Click here to read. BIN KEYS .. Winnebago.
It seems to be reasonable common knowledge that with lots of Winnebago motorhomes,
one bin key will open the bins of other (I think similar series & vintages)
of Winnebagos. Possibly, the saving grace is that us owners are reasonably honest and
don't go around opening other peoples bins.
On the negative side, however, the equipment we keep in our bins is fairly valuable,
at least to us. Also, the bins sometimes contain valuable generators. I have heard that
some of these generators are not bolted down and have been stolen .. not nice at all!
SOLUTION .. have locks changed.
Apparently, if you remove the locks yourself and take them to a locksmith, the charge to
change them is $5 each. Suggest you check, (shop around if necessary) your local locksmith.
This is a lot less expensive than having the locksmith do "all the work".
BODY SKIRT ATTACHMENTS.
I am talking of the lower body sections between bins, around mud guards etc. The material used, as most
folks are aware, is a foam with fibreglass exterior. Some of these "skirt" sections are attached to the
bodywork by angle brackets with self tapping screws into the interior fibreglass.
These screws have stripped the self tapped threads in the fibreglass and thus no longer effective.
This may be due strain caused by hitting rough sections of road .. however, this is a fact of life on the road.
Previously, I had glued and fitted larger self tappers. But, after a period of time, they also became dislodged.
I have just dismantled the brackets again and screwed galvanised sheet metal pieces, about 120 x 70 mm
to the face of the brackets that normally contact the skirt. 6mm countersunk metal threaded screws were used ..
the countersinking being necessary to maintain a flat surface on the exterior of the gal. plates.
Also 5 mm holes were drilled near each corner of the gal. plate. The new assembly was reassembled using a building
adhesive between the gal. plate and the interior surface of the skirt and four No. 14 ?? self tappers.
Guess time will tell if this is a permament solution.
BATTERIES .. lots maybe, and is, written on this subject. I have put together, from various references, some
notes regarding guaging the "State of Charge" of lead acid batteries by measuring (monitoring) their terminal voltage.
EXHAUST BRAKE .. some notes relating to the Mazda T4600.
May be of assistance to anyone experiencing problems with these exhaust brakes.
FUSING of electrical circuits in motorhomes is often unsatisfactory.
This is a long article explaining some basics, some problem scenarios, and some solutions.
FUSING - EPILOGUE .. a follow up on previous article. Deals with a problem I encountered when
house batteries are connected in parallel with the vehicle battery.
GPS's (Global Positioning System) for MOTORHOMES.
Mainly relating to using a GPS as a compass (while moving) as an aid to navigation.
GPS's - Changing DECIMAL PARTS of a MINUTE to SECONDS and vice versa.
GUTTER .. RAIN. The forward ends of the rain gutter on our Alpine discharged water onto the cabin
doors when open. This is a mod. to extend the gutters further forward and avoid this problem.
GAS .. COOKING .. PRICES.
Our motorhome is fitted with two 9kg gas cylinders .. so comments/prices relate to this size cylinder.
We (and others) have found gas prices to vary over a wide range. Our conclusions are $20 or less is exceptionally
good value. We have paid $31 at Karratha which is next door to the massive off shore North West gas producing
region .. where gas is supplied to the Asian market for a few cents a litre .. why should we be paying that $31?
Another instance of or us paying a price in that order was at a rural supply company near home at Sarina ..
supposibly looking after the interests of rural people.
Talking to another traveller, who has family involved in a service station, revealed that they pay $16 to have
their exchange bottles refilled. They then sell them for $26 .. so this is the sort of "mark up" involved!
We have found it best to enquire regarding the price, before having a bottle refilled (or purchasing an exchange)
one. Try not to be in a desperate situation regarding gas. Thus, if the price is high, one still has time to check
other suppliers or in the next town. We currently think, up to about $25 is reasonable .. $27 or over, and we check
elsewhere. We think it's a good idea to inform those suppliers that we are looking elsewhere.
UPDATE .. Recent experience (Jan. 06) on the Yorke Peninsula .. Maitland quoted $29-50 and said there had been a recent
price increase ? - Kadina $31 - Moonta $25 where we made our purchase - enough said?
Tradionally, Bunnings is reported to be a reasonable price.
GENERATOR (ONAN) PROBLEM with rain entering unit.
We were forced to park just off the highway due to extremely heavy, wind driven (almost cyclonic)
rain. Unfortunately, we had parked with the side of the vehicle in which the generator is
installed, facing that weather.
