DBRV.0

Yes, I hadn't noticed that. Looks like it could be used as a wiring chase that runs from the bottom of the cabinet into the basement. It doesn't go to the ceiling. That round brown object on it is the zone 1 temp sensor. The highlighted column is fixed - the right column piece is part of the slide. - Jeff [edit: I am WRONGO PONGO. I didn't take time to investigate before I sent the photo. That highlighted piece of wood is actually the valance. It looked like it could be a chase from where I am sitting.]

That's my dilemma. I don't have a lot of knowledge of "what is behind xx or yy". However, I can be persistent. I thought I had read that once upon a time. But I don't yet know how to get into there, or how to get back down or out. I normally do. Thanks for the advice. It sounds like you have some memorable experience with Magnapull. My son learned how to do hidden wiring when he worked with the Geek Squad. He has used that experience to venture into wiring things at his home. I think he has some stuff that I need to borrow ... Wise suggestion. -------------------------- I'm in the process of re-working my AV cabinet above the passenger seat. First is to get rid of the 110V wiring mess and install a small UPS which will serve as surge and power protection as well as multiple outlets. I will mount it high on the right side wall. There is much better speaker technology (we have some wireless Sonos that sound great), so I'm not sure if the ceiling speakers+wires will be re-used. There can also be better coax organization and/or access hole to the roof, as well as improved lighting wire routing inside the cabinet. I note that the far right corner seems to be a defacto-cable run point - not sure where that leads. - Jeff

Yes, that's exactly the same as mine. I see your video cable - nice idea!

Just curious - Has anyone installed ethernet cable between different points in the coach? For example if I began at the electronics box over the passenger, how would one string wire down the driver or passenger sides, to a new ethernet port on a wall, or even to the rear TV cabinet? - Jeff p.s. I know someone is bound to say "just Wifi", but that's not my preference.

It drives me bananas when wind coming from the coach rear catches the front door and slams the door open. The door stops when the top limit steel "elbow" bar is fully extended, creating a hard and boisterous stop. There is no cushion, no control. I'm fearing that one day there will be some bad news damage. Does anyone have a solution? - Jeff

To help others, it is useful to explain. - Jeff

I don't know if this is helpful or not, but it may be possible for you to touch a location on the screen for focus. My iPhone does this. For example, when you take a picture of a dip switch, hold the phone/camera steady while you touch the screen where the dip switch appears. It should focus on that object. You can review your success by displaying the photo you just took, and zooming in on the object to check focus. - Jeff

To clarify my prior statement, if anyone needs details, I will gladly enhance the following information. Generally, here is what I did: Remove the back panel. Mine was snap-in. I removed the cabinet speaker and camera because they were in the way. I unplugged the TV and all of the HDMI cables and sound cables so when the TV was released, wiring would not hold it back. I removed four 10mm bolts on the rear of the TV that held it up against a metal mounting bracket. I removed around 50 (not kidding) square-head screws that held the cabinet box to: coach ceiling, dash/shade ceiling, side cabinets. No pocket screws were removed. [edit: when I re-install, I will utilize torx-head screws because I believe them to be easier to drive.]

You did a super job! I felt compelled to ask about insulation. We changed out our bed, which necessitated changing the plywood foundation size. During that process, I wanted to document some of the wiring. I was shocked to find that the slide-out wall had zero insulation. That is the wall with the most electrical switches - the forward wall. Made me start to wonder if there was any insulation anywhere except the ceiling. Getting into the front cap, I found insulation stopped 4 inches above the windshield - leaving fiberglass exposed. So when the 'OVHD Fan' switch to the left of the driver is activated, that unconditioned air is circulated.

My experience is that failure of a switch is not uncommon. Pull it out and test with a meter or jump it. As for the original post about possible damage, I don't have experience in it, but have diagnostic suggestions. I would first pull the switch out to determine if the switch has power. If no power, then see if sourcing power from an adjacent switch will make it work. On the other hand, if it has power, then at least you know what wires and their colors are possibly damaged. If you don't know what I mean by "pull out switch", I mean exactly that - use a putty knife or kitchen knife or similar under the switch edge to pry/pull the switch out of the panel.

Just curious - I cannot tell from the pictures, but in the "after" state, it looks like the wall has all voids filled with Styrofoam. Correct? Was Styrofoam present in the "before" state, or was there something else? I'm trying to develop an understand of all aspects of the OEM construction. Boy, you sure do like to tackle big jobs!

As a secondary comment, if your chassis or house batteries are below 12V, and your inverter/charger is not doing the job, you may have to resort to the same steps you would take if a car battery were too low to start the car - use a battery charger to charge the battery(s). It should not be necessary to state, but be sure you aren't trying to charge one of the 6V house batteries with 12V. The use of a multimeter will help verify the correct connection points. As a tertiary comment, make sure the battery connections on all chassis and house batteries have a good, corrosion-free connection with the cables. A charger such as your Magnum cannot charge if the electricity has trouble getting across a point of corrosion.

If there are voltage problems, I don't care what a single gauge panel reads. What is needed is a measurement by something reliable. I'm not saying the panel is not, but it should be double-checked with a separate meter. My opinion is that everyone who owns or operates an RV should have a multimeter and know how to use it, even if it only used for testing battery voltages, from AAA size to starting or house batteries. If the available voltage to electrics is out of normal operating range, I can guarantee that all kinds of wild things might happen. Each electronic piece is likely to have different lower voltages at which it fails to function reliably or correctly. If you are truly below 10 volts, all observations and diagnostics are worthless until the voltage is raised to normal.

