Check the Chassis

It’s a fact of RVing life: Things wear out and break on your rig, and require maintenance and replacement. When it’s something you can see, it’s no problem—it’s what you can’t see that can fail and cause a potentially dangerous situation.
We’ve been reminded of this numerous times in the past, but the most recent example is the rear control arms on some Monaco motorhome chassis, which have a tendency to crack or even fail completely. The chassis in question is the Roadmaster RR4R with the four-airbag “Monaco Gold” suspension. I’m not about to speculate on the cause of the problem, and I’m not going to suggest that the part was improperly engineered, but the fact is, the problem exists. We’ve seen it in our shop several times over the last couple of years.
If you own one of these coaches, there is good news. Source Manufacturing, LLC offers heavy-duty rear control arms for these coaches under part number TRA-1002. These arms are a direct replacement for the factory components, and include upgraded axle mounting hardware. Even if you have already had these parts replaced under warranty, Source warns that the replacements are the same design as the original, and therefore are susceptible to the same problems.
The TRA-1002 control arms are designed for Monaco Knight (’02-’04), Monaco Cayman (’02-’09), Holiday Rambler Ambassador (’02-’04), Holiday Rambler Neptune (’02-’09), Safari Cheetah (’02-’04) and Safari Simba RD (all years). We have these control arms in stock at Henderson’s Line-Up and can install them for you. We also carry upgraded control arm bushings for ’98-2000 eight-airbag chassis, which improve steering feel and accuracy.
Problems like this underscore the need for regular chassis check-ups. At Henderson’s Line-Up, we can perform a Road Performance Assessment (RPA) that ensures your coach rides and handles as it should, and includes a detailed inspection of the chassis. Quite apart from suspension maladies, we’ve found things like propane tanks that were ready to fall out, components coming loose, cracked brake rotors and cracked wheels. Having your coach inspected at least once a year (more if you drive it often or full-time) is cheap insurance against getting stuck on the road somewhere, or worse yet, having an accident. If you can’t get to our shop for an RPA, we have a list of RPA-certified shops that can perform one for you—but failing that, just get your coach inspected. It’s not what you can see that’ll hurt you—it’s what you can’t.

Are Solar Panels Right For You?

Are Solar Panels Right for You?
Simply put, solar power uses the sun’s energy to charge 12-volt DC appliances like lighting, stereos, TV, and other appliances. Although solar power is free, solar panels can be expensive. Are they worth the cost?

If you’re serious about exploring the back country, enjoying the solitude of desert camping, experiencing the quiet of the outdoors, wanting to cut the umbilical cord to commercial power hookups or simply shrinking your carbon footprint, then yes, solar power is right for you.

Solar systems are clean, quiet and require minimum maintenance. The main considerations are cost, space, weight and efficiency. If you’re reluctant to go solar, remember that you don’t have to go all in all at once. You can add or modify your system, and you can continue using commercial hook-ups (either as a backup plan or as your primary power source).

Solar Power Panel Sizes
The most cost-effective solar panels are larger ones (rated at 100 to 120 watts). Opt for the fewest number of panels and batteries in the beginning. You can always add more at a later time.

Since everyone’s power usage / requirements are different, you’ll need to calculate your anticipated power usage. Simply multiply the estimated hours of use by the approximate current (amps @ 12 volts) for the amp hours consumed.

Keeping Cool with Solar
There isn’t enough space on the roof of even the largest luxury coach to hold the number of solar power panels it would take to power an air-conditioning unit. However, a 750 cfm fan is rated at 2.5 amps and can easily be powered with solar panels.

How to Power AC Appliances
There are two choices for AC appliances: either use a generator or other backup power source when using AC appliances, or invest in an inverter, which will convert the AC amps to 12-volt DC output.

Energy Management
You’ll need to plan properly to keep your batteries fully charged. Some important factors about managing solar power:

- Mount your panels on the roof, near the refrigerator vent
- Aim the panels toward the sun for maximum output
- Purchase a charge controller to prevent battery overcharging
- Be resourceful and conserve energy

This article was brought to you by Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service, the leader in RV Roadside Assistance.

5 Tips to Finding an RV Repair Facility

Whether it’s time for routine RV maintenance or your rig needs extensive repairs, finding a reliable and trustworthy facility before you take your RV for service is important.

Follow these guidelines when getting your RV serviced and help avoid unpleasant surprises:

1. Look for a Good Sam certified dealer. One of the simplest ways to put your mind at ease to find a shop in this nationwide network of RV dealers, which have earned the “Good Sam Seal of Approval.”

2. Select a repair shop that specializes in RVs. General repair facilities are not equipped or knowledgeable enough to provide the maintenance your RV needs.

3. Do your research before you need a repair shop. Get recommendations, verify the facility’s license status, check membership with the Better Business Bureau.

4. Before repairs or maintenance is performed on your RV, get a written estimate.

5. When the work is completed get written details of work performed, collect the old parts and keep accurate records for future recommendations.

This article brought to you by Good Sam ERS, the leader in RV Emergency Roadside Service.

