Just got back home from Forsberg's with new House Batteries and this happened...

Afternoon All,
Here comes my good and bad news all in one day...

I'd purchased my 4 new AGM 4D House Batteries from Tom who owns Forsberg's Boat Works in Point Pleasant, NJ...they had arrived and Tom called me to come out and have them installed this morning...
All went fine with the installation and I was back home when trouble knocked on my door...

I had pulled back into my yard with my bus but then as usual I back up a little way to lay down the cord that I use to pull the power cord under the bus with to plug it back in..but this time the bus would not move either forward or backward...to get it back up to the house...After a few unsuccessful tries I went in the house and called my Good Sam Road Service...

The fellow that came was here once before when I first got the bus and had trouble getting it up the wee knoll in my driveway...same kind of incident..

But this time Brian checked under the bus before attemtpting to tow it the few feet back up close to my house...and off the road...

He discovered there was NO air in the Air Bags...!!!! Hey I just drove home and brakes were fine, no warning lights or anything unusual showing...and the Air Pressure Instruments read 120 lbs. of air..
Not so...tho'

Then Brian knew he had to tow the bus the few feet up into the yard and he did...with difficulty but he handled it fine...

Now I have to call someone to see what has to happen next...Don't know if Prevost in Springflield will come out...but will call them tomorrow morn...just too spent today to do more...and the Generator still is not working...Tom had no time to work more on the bus this morning after he got the old House Batteries out and the new ones in at Forsberg's Boat Works where I've had Generators on RV's repaired before......"You all know they're heavy devils...!!! lots heavier than any batteries I ever bought for an RV...Tom got me the best price I'd gotten anywhere...for AGM D4's ...1,336.00...for all four installed....

Along with a needed new battery for my Kubota Generator... but it didn't solve that problem...It starts now but still won't stay running...

Anyways I'm having my first real problem just 3 weeks before I'm due to leave for Fl.
Any and all suggestions of what you would do next most welcome...

Now you know why I've been soooo quiet...I knew I'd be here one day crying the blues...but gotta roll with the punches ...I wanted my bus and I got it...!!!!

Wait til I have to tell Mike Sullivan of BCM about this ...Don't know now how I'm going to get the picture he asked me for of my bus taken in a nice background...for the Story he plans to do in the Dec. Issue...

Trouble always seems to come at the most inopportune time...but isn't it always inopportune... Smile...

Hoping everyone else is having little or no troubles with their beloved bus...
Hugs Always Viv...and her Journey One's Cruiser
1988 Prevost Le Mirage XL in New Jersey...

Back with New House Batteries from Forsberg's and this...Pictures galore...
http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/578417261oZbyAY

Hugs Always Viv...

Viv,

Allow your mechanic to post using your site access because for us to explain the potential causes requires some diagnostics. I would need to know if the entire bus is all the way down or if the issue is related solely to the front, LH side or RH side.

I cannot think of a single thing that would cause the simultaneous lowering of the entire coach.

Air system pressures as displayed by your dash gauges are brake system pressures only and the fact they read 120 PSI tells me strongly you do not have a suspension system leak, but more likely an issue with the leveling system controls.

I am leaving on a trip tomorrow and will not be assured of computer access but there are folks that monitor this site that can talk your mechanic through the diagnosis.

Hi Jon,
Thank you for seeing the post I made a bit ago and replying soo fast...I have the service fellow- Brian's e-mail...so I can ask him...but for now I can tell you he only showed me how he could push the one bag in with his fingers and he told me if it was filled with air he could never do that...
Also right now with the air reading 120 lbs of pressure the bus is not real close to the ground as it usually is when the air is low and I go outside to start it and bring it up to 120 lbs of pressure on the gauge every few days...
Are you really saying ....Maybe I don't have as much trouble as I was afraid I do...like maybe only one bag is bad...
I know I drag them a little when I go in and out of my driveway but I've only been in and out a few times since Jan. too...Only took it out today to make it easier for Tom at Forsberg's to exchange the House Batteries and the Generator Batt...
I'll send an e-mail to Brian telling him what you said but he isn't really my mechanic...he just took the service call I made today...and he was here the only other time I had trouble getting it up the knoll in my driveway...when I first brought the bus home...other times I take as wide a swing as my drive allows to try to avoid the dragging of the bags...and it pretty much worked..Hugs Viv...

