A few comparisons on with new coach

[brobox]

Collision system: After a long test drive with Ted Cook explaining the CMS, I like it. I found when I was driving that my normal breaking or lane changing was way ahead of the "short distance" of the CMS, so no problem for my driving style. Also turning the distance knob to off is no big deal to disable the system. It does have to be done on each start up but takes less time than buckling the seat belt, turn the knob to the right...done.

Windows: It is really nice to have full size windows that let light in and you can see out of. The small port hole widows in the previous coach I never did get use to.

Day Shades: The day shades are now a lighter material, do screen the sun glare but not like the heavy screens on the Classic. Personally I like the lighter material, the coach is not as dark now with the day shades down, however a sunscreen for the windshield is needed even more. That part is a trade off more light.....less UV screening, I like the newer material.

Water Pump: The new 4 GPM pump Entegra is installing are the SurFlo 4048, really nice, mounted in the wet bay and very quite. A very nice improvement.

Bets on Mods: I'll let you all decide, I didn't have time to do any physical mods, but spent most of my time with the PDI Techs learning the new systems on the coach and leaning as much as I could on the physical systems, drawer and step slides, etc. I see where a few will need to be upgraded and the ones used the most changed to self closing. Mounted my tow bar and made all the connections. Today is adjust tire pressure for the trip home. First Mod will probably be the side turn signals sitting on my work bench.

Toilet paper holders are a joke, a roll of TP will not turn until the roll is almost empty. Gary, NowaBeachbum and I have sent signed rolls one full and one the size that will finally work with Ted Cook back to Pat Carroll for review.

[Gary.Jones]

Chuck

I have found NO distance knob to turn off.... possibly you can instruct me on the exact sequence of knob pushes and turns that will find me that option. You can easily find the following distane..... long, medium, and short, but there is no off. There is a ACC disable which does disable the adaptive cruise system, but that does not turn off the Collision Mitigation System which remains on all the time and does not appear able to be turned off. Maybe you mean ACC disable. And did you discover anyway to turn both the CMS and the ACC off in a click or two?

Toilet paper holders ARE a joke. Dont know how they found toilet paper holders that cannot hold a normal single ply roll of toilet paper. If you use double ply toilet paper then Chuck is probably right and you have to roll off half the roll to turn free. Single ply the first 20 times around or so. Unless they are changed, the only option appears to be to put a nice finished mounting piece of wood behind them to space them out further. I assume that I will simply replace them totally at some point.

Also, the LED lights above the dinette and on the side walls are considerably less attractive than they used to be on my 15 Anthem. Those are going to 'go' also....

Gary

[brobox]

Gary, you are correct "disabled", seemed to work on my test drive. I'll know tomorrow on my trip home. I am somewhat of a plan ahead driver. I am changing lanes way before I come up on a slower moving vehicle. If I wait, the next lane usually has traffic and I have to shut the cruse control off anyhow.

[Anthem15]

Originally Posted by brobox

Water Pump: The new 4 GPM pump Entegra is installing are the SurFlo 4048, really nice, mounted in the wet bay and very quite. A very nice improvement.

Hmmm not a bad upgrade for about $150 on Amazon. Just might pull the trigger on this one!
Congrats again on the new rigs!

[Rollin101]

Gary, I know the 2019's CMS system is different. I don't know how different, but on the 2017-18 you can turn off the CMS by holding both the up and down arrow, then turn the key on, release the up and down arrows and start the mh. That will turn off the CMS and leave the cruise control active until you shut down the mh. ,

[Gary.Jones]

I'll be interested in your experience on the way home and your opinion when you get home. Yes, I usually am over in the other lane if possible, or have my foot on the brake or my finger on the Cruise "cancel" button on the smart wheel long before I am crawling up someone's rear end (if the ACC is in the "short" range).... where it becomes a bigger issue is when you forget that you have failed to move the ACC to short when you fire up, and then realize 10 minutes later that you are hostage to the slowest driver in your lane that you may not even realize that you are following (as it defaults back to long). I will really be interested in your opinion when you get to use it for 300 or 500 miles and a couple of fuel and food stops along the way. Will also be interested in your thoughts on the "warnings" in the cab when you do get closer than whatever it is set at.

Good luck on your trip and hope that all goes smoothly. Drive safe. We head back to Louisiana via Lewisville tomorrow so if there was a way to defeat the whole kick and kaboodle "off" (and it stay "off"), I would have loved to know. Have fun. Keep us posted. Congratulations again...

Gary

[Gary.Jones]

JH

Well, if you mean cancelling the whole Collision Mitigation System process then I am definitely interested and will continue to try turning, pushing, and praying that I can find out how to do that on this version of the system. As of now, the only thing I have found that I can disable is the Adaptive Cruise and have been told by Spartan people that it is impossible to turn off the whole CMS.... I know that is what their lawyers have probably told them they must say, but I have no up and down buttons so there must be a different combination of secret turns and pushes that works to defeat it on this system.... I am all ears when someone finds how to do it..... As I have said before, drinks are on me for a whole night when we next meet.....

Gary

[Rollin101]

Guess I should have been clearer. At least on the 17&18's the small CMS control panel has an up and down ARROW. Those are what you have to hold before turning the key to on.
I know what Spartan says, but I can tell you for sure the above works on the 17&18's. The CMS screen will remain dark, but the cruise still works.

[edgray]

As some of you may know, I'm easily confused, so please forgive a stupid question. From this thread, I'm getting the impression that you want to disable (turn off) the CMS feature that comes with the higher-end models from Spartan/EC. If so, why is it that you don't want it?
Is this just another "feature" that adds cost to our toys that won't be used?

