hex_nut

Some time back (i don't remember how long), someone was looking for a battery temp sender for a Xantrex inverter/charger. While cleaning my garage recently, I stumbled on a new one that I had kept many years ago. I also have the remote on/off switch and cable for the inverter/charger. These are new, never used. If anyone out there still needs either of these, let me know. For $20 I'll package it and ship it to you. Richard

I have been chasing the same issues on my '06 Beaver. My issues have come about because I spend Winters on the Texas gulf coast. Moist salt air seeps in and attacks the aluminum. If you scrape off the paint, you will find the powdery white oxidation of salt corrosion of the aluminum. The only solution is to remove the oxidation down to bare metal and prime and paint. I keep small cans of touch up paint that match the colors on my coach. I notice on your first picture, streaks down the side below the corner of your slide. That is an indication of water intrusion from above. I would suggest a careful inspection of the top of the slide and any openings in that slide. The tops of my slides have been sealed with Eternabond tape to minimize such intrusion. Please stay on top of this, water intrusion is a huge factor in RV deterioration. Richard p.s. Recaulking all seams regularly and keeping the coach well waxed goes a long way toward minimizing these issues.

I ordered that battery powered FM transmitter. It is cheap and I want to see how it works. I searched to see if I could find one that is 110 volt AC powered so I could plug it in with the TV and not have to deal with replacing batteries. Alas, I was not able to locate one. If anyone knows of one that is permanently powered, please share with the rest of us. Thanks. Richard

Thanks Ray! That is the one that was recommended.

Help! A few days ago someone posted a recommendation to use a small FM transmitter plugged into the TV headphone port to get access to the amp and use the on board speakers for the TV. I made a mental note of the brand of the transmitter and then had a senior moment and lost the note. I have searched for the original post and have not been able to find it. Can someone point me in the right direction. Thanks. Richard

The sad part about this design of slide topper is that the first 4 inches or so of the material is exposed to the elements. Over time and sun exposure that 4 inches of material will be destroyed. When we first purchased our 2006, we addressed that issue (it was not as bad as yours). We removed the fabric from all of our slide toppers (4), and found there to be an excess of material rolled up on the roller that was like new. We cut off the 4 inches of bad material and resewed all the seams (the thread was deteriorating also). The material was installed reversed to it's original orientation to take advantage of the like-new material on the other end of the roll. That was six years ago. The material now needs to totally be replaced, but at least we got an extra six years out of them. Whatever you do, be cautious and safe and make sure you correctly pin the spring wound rollers before removing them. Serious damage can be done with all that stored energy in those springs. Richard

We have not had any response from the OP (Stephen). Makes me wonder if he just "poked the hornets nest" to see what kind of response he would get. Richard

I do NOT understand why you would go back to an absorption type refrigerator. I have had a dozen or so absorption refrigerators in my RVs over the last 50 years. Five years ago I dumped the last failed absorption refrigerator and replaced it with a Samsung RF18. I will NEVER willing go back to an absorption refrigerator. Can you please explain your reasoning in wanting to do so? Respectfully, Richard.

The most popular replacement shower unit for RV's is the Oxygenics Body Spa. It has low water usage but still produces a good stream of oxygenated water. https://www.amazon.com/Oxygenics-26481-Brushed-Nickel-Shower/dp/B00AZOWSJM/ref=sxin_17_pa_sp_search_thematic-asin_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.e403baaf-842d-4a91-9b90-181ad3737ce2%3Aamzn1.sym.e403baaf-842d-4a91-9b90-181ad3737ce2&cv_ct_cx=oxygenics+shower+heads&keywords=oxygenics+shower+heads&pd_rd_i=B00AZOWSJM&pd_rd_r=6a1757fb-167c-457b-a304-81da44ef96e9&pd_rd_w=VH9cY&pd_rd_wg=Ua9sg&pf_rd_p=e403baaf-842d-4a91-9b90-181ad3737ce2&pf_rd_r=GPFVRGH11PQ4NKPKVJEJ&qid=1680543179&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sr=1-1-4a643ae4-6005-4b15-bc31-2c5125e2b25b-spons&psc=1

There are two common vacuum break units for Dometic (Sealand) toilets. The one without a handheld sprayer is 385316906. The one with the handheld sprayer is 385230335. Richard

I had the same issue on a Freightliner chassis. I did the rear axle myself, it was straightforward and fairly easy. Then I stewed and puzzled on how to get that nut off the front air spring when it was so close to the front axle. I finally took it to Freightliner. They put the coach on a lift and lowered the front axle. Even after that, they had to use a big impact wrench to get that nut loose. It was worth it to me to pay their labor charge, I simply could not have done that job myself. Richard

Gene Y How are you doing with your fridge? I am sorry to not have responded to your question a couple weeks ago (I have been boondocking on the Texas gulf coast with no internet connection). If your fridge is not defrosting correctly, there are three plug replaceable components behind the back cover inside the fridge (four counting the updated defrost clip mentioned by others). In my frustration with mine, I ordered all 4 components (defrost heater, temperature sensor, thermal fuse and the new design of defrost clip). Replacement solved my problems, but I wanted to know what had actually failed. With a little diagnostics, I determined that my defrost heater was fine and the temperature sensor was fine. However, the thermal fuse had failed. Samsung used a standard thermal fuse that cannot be wet. Since this is a wet environment, they encapsulated the thermal fuse in a sealed plastic bubble. The seal had failed on mine and it was full of water. So, I had found what had failed and I could have just replaced the thermal fuse. Others have found this to be a common failure point on the RF18, BUT of course the failure can be any of these components. I hope you have solved your issues, but if not, perhaps this will help you on your way. Richard

