Blacknight

sorry for the news- prayers for you and your wife Debbie

I just had a leak fixed on my coach this past Saturday. 2007 Knight with Hankook ah37 tires. The inside dual tire would leak down to around 85 lbs. after being filled to 105lbs. I always check the tire pressure when cold before each trip and that is how I discovered the problem. Went to the tire shop to have things checked out, found no tire damage, no nails etc, but the valve stem, metal truck type, was leaking so it was replaced. While the tire tech was putting things back together, he found the stainless steel hose extensions also had a slight leak ( all four had been sprayed with soapy water and all leaked) so i had those removed. Now I have ads pop up from Camping World on facebook trying to sell me a new set! Im now trying to decide whether to get a new set of extensions or just get a new extended pressure gauge and inflater tip. 

John-can you please elaborate on the statement you made about "least serviced fluid system" on a dp coach-i'm always trying to learn-Thanks!

I have a 2007 Monaco Knight 40ft. They day I drove it home from the dealership 3 hrs away, I was exhausted and confused. I really thought a diesel motorhome would be smooth comfortable ride-sunprise! That was the same day I found iRV2 forums and began to read other's stories of the same problems i found. I purchased the Source engineering rr8r package including shocks, sway bars front and back and steering stabilizer. I also installed the rear X bars and the front Watt's linkage. These kits made a huge difference. The porpoising is controlled now, much improvement when in windy conditions and with 18 wheelers passing. I still need to replace the steering box from a Shepherds to the TRW and then consider the Watt's linkage for the rear. The install is doable by yourself if your a shade tree mechanic type. Monaco should have installed these items as original equipment.

Quote

 

Steve F

ss2sjb399@aol.com

I’m still learning about driving our 2007 Monaco knight 330 Cummins/6speed Allison-my question is when cruising down the road at 65 mph the tach is showing about 1600 rpm.what is the optimal range to work in when manually shifting for grades or low speed situations and not lug the coach or over rev the engine? What is considered excessive rpm range?

This seems like a great idea after viewing the video but it would be even better if it was automatically deployed . I have seen a fire extinguisher mounted next to the rear of the refrigerator but I don’t know where to get one. 

welcome from a former Cali person. Sounds like a great coach and you are correct in that you will become an expert on the engineering and operation of every system on your coach. You are among a great season team of been there done that folks!

18 hours ago, Dwight Lindsey said:

I recommend the ESCO LPT50BRD
https://www.escousa.net/electrical-supply/products-electrical/#cc-m-product-6625681554

It was recommended to me as the best one and it's what I've got now.

Long story . . .  I purchased the ESCO LPT50BRD and procrastinated getting it installed.  We left for a week long camping trip near Yosemite National Park, at Bass Lake.  I left the ESCO switch in the garage.  The transfer switch failed on our first night out.  We were a long way from our garage, so I called Camping World in Fresno.  They had a TRC Transfer switch in stock, so I drove an hour in the toad, bought the switch and installed it.  It worked for two nights at Escapees Park of Sierras in Coarsegold CA on shore power. 

When we moved to dry camping at Bass Lake, the transfer switch worked for about 4 hours on the generator and then failed.  A call to TRC tech support confirmed that the circuit board had failed.  The tech rep there talked me through switching the generator leads to the shore power side.  Since the transfer switch (and most transfer switches) default to shore power, a dead circuit board defaulted us to shore power and by switching the leads we managed to continue the camping trip and go home through the very hot Central Valley of California with the roof airs working.

I'm sure the TRC transfer switches are usually OK, but they seem more complicated than the ESCO.

Dwight

If anyone has an IOTA transfer switch, I highly recommend you replace it.  But while you're waiting for the new switch to arrive and/or be installed, with all power off to the coach, you could take the cover off the IOTA and have a look at the contacts and the wiring.  I suggest you don't touch anything unless you're very confident you know what you're doing.  But if you see melted contacts or burnt insulation on the wiring, don't use it again until it's replaced.

Mine was SEVERELY melted with blackened insulation on the wires.  I'm surprised the coach didn't burn up and kill us.

This is VERY SERIOUS stuff.

Dwight

Thank you for the information, looks like I will order the ESCO LPT50 BRD tomorrow. I do my best as a do-it-yourself guy but how hard is it to install? I took a picture of the IOTA ITS-50R and it has 13 bars to connect wires to, however, the ESCO unit shows just 9 connections. What was the difference in swapping out the transfer switchs?

so what would be the replacement for the iota it?

On 2/16/2021 at 7:37 PM, jacwjames said:

There are 2 U-joints on the intermediate shaft.  I would have someone try and turn the wheel while you visually see if there is actually any play at the slip joints.  I would think you would be able to see if that was the problem.  If in doubt you could pull the shaft and clean and inspect.  The U-joints could probably be sourced at a large truck shop. 

