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12-29-2016, 06:29 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ontario, California
Posts: 2,429
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Installed a See Level holding tank sensor system
Well, I thought I'd give myself a pat on my back and try not to get tennis elbow while doing so LOL.
I do a lot of dry camping and the stock Digi Level gauge system doesn't quite cut it to know exactly how much water you have or how full your black and gray tanks are. I didn't want to remove the factory gauge and spent a lot of time scouting the perfect location that would allow me to perform the installation and make it look like it was done when the coach was built. Eventually I discovered that I could drill a hole up from the right front wheel well and it would exit in the interior of the coach right behind the passenger seat. There's a tiny bit of carpet there on the floor and the hole was right where the carpet met the interior wall.
I ran a 18-3 wire (same as automatic sprinkler wire) up that hole from the wheel well into the passenger compartment. I then cut a hole in the wall where it meets the floor and carpet. After removing the propane sniffer, Winegard local antenna box, the tile floor heater switch, the light switch I was able to run a fish tape up the wall and pull the wire up the wall to just below the thermostat. This was after cutting a hold for the See Level gauge. I was able to tap into 12 volts from the Winegard antenna module. There were 2 10 gauge wires to the Winegard, one positive and the other ground.
Once that was wired up I then put a blank brown wall plate over the hole I cut at the bottom of the wall. It's not visible and I seriously doubt anyone seeing it would think it was out of place.
The strange photo of the 3 is me shooting a photo "up" from the right wheel arch. If you look hard, you can see the 18-3 wire. I had some 'pinch' weather stripping and it had a hollow bead. I ran the wire through that bead and then attached the "pinch" portion to a metal strip located under the coach. Ran that to the first bay and drilled a hole into that compartment then eventually to the peg board storage bay. Removed the peg board and mounted the See Level sensors and the wire going back to the panel. Inside the second bay back, I stripped off the insulation from the 18-3 and clipped one wire to use for the propane sender on the drivers side of my coach.
As you can see, the See Level panel is mounted just below my thermostat in a very convenient location just aft and above the passenger seat along the exterior wall.
__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]2016 Newmar Dutch Star 4369
Newmar Owners Club
USAF 1966-1969,- Law Enforcement 1969 - 2003, Retired since March 2003
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12-30-2016, 08:00 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Entegra Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 8,094
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Well done!
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Marc and Jill, Wellington FL
2013 Entegra Anthem 44SL
2018 Lincoln MKX
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12-30-2016, 08:08 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 7,383
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Appreciate the effort--well done. My OEM gauges are at best approx. though fresh water measurement is pretty good. They are older gauges in my 2003 but the adjustment/calibration screws seem to keep them in proximity. Always admired the new fangled gauges from a far but frankly, I have never wanted to spend the money or make the effort to have a better estimate of how much poo I have in the black tank.......[smile]
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Old Scout
2015 IH45 Foretravel
2003 Alpine 40' MDTS [Sold]
New Braunfels, Texas
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12-30-2016, 08:13 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Damon Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,024
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One thing I found intgeresting in my Class A when I started tracing some stuff is the number of ways to get from the Living space to the wet bay without using a drill.. Yup, lots of holes already.. No need to drill.. If I ever put in a SEE LEVEL 3 of my 4 tanks will need no holes and the 4th.. Well.. There is a way around that one too without drilling. Just takes a bit of work.
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Home is where I park it!
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01-03-2017, 01:15 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ontario, California
Posts: 2,429
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wa8yxm,
FYI, I spent an inordinate amount of time looking for ways to "not drill" The drilling I did was absolutely necessary. The wires through the wall required drilling as there was absolutely no other way to get the wires inside the wall space. The drilling I did through the first bay was also necessary as that bay is sealed so no road splash enters the bay from the front wheel well.
At most, it was minimal and that was the only drilling required. Both holes, (the one going from the wheel well into the passenger compartment as well as the hole into the first bay were sealed with silicone once I was done. The rest of the wire run was via the ceiling of the storage bays where there's an abundance of factory wire looms. A few zip ties and the See Level Sensor wire blends in with the rest of rat's nest of wires.
I will attest that there are a number of ways to avoid drilling but sometimes it is necessary based on location and job.
__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]2016 Newmar Dutch Star 4369
Newmar Owners Club
USAF 1966-1969,- Law Enforcement 1969 - 2003, Retired since March 2003
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01-03-2017, 06:02 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: cayucos, ca
Posts: 1,299
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Mr Jowdy
I have same coach only one year newer. Are you telling me that my tank gauges are going to fail within one year? Ok but I looked at the see level system a few years ago and was told at the time that I could use all the existing wiring, no?
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Ross Starkenburg
2017 Newmar Dutch Star 4369. Spartan chassis w/full disc brakes. 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee toad
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01-04-2017, 09:35 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ontario, California
Posts: 2,429
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Ross, Mr. Jowdy passed away in 1993... It's Larry.....
