2014 Roadtrek CS Adventurous - after 4500 Miles

L

Lenfagan

New member
Wow that is a lot of issues. My 2014 CS Adventurous with 9,700 miles headaches include two replacement of the Sprinter Nox sensors, right front headlight high beam never worked and was replaced. I also had the issue with the SRS air bag warning which came on just before the Roadtrek recall.
Coach issues included broken galley faucet and the galley splash board fell down through the back and a new one had to be installed.
Awning is a bit difficult to fold up. No other issues.

Len
 
D

davidmbecker

Member
Lenfagan said:
Wow that is a lot of issues. My 2014 CS Adventurous with 9,700 miles headaches include two replacement of the Sprinter Nox sensors, right front headlight high beam never worked and was replaced. I also had the issue with the SRS air bag warning which came on just before the Roadtrek recall.
Coach issues included broken galley faucet and the galley splash board fell down through the back and a new one had to be installed.
Awning is a bit difficult to fold up. No other issues.

Len
Click to expand...
Oh, I did not get into the van issues. I have had the entire computer replaced. That was a warranty item at the tune of $4000. Separately, I have done some suspension upgrades (there is a separate post about that) and replaced the brake lines with stainless steel brake lines. I believe there was a recall in there somewhere.
 
L

Lenfagan

New member
Hopefully you have flushed out all the issues. I brought mine to the MB dealer at 6900 for an oil change (even though it was early) and to check out all systems, check out any recall notices. I also had them look at the suspension since it is very bumpy in the rear when driving. All checked out. I had seen your previous post regarding suspension and the MB dealer did look into going to the Sprinter store to get air bags to add. Unfortunately they could not fit them due to the clearances for the bracket so that never got done. The ride in the rear is the biggest issue for me since my wife would like to sit back there. I recently looked at the Airstream which now has a rear air bag option but a lot of $ to trade.
Off to Florida in a week.
Len
 
G

gte

2008 RS
Lenfagan said:
Hopefully you have flushed out all the issues. I brought mine to the MB dealer at 6900 for an oil change (even though it was early) and to check out all systems, check out any recall notices. I also had them look at the suspension since it is very bumpy in the rear when driving. All checked out. I had seen your previous post regarding suspension and the MB dealer did look into going to the Sprinter store to get air bags to add. Unfortunately they could not fit them due to the clearances for the bracket so that never got done. The ride in the rear is the biggest issue for me since my wife would like to sit back there. I recently looked at the Airstream which now has a rear air bag option but a lot of $ to trade.
Off to Florida in a week.
Len
Click to expand...
Len
I installed Koni adjustable shocks on the rear of my 2008 RS, and I think it helped the bumpy ride in the rear some. You might check other posts about this to see what others think. It was an easy install and not to pricey.
 
C

casdclassb144

New member
nice feedback, I started with 4 AGM batteries and went to 8 then back to two banks if 4, its almost impossible to keep 8 batteries charged if your using the power, I have 640 watts of solar- 20 - 32 amps peak output for about 2 - 5 hours on any given day depending on sun time of year.

After reading the( Handybobsolar )site below I want my batteries up to 15 volts float everyday giving me 13.1 -13.3 at dusk

https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/
 
H

hdevera

hdevera
Not much recent activity on this thread. I have a 2015 CS etrek and initially had battery imbalance issues which caused my CO monitor to beep because it was thinking there was low voltage in the battery banks. This was on my maiden trip. Dealer could not fix it. I eventually installed a battery equalizer to fix the problem (drawing 12v loads off a 24 bank system). Now RT is installing these same Equalizers in owners complaining of similar issues of the batteries not fully charging.

Another issue I had was that my Norcold refrigeration would not work properly off 12v but worked fine off the inverter. RT put out a video saying to remove a resistor which Norcold uses to keep shut off the compressor if it senses a low voltage. RT answer to this was to remove the resistor... instead of solving the real problem i.e. the cause of the low voltage. I did what RT recommended an removed the resistor but this did not solve my problem. Brought my RT to the dealer several times and they could not fix the problem. Eventually I figured out the voltage drop was due to the wiring being too small a gauge. I then rewired my fridge with 8 gauge wire hooded directly to the batteries (with an inline 15 amp fuse). Totally solved my problem. My guess is that others may be facing a similar issue... Unless RT has upped the gauge wiring in newer vehicles.
 
