Larry
Forum Replies Created
-
Try turning the lights on from another location (if available). Then shut down and try the offending switch again.
Pres -
Michael, good approach. I know two things that took a while to sink in. First, I really had to get to know the coach so I knew what noises were telling me. That sounds silly, but the noises have ranged from the toilet seat dropping down because we forgot before I started driving, to a door or drawer banging open and shut because a latch failed, to the clang of a sway bar whose bushings had failed, etc. The reason knowing noises is you need to know if the bus needs to be stropped instantly, or if the problem can be dealt with in a safe place. It also helps to be able to differentiate between the normal sound of things and how it sounds when something is not quite right for the same reason.
The second thing I finally came to realize is everything will break. So when it does break I need a plan in place. Some methods of dealing with issues is to do nothing. Take care of it when we get home. Other things require immediate attention. Still others we ignore because we have some redundancy. Trying to think of how I would deal with every issue I could think of has actually been comforting because where I could I added redundancy, or figured out how to use the redundancy we already have built in. Other things I have resolved by adding backups, such as my water pump. And other things I am just going to ignore until I am home or at least in a place where it makes sense to address the issue, such as a failed AC.
The problem is I didn’t know what I didn’t know until we got our first coach, and now 25 years and 3 coaches later we are still finding stuff we don’t know.
-
Wind is a killer. Whether it is from driving or strong winds on a parked coach bitter cold combined with winds takes a lot of heat in the coach and bay(s) to keep stuff warm enough to prevent freezing. Unlike in a conventional house we cannot leave water running to prevent freezing unless the objective is to deplete the water.
If I had to use my coach in very cold temps and I knew it had a potential issue as Davy describes I would quickly make some modifications to eliminate the issues. I am guessing each converter has their own way of doing things so there is likely going to be different solutions if there are issues. On all of my coaches the water and drain pipes run through a chase that contains a wire bundle, water and drain lines. If needed I would add vents or openings at each end and add a very small fan at one of the ends to blow or suck warmer air from the house through the area where the pipes are run. I am sure there are ways to make the vent and fan inconspicuous.
The real solution is to head south. I realize that is easier said than done because for a number of years I used the bus to go to trade shows along the Great Lakes and Northeast where there are no campgrounds even open so parking was often in a big open parking lot where winds and snow would make it a challenge.
-
Typing for Bob again 🙂
Lon and Gregg (technician) are both first class. I have bought and sold many coaches through FLC and they were a pleasure to work with.
Bob
-
Yeah, Robin’s egg blue is kinda a female color, LOL. Reminds me of a story, I was departing Memphis International Airport in a little Yankee Traveler airplane, departure pointed out traffic as a 727, said I got him, departure called him, pointed me out, 727 pilot says I see him and he is an easter egg blue.
-
I, too, also leave dash switch on at all times but I don’t like the retarder working everytime I release the gas (go, diesel, throttle???) pedal so the lever is usually in the off position.
-
Hi Davy;
Do you do anything special to prevent water lines from freezing? We survived -10F last month, but not by much. We have Grand-kids in the frozen north that we need to see before warmer weather.
Thanks!
-
Davy it looks wonderful… Enjoy !!
I hope your daughter is still doing well and you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!!
-
In case a previous owner has not done this, your coach, with a Jake or retarder engaged also lights the brake lights. The intent is to alert vehicles following you that you are slowing down. The reality is that feature generally serves to really irritate those behind you. Here are a couple of examples……..lets assume you pass a slower vehicle, accelerating to complete the pass. Then you let off the accelerator to get back to your cruise speed. As soon as you let off the accelerator to allow the coach to slow down to either the cruise control set speed or your desired speed it appears you have just stepped on the brake. I am sure you get upset when someone passes you and then hits the brake after they pull back in front.
Another example is on slightly rolling roads. The accelerator is applied either by you or cruise control while traveling up a slight grade, but as soon as the road levels and starts slightly downhill you or cruise control lets off the accelerator and at that point the jake or retarder engages to retain the desired speed. Of course the brake lights come on. People behind you go crazy thinking you drive with one foot on the brake and one on the gas.
The solution if you desire is to remove the relay that engages those brake lights when the retarder or jake engages. Find relay 76, confirm it is for the retarder or jake brake lights and remove it. Everything else will function normally.
-
Jon,
Looked at the roadmaster and seems they dont have the 2″ ball mount All Terrain setup available anymore. Did some more looking at the BlueOx options and found the Allure with an optional 2″ ball adapter (rather then the pintle hookup). Am thinking with that adapter, I could get an adjustable receiver that I can raise to the right height (I am assuming that is the main issue is the height of the reveiver on the coah is too low for the higher truck bumper).
-
Dean,
If you added prevostcommunity.com to the compatibilty mode in tools of IE …that may be your problem as I had to remove the mode in order to upload a picture and then add it back in order to type normally… If this doesn’t make sense to you then you didn’t add it as many of us had to when we had problems typing normally on here… but as soon as I added it then I couldn’t upload a picture so I removed it and could upload a picture but couldn’t type fast and properly… so something is still going on there !!
Just a thought.
Diane
-
I would strong suggest videotaping your orientation. I had my wife follow us around recording on an iPad. We did a stop/start on each component with the initial video reference frame focused on the component discussed so I could quickly refer to whatever I needed later on. I found it priceless. Jon’s analogy of the water hose is very correct – you’ll be surprised by how much get by you as you review your recordings.
-
When I built my garage I installed a septic tank, and drain lines and put in a clean out at ground level with concrete pad, so when I am backing into the garage I stop short dump the sewer and flush tanks, add deodrorizer and some fresh water to the tanks also I make sure all p-traps in the coach have water in them they do evaporate and can allow the smell from the tanks to enter the coach! Gary
-
Then you may have both the ability to stop the toilet from emptying into your holding tank, and possibly even maintaining water system pressure with the pump turned off. That depends on where the valve is located and if my long winded explaination was correct.
If the valve is downstream from the pump, but ahead of everything else, shutting the valve should retain water system pressure and verify the pump check valve is leaking. If it is solely to isolate the toilet supply line, closing it should stop the toilet bowl from emptying.
Let us know because there are a lot of Headhunter toilets installed in coaches and everyone needs to understand what the potential is for the owners to be brushing their teeth using water from the holding tank.
-
Same question on a Vantare H, I think I know, but would like to know for certain. Geo.