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Old 05-16-2015, 07:43 AM   #1
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Need Info 1995 Chevy Coachmen Catalina Sport 20 ft

Just bought a 1995 chevy 350 coachmen catalina sport 20 foot 8 inch model , looking for any info on how to operate appliances and any tips , Thanks in advance !
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Old 05-16-2015, 07:52 AM   #2
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You should be able to find owner's/parts manuals online, for your appliances. I had a 1997 Coachmen 220RK. Any specific questions ?
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Old 05-16-2015, 08:01 AM   #3
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As Mich says almost all RV appliance manufacturers have downloads available , operator & installation manuals.
If you do happen to have an orphan appliance; with nothing on the web; , just post the make and model number , chances are we can help you find what your after.
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Old 05-19-2015, 05:43 AM   #4
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a couple of questionz right now

There is a switch above the fuse box by the seat with a light on it any idea what it is for ?Also is there a battery disconnect switch anywhere ?
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Old 05-19-2015, 06:57 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by earlbear View Post
There is a switch above the fuse box by the seat with a light on it any idea what it is for ?Also is there a battery disconnect switch anywhere ?
My Coachmen had an on/off (small) battery disconnect switch by the door to the house section of the MH. Many RVs have some type of battery switch in that general area. Many also have switches for an outside/patio light and a switch for the closest to the door ceiling light. Many of the latter can be controlled by the switch by the door, as well as a switch on the light itself. Not exactly sure where that switch you are asking about is for, but it could be your battery disconnect switch.
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Old 05-19-2015, 09:21 PM   #6
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We had a '93 220RK Catalina Sport and loved it. We were the second owners. Bought it with relatively low mileage. It was our first RV. Lots of fun. Ours did not have a master switch for the house battery but I installed one that we bought at an autoparts store. Easy to install on ours. Put it in the floor behind the front passenger seat which meant it was just inside our entrance door on the floor of the coach to the right as we came in the door. The secret was that the house battery was under the inside entrance step so the wiring was easily accomplished working under the coach. Everything was right in that area so the location worked out very well.
You should be able to get the appliance brochures online as others have said.
One note. We had the Chevy 350 engine and it performed well. But we started to have a transmission problem whereby we would be driving along when all of a sudden it felt as if the trans went into neutral by itself. We thought the clutch was slipping but that was not the problem. Actually there was a problem with an electrical "pigtail" assembly that is installed in the transmission. It is the assembly that passes through the wall of case of the trans and hooks up to components inside the trans. Fortunately, after one trans shop tried to sell us a rebuilt trans (which we refused to do) we found a shop that had experienced the same problem on other Chevy 350 units with the respective trans. Sure enough, once it was replaced the problem disappeared. And it cost far less than a rebuilt trans!
Also, even if you don't have a trailer hitch on the rear check to see if there is a wiring harness up underneath the rear. We had a harness on which the electrical tape had come off one of the wires and it was grounding out or touching another wire or something. (I am forgetting what it was.) Apparently when we stepped on the brakes the reverse lights came on! That was easy to resolve with more tape. And finally, there were times when we couldn't move the transmission shift lever out of park. There is an electrical switch under the dash that is activated when you step on the brake pedal and it kept getting dislodged to the point that it would not function properly after the pedal was depressed a number of times. I'd have to reach up and push the switch back into its bracket. We finally found the part online and ordered a new one that wouldn't slip out of the bracket.
Well, that's it and I hope you don't experience these problems with yours but if you do at least this info may save you some time and concern. On the whole we really liked that motorhome. Good luck with yours. Safe travels.
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Old 05-20-2015, 06:24 AM   #7
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Thanks , usefull info.I think ours also does not have a battery disconnect switch but woud like to install one , if possible could you draw a simple diagram and tell me what parts I need ? Thanks ! The guy we bought it from had a brand new trailer hitch installed last year and never used it .Did yours have a switch with a red light on it above the fuse box by the rear kitchen table ? If so , what is it ? Thanks again .
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Old 05-20-2015, 06:33 AM   #8
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Perhaps that is the switch for your water heater.
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Old 05-20-2015, 06:53 AM   #9
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I don't really know about the switch with the red center on your unit. I simply can't recall. But some have suggested it may be the hot water heater. Do you know if that is what it is? On our current motorhome we have a similar switch by the exit and it is a master switch that controls power to the lights in our storage bays under the coach. We do have another similar switch in a control box above our entrance door and it is a master disconnect of the house batteries so that they do not drain down when we aren't using the RV. I suppose it is possible that this is the same on yours but we never found a "master switch" on our coachmen. That's why we installed the one I previously described.
As for a diagram I may not be able to help but I may be able to find a similar part or part number on line. If I do I'll come back and post it here. In addition to the switch I seem to recall that we had to buy a short section (maybe two feet or a little less) of battery cable with terminal connectors on both ends. It just becomes a matter of disconnecting a cable from the battery which then gets connected to the disconnect switch. The switch gets mounted in a new hole you will need to drill in the floor of the RV somewhere convenient. The new section of battery cable gets connected between the other terminal on the switch and runs back to the terminal on the battery that you disconnected the original cable from. I think I did ours on the negative terminal side of the battery and it worked fine. BUT...I believe the correct way to do it may have been to do it on the positive terminal side of the battery...not sure...I'm not a mechanic or an electrician.
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Old 05-20-2015, 07:15 AM   #10
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I'd be very surprised if your MH doesn't have a battery disconnect switch somewhere. Of course if it does have a disconnect switch, even if turned off, the alarms are probably still powered, drawing down the battery.
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Old 05-20-2015, 07:16 AM   #11
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I just googled battery master switch and several came up. One that looks similar to the one we used is on a website for Del City (?????) I don't know anything about them but that's what popped up. They have a switch for $32.43. Item number 79997 battery master switch with key. They also list pre made battery cable assemblies for around $5.00 give or take. I'd expect that you'd be able to find similar parts at a local branch of one of the large chain auto parts stores.
I've been rethinking my previous comments about your switch with the red light but just can't accurately recall whether or not we had anything similar in our Coachmen. BUT, I do seem to recall that I was able to go on line and find an electrical diagram for our Coachman that I downloaded and printed out. It showed all wiring in the coach body. It may have actually been on the Coachmen website. I'd strongly suggest that you try to find one for your model.
(By the way, we towed a Jeep Wrangler with ours without any problem.)
Again, good luck.
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Old 05-23-2015, 04:00 AM   #12
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Thanks to all