Internet in Your RV

The Internet has moved from novelty to virtual necessity for many people in recent years. RV satellite internet technology brings this necessity to your RV. For many people, the internet has become a way of life. It is used to keep in touch with family and friends. I use it to pay bills and handle banking transactions. I use it to retrieve information of all types quickly. All of these functions are as important on your RV vacation as when you are sitting at home. RV satellite internet services have made it possible to perform all of them when on the road. Now RVing has taken a turn towards the HI TECH world where you can be camping one minute and then the next, running your office from your fold down table. With the wireless option added to your internet you can now even enjoy a camp fire and surf the web in your lounge chair burning a few marshmallows.

Let’s talk about what you will need to pull this all off and have fun at the same time. First you will need a fixed/transportable mobile Internet antenna system designed for virtually any satellite VSAT platform. This can be done at a dealership by a tech and installed in 1 day. You will need a PC or a Laptop in your RV so they can set it up to work with your new Sat system. One of the many systems that are designed for internet is the WineGard DirecStar® (DT74), this unit is designed for RV’s and is roof mounted. They would install this on the roof and then run the wires down into a cabinet near a 12v or 110 volt outlet or a source of power. The next thing would be to install the receiver and PC connections. The best way I have found to make this as least invasive as possible to your RV is to make the system wireless, this way you do not have to run wires for the PC connection, and you won’t even see the system unless you open a cabinet to look at it. With this setup you can even walk 300 feet from your RV and have internet on your Laptop, PDA or BlackBerry. So as you can see there a lot of options for Internet, some campgrounds even offer wireless internet for free or for a small fee wile you stay there. Well that is all for now and when you see someone at a camp ground with a laptop and you would like to know what the weather for the week is, just go up and ask, and they will just surf the internet and tell you the 7 day forecast.

This article was brought to you by Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service

Tech- Tune up your rooftop A/C

In some parts of the country, the heat is already here- in other parts, it’s well on its way, so I thought it might be good to talk about giving your rooftop air conditioner a basic tuneup.

A couple of things to remember about roof top RV air conditioners- all air conditioners work by removing heat (actually, all refrigeration works that way- as do heat pumps), and RV air conditioner- as they come from the factory- are hermetically sealed, and they only hold about 1 pound of refrigerant (at this time, R-22 is the refrigerant used). The point of this is that with less than 1 pound of refrigerant and a sealed system, 99% of the time, “not enough cooling” complaints are due to air flow issues, and not lack of “Freon®”

Luckily, the average fix for this is easy- clean the coils! Let’s take a look at how to do this….

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LP Appliances- Electronic Ignition Systems

With the exception of pilot type water heaters and some smaller LP/Electric refrigerators, modern LP appliances in RVs are controlled by electronics, meaning the gas valve is opened, the flame is ignited, and the flame is “proved” (flame safety- making certain the burner is burning). These systems are used for a number of reasons:

• No “standing” pilot flame to waste energy.
• Set and forget operation- for refrigerators, automatic energy selection (LP or 120 volt).
• Operation more like the home appliances

There are 2 methods of “proving” the flame. A purely electronic method, and what I call a “hybrid” method- both are in common use today, and both have specific troubleshooting steps to diagnose any failures.

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RV Service- Random Thoughts

Well, Speed Weeks at the Daytona International Speedway are finally over, but they left me with not enough time for photographing and drawing diagrams for this weeks Blog entry, so I’ll take this opportunity to editorialize a bit on RV service and repair.

I started repairing my own RV in 1980, after a…. umm…. “less than satisfactory” experience with an RV repair shop. Luckily, now it has become somewhat easier to find a good, qualified repair place, and training opportunities for RV technicians have greatly increased. While (as in any industry) you can still find bad RV repair shops (as well as good RV repair shops), for the past 10+ years, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, in partnership with the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association have offered RV Technician certification.

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Essential RV Tool Kit

Growing up, my Dad had his workshop in the basement, another one in a barn, yet we always kept a few essential tools in a kitchen drawer- just for those quick, minor repairs.

If you are a major ‘DIY’ tinkerer, you probably (like me) carry enough tools to build an RV from scratch (at least my Wife thinks so!), but even the person who takes their rig to the service shop for everything needs to carry a basic “kit”. A handful of tools, a few spare parts, and some basic supplies are all that are needed for most minor repairs.
Let’s look at what the essentials are…

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Maintenance- master “ToDo” list

Whether you are a full timer or a weekend warrior, routine maintenance is a vital part of keeping your RV experience trouble free, but given the wide range of systems in an RV, how do you keep on top of timely preventive maintenance?

Make a list!

If you are lucky enough to have purchased a new RV, it most likely came with a huge folder chock full of manuals.. manuals for everything from the crank up antenna to the furnace, refrigerator, chassis (if motorized), etc. The trouble is- to keep on schedule, you need to dig through each of these to find the maintenance requirements. The easiest way for me to keep track is to dig out each manual, find the preventative maintenance page and copy it- then put all of those pages together in one section, so you never forget some vital (to trouble free RVing) procedure.

But what if you were lucky enough to buy a “pre-loved” RV, which didn’t come with manuals…

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RV Basic Documentation for when Service is Needed

In a recent RV.net forum post, one of our resident generator gurus, Gunny357, brought up a helpful tip I had been wanting to make for a long time.

One of my favorite points to ‘hammer home’ is that an RV is a vehicle, but it is also a home on wheels, whether it’s the smallest pop up or the largest diesel pusher. Think about calling and asking for help or service on an appliance or system in your house. Would you call up and say “I have a 1995 3 bedroom 3 bath tudor style house, and my furnace isn’t working.”?
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