Forest City, Part III

John_Canfield · 10-16-2006, 12:48 PM

Forest City, Part III

Our service appointment was for Monday, October 9 and they had us scheduled for a full five days. We are here for a couple of big work items – they replaced the Norcold cooling unit that we were having trouble with in Alaska (due to the upper vent being blocked) and we wanted the factory guys to replace our cracked windshield.

Our King Dome Trac-King that King Controls replaced this spring at the factory in Minneapolis failed a couple of weeks ago (after being idle for the three months we were in Alaska) and Winnebago had to replace it to get the system working. We're now on our third dome!

Two of the three stove burners were always a little hard to light since new; lately they have become more and more difficult to light. The fix was to replace them and now they light quickly.

Our bedroom/bath furnace abruptly stopped working two or three weeks ago and the tech found a bad limit switch – I believe this was the high temperature switch that was stuck in the operated position.

We never could find number three ping tank drain lanyard since the coach was new and finally I remembered to put it on the maintenance list. Kelly (our A #1 tech) found the loop for it had broken and was tucked out of the way (I suppose the finger gets pointed to Freightliner or Winnebago chassis prep.) He restored it and now I can finally drain all three ping tanks.

The hydraulic reservoir for power steering (and maybe the fan motor?) mounted on the engine always had a wet spot on the can where fluid has seeped out ever the coach was new. Freightliner of Ocala didn't address the leak when we had our initial maintenance performed – I suppose he didn't want to fool with it in spite of my complaint. When we were in Forest City this past April, Winnebago techs thought we had a bad hose gasket on one of the many hoses that are terminated into the can bottom; they replaced the gasket but we still had the leak. The Cummins dealer in Anchorage (we were having our first engine oil change) looked at the can and thought the can had a crack or bad weld. That tech in Anchorage gets the gold star because Kelly told us yesterday there is a hole in one of the welds and the can needs to be replaced. Unfortunately Kelly didn't order the can until Wednesday and didn't specify overnight delivery and it wasn't due in until today (Monday.) We needed to get on the road Saturday so we had to leave with our weeping can – we'll try to find a freightliner dealer to do the replacement.

We had our 5.7 water pump fail (also in Alaska); the new replacement lasted about 10 seconds. I plumbed in a 2.8 gpm pump that worked well as a temporary measure. Winnebago got in a new shipment of improved 5.7 pumps and the tech put one in Tuesday – it surged badly (never would give a steady flow in the shower) so they replaced it again and BING – we have a winner! ShureFlo has had terrible problems with the 5.7 Smartsensor pumps and I certainly hope they have improved it so it lasts more than a year (or 10 seconds.)

We're getting the factory guys to do some routine service (new air cleaner for the Cummins, genny oil change) also since we are here and I'd rather be inconvenienced once rather than two or three times. Since we put the chassis through a torture test on the Alaska Highway, we wanted to have the front end aligned again.

Last spring we had Winnebago install the new roll-up screen for the front door and absolutely love it; this time we had them install the heaver door keeper which looks similar to the pre-2006 version but is much more stout. We can tell a difference on how much better the door travel limit feels – instead of being somewhat ˜springy' or ˜mushy' feeling when the door is opened all the way to the stop it is much more firm.

It's a good feeling to finally whittle down the few problems remaining we have had since new. Maybe the components fixed (some for the second time) will stay in a state of good repair for longer than a few months. The two things that bug me the most are the incredibly high failure rate of the ShureFLO pumps (Winnebago is having grief with the 5.7s) and the King Dome failures.

The house (and chassis for that matter) part of the coach has really been pretty darn good once we got past some silly (and preventable) production-line errors.

We were glad to get out of Forest City and head south - didn't like the snow, 25 degrees and 20-30 mph winds

John_Canfield · 10-16-2006, 12:48 PM

Forest City, Part III

Our service appointment was for Monday, October 9 and they had us scheduled for a full five days. We are here for a couple of big work items – they replaced the Norcold cooling unit that we were having trouble with in Alaska (due to the upper vent being blocked) and we wanted the factory guys to replace our cracked windshield.

Our King Dome Trac-King that King Controls replaced this spring at the factory in Minneapolis failed a couple of weeks ago (after being idle for the three months we were in Alaska) and Winnebago had to replace it to get the system working. We're now on our third dome!

Two of the three stove burners were always a little hard to light since new; lately they have become more and more difficult to light. The fix was to replace them and now they light quickly.

Our bedroom/bath furnace abruptly stopped working two or three weeks ago and the tech found a bad limit switch – I believe this was the high temperature switch that was stuck in the operated position.

We never could find number three ping tank drain lanyard since the coach was new and finally I remembered to put it on the maintenance list. Kelly (our A #1 tech) found the loop for it had broken and was tucked out of the way (I suppose the finger gets pointed to Freightliner or Winnebago chassis prep.) He restored it and now I can finally drain all three ping tanks.

