I have a handful of questions as I've been thinking about our upcoming trip back to Phoenix from Nacogdoches and figured one chaotic post would be better than multiple. I think I know enough to get the coach on the road each morning, and setup in the evenings, but that's probably the extent of my knowledge. The coach in question is a 2001 U320 4010.
So without further ado:
- Do the brake lights come on when the transmission retarder is active and you take your foot off the gas?
- Does the engine charge the house batteries or is it only the generator?
- Does the Aquahot also shutoff when the fuel tank reachs 1/4 full (like the generator)?
- Does anyone have a copy of the HWH leveling system operating manual? A search pulled up the installation manual but I need a dummy's guide to using it.
- Does anyone have a 'pre-flight' checklist I can use before hitting the road each day?
- What am I not considering for our maiden voyage home?
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Have you exhausted the available online learning resources? Many of your future questions will be answered therein.
start [ForeForums Foretravel Motorcoach Wiki] (http://wiki.foreforums.com/doku.php)
https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?action=media;sa=album;in=165
Foretravel Motorhome technical help and information links (http://web.archive.org/web/20191218073247/http://www.beamalarm.com/foretravel-links/foretravel-technical-help.html)
Brake lights come on with the retarder. If the retarder switch is on and the stick back a notch or more retarder comes on when you take you foot off the throttle (or when the cruise control does). I leave the stick off.
Engine alternator charges start batteries and house batteries through the OEM isolator when it is running, maybe replaced with another device.
If you run the generator and you have the inverter/charger on then 120v generator power will charge house batteries through the charger. As wired OEM the start batteries are not charged by the generator.
AquaHot will shut off if it is fuel starved but not at some tank level. Generally speaking 60-70 gallons is a practical minimum fuel level. At 100 gallons left I am looking. I rarely get below 80.
I do have the HWH manual, I will attach it.
Preflight check list, good idea.
Best move on your way home is to go somewhere close by for a couple night and try everything out. Several times. The call MOT for help as needed or return if needed. Leave with a slack schedule if possible. Maybe 300-350 miles a day at least at first.
I do search before asking questions but as I'm sure you know, it's easier to find something once you've seen it before. I was not aware of the Wiki though, that's good stuff. I had also pretty much given up on Beamalarm.com since MOT took it over but the archive.org trick is a good one that I'll bookmark for future use. Thank you
Thanks Roger, that's great stuff.
Good point, we're hoping it's ready for pick up Friday so we'll shoot to stay close that night. Unfortunately there's not the usual slack in the schedule that we're accustomed to so, barring any issues, we'll have to hit the road Saturday and make the push home over the weekend.
Looks like clear sailing (no rain), but pretty strong cross winds in W Texas on Sunday. By Monday all calm again.
You will earn your "motorhome driver's license" on that drive.
Have always found this weather site helpful in planning driving and/or sailing trips:
Ventusky - Wind, Rain and Temperature Maps (http://www.ventusky.com/?p=31.0;-103.6;5&l=wind-10m&t=20201213/1800)
How have I never heard of this website before? This is awesome, thanks.
Realize that along your path home. Many owners live. The owners map can be helpful.
Look up the instructions for being towed
Ensure your insurance covers windshield.
That you have towing coverage.
Keep track of fuel buys. Just incase bad fuel shows up.
Your not in a race ever!, I watched a utube video showing the coach doing 75 mph towing a toad. Thats nuts!.
Weather wins always!
Do not allow people inside your coach. There will be a time and place down the road.
Have a spare key made for every key. Have an entry key located outside coach to prevent lock out.
Learn the knee check of doors. Have clear gorilla tape. To use if door keeps opening.
Go to the goodwill in Nacogdoches. Get some towels. Emergency rags = these towels.
Buy a container of decreased hand wipes.
Check windshield wipers. Work, stop, condition.
Check headlights and all lights at night! Try to not drive at night. Remember marker lights.
Check mirror's for position. Thru windshield or thru side window.
Remember people can see inside. Remember you by ownership are saying "I have money". Think about it!
Check tires when cold!!
Expect to run generator while driving, for roof ac units. Yes I know its winter. Its also over 80 in Texas and the engine heat is warming the bedroom.
