jimc99999

Do 2012-2022 (WK2) Grand Cherokee's have problems with death wobble? They're completely different from the Cherokee. The Cherokee 2014+ (KL) has a transverse engine and transaxle with a PTU (FWD-based layout). The Grand Cherokee has a longitudinal engine with a transfer case (RWD-based layout). I'd expect the steering system to be different as well.

On 2014-2023 Jeep Cherokee, almost any trim can come with Active Drive II, which is the PTU (similar to transfer case) with 4WD Low and neutral. All Trailhawks have it. We found a used 2018 Overland with AD2 when we were picking up a vehicle to flat tow. For off-roading, the Trailhawk has much better approach angle and a locking rear diff, otherwise pretty much any AD2 Cherokee has pretty much the same capability. Our 2018 has 66K miles now, we have dragged it around 20K miles and since it was set up for flat towing when we bought it, an unknown amount of flat towing miles from previous owner. No problems so far with the transmission. When we bought it I asked the dealer to install the flat tow harness, but they said according to the VIN it didn't need it. The tech guy was surprised, since they had installed that harness on 2018 Cherokees previously. We've also had no problems with the UConnect console. If anyone is considering a Cherokee for a toad, I'd recommend 2019+ Jeep Cherokee with the new headlight style. No tow harness necessary, pretty reliable, and I think 2019+ has the 4G modem so you can use the remote start/lock/unlock functionality if you want. Our 2018 still had the 3G cellular modem and beginning of last year all 3G networks were apparently turned off. All Active Drive II Cherokees also have all the pieces of the tow package (trans cooler, diff gear ratio) except the hitch and programming, with 4500lb tow rating. When ours got rear-ended I had the body shop install the factory hitch and appropriate bumper, and it was another $200 for a dealer to tell the computer to activate the trailer harness. It can be nice having a vehicle that can get a little off the beaten path.

It's mostly greed (corporate and personal). It's not really a political statement so I'm not sure why you feel like you have to be like "I can't say, but you know". Look at Cal-Maine, for example. The price of eggs increased because they increased the price of eggs. Cal-Maine doubled the price of their eggs, and they doubled their revenue. It doesn't take a genius to see that if they doubled the price of the eggs, and they doubled their revenue, that they sold about the same number of eggs. "But if their costs increased they had to raise prices!" you might exclaim. True enough, but that's a big if. Profit increased 65% in the 3rd quarter compared to previous years. But, we live in America, and they are allowed to raise prices as they see fit. We live in an pretty unregulated capitalistic society, and the government can't just easily march in and tell them their profit margins were high enough before so they need to lower their prices. They determined that the market would bear higher prices so they raised their prices, end of story. But we were talking about cars in this thread before you mentioned "everything". And for cars it's pretty simple too. Supply chain disruptions from a global pandemic in 2020 constrained the supply of cars. With supply constrained, sellers raised prices because they could. If you need a car, then you have to have a car; as such, demand is relatively inelastic. And automakers try to build just enough cars to sell; excess inventory not only costs money that could have gone to stock buybacks but also drives down prices. Supply chains have been stripped down to the bare minimum; excess supply chain capacity might reduce the impact of disruptions, but again, that costs money that could go to shareholders immediately instead of possibly at some unknown point in the future. But that hasn't hurt the car manufacturers. Through 3rd quarter 2022, domestic auto manufacturer 2022 profits were the highest since 2016, even though they sold only 75% as many cars. So again, it doesn't take a math genius to conclude that if a company made more profit while selling less items, then they raised the price of the items by significantly more than the increased cost. Also keep in mind that auto manufacturer profits are not including dealer "market adjustments". And really, which one of us, in the position of choosing whether to spend $200M on increasing supply chain robustness, or giving it to shareholders while keeping an extra $10M or $20M for ourselves, wouldn't do what almost every other executive has done. Because if you spent the $200M on "unnecessary" supply chain robustness instead of stock buybacks, the board would be displeased and might replace you. And what other board would put you in a $30M executive role when you now have a reputation of using money to improve the company instead of the shareholders? And the funniest thing is that many people are like "🤷‍♂️ what can they do, their legal responsibility is to the shareholders first?". It's not, but it is kind of funny that so many people willingly excuse that behavior.

The issue with backing up is the caster on the toad's front suspension. No tow bar will be able to prevent that caster from turning the front wheels when you're backing up. It's in the realm of theoretically possible on something like a Wrangler with lower than typical caster and relatively exposed steering knuckles. But even if it's theoretically possible in that limited case, it's still not very practical considering that those "oops" moments where you have to disconnect so you can back up don't happen very often.

