Community Forums

opcop · 08-10-2015, 02:51 PM

This is especially for the 37DT owners. My family was tired of watching TV in the bedroom while on the road because it separated the kids from us. Due to the main LR TV being covered up by the driver's side slide, the kids had no other choice but to use the bedroom. Then I came up with a solution. That stupid, very narrow, almost useless cabinet over the entry door now had a purpose. I took out the middle self inside the cabinet, then mounted a piece of plywood into the aluminum studs in the wall, mounted an articulating TV bracket to the plywood, then attached a very thin Vizio brand LED TV. I drilled a hole in the top forward side of the cabinet and the one next to it to run the power cord and the HDMI cable to the TV/Cable/DVD box in the front overhead cabinet. Works like a charm. Now my family can actually watch TV from the dining booth and we are all together. View my pics below. The trick is to make sure your plywood, bracket, and TV total dimensions don't exceed the cabinet depth.

opcop · 08-10-2015, 03:35 PM

I've talked to other Challenger RV owners while on the road and they have had the same problem I did. The fresh water tank, when full for dry camping prior to travel, lost about a half a tank of water due to siphoning pressure and the two overflow vent tubes being open. My solution; I inserted a plastic replacement threaded garden hose end into each tube, secured with a small hose clamp, and screwed on caps to stop water from escaping. I obviously fill the tank with at least one cap off, but once it's full I screw the cap on. Once I arrive at my camp site, I then remove one cap so the water has ventilation for the water pump to pump the water. So far so good. A cheap fix at Home Depot.

LyonsL · 08-11-2015, 05:08 PM

Sorry for the late posting but life gets busy sometimes.

The DW & I attended a rally in Goshen, IN in early June. It was a good rally and the trip was uneventful until we arrived home.

We backed into our driveway, leveled the coach and put out the large side on the right side of the coach when we heard a very strange sound and the slide seemed to move slowly. We found out that the slide moves in and out with cables and unfortunately one of the cables snapped. That meant that the slide was stuck in the "out" position and we couldn't get it back in or drive the coach. (Figures it couldn't happen in Goshen when we were 20 minutes from the factory repair center!). So here we were stranded in our own driveway. Well that was the good part. The bad part was we couldn't find anyone in our area that could drive to our home and repair the slide. The dealer in Ohio where we purchased the coach said they would do the warranty repair but it would take awhile before they could get someone out to us and it was going to cost us $971.00 to pay for the repairman's travel. One repair shop 50 miles north of us could do it for $200.00 in travel expenses but their guy was booked for the next six weeks!

I called the Thor factory but they could not help us find a repairman. I told them I would have to do the repair myself and they agreed to ship the cable repair kit to me. They said that it would take one or two weeks for the parts to arrive. Unfortunately we had a trip planned to North Carolina in three weeks so I found a video online that showed how to do the repair and I ordered my own repair kit from Amazon.com. The parts arrived in two days and I had it repaired two days later.

It was a lot of work to replace the broken cable. You have to remove all of the interior wooden trim hiding the slide mechanism before you can replace the cable. Threading the new cable is also a challenge. Not a lot of room to work with and there's also a lot of reading and video viewing to help understand what you need to do.

I ordered two repair kits from Amazon.com (one for a spare) and a large crimping tool (which is absolutely needed to do the repair). Total cost for a kit & crimping tool is about $100.00. I keep both in the coach & hope to never be stranded again!

(The repair kit from the factory arrived in about 10 days so now I have two spare kits.)

The slide is controlled by the BAL Accu-Slide system. you can view their repair video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQWBI0gnhpI

The cable repair kit & crimping tool can be purchased here:
Amazon.com: BAL 22305 Cable Repair Kit Accuslide: Automotive
Tie Down 43005 26" Hand Swaging Tool, Cap: Sizes 1/16 to 3/16 Inch w/ Cutter (Grainger 6MR91) - Wire Cutters - Amazon.com

On a positive note, Thor did agree to go over my coach and make sure that the cables & system are adjusted and working properly. I have an appointment at the Thor Factory Service Center on August 24th.

ctpres · 08-11-2015, 07:32 PM

opcop: just an idea - try backflow preventer with hose fittings - seems to me it would work and you would not have to be remembering to remove and replace.

ctpres · 08-11-2015, 07:37 PM

LyonsL - sorry you had the problem - but you gave us all enough info should we have same problem. BTW - not sure that it matters but sure looks like compression job failed rather than cable broke.

opcop · 08-11-2015, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctpres

opcop: just an idea - try backflow preventer with hose fittings - seems to me it would work and you would not have to be remembering to remove and replace.

Nice idea. Now to find a small backflow that doesn't hang down too far. Thanks for the idea.

JohnG2013KT · 08-12-2015, 10:09 AM

OPCOP -- I tried a similar fix to the siphoning problem ... I simply fashioned a 'plug' .. to push into each tube .. AND at the same time, I cut a big red rectangle (cut from the side of a plastic Folger's coffee can) and attached it to the hose fill bib .. with a warning to "OPEN" overflow tubes before filling" ..

All went well .. filled my tank, plugged the overflows and shut the access door .. Got to my first stop .. checked water levels. And while the tank level was down some .. When I opened the compartment where the water tank is .. to get some BBQ tools out .. much to my surprise .. .everything was soaked!!!

I assume that the overflow tubes are sealed into the tank ... just pushed thru a hole ... Not sure what to do now ..

ctpres · 08-12-2015, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnG2013KT

. Got to my first stop .. checked water levels. And while the tank level was down some .. When I opened the compartment where the water tank is .. to get some BBQ tools out .. much to my surprise .. .everything was soaked!!!..

