Shakedown Cruise

Topic: Shakedown Cruise (Read 1784 times) previous topic - next topic

Shakedown Cruise

July 10, 2011, 07:36:44 am

We left Nacogdoches with our "new" 2002 U320 on Thursday afternoon. Overnighted in McKinney at MCD so they could measure us for cockpit shades that could be installed on a later return trip. Late start after finally getting a measurement, and made it to Amarillo Friday evening. Water fill valve installed at MOT still appears not to be working. Sigh. Pushed all the way to Leadvile, Colorado ... a long day on the road that I hope not to repeat. Our "shakedown" issues seem to be minor, for the most part ... mostly the learning process of any "new" coach. I want to say that Mike Rodgers at MOT is just the best guy. He has been fielding questions from us on a 4X daily basis ... overheating, possible bad fuel (or algae in the tank from the coach sitting ... it had an expired January '11 sticker in the window), dash air issues, water fill valve not working, etc. I am the first one leaving a message on his cell in the morning, and he patiently calls back and offers help in a way that someone who does not speak "mechanic" can understand and relay to my hearing impaired husband. He never says,"I don't know." and if he thinks of something else, he calls again! I looooove him!!

So ... we need to put in some fuel stabilizer (and change the filters?), monkey with the water fill valve, investigate the dash air issue AND ... AND!!! our MAGNUM OPUS MIRACLE TOILET has decided to have vacuum issues. We are flushing "manually" (thank goodness there is that option) and I continue to trouble shoot. The good news is that Steve & Michelle are Magnum Opus Professionals, and have been coaching me while I have manual in hand. We ask for all good thoughts and prayers that we achieve a toilet healing and I do not have to take the think off of the floor!!! Yikes.

The fun never stops. Here in Leadville the scenery is gorgeous and the mosquitoes are the size of hummingbirds.

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #1 – July 10, 2011, 08:45:13 am

Oh yes, the joys of the break-in period. I'm sure you'll love the coach once you figure out all of it's little quirks. We use Bio-Medic in our fuel tank. I picked up two bottles at MOT when we were there. It kills the algae in the tank and then eats it and you don't have to change the filters, or at least that is what they advertise. The guys at MOT love the stuff. I haven't found it at Flying J's/Pilots/Loves. But look for it and use it. works great.

Enjoy the coach!

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #2 – July 10, 2011, 08:58:27 am

Carol,

Congrats on the purchase of your 320. I am sure you will enjoy it as much as we enjoy ours. Regarding your dash air problem, we had overlapping problems w/the dash air in our coach that I have resolved out of necessity. I have extensive experience in the automotive industry, and thoroughly understand the dash a/c systems in our coaches. If you would like to call me any time, I am sure we can sort out any problem you have.

Gregory S
(708) 715-5517
2003 Designer (Ruby)

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #3 – July 10, 2011, 11:17:52 am

Carol,

Amarillo -> Leadville! Google puts that at 438 miles. That's a long day. Glad to hear you made it safely and tell Jeff he da man!

Dori & I are just outside of Denver at Chief Hosa campground. We'll probably be here another week or so. Let us know your plans we'd love to meet up and check out your new2u coach. Plus you need to check out our post restore coach.

See ya
ken

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #4 – July 10, 2011, 11:31:26 am

Update .... Thanks to all of you who offered good vibes for the healing of our Magnum Opus toilet. We have achieved vacuum!!!! It appears to be an altitude issue. I know it takes me 3 or 4 days to get feeling better at 10,000 ft ... the toilet has a faster recovery than I do, apparently. Fingers crossed that it has really healed itself!!

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #5 – July 10, 2011, 12:49:38 pm

Carol that climb on 287 from FW to Amarillo is a about 2500 foot climb. When we made that same drive last month in 100 + degree temps. We were pulling a car hauler. Our temperature gauge was very unhappy with us. It took some investigation to figure out the cause but we are good to go now.

Driving our new coach home to Arizona was one of the most exciting adventures I have been on in a long time. We look forward to many trips like it and meeting up with all of you along the way.

I have been driving MH's since I was 17. I started with my Father's 32 foot Apollo. This FT is the easiest rig to handle on the road and most fun to drive.

