1999 coachman 085sd

[bzgenius]

I have only owned this since March and just hooked up my generator to it at the barn and the brake lights come on but none of the other lights on the outside do. Is this normal?

Edit to say that I really don't want them on at all with generator running and that is why I am asking. The lights all work like normal when it was hooked up to the truck so not sure why the brake lights are the only thing on, would have thought that if they were on so would all the other marker lights on the outside.

[SidecarFlip]

bzgenius wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:
What always amazes me is 'how good they look on the outside and how hosed they are on the inside'.

I always maintain that any used camper, when the owner wasn't taking care of the seals and caulking, will be rotting under the skin.... and that includes letting the camper sit outside year around.

Why I believe in a blower door test or take it to CW and have them pressure test it and check it for leaks.... at least ever 2 years and go over the caulk and seals every year, better yet every 6 months.

It's a job but I bet it will be nice when finished.

I'd loose the fiberglass bats and replace that stuff (which retains moisture) with foam sheets. Might as well while you have it tore apart.

Thumbs up to you...

I have been contemplating the foam and will probably go that route. I am amazed at just how little holds up the cab over, I want to beef it up but really cant think of a way to do it. If all goes well with our trip out west this summer and family enjoys the camper and wish/willing to do it again, I will build one from scratch over the winter.

Foam will be somewhat a PITA because it's cut and fit but a quick trip to Lowes, Home Depot or a local lumber yard will get a couple sheets pretty cheap. I'd use the pink underlayment closed cell foam, it cuts easily (with a table saw or hand saw or even a serrated kitchen knife) and you can get it in the thickness you need, from 1/2" all the way to 3" thick.

Don't think I'd want to 'build my own'. You are better off buying a used one and doing a refurb.

Next time you go in search of one, disregard the how the outside looks (so long as it's fairly straight and not dinged up, and, look inside carefully. Open doors on cabinets and look hard at where the floor joins the walls and behind any enclosed spaces in the cab over. Thats where you'll see the traces of water intrusion, in the corners that are hidden from view. Also look under the bedding.

I use an infrared hand held thermometer and I 'shoot' the corners of the cab over. rotting wood and mold in the insulation causes heat and the IR thermometer will indicate that.

I'd say most owners are lax in seal maintenance so an older unit will have traces of water intrusion. Seal maintenance is everything, especially in the cab over because that is where the water is pounding on the skin when driving in the rain, which is unavoidable.

My hat is off to you. I'm not a woodworker and don't claim to be. I work with metal. Now a stainless camper would be nice for me...but a bit too heavy to haul around.:B

[bzgenius]

SidecarFlip wrote:
What always amazes me is 'how good they look on the outside and how hosed they are on the inside'.

I always maintain that any used camper, when the owner wasn't taking care of the seals and caulking, will be rotting under the skin.... and that includes letting the camper sit outside year around.

Why I believe in a blower door test or take it to CW and have them pressure test it and check it for leaks.... at least ever 2 years and go over the caulk and seals every year, better yet every 6 months.

It's a job but I bet it will be nice when finished.

I'd loose the fiberglass bats and replace that stuff (which retains moisture) with foam sheets. Might as well while you have it tore apart.

Thumbs up to you...

I have been contemplating the foam and will probably go that route. I am amazed at just how little holds up the cab over, I want to beef it up but really cant think of a way to do it. If all goes well with our trip out west this summer and family enjoys the camper and wish/willing to do it again, I will build one from scratch over the winter.

[SidecarFlip]

bzgenius wrote:
Finished fab on the passenger side and moved over to the driver side only to find that as far as I can tell there is no gray tank and just a 1 1/2" black drain that runs from the kitchen sink on to passenger side to the rear of the driver side and then it just joins the black tank drain right at the exit. The shower and bathroom sink just go to a p-trap and then T into the pipe a foot before the main drain. Question, is this normal? Can I just open the 2 shutoffs so the gray water can go in the black tank, but that means there will be some crappy water to deal with in order to open the drain, so probably not?????

