1st trip report with questions

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Nwatkins176

Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Posts
15
Okay, Hello everybody.

I picked up my new to me Class A Diesel 2005 Daman Tuscany in Houston this past week.  I have owned a smaller toy hauler in the past, but man this is much more complicated.  I bought it to full time in, because I hate paying rent in NYC, so I am in a camp ground in Jersery. 

My trip from Houston to NJ was not uneventfull.  I picked up the coach and closed on it on Wednesday Jan 23.  I had a tankless water heater put in, but didn't realize that the new door would be white, on my beautifully painted RV.  No big deal, I filled up the tanks and started driving back East.  I stopped for a night near Sulphur, LA because I wanted to buy car hauler, because new ones in LA are the same price as used stuff in the North East.  I woke up at the truck stop about 20 miles from the Trailer dealer and drove to the trailer dealer. 

Trip Downer #1
I got out at the trailer dealer and noticed I took a right turn too sharp somewhere and damage about 10 feet of storage doors near and across the right rear wheel.  Well now I guess I have to find a body shop.  Urg.  That is so embarassing, I had a 34 toyhauler and Dodge 2500 in the past and never drug it on something turning right.  :-[
I never heard or felt the impact, so I am not sure what I hit.  It was 2 feet high and green.

Thursday, I made to just outside of Knoxville TN and grab a night of sleep at a Walmart.  When I went to put out the bedroom slide, it moved a couple of inches, stopped and then opened up fully.  Got back on the road on Friday and was greeted with a freezing rain storm.  I was getting Ice 1/4 inch all over the front of the coach.  I spent a lot of time living in CO, so I am decent about driving in crappy conditions, but nothing this large.  So I stopped and read the manual about the Alison Transmission, and learned how to drive that transmission in bad conditions.  I was really surprised at how well the coach did in ice and later snow in VA.  I think because of the weight the coach doesn't seem to mind the bad conditions. I just kept it slow, used the gears an turned off the jake brake.  I expected to make it all the way to my campground on Friday, but with the weather, I only made it outside of DC. 

During the trip I filled up a couple times and I was making about 8.5 MPG!.  I can't complain about that, not with that big diesel and a 41' coach and 1500 pound empty car hauler. 

I stopped and spend the night at a rest stop.  I used the automatic leveling jacks.

I started driving my last 200 miles on Saturday the (25)  The jacks did the best they could but the spot at the rest stop was but the rest stop was pretty cambered.  When I left in the morning, the jacks came up, but i was getting warnings as I was driving.  It seems as I slowed down the waring would start beeping at me telling a jack was down and they were not.  If I was at highway speeds I got no such warning.  I stopped a few times, once I crawled under neath the coach and knocked off all the ice I could from around the jacks, but I was still getting that warning.  Basically out of now where the jack panel will start beeping at me, but the jacks are all the way up each time I stopped to look.  I am thinking, it has something to do with the Ice and crap I was driving through.

Question #2
I need your opinion on what is causing this annoying alarm. Think it is the ice and stuff stuck underneath or do I have another problem?

When I was driving I was getting a low voltage warning.  I was able to see the volts of the battery and when the coach was under low strain or idle the batter would charge up to 12.5 volts or past 13 volts while stopped and idling.    Under strain the battery would drop to as low 11.1 volts which set the alarm off.

Question #2
Hopefully this is a battery issue and not a charging system issue.  The chassis battery is sealed, so it is not water.  Opinions would be nice on this one.  When I get time I plan on taking the battery to have it tested.

With about 100 miles left of my trip I stopped to try and mess with my jacks again and noticed the rear outside dually tire was flat.  At this point i just wanted to get where I was going, so I just drove the last hundred miles on just the inside dually.  I felt no difference on the way the coach handled, so I am wondering how long it has been flat.  Did I flatten it out when I ran over what ever caused the damage two days ago?  I doubt it, but it could have so I might have the insurance adjuster look at that possibility.

Okay sorry this is so long.

I got to Jersey and my coach looked terrible so I took it a RV wash and those guys did they best they could.  It was still freezing outside, probably about 25 degrees.  I finally made to my spot yesterday Jan 26 and started to set up camp, and I can't get the slides open.  The living room slide opens about 6 inches on the bottom and only about 3 on the top and it gets stuck.  The bedroom slide opens about 3 inches and stops, but at least it is even. 

Bunch of questions here..

Think these are stuck because of the all the ice and crap I was driving in, or from the water at the truck wash and possibly my awnings are frozen?  It will be about 50 degrees in a couple of days, should I wait to take it to the shop until the warmer weather happens and try then?  How do I lube the slide with them closed?  Can anything else be wrong with it?  I know they are electric, I am hooked up to shore power, but can my house batteries still be too weak to open them?  When I try the lights go dim a bit.  I have not checked the water in the house batteries yet. 

Thank you in advance for the help with these issues. 
 
Congrats on the new home on wheels.

First thing I think you should check if hydraulic fluid level in the tank for the jacks. That could be causing the alarms and on a lot of models that is also what extends ti he slides so if low enough could be why they won't extend.

You got a lot More ba##s than me for driving through the ice and snow
 
Are your jacks the Ultra Level Hydraulic Leveling System like my later model Tuscany? Is there a low voltage/run the engine light on your jack control panel?

My warranty tech said the lights on mine can be sensitive to the air bags setting and that can be adjusted. Another fix for my light being on, although it does not come on going down the road, is to get on level ground and cycle them, being sure they come all the way retracted.

Having just come out of ice in Mississippi and having a lot of sleet and ice buildup, I did have to cycle my slides carefully to clear all the ice that formed in all the cracks and awnings. Waiting for the thaw might be a good solution.