Expect everything to fall on floor or ..... but stuff away or in sink.
The cup holders do not hold drinks!! You will launch a drink at your door.!
Learn where emergency window is, how to open. If a fire, grab yourself, other's get out. Always! Fumes will kill, before you know it.
Always look under your coach when you stop, leave. Learn colors. Raw diesel smell, rear lube, hot brakes, electrical fire smell. !
Have 1 place for important papers, receipts.
Don't be shy when you have questions. There are no stupid questions. Questions are how we all learn.
Put your home county, state in your information on member profile.
Check dash lights, get spare bulbs from fot while in Nac, use member discount. Door struts also.
Learn what is normal!!
Have fun!
Welcome Mark
The green light means you have a Pm. Hint!
welcome!
Consider silverleaf VmSPC (Roger Engdahl from forum can help configure and sell you the system) - search function will bring up a LOAD of info on the system, low cost (relatively) and LOADS (more than OEM gauges) of info from the VmSPC - plus easier to interpret while driving.
x 2 on drink holders are awful, I bought "inserts" from a Forum member (DJ and Jane) that he prints on his 3D printer, and they are amazing. A must have for every owner in my opinion
just found the cup holder thread via "search" on the forum - "Search" feature on foruim is your friend, try it first for immediate answers, lots of great info there, try it out and you wil see what I mean.
As mentioned, DJ from the forum prints these cup holders- here is the original thread - PM (private message) DJ to order, they are again, very inexpensive for what you get...
Tim
"What am I not considering for our maiden voyage home?"
HAVE FUN!!!
You are like me ...a newbie that has asked LOTS of questions, because there is ALOT of moving parts on these coaches.
The one topic that most concerns me is the bulkhead issues.....BUT that may be just me.
What we discovered almost immediately on the first outing was to be VERY careful with the awning out. Any wind bursts or sustained winds will cause havic with the awning including throwing it up over the coach...
I have learned A TON on this site, especially about winterization here in Canada...
Again.....welcome to the "brotherhood!"
Elliot, You said you were leaving Nac on Saturday and making the trip over the weekend. I am not sure if you mean completing the 1220 mile trip in two days or not, but I would suggest you will be over fatigued if that is your plan.
600 miles in a day is tough in a motorhome especially if you are new to driving one. My maximum miles in a day was 675 and I was wiped out. That day ended up at my home and no driving the next day. When I first started driving my coach 350 was my max and that would leave me rather tired.
Of course you may be more experienced and will handle the miles just fine. I just wanted to suggest you plan for at least 3 or 4 days of travel.
Fatigue will open you up to pilot error at the worse possible moment
#6 Take the loop around El Paso.
Pamela & Mike
Excellent list above from Mark! One of his points (checking things at every stop) stands out to me as Very Important. Walking around the coach, looking at everything, being alert for unusual odors, opening the engine hatch to check for leaks, frayed belts, etc. Catch problems early!
A non-contact infrared laser thermometer is a handy tool. You can use it to check the temp of tires, brakes and axle hubs. You are looking for the "outlier" - the one that is markedly different from the rest. Tire temps will vary considerably during a long daily drive, but they should all be fairly consistent. A tire or wheel that is HOTTER than the rest is a red flag warning. Low pressure? Brake dragging? Impending bearing failure?
You can also use the thermometer to see if your engine block pre-heater is working, and to gauge how well your air conditioners are performing. Fridge/freezer temps? I get mine out sometimes and just walk around shooting random stuff for fun. "What is the temp of our dog's nose?"
https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=Infrared%20Laser%20Thermometer
ABSOLUTELY, THE WAY TO GO AROUND EL PASO
El Paso Bypass Using 375:
I-10 westbound
Take exit 34 to 375 north on the east side of El Paso
Right on U.S. 54 for a short distance
Left on MLK/3255 turns into NM 213
Left NM 404
Right on I-10 exit NM 162
FYI:
You can disconnect the brake lights coming on with the retarder.
Personally it doesn't bother me to have them deactivated, because I always have my foot on the brake pedal if I am stopping hard enough to require brake lights.
