2007 HR Scepter 40PDQ

[Scepter40]

Tight cracks…. Lol

Heck, if all the bolts come out intact, it’s really about a 2-3 hour job with one person. It’s all right there through the hatches on mine but others may differ. I’d even guess that one could leave the turbo installed right where it is aside from the 4 nuts that mount it to the manifold.

[Scepter40]

Another good weekend of work on the coach with a few more projects knocked off the list! I was able to get the oil changed in both the engine and genny, along with fuel filters for both. The genny air filter looked pretty darn good (and I have a spare). I went with the fleetguard filters on the engine and the onan green on the genny and Delvac 1300 Super 15-40 on the oil. I went back and forth in my head on the oil as I'e used Rotella T6 and the Delvac. I like both and for this time around it came down to the fact that the Delvac was $60 for 5 gallon, which allowed me to do the coach and my Cummins swapped Excursion at the same time with an extra gallon for the genny. I will say that the 20K oil interval on the coach seems a bit long for me and the oil that came out was SUPER black and sticky. I don't like it at all. The coach will get oil samples from now on. Even after I changed it and let it drain for probably 3 hours, the new oil going in was super black as well. NOT happy about that. Genny was just a black but came out more clear after the change. Also got some more heat shield on the engine hatches, changed out the seals, added a new one on the hatch itself, and pulled the AC covers inside and checked the vent system to make sure all the routing was sealed off properly. It was and I changed out the weatherstrip on the cover to seal it up a bit better. The foam tape was pretty old a decrepit. I think I have everything all packed up and ready to go for the upcoming trip to Estes Park this coming weekend.

I do have a few more items that I'd like to deal with at some point, starting with my awning motor. It goes out just fine, but needs help getting back. I figure the motor is just worn out or there's a bad connection. I'll pull the cover off at some point and see what's going on in there. That and a few maintenance items like hitting all the rubber seals with silicone spray, fixing a pull shade, and the drivers side window shade, which goes down but doesn't roll up when I push it back up. Small stuff. I was able to get into the voyager system and make sure all the AV inputs were set to "normal", but the Aladdin system still shows backwards. Net time I kick the power on, I'll changed them all to "mirrored" and see what happens that way. Who knows, the whole system could be jacked up. Silverleaf doesn't seem like a viable option based on some reading I've done here, but I did see another one that may be of interest. All in good time I suppose. I also need to grab a new desiccant for the brakes as the "extra" I had seems to be super old and I'm not sure it's serviceable at this point.

[photopilot]

In my experience, oil in every diesel I’ve owned (tractors, RV) turns black immediately. I would worry about the sludge, though.

Walt

[Scepter40]

Originally Posted by photopilot

In my experience, oil in every diesel I’ve owned (tractors, RV) turns black immediately. I would worry about the sludge, though.

Walt

For sure not happy about it. This trip is around 2200 miles and the interval is supposed to be 20K, which I don't really like in the first place. So, my idea as of last night was to run this trip and then drop it out either directly after, or run it until the fall prior to winter, which I would imagine will be around 5-7K total miles. With any luck, it should clear up.

As a last resort, I'm thinking of using the anti-sludge treatment that NAPA has. I've seen it used in a gas motor and it worked really well for that application. I'm not really inclined to use it because I just hate that sort of stuff and worry that it'll do more damage than good. I wonder what happens if there is in fact a bunch of sludge in there and then it all gets removed.

Thinking about it a bit more, I'll run an oil sample after this trip and see what comes back, then decide when to change it again and do the same thing.

Thoughts?

[96 Wideglide]

I've used 'mirrored' switch on the Voyager system. All it does is put traffic on the side you would expect them to be (remember the camera is pointing backwards), but it doesn't change the print .

[JJTL]

Hi Keith, welcome to the Monaco/HR Family!!

Congrats on a beautiful Scepter. Wishing you many safe and awesome trips ahead!

Following along.

All the best!
Josh

[JJTL]

Hey Keith,

In case you don't have these, below are digital versions of the brochure and owners manual for your coach:

2007 Holiday Rambler Scepter Owners Manual

2007 Holiday Rambler Scepter Brochure

Happy tinkering!
Josh

[Scepter40]

Originally Posted by 96 Wideglide

I've used 'mirrored' switch on the Voyager system. All it does is put traffic on the side you would expect them to be (remember the camera is pointing backwards), but it doesn't change the print .

It's super weird and the only think I can think of is that the Voyagr is jacked up. It flickers and seems to have a mind of it's own. I haven't dug into it enough to determine if it's loose wiring (which I'm inclined to think it is), or if it's just janky internally. Come to think of it, the Aladdin system modules are in the basement. I might check those wires and make sure everything is plugged in correctly. It works, just backwards.