If you want to explore fire roads and milder jeep trails, a Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk is not a bad option if you get a 2018+. If you buy from a dealer you can get an extended 7-year 100K mile warranty that will cover things like the PTU that is somewhat unreliable in pretty much all transaxle-based AWD vehicles. Jeep also has a Maxcare lifetime warranty but I'm not sure if they still offer that. The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk was pretty much the same from 2012-2022, and has a longitudinal layout with transfer case, and a reputation for being pretty reliable. If I was in the market now I'd be looking for a 2018-2021. When we bought the Jeep Cherokee (ours is an Overland but has the right transfer case to be flat towed) it already had baseplates and a 4-pin taillight wire installed, and the RV came with a Roadmaster Falcon tow bar. I got the SMI Air Force One braking system installed for around $3500 for both coach and car components. When I had to replace the tow bar I found a new Roadmaster Falcon II All-Terrain bar on eBay for $400.

The farthest I have gone is coasting about 10 feet straight backward on a slight grade. The wheels on the Jeep Cherokee were just starting to turn but once the caster causes them to start to turn just a couple feet will have them hitting the steering stops and binding. I had my wife watching the front wheels of the toad to tell me when to stop. If you have someone in the drivers seat to hold the steering wheel straight, you can (theoretically) back up further in a straight line. The problem is the caster that keeps the wheels straight while you're moving forward will turn the wheels around when you're reversing, like the front wheels on a shopping cart. Personally, I would not try backing up at all if you're not already straight, like the OP who had started a turn. From the front of the 30-50K lb vehicle, you will never feel the tow bar and car binding and you bend the tow bar faster than you think. Also, it's worth having a tow bar that can be released while bound. The original Roadmaster Falcon tow bar had to be pretty straight and couldn't be released under tension, so if you had to unhook where you already started turning you might be in for a struggle. The Roadmaster Falcon 2 All-Terrain bar can be released under tension and is so much nicer to deal with in less than optimal conditions. When we got rear-ended on the highway I heard the impact and saw the other car in my mirror but barely felt the bump while driving the coach. The toad was hit hard enough to bend the tow bar like a pretzel and bump the coach hard enough to bend the little bumper inside the fiberglass.

The Victron Multiplus 2000W inverter is around $1200, and has a power-assist feature which seems like it could make it easier to run both air conditioners on 30A shore power, if that's a condition you may encounter. The power assist can pull power from the batteries to assist with a load, and once the power draw is stabilized can return to charging the batteries. When I have to replace the old Xantrex Freedom that's probably the one I'll use.

The ML-ACR replaces both the solid state isolator, the "boost" solenoid used to connect the battery banks, and the Amp-l-start. The solid state isolator allows the alternator to charge the house batteries, but does not allow the inverter/charger to charge the chassis batteries. The ML-ACR joins the banks when it senses charging voltage on either side. However, the only reason I ever needed to join the battery banks was when house batteries were too low to start the generator. If your generator cranks from the chassis batteries (I switched mine to that), then there's pretty much no reason to join the batteries. House batteries generally don't push enough amps to help much for starting the big diesel motor if your chassis batteries won't do it.

The only time I've seen the "alt fail" light is when the alternator was actually failing. Or, with the 28si self-exciting alternator, if the revs don't go high enough to excite the alternator on startup the alt fail light will be lit until I rev the motor a enough to start up the alternator. It's possible your alternator doesn't start producing current if the battery voltage is higher than normal resting voltage. And that's probably fine, if your generator is running there's no real need for your alternator to produce charging voltage. What alternator are you running? If you start the motor while connected to shore power and your alt fail message displays, does it go away and the alternator starts charging when you disconnect shore power?

I've left the ML-ACR in auto mode while driving with the generator running, it doesn't seem to matter. Batteries are often charged from multiple sources. You don't disconnect your solar while driving or running the generator. The inverter/charger's AGM charging profile is a little more aggressive (higher voltage) than the alternator, so it should handle the bulk of the house battery charging if the batteries are low when you're driving. And either way, the chassis batteries will stay charged.

