BlueSteele

Being in Texas in the winter, in an RV, with sub-freezing temps is no walk in the park. We survived the February freeze of 2021 - but just barely. This time around, I have inverted 39-gallon trashcans over the water spigot and water softener with 40-watt incandescent bulbs to provide some heat. I was successful with this scenario last winter, but we did not experience super-low temps. Keeping my fingers crossed. I'll switch to on-board fresh water if needed, so that's Plan B. Luckily, I have a 7.5kw diesel generator, so power outages are covered. I have two 1500-watt electric heaters that do a good job, but I'll need the furnace after the temps fall below 30. Yesterday, I got the furnace working after a summer of no use. Some pesky circuit board connection issues were resolved, so I think that will be the supplement heating source. Luckily, the forecast calls for daytime temps above freezing, so we'll get a little help to mitigate deep freeze results, unlike Feb. 2021, when several days' highs were well below freezing.

Thank you, Tom. Your sage advice is appreciated. I firmly believe in starting with simple solutions and graduating to the difficult. These older rigs are simpler, and I appreciate them. It's sometimes difficult to find advice that doesn't include all the fancy electronics the "newer" coaches have.

Perhaps timing has something to do with this, I don't know, but driving in the Texas heat without generator-powered house AC has been no picnic! Two days ago, on the way to DeGray Lake ACE park in the Arkansas heat and humidity, I decided to fire up the genny and run the rooftop AC. From the console, the switch for the remote start did not light and all instruments and gauges went dead for the time that the start switch was pushed. Upon release, the console controls resumed their normal function. The generator did not crank or start. We suffered and sweat for the remaining 20 miles to the campground. When we departed the campground a few days later, I started the generator and the AC. I turned on the engine, and it started, but I lost all electrical power to my dash panel and leveler system. No tachometer, no oil pressure, water temp, trans temp, etc. But the engine was running and providing throttle response. I had no shift selector lights, either. Just a "LowAir" light, even though I was fully aired up. of course, I shut everything down. I started the engine, and everything seemed normal, till I started the generator - then every panel instrument went dead. I am stumped. This is the first behavior like this, and I am not sure where to start. Any help would be appreciated. This Texas heat is tough. Luckily, I am sitting still with shore power for the next few days, but, I'd like to get a handle on this. Thanks.

I like TSD Open Roads.

If you are in the Buffalo, New York area and need some air brake work done, this shop is fair and honest - a quality that is increasingly rare in the industry. J&J Truck Wash and Repair is a family-owned business that specializes in truck mechanic work - air brakes are their strength. I needed my brakes inspected for wear and performance. They got me in almost immediately, adjusted the slack adjusters manually, and changed my air drier filters. The mechanic made me aware of a hairline crack in one of the brake shoes as a precautionary thing - something to watch and fix in the future. He also gave me some free advice regarding the "dirty dozen" to maintain the slack adjusters - we don't rack up enough mileage to utilize and optimize the air brake system. The service took less than half-hour. And, I had them wash the coach, too! I am confident that the brake system is in top shape, now. I have a 2500-miler trek ahead and know my brakes are up to the task. J&J Truck Wash and Repair, 2251 Wehrle Dr, Buffalo, NY 14221. 716-580-3224. Ask for Jeff.

Cheers!

Eddy, can you look under your rig at the front of the transmission and trace small wires headed toward your start batteries? One might be loose. Otherwise, it could be the ECM under the shift pad. Mine did a similar thing and I got the ECM rebuilt in Fort Worth. But that might be further down the line. The small wires to the transmission would be the first step.

Confirm that the single small wire at the positive terminal on the start battery is connected.

I had a similar issue. My ECU was bad. Had it rebuilt by Transmission Instruments in Texas. They have a thorough troubleshooting procedure to follow. https://www.transmissioninstruments.com/ Best of luck.

Can you provide a make and model number? I might be interested.

We painted our cloth valances in our 1993 Monaco Dynasty with Chalk Paint. It took several coats but cmae out great. Got rid of the 90's mauve and cornflower blue pattern and updated the look at the same time.

I had a similar situation. I replaced the lift pump and things got better, but it happened occasionally. I found a bad clamp on the fuel line and replaced it. That seems to have solved the problem.

Here's a link to the YouTube video that sent me to the Transmission Instruments website and led to the resolution of the ECU problem:

I thought the repair was extremely reasonable at $595. Best money I have spent on this coach!

I have been a silent observer on this forum for about a year. Over that time, I have had the chance to scan the many daily entries and sometimes read them entirely including the comments. I don't have a great expectation of finding solutions to my problems because of the age of my 38 foot1993 Monaco Dynasty. She's an older machine. Many of the issues don't apply to my rig being pre-emissions (pre-DEF, anyway). My Allison MD3060 has the WTECII shift button ECU from 1992. I have had such good fortune with this unit that I was surprised when I had an issue. During my monthly run-up of the engine and generator, my shift pad blinked from "N" to "NoShift" then it went blank. I shut down the engine and tried to manually re-level the coach (sorry no auto level back then) but got no response from the RVA Model J2 leveller control pad, other than the power indicator light. I tried to restart the engine, but no response. Something was very wrong. I had to use a bottle jack to level the coach on one corner. I searched this forum for something to help with the troubleshooting and found a few posts that pointed me in the general direction of the faulty WTECII ECU. I called Allison Transmission with my serial number and they admitted that the older WTECII units were prone to failure, but offered no real troubleshooting guidance. I checked EBAY for parts availability and was put off by the crazy prices for used replacements with no assurance that this would resolve my issue. Randomly, I searched YouTube and found one guy who had the same exact experience as I. He had his ECU rebuilt in the Dallas, Texas area and was extremely happy. His video gave the link to the company : Transmission Instruments (www.transmissioninstruments.com). I scanned their website with great confidence that this was the solution! John Kopalek, Owner and Senior Engineer of Transmission Instruments had prepared a troubleshooting guide that is very specific to the ECU's he rebuilds. I followed the troubleshooter and pinpointed my issue exactly! I bundled the ECU for shipment following Mr. Kopalek's instructions. Within a week, I had my rebuilt ECU back in hand. I installed it today without incident following the installation instructions included with my ECU. Everything works and my coach is completely level again. Rick Harrington

Bill, I bought mine at ACE Hardware a few years ago in the weather stripping/ insulation/energy conservation department. I'm due to replace mine again as well.