Southwind by Fleetwood – sporting its new paint job
The fresh water tank is located under the bed, along with a large storage area. Access to this are is by lifting up the platform the bed mattress sits on. Fortunately, the platform is hinged, AND, it has gas springs on it to help lift it, then hold it up. Continue reading Bed platform gas springs
Over the past couple years, I’ve installed dash cams in every vehicle I own. I think its cheap insurance to be able to have photographic evidence in case of an accident. The dash cam I’ve come to like is one sold by Amazon.com, put out by “Black Box”. Its sold Continue reading Dash Cam
My Southwind didn’t have a CB radio in it when I bought it, but at some point in the past it did, as there was an antenna mounted on the passenger side.near the roof. I like having the CB. When we travel, its an excellent source of road information, especially Continue reading CB Radio Install
The Southwind came with one cigarette lighter plug that stays hot all the time. I added two additional plugs that I wired into the Power Mirror circuit. This circuit is live when the ignition is in ON or ACC. We’ll use these for things like a GPS or charging cell Continue reading 12 volt plugs
When I bought the Southwind, I noticed a couple problems with the awning. It appeared that the forward re-coil spring shaft was bent or maybe broke. We tied the awning up with cord during the trip home as I was afraid it could completely break off and unravel on the Continue reading Repairs on main awning
I replaced the original black and white Panasonic camera and monitor with a color camera and 7 inch color monitor. I also installed a 6 LED work-light on the rear cap that I use to illuminate the back end of the Southwind. Great for backing up in the dark, hooking Continue reading Rear camera replacement and rear LED work-light
Changing oil on the V10 is pretty much the same as any gas engine. One item that makes this job easier and less messy is to replace the drain plug with a Fumoto valve. Now I stick my drain pan on top of the front axle, open the valve, and Continue reading F53 – Ford V10 Oil Change, Grease Job, and Fumoto Valve
The original slide switch was a momentary key switch. This was inconvenient and just one more key that I didn’t need. I replaced the key switch with a standard DPDT Momentary slide-out switch. These can be gotten from Camping world, or any other electronic supply place. NOTE: a SPDT switch Continue reading Slide out control switch
Warm weather finally arrived, so its time to de-winterize the “New-to-Us” Southwind and check out the water systems. The previous owners had made some minor modifications to the water system, replaced the water pump and removed the “bypass valve”, which is used to fill the fresh water tank directly from Continue reading Gray tank water leak
I wasn’t sure about the maintenance history of my Onan, so I decided to look at everything, Oil and filter change, new air filter, new plugs, and check the brushes and slip ring. This is a model 5.5BGMFA26105H I ran the generator for 20 minutes to warm it up, then Continue reading Onan Marquis 5500 Generator Service