Idoc57

Well, I got my weep hole covers in the mail today. They look great and they fit great, however there is one issue that needs to be addressed before any can be shipped out. The two "hooks" that go into the slots need to be "beefed up". A number of them had one of the hooks break off as I pressed the cover into the slots. I am so glad that I tested them before they shipped any of them out to you guys! My son has already gone in and edited the STL file so that the hooks will be thicker horizontally. I asked him to try 2 or 3 different thicknesses and send me 3 or 4 samples of each one. We just have to find the right thickness that will give the hook enough strength not to break off while still allowing a tiny bit of flex so that it can be snapped into the slot. We will figure it out. Just be patient. It will be worth the wait. I've attached some pictures so you can see how they look. (of course the hooks will be more substantial) Carey

So, I was talking to my son and grandson about making me some of these weep hole covers. They have a 3-D printer and my grandson has been making things for his friends at school. My son got everything set up to print a couple of them (R & L) to try on my MH. All he had at that moment was white PLA, but it was fine for checking the fit. They came out really nice and fit "like a glove". I just slid one of the "hooks" into the slot as far as it would go and pressed firmly on the other end and it snapped in, nice and tight. The outside to outside measurement of the two slots is 1.75" (maybe a few thousandths over). After looking at the different materials available, they decided to use PETG, which is known for its resistance to heat, UV and moisture. Of course, the color would be black, not white. He is currently making me some in the new black, PETG material, and if they look as good and fit as well as the white ones in the pictures, they will be great! I asked my grandson if he would be willing to make "a bunch" of these for the guys on this site and just charge a very reasonable amount for them. He said that he would make them for $1.00 a piece in whatever quantity anybody needed. He is looking into shipping costs and materials. It looks like maybe $5.00 for regular mail or the USPS has a small priority box, with tracking and 2-3 day delivery for about $9.00. He will let me know. They will be sending me some of the new black ones in a couple of days. I will check the fit and form of them and report back on that. I know that someone ( I think Scotty) has offered to make them for free for whoever wanted them, and was willing to wait for them, and that is a very generous gesture! However, if these new black ones (PETG) work out as well as I think they will, my grandson is willing to start producing them on a first come first served basis for someone who might need them sooner. Anyone who might be interested can PM me. Carey

My 2006 Cayman 37 PBD has a GFCI receptacle mounted on the side of the cabinet, to the left of the sink. If memory serves me correctly, I am pretty sure that, at one time, I accidentally tripped the test button on that receptacle and it shut down the power to my fridge.

Thank you Chris. So, I feel confident now that I have been extending and retracting the slides correctly. At ride height, all air bags inflated and no jacks down. Just a little more clarification, please, on whether or not it is advisable to dump any air, after the slides are out, before running the front jack down? Also, is it ever acceptable to have 1 set (side) of the rear wheels OR one or both of the front wheels off the ground when trying to get the coach level? Thanks again for your help! Carey

Chris, In regards to the 3 jack system, I am a little confused about the proper procedure for leveling. If my feeble memory serves me correctly, I believe that I have read somewhere that I should let most of the air out of the air bags before trying to use the leveling jacks. On a recent trip I encountered a situation where the rear was lower than the front and the left side was also low. I did lower the front jack and extend it a couple of inches, but not until I had evacuated most of the air out of the air bags. I raised the rear a fair amount and then gave only the left rear jack a little more extension to level side to side. When I walked around the coach, I realized that the left rear wheels were off the ground by 2-3 inches. Is this a problem? I went back in and lowered the left rear until the wheels just touched the ground because I wasn't sure. Also, I'm wondering if letting the air out of the air bags is a good idea. It seems to me that if I do that and I need to level side to side that I might cause the frame stop ( or air bag stop) to hit the axle sooner and thereby cause some twisting of the frame. I am extending the slides while the coach is sitting on all 4 air bags, fully inflated, no jacks down. Before I run the slides in, I crank the engine and let the air tanks fill completely, then retract the jacks. Any advice regarding the slides and/or the leveling procedure noted above would be greatly appreciated. The last thing I want to do is twist my frame or pop this "big honkin'" one piece windshield out! Thanks, Carey

