New 2009 Suncruiser is Home

[Oldcarfun]

We took delivery of our new Suncruiser last Tuesday. It's a 35L. We've been loading it when it isn't raining. I love the fact that there is tile in the entry way rather than carpet! DH is working his way through the big, black bag.

Yesterday when it started to rain I decided to bring in the bedroom slide. It stopped about 1" from the seal on the side wall. DH pushed the "out" button. It only went out about 8" then stopped. Then he pressed the "in" button and it came all the way in, sealing properly.

DH read in the instructions to push the alternate button then re-try, which worked. Is this common? Will we always have to check to see if the bedroom slide is all the way in and fiddle with it or can it be adjusted to work properly the first time? If it needs to be adjusted can it be done by us or does it need to be taken to a service center?

We're hoping to get it out for a few days next week when the weather clears and we have it loaded. We might try the Buena Vista Rec Area near Bakersfield.

Thanks for any advice! Linda

 

[Pubtym]

Congrats..you'll love it.

Before you venture out..I highly recommend that you speed read and color highlite all those Operations Manuals in that big black Winnie bag they gave you...You'll save early MH money reading by not making initial ops error and resultant very expensive damage..

 

[tderonne]

Before our motorhome had a nice dry attached garage, I found it useful to roll out the awning when it was raining and we were packing. You don't really think about it since you're not camping, at least I didn't.

That is, if you don't already have it out, or there isn't room.

And congrats. Good time to buy.

 

[Finhawk]

Hey Linda, congrats on the new rig
I didn't think it rained on California!
Bruce

 

[jdsr]

oldcarfun, What chassis is your mh riding on?

 

[Oldcarfun]

We have a WH 24,000. It NEVER rains in California except when we get a new motorhome!

 

[Fakrwee]

Hi Linda and welcome to the club. We love our cruiser and have 30,000mi. on it.

The slideout problem is not normal. Did you have the engine on? Sometimes the batteries do not have enough juice.

 

[Rocket Heart]

Congrats on your new "Driving House". We have an 07 35L and really enjoy it very much. Hope you have many happy miles and make a lot of memories.

And no it is not normal for your slide to operate like that, however you must also be fairly level for it to operate at all.

 

[Oldcarfun]

Good suggestion to turn the engine on and try the slide. We hadn't thought of that so we'll try it tomorrow if it's not pouring rain. It is sitting level on our driveway so we know that's not the problem.

We were pleasantly surprised that both tvs are HD. When the dealer was demonstrating everything he turned the tvs to a HD channel and turned on the booster and there was a great picture without a satellite dish! Not all the HD channels come in at our house (NBC does) but we were really surprised. We ordered the coach without any satellite dish because we will get Motosat later.

We're having a good time. We'll check the slide tomorrow. Thanks for all the good wishes, Linda

 

[Fakrwee]

Hope the engine on thing works Linda, also be sure you keep a steady presure on the switch. Mine is very sensitive to pressure being applied.

I know what you mean about rain. I'm down in Carlsbad and it looks like rain till Monday.

Good luck
Tom

 

[Oldcarfun]

We had a cloudy day yesterday and were able to get a lot done. The slide works fine with the engine on so I guess the house batteries aren't enough. The ice maker started working after we turned on the water valve under the sink. We made the call to Sirius and got the free subscription started. DH made dividers in the overhead cabinet over the bed. It was all connected so stuff would not be contained. Thank you for your help and advice. We read the forum everyday and it is so helpful. Linda

 

[Pubtym]

Properly maintained (distilled water) and fully charged house batts (Volts at or above 12.2) should alone work slide as designed. Check house batts without shore power, genny, or engine...If volts are below 12.2, try a genny charge cycle about 1 hour...or shore power overnight...see what volts are after unplug-shutdown. If they remain low...your converter charger is Kaput...or your house batts are bad direct from factory...not uncommon..initial Bad batts took out my initial charger converter...charger converter thinks it has to work continous at high charge (14.4V) thinking batts are low...when batts are actually Kaput. Bad batts and bad converter charger are together like chicken and egg.

Warranty dealer for batts can do a capacity check...to confirm state of batts...my batts were replaced by Interstate...after Kaput charger replaced...no more problems..

 

[Oldcarfun]

Pubtym, DH checked batteries and they are at 12.7. For convenience we've had it plugged into 110 since we brought it home last Tuesday. Thanks for the information. We can hear the converter running but we are in and out and don't know if it's running too much. Winnie tech help says not to leave it plugged in to shore power when not in use.

 

[dirko]

Hi Ho Linda: We always leave the engine running until the jacks are set and the slides are out. It certainly doesn't hurt anything and means that the alternator in the engine supplies most of the power. It is also a good idea to energize the slides until they reach their limit and then a couple of seconds more to insure they are properly seated. This is especially important when they are brought back in and also for the jacks. Otherwise you will hear "ding, ding" as you are going down the road.

We carpeted all the steps. We had some carpet left over when the cabin was recarpeted and just cut pieces to fit. When they get dirty my wife cleans them before I get a chance to replace them, but it only takes a couple of minutes to cut new pieces. Having carpet on all steps makes them not slippery and is a good way to prevent dirt on shoes from getting inside the coach.

We treat the motorhome just like our house anyway and take our shoes off when inside. Slippers are more comfortable anyway.

Be sure to test out all systems before setting out on a trip. It is a lot easier to correct problems at home. Good luck and have fun, Dirk

 

[dirko]

Hi Ho again: I hate to contradict WI, but I wanted to say that leaving the coach plugged in for us does more good than harm. The coach batteries stay fully charged and last longer. Of course, you have to add water to the batteries once in a while, but for us that is every 8 to 10 weeks.

We like to dry camp periodically. Since we lost (destroyed) all the batteries from not leaving the coach plugged in while we were in Germany, we put in four 6-volt batteries. It really makes a big difference, but if you are always in a campground that is a moot point.

It is probably a good idea to have a surge protector to protect all your electronic stuff. It isn't really voltage surges that are the biggest problem, but over/under voltage. A lightning strike will cremate everything anyway, but that just doesn't happen often. (We have had no problem in 8 years and 30,000 miles)

Again, good luck and good travels, Dirk

 

[Pubtym]

Originally posted by Oldcarfun:
Pubtym, DH checked batteries and they are at 12.7. For convenience we've had it plugged into 110 since we brought it home last Tuesday. Thanks for the information. We can hear the converter running but we are in and out and don't know if it's running too much. Winnie tech help says not to leave it plugged in to shore power when not in use.

Again, I highly recommend rereading all electronics sections in your manuals...that is the best source of what's what when...