Three reasons I don't like them coming on with retarder:
1st, every burp in the road, they kick the cruise control off. Sure, you can turn retarder switch off, but then you go flying off an off ramp, and forget retarder is off.
2nd, My jeep tow brake (Roadmaster invisa brake), activates off the brake lights, so every time my brake lights kick on, it hits the Jeep brakes
3rd, everytime I'm towing my race car trailer, same thing, every time the retarder hits, it hits the brakes on the trailer. Again, any serious braking, I have my foot on the brake pedal anyway, so the brake lights are going to come on.
Cheers
Chris
P.S. We have the blinking 3rd brake light option installed. Can you imagine how confusing it would be for someone following, if it activated every time the retarder kicked on in heavy traffic.?
Elliot, copy this link to the way back machine before google eliminates it. This engine contains almost all of BeamAlarm's original content, and this page contains almost all you'll need to get going, and should answer your pre departure checklist concerns. Welcome aboard. Woody.
Guide to using a Foretravel (http://web.archive.org/web/20200111051641/http://beamalarm.com/Documents/guide_to_using_a_foretravel.html)
Thanks Chuck, couple of links I wasn't aware of either
Chris
Hmmm.
Chris - do you have a joystick on your retarder?
I leave the retarder joystick in the "zero" position with the retarder switch in the "on" position. The retarder in my coach is linked to the brake action - so it is always working whenever I step on the brake. In that way the retarder augments the brake, and has no effect on the operation of the cruise control. If I need additional braking or want to brake via retard only, I take my foot off the accelerator and reach down and pull the joystick back through its range of (I think) 6 progressively harder retarder application.
Net, I have my retarder switch on and control via the interconnect between the retarder and brake system, and use the joystick to "override" the brake control of the retarder to add more retard than the brake system alone is calling for.
Does your retarder work in a different manner in your 1997? I have only had a 1999 and 2000 with retarder and they both worked in this manner on those coaches.
And the vast majority of the content actually originated on the Yahoo Group and here on the forum, so you can also use the forum search to find it.
I really don't have anything to add to the excellent advise above. Just to let you know that I drove my coach from Nac to north of Chicago 1001 miles in three days going from very hot to stormy to pleasant weather with out any problems. Just a nice ride home. Make sure that you have stops booked before you go! Here is an excellent site with reviews of campgrounds and their locations:
Campground Reviews - Trusted Reviews of Campgrounds & RV Parks (http://www.campgroundreviews.com/)
Keith
El Paso Bypass
Start or end at Anthony. From the north the junction at 375 and 54 is not well marked. Don't take 375 across the pass.
Thanks guys, this is all great stuff.
8-10 hours of driving per day with the 5th wheel is what we usually plan for when we need to make a big trip. That's assuming good driving conditions, alternating drivers, and that we're well rested going into it. Some days we plan for it but realize we're done after 3 hours and get off the road. I'm guessing there will be enough new stressors that we aren't able to put on the same kind of miles but we'll see. We can flex our timeline if it comes to it, our employers are used to us calling in from coffee shops.
It's been a while since we've been pushed outside our comfort zone and I can't say I have missed it!
my guess is you will find the Foretravel MUCH more relaxing to drive than a fiver after your first day of fear and trepidation....
Congratulations and safe travels Elliot!
Everyone here has experience that first trip and you will never forget it. In the beginning FT ownership is like trying to drink from a firehose. It can seem overwhelming but it gets easier.
Lots of advice has already been given. As it's your first trip... don't rush the delivery at MOT. Take detailed notes because you won't remember everything. Get the after hours-phone number incase you have issues over the weekend on your way home.
Make sure you sign up for Coach-net or something like it before you leave MOT. It will be priceless if you need help during your travels.
Make sure you have a truck tire pressure gauge, a jug of oil and a jug of coolant just in case.
Check air pressure and fluid levels in the mornings before you get underway.
