Our 2015 Interstate - One Year Later....

[jeffbec51]

Originally Posted by 73shark

Watch the outside rib on the fronts for excessive wear that show up around 10K-15K miles.

If you get that, get the camber set as close to zero as the spec allows which may require the special camber bolts from MB for about $8/ea.

Good advice. Thanks!

[jeffbec51]

Originally Posted by jeffbec51

Can you provide more information on this? It is very interesting and maybe a better solution. We don't use the side facing seats for sleeping but maybe we should?!

Protagonist...our A/S is not a twin version. So we open the rear lounge
Into the queen bed and place egg shell foam over it. We've never used the rear facing seats to complete the
Bed make-up but you do and I am wondering if you think I should try to do the same as you?
Your effort sounds very interesting but
I'm not sure it will benefit in my case?

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by jeffbec51

Protagonist...our A/S is not a twin version. So we open the rear lounge
Into the queen bed and place egg shell foam over it. We've never used the rear facing seats to complete the
Bed make-up but you do and I am wondering if you think I should try to do the same as you?
Your effort sounds very interesting but
I'm not sure it will benefit in my case?

The twin version is a completely different critter with regard to sleeping, and I made no mention of it in my post, so I'm wondering why you mentioned it. And your mention of "rear facing seats" is also puzzling. Did you mean side-facing seats?

I'm taller than my Interstate's sofa is wide, so sleeping side-to-side is not an option for me. The only way for me to sleep on the sofa alone is to sleep sitting up. I have to use the side-facing seats to make the bed out into a short queen size and sleep with my head near the rear doors and my feet on one of the side-facing seats. If you use the sofa alone, and sleep sideways in the van, your bed would be smaller than a double, and nowhere near queen-size, but for people of small stature, that's a perfectly acceptable alternative.

Removing the two upholstered boards from the side-facing seats is easy. Partially jackknife the side-facing seat, and you will see two bolts securing the board in place. Remove the bolts and the board comes right off.

[jerhofer]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

The twin version is a completely different critter with regard to sleeping, and I made no mention of it in my post, so I'm wondering why you mentioned it. And your mention of "rear facing seats" is also puzzling. Did you mean side-facing seats?

I'm taller than my Interstate's sofa is wide, so sleeping side-to-side is not an option for me. The only way for me to sleep on the sofa alone is to sleep sitting up. I have to use the side-facing seats to make the bed out into a short queen size and sleep with my head near the rear doors and my feet on one of the side-facing seats. If you use the sofa alone, and sleep sideways in the van, your bed would be smaller than a double, and nowhere near queen-size, but for people of small stature, that's a perfectly acceptable alternative.

Removing the two upholstered boards from the side-facing seats is easy. Partially jackknife the side-facing seat, and you will see two bolts securing the board in place. Remove the bolts and the board comes right off.

EXT's have the two side panels at the rear that drop down to make a king size bed when the the two side facing seats are also extended. If you dropped down the rear panels and did not extend the side facing seats, the bed might be big enough for people like me that are 5'9" or shorter.

I can't test that theory as I removed those side panels when I installed the two vertical cabinets in the area behind the folding lounge seat. I have effectively made our bed into a non-EXT bed size. It works very well for us in this configuration. Adding the additional storage is the best modification I have made to our AI as those cabinets have proven to be invaluable.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by jerhofer

EXT's have the two side panels at the rear that drop down to make a king size bed when the the two side facing seats are also extended. If you dropped down the rear panels and did not extend the side facing seats, the bed might be big enough for people like me that are 5'9" or shorter.

Okay, that makes sense. I have a non-EXT so I forgot about those extensions.

[Mr. B]

Due to my run through the forum, Protagonist is the most active participant in all threads and one of the most knowledgeble person here. He already suggested why the tire rotation is not justified on a Sprinter 3500 chassis, and I confirm the same: there are three different wheel rims: front, rear outer, and rear inner, and in order to rotate tires one must re-mount all. And what is most important - to re-balance them, which is not simple on the Alcoa rims due to the wheel adapters and subsequently large hub opening that requires a bigger balancer and more brain of balancing specialist. In one word, just wait until front rubber wear off, and simply change it for new Michelins, without recommended by factory tires rotation. IMHO.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Mr. B

Due to my run through the forum, Protagonist is the most active participant in all threads and one of the most knowledgeble person here.

Thank you, but "most knowledgeable" is not something I would claim for myself.

I welcome dissenting opinions because the best way to verify one's assumptions is to challenge them and see if they hold up to scrutiny. Especially since all things Interstate are subject to change not only from one model year to the next, but sometimes within a given model year.

[Mr. B]

Okay, as per the new post above - I've told you are the most knowledgeble here on the forum! Ask here anyone if they know such information and I bet nobody does!

Protagonist, please answer for me for couple simple questions:

1) Can I run the roof AC while driving without use of generator?
3) Can I run the heater from shorepower, or it is designed only for LP?
2) Is it really safe to use generator while driving?

Actually I've read what you said about it during last several years, but I want to make sure. This toy is new for me, I've never had one, I just bought it last week and still playing with it on my driveway learning the books and manuals ))))

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Mr. B

1) Can I run the roof AC while driving without use of generator?

