FLynes

So what is the consensus on which brand of switch to buy?

I bought and installed a factory switch. after I installed it, I heard about all of the horror stories with it being an unreliable unit, so I will definitely be replacing it with something that is a little bit more stout. I’ll take a look, you could be right, however, I do remember inspecting the cables when I installed the battery and everything seemed pliable, and I heard no crunching noises , like when wires overheat or are corroded.

I don’t know if it is a faulty ignition switch or not. I just got down to the body shop and it is in the paint booth… He said that when he started towing it with the forklift, all the sudden all of the lights came on and it started when his helper turned the ignition switch. When we first bought the coach, it did not have a chassis cut off switch… All of the wires were bolted together, and electrical taped. I bought a new cut off switch and installed it, and I’m now wondering if maybe it might be starting to go bad. It’s the only explanation I can think of for the coach completely shutting down, while it’s running. Either way, I can’t examine it right now, because the painter just applied another coat of primer epoxy. I guess I’ll figure it out, when I get the coach back in two weeks.

The battery cut off switches were not turned off, there is zero power going to the instrument panel when the key is turned to the on position. I’m headed down there now with some tools to see what’s going on. Keep in mind this is a W 24 workhorse chassis with the 8.1 L Vortec engine.

Just got a call from the body shop this morning....the owner was backing our coach into the paint booth, when it just died on him. He put it in Park and attempted to restart and nothing, not even a "click". Thinking it was a bad battery (it's a brand new Interstate), he put his jumper pack on it and our battery read 12.7v. Is there a master fuse somewhere on the coach that would prevent the engine from cranking?

Is that connector part of the Centinel Advanced Oil Management System?

John, you and I have the exact same tail lights....best upgrade I did, to spruce up the look and make it look a bit more modern. We also did the flooring on ours, although we used LVP, instead of Pergo. Our coach is at the painters, so they can repair and repaint the rear fiberglass and install a new ladder. Your coach looks beautiful.

Well I just dropped our coach off with the body and paint guy, whom all of the RV dealerships use, and in two weeks the rear end will be like new, along with the factory-correct Christianson/Aladdin ladder.

My last position in the Army was Battalion Security Officer…you couldn’t pay me to go to Mexico, after all the State Department reports I read about over the border incidents involving Americans being mugged, robbed, attacked and killed.

I’m getting the rear of our LaPalma repaired and repainted by the shop that every dealership here uses. The owner told me the only option, when clear coat is peeling is to repaint the color and then clear coat it, or it’s going to look off.

No, go to www.workhorse parts.com This Brazel’s site. Barbara, one of the parts specialists, is phenomenal. Also, subject change, if you take your signature pic and open it in Microsoft Paint and then save it as a .jpg you’ll be able to have it viewed by everyone on the forum.

Oh that made me sick, when I saw the pics. Good thing no one was hurt. Hopefully you’re fully insured.

Martin, as we discussed on the phone, I'm really thinking that the multifunction switch is bad. Here's the link for the replacement: https://www.workhorseparts.com/25111446-Turn-Signal-Lever-(Headlamp,-Cruise,-Windshield-Wiper-Washer)?search=turn signal&description=true

And, correct me if I'm wrong, if that system breaks, you are now stuck with a very expensive coach that no longer works, as there is no current solution for repairing broken systems. I believe Brett went through this last year, but I never saw a resolution to his situation.

Steve, I saw that too and called them last week...ladder is gone, sadly. Thank you for keeping an eye out for me. As it stands, thanks to Martin van Zyl, I have a drawing of the ladder and am forwarding it to Christianson. Bob, you've got greater faith in me than I do, LOL! I had to re-read what you wrote several times, and I still feel like a monkey doing math in Greek. Ask me to say, "The situation in Ukraine is untenable" in Russian and that's a piece of cake....I wanted to be an architect, until I took physics, trigonometry and analytic geometry....I knew linguistics was my path forward in life. I do understand what you wrote, but I now understand how dyslexic people feel.

