Maintenance Report - 2012 Georgetown XL 378TS 73,000 miles

[DAB2014]

Iggy,
Another thing. Keep an eye on the battery water level. It's a pain but not looking forward to replacing 4 batteries.

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by DAB2014

Iggy,
Another thing. Keep an eye on the battery water level. It's a pain but not looking forward to replacing 4 batteries.

Yes. I replaced my engine battery last year as it wa starting to fail.
I think I'm on my 2nd set of house batteries from Walmart. Plus the OEM ones from FR. They seem to last just about 3 years of my usage.

[UYAWNT2]

Originally Posted by Iggy

One thing I didn't put in my original remarks is to insure you maintain proper tire pressure prior to your trip and during your trip.

I maintain 90 psi all around on my 22.5" tires but actually after leaving Arizona and heading to the NE my tire pressure dropped all around on all 6 tires to 75 psi on the cool morning in Connecticut.

Luckily my tire monitor saw it and I carry my air compressor with my so I added 10 psi all around until I got home here in AZ then reset them to 90 psi.

If you highway drive on long trips you will damage your front steering tires with too low of air. I learned the hard way on my original Michelin front tires.

I also have a 2011 Georgetown 378. I was told to weight the rig & go off the spec sheet from the tire manufacturer for each axel. By what I read the front tires should be at 70 psi & the rear 80 psi. Is that wrong? I'm real new at the RV thing!!

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by UYAWNT2

I also have a 2011 Georgetown 378. I was told to weight the rig & go off the spec sheet from the tire manufacturer for each axel. By what I read the front tires should be at 70 psi & the rear 80 psi. Is that wrong? I'm real new at the RV thing!!

Ok that's cool. No one says everyone's the same.
You're good.

[ChrisParise]

You are not alone in taking pride in maintaining your MH.

Good job

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by TomW

Iggy, you didn’t mention the 5 Star tune you installed on the V10, are you still happy with the tune?
I have a 2011 Georgetown 378 TS with 28,000 miles (I need to use it more) and installed the tune also.
I just recently got to know my heavy truck Ford dealer when they did the safety recall for the gear shift indicater, I talked to them about doing some of the things you did a little later.
Thanks for the update.
Tom

Tom to be honest with you and this is just my opinion.
If you plan on driving your motorhome around the country 3 to 4 months a year and drive the Interstates I would say it was worth it.
Because for me I like the getup and go a sit improves the torque range and maybe the transmission shifting.
I do drive fast when I hit the road and really don't worry about 1/10 of a gallon gas savings. If any at all.

If you camp a few weeks a year and drive secondary routes with a little interstate I really don't feel its worth it.

I'm sure to catch hell for my answer but that is my thoughts.
Take it or leave it.

Don't worry about the small stuff... and everything is small stuff.

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by parise

You are not alone in taking pride in maintaining your MH.
Good job

Thank you.

[Dodge Guy]

Originally Posted by Iggy

Tom to be honest with you and this is just my opinion.
If you plan on driving your motorhome around the country 3 to 4 months a year and drive the Interstates I would say it was worth it.
Because for me I like the getup and go a sit improves the torque range and maybe the transmission shifting.
I do drive fast when I hit the road and really don't worry about 1/10 of a gallon gas savings. If any at all.

If you camp a few weeks a year and drive secondary routes with a little interstate I really don't feel its worth it.

I'm sure to catch hell for my answer but that is my thoughts.
Take it or leave it.

Don't worry about the small stuff... and everything is small stuff.

I agree on the tunes. I had them on my V-10 Excursion and it made a huge difference! Even gained .5 mpg towing. I plan on doing the MH before our 2 week trip to the gulf coast this summer. I only use my MH about 30days a year (about 5 trips). And I still feel it will be worth it. I would like to do away with the laggy throttle and the 75mph governer. The shifting seems good and I have no complaints when in T/H.

[Projectman]

Originally Posted by H3OHIO

I’m not a troll
I’m a negative evil person because my opinion differed from yours?
I didn’t respond because I’m not here to argue back and forth like child, I expressed my opinion and I’m done. Sorry to disappoint you, have a nice day!

@H3OHIO - Trolling People Rule!

