bklaes

On 8/9/2022 at 1:04 PM, Tom Cherry said:

The Lippert is the ORIGINAL manual.  Lippert picked up CoachStep in 2006 or so.  Later on, they bought Kwikee...or maybe they owned them and consolidated.  The Lippert Universal, which I downloaded last year, is for the Kwikee.....

 

Tom,  Thanks for the detailed response and the .pdf's.  They are downloaded and in my collection.   Also, thanks for renaming my post more appropriately.  Lesson learned.  

On 8/9/2022 at 11:14 AM, Dennis-C said:

... with a magnetic base.  Touched the base to the switch in the door jamb and VOILA, the steps worked! 

Dennis,  You are now my new best friend.   The magnet worked.  I cleaned my contacts with a Scotch-brite pad without taking anything apart.   It's working 100%.  I owe you a beer.

38 minutes ago, Dr4Film said:

If the site they assigned to you is not level, request a different one.

Yes, but I was not at a campground.   It was parked at my daughter's house, while my 2nd daughter and family were in the states on furlough from being full-time missionaries in the Dominican Republic.   My plan was to let them live in it for a few weeks, but the smell drove them out!  

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I implemented just about all of them.   The biggest solution though, was retracting the jacks and driving back to my level garage.   The smell eventually dissipated.   

I opened the bay behind the hot water heater to see the drain pipes going into the tanks.  The entry points are sealed with pliable putty.  I think, having the jacks extended beyond normal (a front wheel was an inch off the ground) the chassis was torqued in such a way that the pipe pulled away from the holding tank(s) and lost its seal with the pliable putty.   I could see what might have been a crack in the putty.   I pushed the putty back into place to reassure a seal, and plan to coat the putty with spray flex seal.

What is a simple way to determine if stubborn steps have a control module problem or a motor problem?

I own a VOM, no one ever has mistaken me for an expert.....

11 hours ago, Ray Davis said:

I recommend you follow the manufactures (Ford) steps religiously.  Print them out, laminate them, and keep them on the dash.  Have the wife double check then double-check her double-check.   LOL  It is important !!!, 

Ray, Good advice.  I'm treading lightly since it's Ford's first model year.  I appreciate your in depth instructions.   

9 hours ago, jacwjames said:

Etrailer has a pretty good filter to see what will fit your new Maverick.  Is it a 2022 or 2023 as the selection reduces considerably between the two, may be a matter of them just not updating the database and/or it might be design change driven....

Jim,  Thanks for understanding I'm searching for useful information on setting up a Ford Maverick for towing.

Last week I took delivery on a  shiny cute (DW and her girlfriends all call it cute) Hybrid Ford Marverick PU to tow behind my Diplomat.  I sold a 1999 JGC with its tow bar, (yes, seller's remorse is a thing) so I need the whole shebang...base plate, tow bar, wiring, and brake assist.      The current game plan is to drive both vehicles 5 hours from Indiana to Missouri, where e-trailer.com will install for free when you buy from them.  I will get e-trailer's advice on the best equipment for my application.  Any thoughts on my game plan?  A better way?

2 hours ago, Grampy OG said:

Quite by accident and with the help of a hand held mirror I was able to see where the black pipe (drain) going into the top of my gray tank had slightly separated/cracked.

This makes sense, as my jacks are unusually WAY extended for my unlevel spot.  I considered I might have broke something.  Were you able to locate the crack from the top or the bottom of the tank?  Did you make the repair from the top or the bottom?

57 minutes ago, jevans9509 said:

Best stuff ever.    /Happy-Campers-

On order.  Arriving tomorrow.

48 minutes ago, vito.a said:

On ours, the black tank flush valve is on the passenger side of the black tank.  It's held onto the tank with three screws and some sealant.  

I'll open the panel and see if mine is still intact.  Thanks for the pic.  After seeing it though, I don' suspect this is the culprit.

50 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

Shotgun.  ...

my solution….others have other idea and opinions.

I'm breaking out all the heavy artillery.

