Some more newbie questions

[SFMEACH]

After 130 miles under my belt I am already gaining respect for the way
the bird drives. This is my first experience driving an RV but I
couldn't help but notice the lack of being moved around by semi's or
gusty winds. Nice, easy drive once my nerves settled down. I
realized my jaw was tired from being clenched for the first 45 minutes
behind the wheel. Overall the steering was pretty good (minor
wandering at center) although I remember reading in other posts about
the benefits of koni shocks. Any opinions about koni's? What can I
expect to spend for shocks and installation. My bus has Safety-T-Plus
installed. Any experience with this system?

Some questions. What speed do most people cruise at with an FC? I
cruised at 60 mph at 2250 rpm on the interstate. The cruise control
does not work. Is it worth fixing or do most people manually maintain
speed anyway. The transmission temp seemed low (around 100-120
degrees if I remember right). Is this normal?

Steve Meach
85 FC35
Paw Paw, MI

[Jeff Miller]

Speed is up to you and the state laws where you drive, some are happy
at 60 and others of us are happier at 70 or 75. If you have the
standard 4.89:1 gears you are pretty limited and should probably be
happy with 60-65.

Cruise control in the '85 is the Bendix air system. The computer box
is no longer available, but some have had good luck with a repair
facility in TX. The system suffers from low-voltage problems, on the
back-side of the battery box is a metal cover that can be removed to
check voltages etc. A rewarding change is often to use a relay to
power this system directly from the battery when turned on and bypass
the ignition switch. The speed sensor is a set of magnets wire-tied
to the driveshaft near the transmission, occasionally these will fall
off.

The Safe-T-Steer is something I prefer to remove, have never seen any
value in it and it tends to make it more difficult to trim the
steering slightly on crowned roads and in side-winds. It also adds
side-load on the kingpin, increases the power (and wear) necessary
from the steering box and components, believe that the product is no
longer available. Others have less negative opinions about this
device. As far as blowout safety, I've experienced several blowouts
in Wanderlodge coaches and have never felt that there was a
significant effect on the straight-line steering from a blown front
tire (which I'm told is significantly different from the effect on
fiberglass motorhomes during a blowout).

- Jeff Miller
http://www.wanderlodge.net
http://www.millercoachworks.com


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "SFMEACH" <sfmeach@y...>
wrote:
> After 130 miles under my belt I am already gaining respect for the
way
> the bird drives. This is my first experience driving an RV but I
> couldn't help but notice the lack of being moved around by semi's
or
> gusty winds. Nice, easy drive once my nerves settled down. I
> realized my jaw was tired from being clenched for the first 45
minutes
> behind the wheel. Overall the steering was pretty good (minor
> wandering at center) although I remember reading in other posts
about
> the benefits of koni shocks. Any opinions about koni's? What can
I
> expect to spend for shocks and installation. My bus has Safety-T-
Plus
> installed. Any experience with this system?
>
> Some questions. What speed do most people cruise at with an FC? I
> cruised at 60 mph at 2250 rpm on the interstate. The cruise
control
> does not work. Is it worth fixing or do most people manually
maintain
> speed anyway. The transmission temp seemed low (around 100-120
> degrees if I remember right). Is this normal?
>
> Steve Meach
> 85 FC35
> Paw Paw, MI