What Did You Do To Your Class B Today ?

[goreds2]

I see the other types of RV's having this type of thread. I did a search and could not find one here. 🙂

Yesterday, I drove mine to work to "excercise" it. I have driven it to work twice in the two weeks I have owned it.

In the two years I owned my Class C, I drove it to work ZERO times. :E

[Karsty]

Fastpaddler wrote:
Karsty,
I, too will be taking my PW Plateau in for service soon. I might suggest your service garage check the FUEL FILTER as they can collect moisture and too much can affect your fuel injection. I intend to have the fuel filter replaced but garage can advise on this.Many people forget about fuel filters.
Al

Thanks Al ... I went through the service manuals and actually made a list of items that need attention. The fuel filter was one of them. I want the Mercedes dealer to give me an itemized list of what they are going to do. This dealer just started servicing the Sprinter so I'm not too sure what their experience is ... but it saves me a 3 hour drive to the next closest dealer that I would go to.

Thanks

[Fastpaddler]

Karsty,
I, too will be taking my PW Plateau in for service soon. I might suggest your service garage check the FUEL FILTER as they can collect moisture and too much can affect your fuel injection. I intend to have the fuel filter replaced but garage can advise on this.Many people forget about fuel filters.
Al

[ennajean]

Looked at ours all snug in the garage when I got out the snow shovel....won't be going any where for another 39 days.

[Karsty]

"Davydd" ... some interesting information about your fuse. I'll make a point of checking mine when it stops snowing. 🙂 I haven't had a problem up to this point and I've been in some sub-zero weather.

I'll also make a point of getting some extra fuses. That is something I have procrastinated on ... until I blew a fuse in the coach. So I have extras for the coach and will have to get an additional variety for the chassis ... including a 25 amp by the looks of things!!

Thanks again ... have a great trip.

[Davydd]

All systems are checked out and it's a go. The B is loaded and ready except for my clothes, a few personal items and the electronic stuff like iPads and computers. As usual, we will most likely forget something.

[Fastpaddler]

Davydd
Sorry about your fuse woes.20 amps for a starter does seem marginal.If you drove your usual long trips in warmish weather that might explain the non-problem previously.A fuse can also look fine but become weak in its internal conductivity and over time might fail. Cold weather works starters very hard too. Re Michelins, I have always used Michelin LTX M&S tires and never had a problem.They wear well and are f.airly quiet. When I bought the used 06 PW Plateau a year ago I 'junked' the tires and put on new Michelin LTXs.
For the writer who noted a prescribed one hour run time on the generator: FIne. I dont run mine more than 10 mins a month under load. Never had a problem. Gas ones, as I mentioned before, can varnish up and get baulky if no Stabil is added to the tank while unit is unused for a long while. I keep a small solar panel on the PW dashboard plugged into the 12v accessory plug-in and it seems to keep the MB battery charged up.I have to keep the RV in an RV yard so no plug-in for a trickle charger.
2. What did I do today: well, yesterday we loaded up Holly, the Coton de Tulear--RV Girl, and took an Island drive to the tourist town of Chemainus(popular town with large wall murals). Keeps house battery charged up as I have learned my lessons about leaving batteries in a discharged condition then trying to revive them later.Bad plan. Happy long trip and keep the ceramic heater nearby!

[sergeant76]

Had my Macerator pump replaced at Leisure Time R.V. in Winter Garden FL this past Monday. They put the RoadTrek on a lift to remove the old Macerator Pump, and to install the new Macerator Pump.

RoadTrek on Lift:



Service Rep working on our RoadTrek:



Ron

[Davydd]

I drove to a Sprinter service center for the second time this week to have the starter motor fuse problem looked at for peace of mind. I fixed the problem by substituting a 25 amp fuse for the 20 amp. As it turned out, it was a known problem. MB ships the fuse for the starter motor as a 20 amp. My manual said 25 amp. Later manuals say 20 amp. As it was explained to me, in cold weather there is more load on the starter motor and a 20 amp fuse could fail. It shouldn't fail with the 25 amp fuse.

The fuse in question, in the fuse box above the hood pull under the dash, is circled.



Still doesn't explain how I managed over 36,000 miles and starting down to about 0 degrees F. before it failed.

[Davydd]

Karsty, You should have a maintenance booklet that outlines the service they are suppose to do. They are pretty much suppose to check everything and top off any fluids besides change the oil which is the biggest item.

I got the new tires put on today. They are not cheap, but they sure are nice and are giving my wife some peace of mind. I was told by Discount tire that the valve stems were all rubber and rated for a maximum of 65 lbs. which was the maximum we filled them though the tires are capable of 80 lbs. I had them replaced with better valve stems. I found that interesting because my 2005 Sprinter had a recall to install metal valve stems. I guess they don't learn. Those OEM Continentals were******but they survived an Alaskan trip.

I also had a shocker today. The B would not start this morning. Turned the key and nothing happened. At first I thought maybe it might have been the battery run down because we had the sliding door open all afternoon the day before even though I'm not sure that causes any battery drainage. The Freightliner service was at a loss when I called them. I was convinced they did something to cause it. How do you get a B to a dealer if it doesn't run? Invoke the towing service insurance. But! Out of curiosity I checked the starter motor fuse. It was a 20 amp fuse and sure enough it was blown. So I put a new fuse in and turned the key and again nothing. I pulled the new fuse and it too was blown. A short? Next I looked at my printed operators manual that came with my van. It said 25 amp fuse. It also showed the battery under the hood but in my van it was under the driver's floor. I downloaded a manual from Mercedes Benz and it said 20 amp fuse and showed the battery under the driver's floor correctly. That was conflicting information. So, I tried a 25 amp fuse and the engine started. Why the 20 amp gave me no problems for 36,000 miles is a mystery but I don't believe in coincidences. I'm taking it back in tomorrow and asking them to check out the system. I think I have a mid year 2010 hybrid van.

