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I grew up believing diesels were suppose to be loud, stinky, and smoky. KISS always worked for me. I'm wondering what the repair cost/mile after say 300k, and 500k miles for two trucks of similar capabilities from different years. Compare a same manufacture's pre ECM, EGR, DEF, DPF, etc. truck to say a 2012-2014 truck with costs adjusted for inflation to one from 1980. With the added system/subsystems I'm sure we'd to a substantial increase in maintenance and repair costs. When I started working on cars in the early 70's a tune-up was replace spark plugs, points and condenser, check and clean distributor cap and rotor, adjust point gap (dwell), ignition timing, carburetor fuel mixture and idle at a labor time of 1hour @ $12/hr (dealer labor rate 1974) or $61.32 in 2016 dollars. One dollar in 1974 equals $5.11 in 2016. Now there is no such thing as a tune-up any more. There are no points, condenser, ignition distributor cap or rotor, and no adjustments allowed. To replace spark plugs on a turbo charged 5 cylinder Volvo is 1.4 hours @ $130/hr = $182 (dealer labor rate) that's a 297% increase to service the primary/secondary ignition system of a pre ECM vehicle. The maintenance costs are already known by the manufacture and are used by the marketing department in presentations for fleet sales. The manufacturer oil change intervals were extended from every 5,000 mi to 7,500mi so that the cost of oil changes over the life of the fleet is reduced by 50%. that's a big savings to the maintenance cost to the company but the repair cost will increase because of accelerated wear due to oil degradation. I've seen this happen in 1984. By the time the vehicles were reaching about 80,000 mi the cam shaft in the cylinder head was seizing due to sludge blocking the oil galilees. The manufactures don't seem to care about difficulty or cost of repairs, only that the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards are up and the EPA emission numbers are down, their vehicles are sold and it stays that way until the warranty is up. This is the price we pay for clean air.

Great to hear that it was a quick success and thanks for the pics. Some times you have to go with what works.

You can start with this You-Tube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Pk3u2rDF7s

I had a small tear in the roof membrane at the front right corner of the 5er. Eternabond with a bead of Dacor non-sag lap sealant on the edges was used to seal it. I check it once a year and it's held up for about 6 years now.

The sad thing is the children are so young that this is their normal and know of nothing better.

Which model of the Progressive Dynamics 9200 series would you recommend?

I run with 2 six volt batteries and they'll power my rig for a weekend with the heater going on and off the whole time. They would probably have lasted longer if I had LED lights, put on more clothing and it wasn't 17° out side. When it was colder in my rig than it was in my refrigerator I got a generator. It was overcast and snowing on and off all week end so I don't think solar panels would have helped.

If you have compassion for your fellow man you will stop and render aid no mater what the time is, no matter what the weather is, no mater who the person is for if you were in plight you would want the same given to you. For those that 'just drive by' if their needs arise, may people with a caring heart come to their aid and open their eyes and so it goes.

DANG!! That's so clean I want to eat there.

That's how I got my Snap-On ⅜" 0-75 ftlb torque wrench for $100. I've got a Mac torque wrench that I have trouble reading the numbers on the scale. The numbers are etched into the handle and are not very deep or big. I bought a Craftsmen torque wrench in the early eighties. It had a plastic locking ring that broke the 2ed or 3ed time I used it so I put it back in the original box put it away and for got about it. Fast forward about 30 years and I take it in to Sears for warranty replacement. Now this wrench looks brand new in the original box with the 'What you need to know and how to use your new Craftsmen torque wrench' booklet. The clerk tells me that their torque wrenches are warranted for 90 days and it says so right on the packaging. I said may be now but when I bought this it had a life time warranty and show me on the original box where it says 90 days. After 20 minutes of yes I do and no you don't I walked out with a brand new Craftsmen torque wrench with a 90 day warranty. I keep it in my 5th wheel incase I need to tighten a lug nut.

You can do a flush by taking the return line off the PS pump and letting it drain in it a bucket. with the front wheel up in the air turn the steering wheel lock to lock several times, put hose back on refill and repeat until clean. You could plug up the port on the PS pump for the return line and run a hose into the top of the PS reservoir and keep pouring fluid in while the system is running. Do not let the pump run dry.

I think that the alternator is being taxed to keep 2 weak batteries up and with that added strain on the charging system the voltage level to the emc/pcm/vp suffers and shows up as a lope due to some feed back in the system analogous to what an O2 sensor does in a gas vehicle.

