Any Monaco Vesta Owners Here?

[charndog]

Originally Posted by MARKROMERO

yea it is close. Yes on the nipple, that is the drain back into head. The old has a filter that clogs and will be heavy full of oil! If i remember right when you lift it you have slide toward tire and then to back. It will rub the frame, the distance the nipple sticks out is as high as it need to go to get out and in. Be careful not to break the nipple cause you won't know unless you hear it break. I think you'll see how the head is made for the nipple to seat once you remove old one.

I think I'm going to put a bottle jack from the engine to the frame and see if I can "Gently" push the engine over a bit. I can't believe how ****** this was put together with obviously no regard for this job. Was probably dictated by the engine cover, just big enough, NOT!

[Sylvesta]

Originally Posted by MARKROMERO

hey gregg, i checked this a few weeks ago.....all batteries charge on shore power. after starting the engine a min or so later i hear a solenoid click and coach batteries are also charging from engine alternator. i guess it waits for the intake heater kicks off, draws a lot of power. remember to turn off switch on inverter and charger button off on panel. that panel stays hot but will go to sleep. in this mode the charger will still work if panel button on and shore power on.

Hi Mark, Thank you for your reply. Please excuse my lack of knowledge on this as it is all new to me. (The Vesta is a big step up from the VW van I used to have..) When I am hooked up to shore power (20 amps at home) I should have the inverter and charger switched on to maintain both house and chassis battery charge? Thanks again for your help

[Sylvesta]

Hi Rodg, The paint codes I have came from a sheet supplied by Impact Graphics which is part of the information binder that came with my Vesta. It has all of the colors used on the body including the red stripes. The black paint code is listed as: LZ9W
When I showed this information to my body shop guy he immediately recognized it as an Audi color code and was surprised. He ended up scanning the side of the Vesta in several spots to get a perfect match and it worked beautifully.

[MARKROMERO]

Originally Posted by Sylvesta

Hi Mark, Thank you for your reply. Please excuse my lack of knowledge on this as it is all new to me. (The Vesta is a big step up from the VW van I used to have..) When I am hooked up to shore power (20 amps at home) I should have the inverter and charger switched on to maintain both house and chassis battery charge? Thanks again for your help

hey sly, 20 amps is ok if just using the charger. you can run fridge too if needed. if you don't need to run fridge turn off rocker switch at inverter off and the charger still works. also the batteries will still charge even if you turn off both master power switches off in the battery box. the only way to turn off charger is on the control panel inside. the panel will stay on foe a few mins then sleep. the tv's, fridge and micro is on the inverter power on invert or pass through when you have gen or shore power. 30 amp is better. you can run one a/c but you know 50 amp is ideal.

[dpj1959]

Originally Posted by charndog

I think I'm going to put a bottle jack from the engine to the frame and see if I can "Gently" push the engine over a bit. I can't believe how ****** this was put together with obviously no regard for this job. Was probably dictated by the engine cover, just big enough, NOT!

Has anyone had the dealer put a new breather on? I am taking the coach to IH in McKinney Tx which is a center for IH coaches. Curious as to the cost if they did... built a lot of motors as a youngster but hung up the wrenches a long time ago.

[Rodg495]

Originally Posted by Sylvesta

Hi Rodg, The paint codes I have came from a sheet supplied by Impact Graphics which is part of the information binder that came with my Vesta. It has all of the colors used on the body including the red stripes. The black paint code is listed as: LZ9W
When I showed this information to my body shop guy he immediately recognized it as an Audi color code and was surprised. He ended up scanning the side of the Vesta in several spots to get a perfect match and it worked beautifully.

Thank you for the info, very helpful. Maybe the gold color is from Audi too.

[charndog]

Originally Posted by dpj1959

Has anyone had the dealer put a new breather on? I am taking the coach to IH in McKinney Tx which is a center for IH coaches. Curious as to the cost if they did... built a lot of motors as a youngster but hung up the wrenches a long time ago.

That would be interesting to me when you have it done, please let us know how it went. I 'm thinking about hanging up my wrenches too, after that job! LOL.
I'm going to be looking for a good shop to change the serpentine belts on my unit. I've been looking at doing it myself but, they still look in good shape (27000 mi) and the fact that the inner belt needs to R/R over the cooling fan, looks to be a job for a younger man! It may go around without having to take the shroud apart or off, if you can reach up in there, not sure.
Well, I just finished the Breather change, I'm 71 and been a mechanic/engine builder all my life. I wouldn't recommend it for the average home mechanic or myself if I was any older.
Good luck and, please let us know how it went.

