LSVLance
Explorer
Joined 21 years ago
User Profile
User Widgets
All Activity
Re: 8,000# hitch on new E-450 Chassis
So fast forward to this spring... I put 70 pounds of air in my Firestone RideRite air bags, swapped to a 8" drop from 4" drop draw bar and moved the car back 4" on the trailer. Net result was 180# from the rear axle to the front axle leaving me a 280# cushion on the rear tire capacity. I think I'll try to forgo the weight distribution hitch on the trailer for now. In order to do the Anderson Hitch setup, I'd have to go with the 8" drop style and I'm afraid it'll hang down too low and catch on things. Anderson said I could cut off the portion I don't need but I think I'll be alright without one. It tows great, drove about 25 miles at highway speeds into a 25 MPH head\cross wind and it handled things very well.647Views0likes0CommentsRe: Electric brake control harness in E-450
I used this harness, it plugged right into the one behind the coin holder. https://www.etrailer.com/p-3034-P.htmlhttps://www.etrailer.com/p-3034-P.html I started on the right hand side, got it to pry out a bit then started working on the top, but I was working blind because I didn't know where the tabs were. If I were to do it again, I'd pry from the right side a bit with a putty knife and then use a screwdriver from the top to slowly start releasing the three tabs across the top. By the time you get the second one released, it gets looser and easier to get the tabs loose. Once the 3 top tabs are released it'll slide right out. Good luck.642Views0likes0CommentsRe: Electric brake control harness in E-450
Okay, time to put a cap on this... I was able to get the coin tray out without damage and just like everyone said, the factory installed electric brake control harness was sitting right behind said tray. From then on it was about a 10 minute job to finish installing the brake controller. Here is a picture of the 2016 dash where Ford moved the coin tray to up above the radio. Here are where the tabs are on the tray that need to be released before tray will come out. Three along the top, two along the bottom. They do NOT release easily the first time. Top Bottom Sides have no tabs but are easiest to get putty knife or screwdriver under to get started. Here is where I mounted my Tekonsha. I used 4 long wood screws to attach the bracket to the foam behind the panel. It seems pretty secure now, time will tell if they hold tight in there. An easier fix may be to just buy the Ford brake controller and put it in place of the coin tray, but this also requires a reflash of the ECM. Personally, I like that tray as a place to keep my sunglasses and cell phone. Hopefully this will help others doing the same upgrade. Now, I just need to get out and test it.642Views0likes0CommentsRe: Electric brake control harness in E-450
Just so I can find it again later and in case anyone else is looking for it, I found this diagram for the trailer tow wiring on the E-series Body Builders layout book. https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/topics/2015/2015_Electrical_Wiring_v1-0.pdf Page 13 and 14 deal with the factory trailer tow wiring on the 2015 E-Series chassis. I will take this with me the next time I visit our RV to see if it helps find said connectors.646Views0likes0CommentsRe: New Concord 300DS
We bought our 2016 300DS slightly used and it had already had the swing out contraption hit and ultimately removed completely before we got it. The leftover pieces were in a storage compartment and I looked into reinstalling it...and decided that I'd probably tear it off again as well so I did away with it. Really it is just a matter of unbolting some brackets and hardware and removing. The connection for the sewer hose is the same under the rig as any other RV, you just don't have the big tube to store the hose in when it's gone.643Views0likes0CommentsElectric brake control harness in E-450
Has anyone had any luck finding a factory installed harness plug in their newer E-450 Chassis to plug an electric brake controller (like a Tekonsha P3) directly into? eTrailer says in a couple of different places that there should be one behind the center part of the dash that this connector will plug right into. https://www.etrailer.com/p-3034-P.html I pulled the engine cover on my 2016 E-450 completely out last week and only found this connector up there behind the cetner of the dash, which doesn't match the 3034P plug. Somewhere I saw that some chassis have a black plug and need a different harness, I think for a Superduty chassis...but I can not seem to find that link again for some reason and the guy at eTrailer didn't know anything about it either. eTrailer had me look up above e-brake pedal for the grey one also, no luck. Lastly, after I left where the RV is stored they said in some instances....it's under the driver seat also. My next step unless a better ideal is found before then is to start back at the 7 pin connector, see if there is a wire attached to the brake wire pin...then try to follow it forward. Surely there is but at this point who knows. Hopefully one of you has tried to do the same and can hold my hand to save some time. Thanks, Lance3.1KViews0likes8CommentsRe: Better way to stow 30 amp cord in small cubby hole
