[Tom]

Thanks!! Tom & Jon— Looking Foward—You see where we are the first thing in the new year!

[Tom]

You push in on the stalk for the washers. Just like the ICC button on the end of the stalk, but the whole stalk pushes in.

[Tom]

Brian, all good advice above. Two comments. CC owners are VERY sensitive about their engine powered air conditioning system and over the years have defended it against all comments. I am sure it has merits. But to keep the record straight it is not sized the same as the Prevost over the road heating and air conditioning system. The two are not the same. Where and when you use your coach will determine how much AC capacity you require.

Having said that the various AC capacities that I know are Prevost OTR somewhere between 80,000 and 109,000 BTU depending on vintage of coach. Roof airs, a range of 13,000 to 15,000 BTU. Cruiseairs around 13,000 BTU. I do not know the output of the CC “over the road” air.

Generally speaking 3 house AC units are supplied with 40 foot coaches, 4 AC units with 45 foot coaches. Rarely if ever will you need to use all the AC capacity supplied, but if you have an AC unit failure, or the coach gets heat soaked you will thank your lucky stars you have more capability than needed.

Mark’s advice regarding towing is something to think about. We all carry far more than we need. Weight is our enemy. It kills mileage, it makes hill climbing slow, it affects stopping distances, and requires higher tire pressures. If you flat tow you are accepted anywhere. Some RV resorts will not allow trailers. There are benefits to a trailer, the most important in my mind is you can back up, something not possible when flat towing. But a lot of owners have stacker trailers and it works for them, just make absolutely certain the coach is set up with the heavy engine cradle and you do not exceed the tongue weight restriction.

[Tom]

Yes..checked power at breaker…and plugged cord up to get water pump running..( that was the initial problem I was looking in to in the first place…trying to learn my house water system :)..then discovered no power at recept. I will remove the cover and see if anything is wrong inside the handybox the plug is in…just wondering if there was anything between the panel anbd the plug someone might know about…thanks Jon

[Tom]

I am not sure if there is a sequence to tank draining, but I usually do it when I lube the chassis and I start at the front.

I drain the aux tank first. The reason for that is if I have a failure of an air line or air bag in the aux or suspension system I want to know I have retained brake system pressure. I then drain the secondary brake system tank.

Then when I am greasing in the rear I drain the wet tank and the primary brake tank. As long as I have pressure in each tank I believe my check and protection valves are doing their job.

A few comments….Hector taught me to lube the tank drain valves so periodically I do squeeze some rubber lube (I use white lithium grease) up into the petcock and that helps make the petcocks easy to turn without damaging the seals.

Also, I expect all my tanks with the possible exception of the wet tank to be dry. If there is moisture in any of them I am going to service my dryer whether it is due for service or not. My tank draining is about every 5000 miles due to my lube schedule so there should be no moisture. The wet tank might get an oil water mix, and it might be a spoonful or less. I drain every tank completely because the air pressure will blow a path through the water if any and you really will not see the moisture in the tank until the pressure reaches zero.

And I have a pit in my garage, but as Paul has pointed out, I still support the coach on stands. Never ever even think of getting under the coach unless it is supported. NEVER EVER.

This may be considered sandbagging but if you think you are using knowledgible techs to service and maintain your coach pay attention when they are beneath the coach. If they lube the grease fittings and look like they are doing other things, just note what they are. As far as I am concerned a tech isn’t worth taking a coach to if when he has the opportunity to be beneath the coach he isn’t inspecting the brakes, checking for rubbing or chafing hoses or air lines, looking for evidence of hub seal leaks, and he is only applying enough grease to clean fittings to get grease into the joint, not so much it leaks and dribbles out. And finally he drains the air tanks. If he is doing all that as a routine part of your service without even being asked, he is a keeper. If you have to tell him any of that he isn’t doing his job. I have been beneath more than a few coaches whose owners have bragged about how good their maintenance has been and I see evidence whoever was doing the maintenance wasn’t good enough to oil my bicycle chain. You need to watch and ask questions and make the tech know you expect good work.

[Tom]

I don’t know about the rest of you, but that is an image I would like to forget.

Mark, let’s just say it will shine.

[Tom]

By the way, Detroit Diesel does not manufacture coolant. Peak is the company that makes and packages it for them, with the Detroit Diesel Power Cool label on it. Peak Fleet Charge is the same stuff. The Peak Final Charge is the same thing as Detroit Diesel Power Cool Plus. Wix # for non-chemical filter to use with Final Charge/Power Cool Plus/Cat EC-1 is 24070 (Napa Gold 4070).

[Tom]

Rodger,

Hard to diagnose over a forum, but let me ramble a bit as I process the information, and then tell me if my understanding is correct.

