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1997 Tioga not starting...
Guys, Need some guidance, so I went to get my Motor home out of storage and it did not want to start. I figured it was the battery so I took the battery home to charge it, but when I hooked it up to the charger it said it was at 100% (As I leave it disconnected when the RV is stored). So I took it back, and still no go, I store it at an RV dealership, so I asked if a mechanic could come by really quick and checked it out, he was able to start it by using a screw driver by making contact with the two screws on the solenoid, so he figured it was a bad solenoid. I got it home, swapped the solenoid, and had the same issue, after trying to start it several times, I noticed the ground strap cable (A 19 inch flat cable attached to the metal body new the windshield wipers and then attached to a screw kind of near the alternator area.) was smoking and the plastic coating was burning off it. So I figured maybe that was the issue, so I replaced it, and the motor home started up, so I figured my issue was solved. Today, I was able to start it in the morning several times without issue, then I drove it, parked it and now it is doing the same thing. I a couple of other things I noticed which I think are really weird, is the only way it will even try to crank over (Was starting, not it just tried to come on) is if I have the house battery connected, if I only have the main engine battery connected, it will not start, if I have the house battery connected it will try and start, the other thing is the negative terminal on the house battery is getting really hot. Lastly, for some reason now when I did get it started the airbag light came on, which it had not been on before, and the weirdest part is the dash air conditioner will run without the engine running, obviously it will not blow cold air as the compressor is not running, but the blower is will run. Not sure what to do, I am on the verge if towing it to an RV service center to get it looked at, but I hate to do that as most of those places charge you an arm and a leg. Any ideas? Is it something simple I could be missing, we drove it last for over 2000 miles without issue before we parked it for storage, and then took it out for a day last month without issue, and now this.1.5KViews0likes10CommentsRe: TX to NM for Spring Break, Route, look it over:-)
Thanks for the info, RE_Todd, can you elaborate a little on two of your comments? 1. You suggested staying at Lake Brantley, was that a suggestion because the drive time to bottomless lake is far or it's just a nice place to stay for that night? 2. Our trip to Belen to catch the train, you mention a 5 hour drive, is it really 5 hours from Valley of Fires camp area to Belen? Thanks for the suggestions!!631Views0likes0CommentsRe: TX to NM for Spring Break, Route, look it over:-)
So here is my preliminary itinerary, if anyone has any recommendations or suggestions, please let me know, especially roads I should avoid due to us being in a motorhome. Is this too aggressive of a schedule also Ruidoso, Alamogordo, Belen, and the relax day can be moved around to different days. Any information would be greatly appreciated, also if anyone has any recommendations of an alternative base camp site in the case the Valley of Fires is full, I was thinking of using Circle B in Ruidoso as it was suggested in one of the previous posts. However, it seems Valley of Fires would be a better base to do Alamogordo, and Belen. Also, we were trying to stick with the State parks as they are much cheaper than the Private parks. 1. Friday 03/07 – Leave Austin for Fort Stockton via 290 and I-10, I would like to avoid I-10, but we are leaving late Friday night, I am not sure I want to be driving back roads at night. Any suggestions? We should arrive at Fort Stockton at around 2 or 3 in the morning on the 8th and hope to stay at the Hilltop RV park for the remainder of that night, get some sleep and head out later in the day. 2. Saturday 03/08 - Leave fort Stockton late morning for the Carlsbad Caverns area via 285, should be about a 3 hour drive. Spend most of the afternoon there, then head off to Bottomless Lake State Park near Roswell via 285 and NM/2, about 2 hours away. Stay the night there at the State Park. 3. Sunday 03/09 – Check out Roswell, not sure if much will be open on a Sunday, and kind of relax from the major driving. Stay at Bottomless State Park another night. 4. Monday 03/10 – Maybe check out anything cool that was not open Sunday in Roswell, then head out to Valley of Fires in Carrizozo, NM, via 380 about 2.5 hours. Crossing our fingers that we will be able to get a spot there, since they do not take reservations. We are hoping to use this area as our base for the rest of the trip in NM. 5. Tuesday 3/11 – Head down to Ruidoso for the day, this is where I may need route suggestions, google has me taking NM-37 45 minutes, is this a safe road to take in a Motorhome to get to Ruidoso? Or should I backtrack on 380 to 70 and take 70 to Ruidoso? Come back up to Valley of Fires to stay the night. 