Gary Cole

On 5/12/2024 at 1:50 PM, wamcneil said:

“Lay two aluminum struct channel in parallel (10' or 20' depends on location) and with glue the channels to the roof with 3M tape (that will be much stronger than just glue the bracket), I know I will use much much more 3M tape this way and I am willing to pay for the extra tape.”

With the long sections of channel, I’d be concerned about different rates of thermal expansion between the AL and the roof fiberglass. 

Walter that is the method I used. Best to use solid strut rather than the perforated style for increased adhesive contact area. I would highly recommend the expensive 3M pre cleaner. I did some tests and it doubled the adhesive strength of my samples. I was able to clearly identify some roof struts from vent locations.  At those points I used 1/4" X 1/4" X 20 aluminum rivet nuts just in case. I use these on occasion so I invested in the official setting tool. If due to a faulty installation the rivet nut turns before the bolt tightens you are going to have a difficult problem to deal with.

For those who are concerned about the tape adhesive many of the 53' vans on the road use the system to attach outside panels to the trailer structure. Of course this system is better suited for those with a metal roof.

Congratulations Doug.

NM crosswinds. Know those well. 

I've never been satisfied with the performance of my ISL 400. Trucks with similar horsepower go by me like I'm parked. I understand that they are larger displacement engines with more torque. I don't know why Cummins phased out the very reliable ISM. Seems like the perfect displacement for a midrange engine. 

If you have drum brakes remember that they are designed to use forward motion to increase shoe application force. So using reverse would be your safest choice.

Might take a look at the rotor the next time you have to take it apart. They are nitrile and don't last forever.  I installed a 115v marine unit in the bay a couple of years ago. It successfully ground up a piece of plastic however lost a lobe on the rotor and had to replace it. They will pump thru a 100 ft 3/4" hose uphill as advertised. I plumbed it with a flexible 90 degree elbow so that I can turn it down bypassing the pump and dump my holding tanks by gravity

ATF fluid is not just a low viscosity oil. It must lubricate the metal components of the transmission while not being so slippery as to compromise the clutch band function. So compromises are made in the formulation. Some manufacturers have used Dexron in their air shift transmissions in order to facilitate shifting at cold temps at the expense of increased wear and noise level because not are operators could be trusted to take operating temps in consideration.

33 minutes ago, Happycarz said:

The bolt head doesn’t move in relation to the tire.

That's true Ben. The head of the  bolt appears to be too close to the tire. In the picture it seems to be polished by the tire.  Which is why I suggested the two possible solutions. Spacers would work however they seem to be a rube Goldberg solution which one would have to explain and keep track of every time a tire was removed

I might consider replacing the offending bolt with a flathead bolt with the head on the tire side. The head would be flush with the flange as it would seat in a countersunk bevel.  Countersinks are available which match the angle of the bolt head. No fancy tools other than heavy duty drill required. Hard to tell from the picture however it might give you 3/4" or more clearance. A serrated blind nut on the tire side would be also be another candidate for consideration.

I have the very same problem. I suspect that removing and resetting the windshieId is the only option. I also have a short stress crack running along the lower right hand corner. Decided to do nothing until I get around to replacing the windshield as it would probably make matters worse. In the meantime I taped around the existing windshield moulding with black Gorilla tape. Carefully overlapped and tapered it about 1/2" along the body and it is almost invisible from the ground. Used a surface cleaner first and the tape is holding the windshield in place better than the rubber moulding ever did when it was seated properly. I didn't go overboard with the tape to allow for flexibility. I'm very careful when usingy jacks. My jacks operate too abruptly. They jolt the coach when operated. Wonder how one could soften or modulate the jack movement?

Harry you have a very nice looking engine.

Ed I think that it would be easier to just buy a new water fill hose than mess around trying to sanitize your existing .

Driving an engine hard? I have no idea why anyone would think that increased heat, vibration,  and material stress would increase the life of their engine. Detroit once provided data on their 71 series of engines which plotted horsepower rating against mean time failure and engine life. Engine life and component failure was indirectly/directly proportional to horsepower rating. In other words, engine life and failure is indirectly/directly proportional to where you generally keep your foot.

9 minutes ago, Rocketman3 said:

9 minutes ago, Rocketman3 said:

Not in a race. So true.

 

Clamp the meter around one compressor conductor.