Have you tried lubricating your slide seals? If you haven't lubed them recently, you might try it and see if it helps. Clean the sides of the slide first. I really like the slide lube that Thetford makes, but it can be hard to find right now. If you can't find the Thetford brand, try any kind of rubber seal lube. I have seen some made by 3-in-1 at Walmart in their RV section. It is in a copper colored can with a red top. Also, have you retracted your jacks, if they were down? I think it is also a good idea to make sure all of your air bags are fully inflated before retracting a slide. Good Luck! Carey

Ray, if I'm not mistaken, I believe that the signs refer to "engine brakes" that are actually internal to the engine itself. These are a form of compression release directly off the cylinders and they are extremely loud. I think they vent directly to the atmoshpere rather than through the muffler as our exhaust brakes do. I'm pretty sure that these loud engine brakes are similar to the hand/cable activated compression releases that we used to use on our dirt bikes back in the 70's. Carey

Richard, I've only taken one 2000 mile trip in my MH and I had the exhaust brake on the whole time. I noticed that my cruise control would not work at all. The light would come on in the switch, but "set" and "resume" had no effect at all. There is another very similar thread going on this forum right now and here is what I have learned: 1. It is not advisable to leave the exhaust brake on full time, as Frank mentioned above, because it has some negative effect on the DPF. I don't think that I have DP Filter on my engine, but you might. 2. Your fuel economy may suffer by leaving it on 3. The exhaust brake and the cruise control cannot be used at the same time. This is probably why I could not get my CC to work on my last trip. Since you mentioned that you also tended to leave you e-brake on full time, maybe by leaving it off, your CC will work without having to replace your module. I'm hoping my CC will work when I leave the e-brake off and I hope yours does too! Carey

Even though my manual says that I have a PacBrake, its just not there. I have inspected it from above and below. I definitely have engine braking, so am I to assume that I have a VGT? If so, is there any maintenance required, or is there any way to lubricate it? Seems like you would have to pull the turbo apart to lubricate anything. Again, I have a 2006 5.9 ISB. Carey

Thanks Tom, I will definitely try using the exhaust brake only as needed on my next trip. I wondered why my cruise control was not working! From what some are saying, it was because I had the exhaust brake on the whole time. Maybe I will also get an increase in fuel economy as a bonus! I will also try using Economy mode when practical. Carey

When I first started using my exhaust brake about 3 months ago, I felt like it might be sticking a little. I used it going down a hill and when I started back up the next hill it seemed to me that I didn't have quite as much power, so I turned it off. I did some reading on the subject and decided that I needed some of the special lubricant that is recommended for the exhaust brake. I ordered some, but couldn't really find where I needed to apply it. I wish someone could show me exactly where the lube needs to go. I've crawled under the coach, but I can't find the spots that need the lube. I just decided to turn the E brake on and leave it on all the time. It just needed to be used a little and now it works great. I just got back from a 10 day run through New Mexico and Colorado and it really worked great descending some of the steeper hills. Even just slowing down as we came into some of the small towns along the highway it worked really well. I have a 5.9 Cummins ISB and a 5 speed MH2500 tranny and if I am traveling at about 65mph when I take my foot off the throttle it will downshift to 4th and if I let it continue to slow down it will then downshift to 3rd and then shortly after that to 2nd. If you plan ahead just a little, you almost don't need to use the service brakes. If I just want to slow down a little and keep it from downshifting to 3rd, all I have to do is keep the slightest pressure on the throttle. With just a little practice, you can learn to use it very effectively. Carey

