Community Forums

1mainiac · 09-18-2014, 08:53 PM

This site reminds me of a running joke a friend of mine has had for many years he truly wants to meet the "Guy at the campground". This comes from years of having customers telling us over and over that the Guy they talked to told them this or that. So when we are trying to tell them how to avoid a problem they are telling us how some guy told them something else. More than once I have suggested they go get the guy to fix it since the reason it is broke is because they followed his directions LOL.

I understand nearly everyone here is trying to help each other but many posts I have read have people telling things wrong. Perhaps wrong is not the right term but if a person asks about a issue on a Jayco for instance why do people tell them how to do it on a Winnabago?

All too often at work i hear a person telling me they have done something for 20 years. Well they have only owned this unit for a week so they have not been doing it for 20 years and what they used to do may no longer apply to the new unit. I have been a mechanic since I could walk and carry tools and every day I learn new ways to do things. More than once I have went to do a job I have done hundreds of times only to find the manufacture changed it's design and I have to relearn it. Some of this I now just attribute to the fact engineers have to draw a new design every year even if there was nothing wrong with the old design.

So please consider that there are many others like me in here and i will try and help but all too often by the time I read a thread it is so muddy it is hard to decipher.

RV Wizard · 09-19-2014, 03:01 AM

I too would like to add that the OP with the question, give us as much information as possible to help them find and correct the problem. Many times, it is impossible to even begin to help due to the vagueness of the post. Other times a member may say they have checked voltage and say it is good but in reality it may be only marginal and that is at the battery bank. With over 40 years experience in the service industry, I have tried to train service advisors to ask over half a dozen questions for a single issue and it is still amazing as to the answers gotten.

Walt Bennett · 09-19-2014, 04:36 AM

X3! Between the "what's the best . . " or "how do I open my new rv's door?" kind of question and the story's that the 'guy' told them, there's an awful lot of stuff that makes one wonder if there isn't something in their water . . .

HD4Mark · 09-19-2014, 05:33 AM

Most everyone here is trying to help and even if the brand is different manufacturers often use the same systems on RVS. I try to mention "my coach is not a (your brand) but this is how it works on ours. Might not help but can't hurt. A Norcold 1200 in one brand is the same as another. Wait, let's not get into that again. Bad example

soricobob · 09-19-2014, 05:43 AM

I think what happens, at least it does to me, when I log on I go to the correct forum, but there are "latest questions" on the right side of the page. If I go to any of them, as I did today, sometimes I loose track of it possibly being outside my forum. So, I am answering, commenting, or responding in some way to a question of comment about which I don't have complete information, and have failed to recognize that.

Dutch Star Don · 09-19-2014, 11:27 AM

On a similar note, my BIL would always tell stories he heard from guys at campgrounds. I finally told him he should write a book of short stories titled; "Some Guy Told Me"

Medico · 09-19-2014, 12:31 PM

I do not necessarily agree with the OP in this thread. When a person posts a question in a thread, even giving as much info as they can, without actually being there, looking at the problem, we are ALL guessing what the real problem might be, and what a solution might entail. This does not matter whether a person has 20 years as a mechanic or 40 years in the service industry. You are not speaking in person with the individual having the problem or asking a question. We all tend to make assumptions in these cases. We offer solutions based upon our experience and the info given.

Assuming that you will offer better answers than others based on the info listed in the thread is patently incorrect IMO. Remember the adage of what assume means. A person does NOT need to have years of experience as a mechanic to offer a solution to most of the questions posed here. Many of these questions have nothing to do with how a system works.

Please do not think that your years of experience as a mechanic will make your answers more appropriate than any one else's answers based on the second hand info we are given here. Perhaps if you are at the questioner's location your info might be more appropriate given your experience, but it does not mean it will necessarily mean it will be more appropriate here.

**TonyDi** · 09-19-2014, 12:55 PM

Most people are giving what their best idea is to remedy the problem, without being there. My best guess is better then no answer and it can start you looking in the right direction. I will usually say when I am merely suggesting a fix.

wa8yxm · 09-19-2014, 02:09 PM

Well son... back when I learned to drive about 50 years ago (About, not exactly) ... You had 3 pedals (Not counting the parking brake and on one car the windshield washer) and a button (or two) under the dash......