When I arrived at MOT for my PPI I had never seen a FT in person and had never driven anything as large. Mel drove me up my soon to be my coach in his golf cart. I got out and stood in front of it, obviously speechless and a bit terrified. Mel smiled and told me they look bigger in person. ;D
Fellow Foretravelers and Forforum members Len and Marylin were having their coach serviced at MOT that day. He gave me some great advice before I headed back to NC:
1. Point your left leg at the at the painted road lines on the left and your right leg at the lines on the right.
2. Stay out of the fast lane and don't let anyone rush you for any reason.
3. Keep your eyes focused far ahead, not right in front of the coach.
3. Keep your eyes on a swivel, scanning left and right and your gauges.
Enjoy and safe travels!
Thanks Tom
We do have a joystick. But even in zero position, it activates the brake lights, kills the cruise.Drove me crazy at 1st. I would imagine the reason is, because the earlier models had a switch only, and the joystick was an optional.
This one was probably installed at the dealer.The reason I know is because it ties into the brake light via a harness. The factory made it up for the add on which goes down to the lower side compartment, using a relay to activate brake light switches. I installed probably 10 of them at the Coeur d Alene store as a tech.
I would imagine, FT started wiring them into the harness standard on the later models.I believe later models had the relay above by the floor by the steering column as part of the harness. I could be wrong, but pretty sure from 98 up, the joy stick was standard. Don't know for a fact.
Thanks for the info
Chris
Makes sense now
Think you'll handle it fine! Much more relaxing than driving any other Motorhome or 5th wheel I've been in. Bounder I had could only do about 6 hrs. I've driven mine 10+ hrs on consecutive days many times. Headlights are notoriously bad but I think yours had the headlight conversion so maybe it's better. If your cruise doesn't work or keeps turning off it's probably because the retarder joystick is not in the 0 position. (Ask me how I know). Welcome aboard its a great ride!
We've done Houston to indy in 2 days and Indy to Houston in 2 days, a couple of times.... Not a problem just long days.. we've also done Houston to Custer sp in South Dakota there and back, coming home I was fighting a cold front moving with me so lots of wheel work, 16 hour days both ways........ when you still work , like we do, you have to do what you have to do to enjoy your coach....sometimes I think the retired folks have forgot this.. it's possible just know your Limits and don't hesitate to pullover. Enjoy your new coach and welcome to the family from 18070.. oh and get your tsd card for discounted diesel.. Hope to meet ya down the road.
Keith
Ok, we got confirmation from Jeff that it'll be ready for pickup on Friday so we fly out tomorrow. What else do I need to bring with? So far I have...
- A spiral bound copy of the owner's manual (thanks Roger!)
- Magnetic cell phone mounts for the dash
- An aux to cassette audio adapter so we can listen to tunes
- Extra belts for the engine (having them all replaced by MOT and will keep the old ones as spares)
- Our TSD fuel card (good reminder Keith, thanks)
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What am I missing? We're flying in the cheap seats and only have a small carry-on so any tools I need I'll have to pickup on that end.
Cash......
Keith
#5, no metal on dash to stick to.. you coming into Houston?
Good call! Completely forgot that...and have added it
The cell mounts use 3m tape to attach to the dash, and then there's a metal plate on my cell phone case that allows me to attach it to the magnetic mount.
We're flying into Dallas to save a couple hundred bucks and heading back out that way too, I think.
masks...stay safe...
- An aux to cassette audio adapter so we can listen to tunes
I prefer no tunes while driving, I like to listen to the coach and be on alert for any unusual noises.
Absolutely agree! Especially with a brand-new-to-you coach, you need to keep your ears just as open as your eyes. Get a good idea of what your coach sounds like at different speeds. Be alert for weird or unusual noises. Later on, after you have become comfortable with driving it, you might be OK with listening to music. But I strongly vote for "No Tunes" on this first trip.
One other thing. If your rear inside dual wheels still have the short valve stems, they are very hard to reach with standard angle head pressure gauges. I have found "straight in" type pressure gauge chucks to be much easier to use on the short inner valve stems. If the rear inside wheels have extended valve stems, then no problem...although the extensions can sometimes be a
different problem.
See photo of the "straight in" type air chuck.
If you have a fairly flat surface the silicone sticky pads work well.
Elliot, I think you'll find that once on the highway, with the long wheelbase and excellent balance, you'll find that your new to you Foretravel drives just like a van. Until you take your foot off the foot feed and it feels like you're not slowing down at all.
Enjoy the ride. Excuse me, with 6 wheels that would be drive.
