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Sky_Boss · 11-25-2014, 04:03 PM

IT'S FIXED!

It was a very educational watching the whole process. The Tech (Vince) from Holt did a great job figuring out how to approach the job. Yes...we had to remove the drive axle wheels and that made things MUCHO easier. I now have a very good understanding of the whole affair and that is good.

Yesterday at the last minute to meet shipping deadlines Spartan realize they sent the wrong linkage rod for the ride height valve but got it out along with a metal bracket that holds the bottom end of the right height linkage. That bracket was bent to heck.

We used the coaches leveling system to its fullest advantage. I know, some might question the practice but at each step we blocked under the axle as we raised the coach.

I'll post a few pictures of the busted parts later. Time for dinner.

flaggship1 · 11-25-2014, 05:16 PM

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program... :thumbup:

:beer::beer:

Sky_Boss · 11-25-2014, 07:30 PM

I feel fortunate that because this was a field repair that I got a better chance to watch and learn as the work was done compared to if it was done in a shop. I'm going to break this up into a series of postings so that I can explain the photo or photos.

BTW...we had to remove the left side dual tires to get access to the working area.

In this picture on the top left you can see the bag with it's lower mounting bolt sticking out the bottom. It is suppose to be sitting on that large spring support that is forefront of it. At the end of that support is a bent metal bracket that holds the lower attachment point for the connecting rod that hangs down from the ride height valve that is mounted above in on the inside of the frame. That bracket end is supposed to be pointed towards the inside of the frame and the attachment point is suppose to be behind the bag.

The picture on the top right is the bag removed. What you don't see are some of the parts that are internal to the bag including a rubber bumper stop. You also don't see the plastic parts mounted to the bottom of it that rest on the spring support. On the left side of the bag you can see the bolt that goes through the plastic ring. You can't see the end but it is where it is sheered off just below where the plastic ring would have covered that bolt.

The bottom left is a profile of the replacement bag.

The bottom right shoes a better view of the plastic ring platform at the bottom of bag.

flaggship1 · 11-25-2014, 07:40 PM

Act of God, Man, Material, Mother Nature, Bad Luck???

Sky_Boss · 11-25-2014, 07:57 PM

This is a picture of both the bent and new hanger bracket that serves as the lower attachment point for the ride height linkage. That bracket is not light weight but you can see it got twisted a bit. It is attached to the spring support by 2 bolts. One bolt is the same one that is at the bottom of the airbag through the spring support and then through the bracket. The second one that keeps the bracket properly aligned goes through the spring support and bracket.

Having seen this all I am less worried about the right side bag being damaged. The tech inspected it after we got everything back together and there is no evidence it was damaged.

I need to give props to Spartan and Holt Truck Shop in Pflugerville, TX. Spartan busted butt to get parts to Holt including realizing last night that they sent the wrong ride height linkage so the correct one was also gotten out in time to get here today.

The only issue with Holt was that if I had to go there, they have no facilities to allow me to park and boondock in my coach.

All in all...it could have been a lot worse. The fact it happened at slow speed and in a place I could park the beast until it was fixed was very fortunate. Also, I was reasonably close to a few places that could have done the but this one was able to dispatch someone for field service. I think everyone recognized I needed to get out of the place I was sitting.

Finally a HUGE THANK YOU to Ed Rios, owner of Texas Mobile Power. He works out of his home and basically I blocked his personal driveway for 6 nights. 3 of the days I was here we completed a project to replace batteries, evaluate my inverter, add an AGS module, a battery monitor kit and some new wiring needed for all of it. Ed has been a gracious host and not once did he even seem fidgety about it. If you need work on your Magnum Energy equipment or want to purchase some, give him a shot at it.

Sky_Boss · 11-25-2014, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flaggship1

Act of God, Man, Material, Mother Nature, Bad Luck???

Who knows? It may have been installed with a twist or a failure of materials. Certainly I could say bad luck too but given how it didn't happen while driving down the interstate and that I was able to park it until it was fixed I have to say good luck was more prevalent than bad luck.

Consider also that I was at the place I had an appointment to get some important work done and could do that while sitting this out is doubly lucky. Even more so, the upgraded battery system has probably saved me $100 in fuel since I don't need to run my generator 24/7 because of bad batteries. Now with the new remote control, BMK and AGS my run time is just enough to keep us comfortable. We also were carrying enough water to get through this.

All is good!

DSL417 · 11-25-2014, 08:42 PM

Glad you're on the road...sorry we missed you in San Antonio...maybe next year. Never saw your Marine buddy out to say hello to. Have a good time in South Texas this year.

OldHatt45 · 11-26-2014, 07:35 AM

Don,
Glad everything turned out Good for You!!!!
Your pictures and explanation are very good and give a good account of the process.

Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving.

Drew

Wayne M · 11-26-2014, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DSL417

Glad you're on the road...sorry we missed you in San Antonio...maybe next year. Never saw your Marine buddy out to say hello to. Have a good time in South Texas this year.

We did walk by what we thought was your MH, but Earlene had some trepidation on knocking on the door. Sorry I didn't. Next time I was going to go over - you had poofed and were gone.

Don,

Everything, except the happening, was in your favor. Happy to hear that everything is fixed and working.

DSL417 · 11-26-2014, 07:51 PM

Yes, you were pretty tightly closed up the few times I was out with the dogs. Hope you guys have some better weather days than we had...in 23 days we had sunshine 5, three of which were the first two days there and the day we left. Disappointing.

Sky_Boss · 05-21-2015, 07:35 AM

OK...this isn't bad just a piece of information I stumbled onto.

I called Spartan yesterday to get some info for our service visit next week. During the conversation I was joking around about my air bag fiasco when the rep told me that this was a problem they found with the latest batch of air bags.

Long story short, the base of the bag has a plastic base without any other form of support. They have changed those out to a similar design with a metal plate.

I don't recall seeing any kind of supporting plate in my busted or if the replacement air bag had the plate but when we go there they will replace those airbags if they don't have that support plate.