Hotrod - R.I.P.

I had a right front blowout on i90 going into Albany in the 90’s in a Winnie Chieftain and fortunately survived. However, the coach lurched right and was two lanes over before regaining control. I ran a car off the interstate. Good thing there was a lot of lanes. There is a half second Reaction time or so that it takes you to so anything. On the last two coach’s I have had a safe-t-plus which should prevent that initial lurch. I also put the Tyron’s on the current Dynasty. Without the Tyron’s there is a good chance a blown tire will work it’s way off the inside of the rim. If it becomes jammed up in the wheel well after getting off of the rim , pushing the wheel to the rear, you are not going to steer it no matter what you do and the rig will exit to the direction of the blown side . With the Tyron, the tire carcass has to stay on the rim, giving you the chance to steer and control the rig. So, probably in order of importance is (in my mind) are: 1. Good tires. Five seasons in steer duty maximum with say 50k miles. No Chinese tires on the steers. You have no idea as to the quality. Dot oversight is a statement. No Goodyear G670’s. 2. TPMS. If a tire loses air , you need to know it. My Pressure Pro has been in service for 15 years. It does cost me 2 or 3 replacement sensors per year in maintenance as they don’t have replaceable batteries. 3. Steer Damper like safe-T-plus. This has some driving and handling improvement but it’s biggest benefit is to prevent the tie rod from moving in the event of a blow out. Perhaps if you keep your hands at 2 and 10 anticipating a blowout every second of every hour , you can do what it does. 4. The Tyron which is to keep the tire on the rim if it blows , enabling you to steer. That’s it’s whole purpose. And it’s expensive (normally). It’s sort of like having a ballistic parachute on an experimental airplane. It’s not normally used, but might save your rear. How much safety you want or can afford is up to you. I disagree with the idea that Tyron’s don’t work. bill g 06 Dynasty

Until you get it fixed , bypass the relay that is blown. Put both the in and out black wires which are next to each other on the same lug. If it’s one of the ac units the black wires need to go on the input to the relay lug . Not to worry if you put them on the wrong lug it likely won’t work. After you get it right the 750 won’t be able to shed that ac so you will be managing that one on your own.

Rick, in my dynasty, the tv antenna comes in above the driver on the last side. That’s where my antenna switch is too. Anyway in there is a splitter that sends the tv ant to 1 the front tv and equipment cabinet , 2 the bedroom and 3 outside to the entertainment center. There is also a cable to the cable tv input into the water bay. There is also a separate rg6 cable for the satellite to the bedroom. I think all the dynasties and above had two cables going to the bedroom . So I’m not sure about yours but would suggest that the splitter that divides your antenna out l would be near the antenna switch . If you have one of those AV multi switch boxes , get rid of it . bill g 06 Dynasty

Bob, Yes a bigger heavier toad will decrease your mpg. You can cut drag with a tonneau cover which I think you have. I can see a .25 to .5 mpg cut in my mpg when I put the golf cart in the back , which adds about 850 lb and adds a bunch of wind drag. I also use air tabs which most don’t understand or believe that they cut drag. I only have them on top of the rig where they are not generally visible and not on the sides where you might have seen some. Anyway they create little tornados , vortices of air that bridge from the coach roof to the road and reduce cavitation between the two vehicle. The toad stays a lot cleaner too. I don’t think they cost 75$ and are easy to install. Another thing with towing more mass is when you take more mass down hill and have to use your jake or exhaust brake, that energy is thrown away. Not much you can do other than start down the hill at a slower speed or allow a higher speed before engaging the brake. Of course it takes more energy to pull more mass up a hill. Use a good bit of air pressure on the toad tires to minimize rolling resistance . Whatever the RR is, the energy consumed is that times the velocity times the toad weight. A good low RR helps minimize that cost. I’m back up to about 8mpg after replacing a bad injector... but I used to enjoy 8.2 and I still blame that on the bio fuels. Good thing my tow bar is rated for 10000lb.. next toad might be Cybertruck. Bill g 06 Dynasty

Tom, None of that actually matters. The question is , do you want to pay to be a test pilot. Only time will tell (IMO). bill g 06 Dynasty

