Rikadoo

Or else the owner is a tweaker, deal or not, its all time an $$$$ to keep these rigs on the road anyway, let alone someone who is hell bent on distruction.

Inside under the faceplate, mine had 6 screws holding the faceplate on.

Also I forgot to mention when checking A/C performance use a pin style thermometer an turn on your unit, a good performing unit should be able to achieve a difference of 20 to 25 degree difference between ambient temp to duct temp. When I take the temp I take it at the dump port on the faceplate of the air conditioner, using that you get a quicker response to the ability rather than waiting for the ducted roof outlets to cool down to be able to achieve the true output temps. When I am out in the Nevada desert where its dry and can get quite hot, I will start my units right around 7:30 am, that gives the units plenty of time to get the roof ducts cool so the coach stays nice inside. My last trip there was 101 outside while the inside was 75 degrees, now this is with a coach that has 2 AC units and that was one of the things my new to me coach had to have. My 1st coach only had 1 air conditioner and I felt it was a total waste of money to run that on a hot day due to it couldn't keep up. On another note I do demand a lot from the air conditioners, however I demand more from my generator, having to output high amps for hours on end during the extreme heat, I always ensure I perform high maintenance before those trips. Then one other maintaince item I have incorporated into my routine is at the end of every season I now torque the connections at my transfer switch, common knowalge is high amp draw with loose electrical connections cause high heat, and on a older coach it is soooo important! It's funny I always envisioned having a motorhome meant being able to enjoy more time relaxing and taking in the sights, which is true however im finding the trade off is the more you use it the more your maintaince schedule needs to encompass more things, more often. Stay cool and enjoy the good times!!!

About roof air service, when i owned my mobile rv bussiness i found that “some” savy techs can recharge some units, however i found that by the time some one relizeses the problem then the damage has already happened an theres no cost effective way to repair a old unit. What i have done in the past is to carefully remove the outer shroud covering the top of the unit, then carefully blow out the coils with air, then I use a water spray nozzel and spray from the inner side of the coils towards the roof, avoid flooding the inner workings of the unit. Leave the cover off in the sunlight a couple hours to fully dry. While thats happening go inside an remove the faceplate an use air pressure to blow out the dirt an such from what you can see on either side being carefull not to bend any fan blades or bend any fins( its pretty straightforward in that once in there you will see what NOT to do) Also i say this only for “what if” do all this with unit OFF an NO POWER GOING TO THE UNIT!!! Unplug your entire coach an turn off the generator. Then wash out or replace the filter inside an reassemble once its all dry. As for replacing the unit, before concider doing it, realize how much that unit weighs, you will need to asses your own capabilitys, plus BEFORE you remove the old unit contact the manufacture an tell them what your taking out with the type of roof vent configuration you have so you will have all the pieces needed BEFORE you make a gapping hole in your roof an have to wait a week for parts to arrive from back east somewhere.

Well looking at all the posts im doing today it appears theres something im avoiding doing😂 however in the sprit of avoiding what i should be doing i want to share my water leak issue. During prep for a upcoming trip i dewinterized the hot water heater only to find my bypass valve now had a serious leak when under pressure. I had seen a needed valve at a local rv repair shop which i got for a GREAT price, however unbeknownst to me that was the easiest an least costly part of the repair. In order to GET to the valve i had to remove the entire hot water heater to access the valve, which also meant i had to cut the pex tube in order to get the valve off... However that wasnt the worst part, that part was reserved for the circle clamps that held the pex in place. In my ignorance i used a saw blade to cut thru the clamps, (that was the 1st mistake) as for the blade nicked the sealing portion of the fittings that the Pex covered😡. No problem, a quick trip to a plumbing store solved that, plus was able to find the compleate circile clamps needed to reattach the new Pex... Where the real nightmare was, me trying to find a tool used to tighten the clamps, NO ONE, i mean NO ONE, had the tool required to crimp these clamps, i tried tool rental places, plumbing supply tool rentals, my friends, every option came up goose egg😡 i did manage to find that Lowes sold the tools required to compleate this nightmare... Master card to the rescue!!! $100.00 dollors later i now am the PROUD owner of the latest eddition to my tool box... oh yea! So i now proudly carry thise tools on board cause my 2003 Holiday Rambler uses that clamping device on my entire rig. To finish this little story i will finish by saying if i ever find someone else that needs the services of this tool you can bet it gonna cost them at least a 30 pack of beer an have to suffer thru the entire story of just how i came upon owning those tools... So concider yourself pre-warned😎

