glen
Forum Replies Created
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For those not familiar, you have to change out the stud pilot to hub pilot as shown in the photo’s. The new 365 Alcoa wheels require hub pilot studs and nuts.
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Yes Gary, they won and I have your wheel cover.I gave Bonz 2500, was that right?
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C’mon Big Al……..
Post the official results along with the photos of the winners.
It is a shame all who did not make the rally missed out on the best eating possible. We had 11 entries to choose from to try to select the winners and it was almost impossible to pick the best because they were all great. And Big Al did an outstanding job organizing the cook-off and setting it up.
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jon
batteries are charged and back to normal. Each tested and are fine.
I’m still getting an error code on my silverleaf system and the inverter is flashing on the control panel. The message is ” transfer switch communication problem.” I’m hooked to 50 amp and all seems normal. Turned inverters off then on. No change. Reset the inverters, no change. Guessing the transfer switch must be bad. Electrical is something I’m not comfortable with so I can call my electrician when I get home or swing into holland bus company on the way Monday to let them have a peak. Just wondering if there is something simple I can try.
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Larry,
You have Chiefland Florida in your signature. Now I know very little about small towns in Florida, however, you should really take some time off from whatever is pressure cooking you. How about a nice day or two trip in your Marathon to visit Parliament in person. It would give your coach some needed exercise, lower your blood pressure, and allow you to meet two very nice, all around good guys.
From this post and the previous post I am reminded of one of my customer’s phone call. This gentleman was very hostile, demanding, and wanted everything else I was already investigating to come to a halt while I immediately took action on his problem. I explained to him that I had a process to investigate concerns as they came in chronological order. You understand, first in, first out. After spending 30 minutes on the phone, mostly listening, I said I would be glad to spend the rest of the day on the phone listening to you or I could log in your concern and get back to resolving the problems from previous callers from the top of the stack (oldest) and work my way to the bottom of the stack (newest), your choice. He reluctantly suggested he would let me do my job.
A little perspective. At that time I was a public employee. I was responsible for 8,000 road miles of highway from Interstates to sand clay dead ends. Every sign, signal and pavement marking was my responsibility. I firmly believed in returning calls, loggin in citizen concerns, actively listening to their concerns, evaluating the approximate date they could expect to receive a complete report of investigative findings. I sent an acknowledgement letter to each caller with that information. In an average month, I had 300 calls to answer. I spent a good deal of time out of the office and usually the last hour plus of the day and the first hour of the next day were spent returning calls. Sometime I would make the connection, sometime I would have to leave a message, and sometime an automated message that their voicemail box was full and thus unable to accept a message. I noted date and time when I made the return call or in some cases calls simply for my protection.
The one best call ever came from a lady wanting a new traffic signal. She in fact without knowing it described my primary job responsibility to me, “Your job is to anticipate our stupidity and take action before we hurt ourselves.” There is nothing more to be said taht can top that statement.
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I am only speaking for what I do.
I did not even wax the painted portions at one time because the clear coat was protecting the finish. As the finishes age they get hazy from microscopic scratches so I started waxing the painted surfaces and that restored the shine, but as the wax aged it had to be rewaxed. I am now waxing the painted surfaces about 3 times a year. By hand. Wax on, wipe off.
The surface protectant (they ain’t waxes any more) that Bill Puleo sent that we distributed to attendees at the Tampa rally seems to do a great job. The real benefit is the front and rear of the coach is easier to wash off, especially after an encounter with a swarm of bees.
I have never waxed the stainless. Over a 15 year time span the stainless does start to get less shiny, and at that time it should likely be repolished, something best left to professionals.
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This is just a general comment about all our service providers. I am not making excuses for anyone but merely outlining what I see as a pattern with every one.
Every place that services our coaches has one or two key men who are generally the gateway for scheduling, information, or assistance with a problem. That person generally runs the shop and in a lot of cases is a hands on person who sometimes is actually doing work on customer’s coaches. We who have owned coaches for a while know this person. Every shop has this “go-to” guy. This person does not sit at a desk. He is on the shop floor. He is in a customer’s coach discussing a problem. He is looking over a mechanic’s shoulder offering advice. He is constantly answering his phone.
