Maiden trip in 24R Solera

[nicktano]

Thank you for the info regarding the fresh water tank drain. I'll check it out when I get my rv back from some warranty work being done.

Oh, and in response to your question, Forest River did not charge for the AC unit change over to the Atwood. There was no questions asked. I drove there right from the dealer in detroit and they switched out the units. I did not know what they were going to do until I got there. The were great.

[gary ca]

nicktano,
Thank you for input on this topic. We also live and play in the S/W and when I sell this DP of mine I will be getting the 2401R with the diesel generator.

How comfortable/cool can you keep the interior while staying in the 105+ temperatures we find in CA and AZ?

Also, for those who bought the diesel generators never second guess yourself. I spoke to an ice cream vendor in the UK; his 2013 MB van Diesel engine and generator idle 20 hours a day to support his ice cream business and never had a failure for the two years he had the truck.
A very good choice.

[Ecopco]

[/QUOTE]

Now if only someone could tell me where the fresh water tank drain plug is?

Fox 🐺[/QUOTE]


There is also 2 low point drains (hot and cold) under the rig next to the slide out step. If you are interested in draining all the water out you also need to drain he water heater too.


2015 Solera 24R

[nicktano]

Hello Gary, I like it cool so I usually set the RV at 70 F. I believe the thermostat just shows the setting not the temperature, so I'm not sure what temperature it actually was inside the RV. I've always been, cool, comfortable and sleep with a comforter. On the very hot days 105 and above, I don't believe the AC ever turned off.
I believe the units are well insulated. I've also camped at about -16 F and had no problem keeping the RV warm, around 75 degrees.

[KatanaPilot]

Our 2015 Forester has the Cummins/Onan QD3200 diesel gen set. It worked fine for a little over 100 hours, but now will not start/run the 13.5K BTU Dometic A/C . The Cummins folks state that the Dometic needs a hard start capacitor kit installed - which used to be included, but isn't any longer - probably saves FR about $15. Still doesn't explain why it worked great for 100 hours, with the A/C on, including the converter and water heater.

Interesting that FR changed out your A/C unit. Cummins literature for the QD3200 states "Will operate with one 13500 Btu air conditioner and an additional load up to
1000 W at 100° F and 500 ft (152.4 m) altitude".

[bclemens]

If anyone stopped offering the hard start capacitor kit it was Dometic. Forest River never changed anything on their end.

[KatanaPilot]

Originally Posted by bclemens

If anyone stopped offering the hard start capacitor kit it was Dometic. Forest River never changed anything on their end.

Fair enough. That being said and since FR has the knowledge that the start capacitor kit was no longer installed, why did FR not choose to include it as part of the diesel generator upgrade package? Or better yet, given that the diesel generator is an expensive upgrade and has lower output than the LP generator - why doesn't FR install the Atwood A/C instead? It sounds like it's a better unit anyway, has lower inrush current upon compressor start and would provide a little "cushion" of available capacity for those of us that paid the premium (about $4000) for the diesel generator. Seems like FR could spring for a $10 capacitor or a hundred or so more for the better A/C.

[bclemens]

That assumes we knew. To my knowledge, Dometic came out with an all new, better A/C unit. Nothing was ever said to us about anything getting deleted off, Dometic just touted all the new features.

This also assumes that the Cummins tech knew what he was talking about. Maybe that hard start capacitor was only on some other unit he worked on.

Also doesn't seem to solve the question of why it ran so long before without issue. At this point I would run it through the dealer under warranty and have them figure it out. If its not working properly I see no reason why they would not figure out a way to make it work properly.

[KatanaPilot]

Originally Posted by bclemens

That assumes we knew. To my knowledge, Dometic came out with an all new, better A/C unit. Nothing was ever said to us about anything getting deleted off, Dometic just touted all the new features.

This also assumes that the Cummins tech knew what he was talking about. Maybe that hard start capacitor was only on some other unit he worked on.

Also doesn't seem to solve the question of why it ran so long before without issue. At this point I would run it through the dealer under warranty and have them figure it out. If its not working properly I see no reason why they would not figure out a way to make it work properly.

Well, now FR does know and I hope they will make changes in light of this information. Clearly, I am not the only one having a/c problems with the diesel generator.

I agree on it being curious that the generator will no longer carry the a/c. Either there is a generator issue, or the compressor is getting harder to start with age (4 months old). I believed it to be the generator, which is why I took it Cummins Power South, the local Cummins generator sales and repair center for my area. I assumed they would be the experts on the generator, but since they didn't even bother to load test the unit before declaring it to be OK, I do have to wonder. I left it there and asked them to load test the unit before I pick it up.

I was told the local FR dealer would simply farm out the generator repair to Cummins anyway, so I started there myself. I will take it to the dealer next assuming the generator is OK and to deal with the list of issues we have on the Forester.

[Eric99]

I have the diesel generator and it runs the AC fine as long as I am below about 7500 feet elevation. At about that elevation I have to try a couple of times to get it to run. As most of you probably know the higher the elevation the lower the output of the generator.

I don't know if this is any issue for the with problems running the AC.

2014 Solera 24R

[nicktano]

Both my 2015 Forrester 2401R MBS units had the same exact problem. Start the diesel generator, let it run until it beeps that it is ready for load, then start the Dometic AC and the diesel genset shuts right down. I don't know why they switched out the Dometic for an Atwood. I thought they were going to install a hard start capacitor. Maybe they wanted to see if it really made a difference. It did. Now the genset doesn't even know the AC is on. Smooth as silk....knock on wood. It was about 93 here today. I ran it again and no problem, felt like an ice box in the RV at Sea Level.

So far FR has been great. Lots of warranty issues (seems to be the norm in this industry) but they have always come though and fixed them for me. Contact your area FR Rep first. They should be able to send you to a FR dealer who can fix it. Good luck with your unit.

[KatanaPilot]

Originally Posted by nicktano

I purchased a 24R Forester mbs with diesel genset. I have actually had 2.
The AC would not run on diesel generator on both units. The factory in Elkhart, Indiana could not get it to run either so they replaced the Dometic 13.5K ac unit with an Atwood 13.5K ac unit.
The Atwood unit runs beautifully and I have never had a problem running it on generator. It has a lower initial power drawer than the Dometic and also has a nice handheld remote feature. I live in the southwest and have dry camped in 105 to 110 degree temps with no problem running off my diesel generator.
I hope this helps. I love my 24R. I have put over 10K miles on it in under 5 months.
Now if only someone could tell me where the fresh water tank drain plug is?
Fox 🐺

I know this is an older post - but I am getting ready to replace the Brisk Air II on my Forester MBS with diesel generator. Looking at the Atwood installation guide, it appears you need a 12 VDC feed to the Atwood rooftop unit. Do you know how/where FR tapped into a 12 VDC line to feed this, as I don't think the Dometic unit uses 12 VDC at the rooftop.

Thanks much!

[hifromkate]

Thanks for the info. I did get the AC to work but I have to let the gen run for 10 mins or so first.
Regarding the fresh water drain, have you looked under the entry door steps, that's where the low point to drains are. The other drains are in one of the rear compartments I believe behind an access panel, near where the water pump is.

[nicktano]

Hi KatanaPilot, Sorry. My expertise end with pushing the on/off button. Try contacting your FR Factory Rep. They put it in so they should know. Good Luck. It was Travis who arranged the swap. I'm not sure if he is still in the same department.