[Jon P.]

Hello, John. We believe there were air pockets in the fuel delivery. I have successfully fired her up many times since then.

Putting in a new backup/rear camera and monitor this weekend. The current one has died.

Thanks for checking in. Craig Wickham was on the phone with me quite a bit making suggestions on what to check when she was not firing up.

Ron

[Jon P.]

The oil pan isolators should be replaced when replacing the oil pan gasket. These isolators provide the correct tension on the gasket to the block. There was an issue recently concerning the isolators being too short. Compare the new to the old to be sure you got the right ones.

[Jon P.]

Thanks Rudy. As usual, excellent response and explanation.

[Jon P.]

Looks like fun Dan…Wait, I have to turn the A/C down a little, it’s 80, here. Hope your nozzle holds out.

[Jon P.]

Be careful about using the slide pin as the sole means of evaluating pad thickness. I had one showing ample pad thickness, but when I got the wheel off and was able to actually see the pads almost all the wear was on one side and the pin was showing thickness for the pad that wasn’t worn.

I cannot remember the details because it was more than 10 years ago, but do a good visual to look for that issue and on the drums, my issue was not wear, but the original friction material on the shoes was cracking and parts and pieces were starting to come off the shoe.

I was also show a pad on a late model coach with the Knorr-Bremse disc brakes and the pad looked like it disintegrated.

[Jon P.]

George,

Sorry for you troubles especially in the heat. Two inverters acting up within a short period of time and you said the alternator wont charge the batteries. I wonder if something else is going on. Battery issue perhaps.

[Jon P.]

Art (or Jon): How difficulty is it to get that Class B CDL? From the research I’m done in Wisconsin it appears to be the DOT physical, written test, and then driving test.

[Jon P.]

Here is the bus Glens is referring too;

I know some history on this bus…if needed.

AL

Unit # 81573 status open Current bid $246,1000 by Bluepackage Close date 7/11/2018 11:00:00 AM CST Location Valdosta, GA 2005 Featherlite Prevost Vantare H3-45 Double Slide powered by a 14L/515hp Detroit Diesel and an Allison 6-speed transmission on a 2004 Prevost H3-45 chassis. Exterior This ultra-luxury coach features 2 slide outs, full awning package, in-motion satellite, video intercom, color rear camera, polished aluminum wheels, 20,000lb receiver/hitch, 4 roof mounted air horns, electric bay locks, fog/docking/cornering lights, auto leveling and 4 Cruisar A/C units w/heat pumps. Interior Leather sofa, 42″ overhead cockpit TV, Bose surround sound, custom burlwood dash, galley and bath granite flooring, granite shower, L-shaped dinette, Corian countertops, electric shades throughout, Vista accent lights throughout, mirrored ceiling with lights, 24 cu ft refrigerator, convection microwave, 2 burner electric cook-top, Insta-Hot, stack washer/dryer, Pioneer GPS mapping system, Cobra CB radio, Heated pilot/co-pilot seats and a 6 way power pilot seat. Underbelly Functioning Powertech MH 17.5KW generator, auxiliary air compressor, electric heat in bay 2, Aqua-Hot heating system, 2 Trace 4000W inverters, engine block heater and entertainment center. Starts, runs and drives great with 46,113 miles!

[Jon P.]

I have three of the blue Cruisairs from 1984. The bedroom unit blows cold and runs like a top since I replaced the capacitors. The galley unit blows cold, but then the compressor shuts down after a few minutes because the blower in the condensing unit is dead. The front unit has a compressor that is likely frozen. I have a nice-looking portable unit running in the front of the coach that keeps things under control until it gets above 95 or so outside, even in direct sunlight. I bought that off of Craigs List when the galley unit died at ETLC last year. New Cruisairs just aren’t in my future. Bob showed me the mini splits on his homebuilt at the Evansville gathering, but I just haven’t found an inside unit that will fit anywhere on this bus. They’re huge.

I can’t get the front unit out without removing the galley unit (both are behind the front bumper), so I’m initially going to see if I can replace the blower on the galley unit without removing the whole thing from that compartment. If I can’t, I’ll just pull both out this week and try to rebuild them. It should be a great lesson in HVAC, and save more than a few bucks. If I can’t save them, I’m just out the parts that I buy. Money spent on tools doesn’t count, and the education will be worth the cost. They don’t have all that many components, and the condensers themselves look to be in good shape. I’ll try to document the rebuilds and post something when I’m either successful or I give up.

[Jon P.]

Have replaced 2 365’s in the last 3yrs with the same problem. Both on tag. Caught them before actual tread separation. Both were less than 2 yrs old. Last one replaced at Jeff’s last month. Geo.

[Jon P.]

Hey Glens, How could that be an upgrade? It could only be an upgrade if I wanted it. Maybe Tom put it best “I don’t want no stinkin slides”! Maybe not grammatically correct but gets the point across. I may enjoy the added space of a 45 footer but slides would be a hard sell.

I’m very pleased with my bus!!!

Harry

[Jon P.]

We have and like Lafer Euro recliner. Compact, comfortable and the foot rest folds under.

[Jon P.]

Jeff has people who came out to his shop to replace the two fixed window on our former Beaver XL #34. We had Prevost shipped the double pane windows to Jeffs place. His outfit had them installed in about two hours, Prevost told it would to take 8 hrs for both.

[Jon P.]

Are you ditching the CB? It’s actually a lot of fun having it. Especially in traffic.

I got a Galaxy 959. I’m just trying to figure out how to get a quarter wave whip up there on the roof. The 2 foot astatic up there isn’t much. And to boot – I don’t know if it came from Marathon like this – but the ground plane radials were installed wrong and were connected to the whip…. not the ground. I can’t get the swr below 2!

[Jon P.]

The same Blue Ox tow bar works on this bus…

…and this one.

To answer HJ’s question, depending on where you’re headed and how long you’ll be there, having a car with you is a nice convenience. Just make sure you’re using one that is designed for flat towing or be prepared to make some fairly major modifications as you could risk violating the factory warranty (if applicable) and possibly causing some costly damage to the tow car. However, there are some situations where calling a taxi or summoning a Uber may be all that’s needed.

One more thought, if you’re shopping for a new or pre-owned car to use for towing, don’t take the salesperson’s word that a specific model is okay to flat tow. Just ask to see the car’s manual (most are available online) and look under the section, “recreational towing” to see if it’s allowed and the procedure that needs to be followed to put it into the flat towing mode as there’s more to it than just attaching a tow bar. Dinghy Towing Guides are available on the Motorhome.com the FMCA websites for current models and archives of these reports for previous model years are available online.