1 hour ago, Dr4Film said:

I highly doubt that you would get ANY odors from this valve especially if it is not leaking.

 

I didn't know it existed.  But something somewhere is leaking.

It started minor but now it's unbearable.  

Both tanks are dumped, work a few gallons of fresh water added.   

Three new Studor air admittance valves installed.  All the sinks have water in the traps. So does the shower and washer dryer.

I'm getting whiffs outside the coach on the passenger side, but not inside the bays.

Hoping to control the smells, I treated both tanks with chemicals which I have never done and never needed to in 7 years.  Didn't help.

I read on a prior post there is a valve on the top of the black tank for the tank flush sprayer.  I don't know where to start to look for it on my 05 diplomat.

Anybody got anything?  

I've got water in all the traps... both bath sinks, kitchen and shower.

I had a bad grey tank smell and replaced 3 air admittance valves with the Studor Mini-vent Air admittance Valve # 20341.
No help.  Tanks are empty, smell is unbearable.  Owned the coach 7 years and never had any problems.
What else can I do?

I use one of these.  It works well.  Do fires happen when using on electricity, or only on propane?

I followed all the good advice above.  Plus I used POR (Paint Over Rust) paint and still very pleased 5 years later..

The Amish at National Refridge in Shipshewana repaired my Norcold with their re-manufactured unit.   2 years later, still working great..

I was just at the Maintenance Session in Goshen.  2 Guys from REV came to my 05 Diplomat because my slides were acting sluggish and completely stopping.  They immediately looked at the gears and track under the slides and confirmed their suspicion... The "lubricant" I used gummed up the workings.   They recommended WD40 (yes, WD40) not as a lubricant, but to dissolve the old stuff.  Spray down the track, wipe it off, run the rooms in and out, and repeat till clean.  After cleaning, lubricate with T9.  They also tightened the bolts holding on the motor, in the bay ceiling, behind the driver's seat.    The slides are working much better.

amequipment.com helped me.

The rear shower door on my DST is very uncooperative.  The nylon washer will do the fix.   How does the door come off the enclosure?   There is not enough of a gap on the hinges to lift-and-pull.   Before I start attacking it with my Milwaukee...  Does the top bar of the enclosure over the door come off?  The bottom bar?   The whole enclosure????

My '05 Diplomat has 2 front, 2 rear, and 1 front center speaker mounted in the ceiling.   The sub woofer is in the road side cabinet.    All of these speaker wires land in the cabinet above the driver seat.   The original amp/DVD combo unit was not a high quality unit and didn't work.   I replaced it with a Sony 5.1 amp to drive the speakers, and added a DVD player.

I too am very happy with the site.  We all know there is tons of information on it.  So much, that at times it's difficult to search and revisit a topic that has been previously discussed.   If any of your proposed suggestions would help "narrow the field" when searching for any given topic, that might be worth considering.

Thanks for all you do.

Bill

'05 Diplomat DST

I went to Menards and bought 18:x18" peel & stick carpet tiles by Ozite.  I cut the tiles in half and (at the advice of their carpet guy) used 2-sided carpet tape to keep them in place.   The tiles hang in the air a few inches when the slide is retracted, so hallway runner is used to cover up the toe tripper.  When the slide is extended, the carpet tiles lay flat.   If/when I redo the carpet tiles, I'll cut the ribs front-to-back rather than side-to-side, to help them flop over onto the floor.   

Bill Klaes
'05 Diplomat 40' DST

Yes to the museum. I've had very good service at Elkhart Sales and Service. Tom there is a Monaco expert. Although I don't have an aqua hot so I can't speak to that.  ES& S stays busy and hard to get in without an appointment

Google Mike Sokol Hot Skin.  He is the expert on this potentially lethal condition.

If the tank is empty, an endoscopic camera with a built in light and a straightened coat hanger.  I inspect my water heater for gunk that way.

'05 & '06 Diplomat DST's... we must have been victims to the two bad years in ugly overhead lighting .

Good info on Classic Coach Works in Florida.  Thanks.