hen I first started rebuilding and modifying cars, there was no Internet. In some ways, that was a blessing. There’s little worse today than being stymied by a problem halfway through a repair, logging onto your favorite forum to explain your conundrum and getting a hundred or so replies — some of which tend to either back up one of a half-dozen or so competing “fixes,” while others usually include a cadre of members practicing a style of sophomoric humor most of us thankfully left in the fifth grade.

No, “back in the day” we developed our own information sources. Among my most trusted “consultants” were the guys across the counter at the local speed shop, who were only too happy to collect my weekly paycheck and dispense wisdom with my change. I was also fortunate enough to make friends with a group of guys who hung around at a machine shop in a neighboring city. The owner, Dennis, accepted me into the group, which meant that not only did he become a source of information but made everything in the shop available — from the typical array of engine-rebuilding machinery to a table grinder for resurfacing flywheels and a bead blaster for stripping parts. For free.

That said, most of my modifications were done in the driveway at home. Alone. Because of that, I used a time-honored hack that performed flawlessly: I took photos of what I was doing during the disassembly process in order to have some sort of guide to help during reassembly. No, we didn’t have smartphones “way back when” — but what we did have were cheap disposable cameras and 1-hour photo shop kiosks in the parking lot of every neighborhood mall.

By Mike O’Neil

When a warning light appears on the dashboard, it can be difficult to determine what the root cause is — especially while behind the wheel. The inability of the driver to know how serious the situation is can cause concern and anxiety. Fortunately, today’s motorhomes have several telltale signs. As a general rule, if the light is yellow, it is still safe to drive to seek assistance; if the light is red, the vehicle should be shut down as soon as safely possible.

Okay, so there’s a bit more to translating dashboard “telltales” than that. Let’s take a look at the various dash icons and explain the meaning of the different telltale functions so coach owners can better understand what they can do to eliminate the issue for a variety of popular diesel engines.

Last year, my wife, Sharon and I purchased a 2013 Winnebago Vista 26-foot motorhome, our first RV in years. After going on a few trips last fall and several this season, we realized we need something a little bigger and possibly a tow vehicle, as we don’t like not being able to travel around an area once we are set up at the campground. So my question is: Should we stay with our Class A and get a Jeep to tow (something that is way out of our normal price range) or get a ¾-ton truck and go with a fifth wheel — something we could do if we found a decent used one around 32 feet with the layout we want. My wife is nervous that fifth wheels are harder to set up. Your opinion is appreciated. Stay safe and I love the articles in RV Enthusiast Magazine!
Chuck and Sharon Tuttle

Whether to choose a fiver or a motorhome comes down to personal preference, cost and convenience. I’ve had every kind of trailer and three Class A’s over the years, the last one being a diesel pusher. As you mentioned, a big consideration when traveling by motorhome is having the right transportation for touring and driving in town once you get to your destination. I was pretty good at driving the coach around in town, but it was inconvenient.

There’s a lot to know about the oil you put in your engine, but learning about designations, viscosities and change intervals isn’t difficult and can net longer service life

By Chris Hemer

rowing up, changing one’s own oil was a rite of passage. Sure, you could take it to the dealership or a local mechanic to have the job done, but if you were a real car (or truck) fanatic, you proved your devotion to the machinery by doing the job yourself. In fact, if you’re like many of us on this very magazine, you’ve probably opened hundreds of quarts of oil over the years — you might even remember spearing a metal-topped can with an oil spout. But do you know what all those numbers, letters and symbols on the bottle mean? How about the differences between standard and synthetic oils, or when they should be changed?

If not, don’t worry — you’re not alone. But, if you are a dedicated car/truck/RV nerd, you should learn, because the science and technology behind contemporary oil formulations continues to change — and is actually pretty interesting stuff when you break it all down. Plus, understanding oils can help you get the most out of your engine in the long run.

ometimes RV owners do dumb things. I have a playbook in this arena, but we’ll dispense with my campfire stories for now. A good friend of mine who owns a 42-foot luxury fifth wheel that remains parked in a resort recently purchased a smaller “fiver” to take on trips — and is still getting used to it. One evening after happy hour and dinner, he decided it was time to close the big side window behind the theater seats. Unfortunately, he’s a strong guy and, using too much force, he slid the movable pane a little too hard — right into the other side of the frame. You guessed it; the window shattered — and fractured my friend’s ego.

Since rain was in the forecast, my heavy-handed friend filled the void with plastic and cardboard, all held in place with artfully applied duct tape. It wasn’t exactly breathtaking, but it did the job. Unfortunately, searching for the right shop to replace the window presented an issue for my friends, who were just a few days into their inaugural cross-country journey. And, with RV suppliers working overtime to keep the OEM channels full of product as record numbers of people rediscover RVing, it wasn’t just trying to make an appointment at a reputable shop that was problematic — replacement parts also are tough to come by right now.

LiquidSpring’s ‘smart suspension’ solution to the inherent harsh ride of the Ford F-53 motorhome chassis

By Bob Livingston / Photos by the author

or decades, a wide variety of add-on devices have been marketed to improve the ride and road manners of the leaf-spring suspension for the Ford F-53 motorhome chassis, which has been the mainstay of the Class A gasoline-powered motorized industry. While many of the add-ons developed by various companies in the aftermarket have tempered the Ford’s road manners to a certain extent, the Ford chassis continues to be known for its stiff ride — and, at times, less-than-stellar handling.

Lafayette, Indiana-based LiquidSpring opted to go in another direction. Rather than attempt to “fix” the Ford’s shortcomings by bolting parts to the otherwise stock suspension, LiquidSpring designed a computer-controlled compressible-liquid “smart” suspension system that is installed in place of the Ford chassis’ steel leaf springs and shock absorbers. The system is available for F-53 chassis with 16,000- through 26,000-pound gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR), dating back to 2011.

The “liquid” in the LiquidSpring system is silicone-based and compressible under high pressure. Struts (a piston in a cylinder) replace the steel leaf springs. Instead of leaf springs flexing and loading under varying road conditions, the silicone-based liquid is compressed at a variable rate determined by an onboard computer that analyzes suspension movement in milliseconds and changes pressures (2,200 to 4,000 psi) in the struts as road conditions vary. The liquid serves as load support as well as shock absorbing; hence the variability the system provides is a radical transformation of the stock F-53 suspension system.

Hidden in Plain Sight

Take the time to discover unexpected jewels, even in the most unlikely towns and cities. While waiting for motorhome service, our days in Redlands, California, were filled with tours of a number of local historical sites.

ost of the unique and out-of-the-way places RVers visit can usually be found by searching for wildlife refuges, national monuments, historical sites or perusing sites such as Roadtrippers.com for new discoveries — but not all places to visit are described in tour books and Internet sites. Just about anywhere you travel, there are interesting things to seek out, even in the most unlikely locations. Recently we discovered a number of interesting sites while waiting for our motorhome to be serviced at Redlands Truck & RV in Redlands, California. We used the time that our motorhome was in the shop to explore the area around us, and really “discovered” the beautiful little town of Redlands, California — a place most travelers would not have on their bucket list.

As we learned, sometimes great locations are hidden in plain sight.