G

gregmchugh

Member
hdevera said:
Not much recent activity on this thread. I have a 2015 CS etrek and initially had battery imbalance issues which caused my CO monitor to beep because it was thinking there was low voltage in the battery banks. This was on my maiden trip. Dealer could not fix it. I eventually installed a battery equalizer to fix the problem (drawing 12v loads off a 24 bank system). Now RT is installing these same Equalizers in owners complaining of similar issues of the batteries not fully charging.

Another issue I had was that my Norcold refrigeration would not work properly off 12v but worked fine off the inverter. RT put out a video saying to remove a resistor which Norcold uses to keep shut off the compressor if it senses a low voltage. RT answer to this was to remove the resistor... instead of solving the real problem i.e. the cause of the low voltage. I did what RT recommended an removed the resistor but this did not solve my problem. Brought my RT to the dealer several times and they could not fix the problem. Eventually I figured out the voltage drop was due to the wiring being too small a gauge. I then rewired my fridge with 8 gauge wire hooded directly to the batteries (with an inline 15 amp fuse). Totally solved my problem. My guess is that others may be facing a similar issue... Unless RT has upped the gauge wiring in newer vehicles.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the insight on the fridge issue, I had always wondered what the real cause of the fridge low voltage shutdown was. It was pretty clear that the Roadtrek fix was a band aid that really did not address the actual cause of the problem. As you said, I hope they fixed the wiring on newer vans to address the real issue...
 
P

pwlldvd

New member
Ive been having same fridge issue on 2014 CS. after three trips to dealer gave up. Now I just run on AC all the time. Not the best solution.

How hard was it to rewire? Why not wire to the DC fuse box?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
P

pwlldvd

New member
So, I pulled the refrigerator out, intending to upgrade the wiring. I don't know what size is there, but I found some 12V wires running very hot. There was a pair of short (18") wires connecting the fridge to the 12v supply line that were hot. It turns out the connectors were not fully seated. I removed and reconnected them and it seems to run just like it should now.

I'm pretty sure the wires are all less than 8 gauge, but it works well enough for now. Maybe I'll replace in the future.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
G

gte

2008 RS
hdevera said:
GTE, I read your comment on the surround system not working well. If it has to do with excess bass and not being able to understand understand clearly what voices are saying, consider adding a sound equalizer. I added one to my 2015 CS etrek and it made a world of difference. Here is a link to the one I use https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MJ406Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Click to expand...
HDEVERA. Thanks for the information. I can understand the voices, but my complaint is that when using the TV and viewing from the front the over head speakers do not work. Sound only comes from them on certain DVDs. The speaker behind the TV works but the two over the bed do not except on some DVDs. There is a mass of wires coming from the back of the DVD player and a few times I have thought about documenting their placement and then removing all and starting over. No guts though. I would prefer to have sound from all speakers at all times which probably is like nails on a chalkboard to a surround sound purist.
 
G

gregmchugh

Member
gte said:
HDEVERA. Thanks for the information. I can understand the voices, but my complaint is that when using the TV and viewing from the front the over head speakers do not work. Sound only comes from them on certain DVDs. The speaker behind the TV works but the two over the bed do not except on some DVDs. There is a mass of wires coming from the back of the DVD player and a few times I have thought about documenting their placement and then removing all and starting over. No guts though. I would prefer to have sound from all speakers at all times which probably is like nails on a chalkboard to a surround sound purist.
Click to expand...
GTE, did you upgrade the DVD player or do you still have the original?