Started the generator some 6 hours later and noted its output voltage to be up in excess of
300 volts .. 300 being the meters maximum. The generator did the correct thing and shut down
automatically after a few seconds .. and indicated an overvoltage condition.
Later investigation revealed rain had entered via the air vent in the generator hatch and the vent
in the generators plastic cover. Unfortunately, the electronic regulator is mounted on the
generator frame work under the vent .. and was completely saturated. An effort was made to remove
the regulator .. frustrated by the "tamper proof" screws used, then it would not fit through the
opening. So, it was dried as best as possible in situ .. and the generator then performed OK.
OBSERVATIONS.
a) The air vents are necessary for engine cooling.
b) One needs to obtain the special tools needed to fit the bolts used by Onan.
c) The regulator, although reasonably waterproof, could be better sited in the generator assembly.
d) In order to remove the regulator, the plastic cover over the whole generator would
need to be removed .. to do this, the whole generator would have to be removed from the vehicle ..
a major undertaking. UPDATE .. the file referred to below explains how it may be removed without
removing the generator from the vehicle.
MORE .. JAN. '07. Had a major problem with the gen set, which turned out to be a faulty electronic engine control unit.
There is a lot involved in diagnosing this problem (bypassing certain functions of control unit to make engine run ..
in order to determine if it is an engine or an electrical problem .. then diagnosing, with reasonable certainity, that
it is indeed a control unit problem, before committing to ordering this expensive component.
I have a 13k file available, which isn't on the web site at this stage. Request it, if necessary.
HF RADIO.
Interferrence from Danfos Refrigerators.
I made a rectangular tray from (one sided circuit board matetial) with 4 sides about 3/4 inch high and installed
the main board inside this tray with stand-off spacers for ventilation. Then every wire that connected to this unit
I by-passed with ceramic caps (I forget what value) to this board which I then earthed (connected to the earth wire).
I have thought about using toroids on the wires to the fridge but have not tried this, I also thought if you could
totally enclose this module it would silence it even more. It is not totally silent ( you know it is running ).
I find that there is up to an "S" point of noise with the preamp on and this varies as you change frequencies in
each band it seems to be about every 20 Kcs I think (It even changes intensity on a given frequency) but still a
vast improvement on the original noise. At least it is tolerable, lots of time the band noise is a lot worse and you
cannot hear it at all. Thanks to Vern, VK4FVC.
[for capacitor values referred to above .. the value isn't critical .. suggest .047 to .1 uf .. Ron].
Click here to view image of this modification.
Interferrence from Megapulse units.
As for the Megapulse they told me to shield both wires and earth them to the chassis which I did I also put the thing
in a metal case and earthed it then I put toroids (those in 2 halves ) around the leads near the battery terminals.
I kept adding these until the "S" meter was Zero with the preamp on. You can hear a faint high-pitched whine sometimes
if the band is very quiet but it is acceptable, I believe. Thanks to Vern, VK4FVC.
Interferrence from the common "shure flo" (? exact spelling) water pump. Not a real major problem, but can mask weak
signals. Disassemble motor unit and solder a .1 uf (100nf) capacitor across brushes. Workes well.
HF RADIO ANTENNA.
A description of the HF radio antenna I have fitted to our motorhome. It telescopes up and down .. electrically
driven. In conjunction with an automatic "antenna tuning unit" (ATU), it will tune all normal HF frequencies.
A lot of skilled construction work is required to duplicate this antenna.
INVERTER PROBLEM. Unit involved is the fairly common Heart Interface Corporation 1 KVA Inverter
50 Amp battery charger unit .. "Freedom Model 10".
Our problem began with the "overvoltage" problem from our Onan generator .. refer Onan Generator Problem.
This caused the battery charger/inverter to fail. Investigation revealed a 160 mA fuse inside the unit had blown ..
replacing the fuse fixed the problem.
UPDATE Jan. '07. Battery charger function not working .. investigation revealed this fuse blown .. no obvious reason ..
maybe just a mains surge or spike.
SOME NOTES/SUGGESTION RE INVERTER IF IT FAILS.
a) check the two 15 amp circuit breakers on the top of the unit .. reset if necessary.
b) check the large 12 volt supply fuse.
Further checks involve the removal of the cover.