I bought a large drain pan that holds all the oil, and it's the same as any other oil change. Drain the oil, change the filter and reinstall the drain plug. Fill the oil, dump the old oil in the now empty new oil containers and return them to the auto parts store for recycling. Mine holds around 6 gallons, and Autozone has 5-gallon buckets of the Shell Rotella (easy to pour the old oil into). A regular car-size drain pan works for the generator, it takes around 1 gallon I think. Both drain pans fit in the storage bay next to the propane tank where I keep my power cord, water hoses, sewer hose supports, etc. Some people install a Fumoto valve in place of the drain plug which allows you to drain the oil at a more leisurely pace and shut it off if your drain pan is too small. A chain strap wrench might be necessary to remove the oil filter. I have to disconnect my dipstick tube from the block and push it out of the way to fit the chain around the filter. If your generator is not slide-mounted, you can either access the oil filter from the little access door underneath the coach, or you can remove the side cover. On mine the side cover is easy enough to remove but takes a few minutes of fiddling to get all the bolt holes lined up, so I usually just work through the access door underneath.

My chassis batteries also get charged on generator or shore power via the inverter/charger, and the alternator can charge the house batteries. I replaced the solid-state isolator with a ML-ACR from BlueSea. But I now think a DC-DC charger and Amp-L-Start would be a better setup. If you change house batteries to lithiums and you want to charge them from the alternator, you still should have a DC-DC charger. And with the DC-DC charger, the only thing you really need to keep the chassis batteries topped off while the motor isn't running is the Amp-L-Start.

If you're looking or things to do with your new-to-you motorhome, I'd suggest Changing the genny start power line to the chassis batteries; I wish I'd done that a lot sooner Removing the solid-state isolator and battery boost solenoid and replacing with a DC-DC charger (for charging house batteries from the alternator) and Amp-l-start (charge chassis batteries from inverter/charger). With those items you can then install a regular heavy truck alternator like a 28si, and also be prepped for lithium batteries. If genny starts from chassis batteries, battery boost isn't really needed. A set of jumper cables can also function as emergency battery boost. Doing those things cleans up your electrical charging systems and removes 25-year-old sources of headaches.

It's good to see accurate info on this topic rather than the superstition around the original DUVAC alternators. I installed a 28si when I replaced the old failing isolator with the BlueSea ML-ACR and since the 28si was self-exciting I only connected the +/-/tach connections and it works just fine. I do wish I'd have done a DC-DC charger and Amp-l-charger instead of the ML-ACR because I don't see a good use-case for joining the battery banks since switching the generator to start from chassis batteries.

This tech was in Auburn, CA. Byron was about to retire back in 2018 when he helped me, and had no web presence so could only be found via word of mouth and was still pretty busy. I'd be surprised if he's still working. He'd be great at phone assistance though, when he told me how to remove the furnace and blower motor he described exactly the screws that needed to be removed and which direction to remove the motor. It was obvious he'd done it hundreds of times.