I replaced the original with a Philips home theatre system but did not wire in all the speakers, just used stereo for the front and rear and the subwoofer. I also added a speaker switch box to allow selecting front and rear speakers as needed. There is a document I got somewhere that documents the speaker wires by color to the speakers they are connected to but there was an error in it that I tracked down. You can see the setup on the connections to the original DVD player and note them before disconnecting the speakers. So, in my setup, the center and rear surround speakers are not used, but I am not bothered by that. I plug an iPod into the Philips to play music. At the time, the Philips was the only home theatre I could find that fit in the lower shelf of the cabinet. I have the speaker switch on the top shelf.
 
G

gte

2008 RS
gregmchugh said:
GTE, did you upgrade the DVD player or do you still have the original?

I replaced the original with a Philips home theatre system but did not wire in all the speakers, just used stereo for the front and rear and the subwoofer. I also added a speaker switch box to allow selecting front and rear speakers as needed. There is a document I got somewhere that documents the speaker wires by color to the speakers they are connected to but there was an error in it that I tracked down. You can see the setup on the connections to the original DVD player and note them before disconnecting the speakers. So, in my setup, the center and rear surround speakers are not used, but I am not bothered by that. I plug an iPod into the Philips to play music. At the time, the Philips was the only home theatre I could find that fit in the lower shelf of the cabinet. I have the speaker switch on the top shelf.
Click to expand...
GREG
No I still have the original. Which Phillips model did you install?

You said you used the stereo for the front and rear and the subwoofer. Which one is the subwoofer? Then later you said you do not use the center and rear speakers. Not certain I follow.
 
G

gregmchugh

Member
Not positive but I think this is the one but I think there are other models with the same size main box but check to make sure it is narrow enough to fit in the cabinet. I did not use the Philips speakers, I wired it into the existing speakers.

http://www.usa.philips.com/c-p/HTS3541_F7/5.1-home-theater

The subwoofer is in the storage space under the rear driver side bench seat. I used two speakers in front and two speakers in the rear as stereo speakers. I did not use the other speakers. In the Philips setup I configured stereo output instead of 5.1 surround sound, the subwoofer is wired in and active in either mode. I then put a speaker switch box between the stereo speaker outputs from the Philips and the speaker wires to allow selection of front/rear/both speakers. We typically only watch the TV in the rear so we turn off the front speakers except when playing music from the iPod through the Philips. I decided that center and rear speakers using the 5.1 configuration were not needed for us and we do fine using just stereo.
 
Last edited:
G

gte

2008 RS
gosman said:
Thanks for ironing out all these issues. When all are fixed by RT, it will be time for me to buy!
Click to expand...
Don't hold your breath as RT adds new technology every year it seems. I wish they did not include the surround sound system and would have preferred a good surge protector or small pressure tank( both of which I have installed). A good older model unit might be a good investment unless you are looking for the new technology specifically
 
D

dknightd

New member
I am seriously considering an RT agile 4x4 etrek. Will probably be looking at 2017 model since I've been told they will have high idle option on chassis (which seems almost like a requirement if using second alternator as a generator). I hope they have figured out the bugs (using a 24v system with 12v draws seems like a bad plan, but could be made to work), but it seems unlikely. That is OK, there will always be bugs. And there will always be defective equipment and design flaws in something this complicated. Thanks for this thread - it was a useful read.
 
G

gregmchugh

Member
dknightd said:
I am seriously considering an RT agile 4x4 etrek. Will probably be looking at 2017 model since I've been told they will have high idle option on chassis (which seems almost like a requirement if using second alternator as a generator). I hope they have figured out the bugs (using a 24v system with 12v draws seems like a bad plan, but could be made to work), but it seems unlikely. That is OK, there will always be bugs. And there will always be defective equipment and design flaws in something this complicated. Thanks for this thread - it was a useful read.
Click to expand...
I don't expect you will be seeing any major problems these days. There is no 24v battery option on the Agile so that is not a worry. The ecotreks and voltstart seem to be pretty troublefree on recent deliveries. Which battery option are you considering?

Are you going propane free with the diesel Alde and induction cooktop?

If you are not already a member, consider joining the Roadtrek & Hymer Owners Group on Facebook to connect with a lot of current owners, you are free to join anytime.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top Bottom