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The Toothbrush that wouldn't "Die"

Yahoo Message Number: 19998
Living in a motor home during the past year has been an experience, to say the least. While we've had several problems with various components of our new Country Coach, so far none of our appliances have been affected?aside from a leaking water line connected to our ice maker, which our neighbor helped us repair. The gas stove, convectional microwave, and washer/dryer have thus far served us well, knock on wood. The problems we have had, though, have made me a little gun shy. "What's next?" I'm asking myself, anticipating the plumbing to start leaking, or some electrical failure. Lacking the necessary skills to troubleshoot and repair many problems myself, I naturally have my fingers crossed, hoping we can get through another day without incident.

Yesterday, I just knew something had gone wrong with the refrigerator when an unfamiliar buzzing sound attracted my attention. It seemed to be coming from somewhere under the appliance, but I couldn't tell exactly where. No leaks were seen and I found no other irregularities, either inside or outside of the refrigerator, but the mysterious sound persisted. Well, this was just one more of many incidents that set me to scratching my head, wondering what to do next without coming up with any answers. Maybe it was nothing serious, I hoped, but who wants to listen to this annoying sound while trying to relax?

Theorizing that it might be some sort of electro-mechanical malfunction, I cycled the breaker on/off at the main breaker panel, but that had no effect. Next, I went outside and turned the main breaker off to the shoreline and reentered the coach. The bothersome buzzing continued, unaffected. I just couldn't figure it out and it absolutely would not stop, though it sputtered a few times. Now I'm beginning to think that this was just something I was going to have to learn to live with, like the wart on my left knee. Maybe we could turn the TV or radio volume up a little or start spending more time outdoors. I was beginning to think of this continuing buzz in terms of some sort of Chinese torture device, as I stood in front of the refrigerator, totally perplexed.

Finally, I glanced down, focusing on a small trash receptacle on the floor beside the refrigerator, and suddenly I had the answer. There it was, buzzing away, our battery operated, rechargeable toothbrush that wouldn't turn off. The off switch was defective and the only way to turn the toothbrush off was to place it on the recharger.
Finally tired of spattering toothpaste all over our vanity, we had bought a new one a day earlier, discarding the old one. It hand a tendency to "come to life" after awhile, when we had forgotten about it. It had once happened in our Honda when we enroute to a motel.
The mysterious buzz suddenly alerted us to a possible warning light in the dash, but there was none. It was the toothbrush in a plastic bag on the back seat. I supposed we should have named it and adopted it as a pet, since we have no pets, other than Pretty Girl, our cockatiel.

Well, needless to say, I felt like an idiot, but was glad it was something simple. I was also glad to get rid of that little "monster." I'm quite sure that nothing like this has ever happened to my fellows RVers, but beware of the Toothbrush that will not Die, just in case.

Gary Collins

'05 Inspire 51491

"What's next?"...

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 19999
You certainly ask a GREAT question, Gary. Like you, many of us have had our coach for a while and we are wondering what is likely to need fixing next. I'm sure that every coach owner has had different experiences, but here are a few things I've added to my list of what to keep an eye on for the future...

1. We have used our Splendide washer every day for 3 years, and it developed a tiny leak from the water pump. I understand from the technical folks at Westland Sales that I could have prevented an expensive $120 water pump replacement with an inexpensive $11 seal if I would have replaced it quickly after I discovered the leak. Now I have "replace Splendide water pump seal" on my coach maintenance list every two years.

2. An annual visual inspection is also part of my maintenance plan.
I have found several problems early because I took the time to lay under my coach and "just look". Now, with the help of you great people, I've added "Raise the engine hatch and do an annual visual inspection" to my list of annual tasks.

3. My Thetford Aria electric toilet had numerous problems with the seal and electronic flushing mechanism until I discovered 3M Silicone Paste (a suggestion from a Camping World technician). Now I just lubricate the rubber seal with the 3M Silicone Paste about once every few months, and the toilet works perfectly and has a nice tight seal. The 3M Paste is real sticky and lasts a long time on the seal.

4. I noticed that my coolant hoses were dripping just a droplet of
blue coolant... in just few minutes, I tightened each hose clamp just a little and stopped a potential major problem before it got really bad.

Maybe other folks can share tips to prevent "What's next".

