Hello all! First time buyer, 1985 Pace Arrow 31'

That looks in amazingly good condition. Good luck with it and please post more pictures.
1) Yes its attached. You must go to a supplier or have it delivered.don't know where in your area but some gas stations, camp grounds and places where they fill BBQ tanks.
2) No help
3) some times it takes a few seconds(10) to see the jacks coming down.
4) Could be the over flow. Check to see if the tank is full.
5) No help.
6) 2 heaters are drawing to many amps. You most likely only have 30 amps max. Maybe 20 amps. Try running just one see if that trips the breaker. If it doesn't plug the 2nd one in another outlet.
Hope this helps. I am sure you will get more responses. Good luck with your new adventure. I really like the chrome bumper.:C

Motorhomes have LP tanks that have to be filled at a propane dealer. Some gas stations do this, just Google for your area. Yes you have to take the motor home to them or hire a service to come to you.
Leveling jacks- might want to check the fluid level as a start.
Water leaking heavily, may have a low point drain valve used to empty the water lines for winterizing, might be left open, or maybe a drain from the water heater, could have a valve that is left open. Otherwise just have to chase it.
Where are you plugged in? If you are plugged in using the big 30 amp cable to a 30A plug, you should have been able to run 2 heaters but not much else, unless the breaker you are referring to is the inside circuit breaker and you might have both heaters plugged into the same circuit. If you are just using an adapter to make the 30A cord fit house current then you won't be able to run two heaters on high.
Not sure about your specific motorhome for your more specific questions but I will tell you that if you post your questions separately you will get better response, especially from those who owned or own what you have now.

Congratulations, it looks great.

So I got the RV, I love it! I'm having a ton of questions now, though..

1. I've gathered that LP is Propane, but the tank seems to be attached to the Pace Arrow. How and where (gas station?) do I fill this up?

2. On the gear shifter, there is a black device that says "DNE2" on it, modes "Off, Low, High" and a little tab I can pull. I read that this is a Doug Nash Overdrive. What is that, how do I use it, and what's the benefit to using it?

3. I've figured out how to get the leveling jacks to turn on. What do the lights mean and/or how do I use the jacks? When I pull a lever to extend, I hear a loud whirring/grinding noise like something's happening, but as far as I can tell, I didn't lower a jack.

4. I hooked water up this morning, and it started leaking heavily out of the bottom of the RV, right below the bathroom. No water seems to have leaked inside the RV. Any ideas what might be broken?

5. There are two long tab-like unlabeled switches, one near the ignition, and a red one behind the steering wheel. Anybody know what these do?

6. I tried to run two electric heaters last night, and on high they continually trip the breaker. Any advice on modifying or improving how much the electrical system can handle?


It might sound negative with all these questions, but I am really so happy and the RV is in amazing condition for it's age!! I'll try to post a couple of pictures here, more to come. Thanks so much for all the well wishes and help!!

another issue with the P-30/32 chassis was the way fleetwood put the two house batteries way up front and overloaded the chassis. I remember some motor home magazine, etc., writeups on various units where they said you could not have a person in the passenger seat because that would tip the scales to an overloaded state.
bumpy

Need pictures!!!!

Wow thank you everybody for all the input, after carefully reviewing the floorplans, I was excited to discover that the RV I'm buying today is actually the L34 (largest) model, so it is a full 34.5 feet in length. I have never camped in anything but a tent before. I don't plan on doing any more off-roading in this, haha, but based on that unexpected off road situation we wound up in I feel pretty safe that this has no overheating issues. However, I will look into that plywood modification, as it's always good to get more air to the engine.

The previous owner says he recently put new tires and 3 new batteries in it, however at least one of the batteries is drained, so I'd like to investigate that battery leak issue that was mentioned and install that switch from AutoZone.

Well, I'm heading out right now to make the purchase. Wish me luck, I'm excited to be part of this community. :D

I had the 454 in my 89 Shasta Roadmaster. Solved the heat problem by installing a new fan viscous clutch and found a ton of debris between radiator and (trans?) heat exchanger. Ran great after that.

I had a 1987 Itasca with a 454 in it. I loved the engine, it never overheated and never cracked a manifold or vapor locked. :B

The 454 is a good engine, but many RVs did not allow enough airflow to cool the engine properly
Depending on the rv builder, they put too much nose in front of the engine and left it open to the road , incoming air would go around out under the radiator instead of thru it
My 82 pace arrow was that way
Following another members rebuild, I installed 5/8" plywood on the sides of the radiator and in front below it to FUNNEL air into the radiator, that made a lot of difference and lowered engine temps
My 92 Komfort never had engine overheat problem, just the hot starter
I suggest getting the ceramic coated high temp professional racing spark plug wires

gswcgi wrote:
I had an a 1984 Allegro with a GM 454 engine, bought it new. The engine was a nightmare! Went thru 3 sets of headers until I spent the extra bucks to get some stainless steel headers, It had massive vapor lock problems from day one in hot weather and at altitude. Had to put in a second fuel pump at the gas tank to help with the vapor lock problem. The heat problem continually fried ignition wires etc. You couldn't give me another GM 454 engine!

it wasnt the GM engine, it was the way the MH was built around it, you should no better than that. I had a 91 pace arrow with 454, and it took some mods, like you say with the ss headers