2001 Newmar mountain aire Ford V-10 Triton 6.8 L w/4 speed transmission

[rbabaidi]

I recently purchased a motorhome for full-time living with my wife, and being a newcomer to this lifestyle, I’ve been trying to familiarize myself with its operations. However, I’ve encountered a couple of issues that I hoped you could help me with.

Firstly, I am having trouble with the refrigerator. It will not switch to propane when the electric turns off. I have attempted to switch it manually, but when I turn off the electric supply, it shuts off instead of continuing to run on propane. If you have any suggestions on how to resolve this, I would greatly appreciate it.

Additionally, as I prepare for winter, I’m looking for advice on how to keep the V10 engine in good shape while the motorhome will be parked for an extended period.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

 

[Laura & Charles]

Welcome to the forums!
Your refrigerator’s circuit board needs 12v dc to operate, regardless if on propane or 120ac. When plugged into shore power, your converter is supplying 12v power. If your house battery(ies) is(are) shot, the 12v power disappears as soon as you unplug from shore power. Check the house batts.. There’s my first guess of your problem.

 

[Laura & Charles]

p.s. I suggest you put your rig information in your signature, and your problem/topic in the post’s subject.

 

[CamperAL]

I'm sure that the original poster has check but I'll throw this out, do you have propane in the tank? Could there be a problem with the flow of propane? Is valve shut off? Just a few suggestions.

I'd exercise the the engine and move the RV so not sitting on teh tires in one spot for more than a month. Best!

 

[pheasant16]

Welcome to the forum. This is a great place to learn. Everyone here is glad to help, just like folks at campgrounds. No question is silly. Ask away. Answers will all be sincere and helpful. I've got a 97 with a V10 too. All I do is change the oil, check the antifreeze, make sure the battery is fully charged. It sits outside over the winter. Be prepared for 7-8mpg. My mechanic says these engines are pretty much bullet proof up to about 300k with routine maintenance. If you have a heated garage, feel free to pull the battery and put it on a tender. Same for coach battery(s).

Fridge has been addressed above. Assuming you are connected to shore power and fridge is running on electricity now. If camper has set for a long period, fill propane tanks so you have a baseline, light your stove which may take a while to get the air out of the lines. Once your stove is lit and running (turn burner off) AND connected to shore power, push the button for gas operation and see if it kicks over to gas. If it does work with gas then battery might be the culprit. (you need the 12v dc to keep circuit boards working) unplug the electricity and see if the gas burner for fridge kicks in. May not be instantaneous if fridge is at temp as it won't light until it calls for cooling. It's not a compressor like your house fridge. Cleaning the burner area would be a good idea too seeing the age of your coach. Youtube is your friend. Most maintenance issues have great videos to help with.
Sorry about the verboseness. Figure thoroughness will either confuse or help.

 

[Kirk]

Firstly, I am having trouble with the refrigerator. It will not switch to propane when the electric turns off.

If your refrigerator has 12V power with the 120V off, then it should switch to propane, assuming that you have a good propane supply. If the propane has been off for a long time it takes time for the air to be replaced by propane so that the refrigerator will ignite it. Try turning on one of the stove top burners and let it run until it has a nice, solid flame and then try the refrigerator on propane again. If you tell use what the make & model of the refrigerator is, we can also look at the service manual to see if it has helpful information.

I’m looking for advice on how to keep the V10 engine in good shape

I lived fulltime in a motorhome with that same engine for 12 years. On the advice of the Ford hotline tech, what I did was to use a fuel stabilizer and fill the tank completely full just before parking. I then drove it about 20 miles or so to be sure that the fresh, stabilized fuel we completely through the engine and then shut it down, not starting it again until days before travel again. It is best to not start the engine until you can drive it at least 20 - 30 miles to get everything including the transmission up to normal operating temperature. If your motorhome has an onboard generator, it is a good idea to operate it monthly, loading it to about half of the maximum and let it run for a half hour monthly to prevent moisture buildup in the generator part.

 

[Natetheskate1]

I have run a 2001 Ford E-450 V10 since 2006. So, here is what I do:

Run synthetic oil (Amsoil 5w30 Signature Series)
Flush the brake system (Again, I use Amsoil synthetic DOT3/4)
Change the transmission fluid and filter - This one I use Motorcraft Mercon V.
This unit seems to eat tires, so I use Goodyear Wrangler LT tires
Drive the unit about 30 miles or so once a month, mainly to exercise the tires.
Use Damp-Rid in the cabin to keep the moisture down.
Have a radiator shop flush the cooling system.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

loading it to about half of the maximum and let it run for a half hour monthly to prevent moisture buildup in the generator part.

The owner's manual for my diesel 6000W genset says to run the genny for 2 hours to exercise it and states running it for less is actually worse for it than better. Just saying that's what mine states.

I found my two RVs with the V10 motors to be remarkable engines. Kirk's simple instructions are about all I did over the winter months in WNY State, and the rigs sat for 6 months. Before I started storing my rig at home, I took out the two coach batteries and the chassis battery to store at home on a trickle charger. Once I parked the rigs in the driveway for the winter, I just kept the RVs on shore power.

From my boating days, I would change the oil and filters at the end of the season so the rig sat with fresh oil in the pan, eliminating some of the acids that can build up with dirty oil.