Help finding replacement fuse box

[rednitej]

My apologies if this is the wrong place for this post.

So I have a panel that's completely burnt on my coach. I have attached a couple of pictures. It pretty much controls all of the electronics that have to do with the bus conversion. Prevost said that it's not one of their parts, it's a part used by who ever converted the bus. Ventare did the conversion, I have not spoke to them yet about this.

I haven't been able to find any stickers or marking indicating the manufacturer. If I could find the exact thing, that would be amazinggg, if not, can I use something else as a replacement? I have been told it may have been manufactured by Spyder Controls, but I'm not sure how accurate that information is.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as nothing is working inside my coach!

 

[djw2112]

WOW I am sorry that happened, I am glad your whole coach was not damaged.

My first thought here is that since it appears by the pic that you will end up rewiring with new harnesses maybe it might be better to go with a new available box as well.  Regardless which way you go, it is going to be a huge task to accomplish.

 

[kdbgoat]

djw2112, luckily, he bought the coach like that, so he didn't have to actually go through the ordeal of a fire too. Yeah, it's gonna be fun fixing that.
Red- contacting the builder would be the best thing to do. Try to get as much info as possible on the panel, any schematics they will provide, (it would be worth paying a nominal fee if necessary), and a component list of ancillary stuff like connector part numbers,etc. It's also possible that there are pigtails/harnesses from the panel to other harnesses feeding the coach. In industrial situations I have seen where panels are built and wired like that and the plant equipment harnesses plugged into it. That's done because it's very tedious to build panels on site in a lot of situations. QG can also check out a panel completely before leaving the shop to ensure it's wired and working correctly. If the coach builder used that method, they could probably furnish a new prewired panel assembly. It won't be cheap, but would certainly be the way to go.

 

[donn]

First question thwt pops into my heqd is WHY?
Once that has been established and corrected, panels should be available at places like Graingers, Norvac electronics, or any number of electronic supply houses..  my guess it was a custom designed and built piece, so getting an exact part will be near impossible even from the uplifter.

 

[SpencerPJ]

Nice Nice coach.  I would certainly begin with carefully labeling all the wires.  You have a good start with # and where the wires go.  I would guess a main line caused that box to go up in smoke, but the reality is, all those lines are just that, power lines to individual gizmos.

 

[Isaac-1]

As others have said, rewiring that is going to be a major chore, and no matter where you get it that box is not going to be cheap (there is probably at least $500 in breakers alone in that box, even buying at discount online prices).  Having said that I would check with Colaws and the any of the other major RV junkyards, if you are lucky they will have a similar vintage coach with the same or similar box in it.

 

[SeilerBird]

I am a retired electrician and I would not tackle that job. I would hire someone to do it.

 

[Isaac-1]

Come on now SeilerBird, you don't like projects that make building ships in bottles look easy?  I bet you could do it in 200-300 hours worth of time (ok that may be a bit optimistic), though it does take a certain mindset and attention to detail to do such a project.

 

[SeilerBird]

Come on now SeilerBird, you don't like projects that make building ships in bottles look easy?  I bet you could do it in 200-300 hours worth of time (ok that may be a bit optimistic), though it does take a certain mindset and attention to detail to do such a project.

I did not say I could not do it, I said I would not do it. I have done complex projects in my salad days but now I have a hard time talking myself into doing something as confusing as taking a shower. If it were me I would drive it to the Prevost factory and pay them to fix it.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I think having an original replacement from Vantare (or their supplier) would make this challenging job easier less difficult. Then you could use the old one as a roadmap to the new one, transferring circuits one by one.

 

[ChasA]

Google tells me that the Vantare Prevost conversion is made by Featherlite. They have sales and service in Sanford Florida.  You might get some help from them Phone: 407-708-9270.

 

[rednitej]

Google tells me that the Vantare Prevost conversion is made by Featherlite. They have sales and service in Sanford Florida.  You might get some help from them Phone: 407-708-9270.

Thank you for the number!

Contacted them, got quoted $20,000! I knew it was going to be costly, but wow. Was told my box is no longer manufactured and the new updated one is $20,000 plus 100 hours of labor to rewire.

1. Would y'all go through with it?
2. Does cost sound about right?
3. Are there any alternatives?
4. Any reputable used parts dealers/venders?

Thanks guys, y'all have been more than helpful! Been receiving a lot of love from the community so far!

 

[SpencerPJ]

Thank you for the number!

Contacted them, got quoted $20,000! I knew it was going to be costly, but wow. Was told my box is no longer manufactured and the new updated one is $20,000 plus 100 hours of labor to rewire.

1. Would y'all go through with it?
2. Does cost sound about right?
3. Are there any alternatives?
4. Any reputable used parts dealers/venders?

Thanks guys, y'all have been more than helpful! Been receiving a lot of love from the community so far!

$20k, and you are up and running?
if it's 20k no guarantees, hmmm.
Depends on what else you have into it, you said you got a deal.
Depends on your plans and need for high end.

 

[rednitej]

$20k, and you are up and running?
if it's 20k no guarantees, hmmm.
Depends on what else you have into it, you said you got a deal.
Depends on your plans and need for high end.

$20k just for the panel, then they estimated 100 hours of labor.
I'm in this bus around $65k so far, everything seems perfect with it besides the panel, but I guess I won't know about more issues until this is fixed.
I want to somehow add at least 6 bunks to it, haven't figured out how that would work with the floor plan. Would've helped if the shower and toilet were on the same side, but they are across from each other.

What do you mean by need for high end, and this might sound really noob, but what exactly does this panel do besides being a breaker?

 

[Bob T]

Do you have or can you get an electrical drawing/schematic?
If yes, you might want to contact an electrical contractor that specializes in automation.
They should be able to build you a panel that will serve your needs and pass any safety inspection.
Just a thought.
Good luck

 

[kdbgoat]

So you'll have less than $120000 into a million dollar coach?

 

[rednitej]

Do you have or can you get an electrical drawing/schematic?
If yes, you might want to contact an electrical contractor that specializes in automation.
They should be able to build you a panel that will serve your needs and pass any safety inspection.
Just a thought.
Good luck

Working on getting schematic.

Will definitely look into contracting an electrical contractor. What exactly is automation in terms of an electrical breaker. I'm still trying to wrap my head around what this breaker does exactly.

To my understanding, it's supposed to act like a house breaker, no? What all automation does it do?

So you'll have less than $120000 into a million dollar coach?

Trying to!

 

[Gizmo100]

In the simplest way to explain.......

You have 12 volt batteries, on board generator and a shore power

The coach uses 12 volts DC and 120 volts AC

That panel has a converter/inverter and switches that take whatever power available and keep things running

 

[Isaac-1]

Based on the photo you posted there are a LOT of things in that box other than breakers, including a whole lot of relays, and at least one large circuit board, what it all does I have no clue, but can make a few educated guesses.  I suspect this coach has some sort of remote control interior lighting system that was all operated by relay logic, instead of being computerized with CAN bus serial lines as you would find in newer coaches, this may account for some of what we see here, the same possibly goes for multiple control switches for things like water pumps and water heaters, ... This is just guesswork though based on little information.  The circuit board, could be anything from a battery charging system to air ride leveling, though I suspect it is more power related.

 

[ennored]

Yeah, yikes. Reminds me of a saying I use when someone is looking at a used/broken expensive thing...

If you can't afford a new ______, you can't afford to fix a used one.

Obviously inserting whatever expensive item in the blank. 

Have you looked for another example to look at? That would at least give you information on what is really in there.