1992 Fleetwood Flair

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Scoundrel

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2006
Posts
106
Location
Corona, California
Hello everyone. I'm new to RV's and I just purchased an older 1992 28' Fleetwood Flair. I have no manuals of any kind so it's going to be difficult to learn everything about the coach. I did however find a pamphlet spoke about air bags needing to be at a specific psi. How do I find out if my coach has air bigs and how do I check them?

Truly lost.... :eek:   
 
I suspect that the air bags on that chassis would be located inside coil springs on the front suspension and should be visible if you either crawl under the front of the coach or look behind the front wheels. There should either be an inflation valve at the bottom of each bag or air lines that run up to inflation valves under the hood.

It's not a good photo, but click here to see an example of the type of air bag I described above.

Hopefully someone with a Flair of the same vintage can help with the correct air pressure.
 
Have you contacted Fleetwood yet?  They should be able to provide some information.  Try the following link.
http://www.fleetwoodrv.com/ .  Another place to check would be the chassis manufacturer.
 
I will need to order a set of manuals from Fleetwood however they don't cover the chassis and I have no idea what manufacture of chassis I have. Does anyone know who make the chassis for my coach?

Thanks
 
When you contact fleetwood have the Vin number and the coach serial number ready to give them.  They will be able to help a lot and even tell you which chassis it it on.
 
Scoundrel said:
I will need to order a set of manuals from Fleetwood however they don't cover the chassis and I have no idea what manufacture of chassis I have. Does anyone know who make the chassis for my coach?

Thanks

Scoundrel,

I'm guessing you have either a Ford or Chevy chassis. If they are talking air bags, then it will be the Chevy. As Tom said they will be located inside the front springs. The valve should be at the bottom. Some people have extended an air line to a location near the front of the coach so they can fill them without crawling underneath the chassis. Chevy wheels had 5 or 6 lugs and Ford had 8 lugs if my memory serves me correctly.
 
It has a Chevy chassis I think. I know its a chevy engine at least!

I understand there are some that have a "Workhorse" chassis what ever that means and some have a Freight liner chassis. Since I don't have a manual it's going to be difficult to find out which it is. Maybe it would be beneficial to take it in to Fleetwood and have them tell me what I have...lol

I would look for the air bags but the coach is in the shop getting the exhaust manifolds surfaced....they were leaking. I played hell trying to find a place that would work on it in my neck of the woods. I did find a Fleet service center here in town that services all the fleet truck for the city and they would fix it for me allot cheaper then Giant RV here in town.

I should get it back on Tuesday and then I can start digging into it and making all the little repairs it still needs. I think my biggest problem is going to be finding replacement parts like the front turn signal housing. That I know isn't working and I found that after checking it the housing is all rusted out. :mad:? I guess the fun starts now..... :eek:



? ?
 
Scoundrel

We have some resources here on the forum that might help you find sources for spare parts. Click the Library button above, then click Resources database on the left of your screen. Enter "parts" (without the quotes) and click Search.
 
I'm not familiar with the Flair but if it is a class A motorhome with Chev engine it should have a Chev P30 frame like mine. To find the valves for the airbags you will need to follow the little plastic fill tubes from the bag to wherever the valve is installed. Mine for the front are inside the motor housing and for the rear are on each side of the license plate.
You can still get frame parts from any large Chev dealer and some body parts from Fleetwood. There is also a place in Decatur, Indiana where one of the two Fleetwood factories is, that carries a ton of parts for old Fleetwood motorhome. I can't recall the name right now but the Elkart factory should be able to give it to you. If not, let me know and I will try to find it out for you.

Woody
 
Woody said:
I'm not familiar with the Flair but if it is a class A motorhome with Chev engine it should have a Chev P30 frame like mine. To find the valves for the airbags you will need to follow the little plastic fill tubes from the bag to wherever the valve is installed. Mine for the front are inside the motor housing and for the rear are on each side of the license plate.
You can still get frame parts from any large Chev dealer and some body parts from Fleetwood. There is also a place in Decatur, Indiana where one of the two Fleetwood factories is, that carries a ton of parts for old Fleetwood motorhome. I can't recall the name right now but the Elkart factory should be able to give it to you. If not, let me know and I will try to find it out for you.

