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General Discussion / This Forum Is Finally Working Again

« on: October 18, 2025, 09:42:56 am »

I have informed Phoenix when this forum goes down for lengthy periods.  The owner of Phoenix, Tina Cooper, told me that GoDaddy hosts the Phoenix forum, and that Phoenix has no influence.  It sounds like the forum will be down frequently because GoDaddy does not expand what is needed to meet the ever increasing demand of its customers.

If you need a host for personal or business use, DON'T consider GoDaddy.

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General Discussion / Re: Batteries brands vs cost vs efficiency

« on: October 02, 2025, 12:04:37 am »

Joseph asks
>Trojan T105-AES 6V AGM 207 amp hr has a DOD 0 % rating of 1200 cycles . $500-545.00. Each..  Three year warranty.

Those batteries only list for $200 ea and I saw this offer: https://advantagebatteries.com/shop/trojan-t105-6v-battery/ for $166 (All in FL) but I bet someone could meet their price.
My T105's are over 7 years old and still going strong.
I monitor the state of charge and try never to go down less than 50% charged.
I don't mind adding water about every 45 days.

That works for PC owners who had 6V batteries when the rig was new because the battery compartment accommodates taller 6V batteries.  But for people like us who originally had 12V batteries in a lower profile compartment, changing to taller 6V batteries required me to delete the tray to gain the height which makes sealed AGMs the only practical option because you can't inspect fluid levels with the tray deleted.  CLICK HERE to see pictures of my 12V to 6V AGM conversion.

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General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« on: August 28, 2025, 05:59:26 pm »

I’m waiting to hear from my doc on how to go forward on new cancer diagnosis.  Seems once you have cancer (4 years now) you’re constantly chasing it.

Sorry to hear of your health history.

I am in a similar situation.  As of October of last year, after chemo was completed, I am supposedly in remission from stage 4 DLBCL (diffuse large B cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma).  I go in next month for another round of quarterly bloodwork and biannual CAT scan to make sure it has not returned.  In the mean time, I continue to recover from the chemo treatments.  I can't yet go hiking like I used to, still limited to casual walks on flat surfaces.  But the hardest challenge for me is avoiding sugar and starch to starve potential returning cancer.

There we go, changing the subject again, ha, ha.

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General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« on: August 28, 2025, 08:45:05 am »

My Black & Decker charger pictured, has these 5 modes.... 4, 10, 20, 40 amp, and Start.

During trips, to shorten generator run times, I set my B&D charger to 20 amps.  I worry that 40 amps is too hard on the pair of batteries.  I am comfortable with 10 amps per battery.  The 40 amp setting is handy for emergency use.

Decades ago now, my original Ford chassis battery was showing signs of weakness when we headed out for a wedding about 350 miles from home.  On the way back home, the battery completely died in a rest area.  To get the V10 chassis engine started, it took the Onan generator running, jumper cables from the house batteries, and my battery charger at the 40 amp setting, to start the V10 engine.  So there was just that one time where 40 amps was extremely handy.

I could not get the charger's Start Mode to work.  Maybe I wasn't working it right.  Maybe the unrecoverable battery prevented it from contributing.

Sorry for drifting off topic.  At least you started this thread and the drifting from it. 

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General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« on: August 27, 2025, 09:13:26 am »

In regards to the power draw another question comes to mind.  Being running the generator doesn’t bring your batteries to 100% could a person connect a charger to the batteries while the generator is running to top them off?  I’m thinking of a small 15 amp for deep cycle batteries just for this purpose?

You think like me.

17 years ago, I resorted to an external charger to shorten generator run times.  Because, on trips, the house is in full operation during such charging, the current draw prevents the charger from stating "FULL."  It took me some time to understand that.  There is a huge difference in charging when the house is in full operation, than when the house is shut down.

I took this picture back in 2009.  I practice it to this day during trips.  I also maintain the batteries at home every 3 to 4 months, using the same charger, but at the low 4 amp setting.

