2015 Flying Cloud 25FB

[Gene]

I did have an opportunity to go to Ikea since we spent a few days in Denver, but it completely slipped my mind. The hook look nice, maybe I'll remember Ikea someday.

Our furnace vents like to close themselves. I replaced the OEM ones with some Winnebago ones that open and close. They are brown which fits in with the color scheme. But I have to keep remembering to make sure they are open except for the one in the bedroom which we keep closed. I wonder where the air goes when the vents close. Only the bathroom one is OEM and all the air doesn't come through there. There must be many leaks in the system.

Gene

[dbj216]

I was cautioned to leave furnace vents open. My old style Suburban NT-30sp needs something like 36 sq inches of venting to prevent the furnace from overheating and shutting down. I put furnace vents in my 66 Trade Wind that do not have a "damper" built into them.

Maybe modern age furnaces can handle a blocked discharge vent without overheating.

Does New Lucy allow closure of her heat discharge vents?

David

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by CampingDogs

Moosetags.... We are learning so much from your posts ....... Just wanted to tell you that

Thank you for the kind words. I notice that you are from Jacksonville. We are camped in Jacksonville tonight. We are heading out in the morning for Orlando and Stuart tomorrow, but we will be back in Jacksonville next week.

Brian

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

I wonder what drove the change. It looks like the awning arms might get in the way of fully opening the door.

In the rear twin, the furnace exhaust gets covered by the door if you leave it wide open, which you're not likely to do if you need the heat on. But it's enough of an issue that the dealer warned us about it when we picked it up.

On Old Lucy, the door was somewhat blocked by the awning while it was deployed.This was never an issue. We found ingress and egress smoother with the rear hinged door. We wish that New Lucy was rear hinged.

Brian

[Gene]

Brian, I think you are right about which way the door should swing. I'd prefer to face the front when I get out. That way the patio light can show me the steps (the step light is pretty ineffective and I can't get the lens off to put in a more powerful LED bulb). The patio light would be closer to the key holes making it easier to see them at night.

They may have feared the door would open during travels and swing back and mess up something. I'm sure some people forget to lock the door when they start out.

Gene

[KJRitchie]

What are you plans to get your ducting work repaired. If you are not getting AC/heat pump air out of several vents would that cause the AC unit to over work?

Kelvin

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by Gene

Brian, I think you are right about which way the door should swing. I'd prefer to face the front when I get out. That way the patio light can show me the steps (the step light is pretty ineffective and I can't get the lens off to put in a more powerful LED bulb). The patio light would be closer to the key holes making it easier to see them at night.

They may have feared the door would open during travels and swing back and mess up something. I'm sure some people forget to lock the door when they start out.

Gene

I agree, Gene. I don't know why they changed it when they had it right to begin with.

Brian

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

What are you plans to get your ducting work repaired. If you are not getting AC/heat pump air out of several vents would that cause the AC unit to over work?

Kelvin

Our plan is to take New Lucy to Jackson Center in April. We are planning to get her a rear awning, and have a number of small warranty items taken care of.

We will have the factory deal with the blocked ducts at that time. Since air is flowing freely from nine of the twelve ducts, I don't think that this situation can cause any damage to the air conditioner/heat pump. There is enough air getting through to cool and/or heat Lucy adequately.

We decided to go this way because I really don't want a dealer messing with a brand new system that they don't have any experience with. This will also give us sixth months on the road with New Lucy to see what issues appear.

We are back in Orlando with New Lucy visiting friends and have spent 28 nights in her. We have towed her 1,960 miles.

Brian

[fpbender]

Moosetags
We are getting our 2015 FC FB the first week in January.
And your posts on New Lucy have helped us prepare for the delivery.
The jackpot I'm referring too is the Sendel wheel and Michelin
tire site. I had two previous quotes one eddie bauer rims and LTX for $3500 and one for Sendel and tires for $2100.
I ordered from your posted site $1330 mounted balanced nitrogen and free shipping.

That sure will pay for lots of new stuff for our new adventure.
This is our first trailer moving from Ocean Sailboat to land yacht can't wait!!
Happy Holidays,
Fred and Suzanne Bender and Bailey our 6 month old lab mix.

[moosetags]

First off, welcome to the Forums, Fred and Suzanne. We're glad to have you with us.

I am glad that you were able to capitalize on information that you got here on Airforums. There is a lot of really good information here.

In addition to getting a good deal on new Michelin 16" LT's and Sendel wheels, You can now recoup some of your investment by selling your brand new OEM wheels and tires.

