Winnebago/Itasca 40U

[D Lindy]

jerichorich; love the AGM batteries our unit has - no fuss - no muss - no maintenance. Would hate to have regular batteries and having to ad water to the 6 of them that are under the slide out tray, they'd be a pain to get to and service a couple of months.

[dsbike]

Originally Posted by D Lindy

jerichorich; love the AGM batteries our unit has - no fuss - no muss - no maintenance. Would hate to have regular batteries and having to ad water to the 6 of them that are under the slide out tray, they'd be a pain to get to and service a couple of months.

X2, gotta love the no maintenance batteries.

[jerichorick]

I hope your guys didn't misread me. I did maintenance on my 2 START batteries = 12 cells. my AGM's and Magnum inverter!

Since we traded the '05 Vectra 40FD for this Meridian I have been a very happy camper and DW loves all of the places she has to put her 'stuff'. The residential frig is great and the EMS and monitor center is very clean and easy to understand. My biggest gripe is the slide controls. I am not 6' 5"! At 5' 7" with bifocals it is a challenge. The short people leg extender helps if I can get to it. But, don't forget DW's stuff. Maneuvering room is at a premium, wheels moving or not. Add Dawson to the floor traffic and things get very interesting.

I love this forum. Don't we have fun?

Rick

[Hiker 111]

Has anyone had a water leak in the compartment where the water heater is located? Water heated does not show any signs of leaking and I cannot find any signs of water coming in. It is just wet near the door.
Thanks

[D Lindy]

Had a water leak on the back of the water heater, plastic elbow on bottom corner cracked due to incomplete winterization last year by the dealer, replaced plastic elbow with a brass one from Home Depot. As to if the door seal is leaking should be pretty straight forward to inspect seal for nicks, breaks, loose etc. that might cause leaks.

[motohomer]

I had the same leak. PITA. Remove the access cover and you'll find out.
PS: ours never sees cold so our issue was presumably cracking from over tightening.
Good luck.

[D Lindy]

I was able to replace the plastic elbow by removing the metal side shield, it was a little reach to the bottom back corner of the water heater, but a LOT easier then pulling the hot water heater.

[Hiker 111]

Thanks, I had the same problem with the elbow being cracked. I fixed that and cannot find any water leaking from the water heater. This seems to be a different problem. I am in PA now and it won't stop raining enough to see if it will dry out, so I can see if it water leaking in.

Thanks again for the info

[jerichorick]

I'll have to keep an eye on my water heater. Sounds like a pattern is developing.

On another note, I just finished installing the SMI Air Force One breaking system and a Blue Ox base plate. I just traded my Scion in on a 2014 Honda CR-V basic model. No more tow dolly!

The coach install was not bad. I had a bout of vertigo when I was trying to run the air line from the new air relay to the connector on the rear bumper. Being a Freightliner chassis the new tank/relay assembly was easy to place and routing the air lines was not that bad.

The car, on the other hand, was a bit of a challenge. Attaching a wire to the break light switch proved to be a bit taxing for this old dude with 4 eyes. But success was to be had. The big challenge for the base plate was getting the grill off. The Blue Ox instructions took the hard route. I found a good PDF on line that made the job very easy. For '12 to '14 CR-V owners you may find this of great interest. It covers many mysteries of the car panel fasteners:
http://www.handa-accessories.com/crv/12fog.pdf
This is Honda's procedure for installing fog lights so interior and exterior panel removals are included. I used a long shank 1/4" flat head screwdriver as the removal tool.

Once I had the grill off all went smooth. I pulled the front molding and nose off, as Blue Ox indicated, and removed the bumper. The base plate went in place of the bumper. I had to use a sawsall to remove 2 welded nuts for the base plate to clear the frame channels. After the base plate was attached and torqued it was a relatively simple job to put the body panels back on.

Before I installed the body panels I finished the Air Force One wiring and plumbing. I had to attach the breakaway switch and pneumatic connector to the front panels for easy access and correct clearance.

To test the system I will have to pull the coach down the driveway to get the car behind it. I won't be able to do this for few weeks yet as DW is not ready to put her more fragile things up yet.

My next adventure is to find a way to connect the coach lights to the existing car directionals and running lights. The break lights will come on when the AFO operates. On this one I am defiantly up for suggestions. Many thanks a head of time.

We love the new Honda. Now towing is just a 'snap' away.

