Scotty Hutto

Congrats on the new coach. Four years ago I purchased a 2006 Dip and have been upgrading it constantly. I’ve done some of the “core” maintenance things mentioned above, but I’m a gadget guy, so a lot of my focus the last year or two has been electronics. A few of my favorites: 1. Residential Fridge to replace the NotCold. 2. New flooring 3. External keypad to lock/unlock doors (thread in “Upgrades”) 4. Full time WiFi (I used a ToGo Roadlink; probably not what I would do today - there are better options) 5. New cameras all around, multiplexer to view all cameras simultaneously on a 10” monitor. 6. Watts link and crossbars to help with stability 7. SeeLevel gauges for tanks 8. RV Whisper system to keep tabs on the coach when I’m away (see thread in “Upgrades”) 9. Micro-air WiFi thermostat to control coach when I’m there or away. 10. Currently replacing camera system with 360° camera system… more to come. (See thread in “upgrades” by @StellaTariche) 11. Upgraded all lighting to LED. 12. New TVs all around, upgraded surround sound, added Rokus to all TVs. 13. Replaced factory dash radio with double DIN Pioneer unit 14. Added dashcam for safety 15. Replaced slide toppers with Stone Vos Migliore toppers 16. New tile backsplashes in bathrooms, kitchen, and bar. 17. New faucets throughout (kitchen, both bathrooms) Currently Planned: 18. ML-ACR to replace IRD / Trombetta / Amp-L-Charge. 19. Magnum ME-MW-W system to monitor and control inverter / charging/ genny remotely. 20. Replace awning fabric with Stone Vos Migliore vinyl 21. Replace all day/night pleated blinds with day/night roller shades Those are the things I can remember, anyway… Hopefully there are some ideas you can use. Many of these (but not all) are documented in the “Upgrades” section of the site

All, Just wanted to share a recent experience with my Penguin Duo-Therm heat pumps that might help someone else... My heat pump compressor stopped operating last weekend. I went through a quick trouble-shooting process and determined that my start capacitor was bad, so I replaced the start cap. No joy - the compressor still didn't run. Pulled out the Dometic Heat Pump troubleshooting manual (available in the files section) and went through the process of checking everything with my multi-meter and couldn't find a problem. compressor, caps, relays... everything tested fine, but the heat pump compressor wouldn't run. At this point, and because I have 15+ year old heat pumps, I started thinking I needed to order two new Pengiun II units to the tune of $3,000 (give or take taxes, shipping, etc.) and just replace everything. But... I decided to go back and check the wiring one more time, and found that the run wire (blue wire in my unit) to the compressor had fallen out of the little "holder", had fallen on the axle of the fan, and been cut in two. For a short-term fix, I found some similar gauge wire and spliced it in place. Everything works fine now. For a long term fix, I will completely replace the wire once I get a chance, so that I don't have a splice. Just a reminder that: 1. Sometimes its the simple things that trip us up, and 2. Next time you have the cover off your AC or heat pump, put a $0.10 zip tie on the wiring so you don't suffer a similar fate. Scotty

As someone who doesn’t have an Aqua-Hot (😢), the wet bay heater and tank pads are a lifesaver. It took a while to get everything operating correctly. The biggest culprit on mine was the thermal fuse inside the heater. There is a great write-up on how to repair that. I bought a pack of those fuses and crimps; let me know if you need a couple. 🤣 As anectodal info, it doesn’t get *that* cold in Atlanta, so we don’t winterize. The coach stays plugged in to a 15a circuit and I have temp sensors in the coach and wet bay that send me a text if it’s getting too cold. The wet bay heater keeps the wet bay in the high 40’s low 50’s down to about 20°F. Maybe lower, but I haven’t experienced lower temps since getting everything fixed.

Betty, Based on the above comment, it sounds like one possibility is that you might be getting an alarm from the “jacks down” signal from your jacks. That is one scenario that would cause the behavior you mention. (Alarm starts when parking brake is released, stops when it is applied) When you release the parking brake, do you get any flashing lights on the jack control panel? You may also have a bad Nason switch on your parking brake air valve. That switch can go bad, and create an issue similar to the one you describe. See the following link for more about that: The good news is that this is not an expensive part, and any decent truck or RV mechanic should be able to replace it. Hope this helps!

