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Dear Customer,
Thank you for renting with McLellan RV. We are dedicated
to exceeding your expectations by providing quality products and services.
As part of your motor home renting experience we suggest you read this
book before your departure. It is our hope that the training you receive
will help you make this rental experience a vacation that you can enjoy
to the fullest. This book is intended to help refresh those items that
have been communicated to you through the check out process and the training
you received by the McLellan RV representative. It will also serve as
a guide to you should you encounter any problems while on the road or
camping. So please refer to it often and talk over the concepts with each
other as you travel. By doing so will help you become more familiar with
your motor home and be more prepared to handle things that may come your
way.
Before Departure:
1. Remember no pets are allowed in the RV. Also, all of
our motor homes are NON-SMOKING. Thanks.
2. Standing or sitting on the roof is not permitted, nor is storage
of any luggage, lawn chairs, bicycles, etc. The roof is unsafe to be
on and is off limits.
3. No matter how hard we try, it is difficult to predict mechanical
failures. It is always a good idea to keep our contact information close
at hand should you have any difficulties at all. Our office number is
877-534-1992 or we can be reached via cell at 949-690-6580 (Nicky) or
949-690-6607 (Simon). Please report all accidents immediately and let
us know of any damage to the motor home within 24 hours of occurrence.
4. Do a check around the motor home prior to departure to assure all
storage doors are locked, power cord/sewer hose/water hose are stored
properly, the entry step is up, all interior vents are closed, and the
TV antenna is down.
5. Make sure to give a tour of the RV to any children that may be vacationing
with you. Show them safety items such as the emergency exit, LP/Carbon
Monoxide/Smoke detectors, and seat belts. Be sure to warn them that
the emergency exit window will come open if the latches are pulled.
6. While loading the motor home with your belongings, always make sure
you are balancing the weight throughout the RV. Also, be mindful to
not overload the motor home as too much weight can cause tire failure.
7. While loading the refrigerator, be mindful that in order for the
food to stay cold there must be air circulating inside the fridge. Overloading
the refrigerator will block air movement and reduce the effectiveness
of its ability to keep your food cold. Also, do not load heavy items
on the door of the refrigerator as the latch may come loose while turning
a corner.
8. Learn the dimensions of your motor home. Vertical clearance on our
motor homes is 11.5 feet (4 meters). Be extra careful when you enter
service stations, motels, campgrounds, and under bridges that you are
not going to be running in to things. The most common damage is done
by low hanging branches. Watch out!!
While Driving Your RV
1. Keep an eye on your gauges and watch for overheating.
Remember to check the fluids each time you stop for gas.
2. Turn off the overdrive to help give you more power while climbing
hills and to hold you back when traveling down a steep grade. This is
preferable to riding the brake as brakes heat up and lose their effectiveness
if used too much. If you feel the brakes getting "soft" then
pullover as soon as safely possible and let them cool down before continuing
your trip.
3. Remember to keep everyone buckled up. It may be tempting to get up
and walk around the motor home but it's unsafe to do so and illegal.
4. Your RV is much heavier than your car at home so remember to keep
a safe distance between you and other vehicles. The stopping distance
of your RV is 4 to 6 times longer than your normal braking distance
so keep that in mind when spacing yourself from the vehicle in front
of you. Also, by staying back from traffic you minimize the chance of
damage to your windshield.
5. When backing up the motor home always have a spotter behind you to
help avoid potential collisions. If you are alone, get out of the coach
and walk the area before backing up to survey for any potential problems.
Take it SLOW.
6. Avoid running over any road debris. The RV's tires will often flip
up road debris in to the undercarriage, exhaust pipe, and storage doors
of the RV and cause damage.
7. If you feel a constant swaying of the motor home, stop the RV and
check the tires for under inflation. Driving a long distance on under-inflated
tires will cause a blowout which could lead to additional damage.
8. When filling up the RV, use regular unleaded gasoline. The minimum
required octane for the RV to perform properly is 87.
