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Old 04-23-2016, 07:18 PM   #1
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2016 Interstate Grand Tour Ext
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Help with dump hose retractor

Our first major trip with our 2016 AI is turning into a shakedown problem solving. This one has me stumped.

Getting ready to leave an RV site, cleared the holding tanks - no problem. Go to retract the hose and half way through the process it stops retracting. Thinking that there was an obstruction I pulled out about 3 feet of hose and tried again. Checked the fuses and all seems fine.

Is there a reset I am not aware of? Is there a manual over ride that can be used to retract the hose?

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Robert Jacobs
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Old 04-23-2016, 07:50 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robertjacobs View Post
Getting ready to leave an RV site, cleared the holding tanks - no problem. Go to retract the hose and half way through the process it stops retracting. Thinking that there was an obstruction I pulled out about 3 feet of hose and tried again. Checked the fuses and all seems fine.
It's easy for the hose to get jammed up. You have to manually guide it back onto the reel.

It usually works best if you unreel the entire hose every time you use it even if the sewer connection is only a few feet away. That also ensures that you don't leave water trapped in the coils on the reel.

Then, when you retract the hose, hold the hose with your left hand, and work the switch with your right. Pull slightly on the hose as it's winding back in to keep it tight, and make sure to work the hose left to right, then right to left— or is it the other way around? Check with the hose pulled all the way out to see if it's to the left or to the right of the slot— anyway, work it slowly from side to side as it reels back in to make sure it coils up evenly all the way across the reel.

It should take about two full coils all the way across and a bit of a third on one side. If you don't guide the hose back in properly, you can end up with the hose wrapped four or five coils deep on one side and nothing on the other, and the hose will jam.

Also, it sometimes helps to retract the hose a few feet, stop, and then retract a few more feet, toggling the switch as necessary until you're done. Until you get used to it, it can be easier to guide the hose back on the reel that way.

In four years of using my Interstate, I still sometimes jam up the hose if something distracts me from what I'm doing. When that happens, I always pull out the whole hose and start over.

Side note: If the motor doesn't run at all, even after you've unreeled the whole hose to start over, check the fuses again. Someone else on another thread recently noticed that on his Interstate, the macerator pump and hose reel fuses were reversed from what the fuse diagram said. So check both the pump and reel fuses, just to be sure. Pull the fuse to check it, and shine a flashlight (not too bright since you'll be looking right at it) though the fuse from behind to see if it's blown. The filament is easier to see if it's back-lit.
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Old 04-24-2016, 06:56 AM   #3
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Thanks for the helpful reply. Based upon what you had written I took a second look at the fuse box. My problem was trying to match the appliance description to the fuse position (all of this done in a prone-sideways position). Yes, indeed once the correct fuse position was located it was the source of the problem.

I have advised my co-pilot that this needs to be a two person job especially trying to keep the hose out of the dirt.

Thanks again,

Robert Jacobs
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Old 04-24-2016, 07:13 AM   #4
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Another hint for Interstate owners. Most of us never use our external showers. With a little bit of ingenuity, you can adapt the external shower hose to connect to the black tank flush fitting— don't worry, there's a check valve in the flush fitting to prevent backflow— and then you can flush the black tank with HOT water.

I'd tell you how I adapted mine, but external shower fittings vary from one model year to another, so the way I did it may not work for you.

But even if you don't adapt your external shower for black tank flush, hooking up the external shower before dumping the waste tanks gives you a handy means of washing your hands— and the outside of the dump hose. The water available at dump stations is often labeled non-potable, meaning it shouldn't be used for any sanitary purpose, including hand-washing.
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Old 10-16-2019, 09:55 AM   #5
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2017 Interstate Lounge Ext
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My retractable hose has quit.(AI 2017) It is getting power. Dealer tells me $800 to fix. Yikes. One thing I am having them do is shorten the length of the hose. From the moment we starting using the retractable hose system, I could tell the unit was struggling to accommodate all the hose. I used to guide it back in with my hands - knowing tis looked like a problem. Stupid engineering. A shorter discharge hose will roll up more quickly and reduce stress on the motor. Most dumping stations can accessed within a short distance of the rig.
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