Community Forums

Don Barber · 07-19-2003, 05:22 AM

My son-in-law has just purchased a 03 Mountain Air Newmar 37 ft. Lots of delivery problems but now down to what in the summertime is the last big one. Dash air will not consistently work, most of the time simply blowing warm to hot air. In the mind of the rv dealer this is a Workhorse chassis problem and when the unit was taken to the local Workhorse approved GM dealer we were told that this is a Newmar problem. In the meantime we have gone to a independant airconditioning guy who has put a bypass in place to reroute the hot coolant from the heater coil. This will suffice in the meantime. Before we contact newmar and workhorse I would like to get an opinion as to whom the responsibility should fall.
I would also like to ask if anyone else has gone thru this and to see if it is a common problem. The independant guy that put on the bypass says that he is seeing more than a few workhorse chassis with this problem. He does not work on that many motorhomes, more on regular truck/commercial chassis. Any comments would be helpful
Don Barber

2002 Monaco Diplomat 38' 2001 Cavalier LS Toad with Don, Heather and QT the wonder dog

Don Barber · 07-19-2003, 05:22 AM

My son-in-law has just purchased a 03 Mountain Air Newmar 37 ft. Lots of delivery problems but now down to what in the summertime is the last big one. Dash air will not consistently work, most of the time simply blowing warm to hot air. In the mind of the rv dealer this is a Workhorse chassis problem and when the unit was taken to the local Workhorse approved GM dealer we were told that this is a Newmar problem. In the meantime we have gone to a independant airconditioning guy who has put a bypass in place to reroute the hot coolant from the heater coil. This will suffice in the meantime. Before we contact newmar and workhorse I would like to get an opinion as to whom the responsibility should fall.
I would also like to ask if anyone else has gone thru this and to see if it is a common problem. The independant guy that put on the bypass says that he is seeing more than a few workhorse chassis with this problem. He does not work on that many motorhomes, more on regular truck/commercial chassis. Any comments would be helpful
Don Barber

2002 Monaco Diplomat 38' 2001 Cavalier LS Toad with Don, Heather and QT the wonder dog

Spoonman · 07-19-2003, 06:07 AM

Hi Don, My W22 is in the shop for same ac problems,no diagnosis yet but will keep you posted

floyd · 07-19-2003, 07:26 AM

We just returned from a 5000 mile trip and had/have the same problem. After several stops to WH dealers, Chevy dealers, MH shops and independents, It's working, although I don't know why. Let me explain;
It blew hot air all the time also. WH said it was a Damon problem as they only do the compressor and low side pressure switch. The MH manufacturer provides the rest. After a couple of RV shop and independents visits, they all wanted to send me to WH. I finally went to a chevy garage in MT, and they treated MH's like they were a plague in their shop. The kid there did do one thing though. He pulled a AC fuse and an AC relay from the fuse box and that shut off the heat at least, but still no air, only vent air which with an outside temp in the 90's didn't help much./ I finally went to a Damon dealer in ND and he fixed it although we don't know how. He put the fuse and relay back in so he could see what it did and the AC worked just fine. Go figure. He said he thought the H valve, which is a divert er valve that shuts off the hot engine water while the air is running so the AC isn't overwhelmed by the engine heat was stuck and working now. I am thinking maybe also it was some computer chip somewhere that needed to be reboot basically, and by taking the fuse out for a while and putting it back in sort jumped started something. That is just my uneducated guess. Either way it's working now, and yes it is almost assuredly a MH not a chassis problem. That is the one consensus I concluded and ag reeded to by Damon. I hope this helps some, but at least have that divert er valve checked.
Good luck.
Floyd

Floyd and Karen.
2001 Damon Intruder 349.
W22 Workhorse chassis.
2001 Cavalier toad.

"Not all who wander are lost."

"We're only young once, but with humor, we can be immature forever!"