Thanks for all the info , especially about installing a battery disconnect switch ! I guess i will be spending a bit of time doing some research on the computer !
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Old 05-23-2015, 08:13 AM   #13
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Final Thought

I seem to recall talking with the technical support / engineering people at Coachmen about ours when we owned it. They were very willing to answer my questions. You may want to consider calling them and asking about your switch with the red light, plus the absence or existence of a coach body battery disconnect switch in your unit. I'd expect that they can also point you in the direction of a full wiring schematic diagram.
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Old 05-31-2015, 07:51 AM   #14
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Rv question

Quote:
Originally Posted by LongDogRanch View Post
We had a '93 220RK Catalina Sport and loved it. We were the second owners. Bought it with relatively low mileage. It was our first RV. Lots of fun. Ours did not have a master switch for the house battery but I installed one that we bought at an autoparts store. Easy to install on ours. Put it in the floor behind the front passenger seat which meant it was just inside our entrance door on the floor of the coach to the right as we came in the door. The secret was that the house battery was under the inside entrance step so the wiring was easily accomplished working under the coach. Everything was right in that area so the location worked out very well.
You should be able to get the appliance brochures online as others have said.
One note. We had the Chevy 350 engine and it performed well. But we started to have a transmission problem whereby we would be driving along when all of a sudden it felt as if the trans went into neutral by itself. We thought the clutch was slipping but that was not the problem. Actually there was a problem with an electrical "pigtail" assembly that is installed in the transmission. It is the assembly that passes through the wall of case of the trans and hooks up to components inside the trans. Fortunately, after one trans shop tried to sell us a rebuilt trans (which we refused to do) we found a shop that had experienced the same problem on other Chevy 350 units with the respective trans. Sure enough, once it was replaced the problem disappeared. And it cost far less than a rebuilt trans!
Also, even if you don't have a trailer hitch on the rear check to see if there is a wiring harness up underneath the rear. We had a harness on which the electrical tape had come off one of the wires and it was grounding out or touching another wire or something. (I am forgetting what it was.) Apparently when we stepped on the brakes the reverse lights came on! That was easy to resolve with more tape. And finally, there were times when we couldn't move the transmission shift lever out of park. There is an electrical switch under the dash that is activated when you step on the brake pedal and it kept getting dislodged to the point that it would not function properly after the pedal was depressed a number of times. I'd have to reach up and push the switch back into its bracket. We finally found the part online and ordered a new one that wouldn't slip out of the bracket.
Well, that's it and I hope you don't experience these problems with yours but if you do at least this info may save you some time and concern. On the whole we really liked that motorhome. Good luck with yours. Safe travels.
Under the bed there are 3 valves , do you know what they do ? Do I need to open or close any ?
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