New MS Purchase, not a clue....

[imouttahere]

Does anyone have a layout/schematic of where everything is in an '07 MS 38RL3? We're purchasing this unit from a private sale & don't have a dealer or MS rep to show us everything. The owners only know about what they used - thermostat, on/off switches, etc. I'd really like to know where the inverter is, where the black/gray/fresh tanks are, how big & where the inverter is, etc. We've never RV'd before & we're picking this unit up in a week or so & storing it until we sell the house. What about maintenance on things like the water heater, furnace, ac, etc.? If there's info about all this here on the forum, pleas point me in the right direction. Couldn't find anything on the structural part of where everything is located.
Thanks,
Clueless in Florida

[imouttahere]

Does anyone have a layout/schematic of where everything is in an '07 MS 38RL3?

Forgot to mention, the people we're purchasing the unit from only live in it 6 mo. during the year - it's parked in an RV park all year long.

gd

[BlueSkyRanch]

Welcome to RV'ing. Sounds like you are jumping in to the deep end. The good news is you are asking in the right place. There is lots of info on line concerning RV'ing in a 5th wheel. Lots of videos on You Tube as well. If you live near Seffner, FL you may want to consider visiting Lazydays and taking their RV technical classes.
http://lazydays.com/explore-lazydays/education-training.html
http://rvingwithmarkpolk.blogspot.com/2011/01/rv-videos-on-demand-course-titles.html

Go to You Tube and search for How to RV.

Where are you located in Fl? I live in Jupiter on the east coast. I'm in Colorado and on the road until October. Then I'll be back in Fl.

[terry and jo]

I recognize your username from RV Dreams. You might also check out SOITC (Suite Owners International Travel Club) for information as well.

I don't know that there are any wiring schematics for the coaches. So, the best some could do would be to tell what and where their stuff is located.

In our 2010, a compartment for 2 batteries was built into the unit to the left of the front storage compartment. They then installed our inverter on top of the "box" inside the belly that is that compartment. That gives them a shorter run for wiring from the inverter to the batteries.

As for thermostat and other controls for some lights and the slides, ours are pretty much located in the closet right next to our entry door.

Terry

[imouttahere]

I recognize your username from RV Dreams. You might also check out SOITC (Suite Owners International Travel Club) for information as well.

I don't know that there are any wiring schematics for the coaches. So, the best some could do would be to tell what and where their stuff is located.

In our 2010, a compartment for 2 batteries was built into the unit to the left of the front storage compartment. They then installed our inverter on top of the "box" inside the belly that is that compartment. That gives them a shorter run for wiring from the inverter to the batteries.

As for thermostat and other controls for some lights and the slides, ours are pretty much located in the closet right next to our entry door.

Terry

Hi Terry - thanks for the reply. I had an inspection done and I pretty much know where all the switches/thermostats/etc. are, but things like the propane part of the fridge - I know there's a flame there to make it work when on propane. What if it goes out - does the gas automatically shut off, or relight, or what? Same with the furnace. The battery on this unit is in the front corner, on the drivers side of the pin box. The gen is in the center. Guess I'll look around there for the inverter. There was alot of junk in the basement so I couldn't really get in there to look at anything. Once we pick it up I guess can start disecting everything. Since it's going to be in storage until we sell the house, I'll have some time to work on it before we take off permanently. First thing that's going to happen is solar on the roof. Thanks for the inverter idea. That would be the logical place to put it.
gd

[imouttahere]

[quote="BlueSkyRanch"]Thanks for the info on Lazydays tech videos. My wife will appreciate the driving videos for sure. In the Air Force I drove 40' flat beds loaded with 500 lb bombs. You really need to watch where you're driving with a load like that. Hauled 3 & 4 (smaller) trailers at a time to the flight line, etc. Been camping since 1957 and trailed a few campers back in the mid 60's also, so the back end of the 5er swinging out will be something for me to watch out for.
We're picking up the unit by the end of the month in Vero & hauling it downto Pompano to a storage lot just down the street from where we live in Coral Springs.
What brings you back in Oct.? Wouldn't be AEP would it?
Since we won't have any realestate down this way, we're going to use American Home Base in Pensacola to forward our mail and as our mailing address.
PS - thanks for the reminder about You Tube videos. Use them for lots of other things also. Keep in touch....
Gary

[RickandJanice]

