new owner to a 2000 tradewinds

[hbrown]

hello all, I am the proud new owner of a 2000 tradewinds with a cat 300. this is my first motorhome to use for pleasure

i am use to pulling a 48 foot race car trailer loaded at almost 31,000 # requiring a upgrade in liscense to a class A. my dodge dually barely noticed it back there. i was so comfortable in it that i would put cruise on 75 most of the time and almost go to sleep from boredom on long drives even in bad winds or grooved roads, just one hand on wheel.

i just took the motorhome out on fathers day and holy poop, it was a bear to drive. winds approx 35 to 40 and when hit the sides was all over the road. thank goodness only went 80 miles. i never run over 65mph in it and was wore out from fighting it. I was thinking i made a big mistake by buying a motorhome and wished for my 48 ft trailer back. LOL on a good freeway she drives really good, ocassionaly grabbing a groove in the road but not to bad (road walking) i call it.

i have been reading ever thread i can find on here for great info for days. I am hoping to ask for a few tips to try and adapt this motorhome to be safer and more comfy.

1-- tires are michelin great tread, no side weathering and 4 yrs old. align on tires look perfect smooth. front end seems tight. tire pressure, loading etc look good. do you think the safe t steer shock absorber stabilizer would help??

2--ft air bags look like the are wadded up and deformed when dumped and sitting on hyd levelers. can they be over extended if axle is at full droop and off ground? i lowered and left tires touching to be on the safe side, BUT if i get in a situation can i leave hanging?

3--has any one modded the front seat to allow more seat recline while driving with slide in? I am 6ft 5 and need some room. LOL with seat far enough back to have fair leg room, the back is almost verticle.

i thought to either notch the facia trim board on slide to clear seat, remold seat corner for clearance, or move entire seat over to the left 2 inches and center it with steering wheel, but sacrifice gas pedal align but it would gain me 2 inche of seat recline or leg room. seat now is about 2 inches to the right of being centered with steering wheel now.

4 --can i hook up onboard air any where to allow tire fill ups, or do i just need to put a elec compressor in bay? if so were could i find the hookup on my 2000 tradewinds?

5-- last of all, i have changed my oil, filter, fuel filter, gen oil and filter etc. i noticed radiator looks nasty. was gonna drain, maybe new hoses and belts, flush with ??? and refill with????. just good ol prestone green 50/50 or dexcool orange ext life??

can any one give me tips on were to drain, how to purge air, flush nasty stuff out etc etc. i am mechanical enough to build 3000hp race cars, just not to up on diesal pushers LOL

sorry so long but very excited to have this motorhome and want to fix her up mechanically first and then cosmetically. she has 107k on her now, one owner, not new but new to me.

thanks ahead of time for anyone willing to share good tips or info on this tradewinds

howard brown

ps sorry for spelling and such, but its hard for me to hunt and peck on the keyboard. i can talk way faster.LOL

[TomTheOilMan]

I love how my Tradewinds handles on the road, mind handle quite well with high winds . check your wheel bearings, and ball joints. Tom

[macstonedude]

Welcome to the Tradewinds Club! There are many on this forum that can answer many of the questions that we have (just not me). I have owned mine for out 9 mos now and love it. Do you pull your long car trailer with the motorhome?

[hbrown]

Quote:

Originally Posted by macstonedude Welcome to the Tradewinds Club! There are many on this forum that can answer many of the questions that we have (just not me). I have owned mine for out 9 mos now and love it. Do you pull your long car trailer with the motorhome?

oh no, that trailer was a gooseneck that weighs22-23,000 pounds by it self.

but i do want to pull my smaller 2o ft bumper pull if i can.

thanks for the welcome.

I have been doing alot of work on my trade winds the last few weeks, getting all fluids up to date and doing small repairs that have been neglected by the previous owner, but i aint given up yet. LOL

[sgtjoe]

Welcome to the forum Howard. I've had my Tradewinds for 7 years and have really enjoyed her. One thing you want to check that's common on the Tradewinds is the hydraulic reservoir for the leveling jacks. There are four little 1/4 screws that hold it to the pump and the reservoir vibrates a lot, enough so that the screws have been known to back out and you could lose the tank. National came out with a fix on this. Check to see if the tank has a belly band (big hose clamp) around her and a piece of metal between the tank and the metal bracket behind the tank. Other then that I have had no big issues/problems with mine. Our friends with a 2005 Beaver Monteray like the room in ours more then theirs.

