1nolaguy

I recently had my slides adjusted by Dusty while at Talin RV. I have one Passenger side slide that despite multiple attempts to adjust I get a leak at the back top for about 3-4 feet. Dusty said that some slides, especially on older rigs, have taken a set over time and use and either the whole or the box is slightly out of square. He also said that this may have existed since manufacture. In any rate his solution was to place a length of "D" gasket (such as Steele Products # 70-3677-265: https://www.steelerubber.com/ribbed-hollow-bulb-70-3677-265) and apply it to the back of the inside trim so it will seal against the slide seal wiper. I have not had a chance to try this yet but if that does not work my plan "B" is to attach a length of 1-1/2" aluminum angle to the back side of the existing 5/8" aluminum angle (OEM) that the slide seal is suppose to seal against when open.

Dc-dc charger is good if you do not spend most time with full hookups and move often or if you rely on a Gen to charge the batteries. If using an existing connection to replace with a dc-dc converter 1) make sure wiring is properly sized. 2) make sure dc-dc is about 50% or less of the alternators rated output. Failure to do so can lead to other problems.

As Mark B said, first check you inverter converter to make sure it is compatible with Lithium chemistry and make any necessary changes. Failure to do so can permanently damage your new batteries. The best place to check this is directly with the manufacturer where they can check the based on the I/C serial number. In addition, I highly recommend you invest in a shunt based battery monitor. Victron makes a great one but if you are not into tracking your battery SOC on your phone a good alternative can be gotten on Amazon for about $40. With your age of rig you likely have a battery monitor system based on voltage. This is not effective with LFP batteries as the voltage drop is minimal until they are depleted and then the voltage drops precipitously. I have first hand experience with this when everything is fine until its not. While this is not "necessary", it is a worthwhile investment.

thartIf I read your post correctly you were asked to provide comment. If so, I find it very that for the requesting party to, once you have provided what appears to be a well thought out and coherent recommendation, respond negatively. It is unfortunate that many in "public service" (those who work for the government, be in local, county, state or federal) are too often bureaucrats who care more about them selves than doing what is an improvement for the public. Likely you have heard or seen the joke(meme) that probably goes back as far as maybe WWII if not further, of the swing as conceived by the inventor, drafted by the architect, designed by the engineer and built by the carpenter; the end result in no way resembling the original idea. If thought was given all the way through the process things would often be less expensive and more user friendly in the end. Unfortunately this is one the major difference between what is produced by private enterprise vs the government. Attached is a gif of a similar meme for those who do not know what I am referring to:

Martinvz, thanks for reminding me they also repaired a beltline issue on our rig that I had forgotten about. It was done on the first of the days of work.

My bad, guess I misunderstood. BTW- his "office" is he wife who does scheduling etc. I guess for now they are full time in TTO.

I think in many/most applications they probably are long enough. In our particular coach they were not. My suggestion, if you are considering replacing an existing unit, would be to remove the ceiling grill and measure from the ceiling to the bottom of the twisting roof unit, then add 2". That will account for the gasket and washers etc. If it is more than 7.25" plan on needing longer M8 bolts or some other modification. Nvrtoofast, the only wiring from the original system that needs to be transfered is the 12ga romex(110vac).

Cubflyer, The "thick roof kit" is for thick non-duct roofs. This is designed to carry conditioned air from the roof unit to the vents with out loosing air in the roofing material. In a duct system there is a plenum of sorts between the roof top and ceiling. In most rv roofs these are not sealed so the sides are exposed to insulation etc. AA I sealed this area with aluminum foil. As to the thick roof kit. I had spoken to RecPro prior to the purchase and was told that those parts are included in the 3800 and 3400 unit kits. In my case I did receive 4 - M8X1.25 X 7-1/2" (190mm) and the gasket. The distance from the inside bracket, through the washer and oblong metal bar to the bottom of the roof unit once set on top of the thick roof gasket is about200, It is not much difference, about the thickness of my finger, so probably twice that as a minimum requirement to secure the unit. We tried to compress to foam gasket to clear the gap but it was not possible, in our situation. NVRtoofast, I can only speak to my situation so YMMV. That said, the Houghton units do not connect to the existing controler or any wall mount contriller for the furnace(s). In our case we have two LP furnaces, each controlled by a controller box in the original Duotherm. The Houghton units are controled by the remote control or the defusser control. In our case we left the wiring connected to the the controller and the wall mount thermostat and secured the controller box on the inside of the plenum. So the wall mount thermostat controls only the LP furnaces while the remotes control is used for the the a/c and heat pump. As an aside, now that I have had the two Houghton units running continuously for 48 hours in southern Florida, I can say that our experience is more like a residential central unit than a typical RV a/c. If quiet is what you are seeking this is as close as I have seen to a mini split.