Originally Posted by JJTL

Hi Keith, welcome to the Monaco/HR Family!!

Congrats on a beautiful Scepter. Wishing you many safe and awesome trips ahead!

Following along.

All the best!
Josh

Originally Posted by JJTL

Hey Keith,

In case you don't have these, below are digital versions of the brochure and owners manual for your coach:

2007 Holiday Rambler Scepter Owners Manual

2007 Holiday Rambler Scepter Brochure

Happy tinkering!
Josh

Thanks Josh! I have all the manuals in hard copy that came with the coach, but it's nice to have a digital version for reading on the iPad at night. I read the owners manual several times prior to purchase. I still somehow missed the fluid check point for the slides in all that reading so still have a few items to check before the trip.

[YC1]

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aqrv2TUdbV6xjjsv...0-iNu?e=DZRk1W

When you get a chance, download these files. We have a 2008 Endeavor and a lot of the files are from a factory CD.

A decent speed internet will take just a few minutes to download. Keep a copy on a thumb drive or in the cloud. The coaches are very close and should be useful.

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new toy. You will love it and as have already found out they are quite the monsters and complex systems without a few schematics can drive you crazy.

[Scepter40]

Originally Posted by YC1

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Aqrv2TUdbV6xjjsv...0-iNu?e=DZRk1W

When you get a chance, download these files. We have a 2008 Endeavor and a lot of the files are from a factory CD.

A decent speed internet will take just a few minutes to download. Keep a copy on a thumb drive or in the cloud. The coaches are very close and should be useful.

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the new toy. You will love it and as have already found out they are quite the monsters and complex systems without a few schematics can drive you crazy.

SHEESH!!! This is a LOT of information! Thank you!!!

[Scepter40]

Just back last night from a week long trip to Estes Park, CO from Cincinnati!

Got to see a LOT over a week in Estes Park and had a really great trip overall!

We did have a few "issues" along the way. First was, I didn't get enough sleep the night before we left. At about 4 hours, it just wasn't enough to run all the way to WaKeeney, KS in one hit. Took around 15 hours total time and I was burnt pretty bad by the time we got there. Had some food, a beer or two, and hit the sack for the remainder the next day, about 7 hours. At around midnight, the whole coach died. All 12V power, gone. My first stop was the "salesman switch" up front, which was dead. Checked all the connections and I had a fear that I had screwed something up because when we stopped, I was so tired that I forgot to turn the breaker on at the pole. So, all during setup we were running on house batteries and inverter as I had shut the generator down. Then I just went and hit the breaker. But, then I figured that it might be the solenoid for the switch and started hunting that. Got back to the rear of the coach and there's a solenoid right at the disconnect switches. I figured that was it and tied those two cables together. Nothing. Replaced the in original configuration. By this time, it's at least 1AM and I'm running out of brain capacity to deal with it. ent up front to the main fuse panel thinking that the solenoid was up there after some internet searching (and this forum, thankfully). It was supposed to be there, but I just couldn't see it. So, panel back on. By 2AM, I called it, opened the windows and slept in a dead coach. Up at 6, called my buddy who has a Monaco and walked him trough the problem. He went straight for the solenoid and I was able to find it up front right where it was the whole time. Put a pair of channel locks across the terminals, and sure enough the power was back. So, pulled the wires and bolted them together and things have been great ever since.

Second issue. Aquahot. When we brought the coach back from FL, it worked just great on the electrical side for showers. This trip, not so much, at least or the first night or two. Started digging around and realized that there was a fault light on for the coolant level sensor. I had noticed the overflow tank was empty before we left on pre trip checks and had filled it to the "cold" line. Apparently, the sensor either has gone bad or I've got a air bubble in there somewhere. I was able to find the shop manual for it and jumper the sensor wires on the board and get it to work (electric). I tried firing up the diesel portion of the system and the fan kicked on and blew a bunch of soot out the exhaust pipe and then the light just kept turning itself off. No fault lights. The filter has a 2018 change date marked on it, so I'm probably into it for a new filter and nozzle at this point. I'll dig into that in the coming weeks because my better half likes her showers. And if I don't get that fixed, I'll be in trouble. So, I'll get a new sensor, filter, and nozzle found and go from there.

