and trip a breaker if our load is already near limits.

The best way to manage power is to learn how much amperage each device on a circuit breaker pulls, and then consider if the device is critical. When it takes 4 AC units to keep our coach cool (rare, but it has happened) I turn off the HW heater, the air compressor and other non essential circuit breakers. Then if we want to grill or use the cooktop I will turn off one or two AC units until I am done cooking and then turn them back on.

If you have done everything right and you are still popping RV park breakers the cause is either loose connections at the breaker inside the power outlet box, a tired or defective outlet box breaker, or low voltage which increases the current draw.

[Davy]

Sam,

You must be a car guy or Zaino distributor. I’ve used Zaino in what seems like forever and really like it. I must admit I never used it on anything that was very exposed to the elements. It was on street rods, the Corvette, or similiar garage queens. With the newer formulas out by Mequirs and the like, I wonder how well Zaino competes when the vehicle is out on the road or at a camp ground for a while. You’ll have to report back after a while and let us know.

BTW, I too clean and polish my own bus. Maybe it’s just the car guy in me that can’t let someone else do the work.

It does look good!

[Davy]

Thanks for the atta boy Tom, but I sure hated to see them fail. In case folks are wondering, this is what happens when the batteries are subjected to deep almost dead (3v) discharges on several occasions. Even though they are only 3 years old, they were toast.

I hate that it happened, since I owned the bus and put the batteries in new. They are really hard to get at on the Liberty’s, but it’s a maintenance item that needs attention at least a couple times a year. I’ll bet Tom will be sticking his nose in that compartment on a regular basis…

PS – Nice LED lights….

[Davy]

Sorry this may not be the right thread for this question…. but I could not help but notice on Jon’s old bus the fog lights. What kind are they and do they work any better then just the standard ones that I have in my 98 Liberty? It looks like they would be a good up grade. Who sells them?

Thanks,

Fred

[Davy]

On the installation instructions for inverters that I have seen a distance of 10 feet or less from the batteries is where the inverters are going to go. On my last bus they were under the bed and the batteries were in a compartment behind the tag axle. On my current bus they are in the second bay and the batteries are in the center of the bus in line with the fuel tank directly behind the second bay.

Both installations were a compromise. In the first I had to disassemble a lot of the bed just to access the inverters and cooling required an auxiliary fan with associated ducting. But the batteries were accessible.

In the second the inverters are readily accessible, but to get at the batteries the entertainment center has to come out. There is no way to get at the batteries without doing that.

No matter what choice anyone makes on the location of any of the components or systems it is going to be a compromise between preserving space, accessibility, and ease of service. To confuse your decision even more weight distribution has to be considered. I have about 700 pounds of house batteries. Not only does weight distribution side to side become a factor, but you have to consider axle weights fore and aft also. My batteries might be more accessible if moved forward with a panel at the center rear of the first bay, but moving them the three feet or so forward might push my front axle weight over the limits unless I limited storage in the first bay to feather pillows.

[Davy]

Sam…

Glad you have your bus in its new home.. WOW !! it looks fantastic… feel free to try that stuff out on ours anytime you would like to !!

I’m glad you got the best bus out there!!

Diane

[Davy]

Bill,

I’m next door to you in Georgia and it’s never been an issue for me. It get’s in the 80’s this time of year inside the garage if I have the doors open and if I hadn’t insulated the whole barn, it would be much worse. I keep the bus roof vent open, crack a few windows and leave a fan running inside at all times to move air around. I’ve been out there all day today and this morning when I opened up, it was 75 inside.

What are your concerns about heat and the bus?

[Davy]

The side panels of the H series vehicle are also glued in place since the late 1990s. The process uses a similar adhesive as on the XL2 shells. In fact the side panels of the H series coaches and shells were the first to be glued and we used a lot less rivets at the same time. There were some small delaminations along the top of the long side panel usually just under the front side windows. When found the loose areas were cleaned and re-adhered and we put a coupld of stainless rivets there also to make sure that we did not have them become loose again.

The H side panels have not had the issues that some of the XL2 shells have had.

I hope that this answers your question.

[Davy]

Truk4u, when you posted the boys and girls I have to high five Diane’s post on setting up the inverter.

Way to go Diane jumping right in with a knowledgeable post…….. I for one was impressed.

