New to this with a few questions (1 Viewer)

[shane&vanessa]

Hi Guys.

First off forgive me if I'm not totally easy to understand, I suffer from M.E and have a stinking cold at present so worse for wear plus a first time poster

Been looking at American motorhomes for a while, American as we felt we needed the space what with a 5 month old girl, a 2 and a half year old boy, a staffy dog along with me and the wife, plus looking at living in for 6 months or more.

So we brought a little starter 40ft tag axle Winnebago Superchief DXL 7.5 460CI V8!! lol!!

So got it home and squeezed into our drive somehow, hired two mechanics in to give it a good service, Inc diff oils, trans oils, engine oil, plugs, leads, K&N induction etc etc etc two days later and £800.00 gone time ran out and I'm left with questions and concerns as I have young kids and safety is paramount!!

not sure how to upload photos here, but my LPG (heating) tank connection is nothing like what is at the service stations plus I have another connection which I guess is to attach the large upright bottle? back to the tank connection, its a screw on connection not a push and twist like the LPG that runs engine, can these be converted by a simply screw on connection?

In fact does anybody here know anyone in North Lincolnshire / Humberside that is mobile to come and check LPG system is 100% safe, obviously we really need working heating and hot water? I don't even know if the LPG produces the hot water lol!!.

I do have a ONAN 6500 GENE so I could run electric portable heaters but Mechanic states the wires going from the gene to body above is rotten so can't even test that, I do know it cranks as I accidently pressed the button on side of bed for a split second, So also need an auto electrics person or someone that services generators

I've so many little silly questions too, like
1.how do I empty tanks safely and correctly?
2. do I have the grey, black, etc tanks (I think I do?? I have what looks like three big tanks, I know the fresh water is 100 gallon)
3. Do I add chemicals to the pooh/wee Tank
4. Do I have to light the pilot light with matches or is it auto, if I had gas in the bloody tank lol!!
5. Why did Sony design there stupid reversing camera with a wierd small 4 pin connection, monitor just shows a grey screen when I hit reverse so figure its knackered NOT GREAT when you have a 40 footer with side isle and no back window anyway!
6 etc etc

I've googled but see so many different things I don't know whats right or wrong, is there a camper bible so to speak? is there anybody bored at weekends that fancy coming down to my village to guide me through a few things over a brew or two??

Oh better add that the Winne was registered new in the UK in 1991 so was converted to UK electrics etc hence why I wonder about the LPG

its now at only 23,000 miles spent most its life in Spain sited and sat for the last three years in Norfolk as a perma live in, which I find remarkable as its truely like new inside and all original.

I've tried e-mailing previous keeper, but I think he struggles to read as his replys don't make sence and he only brought it as a house and really knew nothing about it, Inc what its worth, he didn't know it had air-ride, didn't know that the high beam light switch was on the floor operated by foot, didn't know it had hydralic levelling jacks, didn't know it has a built in vacum cleaning system throughout, thought the gas bottle connection was for a BBQ, failed to advertise it had a massive self seeking satalite dish worth a few £££ no doubt, or that the RV is built on a bomb proof military Oshkosh chassis. So I'm really at a loss here lol!!

Truely grateful for any assistance peeps, like I said no previous experiance here, just sold my Dodge Charger to finance it and about to sell our TDi Golf to hopefully be able to paint RV and upgrade a few bits and bobs

 

[shane&vanessa]

photos of LPG TANK

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Hi and welcome to Fun, I am sure that there will be many knowledgable Funsters who know a lot more about Winnies than I do.

One point I would make, if its been sitting for three years, I trust you have had the tyres thoroughly checked for cracks in the sidewalls.

Good luck

Peter

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[muz]

hi and welcome,sounds like you need to be intoduced to duncan,starspangledspannerman,he is your man and i think he has moved to lincoln just a short while ago,he is a very nice and very knowlegable on rv,s his number is in my rv so i will go monday and fetch it unless one of the funsters know it? i have fibromyalgia and i am told its the same condition as your ME,you will soon be hearing from alot of funsters.cheers MUZ

 

[ehuplad]

Your LPG just needs an adapter to allow it to be filled with the uk pumps.

See this link i think this is the one you require

Link Removed

 

[scotjimland]

hi and welcome,sounds like you need to be intoduced to duncan,starspangledspannerman,he is your man and i think he has moved to lincoln just a short while ago,he is a very nice and very knowlegable on rv,s his number is in my rv so i will go monday and fetch it unless one of the funsters know it? i have fibromyalgia and i am told its the same condition as your ME,you will soon be hearing from alot of funsters.cheers MUZ

Good idea, Dunc is the man to help .. he is a member on Fun ..

RV Spares, Accessories, Parts and Servicing - Star Spangled Spanner

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[DESCO]

Hi shane&vanessa

WELCOME to MH Fun

Just popped in to say hi, see the lads with the knowledge are looking after you.

Best of luck with your new venture.


Dave:thumb::thumb:

 

[lebesset]

hope you have a heavy goods licence to drive it , can't believe it is not over 7.5 tonnes !

you can get adaptors to fill the lpg tank , in europe that size has a left hand thread if I remember correctly ...it is a while since I have had an american motorhome and can't remember whether it has a right hand thread so be careful which you get ; anyhow unless you intend to go abroad the adaptor to the dutch system as used in the uk will be enough

Tinley Tech LPG Conversions - Travelling abroad - filler adapters.