Here is the parts page for my 2002 Windsor, it may be the same as yours but it will give you an idea what to look for.  I did a quick search for one of the two shafts listed and only had one source that said it was special order.

 

by chance, would you also have reference /parts page to a 2007 Monaco Knight . Maybe if I find the intermediate shaft with excessive play I could not have to replace the steer gear with a TRW unit-thanks Steve

 

1 Steering Column.pdf 67.72 kB · 14 downloads

Luckly I have the coach stored at home with 50amp power. I run a standalone dehumidifer and check every couple of days. In addition, I set the A/C at 82 degrees in the summer and the heat pumps in the winter at 40 degrees. I have noticed the digital thermometer stays between 39 and 45 on days whens it's in the low 30's, so I think insulation is good. The nicest thing Ive noticed is how fresh the air smells in the coach- its worth the extra $30.00 a month to keep everything clean.

I joined this group in February this year after purchasing our first class A. What a great site to help each other share information about these great motorhomes. Congratulations to you and all the folks that make this website possible. Great job and Merry Christmas to all! 

Ron-excuse me-completely off subject-who/where do i look for the clear protect "bra" on the front of your beautiful coach? thanks

Steve Knight-me too!- this is a site I found for a bra cover. They have many colors and hopefully they will have a pattern for your coach. www.activervupholstery.com-let me know what you think. My concern is keeping it clean from dirt getting in behind and rubbing the paint, not to mention driving in the rain etc.

Sorry about that, try this address: factoryparts@veurinksrv.com  thanks Steve

I had a sticking entrance door on my coach because the swing arm assembly became too worn to function as designed. The arm has a rivet in the center that becomes loose over time, you can try and peen the rivet tight but it didn't last long for me so i replaced with new. 

Entry Door Hinge Swing Arm Assembly I 08408401.webarchive

I have the 3m coating on the front of the coach that really needs to be removed as it's life span is gone. My question is, once removed what is the best way to protect the paint. I thought about a felt backed bra/mask but not sure if that would be the best way to go-how would it do in the rain? how do you keep the dust from rubbing the paint off? etc. i have seen some coaches with a thick see thru shield- not sure of what material it's made from or how well it works and how expensive is this product? What are you doing on your coach to protect the paint?

I will give that a shot the next day or two- I would think the pump would be strong enough to pull that anti-freeze but i could not see any fluid entering the hose. Thanks for the suggestion.

I have tried a few times, unsuccessfully, to winterize the coach thru the wet bay as outlined in the owners manual. I have followed the steps up to and including connecting a hose to the winterizing port to allow anti-freeze to flow from jug to the water ststem.  I turn on the pump-it runs but does not draw fluid from the jug.  What im I missing? the pump works fine normally. I checked the filter at the pump and all appears well.

Thanks for posting this story-glad to hear all went well for you. Im new to these DP and read as much information as I can to get up to speed and maybe prevent a problem before it happens. I use opti-lube xld in our fuel and carry both fuel filters just for this problem. Who knew a piece of plastic would be the gremlin, but know i have that to think about if i have a power loss /fuel problem.

I have a 2007 Knight and the book says to extend the slides and then drop the air in the bags and level the coach. I always use 6x6 blocks under the leveling jacks for support. Why (or what advantages) do you gain by letting the air out of the system. I think being "aired up" would support the slides and maybe not over flex the air bags. What do you do?

Thanks Scotty-I just completed exactly what you did and I think it will be fine. I am new to this coach and need to research more on the awning and how it works. I think one of the reasons they striped out is the lag bolts have a shoulder next to the head and if the hole in the awning bracket is too small you wind up thinking all is tight but the bracket is not completely seated against the fiberglass. I also learned to turn off the switch for the awning as I was at the top of my ladder, drilling the bracket holes larger and the bit caught causing the awning to retract locking my drill in the mechanism!  I should charge for entertainment-haha! thanks again-Steve

Thanks for reading this post about my awning that has become loose at the attachment points. The holes have become too sloppy to tighten the arm to the side of the coach . I’m not sure if I can simply go to a bigger size bolt or is there a better way to fix this problem. I saw a you tube that used a butterfly anchor but I’m not sure there is room to make it work-any thoughts?

Fred L-im an old guy and in order the change the shocks at ride height without removing the wheels i laid on my back and had a friend shove a wedge under my shoulders to enable my arms to reach he top of the shocks. that said, I used a ratchet box wrench to tighten the nut. The bent wrench came in handy as i was able to put one finger on the bent wrench holding it in place( and with the 90 degree bend it would contact the shock bracket and keep it from rotating) and another finger on the boxed end of the wrench tightening the shock nut. I bought the bilsteins as they were part of source rv's kit. The kit changed the handling of the coach a great deal. Im installing the Watt's link next to tighten the front of the coach.