Congratulations on your new chapter.
Along the same lines, you should anticipate that your speed will increase very rapidly even on gentle downgrades.
Have a great trip, you are going to love it.
Richard
Elliott,
Don't forget the air hose and air chuck, to go along with the tire pressure gauge. The Milton style quick connect for the air should be in the right front bay, above the LP tank.
Congrats on your new coach. Welcome to the family.
Greg & Cathy
Well, we made it home without any good stories to tell, so I suppose that's a blessing. Five hours on the road was enough the first day but I was ready to hammer the rest of the way on the 2nd day until I realized how poor the headlights are on these things. We ended up calling it quits at dark on the west side of New Mexico and finishing the drive the next morning.
MOT was simply awesome to work with. My wife is about to start a fight with cancer and if we hadn't picked it up this last weekend, it would have been February or March before we could. Knowing that, Jeff Bowser not only got us in for a ton of service work with only four days notice, but he was able to pull Keith Risch off other projects at my request. As usual, Keith was awesome and so were the 2-3 other guys MOT threw at the rig to get it all done. Both Keith and Jeff stayed late into the evening, on a Friday night, making sure we were ready to hit the road Saturday. In addition to the slide repair, we also had the engine belts replaced, all the caliper slide pins replaced and helper springs added, the boost solenoid replaced and a few other small things I can't remember at the moment.
There are three things I've noticed since taking ownership that will need to be addressed:
1) The rear bags seem to lose air over night. It's slow and I think the aux air compressor is kicking on to compensate but I'll want to figure this out asap
2) The dash AC doesn't work. I ordered a new vacuum pump (behind the entry step) because I know mine is not engaging. Hoping that fixes that issue. (side note: MOT only has 4 more of those and they don't make the part any more, so get one now if you need one!)
3) There is a "bubble" in the roof. It's about 2.5 inches wide and maybe a foot long. Delamination possibly? It runs from the edge of the AC unit towards the driver's side. There is a corresponding line in the living room ceiling where you can see the "sub-roof?" is sagging where two pieces of wood meet. It looks like the glue may have just let go a little bit, it's still sturdy though. It's subtle but obvious once you notice it. The bubble in the roof scares the hell out of me and I'm still trying to understand how big of an issue it is.
Thanks again for all the advice as we've been going through this process. Pic below is our first night dry camping somewhere east of Abilene TX
(https://i.imgur.com/y30f2gg.png)
Glad you made it all in one piece.
My U320 has the original headlight setup, and I have not driven at night with them, but if you say yours is bad, and it is the Headlight mod which I see in the pic, MINE must be really terrible.
Thanks for the advise of the vacuum pump as my dash air does not work well either. My boost solenoid also requires changing...which I am doing in the spring along with the isolator
Best of luck, and "fight the beast"!! Cancer can be beat....
Regards
Peter
Congratulations on your new coach. It is really good looking. As for the probable roof leak, there is essentially nothing on these coaches that can't be fixed with a bit of time, effort and $$.
Good luck in your future adventures. I will offer a prayer for you and your wife in her up-coming cancer battle.
Richard
That makes sense. Neither Keith nor myself caught the bubble in the inspection even though I watched him go up there and look at everything, but I did notice the slight sagging in the living room. We kind of shrugged it off as an unknown. However, it rained hard the night we picked it up so I bet water is entering near the AC unit and making that bubble appear as it runs towards the edge of the coach. Ugh.
And thank you both for the warm wishes for Kim
Congrats on your new coach glad you made it home safe.
Best wishes for you and especially your wife as you deal with the cancer.
Hope Kim has a speedy recovery! Congrats on the coach.
I drove my u320 36 from TX to WA. I quickly learned about speed and everything moving in the Motorhome! I found that the speed limit signs and corner recommendation signs are the ticket. Do what they say and relax! Now on the bike, 9 over speed limit on straight roads and twenty over corners suggestions as long as it does not exceed 9 over speed limit. Been doing it for years. No tickets, no accidents. But that definitely did not work for the motor home!
I don't think you should push any harder than that in the coach.
