This is going to be a long post:
Just got back from a two week stay at the Disney Fort Wilderness campgrounds. Really, really enjoyed the stay. All of the main concerns about my mom being able to make the trip and use the new lift were all met with great success. Only thing I need to do is get longer bolts for the four rubber feet of the main lift deck and some shim washers to add about .75" of height so that the lift will touchdown to the ground sooner. Found in some instances, the lift hovered just above the ground at full extension.
The trip was great and we all had a great time. But, it sure did have its revelations and surprises until the very end.
This is my first coach and the first vacation voyage it's been on since I bought it last summer. I addressed many of the issues I saw leading up to the trip. Still, more issues have surfaced that will keep me very busy this early spring and summer to, hopefully, get all outstanding issues fixed and out of the way!
The two disasters on the way home will be covered first to get them out of the way.
We made a stop at a Love's truck stop in Tennessee for fuel/food/stretch. Just as I turned out of the place to hit the freeway ramp, I heard a very loud 3 second or so noise from under the driver/passenger area every few seconds and it would happen more often as I moved faster.....(Mod Edit) is that, my brother in law looked at me saying?
Holy crap, that can't be good, I said. I noticed the secondary air gauge was pegged at 130 psi and would not move when hitting the brakes. Pulled to the next T/A truck stop a few miles down the road, put the coach in neutral, punched the brakes a few times an saw both primary/secondary air gauges drop and refill. When the secondary was at 130 psi and hitting the gas, the noise rang out again..... I told my brother in law to call my mechanic and see if he could figure out what we are dealing with. He told us it's the air system governor. Found out that the T/A truck service dept no longer fixes motorhomes with freightliner chassis for whatever reason and they gave me the local emergency road service number. Well, three hours and $350 later, we were back on the road....sheeesh!! The repair guy also told me that I have a pin hole leak in the front driver side air bag.....joy!
Going through southern Ohio in very strong winds, the awning decided to fold out at 65mph....(Mod Edit)!! Hit my signal and pulled over in record time. Opened the door and the wind almost tore it off the coach. First glance, it looked like all the parts and pieces were all there, accept for those bars that slide on the main rails had both been pulled out of the slot. It was all we could do to just hold the fully deployed awning from being ripped off the coach... Then a trooper pulls behind....yeah, we should be able to handle this, as the wind is just trying to lift me and my brother in law off the ground. I'm holding the rear main bar and my BIL is holding the other. He's holding the main bar and the main strap that rolls the unit back up. I tell the trooper that we double checked the awning at Disney and it looks like the wind just found a way to have its way. The trooper leaves. I'm trying to figure out how we are going to get this monster rolled back up, as it does not seem to have any spring energy to do this. I figure it's damaged or something. There's no way we can manually roll it up, as it's 12' off the ground....(Mod Edit)!!
WAIT A SEC....the wheelchair lift!
Sister opened the two doors folded down the main deck of the lift, lowered the deck down low enough so my BIL could step onto the lift and slowly roll up the awning. Now, how to secure it to the coach for travel, as I no longer trust the locking system. Found two bungie cords and wrapped them around the main and support bar on each side and move it as high on the bar as possible. Flipped the lock lever on the unit and she was very secure. On the road and frazzled. What a frickin' nightmare.
I'll post the problems with the coach during the vacation in a little while, as I'm tired of typing....
I will say the problems were no water to kitchen/bathroom sink, black tank gasses in bathroom, hot water not working, minor coolant leak, minor passenger side rear axle oil leak, and to top it off, found that the slide out sticks on the kitchen sink end and needs help to deploy/retract.
Oh, the ice maker water line looks to be leaking when I turned the little valve near the water heater...
And, the Norcold will not work on AC.
Linear Mode
