Is there a group of Astoria Owners?

[Alltooledup]

Thanks for all the helpful replys that have been given. To the issue that my coach is supposed to have four GC batts well the rack/drawer would hold them but mine never had them. Original paint on the floor of the drawer unscratched or worn where a batt would have lodged I looked around locally where we are staying and there is some old stock sitting on shelves or more accurately angled racks that probably leave some of the plates in the batteries high and dry. Could not find matching date codes for our 31 group engine batteries and AGM GC batts are not stocked.Sams club had a wild variety of date codes and said they cant get more of the same until existing stock is sold. So once they break a pair they will never sell a matching pair again Napa states that group 31 batts are sold in pairs only that is for the starting batteries. So if you know what you want you will probably have to order it as MH stuff is not important to retailers.

Went to Batteries + Bulbs and ordered 2 AGM 31 Starting batts and 2 Marine/deepcycle 31 group AGM for the coach. The date codes are supposed to match.Bought the X2 brand which is 100% lead and supposed to be a quality product. The starting batts are 60 month and the M/DC are 48 month full replacement. Thinking again about pairing maybe the warranty does not make sence as you would break a pair if you replaced one.
I got my desired cranking amps from coach batts that start the generator and will have matching charge profiles for the engine and coach that charge together; whenever the engine is running, the generator is running, or we are plugged into shore power. Also the batteries will accept the higher charge rate that our Intellipower 9180 can put out in the short amount of time allowed for generator operation while dry camping with restrictrions. So we are going against conventional wisdom here and spending a lot more dough to do it but hopefully I have thought this through properly and all will work well. Thanks again for your guidance. Dennis

[Kenh1]

My 2006 3595 does not have an inverter. There are 2 wires taped together by the convertr/charger I assume are battery wires for the inverter to be installed. Does anyone know if the Astoria is prewired for the rest of the whole house system, if so, where are the wires and connections. Would it be easier to just put an after market inverter in and run the wire to a plug in the bedroom. thanks.

[Baldtbird.06]

Our 2006 Damon 36 ft Class A Astoria.Pacific same as yours I believe has an Inverter / Charger by Tripp Lite Mfg installed at factory.
Ours is installed in cabinet above passenger seat, with all other light checks.
But have never been able to find the actual Inverter/Charger box. I have spent much time looking.
We see what is called the Remote Box above the passenger seat.
"see pix attached" which we are still trying to understand how to set the two way switch for when we charge with solar panel input as well as how to use for generator or shore power charges. Manual a bit sketchy as to what we should do as it was written by another country

[Baldtbird.06]

Would like to find the main Cabinet for the Tripp Lite Inverter/Charger...Photo is of the Remote panel above passenger Seat.

[Britcanuck]

My 3772 has the inverter in the back bay on the passenger side. It's mounted under the floor of the bedroom. It's an 1800 watt unit which is considered an 'entertainment' inverter as it only powers the TV's and entertainment center as well as 3 other 110v outlets. I think that your coach would be a similar setup. The 4 6volt batteries provide several hours of TV through my inverter plus the power to the other outlets. Suggest you check the schematics in your owners manual to see if an inverter is in the circuitry. An inverter is a 'must have' in a coach so can't understand why yours doesn't have one unless previous owner did some modifications. A Xantrex 1800 watt inverter or similar in not a big ticket item and should be an easy install with the two taped off leads that you mentioned - good luck!

[gsf35099]

My 2006 Astoria only has an converter that is located above the fresh water tank on the passenger side. Took me ~5 years of ownership before I finally found it.
Kind of an odd place to put it, but that is where mine is. In its own compartment.

[Alltooledup]

After replacing the batteries in my coach and being careful and marking all the leads on the coach batteries before disconnecting there is some thing that does not jive. I have a lead from the coach positive to the chassis positive battery terminal. My concern is that the coach and chassis are connected by cable how can they be separate power supplys? The lead in question has a white sheath over it and a yellow tape identifier on the cable inside the white sheath. It is going pos to pos coach to chassis. This is on an Astoria 3595 06 vintage. Everything seems to work OK. I can use the isolation switch in the stairwell and shut off the coach power. So any ideas? If the Intelli-Power is to charge the vehicle batteries maybe this is the cross connect for that. Or maybe someone previously changed things around. Cant post an image due to being on the road and using a cell phone for a connection. schematics in the Astoria manual don't show the chassis batteries and just and inverter coach which I do not have:-( There are 2 cables comming from the negative coach batts which go through the back wall of the batt compartment. Just kind of wondering how they could separate the power supplies when they are tied together by cables.

