hex_nut

While you are doing comparisons, look at size 265/75R22.5. They will be slightly larger in diameter then the 275/70s you have now, but not enough to matter. The slightly narrower width will be insignificant. Toyo makes the M154 in that size and it is very popular for a motorhome tire. Richard

Matt As Beaver made the transition to Monaco ownership, they standardized with 295 mm tires on most everything. However, your vintage coach may not have room for the 295s. The 295s will be almost an inch wider and about 2 inches taller. You would need to carefully verify that you have the physical room for such a larger tire. Also, realize that you would have a significant speedometer discrepancy with the larger tires. Be careful and do much research before shelling out the money for a larger set of tires. Richard p.s. Verify the rim width on the current wheels to see if they will even accept the wider tires. If memory serves me correctly, the 295s require an 8.25 inch rim width.

Jim I don't think that is a bare copper wire. That looks like a thermostat. What looks like a bare wire is actually a capillary tube that is sensing the temperature from where ever the other end of the tube is installed. You can vary the temperature of on and off with that knob. Richard

A lot depends on how long you intend to keep the motorhome. I have done motorhomes with Henry's roll on products for a short term fix (it will last a few years). For a long term fix, I would also recommend the poly-urea spray on roofing (RV Armor, FlexArmor, etc...). Roll on roofing is cheap (a few hundred bucks), but with limited warranty. The spray on poly-urea is much more expensive (about $150 per linear foot), but often has a life time warranty. I had the front of my coach sprayed with a poly-urea bra color matched to my coach to combat the rock chip problem. I have been very happy with it. Richard

When my Southwire 40250 began to act up, I did extensive research to find a realistic replacement for the contactor. I could find nothing that would fit and accomplish the objective. Everyone else I could find that had gone through the process had eventually given up and replaced the entire unit. Sadly, replacing the entire unit will result in losing communication to the Alladin unit. I have asked in many forums about the possibility of gutting the 40250 and porting the communication components over to a newer version. All of those with far more electrical engineering experience then I have responded that it "might" be possible, but was not at all realistically practical. So, the bottom line is simple: Replacing the contactor in the 40250 is not realistic unless you have the superhuman fabrication and enginering skills to build your own surge protector ATS combination. There is a company with a listing online that will evidently build you a replacement for the contactor for $2000. But, I do not consider that realistic since a replacement with a newer version is about half that. If anyone comes up with a solution to this issue, I would like to hear it. Richard

Denny I could not find any information on the VMS 120 LC. Is that a version of the discontinued VMS PC? Richard

John The contactor for the 40250 has not been available for many years. AND, the 40250 was built before the industry standardized to the RVC protocol for communication. SO, when you replace the 40250 with a later version, you will lose the capability of communication with the Alladin system (assuming yours still works). The 40350 and later versions do have remote display capabilities, but they are not compatible with the Alladin. Sadly, coaches of our vintage are having their electronic components age out. I am currently in the process of replacing the Sony backup monitor and camera which have failed. The Sony system is like the Alladin system and the old Surge Guard 40250, they have not been manufactured for so many years that parts are no longer available. Your best bet is to bypass it in the short term until you can replace it with a later version. In my case, I pulled the wires from the 40250 and attached 50 amp plug-ins to the wire sets. (Female 50 amp plugs on the shore and generator wires and male 50 amp on the house side). That way, I had the capability to manually transfer from one to the other when I needed to. Good luck with your repairs and let the rest of us know how you come out so we will know what works well and what does not. Richard

The part # for the coil is RAP90568. HWH used to sell the coil seperate, but no longer seems willing to do so, even though the instructions for installing that part seperate is still on their web site. They only seem to want to sell the coil with a new valve so they can charge an extra $100 for it. If you find a generic coil that will fit, please let the rest of us know. Richard

The "T" handles on the sides of the six pack are to manually bypass the HWH system. If you open those "T" handles, you are manually bypassing the Travel mode solenoids and opening the air flow to the ride height valves. There purpose is to allow the vehicle to be raised to ride height and driven even if the HWH air leveling system is not functional. Richard