Getting ready for a trip is a pain and we still have to travel a ways past Kansas City to find any decent weather.

[Karsty]

Davydd wrote:
Yesterday I took our Sprinter in for a full service check, oil change, etc. at a Freightliner dealer. The only extra thing we needed to do was replace the cabin filter. All that gravel road driving in the Yukon probably got it pretty dirty.

Today I will take our B in for new tires. The OEM Continental VancoFourSeason tires are only warranted for 40,000 miles and we are at 36,200 miles with a 6,000 mile trip coming up. The tire gauge says we still have enough tread (barely) but I am guessing not for another 6,000 miles comfortably. If it were a shorter trip I would push it some more. The gravel roads we drove in the Yukon last summer really chewed them up wear wise. Replacing them with Michelin LTX M/S 2 tires warranted for 70,000 miles. The Michelins we had on our former 2005 Pleasure-way had better tread on them at 61,000 miles than our Continentals.

We are replacing the water heater anode rod tomorrow. I special ordered one at Ace Hardware near our house. Otherwise I think I would have to drive almost 30 miles to an RV store to get one. Wish I had thought of that when I had the B in at the dealer last week.

One thing we won't get a chance to do is de-winterize the water system. It is just too cold in Minnesota yet to flush out the pink stuff. So we will travel dry until we get to Texas and stop at a full hookup campground.

My Class B is going in for full service in a few weeks as well. This one for me is a maintenance service as well as the oil and filter. It will have 32,000 KM (20,000 miles). Can you tell me what all they did to your rig?? over and above the oil & filter and the cabin filter you mentioned??

I will also be looking at the Michelin tires you mentioned for my rig when the time comes. I still have some wear left on the OEM Continentals though.

Thanks

Karsty

[Karsty]

Fastpaddler wrote:
Occasional ritual is starting the PW Plateau, cruising somewhere long enough to make sure house batteries are charged up, and, keeping engine and all the rest functioning.Did that today,Feb25th and also ran the propane generator for 10 minutes. This is a bigger need for you who have gas generators which can become slow starters if the carb gets 'varnished' or gumnmed up. I used Stabil in my gas tank when I had a C Class but no problem with propane genset.

I have the propane generator as well. It was my understanding that they should be run at least an hour a month to "exercise" them which would include making sure that all gaskets etc were well lubricated. I'm certainly not an expert in this area ... but my manual says the same thing. In the summer I run with the air on and in the winter I plug in the electric ceramic heater to put a load on the generator.

Can anyone else confirm ... or not ... the necessity to "exercise" a propane generator every month for at least an hour.

I found another thread in this FORUM dealing with exercising the propane generator ... disregard. 🙂

[Davydd]

Yesterday I took our Sprinter in for a full service check, oil change, etc. at a Freightliner dealer. The only extra thing we needed to do was replace the cabin filter. All that gravel road driving in the Yukon probably got it pretty dirty.

Today I will take our B in for new tires. The OEM Continental VancoFourSeason tires are only warranted for 40,000 miles and we are at 36,200 miles with a 6,000 mile trip coming up. The tire gauge says we still have enough tread (barely) but I am guessing not for another 6,000 miles comfortably. If it were a shorter trip I would push it some more. The gravel roads we drove in the Yukon last summer really chewed them up wear wise. Replacing them with Michelin LTX M/S 2 tires warranted for 70,000 miles. The Michelins we had on our former 2005 Pleasure-way had better tread on them at 61,000 miles than our Continentals.

We are replacing the water heater anode rod tomorrow. I special ordered one at Ace Hardware near our house. Otherwise I think I would have to drive almost 30 miles to an RV store to get one. Wish I had thought of that when I had the B in at the dealer last week.

One thing we won't get a chance to do is de-winterize the water system. It is just too cold in Minnesota yet to flush out the pink stuff. So we will travel dry until we get to Texas and stop at a full hookup campground.

[Fastpaddler]

Occasional ritual is starting the PW Plateau, cruising somewhere long enough to make sure house batteries are charged up, and, keeping engine and all the rest functioning.Did that today,Feb25th and also ran the propane generator for 10 minutes. This is a bigger need for you who have gas generators which can become slow starters if the carb gets 'varnished' or gumnmed up. I used Stabil in my gas tank when I had a C Class but no problem with propane genset.

[PSW]

What did I do to the RT? Made sure it was full of fuel, ran the generator a bit, drove about twenty miles.

NWS is predicting a blizzard here for tomorrow with winds gusting to 40+ and who knows how much snow. If the power lines go out, I can start the Onan and run my power cords. I bought a bunch of long 12 gauge and14 gauge cords a few years ago to hook up the refrig and the blower on the HVAC unit so I can run the genset and keep heat in the house and the food in good shape. I run it every few hours for an hour or so and that works out great. It is not expected to get very cold ( mid and upper 20s) so. Our power company does a super job but if we get any ice on those lines before the wind hits...............the Roadtrek's genset is ready! Right now it is 62 degrees and beautiful!

This is a wonderful benefit to having a B right here at the house, just as has been discussed in this forum in the past. The Christmas blizzard a few years ago we were without power for four days.

[mikebride]

Went out for breakfast in mine and then to the local home center. Just a little trip for exercize.