Pat Z · 07-19-2003, 08:06 AM

Had the same problem. Here's what I found out. The dash air is on the engine BUT the coach manufacturer is responsible for it. It comes uncharged from workhorse. I had my compressor and some valves replaced after 4 months use, (under warranty)last year. This year in February while in Fla. no dash air. When I took it to the Workhorse dealer they checked and recharged the system, no leaks found $237.00 charge. I now carry the recharge kit with me for next year.

Pat & Nancy Zollo
Fort Washington, PA
Exit 26 PA Turnpike
2001 Adventurer 35U
Workhorse W20 w/ 19.5 wheels
Jeep Cherokee Toad
Brake Buddy

JimAerbus,W22,2003 · 07-19-2003, 08:16 AM

Don I have a 3000.00$ dash air because of those problems Workhorse ships with compressor .. All other air is manufacturer installed After 4 trips to Beaudry RV (75 miles-one way) it turns out 2 things where going on..1. My water control valve was stuck open-they are electricial. @2. Workhorse half concedes that the dash air may not work correctly due to air flow problems at low speed Rexhall put a new front hood on mine without a hassle. So something must be up Do you think??? you don't mention gas/diesel, mine is gas made in Nov 02 with 03 designation. Lots more info on this if you need spent 4 months fighting the problem. Rexhall paid out lots on this one, because of flat a** incompetent tecs. One guy filled it till the LOW side was 140lbs (should be20/40) and blew the seals right out of the compressor while I was standing there watching them work on it!! (@ 80.00 an hour) Thank God not my money. Good Luck, Jim jchambers39@hotmail.com

2003 Aerbus,W22

Fred and Bonnie · 07-19-2003, 08:46 AM

WELL, how interesting. We completely blew the compressor, causing the engine to freeze along with the compressor. It seems Class "A's" are living up to their reputation of being a bear when it comes to accepting responsibility for chassis/coach repairs. I have yet to find out who will accept responsibility for the problem. The Fiver communiiy must be laughing at us since their pull vehicle is covered under a single point repair/warranty.

Fred

Fred and Bonnie
2003 Dolphin 6356
1995 Saturn SC1-Toad
Frankie, Sun Yao Ting, Seline-"The Cats"

Roaminsoon · 07-20-2003, 05:21 PM

We had this problem with our 2003 Kountry Star KSCA 3651, it would blow warm to hot air and sometimes cool. The problem was the water valve that directs water into the heater core was malfunctioning. After replacing, it worked much better. According to the dealer, this is a pretty common problem, they knew what it was immediately. Hope this helps.

03 Kountry Star KSCA 3651
W-22 Vortec 8.1L
Allison 5-speed
02 GMC Envoy
Blue Ox Aventa II
Unified tow brake

Gary RVRoamer · 07-21-2003, 05:27 AM

I've also experienced the problem where the dash air will sometimes blow only warm/hot air. Cycling the AC off/on a few times has corrected it and it doesn't happen too often. On the other hand, we mostly use the house AC to cool the coach in real hot weater, so maybe I'm just not using the dash AC enough.

It only seems to happen when I set the temp control warmer than full cooling, so I have suspected the water control valve as others here have experienced.

Gary Brinck
2002 Dolphin LX - WorkHorse W22 chassis
2000 Chevy Tracker 4-Dr 4WD
Homebase in the Ocala Nat'l Forest near Ocala, FL

DriVer · 07-21-2003, 09:41 AM

If this is any consolation at all, we've been using our dash air all this season without one problem. I have not had to fire up the coach AC while underway just yet.

The 8.1 is designed to operate within its design parameters with the AC in operation. I thought I would get onboard with the design team and use the AC as intended.

I really can't measure one fuel consumption against the other, dash or generator however I believe that the genset will use more fuel than the engine and onboard AC.