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General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« on: August 27, 2025, 08:55:56 am »

Ron, I tried the Koni shocks.  They lasted 40,000 miles.  The only difference in ride was my wallet was much lighter.  I wasn’t impressed and noticed absolutely no improvement in ride… sadly.

Oh my, that is a very poor review on the Koni FSD shocks.

I wanted to buy the Koni-FSDs back in 2018 but couldn't justify the expense and NO lifetime warranty either.  I decided to go with heavy duty Bilstein RV shocks for the price and lifetime warranty.  Admittedly I am a bit surprised how happy I am with them.  I was concerned that the HD Bilsteins would jar our rig more, but apparently there is enough mass and weight that there was no noticable worsening.

Another change I made two years later in 2020, was replacing the front coil springs to a pair of the next rating lesser because our PC front suspension had too much weight capability that created unnecessary thrashing up front.  Our PC still has margin, but not so extreme.  The ride up front is more comfortable, and the house likes it too.

I also adjusted front tire pressure to 55 PSI which could be afforded due to our lighter front end.  Between all the changes I made since 2018, the house thrashes a lot less.  I wished I made the changes when the rig was new, but I was shy in making such changes back then.

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General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« on: August 26, 2025, 04:20:21 pm »

Ron, how many miles do you have on your rig? Reason I ask is I don’t think just owning a rig for a long time has anything to do with it.  I’m at 90,000 miles of rough riding roads. My first unit went out was on recall, this one of course is not. The beating everything takes bouncing down the highways I’m guess is the main culprit. Well that and everything being made to crap out so you’ll spend on new.

We are getting close to 50,000 miles.

You are absolutely correct.  Motorhomes in-general take a serious beating as the miles pile up.  The thrashing from being driven is much harder on the house than age, assuming the rig is well preserved during non-use.

It is for this reason why it is very important to do all you can to reduce thrashing where possible.  As I understand, a very quick-fix is changing to those very expensive Koni-FSD shocks.  It also goes without saying that proper tire pressure, not over-inflating your tires, is of great influence.

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General Discussion / Re: Alternative Fridge?

« on: August 24, 2025, 08:10:11 am »

I wonder if the RV fridge industry goes through EPA changes like regular refridgerators, implementing environmentally safer refridgerants that seem to reduce efficiencies.  Our ever common 120v/propane Norcold is a 2007 model year, still going strong.  I dread the thought of replacing it.

In the months and years that followed after we bought our PC in 2007, there was a rash of Norcold doors breaking at the hinge, an issue across the RV industry.  Being proactive, I installed hinge reinforcement hardware..... so far, so good.  That problem seems to have gone silent on RV forums for quite some time now.

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General Discussion / Re: Tri-fold sofa

« on: August 12, 2025, 09:26:04 am »

FYI the black wires are 12v for the slide motor, not ground.

Yes indeed CalCruiser.  I am glad you brought this up.
There are a few odd exceptions where 12V black is not ground, the macerator in our 2007 production PC being another example.  It's wierd.

But the general rules is as follows.

With a Brick & Mortar house, the 120V color code, WHITE IS GROUND
With motorhome 120V wiring,  the color code is the same, WHITE IS GROUND
All vehicle 12v wiring including motorhomes, the color code, BLACK IS GROUND

Don't confuse black 12V ground from white 120V ground in your PC.  It is easy to mix them up because both are present in motorhomes.

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General Discussion / Re: Macenator / water pump fuse location

« on: July 28, 2025, 07:50:26 am »

Interesting question.

Have you actually confirmed there is no power going to the macerator?  It could be a jammed or failed macerator.  With power confirmed, to find out which batteries the macerator it is getting its power from, disconnect the house batteries and check for power again.

There is no guarantee that the macerator gets it power from the same place on every model and model year.  I couldn't tell you where our 2007 macerator gets its power from, as I don't recall ever investigating that.

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General Discussion / Re: Slide out cabinets shaking loose

« on: July 28, 2025, 07:45:14 am »

For drawers that chronically come loose, tighten the screws you have to the proper alignment, then add many more screws.  That took care of it for me.

