Cruisers Forum
Main Forum => General Discussion => Topic started by: 2 Frazzled on September 18, 2015, 10:07:50 am
-
We will be at the Hershey show tomorrow (Saturday). If any of you will be there and want to meet us, we'd love to meet you. Send me a private message through the forum and I'll respond with my phone number so you can call or text me and we can coordinate. We will be easy to identify. I'm the one with a knee brace and trekking poles (torn ACL - hence the last minute decision - I had to be able to walk).
John, Chloe and I expect to be there most of the day so we can check out the Phoenix booth, the vendors and hit a few seminars.
To head off the questions, NO we are not looking for another RV. We are totally happy with our 2552 and plan to play in her for a long time to come. We will, however, continue to check out and covet the upgrades that Kermit has added to the Phoenix since we bought ours.
-
I understand the Hershey Show is the biggest event for motor home shopping. I would love to attend, and even volunteer for a day for Phoenix, helping to introduce people to the PC lineup from an owner's perspective.
-
Wow, Ron, you make me feel bad. I just want to go and give Earl a hard time (and Kyle if he is there). Grammy always told me I was her little angel, but my halo was just a little crooked. I'm OK with that. It's a little far for you to do it for a day buy it might be a fun thing for next year if you can put a few vacation days together. They might be able to use your help driving the rigs out (and back if they don't sell them at the show). You should check with Earl.
As for the show, it is massive. I just printed the discount tickets and their blurb says "21 Acres of displays. Over 1,200 RVs!!!"
Oh boy, I can't wait.
-
Ron, here's a video clip from Gary Bunzer's site (The RV Doctor). He is giving several seminars I hope to attend. I liked the aerial shots of the show on the clip
http://www.rvdoctor.com/2015/08/visit-americas-largest-rv-show.html
-
We were
There last Wednesday and met both Earl and Kyle at yhe Phoenix display. The show is over whelming with 23 football fields of RV, plus the staduim of vendors.
Have fun!
We just got to lakewood in Myrtle beach. Will be here for a month.
-
Tom, I just checked the website - WOW, looks nice. I expect to see you two back up here with great tans and nice relaxed smiles. A whole month? Post pics once in a while so we can all envy you. I especially want one of you guys shooting out of those water slides. We'll meet you at The Tilted Kilt for lunch when you get back so you can tell us all about it.
-
Tom: I have not been to Lakewood Campground in 25 years! Has it changed at all? I recall they use to come around every morning selling the greatest honey dipped donuts, my kids still talk about them. Beautiful campground. Hope it is not all built up? have fun, be safe. Ron G.
-
I can't say for sure about the donuts but I don't think so. They have improved the store, swimming pool and added a water slide and lazy river. We have long time friends that are here also, which is why we are here. We were here last year also but only for a week. Normally we stay at Travel Park in North Myrtle Beach.
We just drove around the campground in our rented golf cart. We saw another Phoenix Crusier in full brown paint. I think it is either a 2100 or 2400. Nobody was home. If they read this we are in site 2610 and will be at the fish fry tonight. Stop by and say hi.
-
Holly, did you notice the new style macerator on the Phoenix Cruisers? Completely sealed box.
BillG
-
Holly, did you notice the new style macerator on the Phoenix Cruisers? Completely sealed box.
BillG
Given I just replaced our macerator this season, I got quite familiar with the pump area.
The original location for the pump is positioned nicely to serve it's purpose well, but is naturally a bit vulnerable to hitting a curb and other obstacles. It will be interesting to see what the factory has done differently.
Given our rig is in our garage most of it's life, the pump does not see much of the elements, but I can say that our original pump still took a hit from weather and washing. Water did get into the pump through the hole at the end of the pump, the hole you use a screwdriver to free a jammed pump. Water that gets inside does drain via two weep holes, but the internal electric motor bearings still got rusted, then very noisy. Waste water surely did not enter given the design of the pump.
My point in this is....
It is a good idea to place an adhesive-backed foam rubber pad to seal that hole. Remove the pad to free a jammed pump, then reseal. On our new macerator, the end of the pump is flush without a raised lip around the hole so I have an adhesive-backed clear hard rubber pad so I can see the pump shaft spin.
You can read about my macerator HERE (http://forum.phoenixusarv.com/index.php/topic,2086.0.html)
-
Ron my pump has a rubber nipple over the hole that you have to remove before inserting the screw driver. Then you replace the nipple. It came that way from the factory. So it might have been a improvment between your year and mine.
The new sanicon is a box that you can not see while stand next to it. It is mounted up under the motorhome. The new hose is also larger than ours and it pumps a lot more waste in less time, per Earl.
