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Back from two month trip - update

Yahoo Message Number: 40450
A few months ago I asked for advice on getting ready for a long trip and a few of you responded with some helpful tips - thank you. The trip was great. We traveled 6500 miles in almost exactly 2 months and had a wonderful time. I thought I'd share some of our experiences with the coach for the benefit of others.

We had very few mechanical issues. All were minor enough that they caused no delay in our trip. Here's the list:

1. Found right rear outer tire to be very out of balance. Don't know why I didn't notice this on other trips but perhaps it's because I have more experience in the coach and was driving faster. Anyhow, while in Tucson took the coach to WingFoot and they balanced all the tires. They found that the rears had never been balanced at all and that the right rear outer tire was out of round. I've done a lot of business with WingFoot so I trust them which is why I went to them.
Unfortunately the tire is a Michelin and they don't carry Michelin.
They put 14 oz of weight on the tire which helped but it still bounced above 63 MPH because it was out of round. I opted not to get it fixed for the trip and we just kept our speed down.

2. Front slide makes a clicking/snaping sound over some bumps and occasionally while stopping or accelerating. Called the factory and made some adjustments myself based on their advice. That helped but it is still with us. Not a big deal but hoping to get the factory guys to help us with that one at the upcoming Class Reunion.

3. While in Columbus, Miss. we found the rear A/C wouldn't come on after it had been baking in the sun (imagine that!). Called Dometic (who has terrible, terrible customer support BTW) and after asking them many questions trying to extract something helpful out of them they told me they don't support "end customers". I called back the next day and got the same run-around. Finally, the support person told me there is a sensor that prevents the A/C from coming on above 116 degrees and they can't help me. Apparently this is true (I got hold of a service manual) but it was only 90 degrees and the front A/C came on just fine so on a hunch I ordered a new controller board from PPL and that solved the problem. Based on that experience I will try not to use Dometic products in the future if I can. Exasperating company to deal with.

4. Electric side of water heater wasn't working. Gas worked fine. I called CC to verify there weren't any switches or circuit breakers I was missing - there wasn't. Using an ohm meter it appeared the thermostat was open. At our next stop I obtained a new thermostat assembly and after extracting the old one from the back of the waterheater I found that the problem wasn't the thermostat at all but rather the factory (Atwood) had assembed one of the push on spade female connectors such that the male side was inserted along side the femail connector rather than into it. It had eventually over heated, melted the plastic and lost contact. After replacing the damaged connector and reassembling everything worked fine. Kept the new parts as spares.

5. Front Fantastic fan would open or close even though the lift motor would run. These fans had recently been upgraded with a kit from the factory (which they provided for free!) and I found that the coupling sleeve between the gear box and the lift mechanism wasn't engaged sufficiently causing the splines to strip out. I added some spacers under the gear box to lift it causing full engagement of the splines and problem solved. The last day of the trip the rear fan did the same thing - will be repairing that one before the next trip.

6. Dometic refer door latch broke near the end of the trip. We stopped at a Camping World north of Salt Lake City to get a new one. The parts guy there was very condescending and told me he could help me because I didn't have the exact model number of the refer with me (we were driving our toad). I asked him how many different type they had in stock and he said "two" so I said "well, would you mind just bringing them out? I can identify it if I see it". Turns out he had the right one but the wrong color so for $49 I decided to wait. I ordered it online for $22. I generally find Camping World convenient and use them frequently but the quality of their employees is very spotty.
Occasionally you get someone who is very helpful but often you got people who, by their attitude, communicate quite clearly they don't really want to be working there.

7. Irritating squeek/rattle. Our CC has been 100% squeek and rattle free untl about 3/4s through this trip it developed a rattle which turned into a squeek which appears to be coming from the upper door area. I've tried everything I could think of to solve this one without success. I hate rattles and squeeks - that's why I bought a Country Coach! Work in progress....

8. Broke the TV antenna off. We've owned three coaches over the years
and I've broke the antenna off on everyone one of them once. Hadn't broken this one yet so I guess it was time. Bought a new antenna from an RV parts place in Omaha, NB.

