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General Discussion / Re: Tires for your consideration

« on: July 28, 2026, 01:39:17 pm »

VERY INTERESTING!


The 3 brands of tires I've had the most problems with in my ~50 years years of driving are all in the same group!


Thank you for the details,
Larry

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General Discussion / Re: Power side view mirrors, 2016 E450

« on: July 26, 2026, 09:32:33 pm »

You're quite welcome. Glad to help.


You're right in that they warm up quick. I've sat parked for days in winter Illinois in single digits and ended up with a coating of ice on my mirrors from a sleet storm.  But, with the engine running while I packed away the power cord and raised the jacks, the heat cleared them by the time I was ready to roll.


The folks who recognize these mirrors, are usually owners of a pair, or jealous of them. LOL


Larry

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General Discussion / Re: Power side view mirrors, 2016 E450

« on: July 15, 2026, 10:45:59 pm »

Agreed, the round knob is for moving the upper mirror. Twist it to the left or right dot position to select a mirror, with center turning it off.


The rectangle switch will heat the upper mirrors in the up position and off when down. (I've seen a few models with no red dot and I suspect it just wore off, but not sure.)


The convex mirrors are mostly manual.


Larry

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General Discussion / Re: Ford E350 AC/Heater vent malfunction and fix!

« on: July 13, 2026, 11:54:25 am »

I had to do this twice to my E450 (2008 chassis under my 2010 PC).  "Twice?" you ask?


I bought a check valve at Autozone that failed within 6 months.  Not considering that this could be the problem, at my next oil change I mentioned to my mechanic what I did and that the problem returned within 6 months,,,, I feared the worst and thought I had a bad hose or vacuum motor.   Turns out the new check valve failed.


My mechanic put in another one and it has worked for 5 years without a problem.  This solution helps, but it's not a perfect long term fix for getting the Ford to stay in recirculate mode when parked.  After about 4 or 5 days vacuum is lost and the fresh air vent opens. It's most noticeable when parked with a head wind in cold winter.


I really want to find a way to lock the Ford in recirculate mode. I would think Ford should offer this in their RV cut away chassis.  I suggested this improvement to a contact I have at Ford (Lincoln side of the house) but it never materialized.


Larry

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General Discussion / Re: help needed 2350 electric awning addition

« on: June 10, 2026, 02:31:18 pm »

I can agree on the "bigger is better" desire.  I have a 16 foot awning on my 30 foot PC.  I wish it was longer and covered the last 7 foot as well. That bedroom window at the back gets a lot of Texas sun (or rain). ... However, I do tend to set up my gas grill at that end and it probably wouldn't be good for the awning to be over it and get exposed to heat and smoke.  I also suspect that my rear storage door was installed so close to the rear end cap that there is no room for the arm. Something to consider if you get an awning with support arms.


Picture attached.



Larry

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General Discussion / Re: help needed 2350 electric awning addition

« on: June 09, 2026, 11:23:27 pm »

I asked Google "how to convert a manual rv awning to electric" and it suggests to replace the roller with a motorized roller, or replace the arms with motorized arms.  My 2010 has a dometic awning (of the same year) with the motorized arms and no problems with it.... So far.  My thoughts are that a same brand conversion would reduce the chance of additional/new holes in the side of the coach for the arms... You would only add a hole at the top front(right) end for the new wires to control it.


I think it is worth contacting Dometic to see what they suggest. I would think the answer is going to depend upon the model and year of your existing awning, so have a picture of it as well as any stickers/numbers/labels included in the request.


I wish I could offer more, but I've never encountered this idea before.


Larry

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General Discussion / Re: Cabin air filter

« on: May 09, 2026, 03:49:17 pm »

Sadly, that is correct for all years of E450's.


I wanted one to reduce tree pollen (allergies!) and to keep out the dust I encounter on country roads.  I tried making one and put it under the air intake grill just in front of the windshield. It was not very effective at blocking pollen... But it did keep the mosquitoes out and reduce (but not eliminate) the dust. Let me know if you want details.
Larry

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General Discussion / Re: Location of macerator pump switch

« on: April 29, 2026, 12:27:59 pm »

It's the toggle switch in the sewer bay.  Here's an excellent video by Tina that explains the sewer bay, dumping the tanks and flushing the tanks.


https://youtu.be/OyaKg3sBRYA?si=2R6cn3lZNWn5p7ZL

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General Discussion / Re: Trailer wiring.

