[Ed]

Tom, you old pirate, you got that coach looking great! looks new! I did not mean run mazerator in park unscrew the cap and run while driving down the road in a rain storm, other than the occasional nutty buddy no one is the wiser! Where are you now?

[Ed]

Yes, your right, it’s RC++++++, It’s so fun. We had a perfect day for flying. Here are a couple of shots of Hector set up to fly.

He shot MPEG-4 and JPEG, so I have lots to play with.

[Ed]

Great explanation John, thanks.

[Ed]

I made an appointment with Prevost in Nashville. They removed the radiator, had it cleaned by an outside vendor and put in new antifreeze. They also replace the thermostats. They told me my fan clutch was working properly. They test drove it and monitored it with their computer. I drove it back home to Tuscaloosa (250 miles), then a few weeks later drove it to Orange Beach, another 250 miles. No problems at all, as a matter of fact it ran cooler than it ever has, never got over 195 and the outside temperatures were in the low 90’s. Then leaving Orange Beach yesterday, maybe 10 miles down the road, the temperature guage started climbing and kept getting hotter and hotter maybe around 210. I was on the Foley Beach Express which is a four lane, with 55 MPH speed limit and very flat. I immediatley pulled over to check it out. I checked the engine guage and it was showing about the same. The fan was not running even though I had the dash air wide open. The outside tempature was about 78 degrees and overcast and I was headed into a rain storm a few miles away. I let it cool down a little while and then locked in the fan with the bolts. Drove the rest of the way home and never got over 195 degrees. Could this possibly be a relay issue? I know it could still be the fan clutch but I am hoping that I do not have to add that to the pile of $$$ already paid on this issue. Just frustrating that it seems to only happen when it is cooler and a lot of mositure in the air. I was within about 25 miles of where it happened last time. Advice???

[Ed]

Keep down shifting going up hill so that your RPM’s stay above 1800. You may only make 35 or 40 MPH but this will keep you from having the engine at full throttle and will help keep the intake air temps lower as well. Leave the dash air on as Larry has said.

[Ed]

With the load you are towing the advise I have recieved from big rig drivers and also a very good truck shop is to down shift to the point the rpm stays about 2000 rpm going uphill. The truck shop guy says the higher rpm moves the coolant thru the engine faster to give better cooling. It may mean your speed is a little less but not that much slower. On my bus the dash air being on makes the engine fan run in top gear. Maybe turn on dash air then adjust the dash control to the warmest temp. On my bus the fan stays in the fast mode. Just my thoughts.

Just always go down hill, runs cooler and better MPG

[Ed]

Today I received in the mail, my $100 fuel card for motion lotion for my old hoopie, courtesy of Prevost Community. Every little bit helps any more … so I will think kindly of you when I pull my Pig Iron Pony up to the pump … and allow him to slurp until full.

As Elvis was fond of saying …Thank you very much.

All week long, I have considered this stroke of good fortune. Much like the lottery, I have sat around day after day, watching for the mailman, in great anticipation, trying to figure out a way to cash in on this bonanza. But it appears I am destined to buy fuel with the card and not a time share in Boca Raton. No tree house in Belize and no easy living on banana’s …

Funny how things work out isn’t it.

Just this morning, the guy across the road walked up to the fence, and he said, “Don, do you drink beer?” and I said, “Is a Blue Bird blue?” So he said, “I want to give you a case of Budweiser for all the things you do around here, would that be okay?” and I said … “Yeppers, bring it on!”

Things are lookin up. I will now slink back to Trash Talk and leave you to your amusements. Thanks for the fuel card.

BCO

[Ed]

Thanks

[Ed]

Georges,

As most owners have come to realize, the absolute last place anyone should take their coach to for service is an RV dealership unless their front row is filled with Prevost conversions.

