aknavy

21 hours ago, West_Coast_Racer said:

thanks for the replies, I think we got it sorted enough to run

What was the solution?

4 hours ago, West_Coast_Racer said:

I'm at a loss here, my front and cab turn signals work, front markers and headlights too., but nothing works behind the cab. I don't have access to a wiring diagram so I am asked here for help.

Fuse in the center dash, under the cover.  F15, I think, but look at the breakout.  If it's blown, your instrument lights will be off as well.  A short in the rear lights will blow it.  If you overfuse it with a 30 amp, the rear will dim/go out but the dash will function.  Don't ask me how I know....lol.

Good resource, first gen Volvo's:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/4034846383212743/user/647936924

Volvo's in general:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/377877049059772

 

Drove past a 45ish foot Entegra Anthem that had a driver side steer blowout.  Drive kept it on the road, but it shed a bit of fiberglass and parts down the side of the road, and I imagine there was  bit of wiring damage as well.   Almost looked like the body was on the ground at that corner. Got me thinking.....how much damage will a steer blowout do to a Volvo?  Possibly destroy the fender, but it doesn't look like there's much there to disable the truck.

I have the Coach Net premier towable.  Called them yesterday about towing, and they agent said they'd tow either the truck, trailer, or both.  I took down her name and extension, hopefully I never run into an issue.

Wow. that sucks.  Sorry to hear that.

2 hours ago, Rotorhead said:

Hello All,

We are pondering the idea of purchasing an RV lot in Florida. I kinda like the idea of domicile there and will be doing some research soon. I know there are posts about it here I will try and locate.

My question is, does anyone know of any good locations that may have lots for sale? If I can't find any (been looking) we always have the option to move. However, we may need to wait a while now. I am just trying to line up some retirement ideas. If I end up moving down there I am hoping to get some acreage. I would set up a couple sites for your big rigs. (But my wife doesn't know that yet, shhhh. hahaha)

This day/night/day/night shift is taking it's toll more each year.

Happy travels.

Chuck

Locations that are "good' are pretty dependent on what your priorities are.  What do you want around  you/available to you?  As a general rule, the further south you go, the more people you run into. 

6 hours ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

 

I'm the exact opposite.... if I don't hear the rattles and squeaks I know to stop and see what fell off....

The joy of owning an old truck!  With that being said, I've put about 13k miles on mine since buying it a year ago, and the sucker does what it's supposed to do every day without complaint. 

I had Bennett's do some minor work on mine.  They did good, have a campground on site, and actually did the work in my campsite. 

Rolling Retreats is on your route.  Probably busy, but worth a try.  I have heard nothing good about ExploreUSA, so be cautious with them.

Thanks on the rig!

2 hours ago, Dapperdan said:

Ditto on aknavy's post!  Depending on where you are located ALL of his suggestions are excellent!  I would add if you're near the DRV plant you might also try Indiana Interstate RV Repair (Paul Cross) in LaGrange IN or Twin Lakes RV Repair (Jay) also located in LaGrange IN, both work closely with DRV and have limited hook ups.  Be prepared to be put on a waiting list, most if not all RV repair shops are booking months out!  You do know DRV does NOT service units out of warranty right?

Good luck with your repair needs.

 

Dan

Thank you, I couldn't remember Interstate RV Repair, mostly cause I have had zero interaction with them.  I've interacted with the rest, and had work done by a couple of them as well.

As far as the running gear goes, MorRyde has a list of authorized service centers.  That portion of the work is less than a day.  And, if you can do automobile brakes and bearings, it's an easy DIY job.  MorRyde (factory) is scheduling mid to late June right now, I just called them about getting an alignment. 

If you do Facebook, there are several owners groups with alot of knowledge and resources.  DRV Owners Group is pretty active, as are several others.

Rolling Retreats, RV's for Less, Bennett's Rv, and Whiskey Mountain are a few.  That should cover most regions of the country.  You can always try the factory if you're under warranty.

Two travel days with the new setup.  Mixed feelings so far.  The Direct Link slow speed braking seems a little light, it only has five levels of adjustment.   The regular settings have 20 levels, I've settled on level 13 for now.  Trailer/Jeep combined weight is about 31k.  Truck and trailer lights all work great though, so that's good.

I bought mine cheap, fixed a boost leak, and it's been good since then.  Have yet to be stranded or need a tow.  It's an old truck with no emissions, and was in RV service long before I got it.

3 hours ago, SuiteSuccess said:

I cut the end off the green cable wired into jackaloppee truck side like you did. That was 13 years ago. 