Yup, we used to use that pedal on the left side of the steering column.

And the button(s) too.

Have not done that in ... Years (last time I used the left side pedal would have been what 1996 or 1997.. Daughter last used one 2 winters ago, she however has never seen the floor mounted button)

TeJay · 09-19-2014, 02:10 PM

All proper trouble shooting MUST start with a plan. If you don't have a plan you begin chasing your tail. Anytime an individual says, "Well that sounds like what happened to me and this is what i did to fix the problem," begins the tail chasing.

All mechanical/electrical issues will begin with symptoms. Once the symptoms are explained and understood then the testing must begin to narrow down the problem. That's as simple as I can state it and that is what I follow and taught for 40 years when diagnosing any problem.

Lets face it. Your doctor does exactly the same thing. You go in with a problem. He/she asks you the symptoms and based on experience they either run tests or prescribe a possible fix. It's really that easy.

Each problem must be treated as unique. If, based on what you read from an OP you lump it into a previous experience, without knowing all the facts, you may go down the wrong road. What I always try to avoid is the trip down the wrong road costing an RVer money that is spent chasing their tail.

When I taught automotive I approached it this way. Almost on the first day of class I would pick up a car part. I told the students this: Evey part has a name, a location on the vehicle and a specific function. Every part can be tested to see if it's working as designed and it will exhibit specific symptoms when it malfunctions. If you know these 5 things about every part on a car you will be a great diagnostic technician.

That's still how I approach every problem on every thing I have to fix. It's never failed me yet.

TeJay

MSHappyCampers · 09-19-2014, 02:29 PM

Are you telling me that you doubt what the guy at the campground said!

bronk · 09-19-2014, 02:52 PM

I think that the "guy at the campground" , as well as most others who enjoy RVing as much we do, will try to be helpful and assist someone as best as they know how. RV's (motor homes in particular) are complicated beasts at the very least. Troubleshooting a particular problem can be "iffy" much of the time and another person's suggestion may be the help necessary to get the job done.

Bronk

1mainiac · 09-19-2014, 02:58 PM

First let me say my intent was not that I know all or know best but honestly I could name dozens of situations where there is nothing wrong and get dozens of how to fix it ideas. TeJay was dead on you have to have the correct info to begin with and running a hundred try this ideas does not help and can often do more harm than good. Nothing in the world worse than dealing with a customer that has had a bad weekend with dozens of new friends at the campground trying to fix his issue only to have one of us walk in and change a fuse in 10 min and he is done. One serious issue I see with new techs is they are parts changers not techs some of this has to do with flat rate manuals not giving anyone time to correctly diagnose and solve a problem so they simply replace symptoms.

Just mention Norcold and watch the discussion fall apart in a handful of posts. The fact is a properly installed Norcold will work just fine and is no more a fire hazard than a new Samsung or any other unit on the market. The issue with them has been compounded beyond belief, in 15 years I have never seen one that I could not fix, I have seen many no one would pay to have fixed correctly but that is beyond my control if you or the manufacture or my boss choose to not pay to have it fixed there is nothing I or any other tech can do to solve that.

I enjoy helping people out or I would not be here offering my advise for free. I have considered starting a RV tech support business and most of you would be happy to pay to have me on the phone I am pretty good and have a very unique background which suits this industry very well. In fact most days I would bet money you can search every RV dealership in the nation and not find another tech that has all my certifications.

None of this however is about me so sorry for wandering off topic. I just hope some that read this will consider that every coach and trailer manufacture uses components from multiple suppliers so saying I have a 1998 Holiday Rambler Endeavor does not mean much since it was built on 3 different chassis each with multiple floor plans and options and if my math is correct there were close to 6500 combinations of that model and not even half that many ever built. So in that remember nearly every coach is different than the one next to it.

JohnBoyToo · 09-19-2014, 03:18 PM

Real easy solution... don't like what you are reading... don't read

it's a discussion forum on the internet in a world of MOSTLY non-internet users - I LOVE it when someone says "I don't know..." about my area of expertise -- I usually tell them I'm GLAD you don't know, that's why they pay me rather well

If I posted an issue here, I, for one, would appreciate any responses that made me think of the solution...

many, MANY times a good team will understand just ASKING the question sometimes leads to better solutions...

and I know the guy in the campground is correct ...

He is me