Looking for 2000 National Tradewinds owners

[Covelo]

Jimmy a little trick to help with the oil misting of the radiator besides extending the slobber tube is to only use 19 quarts of oil instead of 20. This really helps limiting the misting.

[sgtjoe]

Years ago National had a Service Recall on the Short blow by tube. It only covered the parts (about 40 bucks) the rest was a few hundred dollars to have the radiator and cac pulled and steam cleaned. I went to Lowes and bought a piece of reinforced hose and added it to the new extended tube. Now the only time I have any radiator "clogging" is if I go on dirt roads.

I also had the dip stick calibrated at FreightLiner years ago so that the proper amount of oil could be put in the CAT 300. They remarked the dip stick so you can see if the oil level is good when you check it.

I was told that the original markings on my dip stick were based on just the engine and chassis prior to the assembly of the motor home at the factory. Once the MH was completed they reset the location of the dip stick for ease of access. So yes 19 qts is correct, but if your dip stick has not been reset you will see it will be low and thus you add a qt and blow it out going down the road.

[JimmyJ]

Now these 2 Replys are just what I been seeking.
I did extend the hose and cleaned the radiator with extreme green. Added I think just shy of 19 qts. Then drove 3000 miles Radiator looks like I just cleaned it. HAPPY CAMPER NOW

Originally Posted by sgtjoe

Years ago National had a Service Recall on the Short blow by tube. It only covered the parts (about 40 bucks) the rest was a few hundred dollars to have the radiator and cac pulled and steam cleaned. I went to Lowes and bought a piece of reinforced hose and added it to the new extended tube. Now the only time I have any radiator "clogging" is if I go on dirt roads.

I also had the dip stick calibrated at FreightLiner years ago so that the proper amount of oil could be put in the CAT 300. They remarked the dip stick so you can see if the oil level is good when you check it.

I was told that the original markings on my dip stick were based on just the engine and chassis prior to the assembly of the motor home at the factory. Once the MH was completed they reset the location of the dip stick for ease of access. So yes 19 qts is correct, but if your dip stick has not been reset you will see it will be low and thus you add a qt and blow it out going down the road.

[Plasticman]

Our Tradewinds had the same gray tank problem. I was able to get the broken threaded part out of the top of the tank. Sourced new parts from home Depot, and completed the repair myself.

Rob

[Eztravel]

We have a 1999 Tradewinds with slideout kitchen with 33K miles bought it new in 1999. My inverter doesn’t seem to be working- no humming sounds when connect to shore power and microwave isn’t working. Tried disconnecting from power sources for few hrs still not working. Any way to reset inverter?

[sgtjoe]

Originally Posted by Eztravel

We have a 1999 Tradewinds with slideout kitchen with 33K miles bought it new in 1999. My inverter doesn’t seem to be working- no humming sounds when connect to shore power and microwave isn’t working. Tried disconnecting from power sources for few hrs still not working. Any way to reset inverter?

On the inverter in the side compartment there are two switches (like light switches) have you checked these?

[sgtjoe]

Getting ready to buy new tires for my MH. I've always had Michelins but the price of these have really gone up. I'm looking at over 3 grand for 6 and this is with the FMCA discount. Have any of you fellow Tradewind owners gone to Continental or Handkook tires and if so what size converts to the Michelin 235/80R 22.5. If you went with other brands I'd be interested in how they rode and lasted compared to the Michelins.

[C1v1leng]

I replaced my two front Michelin’s last winter with Toyos. There was excessive sidewall cracking on the Michelin’s My only complaint about the Toyo is they smell like cat pee when they are hot. It’s better this year but still there. The handling seems much better too but I don’t know how old the old tires were. They had lots of tread but I didn’t like the crack on the steering axel. Going for the rear 4 when I get to FL.

[sgtjoe]

What size are they Tom?

[IDDan]

Our Zantrex Freedom 458 inverter stopped transferring AC or charging batteries this summer after I was having some arcing issues with a bad shore power plug. As I recall, it would still invert battery power so some outlets continued to work. It ended up being a small .3 A fuse that is located on the circuit board inside the inverter. It is not discussed in the owners manual. Fairly easy to replace if you remove the cover and get it with a small screwdriver and needle nose pliers.

[Eztravel]

Originally Posted by sgtjoe

Getting ready to buy new tires for my MH. I've always had Michelins but the price of these have really gone up. I'm looking at over 3 grand for 6 and this is with the FMCA discount. Have any of you fellow Tradewind owners gone to Continental or Handkook tires and if so what size converts to the Michelin 235/80R 22.5. If you went with other brands I'd be interested in how they rode and lasted compared to the Michelins.

I replaced my original tires with Toyo tires size 245/75R22.5 and they are much lower in price and I haven’t had any problems. I replaced the 2 front tires with the same 10 years ago and had no problems. The original tire were old and cracking on the sides and I felt it safer to switch them out with new ones.

[Eztravel]

Originally Posted by IDDan

Our Zantrex Freedom 458 inverter stopped transferring AC or charging batteries this summer after I was having some arcing issues with a bad shore power plug. As I recall, it would still invert battery power so some outlets continued to work. It ended up being a small .3 A fuse that is located on the circuit board inside the inverter. It is not discussed in the owners manual. Fairly easy to replace if you remove the cover and get it with a small screwdriver and needle nose pliers.

I have the Freedom 20; Xantrex said I’d need to get a Freedom 458 if my Freedom 30 is bad. I wonder if if have a similar fuse on mine?

[IDDan]

It certainly could have, particularly If the symptoms are similar to what failed on ours. Before taking the cover off, I found a video on you tube of the 458 being disassembled which helped me know where to look for the fuse. It is on the bottom of the circuit board and not real obvious. It only took about 30 minutes to remove, test, and replace. Good luck

[Eztravel]

Thanks!