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Re: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
jwcolby54 wrote: Booner wrote: After having my 23A for over a year I thought I would check in. I haven't had really any negative issues with the RV until recently, and it concerns the house battery. It seems I haven't been giving the battery the love it deserves. CA said they put a new battery in the unit before I bought it, and the battery is a rather expensive battery (Lifeline 100 AH AGM), but since I can't find anything on the battery telling me when it was made, and I suspect that if the battery was "new" a year before I purchased the rv, it probably wasn't charged or maintained as it should have been. When I first got the rv, I put a number of long trips on it, which should have fully charged the AGM battery. It's only been lately that I think it doesn't hold a charge as it should. But then, how I'm using the rv now has changed, With the cost of gas, I don't make the long trips anymore. So I think either the battery has seen better days due to the way it's been used prior to my ownership, and/or the way I've been charging the battery hasn't done it any good. For example, I thought that simply driving the rv a long distance would fully charge the battery. No, the alternator will only give it a bulk charge; to fully charge the battery up to 100%, I need to trickle charge it for a couple of days. Who would have thought that? For a while I've been researching adding solar power to help fully charge the battery. I've learned a ton of information on batteries and solar on the Sportsmobile website. I realize there's information available on various RV sites, but I found that after reading them, they didn't answer all of my questions. On the Sportsmobile site, all of the information I was looking for was in one spot. the link-->https://www.sportsmobileforum.com/forums/f20/faq-s-battery-problems-and-common-power-calculators-1940.html Hopefully, this link will help someone discover everything they need to know about how to take care of their house batteries. Lead acid batteries of any type self discharge somewhat rapidly. When it sits, leave it plugged in if possible. If not have a solar panel charge it if possible. If not put a trickle charger on it. If not... just cruise in it every month. I just brought the cheapest Walmart battery (now about $129) which has not been a problem over several years using solar and an invertor whilst travelling. leaving in storage with a 10w small solar charger for 5 months whilst in Europe I had the battery go flat. Ever since I used to disconnect it from the vehicle terminals and the small solar charger worked.2.1KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Winnebago View murphy bed mattress
Sounds like "put a topper on the existing mattress and if the motor fails we will not cover a warranty claim". So any new mettress must not weigh any more than existing. We have always had a topper and see no problem unless of course you smoke in bed! My thoughts would be that there must be a maximum thickness of mattress or matress+ topper to fit in the folding space as well as weight.719Views1like0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
vw2112 wrote: Just read through all 168 pages and i have most of the answers i needed before i head into Dallas to pick up my CA 23A. I've already purchased a lot of stuff for the RV as i know how many things i needed to get to make it the way i want after i get it back to Missouri. Just returned from 4 years traveling around the south pacific, Asia, Australia, and half of Europe. The plan was to get some land and build a container home on it and go back to the work force but now i found out its about an 8 month project for container homes. I decided to buy a jeep wrangler and an RV and just live in the RV and find some sort of part time job to keep me from being bored and spending a lot of money on amazon like ive been doing. got some job offers driving a big truck again but its a seasonal concrete job here and after like October its not gonna be so busy and id probably head south to avoid winter as much as possible. I have some things i couldn't find out about the RV but i can just look at the heater controls to see what model the unit has on it before i order the replacement. Seems like i can install the thing in the parking lot in Dallas if i need to but will probably get it back to here before i start replacing shocks and so on. gonna be returning to this page a lot it seems to follow the writeups of replacing things that others have so nicely posted. Have a great time and enjoy. If you need somewhere cheap to go in the Winter the BLM long term visitor pass Arizona and New Mexico - 2023 • New Mexico pass is a good deal if you want to stay somewhere warm during the winter months. • $6.5 convenience fee by Reservations America when buying a pass. • Pass cost for residents $180 • Pass cost for non-residents $225 which is still a good buy. • Annual Day use $40 except Living Desert Zoo and Gardens • There is a fee of $4 night up to maximum $12 for each camping night booked via Reserveamerica.com the daily basic camp fees however tend to be quite cheap have a good one1.1KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
quasimatter wrote: One more question on my 28A - I am trying to load up a scooter (350LB) on the hitch - while RV data indicates much higher towing capacity, the hitch showed two different numbers (see pictures below). First the data from Ford - Max GWVR for E450 is 22,000 LB As per labels on 28A - GWVR for unloaded 28A is 14,500 LB Max Cargo Capacity - 3,127LB Lets say liquids are 342LB (as per label) and passengers and other being 1000LB - that leaves almost 1800LB tongue weight remaining (not to mention additional (3000LB+ remaining to get to E450 stated GWVR of 22,000LB). And then the following: First I noticed the stock hitch provided by Cruise America was rated only 200LB tongue weight (see picture below) (Sorry - can't attach picture - will add picture later). However, this picture seems like a sticker stuck by Cruise America on top of official sticker underneath. So I peeled it off and found a 500LB/5000LB hitch manufacturer sticker (see picture below) (Sorry - can't attach picture - will add later). Has anyone else noticed this? Which number should I go by? What is the weight others have towed with stock Cruise America hitch? Just remember how far back you scooter will be from the axle and the lever effect it has increasing the axle weight. You should have no problem as long as you load properly and get weight foreward - we always carried heavy stuff under the table, front bench seats etc and my tools under the front seats etc. No problems with our scooter of 300 lb with out 27G although if left on for overnight stops I did put a 4 x 4 piece of wood extra support under the scooter rack. Weight of 2 people sleeping in the rear at night is extra.493Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
