2015 interstate grand tour problems plus!

[73shark]

Originally Posted by gmillerok1

If it is anything like my 2011, I'd say about 3 years should do it.

Always the optimist . . .

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by zingara

No, just still working alot and then trying to get the hang of how to use the forum!

If you are a working person, you may at times find yourself in a different headspace than some of the folks in this forum, as it seems to contain a fair number of retirees and folks who are otherwise of leisure, which is a state of mind completely foreign to yours truly and to many other working people.

So you may get presumptive comments suspecting you of some failing or ulterior motive at times when you are simply busy or have some other logistical issue that you need to prioritize in support of your working lifestyle. This is an unfortunate downside of the forum and it can be a turn-off (I suspect it's part of the reason why the forum appears to have so many more lurkers than contributors). My best advice is to just focus on the contributors who ARE helpful, and minimize the amount of attention you pay to what is not productive. That's the best welcome advice I can offer to anyone.

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

If you are a working person, you may at times find yourself in a different headspace than some of the folks in this forum, as it seems to contain a fair number of retirees and folks who are otherwise of leisure, which is a state of mind completely foreign to yours truly and to many other working people.

So you may get presumptive comments suspecting you of some failing or ulterior motive at times when you are simply busy or have some other logistical issue that you need to prioritize in support of your working lifestyle. This is an unfortunate downside of the forum and it can be a turn-off (I suspect it's part of the reason why the forum appears to have so many more lurkers than contributors). My best advice is to just focus on the contributors who ARE helpful, and minimize the amount of attention you pay to what is not productive. That's the best welcome advice I can offer to anyone.

And......a speculation isn't an accusation, just a speculation.

For those who have been around here awhile, a sad truth is that there are folks who come on here periodically, post something really negative, and are never seen nor heard from again. They've been called out here by others on other threads.

I think you will find, zingara, that most here are willing and eager to help our fellow travelers....sharing knowledge and also very specific technical help by those who have that expertise.

We were all newbies once.....both to our rigs, and to these Forums.


Maggie

[zingara]

Originally Posted by Ron_CA

Glad you're back.

Sounds like a trip to your dealer for service is in order. Sounds like you have been back at least once? Did they not fix everything or have new issues cropped up? Don't give up, keep going back until everything is resolved.

Thanks for the encouragement, Ron! And yes, we are trying to persevere here- did have one thing repaired at the beginning- the pump. That's good now, but then everything else went wrong one after another- it was a little overwhelming, but working with it right now and hopefully it won't be too long out with repairs....

[zingara]

Originally Posted by 73shark

Another way to flood the van is to close the lid over the sink without first ensuring that the water faucet valve is pushed down as closing the lid will turn it on otherwise and drain the freshwater tank.

Another great laugh, thanks! I CAN see how that could happen though, but we never did get to use the sink or really too much of anything- at least not yet, but out for repairs soon and hoping to have some fun this summer!

[zingara]

Originally Posted by remphoto

Sounds like you might have recourse under the lemon laws, which depending on the state, may apply to all motorized vehicles (but not travel trailers -- at least in Ohio.)

We've learned a little about RV's and the lemon law and Protagonist posts some valid comments about that. We're hoping to get things resolved soon and have repairs done- it seems like that's the quickest way...

[zingara]

Originally Posted by Protagonist

Unfortunately that wasn't humor. The "Monday product" phenomenon applies mostly to trailers— because they make more of them— but it's a real thing.The engineering term for that is "cascade failure" meaning that one thing going wrong causes another to go wrong. For example, for a water pump failure to cause flooding, the outlet hose might have come loose, causing the pump to run constantly until it pumped the fresh tank dry. All that water inside the galley cabinets caused electrical failures to any circuits that can be damaged by water intrusion. Starting the generator while you've got an active short-circuit can cause the generator's voltage regulator to fry itself, which kills the generator. Not saying that's exactly how it happened; just saying that while you've had many problems, that doesn't necessarily mean that all of those problems existed when you bought it, only some of them.

As for the fridge not staying cold, you're not the first Grand Tour owner with that complaint. Nova Kool fridges and freezers are 12vDC/120vAC models. It's possible that the 12vDC connection wasn't wired up, so when you have no 120vAC power, the fridge shuts down.

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge on this! It surely sounds like you are correct since everything happened one right after another and then just continued. It felt like a cascade! The water pump actually caused the least damage, the roof leaks causing the majority- we think. We're working on getting things looked at and repaired soon AND hoping it doesn't take too long! Thanks again!

[zingara]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

If you are a working person, you may at times find yourself in a different headspace than some of the folks in this forum, as it seems to contain a fair number of retirees and folks who are otherwise of leisure, which is a state of mind completely foreign to yours truly and to many other working people.

So you may get presumptive comments suspecting you of some failing or ulterior motive at times when you are simply busy or have some other logistical issue that you need to prioritize in support of your working lifestyle. This is an unfortunate downside of the forum and it can be a turn-off (I suspect it's part of the reason why the forum appears to have so many more lurkers than contributors). My best advice is to just focus on the contributors who ARE helpful, and minimize the amount of attention you pay to what is not productive. That's the best welcome advice I can offer to anyone.

Thank you for the kind words and encouragement! It's was actually difficult to post our initial question and then not be able to get back right away to see if anyone had replied! This is a fantastic forum and we've learned so much in just a short time- people are so incredibly helpful and their willingness to share experience and knowledge is unbelievable and invaluable! We're most appreciative and hope that we'll be in the ranks of the retired in a few years and maybe we'll be able to offer some advice to those "newbies" coming up behind us!

