Diesel pusher lite switches

[deadbat]

I have owned 3 diesel pushers and looked at others many friends and neigbours own etc ad for the life of me can not undertsand why they put the lite switches where they do and never ever have the 2 way system like a house does.its rediculous when u pay what we do and they cant even wire ceilings lites to proper switch locations
??(eg) I have a 41 ft 2008 Allegro Bus and to turn on the Main ceiling lites you have to go all the way to the hallway by the bathroom to turn on the ceiling lites

[deadbat]

SS Slacker wrote:
Interesting to hear about this design and it made me think about my Neptune. I have two way switches for the ceiling lights that have a two way switch near entry door and one in the bedroom. We use that two way switch feature very often. I also have a two way switch for the exterior bay lights..one in the tank bay and one just inside the entry door. The only other two way switch is for the dash radio..one power switch on the dash and one in the bedroom near the bed. I like being able to turn on the radio from the back after I wake up in the morning.

I agree that there should be at least one set of two way switches for the main lights.

slacker thanks for the post.This is exactly how tiffin should have done mine also.people brag about tiffins ? well if they worked on them like I have they would be amazedat some of the poor ideas and fit and finish as their certainly lacking in a lot of ways.This will be my last one.My next one will be a entegra

[SS_Slacker]

Interesting to hear about this design and it made me think about my Neptune. I have two way switches for the ceiling lights that have a two way switch near entry door and one in the bedroom. We use that two way switch feature very often. I also have a two way switch for the exterior bay lights..one in the tank bay and one just inside the entry door. The only other two way switch is for the dash radio..one power switch on the dash and one in the bedroom near the bed. I like being able to turn on the radio from the back after I wake up in the morning.

I agree that there should be at least one set of two way switches for the main lights.

[accsys]

deadbat wrote:
Really? well on my 2008 Allegro bus the switch your refering to is not sightable(if there is such a word) at all unless you know exactly where its at and at nite even if u do its very hard to locate at nite unless your ray charles.

Apparently your backlight is not working on the switch panel. On mine that whole panel is so bright that it lights up the whole stairwell.

deadbat wrote:
Its not that its so much a problem as that its just poor design of systems on tiffens part same as the cable systm is inside the wall.If you ever have a cable problem at the splitter for roof antenna that feeds FOUR tv,s good luck on that one so ACCSYS dont preach to me about tiffin produts as i know them like the back of my hand.

I am not preaching but have had my 2007 (which is almost identical to yours as far as the build goes) for only two years and have had none of the problems you espouse. All of the cable connections are easily accessible behind a panel in the cabinet in the PS side of the front cap. I will agree that it's a rats nest of cables but they are all marked and I have been into mine several times to modify it the way I want it, including having two leads from the back of the coach for my tripod. That particular mod took about 20 minutes.

deadbat wrote:
I have owned and driven 2 and worked on many of them

And yet you are so unhappy you bought a third one??? :?

PS - If you are that unhappy about a switch I would suggest you don't look into the roof rail, DS slide and wet bay problems associated with our year and models. Just Sayin'........:E

[wa8yxm]

sch911 wrote:
Wow even my lowly Damon Challenger gasser has a two way switch setup for the ceiling lights, one switch by the entry steps and another in the hallway. Go figure.

Likewise here, plus 2 way for the "Aisle lights" too (Dash and master control panel near Pantry) Damon Intruder.. GO DAMON!!!

[deadbat]

docj wrote:
There are 3 different "lighting sections" in our MH each of which has "2-way" (actually electricians call it 3-way wiring) so the lights can be turned on at one end of a section and then turned off again after you have walked through and are ready to turn the lights on in the next section. That way we can walk from the entrance door all the way to lying down in bed without ever groping around in the dark looking for a light switch.

This is the way a house would be wired; hallway lights are almost always wired so they can be turned on at one end and off at the other. Not wiring a MH the same way you would a building is something that manufacturers do to save a couple of bucks. Just because people don't complain about it doesn't mean it isn't a cheap way to do things.

Thanks DocJ this is exactly the point that I was trying to make
its crazy that my 350K unit does not have ANY 3 way wiring

[michelb]

Like robatthelake, I'd never even noticed that I don't think our coach has any 2-way switches. I don't think I have any switched lights that cover enough of an area to really need them.

My only complaint with wall switches was in our 99 Tradewinds which didn't have any at all. The only switches were on the ceiling lights themselves - not really a problem for us but my 7 year old couldn't reach any of them which was a problem (e.g. if he went to the bathroom during the night or early in the morning, he couldn't turn on the light).

