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It's been 20 years and 155,000 miles trouble free with the 2003 Freightliner Columbia with a Mercedes MBE4000. It's throwing a code, but I don't have a reader to check it out. Does anyone have a source for a code reader for this engine? It only happens at start up and maybe lasts 15 or 20...

How about this? LIE. If it's an 05, tell them it's a 15. They don't know the difference. Tell them it's a Class A. Most people don't know what to classify a truck conversion. If you show up with a nice looking rig they aren't going to turn you away. If it looks like a piece of crap, well...

I can't get those numbers either. I experimented the last time that I had the rig out. I finally got 10 mpg, but that's without the generator and keeping it in an rpm range just slightly above 12th gear kicks in. I don't recall the rpm's, but I was doing a little under 65 on flat ground and a...

Thanks to all of you for this information. I'll get a set of centramatics before I replace the tires and will also replace shocks and then take it from there. I'll see what happens.

Does anyone have first hand experience with Centramatic wheel balancers? I've read some independent tests and they seem to be a good product, but I'd like to hear from anyone who has actually used them. Also, can anyone recommend a quality shock absorber for a Freightliner Columbia? I have to...

I will call Centramatic in the morning, but I would like to know why you're saying that these balancers won't work with aluminum wheels. Are you only refering to Alcoa wheels or any aluminum wheels? I have their flyer and have looked on their website and I don't see anywhere that these won't...

I know the cheap way to do it. I could roll on a rubber roof also, but the idea is to do this the correct way that it should have been done by Showhauler in the first place. The roof needs a crown in it to facilitate water run off. I'm sick and tired of a flood of water dumping off the roof...

Has anybody found a supplier for sheet aluminum? I need to find a distributor who can supply a single sheet of .025-.032 aluminum that's 45 feet long continuous. Please don't suggest all-rite because as far as I'm concerned, they're thieves. The price they charge the average Joe is $31.10 a...

Find another way to adhere the skins. The tape does not work over the long run. For that matter, the tape doesn't even last a year. Your skins will be popping here, there and everywhere. Doesn't anybody question what happens when the skins expand and contract with temperature changes? When...

I'm glad to see that this forum is open again because at least it provides us with an opportunity to let others know about our experiences with this end of the RV industry. I have an 03 Showhauler garage coach that was built on a new Columbia chassis and I've got several posts on here in regard...

The subject is the question I'm asking. I've had a Show Hauler garage conversion for 4 years and 70,000 miles and I can fill a book with my experiences. I'm just wondering if others here have had their rigs for a number of years, what they have and if they would do it again with the same...

Yeah, just wait until the tape lets go and your aluminum skins start popping off. Then you can listen to the manufacturers give you excuses as to why it happened. The truck conversion manufacturers are using you as an expensive experiment. Good luck. Been there, done it and have been paying...

They will always fix your problems and will make you feel like you're the only customer that they've ever had. I never had a problem with service. My complaint is that a lot of these things shouldn't happen in the first place and you need to take the rig back to the factory in many cases...

Matt, I'd be interested to know if you followed my advice and if you did, were you able to get invoices for the warranty work that was performed? As far as the popped panels go, they probably opened the seam and squirted in some polyureathane sealer/glue. Right? Guess what? It will...

You asked a question about tiling the floor in your motorhome. I did the bathroom area in mine almost 3 years and 60,000 miles ago and haven't had a problem because I did it myself and obviously did it correctly. I never had a tile pop nor did I have any problems with the grout. The...

I see that this is an old post, but I'll answer it anyway. My garage coach is registered and insured in the state of Florida. I didn't have a huge problem, but it was a little confusing at motor vehicles. As far as insurance goes, my first year went very smoothly. I think that the company...

The back end dragging is one of the arguments that I had with the folks at Showhauler. They told me that NOBODY complains about it. No matter how careful a driver you are, there are situations in everyday driving where you drive down a steep driveway followed by a high crowned street. I do my...

Good luck on that one. My Showhauler smelled of formaldehyde for over a year. I'm very sensitive to the chemical because I worked for a short time mixing embalming fluid at a morturary supplies warehouse when I was a kid. The odor is strong in the beginning and it used to burn my eyes...

I have an 03 Showhauler and I had a shitload of problems with it. I'm out of warranty at this point and some of the problems are still occuring. Just as a for instance, the aluminum skins pop open at various locations and need to be reglued. I'm also continuing to fight an aluminum corrosion...

I flush my tanks AND water hoses with chlorine at least once a year. I also only use the hoses that are made for fresh water (white ones) and use a charcoal filter as well as a water softener. You need to filter the water for chlorine and sediment and to also use a softener so that your metal...

Ok, now I'll throw a monkey wrench in the works. I've had the Mercedes engine/12 speed Freedom tranny for over 2 years now and the chassis and engine/tranny is the only thing that I HAVEN'T had problems with and I love that combo. Well, I did have a crack in the fuel tank that came from the...

Opps, sorry I didn't finish the last reply before it posted, so I'll do it now. Yes, let's get together when you snowbird back into town. I'll give you the grand tour of my rig. Until then, I'm going to keep making trips to Showhauler and have them fix and fix and fix until my brain shorts...

Thanks for the info and the offer.

If it's possible for you to title in another state, go that route for less problems. When I went to register my Showhauler, they gave me a hard time and the only thing that saved me was that they are listed as an RV in NADA. Unfortunately, you don't have that situation. If you haven't...

Here's another, don't do this. Occasionally, the manufacturer will authorize you to have a warranty repair done by a shop of your choosing to save you the inconvenience of driving hundreds or in my case over 1000 miles away to have the factory take care of the problem. So, you take the truck...