My new 2014 36FK

jspd234 · 01-09-2021, 07:56 PM

Hi all, happy new year to everybody! So I have my new to me motorhome. I had a 2005 georgie boy pursuit 30 before. So some of the odd things that I noticed in the motorhome are the passenger power window is next to the driver power window switch in the middle of the dash and far away for my wife to reach over so I’m planning on moving the switches that are nearest her over to my side and removing the window switches over there. 2nd item.... there are no air tank gauges on my dash cluster which I find odd because it has air suspension and brakes. On other commercial Freightliner m2 chassis I have found that there are gauges in place in the gauge cluster and even on my other 2 tow trucks (2007 international 4300 and 2021 international mv607 chassis). I’d like to add gauges into my gauge cluster so I can monitor air pressure obviously. Has anybody plumbed in air gauges for the gauge cluster? 3rd item... why are there no airhorns on the Chassis of this size? again commercial chassis of this size (freightliner, international and Kenworth) All have airhorns! what the hell?! LOL! Thanks for helping out!

jspd234 · 01-09-2021, 08:14 PM

Hi again everybody I forgot to mention the other issue. When I went to use my shower and I was attempting to use water from my freshwater tank with the water pump and when I tried the water would only get lukewarm and would fluctuate to fairly warm and back to lukewarm. I went outside to view the tankless water heater burner and It was on. I’ve tried to use the temperature knob in the bathroom and turn it down a little bit more in a little bit more and still and the temperature fluctuates. So I switched over to city water and the temperature went up and stayed consistent while I showered( I left it running the whole time) by the time I was done showering I noticed that the temperature starting to drop but I was done anyway. So....any ideas? To fix this? Thanks!

Grumpy · 01-09-2021, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jspd234

there are no air tank gauges on my dash cluster which I find odd because it has air suspension and brakes. !

I don't think you have air brakes, only an air parking brake and air suspension. That was a common complaint with the 2nd generation SENECA's.

JAYCO doesn't show "full air brakes" until 2016, 2012 thru 2015 were power hydraulic brakes.

jspd234 · 01-09-2021, 08:18 PM

Thanks for responding!

**norty1** · 01-09-2021, 08:30 PM

You will need to search JOF for the brand and model of tankless you have. There is much discussion about them.

SloPoke · 01-09-2021, 11:49 PM

Welcome to the Seneca family... and especially to the FK model family. There are not many who have the FK... and we have a 2015.

I believe you have the Girard water heater... it is a demand propane unit that works well when you know it's limitations. (we love it now that we know how it works)

The Water heater (WH) is very picky on the temperature it delivers - based on the water flow through the heat-exchanger in the heater. Less water flow and it gets hotter because the burner is heating the pipes in the exchanger... more water flow and the water gets colder. And even though there is a temperature dial in the bathroom.. it still varies. Play with it a while... you will figure it out -

On to the dash... Jayco had some dude who was random as hell put the dash together... I think he put switches in the places he thought would tick off the most people... I moved the passenger window switch to the passenger side of the Dash... Taking the dash apart is posted on the forum... don't use the forum search, use the Search link under the user "Norty" right before this post.

Yes - you have Hydraulic brakes... a variation of Mopar's Hydro assist. You have an air "Parking Brake" and a bare-bones Freightliner air system(like we do) RobbbbyR posted a fantastic explanation of the system on the forum here... It is a great one.

jspd234 · 01-10-2021, 06:42 PM

Thanks!

Robbbyr · 01-10-2021, 07:28 PM

You have the first generation Girard tankless water heater. Some love them, some hate them! Jayco could never get mine to work reliably so I swapped out mine for a 10-gallon Atwood tank model. Absolutely love it and can heat my water using the campground's electric when parked!

As far as the brakes - We do have 4-wheel hydraulic disc brakes with anti-lock. (ABS) with hydroboost assist which is tied into the hydraulics of the power steering system. It also has a backup electric motor to provide assist when the engine isn't running should that ever happen. You will hear that motor run if you depress the brake pedal with the engine off. Our hydraulic brakes have a dual master cylinder so a single failure does not cause a loss of all the brakes. We have an air-actuated driveshaft parking brake. It is applied by a very strong spring, air holds it in the released position. If we lose all air that brake will apply automatically.

Newer Senecas (2016+) have 4-wheel drum air brakes with ABS. Their parking brakes work only on the rear brakes, they also have a very strong spring that applies the brakes on each of those rear wheels and air holds it released. They have a dual tank air system separating their brake system in two so a single failure won't cause a total loss of braking. But like ours a major air problem will cause the spring brakes to engage. Not good if you're moving if that happens!

I was at the Jayco factory service center having work done in early 2017. I specifically asked them why Jayco switched to the air brakes. They told me the decision to switch was the result of several factors. One reason was that the competition started offering air brakes on their units so Jayco had to add them to "compete", since many buyers assume "air brakes" must be better. A second point was that a chassis with hydraulic disc brakes cost more than a chassis with air drum brakes! However our hydraulic disc brakes are more than up to the task at our GCWR.

