Repairing Delamination and water damage

When we bought our Coachmen Mirada last fall, we knew it had a big delamination under the frig. It didn’t look to serious as I had repaired water damage and delamination before, so I kind of knew what we were getting into.

Although the Mirada was in very good condition, this delamination and damage was probably the reason it sat on the dealers lot for months and wasn’t moving. We made sure to point out to the dealer the delamination was a very significant problem, but we were able to accept it, for a price. Thats probably why we got a very, very good deal on this Mirada. Continue reading “Repairing Delamination and water damage” →

Fixing Frig exterior access panel door leaks

The reason my Mirada suffered from water damage was because water intruded under the frig access door.

If you have a similar door and frame, you may want to look at it and see if this could also be impacting you.

The access door did not have a lip on it, so water would run under the door and drip down inside the wall below the frig.

I repaired the water damage (CLICK HERE) , so to prevent the damage from re-occurring, I decided to install a lip on the bottom of the frig access panel. Continue reading “Fixing Frig exterior access panel door leaks” →

Adding 12 volt plugs up front

My Coachman Mirada has one 12 volt plug on the drivers instrument panel, not very convenient when running a GPS or charging a cell phone while on the road.

The solution was to add a couple additional plugs that would be convenient while on the road. These can also be used when parked as they are connected directly to the coach batter circuit. Continue reading “Adding 12 volt plugs up front” →

Will a 120 volt TV work on 12 volts DC – MAYBE

I’ve been asked many times how I was able to get my small table top 120 volt TV to work on the motor-homes 12 volts system..

The correct answer is, I didn’t do anything. The TVs I used were designed to run on 12 volts DC, I just did some re-wiring to take advantage of it.

If you want to watch TV without running the generator or connected to shore power, the best option is to find a TV that can operate directly off of 12 volts DC. Many companies advertise and sell 12 volt TVs, but these never seem to be “just what I wanted” and the prices are usually higher than their corresponding 120 volt version.

However, if you know what to look for and what to do, you’ll discover that many “120 volt” TVs are actually designed to run on 12 volts, but aren’t sold or advertised as such. You can find these if you know what to look for. Continue reading “Will a 120 volt TV work on 12 volts DC – MAYBE” →

Chirp Chirp Chirp Chirp Chirp – Finally solved (hopefully)

(CHECK UPDATE) Just after we picked up our “New to Us” Coachmen Mirada, it developed a chirping serpentine belt. It wasn’t loud, but it needed to be looked before any long trips as a bad bearing can also cause a chirp.

As part of bringing all the preventive maintenance up to date and preparation for our long trip, I replaced the serpentine belt with a new Gates belt, and installed new bearings on the two idlers and the tensioner. Replacing the bearing in the idler is substantially cheaper than replacing the entire idler. I also cleaned all the pulleys and idlers with lacquer thinner.

Continue reading “Chirp Chirp Chirp Chirp Chirp – Finally solved (hopefully)” →

Relocating entry step and porch light switches

There are three switches located on the wall when you first enter the Mirada. These control the steps (UP/DOWN), the outside porch light, and an inside ceiling light.

The switch location is very convenient if your standing outside, but if you need to operate any of these switches from inside the Mirada, you need to bend way over and darn near fall out the door. Continue reading “Relocating entry step and porch light switches” →