Regards,

Bob Kumza
2003 Intrigue

Quote from: kaena65_80
Living in a motor home during the past year has been an

experience,

Quote
to say the least. While we've had several problems with various > components of our new Country Coach, so far none of our appliances > have been affected?aside from a leaking water line connected to

our

Quote
ice maker, which our neighbor helped us repair. The gas stove, > convectional microwave, and washer/dryer have thus far served us > well, knock on wood. The problems we have had, though, have made

me

Quote
a little gun shy. "What's next?" I'm asking myself, anticipating

the

Re: The Toothbrush that wouldn't "Die"

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 20002
Quote from: kaena65_80

Gary Collins

'05 Inspire 51491

Gary,

One of the things I learned was to clean the furnace. We spend a lot of time in our coach and on a cold night 2 years ago, the furnace quit working. I checked voltage, etc. and all seemed normal. In the manual it said to clean the furnace. What did I have to lose? I got the vacuum cleaner, removed the grid to the furnace and cleaned the furnace wherever I could reach. I turned the furnace back on and everything worked as normal. This was good for a couple of weeks and then it quit again. Long story short. I removed the furnace and then I cleaned the back of the furnace. In particular, lint and dust builds up on the sail switch and that is what prevents the furnace from working. I clean the furnace once a year and have never had a problem since.

Dave G.

2000 Allure #30491

Re: The Toothbrush that wouldn't "Die"

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 20007
And a toothbrush is no where near as complicated as a motorcoach.

Re: "What's next?"...

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 20022
Gary... and while I had the washer pulled out to replace the Splendide water pump, I replaced the rubber hot and cold water washer supply hoses with braided stainless steel hoses. The braided stainless hoses should last 20 years and eliminate the potential for a broken washer hose.

Bob Kumza
2003 Intrigue

Quote from: rvrobert2003
>

You certainly ask a GREAT question, Gary. Like you, many of us

have

Quote
had our coach for a while and we are wondering what is likely to > need fixing next. I'm sure that every coach owner has had

different

Quote
experiences, but here are a few things I've added to my list of

what

Quote
to keep an eye on for the future...

1. We have used our Splendide washer every day for 3 years, and

it

Quote
developed a tiny leak from the water pump. I understand from the > technical folks at Westland Sales that I could have prevented an > expensive $120 water pump replacement with an inexpensive $11 seal > if I would have replaced it quickly after I discovered the leak.

Now

Re: "What's next?"...

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 20050
Hi Bob,

Thanks for your very helpful and informative responses. Our Splendide 2000 S washer/driver is located in our master bedroom, where it looks like it would be somewhat hard to get to. Just looking at it, I can't see how to go about removing it from its enclosure. How did you know your washer/driver was leaking? Did you notice water on the floor? Apparently, it wasn't serious enough to deal with right away. Have you found detailed instructions in the manuals? I haven`t found any reference to it. The stainless steel hoses were a good idea, too.

Your suggested annual visual inspection makes sense. Now, if I can just hold my gut in long enough to get under our coach and lay on the gravel long enough to do it justice. Maybe I need to get a big piece of 1/4" plyboard. Gee, I hope I don't get stuck under there.
Do you do this with your jacks extended or retracted?

We don't have an electric toilet but sometimes we do lose water. Do you think electric toilets have worthwhile advantages over manually operated ones? Would you recommend buying and installing an electric toilet? Would your silicone paste work on a regular toilet like ours? One feature our last coach had that this one lacks is a short hose with a sprayer on it. We liked that.
Presumably, your dripping coolant was noticed when doing your engine compartment inspection or was that noticed while you were under your RV? You surely prevented a potential on-the-road problem by noticing that and tightening the hose clamps.

Due diligence seems to be the major point of your recommended "What's next" remedies, which anybody should be able to do regardless of their lack of troubleshooting and repair skills.
Since we are approaching the end of our warranty period, we ought to pay particular attention to finding obvious problems while they can be fixed under warranty.

Thanks again.

Gary Collins

'05 Inspire 51491

Re: "What's next?"...

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 20071
Hi Gary;

In answer to your questions...

Our Splendide washer sits in a plastic pan. I first noticed the water in the pan before a trip. Our trip checklist includes "checking the washer pan for water" before we move the coach because I'd hate to be driving down the road with a pan full of water sloshing around. The pan is only one inch deep. The water never hit the floor and never did any damage to the coach since the purpose of the pan is to catch any small leaks before they hit the floor. It was a good idea that CC put the plastic pan under the washer since we have had two washer leaks in the 3 years of ownership -- one from the leaking water pump, and the other from a leaking rubber fill tube that had a hole worn in it from the continuous vibration of the spin cycle. The pan did the job and caught both leaks. Now whenever I pull out the washer, I always check all the rubber hoses for wear spots as part of my washer inspection.