@Bob Nodine, Quick question… Did you solder your wiring connections or use butt splices? Also, when using the winterizing wiring harness, did you create plugs and use the existing connectors, or cut the connectors off and splice/solder?

I got the 4 sensor package (the one with 3 temp and battery voltage) and added a fourth temp sensor. The base monitoring stations are all the same and very expandable; it’s just a choice of what sensor package you want to start out with I called and talked to the folks at RV Whisper and they were super helpful. Their tech support is awesome. I emailed support with a question Saturday and have a response within 5 minutes. Something else I like: when an upgrade is available they email you and ask when you would like it pushed out to your unit. They don’t want to create a problem with an unannounced upgrade I also called and spoke with tech support at SeeLevel because I wanted two displays (inside and wet bay) but only wanted Bluetooth on the inside display. They were super helpful and steered me to a way to do that in a less expensive manner. just a note: you have to have the SeeLevel 709-BTP3 to connect to the RV Whisper system.

No, I was able to use the existing wiring harness.

Sure. I thought I had more pics, but all I have is this one of the fresh water sensor: (curbside - on my coach it’s difficult to access the freshwater tank from the wet bay / roadside bay door) (The blue tape is temporary to test the sensor) I ran a 2 conductor double insulated 18 ga wire across the top of the wet bay to the gray and black sensors to tie them together. I mounted my gray and black water sensors exactly as Bob Nodine did in this post on irv2: https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/tank-monitor-135682.html#post1297224 I disconnected and removed all of the red/white existing tank sensor wiring shown in Bob’s pics. I used the existing wiring harness from the factory sensors to tie the SeeLevel sensors back to the display panel inside (and also to power the wet bay SeeLevel display) I used a Dremel tool with a thin-cut blade to remove the existing KIB sensor panel and mounted the SeeLevel panel there. Note: If you want to connect to a RV Whisper, you need to purchase the Bluetooth version SeeLevel 709-BTP3

Thanks! Bully is the nickname of my RV. The app is called RV Whisper. It’s a system that allows me to monitor temperatures, battery voltage, etc. either via internet, or if in the coach, directly. It’s fairly inexpensive. I use it to keep tabs on temps in the coach for the dog, the fridge, the batteries, and my wet bay temp. They have a lot of different sensors. What I really like is you can set up text alerts based on any sensor. Here’s their website: https://rvwhisper.com/ I have internet full-time in the coach using a ToGo Roadlink (aka Winegard ConnecT 2.0). I have a 100GB/mo data-only plan through Cricket @ $55/mo.

Finally installed my SeeLevel tank gauges this weekend. Connected the SeeLevel to my RV Whisper, and now I’m all setup to get text message alerts when my tanks get to specific levels. 😉

The ones pictured are Icon Direct. I was a noobie when I got them and just didn’t know to click the button to get the holes pre-drilled. 😜 Since these are original heat pumps (15 yrs old), the covers will likely outlast the heat pumps. PS - and you would think a mechanical engineer would know better than to order black HVAC covers. 🤦🏻‍♂️ But I did.

Thought I’d share one bit of advice and pictures of my re-do. Advice: Buy the true “AC” foam rubber mentioned in a link above. Either from Amazon or a local HVAC supply. I originally used the 1” x 1” foam insulation from Home Depot, and it disintegrated in about two years… that’s why I have a “re-do”. Since I harassed Steven about pictures, here are my before, during, and after holes drilled. I used blue painters tape to create a straight line, then makes it every 2”. I staggered the holes on each line (hard to see on a phone, but if you expand it you can see the marks) I drilled 1” holes, first with a hole saw, then cleaned up the hole with a step bit.

On city water I always have a regulator at 60 PSI, so I don’t notice any difference. Water flow at sinks and shower in most of our coaches build since the early 2000’s are *typically* controlled by flow restriction devices. Tub faucets and toilets would be the exception. I would say I don’t notice any difference in our water useage… if anything we might use a little less when using the pump… not because of pressure, but I think we’re just more conscious of water use? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Steve, There are a few documents in the Downloads (Files) section like what you mention, but none of them will be comprehensive for your coach. Unless, of course you find a list created by someone with the exact year and model coach, with all the same options. My advice would be next time you have a rainy day (or otherwise have some time), sit down with your owner’s manual (first), and creat your own maintenance list. Some use Word, some use Excel, I did mine on paper and then put it in a maintenance app that reminds me based on time and mileage. (I also use the app to track fuel mileage and the like. It’s called Auto Care, and FWIW I track generator maintenance as if it were a separate vehicle based on time and run hours). Once you’ve made it through the Owners Manual (no small task), pull out the box with all of the systems manuals and do the same. This is time intensive, I know. This process took me probably two weeks working on it periodically. The lists you find here are a great starting point, but using this process will teach you more about your specific coach than anything else you can do.

