MAYCO's 1982 310 TD

[mayco]

Their air suspension is pretty interesting. We watched as one was trying to depart and his suspension was stuck in the fully raised position. It looked like a low rider with hydraulics, way up in the air. He did something to manually bleed off the air and lower the rig. I guess you can use the air suspension to level the rig without the use of hydraulic levelers.
There some that looked like they had gone through fine restorations. The only diesels were swaps, gas only from the factory.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by mayco

Their air suspension is pretty interesting. We watched as one was trying to depart and his suspension was stuck in the fully raised position. It looked like a low rider with hydraulics, way up in the air. He did something to manually bleed off the air and lower the rig. I guess you can use the air suspension to level the rig without the use of hydraulic levelers.
There some that looked like they had gone through fine restorations. The only diesels were swaps, gas only from the factory.

Mike, the GMC suspension system is definitely interesting and somewhat unique. I actually have the control system used for controlling the air bags in a GMC.

For the P30 chassis you can buy an add-on rear air bag setup that let's you adjust the height on each side individually. I bought the control system off of ebay with the plans to some day install the air bags and the control valves on my Argosy. I couldn't see adding hydraulic levelers and figured being able to adjust the level in back from side to side and up and down would help when parked.

Brad

[mayco]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Mike, the GMC suspension system is definitely interesting and somewhat unique. I actually have the control system used for controlling the air bags in a GMC.

For the P30 chassis you can buy an add-on rear air bag setup that let's you adjust the height on each side individually. I bought the control system off of ebay with the plans to some day install the air bags and the control valves on my Argosy. I couldn't see adding hydraulic levelers and figured being able to adjust the level in back from side to side and up and down would help when parked.

Brad

So are you still planning on Installing it Brad? That would be incredibly cool. We have found that so far, we rarely need to break out the leveling blocks in our travels. But Last night we set up in a new state park and needed to get em out to level. The older and stiffer I get, the more pain in the butt it is at the end of a days drive. A pneumatic leveling system would be awesome.

[mayco]

Neither Lynn or I have traveled this Far East before, upper NY. Its been interesting to see how parks and facilities are older the farther we go. So many CCC and YCC projects that were built in the 30s still standing proud and still in use. They sure built these structures to stand the test of time. Lots of stone work and large timber framing, really gorgeous facilities if you like that sort of thing. We are staying these last couple days at Chenango Valley State Park. Pretty big park with 180 campsites not including cabins. Its really fun and interesting to me, as a retired carpenter, to see the timber work they used. I wonder how much of it was cut and milled on site. My guess is that much of it was.

Out on a hike and came upon this huge pavilion, I won't guess at the dimensions. This one built in the 30s by the CCC.




Great little stone restroom building next door to the pavilion


Gorgeous big meadow adjacent, looks like a great place for a music venue........we ARE only 80+ miles from the site of WOODSTOCK

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by mayco

So are you still planning on Installing it Brad? That would be incredibly cool. We have found that so far, we rarely need to break out the leveling blocks in our travels. But Last night we set up in a new state park and needed to get em out to level. The older and stiffer I get, the more pain in the butt it is at the end of a days drive. A pneumatic leveling system would be awesome.

I'm not 100% sure at this point but I would like to. What I don't know just yet is how much side to side movement I would get with the rear bags. The front bags are just the typical inside the springs bag so there would be minimal up or down movement with those bags.

If I could get 2" or more movement at the rear on a side that might be enough for leveling purposes.

I hear ya on the older and stiffer part!

[Keyair]

Stiffer in the wrong places is my issue! [emoji3]

[mayco]

Nice spot in Shawnee State Park PA. Beautiful drive down Rt 99

[mayco]

Ive got a battery question and need some advice fellas. Lynn and I would like to start boondocking a bit more in our travels. We have boondocked on occasion but not regularly.
I'm looking to upgrade my coach batteries, mine are starting to give up the ghost I believe.
They are 4+ years old and I think I shortened their life early on by my own lack of knowledge. But anyway, Ive been reading and reading and having the Diesel poses some questions.
Since my chassis and coach batteries are momentarily tied together with the solenoid for starting the motor, I'm wondering just what type of coach batteries to buy. Ive been looking at the Optima Bluetop which say they are a deepcycle, dual purpose, marine battery. Do any of you have any advice with this situation.
I'm hoping to get something that will truly give us longer battery life between charges, charges faster than flooded, but I'm concerned about the start situation. Especially since we do so much winter/cold weather camping. Do you think the dual purpose BLUETOPS will fit that compromise? I'm not very well versed in this subject but I'm trying to get up to speed.
I have no intentions of adding any solar at this point. Any advice or has anyone some experience with the Diesel/boondocking coach battery thing?
Thank you as always!


Mike

[Kota]

Amp meter! Knowing your discharge rate will let you know how long you can run, when some unknown load is killing you...

These are handy tools.

https://powerwerx.com/watt-meter-ana...RoC8rcQAvD_BwE

[Gregsch]

I went with the Lifeline AG M from bestconverter. I cannot say how long they
Will last but man they work great . I never even think about dischadging them. $700 worth every penny.

[mayco]

Hey Gregsch, I can't remember, is your coach Diesel or gas?

[mayco]

I guess I'm most concerned with the fact that with the diesels, every time you start the motor all three batteries are used. My coach starts immediately so it's a matter of a couple seconds. But what affect is there going to be if I were to go with true deep cycle batteries for the coach side. Will using them in addition to the chassis battery to start the motor hurt the very expensive deep cycle coach batteries? Will true deep cycle batteries provide enough crank power to help start the motor in cold temps? Its a different beast than gassers. I don't have enough knowledge I guess to make that choice.

[mayco]

Here is some good info from Trojan

[bobmiller1]

I thought Trojan manufactured condoms....in any event Mike I have been using deep cycle marine batteries in the Snap-On truck for 28 years. They start the Detroit all the time. I would go with them but I would also separate your battery system back to original or install a new isolater so that your house batteries and your start batteries are separated. Regards, Bob

[mayco]

Its all factory Bob. No mods. There is a solenoid on the side of the battery box on the diesels that ties all three batteries together just during the start position of the ignition key. Not like the gassers where you manually have to throw a switch to do the same thing. More crank due to higher compression I guess. I installed a new isolator a year or so ago. But no mods have been done to the ignition circuitry. That is the only point in the electronics where the coach an chassis batteries are connected.......by design

[mayco]

What brand have you used Bob?

[mayco]

You answered my question though. Apparently from what you said and from what Ive read, I won't damage the batteries and they will provide supplemental cranking power for motor ignition. That was my biggest concern before I drop a dime on AGMs

[bobmiller1]

Condoms or batteries ?

[bobmiller1]

LOL....only kidding, I have used Delco 31-900CT for years on the Snap-On truck, I rotate them out 2 a year, there are 12 on the truck so I get 6 years out of them. I am looking at the Exide marine deep cycle for the 370LE though because they have caps on them so I can add water where the Delco ones don't.

[bobmiller1]

All kidding aside, I'm not a big fan of AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries....I sell some pretty expensive diagnostic equipment to check them out. They for sure are not good for use in applications such as glow plugs/heater grids or other diesel type applications. As far as constant discharge use for dry camping I would say no and stick with a standard heavy duty deep cycle marine type battery with removable caps for maintenance. Regards, Bob