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Overnight the 12v pump in my Aquahot bay was running frequently so off I go on the quest to find the leak/leaks. I found 3 pinhole leaks in the bedroom slide out along the topside of the slide. This probably occurred from a metal shaving falling on top of the slide after replacing all of the vent fans on the roof.

What you need:

1. Spray bottle for spraying leak finding solution: The smaller size works best for tight areas. Something like this https://shorturl.at/01Ebm.
2. Leak finding solution: Kids Bubble solution or make your own using 1/3 dish soap, 1/3 glycerin (https://shorturl.at/Vne9O) & 1/3 water.
3. Rubberized super glue (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CB51...UTF8&psc=1)
4. Small putty knife or something to apply the glue. Preferably one that could be bent slightly. 

Finding & Fixing leak:

I would think it is more likely to get a puncture on the top of the seals due to debris falling on top of the slide-outs so I would check there first. For the inside you may be able to hear it if you turn off anything making noise. You may need to bring in the slide to remove the valance. Bring in the slide enough to pass the seam in the ceiling and remove the valance by pushing up towards the ceiling removing it from the french cleat bracket. put the slide back out and re-inflate the seal. You may need to remove other trim and the debris brush covering the seal to access. I only needed to remove enough screws to pull them back and access the area. If you hear the leak spray it with the leak finding solution to find the leak.

2. Once you find the area creating the bubbles you found the leak. Mine had 1 on the side (inside) and 2 on the bottom. Clean the area with 90% isopropyl alcohol and the surrounding area. You will want to deflate your seal and clean the bottom part of the seal. While you have access, clean the matting surface to make sure there is no metal debris to damage your seal again. Once the seal is clean & dry, mark the areas with a sharpie marker. I also put some marks above the seal to help me find the area again as it is hard to see the marks on the black seal. 

3. Prepare the rubberized super glue by shaking it real good. For leaks on the bottom of the seal (area that mates with the slide), place the amount you think would cover the leak on the tip of your putty knife. Apply to the leak area and try to work it in a little. You may need to bend the end of the putty knife a little due to the convex shape of the seal under vacuum. working it in may help pull some of the glue into the puncture area since it is under vacuum. I had 2 on the bottom close to each other so I covered about a 1/2" square. Take a dry paper towel to remove the excess glue. You may need to wrap the paper towel around the putty knife to get to it. Leave it alone for about 10 minutes then re-inflate placing a folded wet paper towel between the area with the glue was placed on the seal and the slide to prevent any wet glue from sticking to the slide. Check for leaks. Try reapplying if you didn't get it the first time or missed the leak. 

4. For a leak on the side the process is similar. After cleaning the area re-inflate the seal and remove the fuse for the 12V compressor. Allow the inflated seal to release enough air through the leak to still hold it's shape. At the point the air stops leaking air out of the puncture you can apply the rubberized super glue to the leak. Work the glue into the area and leave a little extra on top of the leak, but not so much that it will drip or run. Deflate the seal activating the vacuum pump to pull some of the glue into the puncture. Make sure there is no glue between the seam line and the area where the seal mounts to so the seal is not glued to itself when compressed. Wipe the area with a dry paper towel and allow it to remain under vacuum for about 10 minutes. 

This method worked for me YMMV. I'm not sure what a new seal costs, but it can't be cheap with install. This only took just over an hour to do this repair and has been holding for about a week now. This is a widely unknown method of inner tube repair many have used on cars, trucks & bicycles with regular super glue. I have used it on inner tubes holding up to 110 psi. As these seals are inflated at half that pressure, I figure it should do the trick and work even better with the rubberized super glue and combination of being put under vacuum.

Good luck with this repair should you give it a shot. Hopefully it can save you a few thousand dollars, hours of being in the shop and the overall headache of finding a location to do the repair. 

   

Hey, does anyone know what this taped off wire is for?  It is in the rear, passenger bay, back where the coach batteries are, just next to the engine.  I have a 1998 DD series coach.  It looks like it should be attached to the thing in front of it, but it is detached and it is electrical taped off.