Rick Y

[motohomer]

Look at tow daddy on Etrailer. Easy plug n play with built in diodes. You want the toad brake lights to come on when the motor home brake OR exhaust brake comes on. IE follow the coach lights. The AFO line should run to a light on n the cab. To inform you its working.

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by motohomer

Look at tow daddy on Etrailer. Easy plug n play with built in diodes. You want the toad brake lights to come on when the motor home brake OR exhaust brake comes on. IE follow the coach lights. The AFO line should run to a light on n the cab. To inform you its working.

Thanks for your advise and input. I just bought the etrailer light harness for the cr-v. As far as the brake lights working on the car when the exhaust brake is working? If you can't see the coach brake lights your past me, or too dare close going down a steep grade. AFO has the LED extension that I am mounting on the tow bar. I can see it with the rear view camera. Getting the wire connected to the break sw under the dash was a bugger. I'm not as flexible as I was in my youth.

I just ordered the B.Ox Alpha tow bar today. I hope I can have everything ready to test in about a week. Putting the wiring harness in the car should be interesting. I don't see an easy way to bring it to the front of the car from the rear. I hope the interior panels come off easy. And then there is the firewall (again). Oh to be young and nimble once more.

I'll let you all know the final results.

Happy trails,

Rick

[mjeffrey]

The 7-wire will light the toad brakes light if the engine brake engages.

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by mjeffrey

The 7-wire will light the toad brakes light if the engine brake engages.

Jeff, did you do your own install? How is AFO working for you? Do you have a diagram of how the 7-wire was connected to the toad? I know the break lights on the crv work when the break peddle is depressed with the key off or in "I". Coach breaks and directional are the same circuit. Not so for crv. I don't want to cause more confusion to the follower by having Christmas lights flashing.

The kit I am getting is only 4 wires. The other kit that got me was for the fuse. It consists of a 10A sw, a fuse holder, 2 mini connectors, 3' of wire and a loom. $68! I think I'll make my own. Also, etrailer was recommending a relay for the break lights. $78 if I recall.

[mjeffrey]

We love our AF1. I believe we only have four wires. Ground, left tail, right tail and brake. Our Ford Escape Hybrid doesn't have separate blinker lights on the rear so I think the bulbs are dual element allowing for both signals to be show with the one light bulb. Diodes complete the install to prevent reverse electricity flow.

Brake lights come on when AF1 pulls brake down with key in any position.

Our installer ran the writes from the front to the back thru openings in the unitized body/frame. Not thru the interior at any point.

We blew a fuse connecting the 7 pin plug with the coach lights already on. That fuse was on the freightliner side and easy to replace.

[mjeffrey]

Pedal also activates a set of LEDs that we Velcro to rear view. So we can confirm AF1 thru rear camera screen.

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by mjeffrey

Pedal also activates a set of LEDs that we Velcro to rear view. So we can confirm AF1 thru rear camera screen.

That was the wire that gave me the most trouble. I couldn't get the connector they provided to stay attached to the break light wire. Finally used a different style connector. I am mounting the LED on the tow bar.

What of stone damage to the nose of the car? Have you installed any protection against that? After 9 years behind the coach, the Scion paint was very chipped and the windshield had some pitting too. I would like to find a good system to reduce the problem. Any suggestions will be helpful.

[mjeffrey]

Haven't done anything to protect towed car and haven't noticed any damage yet. We don't go down in paved roads very often but the mud guards and large rock guard across the back seem to be minimizing our exposure.

[jerichorick]

Originally Posted by mjeffrey

Haven't done anything to protect towed car and haven't noticed any damage yet. We don't go down in paved roads very often but the mud guards and large rock guard across the back seem to be minimizing our exposure.

After 9 years behind three coaches on a tow dolly, my Scion was all beat up. We do travel gravel roads from time to time getting to a camp we may be working at. Dust, grime and little stone chips are common.

[bigdonedmon]

I want to remove my washer & dryer from my Itasca 42E. Has any fellow members done this. Will the washer/dryer fit through the front door?

[mjeffrey]

Originally Posted by bigdonedmon

I want to remove my washer & dryer from my Itasca 42E. Has any fellow members done this. Will the washer/dryer fit through the front door?

When our washer started leaking at the pump, they took the dryer off the top and pulled the washer out to service it. It went out the front door. I assume the dryer is the same depth/width.