We left Mazatlán Saturday morning, and are now just outside of Cleveland. We usually take our time, traveling to and from Maine to Mexico, sightseeing and visiting friends and relatives. Due to the virus, we are making a bee line to Maine.
When I push the coach like this, around six hours a day, I remind myself what a well built, quality coach we bought. We are the fourth owners. Almost twenty years old, and I wouldn't trade it for a new one.
The problem is.....I HATE the dash air controls, and the crap window vents. Yesterday, we hit a downpour, and within minutes, the windshield was all fog. The setting for "defrost" isn't easily identified. I never know whether to run cold air or hot. Thankfully, Amy was able to wipe my window, and I rigged a cloth on a stick , while driving, so I could see my mirrors again. Of course, the rear camera was all blurry.
Don' t tell me I should have pulled off. It just wasn't an option, at the time.
So.....those with similar year units, do you have similar situations? Is there a better approach, when this happens again....and it will??
I'm all ears
I put a small floor fan on the dash to keep it clear. Along with the dash vents running on high, dash a/c on, heat on, it helps. But I've had to pull over a few times to wipe the windshield off.
But it's not just FT's. Most other motorhomes have the same problem. You get lots of humidity inside and the windshield is so large that when you hit the right temperature delta > fog happens.
Im guessing as I have never had the issue.. I guess you need to drive you coach for this to happen but I digress lol..
Maybe some rainX on the inside would help?
I would try it just to see but again I wouldnt know
First you need to apply defrost vent heat to dry the air, and punch the air conditioner button to on.
Towel along the bottom of the windshield to catch the moisture.
And a hand squeegee.
In the winter time a windshield scraper.
Fans help.
And above all, focus on driving.
Where in Maine are you heading?
I'm thinkin' a couple of fans would help. I have two mounted high and I know several guys here have mounted fans right on the dash.
jor
Cabover big windshield trucks we never went without extra fans.. Many of the truck manufacturers mounted them factory.. Same as a coach, to much glass for a typical defrost to handle .
I'll try the fan
We live just outside of Belfast Maine, close to Acadia NP
In addition to the above it helps to crack a window and open a roof vent/fan to exhaust the humid air in the coach.
Make sure you are on outside air. I found that tilting the defroster forward and then and the inside vent to the outside helps.
Turn the heat up and if your air conditioner will work, it will dry out the air. Dash fans really help.
Several times we had the defrost on high, the roof airs cranked cold to remove moisture, and Rhonda trying to keep the windshield wiped clear enough to find a place to pull over. Putting all the roof airs on high blower with the temp turned down removes a lot of moisture. One time we got caught in a snow storm in Illinois and the wipers were freezing up on top of that. Thought we would never find a place to pull over.
Our Grand Villa has a built in overhead windshield fan that is quieter than the chrome fans our previous home had and over the road truck drivers use. And it works just as well.
Windshield fans have a long history. There were engine vacuum powered and electric windshield fans before there were cab heaters in automobiles.
Having lived for so long next door in Manchester, NH. And having attended services at the UU Church in Portsmouth, the one regret is that I never made time to attend a performance at the the Kotchmar organ in Portland.
*The Kotzschmar Organ, is a pipe organ located at Merrill Auditorium in the City Hall of Portland, Maine. One of the few civic pipe organs in the US.
I love pipe organ music. Many of our church's have them but unfortunately very few have anyone left who knows how to play them let alone get them working properly.
This is a Grand Villa feature I miss. Wish Foretravel had included it in the buses We used that overhead fan all the time. Very powerful.
jor
Our newly installed fans!