Palazzo Owners

[mikebrls]

Also the fresh water propane and batery monitors work

[tcopeland]

Originally Posted by mikebrls

On first real mini trip and now the black and gray tank monitor doesnt work, is there a fuse i can check some where ? Thank you. Mike

May need to clean the tanks. Fill tanks, dump ice in the tanks. Drive around for awhile then dump tanks.
Monitors are known to be inaccurate.

[Berlin Kid]

Originally Posted by StevieD

No pictures, mostly because I could not take pictures that wold really show it. There are two rows of slits in the floor of the battery box. Dirt gets thrown up through the slits. I took an aluminum sheet (from lowes), I cut it and bent it to make a winged 2" by 1" high box long enough to cover all the slits (maybe 10 to 12" long). I bent it so the front would be closed and the back would be open. Held it in place and drilled about 10 holes that went through the bottom of the box and down through the wings. Put aluminum pop rivets in at an appropriate size of the drill holes. Air get in from the back and holes are protected from the dirt. I also sealed up the back wall of the battery box . There is enough air circulation from the openings at the top of the box. We live in Texas and it is hard to get to some of the rallies, especially with our schedules. Hopefully we can make it in 2014 and we can hook up and I can show se of our corrections.

We love Thor and we love our coach!'

Thanks StevieD, that gives me an idea of what you did. I will check mine and do something similar.

[J Walker]

Originally Posted by MikeAndPeggy

Another note on battery drain when not hooked up to shore power: Albeit small, the radio and some other items associated with the dash and chassis use the chassis batteries.
Also, make sure none of the cabinet lights are on and make sure the engine heater switch (and any other control panel switches) are off.

The radio/monitor is always on when the house batteries are on and the power drain is significant. I have found a wiring modification to turn the power off to the radio/monitor unless the ignition is in ACC or ON.
For those with vent fans for the inverter, the power drain is significant if you can't get the thermostat to switch off.
A gallon of water for the batteries is a huge amount.

[Berlin Kid]

Originally Posted by mikebrls

On first real mini trip and now the black and gray tank monitor doesnt work, is there a fuse i can check some where ? Thank you. Mike

Maybe you haven't used it enough to register.

[mikebrls]

Originally Posted by Berlin Kid

Maybe you haven't used it enough to register.

Good point i just closed the gray waste valve and took a showe and it registered , irs been 2 days with black tank closed and no lights come on. And there is 3 of us so maybe just the black tank monitor is not working. Sorry on cell phone

[ERStarck]

Originally Posted by TheArnolds

Ed,

We can easily go overnight without starting the generator and have proved this on a number of occasions when we stop at a Wal-Mart. We have never had our inverter shut off because our batteries got too low so we have no exact number of hours that the batteries will last but I will say that it is much longer then 3 hours.

When we are on the batteries/inverter we run lights, TV, device chargers, computer, phones, etc. and we always have plenty of power to last the night.

As we discussed during the Thor Diesel Club rally in Eureka Springs you have something that is pulling too much power when on inverter or you have a problem with one or more of your batteries. I am going to ask a stupid question...I assume that you have 4, 6 volt batteries in addition to your two 12 volt chassis batteries?

I am providing some battery information for your reading enjoyment.

I hope you get this sorted out!

Jack


Batteries that are in good condition and fully charged will have a resting voltage of around 12.6 volts. As they are used to power items the voltage will drop as the battery gives up some of it's energy. Eventually, the battery will be "dead" and will need recharging. Note that a fully dead battery has 10.5 volts of resting charge. However, the minute you apply a load to it, the voltage plummets and nothing happens. Just remember that 12 volt batteries are not full at 12 volts and dead at zero. They are dead at 10.5 and fully charged at 12.6.

If you want to make your batteries last longer never discharge them below 40%. If you run your batteries to 40% you will get twice the lifetime out of them than if you were to run them down to 20%. Running them down below 20% is very detrimental to battery life and you really do gain very little usable power from them at that level.

Of course this assumes that the battery has been resting. If the battery was recently charged the voltage will be much higher, quite likely into the mid-13 volt range. This is not a true Resting Charge and is referred to as a Surface Charge. In this case you should let the battery rest for 2-3 hours before testing.

If you want to test your batteries on an RV that is not being used please refer to the charts on the Battery Testing Webpage in this category. However, most RVers just want to know how much "juice" is left in there batteries when camping and they do that by looking at a voltmeter. In that case use the following chart, which compensates for batteries that are in use.
Attachment 45130

Greetings all,
Thanks for all the responses to my issues with batteries and power supply while dry camping. I am glad to see many of you are doing great with your Palazzo units when it comes to electrical power. I will respond to many of your questions and responses.

Jack your comment about a stupid question is certainly not that. When it comes to motorhome manufacturing, I do not believe any two units come off of the assembly line the same. They seem to be constantly changing components, design, or something. To answer your question, I have two chassis batteries and four coach batteries. In fact I have four new coach batteries. After fighting the electrical problem for months I, out of frustration, replaced the four coach or house batteries with new Interstate batteries specifically built for rv units. I bought the best they have available with 216 Ah each. Still fighting the same issues. Being a neat freak I keep these batteries as I did the previous ones extremely clean and maintained with adequate distilled water.