When you parked the bus you were at ride height and you went from the driving position on your level low rotary switch to the manual position(s) so you could lower it, then if needed you selected the low corner and raised that so the coach was at its lowest level position. In short, everything worked because you were in every position and you exercised everything so you know the systems functioned.

Today, despite being an honest upstanding citizen you aired up the coach and you verified you have auxiliary air. You moved the level low selector to the ride height and nothing happened. So you did the next logical thing, you went into manual mode and tried to operate each of the manual position solenoids since you know a failure of the ride height solenoid coil or valve could have been why it did not initially rise. When none of the solenoids operated by virtue of moving the level low rotary switch you knew you have a different problem than just a failed solenoid valve or coil on the road solenoid.

If I have it right the common fault is the rotary switch is not getting power, or if it is, that power is not going to the solenoid valve coils which is why nothing is happening. To verify that air up the coach and make a jumper to put voltage from any source (I don’t know if your leveling system is set up for 12 or 24 volts so check please) onto the second solenoid coil down from the top. That should be the ride height since I think you have a 4 valve set up.

With power to the coil the coach should come up to ride height at all corners. The answer then is to start working your way backwards from the rotary switch to find out where the power is interrupted. If you have it at the switch the problem could be internal to the switch, but my guess is that all positions are unlikely to fail at once. I would have suggested you check at the up/down switch, but checking directly at the ride height coil should verify that is not the culprit.

Hector might want to jump in here to correct my logic if necessary.

[Tom]

Matt,

I have had some limited experience with the Headhunter toilet and I might be able to help a little.

First, the flush valve which controlls the length of the flush is easily serviced. I hope yours is accessible. If it is open it up and insure there is no foreign material in it, especially any that would impede water flow through a very small hole in the diaphragm. That small hole is there to allow water to flow from one side of the diaphragm to the other to stop the flush. If the hole is plugged or partially blocked the toilet will run for a long time.

On my toilet installation there was a ball valve on the side / rear of the toilet that supplements the flush valve and the amount it is open regulates the volume of water that remains in the bowl after the flush.

The flush is initiated with the button on the side of the toilet and that trips a solenoid that moves the diaphragm to initiate the flush. You want to make sure before you reassemble the flush valve that the solenoid is not hanging up preventing the diaphragm from re-seating.

[Tom]

If the thermostat is 190 degree then that’s the ideal temperature. If that can’t be achieved the low speed fan is kicking in at 204 and high speed at 208 and check engine light at 214 (I think). Changing the programming to 190 and 195 helps the cooling system more quickly meet the engineers goal temperature. BTW, this does nothing to affect nomal cooling fan operation when dash air is on. With dash air on the fan is always in high speed.

I haven’t called my local DD service center yet, but hope they will do the programming.

[Tom]

Good info George and I was there when you swapped the 2000 for the 2006, great time at Lake Toxaway!

[Tom]

I did mine 1/4 on back and 1/2 on front wheels

[Tom]

Barney,

Like oil analysis I think a dyno test is warranted when you have a base line for comparison.

I know buying a coach is a concern and having a good engine / transmission is a critical concern but between Tom and I we have bought 8 coaches and running the codes and doing a test drive will probably be all you need to do to verify the health of both.

I look for a coach that is warmed up to pull smoothly and strongly from a stop, no smoke, and if possible pull a long enough grade to insure the temps cycle and do not continue to climb. I look for good oil pressure, smooth shifts, and if retarder or Jake brake equipped to get noticeable brake assist from the engine brake or retarder.

If you have good maintenance records to prove continued scheduled service that is worth far more than any dyno test.

Then when you own the coach, hook up with one of us and let’s do a drag race to see whose engine pulls strongest. (Just kidding)

[Tom]

It could be the spacer broke between the 2 clogs(the pump and the drive) when that happpens they do make some racket

good luck

[Tom]

Update:

We were at Prevost yesterday and as I suspected, my coach needs the entire process done. They started looking and almost every seam was loose and that includes bay doors, slide room panels and the passenger side panels too.

They pried on them with a plastic tool, took some pictures, and said it would be a couple of days before they got the answer back from Prevost corporate about what would be covered. They were not surprised by the findings on my bus. It was almost as if they knew it was going to require everything.

We discussed the leaking issues, and John is really sold on this new way to fix things. He thinks it will be a final fix, something they have not had in prior attempts. I think they are still tweaking the process, but it remains close to what has been posted before.

I got the chance to see one repair in progress. It is a very labor intensive procedure, but from the explanation and seeing it in person, looks like it should fix the problem. They had a 2007 that just had returned from being painted that looked fantastic. The paint blending was great and the coach looked like new.

I will post again when I get my answer back from Prevost.