Good to know I'm in good company!  I really don't see a reason to use the connector/extra cable, other than easier cable routing and retaining the commercial plug.  Not something I foresee needing, and easy to replace.

8 hours ago, NeverEasy said:

Check the red wire.  Put a DC voltmeter or simple test light on the red wire and one end on ground.  With no brakes, there should be no voltage.  With brakes there should be battery voltage or the light on a test light should light bright.

 

Yep, broke out the test light - all is wired and ready to go.  Just gonna use the existing Delphi connection.

On another note - my trucks trailer cable has a female end on it.  Green cable, running from under the rear of the cab.  Female plug on it, so the plug that Henry sends with his kit doesn't work.  I'm guessing someone before me modified it.  This is my first truck so no idea what's normal.

Anyway, took the plug off and ran the green cable into the jockey box.  That was a pain in the ass, as the cable is pretty tightly wound and the outer sheath kept cracking from age.  Had to wrap it in electrical tape to get it to stay together.  It's always something.

14 hours ago, SuiteSuccess said:

Just switched from Maxbrake to DirecLink. As GeorgiaHybrid said, your red wire on the Maxbrake Delphi plug may not be wired. Mine wasn’t because I was using sensor into air line. Ran a line back to Jackalopee and piggybacked into brake signal from TRUCK side. Of note if you have issues, call Tuson and ask for Alan. Amazingly helpful in tracking down problems. 

Thanks for the advice - My red wire appears to be connected...just hope it's connected correctly so I don't have to run more wire.  All I have left to do now is to actually wire the connections in the Jackalopee and check it all out.  Now to find some time.....

Started to do the install today.  Dug around the dash, found all the wiring currently used for the Max Brake controller.  The network cable is connected to the sensor, and all the wires on the Delphi connector are wired correctly.  Probably just needed to be calibrated to the trailer. 

Cut and pulled the wiring back from the current trailer plug, ran a 7 conductor wire to the rear of the truck and got them all routed into the jockey box.  Dug the trucks commercial connector out of it's hiding spot on top of the driver side fuel tank and tested all the pins to ensure they work before wiring it all up.

Pretty much all ready to connect all the wires and brake controller and be ready to go.  Was too busy of a weekend to get it all done, so will have to do it in the next couple days.  May change my mind and keep the Max Brake controller as a backup, just in case the Direct Link ever has a problem.  The wiring is all there, so it would be a five minute swap.

1 hour ago, Star Dreamer said:

This is why dash cams are a good idea too.

Absolutely.  Ever since I had someone pull out in front of me in my daily driver and cause a single vehicle accident (I swerved to avoid t-boning him at 55 mph), I run a dash cam.  Had I had it then, it would have clearly shown him pulling out in front of me.  Because I didn't have it, accident was my fault.  My dash cam in the HDT is always on.

57 minutes ago, NeverEasy said:

This is weird, I can't post the link here.  Everything I do just downloads a pdf.  

For information on the Maxbrake controller (installation and calibration) do a Google search on "maxbrake controller manual" (without the quotes). Hopefully,  you will see a link to "Pressure Sensor Installation" or "CM MaxBrake 3 Installation Manual April 2012.cdr".  Either one of those links will download a manual. 

You will have to ignore the hydraulic connection to the brake lines.  Neither of those show connecting to air lines.  

I have my original manual.  The wiring and calibration is identical.

What you going to do with your old MaxBrake Controller?  

I have not run into anyone on the forum running the same truck as me.  '01 Volvo VNL 660.  Is your engine Detroit S60 Series?

I couldn't find a manual for it that referenced the air sensor vice hydraulic.  It's not consistent on braking, and I think it's probably an issue not having the air sensor hooked up and the trailer having electric of hydraulic brakes.  Gonna read the regular manual and see if there's anything for me to check/set.  It works, I'm just not happy with the braking all the time.

My truck has the D12/Eaton Autoshift in it.

Hmm...google seems to be finding information that eluded me the other day. Now I want to dig into it and see just what's going on.  Why the network cable is disconnected.  Found two good sites:

http://hhrvresource.com/node/69.html - go figure, it's got a good write up. Not sure why I didn't find this one the other day.

https://www.brakecontroller.com/MaxBrake.pdf

Maybe it still works.  Maybe it just needs to be put back to proper installation, and maybe the crappy wiring at the back of the truck was affecting it.  Hmm....more to look at this weekend.
 

At the end of the day, the new Direct Link is sitting on the counter, so I'll probably put it in.  If you want the Max Brake Controller for a spare, let me know - I'll ship it to you, you can have it.