« on: April 15, 2026, 04:53:19 pm »

I've never pulled a trailer or used the 7 pin connector,,, but I did accidently discover where the trailer connections to the chassis are made.  In the bottom of the transition wall behind the diver's seat you can see the connection to the Ford wiring. It's right beside the auto power transfer switch that toggles between shoe power and generator power. From there I'm not sure it it stays above the floor all the way to the rear of the coach. I suspect it does.


To get to it, there should be a carpeted section at the bottom of the wall. There are 2 long screws about an inch or 2 from the top edge holding in the carpet (at least on my mind I learned I didn't need to entirely remove the screws) . Backing them out about half to 2/3rds of the way will disconnect the baseboard.


Hopefully someone has seen this issue before and has better advice.


Larry

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General Discussion / Re: Should I not add weight to slide-out?

« on: March 10, 2026, 02:24:06 pm »

Hi Teresa,


I saw your question when you initially posted it, but I thought I would let someone with the same brand of slide respond. My slides are LiftCo.


1st thought that comes to mind is find the model number on the slide and search for it on the Lippert web pages to see if they publish a weight limit. I bet Phoenix knows it as well.. They can probably tell you how heavy the slides are fitted out with furniture, cabinets, etc when installed.


I know the forum was just upgraded and was unavailable off and on,,, so maybe someone else will contribute their thoughts here as well when they come back in force.   Here's my brain dump on this:


I would think your feline playground would be ok within reason as long as you don't add a large amount of weight. Here's why... You're removing tables and  cushions, you instantly can add that same weight in playground equipment. Also, consider that some floorplans (I don't know yours, so I'll be generic here) have passenger seating with 2 sets of seat belts in the dinette or in the recliners.  Each out those must be rated for a full size adult... Probably 250 to 300lbs each.   Those same adults would be in those seats when the slide is IN and the RV in motion, or When OUT and the RV is parked.  Some floorplans have a fridge loaded with food so I know the weight limits can be higher.


However, that is not a free pass to instantly add 500 lbs of playground. LOL... Extra weight is stress on the slide and more mass for you to push down the road which impacts your mileage and the weight distribution of the RV.    Also keep in mind the slide is strongest when IN for 2 reasons,,,, the outer shell is pressed against the outside wall of the RV and the weight is evenly distributed on the wall connections and the inside rollers. It is second strongest OUT because the inner shell of the slide is pressed against the RV inner wall. However the weight is mostly on the RV wall and only a small amount in the inner rollers. It basically shifts the weight out and why you never want to move the RV with a slide OUT.


It is least strong when part way IN or OUT since it does not have that wall contact for stability... It's basically floating and can twist or bind up. A huge reason to NOT move the RV.


If I was in your shoes I would target keeping it under 100 lbs as that should be plenty for a playground and allow for a litter box, some luggage or food/beverages to be stored in the same area while traveling.. and leave room for some humans to play with the cats in the playground. I would also attach the playground firmly to the frames of the dinette seating as they are designed for passengers in motion and they are attached to the floor of the slide.  This avoids putting holes in the slide itself because there are restrictions where things can be mounted in the slide shell. The walls are likely NOT designed for mounting heavy objects.  (which is probably why the cabinets are small).


I know 100lbs is well under 500...but if I was in your shoes that would be my goal. I'd hope 100lbs is plenty, albeit I've never built a catscape... at least not yet!


I would love to see photos when done and hear how much weight it added up to.


Hope this was helpful,
Larry

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General Discussion / Re: E350 spring compression rates

« on: March 03, 2026, 10:30:08 pm »

If you haven't already done it, the next time you are "loaded for a vacation" visit a CAT scale to be certain you are balanced. A 4 corner weighing is best, but at a minimum a front axle + rear axle will tell you if you are overloaded on the rear... Which could contribute to the nose up posture.

