09 Itasca Suncruiser 32H Trip Report/Questions

Crankarm · 06-14-2010, 10:28 AM

we have an 09 Itasca Suncruiser 32H on the Ford Chasis that we got in late 2009. Now that we have several trips with it I thought i would post a couple observations/questions:

1. unlike our previous motorhome(Vista 30B), the bathroom sink DOES NOT drain to the black tank...I suppose that is because the Suncruiser has a black tank flush inlet where our previous motorhome
2. This past weekend we were up in Colorado where we actually had to run the heat at night. On the gas furnace we get NO air flow out of the registers at the front of the motorhome (behind drivers and passenger seat)
3. we tried the heat pump which worked very well, kind of noisy but it uses the ceiling vents and coverage is very good. However, at one point i noticed that the gas furnace was also running...I suppose that is because it was too cool outside for the heatpump to function properally?
4. In the shower, what part of the system restricts water flow? I understand the need for low flow when dry camping, but when in a campground with full hook ups it sure would be nice to have an increased water flow in the shower.
5. In the bedroom, the reading lights over the bed sure are bright, is it possible to change the lamps to a lower wattage?
6. we flat tow a honda CRV. On the mountain grades(climbing) in the Tow/Haul setting...is it better to just leave it in Drive and let the transmission do it's thing, or manually place the tran in 3rd or 2nd?
7. The 32H on the Ford chasis really has a ton of sway...I think beefed up track/sway bars are going to be necessary.
8. When on the road, there is alot of creaking from the full wall slide. the electric slide locks are re assuring to have, but I have to use one of those screw type slide locks at the front top corner of the slide to quiet the creeking...it helps alot, but it has to be tightened along the way as it works loose.
9. We love the 32H floorplan
10. with the exception of the afore mentioned sway, the ride and drivability of the suncruiser over the Vista 30B (also a ford chasis) is much nicer. Suncruiser has the larger wheels
11. Pulling the CRV, we average right around 7.5mpg

Happy summer motoring to all

gmanatl · 06-14-2010, 11:24 AM

On your water flow issue you might go to one of the high capacity pressure regulators which run at 50-55 psi over the standard one which runs at 40-45. We found this made a big difference in our shower on our 2008 Tour. You can also run your water pump when using the shower to boost the pressure. If all else fails you can switch out the shower head for a Oxygenics head which made a big difference on our previous coach. Good luck.

Stevegd007 · 06-14-2010, 11:35 AM

Here is my thoughts on your questions.
1. Most new RV's that I have seen all sinks and showers drain into gray water tanks.
2 & 3. Are kind of similar. My experience with my RV is similar to yours. Winnebago's gas heaters are in the back of the RV. So the farthest floor resister from the heater will be receiving the smallest amount to heat and air flow, i.e. not much heat in the front. Then the heat pump is noisy, have to live with it, and the gas furnace will "assist" the heat pump went the heater calls for heat and the temp difference is 5 degrees below the called for temp setting. See your heater manual for the call list on the temp setting. This is normal an you can not change it.
4. Water flow is also effected by your RV park pressure at the park hose bib. Are you using a "self" installed flow restriction on your hose? Try taking it out. Pressure will jump up with the "self" installed restriction out of the line, but be careful. I have a "self" installed restrictor in my cabinet set at 40 psi. I leave it at this setting all the time. YOU do not want a water line to "explode" inside the RV cause of high park water pressure. Saw this once, the owners had left for the day and water was flowing out the door of the RV. I turned off the water supply, but the floor was really soaked. The owner returned and were not happy (as you can imagine), but thankful the water was turned off. We also are using the Oxygenics shower head, work great.
5. Yes the lights are very bright. Kind of have to live with it. I just use a small hand held reading light to read, but thats me. I have not tried other lights, but I did remove one of the bulbs from the side lamps, that helps some. Try looking here for light ideas: LED, LED Lights, LED Light Bulbs, LED Lamps, LED Indicators | LEDtronics
6. I also tow a Honda, I always just leave the trany in drive. Yes on some steep grades, like in Colorado you drop down to 30-40 mph. But I normally can stay at 50-55 mph for most "standard" road grades. I can climb the California "grape vine" Hwy 5 at 50-55 mph.
7. RV's sway, there really big units. Especially RV's with 19 inch wheels. I moved up to 22 inch (with a bigger RV) and the highway sway has all but stopped. You also will sway going round short turns and driveway dips if you move to fast. So I slow down...a lot. A sway bar, anti-sway system will help. I have yet to try one on my RV, but I have considered it.
8, Road noise. Yes this is an issue. Cement highways in poor condition drive me crazy. The RV rocks and rolls and shakes and is noisy. Call it an earthquake on wheels. Its really nerve racking. I have considered lower tire pressure to help some of this but have not done so yet. I have read that 5-10 psi less that max would help with the bad road noise. My 2/3 slides do not creak at all, so maybe you might have something wrong. I have had 3 problems effecting the slides. 1 was a blown hydro line and 2 a blown servo, both while driving. Glad the locks were in place cause the slides started to move out on their own. Yeak! Then the last one was the slide dragged my carpet into a bunch against the opposite wall and would not close all the way (imagine why). Turns out the screws attaching the bottom nylon glide (on the bottom of the slide) had come out of the glide and were pushing the carpet. Fix was "BIG", the entire slide had to be pulled out of the RV and new screws and a new glide installed. Then the carpet was pulled back and screwed to the floor, not tacked. Fortunately all the above was warranty work. Thank you Winnebago.

