1986 Cross Country remodel/repair need help. have specific questions

I just purchased a 1986 Sportscoach Cross country.

76,000.miles engine rebuilt at 61000 miles with receipt for $3,000.00. It has a 454 Chevy and 2 mach 3 Coleman ac units on the roof. This is my first time and I am handy so I want to remodel myself.

Here are the questions:

The p30 front airbags are shot (did some research for the number), do i need these to rv? the back 2 are good.

The tires were purchased in 2006 (dynatrack 8r 19.5) and hold air fine but have some sun cracks on the sidewall. should i replace (i think i will anyways)

The rear ac doesn?t blow cold, i am going to crawl on the roof and take the cover off to see if the compressor is bad, how do i check that? where should i check and how would i use a multi meter to diagnose, what is the process to diagnose this ac system?

The guy has the wires out for the generator and (shoreline) impute. You have to switch the wires manually to the box because "something broke" how do i take that box apart to diagnose this problem because its a pain to switch those wires every time.

The door handle doesn?t really work; found the part bargman l-300. How do I change this?

It has the Chevy engine so what kind of frame? The front passenger break squeaks alot, took the tore off to look and the rotor is great and pads have tons of life left, what would cause this, and if i need new breaks what model do i tell the parts store?

What ive done:

I already ripped up the pink carpet and fixed some floor sagging issues then laid a sub floor of 5/8 MDF and then put laminate tiles on top to update the look.

Are there any RV salvage yards in phoenix az?

This is a duplicate posting.  I just responded to this message in The motorhome grouping.  You are likely to confuse people by having to identical posts.

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the forum. I will let the experts handle most of your questions but I wanted to let you know the only place you should drive your RV right now is to a tire shop real carefully and get rid of those tires. A blowout on a RV is not like a blowout on a car. An RV blowout can do thousands of dollars of structural damage.

I have a 1986 Tiffin Allegro on a P-30 with a 454 with 24k miles on it. I got it about 6 months ago for $2600 and I live in it full time. Fixing things seems to be a never ending battle, but then again I am picky. It will save you a lot in the long run if you do as much of the work yourself as you can.

Here is the RV salvage in AZ;
http://arizonarvsalvage.com/

You need the front air bags, start with 50psi.
The frame is the Chevy P-30.
The front brakes are probably squeaking due to dirt or the pads are the cheap ones. Sometimes driving and getting them heated up helps.
The Bargman handles seem to hang up, I just open them up and oil the mechanism. Also check latch clearance.
The genny part you can find at the salvage yard, the A/C, I'll have to post the procedure later.
J

okay im goign to start going through the AC in about a hour, procedure would be handy and how to use my multi meter would be hany too.

I look forward to that post.

Im going to get the tires done.

Check out this thread at this site:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f54/wiring-an-a-c-boost-start-capacitor-67369.html
J

Hi BAJ - welcome to The Original RV Forum!

I removed the duplicate post in the Motorhome section, so all the replies will be organized here instead of split between two topics.

The Chevy P-30 needs front airbags to work.  Chevy's front end doesn't have enough room for coil springs heavy enough to support the full weight of the motorhome, so they used lighter springs and added airbags to make up the difference.  Without the airbags your front end will ride low and the springs will bottom out even on small bumps.

On the air conditioner, does the compressor start?  You can hear the compressor run if you start the air conditioner in fan only mode, then switch it to cooling.  If the compressor is running but the system is not putting out cold air, you've lost the freon and the cure is to replace the A/C - it can't be recharged.  If the compressor does not start, replace the capacitor.  It's relatively inexpensive and is usually the first thing to fail.  If the motor doesn't run with a new capacitor, it's also time for a new A/C.

There are two ways to fix the shore power/generator problem.  One is to buy another automatic transfer switch (that's the part that broke) and put it back in.  But that's fairly expensive.

Another way is to eliminate the transfer switch and mount a 30 amp socket in the compartment where you store the shore power cord.  Connect the socket to the generator, and when you store the shore power cord, plug it into the generator socket to let the generator power the motorhome.

On the door lock, remove the screws on the inside plate.  The plate should pull off, then you can do the same to the outside plate.

Have fun!

alright i replaced the start capacitor and it didnt work.

is there a way to trip the thermostat to see if thats the problem? or is there a way to trip the start capacator (might have the wrong one)

how do i bypass these systems to see if they are faulty?

i didnt realize i re posted, thought the other one didnt work and i posted here, woops.

Iota 30 Amp transfer switch is less than $60 from several Internet sources. I bought one from Northern Arizona Wind & Sun Solar Electric Store.

Complete wiring instructions can be found on the Iota website.

ken

You should be able to find a repair manual for your AC online with detailed troubleshooting measures. Might have to search awhile, but.. better than shooting in the dark trying to diagnose the problem.

yeah. i just need to know how to troubleshoot the basics, tstat and starter cap. there should be a way to bypass to see if thats the problem.

also just picked up the front p30 air bags, got for $100.00. and going to check out the ac again. ill post pics after i finish the floor

ok so i took off the thermostat and put a pair of pliers in the wires and tripped the condenser! it works!

part 6701-340 is bad... where do i find that?

badassjeep04 said:

part 6701-340 is bad... where do i find that?

Click to expand...

Try this.

Richard

last night i installed the p30 airbags. what i did was cut the old ones out and then shoved the new ones in the small hole at the bottom of the a arm. took about a hour.

T-stat ordered $12, and bargman door handle ordered as well.

Where did you find the T-stat?
J

Norton AC here in phoenix!

need to work on that door handle today. im getting a little overwhelmed.

alright i have th new door handle in, works great on to tires~

found some samson gl 83 tires for 118 mounted... what are your thoughts on these

Alright well i havent heard anything back about the tires so i decided to go with them, only planning on running them for two years because they are going to get some mileage from Phoenix to the Glamis dunes.

Last night i changed the front break pads, pretty easy once i found out what my "drivetrain?" was called (P30). I never changed breaks like this before but after taking sometime i found out that i needed to remove the allen head bolt on the back of the caliper, then pount out that retainign plate then the caliper just comes off. new pads were $25.00 from checker and WOW what a differance.

So today i have the tires and breaks off my check list. while driving it around yesterday i stated smelling a rubber burning smell through the AC, i figure i blew the AC belt so i am going to change that today, re charge the comressor (if its r134a), change oil in the generator because i just received the oil filter, change oil in RV, and well i dont know.