6. Wednesday 3/12 – Head down to White Sands in Alamogordo via US-54, about 2 hours, again is this a safe road to take in a Motorhome to get to Alamogordo and back to Valley of Fires to stay the night? 7. Thursday 3/13 – Head up to Belen via 380 and then I-25 about 2 hours, to catch the Rail Runner (The kids love trains) and take up towards Albuquerque and if we can hang to Santa Fe and back. Now I think I read it takes about 1.5 to take the full ride up one way. So it just depends, is this feasible for a day trip? Or even worth it? We would be driving back to Valley of Fires for the night. 8. Friday 3/14 – Relax day, no driving, stay at camp site for the day to prepare for the drive back to Texas. 9. Saturday 3/15 – Leave Valley of Fires to Fort Stockton via 380, 285, about 6 hours. Stay the night at Hilltop RV park. 10. Sunday 3/16 – Leave Fort Stockton via I-10, 290 to Austin, another 6 hours.631Views0likes0CommentsRe: TX to NM for Spring Break, Route, look it over:-)
So after doing some research, I am trying to figure out if I want to stay near Ruidoso or just go there for the day or two and move around. Being from Texas, driving 100 miles here or there is normal, so I don't mind staying in one central area and driving back and forth. I was thinking about Bottomless Lake State Park, as it still had availablity for the week, and it seemed to be close enough to Ruiodoso, Carlsbad, Roswell, so it seems we could possibly go to many spots. If anyone has any other ideas of any other State or National Parks that are good to stay at? As usual they are always cheaper than the private places. More suggestions? Just trying to plan a cool trip for the family whith a chance of maybe letting the kids experience a little snow sometime durin the trip. Also, any roads or highways I need to avoid in our Class C would be helpful too. I did read a recent post about Albuquerque and the Rail Runner that takes you to Santa Fe, are there many things to do up in that area? Also, looking at DesertHawk's suggestion, like the Valley of Fires, etc.631Views0likes0CommentsRe: heater trouble
Hey I'm having almost the exact situation in my 97 Tioga Class C, except mine just cycles twice then gives up. It lights, stays lit for about a minute or less, then goes out, it lights again for a minute then goes out and stops cycling. If I go to the outside access door and flip the switch out there it seems to reset and does the same two cycles again with the same results. During all this, the blower in the furnace is running fine but just blowing cold air since the the flame keeps going out. In reading some of the comments in this thread, are you guys saying I can remove the furnace and clean it?493Views0likes0CommentsTX to NM for Spring Break, Route, look it over:-)
Update, after some research and looking at suggestions originally provided, I have made my preliminary route. See my latest post and provide any suggestions if possible. Thanks! So we are trying to plan somewhere to go in our RV for Spring break. One year in high school I went to Ruidoso, NM during spring break with a friend and his family and it was pretty cool. I remember we had gone to some mountain in the area, can't remember the name, but I think it was where Apache Ski resort is at, as I thought the mountain was called Apache Mountain. Anyhow, there was still snow up there but it was not crazy cold and the driving conditions seemed fine. Anyhow, my kids keep asking to see snow and I figured this might be a shot for them to see snow and it be feasible for us to get there from Austin, Texas with only a weeks time for traveling. My questions are, is it the norm for there to still be snow in March up there (8-16), and how accessible is it to get to these areas in a 30ft Class C motorhome, also is there a route or roads I should avoid due to steep grades, snow, or there concerns? Lastly, any recommendations on where to stay in that area? This would be the first trip out of Texas using the Motorhome, I have only driven normal highway and back-roads, no mountains or steep hills etc. Just trying to get an idea of what I may run into for this sort of trip. We've only had the motorhome since May, and have only taken it to the coast and a couple of state parks. So we are still kinda new at this, especially long distance trips. Thanks!5.2KViews0likes13CommentsRe: Starter location on 1997 e350 super duty class c?
I found the starter, it was underneath the passenger side tied into the transmission. I removed it and took it to get tested and at first it passed the test a couple of times but then it started to fail. So I bought a new one and replaced it. Once I replaced it and wired it as the previous one had been, I still get nothing. The first try it clicked once after that just nothing, no power at all when I turn the key. So I installed a new battery which I should not have as my old one was technically good but being stupid I chose to, then the starter, now what? The solenoid next to the battery attached to the wall? The alternator? The RV had run fine the last time I drove it, it had been parked in my drive way plugged in, I unplugged it to move it out of the drive way and after a couple of days, it would not do anything. Any suggestions?969Views0likes0Comments
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