[wdawsonsr]

Rick & David, thanks for the replies.

To Rick: Paradise closed their doors last Nov. I was notified by Lance Larson the Service Mgr. Manny was their super tech. He was knowledgable & fast. As I look back, starting about July the service was starting to slip. Too much work & not enough manpower. It's too bad they had to close.

Yes the slide has an awning. One annoying issue in regards to the awning is that being so long there is no way it can be kept taut. Originally in moderate winds the rear part of the awinging would flap, annoyingly loud. The last time the awning was re-installed the front is loose. It's just the way the end springs are tensioned. Even with the awning it doesn't take much of a breeze to drive rain under the awning & collect on the slide roof. Once the ceiling frame sagged it was impossible for the wiper seal to squeegee all of the water from the roof as the slide retracted. While Paradise/Gulf Stream were discussing the issue for months, I got to the point that I would the inflate the air bags & retract the leveling jacks. This gives the coach a port list. This got most of the water out but not all of it. Then before moving we would roll up beach towels & place them at each end of slide roof. For me this issue is inexcuseable. Having spent 25 yrs designing high vacuum chamber systems it isn't rocket science trying to keep water out.

Another major issue has been the Power Gear electric Jacks. I've lost count, but I think we have had 6 jack motors replaced. Two have been at the same position. They tell me all is well now but we have not had the coach in use enough to know for sure. I know I hold my breath everytime I extend or retract them. I like the action of the jacks over the hydraulic jacks I've had in the past. Time will tell on this one. Early on I had weighed each wheel when we were fully loaded so I would know how we were balanced. As expected, we are a little heavier on the big slide side but the weight difference is reasonable. The jacks are rated for 12000# & my heaviest wheel is 9800#.

David, how is your coach when driving in cold weather? We were told that ours has the Artic Package, whatever that is. Anything less than 45? outside air temperature is uncomfortable to downright cold. Paradise added some additional sealing on the back side of the dash but when I look around the generator everything is wide open. At highway speeds this has got to have a severe cooling effect on cockpit area.

We are supposed to get the coach back today but when I talked to the tech late yesterday he was still waiting to hear from Jim Creech for instructions on wiper linkage adjustment. I told him I don't want it back until the wiper issue is resolved. It's now 10:30AM & I haven't heard anything so my guess is I'm not going to Portland today.

Safe travels guys,

Ed Dawson