Dennis I have the same handles on the inside. A short one on the door frame beside the passenger seat and a longer one at an angle on the dash side coming up the steps. All of the chrome ends are the same with different length plex dowels in them (all are lighted). What do your interior handles look like? Richard

Years ago I had a coach with a CAT 3126 that exhibited a low oil pressure issue at idle after the engine had been run hard and was hot. My diesel mechanic BIL recommended switching to synthetic oil to get a better viscosity profile when the oil was hot. Years later I had an engine that exhibited a high oil pressure issue (over 100 psi) when the engine and oil were cold. BIL again recommended synthetic oil because it flows better at low temperatures. If you have either of these issues, then synthetic oil is probably worth the extra cost. Otherwise standard 15W40 is probably fine. Whichever you use, I strongly recommend you have the oil laboratory tested every year and keep the test results for future comparison. I use Blackstone Labs for testing and follow their recommendations as to when I should change the oil, or of it has adequate additives and is clean enough to run longer. Richard

Your handles must be different than mine. Mine are 1" plexiglass dowels inserted into chrome ends. See attached link. https://www.amazon.com/AP-Products-0055300L-Lighted-Assist/dp/B003VAXT68/ref=psdc_15710341_t1_B08C321RW5

Dennis I don't know how yours are attached. On my '06 the interior handles were attached with large Philips head screws. All of them were loose and would not stay tight because the holes were wallowed out over time. I inserted a set of expansion metal inserts designed for this purpose and tightened up the old screws. Been good for the last 5 years. https://www.amazon.com/Stripped-Screw-Hold-Kit-pcs/dp/B001GH7G4Y/ref=sr_1_21?crid=196SYQB09GH9B&keywords=loose+screw+hole+repair&qid=1693938021&sprefix=loose+screw+%2Caps%2C196&sr=8-21 Richard

Paul I left my front hubs with wheel bearing grease for many years until it became time to service them. Since I had to service them anyway (a task that I do not enjoy), I chose to convert them to liquid filled. As long as I have no seal failures, I will never have to service them again. Richard

I have a Onan 8K generator on a slide. There is a sling around the cables and fuel line with a spring that holds them up and carries them as the generator is extended or retracted. I do not know if this is factory original or add by a PO, but it works very nicely. Richard

Paul You would NOT put these on the rear axle as the rear axle is already liquid oil lubricated from the differential. If your front wheel bearings (or tag axle) are lubricated with thick wheel bearing grease, converting to liquid oil lubrication is a maintenance convenience. The trucking companies are probably reverting to using wheel bearing grease because their drivers never check the oil level in the liquid filled hubs. Richard

As expected, the modified sine wave version is a few hundred dollars less expensive: https://www.amazon.com/Xantrex-Technology-81-2022-12-Inverter-Charger/dp/B004C5PDEC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3PC6WTOVFF59X&keywords=xantrex%2B2000w%2Binverter%2Fcharger&qid=1693591479&s=automotive&sprefix=xantrex%2B2000w%2Binverter%2Fcharger%2Cautomotive%2C125&sr=1-1&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.765d4786-5719-48b9-b588-eab9385652d5&th=1

Bob Just a few comments from someone who has gone through this exact scenario a few years ago. My Freedom 458 fried. I had become extremely frustrated with Xantrex lack of quality control, so I chose to replace the entire system with a Magnum product. I did have to replace the remote and the automatic generator start module as well as the battery monitor system. All of those components did make it a rather expensive upgrade, but I have been happy for many years with the results. I went with the MS2012, the ME-ARC50, the ME-AGS-N and the ME-BMK. I was able to reuse the physical twisted pair cable between the components, BUT did have to redo the end terminal connections to match the Magnum wiring schematic. In your case, for ease of replacement, I would probably go with the Xantrex product (I would hope they have improved their quality control). I would certainly suggest you go with a pure sine wave inverter rather than a modified sine wave product. They are a bit more expensive, but your sensitive electronics will thank you. Good luck with your replacement. Richard Bob Just to satisfy my own curiosity, I went looking on Amazon to see what the current Xantrex product was selling for: https://www.amazon.com/Xantrex-815-2012-Freedom-Inverter-Charger/dp/B006M4KINC/ref=dp_fod_sccl_1/144-3699834-4970466?pd_rd_w=G00os&content-id=amzn1.sym.c1d527b2-d053-4e09-ac20-091579b51534&pf_rd_p=c1d527b2-d053-4e09-ac20-091579b51534&pf_rd_r=Y24PKSNHTTRKB2010ARF&pd_rd_wg=sp1Ml&pd_rd_r=48aa7f1f-670b-45b8-9fc1-de28943a2df9&pd_rd_i=B006M4KINC&th=1 Richard