Morning everyone, so i was scrolling thru my pics today and remembered i wanted to start a topic on what was supposed to be about of servicing the roof airs, however its now more about water leak prevention. So originally bought a cover for my front ac unit cause it wouldnt latch in place on one side.. which is now a different issue, however when i pulled the entire roof plate i saw the evaporator core looked dirty. So i used some shop air to blow out all the dirt witch made a dirty mess by the way, but the intresting part was when using the blower valve i bumped one of the bolts that holds the entire unit to the roof and it rattled! So i used my 1/4 in ratchet an was supprised to find 3 of the 4 bolts holding it on the roof were finger tight, not able to find a torque i just tightened them all even an “snug”. I pulled the rear unit cover an found the same thing, so i dont see ANY signs of water intrusion, however it would have been just a matter of time. So with my roof faceplate there were only 6 screws holding it in place, however 2 of them were covered by the little covers that popped off with a little prying with a small blade screwdriver, then when reinstalling the faceplate it just takes a little effort to reindex the tabs back into place then put all the screws back in. Tip: before using shop air turn on both roof Max air fans (cough, cough) and also have duct tape available cause there were insulation flaps partially covering the passage ways heading to the roof ducts.

Just a quick note, two months ago because of conversation at the time i pulled the cover on my iota an torqued all the connections,(i just used my in. lbs torque wrench) i was surprised to find 2 connections loose enough where i beleave the wires could have wiggled loose had they not had the weatherproof fittings holding them in place. Knock on wood there were no signs of any arcing or burned areas. FYI when i bought my coach it only had a little over 200 hrs on the generator, dont know if that point relates to this topic at all, other than to say prior owners didnt rely on that type of power much.

I have heard a little of source Engineering, i will check them out, thank you So i have always been leary about additives, an espesially when a engine has a oil cooler, cause if they plug up it can be fairly expensive. Did you experiance any issue with something like that?

Well here comes my next project... It seems my cooling system has become incontinent, since I drained and refilled the system with fresh coolant. I will admit when I first saw it was having a issue I tried a radical idea, it only held till my last lengthy trip. Then its issue is when the weather drops to near freezing overnight is when it really shows its hand by leaving puddles of coolant, in 2K miles it used a 1/2 gallon. So it seems my next lesson in motor home ownership is learning how to replace the radiator...UGH! So my question is two fold, One is where can a new radiator be found with out costing a arm and a leg, One company I called which shall remain nameless want $3,300. for a "new and improved copper and brass unit. Frankly im happy with a original Aluminum one that lasted 16 years and 75K miles cause by the time that one starts to leak Im the one who may be Incontinent! Then 2nd is I have heard the rear radiator models have had "good" success in coming down and out, however it looks that between my hitch and my frame rails im kinda second guessing that idea, only cause I would rather get my Genie in the bottle to do the whole job for me... With one final question is just where do you find the needed hoses that inevediably need to be replaced at the same time as the radiator? My Wonderfull rig is a 2003 Holiday Rambler Endeavor, Cummins 8.3 P.S. My radical idea which lasted for approximately 1500 miles was wash the outside of road grime, use brake clean to prep the metal then use spray on clear Flex seal... I mean come on, the guy made a boat out of the stuff!!!

So heres my 2cents worth, when i was in the working world my job was a Mechanic for ford, i focused on electric issues. I discovered like it was said earlier that the voltage regulator “OEM parts” have two events that trigger the light to come on... One is when battery voltage falls below operating voltage an the other is when the operating voltage goes over the set voltage. Even with leese neviel alternators on ambulances an fire trucks if it still had the OEM regulator the “warning” lights worked the same because both situations can be a problem if left unattended. Where all that falls appart is in the aftermarket parts... they know there “less than perfect” parts cost more if they put in all the safegaurds, thats how they can be competitive.

