DON
Forum Replies Created
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I’m having trouble understanding how sewer tanks and their outlets can become deal breakers.
I’ve had both kinds, separate tanks for black and gray, and combined. I have had gray water bypass and a macerator. Maybe there are some other variations but I think I understand the positives and negatives of each.
I have never wished I had something else. No matter what waster water system and drain configuration I have had it worked. 99.9% of the time when it was time to dump I opened the valve and the waste drained into the sewer connection. It might have been one of two tanks, or a combined tank, but either way emptying the tank was simple.
If I had two tanks I drained the black first, and flushed the hose with the gray. If it was combined i just drained the tank and flushed the hose with the water faucet in the bay. On my two tank bus I never had both tanks fill simultaneously. One or the other filled first and that determined when I had to drain the tanks, but it was nice letting the gray water flush the hose. When I had a single tank as I do now that one tank decides when it is time to dump. It is less of a hassle with a single tank in my opinion.
I have a gray water by pass, rarely used because of growing regulations. Way back when we first started fewer places objected to the gray water discharge on the ground. Now it seems there are many more. But when I can use it my time between dumping is extended. I have had one that just dumps straight down, and one with a hose connection. If I used the gray water by pass more frequently I would add a hose connection to the by-pass to carry the water away from the coach.
The macerator is a nice but rarely used convenience. When dry camping in places where there was a sewer cleanout it was nice being able to pump my waste into it if I could not get the bus close to it. But that situation is equally rare. I also have two side discharge for my holding tank, but have never used the passenger side.
Bottom line, I don’t care how my holding tank is set up. Or for that matter if I have a macerator or gray water by-pass. They are conveniences used so rarely they would have no impact on my coach purchase decision.
Maybe I don’t go to places where a specific type of holding tank or sewer system is required.
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Al did you have a bad sensor? Or where you doing PM ( prevented matinance)
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Not the same accident as in above news paper, my friend was alone.
Gary -
DKO….Was that the gospel group that had the accident right at the Catawba River west of Charlotte? My recollection is one of them had to be airlifted to the hospital…
Now it may be coming….the Reggie Sadler Family? We saw them at Dollywood the first time they sang after that incident.
Ugly…they were fortunate!
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We started our search looking for a truck conversion to pull the race trailer and use as an RV. Was looking for a 379 Peterbilt 40′ to 45′ long. Then I read about this accident:
http://www.startribune.com/no-7-five-from-jordan-minn-killed-in-kansas-motor-home-crash/145595155/
If you look closely at the pictures/video, you’ll notice that it appears the MH had a deck built on the truck frame and everything above that deck is gone … torn off in the accident. The cab remains largely intact.
http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/Fatal_RV_Crash_In_Osage_County_Shuts_Down_I-35_145487855.html
The article references a “semi-trailer” when in fact the vehicle was a Freightliner chasis truck conversion pulling an enclosed trailer.
After seeing these pictures and reading about the crash on the truck conversion forum, I started looking for a Prevost instead of a truck conversion. Not to say that some of the truck conversions aren’t well built and would not have come apart like the this rig came apart. But I think a Prevost is markedly safer.
The Prevost has so many advantages over a truck conversion of the same length. After looking at four or five Peterbilts, I concluded the truck conversion has only a few advantages over the Prevost and those didn’t tip our scale towards the truck conversion.
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Ditto what Buddy said. Fans are cheap. The stuff they protect aren’t.
When I walk into my garage I expect to hear a fan running. It runs 24/7. If it was set to cycle it would be real easy to assume since I did not hear it that things were OK, when in fact it might have quit.
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Will do
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My delco SI series alternator takes more than high idle. mine will not start until about 1300 rpm.
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With mine Charles, the driver side is kept within 1 inch of the side window keeping it very close. That seems to be the best position for mine and has less shake than the passenger side. The passenger side is pretty much where it has to be.
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Here they are Ben… Thanks….Diane -
Thanks Tom! Now the fog on this subject is starting to lift. I think Jeff might have explained this at some point in time, but its finally starting to sink in.
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Dick,
You eliminate the Watchdog and then control your gen and autostart through the inverters, the same as some of the other converters have done. My 02 Marathon has the auto start controls in the Trace 4000’s as a menu item. It works well and you can make all kinds of adjustments for the various parameters.
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Diane,
If the “right” coach came along, I could probably go up to an ’03 Liberty.
Thanks for the other answers … helps in the search.
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Tim,
We bought our coach from Tom Flood, who worked (he may still, not sure) at Mr Olivers. Starlight Motors seems to be tied into Mr Olivers just like Tom was tied in to them. I do know that Tom had a very long history and a good amount of experience with the Prevost market (worked with Liberty, Buddy Greg, etc.. since the late 80’s early 90’s).
Even with all that, I would suggest you have them deliver the coach to Prevost DFW and get a detailed mechanical inspection. I setup the appointment with prevost and had Mr Olivers bring the coach down there. I was able to spend 6+ hours with the coach while prevost did the inspection. I basically landed at DFW and drove to the coach at Prevost, allowing me to inspect it there rather then have a “sales” guy “show” me what they wanted me to see. It also allowed me to be part of the inspection and ask questions of Prevost as well as have them point out items that needed attention so my decision was an informed decision.
From there, spend the next day at Mr Olivers going through the house side of things. Run all the components. Make sure they run well, ask questions, etc. Get a list of items you would like addressed and negotiate with Mr Olivers (they may not negotiate on some or all of the items, it all depends on their margins on that coach I am sure).
As for the smell thing? Jon and others are right. I know we figured that out when we walked into a coach up at Olympia. From that point on, one of the first questions my wife made me ask was “does the inside of the coach smell like old people?”. Tom Flood actually laughed at that one when I asked him. Nothing insulting, just the one we looked at that Olympia had smelt like the nursing home my 105 year old grandmother is in. I think you get the picture 😉
I can’t say anything bad about Mr Olivers, just go into it with your eyes wide open and do a DMI at Prevost. It’s worth the money to educate you on the condition on the mechanics of the chassis side of things.
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Depending on your direction to Jeff’s, it is either the last road on the left just before you cross the water when northbound, or the first road on the right after you cross the water southbound on 411.