History is probably the best indicator we have. So far, Retroband history is not kind. Conflict of interest disclaimer - I have had Tyron bands now, that I installed, for the last couple of years. No problems at all so far. But that should be expected. The real test of the product would be how it performs after a blowout. That is true with Retroband too. If you can’t get to that point, it says a lot. As Tom says, Danger Will Robinson. bill g 06 Dynasty

My solution is a big ass Cybertruck on order. If I get to old for the class A, the Cybertruck climate controlled vault ought to do the trick. Probably won’t see it for a couple years and hope I can tow it 4 down. info at Tesla.com

If there are no lights on the computer, it isn’t getting any power. David Pratt’s info sounds accurate. I have the same front run box in my 06 Dynasty. A couple of the 30a relays on the boards David mentions have gone bad over the years and supply power to the various systems . One is the Hwh, another the Vorad system and so on. Unfortunately the Relays are soldered onto the board. They can be repaired with care. Anyway , with a voltmeter you can check for power there . There is one relay on the hwh computer that is normally open and gates ignition to the travel valves , so if the computer is off and not getting power, that relay is open and the ignition signal goes to the travel valves. So with the ignition switch on, check to see if you are at ride height . You should be good to go. It sounds like a front run box, power for the Hwh, issue to me to.

I wonder if you wound an external coil for the hot water how well it would work? Sure would be cheap fix. Use a thermal mastic to conduct heat from tank to coil.

The exact amount is usually found on a sticker on the evaporator box up front . It should be around 60oz I think . If empy start with 4- 12 oz cans (with stop leak if it leaked out). If it’s not empty don’t do that.. just put in enough according to gauge and ambient . Watch for high head pressure.

There is a test procedure on Hwh web site. mid no corners move up, that means it most likely is not a ride height valve on a six pack since there are three six packs and four valves involved. They all get the same signal to turn them on in travel mode. It is the ignition signal passed thru a relay in the brain computer . I think there is a fuse in there too. Do the test procedure.

It probably wouldn’t hurt to have castor up around 6 but I don’t think it would cure your wander. A 36 is pretty short. You can imply some castor like stability with a Safe-T-plus. I have one on my Dynasty and had it on a 38 Diplomat before that. They definitely add stability. The other thing that may help is a watts link which I’m sure others will comment on that have them. Bill G 06 Dynasty

There should be an rca cable coming from the front , plugged into the din box that connects the power . Does the box have two video inputs ? Mine does. I have a spare monitor that I’ll bring to Maine Ifni can locate it.

The xza2 is a long haul highway tire and I think the most energy efficient of the bunch. The xze is a regional tire. Great if you have a ups truck. The Toyo is a truck tire. I would not use it for the steer axle. I’m not sure about the other Michelin’s. I’m on my second set of xza2’s and like their performance . I had an issue with them getting side wall cracks but Michelin adjusted them at 50k miles and 6.5 years for about half price so they stand behind their products . The michelin xza2 needs about 5psi less air pressure than the Toyo so it rides better and is easier to inflate with coach air than the toyo. The Michelin’s xza2 have all had perfect wear patterns on over 80k miles and 16 tires . Can’t say that about gy670s that came on the coach. I imagine that the Michelin costs a couple hundred more than a toyo, but is more energy efficient and rides better.

Make sure the coils are clean and the weather stripping under the cover has not come loose. Low voltage and a hot day will get you up to 20a on a 15k unit.

What kind of coach? Does it have a secondary panel or just the two pin breakers on the inverter? Are you talking about L1 and L2 from shore power or a secondary inverter panel with an L1 and L2?

Paul, I had a similar challenge with the wire next to the big connector. Had to screw with driver pointed up worried about dropping it although it probably would have ended up on the floor. Perhaps rather than the extension, which is expensive, if you could find a small jewelers screw driver with a ring on the end for your index finger that would prevent you from dropping it and you could hold it pointed up at the connector and turn with your thumb and middle finger. Such a tool would probably be cheap if you can find it and just include it. Bill G

My new control board for the Magnum Opus toilet came today from Paul Whittle. I put it in and it works like a charm. Couldn’t be easier. I also hung the old board in the tank to the left of the new one so I know right where it is should it ever be needed. It had hung open a few times in the last few months . Could be a relay going out on it, TBD. Now it’s a good enough spare. This is one of those parts their here to for was not available . Thanks Paul.