Not sure what happened but maybe temp or altitude changes changed air pressure in tank and some weak point failed. Probably not a good idea to seal air tight - must have some air in source to compensate for water used in transit.

ctpres · 08-12-2015, 06:15 PM

#68 Incandescent 1076 bulbs in fixture over dinette are failing like popcorn. I ended up buying a dozen while I search for suitable LED replacement. Removing burned out bulb was always so difficult I was afraid bulb was going to shatter in my hand. So today I decided to check it out. On inspection I found soft metal contact on burned bulbs had melted from heat and flowed to from a great bond around socket contact making it hard to rotate bulb. See pic 1. Heat generated by bulb was contained/trapped in socket by a metal can so I removed can for better air circulation. Replacing with LED is best answer but the dual contact base is pretty rare in LED world and finding one with enough lumens for reading (old eyes) is even more difficult. In the meantime the cooler bulbs will last longer

ctpres · 08-13-2015, 11:16 AM

#69 Finally got around to making our solar/privacy shade screen. Material needed 6'x15' shade cloth and enough 1/4" braided cloths line from Home Depot for under $30.00. 3/16 rope will do but you will need to double up on fabric around rope so it will stay in the track. Fold long edge of fabric over rope and sew it closed. Cut ends of rope even with fabric and hand sew thru rope and fabric to keep rope from sliding out. To install screen retract awning till open slot is almost vertical (see pic one) and there will be enough open space on end to slide screen into track. The material is thin enough that we can fully retract awing without removing the screen. Install once and done.

ctpres · 08-13-2015, 01:47 PM

#70 A couple of our basement latches would stick in the open position. First I just bumped the latch assembly with my fist and latch extended for closing. Next shot at quick fix was to slightly loosen the two square drive screws nearest latch. Eventually I had to get serious and take them apart. Remove the four square drive screws and hold outside assembly in place as last screw is removed. Pull out on hinge end of outside assembly tilting it and it will come out. Remove Phillips head screw holding the X shaped cam and TWO washers. Lift X cam off pivot. Turn assembly over and slide latch bar out and remove spring. Wipe/clean off all old lube and crud, re lube on wear points especially X cam shaft surfaces and wear side of the flat washer. Reinsert latch bar and push it in enough to reinstall X cam, (spring should not show) flat washer and screw with lock washer. Operate numerous times to spread lube and to be sure latch is not sticking any more before reinstalling in door. First latch might take thirty minutes but the rest in more like five minutes. Hint Memory trick - security guard is on duty when he/key is standing or vertical and off duty when key is horizontal.

opcop · 08-13-2015, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnG2013KT

OPCOP -- I tried a similar fix to the siphoning problem ... I simply fashioned a 'plug' .. to push into each tube .. AND at the same time, I cut a big red rectangle (cut from the side of a plastic Folger's coffee can) and attached it to the hose fill bib .. with a warning to "OPEN" overflow tubes before filling" ..

All went well .. filled my tank, plugged the overflows and shut the access door .. Got to my first stop .. checked water levels. And while the tank level was down some .. When I opened the compartment where the water tank is .. to get some BBQ tools out .. much to my surprise .. .everything was soaked!!!

I assume that the overflow tubes are sealed into the tank ... just pushed thru a hole ... Not sure what to do now ..

I don't know if the overflow tubes are just pushed into the tank or not, but I assume they are sealed and connected at the top. I have not had that leak issue with my caps on. One thing I did forget to mention is that I open up both the hot and cold valves to one of my bathroom sinks when in transit. I do this as a precaution in the event pressure builds up in the tank. Even though the WP shouldn't allow the air pressure to flow through when it's off, I find it a comfort just in case. Maybe I'm just lucky so far. Just remember to shut off the valves when you turn on the WP. I hope your water tank hasn't developed a crack.

opcop · 08-13-2015, 11:24 PM

I'm not sure if anyone else has experienced this issue. On several occasions I used my auto level feature on my Lippert jack system and found the auto level actually lifted my wheels off the ground. Sometimes it was the front, sometimes the back and the spot was relatively level already. I didn't like the feeling of the coach so I re-did it manually. The final straw was when I pulled into my campsite which was all gravel with a very minor slope down towards the driver's side. I used the auto level function and the jacks began to lift my front wheels off the ground, except this time I felt the front of the coach start to slide toward the driver's side and I immediately hit the "retract jacks" button and allowed the coach to sit on the ground again. I got out of the coach and looked at the front jacks for damage. I noticed the passenger side bracket that mounts to the frame bent outward slightly. I put the jacks down just touching the ground and found the passenger front jack leaned outward about 2", but the jack itself was not damaged. I had to buy a new bracket from Lippert to make it straight up and down again.

Now I just manually lower my jacks. I start with the rear jacks first just touching the ground then the front jacks. After they have all touched the ground I can make my adjustments left/right, front/back as needed. Doesn't take long and now I don't have the wheels coming off the ground. I know the system can be adjusted so it wont do this, but I find comfort in doing it myself because the feeling of the couch sliding sideways was quite unsettling. Has anyone else had this same issue?

Rascal55 · 08-14-2015, 06:34 AM

I found the water ran out of the overflow tubes when going up or down steep grades. I put ball valves into each overflow tube and when traveling turn the valves to off. This stopped the water from leaking out the tank. Just remember to open the valves before using water from the tank or filling the tank.