I keep my valves closed and add a mixture of; 2gal hot water, 4oz bleach, 4oz laundry soap and 1cup water softener (Calgon). The bleach is to kill bacteria, the soap is for cleaning, and the water softener help make thing slick in the tank so the nasties slid of the walls and on out. I also add some to the gray water tank for odor control. I have never had a problem with odor, cleaning or valves sticking/leaking. This is a lot cheaper than buying the chemicals for the tank. By the way it doesn't freeze where I live so you may want to add some of that RV antifreeze like JAG1 uses. After you buy your 'new' trailer your still have to get things like sewer hose and fittings, water hose, water pressure reducer, water filter, 90° fitting, etc. etc.. See if you can get the dealer to sweeten the deal by adding in some of the things your going to need to get started.

How to Bleed a Clutch Master/Slave Cylinder Open bleeder screw and yell to friend in truck "OPEN". Friend pushes clutch peddle slowly until it reaches the floor and yells "DOWN". Close bleeder screw and yell to friend "CLOSED". Friend now lets the clutch peddle back up and yells to you "UP". Stop and have a beer. Repeat 1 thru 5 until there is no more air coming out of the bleeder screw or you are to drunk to continue. Bleeder screws are at the top of any cylinder you are bleeding..

Yes, it's installed in the black water tank. When I have hook-ups I dump the black water tank, refill and repeat once or twice then dump the gray water. A lot more stuff comes out on the second flush. You need a drill motor, philips head screw driver, ~ ⅛" drill bit, a hole saw (the size I don't remember), and clear RTV sealer. I installed mine halve way up and in the middle of the side of the tank. Pick a spot that is flat so when the sprayer is installed it will fit flush. With the hole saw cut into the tank where you want the sprayer to enter and remove cut plastic. Insert the sprayer and mark where the four smaller holes need to be drilled. Remove the sprayer then drill the smaller holes. Install the supplied hose on the sprayer, apply the RTV and install. Install the other end of hose to the hose fitting and bracket and attach it to the trailer. I put mine by the dump handles. It took less than a halve hour. This sprayer is good when you have an unlimited supply of water IE: trailer park or at home. I installed my own dump station at my house.

If the wife likes it you're half way there. She's the one, at lest in my trailer, who does the cooking and organizing and bed making for the kids. If she likes the layout and feels she can function smoothly with little or no trouble than get it. It's a nice looking rig with lots of liquid capacity, not to heavy. One thought, what ever you get the first thing you have to add to it is a thing that sprays in the black water tank to flush it with. I installed on in mine before the tank was used and have been very happy with it ever since. http://www.amazon.com/Camco-40126-Tornado-Rotary-Rinser/dp/B000BUU5TU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfTd0Slt_cU

I heard that to high a pressure can cause starting problems.

There's a whole lot of potty talk going on.

Plastic toilets are lighter and hold up better being towed down the road. The toilet in my rig is 12 years old and not one problem.

As for a warranty most aren't worth the power to blow them to hell. I wouldn't get one that's my experience with them. The dealer has a big profit margin with add on things like the warranties or that "protective treatment" they do to the interior. They will push it for their profit only. The best time to buy a vehicle is the end of the month. Dealer managers want to move the units out of inventory to show strong sales figures to the owner for the month. Also if they are flooring the inventory, this is where a bank owns the inventory, the dealer doesn't want to pay the interest on the unit for the next month and will sell it for a skinny, not make much, deal. So take your time and you do the 'grinding' on them when you're in the booth. Get the deal you want and don't be afraid to walk if it doesn't feel right for you. And anything you want or they promise GET IT IN WRIGHTING!!! Go over the trailer with a fine tooth comb. open every draw and door. Turn on every switch no mater what it's hooked up to, stove, heater, fridge, water pump, you get the idea. You might want to make up a check list of thing you want to inspect before you go. Remember this; they have a trailer you may or may not want but you have the money they definitely want.

That's what vice grips under the seat are for.

One of the most important thing to make living in an RV is storage. Think of all the things you need to take with you and where you're going to put them. Make a list for each room and you'll see how fast a trailer fills up. Kitchen items IE: pots pans, flat ware, plates bowels, paper cups, mugs, paper towels, dish towels, etc., etc., and food supplies take the bulk of the storage. Next is clothing. Winter camping uses the most storage for this due to the type of clothing. The jackets are bigger than a sweater, long under wear hats, gloves, etc. It gets annoying when you have to keep moving thing out of your way when you don't have a place to put them.

I've towed travel trailers and 5th wheels and I like the ride the 5th wheel gives, you don't get that up and down see-saw motion. If I need extra stuff I hook up a trailer behind the 5er and fill that up. A queen size bed is nice if you're big, if you're my size you can rent out the extra space. It makes RVing that much better in cold weather. Who want to spend their camping time dealing with problems if they can be avoided.

How to go from "I have a dream......" to 'I'm living in a nightmare!!' Ya got'ta love these threads