Much better day at the office!

[TJ&LadyDi]

Got the coach back late this afternoon, but there's still a little more work to be done, so we'll be staying over one more day. Didn't get to talk to Phil this afternoon, but it appears that the inverter-SilverLeaf interface is working again. At least, SilverLeaf now seems to know that the inverter is operating when we are not connected to shore power. That's a good sign.

The cruise control issue is still a puzzle. It is operating flawlessly today after being totally inoperative two days ago. They couldn't get it to misbehave during a test drive. That's both good and bad news since there really WAS a problem two days ago. The cruise control dropped out during a heavy rainstorm and that leaves me wondering if it will happen again the next time we drive in the rain. Intermittent problems are the hardest to find and fix.

Got the full annual coach and generator service done today and all things checked out well. In the process, they spotted a few issues with the sealing around some things on the roof, so we had them take care of that too. Guaranty RV (aka "Sherry and crew") have been great to work with and we highly recommend them for RV service work.

Looks like we'll be heading north and east on Thursday and arriving at Polson, MT, on Friday. We'll overnight on Thursday in the Spokane area.

TJ

 

[sheridany]

That’s awesome. I am definitely going try them out when the needs arises. I hope you get the cruise figured out.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

We are back in the campground and chillin'. Dropped the coach off at the Guaranty RV service shop at 8:00 am and got a call at 9:30 am telling us the work was completed and we could come and get it. Chatted with Phil and Sherry briefly, paid the bill (a little less than I was thinking it would be) and came back to the RV park. After spending 2+ days sitting in the toad, we are ready for a little down time.

We'll head north and east in the morning to Spokane for an overnight at a KOA there and then on to Polson (and, our second home) on Friday. After all that's been going on lately, we are ready to just kick back. It's Negra Modelo time!!!

Thanks for following along with us on our haphazard adventure. The encouragement and upbeat comments we received sure helped keep our spirits up when things were not looking too good. We should have known that "Sherry's Crew" at Guaranty RV would get us back on the road in due time.

TJ

 

[AbdRahim]

Glad to hear you are all fixed up. I wonder how many have experienced the death of an inverter. Not a good experience when far from home or service.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Glad to hear you are all fixed up. I wonder how many have experienced the death of an inverter. Not a good experience when far from home or service.

Interestingly enough, it was not the inverter itself; it was the SilverLeaf interface. Apparently, on these new, hi-tech coaches, the SilverLeaf setup controls most functions, including the operating parameters for the inverter. For some reason, the SilverLeaf module (there are apparently several different modules in the system) lost its settings. The inverter was not getting any operating instructions or parameters, so it just suspended operation.

Re-booting the SilverLeaf module by removing power (and, the "Battery Disconnect" switch does not do it) restored the settings and operation of the inverter resumed. The tech first tried doing it with the Battery Disconnect in the coach and had no luck. He did some research and found that the power cable from the module needs to be physically disconnected in order to affect a re-boot.

All seems fine now.

TJ

 

[sheridany]

All I can say that was $$ well spent versus trying to diagnose and repair yourself in a non emergency situation. What about the cruise? Wait and see if it happens again?

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

All I can say that was $$ well spent versus trying to diagnose and repair yourself in a non emergency situation. What about the cruise? Wait and see if it happens again?

Yep! They were unable to duplicate the problem we had, so really had no way to know the cause or potential fix.

Since it happened during a very heavy downpour and we got an error message on the Meritor-Wabco screen saying there was a signal blockage, I'm guessing that caused the issue with the inter-connected cruise control. I'm also thinking that if we had found a place to stop and shut down the engine, the cruise might have rebooted itself on restart as it apparently did the next morning. If it happens again, we will certainly try shutting things down and restarting.

I must say that the adaptive cruise control is something I would not add as an option as we did with our coach. It may be a standard feature now, but I have seriously considered having it removed. We have had several different issues with it.

TJ

 

[sheridany]

I must say that if the adaptive cruise control is something I would not add as an option as we did with our coach. It may be a standard feature now, but I have seriously considered having it removed. We have had several different issues with it.

That is really a shame because it should work and you are not the first one to say that either. I have heard from some Prevost owners that is one of their favorite features for safety while driving.

 

[Akdare]

I have it on my 2020 New Aire. I did have to set it to the shortest following distance to like it. Really good driving on the highways in cities where jerks think it’s acceptable to pull right in front of you.

 

[NWIP]

Glad your ready for a little R&R. Not that it compares to your day but after 12 hrs in Yellowstone looking at wildlife I am all for a little Negro Modelo.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Had one tonite myself! Felt I deserved it.

Were you able to see a lot of wildlife? When we were there last (couple years ago) the place was over-run with Bison. When I worked there...way back in the Dark Ages...as a firefighter, there were very few Bison but lots of bears and Elk.

TJ

 

[NWIP]

Place is overrun with bison, amazing how people stop in middle of road to take a picture of one lying close by. We did get to see a group of wolves, not sure you could say a pack, couple of adults and lots of new pups. Seen a couple bears, coyote and lots of elk.

There were certainly a lot more vehicles this week compared to last week when they opened the MT gates.

 

[Ernie]

Glad to hear you are back in your coach. The "we couldn't get it to start/stop/squeak/whatever for us" is one of the worst things to hear from a tech.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

"On the road again..." as Willie Nelson sang. Left Guaranty RV yesterday morning with the coach working fine. Ran up the Columbia River on I-84 and up I-395 to I-90 to Spokane Falls, Washington, for the night. We'll head over to Polson, Montana, today.

The cruise control issue has not reappeared and both the adaptive and regular CC worked flawlessly. We didn't have any rain though, so we'll see how that goes down the road.

Nice to be back on the road with a fully functioning and completely serviced coach.

I guess we can now put this thread to bed. All is good "in the office."

TJ

 

[Ken C]

Glad to hear Sherry and crew got you taken care of and back on the road. Sherry is very knowledgeable regarding Newmar coaches. We had planned to be in the area by now to see our grandson in Eugene as well as see if Sherry could take care of a couple minor issues, but not sure if we will do that this summer or not. Maybe late July or August if things improve. Time will tell.

I have noticed after driving in significant rain that the firewall and generator area were wet. Although we have not had any issues as a result, while changing the Gen oil yesterday, I was looking at the hood opening and thought there is no reason one could not apply a foam/rubber seal across the top of the hood which should stop water from entering the generator area. Likely my next mod.