Things I wish my rig did, or didn't do.

[Neal]

The one recurring thing that bugs me is that my brake lights come on with the engine brake

I have thought about this as well but you really do want the brake lights on vs off. 18 wheelers, whomever, you don't want them running up on you when they can't see you're decelerating so if anything getting someone to back off from behind you can't hurt.

 

[Rich W.]

I have thought about this as well but you really do want the brake lights on vs off. 18 wheelers, whomever, you don't want them running up on you when they can't see you're decelerating so if anything getting someone to back off from behind you can't hurt.

I considered that too but my engine brake is so wimpy it doesnt slow me down at all - at best it helps me maintain a speed on a gentle grade, and usually I have to help it quite a bit by using the service brakes. Having the brake lights on the whole time masks what Im actually doing and defeats the purpose of brake lights. If I had a 3 stage jake that actually slowed me down it would be different. The only benefit is that it allows me turn on the brake lights when Im not really slowing down, but this is much less important than drivers behind me knowing that Im actually on the brakes.

 

[Rich W.]

The other thing my coach does that I’d like to correct is all the flopping around at low speeds on uneven surfaces such as parking lot or fuel station entrances, pot holes, speed bumps approached from an angle, etc. It’s so bad that it has ejected stuff from my side-upper cabinets such as my D810, the glass plate in the microwave, and wine bottles.

I’ve certainly learned not to put anything heavy in those cabinets and I do my best to approach these conditions very slowly, just barely creeping over irregular surfaces. I had hoped that Active Air would help control this but it really seems to have no effect on low speed handling. Probably the only solution is a longer coach with a tag, but I really don’t have much desire to make that change.

I thought about adding an anti-sway bar kit to the rear but was advised not to do this by a Freightliner suspension guy. I also considered the SuperSteer motion control kit but I don’t know how that would interact with Active Air. I also thought about shocks but its been like this since I bought the coach with 17k miles on it. So I don’t know what can be done, if anything, other than creeping extremely slowly (1 mph or less) over uneven surfaces. Maybe I’ll revisit the rear sway bar idea.

 

[sheridany]

@Rich W. Have you talked to Lawrence at Sac Freightliner about this? He really knows this stuff well.

 

[Rich W.]

@Rich W. Have you talked to Lawrence at Sac Freightliner about this? He really knows this stuff well.

I haven’t yet, but I will next time I go. I’m working on a new list of things I either don’t want to do myself, or am not equipped to do, or in this case need an expert.

 

[AbdRahim]

Wouldn't it be cool if we could program one of the buttons on the array that controls the lights and day/night shades. I'd love to able to hit one of the buttons and have the salon lights, bathroom lights, and bedroom lights all turn on/off.

Or maybe hit the button and have all night shades come down, and all the lights except for maybe the accent lights turn off. You get the idea. I know I'll eventually memorize all the buttons and what they control, but still, it would be nice to let the end user decide what happens when that magic button is pushed.

I think you get this feature in the Prevost’s. Time for an upgrade already?.

 

[Rich W.]

I think you get this feature in the Prevost’s. Time for an upgrade already?.

I like my light switches and manual window shades. All the automated stuff just seems like an over-complication and more stuff to fail to me. I need to replace one of my windshield shade motors right now but I’m putting it off since it’s not critical. Fortunately it’s the screeny one, not the visor shade.

When I was shopping for my coach I was originally looking at New Aire but realized I couldn’t even turn on a light without reading glasses. There were lots of other reasons too that led me to look at older coaches. My 2016 Ventana is pretty much the end of an era and I like it. Its complicated enough for me without all the KIB/Silver Leaf/touch screen stuff.