Note: I have traded Shaneeda in for this 2005 Newmar Dutch Star diesel pusher.
Shaneeda is my 1994 Fleetwood Pace Arrow 33X motorhome. I have taken quite a shine to her and she has treated me well. She has a Chevrolet P30 chassis and 454 cid engine.
Naming her was difficult for the first several months, and then, it became obvious because she needa new tires, she needa new battery, she needa new brakes, she needa lota tender loving care! 🙂
We are not exactly world travelers yet but we’re working on it. Our goal is just to get comfortable (both living and working), see the nearby sights (there are MANY), and tune systems until all are working as desired. We’ve had a great time boon-docking in some spectacular place in New Mexico – always near very good mountain biking areas. We’ve even stayed at some campgrounds.
The following list will continue to grow. So far, the many projects have included.
- A very, very thorough cleaning – very dirty. Under/behind cabinets, flooring, basement, etc… Detailed dash.
- Sewed new Velcro onto privacy curtains
- Replace many broken drawer slider brackets and adjust others for proper drawer alignment
- Replace sink drain seal
- Replace generator fuel line
- Clean shore power chord
- Hose plug for pressure water inlet
- Tighten nearly all cabinet pulls and hinges
- Stove – rotate two of three burner lighting tubes from pilot (probably never worked)
- Fixed magnetic door latches (covered with glue, poor alignment)
- Relocated lav cabinet door latch to close correctly
- Treated all wood with Howard Restor-A-Finish
- Scrubbed toilet flapper/seal. Lubricated to obtain seal
- Installed drawer and cabinet liners
- Replaced wrong/oversize/sheetrock screw hardware with appropriate hardware
- Restrung several window shades (broken strings)
- Replace 2-12V house batteries with 2-6V batteries
- Replace missing screws in front privacy curtain rails
- Remove dash cover (filthy), remove glue, clean.
- Repair separating basement doors
- Contact cemented kitchen floor where split/sticking up
- Contact cemented ceiling liner where falling
- Replaced Charger/Converter (Series 900, Model 950-2, 50 Amp) with PROGRESSIVE DYNAMICS PD9260C 60 AMP. (old unit would not come out available openings and had to disassemble and break cover into pieces to get it out. )
- Replaced Front Suspension Air Bags
- Replaced missing drain hole covers in basement floor (two).
- Repair loose body panel.
- Tie-wrapped loose wiring under hood.
- Installed 12V socket in bedroom
- Replaced all indoor lights with LED’s.
- Replace broken awning handle/lever.
- Replace two window awning straps.
- Replaced Front Tires
- Front Brakes. Did myself. Turned rotors. New Pads. Easy. Seems to have fixed column vibration (yay!).
- Installed rubber hose feet on house water pump. Quieted it significantly.
- Install 1200 Watt Inverter inline with older 100 Watt unit (use one or the other)
- Increased roll-up tension on large awning
- Increased roll-up tension on small passenger side awning
- Purchased 2′ x 3′ rubber stall pad and cut into 8″ x 12″ squares for leveling pads
- Scrubbed exterior with Bar Keepers Friend – eliminated oxidation
- Polished with Zep Floor Polish
- Wilson Phone Signal Booster
- Replaced rivets on rear/dual hub air extension lines – loose and rubbing on wheel
- Convert broken fluorescent light to LED/SMD
- Replace faulty 12V socket fuse holder in overhead with new inline fuse holder
- Replace Shower Head Holder
- Replace Shower Head
- Install Cobra 400 Watt Inverter in place of old 100 watt inverter
- Dicor Seal Roof
- Install LED TV and DVD player
- Clean roof vents
- Rebuild kitchen faucet internals to fix drip
- Replaced driver door window
- Repair driver window lift (bushings smashed)
- Found broken heater switch on aft thermostat. Front thermostat heater switch does nothing. Temporarily replace rear thermostat with functional but heater-only unit
- Replace rear roof vent weather-stripping
- Replace bathroom fan blade – old was crumbling from UV damage
- Replace 8R-19.5 rear tires with Samson 245-70R-19.5 tires
- Levelers just started working after a couple trips (yay!)
- Replace missing porch light cover – bought entire assembly
- Removed valve stem extensions (braided steel line style). Flat tires stopped – no more leaks
- Adjust steering box to eliminate sloppy steering. Required 210-240 degree adjustment
- Replace broken shore power bezel
- Found and Fixed a slow water leak in the fresh water pressure system
- Mr. Buddy propane/LPG heater and 20 pound cylinder
- Sewed new curtains for kitchen and bathroom windows
- Satellite tv receiver and antenna
- Toilet overhaul – new seals, bushings, and a serious cleaning
- Setup Jeep Wrangler JK for towing – part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4
- Remove bedroom TV and cabinet
- Eliminate vibration at highway speed – tire balance
- Troubleshoot PowerGear Hydraulic Leveling Jacks
- Replace double sided tape under loose body molding trim
- Install urethane rear sway bar bushings
- Install hard plastic (not urethane) front sway bar bushings
- Install 650 watt MPPT solar charging system (photovoltaic)
- Install rubber bumpers between roof and TV antenna
- Install shelving in one bedroom closet
- Clean and seal roof
- Install pull handle on sliding shelf/cabinet
- Repaired (another) basement door, face panel loose
- Reapply Zep exterior polish
- Fine tune tire pressure (big improvement in ride quality)
- Install HDMI cable from front entertainment center to bedroom.
