Starting coach in gear

[Brian Long]

I have my coach on ramps in the front and the air supply has been depleted. Unfortunately I think the transmission is in gear and with no air I cannot shift it into neutral so it will not turn over. I am aware of the start controls in the right rear panel but am concerned about starting it in gear. Is there a way to air the system up with an external compressor or can the transmission be manually shifted into neutral? Anyone have experience starting the coach in gear?

[chockwald]

I'm not sure about '87 Newells, but my '82 has a quick connect in the right rear engine bay that, if necessary, I could connect an external air compressor to and air up the system. I know Steve Ward (prarieschooner) had to air up his system to start his coach. Hopefully he, or Wally will chime in here to confirm that.

[encantotom]

hi,

clarke is spot on. everyone of our vintage i have seen has an air chuck port either in the engine compartment or where the 110v compressor is or both like mine.

i have an air hose that i carry that has a male fitting on both ends so i can plug into it and into a compressor if i need to.

it is all one big air system, so you can air it up just fine that way.

tom

[fulltiming]

Airing up the system is the best idea. However, the rear start switch bypasses the neutral lockout on the transmission and will allow you to start the coach in gear. This is something you want to avoid, especially on a ramp. The only thing holding the coach from moving forward is the spring brake on the drive axle. At an idle is 'should' hold the coach BUT if it is out of adjustment you could be looking at some serious damage and potential injuries. Even running at low idle, it will take a while for the air system to come back up to 60 psi where things will start working again however, at about 60 psi the spring brake will release and you could be in worse trouble.

It will take a while but air up the system with an external air compressor. Don't try to do it with a 12 volt pump. You need a decent 120 volt air compressor to avoid spending the day adding air. The fittings in the engine compartment (passenger side) is a standard quick connect fitting that you can get at automotive stores or home improvement stores or hardware stores.

The answer to the question about shifting the coach into neutral is 'yes' you can but again there is danger so be sure the coach is well supported so it can't drop on you. Just because the air tanks are empty doesn't mean that there isn't still air in the suspension system that could deplete and drop the coach on you. If you have either a manual shifter (like Tom) or an air shifter (like mine) you can release the coupling to the shifter on the side of the transmission (again passenger side) and manually move the shifter into neutral. Depending on the way the shift mechanism is mounted you have to either pull the mechanism all the way out or all the way in to get reverse, then move it one gear to get it back into neutral. Not really for the faint of heart.

[Wally Arntzen]

Yours is the same as my 88. If you go under the coach and look at right side of the transmission there is a small piston that is part of the air switch that shifts it in and out of the different shift modes. You can manually move it from one mode to the other with no problem. Have somewone watch the shift locater at your shift handle and they will know when you get into the mode that you want. I worked on mine with my mechanic friend when he rebuilt the air switch and he showed me how to do it. For anyone else with this setup it is also good to spray some lubricant on thes piston once in a while especially in hot dry climates or in the north when driving on salty roads in the winter. Mine stuck once in Arizona and I called my friend and knew just what it was and told me crawl under and spray with a lubricant and it did the job. Let us know if this solves your problem.

[Brian Long]

I really appreciate the responses to my post. I will be working on the coach this week and will advise the outcome.