Community Forums

cc8375 · 03-31-2013, 08:04 AM

I decided to start a new thread with updates, thoughts and info for those who may be interested. The previous thread "first time out" had questions and info that has be info. Feel free to look at that thread also.

We have now put over 2K on the MH and spent 16 days in it. WE ARE VERY HAPPY with the Canyon Star and Newmar quality. Items I added and changed are for OUR comfort and or needs.

Items added.....

* New recliners
* Trash can in cabinet (see previous thread)
* Receptacle in Bathroom for a night light
* Adjusted outside cabinet doors - will add pics
* Moved fire extinguisher to inside cabinet ( I do keep two outside )
* Push latches on medicine cabinet, handle on cabinet is small
* Adjusted front curtain..... better but a poor design
* Add-Silicone to Slide locking latches, allows me to use hand in lieu of tool
* Graphite all outside cabinets latches
* Added Covers to roof vents.

Items that could be better..... 50 amp cord, Antenna power switch (see previous thread) Antenna rotation, wife cannot reach, tried to purchase the
power option used on the handicap MH. Kitchen sink, too small for pans, would have liked a larger bowl with a smaller bowl in lieu of two of the same size bowl. ( had this on another MH, worked well )

I will add pics of the new Recliners, the other chairs (see previous thread) were not wall huggers and took up a lot of room. These chairs are wall huggers and are very comfortable and work well with my bad back.

Just a few..... I am sure there will be others finds and changes. Again this is
a well built coach. Their Engineering design team needs correct some of the
" Blunders" which would make livability better and NO cost to them.
I liked to Engineer a design that works easily and reliably.

cc8375 · 03-31-2013, 08:06 AM

These chair work well and the different color blends well with our scheme.
(see previous thread)

cc8375 · 03-31-2013, 08:10 AM

Outside cabinet doors only opened part of the way to avoid the Furnace, TV and Water heater. I readjusted for easier access. This helps my back when accessing. Only two doors are shown open, I did readjust All three. Concern should be taken that damage from the water heater and or Furnace could result if the doors are left open when these two are running.

KSCRUDE · 03-31-2013, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cc8375

Outside cabinet doors only opened part of the way to avoid the Furnace, TV and Water heater. I readjusted for easier access. This helps my back when accessing. Only two doors are shown open, I did readjust All three. Concern should be taken that damage from the water heater and or Furnace could result if the doors are left open when these two are running.

Yea I did that also on our Newmar. And make them all match on the curb side, and all now open all the way. And the finger pulls on all the medicine cabinets are a joke. Added some new ones from home depo above the old ones as the old pulls also hold the doors shut to the magnet. Also lubed the slide locks as they were dry. Never use the locks on the bed slide as they are very hard to access and are not needed anyway. Your rig looks great, and you are using it.

PDR John · 03-31-2013, 09:31 AM

Those chairs look nice, who made them?

cc8375 · 03-31-2013, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PDR John

Those chairs look nice, who made them?

The chairs are Flexsteel..... worked out a deal with Newmar. There a similar chair from one of their diesel's MH. The have the support, handle to raise the foot stool without reclining and a side pouch. We both love them. My other chairs I believe were like your old ones. We put sliders on the bottom and they move well on the wood floor. We carry to small tables to go next to each one when we are set up.

cc8375 · 04-04-2013, 05:47 AM

For those interested in weight. The following results include my MH loaded with clothes, food, residential fridge, washer & dryer,full propane, 3/4 tank gas, 1/2 tank of water and driver.

Front axle - 7840
Rear axle - 15300

Total - 23140

scbuchholz · 04-06-2013, 08:02 AM

cc8375 - beautiful coach and love the new recliners. We purchased our 2013 CS 3940 last year but didn't get to use it til last month. Maiden voyage was to Daytona Beach (bike week) from Michigan. Coach performed better than expected pulling 16 foot enclosed trailer with 3 Harley's. Only performance issue related to using cruise in the hills of TN and KY. After reading rave reviews, I ordered 5 Star Tuner. Can't wait to try it out.

