Community Forums

Paul "Sully" Sullivan · 05-27-2012, 07:13 PM

Woodinboater,

We have been full timing for almost 8 years, all in Alpine's and 6 1/2 in an Apex. True,
an Apex will have more problems because it has more accessories as standard equipment. All motorhomes that I am familiar with have problems, some more than others, that said we have spent no downtime because of the added luxury.

We have had no problems with the Silverleaf that I wasn't able to remedy
with their help. That said the Silverlead has helped us manage electrical use, diagnose condenser problems in both A/C units and provide much useful information. Now there are some things that Silverleaf does that I could do without, like extending or retracting the jacks from my easy chair with the master remote, but I'll live with it.

All and all we'd do the '06 40' Alpine Apex Mid Door all over again.

Dubya · 05-28-2012, 01:31 PM

gjstacy and Old Scout, Thanks for the replies...
This is our first ( and, at my age, the last! ) Diesel Pusher and we like it very much. It was a Dealer Repo and had 6789 miles on it, hard to believe for a 5 year old RV at the time. It appeared to have been sitting in storage for quite awhile.
I agree that there are usually "Bugs" to work out with a new coach. We bought a new 32' Holiday Rambler Admiral in 2001 and there were some issues with it. On our first trip coming back from California with the Avalanche, the 4 foot Flourescent fixture and the kitchen sink both came loose, both fixable by me. I partially blame the I-5 "Washboard" hiway for that, the rest WRV can claim.
There is another Bug I noticed recently, the platform supporting the fresh water tank is starting to crumble. A trip to Home Depot for some Marine Grade Plywood cut to size by them will hopefully fix that.

EngineerMike · 05-28-2012, 02:48 PM

Wayne- The Avalanche experiment didn't work out too well for WRV, as their commitment to initial build quality undermined success w/the new offering. You can pretty much rebuild any poorly assembled into a good coach given perspicacity & commitment. Once tuned up, the Avalanche should run well and give good service. You will want to monitor road dirt build-up on the rear radiator maybe twice a year, probably capture the "slobber tube" blow by to minimize sludgy lube that gets flung into the radiator (search here on iRV2 for "slobber tube" and "cleaning rear radiator" for additional info).
And you'll want to keep an eye on potential roof leaks which will wreak havoc left unattended.
Otherwise you have the Peak chassis steering which should serve well, and your rig missed the steering weakness of other 04+ coaches. You have Vansco multiplexing and Actia guages which are easy to diagnose if issues come up. And pretty much everything else is some part or system that is either still manufactured or can be replaced w/something comparable.
See you at a rally soon.

Dubya · 05-29-2012, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EngineerMike

Wayne- The Avalanche experiment didn't work out too well for WRV, as their commitment to initial build quality undermined success w/the new offering. You can pretty much rebuild any poorly assembled into a good coach given perspicacity & commitment. Once tuned up, the Avalanche should run well and give good service. You will want to monitor road dirt build-up on the rear radiator maybe twice a year, probably capture the "slobber tube" blow by to minimize sludgy lube that gets flung into the radiator (search here on iRV2 for "slobber tube" and "cleaning rear radiator" for additional info).
And you'll want to keep an eye on potential roof leaks which will wreak havoc left unattended.
Otherwise you have the Peak chassis steering which should serve well, and your rig missed the steering weakness of other 04+ coaches. You have Vansco multiplexing and Actia guages which are easy to diagnose if issues come up. And pretty much everything else is some part or system that is either still manufactured or can be replaced w/something comparable.
See you at a rally soon.

Thanks Mike,
I don't know what kind of Basement flooring was used on my Coach but it looks like pressed sawdust with a Black covering and is the same under the freshwater tank...not too strong looking and the floor has sagged a bit between the support framework. It works but is kind of Mickey looking. Another homework project in the works !