Need advise Please for a Leisure Travel Van Serenity

Dr Foot

New member
I have a 2013 Leisure travel Van Serenity that I just purchased used. I have a couple of questions 1. Has anyone re routed their generator exhaust out the back of RV, I have a diesel 3.2 generator. I crawled underneath the vehicle and also noticed that I do not have a spare Tire. Is this common? I noticed on and invoice that it had a PX1 deletion package.
Lastly , has anyone put HWH levelers on their RV? What was the price; was it a good move?
Thanks all.
:cheers:
 

aljimenez

'13 LTV Serenity on '12 3
I also have a 2013 Serenity and we are very happy with it. To answer your questions: 1) We have not modified the generator exhaust but have added insulating blankets on top and sides to make it quieter; 2) No spare tire and we plan to use Mercedes supplied pump and flat kit or call for help if we encounter a flat (have yet to get a flat over the past 30 years on any vehicle we own, including an off-road Jeep we have and use); 3) I have no Idea what a PX1 deletion package is and I don't like the sound of it, no deletion seems good to me; 4) HWH levelers will be very heavy and we do not feel they are worth it for our type of use... Al
 

israndy

2007 LTV Serenity
The generator is noisy in a small RV. I put 245 watts of solar on the roof to keep the battery charged. I am adding an inverter that will allow for limited microwave and coffee use, I currently use a tea kettle and Starbucks instant (stays good forever so it's always there). If you post about the deletion on the invoice you should find it in a more general group. Often it's because you wanted a feature and for that feature they don't install some other standard stuff, so it's listed as deleted on the invoice. I find the only reason to put down levelers is to stop the rocking upon entry. That can be done with a step support that you can get from camping world.

The only Serenity that ever came with a spare is the 2007 on the T1N, but I have never heard of a story where people were upset that they didn't have a spare. These are big vehicles and you don't wanna be trying to change a tire yourself. Though, Al, 30 years? You are due.

-Randy
 

Old Crows

Calypso 2014 View Profile
Not a Serenity owner. Quite common for RVs not to have a spare. Weight savings. Sometimes space is used for other 'stuff.' Might be possible to retro one in the OEM place using OEM parts. I did that on our '10 Class B Ventura. But I had room to 'spare' so to speak. Fifty odd pounds weigh loss in carrying capacity was worth the benefit, IMHO. You need to skinny under the van and look for the two hinge mounting points just behind the rear axle.... they look like hangers with holes drilled in the bottoms for the hinging basket or "bail." The basket hinges from that point to drop down for inserting and removing the tire/rim. Toward the bumper end, its hard to say where exactly as you may have the factory frame extension, you will find two "J" hooks. These are raised and lowered to secure the basket/tire. (They are made to engage the basket and pull it up or let it down.) Go chat up the counter man (talk very nice.... maybe bring coffee...) and show him your VIN #. The VIN# determines what size basket fits for the tire and frame sizes. Also, the rim. I think I spent around $250, including 100+ clams for the tire from Discount Tire, for the entire 'kit.' Took about 45 minutes to install myself. Tire mounted & balanced was put on at DT.

Routing the exhaust. I take it you have the ONAN 3.2 diesel? The one that exhausts straight out into the patio???? If you go to the ONAN website and scuff around in there you will find a catalog of OEM exhaust 'parts.' You might find what you need to do a direct conversion for making a rear exit pipe or to move it to the opposite side. Otherwise, its off to a good muffler shop to have one fabricated.

I'm not a fan of 'levelers' unless they are the LYNX 'lego' style blocks from WallyWorld. Lot less weight to schlep around. Mucho less complexity and stuff to go south in a pouring rain at night in Nowhereville. Toss out your legos. Drive on-Drive off.

Photos: '10 Ventura Class B: #1. Shows front mounts for basket. Generator. Crappy tail pipe mount. #2. Other side, shows front mounts and the gen exhaust carried to opposite side of RV. Hung low but not a problem. Installed a sausage resonator later on. #3. Basket & tire showing front and rear mounts. J hooks are fully pulled up. #4. Thor/Fourwinds jitbag exhaust pipe set up and crap hanger that broke. #5. Re-engineered hanger! and exhaust pipe carrying to just about the rear valence. Worked great!!!

Hope this helps...
 

Attachments

Dr Foot

New member
Thank you. I have 2 kids 10 and 12 and I am concerned about their safety of course. I am looking for information if anyone has modified the seating inn the Serenity up front or in the back with seat belts and head rests. I am also thinking of if it is possible to Add reclining Capt. chairs with seat bets. Do you know anyone ever doing this? We took it out last weekend and had a great time.
Thanks.
 

Dr Foot

New member
Thank you. I have 2 kids 10 and 12 and I am concerned about their safety of course. I am looking for information if anyone has modified the seating inn the Serenity up front or in the back with seat belts and head rests. I am also thinking of if it is possible to Add reclining Capt. chairs with seat bets. Do you know anyone ever doing this? We took it out last weekend and had a great time.
Thanks.
______
 

Dr Foot

New member
Thank you. I have 2 kids 10 and 12 and I am concerned about their safety of course. I am looking for information if anyone has modified the seating inn the Serenity up front or in the back with seat belts and head rests. I am also thinking of if it is possible to Add reclining Capt. chairs with seat bets. Do you know anyone ever doing this? We took it out last weekend and had a great time.
Thanks.
______
 

israndy

2007 LTV Serenity
You cannot legally add belts, but I did find some on the Internet. I asked one of those RV remodel places to install them, but apparently number of belts is something that is ok'd at vehicle construction time. I am still thinking about adding them but if someone dies using belts you added...