[salwolfe]

Originally Posted by jk510

A story of warning for you all.
I took my 2013 Coachman Miranda to my local Ford dealer for an oil change. While there I was...

Same thing happened to me at the Cummins factory service location in Albuquerque when I had a DP. I didn't double check their work and added lots of fluid later that day on my own. I marked tires on a Safari prior to tire balance and rotation at a dealer in New Braunfels, TX and lo and behold they had not touched a single tire, but they sure charged me for both services. Got my money back but it almost, almost results in loss of faith in humanity. There are more good folks out there than lousy ones, though, in my opinion but double check when you can.

Thanks, Iggy for the post - I always learn something from reading your comments.

[dbutton]

Originally Posted by Dodge Guy

Yep, always check other people's work. I'm a tech at a Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram dealer, and even I have missed something once in a while, I have never missed 8 qts of trans fluid, but I have with small things. That why I go over everything I touched 2 or 3 tims in my head before I pull it out the door.

Oh yea, always recheck their work visually be it mechanical, carpenter or plummer etc.
I was a dealership auto technician for 34 years & owned a European auto repair shop for 14 years & I am still astounded at how often repair techs don't recheck their work. Their over confidence will bite YOU, that's why you need to recheck all their work.

[Grondak]

Originally Posted by Iggy

Happy New Year my friends
Update Jan 7, 2020, on how my 2012 Georgetown XL 378TS
(Ford chassis was a 2011 and Forest River finished build Oct 2012)
I’m the original owner and have rolled since April 2012 all over the USA, Northern Mexico, the Canadian Maritime area all the way up to Newfoundland, Alberta Canada and a little ways in Ontario Canada.

No I’m not a full timer and still have a home in the Arizona.
I just wanted to brief all the new folks as well as my many friends that the Georgetown on the Ford V-10 chassis is a battle tank if you take care of it. I will review all the chassis mods that I have done in the first few years to make the drive pleasant and easy.

2012 – Has all the say issues other have had with little minor issues as I call them, leaking hydrauyalic lines was my biggest issue but because I complained in the first year I had almost 100% of the lines replace for the levelers and slides.
I also made sure Forest River paid for a front end alignment within the first 90 days of ownership.
After that it’s your problem.

I also did the Cheap Handling Fix of both my front and rear sway bars.

2013 – I added a rear sway device made by Blue OX that attaches to the differential and the chassis frame to reduce the rear wiggle when truck would come up on my left rear.
It is called Tiger-Trac and cost about $450 and I installed it myself and has worked wonders since installed.
I also installed something many folks have not heard of or used to help stabilize the front steering tires to try and stay true to center and will help keep the rig going straight in case you have a blowout of one of the front tires. It also helps reduce the stress of your hands holding on to the steering wheel.
It is made in the USA in Deming NM and called SteerSafe and was a free install at the place in Deming where this small company builds them. Take a look at them and they cost about $450.
The nice thing is no electronics and all mechanical and the company back them up with free checkups at RV shows and their home base in NM.
Oil & Filter Changes
From 2014 until now Jan 2020 I have maintained engine and drive train and change oil/filter every 4,500 miles or so.

2016 I was up to around 42,000 miles. I was already had 8th oil change and filter.
I also decided to do some preventive maintenance by my local Ford Commercial Truck shop.
Power flushed my brake lines
Flushed and replace automatic transmission fluid (no filter replacement yet)
I also had my cooling system flushed and added new antifreeze fluid.
While in shop they inspected brakes, checked suspension, frontend alignment to name the main things.

2017 – At 50,000 miles and 5 plus years on the tires I decided to replace all 6 with Toyo 245/75/22.5 12 ply G rated tires. I also had the frontend aligned at Ford prior to the new tires. That cost me $2,560 which was reasonable with new valve stems and front tire balancing. (as of Jan 2020 they show no wear and drive great)

2018 - 2019 was great years and added lots of miles and as I said at the beginning to 73,000 miles without any tire blowouts or mechanical breakdown.