03 Winnebago 38G/Workhorse W22 "¢ 22.5" Tire "¢ Adventurer
02 Chevrolet TrailBlazer LS
Aventa II "¢ Brake Buddy
Nor'Easters
"We Will Never Forget"

88 "¢ Robert Yates Racing "¢ 38

Gary RVRoamer · 07-22-2003, 12:13 PM

Driver said:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR> The 8.1 is designed to operate within its design parameters with the AC in operation. I thought I would get onboard with the design team and use the AC as intended.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I dunno, Driver. I doubt they ever intended the dash air to cool a 30-36 foot motorhome. In hot weather, e.g. in the south after mid-May, the dash AC simply doesn't produce enough cold air to cool that big greenhouse up front. And they 8.1L specs, like all engines, merely specify how much horsepower and torque are produced at a given RPM. It's up to the customer whether he uses that power to run the AC or push the rig down the road.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR> I really can't measure one fuel consumption against the other, dash or generator however I believe that the genset will use more fuel than the engine and onboard AC. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have repeatedly seen reports of fuel consumption of 0.4 - 0.7 gal/hour on a genset, depending on load. One AC running should be less than 50% load on any motorhome's genset, so it should be at the lower end of that range. From what I've read elsewhere, an AC unit in a car consumes about 30 HP when the compressor is engaged. I don't know what that translates to in terms of fuel usage on an 8.1L, but it is around 15% of available horsepower at cruising RPMs. Of course, if it is not too hot out, the compressor is not engaged all the time. However, you can usually feel the effect when it cuts in/out.

Gary Brinck
2002 Dolphin LX - WorkHorse W22 chassis
2000 Chevy Tracker 4-Dr 4WD
Homebase in the Ocala Nat'l Forest near Ocala, FL

Richard Wise · 07-22-2003, 01:28 PM

My dash air didn't work the first time I tried it this spring. Took it in to my local Itasca service dep't. After three days, they gave me the run-around and wanted to charge me for a "re-charge" at $189. Seems the "refrigerant charge" is only covered for 90 days. They "checked everything that Winnebago installs and found nothing wrong, therefore, it must need a recharge". Turns out, they don't even have an A/C serviceman, nor any tools to check the unit with. They call a mobile A/C serviceman when they need one.

So, I took it to my Workhorse service center, who gladly undertook the problem. They said it was slightly low on freon, so they did recharge it to the correct level, but it still didn't work correctly. Further investigation revealed a broken wire in a tightly stretched harness. Works fine, now!

Workhorse did all this under warranty at "No charge".

Richard in Anchorage
2002 Itasca Suncruiser 37G
Workhorse W22 8.1/Allison

DriVer · 07-22-2003, 01:54 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Gary B:
I dunno, Driver. I doubt they ever intended the dash air to cool a 30-36 foot motorhome. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Gary B., Roger that! No doubt there. I do find that the dash air does cool things down adequately in the front of the cab while underway - however - in 100? I'd be cranking up the coach air unit for sure.

About how many ACs run, I don't have a choice. My basement air runs 2 compressors most times and if I'm trying to cool the coach under really hot conditions that'll run a load on that genset.

I've also noticed that I'm accumulating low hours on my genset compared to last year. I ran up the hours pretty quick cooling the coach and cabin all the time. Perhaps runnin' the dash air underway and the coach air stationary breaks up the time each system is used. What do you think?

03 Winnebago 38G/Workhorse W22 "¢ 22.5" Tire "¢ Adventurer
02 Chevrolet TrailBlazer LS
Aventa II "¢ Brake Buddy
Nor'Easters
"We Will Never Forget"

88 "¢ Robert Yates Racing "¢ 38

vmax · 07-22-2003, 04:59 PM

My 02 Mountain Air dash was also a problem. First they changed out the water temp valve that everyone else had done. Mine would work for a while but after 2 attempts I spent the day with my dealer and the mechanic worked on it for hours. What it ended up being was a valve for the refrigerent. It would get hot and not open after while. Replaced it last year and no more problems.