Renegade Vienna / Villagio Owners

[myvillagio]

Originally Posted by TXROADR

I did the same to all bays, should be water tight now! Another question: Did anyone's Villagio come with a spare tire?

2003 LTV 20' Freedom 2A - sold 2017
2016 Villagio 25HAB

No spares with villagio, it would eat too much into the OCCC of 1100+ pounds

[Eastender]

So I finally did get the 2018 Vienna MBS and I am out on my first trip - 4 days at Smith Point Park on Long Island. Testing everything out and really have no major complaints other then the black tank fills in 2 days....unusual for a 29 gallon tank and the fact that I am by myself. I have figured out that the kitchen sink may be draining into the black tank. Anyone else have that? Does anyone know where everything drains into? Assume shower is going into the grey tank. Thanks.

[gchapell]

Congratulations. We have a 2016 and I believe shower and sink go to gray, toilet only to black. Yes they can fill kind of fast. My wife showers in camper, I do not for space and water save reasons. Just leaving water on while washing dishes can add a suprising amount to gray. A learning process. Good luck.

[myvillagio]

Originally Posted by Eastender

So I finally did get the 2018 Vienna MBS and I am out on my first trip - 4 days at Smith Point Park on Long Island. Testing everything out and really have no major complaints other then the black tank fills in 2 days....unusual for a 29 gallon tank and the fact that I am by myself. I have figured out that the kitchen sink may be draining into the black tank. Anyone else have that? Does anyone know where everything drains into? Assume shower is going into the grey tank. Thanks.

Hi, bought same Villagio last year and on first trip out discovered kitchen sink dumps into black tank. My wife, a nurse, was very upset when we filled black tank very quickly and water back filled sink,luckily we had not used toilet yet, since bacteria from black tank can enter sink thru backup, causing contamination and possibly infecting users with ecoli. Immediately called Renegade and they verified that, but we're not shocked. I brought unit back to dealer insisting on a re-plumbing, they convinced Renegade to pay for a check valve to be installed down stream of sink, under the sink cabinet, which took a while. Have checked operation several times and so far good. If you need further info. on valve, I can provide it.
Where did you buy unit? I am from L.I. and now live in Fl. Familiar with Smith Pt. Park
Glad to help you through what was a nightmare for me. Keep in touch and I will fill you in on some other minor crabs I have about unit (e.g. water leaks into underbody storage units forward of rear tires). Overall quite good quality
Ed

[Eastender]

I called Glen at Renegade and he confirmed that on the MBS the sink does indeed drain into the black tank. He did say that it does not hold tru for all the floorplans. This presents a bit of a dilemma when boondocking. I can take really short showers but I have to eat. LOL I guess I can wash dishes in a tub and then dump water in bath sink. Since I had sewer hookup it didn't present a problem but having to dump the black tank every 2 days was irritating. I was keeping the grey open all the time and was planning on just closing it the day before leaving so it would build up when I discovered the black tank full. Will keep monitoring and see what happens.

The only other problem I have is that the murphy bad is not flat. If I leave the cushions on the foot is higher and if I take the cushions off the head is higher. Haven't thought of good solution. Does anyone else have this issue? Can the murphy bed be adjusted?

I haven't had any moisture in the bays yet but from inside I see light on the right side of the wall where the rubber gasket surrounding the steps touches the wall. Might unscrew the gasket and caulk the area underneath.

One of the main reasons I bought the Renegade was that Fretz told me it was more cold weather friendly than the Unity. I found that the heat was going on constantly when temps where 30 -35. I did not have the front curtain closed since I had a great view of the bay which could have made a difference. Good thing, if the temp drops too much even when you have set to electric heat the gas furnace will turn on to supplement.

Found it a bit cumbersome to sanitize my fresh water tank with bleach but ended up putting the bleach directly into the hose and turned the water on and voila. I had purchased a dramm syphone jet to pull in the bleach but it didn't work. It worked fine when not connected to the intake but I guess the water volume going in is not enough to pull in the bleach.

I thought that the low point drain would just allow the fresh water tank to slowly drain but it seems you have to have the pump running in order to do it.

The only other problem is that one of the bolts on the top hinge to the genie bay had the head fall off in my driveway. Thankfully there are 3 other bolts on that hinge.

Does anyone have 3 solar panels installed on the roof? I had Fretz install 2 additional 100w panels but I don't get the feeling that I am getting the amps from 3 panels coming into the controller. I did climb up on a ladder and check to see if there where all connected. Will keep monitoring that as well.

Sorry for the long post. Thanks MrV, will take any insights you have. We can mail each other privately.

[TXROADR]

I changed out the stock Villagio horn (approx. 92.7 db at 15 ft.) with Hella Supertones (approx. 111 db at 15 ft.). Painted the red grille matte black to disappear behind the front grille. So far VERY happy with the additional noise if needed.!!

[16Renegade]

Anyone with the Kenwood DNX571HD in there Vienna. Trying to figure out if the rear camera can be on to watch the TOAD. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[jordanrvers]

Originally Posted by 16Renegade

Anyone with the Kenwood DNX571HD in there Vienna. Trying to figure out if the rear camera can be on to watch the TOAD. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

We have the Kenwood version of this unit with the navigation and really like it. We tab between the rear camera on our toad and the navigation while traveling. I am not in the RV currently but as I recall, there is an option on the menu that shows the camera, we select it to see the rear view, then press one of the main controls on the front of the unit that says "nav" to return to the navigation. The camera on the rear is also adjustable. Ours came pointed straight down at the connection point with the toad. Hope this helps.

[16Renegade]

Thanks for getting back to me. I spent an hour in front of the radio this morning and all I could do is either have the rear camera work in reverse or not work at all. The manual isn't that helpful.