... I'd really like to know where the inverter is, where the black/gray/fresh tanks are, how big & where the inverter is, etc. We've never RV'd before & we're picking this unit up in a week or so & storing it until we sell the house. What about maintenance on things like the water heater, furnace, ac, etc.? If there's info about all this here on the forum, pleas point me in the right direction. Couldn't find anything on the structural part of where everything is located.
Thanks,
Clueless in Florida

There is no schematic for these coaches. When you open he storage compartment, you will see two sliding doors at the back of the bay. Behind these doors, you can find just about all of the things yo are looking for except the fresh water tank, it is located in the under belly of the coach directly behind this utility area. In the utility are you will find the black water tank up high, directly below the bathroom floor. The gray water tank is located in the bottom of this area with a plywood deck on top of it. Mounted to this deck is the furnace, converter, and water pump. You will also be able to access the water control manifold, on board water filter, water heater bypass, fresh water tank drain valve and low point drain valves in this utility bay. If there is an on-board vacuum, it will also be located behind these doors.

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions either hear or on the SOITC forum. Great bunch of people on both forums that are very Knowledgeable on DRV products.

[imouttahere]

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions either hear or on the SOITC forum. Great bunch of people on both forums that are very Knowledgeable on DRV products.[/quote]

RickandJanice
Great information, thanks. A couple of questions: I plan on putting at least 4 batteries in for solar (maybe 6 - a max of 268 or 402 lbs). There's an area just inside the basement door on the curb side that would hold 4 bats nicely (maybe 6 stacked - have to check the floor structure) - it's a next to the front right landing gear mechanism. I'm trying to figure the weight balance of everything in the unit. That side will have the black & gray tanks, a washer & dryer, the heater and the dinette slide. The gen is in the middle under the pin box so that balances out left & right with more of the weight toward the Tow Vehicle than the trailer axels. The other side has the bed, two 40 lb propane tanks, refrig, stove, pantry (full of food), the 40" tv, the oven (I'm not counting all the cabinets - they're pretty equal for both sides) and two slides. See attached file for floor plan, if needed. Is the fresh tank centered or more to one side (if so, which side)? The current bat box on the street side, front corner, would only be good for 2 batts, hence the reason to relocate. I would also make sure the batt rack was supported by frame supports, not just the 3/8" plywood floor. They will be AGM's so not concerned about ventilation, maint. etc.

Think that front corner would work?

gd

[Cheif 2]

I would think/hope that if the previous owners bought the unit new they would still have all the books/mauals for the unit. They wil provide you with lots of info.

[Stripit]

What are you going to tow with, as the pin weight after your changes will be well over 4,000lbs I would suspect.

[imouttahere]

TV will be a dodge 3500 drw crew cab 4wd long bed slt, 4.10 rear, max tow pkg, etc. Max pin weight would be 4,500, trail weight about 19,900 and GCWR 28,300.

With the 3.73 rear, same pin weight but trail weight drops to 16,700 & GCWR drops to 25,000. These are right off the ram spec sheets.

Base weight of truck is approx. 7,800. Add fuel @ 7.3 lbs per gal (x 54), 2 over weight people & one slightly overweight small dog (we're working on that), tool box, hitch & stuff & you're probably around 9,000 lb plus about 18k for trailer. Still under 28,300 GCWR.

Haven't checked or compared ford or chev specs yet. Liked dodge better.

[imouttahere]

Addendum: When we tow it down here for temp storage we're stopping at a scale & weighing everything (with full fresh water & full propane) and full gas tank in the truck.

gd

[Motor31]

Just to give you an idea, our 05 38RL3 came in at over 16k empty. all tanks empty and only full propane. The pin weight is 4300 lbs. We would be overloaded with a GVW of 18.5k with anything more than 1/3 fresh water.

You should look for the weight results that Stripit (Stacey) did regarding the DRV units. He does full scale weight of truck and trailer by each wheel. He has a data base available for review both on this site and the SOIC site.

Your plan to add extensive batteries will have a significant impact on the pin weight and balance of the rig. You will also need to be concerned with the left to right balance of the weight distribution. DRV is not very good at keeping each side loaded the same.

As already noted, there are no wiring diagrams, the factory does not use them. You should be able to locate media brochures for the unit online if you search around. There will be a shortage of detailed info in them however.

[imouttahere]

That's some eye opening information. I know there are people that weigh individual wheels and charge about $50 or so to do that at rally's & such, but do they just travel around? I'd like to find a place in S FL that could do that... Is there a name for that type of scale?

gd

[imouttahere]

Also...

