We left Indian Wells RV Resort around 9:30 Friday morning. Our destination, approximately 300 miles to the west on Interstate 10, was Casa Grande, AZ. We spent a little over a week at Casa Grande RV Resort in January of 2020 on our way to Southern California. I chose a different RV park this time... for no particular reason. Just wanted to try something different. I wish I could say the trip was uneventful - but it wasn't.
I guess it must have been about 100 miles into our day when I began smelling diesel exhaust fumes. I've smelled it a couple times before, very briefly, and dismissed it as likely emanating from a tractor trailer in front of me. NOT.
There was a rest area just a mile ahead so I signaled and exited, parking in the RV/Truck section. After setting the air brakes and shutting down the engine I made my way back along the center aisle to the rear of the coach where the smell of exhaust was much stronger. I opened the door to the master bath and was greeted by a London fog of diesel exhaust. Turning on the ceiling exhaust fan quickly cleared the air as I set about formulating my plan of attack. I was pretty sure I knew what the problem was.
I should explain that our coach is a "diesel pusher"- a distinguishing characteristic being that the engine is located in the rear of the vehicle. There is an engine access panel in the bathroom floor...
I was pretty sure this was where the fumes were coming from. I've had this panel out once before, I don't remember why. We also had some work done a year or so ago that I know, from the tell-tale greasy fingerprints, involved removal of the panel.
Underneath this panel is a second panel made of metal. It is in two sections which are held together by a flange and six bolts. The metal assembly is supposed to be secured to the steel chassis subfloor by way of four bolts - one in each corner. There were no bolts. The panel was unsecured and a little askew. It is necessary to separate the two halves before they can be lifted out of the recess in the floor so I removed the six bolts joining them and pulled them up and out. Both panels were significantly bent, like somebody became agitated while attempting to get them back in place (they were a little tricky getting back in) and just sort of forced/stomped them back into position. Additionally, there is a rubber gasket beneath the panel and around the opening, similar to the rubber gasket around a car door, that had become dislodged and was dangling into the engine bay. I should have taken photos of all of this to include here but I was so involved in solving the problem that I didn't think to do it.
I took the two panel halves outside where I cleaned and straightened them. I then grabbed a can of rubber conditioner, took it back into the bathroom and cleaned and conditioned the rubber gasket before securing it back in position. I carry a pretty impressive assortment of nuts and bolts and was able to find four bolts of the correct thread and length to secure the panel(s) to the chassis - as they are intended to be. Oh, I forgot, there is also 1.5" thick foil-clad insulation attached to the underside of the panels that had become about 50% detached so I drilled four holes through each of the panels at the corners of the insulation and reattached it with rivets and large washers.
2.5 hours later we were merging back onto Interstate 10 east - making a brief stop 30 miles down the road at the next rest area so I could make sure the bathroom was exhaust free. It was.
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Our coach has air suspension. The body floats on several big air bags that are connected to the chassis. There are also shock absorbers front & rear. The shock absorbers Winnebago installs on the Tour are not the best. Conversations I've observed on the FB owners group page and a desire to improve ride comfort and performance on some of our country's rougher Interstates finally moved me to do something about it. Before leaving Indian Wells I ordered two Bilstein 24234498 Front Shock Absorbers...
... and had them delivered to
Leisure Valley RV Resort in Casa Grande, AZ. They were waiting here when we arrived and I installed them Saturday afternoon.
Out with the old
In with the new
The rear shocks are supposed to be a bear to install. I'll probably have that done at a garage sometime in the future. I'm anxious to get back on the road to see if I notice a difference in the ride.
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We had some great Mexican take-out Saturday night and are planning to do it again tomorrow night. It was good!
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There are some interesting things to do here in Casa Grande (believe it or not) and tomorrow we're thinking we'll check them out. A trip to "Old Town" was a bit of a disappointment. However, to be fair, it was Sunday and most of the businesses were closed.
I forgot to mention it rained for a portion of our drive last Friday and... well... the coach got kinda dirty. Today I busted out my new Greenworks Pressure Washer and made her pretty again. I love my new pressure washer.
Thanks for checking out the blog!!
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