2007/2008 Fleetwood Excursion 40X

[Tha_Rooster]

Originally Posted by Nemisus

Hey Tha,

Is that bad? Not all parts of CA are smog zones. I also already own a 34 foot Rexhall with Diesel and its never been an issue.

Now if you're just referring to the cost of fuel, well yeah that sucks but its life and I wont let it stop me from enjoying it.

It was my understanding CA was getting real strict on especially older diesels. If not my bad.

[Nemisus]

All good. From what I understand those changes affect commercial rigs not privately owned. MH's fortunately are exempt. Now I could be wrong but I believe I read that here from another member.

Cheers.

[Jason619]

If you plan on registering it in CA, make sure the engine has the sticker that says it “Conforms to US EPA and California Regulations”. Depending on if it has a Cummins or a Cat, the sticker is located on the valve cover on the Cummins. I’m not sure where it is on the Cat. But this is required to register in CA.

[Nemisus]

Good morning iRV2,

Thought we'd provide an update. Made it home late Saturday. Yes we bought it and it drove wonderfully across the US. We did run into several unexpected issues with weather that gave us some challenges but we prevailed.

I'll have some pictures of our journey up shortly.

I will say that many would have walked away from this purchase but my wife saw the diamond in the rough.

The previous owner had no business owning a Motorhome and some of the "modifications" still have me scratching my head. Nothing a good mind can't resolve.

I will have a ton of questions down the road.

One journey ended for the next to begin!

Cheers and stay tuned!

[hilgert]

Congratulations!!!

Time to change your signature...

[Nemisus]

Thank you Hilgert,

Should reflect correctly now.

Also thank you for the info on the Excursion. Very much appreciated,

[OkieSVT]

Congratulations!! So happy for you. Keep us updated on your new purchase.

[Nemisus]

Thanks SVT!

So far, even with the traveling challenges we experienced we are super excited for this builder.

The first 2 days of travel were flawless. The 3rd night began the troubles. Mostly self inflicted and nothing to do with the coach letting me down.

First issue: burst water line at the water tank. My fault for not putting my pressure reducer on. Apparently the Casino we stayed at had 95 PSI water pressure. An easy fix thankfully.

Second issue: a result of the first issue. The water break managed to fill the rubber boots on the end/brakes of my leveling gears. On the 5th night it dropped to 17 degrees and froze that water solid. The next morning when we went to leave the 2nd I powered on my Power Gear Panel and hit Retract all, bam the system shorted out. Took me 4 hours to manual retract all four gears. It warmed up to 19 degree's that morning. Still not sure how bad that mistake was? All I know is the system still thinks the gears are down. I've reached out to Lippert.

The 3rd and most annoying issue was the wind. Nearly ripped off the pass side slide topper. Several road side repairs in wind and snow that I'll not soon forget.

Probably not the best choice to travel in FEB but we are home and the next stage of this adventure is underway.

Here are a few shots... more of a teaser. More Pics will follow.

[hilgert]

It would not be a motorhome unless there was stuff that needed to be fixed. I tell people that motorhomes are earthquakes on wheels.

Pressure regulator...we never hook up without one. You can get regulators that have a bit higher pressure than the normal ones. This is the one we use and it seems to have good flow/pressure, and has a cool grip that moves up/down to whichever end needs to be turned. Costs more than many others, but it's the best one we've owned. I (personal opinion...others may differ) would not bother with adjustable regulators.

Jacks...YIKES!!!

Wind and toppers. I adjusted our toppers to be very tight. They do sometimes flop in the wind if it's *really* windy. You may want to look at replacing them at some point with new topper material...several vendors make them...they do not have to come from Fleetwood.

[Nemisus]

Helbert,

that first statement is so true and my Farther In Law has used it several times. Makes me chuckle but there is so much truth to it.

The Pressure regulator was me just being lazy. I had one brand new and just failed to take the 2 seconds to add it in line.

Still no reply from Tippert so I'll try again today. I fear this one might be an expesive repair. I have the electric version.

As for the toppers go I'll most likely replace all 3 when we get to the roof repairs.

Right now we are focused on getting some of the short cummings in the living area manged. The previous owner just did some weird changes... like glueing lineolium over perfect OEM RV tile. Fortunately with some elbow grease and time we got the glue removed and its now like it shoud be.

The list goes on.

Stay tuned for me!

[mrboyer]

I used a Watts whole house regulator with gauge. So many of those fix setting regulators are not really accurate. Overnight they can pass enough pressure to be up to the pressure supplied. Amazon has them available, fully setup for RVs. You can purchase them at big box stores, but you might have to add hose fittings to work for an RV application.

[rkdillinger]

Glad you made it back home successfully! Your rig looks almost identical to mine, on the outside. I also have issues with the wind and my toppers...haven't figured out a perfect solution yet, but tightening the springs will probably be my first attempt, especially since I need to replace the material ASAP.

I got caught in the "polar vortex" in Texas three years ago, so I know what that cold weather can be like (I'm in CA as well so it's not something I have to deal with regularly).

I have the hydraulic levelers so I can't be much help with those.

Good luck with your new project!!!

Randy

[Nemisus]

Thanks Randy,

Buying this coach gave me the opportuntiy to see parts of the US I never thought I'd see. Even in CA we get cold where we're at. This mornig was 25* my house and it's currently snowing. So fortunately I am not new to cold and snow. Just wasn't expecting it in TX. LOL We are located in Willits, CA but at 2200 elevation.

Aside from toppers, broken water lines and levelers I am also addressing the following:

brace yourself as I am certian most would have passed on it with these issues. My wife and I are crafty and confident so it wasn't a deal breaker. Especially for what this thing is worth when complete compared to what we paid.

Magnum Energy Converter
Furnaces/AC's
Roof

The Converter board is fried and will need to be replaced
The Furnaces are like new but the 30k unit is missing the the hydro flame board (uncertian why)
The AC's have been disconnected (unsure why) but appear never used.
The bedroom Entertainment center has been removed (I'll make a new one)

Everything else is cosmetic.

The "bones" if you will are impecible. The 8.3 had only 6700 on it when we started driving. Powerful and smooth. The suspension feels like new as well. I am sure there is an interesting back story to this coach but for what it's worth it is now in good hands and will be restored to its former glory.

Cheers

Nem

[Rob_M]

Congratulations! It appears to be in good hands. Sorry our tx weather let you down, we get the week long cold spell from time to time, especially late Jan, early Feb. Sunny and 79* currently in ATX.