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Re: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
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.1.1KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
eldel wrote: Update for prospective purchasers of CA vehicles - they are no longer fitting awnings. Apparently the ones they were using were 'too difficult to use' and causing customer issues. In my case it was 'too difficult to install' and CA are returning my money. I'm assuming you are referring to the Denver CA. If so, I wouldn't be too upset that they don't want to install awnings anymore. I travelled back to Denver this past April to have them install my awning on my 23A that I purchased in Sept. 2020 as they couldn't get awnings at that time. I was less than thrilled with their installation. The installers were not very well informed in how to do the installation or it's operation and did a hack job. I'm going to have to do some "southern engineering" to make sure the awning will stay on my coach. By the time I drove back home (central Missouri) from Denver, all of the screws that hold the awning to the top of the coach had backed out. I'm happy that these screws don't have to hold the weight of the awning as I probably would have lost it somewhere in Kansas. After they got the awning installed, they didn't know how to deploy it, but I was able to figure it out before they broke something.714Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
INSTALLING RUNNING BOARDS ON A MAJESTIC 23A Many pages back on this thread, someone asked about putting running boards on their RV. It can be done! I put a pair on my unit yesterday and it is so much easier to climb into the cab now, and I have a 36" inseam. I purchased the Running Boards, or as they call them Step Boards for a company called Carid, online, and the model was the 7 inch wide, 36 inch long "Luverne." At least on a 23A, you have 37 inches from the rear of the front tire well to the front of the coach and the boards I purchased were 36 inches long and they fit with plenty of clearance from the front tire. The instructions left a little to be desired, but after spending a little time in trial fitting the mounting brackets to the underneath of the cab, I was able to figure out their instructions. The model I purchased included everything I needed to do a complete install, but the company neglected to provide instruction for mounting the running boards to the mounting brackets, but I figured it out. If you do some digging around on the Carid website, they do provide instructions. It took me a couple of hours to do the complete install and I was able to do it myself. I'm very happy with the running boards. It's so much easier to get in and out of the cab, plus I think the boards will act somewhat like mud flaps and keep the lower door panels and lower front of the coach a little cleaner. link--> https://www.carid.com/luverne-truck-equipment/7-grip-step-black-step-boards.html?urlId=79288326862Views0likes0CommentsMaintaining air pressure in your tires
I've had my RV for less than a year and I'm religious in checking it's tire pressure. I had an inside rear dual that always seemed to loose a little tire pressure, so I checked pressure often. I thought I may have to take this tire to a shop to have it remounted. I went to an auto parts store and purchased a little screw driver looking thing that is used for inserting the tire valve into it's stem. (I'm sorry I don't remember what it's called). Like I said, the tool looks like a small screw driver with a slot cut into it's stem. The valve fits into this slot and allows you to screw the valve into the tire valve stem. It costs a few bucks. I fit this little tool into the valve stem on my leaky tire and found that the reason I was loosing air was the valve was a little loose in the stem which allowed a bit of air to leak around the threads that holds the valve within the stem. It took almost a full rotation of the tool in the tire stem before the valve was firmly seated in the stem. I tightened all of valves on all of my tires and they all have held their air pressure since I did this. For a few dollars this little tool gives me some peace of mind. I just looked it up and the tool is called "a GVX Valve Core Removal Tool" - under $7 on Amazon. I purchased mine at a local car parts store. and a link--> https://www.amazon.com/GVX-Valve-Core-Removal-Tool/dp/B01IE7EL1E/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=Schrader+Valve+Tool&qid=1624644307&sr=8-57.6KViews0likes29CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
Hoerschel wrote: The importance of a TPMS: tire pressure monitoring system. I recently bought a used 30' Class C with 111k miles on the clock from Cruise America. Prior to sale I had performed the perfunctory safety checks, especially on the tires, ensuring they were within 3-5 years from manufacturing date, had good tread, no sidewall cracks and were aired-up appropriately. However, the coach lacked a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS)--and I thought NOTHING of it. "No big deal," I told myself. I'll religiously check the pressure prior to every trip and that's good enough. That is, until the fateful day recently when I discovered, while parked at a rest stop, that my outer right rear dually looked mighty low. It was a Sunday and I was in Penrose, CO. Fortunately, I found the owner of a tire shop working on his day off and he kindly agreed to put some air in my tire. "Whoa," he said. "Your outer tire is low because it's bearing all the weight that should be shared with the inner dually. And THAT tire is flatter than a pancake. Unrepairable." Whaaa...? Folks, only minutes earlier, I had driven down a treacherous mountain road out of Westcliffe, CO. One with lots of curves, aggressive drivers and a need for reasonable speed. How and where that tire failed I have no idea. And my ignorance of the situation needlessly imperiled me and everyone else on the road. One failed tire could easily have led to two, loss of control and--well, your imagination of a disaster is as good as mine. As I listened to the tire man I began to shudder with the thought of the catastrophe I had miraculously been spared. And how a TPMS is no longer a luxury in my mind. It is an absolute necessity. I'm no longer an indolent wise guy. I got a clue. And I hope you all do, too. I used to live in Colorado and I know the roads you were driving on. They require all of your attention no matter what type of vehicle you're driving. I just made a post about checking the tire's tightness of the valve core into the valve stem in the general class C section. Perhaps your flat was caused because your valve core was loose and allowed the air to leak? (I thought I was making my post in this section). My tires hold air much better now since I did this simple little bit of maintenance.862Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
