DSDP_Don
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Joined 20 years ago
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Re: Removing Old Decal's
I've heard that this works well for removing decals. Our friends found a local company that came out and made all new vinyl decals to match the old ones. They changed the colors to match their truck. I know some who have just left their RV white.... personally, I think they look terrible, looks like a bread truck. Decal eraser597Views0likes0CommentsRe: Adding wood decor to ceiling
Maybe make 2-3 6'x 18" wood pieces, oval shape, routed on the edges and color matched to your cabinets. Get LED's you can insert into the wood and then install them in a row down the center of the coach. To get warm light with LED's, yet bright enough to see, use LED's in the 3400 color range.278Views0likes0CommentsRe: Anybody launching a boat with a Class A?
We towed a 22' Sea Ray Bow rider for a few years, launching it with a Monaco Diplomat. The size of the coach can create some issues maneuvering but launching was actually easier. The rear overhang kept the rear wheels and exhaust out of the water. There was never a power or traction issue.244Views0likes0CommentsRe: Best Toad braking System
Typically, when you buy an RV product or pretty much any product, there is a Good, Better and Best. Unfortunately, that is not true with RV brake systems. Only the DP's can use the proportional brake systems that require air. So that narrows down some of the options for gassers. One of the first devices was the box on the floor that pushes on the brake pedal. It's completely removable between use and can easily be moved to another vehicle. Some didn't find them trustworthy while others didn't want to mess with the large box. Another system, used in many forms, is a piston pushing on the brake pedal. Some quickly attach to a fitting under the seat where ones like mine have a small piston attached to the pedal. A lot depends on how much you want to install each time you tow. My AF1 is always installed and hidden out of the way. All I do is plug in my umbilical and airline at the front of the toad and I'm done. Others don't mind taking a few more steps. The last one to discuss is the Ready Brake that has a surge brake built into the tow bar. The brake system and tow bar are all one price, saving money on a separate braking system, that can easily cost $700 - $1200. The Ready Brake requires a fair amount of initial setup on the toad, which includes running the brake cable through the firewall and to the front bumper and a second cable if you go with a break away safety system. I've actually been pushing these for people who want to save some money on their setup. I've installed 10 tow bar and base plate setups in the last 10 years. Some for me and some for friends. I just completed a Ready Brake install on a Class A gas and Jeep toad. Now that I'm done, I don't know if I would recommend it anymore. All the parts came with the Ready Brake tow bar kit, except the safety break away. We made custom brackets for all the cables, so they were centered, but when done, it just seemed like a maze of equipment that could easily get caught up on something....two dangling cables. The tow bar had two coiled safety cables, two 1/8" cables running from the Jeep to the coach, a 7-wire umbilical and a second 2 wire umbilical for the safety break away. We would have incorporated the 2 wires in the umbilical, but using the Jeep made harness prevented that. They use huge red handled pins for the connection points and another red handled pin to hold the tow bar up when not in use. It was just crazy looking compared to my setup. My Roadmaster tow bar incorporates the safety cables into the tow arms, and I have one umbilical with an 1/4" air hose strapped to it.....that's it. All the pins are small headed and unobtrusive. So you have a lot of choices to sift through. If you can't do your own install, you need to find what your local installer likes to use.3.3KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Stop using AIOW please!
I agree with the poster.....yes I could look up acronyms that I don't know, but then it takes forever to read a post. It's no different than the guy that comes on and says...."My window doesn't work". No other information, no coach model, year or if it's even a coach, maybe it's his car....it's just exposing the ever-growing ignorance of our society. :( Most come on here asking for a problem to be solved. If they ask in a way that has nothing but acronyms, I'm sure many move onto another post. Well...those two or three or ten people, especially older more knowledgeable guys, that just move on, could have been the ones that solved the issue. So, you're only hurting yourself and others who are expecting an accurate and helpful answer.572Views0likes0CommentsRe: Where did the Non weekend RVers go?
First off, its winter, after the winterizing posts end, they won't get started again until spring with a bunch of battery posts. I posted here all the time for many years, almost 6000 posts, starting back in 2005, until it was overrun with jerks. One even posted in this thread. I moved over to IRV2 and only visit here about once every two months for a few minutes. Just nothing going on here. As an example, I do a lot of mods, share them with others and take phone calls from all over the country, helping people fix things and even make custom parts for them for free. I feel if I can help someone save money, I've done a good thing and it makes me feel good. When I bought my new 2014 Dutch Star on a Freightliner chassis, (side radiator) it would make a heck of a dust storm on dirt roads because of the way the radiator fan was situated. I created a shield to redirect air under the coach and shared it with others on here and IRV2. A few months later, on IRV2, another poster had his son making them in a fab shop and selling them. A year later, Freightliner adopted the idea and began selling the same shield for $800.00, plus install. When I purchased my 2019 Dutch Star on a Freightliner chassis, it was the first year that the shield was now standard equipment. Sooooo.....when I originally posted the solution and plans to make the shield on here, the same jerk who posted in this thread, tried to tell me that my coach was not operating properly. That was it, I no longer posted mods on here. I see now he has been booted off another forum for being a jerk! It's too bad, it only takes a few to ruin it for others. One good thing has come from this forum, Wolfe10 is now posting on IRV2 and his knowledge is very welcomed. IRV2 can be very strict, but sometimes that it takes to keep the jerks from ruining a site. I think this forum could recover, but it would take some people willing to come back and share their knowledge and ideas, without knuckleheads making comments.518Views0likes0CommentsRe: Best Toad braking System
The systems that use the coach air, like mine (Air Force One) and M&G are all protected in case there is an airline break. They will have no effect on your coach or toad, other than losing the use of toad braking until the airline is repaired. I've been using AF1 for over 10 years. Whoever told you about failures is clueless.3.4KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Vibration, Resonating Noise
Good job of locating the vibration. You have a two piece driveshaft with a carrier bearing in the center....the joint you're seeing. Before throwing parts at it, I would find a true driveshaft shop and let them check it out. The coach is fairly new, but who knows if the original owner might have struck something.303Views0likes0Comments
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