Congrats on the coach, Take care of the Kim. Projector headlights are the fix. Stop the leak, always better to get ahead of problems on everything. Looks good already using it!
Scott and Kim
Great to hear y'all got home to Phoenix without issue. Your coach is a real looker. ^.^d
We're hoping Kim has a 100% recovery.
Greg & Cathy
Yay!
So I know it was a short rushed experience driving home, but was it more enjoyable than the dragging the fifth wheel? Perform as you expected? Those first hours were quite exciting or terrifying for me. I also had a couple more issues going on but was very Pleased with my purchase. Hope yours is the same. Again good looking coach.
Scott
Definitely more enjoyable than the 5th wheel, especially in traffic. The transmission retarder is the bees knees once you figure it out. I'm a pretty big dude at 6'2" so the bigger, more adjustable chair with a more upright position and taller windshield really helped too. As for my wife, she couldn't have been more happy lounged out in the big leather captains chair riding shotgun.
Like you though, the first few hours were stressful. The roads out of Nacogdoches are narrow, hilly, and have a lot of construction right now so that added to it. I only had to block traffic twice as I three-point turned my way through a busy intersection :))
I have a few more questions for you guys that aren't worthy of their own threads:
- When going over rough terrain, can I hit the "raise" button on my HWH panel to give myself a bit more ground clearance? I just about dragged the tail getting into our current spot and it got me wondering.
- I am suspicious of how quickly my black tank appears to be filling up according to the dash gauge. I'd like to test how "true" it is. What happens if I keep filling it up? Will it eventually back up the path to the toilet? In the old rig I could smell it when it was getting close, is that a good litmus test here as well?
- At the very least, my AC compressor is shot. The bearings are toast and the system won't hold a charge. The shop I had diagnose it suggested that could just be the start and suggested a "full AC kit". How valuable is the dash AC? Is it worth prioritizing or does everyone end up using their roof air on hot days anyways? Is it DIYable with limited tools out in the desert?
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Thanks!
1. You can raise your coach using HWH on rough patches. I think I read don't exceed 5mph??
3. I fixed my dash A/C. It does help some but when it gets hot out (85+) and your driving into the sun you better have your roof airs running and for me I have a floor fan that sits under the one mid coach directing a/c to the front. For me it is hard to get ahead of the heat through the front windshield when you are driving into the sun so if that is the case I make sure to start the roof A/C early and try to stay ahead of the heat.
Elliot,
1) For moving slowly (I like TommyD's 5 mph) over uneven terrain, hit and hold the raise button for nearly a minute to get the coach up front and back. Continue to hold the raise button until you have cleared the area of concern. Once released, the coach will return to travel heigth.
2) My foot operated toilet is over the black tank (1995 and 2001 U320). I can shine a flashlight down the open valve and see the height of the tank. It is hard to guess how full it is until it reaches the tube from the toilet to the tank.
3) The dash A/C costs good money to fix. It never had the capacity to cool the front of the coach like the roof airs. So I just start the gen, get the roof airs back on line and go. I some times add a small fan to blow on the driver's seat while sitting on the floor. I removed the belt to the A/C compressor so no wear on the compresso bearing plus my compressor was bad.
Rudy,
Do you have to have the Aqua Hot diesel switch turned on when you are driving to use the furnace? I was thinking since the engine is keeping the boiler fluid heated and circulating it may not be necessary?
Not Rudy, but no you don't.
Elliott,
1. (others answered this very well)
2. I don't know for sure if yours will do this, but on mine the a burp occurs during flush when the level gets very high. My theory on this: the 3" drain pipe extends into the tank some distance (maybe 2-3", I'm not sure). When the level gets above the bottom of the pipe the air inside the pipe is trapped and it escapes when you flush. I believe you have a Microphor toilet so maybe the burp isn't detectable. Another thing you can try a the dump station is lifting the middle of the dump hose to a height above the top of the tank before you open the dump valve. Once the dump valve is opened it let it settle, and then slowly lower it and notice when it starts to flow (should be able hear it) into the dump station sewer inlet.
3. So yes you can do it but you will need to invest in a few things:
- Education on auto A/C systems: how it works and components, how to charge, how flush out a system, pressure test, check for leaks, etc. This will take hours of research. I think you probable need a some desire to learn it and not just to save money. It's been years since I did it but there were many good sites out there. I even bought a book on it. It can become a skill set you will be able to use for the rest of your life, if you choose to.
