B+ motorhomes

[Daniel_C_]

I just bought a Trail Lite B+ 211s with 8.1 Chevy
engine. This is my fifth motorhome (others range
from an old 20' Vagabond, and three Winnegagos, from 19 to 32'. This vehicle is fantastic. I am
using it as a mobile office (and sneaking in a fun
journey from time to time). It gets about 9.5mpg
and I believe I could pull a bus behind it if I wanted! I paid low $40's which is about what I had expected to pay for a five or six year old Chinook with a nicer interior, but fewer features
(slide). I am delighted thus far.

[cheeze1]

I don't think the yellowish foam belongs there. IMO.
BTW, the horns went in without a hitch, and sound great! No more 'anemiahorn' sound. I followed the written directions and it was all quite easy. I highly recommend them. They cost $38 + wire and connectors, but after researching the used market online, it was well worth ending up with 2 brand new matched horns.
BBTW. Winterthur and the Hagley Museum are a great trip, and the West Chester KOA is a winner as well. The Hagley machine shop is a techie's dream, especially the 180 year old working machines!

[burlmart]

B-Plus wrote:
.
Hey Guys,just for an average,how long can your RV stay un-pluged without draining the batteries?
I think I finally figured out my electrical drain gremlin. I could never leave my Rv unplugged without it draining down the batteries,at times just the coach batteries would drain and sometimes both the coach and chassis would drain.
I even replaced the isolator and the battery disconnect a few years ago.
I have had this LED volt meter in for a few years now but with two RV's and lots of other toys to play with I never took a real look at the draining problem , anywhere I read about it on forumns it was stated that " they all drain " that's an RV.
Well I had a little time the other day and I figured I would tackle it,here is what I found out:
I only know this because I can click back and forth on my Led readout between batteries. Sometimes my isolator would kick out ( seperate the batteries ) and sometimes it would not. New isolator did not help , same problem. In my compartment where the isolator and disconnect solenoid are housed there is a 5 amp auto fuse on the panal. That fuse when pulled disconnects the coach and the chassis battery. I left it disconnected for 5 days and no more battery drain. battery level of both batteries were at 12.47 (Coach ) and 12.5 ( Chassis ) lost about a volt per battery a day from going to drained batteries in a week before. My fix:
I ran a line to the inside of my coach next to my LED with a toggle switch ( on/off ) and fuse between the fuse in the panal. Now I can manually isolate the batteries. I guess without the LED readout I would have had no clue that both batteries were not disconnecting. My isolator was staying hot and that is what was using the juice!!!
I will send a pic if any body is interested or has this problem, maybe it was just my coach that it was happening to, who knows!
Dario

Thanks for the pic, it may help me if I decide to clean the foam that is all over mine. I was having confusion with both batteries sharing equal voltage, but they do not drain too bad in a month.

My solenoid pics and post here

[Orion_42]

Nice work B+!
I was wondering what that 5A fuse was for.
I saw it when I was under the coach removing the battery to check fluid levels (yep, the old way-under-the-coach batt tray). I also noticed that I lost the cover to that elect box during my trip, along with the tailpipe! The road infrastructure in this country is in serious need of attention!

[bobcote48]

On the subject of testing the CO detector, I would suggest that you remove it and put it near the exhaust of your running vehicle and see if it beeps. This would be safer than putting CO into the RV.

[B-Plus]

.
Hey Guys,just for an average,how long can your RV stay un-pluged without draining the batteries?
I think I finally figured out my electrical drain gremlin. I could never leave my Rv unplugged without it draining down the batteries,at times just the coach batteries would drain and sometimes both the coach and chassis would drain.
I even replaced the isolator and the battery disconnect a few years ago.
I have had this LED volt meter in for a few years now but with two RV's and lots of other toys to play with I never took a real look at the draining problem , anywhere I read about it on forumns it was stated that " they all drain " that's an RV.
Well I had a little time the other day and I figured I would tackle it,here is what I found out:
I only know this because I can click back and forth on my Led readout between batteries. Sometimes my isolator would kick out ( seperate the batteries ) and sometimes it would not. New isolator did not help , same problem. In my compartment where the isolator and disconnect solenoid are housed there is a 5 amp auto fuse on the panal. That fuse when pulled disconnects the coach and the chassis battery. I left it disconnected for 5 days and no more battery drain. battery level of both batteries were at 12.47 (Coach ) and 12.5 ( Chassis ) lost about a volt per battery a day from going to drained batteries in a week before. My fix:
I ran a line to the inside of my coach next to my LED with a toggle switch ( on/off ) and fuse between the fuse in the panal. Now I can manually isolate the batteries. I guess without the LED readout I would have had no clue that both batteries were not disconnecting. My isolator was staying hot and that is what was using the juice!!!
I will send a pic if any body is interested or has this problem, maybe it was just my coach that it was happening to, who knows!
Dario

[cheeze1]

Thank you guys, I called Griot's and they admitted that the diagram doesnt jibe with the written instructions. What I understand from the conversation is that if the vehicle has 2 wires at the horn, just follow those directions and not worry about ground. The instructions also state that the wires can be attached to either terminal on each horn. I guess that would mean that polarity is not a problem?

