Quote:
Originally Posted by NoviBill
Smart call on the tires, they don’t age well! What did you get?
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I put on 6 Pathfinder HT load range E by Hankook. I had put a set of Pathfinders LT on my truck and they compared with Michelins across the board except pricing. I looked at Michelins (what the Lexie had) but $2200 vs $1450 didn't cut it. The Lexie road better overall. I kept the 6 Michelins that came off and stowed in rear compartment and sold them in 3 days for $250. They still had 13/32" tread and no checking anywhere. I am glad I replaced and the guy that bought them was not going to use them long. He wanted to put them on his truck for a short term test because he thought his alignment was still off after some work and didn't want to put on new tires.
Update on work- I pulled out the front TV and found lots of mice turds/nests but no typical mice damage like chewing wires etc. There was one (useless) piece of fiberglass batting across the front bubble behind the big speaker enclosure. The mice loved that. I vacuumed all of the crap (literally) out and tossed the bat and the vacuum bag (fortunately it was garbage pickup day). I bleached everything and added some insulation to the nose. For now it is temporary because I do not want to tear the entertainment center apart going into camping season. In the process of checking lights for conversion to LED from Halogen, I can see in the hole for the light I pulled, the fiberglass front bubble still shows. This coming Winter I will pull the entertainment center out and insulated well (and make sure all the critter holes are sealed so no repeat performances of the mice opera. Pulling the recessed lights in the ceiling I can see the fiberglass roof bottom so will apply some foam (not too much since it can expand a lot!). I thought I would have to replace the entire lights with LED fixtures but found instead replacement bulbs that plug into the G4/T3 sockets to replace Halogens. I also will add another over kitchen counter prep area next to stove (and replace all the dim 921 plug in bulbs with some bright LED plug in bulbs- 500 lumens). I also bought wheel covers since I let the ones I have about 17 years go with the 2017 Crossroads we sold (for $1500 more than we had in it including upgrades/improvements). I got my money's worth from them.
I have material to add some shelves as we customize it for us. I also am looking to utilize the wasted storage space behind the drawers under the dinette seats. It seems if I cut holes on the inside of each bench under the table, I can access that space fairly easily. I am a woodworker (over 50 years making sawdust and firewood!) so building a matching door is no problem.
I did find/fix (hopefully) a small leak yesterday. We had 1 1/2 days of solid soaking rain and I found a slow drip just where entertainment cent and main cabin roof meet running down the entertainment center. Yesterday was mostly dry so I went hunting and found the awning had been "bumped" and the front upper bracket was loose. Both screws were bent and "fun" to remove. I applied gentle heat to dry and then put caulk in hole and butyl tape and new lag screws with more caulk. More rain is coming but once things get dry again I have some Dicor caulk (both kinds) and will cover over that. The caulk is in good condition from being in the barn and I will do my minimum bi-annual inspections (probably at least 4 times or more/year). I don't like the looks of the seam where the front cap and truck cab meet and why I bought some no-sag Dicor for it. Once it dries out I will make a nice pretty seam to make sure it does not leak.
We have already replaced the couch with 2 lounge chairs from RecPro so if anyone is looking for a just-under 66" sleeper couch in dark (expresso was the design of our interior). We have one for sale with very little wear- $200.
The bottom front part is here and the 2 additional cushions just not in pictures.
I do have some questions-
1) This has an inverter under passenger seat. I have not traced wires yet but from reading it seems it only powers the plug by the front TV. When I turn on the switch, there is no power to that plug. Is there any sort of wiring diagram for it?
2) There is supposed to be an intermittent contact switch to be able to use the house batteries to start the coach motor. I have not found one yet- any ideas where it might be in a 2010 Lexie?
3) There is a switch next to the remote control switch for the mirrors. When I turn it on, a red LED comes on but I do not know the function of that switch- heated mirrors perhaps?
4) We plan to replace the front \seats with swivel pedestals. The fake leather has pealed off and looks .... bad. I will check on getting them recovered but think I can replace for less as others have done. I have checked but need to replace with arm rests on inside only since the doors have arm rests. Any feedback/suggestions on pedestals and seats? The inverter will be moved. I have a portable 500W also and may replace both with a larger one if I find the need to have one. We are not big TV people and like to escape electronic devices when we camp.
5) The house batteries are 2 years old and need to be replaced. They are floated cell regular lead/acid. I have done research on AGM vs Lithium and am leaning toward Lithium
-can drain it much further down- 80-90% vs 50-60% for AGM. This is like having an extra battery or more in same space.
-voltage stays constant down to around 95% vs dropping off
-1/3-1/2 of weight. This is huge. Pick up each and you will see
the big disadvantage is Lithium costs more. But proper battery management and care can stretch the life possibly to 8-10 years and this seems realistic based on the Lithiums I own already for tools/yard machines. The converter is WFCO 9800 series and WFCO claims it supports Lithium batteries. I will need to get a new battery charger with regular/AGM/Lithium selection switch but that's no big deal.
Any input/suggestions? I am finding 100aH Lithium batteries in the $400 price range that I think would be a decent compromise over $7-1000 batteries. I have solar arrays (current 200W and want to get rid of the 4 25W arrays and replace with 2 more 100W arrays for total of 300W. I do not plan on mounting them on roof. The Lexie has a generator too but currently the carb is gunked up with ethanol junk. If I can't get it cleaned out I'll replace carb. I have played with it other day with starting fluid and SeaFoam spray but no love yet. I plan to pull carb and soak it good in cleaner and see if that fixes it.
6) I saw several mentions of running a tuning program on the Triton. Not for better mileage cause there is only so much lipstick a pig can wear. It is more for changing shift points and getting maybe a little more power out of the motor/trans at different ranges. I thing I saw one user Grumpy that has done this and insulated the front cap. Any comments/feedback on a tuning program?
7) I was thinking of buying leveling block packs like Legos but after reading the reviews at least for now I will stick with wood- being a wood worker, I have a bit. I like the blocks DYI built with dowels that work like the plastic leveling blocks but the time to build is a bit. I may do that eventually but and looking for what other people do/use?
I appreciate these forums and have learned a lot from the ones I followed for the Crossroads. I also contribute so am planning on that too. I do get a bit wordy so appreciate everyone's patience.
So far the Lexie is built much better than any previous camper we have owned and we am quite pleased. looking forward to more
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