[zingara]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

And......a speculation isn't an accusation, just a speculation.

For those who have been around here awhile, a sad truth is that there are folks who come on here periodically, post something really negative, and are never seen nor heard from again. They've been called out here by others on other threads.

I think you will find, zingara, that most here are willing and eager to help our fellow travelers....sharing knowledge and also very specific technical help by those who have that expertise.

We were all newbies once.....both to our rigs, and to these Forums.


Maggie

Thank you Lily&me ! We can see why some would have been suspect- understandable! Just so glad to be on here and really, really do appreciate all of the help and support and boy have we learned a lot in a short time! Looking forward to having all repairs done and really enjoying those "miles of smiles"! Thank you so much for sending this post, it meant a lot to these "newbies"!

[73shark]

The good news is, at least from my experience, is that once you get the problems fixed, the AI seems to perform flawlessly after that.

[tlundell]

Originally Posted by zingara

Thank you for the kind words and encouragement! It's was actually difficult to post our initial question and then not be able to get back right away to see if anyone had replied! This is a fantastic forum and we've learned so much in just a short time- people are so incredibly helpful and their willingness to share experience and knowledge is unbelievable and invaluable! We're most appreciative and hope that we'll be in the ranks of the retired in a few years and maybe we'll be able to offer some advice to those "newbies" coming up behind us!

Really glad to hear that you are not too discouraged! As I wrote in my post about our first big trip in our Grand Tour this past week, once you get the repairs done you are going to have a wonderful time seeing the country in comfort and style! Good luck to you!
Tim

[Protagonist]

Look at it this way… at least the "new" has worn off, and you don't have to treat it with kid gloves anymore. Having already racked up some boo-boos, you can use your Airstream to its fullest— once everything is fixed— without being paranoid about that first ding or scratch anymore.

[NOLA_russ]

We're 7 hours into day 1, and things are good all in all. Several worries laid to rest: it's 95F and the unit is comfortable front to back, where the dogs quite enjoy the big bed. Driving is a pleasure, even though we're cracking across I-10, not our preferred type of travel.

The 12v fuse covering the propane valve, detector, fridge, and aux battery display popped again over the last few days. Reading other threads I decided it was the refrigerator, so before disconnecting from shore power I turned on the inverter to keep it on 110. The replacement fuse hasn't popped yet. Either a short or the 7.5a is undersized? Anyway, the workaround is good until we find some dealer time.

The other minor issue is the right mirror bounces crazily. With it turned in so I can see behind it appears the lower connections to the motorized plate aren't connected--it's just held in at the top. I'll see if I can get at it when we're stopped, else see if we can find a Sprinter service shop that can look at it.

So far all of the purchases made based on recommendations here seem right on. I'm also quite happy with the Novatel/Verizon LTE router I picked up--rides nicely in front of the blue-ray player. Lots of coverage this way, so no need for an external antenna yet.

Thanks again/r

[NOLA_russ]

Originally Posted by NOLA_russ

We're 7 hours into day 1, and things are good all in all.

Sadly premature. A few hours later the check engine light came on, followed by the dread DEF message, at about 1200 miles. Just before stopping for the night we got the 10 start message. We're not driving tomorrow, but try to find a dealer that will check it out. Google shows multiple similar reports, with the Nox sensors the most likely culprits. Guess we'll buy our first DEF and try topping it off, but I doubt it's actually low....

Drat.

[UKDUDE]

Originally Posted by NOLA_russ

Sadly premature. A few hours later the check engine light came on, followed by the dread DEF message, at about 1200 miles. Just before stopping for the night we got the 10 start message. We're not driving tomorrow, but try to find a dealer that will check it out. Google shows multiple similar reports, with the Nox sensors the most likely culprits. Guess we'll buy our first DEF and try topping it off, but I doubt it's actually low....

Drat.

That's a shame so soon into your trip. Is that 1200 miles into your trip, and/or 1200 miles total on the odometer?
The cheapest DEF is usually from Walmart in 2.5 gallon containers, with a handy spout. Pour it slowly so as not to overfill - it's corrosive.
Good luck.

[NOLA_russ]

Yep, actual odometer. Walmart is the first stop tomorrow!

[Ron_CA]

Russ, I had forgoten that my curb side mirror did this too. It is just clipped on with plastic clips. Just push it back on. I had to do this within the first 300 miles and has been good now for 15,000.

[NOLA_russ]

Originally Posted by Ron_CA

Russ, I had forgoten that my curb side mirror did this too. It is just clipped on with plastic clips. Just push it back on. I had to do this within the first 300 miles and has been good now for 15,000.

I messed around with it today and think I have it back on. Yesterday I was pushing too hard, thinking the plastic pins clicked through the plate. Today I used a bit more finesse and got the clips to hold. Tomorrow will tell.

Thanks!/r

[Ron_CA]

Originally Posted by NOLA_russ

I messed around with it today and think I have it back on. Yesterday I was pushing too hard, thinking the plastic pins clicked through the plate. Today I used a bit more finesse and got the clips to hold. Tomorrow will tell.

Thanks!/r

I actually pulled mine off all the way to look at it. Didn't really need to, that's why I advised you to just push it back on.

You should be good now.

[73shark]

Did adding some DEF solve that problem?