New owners of a 2004 Damon Challenger 36 ft. Motorhome

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RedsToy

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Well, we're head long into a used (but new to us) 2004 Damon Challenger Motorhome. We searched high and low but finally decided to bite the bullet and buy this one. WHY.... Well we considered the mileage 36,000. and the condi, I wouldn't say excellent...but very fair condition. No rust, but fading of the paint and the the typical cracking of the stickers and the vinyl striping. No body damage and very little problems that I can see. I test drove it, after filling the tires up to the recommended 95 pounds of air. The lady I bought it from lost her husband to cancer and did the best she could to tell me as much as she knew about it. She did a great job showing me how everything worked. We agreed on a price that fit into the NADA guidelines mid retail.
Now the things that I need to research and get your experienced advice on.
1.) The front top air conditioner turns on but the fan on it does NOT kick in.
2.) The living room slide went out fine but when closed does not close right. (She said that it's not happened before). The top of the slide was all the way in, but the bottom was out enough that I could run my fingers under the slide. She said she will call somebody and find out figure out what it's doing.
3.) We could not figure out how to turn on the outside, in the front, on the bottom of the bumper marker/fog? lights. We could not figure out where that switch is / or if they should turn on when the headlights are on, which they didn't
4.) The tires are very slightly "weather checked" but have good tread depth and it looks like little wear.
5.) I will do an oil change as soon as I get it to make sure it's got good oil! But, what TYPE or WEIGHT oil should I use in the 8.1 engine. I live in Minnesota and it can be hot during the day but cold as.... well COLD at night and winter is on it's nasty way.
6.) The tires are 19.5 inch. What brand of tire is recommended? Also can the tires be upgraded to 22 inch or is the 19.5 inch the only tire that fits on the rims?
And last but not least, YAY! and sorry for all the questions.
7.) The levelers make a lot of noise. What can/should I use on them to fix the loudness goin on! I've heard about some sprays that make them work well. Sorry for all the questions. Be nice to me I'm new to this. Thanks Everyone!

Oh and how do I find out the series of the home. Like there is 377's and 335's and blah, blah, blah. How do I find my series numbers. I don't have the books with me where I am at now.
OK NOW I'M DONE. Whew
 
1.) The front top air conditioner turns on but the fan on it does NOT kick in.
Are you saying that it blows air but doesn't get cold? That would mean that the compressor isn't starting which cold be anything from a simple start capacitor to a compressor failure.
4.) The tires are very slightly "weather checked" but have good tread depth and it looks like little wear.
The thing to do is to look at the tire date code. If it is more than 5 years old, consider replacing them. If more than 7 years old it is a must do.
date.jpg
6.) The tires are 19.5 inch. What brand of tire is recommended? Also can the tires be upgraded to 22 inch or is the 19.5 inch the only tire that fits on the rims?
To go up in tire size would mean new, larger wheels which probably will not fit your chassis. There are quite a few manufacturers with good reputations.
 
Use 5W30 oil on the 8.1L vortec and expect it to burn about a quart of oil ever thousand miles or so. Lately I have been using Shell Rotella Gas Truck oil in mine and it seems to work well, and burn less oil than some others I have used.

As to the fog lights, the bulbs may be burned out, check that before you dig too much into it.

As to the tires, yes you are probably stuck with 19.5 inch, as to what to buy I recently switched to Sumitomo ST719 speed rated N tires, and like them way better than my old Hercules tires which were installed by the previous owner of my coach. As to switching to 22 inch tires, it can be done, and I know of one case where someone did it, though that involved changing out brakes, etc. and the guy was a GM dealer service manager when he did this 15 or so years ago..

p.s. sorry about the grammar there, I was multi tasking while typing
 
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Sorry for all the questions. Be nice to me I'm new to this. Thanks Everyone!
You do not need to apologize for asking questions. The only reason forums exist on the Internet is for people to get answers to their questions. There are no dumb questions except the ones you didn't because you thought it was a stupid question. So ask away.
 
Are you saying that it blows air but doesn't get cold? That would mean that the compressor isn't starting which cold be anything from a simple start capacitor to a compressor failure.

The thing to do is to look at the tire date code. If it is more than 5 years old, consider replacing them. If more than 7 years old it is a must do.
View attachment 149084

To go up in tire size would mean new, larger wheels which probably will not fit your chassis. There are quite a few manufacturers with good reputations.
Many thanks for your response!
 
Congrats on your motorhome. If the compressor on the a/c kicks on but no fan, it could need a new fan motor. The other possibility is a loose electrical connection to the fan motor.
 
A likely cause for the fan not starting is failure of the capacitor on the fan motor. Or the fan motor itself is bad or the bearings are stuck. Can you go up on the roof, remove the plastic shroud and with the power off, try spinning the fan with your hand? This will tell you if the bearings are bad.

If you give it a push with the power on and it picks up and runs, the capacitor is bad. Follow the wires from the fan to find it, a cylindrical device with the wires connecting to one end.
 
A likely cause for the fan not starting is failure of the capacitor on the fan motor. Or the fan motor itself is bad or the bearings are stuck. Can you go up on the roof, remove the plastic shroud and with the power off, try spinning the fan with your hand? This will tell you if the bearings are bad.

If you give it a push with the power on and it picks up and runs, the capacitor is bad. Follow the wires from the fan to find it, a cylindrical device with the wires connecting to one end.
Thanks much Lou!
 
Use 5W30 oil on the 8.1L vortec and expect it to burn about a quart of oil ever thousand miles or so. Lately I have been using Shell Rotella Gas Truck oil in mine and it seems to work well, and burn less oil than some others I have used.

As to the fog lights, the bulbs may be burned out, check that before you dig too much into it.

As to the tires, yes you are probably stuck with 19.5 inch, as to what to buy I recently switched to Sumitomo ST719 speed rated N tires, and like them way better than my old Hercules tires which were installed by the previous owner of my coach. As to switching to 22 inch tires, it can be done, and I know of one case where someone did it, though that involved changing out brakes, etc. and the guy was a GM dealer service manager when he did this 15 or so years ago..

p.s. sorry about the grammar there, I was multi tasking while typing
Great answers Insaac-1. Thankyou
 

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