Community Forums

Jim Estes · 03-03-2016, 04:42 PM

I met a guy camping with our exact same coach...2011 Astoria...he cut a large circular hole on the side (through the black plastic housing) ...pretty much directly in front of wear the discharge connection is...went to West Marine and purchased pretty much the same hole cover/screw on cap...that is the coach now. The sewer hose connects straight out and on to the discharge pvc pipe. It was perfect! You would need to get a pretty big hole saw bit for your drill...I plan on doing the retrofit when time permits.

He also had a residential fridge put in...he full times...the job looked like a factory install. I believe Alliance Coach did the job...out of Florida!

dsbear · 03-03-2016, 10:18 PM

Jim that sounds like a great idea!

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

Raytaylor25 · 03-04-2016, 02:00 PM

Yes I bought my 2011 40kt new in 2011 and for the first time I tried to hook up the waste outlet the air was blue with my cussing! I could not believe anyone could be so stupid with the design for this outlet that I was threatning my wife that we were going to drive back to Indiana and get the waste designer to connect the hose! In the end I moved the access hole so that it was a little easier to make the connection without ripping my knuckles. I spoke with Thor but got no positive response. This year I am going make a further modification by making some kind of trapdoor for access but it still doesn't address the fact that it is too low for good drainage, to work this out I don't disconnect the waste until the coach is raised then dump.

Baldtbird.06 · 03-04-2016, 10:27 PM

Time consuming and holding up others at a central dump.
But hhad not Thought of raising to dump at site. Duh : )
Thanx for a bit butter dump for our Astoria also.

Britcanuck · 03-04-2016, 11:09 PM

I've been out of wifi range for a couple of weeks and now I'm back in the connected world I see some discussion on an issue that has been a PITA for a while now. The sewer hookup is pathetic. I try to connect mine before I dump the air and deploy the leveling jacks. If I don't do this it is sometimes impossible to connect the stinky slinky and if I do the flow is non existent. Don't you love those sewer connections that stick up 6 inches! I've been reprimanded more than once for not having a support for slinky but how can you. If anyone can post pics of modifications I would love to see them. It's not much better at the good dump stations like at state parks but the aggravation is back if the dump has a time lock Ahgggggg. On a totally different issue I just love the new TOYO M122 tires. Wish I hadn't waited so while the Badyears started to deteriorate.

gsf35099 · 03-11-2016, 08:13 PM

Hey Gang, I don't get out here much, but I too noticed the love everyone else has with the dump outlet on these coaches. The DW & I are actually on our last night heading back home after 1 1/2 weeks in Daytona for bike week.

While we were there my new friend in the spot next to me was watching me hook up & noticed the struggle, he told me the "Y" section on his Newmar is the same and it rotates. Wasn't sure what he meant & he grabbed the "Y" between the 2 valves and spun that sucker. I had no idea. He said sometimes when he's to low, he will just run the line out the door over the edge. Twisting the "Y" at least prevents your hands from being smashed & makes it much easier to attach the hose.

I was lucky this time as the RV Spot drain was lower than the bottom of the rig & I was actually able to use the stand for the hose.

I did notice by spinning the "Y" straight at the side (horizontal to ground) I could use a 90 elbow & have the hose drop out easy through the whole in the compartment like it should.

Still a poor design, but wasn't sure if many of you knew the "Y" actually swivels and is designed to do that.

Britcanuck · 03-11-2016, 11:50 PM

That's a good point that the Y will swivel and if required will allow you to attach slinky over the edge and under the door. I haven't done that yet as I bought a angled clear plastic extension for the valve which attaches the hose level with the hole in the tray. That's a useful tip to know for next time the hook up is difficult. When we make our pilgrimage south each winter we use RV parks less & less. For a few reasons. 1) It gets expensive. 2) A lot of RV parks are 75% permanent residents & DW gets a little nervous.
3) There are so many first nation casinos in the west that are well patrolled and paved that we use them for 3 days and then dump at the many equipped rest areas on I-5 in WA,OR, & CA
Will be exploring the canyons of southern Utah this summer so will check out same in ID & UT. For Astoria owners with 2010 and earlier please ensure that all driver side cargo door are closed before pulling dinette slide in. I didn't and the curl at the bottom of the door was so squeezed that the door wouldn't close. An expensive lesson.