Greg

[charndog]

Originally Posted by dpj1959

Has anyone had the dealer put a new breather on? I am taking the coach to IH in McKinney Tx which is a center for IH coaches. Curious as to the cost if they did... built a lot of motors as a youngster but hung up the wrenches a long time ago.

Oh, one more thing, that Breather will cost you around $375 I think, at the dealer
I found one for about $200. One guy on here (Gypsy) said he found one for $140.

I wonder about taking your own parts to a dealer for installation, They don't like it. may make things worse?????? Another reason I don't like going but, sometimes you have to.

Greg

[dpj1959]

Originally Posted by charndog

Oh, one more thing, that Breather will cost you around $375 I think, at the dealer
I found one for about $200. One guy on here (Gypsy) said he found one for $140.

I wonder about taking your own parts to a dealer for installation, They don't like it. may make things worse?????? Another reason I don't like going but, sometimes you have to.

Greg

I got the breather from Creative Bus on a recommendation on here. Paid $230 for it. I also have all the other parts and have IH McKinney TX going to supply oil and other fluids. I have the dryers, filters, belts, and the breather.

[charndog]

Hey Vesta people, anyone found a good replacement for the A/C Dryer?

Thanks!
Greg

[charndog]

Originally Posted by dpj1959

I got the breather from Creative Bus on a recommendation on here. Paid $230 for it. I also have all the other parts and have IH McKinney TX going to supply oil and other fluids. I have the dryers, filters, belts, and the breather.

Yes, That's the co. I got my Breather from. Boy, I'm so glad I got that done.

Greg

[charndog]

Originally Posted by Sylvesta

Hi Mark, Thank you for your reply. Please excuse my lack of knowledge on this as it is all new to me. (The Vesta is a big step up from the VW van I used to have..) When I am hooked up to shore power (20 amps at home) I should have the inverter and charger switched on to maintain both house and chassis battery charge? Thanks again for your help

I also found that when plugged in to shore power the chassis bats were not being charged. They did discharge completely last winter over an extended period (the aux. air pump coming on will drain the chassis bats, if not being charged. I tried finding the isolator to see about changing or troubleshooting for the problem, to no avail. So, for now my solution is a jumper wire, from house to chassis bats, in the battery compartment. Just have to remember to remove when not plugged in. Also, I would be carful if the chassis batteries should get very low, you could draw too much current on the jumper wire, if its not large enough. I just used some 10 gauge wire and some alligator clips and don't hook it up if the chassis bats are discharged much. If they are, I would hook up a separate charger to them.

Greg

[MARKROMERO]

Originally Posted by charndog

i also found that when plugged in to shore power the chassis bats were not being charged. They did discharge completely last winter over an extended period (the aux. Air pump coming on will drain the chassis bats, if not being charged. I tried finding the isolator to see about changing or troubleshooting for the problem, to no avail. So, for now my solution is a jumper wire, from house to chassis bats, in the battery compartment. Just have to remember to remove when not plugged in. Also, i would be carful if the chassis batteries should get very low, you could draw too much current on the jumper wire, if its not large enough. I just used some 10 gauge wire and some alligator clips and don't hook it up if the chassis bats are discharged much. If they are, i would hook up a separate charger to them.

Greg

greg, i am having trouble replying to the private message.....]yep, i do believe in factory parts, scs frigette in fort worth, they will need the serial number on the tag on side of case under hood. The #1-817-831-2706. Expansion valve is sized to evaporator and drier size affects charge capacity. I tried aftermarket parts....exp. Valve would freeze and drier was too small. Just another thing i did twice!

[Rodg495]

Happy Holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years to all.
Just got back from trip to Tombstone AZ. Great fuel mileage and everything worked well except for the lousy Thetford toilet again. I just finished replacing it with a Dometic 310 toilet and put the Thetford in the trash where it belongs.
Changed oil and filter and greased the front steering and chassis.
Really pleased about the new four lane upgrade on SR 58 here in CA just west of Barstow. No more white knuckle driving on the narrow 2 lane around Kramer corner ( Hwy 395 ).
Anyone headed for Quartzsite AZ in January ? If so . ... I'd love to meet up there . We usually camp in the BLM area " Hi-Jolly " 3 miles north of town on hwy 95.

Rodg