Racerboy76 wrote: Whelp I may be joining your ranks, if all goes well I will be looking over a Thor Majestic 23A from Cruise America. I am a first timer and am new to owning an RV. These rental models really appealed to us with their simplicity. I felt like it would be a good fit for us with our limited RV'ing knowledge. I did RV as a kid with my parents but now its time for me to do the same with our children. I gotta say thank you guys for all the good information in here. I've been reading over all the posts in here to help calm my nerves. Man buying an RV feels alot like sipping from a fire hose. So much information and opinions. Its hard to weed through it all. Wish me luck, any last minute advice before I hopefully pull the trigger? Yes there is lots of good info here in the forum and many other articles and books around. Just jump in and enjoy. The one good thing we did was to decide to spend out the extra on all the things we wanted for our fit out and comfort at day one. Never regretted buying solar panels and fitting for boondocking in fabulous places. OPaid for themselves with all the money we saved on camp site fees. Great comfortable camp chairs even if they cost more etc! We lived in Spain when we brought our Rv and made it our American home for up to 3 months at a time just flying with walk on bags :) Have a look at the photos on our web site for all the places we went for inspiration.593Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
SJ-Chris wrote: *** Power Surge Protection *** I hear a lot of people who encourage buying/using a surge protector when plugged in at campgrounds. Cost ~$200. I suspect that most people do NOT have/use surge protectors, but that is just based on my observations. What I hardly ever hear is people talking about damage to their electrical system due to an electrical surge. So it makes me wonder if it is really a big issue or not. Specifically, as it pertains to Cruise America former rental units....I wonder something... Cruise America sends out 1000s and 1000s of renters every year and NOT ONE of them has a surge protector! Why not? Is it because in reality they aren't needed? Do you think Cruise America has their RVs built with some sort of built-in surge protection?? Do GFCI circuits protect against surges?? Just want to hear the thoughts of other CA formal rental owners... Is there a single Former Rental unit Owner out there who, without using a surge protector, has had a power surge that damaged their RV's electrical system/components? Honestly, I don't even mind buying one and using one for myself. BUT, I often times let others (family/etc) use my Majestics and I know they will either forget to use it, or lose it, etc. Thoughts? -Chris Surge protection is fine BUT you are not protected from "brown outs" which is low voltage. The damage done by undervoltage can be considerable. I brought and fitted a Progressive Industries EMS-HW30C (or EMS-HW50C for 50 A supplies) Not cheap but peace of mind should say the fridge get fried or anything else. I fitted it in our Rv between the shore supply and main panel and this also proteceted me against a generator fault. Surge Protection: 3-Mode / 1,790J / 44,000A. Ratings: 30A / 120V / 3,600W. Includes 14' Data Cable Open Ground, Open Neutral and Reverse Polarity detection and protection, Over/Under voltage Protection, Accidental 240V Protection and A/C Frequency Protection Miswired pedestal indication and surge failure indicator; Time Delay (136 seconds) Remote Scrolling Digital Display scrolls continuously through the power source information One time it picked up that the campsite socket did not have correct earth protection, which the owner then called in an electrician to fix. If you can wire a plug then you can fit this yourself. Just cut the main supply cable going into the main panel and insert this unit :)616Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
TwistedGray wrote: Vehicle: (2015) 2017 Majestic 19G Problem: The coach battery only powers the 120v outlets when the RV is connected to shore power or when/if the generator is running. Question: Does anyone know what would have to be done to have it so that I can utilize the coach's battery without being plugged in or having the generator running? If someone has a wiring diagram for this model, that would be great. I am looking into adding a secondary battery bank; however, based on our power requirements I think I could get away with just tapping into the coach's battery for outlet power and recharging the battery when in motion (or using the generator). I do not need constant power from the coach battery, but I would like to tap into it without having to dump $500-750 in battery gear (or running the generator). Hi Finding it frustrating that I can not post a small size photo from my computer:( 1.Ok the cheapeast and easiet way is to buy an inverter. We brought a full sine wave 1000w inverter which was bigger than the power we intended to want, so as not to overload. 2. Fitted just above the main battery locker and used 2 cables the same size as the main battery cables to join battery to invertor. This required 2 drill holes in the floor. 3.Hole cut out in the panel next to the invertor for direct access to 110V and 12V oulet socket on inverter. The inverter had 2 x 110V socket. 4. As required we plugged into these outlets, including a short extension lead sometimes. 5. This means the system is totally seperate from your house 110V sockets and you never have to worry about the 2 systems shorting out. We ran no problem from this using laptop, fans, keybpoard, charging phones etc whilst boondocking. Even at Lake Mead for 14 days in 100F in the summer. USB sockets 1.Buy ones with 2.1A and 1A outlet on them (Amazon/ebay). make sure they have a mounting back plate as wellUSB socket 2. Remove a 12v light and pull through existing 12v light cable. 3.Join cables to this and then to the usb outlets you fit, having fed the cables back up the light hole to your USB outlet position. 4. Refit light. 5. Suggest also fitting on/off switch next to usb if they have a blue power LED light with them. This stops the glow at night and the small power consumption when in storage. you will find lots of info in the Owners Essential RV Handbook on Amazon681Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
IAMICHABOD wrote: socal77 wrote: Hi Gang, I'm up in Pismo with my 2009 28A for a couple days. Went to turn on the heater tonight and will not turn on. I think I hear a "click" but the blower doesn't kick on. My propane indicator says 2/3 full and the stove burners work fine. Any troubleshooting suggestions? I just saw your post,as you know I don't have the same RV but I would first check and see if your batteries are up and they have a good connection to the furnace,the blower runs on 12 volt. My next suggestion would be to post this in the Tech Section and ask there,include your make and model of the furnace,I am sure someone will come along with some help. Good Luck and I hope the rest of the trip will go well. Definitly check battery power. I know in the past if overnight whilst boondocking and the power dropped before the sun came up (11.7V) the fridge used to click and then not start.331Views0likes0Comments
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