SteveOGilroy · 03-12-2016, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Britcanuck

That's a good point that the Y will swivel and if required will allow you to attach slinky over the edge and under the door. I haven't done that yet as I bought a angled clear plastic extension for the valve which attaches the hose level with the hole in the tray. That's a useful tip to know for next time the hook up is difficult. When we make our pilgrimage south each winter we use RV parks less & less. For a few reasons. 1) It gets expensive. 2) A lot of RV parks are 75% permanent residents & DW gets a little nervous.
3) There are so many first nation casinos in the west that are well patrolled and paved that we use them for 3 days and then dump at the many equipped rest areas on I-5 in WA,OR, & CA
Will be exploring the canyons of southern Utah this summer so will check out same in ID & UT. For Astoria owners with 2010 and earlier please ensure that all driver side cargo door are closed before pulling dinette slide in. I didn't and the curl at the bottom of the door was so squeezed that the door wouldn't close. An expensive lesson.

Ouch! The swing out doors on the passenger side are so much better. I don't like the lift doors on the driver side. I check and re-check before retracting the slides. Poor engineering.

I replaced the dump valves this winter. I didn't know the Y swivels.

Do the screws have to be loosen to swivel?

gsf35099 · 03-12-2016, 11:54 AM

No, the screws do not have to be loose. Just need to put some pressure the first time. He actually moved it back & forth a few times to make sure it was freed up. Sounds a little crazy & I thought there might be a mess, but no leaks at all.

Tankd · 03-13-2016, 06:55 AM

Just saw this about the dump. I had the same issue. We was at Thor service couple years and asked about the dump being a pain hooking up the hose. That evening the tech came out said the bolts on the 'y' was way to tight, he loosed and showed me it swivels. They did install a larger pan hole. No more cussing when trying to hook up the hose.

bbunner · 03-13-2016, 09:15 AM

Thor tech did same for us, made larger pan hole and solved problem.

SteveOGilroy · 03-15-2016, 12:19 AM

I pushed the Y today and the waste connection lines up just right. It's been 8 years I've lived with that problem. Our original "Tech", when we first commented about how hard it was to connect the waste connection told us they were all like that and "you can live with it". That guy is out of business..... in 2009....

Thanks again. This forum is very good.

gsf35099 · 03-19-2016, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveOGilroy

I pushed the Y today and the waste connection lines up just right. It's been 8 years I've lived with that problem. Our original "Tech", when we first commented about how hard it was to connect the waste connection told us they were all like that and "you can live with it". That guy is out of business..... in 2009....

Thanks again. This forum is very good.

Glad to help. I too have been dealing with the hard connection for 7 years. Can't believe it was that easy to adjust & never knew.

SteveOGilroy · 03-26-2016, 12:25 AM

Furnace blower not aligned with the vent.

I decided to take the grill off the cold air return to my furnace. In our coach this Grill is below the refrigerator. Behind the grill I found wood chips, screws, miscellaneous pieces of stuff from manufacturing some eight years ago. Dog hair was ours! I vacuumed the area, I dusted the area. I noticed that the blower ductwork was not aligned with the floor ductwork. When the fan was operating a large amount of air from the heater was being blown directly in the compartment where are they cold air return is. The duck work appeared to be about 1 inch misaligned. Using my camera I found that the ductwork was more than large enough. So I use some ventilation duct tape 2 tape the gap. This has increased the flow of air through all the vents and seems to heat up the coach significantly faster.

Has anyone else experienced something like this.