Clubflyer, the thick roof adapter kit is designed for non-ducted roofs so conditioned air moves from the roof unit to the ceiling defuser without loss into the roofing material such as insulation. In a ducted roof there is a plenum of sorts to allow air to flow into the ducts, Unfortunately this area seems to garner little attention to detail by manufactures leaving the insulation and bare metal exposed. When the old units were remover I re-secured this area with aluminum tape designed for HVAC sealing. That can be easily bought on line or most hardware or big box stores. U used pieces of a pool noodle from Dollar Tree to fill large gaps and provide padding on sharp metal edges before covering all in Al tape. I believe this also improves air efficiency and may contribute to noise reduction. It is probably possible to use the original bolts and pass through the roof unit and secure them from the top with a nut and washers. I had discussed this option with the installer but he was concerned the roof unit might move when exposed to travel forces since the 1'4" bolt is smaller in diameter than the M8. Also using a smaller than designed bolt might void the warranty or even create a liability issue should there be an "issue" down the road. This was plan B is w could not find a M8 solution. If I were doing myself it probably would have been the easier solution to use the plan B but he had liability to consider.

Thanks MIke. Our rig is ducted with the ducts running the length of the coach (passenger and driver side) from living area to bedroom. With this configuration the ducts are served by either the back a/c or the front or both. The Houghton 3800 plenum grill has a front and rear facing adjustable fined air dump for quick cooling. The rear facing vents have a slide damper that can be closed partially or fully directing more or less air into the ducts. The front facing "dump is not controlled by the slide dampers but the fins can be closed. Even with them closed there is some air leakage when the unit is operating but the fan moves enough air that most comes out the ducts. Yhe air volum is considerably more than with our previous Duo-therms. With the duo-therm fan on high and the dump baffle closed you could barely feel air coming from the ducted vents. With the Houghton 3800 and the from set on medium you can feel air blowing from the ducts when 6 feet away.

Yesterday we had both of our old Dometic Duo-therms, that had died, replaced with new Houghton A3800 heat pumps from Recpro. One small thing turned what should have been a relatively quick process in to a long drawn out affair. The Houghton units arrive complete with everything you need for most installs. The catch is the 4 hex head bolts that draw the roof unit to the ceiling bracket that forms a tight seal. Houghton provides the 4 bolts that are suitable for most installation on roofs up to 5-1/2 " thick that are flat. If you have a slightly curved roof like the one on out 2005 Safari Cheetah there is included a 1-1/4" thick foam rubber gasket to isolate the A/A from the roof and provide proper seating. Unfortunately, the gasket combined with the thickness of our roof resulted in the the bolts being about 1-1/4" short. The Duotherm bolts on the old units were long enough but were 1/4"-20 coarse thread. The new bolts supplied by Houghton are M8-1.25 metric fine thread. Our solution ended up being to use M8-1.25 threaded rods plus M8-1.25 couplings in conjunction with the supplied bolts. Because of the length of the supplied bolts they had to be cut, as well as the threaded rods. I ended up having to drive to 3 different stors in three different towns to find all the parts needed to complete the install. If you are planning to install Haughton a/cs on a thick roof coach I recommend getting the proper length bolts in advance of starting the install so that it will go much easier and quicker. Without the bolt issue this would have been a very quick and easy install. The new A/Cs are great!

After considerable research on Dometic, Airxcell,Furion and other manufacturers of A/C and Heat Pumps to replace my 17 year old Duo-therms I decided to go with Houghton A3800s. These are available in the US from Advanced RV (installed only) and RecPro. I ordered them from RecPro on March 31 and they were delivered via FedEx at our location in central Fl on 4/4. Packaging was exceptional and units arrived in 3 boxes (2 roof top units and a third box with the two internal units for the ceiling as well as the remotes). These units are so quiet on low and medium fan I had to afix a tissue to the ceiling vent to make sure they were moving air. On high fan they can be heard but TV and conversation at regular levels are fine. Not much louder than my central air at home. Recpro CS was helpful before and during the sale (ordering process) and provided good electronic service from the time the units are shipped until they arrived to me. I recommend RecPro service and the Houghton HP are well beyond my expectations, at least so far....

After The Gathering in Tampa this spring (2022) I was able to schedule repair and installation of various types at Talin RV in Brooksville, FL. The work took about 4 days, in part because of weather as most was on the outside of the coach. They did a great job, lead by Dustin, installing 3 slide toppers made by Stone Vos, their sister company, replaced slide seals on two of our slide outs and repaired a small area on a third saving me the cost of replacing the seal on that one. They also adjusted all three slides solving issues and also catching one before it had manifested itself. During the repairs the provided a secure place for us to stay in the RV with 50 amp service. Their work is highly recommended.

