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Posted by: Brad Townsend
08-02-2017, 11:13 AM
Forum: Exterior
- Replies (18)

So i have read some threads here about paint places. Would like to know if anyone has had experience with any place other than Newell. 
I need to get the drivers side done from the floor down X the full length. The paint being on the south side while boondocking 6 months a year has lost it's pigment. I have had Newell quote it at $8K. Sometimes I think they don't want the work from the oldies. That is a bit much even if they do do a good job. That much for a piece 36 inches wide and 40 ft long, wow and that is just one color no designs.
So got a quote from Precission Paint & Interiors in Bremen Ind @ $2200. They seem to have great reviews.
I checked out and am waiting for a quote from Extreme in Texas which their web site is far from Precision in regards to reviews.

So anyone know of the work done personally from either of these places or any other places.

Thanks

Brad

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Posted by: Keith Jordan
08-02-2017, 06:13 AM
Forum: Electrical
- Replies (7)

My house batteries will not hold a charge anymore.I can only get 10.5 volts after being charged for 8 hours.3 of them are leaking around terminals.They are at least 5 years old. I found a place close to me that sells lifeline 255ah 8da for 586.00 ea. Other than cleaning the terminals when I replace them is there anything else I need to do to them?

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Posted by: Nebster
08-02-2017, 02:08 AM
Forum: Drivetrain
- Replies (45)

When taking delivery of 1234 last month, I started the engine on the second morning and saw a stop engine light right away.  The overhead silverleaf monitor showed "coolant extremely low" or some such.  We stopped the engine and filled the coolant reservoir in the rear and things were fine.

Fast forward 1,500 miles.  Made it home to Colorado last week, no issues along the way.  A couple days later I went out to start the engine to put out some slides, and same thing!  Reservoir seemed empty.

I see no sign of coolant anywhere on the ground or in the engine bay.  I also had the oil changed and analyzed halfway through my trip, and there was no sign of coolant in the oil (if that matters).  

I have an appointment at CAT next week to have them look at it, and I don't know very much about engines.  But...  does anyone have any ideas about what to check first?  I am concerned that the problem may be slow or intermittent enough that it is hard to tell if any particular change fixes things in the shop.  On the other hand, carrying some extra coolant is easy enough insurance for now.

Many thanks,

Ben

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Posted by: Nebster
07-31-2017, 08:12 PM
Forum: Air Operated Systems and Leaks
- Replies (31)

Hi all,

Okay, I'm a complete newbie when it comes to air systems.  (These can't be that complicated though, can they?!)  My coach 120V compressor comes on every 5 minutes like clockwork.  The leak(s) is so fast that I can watch the pressure gauge creep down the whole time.  I mean, it's obviously really bad, and I would have thought I would just be able to walk around and hear the culprit based on what I've skimmed on this forum.

But, no luck.  Even in a very quiet place, I've sat all around the coach and listened intently, and I can't hear anything.  I also have no idea how the whole system is set up or how to start isolating.  I can definitely get Newell to help me this winter, but I thought I'd start here.

Additional plot twists:

1)  Sometimes, in the day time when it's sunny and the coach is warm, the leak disappears.  Don't have enough data to tell whether it might be tied to a slide or some other configuration change.  

2)  I don't have a way to get under the coach safely.

3)  I went ahead and ordered one of those ultrasonic Inficons, figuring worst case I'll still find that tool useful one day when I actually know a little about what I'm doing with the air system and want to hunt down more leaks.  Seems like there's at least a chance it should find this giant, gaping hole somewhere, eh?

Thanks all!

Ben

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Posted by: Nebster
07-31-2017, 07:03 PM
Forum: Electrical
- Replies (6)

Back story:

Picked up new-to-me coach four weeks ago.  This coach has 6x Lifeline 8D AGM, 2x 2800w Outback VFX2812 inverters, and one roof air hung off on the inverter subpanel.