-
Sorry to say Hal and I have never attended the Hershey Show. We lived in Frederick, MD which is about an hour's drive from there but were always traveling in September.
We have attended the Big RV Show in Tampa 8 times and will probably be there again in January, 2016. We meet a rv group and have a 5 day rally. We are like kids in a huge candy shop. In 2014 we spent some time at the PC display. April this year we purchased a used 2013 2100.
Ron, I just read your macerator replacement post. You could write RV Owner's Manuals. Your pictures and directions make it sound like maybe Carol and I could master the installation (in both our wildest dreams). LOL
I appreciate all the info and good tips many members post.
Gail
-
New Macerator
-
Macerator pics
-
Bill, thanks for the pics. Earl and Kyle told me about the macerator but my bum knee wasn't willing to scrunch down there to check it out. Earl said it pumps the tanks almost three times faster. Nice. I saw John's eyes light up at that.
They also have cool LED lights along the inner edge of the awning that operate on their own switch. Also nice.
We hurt ourselves at the show. ONE day is not enough. Lots of walking and climbing in and out of RVs. Three years ago John and I went as nearly totally clueless wannabes. This year we went with a completely different viewpoint. Phoenix wins hands down on inside storage which is big with us. The kitchen beats out all but the big ones. Even some of the big guys had less functional kitchens and less bedroom storage. Some of the rigs were built on the Freightliner chassis (34-40 feet) and there were three steps up to get in the CAB door with that first step from the ground being a big one. It was at least five steps to get in the house door. It was a BIG trucker dude type rig. We did a LOT of steps.
My granddaughter was shopping for one for her and her dad (6'4") and their two large dogs. She really liked the ones with bunk beds. She said "Daddy gets the big bed, I get the top bunk and the doggies get the bottom bunk." She found that floor plan in travel trailers, class A's and class C' s.
We were floored at the cost of the tiny tear drop shaped trailers. One was barely more than a bed you could just sit up in and it was over 6K.
One interesting vendor was Amazon camperforce. You apply and commit to work mid-September until December 23rd. They pay your full hook up campsite and ten dollars and change per hour plus an additional dollar per hour completion bonus (if you stay the whole time). A couple can make $113k in one season. You can make even more with shift differential and overtime. The rest of the year you go out and play.
You can pull this up online. The Texas site is full but they are still hiring for KY, TN southern IN. The rep said temps are usually lows in 40's and highs in 50's or 60's for that time with weather turning bad in January and February.
http://m.camperforcejobs.com/amazon/jobs/mobile/indexEmp.aspx?id=d29697f4-8745-4bd5-925d-04b938d5016c
-
Oh, the Amazon work is order fulfillment: pulling stock, shipping and receiving.
-
And again - I found the paper amongst the mass of show goodies. They pay $10.75 for days, $11.25 for nights plus that extra $1.00 per hour completion bonus. Over 40 hours a week is paid at time and a half. You get a full hook up site with an electric allowance. They make arrangements with local campgrounds, give you a list for the area you were hired for, you pick one and reserve your site, the bill goes to and is paid directly by Amazon. Job descriptions, requirements and some videos are on the website.
The sites may change over the years. They used to have one in Utah but no longer need outside help. The camper force fills in where the local work force cannot supply enough labor for the big holiday push. They don't want to take away jobs from the locals.
-
Looks like Phoenix has switched to the Box Mount model Sani-Con. Three times the dumping speed would be nice, but retail is $400 (less online). Or maybe it's an OEM-only model that is weather resistant; it doesn't quite look like the Box Mount model. I can't wait to find out more about it.
-
This is purely my opinion but Kermit seems to seek out the cool RV stuff and add it to his babies. He is very proud of what he builds and seems to have a goal of making the best RV he can. Phoenix doesn't necessarily flaunt it though. We researched and compared RVs and chose the Phoenix but even with all that research, plus seeing one at a show, plus a factory tour, there were cool features we didn't know we had until we took delivery. One example is the in-tank flushing system. This is really cool and would have been a plus on my list but I didn't know about it. I knew others offered it for an additional charge but there it was as a standard feature on our Phoenix.
-
The tank flusher setup works great. I use it when preparing our rig for winter storage. But I understand it is really useful for dislodging solid waste......we just don't deposit solid waste into it. (WH)
-
The new Sanicon-Inna-Box sounds nice! I'm wondering if it is significantly quieter? That would be another huge plus.
- Mike
-
The new Sanicon-Inna-Box sounds nice! I'm wondering if it is significantly quieter? That would be another huge plus.