My Backpack has no 'Grey' tank for the sink either. The sink drain exits through the sidewall terminating in a capped port (to set a bucket under (or in my case I let it run out in the grass. My wet bath shower drain does have a grey tank and I have a black tank though I wish I could have gotten a cassette toilet instead. My next camper will have one.

[SidecarFlip]

What always amazes me is 'how good they look on the outside and how hosed they are on the inside'.

I always maintain that any used camper, when the owner wasn't taking care of the seals and caulking, will be rotting under the skin.... and that includes letting the camper sit outside year around.

Why I believe in a blower door test or take it to CW and have them pressure test it and check it for leaks.... at least ever 2 years and go over the caulk and seals every year, better yet every 6 months.

It's a job but I bet it will be nice when finished.

I'd loose the fiberglass bats and replace that stuff (which retains moisture) with foam sheets. Might as well while you have it tore apart.

Thumbs up to you...

[bzgenius]

Finished fab on the passenger side and moved over to the driver side only to find that as far as I can tell there is no gray tank and just a 1 1/2" black drain that runs from the kitchen sink on to passenger side to the rear of the driver side and then it just joins the black tank drain right at the exit. The shower and bathroom sink just go to a p-trap and then T into the pipe a foot before the main drain. Question, is this normal? Can I just open the 2 shutoffs so the gray water can go in the black tank, but that means there will be some crappy water to deal with in order to open the drain, so probably not?????

[burningman]

I see!

[bzgenius]

delete

[bzgenius]

delete

[bzgenius]

[bzgenius]

burningman wrote:
Why wouldn't you just raise the camper by attaching something like 4x8 sheets of rigid insulation foam to the bottom of it to get the overhead clearance rather than making your cabover headroom lower?

Because in the truck on the pallets that made it barely clear the cab I was at 12'11" and it would not fit in my barn opening of 12'9" so now I can put it in there with out taking it off the truck, loading on trailer, and then back that in the barn and offload again so I can use my trailer. Real PITA!!! Plus that makes the load that much higher and not as stable.

[burningman]

Why wouldn't you just raise the camper by attaching something like 4x8 sheets of rigid insulation foam to the bottom of it to get the overhead clearance rather than making your cabover headroom lower?

[bzgenius]

I haven't hooked anything back up yet and when I bought it we pluged it in to their house but don't remember the outside lights being on but it was daylight so may not have noticed. I just finished the front passenger side corner today and set the fridge back in its hole. It is a dometic rm2551 made in sweden. When you turn it on the auto light just flashes and I don't have any gas so I think that is what it needs right now, not sure if 120v will let it run or not. It just has a auto button I think, cant remember now that I am back in the house. This camper looked new on the inside and the toilet has never been used but sitting for so long has me worried about the fridge and the hot water tank but will be a week or so before I get to that. I will try to get and photo account somewhere tonight so I can add some pictures to the thread. I have a 2017 F250 long bed srw so the cab height was 4" to high and I had to put the camper on pallets to bring it home but the rebuild of the cab over has let me take out the 4" to fix that.

[Joe417]

Another thought, you may already know this, on the fridge, most newer units require 12V control voltage no matter what system you are running it on. So the TC has to be plugged in or on battery for it to operate on gas or 120V.

If you are familiar with 120V electrical, you can bypass the control circuit to test it with 120V only by making a 120V cord that will plug onto the 120V heating element. It should be below freeze when left overnight. You would still have to test it with the control circuit and gas which requires 12V.

Be careful, it is 120V power.

[Joe417]

The brake lights definitely shouldn't be on when you connect to 120V. The external running lights, turn signals, backup lights, and break lights all pull their power from the tow vehicle. Sounds like you may have tied the brake lights into the camper 12V system.

I drew diagrams/schematics for all my wiring. It takes a little time but once you put it on paper it usually makes better sense. They have helped me troubleshoot issues several times. I listed color and size of the wire going to each circuit so I can tell, in most cases, where a particular wire goes.

Until you are sure what connects to what you may want to take a picture with the cell phone so you can keep it straight.

Also, if you post pictures with your question everyone can see what you are seeing.

Sound like you have a fun project started.