Thanks, Tom. Yes, I saw that discussion, which was my comment in the original post - about different models or different years. As unique as each unit may be, it would not surprise me if a change was implemented midway in a model year.

Well, since you ask ... I've been wondering if it would be possible to do a mini-split system that could provide both cool and heat, efficiently. I figure there would have to be two heads. Possibly one above the dash, one in the rear bathroom. Continuous ducts would carry the air throughout. So ducting is one question, the other is how to get the copper and electrical to each head. This topic is for ducts. I could remove my plastic vents and fish around to see the extent of the layout, but I thought asking would could more thorough.

I'm interested in making some changes to the AC system on my '09 Monaco Dynasty, but I need to gather information before I venture into the planning phase. I have searched Youtube for videos of anyone exposing the ducts, but the views I get are what I would call 'incidental' shots. Nothing complete or detailed. On a separate topic in this forum, I noted that someone was mentioning that one of the long ducts may not run the entire length. But maybe that was a different year or model? My casual observation is that there are two ducts which run from the front cabinets, all along, into the rear wardrobe closet. In the front, there is possibly a branch to feed the AV cabinet over the passenger seat. Then another branch that feeds the mid-coach half bath. Does anyone have information and photos of the system, such as layout? Are the ducts embedded in insulation? - Jeff

I wanted to provide an update regarding my front TV. The rear TV (bedroom) is a separate project that I won't address until the front is completed. I was able to remove the front TV and TV cabinet. See the included picture. My new replacement TV is wider but shorter (height-wise) than the old TV, and less than half the weight (old is a flat screen from 2008 - the year of construction). The new is exactly the width of the entire cabinet, so the cabinet must be modified to accommodate the new width, and something is needed to close the height gap. At this time, I am not inclined to add to this topic with details. Instead, I have taken video snippets of my process, and will eventually develop and post the whole as a Youtube video. Thanks for all of the input! - Jeff

The mention of solar was only to list a possible power source when the batteries are cut-off. I stumbled across this when I was a newbie and my assumption was that if I cut-off the batteries, there should be no charge current.

My first thought when it was stated that voltage was present when the battery cutoff/disconnect was performed, made me think of my coach battery work a year ago. I'm a 2009 Monaco Dynasty, so perhaps I have what you do not - a solar panel. I found that with my chassis batteries turned off, there was still voltage. The solar panel was the source. Your boost solenoid, White Rogers, was replaced with a Big Boy solenoid in later years. I found a great explanation in the YT video titled "You Don't Have to Replace the Bad Part...EVERYTIME!!!". Both solenoid brands can be disassembled. Check to ensure contacts inside are shiny and bright. Clean it and you should be able to knock that off of your list of uncertainties. When I opened mine up, it was in need of a good cleaning, and went from non-operational to operational.

To better understand all electrical issues, my suggestion is to have and use a multimeter as a method to collect diagnostic information. I have a few, but one that I really like is a UNI-T UT210x, where 'x' may be D or E. It will measure the volts and amperage in AC or DC - important in your situation. For example clamp to measure DC amps on your battery cables, or measure voltages for house and chassis batteries while charging or at rest. The more information you have, the easier you will be able to manage and protect your resources.

FYI, if anyone else thinks that their Big Boy (rear bumper electrical panel) needs to be replaced, think again. I found a great explanation in the YT video titled "You Don't Have to Replace the Bad Part...EVERYTIME!!!". When I bought our coach, it had charging problems: shore power was not charging all of the batteries. Fortunately I determined that prior to signature, thus added another discount. Indeed, when I opened it up, the Big Boy was indeed in need of a good cleaning.

Funny that you should mention external antennas. My little Verizon LTE unit has a port for such. When I bought it, I had Verizon agree to send me an antenna because my signal was too weak when it was indoors. It was for free for customers who needed it - it was not for all customers. That's why my unit sat outside. Weeks turned into months, then a year. Their excuse was "backordered", or something similar. Finally, they told me that they were unavailable, but I could buy one. This year, I bought one for it for the Monaco, with the intention of setting it up if I needed it. It's still sitting in the basement. One day I'll get to it ...

Not yet, but I have moved the device 90 miles from my original purchase location and there were no surprises.

There must be a reason, such as they believe your location will result in poor reception, thus you will "send it back". I was in a similar situation, then towers popped up that changed the status. There must be line-of-sight between antennas, yours and theirs, and it cannot be a long distance. If you have a cell phone of a provider, and that works, I would expect it likely that they would make Home Internet available. Check out websites that might show cell towers, then determine if the distance is great or something (like a hill/mountain) exists between you and their tower(s). With a quick search, I found antennasearch.com as an example. FWIW, I have Verizon LTE Home Internet. When I first purchased it a few years ago, I found that there was not a place inside my home that had a strong enough signal for the unit to connect. I tried everything. In contrast, my cell phone worked reliably in 75% of the space indoors, so I implemented "wifi calling" on my phones to make calls work. My issue was that foil on my [custom] house wall and roof sheathing degraded signals. Out of frustration, I put the LTE unit on my balcony floor where it could "see" the blinking-light cell tower. That worked and I got 35MB down. It's not supposed to be a weather proof unit, but I had no choice and it sat out there for years. I now have that unit sitting above the passenger seat of my Monaco, and I get 55MB down, but I am currently stationary.

My front has finely finished wood. No plugs. See the photo. BTW, my rear panel turns out to be snap-in, so I have access. Yea! As I said, the back panel is off. I've got an all-day project today and will be at our son's place (away from the RV) for a few days, so I'll get back to this topic next week. Then I'll post pix of the bedroom TV, which has no rear panel and no visible plugs. Thank you all for your information and direction! - Jeff