Bounder: RV_Guy - 1995 Fleetwood Bounder 35

[RV_Guy]

Hi everyone,

I inherited a 1995 Fleetwood Bounder diesel pusher in good condition and I believe it’s a 35-footer based on the ID plate outside and below the driver side window, with a FIN of 735PS 4753662, the manufacturer ID is 33-1749, and the bumper-to-bumper length is around 36 feet by paces.

Of course, there’s no owners or maintenance manuals, and the Fleetwood on-line manual is nearly useless as it’s generic and has no model-specific diagrams (and few diagrams at all). They don’t have the brochure for this model year available on-line, and search engines don’t filter out other models and years.

I can’t figure out how to fill the FW tank from the city supply. Water flows to the faucets, toilet, and shower fine, and with or without them open, the tank still doesn’t fill. I’m guessing there’s a fill and/or vent valve to allow water to fill the tank, but I’ll be darned if I can find it/them.

The tank monitor panel is below the dashboard to the right of the steering wheel column, but pressing any of the buttons doesn’t light up anything. Does the key need to be in the ignition switch and turned on? Most motorhomes I’ve been in have the monitor panel above the sink, range, or side door and come on when buttons are pressed as long as there’s shore power or house batteries connected/on.

Finally, where are the AC power breakers? I found the DC breaker panel and air-con selector switch in the aft cabinet above the dinette on the drivers side, and the chassis fuse box behind the front grill access panel on the driver side. There’s a screwed-on panel on a large electrical box above the shore power cable storage area, but it’s labeled as being for DC fuses.

I’m guessing that’s where the DC-AC inverter, and house and chassis batteries AC-DC and DC-DC chargers also are. I haven’t opened it yet, as I have no tools handy at the moment to remove aftermarket hex sheet metal screws - the stock black plastic square slotted twist fastener heads are there, but I suspect they’re broken/worn-out inside.

Thanks for any help and pointers to where model-specific brochures and owners/maintenance/repair manuals are.

Jim the RV_Guy

[House Husband]

First, tell us what model Bounder your have. Look for a label under the drivers window. Or a label just left of the drivers seat. Or on the inside of the closet door.
I suspect you fresh water gravity fill is on the drivers side, close to the rear wheel. It's a locked door about 5" square. Also, close to the water pump is a valve that fills the fresh water tank from city water pressure. Do make sure to open the gravity fill to vent the tank before using the pressure fill. You won't like the massive leak when the tank ruptures.
Disregard that broken monitor panel on the dash. They never worked right.

Those breakers you called DC breakers are the AC breakers. The DC house fuses are behind that metal panel next to the AC breakers. Some where close to the batteries is a RV Custom Products Battery Control Center. Wiring schematic on inside of cover.

Your coach did NOT come with an inverter. It only came with a converter (battery charger). Location unknown.

Richard

[RV_Guy]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for the quick reply!

As I stated in the first paragraph of my post:

“ … ID plate outside and below the driver side window, with a FIN of 735PS 4753662, the manufacturer ID is 33-1749 … “. Having seen Fleetwood Bounder floor plan model numbers in brochures for other model years, 735PS means a 35-foot pusher model/floor-plan, AIUI (not sure what the “S” stands for).

I kept the city water input at low pressure briefly, just enough to get flow into the sinks, shower, and toilet, as I’m a Navy engineer and am quite aware of what a “blivit” is (stuffing 25 pounds of $#!t into a five-pound bag). There’s no door like the one you cited on the driver side, but there is one around eye height on the passenger side, maybe aft of the kitchen area. That makes no sense given that hookups are almost always provided on the drivers side with the nose pointed outbound from a site. I didn’t have the key to unlock that door at the time, but will check it Tuesday. Still no clue where the FW tank valve is (or the water pump, for that matter) if it’s not behind that passenger side door. Why it’s not all adjacent to the water tank is a ridiculous “design”, engineering-wise. All of the other motorhomes and RV trailers I’ve owned have had all utilities-related gear located near where hookups come in.

The panel over the dinette is labeled “DC Breakers”, but I didn’t turn any off and check to see whether outlets were powered off. So, the generator puts out AC and can power both aircon units (and they’re wired to the generator, probably through an isolator relay/contractor). I assume the house DC for the interior lights, water pump, battery charger, etc., comes from the AC-DC converter downstream of the generator or shore power, through an isolator.

I’ll pull the tank/battery/etc., monitor panel and check the wiring to the tank sensors to see if they’re not fouled/corroded/disconnected. I may be able to fix the panel electronics as that’s my most potent area of expertise, as well as computing stuff.

Thanks again for the breadcrumbs … the price of acquisition of the Bounder was perfect, and my father-in-law was a crack industrial and vehicle diesel mechanic. Now to install appropriate injector nozzles and start knocking over fast-food joint used veggie oil tanks [Moderator Edit] At least I don’t have to steal any DEF!!!

All the Best,
Jim

[RV_Guy]

Hi Richard,

I was able to confirm that the small white door on the passenger side of the MH, around the kitchen at roughly eye height, does, in fact, hide the gravity fill port and all-important vent. Sticking a hose in and turning it on resulted in a very satisfying expanding bluish rectangle on the side of the FW tank (especially after I saw a stream of water coming out of the bottom and closed the drain valve!). Of course, none of the keys provided would unlock the door … but that’s not the first time that I’ve had to test the modulus of elasticity of one of those doors with a screwdriver and a carpenter’s curved-claw hammer!

Fortunately, it popped open without cracking or breaking. I reversed the locking toggle 180 degrees until I can replace it with a lock from a large batch of unique-to-me ones that are keyed-the-same. Most people don’t know that the keys to most RV storage doors are all keyed the same so that dealers don’t have to worry about mixing up or misplacing keys when they need to demo any RV on a moment’s notice, especially right off the truck.

I was able to look more closely at the breakers and panel behind the cabinet door, and realized that the breakers are for AC, and that the DC distribution panel is to the right of it, as you stated, with a separate set of screws for removal of just that panel.

As I was testing fresh water coming from the FW tank, via the switch-activated water pump, I found that there isn’t more than a trickle when either on city water or from the FW tank. Turning the faucet from full cold to full hot made no difference in the trickle. The filtered water faucet provides full flow, although it appears to be connected to a different supply line from that supplying the cold water side of the faucet. I suppose there could be some kind of air bubble that won’t clear, or that there’s a leak (but both hot and cold having only a trickle doesn’t make sense), or there’s a problem inside the faucet (corrosion?). I’ll be replacing it with a modern, tall “J” style swivel tube with a built-in sprayer, and single faucet handle, so, I’m hoping that will resolve the issue.

The investigation … and Inquisition … continues!

All the Best,
Jim