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08-09-2013, 03:41 PM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Charlotte
Posts: 17
North Carolina
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2014 Voltage 3895 First 30 days...
For those buying new units a few things we experienced in the first 30 days in case it help anyone else.
Took delivery of our unit about 45 days ago, did what I thought was a pretty good PDI (about 3 hours) before we left the dealer. We were pretty familiar many items as this is our third toy hauler, spent more time with features we didn’t have on the last unit and in areas we had experienced issues with in the past. This may read as along list – but some items are quite simple and small issues, others are just things that can happen – This is not a negative post regarding quality of the unit. Overall we are very happy and satisfied with the unit and at this point would not hesitate in buying another Voltage when the time comes. Dutchman has been very accessible and easy to work with thus far as I have been in contact with them along with the dealer to ensure all repairs done properly and to our satisfaction.
We used it 3 times (long weekends) in the first 30 days traveling about 1,750 miles.
· Valve stems on two wheels leaked – both had to be replaced, would not tighten enough to stop leaking.
· Drivers side kitchen slide out worked un-evenly. Front corner was moving in 1” – 3” before rear started moving. Did not do this at dealer. May have caused ourselves buy retracting the on second use while uneven. Re-calibration of slide out process fixed. Always level first now before extending or retracing slide outs. Never had that issue with older hydraulic style slides on last unit.
· Outside water faucet broke – inserted quick connect hose on the second trip on Friday afternoon. Woke up Saturday morning with almost no water, 100+ gallons gone… water had leaked out of quick connect fitting after I removed – water would not turn off completely. Trying to tighten cold handle it completely came out of assembly in my hand. Cheap plastic fixture and threads stripped out when I tightened it. Replaced under warranty.
· Right rear (drivers side) leveling jack leaked hydraulic fluid. Late on Saturday afternoon noticed we were suddenly not level, walk-around inspection found hydraulic fluid on the ground under RR jack. This must be the last jack in the “chain” as this jack only had three lines and one outlet capped off with Allen head screw, must not have been completely tight and small O-ring was starting to push through allowing leak. This was the lowest point and this jack was at full extension with full load. Replaced under warranty.
· Water leaking through light fixture outside of bathroom door – Gaps in caulking around TV antenna and vents. Repaired under warranty.
· One of the bedroom draws (slide-out side) latch would not keep draw closed – Replaced under warranty.
· Fascia on passenger side couch slide-out coming loose on back edge (toward loft bunk) – repaired under warranty
· Shower leak on floor – water was coming under the aluminum door frame. No caulking from factory – repaired under warranty
· Outside door grab handle would not sit flush in closed position folded in-front of door or slide out. Basically I believe they mounted the grab handle to high or two low, as well as too flush to side of trailer: folding forward in-front of door it hit the door handle and would not lay flat and sit properly in saddle of the hinge, folding backward same situation because it hits the frame of slide-out. Still working on this one – trying to avoid re-locating the handle up or down by fabricating spacers to bring the handle mounts out enough for the handle to lay flat in the saddle. Would rather not have to have 8 holes from the original screws covered up.
· AC airflow does not seem that strong in main room. They are checking for debris in ductwork and proper sealing of ducts to AC unit and vents.
· Battery doesn’t hold charge – can’t go more than 2 days without battery dying running only Fridge. (used to be able to go 5 to 6 days on old unit) Checking battery to make sure it is good and can hold charge. Inspecting 12V system to make sure there is no constant drain we are not aware of. I know the detectors are on all the time, but they were on our last unit as well. We have to park unit in storage lot with no power access at this time and when we are going out back to back weekends we like to leave the fridge on and stocked.
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2014 Voltage 3895
2012 F350 DRW 4x4
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 RMZ 250
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08-10-2013, 03:05 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 159
California
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Nice information, Treadwheeler. Gives me some stuff to think about and look over carefully when we take delivery tomorrow morning.
Did you keep a list as you discovered the issues? Or did you write all that from memory? If the latter, I want to talk to you more about your memory techniques!
It's good to know you'd buy Voltage again.
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2013 Voltage 3950
2011 Ford F350 Super Duty Dually
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08-10-2013, 07:26 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Cody
Posts: 1,764
Wyoming
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Thanks for the review, Treadwheeler. I'm looking to possibly upgrade from my current Voltage 3200 to a 3895 at the Hershey RV show next month. Sounds like many of your issues are the same most of us Voltage owners have had... but the last one puzzles me a bit.
You mention leaving your rig sit for a few days with the fridge running, and your battery dying out. I could be wrong, but I think most of us run our refrigerators on gas when not connected to shore power somewhere. In fact, I know that I use the battery switch in the basement to cut my battery completely out of the system when I don't have a power source.
Just curious...
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Tom
2013 VOLTAGE 3200 (EPIC I & II)
2014 Ford F-450 PLATINUM
2018 BMW R1200GS RALLYE
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08-12-2013, 03:11 PM
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#4
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Charlotte
Posts: 17
North Carolina
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Started a list as soon as I found the first item.... I knew we would be taking in within first 30 days for this type of stuff...