Nov 2019 – I decided we are still healthy and willing to continue our RV journey for a few more years I decided to take my baby back to my Ford Commercial Truck guy and said I wanted him to go over the engine and chassis so we can have another 70,000 uneventful and same miles in coming years. I know the guy and basically told him do what you need to do if it was his motorhome.
Well this is what he did:
Did a brake job all around, pads, caliber, and new disks, power flushed brake lines , repacked front wheel bearing, did a front end alignment and checked all the steering linkages, flushed transmission and replaced filter, oil change and filter, flushed parking brake assembly with new oil, changed rear differential oil, replaced rear axle seals. Replaced serpentine belt, I think that’s all….. He did a electronic check of all the electrical parts and they were good. I asked about spark plugs and he said come back at 100,000 miles lol
OK I bet you want to know how much this cost. Labor and materials was just over $4,000.

2020- Ready!
Am I crazy? Not really. I bought this rolling house to use it and to travel our great country.
I want to do it as easily and safely as possible so I think I have done that. Will we have a issue in the future? Maybe but at least I know I have done as much as I can to help reduce that percentage substantially.
I really tried to get most of the fact and to keep it as short as possible so you won’t fall asleep or die reading this.
We have plans already for mid March and beyond. Mexico, NV, Utah, West Yellowstone National Park and north and west from there. Who know we might run into you.

Love your post. I am a first time RV owner. I have your same model except mine is 2013. We took our first road trip a couple weeks ago from central Washington to Billings Montana and return. It drove like a tank. Literally feels like the shocks are made of brick. Every little asphalt patch would jar the fillings in your teeth loose. Also going around all those mountain curvy roads made me feel like we were going to tip over every turn.
I read what you have done to yours. Any suggestions on how to smooth my suspension but fix the roll over feeling while driving around corners?

[mogman]

Welcome to the forum,
First do the "Cheap Handling Fix" Look up CHF in search, It makes a world of difference, Next get a front end alignment, about $150 and worth every $, Go to a heavy truck dealer for it, not a car dealer.
Then have your rig weighed, Look up your tire manufacturer on line and set the tire pressures to your weights on front and rear axle,
There are alot of $$$ you can spend but these 3 will get you down the road in relative comfort, You bought a big truck,,,,it will always be a truck!!!

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by Grondak

Love your post. I am a first time RV owner. I have your same model except mine is 2013. We took our first road trip a couple weeks ago from central Washington to Billings Montana and return. It drove like a tank. Literally feels like the shocks are made of brick. Every little asphalt patch would jar the fillings in your teeth loose. Also going around all those mountain curvy roads made me feel like we were going to tip over every turn.
I read what you have done to yours. Any suggestions on how to smooth my suspension but fix the roll over feeling while driving around corners?

Hi Grondak,

One question I have to ask after reading your message is what is your tire pressures at?

My wall plaque says 90 psi but I had my rig weighed and run 80 psi cold and that number increases when the tires are rolling up to about 90 psi.

So let us know what your tire pressures are cold because it sounds as if your tires are hard/over inflated. Is this possible?

If you never drove a tank I can understand your feelings.
Does it steer straight at highway speeds? If not tire pressure and alignment may be the cause.

I'm sure you will get other suggestions.
Heading to Yellowstone soon and then north into northern Montana.

[Grondak]

I bought our RV from the original owner who was meticulous about all maintenance. My kind of guy! I wasn't sure of the tire pressures because I don't have a tire psi gauge that goes up to 90psi. My wall placard says 90psi on all 6 tires. Therefore......30 miles into our road trip I pulled over in Richland WA. to a Les Schwab tire store and they checked my tire pressures. 105 psi on all 6 tires. (Hot temp) We adjusted them all down to 100psi thinking that may make them 90psi cold. I want to pick up a good tire pressure gauge and check them cold which I still haven't done yet because we're parked and live in it full time, but I'll get to it.....
I'm not sure if the previous owner installed any suspension mods or not. He did say he recently had an all wheel alignment done at a Les Schwab.
I couldn't believe how rough my rig rode. The fireplace rattled so the loud that I was sure it would never work again! (Works fine) And I was susceptible to the wheel ruts on the road. My rig seemed to wander in the ruts. I had both hands at 10 and 2 with a death grip on the wheel. LOL
I have the original Michelin tires with just over 25k miles on them.
Surprisingly The trip home from Billings seemed quite a bit better making me wonder if the suspension just needed exercising since our rig sits levelled most of the time, the tires are old and stiff, or I just got more comfortable driving it......

