Observations From First Long Trip

[affreeman]

DW and I made a rather impromptu trip from the Boston area to Myrtle Beach and back, literally days after the hurricane ripped through the Carolinas. It was not a pleasure trip as it was prompted by the death of my mother and our need to get down there and spend time with my dad and deal with all the stuff that needed dealing with. Nevertheless, it was a good trip and we did enjoy spending a few days in the warm weather and seeing some of our other relatives.

But more to the point> We just bought our used MH a month or so ago and had only had it out for a couple of weekends to the nearby state park before this trip. We did well driving and navigating, spent a few nights Wallydocking on the way down and back, had our first experience with full hookups, and even drove I-95 on the way back straight through the jaws of the Great Eastern Megalopolis.

But there were 2 things that happend that gave me pause. On the day before we left South Carolina to head home I dumped and flushed the tanks, and switched the water intake to "Tank Fill" to fill the fresh water tank. Once I saw water coming out of the overflow I shut off the water, switched the fill valve back over to "Normal" and turned the water back on at the spigot.

I then left for a while to run some errands in the rental car (we haven't yet set up our car to tow), and a while later got a frantic call from DW telling me that there was water pouring out of the bottom of the RV and running down the campground road. Once I got back I looked at there was indeed water still coming out of the overflow from the freshwater tank. I tuned the water off at the spigot and switched the valve to "Tank Fill" and back to "Normal" jus to make sure it was in the correct position. Water was still coming out of the overflow. I turned the water pump on and ran the kitchen faucet for a few minutes and the overflow finally stopped running, but the tank was down to a point where the levels meter only showed 1/3 tank. It seems as though the overflow was somehow siphoning, though that makes no sense unless the overflow works in some way far different than what I imagine.

I refilled the fresh water tank the next day but this time I stopped the fill as soon as the meter started to flirt with "Full" so no water ever reached the overflow.

The second incident to give me pause is that on our last dry camping morning on the way home (at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut; a GREAT free parking spot with an amazing view of the Thames River) I started the generator in the morning, turned on both heat pumps to take the chill out of the RV, DW turned on her coffee maker and poof, we lost all AC power.

I immediately realized I hadn't switched the rear AC/Heat Pump over to "Generator" as I should have before turning it on, and that all that had happened is that I tripped the breaker on the generator's 30 amp circuit, but I wonder why the EMS hadn't shed one of the heat pumps as I understand it should have if we had been plugged into 30 amp shore power rather than the generator.

BTW Nowhere in the manual for the generator does it explain how to remove the cover. Yes, it's trivially easy once you know you just yank on it until it comes off, but I was very hesitant to start doing so without knowing that I wasn't going to break something. Some of us non-handy type folks really do need that level of instruction and reassurance!

 

[Chance3]

Hey Allen,

While I can't speak to the issues you have noted, I did want to extend my condolences for your loss. Losing a parent is extremely stressful or, at least, it was for me.

I hope your next adventure takes place under better circumstances.

Chance

 

[SuperGewl]

First off, my condolences.
Now for the issue with the MH. At first I was confused about the generator tripping the breaker , then as I finished reading the post and saw your Signature I came to the realization that you have the 30A system and not the 50A system. So yes that does explain the breaker problem. What happens is that the bedroom AC is on a stand alone leg of the AC system. You may want to check into the possibility of upgrading to a 50A system. It may be possible and not too expensive to do so.
Now as far as the Potable water, there have been some problems with the potable water fills on several models due to the Gravity fill/Overflow being basically flat or the same level as the fill in the tank. What happens is once it starts coming out the overflow it siphons the water out until it breaks that vacuum. A quick fix would be to find the line going to the overflow and change the angle from the tank.

Love the floor plan, hope you enjoy it.

 

[747Driver]

I have "filled" (obviously distracted by other projects) my 03 Adventurer to the point that it started coming out of the gravity filler, which was above a door for one of my bins, so the bin filled up with water as well. Both of my Adventurers do tend to flow awhile out of the overflow, after the valve is shut. Sometimes five minutes or more. I believe the tank swells, as there is more going in than can come out, hence the gravity feed being the next exit for it.

My 2016 Adventurer recommends opening the gravity fill hatch during filling to allow air to escape and preventing damage to the tank.

I can't give advise on the electric stuff, as I can't select generator or shore power for my A/C. Power panel has always dealt with it. The '03 was 30 Amp, but was never an issue.

 

[747Driver]

As Super said, the 20 amp breaker on the gen is for the rear A/C, mine was for the second compressor on the basement A/C. Your generator is actually a 50 amp source, but your system is 30 amp, so they take 20 amps and dedicate it to the rear A/C. I looked into upgrading to 50 amp when we bought it, and it was cost prohibitive.

One time, we were in Las Vegas in the summer and we needed both A/C compressors and just started the generator. There was so much A/C noise from all the RV's, no one noticed and everyone was inside anyway.

 

[affreeman]

As Super said, the 20 amp breaker on the gen is for the rear A/C, mine was for the second compressor on the basement A/C. Your generator is actually a 50 amp source, but your system is 30 amp, so they take 20 amps and dedicate it to the rear A/C. I looked into upgrading to 50 amp when we bought it, and it was cost prohibitive.

One time, we were in Las Vegas in the summer and we needed both A/C compressors and just started the generator. There was so much A/C noise from all the RV's, no one noticed and everyone was inside anyway.

I understand that, and that I should have switched the rear AC to the "GENERATOR" setting so that it would run off the second (20 amp) circuit on the generator.

