CAT Stephen

Bill, Your A/C rooftop unit was modified by the previous owner as rooftop A/Cs have factory charged and sealed A/C systems. The issue that you will encounter if you attempt DIY is that you can't purchase R410a refrigerant without an EPA license. Also, truck and RV shops don't have the equipment to recharge R410a systems. And finally, a residential A/C technician will not charge your system without a high side port to monitor the high pressure side of the system. Provided that you don't have an on-board aqua hot system, I recommend that you consider the following replacement unit from RecPro (Houghton) as the cost is much lower, can be controlled from your cell phone or tablet via SwitchBot, and is much quieter: - https://www.recpro.com/rv-air-conditioner-15k-with-heat-pump/ Keep in mind that the RecPro unit above does not use your existing Dometic control or the Dometic thermostat. It has its own built in thermostat and is controlled with an included infrared remote control. Also, you can purchase a SwitchBot hub from Amazon to remotely control the unit via your cell phone or tablet.

That was a typo that I corrected. Thank you...

You will need to purchase an R134a manifold set and ~3 cans of R134a refrigerant, goggles for eye protection, and insulated gloves for skin protection. You can then use a standard R134a P/T chart to charge your systems to the correct pressure given your current ambient outdoor temperature. The R134a low and high pressure ports of located in the area on the front of your coach on the upper left from the generator when your generator access cover is opened. You will also find additional ports in the rear of the coach near the A/C compressor. Just follow the refrigerant lines. Almost all automotive shops will refuse to service your A/C if they can't fit your coach inside their service bay. All truck shops will service your A/C.

The R134a low and high pressure ports of located in the area on the front of your coach on the upper left from the generator when your generator access cover is opened. You will also find additional ports in the rear of the coach near the A/C compressor. Just follow the refrigerant lines.

Bill, I have the same issue also. This is caused by the orifice tube which works as an expansion valve to regulate the refrigerant amount flowing to the evaporator. You can ignore this issue as it is not worthwhile to correct on the low side because you are very close to spec. Set your high side pressure to specification and call it a success... The main cause of leaks on the older coaches are schrader valves everywhere. My 2000 HR Endeavor 38WDD has six leaky schrader valves that I had to replace twice since I have owned the coach.

Mike, You mentioned there is not enough existing Solar to run your refrigerator. Are you looking to expand your solar array? Or do you just want to repair what you have? Your factory Solar wiring is limited to 11 amps. You can substantially increase the voltage by wiring solar panels in series to get the wattage, but you can’t exceed 11 amps. Are you willing to replace the very limited low power OEM PWM solar controller with a modern and highly efficient MPPT controller? To isolate your current issue, disconnect the two wires from the solar panel at the PWM controller and measure the amps with a multimeter with full sun. If you get more than 3 amps, then your PWM controller is failed. if you just want to replace what you have, here is an excellent PWM controller: https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Voyager-10A-Waterproof-Controller/dp/B07YXZ68F5

Rick, I own the Bluefire and love it! What are your monitoring goals and monitoring scope so that I can recommend the right solution for you?

Bob, Good call to pass on the Lithium batteries, but your existing wiring will be suitable, depending on the gage of the existing wiring. As an example, 14 gage wire was used on most Monaco Coaches in the early to late 2000s for the factory 60 watt solar panel. So, at 24 VDC (VOC of a 12V panel), this wiring had some spare amp capacity. As 12V solar panels are rated at 24V VOC Volts output, here is the detail: - The capacity of 14 Gage stranded wire with 60C rated insulation, a 10 feet total wire loop with a 4% voltage drop specification typically used for Monaco factory solar panel wire runs from the roof are rated at 11 Amps So, if you wire your solar panels in a combo parallel & series array, and use a high voltage MPPT solar controller, the existing factory wiring is entirely suitable. Here is the configuration I used to install a substantial 1.2Kw solar panel array on my roof using that Monoco factory thin 14 gage stranded copper wire: - Total of 12 Renogy 100 Watt Solar panels. - Each Renogy 12V solar panel is rated at 24VDC VOC and a rated maximum output at 5.21 Amps - Panels are wired as two (2) arrays wired in parallel with each array consisting of six (6) panels each wired in series - Each array runs at 144 Volts DC at 5.21 Amps @ 77 Degrees Fahrenheit - The arrays are paralleled in a combiner box for an aggregate output of 144 VDC @ 10.42 Amps (i.e. close to fully utilizing the 11 amp capacity of the 14 gage stranded copper wire if I were parked on the equator at noon on a perfectly clear day.) To compensate for extreme high voltage induced by very cold morning weather (this condition is referred to as HyperVOC), I am using a Midnight Solar Classic 200 solar controller so that my solar controller doesn't experience over-voltage destruction. So, if I was winter RVing in Canada on a very cold morning at -40 degrees Fahrenheit, the VOC (Voltage Open Circuit) correction factor for my solar voltage output would be 1.25 thus: - Each array runs at 144 VOC *1.25 = 180 VDC at 5.21 Amps @ -40 Degrees Fahrenheit. - My Midnight Solar Classic 200 Controller will handle a maximum of 200VDC, so I am safely within this solar controller maximum voltage of 200 VDC Bob, I hope that the detail above provides you with insight as to how useful your existing 14 AWG factory solar panel wiring is so that you can potentially move forward with your solar project. If you can attain lightly used solar panels for less that 50 cents per watt, you are getting a bargain. But the solar panels must be a size that allows you to still access your roof. Most standard residential solar panel don't work well in RV applications because they are just too large.

