[Rudy]

No dice on anything in the compartment under the driver.

Jeff thinks that it is the chack valve mounted on the upper side of the large air tank upfront, passenger side, forward side of the tank….the grey valve on the left of the picture with the thicker black line coming out of the side. Took the picture from below, of course looking up……It is all the way up there.

I do hear air hissing coming from that vecinity when the engine is runnig. I have to lift the coach, prop it up with wood supports and get somehow in there to remove the side air line to confirm that it is not allwing air into the Norgren upfront.

Right now there is no air coming into the front compartment.

I just hooked up a portable compressor that has 150 psi capability and with it plugged into the Aux system and with the key to ON postition I was able to lift the front on manual to the highest level, about 13.5 inches from ground to the structural supports upfront. Now I have to fabricate pads out of 2×12’s and then the fun begins…..I need one of Jeffs skinny boys to get up in there……Boy there is no room…..Even with the wheel fully turned left

Many thanks to Jeff for taking my call and explaining where to look and what to try do.

[Rudy]

I replaced mine with a stainless tank at Jeff’s right after Jon did his and mine was near failure , it was well worth it

[Rudy]

Andy: I never thought about it that way, but I suppose the argument can be made. The very first time I backed the new 26′ trailer in with the coach, it was done in ONE, continously motion. No back and forth. Other times I haven’t been so lucky. A couple of times I’ve had cars coming from either direction or both on Pleasant Valley Road when I’m in the middle of the procedure, it isn’t working so I give up and “go around the block” (a four mile trip) to reposition the coach and trailer.

For any of you current or prospective coach owners who are thing thinking about pulling any kind of a trailer, made sure you get one with a long tongue. Our old trailer (24′) had a standard length tongue and the corner of the coach and the trailer “touched” a few times, so I bought a new trailer with an extended five foot tongue. Very, very important.

At the end of the day, I would prefer to have a drive-through/pull-through arrangement. Just makes it easier, less stress, obviously much easier to do if I’m alone. It really gets exciting on a dark, cloudless night.

[Rudy]

Buying insurance is a gamble.

The insurance company is betting it will take your money and not have to paay anything out. You are betting if something happens the insurance company will pay you.

Before I accept ACV as a prudent way to insure my coach I would ask the insurance company to put in writing what they believe the ACV to be.

[Rudy]

Hi all,

I know I’ve been absent for about a year but I’m back on the road again in my XL2. We’re in Steamboat springs this week and headed downhill (Denver) later today. I thought that I’d share a bit of my retarder experience that I had with my 1997 Liberty XL.

My first trip in the Liberty was from Phoenix to Flagstaff and there are a lot of grades between the two, along with a 6000 foot elevation change. To be honest, I didn’t know enough about the retarder when I started and I pretty much used it as a brake to hold the speeds in the 55-60 mph range along the trip. By the time I was nearing Flagstaff, the transmssion would not shift out of 4th gear, limiting my top speed to around 50-55 mph. We knew something was seriously wrong, but not much more. The trans temps were spiking into the 300 degree range over the downhill legs.

We decided to overnight in Flagstaff an made the decision the next day to drive to Las Vegas where a Detroit/Alison shop could have a look. The trip to Vegas was without incident and the transmission performed flawlessly in all gears. The shop in Vegas said that the oil “looked and smelled” normal, but they replaced it anyway with Transynd and I was back on my way northbound, a day late and $750 poorer.

I learned from the experts here (formerly at the other web site), that retarder use requires a keen eye on the transmission temp gauge and I watched it like a hawk thereafter. We completed our summer trip, about 5000 miles, without further incident. I felt like we had dodged a bullet.

Next year, we took off on a similar trip and this time, while in Montana, the transmission started acting up badly. We had been crossing a lot of mountain passes, etc., and although I never let the temps go above 250 or so, the transmission would suddenly act as if it were in neutral. We would coast to a stop, wait 20 minutes, and then take off again. This was the drill for the next 125 miles until we reached Billings where another Detroit/Alison shop was found.

To make the story short, we had a rebuilt transmission installed in Billings. It took about 12 days of downtime (a week waiting for the replacement), and I was out about $12,000 for the experience. The bus ran fine after that and I had all of the retarder knowlege that I would ever need.

So in closing, when the trans temps are 300 or more, you are certainly in the danger zone and the damage may already have been done. Try to avoid it!

[Rudy]

Yes, the generator pick up tubes are shorter, and would likely run out first. I did not measure them, but the 1/4 tank seems about right.

It was a big job, and the old tank was really warped out of shape. There had been fuel leaking for quite some time from the looks of it. It was evident on both sides and the rear. There was also fuel sitting on the top of the tank forward of the bulge where the fillers connect. From there it could run off either side when you turn.

I am not sure where the leak was, but there was no doubt it was leaking. The crew at Prevost TN did an outstanding job on the replacement. All of the old cushion material under the tank and the stuff fore and aft on support beams had to be replaced. Same with the brackets that go over the top of the tank…they get cushioned too. First they pressure washed everything down and then had to clean the old adhesive off and then put the new material on. Lots of labor besides the actual tank installation.

Glad it is done. They also hit everything else on my list of Prevost stuff to be done from before. Liberty took care of just about all of it, so it was a rather painless on the checkbook trip…!

[Rudy]

Clear your cache Dick, that may do it for IE. We’re not hearing any other picture problems that I’m aware of, but who knows. You don’t have to reduce the photo size, that automatic on our site.

• In most computer-based web browsers, to open menus used to clear your cache, cookies, and history, press Ctrl-Shift-Delete (Windows) or Command-Shift-Delete (Mac). If this doesn’t work, follow the appropriate instructions below.

Call me if you you need help.

[Rudy]

Tried Chrome last night and I couldn’t load. Shortened the name of the file and took out any special, non-alpha characters, reduced the file size, I could see the picture in the preview box, but it wouldn’t load.

Earlier this week I got a picture to load using Chrome. I must doing something different now.

[Rudy]

Are your windows manual open Dick with the three piece rod or four piece rod ????

[Rudy]

Dave the coach looks reat, Im thinking of changing the brass out but cant figure out where to get the shower enclosure parts. Where did you find that stuff?

[Rudy]

Now that sounds like there’s a deal to be made. Tom will buy his next last bus (avec slides) if Jon buys a shiny black bus, sans OTR?

[Rudy]

If you have Trace inverters you should adjust the shore cord setting to 15 amps on each inverter, a total of 30.

[Rudy]

thanks Rudy. I had the unit serviced by Marathon before purchase. I agree with everything you said and routinely do so on our Signature. What I really need to know is on this Marathon XL how do I FIRE UP the Wabasto? I’m sure there is a switch I just don’t want to flip the wrong one.

[Rudy]

Great looking seats Buddy. Congratulations.

[Rudy]

Just at Blue Ox this week. Had hitch serviced and TruCenter installed. My good driving coach drives now like a car.

The Blue Ox brake is a good set in the car brake. I prefer the NSA RV Products Ready Brake Receiver Style Supplemental Brake System.

Regular 500 dollars on sale from factory via Amazon for 332 dollars this week.