That would be ideal, but the rep wants a drawing.

I just received a text from Mike Rospopo this morning....Christianson does NOT have the pattern for the LaPalma, so now I have to draw the ladder and hope my dimensions are correct. I'm a linguist, not a mechanical engineer, and my drawing sucks.

One of the things that has really bothered me, since we bought our coach last year, was that the driver side captain’s chair was ripped, because the third owner either never bothered to read the safety label on the wall that says, “Move seat forward, before moving slide”, or he was too drunk to read it…he really was an alcoholic, per his widow, 1 gallon of vodka per day to numb his back pain, and it killed him. Today a tech from FiberNew came out and fixed the rip and, unless you’re looking for it, you can’t see it. The camera actually picks it up better than the human eye. I am extremely pleased with the end result. Here are the before and after pics:

It’s a great idea, Dave, but I’m beyond OCD and, unless it looks like it’s supposed to or I can’t see the work-around, it bothers me to no end.

You and Rikki helped a great deal, Martin, so thank you.

Hello all, In an continuous attempt to rectify the wrongs of some P.O.s, one thing I found was that our roof ladder is an aftermarket unit made by Stromberg Carlson. While the mounting pads are in the same location as the original ladder, their footprint is a bit smaller and the top leaves much to be desired, primarily that the top mounting points fall exactly 9 inches short of the original Christianson mounting location, which puts the Stromberg Carlson mounting location on our fiberglass cap, vice the actual roof itself. After several conversations with Christianson rep Mike Rospopo, as well as forum members Martin and Rikki, and finally with REV Group itself, I found that the correct part number for the 2005 Monaco LaPalma 37PST and the 2004 HR Vacationer 37PCT is P/N 10117779. This ladder may fit other models, but I can't say for sure. I then called Christianson again and Mike Rospopo is now going to speak with the manufacturing division tomorrow and see if they can pull up the pattern, as they still have nearly all of the patterns from the older models, and get this ladder made for us. REV Group wants $464.75 + $360 freight; Christianson quoted me $250 + about $300 freight. When I asked Mike Rospopo about something I had read on the forum about Christianson not willing to work with individual customers but, rather, direct them to distributors, Mike told me that that had been the case under the old ownership; the new owner is more willing to work with us DIYers, so if you need a ladder, this is now a viable solution. BTW, Christianson also now owns Atwood.

My dad had a '77 Shovelhead that he picked up new at the AMF plant in York, PA. I know the Shovelheads are supposed to drip a bit of oil to lube the chain, but this thing was a sieve. After my accident in '91 ('86 Honda Ninja 600), I realized the Animal Farm mantra: Two wheels good, four wheels better.

Google and Yelp are your best friends, when it comes to reviews. Several months ago, we took our International Harvester tractor to the dealership for some service to extract two broken bolts in an easily accessible area by our PTO. They kept the tractor for three and a half weeks, and we were charged for 20 hours of labor @ $235/hr. Needless to say, we weren't going to pay that insane amount of money for two broken bolts. The only reason I took it to them was because I didn't have the extractor to do it myself....in hindsight, I should have just drilled and tapped new threads. After Brooke posted a scathing Google review, blasting the female service advisor (Jolene), who was extremely condescending, the owner of the shop called me and asked if we could work something out. After finding out that the 20 year-old kid who was put on the job had only been working there for a few weeks, I told the owner that $500 was what I was expecting to pay. He agreed and asked me if Brooke would kindly delete the Google review. She agreed in good faith, and I went down to the shop and picked up our tractor.

When we bought our coach, it had nothing in those cabinets…I cobbled an RCA system together, based on the 2004 Holiday Rambler wiring diagrams that Rikki sent me, so my system is the DVD-only unit, model DVDRT1, IIRC. I also have the RCA VR651HF VCR.