Woody

Woody, It is a P-30 chassis. I search the net for the Fleetwood place in Decatur you indicated. I wish there was a parts list one could purchase. It would make things much easier.

 
I think Woody is referring to Sullivan's RV, which is  just down the road from the Fleetwood Parts Distribution warehouse. They are nice folks at Sullivan's and they can get any Fleetwood part available within a few hours. They also give prompt mail order service.

No manufacturer has a generic parts list for a motorhome - there are too many models and they change too quickly. Most have rcords of what went into the construction of any specific unit (by VIN or serial number) and can look up specific items if you call.  Don't know if they would make a copy of the file for you or not. You can call Fleetwood Customer Service and ask.
 
Hi Gary,

No, I wasn't referring to Sullivans, but to a place they told me about. It is on the road into Decatur from I 69, a great big warehouse with tons of stuff, all jumbled up. You could spend at least a day in there looking through it. The guy that runs it seems to know where everything is though.
Sullivans does have a lot of parts too though.
Anyone at Sullivans should be able to give you their name and phone number.

Woody
 
I'll look into all the resources you have given. I also have a Fleetwood service center close by so I'll start there and see where it takes me. Thanks for the help. ;D
 
Well I finally got the MH back after getting the exhaust manifolds surfaces and installed. Motor sounds fine.

New questions:

1) Is it common not to be able to start the generator if the motor isn't running?
2) When the motor is running I can only start the generator from outside, the toggle switch inside on the control panel seems to try to start the generator but can't quite get it to go on and once started from outside, when trying to shut it down from inside it tries but can't quite get it to shut off either, why?   
3) When checking the battery condition from the control panel the led lights indicate the batteries are good but how do you know that both the deep cycle batteries are fully charged? won't the control panel only be referencing the main starter battery?
4) lastly, the air bags are only on the front springs and I found where to inflate them, it was on the bottom of each helper spring. My question is how much psi should be in each bag and how often should you check and adjust the amount?

Thanks for the help. 
 
1) Is it common not to be able to start the generator if the motor isn't running?

No. This suggests a weak battery or perhaps a poor (corroded) connection between the genset starter motor and the battery. Most likely your genset is started by the chassis (engine) battery rather than the house batteries, but this is not always true.

2) When the motor is running I can only start the generator from outside, the toggle switch inside on the control panel seems to try to start the generator but can't quite get it to go on and once started from outside, when trying to shut it down from inside it tries but can't quite get it to shut off either, why? 

Can you describe what happens when you use the remote switch? Does the genset starter crank at all? Maybe just "click"? Click and grunt once? Do nothing?

3) When checking the battery condition from the control panel the led lights indicate the batteries are good but how do you know that both the deep cycle batteries are fully charged? won't the control panel only be referencing the main starter battery?

Most likely the control panel lights monitor the house batteries rather than the chassis battery. However, when on shore power or with the genset running, the monitor is probably seeing the charge induced by your built-in battery charger rather than the true battery state.  I would not have a lot of faith in that monitor anyway - they tend to show "good" until the moment before go completely bad.  I suggest you disconnect the RV from shore power and leave genset and engine off. Turn on a couple of interior lights for an hour and then check the house batteries directly with a voltmeter. The voltage should be 12.6. or very close to it. Less than 12.5 would indicate at least one weak battery. More than 12.7 indicates there is still a surface charge and you need to put an additional load (more lights, etc) before you can see the true state. 13.0 or more indicates you still have a charger attached somehow.

You can also check the individual cells of the batteries with a hygrometer (specific gravity tester). These are available in any auto parts store/department and are inexpensive.

4) lastly, the air bags are only on the front springs and I found where to inflate them, it was on the bottom of each helper spring. My question is how much psi should be in each bag and how often should you check and adjust the amount?

The amount of pressure depends on the front axle weight capacity and your preference for ride & handling.  The minimum is 50 psi and the max is 90 psi (unless you have upgraded to the new heavy duty bags from Workhorse, in which case it is 110 psi).  Above 50 psi you can apply your own preference for handling and ride comfort.  More pressure yields somewhat more responsive steering/handling at the expense of a firmer ride.  I'm guessing a Flair is on the 14,000 lb GVWR chassis, in which case 50-60 psi is probably about right. The heavier GVWR chassis usually need 70 psi or more.