Once we returned from our trip, I had a short list of issues for my dealer. Curious if anyone else experienced similar issues:

- Short in blinkers. Before we left for FL we noticed the opposite blinker also blinked to a much lesser degree. Disappointed I didn't find the issue earlier or better yet why our dealer didn't notice before we drove off the lot.
- ABS light always On. I noticed it on when we took delivery and brought it to dealers attention. They dismissed the problem as no big deal and we drove off. Turns out the coach has to go back to Ford to be fixed. Dealer only took responsibility after I contacted Newmar customer support.
- While driving and power inverter On, the only outlets that worked were in the bedroom. Can't believe the coach designers didn't enable one in the cockpit or dinning area. If anyone can confirm that other outlets should be available while traveling, I would greatly appreciate.
- Kitchen sink water pressure is low. Same on city water or storage tank, about half the pressure as expected. Seems like there's an obstruction or something.
- Some miscellaneous door issues that we fixed ourselves.

Thanks for your coach weights. Mine should be very similar except when my trailer is attached. Many have said, air pressure is vital to smooth ride. My summer project is to improve the ride and performance. Already purchased the 5 Star, now planning to do the CHF, steering stabilizer and rear trac bar. If air pressure alone doesn't help with ride quality, will begrudgingly replace brand new Bilstein with Koni FSD shocks.

All in all, love the coach and can't wait to put some serious miles on it. Next trip, Sturgis SD this August. Staying at Steel Wheel camp grounds near Deadwood.

KSCRUDE · 04-06-2013, 08:24 AM

The best mod I did to help ride was a set of koni shocks. Way better then the bilsteins that came on the rig. The centramatics also help with a better ride. Also put on a rear trac bar and did the Cheap handling fix. I won't add any steering stablezer as I don't think it's needed now.

on the F53 the CHF is a must have and you can do front and rear by yourself in a couple hours if you can run a wrench. Or Dunner can do it in 20 minutes or less for you if he's in the mood.

KSCRUDE · 04-06-2013, 08:27 AM

And the five star tune is worth every penny. Way less downshifting and more power you can feel in the seat of your pants.

scbuchholz · 04-06-2013, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSCRUDE

The best mod I did to help ride was a set of koni shocks. Way better then the bilsteins that came on the rig. The centramatics also help with a better ride. Also put on a rear trac bar and did the Cheap handling fix. I won't add any steering stablezer as I don't think it's needed now.

on the F53 the CHF is a must have and you can do front and rear by yourself in a couple hours if you can run a wrench. Or Dunner can do it in 20 minutes or less for you if he's in the mood.

Given the Bilstein are firmer and Koni are softer. Do you feel like you lost anything in handling when you switched shocks? Like when your cornering, passing or getting passed. It would seem to reason that a softer shocks would have more bounce and side-to-side movement.

Our coaches should be fairly similar in wiring. What outlets worked and didn't work while traveling? While my coach is at the dealer having other things corrected, I want them to address any power inverter issues too.

Thanks.

KSCRUDE · 04-06-2013, 10:00 AM

The CHF did wonders on the sway from passing trucks in wind and such and on cornering. The Koni FSD shocks are hydraulic and they absorb the lines in the road and on bridges a lot better. Not only is it a much smoother ride, it is much quieter ride also. Take away most of the banging noise on expansion joints and such. The Bilstein shocks are gas I believe. The weigh about 4 pounds each. The Konis weigh about 12 pounds it seams. They are German made, and nobody can make a car ride like the Germans. Our sun visors use to work down all the time from the constant pounding of the road. Now they stay up all the time, and no loud pounding like before the Konis were installed. Took me about 2 hours to do all four Konis, and another 2 hours to install the rear trac bar. On the rear trac I had to remove the bump stop on the passengers side, bracket and all as that's right where the trac bar had to attach to the frame. It has never bottomed out before are after the trac bar install.

KSCRUDE · 04-06-2013, 10:05 AM

Our coach only has the 600 watt inverter. All it runs is the 3 TVs and audio video equipment. I can't find any other receptacle in the coach that runs on the inverter. I have checked them all except the two hidden under the headboard, and the one hidden under the sofa.