For all of you Silver Leaf users out there. What gauges are you monitoring on your dashboard setup? Do you have a screen shot of your Silver Leaf Dashboard? Trying to get an understanding of what gauges are being monitored.
Thanks in advance, John M.
This is not my latest, but close. I have since added "cruise status" to the screen which gives off/on/set for the cruise control. As I have said before, I'd hate to drive without it.
George
John, here is one of the many screens that come with my VMSpc Kits.
They include:
Transmission range and gear attained.
Transmission Mode.
RPMs.
Turbo Boost Pressure.
Immediate MPG.
Road Speed.
Cruise Control Status.
Cruise Control Set Speed.
Miles.
Miles to Empty.
Fuel Remaining.
Recent (moving average) MPG.
Trip/Lifetime and Today Trip Odometers. These can be set for anything you want.
Retarder Status*
Retarder %*
Engine Load %.
Calculated HP*
Calculated Torque*
Engine Hours.
Total Fuel.
Rolling MPG. (longer moving average).
Retarder Temp with user settable indicators.
Transmission Temp with user settable indicators.
Intake Manifold Temp with user settable indicators.
Coolant Temp with user settable indicators.
Oil Temp with user settable indicators.
Oil Pressure with user settable indicators.
Start Battery Voltage with user settable indicators.
Time and Date that also shows engine and transmission codes as they happen.
* these gauges are very engine/transmission dependent.
They don't work in all coaches but are not particularly important either.
There are lots more too you could use.
You can also turn on recording functions that will capture any data you want at any sampling rate you want. This log includes date and time on each record.
Thank you Roger for helping me to get this screen. Still have to learn how to get the today box working, but that is trivial compared to the good information it provides. Never had a retarder temp before and now know it had gotten higher than I would have liked in the past.
I use the standard screen that Roger posted and is how he set mine up. Been very happy with it.
Mine is like the one Roger shows, well because I got it from him.. I like it except for some reason my transmission gear, mode and retarder temp info isn't sending info. We tried to trouble shoot it, it appears to be an issue with something in my coach...
Keith
Here's mine
Here's mine
It must be hot where you are. The engine oil & water temps are way higher than I ever see.
Here's mine from three years ago.
I removed the graphs and added a additional trip meter.
So I have total trip, this tank and since i redid the radiator controller
That was about 3 yrs ago heading back to San Diego from Yuma going up that first big hill. Was about 100 deg outside. That's the hottest it got so all was well.
I'm interested in setting this up for my coach. Where do I purchase the Silver Leaf and does it require a technician to do the install? Also, what is the approximate cost?
Thanks
Pat
This is mine, set up for today's run in Canada.
It has a second speedometer for KPH and an added large size odometer.
My main gauges are bigger and grouped so I can easily watch retarder temp, gear, and tachometer.
Ours has worked for us.
Pat, please see 2019 VMSpc ASUS PC Kits New Options Lower Prices (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=36910.0)
I have been providing complete, ready to use VMSpc Kits to Foretravel owners for several years. I also have the Siverleaf hardware available for those who want to do it themselves.
You can buy all of the component parts from Silverleaf or other sources too,
Another place as well. https://www.rvupgradestore.com/searchresults.html?Search=silverleaf&Submit=
Just need a pc or other device for the video.
Mark
I bought mine direct from Silverleaf before Roger starting selling the whole system. In hindsight I would have been better getting it from him as his support would have saved me hours of communications with silverleaf getting it set up with my own computer.
I too would have bought from Roger.
Thankfully I got mine from Some Silverleaf at Silverleaf and we set it up together for free at their facility. All good, but would have been happier getting from Roger and saving driving 2 hours each way to Silverleaf
I bought from Roger as I believe in buying local.
It was easy to install. The hardest part was laying on my back between the seat and steering column to get at the OBD port & route the cable. Everything worked right from the start. No tweaks needed.
Like to add that when not using the VMSPC in coach. The ASUS makes a great controller for my SONOS to pipe Pandora to my house stereo. As it's small and doesn't take much real estate on the coffee table.
No picture but I duplicated my normal setup except for KPH while in Canada and saved that file. VMSpc makes it easy to save and load different files if needed.
Thank you to all for your input!
John M.
John, not sure what system you have, VMSpc or Silver Leaf dash...just in case you meant the Silver Leaf dash, here's what's displayed on mine. The SL menus allow changing what data is displayed on this screen, but not able to add to it. There are several other "Drive" screens, which I don't use. This one has everything I need to monitor while underway. Woody.
Beautiful piece of technology.
That being said I hope you will understand my input.
I was in the live cockpit of a F-18 and every gauge had a red pointer that the normal operating condition had the red needles exactly vertical. Any mis alignment was a problem.
Second the Foretravel 97 dash grouped the important gauges at the top edge of the dash. Right at the bottom of the averted vision.
The beautiful electronic dash invites "heads down" looking. I almost wrecked a new bluebird looking at the metal dash with a zillion gauges and buttons and lights.
So clunky old Foretravel built as close as they could to a military grade dash.
Eyes on the road. I use averted vision on telescopes all the time. Central vision is not as sensitive.
So a dash that shows the needed info without looking down is safer. Anyone disagree?
I looked at Bob Rosen's electronic dash, Neat. Trick. Distracting.
I wonder if he did this so he could alter the speed multiplication factor to allow him to go faster than the speedo said.
His co pilot watched his speed constantly and commented if he went over 60.