But I agree with Ron in that modifying the springs is a good move. I bought my 2910 used and the previous owner had more leafs added to the rear to correct the nose up issue.

Larry

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Tips and Tricks / Re: Resolving An Irritating Squeak In Cabinet Above The Cab

« on: February 18, 2026, 09:16:05 pm »

I totally understand.. When I drive thru Louisiana or Oklahoma and it seems like every screw in  the entire RV backs out halfway.


Thanks for the quick reply.

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Tips and Tricks / Re: Resolving An Irritating Squeak In Cabinet Above The Cab

« on: February 18, 2026, 02:03:59 pm »

I apologize if I am "picking at an old wound', but I'm curious as to how this is now. Is it still quiet? And, are there any additional thoughts on it?


I've noticed in the last month I have a new noise above the passenger seat. It started as an occasional squeak and then an occasional metallic scratch. But, after completing another 1000 mile to get home it is now a metal on metal grating sound when I'm on a rough road (it's completely silent on a smooth road) . I think a metal bolt is sliding back and forth through a metal hole.  As if a bolt is loose and it now has more slack to slide across the threads. TBH I'm picturing a bolt with a loose nut sliding up and down through a hole in the cab roof.


This weekend or the next I plan to take off the headliner and see what's moving and hopefully fix this. From the outside I don't see any cracks or evidence of movement.... But maybe the cab is not flexing in the right direction while parked.


I had planned on rebuilding the cap area anyway (got several ideas to incorporate!). I even found a TV mount I like that brings the TV down to eye level. So, I guess this is my signal to start this project.


Anyway, interested if there is any additional insight as your solution has had time to bake.


Thanks, Larry

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General Discussion / Re: Why am I “banned from using this forum”?

« on: February 09, 2026, 02:17:36 pm »

I think that's where the wildcard ranges of banned IP addresses kick in. For example there could be some IP addresses in New Mexico that are interspersed within a broader range of IP addresses for one or more countries that have these hackers. The forum administrators may have put in a broad Wild Card range of IP addresses to block those foreign countries and inadvertently banned you in New mexico. I don't know what the admins did on this forum but I suspect they probably caught their error and fixed that, specially since your cookie aged out and went away and you are able to log on now and not get banned again.


Nonetheless, glad you're back online.

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General Discussion / Re: Why am I “banned from using this forum”?

« on: February 08, 2026, 01:10:42 pm »

FLEI,


I had some free time to research this further and found a way to get myself "banned', AND HOW TO REMEDY the problem.  I won't go specifically into how to get yourself banned, but basically it is caused by accessing the forum on different ip addresses from different countries within a short period of time... I.E. The forum software thinks that you are a bad character trying to spoof it and it drops a poisoned cookie on your device.  That cookie eventually ages off and let's you back on..  While you still have it on your device, all users who try to login from your device are banned. (As you have experienced and described above.)  The good news is, there's a way to get rid of it instantly.


To remove the ban you must remove ALL saved cookies for the forum website.  THE KEYWORD IN THAT SENTENCE IS **ALL**.  The basic "delete cookies" command does not always remove the one which bans you (this is a whole new issue of DELETE based upon versions of CHROME and maybe other browsers too). To do so, follow these steps.  I only have Chrome, so if you are using Edge, Safari, or Firefox it might be slightly different.

Open Chrome
Open Settings (click on your Google avatar icon, at top right and then click on Settings )

Click on Site settings
Click on All sites
Click on the magnifying glass and search for phoenix

You will get at least one result, including...
            phoenixusarv.com

Click on the trash can beside Phoenixusarv.Com
Click on Delete & reset
..... Now all of the cookies, saved credentials, saved history, and the "you are banned" cookie are gone!


Open the forum. It will ask you to login as if it was your first time to login on this device. It will ask for your userid and password and all should be good.


From what I can tell after reading hundreds of online support discussions the SMF administrators of our forum have an over zealous rule to block international hackers with too broad of a wildcard pattern for IP addresses... It blocks the bad guys and occasionally tags us too.


Larry