There are two small 20mm long glass fuses on the top circuit board.
c) a 1 amp fuse .. reasonably accessible towards the front .. ? fuse to 12 volt electronics supply rail in unit.
d) a 160 mA fuse .. difficult access, diagonally opposite the 1 amp fuse on the circuit board. Removing the previously
mentioned two circuit breakers makes access easier. Fuse is in the 240 volt primary side of the small transformer. This
was the blown fuse in both our cases.
CAUTION .. DANGER .. 240 volt exposed when cover removed. This 240 volt can originate from
TWO sources .. plugging into 240 volt mains and the inverter being turned on and generating 240 volts.
Unplug from mains in first instance. Disconnect inverter from battery or the large 12 volt supply fuse in the second case.
If you have this model inverter, it could be wise to carry spare fuses .. the 160 mA could be difficult to
obtain in small towns. They are 20mm long and often refeered to as "3AG" size.
Jaycar (an electronic supply house) part nos. SF-2184 150 mA (milliamp) and SF-2190 1 Amp are suitable.
UPDATE .. June '04. On our Tassie trip we had a problem with intermittent operation of the battery charging
function. Investigation revealed problem was in the "mains filter unit" which fits into a hollow section at
the rear of the unit. So it is necessary to remove the inverter in order to remove the "mains filter". The
problem was that a connection to one of the inductors had broken .. the actual wire rather than the soldered
connection. The inductors are not solidly mounted and it would appear that vibration from the travelling
vehicle had caused the rather solid wire to fracture. This was repaired and the other inductor terminations
reinforced. The inductors were fixed more firmly fixed into position with neutral cure silicon sealant.
Also, a number of (what I think) metal oxide varistors had disentegrated. These devices give protection against
mains voltage spikes or transients. At the time I had no spares and they were not replaced. It is my intention
to have some spares on hand and replace the damaged ones when I have the inverter removed next time.
KEYS .. LOCKED OUT .. WINNEBAGO.
We were talking to another traveller, Joe from Batemans Bay, who told us of his problem when he locked his keys
inside his Winnebago Leisure Seeker. He was some distance from the nearest town with RACQ service and thus was quoted
quite a substantial "fee" to attend to his problem. This caused him to reconsider his options and he saw a way to
enter his vehicle without causing any real damage. I am reluctant to explain the procedure here in case any "nasty"
types read about it and use it against us Winnebago owners. Please e-mail me privately giving me your name, home
location, model and rego number and I shall forward the information.
Another solution which I have used with cars is to fit, with a screw and wingnut, a spare key hidden under the vehicle.
Don't make it obvious .. like behind a number plate or in easy view under a mudguard.
REFRIGERATION.
Our "absorption type" refrigerators often have problems coping with hot to extremely hot
weather. This (first) article deals with adding additional cooling fan(s) to assist with this
problem.
Click here to read.
I made a series of measurements regarding the voltage drop in the 12 volt circuit of our
3 way refrigerator.These are tabulated with readings given for the stock installation and
with the refrigerator wired directly to the battery.
ROADTRAINS.
Some observations and thoughts regarding co-existing with these rather intimidating
vehicles when travelling outback (and not so outback) roads.
WHEEL NUTS.
We pulled into a rest area passing a couple of parked caravans on the way. After we had stopped,
one caravan owner came over and said he heard a rattle in one of our rear hubcaps as we drove by.
He said it sounded too loud to be a stone and that it may be a wheel nut. I removed the hubcap,
and there was a loose wheel nut inside it. Some other nuts on that wheel were also somewhat loose.
I checked all the nuts on the other wheels, but they were OK.
The caravan owner later went on to say that he used to drive interstate coaches and that they had a
rule that after any wheel had been changed, the driver checked the nuts within a short period. He
indicated that it was not uncommon to find loose nuts!
We had had new tyres fitted just a couple of weeks prior to this incident.
As well as the more serious possibility of having a wheel come loose, there could have been another
complication. I remember checking at the time, and the quite large nut fitted through the holes in
the wheel hub. So, the nut could have been lost. I envisage some difficulty in obtaining a spare as
it appears unique to this vehicle .. also having a left hand thread.
Moral of this story .. CHECK WHEEL NUTS A SHORT PERIOD AFTER A WHEEL HAS BEEN CHANGED.
More to follow when time becomes available.
To send an e-mail to Ron, use the "Back to RONS HOMEPAGE" facility below.
There is a "Send an e-mail to Ron" link at the bottom of that HOMEPAGE.
Last updated: 2 April '07. © Ron Graham 1997.
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