Rick There are separate air supply lines from the air tank to the height control valve and the HWH six-pack. It sounds like you have an air supply issue to the new height control valve or the new valve is faulty or improperly installed. I would zero in on the height control valve, it sounds like your leveling system is just fine. Richard

It is possible that the rubber seals can get stuck particularly if you have been parked for an extended amount of time in hot weather. You would have to have someone energize the Travel mode solenoid while you were tapping on it to do any good. The few times I have had a sticking problem after being parked for an extended time, I solved the problem by exercising the unit multiple times. (I raised the coach as high as possible and then hit Travel mode and then dumped all air and then hit Travel mode. After a few cycles of this, all was good.)

Scan through the illustrations in the HWH text book to see what the T-handles look like and then crawl under and take a look at your six packs to see if they are there. I have the model 2000 and mine has the T-handles, but I have seen others that do not. I have no idea why they exist on some units and not on others. It may be that one (or both) of the Travel mode solenoids have failed, either electrically or physically stuck. I actually carry a spare solenoid for insurance (Murphy's law says that if you carry the spare parts, you will never need them. Ha! Ha!). The solenoid electric coils are all the same and they are fairly easy to remove and replace if you want to do some swapping for troubleshooting purposes. The important part is that the solenoid in each position is connected to the correct wiring harness. So, if you swap the solenoid coils, make sure you swap the corresponding wiring connections in the harness. The connections are about 12 inches back on the wires from the solenoid. You can remove the electric coil portion from the solenoid valve without air loss but do NOT remove the base of solenoid valve from the manifold without firmly blocking up the coach and removing all air from the system. You don't want the air suspension dropping with you under there. Good luck and be careful. Richard

Tim Depending on which version of six-pack manifold you have, there should be small "T" handles one on each side of the manifold. Those "T" handles are needle valves that screw in below the Travel solenoids. If you open those valves, you will manually bypass the Travel mode solenoids and you can drive the vehicle with normal height control via the ride height valves. That way you can drive it home and troubleshoot there. I have attached a copy of the HWH air leveling text book for your reading pleasure. Richard HWH Air Leveling Systems Text Book.pdf Sorry, message was for Rick, not Tim. My bad. Richard

Ivan and Frank Thank you for your insight. My 8K is obviously built different than your 10K. I had to remove the entire top (about a dozen hard to get to bolts). Then I could move the coolant surge tank out of the way and get to the circuit breaker. After installing the new breaker, everything works correctly under load. Yipee! If anyone is in need of the 35 amp double pole breaker that Onan used on the 7.5 and 8K units, I found it available on Amazon from the OEM manufacturer (AIRPAX, IEG66-28333-2-V) at about 2/3 the cost of the Cummins part #. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KW6N539?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details Richard Just a p.s. My circuit breaker was not tripping, but any load over about 20 amps would cause the breaker to lose voltage below the minimum required to keep the ATS contactor energized. I initially thought my ATS was failing, but after much testing, determined it had to be the generator dropping voltage. Richard

The circuit breaker on my QD8000 is starting to fail (after 17 years, I am not surprised). Does anyone have experience in replacing this circuit breaker and can tell me how deep I will have to go in disassembling the unit in order to replace the breaker? Thanks Richard

Here is a set on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Black-License-Plate-Screws-Fastening/dp/B07QNN8NX7/ref=asc_df_B07QNN8NX7?tag=bngsmtphsnus-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80814224251698&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584413752197037&th=1