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #6 – July 10, 2011, 10:31:45 pm

Toilet had a relapse ... may have to repeat therapy. It does not like the altitude. Our water fill issue that was supposedly fixed at MOT with the installation of a new water fill valve now appears to be an intermittently faulty check valve going into the fresh water tank. Sigh. I got it to work for about 10 minutes this afternoon ... and then it closed again. We will have to take off the whole side panel in the utility bay to access it ... and hope we can find the replacement part! Why is Steve so far away??? Waaaaah!!

Mike Rodgers troubleshoots over the phone on Sundays. I love him.

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #7 – July 11, 2011, 08:33:25 am

Oh ... and this morning the Black & Decker Spacesaver hanging coffee maker has ceased to work. Dunno what RV god I have managed to irritate. Cleverly, I always carry a trusty stove top percolator! I can't deal with check valves without coffee!

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #8 – July 11, 2011, 11:55:41 am

Quote from: Carol Savournin – July 11, 2011, 08:33:25 am

Oh ... and this morning the Black & Decker Spacesaver hanging coffee maker has ceased to work. Dunno what RV god I have managed to irritate. Cleverly, I always carry a trusty stove top percolator! I can't deal with check valves without coffee!

My B&D is long been removed. We, no I, always take the Bunn. DW does not drink coffee, but I need it. But I do have a Revereware stovetop percolator as a back up. My only problem with the the percolator is that I sometime boil it over

Glad you are enjoying the new coach

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #9 – July 11, 2011, 05:19:34 pm

B&D came with the coach ... not my favorite. I am not really weeping. Have another in mind already!

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #10 – July 11, 2011, 05:27:44 pm

"Shakedown Cruise" Is that the trip after the shakedown (and turn upside down to empty the pockets) at the dealer/service site?

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #11 – July 11, 2011, 05:30:08 pm

Quote from: Carol Savournin – July 10, 2011, 10:31:45 pm

Toilet had a relapse ... may have to repeat therapy. It does not like the altitude.

Carol,

We were talking with Mary Lou and Darrell this morning - they mentioned having a Vacuflush in their '07 Nimbus and how it doesn't do well at altitude, or at least hasn't since the first year or two. They are using the manual flush capability here in Santa Fe. They were not aware of the maintenance recommendation to replace the duckbill valves every 3 years.

This is our second visit to Santa Fe and we haven't had a problem attaining vacuum at this elevation. We do have an issue with the pump taking longer than normal this trip, but it's the original pump and bellows in our '03. The extended pumping times started before we got to elevation.

After Bill Brown had trouble with his pump (also in an '03) tripping the 12V breaker and commenting how much quieter and quicker his new pump is, we found there is an upgrade from the "s" pump to a whisper "w" pump. It includes a new bellows as well (different design). Our upgrade kit is enroute from Sealand VacuFlush Toilet Parts, RV Toilets, Dometic RV Commodes, Vent Filters and should be here tomorrow. I'll bet there will be a "how to" post from Steve once he's done.

Since it's a bit of a "crappy job" (sorry

), I think I'll find something else to do, like take a class at Southwestern Cooking School, classes, and chiles- Santa Fe School of Cooking,

Michelle

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #12 – July 11, 2011, 05:59:52 pm

Way to "bail out" on your hubby, Michelle!! A very prudent plan, showing good judgement and an excellent sense of self-preservation! Our Magnum Potty is trying it's best to maintain. Just needs a little babying. We will certainly look forward to seeing the upgrades available. We are also looking forward to a new check valve (it opened for us this morning and we managed to get water into the tank and are now running on city water! We met Gayle and Jim McNeece yesterday (they were staying at the Elks Lodge in town) and Jim opined that, "These coaches are just houses that live through an earthquake every time you drive down the road." Gives me a whole different perspective on handling repair issues when they inevitably arise.

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #13 – July 11, 2011, 11:11:37 pm

payback......the lawnmower pic.....

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #14 – July 12, 2011, 08:29:05 am

Quote from: Steve & Michelle – July 11, 2011, 05:30:08 pm

Quote from: Carol Savournin – July 10, 2011, 10:31:45 pm
Toilet had a relapse ... may have to repeat therapy. It does not like the altitude.

Carol,

We were talking with Mary Lou and Darrell this morning - they mentioned having a Vacuflush in their '07 Nimbus and how it doesn't do well at altitude, or at least hasn't since the first year or two. They are using the manual flush capability here in Santa Fe. They were not aware of the maintenance recommendation to replace the duckbill valves every 3 years.