Thanks Bob, If you are not using the system with your inverter, then you can't use it with your batteries since your batteries are connected to your inverter except for the 24V Lithium you mentioned. And Lithium can't be used on your chassis side as Lithium chemistry is not compatible for starting and you chassis side is not 24V compatible. Here are my revised questions for you: - What is your use case for the new solar system since your lead acid house batteries are connected to your inverter which is 12V, is not lithium compatible, and is not 24V compatible, and also can't be used with your chassis batteries? - Do you have pre-existing wiring from your roof to the compartment or room where you will keep your inverter? If you do, what is the gage of the wire?

Bob, I'll walk you through the process: - Do you have pre-existing wiring from your roof to the compartment or room where you will keep your inverter? If you do, what is the gage of the wire? - What type of batteries are you trying to charge (Lead Acid, Lithium, ect.) - What is the make and model number of your existing inverter?

How long, in hours, have you been running the refrigerator? Absorption refrigerators take ~48 hours to cool down.

Hello Les, All rooftop AC units are custom and unique to a manufacture's product series. For example, the "Dometic Penguin 2" series shares a common shroud/cover. Thus, the shroud/cover of the old unit to be replaced will not fit the new unit. If you elect to utilize the Houghton (RecPro) products, these units are entirely self contained and independent of your current thermostat. But, you still need to keep your current thermostat installed to run your existing propane furnace. Nothing to fear and easy as pie!

Key here is that the Houghton rooftop units (RecPro) allow you to completely abandon the expensive and complex interface boards and manufacturer specific thermostats as their controllers are self-contained in these units. You may also remotely control these units via a SwitchBot infared repeater provided that you have an internet connection on your RV. These units do not attach to your existic Dometic controls as their controls are self contained. Compared to spending $100s on controller boards and MicroAir thermostats, the RecPro units are a bargin and are tremendously quieter than Dometic, Coleman, ect. You will still need to keep your legacy Dometic thermostat installed to control your furnace.

Here is an alternate route for you to consider. This AC unit is tremendously quieter than the Dometic, costs less than the Dometic, doesn't require a Dometic upgrade board, and has an included infared remote control: - 13.5K BTU Low profile version: https://www.recpro.com/rv-air-conditioner-low-profile-13-5k-quiet-ac-with-heat-pump-remote-non-ducted/ - 15K BTU Standard profile version: https://www.recpro.com/rv-air-conditioner-15k-with-heat-pump/ Make sure that you pick the right version for your RV (Ducted or Non-Ducted).

I have installed two (2) RV Airflow manifolds for my two rooftop ACs used for my ducted AC system. Before installation, The frontal unit would not sufficiently cool and I was getting substantial condensation due to poor airflow. After the installation, my frontal unit now sufficiently keeps my RV cool and the air velocity of my farthest duct in the drivers area went from no measurable air current to substantial flow with no condensation. Another benefit is extreme noise reduction down 9db for the frontal unit and 8db for the rear unit at 1 meter. Also, both my units run much less that previously under the same conditions as the airflow has increased tremendously which has made both units much more efficient and effective.

