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Old 10-26-2019, 05:40 PM   #1
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Maiden voyage blooper

2001 Fleetwood American Dream VS40
I searched for 6 months looked at five coaches that meet my criteria pulled the trigger on #6 at a cycle dealership on consignment , they didn’t know much about it and neither did I, 3 1/2 hour drive home new something wasn’t just right the loud growling coming from the rear drive line? and every dip on the hwy sent my rig bouncing uncontrollably kept sinching up my lap belt just to stay in the seat my grandson went on the voyage with me I made fun of the bouncing with him with a loud yeha ridem cowboy (a lot) I guess his lap belt got loosen up from the bounce he came loose was driven head fist between the sofa and passenger chare still in a very loose seat belt his crying got my attention and there no were to stop that wide body 40footer so I kept holling ride her out little buddy ridem cowboy bout a ½ mile down the road he freed himself never seen a redder face
Got stopped at nest exit to synch him down tight got out to check on everything two basement doors wide open and the trailer tong was bent so severely was ½ inch from plowing black top,,, towing my jeep ½ hr to home very slow.

That night looked for a RV Forum to study this thing out looks like im not the only one to miss the AIR DUMP toggle switch on the dash shure makes for a great ride on that Spartan chassis when shes aired up !!! Hope my Grandson wasn’t traumatized over the ordeal I bought it to go camping with him.
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Old 10-26-2019, 06:52 PM   #2
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Yikes, I would check the driveshaft u-joints. With bags deflated the driveshaft is at a severe angle. Driving coach at speed could have damaged the differential yokes, u-joints or shocks.
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Old 10-26-2019, 07:00 PM   #3
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Yep crawled all over under the chassis all is good i did order new bilstine shocks for it iv got 50K miles on her so figure its time
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Old 10-26-2019, 09:20 PM   #4
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My grandson is a bit older and drove the escort car to follow me home when I bought mine. I noticed it bounced disturbingly some here and there and he stated once the hitch once dragged and made sparks. Made it home though and discovered a few things had electrical issues and needed repair. One of which was NOT the switch to air up the tag axle bags. It worked fine. Once I noticed it and found out what it was for.
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Old 10-26-2019, 09:36 PM   #5
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Do a walk around first, especially on an unfamiliar rig. Make sure the bags are aired up, slides in, awnings in, windows closed, and all looks good. A glance around the dash would have also revealed the air dump lever, it's not hidden (usually lower left of the steering wheel). Maybe a quick review of the owner's manual.
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Old 10-26-2019, 10:34 PM   #6
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Me? Pretty sure the cows got out about two months ago but I'll go ahead and shut that gate.
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Old 10-27-2019, 05:57 AM   #7
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Am I missing something here? The airbags should fill up automatically when starting the coach. A toggle switch is later used for dumping air when stopped. Anyway.... that’s the way mine works.
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Old 10-27-2019, 07:04 AM   #8
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Yep my air bag switch is momentary and there is no way you could leave the air dump valve open on accident. I also could not possibly drive with them deflated. All kinds of things would rub on the tires especially when turning.
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Old 10-27-2019, 07:32 AM   #9
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Your story sounds familiar however it usually starts with "hold my beer".
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Old 10-27-2019, 07:51 AM   #10
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Your story sounds familiar however it usually starts with "hold my beer".
...Takes all kinds
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Old 10-27-2019, 09:01 AM   #11
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Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

Congrats on the new Fleetwood! Have fun and keep her between the ditches!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!
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Old 10-27-2019, 09:14 AM   #12
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Were you on I 10 east of New Orleans?
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Old 10-27-2019, 09:43 AM   #13
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Am I missing something here? The airbags should fill up automatically when starting the coach. A toggle switch is later used for dumping air when stopped. Anyway.... that’s the way mine works.
Some older coaches, like mine, are completely manual. Mine has two switches, on and off plus dump and fill.
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Old 10-27-2019, 05:51 PM   #14
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Some older coaches, like mine, are completely manual. Mine has two switches, on and off plus dump and fill.
Didn’t know that. Why Is It designed that way.... what purpose does it serve? Also, I forgot to mention in my earlier post that my coach also has a very loud audible alarm when air pressure is too low for normal operation.
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