Install a glass dash and you can change the factors to show any speed as 60.
Makes sense to me. And Bob I think.
Read between the lines here.
Mine is similar, I can add one more readout [where your says 103 psi] I too like the different formats.
I am now using the all digital one. Reading codes and faults are a big bonus with silverleaf.
Military rarely used digits. Takes time to translate the numbers mentally. Plus the rate of change of digits is hard to see versus a needle.
Maybe for some, Have been working on ships for years that had electronic digital readouts, so am quite used to it. Plus with silverleaf, can set parameters so an alarm sounds, or color changes, if values go outside the values you set. A big plus for most people. New technology can be daunting for some though..
NASCAR Sprint Cup teams test digital dashboard | Official Site Of NASCAR (https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2015/04/13/nascar-sprint-cup-teams-test-digital-dashboard/)
Line the alerts and alarms. Mine is on an RCA windows tablet in lower left corner of windshield. Less eye movement than looking at dash, and after a couple of hours Of use I knew where everything was and just a quick glance was all I needed.
The cruise control info, volt info and temp info invaluable on VMSPC. Plus dash oil pressure is off by 8-10 PSI vs the Cummins computer output to the vmspc. (Dash reads low)
Tim Fiedler
Gen-Pro.biz
630 240-9139
If fractions of a second count the digits are slow.
Last I read a F-18 pilot has 1200 things to monitor.
Hate looking down. Just not the safest way
Look at a 97 dash closely. Gauges grouped through the steering wheel openings. Not at random
A well designed VMSpc screen lets you see all that you need to at a glance and know all is OK. And a display placed where it is easy to see with out taking your eyes off the road for more than a glance is important too. All of us that actually use VMSpc like it. Not sure if CaFlashBob has one but he must really hate it.
Yes I have a VMSpc. My original thought when I bought the hp stream 11 notebook to run it on was to relay the notebooks screen shot to a dedicated iPad on a ram mount attached to the drivers side wooden boxes forward edge so that the iPad would be visible in the corner of my vision while driving.
I do use an iPad setup to my right on a Ram weighted base that I let run on all stays in the portrait mode with the program on hybrid so it overlays the roads over the sat view of the terrain. Self center mode so my position is always centered,
Plus I have a small garmin on a weighted base to the right of the instrument dome I leave on an never reset the mileage ran during a trip as it records the total mileage and hours and average speeds and stopped time.
If I used it to plan routes and add the next route on it will remember and I would be able to go back and follow our exact route.
But we wander sort off. The route we take is influenced by the weather and temps and the weather radar ahead,
DW will use here iPad to choose between the various routes using the windy, weather radar, gas buddy and the allstays and the campground review as needed.
So open notebook to the right on the dash running VMSpc and the iPad on the folded up trays left corner facing down the coach and the small garmin on as it has traffic info and the local speed limit on its screen.
As I posted I like the gauge layout Foretravel used. Swing needles at the top edge works very well.
For exact numbers the notebook shows the real info more accurately. The VMSpc allowed me to figure out the fan drive was stuck on high speed all the time.
Added 50 hp back to the coach and 1-2 mpg. Thanks to VMSpc.
Have not finished the drivers window valance setup yet for the iPad as we have been distracted with two remodels and my 92 year old mom staying with us for two weeks at a time..
Mostly look with adverted vision the factory VDO gauges.
The military plane had the gauges turned so it had every red pointer straight up if normal
Unlike you young boys here I have noticed my attention span is not as good as others here.
I looked closely at Bob Rozens glass dash and I(me) would not have been able to read its info with adverted vision. Just low enough I would have to look down and study the numbers displayed.
I notice the 07 Phoenix for sales glass dash seems larger? And has circular needles on its display.
Bob Rosen removed his back lit electroluminescent dash panel set which I purchased as I like the adjustable edge lighting per panel.
Bluebird also used the same kind of dash.
The retention of the stock dash was why I had my buddy have his electronic guy repair the javalena audit system.
It had a bad coil inside it's box. Now it's stable. I did replace the rear camera with a newer design with the infrared lighting from rv camera. Our coach has a right side camera from oem new which also works well.
Here is my 7" Samsung Android tablet as a remote display to my Intel NUC coach PC.
And a 10" ASUS T10HA mounted in the same place on the same mount.
I am sorry that this thread has become mostly irrelevant with regard to John Morales' original question.
All is good. Nice to see all of the different screen setups and options.
John M. 👍
Another one on a SOB.
A brody knob on an rv? Hope he doesn't use it for what it was intended.
The knob on the steering wheel. I call them a "trucker knob".
I have one on mine. I thought I would take it off when I got the coach. I still have and love it.
Craneman I am not sure what the objection is?
I remember them as a way to do extremely sharp turns very quick. The name is also known as brodie knob, don't know how it got it's name. In the dirt you could do 180's like in the movies. Seems they are now called suicide knobs.
Why are suicide knobs called so? | The H.A.M.B. (https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/why-are-suicide-knobs-called-so.321496/)
I have one of those knobs on the steering wheel of my tractor. No power steering. If one front wheel hits something solid the wheel turns that way and the steering wheel spins. And you can get quite a whack.
My 73 CJ5 had no power steering either as I recall. The guidance for driving off-road was always to drive with thumbs up on the face of the steering wheel for the same reason. Otherwise the inside arms of the steering wheel would catch your thumb, maybe break it.
We called them necker knobs, then again I was the kid your parents warned you about...lol.
John