Martinvz

We have a 2014 CR-V AWD and it tows very well, but I think that has been proven. As said, follow the instructions. If the key is mot in the correct position then you will get great milage, as we did - 144 mpg, lol. We have a Patriot braking system that runs off the car battery and found the battery to be very small, even with the charging line. So I upgraded to a larger battery and that has solved the problem. One problem with these vehicles is that it develops what feels like a torque-converter shudder. This is well documented on the Honda forums and there is no permanent fix that I know of. The only fix seems to be to drain the transmission fluid and then refill. This will get rid of the issue for about a year. Either way you should replace the fluid after towing and driving the vehicle 30 000 miles.

Ken, your assumption is spot on. We covered the rupture to contain any leakage that could occur during retraction and while driving. Until the hose is replaced the hacks cannot be moved. My apologies for not clearly stating that.

Update: The tech confirmed that there us not an issue with the tranny and we are good to go. This morning We checked the jacks. The rears were still on the ground. The front jacks were both partially retracted as the line was ruptured and the front jacks work in unison on the same line, as I recall. We covered the rupture with a piece of paper towel and then wrapped it with magic tape (duck tape) to minimize fluid leaks. On retracting the jacks all the jacks were fully retracted - hooray. The elation only lasted until the parking brake was released and then the Power Gear control panel then beeped like crazy. We know the jacks were completely retracted, some fluid was lost and that the reservoir needs to be filled. So we left the campground to fill the fuel tank as planned at the closest gas station. After less than 1 qt of Dexron the reservoir was full, the Power Gear panel was happy and the alarm stopped. We could now drive the last leg home without having to listen to the alarm for 4 hours. The coach is now parked and waiting for some more TLC.

Brad, I called Coachnet early on and found the other symptoms later as the DW and I discussed it and also investigated. Good question and no offense taken. I guess more investigation is needed before calling for help. That said, later in the day makes it more difficult to get a tech and it was after 5 pm already.

Steven, Have you checked the fluid level in the reservoir? It should be full, meaning about 1/2” from the top. If it is low, that may stop the jacks from working.

Dave, We have found our step motor on Amazon. They have quite a selection. Get the model number off the current motor.

We had been traveling all day without any technical problems. We stopped at a small campground and checked in to our site for the night. While setting up we found a strong pine scent inside the cockpit area and my wife saw some smoke. Looking under the coach I saw oil under the coach and red fluid dripping concluding that a hydraulic hose had ruptured. Note to the readers: we have a gas coach and not a diesel. Further inspection found that there is a hose that crosses over the transmission that had ruptured, spraying atf. Subsequently, started the engine and checked the transmission fluid level and that looks to be correct. our conclusion is that it is a hydraulic line to the passenger side jack that has ruptured. We also found that the driverside jack had retracted about 2” while the passengerside is still on the ground. I had contacted Coachnet and they will be sending a tech out to confirm that the transmission is in good shape so that we can drive the 4 hours to get home. We have 4 jacks and they each have 2 return springs. My thought is that the jacks will retract and may leak some atf when we retract all the jacks. We can try and catch the atf into paper towels while applying pressure to the rupture point. This will then allow us to drive home on Friday. Coachnet is sending a tech to check that the transmission is really OK and that we can drive the coach. Any comments and advice will be welcome.

You could call Chris at Talin mfg as they are (or were) a Carefree reseller. Unfortunately I am as much in the dark as you so a referral is all I have.

The chattering may be broken teeth on the gear. I had the same issue on my steps and could not find a similar gear plate, resulting in replacing the complete step set. I am guessing that the motor is fine.

Hi Mark, the age of the chassis battery does not exempt you from either bad batteries or from not charging, as per my recent experience. You did not state what the chassis battery voltage is. If it is less than 12.4 V then you need to check the voltages at the Big Boy on either side.

The cause is not the same as our experience but may help understand some causes. About 4 years ago we left Assateague Island MD after setting up the CR-V for towing. After driving a few (maybe 5) miles I commented that something is holding the coach back and would not drive the way it should. We stopped and found the brakes were cooking and really hot. End result, the brakes on all 4 wheels had to be replaced. The cause? The Patriot brake system presses against the seat and the unit determines in its setup the distance for it to operate effectively. At the end of the setup process the seat was moved a little forward to remove some if the slack. Lesson learned, leave it where it is !! I do not recall if the TPMS reported high temps but that could have been the case.

We have the original pump on board and it was cycling too frequently for our liking. Several years ago I replaced the diaphragm and it made a big difference. We only use the pump when we are not plugged in to shore power. I replaced the barrel restrictor with an adjustable pressure gauge as the water enters the coach. Then last year we added a particulate filter followed by a water softener and a carbon filter. Thus we have max pressure up to the pressure gauge right before the water enters the coach.

My line would slit because of the bends Monaco had put in it causing a lot of stress on the line. Initially I put a 90 degree bend in it but after 16 years the line was also very fragile and could not really be salvaged. I found a braided water line at Ace that had the correct connector at each end and solved the problem permanently. i did have to enlarge the hole that the line passes through to connect to the supply but that was not a real challenge.

Thanks Jim, that was what I was referring to. For the window frame you can use the same type bead as the first product you had but upsize it to 1/4 or 5/8 to get a good seal. There might be some squeeze out along the edges but that is easily solved with a plastic scraper from Harbor Freight. The service that cleaned my windows reinstalled using the existing rubber seal at the edge of the frame and 2 windows leaked badly. They came out and caulked the frame but it does not look great. I am thinking that I might pull the frames and use the butyl bead on those windows.

Bill, what do you mean by 1” tape? Is that width or thickness? The tape the ‘pros’ use is about 1/4” diameter that flattens out when the glass is pressed together before reinstallation into the frame. They use a black bead tape that could have a sirt of desiccant in it but I have not seen the specs to confirm this.