The hydraulic reservoir for power steering (and maybe the fan motor?) mounted on the engine always had a wet spot on the can where fluid has seeped out ever the coach was new. Freightliner of Ocala didn't address the leak when we had our initial maintenance performed – I suppose he didn't want to fool with it in spite of my complaint. When we were in Forest City this past April, Winnebago techs thought we had a bad hose gasket on one of the many hoses that are terminated into the can bottom; they replaced the gasket but we still had the leak. The Cummins dealer in Anchorage (we were having our first engine oil change) looked at the can and thought the can had a crack or bad weld. That tech in Anchorage gets the gold star because Kelly told us yesterday there is a hole in one of the welds and the can needs to be replaced. Unfortunately Kelly didn't order the can until Wednesday and didn't specify overnight delivery and it wasn't due in until today (Monday.) We needed to get on the road Saturday so we had to leave with our weeping can – we'll try to find a freightliner dealer to do the replacement.

We had our 5.7 water pump fail (also in Alaska); the new replacement lasted about 10 seconds. I plumbed in a 2.8 gpm pump that worked well as a temporary measure. Winnebago got in a new shipment of improved 5.7 pumps and the tech put one in Tuesday – it surged badly (never would give a steady flow in the shower) so they replaced it again and BING – we have a winner! ShureFlo has had terrible problems with the 5.7 Smartsensor pumps and I certainly hope they have improved it so it lasts more than a year (or 10 seconds.)

We're getting the factory guys to do some routine service (new air cleaner for the Cummins, genny oil change) also since we are here and I'd rather be inconvenienced once rather than two or three times. Since we put the chassis through a torture test on the Alaska Highway, we wanted to have the front end aligned again.

Last spring we had Winnebago install the new roll-up screen for the front door and absolutely love it; this time we had them install the heaver door keeper which looks similar to the pre-2006 version but is much more stout. We can tell a difference on how much better the door travel limit feels – instead of being somewhat ˜springy' or ˜mushy' feeling when the door is opened all the way to the stop it is much more firm.

It's a good feeling to finally whittle down the few problems remaining we have had since new. Maybe the components fixed (some for the second time) will stay in a state of good repair for longer than a few months. The two things that bug me the most are the incredibly high failure rate of the ShureFLO pumps (Winnebago is having grief with the 5.7s) and the King Dome failures.

The house (and chassis for that matter) part of the coach has really been pretty darn good once we got past some silly (and preventable) production-line errors.

We were glad to get out of Forest City and head south - didn't like the snow, 25 degrees and 20-30 mph winds

Gary the Wombat · 10-16-2006, 12:56 PM

I'm glad you were able to get so many things taken care of at once--sure beats multiple trips to a dealer.

But (I'm admitting my ignorance) what's a ping tank?

Petro · 10-16-2006, 01:30 PM

John;
Are you saying you don't like snowmobiling?

John_Canfield · 10-16-2006, 01:33 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Gary the Wombat:
I'm glad you were able to get so many things taken care of at once--sure beats multiple trips to a dealer.

But (I'm admitting my ignorance) what's a ping tank? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Gary - the ping tank is the air reservoir for the braking system (since we have air brakes) and there are three of them for redundancy. Even though there is an air dryer and mositure ejector, the tanks need to be drained every six months to eliminate any moisture that might have survived the spitter and dryer.

rebelsbeach · 10-16-2006, 02:22 PM

Looks good for the most part John.... I'll be leaving the dealer here in NC on Wednesday and heading your way....See you in Kerrville!

Gary the Wombat · 10-16-2006, 02:33 PM

[/QUOTE]Gary - the ping tank is the air reservoir for the braking system (since we have air brakes) and there are three of them for redundancy. Even though there is an air dryer and mositure ejector, the tanks need to be drained every six months to eliminate any moisture that might have survived the spitter and dryer.[/QUOTE]

Thanks John. My Winnie being a gas model doesn't have these, therefore my ingnorance. I thought it might have been the black tank, but then it would be the pong tank, not ping tank.

cbeierl · 10-16-2006, 02:38 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">this time we had them install the heaver door keeper which looks similar to the pre-2006 version but is much more stout. We can tell a difference on how much better the door travel limit feels – instead of being somewhat ˜springy' or ˜mushy' feeling when the door is opened all the way to the stop it is much more firm. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi John,
How big a job is it to install the upgraded door keeper? Is it something that's liable to require a dealer/factory visit, or do you think it's owner-installable?

John_Canfield · 10-16-2006, 03:00 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cbeierl:

Hi John,
How big a job is it to install the upgraded door keeper? Is it something that's liable to require a dealer/factory visit, or do you think it's owner-installable? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Chris - they had to disassemble the door to install the door part of the kit. Winnebago logged 1.1 hours of labor and the Door Check Kit was $102.65.