No. The air conditioner uses 120vAC power, but only runs on shore power or generator power. It will not run off the inverter. This is a good thing because if it did your house batteries would be toast in no time.

3) Can I run the heater from shorepower, or it is designed only for LP?

The furnace runs on propane while the thermostat and the furnace's fan run on 12vDC. There is no electric heating element.

2) Is it really safe to use generator while driving?

Every bit as safe to run a propane-fueled internal combustion engine at the rear as it is to run a diesel-fueled internal combustion engine at the front. As long as you stay out of tunnels and off ferry boats that require you to shut off your propane, you can run the generator while the vehicle is in motion.

[jerhofer]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Every bit as safe to run a propane-fueled internal combustion engine at the rear as it is to run a diesel-fueled internal combustion engine at the front. As long as you stay out of tunnels and off ferry boats that require you to shut off your propane, you can run the generator while the vehicle is in motion.

This past fall on our western trip we faced some very high temperatures. The Sprinter AC would keep us cool up front but it was very warm in the rear. On those days I would start up the generator and run the AC when I was an hour or so out from the next RV park. It really helped in reducing the amount of time it took to get us to a comfortable temperature before the sun went down.

[Mr. B]

Protagonist, you are the Man!
Nobody can explain it better, even specialists "professionally trained by factory" !

[Mr. B]

Gentlemen, I have one main Sprinter battery under the driver floor, and house battery under the sofa. However, I also have one battery under the hood - what is that for? And is that a Mercedes or Airstream option?
Thank you in advance for explanation!

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Mr. B

Gentlemen, I have one main Sprinter battery under the driver floor, and house battery under the sofa. However, I also have one battery under the hood - what is that for? And is that a Mercedes or Airstream option?

It's a Mercedes option. On commercial vehicles such as ambulances or television news vans it's used as a house battery. On an Airstream Interstate, it's used for nothing at all— even though the smart thing for Airstream to have done would have been to hook up the awning and sliding step to this battery instead of the starting battery.

[Mr. B]

Got it, thanks Protagonist! Im sorry for bombarding you by questions that could be found in manuals ))))

Are those two Mercedes batteries (starting battery and that which is under the hood) connected together?

Usually I hook up batteries on my cars, that not in use, to a low-amp battery chargers/tenders to keep them in fully charged state. Are all three batteries in the Interstate connected together, and are they in charging mode when the vehicle connected to a shore power? Or I need to connect all batteries to a trickle chargers when my AI on a prolonged stay on the driveway?

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Mr. B

Are those two Mercedes batteries (starting battery and that which is under the hood) connected together?

The starting battery and the auxiliary battery under the hood are connected through a relay. When the engine is running, the relay allows both batteries to charge. When the engine is not running, the batteries are disconnected, so that a drain on the auxiliary battery does not permit the starting battery to run down. The way that relay is wired, the auxiliary battery cannot be used to start the engine.

Perhaps the best use of the auxiliary battery would be to remove the relay, and directly connect the starting and auxiliary batteries, so that in effect you have two starting batteries. Which would double your cold cranking amps and avoid that auxiliary battery going to waste.

Don't ask me how to remove the relay, though. My Interstate doesn't have an auxiliary battery, so it doesn't have the relay, either.

[Mr. B]

Man, you are the best!

I won't ask you how to eliminate the relay, because it's just a process and I can handle it. The main thing is a knowledge what, where, and why. I think I will connect both said batteries together via the marine "one-two-both" switch which they use in boats.

So, when the AI on a shorepower, it's main and house (under the sofa) batteries are on trickle charging mode, right?

When shorepower is disconnected, I see my house battery charge is 60 or 70%, and think it's not enough. Also it has only 11.95 Volts shown. Is the roof solar panel not enough to charge the house battery? Louisiana is also very sunny, so what is your experience?

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Mr. B

Is the roof solar panel not enough to charge the house battery? Louisiana is also very sunny, so what is your experience?

The solar panel by itself is able to keep the house batteries fully charged— IF everything, and I mean everything, that can be shut off is shut off, AND if the batteries were already fully charged when I parked it.

A dinky 50-watt panel is not up to the task of charging the house batteries, only of float-charging to keep them charged.

As a rule of thumb, you need at least the same number of watts of solar panel as you have amp-hours of house batteries for the solar panel(s) to be any good as a battery charger. So in the case of an Interstate with 160 amp-hours of house batteries, you need at least 160 watts of solar panel, so given the lack of usable real estate on the roof, you'd do best with two 100-watt panels. The stock panel just won't do it.

[Mr. B]

Protagonist thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge!!

Would shore power fully charge the house batteries?

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Mr. B

Would shore power fully charge the house batteries?

Yes.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

It's a Mercedes option. On commercial vehicles such as ambulances or television news vans it's used as a house battery. On an Airstream Interstate, it's used for nothing at all— even though the smart thing for Airstream to have done would have been to hook up the awning and sliding step to this battery instead of the starting battery.

Small addition to Protag's comments.
On most Interstates with a second battery in engine compartment (Option Code E28) they have a 12V outlet in drivers seat base (Option Code E46) powered by the second battery. It's covered by the skirt that Airstream adds to the front seat bases.

There is one other 12V outlet in the rear D-pillar than can be powered by the second battery (Option Code ES2), but I don't think the Interstates have this option.

See attached Option Sheets for details.