9. Remember, the windshield and tires are your responsibility so treat
them with care.
At your Campsite
RV Water System
1. You can locate the water pump on/off switch at the
control panel. It is ok to leave the water pump on at all times while
camped as there is very little to no battery drain on the coach to keep
it on. If you are plugging in to a water source at your campsite you
will want to turn the water pump off as it will be no longer needed.
If the water pump is not functioning then check the fuses located in
the vehicle's electrical panel in the side of the bed in the back bedroom.
2. To fill the fresh water tank, locate the white fill hose that will
be in one of the driver side storage bins. Locate the potable water
fill door on the outside of the RV. Unscrew the round cap and insert
the hose to begin filling. When the tank is full of water it will begin
coming back up and out of the small vent line located just underneath
the round cap.
3. On other models, it may be necessary to connect the filling end of
the hose to a fitting located on the side of the RV. Remember to always
use the water pressure regulator, provided with the white hose, to avoid
damaging the coach's delicate water system. Attach the water pressure
regulator to the water valve itself and run the hose from it to the
coach. When full, water will begin spilling out from underneath the
coach. .
4. If hooking up to water at a campsite, locate the same white hose
located in one of the rear storage bins. Again, always remember to hook
up the water pressure regulator provided with the hose on to the water
valve and run the hose to the city water connection on the coach. By
using the water hookup at the campground you will no longer need the
water pump on, so be sure to turn it off.
RV Electrical Power System
1. Batteries - Batteries are what powers the 12 volt systems
in the RV. They power the interior lights, water pump, spark for the
furnace and power to the furnace fan, refrigerator, LP gas detector,
monitor panel, slide outs, electric step, generator starter, and the
Emergency Start button. It is extremely important, albeit difficult,
to keep these batteries ''peaked off' and healthy. It is therefore important
for you to conserve your battery power by using lights only when needed
and take care to make sure they are turned off when leaving the RV.
It's a common mistake to leave an exterior or storage compartment light
on overnight and thus draining your battery completely.
2. In cold conditions this is even more important as batteries won't
function as efficiently in cold climates. You can lose over half of
the battery reserve power just due to the temperature.
3. It will take several hours for the batteries to recharge, but to
do so the most efficient method is to start the main engine. The generator
will also charge the batteries but is less efficient than starting the
engine.
4. Generator - The generator is to be used whenever power hookups are
not available and you need 11OV to run your power hungry appliances
such as the microwave, coach air conditioning unit, TV/DVD, or anything
you plug in to a power outlet. It can be started either from the control
panel or from the Start/Stop toggle switch on the generator itself.
Make sure the power plug in the rear compartment is plugged into the
generator outlet.
5. Ensure all appliances are switched off before starting the generator.
The generator will start but no power will be supplied if the AC is
left in the on position when starting the generator.
6. You will find a breaker on the generator that must be flipped to
the "ON" position in order for power to reach the coach. This
can be found on the generator itself typically to the side of the Start/Stop
switch or on the side of the generator.
7. Generators are oil sensitive. Should you have too much or too little
oil the generator will shut itself off. Put only 20/40 motor oil in
the generator.
8. The generator runs off of the gas from your main gas tank. There
is a safety feature that will cause the generator to shut off and not
function if your main gas tank falls below 1/4 tank. Trying to start
the generator with less than a 1/4 tank can cause damage.
9. If the generator will not turn over you have let your coach battery
run too low. Start the main engine, which will kick power to the back
battery, and then start the generator. This will get the generator running
but you still need to address your battery issue. See the batteries
section for tips.
10. Shore Power - If you are at a campsite with hookups then simply
run your RV power cord from the coach to the power box. At the box you
will find breakers which must be flipped to the "ON" position
in order for power to reach the motor home. Hooking up to this outside
power source will allow you to keep the batteries peaked off while having
use of your accessories such as the microwave, TV/DVD, power outlets,
and air conditioner. Be mindful to not overload the system by running
the microwave and AC at the same time, doing so may trip the breakers.