Thanks in advance.

Hello all, 
My coach is a 1999 and the Aqua Hot system needs replaced (everything is bad and manifolds leak). Last I checked this is a $15,000 plus project. Are there any reasonable alternatives to the Aqua Hot System or do I just have to grin and bare it and spend the $$$$?

Hi guys,

I have purchased a 1986 Newell. I recently sold my Wanderlodge so I am somewhat familar, but not with Newells specifically. I am cursed with the urge to "save" these things.
The coach is five hours away which complicates things some what.

The problem as of now is that:
(1) the coach doesn't build air pressure, it started to build pressure but then nothing, 
also, and possibly related, 
(2) the alternator does not charge. 
I am hoping that this is just a thrown belt/belts I didn't have time to check but I did smell burnt rubber and they would be older as the coach has sat for a few years
(3) The generator started and then after about 5 minutes it died. The generator gauge cluster shows that the fuel is propane (is this possible?) and the propane is empty.
There doesn't seem to be any slide catch by the gen slide in/out valve, instead there is just a clip pin in the bumper (is this normal or am I missing something) is there anywhere else I should be looking for the slide catch?

After 26 years, the bedroom slide seal gave out and blew out over a 3” long section.  It gave perfect service, but it was time to replace as I did not want to have it taped up any longer.
I was able to go to Tom’s house to do the repairs, many thanks Tom.  Tom had never done a bedroom slide, so he was very interested in helping and seeing it all go down.
Trying to follow others directions on the forum, but I ran into a snag almost immediately because mine was different than any others that were reported.  Although similar in functionality of the control system, the design was different and required a few special procedures.  Here is the general outline:
1.       Purchased seal, 3/16-18 rivnut driver tool, and aluminum rivnut from Newell as well as E-6000 adhesive and seal splice plate.   I used a stainless flat head screw with hex drive about 1-1/4 long to mount the splice plate.
2.       Remove the bedroom shade outside the coach and place on top with padding.  Due to preload, we had to tie it to keep from falling down to the passenger side wheel well.  Toms lift came in real handy for this activity as well as seal re-install, I highly recommend having access to this.
3.       The valence above the bed needed to be removed.  This is a 2 person job because it is awkward, I don’t recommend trying to do this by yourself.  It lifts off of Newells homemade z bracket. 
4.       Because my back wall could not come in 3” or so from its normal position due to interference with the closet door trim, removal of the padded wall aft of the bed was necessary to pull the slide in the required amount.  There are only 2 screws that hold it in to the closet framing but the night stand and headboard had to be removed first.  Other people did not have to do this step, so you may not have to depending on your build.
5.       When the access panel was removed from underneath the bed, another surprise was waiting to be found.  The mechanism was a design that was different than others documentation.  So I guess it is true that no two Newells are alike.  The access door under the bed only left access to the limit switch that was at full extension.  This made the removal of mattress, mattress board and bed lift actuator necessary.  It helped having 2 people do this as well because the parts are very awkward.  All that is left is the outside frame of the bed at this point.
6.       Now you have to lay on your back, and with very limited access from near the headboard you can lay on your back and see the slide “in” stop bolt and the limit switch bracket, both of which need to come off to pull the slide in for seal access.  Before you remove the bolt (it holds the limit switch touch point bracket and also acts as a physical stop), you should measure from the end of the bolt the welded on bracket that holds the bolt so you will not disturb the slide adjustments. The only tool I can think of for this is a dial caliper using the depth measurement function.  Take all readings in the same manner as you want consistent measurements.  Nobody wants extra holes in their slide top!  I was able to put a box wrench on the head of the bolt and rest it up against the bottom of the bed understorage so that would not move when I untorqued the nut on the end.  Do not turn the jam nut, it is your adjusting mechanism.    When reassembling, reverify your measurement to insure you did not turn the jam nut. 
7.       Don’t pull the slide in any farther than you have to for seal removal clearance.  It helps to have someone look on the outside while you do this.  Since it has a little delay from when you hit the retract button, go slow, very slow as you don’t want to over-retract more than you have to.
8.       Remove the seal.  Since mine was original they did not use any adhesive and was a very easy removal.  Remove the hose for filling and disconnect from the coach tubing above and aft of the tag axel wheel well.  It has a clamp on a push on barbed fitting. 
9.       In the center of the slide, you will need to cut away the seal retainer (its plastic and cuts easily with an oscilating saw) a little longer than the splice plate to allow for a transition of the seal splice.
10.   Install new seal without any sealant compressing the seal as you work your way around especially at the corners.  Cut the seal long enough so that you can fold it over for the entire splice plate on itself.  Measure 3 times and cut to final length only once, twice is not enough.    At the splice plate, I removed the dovetail portion of the seal (be careful not to cut too deep, there is no room for error unless you want it to leak).  You don’t have to be exactly flush cut, but I would be kind of close as you want the splice plate to clear the slide on height after complete.
11.   I did a trail run of bolting up the seal plate to make sure that I was all set.  Then removed seal plate.
12.   I cleaned the inside of the seal ends with rubbing alcohol to remove the powder that was in there.  Then I applied the adhesive to each end of the seal, double backed the seal on itself and installed the seal plate and tightened the bolt.  I was able to keep the splice plate square to the seal by using a block that was up against the slide to keep it from rotating.  Mine was ½”, but depending on how far you pull in the slide yours may be different thickness. The adhesive dries pretty fast and is very runny.  You should have adhesive remover on hand in case you need it.  It is pretty tough not to make a mess…..  Tom did pretty good with the caulking gun, he did this action before.
13.   Since there was no adhesive all the way around, I did not feel the need to goop it up everywhere, so small amounts were applied every 9”-12” or so around the seal in the groove after I pulled up a small section for a little dollop.   It is hard to control the outflow of the sealant from the tube, so be quick and waste some in a rag.  It is better than making a huge mess.  We used about ½ of a tube, wasting probably half of it due to dripping after the fact. 
14.   We let dry overnight and reassembled the next day in reverse order. 
15.   Go slow and you should be fine.  Be very careful with all of your adjustments, don’t press the limit switches at the wrong time and you should not have any extra bonus holes in your slide!
Good luck                        