Ya know it took me awhile an a few $ to relize Amazon has a GREAT return policy, plus on some things they dont even require the item to be sent back. You know as a person who is trying to just keep up on the maintance on our rigs there are times you have to try something different or use a part thats “not quite the same” as you took off. To me thats when you become a Mechanic, in that your able to cobble something an make it work, an FOR ME, thats when i get a sence of pride, knowing “nope not to day” am i going to admit defeate... I WILL MAKE IT WORK!!! An there are times i will try several things before it get right, but in the end it comes out as good or better than it was before😎

Hey for what its worth, mine had a smell like diesel, an after my bypassing the lift pump and capping off both the inlet an output i too had a small seep, causing concern. I washed the out side with parts wash liberaly, let it dry an then drove it several miles, then rechecked it and it was dry. My pump issue was not a leaking gasket as much as mine had been leaking out from the connection where it plugged in at, i suspected the motor cavity had actually been filled with enough diesel fuel that it took it a while to M/T out, i have just compleated a 2300 mile trip an its drier than a popcorn fart. From what i understand the return line fuel does not have any “pump” cavitys, instead it supposed to be just apassage way thats channeled thru the assembly. To be fair i have never held a lift pump in my hand so that part is just hearsay. Perhaps someone out there who has actually looked at the passegways of the liftpump can comment on that.

Last bought on Amazon, 2018

I will try to answer everybody, so today was my appointment with Frieghtliner, when I left the park area I had been staying at there was no noise, however when last I drove it it had been running for over 6 hours, so then when I got to there shop it had only been rolling less than 40 minutes, everything was still cold, needless to say when they drove it... yeah no noise. So they removed the tire and drum to check for debris in the drum, it was all ok, so they rotated the front tires. I asked if they could balance the tires and they said they don't do that, they did not inspect the bearings like I asked, and for the getting the tires balanced I was advised there was a tire shop behind Petro. So I went there an it was the same story " we DONT do motor homes!" So im driving it home to Ca. and I will get it done there. As far as the term "camper" that was there words not mine. With my FMCA they would tow me where I need or wanted to be, however in this RV unfriendly town they are willing to work on the fluff... But not the tough stuff. Im probably a little to close to the issue to be objective and it would be easy to slam the actions I received and not try to paste the issue on the entire local industry. Time was not on my side and my frustration was getting more done than I was. I trust my coach will get me home, that once there like always... I WILL FIX THE PROBLEM! Thank you everyone for your incredible support helping me deal with this issue, as always it is so nice knowing support is only a key stroke away.

So traveling thru the western states for the past month got me to Sparks, Nv. There I have developed a noise in the right front wheel area, not sure it is a tire or a wheel bearing, it sounds like I am dragging a road cone! I got here on a Sat night, stayed and watched the game Sunday with a decision to tackle the issue on Monday morning... Thats where the problem is, There is NO ONE that I found that can handle a emergency drop in! The best I can find is a shop that says they can get it in the next day, however I can't stay with the vehicle and they will not plug it in and suggest I winterize it before they receive it. I have tried several "truck stops" and they all say "we don't work on campers" !!! What are us Class A owners to do, I have called the mobile mechanics they want all the repairs that are not mechanical, truck stops don't want us, And the chassis centers know there bread and butter is the trucking industry. What a terrible situation to be in.

So I have spent WAY more time on this project than I had wanted, I ended up calling Dayco this AM and ended up talking with Jerry, he was able to cross my old pn to the current model used. SJAMIEJONES was correct it originally was a 3936213 dayco, however with all the updates it is now a Dayco 89481 which is now the most correct for my application, I spoke to him on how I saw difference in the girth of its base as well as its not having the wear bushing on the base that attaches to the retainer of the engine. He spoke of the specifications that modified the reason for the upgrade in keeping debris out of the tensioner as well as now using a better sealed bearing. Soooooo now its off to find my part, Thank you for everyones input, there were so many options where parts people said there parts were correct according to there parts book, it just pays to trust your gut when you see a difference no one can explain.