11. Safety/Breakers - You will find breakers located on your generator,
the power box, and also inside the coach. The breakers inside the coach
can be found behind a brown panel that is typically located in the master
bedroom on the side of the bed.
RV Sewer/Holding Tanks
1. It is always a good idea to leave some standing water
in the toilet bowl to help control unwanted odors from coming up from
the holding tanks.
2. When flushing the toilet, run plenty of water down the line to make
sure that all material passes down in to the holding tank. It's not
uncommon for a ball of toilet paper to become lodged in the pipe, thus
causing an unpleasant backup.
3. Use only RV/Marine dissolvable toilet paper. Do not flush sanitary
napkins, paper towels, diapers, garbage, sample shampoo containers,
beverage cans, or anything else that doesn't belong in the holding tanks.
These will plug the lines and be costly to retrieve.
4. To dump the holding tanks, locate the sewer hose. It is usually located
in the rear or side compartment near the dump valves.
5. Carefully remove the sewer outlet cap and attach one end of the hose
to the outlet on the motor home and twist, interlocking the hose clamp.
Attach the other end of the hose to the RV Park's system or dump site.
6. Locate and pull the large (black tank) valve first. Wait for that
tank to completely empty and then pull the small valve (grey tank).
On some units there is a third tank for the shower located on the opposite
side of the dump outlet, check for a dump handle on the opposite side.
After all contents have emptied, shut the valves, disconnect the hose.
7. Most campsites/dump stations will have access to a hose. Use this
hose to rinse out the dump hose, thus making your cleanup job easier
and much more sanitary. Clean off any spillage that may have occurred
near the valves.
8. Replace the sewer outlet cap and return the dump hose to its appropriate
storage space.
9. Locate the chemical pouches underneath the bathroom sink or in a
bathroom cupboard Empty the contents in to the toilet while running
approximately ~ to 1 gallon of water in to the black tank. This will
aid in the effectiveness of the chemicals.
10. It is not uncommon for the monitor panel to read that the tanks
are not completely empty, even after dumping. Sensors get dirty and
often misread the levels of the tanks. Sensors not going down may also
be indicative of having a clogged sewer line. You'll want to make sure
that you do not have this problem.
General Accessories/Appliances
RV Air Conditioning
1. The air conditioning unit located on the roof of your
motor home operates on 110 power. This means that you must either be
plugged in to shore power or have the generator running in order for
it to operate.
2. Make sure that the AlC switch is in the off position before starting
the generator. Let the generator run 2 minutes before starting roof
AlC and turn off the roof AlC 2 minutes before turning off the generator.
3. If the AlC fails to work, make sure the shore power cord is plugged
in correctly and that the breakers on the power source are in the "ON"
position.
4. Never run the microwave while the AlC is running as you will trip
breakers and risk damage to the coaches electrical system.
RV Dual Power Refrigerator
1. Your motor home refrigerator can operate on either
110 power or by LP Gas/Battery. Leaving the refrigerator in the AUTO
mode will switch the refrigerator from 110 power to Gas depending on
which is available (recommended). The refrigerator works by the freezer
coils (located in the freezer box) freezing and the cold air circulating
down in to the refrigerator section. It is much less efficient than
your home refrigerator and requires you to make sure there is adequate
air circulation in order to keep your food cold. Also, the coach must
be close to level in order for the refrigerator to operate.
2. The refrigerators are outfitted with a "Check" light or
a "Failure"
i. Notice: If either of these is lit, simply turn off the refrigerator,
wait 10 seconds, and restart. This will restart the pilot light. If
the "Check" or "Fail" light persists, make sure
that you have the refrigerator set to the proper power source (110 or
LP) and check your connections.
3. The key to keeping your food cold is air circulation. Overloading
the refrigerator will cause no air to circulate and for your food to
warm up.
4. Always load the refrigerator with food that has been pre-chilled/frozen.
5. Do not overload the refrigerator door. Having a lot of heavy objects
on the door could cause the latch to fail and for the door to swing
open while traveling.