The tire irons are kentool t45ac irons. You will need two. You can get them from zoro.com or other places. Also I use an earthquake 1200 ftlb cordless lithum impact tool on the lugs from harbor freight. I used to use a torque multiplier but the impact tool is a lot less work . I had tried a DEWALT also but it didn’t live up to its 1200ftlb rating. The 1400 ftlb from Milwaukee is probably a good option. Also I have a 600ft lb torque wrench that is 4 ft long to tighten lugs to 500 ft lb. A 3/4” tee bar also works with a couple 3’ cheaters . And you need some extensions to reach the lugs on the rear tires. Dont forget some tire soap (water soluable). You will also need a 20 ton bottle jack (air over hydraulic) or floor model and some 22 ton jack stands if you want to be safe. I got the spider tool from Chuck T a couple years ago at the gathering and some new bolts and the right spacers. I use balance masters for balancing . I have ceramic beads in the tag though.

I had a right front blowout on a 28’ gasser Winnie Chiefton in the 90s on i90 going into Albany. It’s at least 8 lanes. The blowout jerked me two lanes to the right to the hard shoulder before I got control . The lurch to the right was before I could react at all. Ran a car off the road. But no one was hurt. Had body damage on the RV. The blowout came with no warning . So now, I do the following and hope it saves us. 1. Steer tires run no more than 5 seasons. Michelin’s, about 1500 a pair. No Gy670s or cheap Chinese rubber. How does the DOT keep track of Chinese made tires ? 2. Pressure Pro with graphics and real time chart to identify any odd behavior which might get my attention before a failure. 3. Safe-T-Plus to prevent instantaneous motion of tie rod... to prevent that lurch to another lane. I’ve had the same one on two coaches. Makes it drive better too. 4. Tyron Bands to keep the rubber on the rim and not piled up in the wheel well. It took me a while to come around to the Tyron’s. I had to understand fully how they work. Now I’m a believer. Aamof despite anecdotal statements, I don’t think they can be put on without a tool to compress the tire... I mount my own. Their whole purpose is to prevent access to the deep well which prevents getting he tire over the rim. If someone manages to put a tire on or take it off with the Tyron in place , I can assure you the Tyron is no longer in place. Am I anal about it. Yes. Because I know what can happen.

The install procedure is similar to the Tyron’s . It looks like it could be a good product but we have no history to judge yet. There are a lot of us with the Tyron’s.

Not to throw gas on a fire , but ... Yes it makes proper sense to take Cummins advise rather than third hand anecdotal advise. It would be like suggesting that you shouldn’t use oem parts because an unnamed source says sob parts are better . I started using DK grey bottle booster back in 2005 when ulsd started showing up at the pumps. It gave me about a half mpg better mileage. My isc 330 diplomat was noticeably sluggish on ulsd. I’ve been using it ever since. The bio diesel available now does not have a good shelf life and after a few months it starts degrading and you will get little tar like bugs. When you see them in the top of your fuel filter, you May have a serious problem Houston. So, giving the b20 that you get some places (like florida), the last couple years , I’ve started using the tank cleaning dk with the green writing on the label. It’s about 11$ a quart so I’ll dump one in every couple tanks. The biobohr jr is to be safe that I don’t get any algae growth and I use it a couple times a year. I need to go pull my primary filter and make sure the fuel still looks good as the coach has not moved much since the got back from Florida in February. I did fill it up right before parking. Here is what a bad case of decomposing bio looks like .

Way to go. Now put 3/8 fittings on all the appliances and a 3/8 on the appliance end of one of your 1/4 hoses and you can use the 3/8 hose to extend or a 1/4 hose to eXtend . Never know when you want something 30 ft away. I have 3 hoses ... a 12ft 1/4 to 3/8, a 10ft 3/8, and a 10ft 1/4. I can use 1, 2 or all 3 to any appliance .

Since biodiesel degrades pretty quickly, maybe in beginning to make gummy bear bugs after a couple months, Cummins was actually recommended Diesel Kleen and as far as I know , still is. Ive been using it for about 15 years and think it’s a good product. They have one now that has some green writing on the bottle for bio. I use biobohr a couple times a year too. https://www.cummins.com/news/releases/2017/05/10/cummins-inc-officially-recommends-power-service-diesel-kleen-cetane-and

Paul, I have the iron pipe on the ps also with the red cut off but it’s low pressure .... same iron the goes to range top and refer . Are you sure it’s high pressure on yours?