While crossing the country, one of my brake relay valves started leaking. I stopped at a truck stop in Wyoming, got them to look at it, and they verified that it was leaking. They then asked for the coach VIN so they could try to find the part. I gave them the VIN but told them they were definitely getting nowhere with that, but that it should be a standard air system part and any similar part that would fit should work. They didn't really understand that, so I called Source Engineering (they had done some chassis work for me previously) to ask if they thought this was a standard part, and what I could tell the shop to help get this fixed. The guys at Source took time out of their day to convince the service manager this was a standard part and any brake relay valve with the same number of inputs and outputs would work. The shop found a part that would work, got it installed, and I was on my way; lucky, this was 5pm on a Friday by now and parts shops were closed for the weekend. I called Source the following Monday to let them know how much I appreciated their help and tried to give them money but they were just happy I was able to continue my trip and wouldn't take anything. But my point is that I'm sure many of us would actually like to pay for a support service like that, rather than hope for the kindness of strangers. While I knew the part should be relatively standard, I didn't know the right terms to convince the service manager who just knew that RVs are different, and that he should be able to just call someone with a VIN like he can probably do for a Freightliner tractor chassis. Chris T mentioned techs unfamiliar with the chassis screwing up things like slide adjustments, but he or his techs could probably tell that tech that's seen a few other slides what specifically to do in just a few minutes. A 10 minute phone call turning a 2-hour trial/error into a 10-minute adjustment saves a lot of money at $150+/hr shop rates. Similarly, when I recently had a tire blowout, after it seemed like Coachnet might take a while to find someone I called several mobile tire services as well. The big difference? Not one of them answered my call, and not one of them even returned my call after leaving a voicemail. Meanwhile Coach-net found a shop with a tire in stock that came out on a Sunday night to replace a tire so we could be on our way in the morning. Anyway, I'd be happy to pay a Coach-net style yearly membership fee as well as a per-incident support fee for something like this. As a DIYer it would be nice to have the option for DIY support as well. For example, that same cross-country trip also involved a generator failure, error code 19, which was a 30 minute fix I could have done in the Walmart parking lot where it occurred, but it took 2+ hours of research to find the right IRV thread where someone mentioned the governor wires right behind the side cover. Another example: the furnace stopped working right after I bought the coach, and the Cummins shop that did oil/filters/chassis lube and a couple other small things told me it would be an hour of shop labor to remove the furnace to diagnose, and an hour to reinstall whether they fixed it or not, so I passed. (I can hear the eyes rolling if anyone has read this far.) When I decided I needed to get it fixed, the first shop I checked was booked out several months, but he referred me to a mobile tech that specialized in older units that offered to come out at 8pm on a Thursday because it was winter, so I asked if there was anything I could do to prep so he didn't have to be there too late. He laughed and said the furnace comes out in 10 minutes, he'd bet anything it was the motor, and if I was handy he could just tell me how to do it. So that ended up being an easy fix. I called the same mobile tech a month later when the AC didn't pass through on the inverter after I'd taken a short trip, and he told me to smack it a couple times and let him know if that fixed it before he had to charge me for the trip (it did). I also tried to pay him for the expert knowledge since he'd saved me a lot of money in mobile service calls and I didn't want to be taking advantage of him but he was just happy to pass on helpful info. It would be nice to have the option to pay for expert help rather than the sheer luck of getting in touch with the right RV tech when I'm having a problem in an unfamiliar place.

There's always the "nobody wants to work anymore" line, but many of you got to start working when conditions were much better than today. For example, in 1980, according to US Department of Labor statistics, helpers and laborers made around $10/hr in 1980, and the average journeyman tradesman wage was around $13/hr. Accounting for inflation (CPI adjustment), that would put labors and helpers averaging $38/hr today, and the cost of housing (one of the biggest costs for people nowadays) has increased faster than the CPI. If a tradesman with a few years experience could make $15/hr in 1980, they should be making $57/hr today. My father retired after 20 years of form carpentry a few years ago and he was making less than $20/hr. One thing I'm curious about is the mention that ESS couldn't find techs, although they were in business for decades. So my guess would be that as the techs gained experience, they figured out they could make more money elsewhere, and so they went elsewhere. Most of you didn't stick with a job for mediocre pay out of loyalty to the business owner either, otherwise you wouldn't be here on a Monaco forum. Now realistically, if Tom was able to easily transition to a new position making a lot more money despite having a fully-booked schedule for the business, then maybe the repair rates being charged just can't support a decent business. But obviously, it's going to be tough to have a good business trying to do quality work for Lazydayz rates. But if your techs can make just as much money working 3 days a week whenever they feel like it as a self-employed handyman, why shouldn't they? I don't really have anything to offer as a solution. I'm 50, I've worked on my own cars and have done several repairs on the RV as well, and while I'm slow because I don't do it often, if I was a tech I'd be a good tech. But it would take $150K+ for me to go work for someone else doing hard work, since I could make even more doing relatively cushy computer programming. And that's likely what's happened over the years; everyone wants the master tech but nobody wants to pay for the master tech, and many businesses don't want to train anyone. Anyone who can master working on things like RVs with all the interconnected systems, can also become a software developer and make twice as much for half the work. Edit: actually several of the software developers and other technical people I've worked with over the years were into modifying cars, track days and racing, stuff like that, and if software/computers was not a career option many of us would have been rv/auto/airplane engineers.

That's from the OP, who also mentioned they thought they lost a turbo or something going up a hill. A blown head gasket would cause loss of power and coolant in the oil pan. I've not heard of hydrolocking a running engine with a head gasket failure but I suppose it's possible. You would know if this happened because when you started to lose power you'd have been blowing big clouds of white smoke out the exhaust. "Stripped valve guides" makes no sense. A valve guide for C8.3 looks like this, I don't see any threads. They might be seized, but if the head is unfixable it can also be replaced. The OP mentioned the shop where his coach is has been sold, so it has to go somewhere. There must be decent shops near Seattle. Sounds like Ken has found a decent shop in Eugene, OR but that would be a 300 mile tow/transport. Anyway, sounds like OP might have a good deal for someone capable of dealing with these kinds of headaches.