11 minutes ago, GeorgiaHybrid said:

If you have the red, brake light signal wire hooked up on the max brake, that will be a simple plug and play as they both use a std delphi connector. The cat cable on the max brake will not be used nor will the airline sensor.

If you don't have the brake light wire connected, you can pick up that signal from the brake connector on the truck side of the Jackalopee.

Wiring the Jackalopee is not that hard, just take your time and double check everything. You can also use the ICC marker input from the truck for your running lights on the trailer, that will allow the trailer running lights to flash when you use your courtesy flash on the turn signal stalk.

You're familiar with the max brake - I couldn't find much info on it.  The network cable isn't connected, but the delphi connector is.  The reason I'm switching is that I have no idea how to operate the max brake beyond turning the dial, using the manual slide - my trailer braking is not so good.  I'm guessing due to no air sensor input and who knows what the brake settings are.  I believe the signal wire is hooked up, but will have the check.  The current trailer light wiring was all tapped off the trucks rear pigtail, in a horrible mess.

Plan on replacing the Maxxbrake controller that is currently in the the truck and rewiring the trailer connector with a Jackalopee this weekend.  Instructions for both look pretty simple.  Plan on putting the Jackalopee in the drivers side Jockey Box.  Any gotchas, tips, or tricks?  Going into a 2001 VNL 660, BTW.

I did it in reverse, HDT, 45 foot fifth wheel double towing a Jeep.  It was fine, uneventful, and had no issues.

On 4/8/2022 at 2:34 PM, Chalkie said:

Just gonna throw this out there but I have not been very happy with the M2000 as a device. When it is working it works well. We have the T-Mobile 100gb plan and that uses the M2000. They have replaced it once after it apparently caused the SIM card to fail. So far we are on the second SIM card in the replaced unit. It will generate an error that says "invalid SIM card" and then it just quits. I'm about ready to cancel that line of service because I am tired of fighting with the device. I have had no reason to complain about the T-Mobile 5G service.

Also, Lake Mead NRA Headquarters has 5GUC coverage but not in the actual NRA. You'll only find UC in cities and even then not everywhere in a city. The UC towers are strange in that they have a very sharp delineation. I can literally go from our RV park across the road to be in UC coverage. 

I'm on my second month with the Calyx plan/M2000.  The jetpack is ok, but I've had issues with it.  I've got an RMA to return it when I get to someplace I'm staying long enough to get mail, hopefully that fixes the issues.  Issues include randomly shutting off and dropping to 4G service vice 5G, even when I know there is 5G available.

With that being said, when it work, it's great.  Anywhere from 60 MBPS to 200 MBPS downloads, and 10-90 MBPS upload speeds, and no network management.  I've burned thru a several hundred GB of data per month so far on it.

2 hours ago, jenandjon said:

What did you use for USB? Installing some more outlets is on my to do list. 

I mounted four of these in a piece of aluminum angle, then mounted that to my dashboard shelf.  If 12 outlets don't cut it, I guess we're out of luck.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B096XCGXJC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The dashboard shelf is similar to this:

https://www.raneystruckparts.com/volvo-vnl-v-truck-custom-dashboard-system-2019/

The USB outlets have their own inline fuse, but also connected them to a Painless Wiring ignition controlled fuse block.  Was able to fit it behind the cup holder in the dash.  The outlets have decent quality wiring, and are backlit when power is on. 

Future update, I'll replace the angle with a 2x3 tube to hide the back of the sockets and the wires, but angle was easy to obtain and worked for proof of concept.  Will post a pic later, but the light wasn't helping yesterday with all black components.

I didn't put them in the dash cause I have zero desire to pull it apart.  The plastic is starting to get brittle and I don't want to be messing with it more than I need to.  That, and drilling holes in it just doesn't sound like fun.

Installed an inverter, independent power distribution busses inside the cab, an ignition controlled fuse block, and a bunch of USB outlets.  Finally getting the interior electrical/accessories squared away.  Now the wife will be happier on travel days.

4 minutes ago, Av8r3400 said:

With the advent of $5.00+ fuel, what is everyone's opinion on locking fuel caps?

The argument can be made that if they want the fuel, they'll just punch a hole in the tank, pull the drain plug or cut the fuel line for it if the cap is locked.

 

What is everyone's opinion?

Kinda like my camper cargo compartments, I'd rather just lose the stuff vice get my truck or camper torn up in the attempt.  I'll lock the doors, of course, but if you want my fuel, please leave me whole and undamaged. 

We full time, and my truck is always with my camper, so our risk is fairly low.  But - I'd rather replace stuff/gas than fix damage.

I will say, in five years of full timing, we have yet to have anything stolen.  Knock on wood!