After reading this thread, I decided that I better pull the coach out of the garage and see what kind of ATS Monaco blessed me with. Much to my chagrin, there it was, the dreaded IOTA ITS-50R. I pulled the plastic cover off and inspected it very carefully. Everything looked 100% perfect and I have never had any issues with power source, either generator or shore. So, the decision had to be made: Live with the risk, because my IOTA looks and functions perfectly (risk is an old friend of mine - ridden motorcycles for 57 of my 65 years) or spend $205 and a little of my time replacing the IOTA with a new ESCO-LPT50BRD. Spent very little time deliberating on this one. New ESCO is mounted and all is good. I did have to change the order of the shore power, generator and coach power panel leads, but it wasn't too bad. Fortunately, I had enough ground wire in each lead to make it to the ground lug block. L1 (black), L2 (red) and Neutral (white) were all plenty long enough. I did cut off the ends that were already crimped in the old lugs so that I would have "fresh, virgin" copper strands in each of the new connections. Carey

Hi Adam, I sent you a private email to aghyobo@aol.com Thank you! Carey

Wow! This has been such an informative and interesting thread!!! So glad I didn't miss this one. EVERY member of this forum needs to read the complete thread! Thank you guys for sharing all of your wisdom and knowledge with the rest of us. I do have one concern that I think needs to be addressed. In NGADawgs' (Gary's) 2nd post, (about 6 posts down from the top) he mentions the fact that he has an IOTA transfer switch that he is going to wait to change out until he gets back from his next 2 week trip. If my memory serves me correctly, this is the component that was labeled as an "EXTREME FIRE HAZARD" in a thread that I read just a couple of weeks ago. If this was mentioned in the thread, then I apologize for missing it. However, if it was not mentioned, I think it would be VERY IMPORTANT to make sure that Gary is aware of the potential fire hazard that he has in that IOTA transfer switch.

Take a look at these. They are heavy duty and fit my wiper arms perfectly. I had purchased some 28" wipers at Walmart, but they were too narrow for the HD wiper arms on my coach. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071HLJ6VX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Carey

If I have another filter on the power steering system other than the one in the hyd fluid canister in the back of the coach, I am not aware of it. So, I'm betting that I have the "single" system that Tom referred to above. By the way, Tom, I apologize for sending you the link to the Transynd 668 spec sheet after you had sent it to me! Somehow I just missed it in your post 🤔, a case of "couldn't see the forest for the trees". I am definitely going to put a new filter in the PS reservoir, but not until I do the second drain & refill.

Tom, here is a link to the Transynd 668 brochure if you haven't already seen it. https://www.castrol.com/content/dam/castrol/country-sites/en_us/united-states/home/commercial-vehicle-oils/castrol-transynd-668-brochure.pdf

It's been a while since I started this thread. Thank all of you guys for your input. I've done quite a bit of reading on fluid compatibility since then. As I mentioned, my 2006 Manual recommends Dexron III for the power steering fluid. (as well as hyd. jacks) The hyd fluid in my PS reservoir has a light yellowish color, with just a tinge of red. I was under the coach yesterday looking at the draglink and noticed a drop of liquid hanging on the low section of one of the hoses from the steering box. I dabbed it with my finger and it was red. My best guess is that originally the PS system was filled with Dexron III, per the manual, but somewhere along the way someone switched it out with AW 46 or possibly even Transynd 295. I'm not sure about the Transynd 295, but I have read that the newer Transynd 668 is red right out of the jug, but then turns to a light yellow after use. ( this color change was confirmed by an ex-Allison engineer) This same engineer said that, without a doubt, Transynd 295 or 668 is totally compatible with Dexron III. I'm sure a lot of you guys have heard of the 2-step drain & refill on the Allison trannys to convert from Dexron to Transynd. The way I see it, if you can do that with an Allison tranny, you could surely do the same with a PS system. So I'm thinking that I will just pump out all of the hyd fluid that I can out of the PS reservoir and replace it with Transynd 668, drive the MH a couple hundred miles, pump it all out again, put the new filter in and fill it with the T 668 and rest easy. One advantage of doing this (as well as my hyd jack system) is that I will only have to carry one jug of spare fluid for topping off my transmission, power steering and hyd jacks. Please let me know if you think I'm on the right track or not. Thanks, Carey