Bob - hope that beast holds up so you can make it to Kerrville

Ed Gardiser · 10-16-2006, 03:45 PM

Chris
I installed the new door check kit myself,it takes about 1 hour.You only have to remove the plastic cover off the inside of the door.Order it from Mobility RV 800-933-7742 with shipping to Escondido,Ca. $107.00
I replaced mine because a gust of wind caught the door as it was opening and sprung it way back bending the internal stop.
Ed Gardiser
Escondido,Ca.
04 Vectra
87 Nissan PickUp
FMCA

Harry B · 10-16-2006, 06:13 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Our King Dome Trac-King that King Controls replaced this spring at the factory in Minneapolis failed a couple of weeks ago (after being idle for the three months we were in Alaska) and Winnebago had to replace it to get the system working. We're now on our third dome! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hi John I wanted second the problems with Kingdome. I have the in-motion unit and like you am on my 3rd unit since April. I pretty much gave up on getting it to work properly. IT looses about 25% signal strenght vs the unit that I use on a tripot. This has never improved with any of the 3 units that I have had. We are currently in the Northwest where it is really problematic getting a signal level higher than 50%. Any rain an forget receiving anything despite treating the dome. The last unit I received was their latest version which now requires 2 coax cables to be run from the dome vs the single cable which is than mutiplexed to 2 units, so I had to run an additional coax to have 2 unit capabilty again but reception is no better. May at least this one will keep working (I hope). Badly designed system in my opinion.

I am also on my second water pump. If it fails AGAIN, I will replace it with an Aquajet pupm. Same features and capacity as Shureflow, but it keeps working. (had one installed on my previous coach)

Hope all your problems get resolved. I am working down my own list. Probably will visit Forest City again.

rebelsbeach · 10-16-2006, 06:27 PM

When I sprayed the KingDome spray on the black dome of the Vectra,the dome became noticeably hazed over with a gray streaky haze,but seemed to deflect rain...

I've not had this dome in the rain as of yet,but fear the inevitable "spraying" of the dome.

Only "good" thing with possibly discoloring "this" dome is that you can't see it from the roof...

King Controls needs to address this issue....

cbeierl · 10-16-2006, 06:31 PM

Thanks, John and Ed. Do either of you have the part number for the new door stop?

Harry B · 10-16-2006, 07:41 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">When I sprayed the KingDome spray on the black dome of the Vectra,the dome became noticeably hazed over with a gray streaky haze </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

King DOme advised me to not treat the dome with alcohol as the instructions on the can tell you . In my case the alcohol seemed to cause the gray streaking. They send me a new dome to correct the problem. Being they were willing send a dome, I asked for a white one instead of the black one. Problem solved, the streaking is not visible on the white domes.

ichn2go · 10-17-2006, 03:55 AM

Congratulations, John. Glad you have most of your problems solved. Make BOb Behave and buy Doughnuts in Kerrville.

John_Canfield · 10-17-2006, 06:04 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Harry B:
Hi John I wanted second the problems with Kingdome. I have the in-motion unit and like you am on my 3rd unit since April. I pretty much gave up on getting it to work properly. IT looses about 25% signal strenght vs the unit that I use on a tripot. This has never improved with any of the 3 units that I have had. We are currently in the Northwest where it is really problematic getting a signal level higher than 50%. Any rain an forget receiving anything despite treating the dome. The last unit I received was their latest version which now requires 2 coax cables to be run from the dome vs the single cable which is than mutiplexed to 2 units, so I had to run an additional coax to have 2 unit capabilty again but reception is no better. May at least this one will keep working (I hope). Badly designed system in my opinion.

I am also on my second water pump. If it fails AGAIN, I will replace it with an Aquajet pupm. Same features and capacity as Shureflow, but it keeps working. (had one installed on my previous coach)

Hope all your problems get resolved. I am working down my own list. Probably will visit Forest City again. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Harry - the King Dome will have poorer performance compared to an open 18" or larger dish just by virtue of the small antenna size. This is the downside of the "low profile" dome. The further north you go the lower the satellite is to the horizon and the signal strength decreases due to the footprint of the satellite. We had a hard time even getting our portable 18" dish to work in British Columbia. We were about 200 miles north of the US border when we finally could use the portable dish and then very close to the border when the King Dome worked. Running the second coax solved our long-time problems with losing the even transponders. Like Bob G. said - the King Dome spray actually works - that might help you quite a bit.

I need to look into Aquajet as a replacement - I have absolutely no confidence in the 5.7 Shurflo.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by cbeierl:
Thanks, John and Ed. Do either of you have the part number for the new door stop? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Chris - the part number is: 128913-15-713.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by ichn2go:
Congratulations, John. Glad you have most of your problems solved. Make BOb Behave and buy Doughnuts in Kerrville. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Doughnuts.. heck .. we are going to hold out for a sit-down meal!