Third, the washer. It seemed to work fine for two loads of wash, and then wouldn't do another. Waited a day, and it ran another load. Then it wouldn't run any more. No flashing lights, nothing seems wrong, it just doesn't ever start the cycle. Super weird. It's almost as if the water pressure wasn't sufficient or we were just a touch out of level, or something. The site in Estes Park was a difficult level for the coach and I probably should have used the blocks for the front as the bags were maxed out and the rear was all the way down. Lesson learned on that one for sure. Aside from that, I'm sort of at a loss on the washer and why it seem to work in some cases but not others.

Overall got pretty decent fuel mileage and figured out that I can actually shift while using cruise control, which is a game changer. The whole way out, I didn't use it because I didn't think I could shift during cruise. I tried it on the way back and it made the overall management of the coach MUCH more palatable over along distance. I'll be using it from now on.

On to the lessons learned for the next trip:

1. Use the dang cruise control
2. Don't try to bite off more travel time on less sleep.
3. Don't try to do 1000 miles in two days.

This is the biggest takeaway for our trip. If we want to go west, I'm inclined now to only spend a few days there in lieu of driving like a madman to get there, only to be dog tired for 2 days afterwards. I'd rather take more time getting there and seeing more stuff along the way. Heck, I passed a sign for the worlds largest wind chime and didn't even get a chance to stop and see it!

4. We NEED a Toad.

So, a couple in our group rented a van while in Estes Park, which was great. However, it's expensive, and I'd rather have my own ride. We have 3 cars currently to choose from: 21 Sentra, 16 Altima, and 03 Cummins swapped Excursion. the Nissan's can't be flat towed because they are CVT transmissions and the Excursion (Clifford as I call him), is pretty big and heavy. But, it a manual trans and transfer case, which can be put in neutral and drug wherever I see fit. It's also my daily driver and has plenty of room to haul as many folks around as we need/want. The down side is, I'm the only person that drives it. So, I'd be the only one ever driving anything as I can't quite convince my better half that she'd be fine behind the wheel. Someday she'll get there I think.

So, thought's on dragging a Excursion that weighs in around 9500 pounds? One idea I had over beers is turning it into more of an overland rig and using the coach as a base and then working BLM lands or other such goodies and maybe wilderness camping for a few days during a trip. It would get us to the less traveled hiking that we like to do and I can fit a queen size bed in the back and have a great place to sleep and still have plenty of room for the doggos. I already have the Blue Ox tow bar (but not sure of the rating) and Air Force One is installed on the coach. So, I either have to go to a ready brake or stick with the Air force one system and get the parts for the Excursion. OR, get a tow dolly and deal with the hassle of that. I'm used to towing trailers, so may not be as bad a I envision for the car dolly. Thoughts?

I'll get some pictures from the trip uploaded in the near future.

[YC1]

Were you on 30 amps when the washer was not working??

If so, the load shedding device was probably disconnecting you.

The salesman solenoid on mine has been in the land fill for many years.

Can't help with aquahot.

And yes, don't drive too lone in one day. 4-500 miles is more than enough and I really like 350 for the best comfort.

A toad is really nice. We tried it toadless a few times and did not like it. Besides, if you break down it gives you some options besides your thumb.

We have towed a Hummer 3, Ford Edge Limited, and now a Ford F150 Limited. All towed nicely. The pickup is our favorite now. It is a bit heavy at around 5K lbs. We use the Ready Brake so never have to worry about a dead truck battery not working the braking system. Had that happen and needed the toad braking desperately once. Almost bought it in Death Valley.

[Scepter40]

Originally Posted by YC1

Were you on 30 amps when the washer was not working??

If so, the load shedding device was probably disconnecting you.

The salesman solenoid on mine has been in the land fill for many years.

Can't help with aquahot.

And yes, don't drive too lone in one day. 4-500 miles is more than enough and I really like 350 for the best comfort.

A toad is really nice. We tried it toadless a few times and did not like it. Besides, if you break down it gives you some options besides your thumb.

We have towed a Hummer 3, Ford Edge Limited, and now a Ford F150 Limited. All towed nicely. The pickup is our favorite now. It is a bit heavy at around 5K lbs. We use the Ready Brake so never have to worry about a dead truck battery not working the braking system. Had that happen and needed the toad braking desperately once. Almost bought it in Death Valley.

Thanks! Always on 50 amp service on this trip. Still thinking on using the Excursion as a Toad. At that weight, the coach will pull it for sure, but I guess I should weigh the fuel mileage hit as well when deciding.

[YC1]

Mileage will take about a 1mpg hit overall with a toad.

You can uprate that 400 ISL most likely to 450Hp at a Cummins service center.

Nice upgrade. If you have a rear radiator, changing the stock fan blades to one from Source Engineering will give you a boost as well. Been running mine for probably ten years.