Viv, A friend asked me to look at the pictures which I had not done previously.

There is nothing wrong with your bus. The bus has bottomed out because you appear to be trying to put in a spot that has a low spot causing the tail to drag. I truly hope there was no damage done to the coach.

If you raise the bus up on the suspension it should drive properly over the rough terrain. That is one of the uses of the leveling system.

Unless and until you get familiar with the coach, its limitations, its systems and what to avoid you may have problems. These buses are not meant to be driven over rough terrain without precautions. I know this sounds harsh but your enjoyment of the coach will be greatly enhanced if you spend the time necessary to learn the coach. I am afraid it is situations like this that will enable people to take advantage of you.

i agree with jon put my name in the hat to help,e me or call me ,year- conversion-would be most helpful,on the gen were the rad cap ,not the overflo bottle make sure you have antifreeze to the top,rick 813 833 2284

Viv,

I know this is a simple idea, but what airbag did the mechanic push his finger on . If it was the tag bag, and as Jon saw on your photos shwoing going into the drive, had the tag been lifted for turning into the drive and not re-inflated? and the bus rear dragged? Just a thought

With this vintage, it may also have the tag logic that will dump the tag air when aux air gets below about 60 psi. If the aux air was depleted, for whatever reason while the bus set there on the hump, the tag would dump and the bags would be empty.

Viv,

The problem with your generator may not have been the battery. It is quite possible the problem is the alternator. I had that problem this summer in Maine. Inopurtune timing, it failed on the only day/night we were to dry camp. We also could not open the coach windows for fresh air because of a reallly, REALLY hard rain followed up with some really, REALLY thick Maine fog. Sure glad we didn't eat tacos with the twins at dinner that night! Anyway, the alternator on my generator, a motorola unit is no longer in production. It puts out 37 amps when working properly. NAPA said they could get me one with the exact same body and mount dimensions but it did put out 65 amps. All that means is the battery would be fully charged a lot quicker. Bad news it would take three days to get it to the Rockland ME NAPA store. I had less than 24 hours to do something. NAPA put me in touch with a local Alternator/starter rebuilding shop. I dropped the alternator off at 4:45 in the afternoon and it was rebuilt by 10:00 AM the following morning. Repairs were completed in Bar Harbor thanks to Miles Circo and Jim Keller. Thanks again guys. Now if I could only get the Galley and Bedroon A/C compressor clutch to quit melting on me!

OOOhhh Carol and Will,
I just wrote you a long thank you for what I should have already thought of doing..Going to Napa where I bought my engine batteries last year...and lost it by clicking on "Post quick Reply" again, instead of on "Reply to Thread"...ggggrrrrr...so now msg is shorter but means the same ...Many Thanks...
I will call Napa stat...
Big Hugs Viv...

Hi All Who Posted Me...
The bus is fine...no damage but to make a little dent in my own side road where I turn into my property...but this town gave me the incline that has caused me problems with all my coaches since the early 90's..when they lowered my side road so rain drainage would go down to the drain they installed at the end of my then dead end street...mix you up good with that description...didn't mean to but that is just what happened here..
Now it's giving me bigger troubles with my bus...they can just come and fix the wee dent I made in the street ...right ..!!!
Now I need to find someone who can keep my Kubota Generator running...it starts fine but then quits just as fast....I'm calling Napa to see if they can help...already saw and answered Carol and Will...
Big Hugs... and must say ...I'm feeling a little more comfortable here on POG...maybe getting to know my bus a wee better...but not as good as I know I should...Right now since the new Batteries are in for the House Section the Inverter seems to be off...I just have to find out how to turn it back on...I do have the coach plugged back into the 50 amp. house outlet I had installed...Think I said it all ..did I ...
Big Hugs to ya'll Always Viv...and my Precious Bus...

Greetings! I am Freddie Smith and a new member with POG. I was reading about your generator and have you got that solved? I have know them to start up, run awhile and then have an air-lock. There is a little valve on side of the generator that you can turn to solve that problem of air-lock. I have encountered that with my generator and this solved the problem. Perhaps, you have already gotten the problem taken care of; hope so. Happy travels.

Freddie & Vera Smith
Waycross, Ga.
Vintage Liberty XL prevost
2002 Grand Cherokee Overland