- Installed 22″ Samsung LED tv in front.
- Installed new Samsung HDMI DVD player.
- Installed HDMI splitter/switch (3×2).
- Moved Spectre LED tv to bedroom.
- Installed sound deflector on bottom of Spectre TV.
- Sewed insulated covers for ceiling vents. Held in place with lexan sheet. Winter use only.
- Plug AC units with folded towels (retain heat at night and when cold). Winter use only.
- Rebuild shower water faucet.
- Remove old linoleum and carpet flooring.
- Install Vinyl Sheet flooring.
- Install new carpet in bedroom.
- Install new carpet in cockpit.
- New recliner
Some of our trips:
- 2013 San Mateo Mountains – Datil, NM (June)
- 2013 Cibola National Forest – Gallup, NM (August)
- 2013 Cibola National Forest – Gallup, NM (September)
- 2013 Elephant Butte State Park – Monticello Point (November)
- 2013 Rockhound State Park – Deming, NM (December)
- 2013 City of Rocks State Park – Silver City, NM (December)
- 2014 Elephant Butte State Park – Monticello Point (February)
- 2014 Elephant Butte State Park – Monticello Point (March)
- 2014 Bluewater Lake State Park – Prewitt, NM (April)
- 2014 Cibola National Forest – Gallup, NM (April)
- 2014 Oasis State Park – Portales, NM
- 2014 Lubbock, TX (June)
- 2014 Bluewater Lake State Park – Prewitt, NM (August)
- 2014 Oliver Lee State Park – Alamogordo, NM (November)
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I have spent 2.5 years researching RVing lifestyle. I finally retired a month ago and ready to buy a rig, trailer…something…to get on the road. I realize no matter what people buy, new or old, trailer, 5th wheel, Class A’s and C’s…there will be something to fix. I am fairly handy, I was able to replace the 2 oil hoses from the filter to the radiator in my Class C with no problem….so maybe I can handle an older Class A.
I’ve always been intriged by them and always feared the cost to maintain / repair. I know all rigs are different but what can you do to talk me out of one locally that is for sale that I plan to look at around the thunderstorms this week. I’ve been looking at trailers for two months and just saw this older Holiday Rambler tonight and love the 5 exterior pics.
Ill read the forum for more info. Thanks for any help you can tell me.
Hi Steve, You’ve presented a VERY difficult challenge! 🙂
Assuming one is an RV type of person, the type of RV is very person and situation dependent. For the handyman, an older RV may be a lot of fun – not just repairing but even fixing up and changing. However; there is no guarantee that a brand new rig will be problem free. I suppose the most important thing to know is that an RV is about like a house – it requires constant upkeep and maintenance. The rule of thumb for house maintenance cost is 3% of the purchase price, every year. I suspect a motorhome is more than that amount but it might be close for a trailer – purely as a rule of thumb. If you are able to find pleasure in maintaining whatever equipment you purchase, the cost of doing so will likely be palatable.
Hi JD! I stumbled on your site last summer while researching info on my 94 Pace Arrow. (Mines the Ford Limited Edition model which means heavy! Lol!) I see you made the jump to a diesel pusher – me too when I can afford it. Anyhow, I thought I’d ask you how you liked your tow bar / braking system setup for your Jeep ( I too have a black one) and wondered if it was a motivation for jumping to the diesel. My 460 has enough go but lacks whoa! I’m shopping around for a used setup . Oh, and did your Pace Arrow have a dimmer switch on the drivers side floor and if so, what the heck does it do? The electrical harnesses are a nightmare on these things and no info !
Happy trails and good luck, Craig from BC Canada.
Hi Craig – I totally understand about the braking, mine was the same. I like the ReadyBrake. It takes a little effort to get tuned (adjust the cable length) but once that it done, it worked well for me. Yes, when planning to live in the RV fulltime, I knew weight would be an issue and really wanted something that could safely haul all my junk. The big Dutch Star, at 33,000 lbs, certainly does that. It has no problem coming to a stop and, with the engine brake, coming down mountain passes is not even a concern. The other big ticket item was insulation for cool weather camping, my Pace Arrow was sorely lacking in this area. Actually, I was never sure if it was a lack of insulation or the windows, in either case, it didn’t retain heat very well when the outside temps fell to around freezing.
Yes, the wiring is certainly a challenge! It can be really bad if a previous owner got their fingers into it. 🙂 That dimmer switch is called the ICC switch. It flashes your marker lights, used for communicating with other vehicles.
Enjoy your PA – they are fine machines!
JD
Have 3 12-volt solar panels which have always been installed in parallel(since late ’90s!) About to install on Class A and am reading I need to install in 2 or 4 panels. Not to use 3rd panel. Do you understand any of this? Or how 3 panels should be wired / installed?
Hi Susie, There can be issues with that depending on the details of each panel. This article is a pretty good read about this subject. As long as the limits of the controller are observed, I dont’t know of any problems using an odd number of panels.