9 The last mechanical difficulty was the big one. As we were passing through Winnemucca Nevada we began hearing a loud buzzing sound and felt a vibration through the coach. I was expecting the worse. We pulled off into a Walmat parking lot and I found the left rear airbag to be collapsed. I was relieved because I know that's not an expensive or complex fix. I checked the levelers and found it functional and found the airbag to be fine confirming it was probably the height regulating valve. I then proceeded to search through all my paperwork and the CC manuals for the procedure to get the coach pumped up and back on the road. Couldn't find that. I had seen it on this forum so I tried to get online using our Verizon broadband service which had worked flawlessly - until now. Couldn't get on. Worked on that for 30 minutes than called Verizon who told me it was a "hung data connection" and asked me if it was being used for "business". I said "no" and she said it would "take up to 5 days to get fixed". 5 days! I asked why so long and the gal on the line said, "since you are only one person and not a business, we prioritize our larger customers and those who use our service for business first. When we have completed servicing their problems we take care of private individual customers". WOW! I didn't even bother to argue - terrible policy.
Anyway, I called CC technical support and the support person there gave me the info I needed over the phone which got us back on the road. (Thanks Country Coach!).

That was it. Nothing serious although the last one could have been a big delay in our trip if it wasn't for Country Coach's great service.

I should also mention that I installed the new, updated PakBrake exhaust brake and a Banks performance kit on our 350hp Cummins before I left (did it myself). The new PakBrake has provided a definite improvement over the original factory installed unit but it's still not as good as an engine brake which neither PakBrake or Jake make for the ISC engine.

On the other hand the Banks kit has been awesome! First the considerably improved acceleration capability for getting on the highway or for passing is terrific safety improvement. All I can say is WOW! on that. Having the boost and EGT gauges provides additional confidence the engine is running ok also. In the mountains, I found the Banks kit to be both satisfying and disappointing at the same time though. Allow me to explain. The Banks computer monitors the engine parameters like EGT, coolant and oil temp, etc. and if it sees things trending towards max levels it scales back performance so you don't hurt the engine. Well, in cool weather it's a rocket but hot summer weather (90+ degrees) on steep mountains when you really want the extra power you get an initial big boost - like 32 inches (yahoo!) but as temps go up it rapidly fades back to the stock boost of 22 inches.
In reality, this is a good thing and the Banks manuals say this is how it's supposed work but I was expecting it to be able to hold the additional power a bit longer before scaling back the power. In cooler weather it's a rocket though! Still a good investment and I'd do it again.
That was it. Otherwise the Allure has been a dream to drive and live in for the last 2 months. I love it!

Ron Curry

'02 Allure 30803

Back from two month trip - update

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40457
Ron

Sorry to hear you had so many problems on your trip. Not that unusual in the world of coaches.
I agree with your comments about Dometic customer support. On one issue I was amazed to get the phone number of Dometic engineering form one of those telephone reps after pressing pretty hard for help. The guy talked to me and helped me with my problem, but I don't think he really appreciated the call and was surprised. I called once about my refer light. I was able to coax out a little info from the rep. I'm saving the engineering number for a really big problem when it occurs. The last contact I had was about the safety recall. The rep had a pretty good attitude, but she really couldn't tell me what the recall does.
I agree too with your comments about Camping World. The quality of the help varies a lot. I have had them avoid eye contact with me in the store when they didn't want to help anyone on the floor and just wanted to get to the back. Others have been helpful.
Finally, I'm not surprised that Fantastic Fan gave you a part. They sent me a free switch that had failed one time. Their customer support is always great.

George Harper
04 Allure
31093

Back from two month trip - update

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40465
Quote from: George Harper
>
Ron

Sorry to hear you had so many problems on your trip. Not that
unusual in the world of coaches.

Quote
>

George Harper
04 Allure
31093

Hi George,

Actually, I don't consider that we had very many problems. Everything was very minor and, it is a used coach and some things were bound to show up. I've owned motorhomes for 20 years and considering this was a 2 month trip it was essentially trouble free. None of the minor problems required fixing while on the trip and I could have just waited until we returned but since I'm pretty handy that way I just repair them as the come up. The only serious one was the height control valve but that was an easy fix to get back on the road.
In my view, any time you don't have to call a tow truck it's a trouble free trip!!!

Also, I continue to marvel at the quality of the Country Coach construction and engineering. Really top notch in every way!

Regards,
Ron

Re: Back from two month trip - update

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40466
All the photos are great. The only one I couldn't open was the first one.

Thanks
Tom

Re: Back from two month trip - update

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40497
Update on the ride height valves for those of you interested...
According to Haldex, the maker of the valves on most of our coaches, the valve that's on my 2002 is no longer made and has been superceded by a new part and part number which is 90555105. This is for the rear which has two valves. The new part appears identical except it's made of plastic instead of brass. As well, the Haldex guys say it's ok to replace just one valve if you already have the new ones but if upgrading, both valves must be replaced to ensure things remain symmetrical.