Ok, I need a pro tip.  I’d love for someone to show me what is the ultimate setup for removing vibration from my aux compressor.  I have so much vibration I can feel it laying in bed.  Not quite bad enough to wake me, but it’s close.

I have a board stuck to the bay floor, rubber dampers from board to compressor.  I’m running a little California Air unit that is not as quiet as a Thomas, but it’s a fraction of the price.

Thought I was going to have 50 amp this trip at the spot we were going to, but there was a lot of tree trimming to do to get to the spot where the plug was put in so we parked in our usual spot where we have 15 amp.  I generally plug in to that when I'm not running the A/C and have a question.  I go into my settings on my Magnum Inverter to change my AC input amps from 30 down to 10. When I then go back onto generator power I"m assuming I need to change that back to 30 again or does that AC input setting only have to do with power that I'm plugging into.  

Would be infinitely easier if I could leave in on 10 vs. remembering to change it back and forth, but don't want to screw something up.

My brother-in-law has worked on lots of generators before and I would like to help him remove the generator and replace the exhaust ‘rope’ that keeps the smell out of the coach (hopefully that’s all it is).  We were going to rent a portable engine hoist - what all is involved in this procedure please?  I don’t see anything like this on the forums after doing a search (but it never works for me)…

Anyone know what this thing is called? It’s below the starter. I think it must have come loose and fell out…

I noticed my coach was leaning right (not in a conservative way) … I went through a bunch of threads and found Richard’s most useful information and a list of questions.  I have included the questions and my answers below.  
Can someone please point me to a thread that shows how to adjust the FRONT ride height? 

With the engine running, and the coach in travel mode: 
Does the coach come to the proper ride height? No, rear both 12” front: 14” (need to come
What pressure do you read on the pressure gauges at the front? 100 on Supply; 115 on Brake
If the coach does not come to the proper ride height please describe what it does. 

• The front is too high in the front on both sides (14”)