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General Discussion / Re: DEAL ALERT $14,500 2004-2551 40K Miles No-Slide Dinette, Chicago N/W Suburbs

« on: July 07, 2025, 10:08:43 pm »

Sale is pending.  He also adjusted the price up by $10,000, to $24,500.

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General Discussion / Re: DEAL ALERT $14,500 2004-2551 40K Miles No-Slide Dinette, Chicago N/W Suburbs

« on: July 03, 2025, 05:47:53 pm »

Hi, is the dinette in a 2004 model smaller than the dinette in the newer models…?

From what I can tell from the pictures, the no-slide dinette in that 2004-2551, is nearly identical to our no-slide dinette in our 2007-2350.  CLICK HERE FOR MANY PICTURES OF OUR 2350 NO-SLIDE DINETTE.  For dimensionals, I am 5'-11" tall.  When our dinette is setup into a bed, laying flat on my back with my heels touching one end, I feel my hair touching the other end.

The pictured dinette seems to have a shorter front-favoring backrest meaning the bench might be closer to the driver seat, or the finished angular transition wall protrudes more.  Then again, it just might be an illusion, making it identical to ours.

Pending the PC model and features, a dinette inside a slide-out is sometimes smaller because the slide-out itself cannot utilize the angular transition wall like the no-slide version, which pushes the front dinette bench about 9 or more inches rearward.  As a result, the table gets tiny, along with a serious lack of legroom.

There are a rare few 2351s and 2552s out there, custom ordered without a slideout.  If also ordered without the adjacent panty/closet, the size of the dining table is exceptional along with piles of legroom, both of which I consider to be "tops."  Our dinette works well, but bigger (benches farther apart with a bigger table) would be better.

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General Discussion / DEAL ALERT $14,500 2004-2551 40K Miles No-Slide Dinette, Chicago N/W Suburbs

« on: July 02, 2025, 08:07:11 am »

On Facebook Marketplace, there is what appears to be a great deal in the Chicago north/west suburbs, for someone who wants a shorter PC, model 2551 with twin beds and a no-slideout dinette.  CLICK HERE to get to the ad which includes the seller's first name and phone number.

I know nothing more other than what we all see in the ad.

Being a 2004 model year, it will have only one house battery, no whole house inverter, and no sanicon.

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General Discussion / Re: PC Super C Coming

« on: June 18, 2025, 09:38:43 am »

After PC went from factory direct to dealer sales and basically doubled the price for the same unit I lost all interest in ordering new.

One of my biggest disappointments with Phoenix was changing from factory-direct to 3rd party sales, i.e. dealerships.  Like you say, prices went way up, nearly doubled since the hand-off from Kermit Fisher.  It also made customizing extremely costly & painful.

I could never afford a new PC today, nor would I want one unless it did not have a slideout (customized).  Back in the day, it was so easy to reach out to people one-on-one and encourage them to connect with the factory.  I did that often, most especially during the great recession to help bolster PC sales to help them survive through it.  It was easy back then because PCs like our special order unit was 25% more than a base model Four Winds 21QB.  Now it is nearly 100% more.

I still promote PCs, but I never talk "value", only "construction" and "quality."  I hope they have the same construction practices, still plumb and wire PCs today as they did in that 2007/2008 presentation.  It would be nice to take another factory tour, though I am not sure how I would be received being that I have no plan to buy a new PC.  I would be taking mental notes of changes, basically comparing their current practices from what I remember them to be back in the day.

One change Phoenix made in recent years, I always thought was a discarded opportunity.  When redesigning the rear wall unit, Phoenix had an opportunity to redesign the spare tire compartment to make it mulit-purpose.  It could have had a rectangular hinged cover to accommodate a spare tire for those who want one, or remove the inner spare tire mounting feature and store zero gravity chairs and of the kind, inside it.  They instead changed it to what it is today with no hope for a spare tire for people who want one, nor items like bulky zero gravity chairs.  It would have been cool for Phoenix to include a pair of zero gravity chairs with "Phoenix Cruiser" embroidered in the headrests.  That would have "caught attention" in RV parks and camp grounds.