Happy trails!

Gotta_P · 06-14-2010, 07:04 PM

We have a 2009 Suncruiser 35P on the workhorse chassis, I have the same creak from the full wall slide, I think I will try your suggestion and see if it helps. We also had a ton of sway so we added sway bars front and rear as well as track bars front and rear. We also swapped out the front shocks and added a safe-t-steer. It handles like a totally different coach now, much more of a pleasure to drive. As for water flow, switch to a high capacity regulator as previously suggested and use a 5/8" hose if you aren't already. I swapped out the lights above the bed with standard auto bulbs fro AutoZone. I just brought the high intensity bulb with me and matched the bulb connector to the lowest wattage bulb I could find, it help a lot, no more feeling like I'm being interrogated while laying in bad! Being in Georgia, the heat pump has been plenty when we needed heat, I don't think I've ever used the LP Heater. We also get 7.5 mpg towing our CRV.

mrschwarz · 06-15-2010, 05:42 AM

I have the same issue with the bedroom lights. I haven't seen LED lights to replace the mini reflector floods that I have and image the OP has, too.

I have a solution, but haven't implemented it yet. RVupgrades sells a 12v dimmer with a switch that is the same style and color as the rocker light switches in the coach. I have already installed one over the dinette. I have two more for the bedroom lights. The plan is to install them in the nightstands and run the wires down in one of the corners of the room and under the bed.

This solves the problem of the overly bright lights and having almost stand up to turn them on and off.

marvel · 08-07-2010, 11:31 PM

I have a 2010 Adventurer 32H on a workhorse chassis, so I believe the HVAC is similar if not identical.

Regarding the front floor heater vents that appear not to work: the floor heater vents are heated by coolant circulating from the engine, not the heat pump/air conditioner which uses the vents in the roof. The two speed fan for these floor heaters is one of the toggle switches on the dash.

I'm an expert on this since on our previous motorhome I accidently had these floor heater vents turned on "high" (fighting the air conditioner) driving across the Mojave desert!

Crankarm · 08-09-2010, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvel

I have a 2010 Adventurer 32H on a workhorse chassis, so I believe the HVAC is similar if not identical.

Regarding the front floor heater vents that appear not to work: the floor heater vents are heated by coolant circulating from the engine, not the heat pump/air conditioner which uses the vents in the roof. The two speed fan for these floor heaters is one of the toggle switches on the dash.

I'm an expert on this since on our previous motorhome I accidently had these floor heater vents turned on "high" (fighting the air conditioner) driving across the Mojave desert!

I agree that the two floor vents at the front, right behind the front seats are connected to the aux heat. I was told that these vents are also connected to the gas furnace heater and that there was some sort of automatic vent damper that switched between the two and that the ceiling vents are for AC only.

Stevegd007 · 08-09-2010, 10:27 AM

Crankarm...I believe you are correct. When I run our basement heater (while parked), just on gas, the air flow and heat comes from ALL the floor vents.

ROMAD · 08-09-2010, 10:30 PM

A quick fix for the shower water flow problem is the on - off switch on the shower pipe coming out of the wall. If you remove it you will get at least a 2X improvement in water flow to the shower head. The switch only has about a 1/8" hole for the water to go through and is a huge restriction. I have done this to both of my coaches as I do not do a lot of dry camping. You can just remove it and reattach the hose directly to the pipe.

bobpie · 10-02-2010, 01:52 PM

I use smaller throw rugs to cover the rear vents to get more air flow to the front of the coach when needed. My bathroom floor vent cover has a deflector in it already. I guess i could get those installed also and skip the throw rugs. I use the rug in the front while driving to get more hot air to the rear of the coach and keep everything toasty warm while driving in cold weather.

DancinCampers · 10-03-2010, 09:49 AM

Unless they have changed their design, the long ductwork under the floor has a damper door at each end, hinged at the top. They are opened by the air flow when either the LP or AUX coach heater blowers are turned on.

You should be able to remove the front registers and check to see if the door operated by the AUX coach heater is closing all the way.