Shortly after pickup, I unplugged the shore power and loaded up the inverters with the AC while on battery.  Silverleaf started complaining about low voltage about two hours in, which tells me these AGMs are probably not very healthy (no big surprise).

Switched back to shore power and went to sleep.

Next day, after heading out, discovered that only my 120V compressors seemed to be running off the inverters.  Silverleaf thinks I have "60V" on one leg and "0V" on the other.  Inverters are both on, reporting no faults, and they look identical in terms of LEDs and whatnot.

My original theory is that one of the two inverters has failed nevertheless.  A call with Outback seemed to suggest that they felt the same way, and they suggested I could try rebuilding the inverter by swapping in some new FETs and other modules.

That's fine, but today I was crawling around in the bay looking at the wiring, and I noticed there's an Outback autotransformer w/ relay in the back.  Here's its placard:

[Image: 2017-07-31%2013.55.38.jpg?raw=1]

I wonder...  what is this doing?  My assumption is that it would be set up between the inverters and the subpanel to provide for some balancing, with the inverters stacked to make 240V.  I wonder if I should try flipping these breakers ON and see what happens?

Does anyone have this configuration and/or have any idea what it's for?

Ben

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Posted by: Georgeb
07-31-2017, 03:53 PM
Forum: General Repair
- Replies (1)

Hi All

Has anyone ever tried oiling their coach batteries?

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Posted by: Nebster
07-30-2017, 07:15 PM
Forum: Exterior
- Replies (2)

My (new-to-me) coach has only one of the Girard roof awnings on the curb side.  I'd like to add a second one aft of it so I have full coverage on the side.  Newell wants $10,600 for this second awning.  I am thinking about sending this work elsewhere to save some dough, but I am encountering some wariness about penetrating the roof to secure the big brackets that hold these things on as well as run the wiring.  

So, this makes me wonder...  what's the roof like up there anyway?  Any place to avoid in terms of adding holes?  Obviously, we want to put in as few as possible!

Thanks,

Ben

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Posted by: Nebster
07-30-2017, 07:03 PM
Forum: Generators
- Replies (13)

Hey all,

I just took delivery of 1234.  This one has the PT 20kW, side mounted.  My understanding is that they did a few side-mounted units in this timeframe (2008ish) and then went back to front-mount, maybe because they didn't get much quietening, and of course because people like having the full second bay.

Anyway, my impression of this generator is that the engine itself is very quiet inside that hush box.  And inside the coach there is very little sound or vibration, which is awesome.

But sitting outside on the curbside, the blower still makes a pretty good bit of noise.  Also, it exhausts straight down under the coach, so warm air tends to come out on the camping side right where we're sitting.  I don't know if it's possible to do anything to make it quieter, but I'm interested in whether anyone else has tried anything.  (I'm also concerned about stirring up silt and sand when we camp in a dusty area -- we dry camp a lot, and some places are pretty dry.)

Thanks,

Ben

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Posted by: Nebster
07-30-2017, 06:51 PM
Forum: Please introduce yourself
- Replies (4)

Greetings Gurus,

I am excited to say "hello" after lurking on your forums for some time now.  Our family has procured coach 1234 (has a nice ring to it, yeah?), and we will be remodeling it this winter in preparation to go full time next summer.  For now we are based in Boulder, CO.

We previously spent 1.5 years full time with our 3-year-old in a Dutch Star.  That was a great coach, we had a good time, and this time around we decided to go for the best!  We know a little more about our wants and needs now, too.  Our daughter is now 6, and we will try our hand at homeschooling for a couple of years.

I have a lot of questions and learning to do, so I hope to meet some of you here and in person one day on the road.  

Cheers!

Ben

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Posted by: Georgeb
07-30-2017, 01:08 PM
Forum: Exterior
- Replies (4)

There is a small door/flap about mid coach on drivers side about 6 feet off the ground what is it pleas

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