[Britcanuck]

There certainly seem to be some oddities in the way Astoria's were built from mid 20xx to 2011. Damon had such a good reputation for quality & customer support which went downhill when Thor took them over. I don't know the time lines so can't be more specific. My 3772 is titled as a 2011 but was built in early 2010. One only has to look at the build and quantity control to see that is was put together on a rush basis and no attention to detail was given. I could write a book on the sloppiness of some procedures that will certainly give problems in the future if not addressed when discovered. I think that Thor are giving more attention to QC now that the acquisition of Damon is complete. They have to otherwise manufacturers like Newmar and Tiffin will devour them. I find the input from Astoria owners on this forum invaluable to resolving all kind of issue with our coaches which we spent a pile of dough acquiring
and want to keep enjoying for years to come. Keep up the good work

[Alltooledup]

Originally Posted by Alltooledup

After replacing the batteries in my coach and being careful and marking all the leads on the coach batteries before disconnecting there is some thing that does not jive. I have a lead from the coach positive to the chassis positive battery terminal. My concern is that the coach and chassis are connected by cable how can they be separate power supplys? The lead in question has a white sheath over it and a yellow tape identifier on the cable inside the white sheath. It is going pos to pos coach to chassis. This is on an Astoria 3595 06 vintage. Everything seems to work OK. I can use the isolation switch in the stairwell and shut off the coach power. So any ideas? If the Intelli-Power is to charge the vehicle batteries maybe this is the cross connect for that. Or maybe someone previously changed things around. Cant post an image due to being on the road and using a cell phone for a connection. schematics in the Astoria manual don't show the chassis batteries and just and inverter coach which I do not have:-( There are 2 cables comming from the negative coach batts which go through the back wall of the batt compartment. Just kind of wondering how they could separate the power supplies when they are tied together by cables.

I had no problem but missed that the cable went out and came back through the same hole. I thought it just ran straight to the chassis battery which was incorrect and I appologize for any inconvenience this might have caused.

Well the positive cable from the coach batteries sneaks through a hole in the back wall runs to the rear of the coach and connects to the Emergency Start/ Charge Relay ( like a Ford car starter Solenoid but much heavier duty and designed for continous operation) Another cable comes off the relay and runs back to the chassis battery positive terminal.
This is the cross connect that allows the converter/ or engine alternator to charge both coach and chassis batteries. The Normally open relay is energized when ever charging voltage is present due to the engine running or being plugged into shore power and the converter being energized or the genset running and powering the converter. The Battery Isolater Relay Delay which might be in the driverside front electrical vault can energize the Emergency Start/ Charge relay or it can be energized by the Emergency Start switch which is on the dash board next to the ignition switch. The Emergency Start switch is momentary on and off While the BIRD will toggle off and on as it sees fit by measuring voltage. That is my understanding of this very complicated system and many thanks to Mr. Timothy Buss at Thor for explaining the operation of the system.

[Jfligner]

not sure if this helps but here are my coach batteries.

[Jfligner]

On a separate note.... has anyone been able to reengineer the waste output on your Astoria? On my 2009 3772, there is such little height and clearance that sometimes I find it difficult to get the waste moving away form the coach and towards the end of the hose. On my previous RV's, the connection happened higher and this was not a problem. Anyone figured out a way to fix this?

[Baldtbird.06]

Same gravity problem with our Low Black tank. Cut a larger 8" opening and helps some. But still no good flow.. Also bought new Lippert waste Hose. that has flat/slick non coil interior. that helped A bit.
Looks like the Damon is the mysterious void where Crap Does not run downhill : ) Still need a fix.

[dsbear]

I do on occasion lift the coach up on the jacks to improve the angle.


David, Heidi, M and Moose(the lab)
2011 Damon Astoria
Pulling an'09 Chevy CrewCab.

[Jfligner]

Yeah, just very poor design on an otherwise fantastic coach. I've also used the jacks to get more clearance but the problem is where they put the drain output. Would have been very easy to raise it a little higher would would make all the difference in the world.