Not sure what LTV was thinking, only couples would drive their RV? No one would ever ride along? No kids? In my Serenity I can have 8 people seated and two more on the bed. Very unsafe, doesn't mean I haven't done it.

-Randy
 

aljimenez

'13 LTV Serenity on '12 3
Thank you. I have 2 kids 10 and 12 and I am concerned about their safety of course. I am looking for information if anyone has modified the seating inn the Serenity up front or in the back with seat belts and head rests. I am also thinking of if it is possible to Add reclining Capt. chairs with seat bets. Do you know anyone ever doing this? We took it out last weekend and had a great time.
Thanks.
Our '13 Serenity has two seatbelts behind the driver and passenger seats from the factory. I thought all of the '13 Serenity's would have them. We regularly carry two grands with us and they are belted.
 

suekurtz

New member
Not a Serenity owner. Quite common for RVs not to have a spare. Weight savings. Sometimes space is used for other 'stuff.' Might be possible to retro one in the OEM place using OEM parts. I did that on our '10 Class B Ventura. But I had room to 'spare' so to speak. Fifty odd pounds weigh loss in carrying capacity was worth the benefit, IMHO. You need to skinny under the van and look for the two hinge mounting points just behind the rear axle.... they look like hangers with holes drilled in the bottoms for the hinging basket or "bail." The basket hinges from that point to drop down for inserting and removing the tire/rim. Toward the bumper end, its hard to say where exactly as you may have the factory frame extension, you will find two "J" hooks. These are raised and lowered to secure the basket/tire. (They are made to engage the basket and pull it up or let it down.) Go chat up the counter man (talk very nice.... maybe bring coffee...) and show him your VIN #. The VIN# determines what size basket fits for the tire and frame sizes. Also, the rim. I think I spent around $250, including 100+ clams for the tire from Discount Tire, for the entire 'kit.' Took about 45 minutes to install myself. Tire mounted & balanced was put on at DT.

Routing the exhaust. I take it you have the ONAN 3.2 diesel? The one that exhausts straight out into the patio???? If you go to the ONAN website and scuff around in there you will find a catalog of OEM exhaust 'parts.' You might find what you need to do a direct conversion for making a rear exit pipe or to move it to the opposite side. Otherwise, its off to a good muffler shop to have one fabricated.

I'm not a fan of 'levelers' unless they are the LYNX 'lego' style blocks from WallyWorld. Lot less weight to schlep around. Mucho less complexity and stuff to go south in a pouring rain at night in Nowhereville. Toss out your legos. Drive on-Drive off.

Photos: '10 Ventura Class B: #1. Shows front mounts for basket. Generator. Crappy tail pipe mount. #2. Other side, shows front mounts and the gen exhaust carried to opposite side of RV. Hung low but not a problem. Installed a sausage resonator later on. #3. Basket & tire showing front and rear mounts. J hooks are fully pulled up. #4. Thor/Fourwinds jitbag exhaust pipe set up and crap hanger that broke. #5. Re-engineered hanger! and exhaust pipe carrying to just about the rear valence. Worked great!!!

Hope this helps...
The basket is terrific for carrying a spare tire/wheel. What store or web site has these for sale? Do you have a manufactures name and/or part number? So glad you posted the images. As “they” say, a picture is worth a 1000 words.
Thanks,
Sue
 

israndy

2007 LTV Serenity
The spare holder that you see in the pics from OldCrows is the spare tire holder. It comes from the factory that way. My Serenity still has it, behind the propane tank, but my understanding is they deleted them on the NCV3s. I am on the same road trip I did a year ago when I threw the tread on a tire. It were nice having AAA come and swap tires w/o having to buy tires from the truck guy. Turns out my tires were under recall from the manufacturer, so I had him put on the spare and drove to the local tire shop (about 70 miles to Tualatin, OR). I showed them the article about covering the cost of tires and they were happy to do it for us. We were there until LONG after they closed, but we were on our way that day, and no cost for the recall tires.

-Randy
 

hoosierrun

Active member
This is an old thread but I think my question applies. I watched the recent video about the new Serenity and it raised a question regarding the use of B20. In this vid by Dean he mentions that the engine takes B20 (about 10:25 into the clip):

https://leisurevans.com/serenity/vi...-59858097&mc_cid=8975022eab&mc_eid=29655fa2be

Is this something different than the current practice (use only in an emergency and try to get clean stuff soon)?

--Pat
You are right in your assumption. It will accept B20 without damaging the engine but continued use will potentially require more maintenance by requiring more frequent oil changes and more frequent fuel filter changes. I have heard that over use of B20 can result in oil levels rising and causing a high oil warning. Somehow there is a byproduct that gets in the crankcase. If you do a lot of travelling around the country, there really shouldn't be a problem since B20 seems to be most prevalent in the mid West US. If you are just using your Sprinter in areas where only B20 is available, consider changing the oil and filter twice as often as specified. I'm basing my opinions on my own reading and research.
 

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