There are several articles here on checking the output of batteries, alternators, converters, and chargers. I had a lot of issues with a previous coach with everything electrical until I found my batteries were the originals (six years old) and replaced them. Not saying that's your issue, but checking all the voltages at the correct places and getting a benchmark of what is being output is what is important long term.

That was a long trip is some iffy weather, but now that you are stationary, possibly better weather will help you sort out the new to you coach bugs.

Good luck!

p.s. I LOVE my Tuscany!  8)
 
skyking4ar2 said:
Are your jacks the Ultra Level Hydraulic Leveling System like my later model Tuscany? Is there a low voltage/run the engine light on your jack control panel?

I am not at the my RV right now, but they seem to be same levelers that were on every other coach I looked at with similiar years.  There is no low voltage light on the jacks, I was getting that in the information center. 


My warranty tech said the lights on mine can be sensitive to the air bags setting and that can be adjusted. Another fix for my light being on, although it does not come on going down the road, is to get on level ground and cycle them, being sure they come all the way retracted.

I cycled them a few times, since I have been getting the warning, only manual operation has been working.  The all seem to come up to the same spot, thus I am assuming they are all the way up.  IE there is not one that is lower than the one next to it when retracted.  Could I be getting the warning because of low voltage when driving? 

Having just come out of ice in Mississippi and having a lot of sleet and ice buildup, I did have to cycle my slides carefully to clear all the ice that formed in all the cracks and awnings. Waiting for the thaw might be a good solution.

There are several articles here on checking the output of batteries, alternators, converters, and chargers. I had a lot of issues with a previous coach with everything electrical until I found my batteries were the originals (six years old) and replaced them. Not saying that's your issue, but checking all the voltages at the correct places and getting a benchmark of what is being output what is important long term.

.  Come to think of it, the previous owner had a an automatic water system on the house batteries and removed it.  I never checked the water lever, but I will.  The slides almost seemed like the wasn't enough power to get them past a certain point.  I am going to get a volt tester and check the output of those batteries when our temp gets above freezing

That was a long trip is some iffy weather, but now that you are stationary, possibly better weather will help you sort out the new to you coach bugs.

Good luck!

p.s. I LOVE my Tuscany!  8)


Thank you for your post, very helpfull. 

 
Wizard46 said:
Congrats on the new home on wheels.

First thing I think you should check if hydraulic fluid level in the tank for the jacks. That could be causing the alarms and on a lot of models that is also what extends ti he slides so if low enough could be why they won't extend.

You got a lot More ba##s than me for driving through the ice and snow

I didn't even think about the Hydraulic level of the jacks, but I will check the levels.  I am not sure, but my slides sound electric and not hydraulic, but the jacks for sure are. 

Thank you for the post
 
The low voltage light on the information center happens on startup for me at times, and both my old and new coach did/do that, but that's a good indicator that you may not be getting a full charge on your batteries, either because they won't take it, or because alternator or charger output is not adequate. Your panel may allow you to check/watch alternator charging voltage which is something you need to know.

With all the "goodies" that require good voltage, slides and jacks are especially sensitive to having exactly what they want and nothing less, in my experience. They both seem to have a low tolerance for marginal or dropping voltage.

Battery age and condition should be a maintenance focus under the circumstances. And in my case on my old coach, one poor battery was causing the misery for the other three house batteries. Lots of discussion in the library and in other posts about all of that.
 
skyking4ar2 said:
The low voltage light on the information center happens on startup for me at times, and both my old and new coach did/do that, but that's a good indicator that you may not be getting a full charge on your batteries, either because they won't take it, or because alternator or charger output is not adequate. Your panel may allow you to check/watch alternator charging voltage which is something you need to know.

With all the "goodies" that require good voltage, slides and jacks are especially sensitive to having exactly what they want and nothing less, in my experience. They both seem to have a low tolerance for marginal or dropping voltage.

Battery age and condition should be a maintenance focus under the circumstances. And in my case on my old coach, one poor battery was causing the misery for the other three house batteries. Lots of discussion in the library and in other posts about all of that.


Sounds like my batteries need to be checked.  The low voltage warning on my information center seemed to be for the engine battery, but maybey all my batteries are bad.  I need to check the water.  I will switch over to the other threads for more battery info.  Thanks for the information.  I am feeling confident we just found the issue with the slides and jacks.  I think I have 6 6v batteries wired in there.  That is scary on the price of each.  I would rather spend the money and get everything right though.  Water is getting checked as soon as I get back there.
 
Chances are the chassis and house batteries on a 2005 are originals, so that would be my first check on the low voltage problem. You are probably due for replacement on both. Otherwise, I'm thinking a bad alternator.

A common cause of a jack alarm is low hydraulic fluid.

Ice on the slides is a likely cause of problems, so waiting for a thaw seems like a good plan.  By the way, the mechanism really doesn't need any lubrication. When summer comes, you can put some dry silicone or 303 protectant on the rubber flaps and seals to help keep them pliable, but that's the extent of it.

Driving on a single dually is very risky and usually causes further damage to the remaining tire. The remaining tire was severely overloaded and has probably suffered internal structural damage. Though it hasn't blown yet,  it may go at any time.  If you haven't educated yourself about tire aging and tire date codes yet, start reading in the forum Glossary about tire date codes and then Search out some of the threads on tire data and tire age. Tires rarely survive more than 7-8 years, no matter how little mileage is on them or how good they look.
 
Tires are original dated throughout 04, I know they need replacement and my plan was to get it home and then get them replaced before a summer trip.  Thanks for the info on the slides, I will figure out how to check the hydronic fluid.  Nothing like a long trip through winter weather to find problems.  Thank you for the reply
 
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