I'm not familier with the SOIC acronymn - Society Of Incontinent Cowboys? Maybe you can elaborate..

Thanks,
gd

[imouttahere]

Possibly "Society Of Incontinent Campers"?

[missourijan]

Suites Owners International Travel Club. You can sign up, using the last 4 digits of your VIN# and ask all the questions you want. Lots of info on this forum and SOITC. Come to a rally if you can, there's usually someone who knows something about a problem you may have. Happy Travels!

[imouttahere]

Awesome. Thanks for the info.

[terry and jo]

The way you are describing things, I'm not sure your coach has an inverter already installed. Had there been one, you would have at least 4 batteries. (Well, at least based on our configuration it would.)

In my previous post, I mentioned that we had one installed by the factory and they put in the extra compartment for two of the batteries with an access door in the front next to the front storage compartment.

What I'm calling a front storage compartment is probably where your generator resides.

Oh, and on SOITC you don't have to have a coach to register for the forums and use them. However, they do ask for your 4-digit pin number for joining SOITC.

Terry

[imouttahere]

Hi Terry - thanks for the info on the SOITC forum. I registered this afternoon.

Underneath our pin there is a center compartment big enough for the gen and the hydraulics and a small vert compartment to the right of that (street side) with the one bat (looks big enough for two). On the left of the gen conpartment is a blank space that's accessed through the curb side basement door. It's just inside the door to the right and the leveling jack comes up in that area. I'm thinking of taking the slide out - it probably weighs close to 100 lbs and does take up quite a bit of space itself. Worst case scenerio, using AGM's I could stack the batts along the wall that backs up to the gen & put an enclosure around them to make sure nothing shorts out the terminals. Still would like to put them in that area just inside the basement door though.

Now that I think of it, you're probably right - there's no inverter. You either have 120 from the gen or the shore post. Not enough juice in one bat to run much of an invertor. Next question is, when I put one in, I'm assuming there has to be a switch to isolate the shore power from backflowing into the inverter. I know the gen has an auto transfer cutoff switch.... That's where I need some good advice on how to wire that in to the 120 ac system.
Thanks for all the info - you guys have been a lot of help.

gd

[Cheif 2]

Do you really plan on boondocking so much that you think you will need a bank of batteries and an inverter? We went to Alaska in 2010 and boondocked for the better part of 6 weeks and only used a Honda EU2000 for power and the two 6 volt batteries I had the factory install. Never had a problem.

[hitchup]

Now that I think of it, you're probably right - there's no inverter. You either have 120 from the gen or the shore post. Not enough juice in one bat to run much of an invertor. Next question is, when I put one in, I'm assuming there has to be a switch to isolate the shore power from backflowing into the inverter. I know the gen has an auto transfer cutoff switch.... That's where I need some good advice on how to wire that in to the 120 ac system.
Thanks for all the info - you guys have been a lot of help.

gd

You may not have an Inverter, but a Converter like we do. It's behind the sliding basement doors on top of a tank, near the water filter (if you have one).

We have a Onan generator, but when CG shore power goes out, the converter works with the batteries to power 12v items. It's been tested a few times. Some lights still work and the fan on the furnaces, so we still had heat throughout the night.

[Stripit]

That's some eye opening information. I know there are people that weigh individual wheels and charge about $50 or so to do that at rally's & such, but do they just travel around? I'd like to find a place in S FL that could do that... Is there a name for that type of scale?

gd

This is good information and weighing by wheel position tells a real story of what your actually carrying and where that weight is. In Florida you can contact RVSEF headquarters and see if they can weigh you.

RV Safety & Education Foundation
125 E Merritt Island Cswy
Suite 209409
Merritt Island, FL 32952
Phone: 321-453-7673
Fax: 321-453-3853

[RickandJanice]

To answer the question about the fresh water tank, it runs the entire inside width of the frame. Looks to me its weight would be distributed evenly. On our unit the gray and black tanks are also in the center but do not run the full inside width of the frame. They also appear their weight would be distributed evenly side to side. Our rig is about 650 lbs. heavier on the street side but I believe this is mainly due to the two slides on that side and the one containing the entertainment center, stove and refrigerator. The other factor is that the LP tanks and Batteries are also on the street side. This all adds up in a hurry. We had MorRyde Independent suspension installed and they adjusted it based on each individual wheel weight which is supposed to adjust for this situation as far as the suspension and the level of the rig.