Tues, 23 Aug (Pre Rally Prep with Volunteers)

A Solitude arrived (built in 2013!) that had just come from the factory repair center. Upon hooking up to city water a flood came out from under the trailer. It was an easy fix--there were no caps on the low point drains. ncitro had two old Sharkbite valves so it only took 5 minutes to make the repair. (I think it was Country Campers that actually installed the valves.)

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An owner complained of air spitting out of his hot water faucet (bathroom, kitchen--everywhere). No matter what he did or tried he couldn't get the air to stop spitting (hot water side only--cold ran fine). After much discussion it was determined the camper had a 6 gallon Atwood (Dometic), and a fellow camper had taken the input to the tank and connected it directly to the output of the tank which resulted in no spitting (smooth flow of water from faucets). It was further determined there were no leaks in the system.

What ncitro , Country Campers and myself are guessing is that the P&T valve (when water is flowing) is allowing air to enter the system. When water stops flowing it seals good enough to keep water from escaping. To verify we suggested the owner turn off the water heater and once the unit is cool, hold his finger over the P&T outlet (to seal it) and have someone turn on faucet. If there's good flow, remove his finger and if the valve's spring is week air should start entering (and the spitting should resume). I'll follow with a result if I hear what fixes the issue.

Wed, 24 Aug (Pre Rally with Volunteers)

A Solitude owner had a Coleman Mach 15 Air Conditioner that would not respond to any Fan or Cool mode. He mentioned it used to run on Low (not Hi) but now won't run on either. Country Campers and I crawled on the roof and checked the Start Capacitor, finding it within specs (75 mF). We then had the owner turn on the unit (Low Fan) and it started without hesitation. He selected High Fan and the unit died. Back to Low Fan and then Low Cool--worked fine.

We then transitioned inside and Brian wiggled the connectors on the Control Box. All he did was just barely touch the thermostat wire connectors going into the box (turned out to be the Fan wires) and the unit started to run. Reseated the connectors and then the fan quit all together (though we could hear the compressor had engaged). Moved the wires from the High Side to Low Side (fan only) and the problem did not move but the fan did come on (Low), so we knew it was the Control Box (not the thermostat).

After reseating the connectors again (and putting a slight bend in the pin coming from the Control Box) it worked on Low Cool each time we started it. High Cool (or Fan) had a weird 2-3 second delay (which is not normal). The unit would literally stop working and then start up again in the faster mode.

Conclusion? Bad Control Box. We showed the owner how easy it was to change but for now he's going to just use the unit on Low Cool.

OK, sorry. I've nothing to add at this time but I want to see any new postings. Selfish of me, I know. I'll be there Saturday mid afternoon if you want to watch a spectacle of me backing into a spot in Sect F.

TomF

Nothing for us yesterday! There was one issue but GD Techs took care of it (pre-notified of an electrical issue).

27 Aug (Sat) - Pre Rally

A 376TH's hydraulic system was reported inoperative. Measuring the voltage drop across the 50A mini-breaker it was immediately obvious the breaker had failed since there was 0 volts on the output side. The interesting part of the fix was the upgrade to an 80A breaker--a much larger component than the 50A mini-breaker. ncitro had lugs the right size and a GD tech had the right gauge wire so we were able to fashion a new wire to go from the battery + to the input of the 80A breaker then from output of the breaker to the hydraulic relay's input. The owner checked the operation and it worked as expected.

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A Reflection arrived with the spare tire swinging under the rig. Country Campers chased them down and ensured the message was passed to the owners.

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Two different rigs had alarming sounds coming from the hubs.

The first had an obnoxious squeak (or squeal) coming from the left side around the area encompassing the wheels and tires. I'm not very familiar with drum brakes--if they'd been disc brakes I would have suspected the pads were at the wear limits. When the rig backed up the noise stopped, which further leads me to believe the problem in the brakes. I talked to the owner about it (he was aware of the noise) and suggested he get it checked ASAP.