Now the subjective part - I have owned my Seneca since new. I retired as a professional firefighter and during my 33+ year career drove many air brake-equipped trucks. I also had a side job delivering office furniture and drove straight box trucks with air brakes. My Seneca (with hydraulic brakes) stops just as well (and I would say even better) as any of them, even as well as newer fire trucks that might have 4-wheel air disc brakes. However Jayco does not offer air discs on their chassis. I also have driven newer Senecas and diesel pusher units with air drums, my older model stops just as well as any of them. So properly maintained and functioning our hydraulic disc brakes are nothing to fret about!

SloPoke · 01-10-2021, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

You have the first generation Girard tankless water heater. Some love them, some hate them! Jayco could never get mine to work reliably so I swapped out mine for a 10-gallon Atwood tank model. Absolutely love it and can heat my water using the campground's electric when parked!

As far as the brakes - We do have 4-wheel hydraulic disc brakes with anti-lock. (ABS) with hydroboost assist which is tied into the hydraulics of the power steering system. It also has a backup electric motor to provide assist when the engine isn't running should that ever happen. You will hear that motor run if you depress the brake pedal with the engine off. Our hydraulic brakes have a dual master cylinder so a single failure does not cause a loss of all the brakes. We have an air-actuated driveshaft parking brake. It is applied by a very strong spring, air holds it in the released position. If we lose all air that brake will apply automatically.

Newer Senecas (2016+) have 4-wheel drum air brakes with ABS. Their parking brakes work only on the rear brakes, they also have a very strong spring that applies the brakes on each of those rear wheels and air holds it released. They have a dual tank air system separating their brake system in two so a single failure won't cause a total loss of braking. But like ours a major air problem will cause the spring brakes to engage. Not good if you're moving if that happens!

I was at the Jayco factory service center having work done in early 2017. I specifically asked them why Jayco switched to the air brakes. They told me the decision to switch was the result of several factors. One reason was that the competition started offering air brakes on their units so Jayco had to add them to "compete", since many buyers assume "air brakes" must be better. A second point was that a chassis with hydraulic disc brakes cost more than a chassis with air drum brakes! However our hydraulic disc brakes are more than up to the task at our GCWR.

Now the subjective part - I have owned my Seneca since new. I retired as a professional firefighter and during my 33+ year career drove many air brake-equipped trucks. I also had a side job delivering office furniture and drove straight box trucks with air brakes. My Seneca (with hydraulic brakes) stops just as well (and I would say even better) as any of them, even as well as newer fire trucks that might have 4-wheel air disc brakes. However Jayco does not offer air discs on their chassis. I also have driven newer Senecas and diesel pusher units with air drums, my older model stops just as well as any of them. So properly maintained and functioning our hydraulic disc brakes are nothing to fret about!

Well said!! (as always, you are a great asset to JOF)

We feel lucky that we are part of the few that have ABS Disc brakes. I especially appreciate it every morning while doing our "pre-trip" inspection and not having to get on my hands/knees again to inspect slack-adjusters and the rest of the air system. Yes, I do the old fashioned pre-trip-check! but I allow the DW to check the tire air pressures with the TPMS.

Robbbyr · 01-10-2021, 11:40 PM

Thanks SloPoke!

In case the OP or any others are less familiar with air brakes I re-read my post and realized it may be confusing on how the "regular" brakes work on an air brake-equipped unit. I mention a strong spring applying the brakes but I wanted to make sure to state those springs (both in the earlier driveline brake and the later model rear spring brakes) only apply the brakes when the parking brake is engaged or there is a total air system failure. The springs do not work to apply the brakes during regular braking.

During regular brake applications the brake pedal (treadle valve) is depressed then air travels to the brake chambers at each wheel and apply the brakes. Release the brake pedal and the air is exhausted from the brake chambers and the brakes release. The parking brakes work just the opposite, air pushes the spring back and the brake releases. Remove that air by operating the dash valve and the air is released and the spring pushes the brakes on.

And I second SloPoke's "relief" that an air brake inspection is not required every travel day on my Seneca. As you can imagine on fire trucks - properly working brakes are critical! They are critical on ANY vehicle traveling on our highways. In the heavy road salt conditions we have here in northeastern Ohio it wasn't uncommon to find a corroded slack adjuster. I am concerned for some owners who have never been trained to properly inspect their brakes and possibly discover inadequate brakes on a trip. Only a few states require CDL licensure and the training that comes with it. My home state only requires a regular operator license to drive any RV, air brakes or not.

I will exit my soap box now!

SloPoke · 01-11-2021, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robbbyr

Thanks SloPoke!

And I second SloPoke's "relief" that an air brake inspection is not required every travel day on my Seneca. As you can imagine on fire trucks - properly working brakes are critical! They are critical on ANY vehicle traveling on our highways. In the heavy road salt conditions we have here in northeastern Ohio it wasn't uncommon to find a corroded slack adjuster. I am concerned for some owners who have never been trained to properly inspect their brakes and possibly discover inadequate brakes on a trip. Only a few states require CDL licensure and the training that comes with it. My home state only requires a regular operator license to drive any RV, air brakes or not.

I will exit my soap box now!

Agree... and we see so many rigs around us packing up and getting ready to pull out - the majority we watch doing their trip-check miss so many critical parts of the typical safety check. Granted some checks could be done less frequently, but some of them never raise the hood or look underneath - yet to inspect the suspension and brakes.

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