chief916

I've been looking at W900s on line.  What does the letters after the W900 mean?  Is that telling the size of the sleeper bunk?  They're nice looking rigs but have only seen them at dealers and guys that deal in only used trucks and they're hi dollar.  Also have they ever used Detroit series 60 motors in them?  TIA

Ben chief916

Thanks to all of you.  He finally found the crank screw and was able to disconnect.

Thanks to all of you for your input.  All this info will help.

Can't seem to find a replacement heater coil for our truck in this part of the country.  I was hoping some of you guys who drive the older iron would know of a place I could get one.  Volvo said that the p/n I gave them was obsolete.  No one around here seems to know.  It's for my bunk area.  Oh yeah, we're in eastern NC.

1 hour ago, DJohns said:

Did you get the system that remoes one leaf spring?

No sir.  I filled out a work sheet about what I had on the truck and they built the bags and all the hardware to attach  and provided the air lines and the pressure gauge that's attached to my dash down and out of the way.  Hope that helps.

On 9/1/2020 at 2:01 PM, Lance A Lott said:

Does anyone have experience with Donvalves front airbag kit?

Yes sir.  We drove to Sturges from NC last year and them roads beat us up pretty bad.....bad enough that it snapped the mounts on both my after market side boxes.  Completely destroyed my right side box.  We made home finally and I got to looking at my front suspension and all I had was leaf springs and shock absorbers.  This is a 1997 Volvo WIA64 with 640 k on the frame.  Researched the Donvel suspension system and called them up.  Terry I believe was his name with a British accent walked me through the process of measuring for after market airbags for the front and rear bag air restrictors.  Once installed we left for California for a month.  BIG difference in handling and ride.  The nice thing about this was that I can change the air pressure to the front airbags while I'm driving to adjust to different road conditions.  Nice setup, was not expensive and it was easy enough that even a person who has rudimentary tool skills can install the bags.  Many many thanks to the guys at Donvel for there assistance.

On 8/29/2020 at 6:22 PM, Chad Heiser said:

Very similar results with the tires on my 5er.

Same same....Sailen 637's across the USA and back....110 psi and carrying a smart car in the garage.

It looks like a stutter vent.  I have several in my house but there inside my walls and under my cabinets.  They help to keep positive airflow so when you flush the toilet or sink the water will flow smoothly to drain.

15 hours ago, RickS said:

Yeah same as Jim.....back wall inside cab. It was a tight space since I have the tanks for the sink under there too.

Same question for you Rick,. Noticed any condensation?

On 8/15/2020 at 7:23 PM, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

Mine is inside the storage area drivers side.  

 

Have you noticed any condensation while mounted in the storage area?

Had a friend call me that he had just bought a big horse trailer and when he went to disconnect from the truck he couldn't get the gear down.  Mine are hydraulic so I wasn't much help.  He said the battery's are brand new.  He didn't see a place to crank them down manually.  Could he find a place where he could stick a drill motor???  Said he didn't see any where to use a drill.  Anybody out there care to enlighten us.

Thanks

Chief916

21 hours ago, rpsinc said:

Could the water inside issue be a result of condensation from the humidity in the air in the enclosure?  It likely wouldnt take much to make water even if the box was watertight.  Just a few heat/cool cycles and you have it.  Wonder is venting the bottom somehow could help.  Maybe something like a duck bill device like you see on boats or a couple small louvers.

Rpsinc, thanks for the comeback.  I am going to go over my box with some clear sealant and see what that will do.  Never thought about moisture entering through the wires.... I'll crank those nuts down and pot them as well. I  Also have a can of Deoxit5 that I could spray on the exposed wires inside the box.

6 minutes ago, Parrformance said:

Suggest not mounting where the Jackalopee will be in direct sunlight.  Mine warped slightly, but still works fine.

I do recommend it as it made the conversion so easy.  The instructions are fantastic and it made the set up seemless.

My box is mounted on the back outside wall.  For about 5 years now I've noticed condensation inside the box on the clear plastic cover.  It shows up everytime when it rains.  I've tried taping all the openings but that didn't help.  I now have a piece of thick milled black plastic garbage bag taped over it.  Thinking about relocating box into my left side storage compartment.  Has anyone else done this before and if so...how did it work out?

26 minutes ago, chief916 said:

I installed airbags on my leafsprings on my 97 WIA and put restrictors on my airbags on the rear.

Check into Donvel, it helped my truck.  Robin was great to work with.  Pricing I thought was fair.

13 hours ago, noteven said:

Cory - suggest giving Donvel a call and talk to them about your ideas for your truck. 