[Orion_42]

Gene & Chaz, thanks for the compliments on the quilt. Yes, it makes a HUGE difference in cold weather.

Gene, thanks a bunch for the manual....I did not have one. Nice!

Chaz, you could disconnect the wires going to the existing horn and use a voltmeter to determine what each wire is (having someone toot the horn to see if it goes + or -).

[happyjack2]

Cheeze,

I'll find my Chilton's manual for the Express van and see if the wiring diagram shows if the horn button is on the positive or negative side. I always buy either the Chilton or Haynes manuals on my vehicles. They have different info than you will find in the owner's manual and lots of pictures and diagrams but not as expensive or detailed as the shop manual.

[cheeze1]

Hi gang, returned home from Winterthur/Hagley Museum in Delaware, great campground, the Philadelphia/West Chester KOA.

I'm about to install my 'Super Loud American Horns" from Griot's Garage, but I'm confused about instructions. One is labeled "for vehicles with existing horn with one positive wire" and the other is labeled 'for vehicles with existing horn with 2 wires." THEN the DIAGRAM has 2 pix which applies to 'instead of normal(original) horn' category. That category then gives 2 choices: "wiring diagram for cars with HOT lead to horn button" and 'wiring diagram for cars with ground lead to horn button'.

Well, I have 2 wires, a green and a black, so I guess that question is answered, but HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHICH LEAD IS HOT AND IF IT GOES TO THE HORN BUTTON!!!?????:M And these are American instructions.:?

[Gene_in_NE]

Orion_42 - Nice job on the quilt. Should keep it much warmer in the house during cold weather. I give credit to my wife who did something very similar. She sewed loops on the curtain and we merely hang them on the knobs we have on our roll-up doors.

cheeze1 - You make a very valid comment about the manufacturers could use a lesson from owners of these RV's.

B-Plus - Our carbon monoxide detector starts chirping if our coach battery is low much like the smoke detector does when the 9v battery is weak.

New topic - Did all of you get some sort of manual with your RV? One of the contributors to the forum "FriendsofBillW" did not get a manual. I promised to make him a copy of mine. It is not real specific, but better than nothing. I posted a question in the Technical Support Forum on how to get a file from my computer onto a hosting site that would be accessible for many. I uploaded my scanned owners manual to "Google Docs" and then provided a link Like This to the Owners Manual. The manual is the one that I was provided for a 2002 Model 211-S. It is very generic. It does take a while to download the 870k byte file, but worth the wait if you would like a copy. Never too old to teach this old dog new tricks.

[cheeze1]

Thanks Orion, that is a nice job. I think the motorhome manufacturers could use a lesson from you and your wife.

[Orion_42]

cheeze1 wrote:
I would really like to know more about that quilt!

Chaz, I wasn't ignoring your question, but my rig was all covered up at the time. I took some pics. The material was a double-sided quilted fabric with 1/8" batting between. I cut a cardboard template to trace the opening and my wife did all the sewing. The top just tucks into the storage doors (there are dowels in the two side flaps). There are also snaps under the pop-off buttons on the cab gray panels. These can be used to further secure the quilt by adding snaps to the sides of the fabric, but we have not needed them. It folds and is stored under the sofa-bed.


http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac167/Orion_222/dividerquilt3c.jpg

[cheeze1]

Dario, I agree...I would hate to wake up not breathing either. 🙂
We've never had the CO go off, just the smoke detector for similar reasons as the others, I have had the CO beep when there was something wrong with it, but it was so long ago I dont remember why.
Got my 'superloud American horns" from Griot's yesterday, instructions seem kinda involved for something I thought would be a straight swap out.
I may have to rethink how my bed extensions are attached. These Stanley 'foldout shelf supports' keep popping the rivets that hold the pivots.

[Artum_Snowbird]

Yes, I have tried the burnt toast routine... I think that is just part of it, I think that it detects combusted particles, but the smoke part may not be part of that.

It is a bit odd when you think of it... we rely on these things to save us, they deplete our battery resources, cause us some angst, and let us know when we are making breakfast without thinking of their needs. All part of the game I suppose. Anybody out there that has had their CO detector go off?

[Orion_42]

You can burn some toast to test the fire (I do that regularly by accident). I think the CO has to be on faith unless you want to route your exhaust into the coach (not recommended).