Batteries and Struts

[Casey Humphries]

Good day Beaver Forum,

I am a proud new owner of a Beaver Marquis that my Dad had been living in for seven years until he recently passed away.   My goal is to get it back to original condition and try it out.   It has 55K miles. Safety and reliability are my first concerns and then I’ll work on the cosmetics. 

The maintenance list is a long.   I have had it started and the engine sounds great.  Air bags need replacing, Aqua hot hasn’t worked in a year or two, corrosion in electrical connections in the electric bay.  Long list but it’s a beautiful coach. 

Electrical

Does anyone have a picture or wiring diagram of how the Chassis and House batteries should be wired that includes the eco charge, alternator, boost start switch and solar panel charge?   My Dad had monkeyed around with them to just get the House working and not for the engine.
He liked to Mickey Mouse things.  Lol.   We started the engine by jump starting. 
The eco charge unit looks quite corroded and the whole batter tray needs to be replaced as it’s quite rusted and you need a crow bar to open and close it.  I think Kwiki is out of business. 

The other question is regarding the gas struts for the exterior compartment doors.   Some have 60lb ones and others have 80lb.  The doors with two struts are fine but it’s the lift up bus doors that have 4 struts that I don’t know what to replace with.  I tried 120lb ones and they are way to strong.  Are all four the same or do the ones that connect directly to the coach different than the ones that connect to the door.  ( I did search the forum and couldn’t find the info for the four strut doors)

Appreciate any suggestions and help.   Thanks.   Casey. Beaver Marquis Amethyst 2001

[Bill Lampkin]

Welcome Casey! You might find an owners manual and (separate) wiring diagrams at Northwest RV Supply. Lippert bought out Kwikee several years ago, so try them for slideout trays, other mfgs make slideout trays also.
Good luck with your project!

[Bill Lampkin]

Forgot, Lift Supports Depot is where I found struts for my bay doors. There are a series of numbers on the strut (not all of them!) that will tell the vendor what strut you have. Or just call 'em up and ask. Very helpful.

[Gerald Farris]

Casey,
 When it comes to repairing the battery bay wiring, if you can not find a wiring diagram (I do not think that one exist for that model), call me (713-254-4156) and I think that I can walk you through the procedure. I can not provide pictures since it has been over two years since I drove a similar coach, but the connections are fairly standard and should not be difficult to repair.

Gerald

[Al Anderson]

Casey,  Congratulations and good luck. 

I am guessing my 2002 is very similar to yours and I may be able to get you pictures of the battery configuration. When I bought mine a year and a half ago I couldn't even get my battery tray out with a pry bar it was so rusted.  I resorted to cutting it out and rebuilding the tray with bulk angel iron.  It works so smooth now that when the lock popped out that holds it closed, and I went through a round-about, the battery tray shattered the door latch and was hanging three feet outside of the RV.  I also changed mine from a total of six batteries to eight to accommodate more dry camping time.

On the door struts, I blow out one every couple of months and have been replacing them with some 60 lbs ones I found on Amazon.  Suspa C16-08260 19.7" Gas Prop/Strut, Set of Two, Force 60 lbs Per Prop/Strut, Force 120 lbs Per Pair, Made in USA  They are currently 21.25 for two.

With regard to knowledge base these guys on this Forum can't be beat.  It always amazes me at how much they know and have done to their Beavers.  In a year and a half I have hundreds of hours into my restoration and am always getting great ideas from the forum.

If you would like battery wiring pictures I am happy to get them for you.

[Casey Humphries]

Thanks for all the information everyone!  I picked up some 60lb struts today and they are perfect. The 110 lb that I tried were way too strong for the doors.  I thought the handle was going to come off in my hand. 

[Keith Moffett]

Casey
Sorry to hear about your Dad. 
Welcome to your Beaver family and the forum.  We had the 2002 Marquis.
Lippert has the trey I believe but you might use some penetrating lube and let it set some.  If it will come out you may wire brush and paint .  Ours was not as bad but needed it too .  Freed up pretty well.
Beaver Coach Sales has all your struts for future reference.
If the chassis batteries are 12V or less run the generator for 30 minutes before starting the engine because the strain can blow the alternator.

[Paul Meehan]

Casey, glad the 60 pound struts worked for you.  Just as a FYI, my coach has 40 pound upper and lower struts and they work well for us.

Paul