- Mike
I did a quick search on that and found a video on the installation. It said the Sanicon-In-Box thingy needs to be mounted below the outlet of the tank. If Phoenix doesn't change the balance of the plumbing, this means SIB will be mounted in the same location as the current design, maybe hanging lower yet given the mechanical configuration. It will be interesting to see what the factory comes up with.
I agree the Sanicon runs loud. The older they are, the louder they are. Our new macerator is less loud. I think the worst of the noise comes from the rubber flappers inside the pump portion. I admit I tolerate the noise well. But I use it at dump stations, not at full hook-up campsites where the noise would be irritating to neighbors.
As with the fresh water pump, I think the noise resonates throughout the rig because of the "hard" connection. Having that soft 3" slinky connection as seen in the video, should dampen it well.
-
Phoenix added rollers to the bottom of the hitch bar cross member because the new sani-conv box being really low and the 3" outlet being farther back. You can see them in Bill Golden's pictures above.
-
The new Sanicon-Inna-Box sounds nice! I'm wondering if it is significantly quieter? That would be another huge plus.
- Mike
I did a quick search on that and found a video on the installation. It said the Sanicon-In-Box thingy needs to be mounted below the outlet of the tank. If Phoenix doesn't change the balance of the plumbing, this means SIB will be mounted in the same location as the current design, maybe hanging lower yet given the mechanical configuration. It will be interesting to see what the factory comes up with.
I agree the Sanicon runs loud. The older they are, the louder they are. Our new macerator is less loud. I think the worst of the noise comes from the rubber flappers inside the pump portion. I admit I tolerate the noise well. But I use it at dump stations, not at full hook-up campsites where the noise would be irritating to neighbors.
As with the fresh water pump, I think the noise resonates throughout the rig because of the "hard" connection. Having that soft 3" slinky connection as seen in the video, should dampen it well.
Our 2015 model 2551 (built in December 2014) had an "engineering prototype" of the new Turbo Sanicon installed. It's superb. And very quiet. It is hard to tell it is running once the tank is empty. It takes 45 seconds or so to empty the black water tank (30+ gallons) and about half that time to empty the grey water tank (20+ gallons). It is an excellent device and has given me zero problems and we had been out for about 2 1/2 months with our PC this year (over 12,000 milrs).
-
The new Sanicon-Inna-Box sounds nice! I'm wondering if it is significantly quieter? That would be another huge plus.
- Mike
I did a quick search on that and found a video on the installation. It said the Sanicon-In-Box thingy needs to be mounted below the outlet of the tank. If Phoenix doesn't change the balance of the plumbing, this means SIB will be mounted in the same location as the current design, maybe hanging lower yet given the mechanical configuration. It will be interesting to see what the factory comes up with.
I agree the Sanicon runs loud. The older they are, the louder they are. Our new macerator is less loud. I think the worst of the noise comes from the rubber flappers inside the pump portion. I admit I tolerate the noise well. But I use it at dump stations, not at full hook-up campsites where the noise would be irritating to neighbors.
As with the fresh water pump, I think the noise resonates throughout the rig because of the "hard" connection. Having that soft 3" slinky connection as seen in the video, should dampen it well.
Our 2015 model 2551 (built in December 2014) had an "engineering prototype" of the new Turbo Sanicon installed. It's superb. And very quiet. It is hard to tell it is running once the tank is empty. It takes 45 seconds or so to empty the black water tank (30+ gallons) and about half that time to empty the grey water tank (20+ gallons). It is an excellent device and has given me zero problems and we had been out for about 2 1/2 months with our PC this year (over 12,000 milrs).
That is VERY encouraging!
-
When we were at the Nahville rally Kermit was showing off the new macerator. And of course the question came up about retrofitting it to older units. His answer was "no", as he explained they would have to reset the the two tanks and plumbing. He did say that our pumps will continue to be manufactured and parts will be available. :)(:. So, I guess in order to have that fancy new pump I'll have to convince my wife to be me a new PC. But, the newer 2350's have a smaller outside storage area. So I'm sticking to the old.
Bill G..... :-D
-
He did say that our pumps will continue to be manufactured and parts will be available.
Bill G..... :-D
Then there are the Seaflow pumps for $70 a piece compared to the Sanicon pump at $400 a piece. With minor effort, one replaces the other.
-
Hi Ron,
I did see your post on the macerator, sadly I purchased a complete unit from Phoenix last year at the factory. 'Twas a whopping $300.00 for pump and hose. But, I must have spare parts on hand.
:-D
Bill G