Country Coach only had one in stock so I ordered them from Ryder Trucks which stocks a lot of this kind of stuff and the price was around $30 per valve less. I would have ordered them from CC despite the higher price if they had two but since I had to get one from Ryder anyway there was no point in paying two overnight shipping fees.

These are an easy install so I expect to have these done today.

Ron Curry

'02 Allure 30803

Re: Back from two month trip - update

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40505
I was troubleshooting my Dometic AC problem and sent Dometic an email asking for some technical help. They wrote back and said they couldn't isolate the problem over email and that I should take it in to an authorized service facility. I wrote back and stated that I wasn't asking them to isolate the problem, just give me some ideas.
They came back with a couple of ideas, and I was able to order the right parts that fixed the problem.

Larry 03 Allure 30856

Quote from: Ron Curry

> A few months ago I asked for advice on getting ready for a long trip > and a few of you responded with some helpful tips - thank you. The > trip was great. We traveled 6500 miles in almost exactly 2 months

and

Quote
had a wonderful time. I thought I'd share some of our experiences

with

Quote
the coach for the benefit of others.

We had very few mechanical issues. All were minor enough that they > caused no delay in our trip. Here's the list: > > 1. Found right rear outer tire to be very out of balance. Don't know > why I didn't notice this on other trips but perhaps it's because I > have more experience in the coach and was driving faster. Anyhow, > while in Tucson took the coach to WingFoot and they balanced all the > tires. They found that the rears had never been balanced at all and > that the right rear outer tire was out of round. I've done a lot of > business with WingFoot so I trust them which is why I went to them.
Unfortunately the tire is a Michelin and they don't carry Michelin.
They put 14 oz of weight on the tire which helped but it still

bounced

Quote
above 63 MPH because it was out of round. I opted not to get it

fixed

Quote
for the trip and we just kept our speed down.

2. Front slide makes a clicking/snaping sound over some bumps and > occasionally while stopping or accelerating. Called the factory and > made some adjustments myself based on their advice. That helped but

it

Quote
is still with us. Not a big deal but hoping to get the factory guys

to

Quote
help us with that one at the upcoming Class Reunion.

3. While in Columbus, Miss. we found the rear A/C wouldn't come on > after it had been baking in the sun (imagine that!). Called Dometic > (who has terrible, terrible customer support BTW) and after asking > them many questions trying to extract something helpful out of them > they told me they don't support "end customers". I called back the > next day and got the same run-around. Finally, the support person

told

Quote
me there is a sensor that prevents the A/C from coming on above

116

Quote
degrees and they can't help me. Apparently this is true (I got hold

of

Quote
a service manual) but it was only 90 degrees and the front A/C came

on

Quote
just fine so on a hunch I ordered a new controller board from PPL

and

Quote
that solved the problem. Based on that experience I will try not to > use Dometic products in the future if I can. Exasperating company to > deal with.
> 4. Electric side of water heater wasn't working. Gas worked fine. I > called CC to verify there weren't any switches or circuit breakers I > was missing - there wasn't. Using an ohm meter it appeared the > thermostat was open. At our next stop I obtained a new thermostat > assembly and after extracting the old one from the back of the > waterheater I found that the problem wasn't the thermostat at all

but

Quote
rather the factory (Atwood) had assembed one of the push on spade > female connectors such that the male side was inserted along side

the

Quote
femail connector rather than into it. It had eventually over heated, > melted the plastic and lost contact. After replacing the damaged > connector and reassembling everything worked fine. Kept the new

parts

Quote
as spares.

5. Front Fantastic fan would open or close even though the lift

motor

Quote
would run. These fans had recently been upgraded with a kit from the > factory (which they provided for free!) and I found that the

coupling

Quote
sleeve between the gear box and the lift mechanism wasn't engaged > sufficiently causing the splines to strip out. I added some spacers > under the gear box to lift it causing full engagement of the splines > and problem solved. The last day of the trip the rear fan did the

same

Quote
thing - will be repairing that one before the next trip.

6. Dometic refer door latch broke near the end of the trip. We

stopped

Quote
at a Camping World north of Salt Lake City to get a new one. The

parts

Quote
guy there was very condescending and told me he could help me

because

Quote
I didn't have the exact model number of the refer with me (we were > driving our toad). I asked him how many different type they had in > stock and he said "two" so I said "well, would you mind just

bringing

Quote
them out? I can identify it if I see it". Turns out he had the right > one but the wrong color so for $49 I decided to wait. I ordered it > online for $22. I generally find Camping World convenient and use

them

Quote
frequently but the quality of their employees is very spotty.
Occasionally you get someone who is very helpful but often you got > people who, by their attitude, communicate quite clearly they don't > really want to be working there.
> 7. Irritating squeek/rattle. Our CC has been 100% squeek and rattle > free untl about 3/4s through this trip it developed a rattle which > turned into a squeek which appears to be coming from the upper door > area. I've tried everything I could think of to solve this one

without

Quote
success. I hate rattles and squeeks - that's why I bought a Country > Coach! Work in progress....

