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Skwiz's avatar
Skwiz
Explorer
Jul 20, 2021

34 ft 89 winnebago chieftain

Hey rv world. This is my first post, and I have a few questions about my motorhome I just purchased.

My ol lady and I decided to switch to full time rv life due to a rental crisis in bc Canada.

I'll start by saying I am mechanically inclined, but I have no idea what I'm doing with this rv. I think maybe the size and the number of systems overwhelms me and I don't know where to start on some of the issues I'm having.

First off, the rear dual wheels seem to be so so close to the wheel wells. I see other motorhomes with at least 6 more inches of height all around. I've bottomed out a couple of times presumably on the hitch assembly. Most recent was a ramp off the street turning into a gas station where I literally got stuck, and had to have my ol lady push me free, front bumper to front bumper, rv to car, because my rear wheels spun when I tried to reverse free. Is this a suspension issue? Axel? Both sides are equally close to the wells. And generally the entire rig seems low to me. I even had a guy walk by and stop and talk to me when I was dumping sewage and go..."wow that thing generally ride low? Better be careful."

Next thing. The sensor for my water tank seems to have crapped out. I can't get a reading when I hit the switch to check. That and I can't seem to fill the tank to F without loosing half my water during travel. When the sensor worked and I could get a reading while I filled, it would start coming out of what I presume is an overflow tube on the passenger side rear wheel well at about 3/4 full. Then generally I'm at about half when we reach our spot. There's also a very slow small drip of water in the LP tank compartment. Hole in the tank? Is that an easy fix or a complete re n re of the tank?

I think the only other thing is our onan emerald 3 inboard genny would run, then die 30 min later, run, die, blew the starter...just guna have that serviced. But any info I can get would help immensely as we are on a budget, and if I can do the work myself, obviously that's better for us.

Thanks in advance. Glad to have joined. Been reading lots of topics and it's clear this forum knows wtf it's talking about.

Thanks much

Skwiz
Class A
  • cbeierl's avatar
    cbeierl
    Explorer
    Jul 25, 2021
    If you take a look at the Brochure for your RV here you can compare how it looks in the pictures with what you see for your coach.
  • Matt_Colie's avatar
    Matt_Colie
    Explorer II
    Jul 22, 2021
    Skwiz,

    Ready for some new feed??

    There is no reason you can't get the springs re-arched and add air springs too. (Air springs are all our coach has in the rear.)

    About the Onan, look for a comfortable small engine shop. Onans are used lots of places that people want reliable small engines and they may be more interested than a Cummins shop.

    About the coach, be real ready. If the rubber parts have not been replaced, age will be getting to a lot of them. You have heard about tires (I hope) that 7 years is about it. It is less in hot climates. But there are hoses and belts that also age out. There are three types of hoses that will leave you stuck. (If you are lucky.)

    As the brake fluid has probably absorbed moisture, this would be a good time to flush the system. Replacing all the rubber brake lines while you do this is convenient.

    The coolant has probably depleted it anti-corrosives, so replacing any coolant hoses that have gotten hard or spongy is easier when the system is already drained.

    On this "old" a unit, the rubber fuel lines may not have the sense of humor for today's "motor fuel" and replacing all you can with new alcohol tolerant hose with prevent a lot of future grief.

    The three about are not terrible work and if you do it, you will learn a lot and make the reliability of you coach bags better.

    The coach in the picture is ours. It is 48yo and has about 180K on the clock. We go where we want to and have been on a hook only for very serious (and unlikely) component failures.

    So, give her the care she deserves and she will give you times of great enjoyment.

    You might try to find an owners group on the web. If you can, the information they can provide will be of amazing value.

    Matt
  • Skwiz's avatar
    Skwiz
    Explorer
    Jul 21, 2021
    Wow thanks so much for all the replies. I will keep this updated as I figure out the solutions. We ended up buying a 4000/3000w champion genny. Still would like to get the onan fixed because of the convenience of it pulling fuel from the main rv tank. Then just keep the champion as a backup. I'm not sure about the BGE on NHM Richard. Will get back to you on that. I have the owners manual for the genny itself. I'm almost certain I blew the starter on it though. Will troubleshoot some of this and keep you all posted. Thanks again for all the replies :)
  • jdc1's avatar
    jdc1
    Explorer II
    Jul 21, 2021
    Your springs: You're probably sitting on a P30 chassis. You can find them @ SD Truck Springs. Easy to figure out what set you need.
    I would do a YouTube search for the genny problem. RV shops are expensive. You might even find it is cheaper to buy a Predator generator rather then fix what you have.
    Dropping you water tank is the best way to look for the water disappearance. A motorcycle jack makes it much easier to do.
  • DrewE's avatar
    DrewE
    Explorer II
    Jul 20, 2021
    While tank sensors can be finicky, the fresh water one is usually the least troublesome. Check that all the little wires to the probes in the side of the tank are properly attached and unbroken. (That, of course, requires access to the side of the tank--which isn't always the easiest to get.)

    Some motorhomes do have little clearance and a quite poor departure angle. However, it does sound as though you may have a broken or weak spring. I second the advice to get it checked out by a truck spring and chassis shop. Particularly with leaf springs, it's not especially uncommon to have a partial break (one or more leaves broken) that is not immediately obvious due to being hidden in the middle of everything. Bad shocks will not generally result in a low ride height as they do not support the weight (to any great extent, if at all).

    Air helper springs are a nice upgrade, to be certain, but of course are not a suitable replacement for a broken spring.
  • RLS7201's avatar
    RLS7201
    Explorer II
    Jul 20, 2021
    A cheaper and just as effective means of raising the rear end is air bags. Air bags are a DIY job, where as changing rear springs is not something most DIYs can do.
    I've had air bags under my 95 Bounder for about 8 years. The ride is even slightly improved.

    I suspect Winnebago got the vent wrong and it acts as a syphon. The vent tube is inserted too far into the top of the tank and it also needs an opening going up to stop the syphoning effect.

    Is you generator a BGE on NHM? I may have the service manuals for them. Tag on the operator side of the generator with the info I requested.

    Richard
  • Lwiddis's avatar
    Lwiddis
    Explorer II
    Jul 20, 2021
    Get thee QUICKLY and carefully to a spring shop as Gooma suggested.
  • Gooma's avatar
    Gooma
    Explorer
    Jul 20, 2021
    If the rear end is sagging, get to a spring shop and get new springs and shocks.
    Tank sensors never work right.

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