Stephen, It depends upon your use case. I provided all the options that you may choose from depending upon three use cases. Your use case has a substantial impact on which option will fit best for you: - Use Case 1: If you are on the grid nearly full time, you have a generator to keep your battery bank charged when you are off grid, and do not have significant solar power: * Option 1A: Stay with your residential refrigerator In your specific use case, staying with your existing residential reefer will maintain the maximum resale value for your RV, provided that your reefer is in good condition. This option requires that your inverter is on full time since residential refrigerators run on 120VAC. Although most residential refrigerators run on 75-200 watts, the issue is that most inverters draw a significant amount of additional energy (typically 45-100 watts) which put a substantial additional load on your battery bank. * Option 1B: Replace your residential refrigerator with an ultra high efficiency 12V RV refrigerator 12V compressor RV style refrigerators have the interior storage, appearance, reliability, and features of a residential refrigerator, but will use less than half the watt-hours (~25%-30%) of your current residential refrigerator. These 12V RV refrigerators include standard mounting hardware so that you don't need to do a custom installation. The only catch is that they may or may not fit your existing opening, so measure carefully: https://www.recpro.com/rv-12v-refrigerator/ This option will also maintain and even enhance the maximum resale value for your RV - Use Case #2: If you have significant solar power (i.e. more than 300 watts) and have more than 200 amp hours of usable battery capacity (this is 200 amp hours of lithium or 400 amp hours of Lead Acid), and your solar power is available while your RV is stored , or you have access to 120VAC shore power at your RV storage facility, then stay with your residential refrigerator: Please refer to options for use case #1 - Use Case #3: If you are not on the grid or rarely on the grid, do not have significant solar power, and don't have a generator or you don't want to use your generator, then proceed to buy a used Norcold or Dometic absorption refrigerator, but make the following changes for fire protection and your personal safety: Option 3A: Buy a new helium based absorption style cooling unit for your existing refrigerator from JC Refrigeration which will reduce cooling unit fire risk to zero. Helium is an absolutely "safe" absorption cooling unit refrigerant making a refrigerator fire impossible: https://jc-refrigeration.com/product-category/norcold-gas-electric-cooling-units/ Helium cooling units cost more than ammonia cooling units and are not as efficient as ammonia cooling units Option 3B: Buy a new ammonia based absorption style cooling unit for your existing refrigerator from JC Refrigeration. Ammonia is a flammable absorption cooling unit refrigerant, but The JC Refrigeration units have much thicker tubing than the OEM units and are MUCH safer than OEM cooling units and are MUCH more efficient than OEM cooling units at keeping your refrigerator and freezer temperatures down in the acceptable food storage temperature range. For Either Option 3A or Option 3B: Purchase the ARP Absorption Boiler monitor (Called the Fridge Defend) from https://www.arprv.com to eliminate the potential of cooling unit damage. The ARP Fridge Defend will substantially increase the lifespan of your expensive absorption cooling unit by protecting against boiler overheating conditions which lead to internal corrosion and failure of the cooling unit. https://www.arprv.com/purchase.php Purchase Option #1 from ARP because JC refrigeration controls their fans with a thermostat to maintain your warranty If you are within a reasonable driving distance from JC Refrigeration in northern Indiana, have JC Refrigeration install the new absorption based cooling unit with the ARP Fridge Defend boiler monitor. Above all things, your personal safety comes first. So, if you fit into use case #3 above, be advised: In all cases, NEVER BUY the new Norcold or new Dometic OEM new gas absorption refrigerators or their associated OEM replacement cooling units: The OEM cooling unit performance is very poor resulting in the common nicknames "NotCold" "NeverCold" and NotSoCold" An OEM cooling unit will reduce the maximum resale value for your RV by ~$2K typically due to the notorious poor reliability, low quality, and fire danger of the Norcold and Dometic OEM cooling units. They have inherent high risk of fire through corrosion resulting from boiler overheating which eventually results in flammable ammonia being discharged and subsequently ignited by the propane flame or the electric induction heater coil. Although both Norcold and Dometic have partially addressed their fire issue via safety cutoff safety switches for runaway boiler overheating situations, their cutoff switches don't turn off the boilers until a much higher temperature is reached versus the ARP Control which will result in cooling unit corrosion and subsequent failure after a boiler overheat event within ~one to three years. The JC Refrigeration units have much thicker tubing than the OEM units and are MUCH more efficient at keeping your refrigerator and freezer temperatures down in the safe range. The #1 insurance claim in the RV insurance industry is refrigerator fires. NEVER run an any ammonia based cooling unit without an ARP Fridge Defend and / or a fire suppression system attached to the cooling unit. If you are depending on the Norcold and Dometic recall kits alone (i.e. thermal runaway switches) then you are at risk for an ammonia fire when the thin OEM cooling unit tubing corrodes and dumps flammable ammonia on your open propane flame or electric heaters. I have personally been there and done that with my original Norcold OEM cooling unit when it failed and was very fortunate that I was present when my unit started smoking due to a boiler failure and was able to immediately shutdown my refrigerator to avoid a disaster.

Costco is you best source for hight capacity starting batteries. They are an exclusive distributor for interstate batteries and sell them for less than the competition.