[Rollin101]

Originally Posted by edgray

As some of you may know, I'm easily confused, so please forgive a stupid question. From this thread, I'm getting the impression that you want to disable (turn off) the CMS feature that comes with the higher-end models from Spartan/EC. If so, why is it that you don't want it?
Is this just another "feature" that adds cost to our toys that won't be used?

Ed, at least in my case, and I'm pretty sure on the 18's if for whatever reason the CMS system goes down it also disables your cruise control. I don't want it "the CMS" disabled, but for two years I've ask Spartan how to turn it off so cruise control can still be used. I got the same answer each time, can't be done. From what I understand Spartan will now completely deactivate it in the computer, but as above I don't want it deactivated, just be able to turn it off.
I have found that way and have tested it so I know you can turn it off if wanted, each time you start the coach. It was dumb on Spartans part to put in a system that 1. Can't be turned off at least according to them and 2. Disables your cruise control if it "the CMS" fails for whatever reason.

[Gary.Jones]

Ed:

Collision Mitigation System is actually many things: CMS specifically is a system that maintains a "Safe" distance behind a vehicle in front of you. If you get closer to that vehicle than the sytem deems correct, then it applies the brakes of the coach to avoid a collision. A separate aspect of that is the Adaptive Cruise Control. The ACC system will override the speed that you may have your cruise control set to maintain a "proper" distance behind a vehicle in the same lane as you are in front of you. You can set that "safe" distance from long (3.9 carlengths per 10 miles speed) to medium (3.6 carlengths per 10 mile speed) or short 3.1 car lengths per 10 mile speed)(the long seems much longer than that...... it is far enough in front of you in the "long" definition of safe distance that normally I have not even defined that vehicle as something that I need to even begin to worry about) from any moving vehicle in your lane in front of you. Without any signal to the driver, the ACC simply lowers your cruise speed to whatever speed the vehicle in front of you that distance is moving. If it is moving 50 mph and your cruise is set to 65, then your coach will simply let off on the "gas pedal" and slow you down to 50 without your action, notice, or intervention. I got those distances from the Spartan man that was here in Spearfish and is my memory of the numbers that he said (but as I said above, my distances before my cruise is affected by a vehicle in front of me seem much longer than those numbers would indicate). The two systems work together.

I have found a way to turn the CMS system off, so now I am driving 65 and come up on a car driving 62 but dont notice that I am getting too close, and get closer than the system wants me to get, then many buzzers and alarms go off in the cab to tell the driver it feels you are getting too close. This has not happened to me yet, but I believe that if I continued to get closer, at some point the CMS system would take control away from me and apply the brakes or let off on the accelerator to prevent me from getting too close (and potentially rear-ending) the vehicle in front of me.

In the ~ 3,000 miles that I have driven the coach, I have found no way to turn CMS completely off. I have found that I can disable the ACC system (with it disabled, it functions the way the traditional cruise functions.... you set it for 65 and it maintains 65 as closely as possible and it depends on the driver of the coach to decide when to change lanes or step on the brake to avoid problems. However, I have found no way to disable the CMS system completely. Now, as Brobox has said, I have never had the coach take over my slowing for me, as I strongly believe in not rear-ending the vehicle in front of me at any speed, and I make appropriate avoidance actions (e.g. change lanes, slow down, etc). Because I routinely disable the ACC, it is possible that I get closer to the vehicle in front of me than the system decides it likes, and so I have had the bells and whistles go off (what I refer to as "all hell breaking loose") several times. When that happens, I have probably ignored it or already decided what I need to do to avoid getting too close. My definition of too close has been closer than the sytem's definition of too close several times. and I have never rear ended anything in ~ 55 years of driving, so I am very comfortable with my definition of "safe distance" and "safe avoidance strategy" more than I do the "system's definition".

I think the system might be pretty good on a 2 lane road where you probably cannot pass the slow moving vehicle in front of you and you ARE essentially held hostage by their speed, but on a multiple lane interstate road, it means you are constantly needing to reset functions (anytime you turn off the ignition) and you need to constantly be looking at your speedometer to see if you are actually going the speed that you set the cruise to a half hour ago, or you need to override the sytem and press on your diesel feed pedal, or if you are happy to be going the speed of the old lady that slowed down to 45 mph in front of you as she intends to get off at the exit three miles from where you are currently.

There may be things I dont understand.... and I am sure there may be more things to learn...

Gary

[Saltydog44]

On our '17 the CMS often failed and then so did Cruise Control. So far in the '18 it hasn't happened in ~6,000 miles but it is a real issue when/if it does.

OTOH - and maybe I am just not as fine tuned to the issue as many others - I don't mind the ACC or the CMS. Yes it has slowed me down a few times unnecessarily but my reaction is to be irritated with myself for not paying better attention.

As long as it works as intended, I'll use it. The tings that bother me are just different I guess - and I can assure you that I have a list!

[Gary.Jones]

Emerson:

You are probably right.... what annoys me to no-end is 1.) not driving at the speed that I have my cruise control set at (if that speed is safe). I am equally annoyed that 2.) my coach thinks it can drive my coach better/safer than I can drive it. I am slightly less annoyed that 3.) what happens in my coach is being determined by someone else driving far enough in front of me for me not even to be recognizings their existence.

Now, if that does not bother you, then that is fine, and you can use it all you want. That is fine with me. However, I dont understand who made the decision that my driving is going to be determined by some other driver's speed or inclinations. I just want to turn it off, and keep it off. If you are happy with that, great. If I am the only unhappy person, then I will just figure it out on my own.

Gary

[Gary.Jones]

The first sentence of my second paragraph should have been:

"I have found NO way to turn the CMS system off......"

Sorry

Gary