dennis.mcdonaugh

Hail took mine out. It looked black from the outside. I replaced it with the darkest bronze color I could find. It lets in more light, but I like the color better. 

9 minutes ago, tmw188 said:

Thanks Dennis, that’s the real life experience I was looking for with the post. One day sitting on the side of the highway is not good. A tow wouldn’t be out of the question if it came to that. I decided I’m not let that weigh in on my decision. I would bet those that had to settle for what a tire shop could bring out to them didn't want to do a tow off the highway🤷

Here is a great interactive tire calculator to play with. Shows std specs and has overlay options.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=275-80r22.5-295-75r22.5

I hit something (don’t know where or when) and put a small crack in the tire. I noticed it while doing a walk around at a fuel stop. We found an RV park nearby and located a tire dealer a few miles away. 

I replaced one of my steer Toyos in that size while on the road in Richfield, UT and it took the shop one day to get it from their distributor’s warehouse in Salt Lake City, UT. Not a big deal. 

That definitely looks like a split rim. Dangerous things.

3 hours ago, bobdinsmore said:

I've had the same good luck as m.deere that tightening the three bolts on the top of the pump fixed the problem for at least five years so far.

I bought a new gasket from a company in Alabama. 

My HWH system had ATF in it when I got a leak. I replaced all the hydraulic lines with HWH replacements. 

25 minutes ago, Ivan K said:

Funny that this was the exact same reason for my welding. Looks like they did not get that part right back then. I did not want to mess with the ECM, TCM/VIM connectors. Easier said than done where they are. Then there is the ABS and other electronics if one wanted to go to that extent. Welding shop would have no idea so that would be on the owner to do.

Mine had a short bead down each side of the bracket. I put one on each side and the front and back along the frame rail. 

I disconnected both sets of batteries and turned off the chassis and house switches in the rear run bay when I had to reweld the hydraulic motor mount on my coach. 

I removed my window to reseal the glass after condensation got between the double panes. I used rope caulk behind the frame with proflex around the frame to reinstall the window. 

I didn’t see this info. Is this a 4 or 8 air bag coach? If it’s an 8 bag coach, it’s not the solenoid that’s the problem. The air lines on my coach go from the ride height valve to the front airbag, then to the rear air bag and the solenoid so the front air bag deflates through the rear bag. 

I don’t know if your dish is SD or not, but the last SD satellite was scheduled to go dark soon, they didn’t have the exact date, but the last I heard, it was about now. 
 

i

here’s some discussion on Direct TV forums. 
 

https://forums.directv.com/conversations/community-lounge/why-is-directv-taking-away-my-channels/62490de1a7e2d409585cec94#

Buy the upper and lower rebuild kit. They're easy to rebuild after you remove it from under the coach.

I think Brazel’s took over the RVA business. 
 

https://www.brazelsrv.com/

2 hours ago, Cubflyer said:

Dennis,

Do you happen to know the Sheppard part number?  According to my 'build sheet' my unit is a M100 PMN31..... it has a 10.5" steering arm attached.  I believe the unit and arm that JDCrow suggested is a good replacement.

Ken

I think it’s the M80. There’s a wealth of info on iRV2 about the various Shepard steering gears. I believe the M100 is the direct swap. 

There's at least one Sheppard box that has no direct TRW replacement.

The first counter place I walked into sold Corian and had a scrap just the size I needed in my pattern. He said it was still current even though it’s a 2000 coach. 

Your set up is different than mine. I replaced the propane stove a few years back after the 12 volts for the igniter shorted out and caught fire.

Here's the link to what I did on iRV2

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/do-you-smell-smoke-411575.html

37 minutes ago, Ivan K said:

Saddle ports are not a fix I would consider as anything close to permanent, they WILL leak. I used them just to quickly see if there is any pressure, find the leak and then braze a real port in their place. They could even be just soldered in just like one would do with copper plumbing, if not right at the compressor. But I don't have to pay anyone to do it for me.

They were soldered in place. You could tell they were a modification to add a charging port and not part of the original installation. Good luck with your repair.

My a/c units both had saddle charging ports installed when I bought the coach. Both units slowly lost coolant until I had to replace them. They had charging ports installed for a reason, they leaked!  A lot of owners have spent money, some a lot of money, to repair these units and had to replace them anyway. 

1 hour ago, eddie4ne said:

We are in Washington and have unusual wear on the right drive tire. My greatest fear is a drive tire blowout, enhanced by the tradegy recently on I-81. Have 2 Toyo tires scheduled to be installed for about $1500 tomorrow at Les Schwab in Anacortes, WA. What is the oldest acceptable manufacture date?

I'd like it to be this month! Unfortunately, that doesn't happen so my hard and fast rule is within six months of manufacture. 

d***. 

On 8/2/2023 at 5:46 PM, cbr046 said:

That many butt connectors will make for a very big bulge at the junction point.  And each connection is only as good as the crimp. 

I'm pretty good at soldering (or at least used to be) so if that were my harness I would cut / strip each wire, jam the two ends together (intermixing the strands together) solder then heat shrink tubing (don't forget to put the tubing on before soldering!).  The key is to make sure the copper isn't oxidized so the solder flows.  But that's me.  Individual results may vary.

- bob

You staggerthe splices by an inch and half and you’re good. 

I’ve only used them on low voltage circuits, but the ones I got from Amazon work great. 

3 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

SMART and well done.  You understood and did it like it should be.  MOST are realizing that now, but way back when, folks were insulating to beat the band, putting tight fitting shrouds or facades and not bracing or driloing holes in the sides and ruining the new unit.

The conversion techs did not “grasp” the concept.

BUT…eventually the word spread….

Thanks.

One other than I did was put the temp sensor for the generator auto start just behind that top vent in case power goes out while we’re out of the motorhome. We have dogs and that seemed like the best place to get an early warning. We also use a marcell environmental sensor, but some times we’re camping out of cell service. 

I read all the info on replacing the fridge and this one is small enough to leave room all the way around for ventilation and I put a vent screen on the front at the top where I had 6” of headspace. I also blocked the outside vent by attaching 1” of rigid foam board insulation to the inside of the vent. I also used foam board to seal the roof vent and covered it with aluminum sheet. 
 

I still had enough room for a broom closet on the side. there was a little weathering evident on the wood inside the outside vent so I sanded down what I could and replaced what I couldn’t and covered it with fiberglass.