The 2rd post in this thread mentioned Visone RV parts, and the 3rd provided a link to their engines for sale. A little searching on the page finds their Cummins C8.3 bus engine (looks same as the mechanical 8.3 in my 97 Windsor. https://rvchassisparts.visonerv.com/cgi-bin/md/M121219/s1.pl? The pictured engine has been sold but they say they have more for $5500 + $2500 core charge. They're in KY, but someone else mentioned in this thread they handle shipping and could get a good deal. But there's been no updates as to whether you've followed up at all on the help people have attempted to give you. For a coach with a blown engine, you're likely to have to pay to get rid of it. And I don't know how much you trust the shop where it's at, but if you ran a shop, you could make a pretty penny convincing coach owners their motor is blown and there's really nothing you can do, no motors available, etc., get them to give it to you for nearly free, then spending $5-10K to get a $30-80K coach running.

I have the Heliotrope RV-30 in my 1997 Windsor with 1 original panel and the most I ever see is 2.5A or so. It's enough to keep the batteries topped off in storage if I shut off the inverter and sales switch. If you want actual charging for daily use you really need a new system. The Heliotrope is a PWM controller, which is pretty inefficient (roughly 30% loss), but can handle panels of different outputs so you could just add another couple panels and get some benefit. An MPPT controller is more expensive, more efficient, but requires all panels to be the same output so you can't just add a couple panels.

Aha...it looks exactly like the Haldex DA33100X. https://www.haldex.com/en/na/air-dryerair-line/air-dryers/haldex-newremanufactured/pure-air-plus-air-dryer/da33100x/ Long out of production and only refurb units available. A check valve is under $50, may not hurt to try it. Although by the time I add a dessicant cartridge and purge valve I'm approaching $300, which is the price for a reman unit with cartridge.

I replaced the governor, it didn't change anything. According to this video, if the check valve in the dryer is leaking, air will bleed back to the compressor, dropping the pressure in the wet tank, and wet tank pressure isn't shown on the dash gauges, but does control the governor. I can't easily access the compressor end of the supply line but I loosened a line on the supply side of the dryer and there was a lot of pressure behind it. I'm not sure where that small line goes from that T adapter on the supply side, seems like all air should go through the dryer before being used. But loosening that line with the motor off, there was a lot of pressure. So I suspect that like in the video, the check valve on the dryer is bad (you can see it between on the dryer where the output line is connected). I don't have the right wrenches to loosen the supply line. I tried a channel-lock plier but I'm not home yet so I was afraid to pull hard enough to break something. I talked to a shop about servicing the air dryer, they said that given shop labor and service kit prices, it's generally cheaper to just replace the dryer. The dryer looks close (but not quite identical) to the Wabco System Saver 1200 Plus. https://www.anythingtruck.com/category/htp-brake-air-dryers.html On mine I see the check valve similar to the Bendix AD-9 the guy repaired in the video, but mine is not a Bendix AD-9. And while it looks similar to the Wabco System Saver 1200 Plus, that one seems to have an internal check valve. Does anyone know what air dryer was used on these late 90s coaches, and whether it's possible to get parts? I can probably manage replacing it myself as long as I don't have to manufacture a mounting bracket, and I guess even if I have to have a bracket made it's probably cheaper to handle all that myself with a machine shop than have a truck shop do it. The air dryer itself looks pretty simple to hook up (supply, output, and control air lines). I'll have to double-check if the one I have has a heater.

The first time I crossed into CA from OR and went through the agricultural checkpoint, I said we have some groceries in the fridge and some houseplants. The inspector(?) said if we weren't carrying stuff to sell they weren't interested. After that I always just said "no" and went through. Once coming in from Arizona, after saying I had nothing, the inspector commented on the macrame plant holder hanging just behind the driver seat. The funny thing is that while there's a lot of plants that macrame plant holder is just a decoration and I've never seen it hold a plant. Also lots of people down toward Crescent City, including us when we stayed in Hiouchi, bought groceries at the Fred Myers or the farmers market in Brookings and went back through the checkpoint.

I know. I thought I had the air dryer filter replaced when I bought the coach but if that's a removable filter on top of the air dryer it's obviously more than 4 years old. I do check the tank drains periodically and there's never any moisture expelled.

I've ordered a regulator and I'll just install the new one in the same configuration as the old one. Whatever holes are plugged on the old one will be plugged on the new one.