I don’t know what work you want them to perform, but unless it is the most basic of tasks you are placing your coach in the hands of people that understand RVs, but not Prevost conversions. There is a world of difference. I cringe when people who choose to not do their own work take their coach to businesses that lack the required expertise. You have already experienced what happens when you do not understand your coach and you leave it in the hands of a business with even less knowledge of your coach and its systems.

Almost any Prevost converter can service your coach, we also have businesses that specialize in Prevost conversion repair work. This is not to steer you to folks that advertise on PC, but to alert you that these are not RVs in the sense a Winnebago is an RV.

I probably shouldn’t be so blunt, but I would hate to see you suffer even more financial harm.

[Ed]

I can’t tell you how glad I am that it isn’t just me !!!

We are now three for three on this trip. To top it off, after they replaced the breaker today and all was well someone (who shall remain nameless) turned on the stovetop. It didn’t break. It just didn’t work. It must have burned up.

The brand new replacement is currently holding. We’ll see. I turned off the battery chargers because they were pulling 10 amps + each.

That’s another food question. Why so many amps and how long can I leave them turned off?

[Ed]

If you were to disconnect your battery with the key in the towing position (ignition off, but steering wheel unlocked) I’ll bet you are going to see a spark indicating a load. The simple way to fix it is the battery disconnect, but my curiosity would compel me to use my multitester in amp mode and just methodically pull fuses, one by one until I found which circuit(s) were still drawing power. Seems like phantom loads that should not be there.

I can understand Rick’s battery depletion because he is putting a load on it. If he did not use his brake unit I’ll bet like my Ram there would be no loss of battery power.

[Ed]

I’m posting this for Seabyrd…

Here is the picture I was trying to upload … it is the RVAC
unit before being redone… 2 compressors and one fan… the Primary on ours has
to be running for the secondary to work…. they are on separate legs of the
inverter power and controlled by one thermostat… the Secondary seems just like
a booster to me. This system is vented throughout the whole coach where the
Cruisairs are specific to certain areas.

When working well the system is awesome and very quiet. Most
Vantare’s have this system I think along with two Cruisairs behind the front
bumper. Newells also used this unit.

This unit sits right behind the generator mid coach, and is a
bitch to get to !!

You can post this if you want to…. don’t know what I am
doing wrong with the pictures… I have full authority over this computer and
its telling me the file is not authorized. I have posted pics long time ago
without a problem. Don’t know what I am doing wrong.

Have a Happy 4th of July.

Diane

[Ed]

Just curious about the Vantare setup, could someone explain the
primary/secondary system and how it works? Is the RVAC zoned or is
there two seperate units? If they’re separate units, are they stand
alone with duct work and separate thermostats?

[Ed]

While it is easy to change out a campground’s faulty breaker or tighten up loose connections it is equally likely the average campground is going to go nuts if you try to fix their problem, or they are going to blame you for their problem. That is one reason we avoid summer travel. The RV parks are stretched to the limit, they have more business than they can handle and when everything turns to tapioca we who own bus conversions end up with the short end of the stick. When we do travel when temps are down, fewer folks are using the campgrounds and there is less demand for good power we are happy although the campground owner may wish he had more business. The key for us is to try to stick to resorts that cater to high end coaches. They clearly understand our needs and know how to provide it.

The guy that told Karl he was using the 50 amp they were supplying is proof quality help is in short supply. 20 and 30 amp receptacles provide a total of 20 or 30 amps (theoretical) on one 120 volt leg. A 50 amp receptacle provides 50 amps (theoretical) on each of two 120 volt legs for a total of 100 amps. I’m guessing somebody is in trouble if the campground allows that guy to play with electric.

[Ed]

Fred,

Maybe Liberty can offer some help on sourcing them. They are a dual unit, with one side fog lights and the other side driving lights. I avoid driving in fog so I have no opinion on how well that side works. I have used the driving lights and they are sensitive to being aimed correctly. They threw a lot of light sideways and seemed to give me the greatest benefit when aimed for about 200 feet ahead. Anything more than that and they did not seem beneficial..

The switch on the dash had three positions, Fog, Off, and Drive.