6. When the outside temperature is exceeds 90 degrees F, the refrigerator
has a much harder time cooling. When conditions like this exist, maximize
your refrigerators cooling capacity by making sure there is plenty of
space for which air can circulate. Also, avoid opening the door as much
as possible. All the cool air that leaves the refrigerator while the
door is open is being replaced by warm air.
7. In the event of refrigerator failure, use dry ice to cool manually.
RV LP Furnace
1. Your furnace is operated by the LP gas system and your
12V coach battery. It is important that you keep your batteries peaked
off before going to bed if you intend on running the furnace throughout
the night. Also, the furnace is by far the biggest consumer of your
LP gas so remember to keep an eye on the level of fuel as not to run
out. Remember, that running the motor home engine is the most efficient
way to charge your coach batteries.
2. The thermostat is typically located about eye level either in the
hallway or the back bedroom. Just like at home, simply select "Heat"
and adjust to your desired temperature.
3. If your batteries are in good condition (you can always check by
turning on a cabin light) and you are still not getting heat, double
check your propane level and make sure your propane valve is turned
on (at tank). If your propane is on then make sure the propane detector,
at floor level, is turned on. This is indicated by a green light on
the detector face.
4. Always turn the furnace off while traveling.
RV LP Water Heater
1. The water heater runs off of your LP gas and requires
battery power to ignite and maintain the pilot light. To operate your
water heater, locate the switch either on the monitor panel or on the
edge of the kitchen counter.
2. When turning on the water heater, a "Pilot Out" light will
also come on.
3. Within 10-20 seconds you will hear the pilot light fire and this
light will go out. If the light reappears then the water heater was
unable to find LP gas. Check your LP connections and turn off the water
heater and turn it back on. This will recycle the pilot light and try
again.
4. WARNING - Water temperature can exceed 120 degrees F. Be careful.
If when turning on the water heater no "Pilot Out" light comes
on then run the hot water to see if it's already on.
5. A typical water heater in an RV holds on 6.2 gallons of hot water
with a recovery time of approximately 20-30 minutes. Conserve the hot
water to make sure everyone gets to enjoy.
RV TV Antenna
1. The TV antenna crank handle is typically located on
the ceiling in the living room area. Make sure your TV is receiving
an antenna feed before beginning.
2. Ensure the signal amplifier is switched on by the small black pushbutton
switch located in the TV cabinet by the antenna outlet and indicated
by a green light.
3. Turn antenna handle in direction indicated to raise the antenna.
4. With the antenna in the raised position, pull down on the large round
disk to rotate the antenna for better reception.
5. To lower the antenna, return disk to original position (marked by
the arrow), and crank in opposite direction until antenna touches the
roof.
6. The gears are plastic and easily break. Treat carefully as not to
damage.
7. Always make sure the antenna is down before traveling in the RV.
When Returning Your Motor Home
1. Most damage occurs on a motor home when renters are
returning the coach. It's at this time that the renter often gets lackadaisical
about safety measures such as watching for swing-out and employing a
helpers services when backing up.
2. Remember to dump your holding tanks before leaving your last camping
spot.
3. You can also refer to the list of dump stations located in this booklet
if your campsite does not have a dump facility. Most truck stops and
campgrounds have this facility and may not be included on our list.
You are welcome to return the motor home with the holding tanks full.
Our disposal charge is $50.
4. Please "TOP OFF" the gas tank when returning the motor
home. If the gas needle is on F but not topped off we will refill the
coach at the renters expense. The current gas fill charge is cost per
gallon + $20 service charge. Save some money and bring it back "Topped
Off'.
5. Make sure you empty the coach of all your personal belongings. We
are not responsible for any items that are either left in the coach
or lost by the renter.
6. The motor home must be returned clean inside and out unless cleaning
has been prepaid. We do reserve the right to charge additional cleaning
fees for, and not limited to, the following: gross negligence or misuse
of the RV, damage to the interior of the RV such as stains in upholstery
or rips to curtains/seats/couch/carpet, fumigation from pet hair and
dander, fumigation from smoking, and extra cleaning caused by travel
to a restricted area.