Numerous other site members have given good ideas or hints. Yes I have checked for bay lights left on, components left running, block heater on and so forth. I have gone through all areas of the coach inside and outside looking for something running to no avail. The coach is powered 24/7 to a stable 30 amp shore power source.

Currently I am going back through all the manuals for the inverter and related control/monitor units. So much fun!!!

Still open for ideas, thoughts, suggestions, and so forth Once again, thanks for the responses. We still love our Palazzo!!! Ed

[tcopeland]

Originally Posted by J Walker

The radio/monitor is always on when the house batteries are on and the power drain is significant. I have found a wiring modification to turn the power off to the radio/monitor unless the ignition is in ACC or ON.
For those with vent fans for the inverter, the power drain is significant if you can't get the thermostat to switch off.
A gallon of water for the batteries is a huge amount.

I push the knob on the radio and power is turned off. ???

[tcopeland]

Originally Posted by mikebrls

Good point i just closed the gray waste valve and took a showe and it registered , irs been 2 days with black tank closed and no lights come on. And there is 3 of us so maybe just the black tank monitor is not working. Sorry on cell phone

Two days is good on the black tank. Have gone a week before dumping. It's recommended to dump after 3/4 full.

[Woodburn]

Just got the coach back from repairs. Been at the shop for some time. As luck would have it while they were replacing the large slide weather stripping, the motor went. So they replaced both motors in the large slide. Haven't checked it out yet, but will do this week.

After we picked it up we had to take it to Cummins for the generator. It went out on our last trip. We had 58 hours on the generator and are on our 2nd fuel pump. It does start up now, but the code when it went out was "12" but they said it was a "17". I hope it was just the fuel pump but at this point and with all the issues I have had with our 2013 - 33.2 I have my doubts (only 6000 miles on it)

Woodburn
2013 Palazzo 33.2

[Butte64]

Originally Posted by ERStarck

Greetings all,
Thanks for all the responses to my issues with batteries and power supply while dry camping. I am glad to see many of you are doing great with your Palazzo units when it comes to electrical power. I will respond to many of your questions and responses.

Jack your comment about a stupid question is certainly not that. When it comes to motorhome manufacturing, I do not believe any two units come off of the assembly line the same. They seem to be constantly changing components, design, or something. To answer your question, I have two chassis batteries and four coach batteries. In fact I have four new coach batteries. After fighting the electrical problem for months I, out of frustration, replaced the four coach or house batteries with new Interstate batteries specifically built for rv units. I bought the best they have available with 216 Ah each. Still fighting the same issues. Being a neat freak I keep these batteries as I did the previous ones extremely clean and maintained with adequate distilled water.

Numerous other site members have given good ideas or hints. Yes I have checked for bay lights left on, components left running, block heater on and so forth. I have gone through all areas of the coach inside and outside looking for something running to no avail. The coach is powered 24/7 to a stable 30 amp shore power source.

Currently I am going back through all the manuals for the inverter and related control/monitor units. So much fun!!!

Still open for ideas, thoughts, suggestions, and so forth Once again, thanks for the responses. We still love our Palazzo!!! Ed

Do you have or can you borrow a clamp type ammeter to determine current flow from the batteries, especially when you think everything is turned off?

[HDRoadking]

Getting a little nervous here. I am scheduled to pick up my 33.2 in October, but all I keep reading is about the problems everyone is having. I guess that is the nature of the forum, but it is not giving me a warm fuzzy feeling. Tell me again how much you love your Palazzo.

[ERStarck]

Originally Posted by Butte64

Do you have or can you borrow a clamp type ammeter to determine current flow from the batteries, especially when you think everything is turned off?

Greetings! I do not have a clamp on meter. After this long weekend, I will check with a relative who is a fleet mechanic to see if he has access to one.

The only thing I have found this evening is a small (3" x 2 1/2") electrical component next to the inverter which is so hot I cannot hold my hand to it. I have no idea what it is or its function but it has 3 large cables connected to it. If it is generating that much heat it has to be consuming quite a bit of power. Will check it out further tomorrow.

Have a good evening! Ed

[TheArnolds]

Originally Posted by HDRoadking

Getting a little nervous here. I am scheduled to pick up my 33.2 in October, but all I keep reading is about the problems everyone is having. I guess that is the nature of the forum, but it is not giving me a warm fuzzy feeling. Tell me again how much you love your Palazzo.

Bob,

You are correct, it is the nature of this forum to discuss problems, issues, fixes, and the like. This sharing of information has helped other Palazzo owners, which is good! I think if you read about other RV manufacturers on this forum you would find comments like the ones you find on the Palazzo forum.

Two weeks ago I was camping in Frankfort, KY and next to me was a 40+ foot, tag axel RV with a slide that did not work. This gentleman has been working with Winnabago for over a month trying to figure out the problem. He was headed back to Florida, Lazy Days to have them work on it. He was disappointed but he was still happy with his RV!

This is only my second RV and we have only been RVing for a couple of years. I never had any expectation of a trouble free RVing experience. The help, advice, and friendship I have received on this forum has enhanced my RVing experience. Do I love my Palazzo...you bet! Have I had some issues...you bet! Do I regret my purchased...absolutely not!

You and only you can make the decision to buy a RV but when you do you need to accept the real possibility of encountering issues. Thor has good post sale service and they have been very good working with many of us to get our RV's fixed when we encounter problems.

Good luck with your decision to purchase a Palazzo!

Jack