The Fridge does run on gas when not running on shore power (plugged into A/C current), the gas must ignite every so often to keep cool (I don't know the frequency) and there must be battery power to ignite. Just like the compressor goign of / on in a regular home fridge unit.
I am going to install separate battery systems - one dedicated to generator and one for RV battery power. Trying to decide on what "system" I want to do for power. Will leave the current 12v in place for gen, thinking about 2 6v for RV system power. I am researching now. RV shop recommended the double 6v set up saying it would last longer than 2 12v done in parallel.
__________________
2014 Voltage 3895
2012 F350 DRW 4x4
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 RMZ 250
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08-12-2013, 03:55 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: kamloops
Posts: 2,152
British Columbia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Treadwheeler
Started a list as soon as I found the first item.... I knew we would be taking in within first 30 days for this type of stuff...
The Fridge does run on gas when not running on shore power (plugged into A/C current), the gas must ignite every so often to keep cool (I don't know the frequency) and there must be battery power to ignite. Just like the compressor goign of / on in a regular home fridge unit.
I am going to install separate battery systems - one dedicated to generator and one for RV battery power. Trying to decide on what "system" I want to do for power. Will leave the current 12v in place for gen, thinking about 2 6v for RV system power. I am researching now. RV shop recommended the double 6v set up saying it would last longer than 2 12v done in parallel.
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Two 6 volts are the only way to go. You wind up with double the reserve with them.
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08-12-2013, 04:21 PM
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#6
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Charlotte
Posts: 17
North Carolina
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So, 2 6v run in series for 12v output?
__________________
2014 Voltage 3895
2012 F350 DRW 4x4
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 RMZ 250
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08-12-2013, 04:23 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 159
California
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hddecker
Two 6 volts are the only way to go. You wind up with double the reserve with them.
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Why not use 4 - 6 volts. Double the double. That's why I would do for more capacity. Then go solar panels and all that. That's the next step. A guy at the service center has a rig that he can run his air conditioners off solar charged batteries. Big inverter, lots of batteries, lots of panels.
Lots of money!
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2013 Voltage 3950
2011 Ford F350 Super Duty Dually
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08-12-2013, 04:52 PM
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#8
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Oregon
Posts: 34
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Great review, thanks.
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2013 RAM 3500 4x4 CUMMINS LARAMIE
2013 Kodiak 292TQB Toy hauler
2008 Honda TRX 700XX. 2009 RZR 800s
2008 Yamaha Raptor 700
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08-12-2013, 05:58 PM
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#9
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Charlotte
Posts: 17
North Carolina
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I would be OK with 4 - 6v, though how do you wire parallel or series.
maybe a stupid question - would 4 - 6v in series be 24v?
__________________
2014 Voltage 3895
2012 F350 DRW 4x4
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 RMZ 250
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08-12-2013, 06:48 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Tahlequah
Posts: 3,079
Oklahoma
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Google battery series parallel diagram. Much simpler to study the picture than words in this case.
Basically you'll be connetcting two sets of 6s to make 12 volts and double the capacity.
Series connections doubles voltage, parallel doubles capacity.
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2013 Voltage 3800, 2012 Chevy 3500 HD
2010 Yamaha V Star 950
2009 Yamaha Raider
Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Caravanners
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08-12-2013, 08:46 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 159
California
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sundancer 87
Google battery series parallel diagram. Much simpler to study the picture than words in this case.
Basically you'll be connetcting two sets of 6s to make 12 volts and double the capacity.
Series connections doubles voltage, parallel doubles capacity.
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Think of batteries in terms of AA batteries. Each one is 1.5 volts. Put them end to end (series) and you get 3 volts. Put them side by side, connecting + to + and - to - and you still have 1.5 volts. But you have double the capacity. Double the juice, but still the same voltage.
Follow this link for some diagrams.
__________________
2013 Voltage 3950
2011 Ford F350 Super Duty Dually
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08-13-2013, 04:19 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: kamloops
Posts: 2,152
British Columbia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VoltageGuy
Why not use 4 - 6 volts. Double the double. That's why I would do for more capacity. Then go solar panels and all that. That's the next step. A guy at the service center has a rig that he can run his air conditioners off solar charged batteries. Big inverter, lots of batteries, lots of panels.
Lots of money!
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You can do anything with enough money.
Certainly add lots of ballast.
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08-13-2013, 04:01 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Tahlequah
Posts: 3,079
Oklahoma
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Real deep cycle 6 volt batteries weigh in at a little over 60 lbs each. How many of us have room or need a few more pounds to haul around?
A good quality inverter will weigh about 30 lbs, then there's the solar panels to consider and the associated wiring and voltage controller.
Besides big bucks big load also.
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__________________
2013 Voltage 3800, 2012 Chevy 3500 HD
2010 Yamaha V Star 950
2009 Yamaha Raider
Volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Caravanners
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