AL

[Davy]

I was just viewing your pictures and it looks like the panel next to your battery door should be removable… all our panels in our bays unscrew for “easier” access…even the ceiling ones… looks like your batteries of concern are on the right end so you should be able to access them through that next panel even though there is a narrow post there? Is that a possibility?

I wish that were the case. I mentioned earlier about that panel being an obstacle. It has a wall on the opposite side that can not be removed from this side.

Where are you?

I am in Miami, Oklahoma this week. I am in Weir, Kansas next week.

As to your comment about installing fewer batteries because you go from shore power to shore power, give a lot of thought to that. 100% of your coach goes through your inverters if I understand Vantare correctly. Your electrical system doesn’t shed load when you are not connected. If there ever comes a day when you cannot access shore power or choose to not run a generator you will thank your lucky stars you have the battery capacity you now have. Our converters have all done a very good job of designing our coaches and their systems for almost all situations.

I understand what you are saying. That is the reason I am replacing all eight batteries this time. I intend to understand this better in the next five years so I can completely rewire it all the next time if necessary. I do not use battery power except going down the road. I know I would have to understand and change the way Vantare designed and wired it in order to make ANY changes. I appreciate the note of caution.

Based on the picture of your charged settings you have a 24 volt system. That means your cabling will be series/parallel and if there are any 12 volt leads from the battery bank you will have an equalizer that must have the ground cable unhooked before you do anything.

The positives from some batteries are connected to the negatives in others so I thought that meant it was wired for 24 volts but I wasn’t sure. If it has an equalizer it must be hidden back with the two hard to reach batteries. I can not access that with out removing the first six batteries. Any ideas on that?

I want you all to know I appreciate your help and guidance. I do understand that everybody comes from a different perspective, background and motivation. I realize that some that offer advice do not even clearly read the post or the answers but I am thankful there are places I can go and ask questions.

Thanks again very much. I am still not clear on just what needs to be reprogramed on the inverters but I will keep asking questions until I have a grasp of it. I certainly do not want to ruin my batteries. That is for certain.

DKO

[Davy]

DKO…

Some of those look right but the set battery at 15-35 amps charge is wrong… should be set at 15 amps max

..unless yours is different… if we are running on a 30 amp service with a cheater I set my charging amps down to 5 on both legs…then back up to 15 when we leave… gives more amps for a/cs to run.

I set my shore cord size to 45 amps… keeps the RV park breaker from tripping.

I have a special page of RV settings but can’t access them until Monday… most of the default settings are good… I only remember changing 4 or 5 of them.. but you need to go through each menu… I had several pages of settings. My generator settings were identical on both legs of power… your Generator page said #1 only, so I’m not sure about that.

Ben Cummings at Coachworx will walk you thru the settings if you call him… he knows the Vantare setup inside out.

Call him if you need to he’s a really nice guy and always willing to help.

If you like I can check my setting pages on Monday just let me know.

BTW what brand are your batteries?… some brands have different requirements (even AGMs)… we also replaced our old battery temperature sensors that attach to the battery sides and plug into the inverters with telephone like plugs. Those are available from Xantrex ($24 each X 2 )… easier to do that while you are in there…. ours were original and brittle.

Diane

[Davy]

I found these pages in my inverter manuals. This one is a lose sheet and the second one is in the manual itself. Are these the things I will need to reprogram? How am I sure this is for AGMs? The second sheet mentions AGMs in one column.

This is a lot overwhelming. I do not want to ruin thousands of $$ in batteries…

DKO

[Davy]

Thanks, Dianne. I do have the inverter manuals. I have 8 batteries too. 2 are tucked away in a very hard to get place. I have Lifelines now and the new ones are AGMs but not Lifeline. I am looking over the manuals now. It sure seems like a big process to get them programed correctly.

DKO

[Davy]

DKO…

I’m not sure of the differences between our coaches… we have 8 batteries… looked like you have 6… our inverters are same… and we did have to re-program them… ours Vantare is a ’98 model H3-45… so there may be several differences. The inverter manual can be found on line… if you can’t find it let me know and I can copy the pages you will need to reprogram and email them to you. What kind of batteries did you buy? That too will change some settings. For some reason the inverters do not save the settings after they completely shut down… as in disconnected from their power source… they will revert to the default settings which are not all correct for our setup. If you used AGM Lifelines then your settings will be the same as mine.

As you mentioned it is pretty straight forward… just make sure you have NO power to the bus.

Diane