8. Broke the TV antenna off. We've owned three coaches over the

years

Quote
and I've broke the antenna off on everyone one of them once. Hadn't > broken this one yet so I guess it was time. Bought a new antenna

from

Quote
an RV parts place in Omaha, NB.
> 9 The last mechanical difficulty was the big one. As we were passing > through Winnemucca Nevada we began hearing a loud buzzing sound

and

Quote
felt a vibration through the coach. I was expecting the worse. We > pulled off into a Walmat parking lot and I found the left rear

airbag

Quote
to be collapsed. I was relieved because I know that's not an

expensive

Quote
or complex fix. I checked the levelers and found it functional and > found the airbag to be fine confirming it was probably the height > regulating valve. I then proceeded to search through all my

paperwork

Quote
and the CC manuals for the procedure to get the coach pumped up and > back on the road. Couldn't find that. I had seen it on this forum

so I

Quote
tried to get online using our Verizon broadband service which had > worked flawlessly - until now. Couldn't get on. Worked on that for

30

Quote
minutes than called Verizon who told me it was a "hung data > connection" and asked me if it was being used for "business". I said > "no" and she said it would "take up to 5 days to get fixed". 5

days! I

Quote
asked why so long and the gal on the line said, "since you are only > one person and not a business, we prioritize our larger customers

and

Quote
those who use our service for business first. When we have completed > servicing their problems we take care of private individual > customers". WOW! I didn't even bother to argue - terrible policy.
Anyway, I called CC technical support and the support person there > gave me the info I needed over the phone which got us back on the > road. (Thanks Country Coach!).
> That was it. Nothing serious although the last one could have been a > big delay in our trip if it wasn't for Country Coach's great

service.

Quote
>

I should also mention that I installed the new, updated PakBrake > exhaust brake and a Banks performance kit on our 350hp Cummins

before

Quote
I left (did it myself). The new PakBrake has provided a definite > improvement over the original factory installed unit but it's still > not as good as an engine brake which neither PakBrake or Jake make

for

Quote
the ISC engine.

On the other hand the Banks kit has been awesome! First the > considerably improved acceleration capability for getting on the > highway or for passing is terrific safety improvement. All I can say > is WOW! on that. Having the boost and EGT gauges provides additional > confidence the engine is running ok also. In the mountains, I found > the Banks kit to be both satisfying and disappointing at the same

time

Quote
though. Allow me to explain. The Banks computer monitors the engine > parameters like EGT, coolant and oil temp, etc. and if it sees

things

Quote
trending towards max levels it scales back performance so you don't > hurt the engine. Well, in cool weather it's a rocket but hot summer > weather (90+ degrees) on steep mountains when you really want the > extra power you get an initial big boost - like 32 inches (yahoo!)

but

Quote
as temps go up it rapidly fades back to the stock boost of 22

inches.

Quote
In reality, this is a good thing and the Banks manuals say this is

how

Quote
it's supposed work but I was expecting it to be able to hold the > additional power a bit longer before scaling back the power. In

cooler

Quote
weather it's a rocket though! Still a good investment and I'd do it

again.

Re: Back from two month trip - update

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40517
Hi Larry,

Hope things are well with you. Yes, I had to explain to them that I AM the technician working on the A/C and they suggested I send emails. We were on the road though and it was 90+ degrees so I never had a chance to try it. Best thing for all this stuff is to get hold of the service manuals. The service manual for the Penguin A/C has everything needed and a very detailed troubleshooting section. Proved to be very helpful. I ended up replacing the AC control board in my rear A/C and that cleared up all the strange behavior.

Best regards,

Ron Curry

'02 Allure 30803

Re: Back from two month trip - update

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40525
Great data-well presented. I also have 2006 CC Allure 430.
Similar problems : air springs, slides, refrigerator, etc 1st 20 k miles
On a 8 week northern trip across US & Canada presently & major problem
was leaking fuel injector ( repaired by Bill Wells in Thermopolis, Wy).