One absence of 2 way switches I have notice (thankfully not on our coach) is for the water pump. A couple of years ago, a neighbor bought a new Class C (I forget the brand) and the light for the water pump was always on. Turns out that ever water switch is a one-way and is in parallel so if you want to turn off the pump, you have to turn off every switch - after spending an eternity trying to get them all, we finally noticed there was one in the outdoor shower compartment (which is in a separate compartment from the water hookup on his coach).

[docj]

There are 3 different "lighting sections" in our MH each of which has "2-way" (actually electricians call it 3-way wiring) so the lights can be turned on at one end of a section and then turned off again after you have walked through and are ready to turn the lights on in the next section. That way we can walk from the entrance door all the way to lying down in bed without ever groping around in the dark looking for a light switch.

This is the way a house would be wired; hallway lights are almost always wired so they can be turned on at one end and off at the other. Not wiring a MH the same way you would a building is something that manufacturers do to save a couple of bucks. Just because people don't complain about it doesn't mean it isn't a cheap way to do things.

[robatthelake]

Our DSDP has Zero 2 Way Switches, however until reading this post I really hadn't given it much thought.

[wny_pat1]

RFCN2 wrote:
Our light switches are in logical places. At least most of them.

that is nice, but the OP's thread is about having "2 way switches" that control one light from two different locations in the coach. I would not be surprised if your country coach was set up that way for at least one light somewhere.

[RFCN2]

Our light switches are in logical places. At least most of them.

[deadbat]

accsys wrote:

deadbat wrote:
I guess Bob Tiffen needs to step up and include 2 way ceiling lite switches when he charges 325K++ for a motorhome
Like i said i cant beleive something this exspensive would be wired this way.really ticks me off but it is what it is

I guess he doesn't get too many complaints in this area since he includes a switch just inside the doorway to turn on one ceiling light that illuminates the stairwell and the area between the seats with plenty of light to get to the back of the coach. It's never been a problem on our Tiffin coach.

Really? well on my 2008 Allegro bus the switch your refering to is not sightable(if there is such a word) at all unless you know exactly where its at and at nite even if u do its very hard to locate at nite unless your ray charles.And the single lite it turns on is hardley enough lite to make your way to the back near the bathroom to turn on mainlites and only if your familar with the locations of the said switches and then one has to return to the front of the unit to turn off the single lite that one is forced to enter with.Now u want to go out for the evening and turn the lites out? Now what? Its a Tiffen design screw up in epic proportions in my opinion.A simple install of two way ceiling lite switching would have been a very bright( excuse the pun) way to go
But I have experienced so many deficiences on this POS it does not surprize me in the end although its disapointing.I see where a guy has a web site on the net where he complains about this exact same screw up and the great lengths he went to to wire in a 2 way switch which I simply am not inerested in doing.Its not that its so much a problem as that its just poor design of systems on tiffens part same as the cable systm is inside the wall.If you ever have a cable problem at the splitter for roof antenna that feeds FOUR tv,s good luck on that one so ACCSYS dont preach to me about tiffin produts as i know them like the back of my hand.I have owned and driven 2 and worked on many of them

[accsys]

deadbat wrote:
I guess Bob Tiffen needs to step up and include 2 way ceiling lite switches when he charges 325K++ for a motorhome
Like i said i cant beleive something this exspensive would be wired this way.really ticks me off but it is what it is

I guess he doesn't get too many complaints in this area since he includes a switch just inside the doorway to turn on one ceiling light that illuminates the stairwell and the area between the seats with plenty of light to get to the back of the coach. It's never been a problem on our Tiffin coach.

[wny_pat1]

Hey now, my '94 mid entry Foretravel DP has a two way switch for the overhead main kitchen light right on the left as you enter the coach from outside. The matching switch is above kitchen sink by under cabinet lights. And have another two way switch on the overhead passenger cabinet at the entry that works the under cabinet lights on drivers side. The matching two way is at those lights. None in the bedroom though.

[deadbat]

sailor_lou wrote:
Interesting, I have two way switches in our bedroom, but not at the entry door in the MOHO. However, the two "map" lights above the driver and co-pilot seats can be switched to come on for a few min. when the door opens, which provides sufficient light for entering the rig. Each manufacturer has their own little tricks.

Lou
05 Travel Supreme Envoy

Lou thanks for the reply/input
I have none in bedroom,non in front entry.I can grope in the dark at entry and turn on map lite but have to return to front entry to turn off once i have some interior lites on.These are not "factory little tricks" This is simply put "poor" factory planing