I had planned to replace my old Duo-therm A/Cs when I got back home next month. Unfortunately, both units gave up the ghost in March. After some research I decided to replace them with Recpro - Houghton 3800 (15k btu) units. I ordered them in and decided to seek a local mobile service to do the install. There were some complications. The install ended up taking more than 10 hours. Jeff did a top notch job. Stayed with it , even in the dark, and left the site spotless (amazing as he did this in the dark after 11 pm. He is friendly and polite. If you need any service, repair, installation or inspection (he is also a certified level 2 inspector - NRVIA) I highly recommend him. He is actually located in the Thousand Trails Orlando (Claremont/Four Corners, FL) but does travel up north in the summer (Ohio area I believe). He can be reached at 941-479-0742

I looked but could not find a section in FORUMS titled "Service Companies" or "RV Service Reviews" Where is this found? I had recent service in Clermont FL and would like to post a review on the mobile service tech and company.

Bob Schmeckpepper, thanks for the post. In your case was the evaporator dryer located in the front or in the engine compartment?

Very interesting Scotty, Thanks for sharing. In your application did you use the small (1 ton) version or the standard (up to 5 ton) version? Also did you use the automotive Leak Shot system to install or some other method?

Watched a number of these last night and some were helpful. Will start my trace today or tomorrow depending on weather (threatening to rain at present). Has anyone in the group replace an a/c compressor on a 2003-2007 Cheetah/Diplomat with a CAT engine? If so would like to PM with you to see if this is something I want to tackle myself or have some one else deal with.

I should also note that for the Aims I had to run new CAT5/6 line from the inverter Bay to the place inside where the remote is located. Take wiring needs into account when you order your new I/C so you have everything you need handy when planning the install. In my case the inverter must be working for most of the 120v outlets to work on pass thru. If you are full time and have such a configuration it can create added problems if you do not have everything you need when you start the install.

I am not familiar with the MSW Trace. Last year I had planned to replace my old Xantrex FREEDOM 2500 (MSW) with a new Xantrex FREEDOM 3000 (PSW). Unfortunately Xantrex were out of stock about nation wide and so I ended up with an AIMS. Anyway, when initially preparing to replace the Xantrex with a Xantrex I learned that a new remote is needed but they make a device that will allow you to use the same RJ11 (phone cord) to connect the new remote to the inverter. The "converter" cables basically change the RJ11 to RJ45 (data patch cord) connector required by the new remote and new inverter. Hope this helps.

Bob Schmeckpeper, Can you provide a link or what you searched under? I searched youtube but could not find anything related to DP chassis a/c

I replaced my Xantrex Freedom about 2 years ago because after 5 years of faithful service it gave up the ghost. I looked into having it repaired and but the cost of shipping there and back to a service center was great enough That considering a new I/C was a consideration. I also was faced with changing my house batteries and had already decided to go LiFePO4 when that day came. The reason for the battery change had more to do with a desire to reduce weight and complexity. Two 100 Amp LFP batteries would produce the same amps of power as my four 6v wet cell LA batteries at less than half the weight. So I opted to go with and Aims 3k watt pure sine wave I/C. I hd/have no interest in adding solar as I boon dock rarely except for the occasional over night at a HH or Walmart while traveling. I also have an on board 8K diesel generator if needed. My OEM 2005 Safari Cheetah (similar to the Dynasty) was designed to work with the 2K Xantrex. Since I planned to make changes with modern electronics, residential fridge, etc. I opted to upgrade to pure sine inverter. I think Victron makes very nice products and if you are thinking of installing solar because you boondock a lot going Victron all out makes it easier as all Victron components comunicate with each other and the BT capabilities all in one app are nice, especially If you spend a lot of time watching you electronics. Otherwise there are other options of equal or similar quality and functionality in the market. Some may be less expensive and some may simply be available when you need it. As an example, in my case I had planned to replace my old Xantrex with a new 3K pure sine Xantrex Freedom but at the time I needed it the Xantrex was back ordered more than 5 months.

Steele Rubber products and AP Products have the friction fit type (as use on my 2005 Safari Cheetah 40 DST, yours may be similar. Also try Uni-Grip.com. Talin RV had sourced my slide seals there.

Good to know. will keep it in mind should it start to leak again. I tightened the screw-clamp by hand with a nut drive screwdriver so while it is tight it is not as if I put a ratchet on it.

Thanks The Hales. The two part seal was installed correctly as per instructions on the packaging. As noted by (I think Dr4Film), the secrete was in the two part plastic fitting orientation. These plastic pieces support the ss band and join the top unit to the bottom unit. The two part plastic pieces need to be installed correctly with the front (marked front) pieces joined and facing the correct direction (this was by trial and error as that direction "up or down" was not marked). When installed the two pieces are together in the front but parted by between 1-1/2 and 2" in the rear. The worm screw adjustment of the ss band needs to be in the back and over the blank space. In this configuration the unit seals properly and leaking stops. Ironically, once properly installed the leaking I had also been experiencing at the foot valve ceased. Live and learn. lol