Denny, The issue with the Winegard Traveler is that it is not field serviceable, thus your understanding is correct that it must be shipped to Winegard for service (The Winegard factory, not just an RV dealership and you pay the shipping charges). Another issue with the Winegard Traveller is that almost all of its electronics are exposed to the weather on your RV roof. The competitor to the Winegard Traveler is the RF Mogul Eagle. Here the the advantages of the RF Mogul Eagle versus the Winegard Traveler: - 100% field serviceable --> No need to ever ship the unit back to the factory for service - Built in GPS --> Deploys faster and locks on sooner as there is no need for user input. - All electronics located inside the RV --> The Winegard Traveler has almost all electronics on the roof being exposed to weather - Easy conversion between DirecTV/Dish/Bell/Shaw satellite providers --> Only some Winegard Traveller's support only one-way conversion between DirecTV and Dish. - Much smaller stow size on your RV roof at 37" long by 8.5" tall --> The Winegard Traveler stows to 48" long X 9.5" high -Smaller Rotational Clearance Zone of 26"--> The Winegard Traveler clearance is larger at 33" Here is what is the same for the RF Mogul Eagle versus the Winegard Traveler: - Support of both Dish full eastern and western arcs --> Note that both require LNBF and Feed arm changes - Warranty is 1 year labor and two years parts - Both are manufactured and assembled in the United States Here is the advantage of the Winegard Traveler over the RF Mogul Eagle - The Winegard Traveler Pro #SK2DISH in a Dish network Western arc config is $2249.00 which is $150.00 less expensive that the RF Mogul Eagle #365-EAGLE-DISHNETWORK at~$2395.00 You can learn more about the RF Mogul Eagle here: - https://www.rfmogul.com/rv-eagle-tv-1 Here are the dealers that sell and install the RF Mogul Eagle: - https://www.rfmogul.com/where-to-buy

Hello Denny, To get you the right solution, please answer the following questions: - Who is your satellite provider (Dish, DirecTV) - Do you want in-motion satellite reception? - How many televisions do you want to use simultaneously that can be tuned to different satellite channels? - what satellite receiver(s) would you like to use and are you flexible with potentially changing your satellite receivers? - Your profile indicates that you are located in Washington. Are you primarily using your RV in the Western USA?

Hello Denny, To get you the right solution, please answer the following questions: - Who is satellite provider (Dish, DirecTV, Bell, etc.) - Do you want in-motion satellite reception? - How many televisions do you want to use simultaneously that can be tuned to different satellite channels? - what satellite receiver(s) would you like to use and are you flexible with potentially changing your satellite receivers? - What part of the USA or Canada do you primarily use your RV in?

Stephen, Follow the hydraulic lines to find the landing gear reservoir. There are typically two reserviors on most coaches: The hydraulic steering reservoir and the hydraulic jack reservoir. The hydraulic jack reservoir uses ATF (automatic transmission fluid). Once you fill the reservoir, cycle your landing gear ~3 times then check the level again. Then, inspect each jack to insure it is fully retracted. If you find a jack that is not fully retracted, there are two types of jacks that require different repair actions: - Jack with external (visible) springs: Replace the external springs if the jack does not fully retract - Jack with internal (non-visible) springs: Replace the entire jack if the jack does not fully retract

Thank you everyone for your excellent input on this topic! I wanted to share with you the outcome: - From the documentation that Dave Jones provided (thanks Dave!!), and the free telephone technical support from Lippert (Lippert now owns Kwikee), I isolated the issue to a defective controller - I was very pleased with Lippert's direct technical support on this product! - Lippert's technical support advised that, since my Kwikee Series 32 step was made before 2004, I would need to order a complete electronics and mechanical upgrade kit including a new motor assembly, new gearbox, new controller, and new door switch (Everything but the step) since the pre-2004 electronics and mechanicals are no longer available and are not compatible with currently available Lippert Kwikee parts. This upgrade package is currently available from Lippert for $560.00 plus tax and ~$75 shipping. Given the high cost of the upgrade kit, I purchased a complete factory new Kwikee Series 32 Electric Step Assembly for $592.10 from Amazon with free shipping which is $42.10 less than the upgrade kit directly from Lippert, I get the new product warranty, and I save ~1-2 hours of my installation labor dealing with swapping virtually everything on the legacy downlevel step. - https://www.amazon.com/Lippert-Components-372261-Kwikee-Electric/dp/B01F92UZBW/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 In summary, due to the age of my Pre-2004 Lippert Kwikee electric step resulting in all parts (except the step and linkages) being unavailable for purchase, I had to purchase an entire new electric step assembly. What I thought would be a simple control module replacement for $85 has become expensive $592.00 step into another RV maintenance saga!

My coach is a Holiday Rambler Endeavor 38WDD.

How can I discover what electric steps are installed on my coach and what is the troubleshooting procedure to isolate the root cause?

Vince, Yes, the JC upgrade uses the Norcold controls. The number you set on the Norcold brow depends upon the outside temperature. Also, the battery consumption varies with the outside temperature and the inside temperature of your coach.