I presume your mechanics had a good look at the tyres , but when you are out pop into a tyre dealer that specialises in truck tyres and get them to have a look ; also see if they stock the tyre size , many american motorhomes use sizes not available in europe

and you are correct , the device is a regulator which screws into a uk calor gas propane cylinder , presumably it is connected into the system when the tank is empty ; does this vehicle have an lpg conversion to run on instead of petrol ? otherwise you are in for some pretty hefty petrol bills

 

[shane&vanessa]

LOL!! I'll read in length later as I'm under attack from ill child and baby right now, but a quick THANK YOU guys for the rapid and what appears helpful info!!

Don't get me started on the length, weight issue, lol!! its a sore subject.. the internet is a nightmare for misleading info

It is 8.5T gross weight registered as Motorhome and tax class Private HGV insurance was a pain but sorted.

To the first poster, yeah tyres I checked good, lucky all pretty new michelins thank god as these 19.5" are expensive and hard to get it seems, I'm running 8 of them too!! spare is shot though

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[ArenqueRojo]

Your LPG just needs an adapter to allow it to be filled with the uk pumps.

See this link i think this is the one you require

Link Removed

Agree with this.
The fitting on the tank looks like an Acme Screw adaptor. This is used in Spain and elsewhere. But I suspect it is an adaptor and will unscrew from the tank fitting without much force and then you would replace it with the Dutch Bayonet adaptor as used int the UK - but hang on to the Acme as you may need that when travelling in Europe.

As Lebesset has said, the Calor Propane regulator will probably be for use if the on-board tank is empty. If you follow the rubber tube, it will probably lead you to a change-over valve tap.

The next trick will be to trace the engine gas supply line back to see if the engine is run from the same tank as the habitation or is run from a seperate tank.
Assuming the beast doesn't have carburettors, the engine will take liquid gas from the tank whereas the habitation supply will be vapour. This means either two tanks or two take-offs from the one tank in different positions.

That is a lot of crawling about underneath, I suspect.

Hope someone can get to you and sort it for you.

Best wishes
Patrick

 

[shane&vanessa]

Ok I'm back, wife is settling Mia who is only 5 months with a horrible cold again!! bless her.

Well, like I said what a great bunch we have here, I must say I checked a few forums before joining one, some of them were ghost towns with most subjects unanswered and very little activity.

Cheers Muz for the starspangledspannerman tip and thanks Scotjimland for the link to contact.

Cheers too Ehuplad, lebesset and Arenquerojo regarding the LPG connection issue.

Arenquerojo, I deffo have two LPG tanks, one massive one that takes a whole cargo cupboard, it was near empty when I collected RV put £35.00 in and got half a tank (shown on the actual tank, turns out the gas level in cab is just a set of pretty lights as it said it was full when empty nearly)

What was shocking for me was the fact it had not run on petrol for 3 years!! so I put £100 in and got 1/4 a tank lol!! lordy lordy a £400 fill up job!! mind at 10mpg it would soon go!

ACME screw adaptor sounds about right as its spent 90% of its life there in Spain and Benadorm, I'll check and see how its threaded tomorrow so not to waste money.

I know the bottle connection and hose connects to the LPG tank via a seperate connection, like I said I guess thats for them red/orange calor bottles, sadly I don't have a bottle otherwise that would have been great just to test the system is all working (e.g cooker, heating and hot water).

Engine LPG system was fitted in York, but Not the greatest job in my eyes, guys that serviced it said it was a surprise it ran as most the gas would have been leaking due to a bodged tap in point at the inlet, I must say it ran gutless on GAS hence I choose to drive it home on petrol MUST GET THE LPG SERVICED TO BE SAFE although it runs as sweet as a nut on Gas now

plus it was running NGK plugs which they said is a BIG no no!! as they also service the Lincoln limos and have seen countless examples of exploded air filter housing's and even damaged bonnets due to the NGK's misfiring on gas!!! and yes my housing was a mess due to a big backfire at somepoint, Winnebago wanted like £250.00 for a air filter housing so I went and got a cold air induction K&N for £70.00 Now have a real throaty induction noise lol!! what with Gibson stainless cat back 5" bore and filter it sounds like something fast!! until they turn around

Anyway I'm still looking for anybody that has a spare hour or two that lives local-ish and willing to show an idiot the obvious, I'll be more than happy to cover costs (unless you drive a 7.5 V8 Winnebago cos thats just outright silly ) I'm around anytime as I'm off work longterm due to this darn illness, hence the RV purchase and getting away for a few months or more.

On a side note I'm trying to T-Cut and polish entire vehicle hoping to NOT have to pay mega money for repaint, two weeks in and about 1/4 done ha! ha!, its a light blue and cream colour although I thought maybe it was once white hence why I thought of getting it painted then set about T-Cutting but its not coming up white and I can't find hardly any info or libary photos online to see if it was in fact ever white

ANYWAY A BIG THANKS YOU TO ALL!!