Joe have you taken an amp reading? That is a good indication of charge state. Should be close to marked amperage on a warm day with full charge. If you have a low charge it will cause below freezing temp of the remaining refrigerant due to low evaporator pressure. Try disconnecting the freeze protection probe from the evaporator. Does anything change? If it did then maybe the probe was near a refrigerant puddle and sensing freezing temps which would short cycle the compressor. In this condition the evaporator fan should remain running.

I replaced my Norco with a Samsung RF18.  I didn't have any problem getting it thru my Diplomat door. I didn't even have to remove the screen. I was concerned about the negative reviews. Out of curiosity I changed the search from Samsung to every other brand and it seems that they are all the "worst refrigerator anyone has ever owned and no one should  buy one". Then just for fun I changed it to "fill in the blank brand automatic transmission problems." Apparently the same people are never going to buy another automatic transmission from any car maker.  The internet can be an interesting place.

7 hours ago, jacwjames said:

ice maker freezing up. 

I have tinkered with mine for years. Shortened the stroke, added a roller bearing, balanced with a weight, etc. It has quite a complicated and unusual mechanism. Puts on a good show. Does make a cute little ice cube when it works. 

Pat I removed all of the old carpet in my coach. Replaced the carpet in the bedroom with tile. It was difficult to remove the carpet under the slides. However it can be done with a small flat blade prybar. Don't cut the carpet close to the edge . Instead leave enough so that the prybar has some material to grip. I sometimes clamped the carpet to the pry bar using vice grips. Once it starts coming out it gets easier because you have something that you can grab.

Glad you found the problem Joe. I'm going to pay more attention to my air filters. I replaced mine with  slightly more restrictive filters. I did increase the filter square in. Think I'll check my compressor run time just to make sure they didn't have an impact. You can buy a really nice toy with the money you didn't waste on new.  🙂

Could just be opening prematurely. That's why you need to check it under load and at operating temperature.

Joe the regular period does suggest a thermal overload resetting  as Ivan suggested. You can bypass all control functions, control board, and thermostat  by jumpering the contactor. Make sure both fans are running. The condenser fan probably runs off the contactor. You can start the evaporator fan with the thermostat.  Leave the thermal overload in the contactor circuit. If the compressor stops check to see if the thermal overload opened. If it did then you have nothing to lose by bypassing the overload since you have a brick as is. The purpose of the thermal overload is to  protect the compressor if it starts before system pressure equalizes. Your control board has a timer function which prevents this from happening. I don't know a lot about these particular units so this is just a general suggestion.

Joe what is the time period of the short cycle? Ivan do these units have a low pressure switch?

The bedroom slide on my Diplomat has steel rollers which keep it above the carpet. I plan on adding a steel plate on the bottom of the wood glide in order to reduce friction as others mentioned.  I also limit the weight in the storage compartment as the slide motor is moving this weight in addition to the weight of the slide out. I also noticed that its necessary to clean the aluminum slide ways on a regular schedule. Next time I look I plan to take the weight off the roller bearings and spin just to make sure they are still good. 

6 hours ago, olywrestle said:

turned my tablet the other direction and have gone thousands of miles without issues.

That is a clue that Bluefire screwed up when they implemented the Bluetooth chip with the Can buss transceiver. Bluetooth is a very reliable protocol when done right.  The 2 chipsets are generic commodities manufactured by numerous companies. However it's up to designers to integrate the two. They know they have a problem. Wonder why they aren't more forth coming?

Hi Bill, glad everything worked out. Appreciate the pictures and follow up.  lOnly thing I'm wondering about is that your 4  way valve is firmly lashed to the compressor housing without  rubber isolation. Lots of unnecessary vibration/stress being transmitted from the compressor housing to the system piping.  That can result in premature  joint failures.  If you loosen the clamp where does the valve/tubing want to be?  Gentle restraint, damping, and tubing radius to provide flexibility is the preferred method. 

Glad to hear that you found the problem Gary. One wonders how many radiators have been replaced when this or something similar was the real culprit? I suppose a mechanic could install a new one correctly and not even notice that the old one he removed was not.

I was wrong when I suggested that a fan blade with a compound radius would be affected if the fan was reversed. Doesn't make any difference flat or compound. All it might change is the distance the fan projects from the hub as Gary discovered. Thought about it laying in bed one night and got up and made a paper model just to make sure.

23 hours ago, Paul J A said:

Good Luck.