The 23FB forum

[Biker]

Originally Posted by mistacolin

Sorry. Typo, airstream wouldn’t do a direct sale.

Got it. Thanks for the info!

[GettinAway]

Originally Posted by Rocket53

Hey folks i have a question about blowing out the water lines for winterizing. i posted this on a winterizing thread and haven't received an answer. thought i would pose it to the group since i have the 2008 23FB.

Do i just leave this filter in place while blowing out the lines, or do i remove the canister? I don't see a way to remove the whole thing from the system. there's small white wires going to it as well, not sure what those are for either. you can see them running into bracket from the top. Your help is appreciated.

Mike

Attachment 326767

Is that just the water filter under the right hand kitchen sink? Mine is mounted horizontal vs vertical. If it is, I don’t try to blow it out. I blow everything else out, and then attach a filter I’ve kept over the years and pump the pink/orange stuff through it. Then take it off an drain it next spring. I buy a new one every few years and rotate the old one to receive the antifreeze. In northern Missouri where we store our 23FB, it gets pretty cold. I’ve just always felt blowing the lines out alone just wasn’t enough, so I pump in antifreeze also.

[GettinAway]

Interesting on the dinettes pictured a few posts ago. That’s now set up the same as our 2011. I wondered why they changed it? To make the isle seem wider? To seat more people? Or, just to make it look more stylish? Oh well, we’ve been happy with the bigger table and seats for a long time. We just need the upgraded foam. It’s on the “to do” list.

[dog_tired]

I wonder if the Mods of this great forum could create a Folder or Category for the 23FB, so that each individual topic owners would like to discuss, could have a separate topic thread? With 65 pages of stuff, this thread has gotten impossible to follow.

[PKI]

Not hard to follow. Just read it. There is a lot of information here, but not nearly as much as you will get if you study the whole forum. Do not get frustrated. There is a lot to learn. Take your time. Not all will be of value to you.

Filter - winterize - remove the filter if there is not a bypass loop - in any case, you need to drain the filter or it will freeze. The later models have a section of tube to replace the filter for winterize process.

Why did they change the dinette? It is more comfortable as a lounge in the U-configuration. The 23 is unique in that it has a lot to offer, but there are compromises and you have to work it to stay comfortable. If you do it's got more than other layouts, but a lot of folks just have to change stuff. It is tight and that bothers the twoftitis crowd. Also, if your objectives change, you may have to leave it all behind. The problem is that if you are honest about what you have, it takes a lot of coach to do better. Pat

[Roadtech]

If AS would offer a twin bed version of the 23FB, IMO you would have the perfect coach.

[earthdog]

Originally Posted by RFP

Did you get it to work?

Took our unit to Jackson Center for some warranty work. While the unit was at JC asked them to check out why the winterizing kit was not working. It was installed incorrectly. JC fixed it. The pump is now drawing antifreeze out of the jug as it should. The winterizing kit was originally installed at the dealer prior to pickup. Obviously the dealer did not try it after installation to see if it was working. All is good now thanks to JC.

[GMFL]

Originally Posted by dog_tired

I wonder if the Mods of this great forum could create a Folder or Category for the 23FB, so that each individual topic owners would like to discuss, could have a separate topic thread? With 65 pages of stuff, this thread has gotten impossible to follow.

Haha. Try looking through the 23D thread. At time of this post it is at 192 pages of incredible info and MODS.

But as PKI said. Take your time and study what you can. Not all will be relevant to you or your needs.
Maybe start a blog like I did to keep thing organized.

[RFP]

Originally Posted by earthdog

Took our unit to Jackson Center for some warranty work. While the unit was at JC asked them to check out why the winterizing kit was not working. It was installed incorrectly. JC fixed it. The pump is now drawing antifreeze out of the jug as it should. The winterizing kit was originally installed at the dealer prior to pickup. Obviously the dealer did not try it after installation to see if it was working. All is good now thanks to JC.

Well, when I installed ours, it wouldn't work either... that is, until I realized that I had lost the prime in the pump. A few flushes of the potty woke up the pump, and now it will suck the chrome off a bumper!

