One minor but still aggravating feature of our coach is the digital odometer. I don’t know about modern cars, but good old ones of my day were mechanical that I could actually see, and that were visible even with the key off.
Our Beaver perplexes me every time I fuel it and log the odometer reading to track performance, or need to supply someone with mileage. The screen beyond being tiny, is at the bottom of the dash display and partially blocked by a steering wheel that prevents an optimal approach. I have to practically put my head on the seat and use a flashlight to see the thing. And if I’ve already parked at a site and setup for the evening before remembering to fill in my trip diary, I have to retrieve keys and turn the ignition to ON to activate the readout.
If the wife or others are watching TV news or something at the time, doing that locks out the TV, incurring dark notes of response, especially onerous given with bifocals it takes me awhile to get my face positioned for any usable focus on the diminutive odometer. I’m sure many of you know exactly what I mean.
As I recall (I haven’t driven the coach for over 3 years), the Aladdin can provide the mileage if I have it set right. Still, I remember many expressions of enmity toward whatever sharp-eyed youthful engineer designed that dash display, incorporating the minimalist, dim odometer screen as inconvenient to elder eyes as possible.
My question to those who may know, is whether there is a simple-to-install, decent-looking auxiliary odometer screen available to overcome my tribulations whenever we can get Monty Rae back on the road. I’m not looking to replace the entire instrument panel, like with the Silverleaf, as some have done. This thing has been an issue for me since the coach was driven off the lot in Bend in 2006, one of the few negative and unresolved design aspects we encountered.
Joel