Todd The failure point in the RF18 fridge defrost circuit is most commonly the small thermal fuse that Samsung encapsulated in a plastic bubble to seal it from moisture. The plastic bubble fails and then the thermal fuse fails. If you have not as yet replaced that part of the wiring harness, I suggest you try that before you give up on it. Richard

When I installed my residential fridge (5 years ago), I initially just plugged it into the existing inverter circuit from the original ice maker. However, I soon realized that the large inverter (2800 watts) used lots of power when it was just idling. My solution was to install a small dedicated inverter just for the fridge (1000 watt Xantrex). I also installed it's own transfer switch so that the fridge is powered from shore or generator if either are present, but switches to battery power through the inverter if they are neither available. I am much happier with this configuration and it has worked flawlessly for years. Good luck with your conversion. Richard I should have mentioned that now I only turn on the big inefficient inverter when I want to use the microwave or watch TV. Richard

After installing the baseplate and aux. brakes (found a nice used Roadmaster Brakemaster air unit on Ebay for $200) and then running taillight bulbs and wiring (the CRV's actually have a spare light socket hole in the taillight lens), I am into it for about $13,000. I still have all 3 of the CRV's that I have owned. The original '99 is close to 300,000 miles and still going strong (my granddaughter is driving it to college). If you can find a nice 2014 all wheel drive CRV at a reasonable price, that would be my recommendation. Richard

My last three toads have all been Honda CRVs, bought used never new. The new CRV's are not towable anyway (after 2014). The recent one is a 2013 that I bought and set up last year. I was looking for a 2014, but could not find one in good condition at a reasonable price. Since I have Blueox towbars, I installed a Blueox baseplate on the 2013 CRV (about $500 and an afternoons work). I do not need (or want) a serious off-road vehicle, so I have been hesitant to even consider Jeep. I looked for toads that were already set up, but found the market extremely limited, so in all cases have purchased a good used vehicle and set it up myself. Good luck with your search. Richard

I have had a Samsung RF18 for the last 5 years and am very happy with it. I lowered the floor as much as possible (my wife is vertically challenged). With the removal of the front leveling legs, and the attachment of angle brackets, the lower front was firmly attached to the framework. Wooden wedges were attached at the top rear and small black aluminum plates were attached to the framework on each side at the top that fit between the fridge door and fridge cabinet (see upper right in photo). The installation has been solid thru 5 years of travel. My home built key lock for the doors and freezer is obvious. Someone told me the new RF18 does not have external handles, so another form of latch would have to be fabricated. Richard

I am confused. I have never seen an absorption fridge wired thru the inverter. They are wired directly from the junction box (circuit breaker). So, if you have power to the coach, your fridge 120 volt heating element should function. To answer your question, it can take many hours to cool an absorption fridge. Many people turn them on a day before they want to load them to allow them to get down to temperature. Since your propane burner functions, I would certainly give it multiple hours to see if it will respond. If there is any yellow powder around the cooling unit, or if it smells like ammonia then the cooling unit has vented its chemicals and it is toast. Richard

Take a look at the Fisher Paykel RF17 series. It is a couple of inches shorter than the Samsung RF18 and may fit with less modifications. As noted above, AJMadison is a good place to check dimensions.

I cannot find anything on a Samsung model RF12. Was that a typo?

Georgia Mike That shroud listed on Amazon from ICON will fit just fine, BUT if you have heat pumps you should use the ones with vent holes in the sides to better vent when in heat pump mode. Richard

If you have a rear radiator, access should be rather easy from the bottom. In fact it should be directly available on the drivers side of the engine. My C9 powered coach has a side radiator and the access is much more difficult because of so much more stuff in the way. Richard

Thanks to Frank McElroy and Paul Whittle I have replaced the broken switch panels. I ordered the 4/6 button panels from NWRVsupply and the 10 button switch panel direct from Paul. Thanks to everyone. Richard

As far as a solvent to penetrate and loosen the shaft, carb cleaner would probably work as well as something like PB Blaster. Both will vapor off rather quickly. After you loosen it up, you will still need to lubricate it with some kind of high-temperature lubricant. Getting it loosened up is the primary issue. Richard

I found it easier to remove the unit and take it to my workbench to work on. But, mine was seized and needed some serious cleaning. I soaked mine in a homebrew recipe of half acetone and half transmission fluid. It took quite a bit of soaking and working the flapper back and forth to free mine up. In your case, I think I would take the actuator arm loose and see how tight the flapper is in the housing. If it moves but is just tight, I would lubricate it in place and see if it loosens up. If it does, you might avoid taking it off. It was not difficult to remove, but it could be a problem if the clamp threads are rusted badly. You will just have to play it by ear as you look at your individual situation. Richard