Here is another link if you would prefer a "warm white" color LED instead of the "cool white" one in the link above. All these choices, right? 🤪 Carey DUH! I forgot to paste the link. Nobody home! https://www.amazon.com/LIGHTING-Illuminated-Grab-Handle-Replacement-GH-WW/dp/B00HZNNWTQ/ref=pd_bxgy_sccl_1/145-3918400-9123434?pd_rd_w=tqVcM&content-id=amzn1.sym.7757a8b5-874e-4a67-9d85-54ed32f01737&pf_rd_p=7757a8b5-874e-4a67-9d85-54ed32f01737&pf_rd_r=P8S33683V0MGXK27FDXT&pd_rd_wg=XXDff&pd_rd_r=49acf40b-c6e4-4052-97bf-94fb1b606f05&pd_rd_i=B00HZNNWTQ&psc=1

My Scan Gauge D does the same thing on my 5.9 ISB. I would like to know if anyone who has a Scan Gauge D is getting a transmission temp reading. I'm not sure if I need to start a new topic with this question or if it is close enough to the original post to be acceptable. Please just let me know

Is the Norcold more of a risk on propane or 120V?

Brad, have you determined for sure that your turbo is a VGT? I'm not seeing anything that looks like an actuator on mine.

The 3rd picture from the top shows the area between the input side of the turbo (from the CAC) and the exhaust gas driven side. It doesn't look anything like the section that housed the actuator in the video above. I definitely don't see anything that looks like the PB in Richard's post above, and I was under the MH yesterday looking all over that side of the engine from underneath and didn't see anything resembling that either. So, the $64,000 question is, "If I don't have a PB and this turns out not to be a VGT, why do I have an EXHAUST BRAKE switch on the left side console that definitely slows the MH down when activated and I take my foot off of the accelerator pedal?"

Tom, that is very interesting. I think you must have a much larger reservoir than I do. Mine is about the size of one of those old quart containers (paper & metal top and bottom) that we used to buy motor oil in, back in the "OLDEN DAYS"! Mine also has a dipstick. I will definitely take your advice and check what is in there when I pull the top off the reservoir. What Ben said makes me uncomfortable in that if I dip up a scoop of red hydraulic fluid, I would just assume that it was ATF. Why in the world would a manufacturer add red dye to hydraulic fluid, unless they wanted you to think that it was ATF? After all, my manual specifically says to use Dexron III . It also specifies Dexron III for the hydraulic unit up front (for the jacks). The filter that I am changing is the one that is shown in the picture above. It is a Fleet guard LF634. The manual also lists a "Filter Assembly" Nelson 91085G. I don't even have a clue what that is or where it is!

OK guys, here's my dilemma. The manual for my 2006 Cayman 37PBD with a 5.9 ISB, clearly states that my coach has a PACBRAKE with a couple of pretty pictures of the unit and all the info on how to maintain (lubricate) it. I have read on another forum that the 2006 ISB did not come with a PB because they were all outfitted with a Variable Geometry Turbo which handles the exhaust braking task just as well, and as a bonus, it does not need periodic lubrication as the PB does. I spoke with a man on the phone yesterday who is very well versed in all things Monaco. He told me in no uncertain terms that my MH would not have a VGT, but rather a PB. He told me that it would be located on the topside of the engine, exhaust side next to the valve cover. I went over this AM to look at it and here is what I found. (see pics) I am pretty sure that if it had a PB, it would be located between the exhaust side of the turbo and the muffler (probably right next to the turbo). If it is there, I am not seeing it. So, my question to you guys, who are a lot more knowledgeable than I am, is am I missing it? And if it is not there, is it a given that my engine has a VGT? Thank you for taking your time and sharing your knowledge to help me out! Carey