2ND 180 podmod, drawers under mattress

First when we started using the shower, water started running out from under the shower stall.  First thought it was just not closing the shower curtain properly WRONG.  Every time you took a shower it felt like you were on a trampoline.  I finally took the inspection plate off and the plumbing had been damaged by trying to flex rigid piping.  That took bringing in a repair man to replace all the shower drain plumbing AND installing some braces to prevent flexing the shower base.  The repair man also took the bottom shower curtain guide off and properly installed caulking.... Under the track - not on the top like the factory install.

Let's see what else... Oh yes the battery charger is generating so much noise that the AM radio reception is not possible.  It will have to be replaced totally.

Also there is a constant DC load of about 3/4 amp ALL THE TIME.  The ONLY way to stop it is to disconnect the battery.  You charge the battery, turn off the charger, and next morning the battery is dead.  Going to make boon-docking or staying at Camp Walmart very difficult.

The door on the bathroom cabinet sounds like a rusty iron gate when opening or closing.  

Few other things also.   Bottom line is that it is now back at the dealer to fix these items.  If past service is any idea of what to expect - but this is not a Forest River problem.

Couple all of the above with Palm Springs weather of freezing nights, cold days, and heavy rain and that didn't help either.

Oh well maybe be better next trip.

Couple of good things was that we were able to hook up with a Forest River person who pulled all the stops to start getting the things fixed AND the trailer did pull like a dream.  Most of the time didn't even know it was back there.

That's it for now.  When I get the Rpod back I'll continue with the mods and take and post pictures of what I have already done.

Later

Here is how I measured ALL AC and DC currents in the rig.

AC is simple.  I just used a Fluke clamp on amp-meter at each breaker.  

For DC measurement I used a Fluke 87 (most all decent VOM meters can do this... I just happen to have lots of Fluke equipment).  What you do is pull a fuse from the 12V fuse panel and then insert the meter probes into the socket the fuse came out of.  This makes the VOM a "fuse" to complete the circuit except now you can actually measure how much DC current is flowing through the meter.

When all of the fused circuits are measured then one thing you must do.  With all of the DC fuses removed, go to the battery itself and disconnect one of the wires to the battery and then use the Amp-meter and measure the current.  I found that I had almost 3/4 amp current......WITH ALL FUSES REMOVED.  This is called "phantom" load and apparently Forest River has chosen to connect things directly to the battery without mentioning it anywhere.  Some of the load I cannot figure out.  It just taps off the +batt lead and goes under the floor and where it goes I have no idea.  

For this reason it requires either to remove a battery lead when parking the unit for any length of time or as I did install a switch AT THE BATTERY to make it easier.  In my case I brought the 180 home from the dealer and parked it for 3 days in our RV storage area until I brought it over to the house to start loading it for the trip.  First thing... DEAD BATTERY 8.7volts.  Charged the battery all day and over night while I was loading the trailer.  Battery would only take a partial charge because of the deep discharge but would come up to 11.6 volts.  Disconnected the power for the night, made sure everything was turned off and next morning.... DEAD BATTERY.  

This is what got me started trying to figure out what was going on and thus far is still a problem.  We'll see what the dealer does.  I suspect they will have it for a month or so....

This explain things for you or do you need more?  Collectively maybe we owners can solve the problem.

George

SLO is great - my folks live there so it's on my circuit.

Westy