- Tools: a gauge set, vacuum pump, leak detector. I'm not sure how much this might add up to but be leary of cheap tools: they are frustrating to work with and often make you wish you spent the extra dollars on better tools. I think you will also need a air compressor for blowing out and flushing the lines.
- Parts: In addition to a new compressor you will almost certainly need a new dryer as well as refrigerant and refrigerant oil. I'm not sure but I think your dryer is under your dash which is quite involved to get at. Research the Forum on this to see for your year. My compressor is a Seltec which appears to be quite common. Attached are guides that shows all the possible combos these things come in. You will need to identify what you currently have installed and get the same or equivalent unit. It's possible you will need other parts too, but most likely just these two components are replaced for compressor failures. Sometimes the system can get contaminated with failed compressor bits which can clog the evaporator orifice/expansion valve causing them to need replacement too.
As an option you can see how your first summer is without dash air. My Grand Villa windshield is much shorter so less sun coming in and it was miserable traveling west in the afternoon during summer in Arizona.
Great stuff as usual, thanks guys.
You're a much braver man than I!
On a serious note, you've got me thinking I should learn how AC systems work. We'll see how quickly I can work through my list of other things to fix and maybe I'll try to tackle it next winter.
Edit: Also John, you never cease to amaze me with the archive of technical documentation you seemingly have at the ready at all times
You are missing a plethora of first hand corporate knowledge, just up the road in Quartzsite. We been known to fix stuff here too!!!
Woody.
Ay, I should have brought my to-do list out there for sure. We had one day in Q and spent it with a buddy in town do less-than-productive things. We've been at AGM the last week and have been thoroughly enjoying the margaritas in Los Algodones with friends ;D
1 Yes although I've never had a functioning HWH computer, but should be hearing from them soon
2 You can always fill with clean water to figure out.
3. Yes
A. It's a mechanical system. Must be clean and free from water. Replace all that you can to prevent contamination.
May run into issues with getting Freon but somebody is always selling some.
Tools to do this can be rented from autozone for free!
Just like fuel lines the Freon lines they now make are much better.
Read up on it and find someone that can help. They do exist.
B. To increase efficiency of the system can also be done by increasing the efficiency of the losses of cooling.
Nano window tint can reduce UV by 99% and heat gain by +40%. I did this on my suburban and am very impressed.
I will learn how to do windshields, but haven't yet. Suburban windshield was $225 and worth every penny. The coach
Probably would be $600 (guessing) $100 worth of materials
Scott
I am pretty certain the refrigerant would be 134a. Not sure about all states, but it is sold in all auto parts stores, Walmart, Northern tools, etc in Texas. And like Scott stated, many auto parts stores have gauge sets and vacuum pumps you can borrow at no cost.
Our compressor was running, but air was not cold, so borrowed a gauge set from O'Reilly and added a couple cans of 134a. Not hard to do.
On my last coach I replaced the compressor and drier, that was the easy part. Went to a cousins place as he had all the tools and we got it working. This coach was low on refrigerant and I put a couple of cans in and it was working great.
There are alternatives to freon for cooling.
Please elaborate on the alternatives. Always interest to expand my knowledge.
I am only a "Google Expert", but my understanding is Freon is a trademark used for a line of refrigerants manufactured by Chemours Company and the refrigerant most commonly used in current automotive applications is R134A which I believe replaced R12 sometime in the mid 1990s. I believe R134a is being replaced with R1234yf.
I have a 1992 truck that used R12 before I had it converted to R134a and our 1997 Foretravel uses R134a.
DayDreamer search for hydrocarbon replacements for freon, lots of info pro and con, but the refrigerants have excellent cooling properties.
Is that spelled A l a s k a ?
Have you ever noticed that when the patent runs out the old refrigerant becomes a problem with the environment
just a thought
Chris
Surprise surprise, absolutely amazing, ha! Jim
U320 42'
This topic has become a catch-all, which doesn't benefit future searches. Let's start individual new topics for unique questions going forward.