[Iggy]

Grondak
Sounds like you know your stuff.
Get a good tire pressure gauge that is accurate. The one I use is like the truckers have. Very long and goes up to above 150 psi.

After you check tire pressures cold in the cool morning I'm sure you will find out that they are still high. Adjust accordingly. Like I said earlier 80 to 85 psi for our model is reasonable cold.

Now the Cheap handling fix is easy to see if the guy did it or not.
Look at your sway bar in the rear and in the front.
Look at the ends of the swaybars where they connect to the link.
Look at the picture and notice the location of the bolt on each side.
Notice the tie bar is bolted to the sway bar in the back hole and not the front one.
Your frontend should also be the same.

This tightens up the sway in the suspension.

[Iggy]

Frontend sway bar with the CHF. Notice the location of the bolt and link.

Also the yellow bracket and springs are SteerSafe mod.
Keeps you going straight down the road without having to grip the steering wheel for dear life.
It also helps you to go straight if you have a front tire blowout.
I put them on within months after I got my rig.
Now with 73,000 miles I can't drive without it.
Makes driving a lot more enjoyable and stress free for me.

I also sent you a Private Message with my direct email address.

[Mooney 78865]

Originally Posted by Grondak

I bought our RV from the original owner who was meticulous about all maintenance. My kind of guy! I wasn't sure of the tire pressures because I don't have a tire psi gauge that goes up to 90psi. My wall placard says 90psi on all 6 tires. Therefore......30 miles into our road trip I pulled over in Richland WA. to a Les Schwab tire store and they checked my tire pressures. 105 psi on all 6 tires. (Hot temp) We adjusted them all down to 100psi thinking that may make them 90psi cold. I want to pick up a good tire pressure gauge and check them cold which I still haven't done yet because we're parked and live in it full time, but I'll get to it.....
I'm not sure if the previous owner installed any suspension mods or not. He did say he recently had an all wheel alignment done at a Les Schwab.
I couldn't believe how rough my rig rode. The fireplace rattled so the loud that I was sure it would never work again! (Works fine) And I was susceptible to the wheel ruts on the road. My rig seemed to wander in the ruts. I had both hands at 10 and 2 with a death grip on the wheel. LOL
I have the original Michelin tires with just over 25k miles on them.
Surprisingly The trip home from Billings seemed quite a bit better making me wonder if the suspension just needed exercising since our rig sits levelled most of the time, the tires are old and stiff, or I just got more comfortable driving it......

Everything you have read is good advice! We have a 2014 378 and the wall sticker says 100psi all 6. Weighed the rig and the tire manufacture recommended 85. Much smoother ride! Bad thing for us was I had used two different tire gauges. The new gauge was to get to the stems on the front wheels. Unfortunately it was reading about 25 psi high. I ended up under inflated and ruined both fronts that had less than 2000 miles on them.
CHF, plus a GOOD alignment is amazing. We now have over 18,000 mile in a little over a year and a half and couldn't be happier.
I'm sure someone has already mentioned, but you may want to look at the date of manufacture on the tires. If they are original, they may be at the end of their service life, tread or not. Tires will typically age out before they wear out.

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by Mooney 78865

Everything you have read is good advice! We have a 2014 378 and the wall sticker says 100psi all 6. Weighed the rig and the tire manufacture recommended 85. Much smoother ride! Bad thing for us was I had used two different tire gauges. The new gauge was to get to the stems on the front wheels. Unfortunately it was reading about 25 psi high. I ended up under inflated and ruined both fronts that had less than 2000 miles on them.

Been there, done that also but I don't talk about it.

[Dodge Guy]

Originally Posted by Mooney 78865 View Post
Everything you have read is good advice! We have a 2014 378 and the wall sticker says 100psi all 6. Weighed the rig and the tire manufacture recommended 85. Much smoother ride! Bad thing for us was I had used two different tire gauges. The new gauge was to get to the stems on the front wheels. Unfortunately it was reading about 25 psi high. I ended up under inflated and ruined both fronts that had less than 2000 miles on them.

Been there, done that also but I don't talk about

I have a TPMS monitor this year so I put all my trust in electronics!!!!!!!