But leaving the switch for the rear AC on "SHORE POWER" left it running on the 30 amp circuit which has the EMS on it. While I'm on shore power, which is 30 amp, both AC's along with everything else are on a single circuit and the EMS manages the loads by shedding one or more of the major loads; the 2 C's, the water heater, and the refrigerator. Was it just a freak thing that I managed to trip the breaker on the generator before the EMS could shed a load? Or is there something different between the generator 30 amp circuit and a shore power 30 amp circuit.

 

[affreeman]

I understand that, and that I should have switched the rear AC to the "GENERATOR" setting so that it would run off the second (20 amp) circuit on the generator.

But leaving the switch for the rear AC on "SHORE POWER" left it running on the 30 amp circuit which has the EMS on it. While I'm on shore power, which is 30 amp, both AC's along with everything else are on a single circuit and the EMS manages the loads by shedding one or more of the major loads; the 2 C's, the water heater, and the refrigerator. Was it just a freak thing that I managed to trip the breaker on the generator before the EMS could shed a load? Or is there something different between the generator 30 amp circuit and a shore power 30 amp circuit.

Revisiting and old thread to answer my own question . I've learned that when the EMS detects that the generator is running it "goes to sleep" and does not manage power on the circuit, thus it allowed me to overload the circuit and trip the breaker on the generator.

Like most things in life, it makes sense once you know what's going on.

 

[29pt3]

Hello,
I know this thread is a few months old, but I read it with interest. I was especially intrigued because we just purchased a Vista 35F, and am eager to hear other’s experiences and likes and dislikes.

 

[affreeman]

Hello,
I know this thread is a few months old, but I read it with interest. I was especially intrigued because we just purchased a Vista 35F, and am eager to hear other’s experiences and likes and dislikes.

Since I started this thread last year, I've put about 12,000 miles on the 35F and have lived in it for months. I still like it. The issues I've had are mostly minor.

- I still have that issue where the water siphons out of the vent when I fill the fresh tank. I've taken to watching the level indicator lights inside and once it reads "Full", I let the water run for 5 more minutes. That gets the tank just about actually full while avoiding the overflow situation.

- The left rear leveling jack is leaking hydraulic fluid, and I've not yet tracked that down. Related, I've still not figured out where the hydraulic fluid fill cap is!

- Just this week I had a situation where the steps were going in and out apparently of their own accord while I was driving down the road. Turned out to be a badly frayed wire to the magnetic switch. An obvious manufacturing issue where the wire was pulled far too tight when it was installed and stress was put on it that shouldn't have been.

- I still occasionally forget to switch the rear AC/Heat Pump over when transitioning from shore power to generator, and trip that breaker on the gennie.

Oh, and I froze the water pump one night when it got down to 17 degrees, before I got the heck out of New England a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately nothing burst and once I got it thawed out all was well. For some reason I thought the hot air furnace ducted into the wet bay, but apparently not.

 

[29pt3]

Allen,

Thanks for the response! Appreciate hearing the good and the bad. We pick up our rig next week, and look forward to getting it out on the road.

 

[Panama-WO]

Hi,

Read you post because we plan on making a fairly long trip with our 2017 Vista 35. This is our fourth MH. The first was our construction shed/home. The second was a Rialta, too smasl for two adults and too golden retrievers. The third was a spacious diesel pusher. We have done , with MH 2 & 3 several long trips, including a trip from WA to Death Valley, to Vegas, Grand Canyon, Carlsbad, Wichita KS, Crazy Horse and Mt Rushmore, Devils Tower back home to WA, 5K miles in three weeks. So you see were aren’t total green horn.

What caught my eye, in this thread, was the water spillage/siphon issue. Is this problem widespread with this unit? Have you figured a fix other than not topping off. In other words is this a manufacturer/design flaw?

My driveway has a compound slope to it and I have noted water spills from the gravity fill port above the santank locker when we back the unit down the lane . I also noted that this spill seems to occur no matter the water level (we tend to run light on water and fill at friends or family when we don’t ’dry camp.)

This matter is concerning because if you don’t know the water is spilling or siphoning and plan on dry camping, you may suddenly find your self unexpectedly dry! On our trips we have gone up some very steep and winding roads and with this unit, I fear, we would lose water because of spillage from the fill or siphoning.

We did take the unit back to the dealership and they thoughtthey had fixed the issue but alas, the problem continues.

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[affreeman]

Panama, I'm embarrassed to say I simply haven't devoted any time or effort into figuring out the siphoning issue. I do remember somebody telling me they installed a valve on their overflow/vent so they could close it while traveling. Seems like a good idea but they you'd have to remember to open it when parked s the system could breathe properly.

I suppose someday I should get under there and figure out just how the vent is plumbed, though I'm about the least handy guy there is.

 

[Panama-WO]

I had a lengthy reply to your post but when I went back to check your signature, I lost the response.

An anti-siphon break in the vent line would actually be best.

As for the gravity fill, it really should have a cap to keep debris, dirt, etc from finding its way into the potable water tank.

I wonder how many other owners have this problem and is the manufacturer aware if the problem and if they are what is their fix.

 

[Robmat]

I too fill the water tank until water comes out of the overfill pipe or vent. The key I have found is whether your vehicle is level or not. I learned when I fill at the house after leveling the coach the overflow stops pretty quick. When I don't level the coach the water will continue to drip for some time and I have lost up to a quarter tank. I get into the habit to level the coach to fill the water, or drain the water and empty the gray or black water tanks. I've had water dripping pulling away on uneven campground roads after I filled at campgrounds. Another time I pulled into a campground in Colorado that had a sloping driveway and water was siphoning out due to the angle. I think a lot of people don't fill their fresh water tank to the top to lighten the load resulting in not a lot of complaints.