[hbrown]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgtjoe Welcome to the forum Howard. I've had my Tradewinds for 7 years and have really enjoyed her. One thing you want to check that's common on the Tradewinds is the hydraulic reservoir for the leveling jacks. There are four little 1/4 screws that hold it to the pump and the reservoir vibrates a lot, enough so that the screws have been known to back out and you could lose the tank. National came out with a fix on this. Check to see if the tank has a belly band (big hose clamp) around her and a piece of metal between the tank and the metal bracket behind the tank. Other then that I have had no big issues/problems with mine. Our friends with a 2005 Beaver Monteray like the room in ours more then theirs.

thanks for the welcome and tip, I will be heading out that way to look at the reservoir as soon as it drops below a 100 degrees. it seems like the sun has fell from the sky and is laying in my back yard and i guess the 200% humidity makes it just a little bit nasty or maybe im just gettin older.

i have been lurkin on here for a while and had read horror stories of the pumps falling off.

have you hooked up an aux air line to fill your tires? i have looked in the generator area,but do not see any thing remotely similar to other pics on here?

thanks again howard

[Vegasdan]

As far as the radiator goes, I'd use Cat long life antifreeze. There is a difference between what you use in your car and what you should use in the Cat. Also check to see if the radiator is clean outside as well. You'll need to look on the back side to see if it's gunked up. This is caused by the slobber tube from the engine. If the slobber tube was not extended it throws an oil mist onto the radiator, then road dirt will cause a blockage and lead to overheating.
It's not a good idea to raise the coach off the ground with the jacks. Although the front is not as critical as raising the rear off the ground. Also, when leveling, lower the front jacks first, then the rears, then level. Lowering the rears first can lead to twisting the chassis and popping a windsheild.

[sgtjoe]

Dan is right about the coolant and the way I check my radiator is at night. I have the wife run a flashlight around the radiator outside while I watch from the inside access panel.
My air hook up is on the drivers side "firewall" in the generator area. I carry a husky portable compressor I bought at Home Depot, does the job ok.

When I got my MH it would overheat pulling long grades, the slobber tube was on a service bulletin so they paid the 20 bucks for the longer tube and I paid the 756.00 bucks for the removal of the radiator and the cac to have them steam cleaned.

There is a lot of info on this forum about cleaning the radiators.

[DaveG39]

not sure where your manifold is. Mine is in the front compartment driver's side. this is what the manifold looks like. I added the air chuck into one of the plugged ports. ajust make sure the air reservoirs are empty before removing the plug.

[jomama]

I agree with the others about the coolant be picky and use Cats ex life. As far as cleaning your radiator, I also have a 2000 tradewinds and I lift the bed and spray degreaser on the radiator core from inside with a yard sprayer. then I hose it off carefully. I have an extended tube to decrease blow back. I wash down the inside of the radiator every other trip and have never had a problem with over heating. My compressor hookup is on the drivers side the compartment behind where the LP is stored. I have a 60 ft air line for the tires. You probanly already know by now but be sure to fill your fuel filter and water seperator filter with fresh diesel before restarting after a change. Some thing you might find interesting- an old time diesel mech. told me when changing the fuel filter to fill it with ATF fluid. Apparently the minor amount of ATF will act as a cleaner for your injectors. Hope I've been of help. JOE

[hbrown]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jomama I agree with the others about the coolant be picky and use Cats ex life. As far as cleaning your radiator, I also have a 2000 tradewinds and I lift the bed and spray degreaser on the radiator core from inside with a yard sprayer. then I hose it off carefully. I have an extended tube to decrease blow back. I wash down the inside of the radiator every other trip and have never had a problem with over heating. My compressor hookup is on the drivers side the compartment behind where the LP is stored. I have a 60 ft air line for the tires. You probanly already know by now but be sure to fill your fuel filter and water seperator filter with fresh diesel before restarting after a change. Some thing you might find interesting- an old time diesel mech. told me when changing the fuel filter to fill it with ATF fluid. Apparently the minor amount of ATF will act as a cleaner for your injectors. Hope I've been of help. JOE

Joe, sorry so late on reply, been on a cruise with no internet, or not willing to pay $8.00 per minute LOL. thanks for the tips.

were exactly is the air hookup line on drivers side?? i looked all around the LP tank compartment with no luck then checked the next compartment which is the pass thru compartment to the passenger side and still no luck on air line. i crawled under and found 2 air tanks up ft by fuel tank, but still no site of a manifold to tap into.

thanks again howard

[sgtjoe]

Mine is located in front compartment where the generator is. It should be to the right of the generator on the "firewall".

[hbrown]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgtjoe Mine is located in front compartment where the generator is. It should be to the right of the generator on the "firewall".

i must be blind then,i have looked all over the firewall on right and left and no air lines at all. do not see any lines coming coming up to the front past the front axle at all. and all the air stuff above the front axle is a mess of hoses and i do not see any place to tap a air line into.

this worrys me and makes me think how a wrecker gets air to release brakes to tow?

also i wonder if my air tank auto water bleed offs are working, i see the manuel releases on the 2 front tanks which are still zip ties in a coil never used.

any ideas how to make sure they work? mine has 100k and sure no air tank work ever done.

thanks again, i sure am soaking up a bunch of ideas on here. been on for about 5 hr so far today and just cannot believe all the info

[sgtjoe]

Anyway you can make the 2nd annual National Orphan Rally? We started this last year to meet and share updates and things we have learned on our RV's. Take a look at the top Sticky post on the National Forum.
Another post titled "Looking for 2000 Tradewinds Owners" may get you the info on the location of the manifold.