I picked up a 25' 30 amp extension cord the other day along with a cord reel to wrap it up on. It'll live in a storage bin along with my fresh water hoses and bin of sewer accessories. I think if the cord cubby hole is pretty close to the plug in, I'll just pull a few loops of cord out, but if it's more than 10' away or so, I'll just pull the end out, plug my extension cord in and use it instead. This also gives me 50' of total cord should I need it for an unusual plug in situation like I ran into at a race track with my partner's Class A last summer. I still have yet to find any circuit breakers, fuses, or any electrical panel at all on this coach. Surely there has to be something somewhere...? There are removable access panels in several spots inside the coach that I haven't peeked behind yet, maybe behind one of them. Near the batteries is a battery on\off switch and inside the battery tray is a couple of connections, a relay and two 10 amp fuse holders...that's it. I'll probably start another thread on this if it becomes a challenge to figure out.473Views0likes0CommentsRe: Better way to stow 30 amp cord in small cubby hole
That makes sense, starting without a load. Just seems strange to me that you plug the line in after the genset is started. This coach does not have any breakers that I have found yet. I'm sure there has to be an electrical panel with fuses and breakers on it somewhere, but dang if I have found it yet. Regarding the cable, I think what I'll probably do is pick up a 25' 30 amp extension cord and keep it with my water lines and such in the underneath storage. Then when camping I'll pull it out, plug it into the coach shore line and then the receptacle and go. When leaving, just unplug both ends, wrap the cord up and stow it and be done. This way, if I ever need more than 25' of cord, I can pull the other cord out of the hole and use it.473Views0likes0CommentsRe: Better way to stow 30 amp cord in small cubby hole
enblethen wrote: OP does not appear to have a transfer switch. He must plug the shore power cord into receptacle to connect genset to rig. That is what photo indicates to me Correct... In fact when I was inspecting the RV, we got the genset started and still had no 110v inside. The seller called Coachmen and they reminded him he had to plug the shore power line into the genset receptacle. The book says to start the genset first, then plug the cable in (to prevent damage) but that seems strange to me. The genset receptacle is what makes stowing the cable so difficult, plus it's not real easy to plug the cable into it and it's orientated so the top of the plug is pointed out (cable towards middle of RV) so you have to stuff the cable in to line the plug up with the receptacle. Reading all of the comments here makes me happy that I'm not the only one this bothers. I WILL figure out some easier way to deal with this.473Views0likes0CommentsRe: Better way to stow 30 amp cord in small cubby hole
bob_nestor wrote: The problem with coiling a cable or extension cord is that it forces twists in the cord. There are two methods that avoid this, the Roadie Method and the Daisy Chain or Braiding method. Both are described and demonstrated in videos here. One of my previous RVs had the 30a cable stored in a closed area with only a small hole where the cable came out. To stow the cable one had to push it all back into that small hole. Two tricks I discovered with it were to 1) always pull all the cable out before trying to stow it and 2) give a slight twist to the cable about every 3 feet when stowing it, alternating clockwise then counterclockwise. BTW, both the Roadie and Daisy Chain methods keep the cables from getting tangled up when you want to lay them out. The Daisy Chain method works great for long cables and welding cables since you can tug on one end to get as much extension as you need without undoing the whole braid. I have been taught the Daisy Chain method before, but got out of the habit of using it for my extension cords, then forgot how. Now I remember again after watching the video, thanks. Never seen the Roadie method before, but I can see how it would work well also. What bothers me the most about stuffing this 30 amp cable into the box is the plastic door and door frame. It won't take much abuse before the door gets broken by the heavy cable.473Views0likes0Comments
Groups
Motorhome Group
Join in here to discuss all things motorhomes.Jan 21, 202538,705 Posts