I upgraded the Shureflo in my coach to a Remco 55 AquaJet ARV. This is the pump used on upper level (Dynasty, Exec, Sig) Monacos. Much quieter and better pressure/flow than the Shureflo. Easily found on Amazon or your favorite RV parts store. I will say it was not a “drop-in” for my coach. The OEM pump was mounted vertically on the wall of the wet bay, and I chose to move the pump and mount the new one horizontally, and used 2 of the Remco 25-174 pulsation dampening hoses with right-angle fittings to connect to the existing plumbing. Whole installation, including removal of the Shurflo-flo and installation of the AquaJet took a little over an hour. The DW and I are very pleased with the results!

Mike, If it’s the hose leaving the regulator going out to the coach, reach out to me. They’re really hard to find, but when I finally found one they shipped me two. I offered to ship it back and they declined, so if it’s an exact fit, it’s yours for the shipping cost. If it’s the regulator, you can find the details on getting a new one in the parts list.

Although I love my gadgets (and when driving usually have both my Garmin and Waze running, for different reasons), I still have this and use it…

There are three types of emails you get from Monacoers: 1. Notifications for specific threads. You can sign up for these either by category or specific thread by clicking to follow (upper right on the page) a thread, a category (i.e., chassis, engine, etc.). You are automatically signed up for all threads that you post, and will automatically get notifications for any thread where you post a response. To subscribe: Click on the “Follow” button for any category or thread. Or use the method below To Unsubscribe: Click on your name in the upper right corner of the page Select “Manage Followed Conten” in the drop down Select “Topics”, “Forums” etc. on the left hand side You can add or remove any Notifications from this screen 2. Daily Digest Newsletter - this is the daily email summarizing all activity on the site. To subscribe / unsubscribe: Click on your name in the upper right corner of the page Select “Account Settings” in the drop down On the left hand side of the pop-up box, select “Newsletters” Select or unselect “Monacoers Daily Digest You can also change the format from HTML to test on this page 3. Administrative emails (typically sent by an administrator to all signed up). These are very rare (less than 1 month). I strongly recommend that you do NOT turn these off, as it is the only way the administrators have to communicate with the entire community. But… if you must: To unsubscribe from ALL site emails: Click on your name in the upper right corner of the page Select “Account Settings” in the drop down On the right hand side of the pop-up box, select “Notification Settings” Scroll to the bottom of the page and find the box titled: “Notification Types available” On the right hand side, click on the the highlighted line that says “Stop All Email Notifications” After do this, you will not receive ANY emails from Monacoers Hope that helps. Scotty

Fleetguard Filters from Cummins parts online. Shell Rotella T4 oil from Walmart

Richard, I had the same issue with my 2006 Dip. The spring in the arm that holds the blade to the windshield had lost just a bit of tension over time. I ended up replacing the arm and all was well. My wipers were made by AM Equipment, and the helped me find an exact replacement. https://www.amequipment.com/windshield-wiper-arms

There is also a generator sense wire that runs to your AGS module (if you have one). Fortunately for me, mine is in the bay next to the battery compartment, so it’s a short run from that generator sense wire to my ML-ACR (but I haven’t hooked it up yet 🤦🏻‍♂️).

Moderators Note: Some posts from this thread were split to a different thread on Lithium Batteries.

Follow-up… Upon further investigation, the white wire going to the Trombetta is a ground and does not go all the way to the front run bay (FRB). The purple wire does make it to the FRB, but after going through two connectors (one of which ties to a relay tied to the IRD), it changes to a purple/black wire by the time it arrives at the Battery Boost switch. Upon further consideration I plan to run new wiring for the ML-ACR. Since I must run new wire to have full functionality of the ML-ACR switch, I plan to run a 4 or 5 conductor cable from the battery bay to the FRB, have a few extra wires on that route, and leave the existing wiring intact.

What an elegant solution for the surge protector! Innovation at it’s best.

Might be?? I always called it an A pillar, but I don’t even recall where I got that from.