[VTSmitty]

Originally Posted by GMFL

Haha. Try looking through the 23D thread. At time of this post it is at 192 pages of incredible info and MODS.

But as PKI said. Take your time and study what you can. Not all will be relevant to you or your needs.
Maybe start a blog like I did to keep thing organized.

The single thread is a bit unwieldy, but if it gets broken up we'd end up duplicating the structure of the rest of the forum: 23FB winterizing, 23FB electrical, 23FB hitches, etc. Maybe the best we can hope for is to try to keep the one thread as focused on our model as possible.

Dan

[GMFL]

Originally Posted by VTSmitty

The single thread is a bit unwieldy, but if it gets broken up we'd end up duplicating the structure of the rest of the forum: 23FB winterizing, 23FB electrical, 23FB hitches, etc. Maybe the best we can hope for is to try to keep the one thread as focused on our model as possible.

Dan

I agree 100%. Needs to be a one stop shop for all things X

[sandshark]

Recently I had the opportunity to take a late-season trip with my 2017 23 FB. I did manage to find a full hookup site at the area that I had targeted so I had the convenience of water electricity and sewage. Temperature did get down on the chilly side at night but not below 40° I decided to utilize the auto setting on my thermostat which brought the heat pump into play. I thought that it had sounded rather noisy but it was producing enough he could make it very comfortable in my camper. After the third night it seemed rather cool in the camper at least below the setting on the thermostat but the air conditioner appeared to be in a lot quieter. At one point during my stay the inside temperature of the camper rose above the set temperature on the thermostat and the air-conditioning unit came on to deliver cool air. This is exactly how I would expect this system to function but I am concerned about the system not providing warm air. Has anyone on the forum experienced a situation such as I described and can possibly offer opinions on why this occurred. By the way I have checked all the fuses in the panel and all appeared to be okay. Also I am running surge suppressors on my system.

[glcmranger]

USE YOUR FURNACE...... That's what it is intended for..... your heat pump will only work down to about 40 degrees.... splurge on some propane and be comfortable.

[SpinWhite]

Our 2018 23FB has the CCC 2 temp control. HP mode will produce heat down to 31 degrees but will cycle into defrost mode and melt the frost. I see water running down the side of the FC. At 30/31 degrees HP mode will switch to furnace. Then switch back to HP at 31 degrees and above. Our inside temp is set to 68 degrees.

[mistacolin]

Originally Posted by SpinWhite

Our 2018 23FB has the CCC 2 temp control. HP mode will produce heat down to 31 degrees but will cycle into defrost mode and melt the frost. I see water running down the side of the FC. At 30/31 degrees HP mode will switch to furnace. Then switch back to HP at 31 degrees and above. Our inside temp is set to 68 degrees.

That’s interesting. I’ll have to try mine too. If it has a defrost mode then it could potentially work much colder (my home heater is a heat pump). I bet they stop it at 31 so the furnace ducts can keep the tanks and belly from freezing.

[Fair_Enough]

Follow up on the side to side "hunting". I haven't tested it yet. But, am fairly confident axles are close enough. The measurements I posted previously were drastically wrong. I should have known they were, but I knew what I read. I'll be completely honest, or transparent as is now popular, the tape I used is a very long cloth type with a loop and a hook, which means one side reads different than the other... a lot different. Even if I got it right, measuring is problematic... anything in the way that the tape bends around throws it off... whether the unused sewer tube or gas lines, or whatever. Since the measurement needs to be very accurate, I bought a cheap laser level and used it instead. What I did:

1) Placed a 4' x 8' sheet of 1/2" ply across the front in an east-west orientation (standing on edge) and as close to centered on the tongue I could make it (drew a line using a drywall square at center), This allowed me to measure from edge to the dots described on down.
2) Using the wooden ramps I made, after loosening to barely snug, all the lug nuts, and hooked up, backed / drove the rear axle onto the ramps; raising the front tires clear of the ground and removed the front wheels.
3) placing the laser on the upper flat of the brake drum (left and right) and directing the dot onto the ply, which is about 13 feet forward, I drew a dot with a marker on the laser dot. Interestingly, when rotating the drums and repeating this 5 times (5 lugs) on each side, the dots make a pattern showing a variation of about 1/2".
5) To correct, I placed a jack under the left front axle now wheel-less and loosened the 4 bolts that attach axle / lift kit to the AS. I simply pulled the axle back towards the rear axle with a ratchet strap until the laser struck the plywood the same distance from the plywood edge on both sides.
6) Happy with the results, I tightened down the bolts/nuts, checked again an re-torqued to spec.
7) Replaced front wheels / tires; lowered off the ramp and torqued the wheels to spec
8) Getting the rear axle correct should have been a simple matter of measuring between axles and adjusting to that measurement, but the measurement was perfect... but... laying a straight-edge across the outside of the tires, spanning both tires, revealed that was not the case. The rear axle was in effect steering towards the left, so...
9) I loosed the rear curb side axle / lift bolts to AS. Seems like the axle moved to where it should be without me doing much of anything. Maybe a little help.
10) Once I was happy that the axle was in the correct position (checked both sides after temporarily attaching wheels)... and with the straight edge touching all 4 tire surfaces...
11) I tightened the axle / lift bolts and checked again with straight edge.
12) Pulled of the ramps and torqued wheels to spec.
13) Pulled forward and rechecked with straight edge since I wasn't confident off the ground would look the same as it did with all that weight on the front tires / axle. One side is nut on, the other very slight off. This can only be made perfect by bending the axles which is not something I can do. And, it is within 1/16" anyway.
14) Next is to hookup and take a drive.

I didn't mention it, but first thing I did was take shocks loose.

[switz]

The ceiling mounted heat pump obviously lacks connections to the flex ducting system so the only way to get "SOME" heat into the tanks area is by the furnace.

We have the 23D and all the black plastic sewer related valves and fittings are hanging out in the breeze like a Lion' privates. These are susceptible to freezing if it gets cold enough.

On one trip, I arrived after dark and the temps were dropping to the low 20s due to an unexpected cold wave. I went to Walmart about a mile away and acquired a cheap sleeping bag, a 120Vac trouble light and the lowest wattage light incandescent bulb I could find. Wrapped the sleeping bag around the black fittings with the light bulb inside and kept that area from freezing.

The next morning I acquired a water line heat tape with thermostat and wrapped the plumbing. That kept the area from freezing. I left the fresh water incoming line off until the temperatures were above freezing.

[Fair_Enough]

Yesterday, I tackled the pantry slide issue. The lower track looked like a jar of tomato or something acidic spilled and rusted the guide severely. The wire racks come off when traveling, every time, making it utterly useless. Wonder if AS did anything about this on later models??

I removed the pantry slide and the tracks which revealed a hodgepodge of screw types and some stripped. Obviously the previous owner just used what he could find to replace screws as they fell out. But did nothing about the rusty guide.

I took apart the upper guide, which wasn't in bad shape and cleaned it.

I probably should have replaced the bottom guide, but I took it apart and it cleaned up fairly well.

Reinstalling I found the guides needed placed better and the catch needed to be spaced towards the latch (the part with the push button)... not sure the correct name.

To me, the slide should have some kind of cross bracing, since its "floppy" but I reinstalled and tie wrapped the wire shelves so they won't fall out on every trip, hopefully. I found when moving the slide, it is better if you do so from the vertical center rather from the handle which is closer to the top
Clint

[sandshark]

From what I understood the heat pump will only work to 40° and then the furnace will automatically come on supposedly there is a sensor outside on the roof that monitors outside temperature. The thermostat should be in auto mode to accomplish this. Let me know how you make out and thanks again for the reply to my post.

[dog_tired]

Zip-ties to the wire racks in the pantry was one of the first things we did to our 23FB. After the 750 mile trip home upon taking delivery, they were they only thing which "shook" loose on the maiden voyage. Poor design, but easy fix.