This is our second visit to Santa Fe and we haven't had a problem attaining vacuum at this elevation. We do have an issue with the pump taking longer than normal this trip, but it's the original pump and bellows in our '03. The extended pumping times started before we got to elevation.

...clip...

Since it's a bit of a "crappy job" (sorry ), I think I'll find something else to do, like take a class at Southwestern Cooking School, classes, and chiles- Santa Fe School of Cooking,

Michelle

I had a Sealand VacuFlush on our boat. We did full-time for 2 years and summers for 5 more.
IMHO, 3 years on a set of duckbills is stretching it. If not used full-time, annual maintainence of them would help. I fought the vacumn generator/toilet connection for several years. The vibration of the boat and the action of the pump would shake the connection too much and break the vacumn seal. Clamping everything down and a new seal and pipe into the vacumn tank finally fixed the problem. (I sold the boat so the new owner will have the pleasure in a year or two).

HTH

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #15 – July 12, 2011, 11:43:07 am

Carol & Jeff,

Sorry to hear about your breaking-in issues. The '95 has not done anything bad yet, even survived our recent 80 mph winds that tore through the area. We had a coach warming party at the Marina/Campground and there were lots of Oohs & Aahs. Sure is a lovely coach. Off to the UP where the coach will live until autumn on Saturday.

R.E. Fuel problem. Put microbicide in the tank and get any water out. Here is the link to the Cummings product:

http://www.cumminsfiltration.com/html/en/products/fuel/additives/microbicide.html

And the product literature:

http://www.cumminsfiltration.com/pdfs/product_lit/americas_brochures/LT32599_08.pdf

It's a good idea to change fuel filters after you have treated the tank and the additive has done it's work.

Good luck with it all.

Keith & Joyce

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #16 – July 12, 2011, 12:06:59 pm

Quote from: txforetravel – July 10, 2011, 08:45:13 am

We use Bio-Medic in our fuel tank. I picked up two bottles at MOT when we were there. It kills the algae in the tank and then eats it and you don't have to change the filters, or at least that is what they advertise. The guys at MOT love the stuff. I haven't found it at Flying J's/Pilots/Loves. But look for it and use it. works great.

found a listing at Amazon.com -- Amazon.com: BIO MEDIC FUEL STERILIZER-QUART: Automotive

1-Qt treats 250 Gallons.

As an Amazon Associate Foretravel Owners' Forum earns from qualifying purchases.

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #17 – July 12, 2011, 12:36:06 pm

Might want to check out lucas oil online, sponsored by appliancezone.com. BioMedic 1 gal. $37.48 + $7.95. jc

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #18 – July 12, 2011, 12:46:41 pm

Tried to purchase bio-medic from Lucasonline and they wanted an adtitional $25 shipping for hazard material shipping fee. Got it from amason. no such fee DAN

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #19 – July 12, 2011, 02:34:43 pm

on the subject of toilets....

Give me a SeaLand any day...

Press the pedal to flush

Lift the pedal to fill bowl

Works flawlessly every time all the time

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #20 – July 12, 2011, 03:07:33 pm

I had ordered before I read your post, thirty minutes later I got the ole $25 dollar hit, cancelled, called an outfit by the name of discountfleetsupply.com they did not have the haz. charge, the total is $50.96 gal., I hope!!! jc (subject biomedic)

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #21 – July 12, 2011, 03:33:05 pm

Karma (do not know how to send it) to Ron Sedgley for the tip on Amazon for the bio medic. $25 savings on the hazard material shpping fee. Dan

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #22 – July 12, 2011, 04:39:53 pm

Quote from: George Stoltz – July 12, 2011, 02:34:43 pm

on the subject of toilets....

Give me a SeaLand any day...

George,

Vacuflush is a Sealand toilet, just not a gravity one. Vacuflush is the technology. When the floorplan and waste tank configuration don't allow the toilet to be directly above the black tank, something like the Vacuflush is needed to get "from point A to point B".

Michelle

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #23 – July 12, 2011, 04:54:35 pm

Just learned something today. Thanks, Michelle.

Re: Shakedown Cruise

Reply #24 – July 13, 2011, 12:53:55 am

George ... I gotta tell you that I am a huge fan of simple toilets. These electric ones make me nervous! I have learned the "manual" procedures now, though, and I am feeling less threatened by the technology. They are powerful things, though! As Michelle said,"These toilets could flush a small child." Whooom!!

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