I got Lucy five new tires and wheels for $1,600. I sold her OEM tires and wheels here on the Forums Classifieds for $600 in one day, making the total investment for this upgrade $1,000. I did spend an additional $200 on a set of Centramatic balancers.

Brian

[fpbender]

Brian, thanks again!
That's same as I paid for 5 tires and wheels.
I will also get centramatics.
Did you have any difficulty storing the 16" spare.
Thanks Again!
Fred

[moosetags]

Brian, thanks again!
That's same as I paid for 5 tires and wheels.
I will also get centramatics.
Did you have any difficulty storing the 16" spare.
Thanks Again!
Fred


Hi Fred. The new spare 16" tire and wheel fit into Lucy's spare tire rack after I bent out the holding tines slightly. It is very easy to do, but best done after removing the rack from the trailer frame.

In Post #231 on this thread (dated 10/31/14), I show exactly how to do it with pictures.

Brian

[fpbender]

Good Morning Brian,
This thread is like the 25 FB cookbook. Recipes for success.
I'm having new wheels and tires, Centramatics drop shipped to dealer for install prior to deliver.
Have a Great Day!
Fred

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by fpbender

Good Morning Brian,
This thread is like the 25 FB cookbook. Recipes for success.
I'm having new wheels and tires, Centramatics drop shipped to dealer for install prior to deliver.
Have a Great Day!
Fred

Hi Fred. That sounds good. If the dealer is going to keep your brand new OEM wheels and tires, make sure that he gives you something for them. For comparison purposes, I sold Lucy's OEM tires and wheels on the Forums Classifieds for $600 with 600 miles on them.

To let you know what you can expect from this upgrade, we did this same tire/wheel upgrade to Old Lucy (2005 Safari 25FB). When we traded her in, her 16" Michelins with the Centramatics had 60,000 miles on them and showed virtually no wear. We never had a single tire issue with the Michelins.

Brian

[KJRitchie]

With the Centramatic balancers did you bother to get the tire shop to balance the tires?

Do new Airsteams with GY Marathons have balanced tires. My Casita came with Marathons and they weren't balanced. Their was a Goodyear technical paper with the owners manuals that stated they didn't need to be balanced. I had to replace the curb side tire (heavier side due to kitchen, fridge and water tank on that side) with the spare on a trip to Glacier NP in 2011, tires only 2 years old, because the outside of the tire started to get cup marks. Purchased Maxius 8008 tires to replace the GYM and had them balanced. No further wear issues.

Kelvin

[Gene]

I believe my OEM Marathons came balanced in 2007. Although it has been posted that Centramatics do all the balancing you need, I don't know that is true, or, untrue. Considering what tires cost, balancing plus Centramatics may be a good investment. I suppose as soon as you leave the shop that balanced the tires, wear on the tires slowly puts them out of balance. That's where the Centramatics are most important.

Gene

[moosetags]

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

With the Centramatic balancers did you bother to get the tire shop to balance the tires?

Do new Airsteams with GY Marathons have balanced tires. My Casita came with Marathons and they weren't balanced. Their was a Goodyear technical paper with the owners manuals that stated they didn't need to be balanced. I had to replace the curb side tire (heavier side due to kitchen, fridge and water tank on that side) with the spare on a trip to Glacier NP in 2011, tires only 2 years old, because the outside of the tire started to get cup marks. Purchased Maxius 8008 tires to replace the GYM and had them balanced. No further wear issues.

Kelvin

Yes, Lucy's new 16" tires and wheels were balanced with weights. When I removed Lucy's OEM tries and wheels, I noticed that they had been balanced with weights.

Brian

[moosetags]

We are continuing New Lucy's test run. Lucy is now camped in Hobe Sound, just north of West Palm Beach. Prior to coming down here, Lucy spent several days in Orlando.

Lucy continues to operate well. we have now spent over thirty nights in her. We have identified several more small issues that we will have addressed when we take her to Jackson Center in the Spring.

The photo in the trees is Lucy's campsite in Orlando, and the other is her site in Hobe Sound.

Brian

[moosetags]

New Lucy's outside storage situation is head and shoulders above Old Lucy and Little Lucy. With three dry storage compartments, the rear bumper storage is now more than ample for items that are weather proof.

Brian

[Gene]

Brian, do you have 3 dry storage compartments because you have twin beds, or have more been added, or what? Our '08 has one under the queen bed and that's it.

Gene