Also for what its worth the reason that happen in the first place is part of the plastic weld fails that seals the lens, so when i worked for ford, that when parts were deleated or extended back order i would remove the body of the light put a little Dawn in the opening with water, shake it to get it clean. Then rinse an use a air hose to get as much water as i could out, then use a 1/4 drill bit an drill a hole directly on the lowest part UNDER the body of the lamp. That way any water that came in from rain or ??? Would drain out the bottom, seems kinda like a waste of time, however now looking at the $COST$ of the lamp assemblies on todays cars an trucks it can be a MAJOR savings😎

One thing i didnt see tested, when cranking do you have battery voltage to the positive side of the coil. I dont know for sure cause i dont know much about Onan but i have heard there is a control board that uses input to control output... like no oil pressure no ignition. I know my DP has a Onan an intermintinly it will shut down the fuel pump, so some folks are connecting a bypass switch just to run the pump.

So far I have tried a few different part #s the only one that has been "close" was what I received from the Dayco website, they did not have a listing for 2003 but they did have one for a 2004 HR endeavor which was a 89481 Dayco. However with that one the "timing" of the locating tab was off enough to think the difference would be too much to achieve proper tightness of the belt. So for now I have reinstalled the original one so I can move the coach and as soon as the holiday is over I plan on reaching out to the Mfg. to see if they can cross the old #s. I will say this adventure has made me understand just how many options that are out there. I suspect sense the #s stamped on the old tensioner may relate to the special specific design adapted for this application rather that a "regular" part for the engine family. Soon as I get more info I will update the post

Hey jacwjames read your piece, i appreciate your info, in fact on one of your replies to someone on irv2 i saw where you offered the listing, which i made into files that i can use. As i looked thru the listing there are severel parts that look like i can use on my 03 HR, thank you for that information. I myself have discovered just how difficult it is to find a something so simple as a belt tensioner, i even had the old one with me an the parts people i worked with would, if i gave them a part # be glad to look it up, but otherwise they have NO intrest in trying to research any parts. I admitt i forgot to look at the list because i had the old part in my hand i thought that would suffice, nope instead i put the old part back on. However on this site someone gave me “the part number” an said it was the possable one, sadly it was not. So what i have begun to relise is the parts that are out there may fit the base group (engine family in my case for like a truck) but not fir the application like MH. In fact i even went to the tensioner Mfg. Site an entered the PN on the tensioner and there was no crossover, yet if i entered the application for my MH it spit out a PN that was supposed to work, yeah no, it too was different enough that i didnt feel comfortable trying to see. So i believe that the #s on the old part WILL relate to a document for the specs that were used by that company to build that exact componite specificly for that application. Of course that shinning ray of the obvious came to me on Saturday and of course there closed till Tuesday😡 With as many older coaches still out there you would think some entrepreneur that could see the benifit of organizing a data base so parts houses could acess an sell acordingly... Thank you again for your support

Thank you Jamie, I just finished the belts, so hopefully I can get the tensioner tommorrow.

looking to see if anyone has a Part number for a belt tensioner for a 2003 HR endeavor 8.3 cummins, I tried quick serve, then cummins... they gave me a part number they thought would cross, I pulled the old one off... not the one. I can get the name off the old one however the only number is a casting number. was hoping someone here may have had a similar issue that had a valid part number. thank you

I just completed painting my metal roof with Henrys TropiCool, from Home Depot first I cut in all the sides, air conditioners, sky light, vents then used a roller, I put two coats total. I watched several you tube videos to convince myself "I can do it!!!" The reason for doing it myself was due to the amount of $$$ company wanted to do it. it was a lot easier than I thought it would be... If I was to say one thing to make it go easier, have a good ground crew to help.

I am trying to upload the pic of my rig to my profile and it says the file exceeds the requirement, that it needs to be a particular size, can someone tell me in people speak how to do this. I also have done upgrades on my rig I would like to share and im sure they will not load as well. Thank You