7. The RV may be returned after business hours if prearranged. If parking
on the street, be careful of the curb and trees as not to damage to
the RV.
Leaving your campsite Quick Reference guide
1. If you have hookups, go ahead and dump your tanks before
leaving. Remember, black tank first, then followed by the gray. Use
a hose to wash up the sewer area and leave it clean and sanitary for
the next camper. Go inside and empty a new packet of chemicals in to
your tank.
2. Make sure all of your connections are disconnected. Store the water
hose, sewer hose, cable TV, phone, and power connectors in to their
appropriate holding bins.
3. Pack up the RV and get your stuff organized for travel. Remember
to balance out the weight of your RV by filling the storage bins on
each side accordingly.
4. Test your RV's storage doors. Make sure they are shut tightly and
locked.
5. Make sure the awning is put away and locked.
6. Go inside and make sure all of the drawers and cupboards are shut
tightly and secure.
7. Bring the slides in.
8. Bring your TV antenna down to its resting position and make sure
all roof vents are closed.
9. Make sure all beds are put away and window coverings secured.
10. Get out and walk around the RV. Check underneath the coach for anything
that may have been left there. Look for any potential obstacles while
backing or pulling out.
11. Do one final check of your appliances. Make sure stove, oven, and
water heater are all off. Double check your refrigerator that the door
is not overloaded and that it is latched correctly.
12. Make sure all seatbelts are accessible. The same laws apply in the
RV that do in your car so please buckle up.
13. Campsites are sometimes tight fits so have someone out of the motor
home help you pull away. Review the driving tips and you are on your
way.
RV Safety Measures
The following information is provided to ensure you are
aware of basic requirements for the safe operation of recreational vehicles.
Adhere to these guidelines to help assure an accident free vacation.
1. ALWAYS utilize the factory installed SEAT BELT RESTRAINTS
while vehicle is in motion. The same seat belt laws that are enforced
for both cars and RV's.
2. Beds, overhead bunks, sofa, dinette or chairs NOT equipped with seat
belts or factory restraint systems are not safe to occupy while vehicle
is in motion.
3. Shut off FURNACE, WATER HEATER, REFRIGERATOR, STOVE as well as any
other open flame appliances while refueling gasoline or propane.
4. Secure any LOOSE OBJECTS prior to movement of vehicle.
5. ALWAYS use a lookout when BACKING UP THE RV. There are still blind
spots and its easy to misjudge distances and the roofline.
6. Be aware of the TOTAL HEIGHT OF YOUR RV, including roof mounted accessories,
and always verify clearance of any low object before attempting to pass
through.
7. Be sure to have all door and STORAGE DOOR LOCKS LOCKED while vehicle
is in motion.
8. EXHAUST PORTS for furnace and water heater are extremelv hot when
in use. Contact with these ports will cause a burn injury.
9. EMERGENCY WINDOW exits are not to be opened except for emergency.
Danger of falling from vehicle exists with emergency exit open. Observe
and warn all children of this danger.
10. SHOWERS and TOILETS are not for utilization while coach is in motion.
11. ROOF TOPS and REAR LADDERS are dangerous and are off limits to renters.
Roofs are slippery and have no safety rails so please stay off.
12. NEVER attempt to change vehicle TIRES. ALWAYS contact an approved
tire facility.
13. AWNING operation can cause finger and hand injury. KNOW the operation
of your awning before attempting use. ALWAYS pull the awning up during
rain or wind to avoid collapse.
Failure to follow the above safety information may result in injury or
death. Read all manufacturer information and safety tips. Follow all local,
state and nation speed laws. Plan your route and know your vehicle limitations.
Discontinue use of the vehicle in high wind conditions.
IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS OR QUESTIONS PLEASE CALL US AT
1-877-534-1992
Thank you and we hope you have a vacation to remember
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