Community Forums

itdave · 07-31-2007, 09:10 AM

Robin,
Nice job on turing around the electric reel. I guess now I need to get the Progressive EMS so when I turn mine around next week I will have a clean compartment like yours.

Ron,
Since we have the same coach I though I would let you know how I got a cat 5 wire to my desk from the Hughes Net Modem in the back of the coach. I don't like wireless. First I pushed a coat hanger up through the same hole where the 110 and 12 volt wireing enters the atrium. I then pulled the cat 5 wire back down and fed it through the tube that that the other wires run through. The wire came out in the basement bay inside the plastic cover over the raise rail. I did this with the slide open so when I close the slide the extra wire loops inside the raised rail cover. I put a cable clamps on the wire and ran it inside the basement bay.

You can release the tube from the outside wall of the slide by removing two hex head screws located just forward of the tube. The small outside tube will slide inside the larger tube in the basement.

All that said I like your idea of where to mount a Cell Phone antenna and how you brought the wire inside.

Robin's right great minds and idle hands do think and work alike. Hope to see all your changes at Wildwood in December.

Robin_M · 07-31-2007, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by itdave:
I guess now I need to get the Progressive EMS so when I turn mine around next week I will have a clean compartment like yours.

Dave,
What Ron doesn't know is that I cleaned the compartment while I did the job and took the picture before I put all the junk back in.

If you don't have the Progressive Industries EMS, or something like it, you really do need one. And it would be MUCH easier doing both jobs at once, anyway.

ronboc · 08-01-2007, 04:12 AM

I have one word for you, Dave: "Progressive EMS". What with all the sensitive electronics we have scattered throughout these coaches, I wouldn't leave home without it (to coin a phrase). RVUpgrades is one of our sponsors and has the best prices I've found anywhere. Tell you what, I'll stop feeling bad about my dirty electric-bay if you get an EMS, ok?

Here we go again with the simultaneous ideas! I had run the CAT-5 cable like you did just before we left on this trip too, Dave! We do have wireless (so the boss can work on her laptop wherever she wants in the coach), but I felt better being able to talk to the Datastorm whenever I needed and guarantee it's going to listen to me. I wasn't quite as successful though in smoothly lacing it in that tiny slot where the other cables slide. I guess mine is built a bit different, as I wasn't able to release the big PVC tube; in fact it bound-up while trying to move it to the point I was almost ready to get out the Dremel-tool. But I finally got it working - just hope nothing does catch under there and pull out any of the other cables. Great idea!

(Did I know you had a HughesNet/Datastorm too, Dave?)

Gee, Rob, you burst my bubble about cleanliness. And sorry about the downtime at the shop. But just think of the fun when you get it back!

itdave · 08-05-2007, 04:13 PM

Well got the power reel turned around and added the new hatch that TDI provided and everything is working good. Did not pick up the Surge protector yet waiting for a Rally.

While I was thinking about things electiriacl I decided to see it there was a way of keeping the Chassis batteries charged when sitting connected to shore power for a long, 2 - 3 weeks period. On my coach I have a solar pannel that Monaco connected to the Coach batteries. While that is fine for boondocking it doesn't do anything while on shore power. So I decided to install a double pole double throw switch so I could move the solar controler output between the coach and chassis batteries. The wiring looks fine and it should work but only time will tell. I plan to connect to the solar output to chassis battery only when we are going to be parked for a more than a day and we have shore power. Lets see how it goes

Robin_M · 08-06-2007, 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by itdave:
While I was thinking about things electiriacl I decided to see if there was a way of keeping the Chassis batteries charged when sitting connected to shore power for a long, 2 - 3 weeks period.

Hi Dave,
You need a Xantrex Echo~charge. It costs less than $100, is easy to install, and does the job just fine. Once you install one of these, you can just forget it. You won't need to switch your solar panels back and forth.

See more information and links here.

ronboc · 08-08-2007, 05:58 PM

Ditto the Echo-Charge.

I've asked Monaco why they discontinued the parallel-charge circuit, and get a different answer each time (all of which sound plausible, however), so I remain confused too.

Robin_M · 08-09-2007, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ronboc:
I've asked Monaco why they discontinued the parallel-charge circuit, and get a different answer each time (all of which sound plausible, however), so I remain confused too.

Ron,
Do you know if Monaco ever installed a parallel-charge feature (using shore power) on anything below the Dynasty/Imperial level? I was under the impression that they never had, but I don't know that for sure.

ronboc · 08-09-2007, 06:32 PM

Hi Robin -

If'n I told you fer shure, I'd be making it up.

But I understand it was a common feature on the 'older' coaches (don't know how old 'old' is though, just anecdotal info). Seems like it shoulda been standard, it's not that tough to implement. Heck, I had a 2000 SOB that had an Intellitec version of same, and it worked great.

Sorry, but I don't know the answer.