Removing the washer is fairly easy. Remove the doors, door catches, front lip of the plastic pan, shut off the water valves, disconnect the water lines, drain line and dryer vent pipe, then grab the front and give a good hard tug and it will slide out. Nothing in the manual, just common sense is needed and a few simple tools. And while you're in there, you may as well swap out those cheap rubber supply hoses and install the stainless steel braided ones (less than $25 at any good hardware store... I got mine at Ace).

I slide under the coach with it up or down. Either way, I'm comfortable under there, although it is much less claustrophobic with the coach up. I'm always careful to never place my body parts in a place where I would be hurt if the coach air bags let loose unexpectedly. I find that a nice heavy plastic tarp makes it easy for me to slide in and out.

Regarding the toilet, both the electric and manual ones do the same job. I like the Thetford electric mainly because it is made from porcelain and it is very easy to keep clean as compared to the foot operated plastic one we had before. The electric Thetford also has a "push the button and walk away feature" that makes it a little more convenient than standing there with my foot on the pedal while it flushes -- but either way, they are both easy to use. In a way, I like the manual ones better because the flush mechanism is just another gizmo to break someday.

Rolling around under the coach and just being observant is a really important part of my normal routine. I do it at least every three or four months, and I always find it a "rewarding" process as I'm always finding new things to fix or adjust to prevent future problems from occurring. Thanks to Fred Kovol, I found two loose zerk fittings that would have fallen out if I hadn't just touched them and seen that they were not even finger tight when I did my coach lube. My friend Stan Vander Ploeg just sent me a picture of a few broken clamps on his Intrigue, so now I'll be sure to look at the clamps on all my hoses during my next day lying on my back under the coach. Dick Bradley told me of his broken rear tag shock mounts so now I'm going to include that on my inspection too. The list is never ending because so many good people share their experiences here on the CC Owners site.

It seems like every time I do something under my coach, I always find other things that need attention besides the project I'm working on. I think that is the best reason to do all my own work on the coach. I find things and fix things early that normal mechanics either don't see or care about. I feel that my coach is in much better shape now because of all the hundreds of preventative actions I've taken to do simple things. Another example is ensuring that wire ties hold all the thousands of wires in place so they don't rub and short and cause future problems. I've installed over 200 extra wire ties under my coach. You'd never see them just to look, but they are there preventing future problems.
Another tip is that just about everything in the coach requires some kind of maintenance of some kind. If you are not doing the maintenance or having somebody else do it, you'll have problems sooner or later. Have you pulled the plug on your water heater tank and drained out all the gunk that accumulates there? Have you removed the refrigerator propane assembly and soaked it in alcohol to clean it? Have you swabbed the refrigerator vent pipe with a chimney cleaning brush (available from dometic)? Have you opened your main electrical breaker box and tightened all the wire connections after a few years of bouncing down the highway? Have you changed your water sediment filter in your coach? Yes, the list is endless, but the rewards are fewer breakdowns and a more enjoyable RVing experience.

Hope my tips are helpful and give you ideas about what you should put on your "What's next" project list.

Regards

Bob Kumza
2003 Intrigue

Quote from: kaena65_80
Hi Bob,

Thanks for your very helpful and informative responses. Our > Splendide 2000 S washer/driver is located in our master bedroom, > where it looks like it would be somewhat hard to get to. Just > looking at it, I can't see how to go about removing it from its > enclosure. How did you know your washer/driver was leaking? Did

you

Quote
notice water on the floor? Apparently, it wasn't serious enough

to

Quote
deal with right away. Have you found detailed instructions in the > manuals? I haven`t found any reference to it. The stainless steel > hoses were a good idea, too.

Your suggested annual visual inspection makes sense. Now, if I can > just hold my gut in long enough to get under our coach and lay on > the gravel long enough to do it justice. Maybe I need to get a big > piece of 1/4" plyboard. Gee, I hope I don't get stuck under there.
Do you do this with your jacks extended or retracted? >

We don't have an electric toilet but sometimes we do lose water.

Do

Quote
you think electric toilets have worthwhile advantages over

manually

Quote
operated ones? Would you recommend buying and installing an

electric

Quote
toilet? Would your silicone paste work on a regular toilet like > ours? One feature our last coach had that this one lacks is a

short

Quote
hose with a sprayer on it. We liked that.

Presumably, your dripping coolant was noticed when doing your

engine

Quote
compartment inspection or was that noticed while you were under

your

Quote
RV? You surely prevented a potential on-the-road problem by

noticing

Quote
that and tightening the hose clamps.

Due diligence seems to be the major point of your > recommended "What's next" remedies, which anybody should be able

to

Quote
do regardless of their lack of troubleshooting and repair skills.
Since we are approaching the end of our warranty period, we ought

to

Quote
pay particular attention to finding obvious problems while they

can