No, your system will work for much longer than 1 year. I do a lot of dry camping and the idea of reading a tank in 1/3rd's doesn't always cut it. I originally thought about removing the factory installed Digi-Level gauge however I left it in place as it has some features that the See Level does not have.
THe original wiring, should you choose to replace your Digi-Level will work All that's necessary is a solid ground which all three sensors attach to and a single wire that all three sensors attach to and ultimately go's back to the See Level panel.
I wanted that "factory look" when it came time to find a location to mount the See Level and the wall just behind the passenger seat was the easiest to access and it was also a spot that provided a convenient location to mount the panel as well as operate the panel.
I suppose if all you do is go to RV parks with full hook up's you will probably not need this panel but like I said, I do a lot of dry camping and the reading on the panel is in "percentage of full". In other words, if your fresh water tank is 1/3 full the panel will read 33 Let's say your gray holding tank is 1/2 full it will read 50 and the number increases or decreases in percentage points so I suppose if you did the dishes, the water tank may drop to 30 from 31. and the gray water tank will raise from 50 to 51 (just an example)
So, in conclusion, I didn't remove the original DIgi-level panel so my installation required new wire to complete the project. I think I purchased 25 feet of 18-3 wired from Home Depot and and it cost me somewhere around $23.00 plus 10% discount for being a Veteran.
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[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]2016 Newmar Dutch Star 4369
Newmar Owners Club
USAF 1966-1969,- Law Enforcement 1969 - 2003, Retired since March 2003
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01-04-2017, 10:05 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Newmar Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Northern Nevada
Posts: 751
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Very nice work. I have been looking at this for some time also. The factory level system in my coach uses stick on pads on the tanks that have fallen off so the tank level system is useless. Thanks for sharing the write up now I have moved that project up on the list.
Thanks and Good Luck
JP
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Just the Wife & Me!! & Lily our Yellow Lab
2011 Newmar Mountain Aire 4344 !!
450HP Cummins on a Freightliner Chassis !!
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01-04-2017, 11:06 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: cayucos, ca
Posts: 1,299
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Sorry Larry I didn't know your first name.
Sent from my iPad using iRV2 - RV Forum
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Ross Starkenburg
2017 Newmar Dutch Star 4369. Spartan chassis w/full disc brakes. 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee toad
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01-04-2017, 12:13 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ontario, California
Posts: 2,429
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Well, actually I had to think about it and eventually get out my drivers license to confirm LOL
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[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]2016 Newmar Dutch Star 4369
Newmar Owners Club
USAF 1966-1969,- Law Enforcement 1969 - 2003, Retired since March 2003
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01-04-2017, 03:37 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Spring, TX
Posts: 304
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Very nice installation! The sensor on our black tank that feeds to the ePlex system on our 2011 Essex went kaput this summer. After some research and talking to a lot of owners, we decided to have the See Level installed and love it. Seems to be very accurate (more so than the factory standard), plus the red LED's look cool
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01-22-2017, 11:46 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ontario, California
Posts: 2,429
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After a few weeks of using the See Level I must say it's spot on accurate. I purposely didn't dump my black tank primarily to see how long I could go before having to dump. (Maybe I should rephrase that. LOL I didn't release the waste from the tank until it was full, to gauge how long it would take to fill when I dry camp)
On the 4th day, the indicator on the toilet flush buttons turned red and, the See Level read 100%. Same with the gray water tank and fresh water tank. I'm really glad I installed the unit and the time taken to install was not that long (hey, I'm retired so what do I really have to do or where do I really have to be) LOL
Great unit and I highly recommend the See Level. (now if they would pay me for the free advertising I'd be happy LOL)
__________________
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]2016 Newmar Dutch Star 4369
Newmar Owners Club
USAF 1966-1969,- Law Enforcement 1969 - 2003, Retired since March 2003
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01-22-2017, 12:24 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 423
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LJowdy
After a few weeks of using the See Level I must say it's spot on accurate. I purposely didn't dump my black tank primarily to see how long I could go before having to dump. (Maybe I should rephrase that. LOL I didn't release the waste from the tank until it was full, to gauge how long it would take to fill when I dry camp)
On the 4th day, the indicator on the toilet flush buttons turned red and, the See Level read 100%. Same with the gray water tank and fresh water tank. I'm really glad I installed the unit and the time taken to install was not that long (hey, I'm retired so what do I really have to do or where do I really have to be) LOL
Great unit and I highly recommend the See Level. (now if they would pay me for the free advertising I'd be happy LOL)
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Sounds great. Doing mine in the spring. Thanks for the update.
__________________
Ralph 2017 Newmar Dutch Star 4018
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01-22-2017, 03:20 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 355
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Norm (Norm Mac) came over and installed the SeeLevel II for me about a week ago. We both have 2015 DSDP 4369's and he had done it before on his. No extra wiring was necessary, and we not only replaced the existing level monitor in the overhead, but added one in the wet bay.
If interested, please check out my writeup: Life in the Slow Lane: SeeLevel II Tank Monitoring System
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