I agree.  Ask for Robin, he has a British accent but he's lived in the US for years, and he was the one who helped me get my rig set up.  Had some issues with parts on installing my front airbags but one phone call and he had backup parts in the mail asap.  We took the truck and TH on a cross country to  California and back and the rig handled very well.  Keep in mind that you are going to hit some s@$t roads and take a bounce but I'm convinced these really helped the ride quality.  Oh yeah...stay away from Indianapolis.... nothing will help on those roads.

I installed airbags on my leafsprings on my 97 WIA and put restrictors on my airbags on the rear.

2 hours ago, RoamingRanger said:

OK, I'll have to add Toy Haulers to the list. Any particular make/models I should look into?

I have a heartland Cyclone toy hauler.  It's big and we switched to pulling it with an HDT.  It's cheaply made and things fall apart fast.  Their company customer support team ain't worth a hoot.  We won't be purchasing from that company ever again.

We also purchased a TT "travel trailer" last summer from Bill Plemmons RV in Raleigh.  It's a Imagine 2800BH, bunkhouse, made by Grand Design.  It's just me and the wife so it's not crowded, our kids are grown so it's good for us.  You and your family would most likely find it tight.  I tell you all of this to say that this dealership is the only one in this state that gives you a life time warranty.  So... whenever we get the toy hauler out of the shop and paid down some, we plan to get rid of it and purchase a Grand Design toy hauler.  We use the toy hauler for trips out west and out to Sturges.  Once we pull the car or motorcycle's out we use it as a second room when family and friends show up.  Also to note is that Grand Design will also will have a lifetime warranty on that toy hauler.

Best of luck in your searching process.

V/r

Ben, chief916

Ok...thank you all.  Gonna get one for mine if they make it for the old WIA.  Thanks for the input.

Just saw a add for the Safe T Plus steering damper used on motor homes.  Any body out there use them on the class 8 rigs???

I couldn't find my truck in their listing of vehicles.

If you have this device on your truck, please tell me what you think about it.

Ben, chief916

23 hours ago, Darryl&Rita said:

2015 is a 453. Evilution.

Thank you sir.

On 10/30/2018 at 10:42 PM, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

As the title says, What size aftermarket tires and rims fit the 2013 Smart 451?  

Also, need to find a Cruise Control for it.... but if I remember right, Rocky is the designated installer!

 

Jim forgive my ignorance but where do I find info on my car?  It's a 2015 Brabus.   What denotes it being a 450/451/452 etc,etc.  I really don't know myself.

Thanks

Ben

Let the fun begin....very nice.

I own both the Hensley arrow with which we tow our Aspire 2800  with a 06' F-350 SRW and the wife can drive as well as the Hensley 5th wheel TS 3 hitch for pulling our 44ft Cyclone 4400.  Because of the weight of the Cyclone and alot of times we carry our Smart car or motorcycle's we use our 97' Volvo WIA64 road tractor which the wife will not drive. 

Sure...yes they're a higher price point but we have been coast to coast several times on some really s*;?y roads and both hitches have saved our RV's.  Even when we were taking some hard knocks in either truck.

On 5/30/2020 at 12:32 PM, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

We have been fighting a code that Tommy P was finally able to help us out on.  Its a Bendix/Wabco ABS fault code, usually meaning the ABS needs to be reset.  I searched the manuals I have and did the Google search, but can't find the module.  Its either a easy reset with a Magnet or needs to be hooked to a computer, but either way I still gotta find it.  According to 1 manual and Google, it's supposed to be behind the dash, under or near the fuse panel.  Not seeing anything that is remotely close.  Anyone have any idea where this module is?  Is it on the frame around the transmission somewhere?

Jim, my truck is a 97' Volvo WIA64.  My ABS module is on the inside right frame rail.  I changed mine out last year just because of the age.  If you change yours out, shop around on pricing.  Fleetpride wanted 1700 bucks, I didn't even go to the dealership, no telling what they would want.  Found a brand new in the box module on eBay for 184 bucks.  Very easy to remove an install.

17 hours ago, Exile said:

Omg.  Looks like i might need to do the hokey pokey at each start up, hold my mouth just right, stand on my head and pour water in my . . . Bottom.

Thank you, i will continue trying these things before i take it to the shop.

i never ever use the clutch at startup, i figured the button is by the door so you can fire it up and go get coffee while it builds air without climbing in.  

The joys of thinking like a computer programmer.

I know your angst.  It can be really frustrating.  On the bright side....no DEF, no Regen, no derates, very few sensors.  Most people with the newer rigs have to put up with all of the modern stuff that can really be frustrating.  Hang in there.

Chief916