Overnite in Missoula & off to Glacier today

Carter Davis

2006 Allure 31367

Re: Back from two month trip - update

Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40574
I hope what you just said about the valves to be reversed for it's the plastic ones that have given us problems from the middle 90's.
TWI 2004 Intrigue 11731 and before 98 Allure 30255

Re: Back from two month trip - update

Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40601
Quote from: Tom "

> I hope what you just said about the valves to be reversed for it's the > plastic ones that have given us problems from the middle 90's. TWI 2004 > Intrigue 11731 and before 98 Allure 30255 >

Hi Tom,

Well, I can't confirm it personally now other than to pass along what Haldex told me and that is part number 90555105 is made of plastic.
The reason I can't positively confirm it is even though I ordered the "new" part number from Ryder, they sent me "new, old, stock". In otherwords, they sent me the old part number!
Anyhow, the new part number is 90555105 and, according to Haldex it's made of plastic. The old part number (and the number stamped on the valves in my coach) is 90554241 and it is made of cadmium plated steel. I didn't mind getting the old one except that Haldex told me the old ones are no longer available and that you can't have a 90554241 (old one) and a 90555105 (new one) mixed on the same axle so I should order two and replace both.

So, I replaced the bad one and have kept the other new one for a spare. All is fine now.

Regards,
Ron

'02 Allure 30803

Re: Back from two month trip - update

Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40608
Ron

CC told me my valves are Haldex #90554995.
CC mentioned the new ones are plastic, but I'm not sure CC has a different part number.
Would seem to me that CC would use the same valves for several years, but my coach may use a different valve.

George Harper
04 Allure
31093

Quote from: Tom "
I hope what you just said
about the valves to be reversed for it's the

Quote
plastic ones that have
given us problems from the middle 90's. TWI 2004

Quote
Intrigue 11731 and

before 98 Allure 30255

 
Hi Tom,

Well, I can't confirm it personally now other than to pass along what Haldex told me and that is part number 90555105 is made of plastic.
The reason I can't positively confirm it is even though I ordered the "new" part number from Ryder, they sent me "new, old, stock". In otherwords, they sent me the old part number!
Anyhow, the new part number is 90555105 and, according to Haldex it's made of plastic. The old part number (and the number stamped on the valves in my coach) is 90554241 and it is made of cadmium plated steel. I didn't mind getting the old one except that Haldex told me the old ones are no longer available and that you can't have a 90554241 (old one) and a 90555105 (new one) mixed on the same axle so I should order two and replace both.

So, I replaced the bad one and have kept the other new one for a spare. All is fine now.

Regards,
Ron

'02 Allure 30803

Re: Back from two month trip - update

Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40621
Quote from: Don Seager
Ron,
> Did Haldex give you any idea as to why they claim that you can not
mix the valves on the same axle? Considering what they are and how they operate I am having trouble figuring out why.

Quote
>

Just wondering.

Don Seager

Hi Don,

No, they didn't explain why but it is documented in their app note as well so it's not just some sales guy trying to make a buck. Could be that they just want to rid themselves of liability associated with the older valves. They do appear to be different designs though.

Regards,
Ron

Re: Back from two month trip - update

Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40622
Quote from: George Harper
>
Ron

CC told me my valves are Haldex #90554995.

CC mentioned the new ones are plastic, but I'm not sure CC has a
different part number.

Quote
>

Would seem to me that CC would use the same valves for several
years, but my coach may use a different valve.

Quote
>

George Harper
04 Allure
31093

George,

Apparently your coach is different. Perhaps you have a tag axle? I have observed that there is a lot of commonality between Allure/Intrigue coaches from 2000-2003 but there appears to be a break beginning with 2004 on many items.
Anyhow, I got the part numbers from CC as well and then confirmed by actually crawling under the coach and reading the part number off of the valve.

Regards,
Ron
 

Re: Back from two month trip - update

Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 40671
Ron

I e-mailed Haldex. 90554995 is the valve without the arm. 90554945 is the valve WITH the arm.

George Harper
04 Allure
31093

Quote from: George Harper
Ron

CC told me my valves are Haldex #90554995.

CC
mentioned the new ones are plastic, but I'm not sure CC has a
different part number.

Quote
>

Would seem to me that CC would use the same valves for

several

years, but my coach may use a different valve.

 
George Harper

Quote
04 Allure
31093

George,

Apparently your coach is different. Perhaps you have a tag axle? I
have observed that there is a lot of commonality between Allure/Intrigue coaches from 2000-2003 but there appears to be a break beginning with 2004 on many items.
Anyhow, I got the part numbers from CC as well and then confirmed by actually crawling under the coach and reading the part number off of the valve.

Regards,
Ron