The other rig had what sounded like dragging brakes on the street side as it rolled by. Unfortunately the parking got so busy I lost track of the unit but I'm fairly certain it was a relatively new 315RLTS.

Howard, for those off quick fixes if the lugs are large enough, keep a single cut step drill in your electrical kit. https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-10193A-...kmencontent-20 not being a double flute twist drill, it will open the terminal up quite easily without destroying it. Learned this trick from Mike Finnegan from FSM marine on his YouTube channel (give credit where credit is due). I have used this trick one or more times (I'll only tell lies, the whole lies, and nothing but lies) but don't ask where. One must use judgement as to if there is enough material around the perimeter of the stud or screw for proper current (I have large gauge wire terminals with less material and contact area than smaller gauge wire terminals).

Jlawles2 - Thanks for the link to the step drill bits. I just put them in my cart.

Jim

Heard back from the owner with the aerating hot water--it was the T&P valve.

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At the roundtable discussion today an owner said that when they used their manual stabilizer (on an Imagine) it would spin back down by itself (to the point where there's little if any tension on the stabilizer). Anyone heard of such a thing?

3 Sep (Sat) Main Departure Day

An owner complained that their gray tank wouldn't drain and that it was full. Since it was an Imagine with the tank in the rear, there was a concern the pin weight could be dramatically affected making it unsafe to tow. Without going into too many details (since dropping the coroplast in the Fairgrounds is a no-no) what was found is a clog of hair right at the valve. (To prevent this from happening, use a Tub Shroom or something similar. See https://www.tubshroom.com/

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Another owner complained their Suburban 12 gallon tank didn't heat water on electric. This was in a Solitude, #125 off the production line (so it's old). Voltage was fine at the element and resistance of the element was within spec. We even measured 11 amps through the element using a clamp meter--but the water still wasn't getting hot. Conclusion is the element works, but must be so clogged with crud from the many years of usage that it needs to be replaced. (No one had the socket for the element or the part so couldn't confirm. )

What was also found (same water heater) is when on propane the direct spark ignition (DSI) light stayed on way too long, even though there was a flame. My conclusion is the thermocouple is going bad. Again, no part on hand so owner will have to fix at a later date.

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Last issue was an owner with a flat tire. ncitro had the right equipment so he helped the guy out. (Thankfully the owner had a good spare.)

howson have the owner of the stabilizer check for grease or antisieze compound. Also have them check the setup to ensure that there is not too much angle on the legs resulting in overloading of the threads on the stabilizer and them not self locking.

Side note, is the unit equipped with hydraulic or gear driven landing gear. If hydraulic, could be that the system is bleeding pressure into the jacks thus lifting the unit slightly off the stabilizer or the ground is giving under the stabilizer. Might be worth noting to the owner to mark the adjuster to ensure that it is moving.

Jlawles2 -- manual hand-crank stabilizer.

howson Howard, that one needs a picture. Is the manual stabilizer an extra, or part of the original system? How frequent is the unit used, is it possible the stabilizer nut is stripped?

It's a simple manual stabilizer jack, Joseph, as you've seen on any number of "lower end" trailers. To the rest of your questions--no idea. The question/comment was from an owner at the rally's Roundtable Seminar with myself,. Country Campers and We recommended the owner to have a chat with GD's Customer Service (they were there at the fairgrounds). The owner did not get back to any of us with a follow-up. (My .02--it's busted.)

If he is saying that after extending and putting weight on it, it spins back to release? If that is the case, then yes I have had that issue. The problem is I lubed mine too well. Solution was to remove the grease (use a strong de-greaser on the threads) It happened more often if the jack is past 3/4 extended too. As a temporary fix I used a large vice grip to keep the center screw rod from spinning back.

I also learned the grease attracts road grime, and now that they are grease free work OK - they still back off a bit after sitting for a few days.

Keith