His day starts the minute he walks in the door and it ends after he is exhausted many hours later. Part of the reason he is exhausted is because he never has a few minutes to sit down and just relax with a cup of coffee or a sandwich. If he is at a rally he is the guy with his head in the engine compartment or he is crawling in the bay of a coach.
The reason he doesn’t return calls is because he likely doesn’t have the time set aside to sit at his desk, close the door and go through the list of messages.
Unlike the auto industry that has a bunch of guys with clean hands standing at a counter dealing with phone calls and customers, our service gurus are the real deal. They are not “service writers”. They may not even have good customer skills, but they know their stuff and because they know what they are doing they are getting requests for their time all day long.
New customers are at a disadvantage because they don’t know the secret handshake. Those of us who have developed relationships with our service providers know the personal cell phone numbers. We have the email addresses. We are known by the service provider and we know him.
When calling for information only we go to the end of the line because our service providers probably assign priority to phone calls and the customers whose coaches are broke get a high priority. Customers who are long term customers will get attention before someone who is just seeking information and is unknown. Nobody gets a chance to just chat. There is not enough time in the day for that.
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Bill, I like the Griot’s products!
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It is possible that the wires are getting pinched in the hinge area. It happened to me. For that you only need to remove the upper hinge trim on the bus side. You should see the wires coming from the door through the hinge. Simple repair, just make sure you tie them out of range of full hinge movement but still allow them to move without bending.
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If it is found the cables at the batteries are correct the first thing I would do would be to check the battery voltage with the coach running at high idle. It should be in the range of 27.5 to 28 volts. I would measure the 12 volt side of the system and it should be one half of the 24 volt side within 1/2 volt.
The next question to be asked is if the batteries were charged while the bus was not used? If the answer is yes the follow up question would be what kind of charger and for how long? Chassis batteries do not need to be left on a charger but if they are the charger should be one suitable for long term use such as a 3 stage charger at the very least.
Usually when chassis batteries fail prematurely it is because they are overcharged which from the description appears to have happened. If the coach voltage regulator is not the cause of the overcharging then it is likely a trickle charger is the reason. If the coach voltage regulator is allowing charging voltage in excess of 28 volts the coach electrical system can be damaged.
The balance light might have been caused by a battery failing to hold its charge or even take a charge, thus creating the imbalance between the batteries.
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Mike & Cathy, you will find the people at Parliament honest, knowledgable and a satisfying buying experience. Ask Ben Cumming or Rick Mays what the true condition of the coach you’re looking at is and what it needs. you will get an honest assessment. As to Ken Robertson…..he’s a great guy, but it’s sometimes hard to get the salesman out of him(mainly because that’s what he is). Ben & Rick are the reason we have our present coach even though it wasn’t purchased at Parliament and they have maintained all our previous coaches. BTW, what coach are you looking at ?
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C&J
We’ve had some serious discussions on here about motorcycle lifts and the resulting damage.
I know folks like the convenience, but it is probable you are well in excess of the limits and the end result can make the problems you are experiencing seem like minor issues.
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Thanks, for the quick reply.
since it had been a couple of years I could not remember the Pros& cons.
I have reset the Inverter/charger and will wait a while to see what develops/
Jim -
Are you sure about that Red?
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I’d only equalize if you have noticeable loss of capacity.
The Lifeline manual says this:
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Conditioning/Equalizing Charge: 15.5 volts for 8 hours
Conditioning/equalizing should only be done when the battery is showing symptoms of capacity loss. If conditioning/equalizing is necessary, first go through the normal charge cycle. Once the battery is as fully charged as possible, start the conditioning/equalizing charge.
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You’ll be putting 31V on the batteries for 8 hours. Ideally, you’d disconnect the batteries from the house systems. If you do this in the bus, I’d turn off as many DC consumers as possible. Not all of them will be ready to accept 15.5 / 31V.
Equalization will make sure all cells get a chance to be fully charged. It seems Prius owners have had good success reconditioning older banks using equalization and also replacing single cells that cannot be equalized. They are motivated as a new Prius battery bank can cost $3000 similar to our house banks. This has been an eye opener for me as the common wisdom is to not mix new and old cells. But if you carefully equalize them it seems to work.