Ron

Robin_M · 08-10-2007, 04:04 AM

You may be right. Monaco may have dropped this feature at some point as a cost cutting measure on their lower end lines. My last coach was a '99 SOB entry-level diesel and it had the feature. I think it may have been built right into the Heart Converter/Charger (not sure). At any rate, I didn't think much about it. I just figured all coaches worked that way.

I was very surprised to discover my chassis batteries going dead on my new Monaco with the shore power plugged in. At least the situation was not hard to correct, once I knew I had the problem.

Robin_M · 08-11-2007, 04:04 PM

I like to keep my camera monitor set up for the cameras, but I also wanted to see the data from the Aladdin Jr. system. So, I added a second 5.6" LCD monitor above the transmission pad. Now I can dedicate the original monitor to the rear-view camera and turn signal cameras, while the engine and trip data from the Aladdin system display on the the smaller auxiliary monitor. Monitor only cost $72.50 from Overstock.com.

On pre-2007 coaches with the Aladdin Jr., the Aladdin controls the triggering of the turn signal cameras. Therefore, you can divert only the rear camera to the original monitor while the Aladdin data and turn signal cameras display on an auxiliary monitor. I think that set-up is even more convenient than what I was able to do, because it allows you to view the rear camera and the side camera at the same time.

See here for more info.

tjy · 09-02-2007, 05:55 PM

Hi Don;
Can I be second in line for you. You can play
with my hot rod 05 boss hoss 400hp 32coupe trike
after you are done with my knight.

tom

ronboc · 09-04-2007, 03:56 AM

For a great idea on how he made a permanent mounting bracket for his generator vertical exhaust pipe, please refer to the Diplomat Don's topic "Custom Genturi Install" elsewhere in this Monaco Forum. For a pictorial presentation of the project, check out Monaco Mama's topic entitled "Diplomat Don's Genturi Project" (also in this Forum).

Thanks to both of you.

digNbubbs · 09-04-2007, 10:41 AM

Here are a few more simple mods. The first two have been done for a while, but thought they would be worthy of posting here. The last one was finished up this weekend.

I put a little bumper on the toilet seat that prevents it from hitting the wall with a bang. I hope that it will save the wallpaper, as well as waking up Ang during a late night run

Simple magazine rack in The Room -

I am glad this one is pretty much done. It took a while to get everything working correctly, but ended up that my grounding wires were not connected well enough. I mounted the SeeLevel display on a project box screwed to the wall. I will eventually build a wood frame around it to match the large panel, but this is fine for me for now. Love the fact that I can now see what I have on board. The propane monitor has been great because previously, it would show empty once it got below 1/3. Now I know exactly when to panic

--kev

MtRoamer · 09-04-2007, 06:25 PM

O.K. Now that I have been educated in the fine art of photo posting I can show my latest project of adding an LCD to the bay under the awning.
When I decided to pursue this mod I knew I didn't want to take up the entire bay area, so I wanted a mount that would swing out of the way. You will be able to see what I came up with from OmniMount.
Once I found the mount, I needed to make certain I could support the weight of the TV. All there was from the factory was a formed 16 ga. double angle brace behind the poly wall of the bay, so I needed to come up with something more substantial. The following pics show the brackets I had to build for the propane bay to support the TV in the bay next to it. These brackets actually tie the entire structure together from top to bottom as you can see in the "installed" picture.

Once I had located the braces in the proper spot I was able to attach the TV mount through the poly wall to the new bracing. The braces are drilled and tapped to accept the bolts for the TV mount.
The next thing I needed to address was the support for the TV during travel since I didn't want it just hanging from the mount unsupported. At the same time, I knew I needed to somehow secure the TV in place during travel. What I came up with is a small cabinet below the TV that supports the weight of the TV, and also became a compartment to store the remote control and the power supply for the TV. I then made the door of the cabinet tall enough to hold the TV in place when closed. The top of the cabinet that supports the TV is covered with some 1/2" thick anti fatigue matting I bought at the local auto parts store. The inside of the door and the remote compartment are covered with a heavy duty upholstery fabric. I also made a bracket to secure the power supply in place inside the cabinet. To hold the entire cabinet and also help support the TV, I installed an angle iron brace through the wall to my previously installed bracing.
Here is a picture of the angle iron brace and the finished cabinet attached to the wall.

The cabinet is stained with Ebony stain and finished to a piano grade surface.
The following pics show the finished cabinet and TV both closed and opened.

I then had to move both the electrical and coax boxes to the inside of the bay from their previous location on the ceiling of the bay.
The following pics show the finished project with the TV extended out of the bay and also positioned back in the bay. This mounting is so flexible you can pretty much put the TV anywhere you want it to face.

This last picture shows the entire mod and the two bays involved. The TV is actually a 20" screen even though it appears smaller in the pics. The great thing with this TV is that it is also a computer monitor with a D-sub connection from the laptop. It also has picture in picture or split screen so you can be on the computer and watch TV at the same time.