[Putter1]

We have a 2016 Vienna with a diesel generator. Will the AC run on generator power alone?

I don't believe we have ever tried it and I am away from the unit now. I will say we seem to have quite a bit of trouble with the battery situations and inverter / charger. Our batteries drain quite quickly. Glen at Renegade actually was very kind and helped us get one set replaced. It appears that our second set is now going bad as well. I have had 2 repair shops look at the situation and nobody can seem to find a drain. I disconnect the house batteries with the disconnect switch but they still seem to drain while the coach battery will hold a charge with no trouble over the exact same time period.

Do the coach batteries get charged while driving?

I have completely disconnected the coach batteries while in storage presently. Cables off the battery terminals. I hope this helps. Sorry about the run on...I really just want to know if anybody has run the rooftop AC with the diesel generator as the sole power source.

Thanks

[jslindner]

Originally Posted by Putter1

We have a 2016 Vienna with a diesel generator.
Q1: Will the AC run on generator power alone?

Q2:I don't believe we have ever tried it and I am away from the unit now. I will say we seem to have quite a bit of trouble with the battery situations and inverter / charger. Our batteries drain quite quickly. Glen at Renegade actually was very kind and helped us get one set replaced. It appears that our second set is now going bad as well. I have had 2 repair shops look at the situation and nobody can seem to find a drain. I disconnect the house batteries with the disconnect switch but they still seem to drain while the coach battery will hold a charge with no trouble over the exact same time period.

Q3: Do the coach batteries get charged while driving?


I have completely disconnected the coach batteries while in storage presently. Cables off the battery terminals. I hope this helps. Sorry about the run on...I really just want to know if anybody has run the rooftop AC with the diesel generator as the sole power source.

Thanks

We own a 2017 Renegade Vienna built on a 2016 Sprinter chassis. We bought it last July and have put less than 4,000 miles on her so far. There have been a few relatively small rubs, but we've worked them out for the most part.

I have numbered each of your questions in the quote from you above, and then answered each of them with a correspondingly numbered answer below.

A1: yes. The generator powers all 110 systems in the house while it is running.

A2: We faced the same problem trying to figure out charging/draining of the coach vs chassis batteries, the relationship between the two, and why, with the coach batter disconnect switch switched off, the coach battery still drained. Also lived with the concern that if the house battery drained like that, what would happen with the chassis battery? These things we discovered:

1) even with the house battery disconnect switch turned off, you must still turn the inverter off via the control panel in the overhead storage compartment. The inverter burns power, even when nothing else is turned on. and even when the house batteries have been disconnected from the house via the switch down by the stairway. you must manually turn off the inverter when you disconnect the house battery bank, or it will drain the batteries - dead. and surprisingly quickly. This solution fixed our problem immediately.

2) there is a much easier way to save your chassis battery from draining when not in use or when your Vienna is in storage. there is a simple plug clip device located on the driver's side floor, just above the accelerator pedal. it has a red colored plastic pinch-type connector. just pinch the red clip and pull the clip straight back off its pin. there is no excess wire, so the clip just barely comes off, and there is just enough wire to push it back on when you want to reconnect the battery. this method is much easier than disconnecting the battery itself. it is described in the sprinter owners manual, but like anything else there, you gotta dig for it!

A3: I assume you mean the house battery here, not the chassis battery. but anyway, the house battery does charge while you drive, minimally. but won't do it expeditiously. you can't just run the chassis engine for five or ten minutes and expect the house battery bank to be recharged. you gotta be planning to drive for a while.

Hope you find this helpful. Best of luck. Keep us posted on how things progress for you. Us Vienna owners are a rarified bunch. we gotta stick together!

-jsl

[jslindner]

Quick addendum to my reply to Putter1. In reference to running the diesel generator, they advertise that as a safety measure, the diesel generator will turn off when the chassis diesel tank reaches the 1/4 mark. that has not been my experience. I was running our generator last weekend simply to meet the 45min/month requirement by Onan, and realized that we were indeed on reserve, and that we had about 50 miles of diesel left in the tank. So, lets _both_ be careful about that one! Trusting that the generator will turn off when the diesel tank reaches 1/4 level is the path to sorrow, I believe. Just thought you would want to know.

-jsl

[boba1106]

I have had three diesel rv,s. I have stayed overnight several times and run the ac’s, tv microwave and residential fridge with no shore power, only the generator

[Putter1]

jslinder,

Thanks for the thorough reply. The coach has been sitting for 3 months now with the house batteries completely (wires off the terminals) disconnected and the coach battery disconnected as well. I have been pulling the connector off the terminal down by the accelerator. (yes the were just a bit stingy on the length of the connector)
I will be getting the unit ready for a few fall trips this weekend so I will have the opportunity to check the battery levels. There should have been NO drain over the past 3 months. As if the batteries were sitting on a shelf in an auto parts store. I assume there is some amount of normal attrition.

Previously I had been ONLY using the disconnect switch and making sure the inverter was OFF by actually opening the door and checking the power light on the inverter. Simply turning it OFF on the panel in the overhead did not seem to cut the power to the inverter. This entire electrical system seems a bit confusing. We also have an unusual situation occur and that is the Furrion entertainment system seems to power ON all by itself. I have to open the outside door to the TV and physically hit the power button to make sure it is off. We will go days on a trip and not use the system and somehow it will be on. Has anyone else experienced that issue?

I will check the AC this weekend on generator power and see if in fact it does work.

Lastly, has anybody figured out a better way to secure the batteries in the compartment making taking them out to check the water level easier? It is huge hassle reaching to the interior of the compartment to remove the screws that hold the aluminum bar in place out and a bigger hassle putting the screws back in.

Any suggestions on that would be appreciated.