texasvwnut wrote: Hi all. Questions about Cruise America Thor Majestic 23A coach battery. 1) What manufactures, size and type battery did your 23A come with? Mine came with a a Lifetime AMG Deep Cycle Group 31. 2) Was your battery just on the battery tray or did it come with a strap and/or any protection from road debris/elements? 3) Have you replaced your battery and if so, what did you decide to go with? Did you stay with an AMG or go the traditional flooded deep cycle? 1 & 2 My 23A came with a new (what the salesman said) group 31 AGM which just sat on the battery tray-no tiedowns. 3 I've thought about replacing it, as I have no idea how many recharge cycles it's gone through and it seems to loose it's charge, especially when it sits for a few weeks. I've put it on a battery charger if it sits longer than this time period. If I were to replace it, I'd go with another AGM, and add a second battery and a solar panel. You shouldn't mix a flooded and AGM batteries, and I like the idea of no maintenance of the AGM. The Lithium's are just too expensive for the way I use my coach.862Views0likes0CommentsRe: Worn suspension
I'll disagree with some of the posters here. 54,000 miles on factory shocks when your running your unit at maximum weight levels, Ya, it could be time for a change. They don't put premium shocks on these thing when they come from the factory. I'm guessing you can buy heavy duty shocks for around $100 each. While your doing this, change out your steering stabilizer too.484Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
I can't speak exactly about the unit you're buying, as mine is the smaller 23A. I'm going to assume your problems with mounting a TV in the bedroom area will be these two; routing a cable for an antenna and powering the TV. mounting the TV shouldn't be a problem, a flat screen isn't that heavy depending on the size. If you mount it under an overhead cabinet, for example, you could tap into a light fixture for 12 volts. If you get a TV that runs on 110 volts, you'll have to either be on shore power or the generator to run the TV. So buy a TV that runs on 12 volts and you'll bypass that problem. (TV's that run on 110 volts have a transformer in them to convert it to 12 volts anyway). I will assume you'll have an antenna on the roof, which means you'll have to add that. You'll have to run an coax cable from that antenna to the TV, and you'll probably want to power that coax to amplify the signal so you'll need power for that (12v). The roof vent for the refrigerator will give you a path from the roof down to underneath the unit so that's a good way to run the coax. From underneath the unit you can go into the storage area and then up to the bed. A bedroom TV can be done, but you'll need a antenna that rotates to get a signal and you have to be within 50ish miles from the TV transmitter or stay in campgrounds that have cable available. If all you be using the TV for is to watch DVD's, then the installation will be much simpler. Or, you could get a tablet that operates on 4g and then anywhere you get a cell signal you'll have entertainment from anywhere in or out of the TV. It's what I do.516Views0likes0CommentsRe: Buying a Former Rental Class C. How many of us out there?
quasimatter wrote: Majestic31 wrote: All new Bilstein HD shocks, Front steering stabilizer, Front and rear Anti sway bars, Front and rear Sumo springs airless air bags, Hi Majestic31 (or Booner or anyone else) - could you link the Bilstein Shock and steering stabilizer you purchased? I could not find E450 Shock/stabilizers (for CA 28A Majestic) on Amazon. Thanks in advance. Edit: Answering my own question for others in future: Steering Stabilizer on Amazon $115 Rear Shocks part number 33-176840 as per Bilstein (08-16 E450 motorhomes) Front shocks - Part number 33-187563 as per Bilsteing (08-16 E450 Motorhomes) I have linked to Amazon but can be bought cheaper elsewhere. Hey Quasimatter, To figure out what shocks fit my rv, I first went to the Bilstein website and looked up what shock they recommend for my unit, then looked that model up on Amazon. Since my unit is a 23A, and an E350, my rv may or may not use the same shocks as yours. But it looks like you found what you need. I hope you're very satisfied with the shocks. -Booner463Views0likes0CommentsRe: Thor Majestic 23A
There is so much information on the Majestic 23A in the thread IAMICHABOD referred to, as well as other Cruise America models, that I highly recommend you read. The thread should put most of your fears of buying a used rv with plenty of miles on them to rest. My 23A from CA had 128,000 on the odometer and I haven't had any problem worth mentioning. I did replace the shocks and steering stabilizer on it as my first major purchase, and I would recommend you do the same. I also added a wireless backup camera because you have a huge blind spot behind the unit. re: driving on gravel roads- You're driving a big, overweight vehicle on a rough surface so take you time and avoid thinking it's capable of off-road use. The biggest problem I've encountered is dust getting into the unit. How the unit is attached to the subframe leaves a lot of gaps that the dust will find a way into. I've spent plenty of time underneath the unit plugging these gaps with caulking, expanding foam, and spray on truck bed liner. I've eliminated most of the gaps and the dust incursion is almost nil. This is a fairly typical problem of most rv's, but I think it's time well spent. The 23A is a base level RV, and I'm good with that. I have no problems recommending a former CA rental to anyone, the miles on the unit don't bother me. The engine and chassis on these units are good for 1/2 million miles if they are maintained, and in my opinion, the rental companies do a better job of maintaining them than a private owner.3.2KViews0likes0Comments
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