Check the bag pressure again in a week and then at one month. If it stays as initially set, I would check it maybe twice a year or if handling deteriorates. If it has gone down any at all (after allowing for temperature change) I would check it often.  Don't drive the rig if the pressure is below 50 psi.  Replacing leaking bags is not terribly expensive and can be done yourself.

 
I'm not sure about the Flair but in my 93 Fleetwood Pace Arrow, the genset is started by the coach batteries. That way you can use it to power a battery charger to charge the main battery if it is dead. The charger/converter doesn't charge the main battery at all so if the coach sits for a period of time without the battery being disconnected at the switch or at the battery it will run down.
I wouldn't put much faith in those panel lights, they are notoriously inaccurate.

Woody
 
Woody said:
I'm not sure about the Flair but in my 93 Fleetwood Pace Arrow, the genset is started by the coach batteries. That way you can use it to power a battery charger to charge the main battery if it is dead. The charger/converter doesn't charge the main battery at all so if the coach sits for a period of time without the battery being disconnected at the switch or at the battery it will run down.
I wouldn't put much faith in those panel lights, they are notoriously inaccurate.

Woody


Woody,

Chassis battery is the one used to start the Motor correct? and the house batteries are in my case two deep cycle batteries correct?
So when you are driving doesn't the alternator charge all three equally?

I'll check the terminals to the Generator.

With the engine off and I push the interior remote switch it just clicks. When I try to start it from the switch on the Generator it again just clicks. However when I start the engine and try to start the generator from the interior remote switch it tries to turn over very slowly but just can't get-er- done. However with the engine running and going to the generator and pushing the switch on the generator it starts right up!

So bottom line is I can only start the generator when the engine is running and I do it from outside. And at no time can I start it without the engine running. In addition the only time I can shut the generator off is from the outside switch, the remote interior switch tries by slowing down the generator to nearly a stop but not quite..



     

 
With the engine off, turn on some lights inside and then try starting the generator. Do the lights get very dim? If so, check your house batteries and connections. Sounds like yours starts from the house batteries and that's where the problem is. With the engine running, a transfer switch is probably connecting the chassis battery into the starter circuit providing enough juice to start. As far as not shutting down from inside - I haven't a clue - unless that's related to low house batteries too. Some rigs have an "Aux Start" pushbutton somewhere on the dash which connects the house and chassis batteries together. If you have one of those, push and hold it, then try to start the genset. Let us know. 
 
Karl said:
With the engine off, turn on some lights inside and then try starting the generator. Do the lights get very dim? If so, check your house batteries and connections. Sounds like yours starts from the house batteries and that's where the problem is. With the engine running, a transfer switch is probably connecting the chassis battery into the starter circuit providing enough juice to start. As far as not shutting down from inside - I haven't a clue - unless that's related to low house batteries too. Some rigs have an "Aux Start" pushbutton somewhere on the dash which connects the house and chassis batteries together. If you have one of those, push and hold it, then try to start the genset. Let us know.?


I do have a "Aux Start" pushbutton. I was told that it was just in case your chassis battery went dead, that it would switch over to the house batteries to start the engine. Based on the information you all are providing it appears to me there is a strong chance the battery connections are not contacting correctly. I  will check them.

So, is the Deep Cycle batteries what everyone is calling "House batteries" and the single regular battery ( chassis) used as any other auto for starting the engine? or is it all the other way around? I was under the assumption that the Generator started from the deep cycle batteries not the chassis battery.......

I was going to put a charger on the deep cycle batteries but they look like they are hooked up in series. Do I put the positive cable on the end battery and put the ground cable directly to the chassis frame?
 
 
The aux start button typically closes a relay to put the house batteries in parallel with the chassis batteries.

The deep cycle batteries are the house batteries and are probably 6 volt, thus the series connection.? To charge put the positive charger cable on the + post that has the other cables on it, and the negative on the same - post as the ground cable.? The other 2 posts will just have a jumper on them and do not get connected to the charger.

Normally, the generator is started from the house batteries so you can recharge a depleted chassis battery to start the engine.? However, this is not always the case.? You can tell by putting a voltmeter on your house batteries and watching it while trying to start the generator.? If the voltage drops while trying to start, then it's wired to the house batteries.? You can use Karl's test as a simpler version.  You can repeat the test with the chassis battery as well.

Your problems do sound like a bad connection to the batteries or ground.
 

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