New member coach description w newbie questions

[Benji Sinclair]

New to all aspects of RVing, and I'm about to drive my very recently 1991 rig from SE Idaho to SE Arizona to escape the harsh winter up here.

Details:
1991 Marquis Florentine, 40 ft.
CAT 325 diesel engine w 79,000 miles
runs v smoothly at 65-75 mph
Allison trannie
Good tires
Onan generator, just serviced
Oil, antifreeze, tran fluid all new
Dometic fridge/ freezer, only the freezer works intermittently on gas, not on AC. What's with that?
Suburban gas furnace
No manuals with purchase (a month ago. Duh.)
3rd owner.
Q1: how much fresh water should I be traveling with in the main tank, if there's a possibility of a freeze en route?  (system was winterized but all 3 tanks + water heater emptied due to recent cold snap)
Q2: Found the chassis manual online but where are any others? Never thought they'd be so hard to find.
Thanks very much in advance!



 

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Benji,
Welcome to the Forum!
You will find some wiring diagrams, etc athttps://sites.google.com/site/beavermotorhomehistory/beaver-coaches-inc
This can be accessed via the BAC website  http://beaveramb.org/  Select "About",  "Beaver History" and the appropriate year(s). You can also access it and other technical info here on the Forum by going to the Private Members Only board, selectign the Coach Assist post and clicking on the hyper link in that post.

I think your coach may have heating tape to keep the tanks from freezing. Check to see if you have a switch(s) somewhere labeled tank heat or something similar.
Steve

[Benji Sinclair]

Thank you, Steve. I did plug in a heat tape, but didnt see any switch.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Benji,
Assuming the heat tape is working, you shouldn't have tank freeze issues.
Steve

[Stan Simpson]

New to all aspects of RVing

Details:

Good tires

Welcome Benji,

These two items in your post caught my eye. We were all new to all things RVing at one time. Including me, in 2008 when we purchased a 10 year old gas powered motor home to try it out to see if we liked the idea.

We brought it home on a Saturday, and left for Yellowstone National Park the following Thursday. I'm relating this, because it was not until we were back home, and found a forum regarding RVing, that we discovered that we made the trip from Illinois to Wyoming and back on the original tires. Good tires means different things to different people. We had GREAT tread on our 10 year old tires. We were extremely lucky to not have a blow out causing serious damage or worse serious injury. RV tires are "good tires" when they are 7 years old or less AND if they have no cracks in the sidewalls or evidence of dry rot. The 7 years is a standard based on the limited use (it will dry rot before the treads are bad) use motorhomes get. They sit a lot. There are date codes required by law on the tires. I would highly recommend you know what they are before making the trip to Arizona.

Congrats on your new to you Beaver coach!

[Gerald Farris]

Benji,
The heat tape is a 120 volt heater that is not wired to your inverter, so it will only heat if you are plugged into shore power or your generator is running. Therefore, if you are traveling in below freezing weather, you need to have your Suburban heating unit operating to prevent freeze damage to your water tank and plumbing in the basement. Your Suburban heating unit has duct outlets into your basement and your water tank enclosure to prevent freeze damage in these areas when it is being used to heat the coach.

The amount of water that you carry in your water tank when traveling will depend upon where you are going to. If you are headed to an RV park with hook-ups, you just need enough to cover your needs for the time you will be traveling (normally I carry about 30 gallons or 30% of your tank capacity). However, if you are traveling to a dry camping area like Quartzsite, you travel with a full tank.

Gerald

[Jason Worman]

Benji

Welcome to the forum, we are newbies as well. We have a 1991 Contessa. Just a heads up. We have the heat tape as well and I would recommend that you inspect the wiring of it around the water tank. On our heat tape a spot had the insulation wear off and touched the metal chasis and caught fire a couple of weeks ago. Luckily got the fire out quickly, but it melted a whole in our fresh water tank. Better to be safe then sorry.

Have fun and enjoy your new coach.

Jason

[Benji Sinclair]

Good to know! Thanks very much for that tip. Ill check it out.

[Benji Sinclair]

Thanks veey much to Steve, Stan, Gerald & Jason! Not sure how to reply to you individually on my phone. I'll have the tires checked before I go. Much appreciated, all of these comments!

[Joel Ashley]

Relating to Stan’s note, you can check how old the tires are yourself.  An RV tire times out before it wears out, so if they’re older than 7, seriously consider new ones even if they look great.  Many here can recommend brands and dealers it needed.
https://www.tirebuyer.com/education/how-to-determine-the-age-of-your-tires#

Joel

[Benji Sinclair]

Thanks Joel!

[Benji Sinclair]

Rear tires eay too old, getting them replaced tomorrow.

[Joel Ashley]

Consider Pocatello or other Les Schwab for Toyo M144's.  Many of us have gone to those for the value.  Also think about the Les Schwab in Lakeview as an aside to your trip.  The best is Bob Dickman Les Schwab in Junction City, OR, but the savings in tires and taxes may not be worth the fuel.  There are many along the freeway through Utah.  Call ahead because some dealers don't keep every tire in stock, and have to order in from Prineville (Schwab) or a local warehouse.

Whatever you do, before the tires are mounted, verify their date codes.  Some places warehouse tires for quite awhile (occasionally years!).  As I recall the time of year makes a difference in recent code availability due to sales and manufacturing parameters.  Get the youngest a dealer can furnish, even if you have to make a lot of phone calls.

Joel

[Benji Sinclair]

Where is the water pump in a '91 Marquis?

[Keith Phillips]

My water pump is located under the cabinet drawers near the water heater. Turn on the pump and listen for it and you will find it. If it is not working just start by pulling drawers, that seems the best place to hide it but easy(relatively) to get to. Hope this helps.