Xplorer Fans?

[D&J Phillips]

Originally Posted by an av8r

I was lucky enough to get a photocopy of the owner's manual when we got our '01 230XLW several years ago. I posted the two pertinent sheets regarding the rear wheel spacers in a new album I just created called 'Our '01 230XLW Xplorer'

Thank you for posting the pages on the rear wheel adaptors. Does your manual have anything about the front hubs? As mentioned earlier, the front hubs on mine use stock Dodge wheels but the rears are the extreme offset dually wheels so I am forced into two different wheels and can only carry one spare. I am guessing that an earlier PO had removed the 'dually front hubs' and reverted to the stock Dodge front hubs for some reason.....Or, did Xplorer just use different wheels in the front? Without a spare?

Thanks, Dave

[an av8r]

Originally Posted by D&J Phillips

Thank you for posting the pages on the rear wheel adaptors. Does your manual have anything about the front hubs? As mentioned earlier, the front hubs on mine use stock Dodge wheels but the rears are the extreme offset dually wheels so I am forced into two different wheels and can only carry one spare. I am guessing that an earlier PO had removed the 'dually front hubs' and reverted to the stock Dodge front hubs for some reason.....Or, did Xplorer just use different wheels in the front? Without a spare?

Thanks, Dave

Nothing specific in the manual about the fronts, just the adapters for the rear duals. The front wheels just look like reversed versions of the outer rear wheels.

I'm still trying to get the full owner's manual posted here but it's been a bit of a challenge. The PDF file is 27mb, too long for the 12mb maximum for an upload to this site. Member "Avanti" gave me a lead for a PDF compression utility but it only reduced the file by 7%, from 27mb to 25mb. I'll try converting it to ODT or DOCX format and then breaking into smaller pieces from there. Failing that, I may just rescan the entire manual in smaller sections.

[D&J Phillips]

Originally Posted by an av8r

Nothing specific in the manual about the fronts, just the adapters for the rear duals. The front wheels just look like reversed versions of the outer rear wheels.

I'm still trying to get the full owner's manual posted here but it's been a bit of a challenge. The PDF file is 27mb, too long for the 12mb maximum for an upload to this site. Member "Avanti" gave me a lead for a PDF compression utility but it only reduced the file by 7%, from 27mb to 25mb. I'll try converting it to ODT or DOCX format and then breaking into smaller pieces from there. Failing that, I may just rescan the entire manual in smaller sections.

I'm not surprised there is little info. I have the complete manual for my 1999 and it has absolutely no mention of the dually set-up except for recommending tire pressures for dually rears.

On mine the front hubs take a stock Dodge van wheel and not the reversed version of the rear wheels so I can't use a rear on the front (the bolting surface would have to be a lot further outward to use the dually wheels) - I think mine has been altered from the way Xplorer delivered it because I've seen pictures of them with the extreme offset type wheels in the front.

Thanks,
Dave

[nicaland]

The dually setup on the 230xlw's was manufactured by Arrowcraft products and they are still in business today. Nice folks; Carol has worked there for years and knows their products forwards and backwards and can help with any questions you might have. They used for the XLW's the same wheel as provided for '85 to '98 ford one ton two wheel drive duallies, and the same is sold by Accuride. It's their number 29577, or X-45333. They have a 4.88" center bore and a 5" offset.

[nicaland]

Hey Dave (D&J Phillips),
My '98 xlw has what I believe to be the original 5200 BTU Fedders window unit. It's still working well, but I have been considering an upgrade, and LG's LW8016ER is one of the units I have been looking at. Just need a bit more cooling in the hot summer months. My questions to you are what unit you did you have before replacement, and were you able to use the existing exhaust baffle? I originally thought that it would be a simple swap that might require some interior panel modification, but got to looking at the exhaust side and just said uh-oh, this is not going to be easy! It's a beautifully thought out design from the standpoint of airflow efficiency, typical of Xplorer's design philosophy, but really difficult looking to replace. It appears that the baffle is attached to the body and the AC frame with screws and tons of silicone, and if the new AC is not EXACTLY the same size I might need to fab a new baffle setup.

[an av8r]

Originally Posted by an av8r

Nothing specific in the manual about the fronts, just the adapters for the rear duals. The front wheels just look like reversed versions of the outer rear wheels.

I'm still trying to get the full owner's manual posted here but it's been a bit of a challenge. The PDF file is 27mb, too long for the 12mb maximum for an upload to this site. Member "Avanti" gave me a lead for a PDF compression utility but it only reduced the file by 7%, from 27mb to 25mb. I'll try converting it to ODT or DOCX format and then breaking into smaller pieces from there. Failing that, I may just rescan the entire manual in smaller sections.

Please ignore my post yesterday on the front wheels. I WAS WRONG! I went out this morning and took off a front wheel cover and found the fronts NOT to be the deep dish wheels found on the rear, but rather the 'normal' flat steel wheel you'd find on a stock van. So is the spare. I guess we have to hope a flat will be limited to front only. Maybe the prevailing wisdom is that losing a tire on the rear still leaves you one to run on until you can safely pull over but I doubt you would want to drive a significant distance on a flat rear.

I recently read that as of 2017 28% of new cars sold don't have a spare. Best carry a few cans of leak plugging goop and a compressor and hope for the best!

[D&J Phillips]

Originally Posted by nicaland

Hey Dave (D&J Phillips),
My '98 xlw has what I believe to be the original 5200 BTU Fedders window unit. It's still working well, but I have been considering an upgrade, and LG's LW8016ER is one of the units I have been looking at. Just need a bit more cooling in the hot summer months. My questions to you are what unit you did you have before replacement, and were you able to use the existing exhaust baffle? I originally thought that it would be a simple swap that might require some interior panel modification, but got to looking at the exhaust side and just said uh-oh, this is not going to be easy! It's a beautifully thought out design from the standpoint of airflow efficiency, typical of Xplorer's design philosophy, but really difficult looking to replace. It appears that the baffle is attached to the body and the AC frame with screws and tons of silicone, and if the new AC is not EXACTLY the same size I might need to fab a new baffle setup.

Hi, The AC I removed was a Fedders - my Xplorer manual has a operators manual for a Fedders window unit and hand-written in it is: Model number: AZQ10F2BG-G, Serial number GJ526651 1997. Not sure, since I tossed the old unit, but I think this is what was in there before I replaced it with the LG unit. As to the rear baffles - I don't remember a lot of details except that baffles were mostly just 'glued' in place with copious silicone. I think I re-used the baffles in there as far as I remember but I am a life-long fabricator and am pretty much used to just doing whatever I see as needed. It is an ingenious baffle system and without it I'm sure it would overheat and not cool the RV very well. I do know I tried hard to keep the shape and location of the baffles the same but I don't remember any difficulty with them.

Not that it will matter to you but I found one of the difficulties was getting the new unit to sit visually level in the opening and found that the fiberglass layup for that portion of the rear roof area/floor of AC cubby is not very symmetrical/level so I spent some time struggling to shim it to not look lopsided in place (totally cosmetic issue). Otherwise the only other issue was the weight and getting it into place through the rear opening. Once it was in and level (sort of) it wasn't too difficult to set the baffles (at least I don't remember fighting them).

At the time I was a member of a Yahoo Xplorer forum that is non-existent now but there were several Xplorer owners saying this LG unit was the only affordable one that would fit.

If you need pictures of the installation, let me know & I can post some.

And, thanks for the info on the dually conversion. I think I will contact them to see what is would take to make all wheels the same and actually carry a spare that will work anywhere.

[nicaland]

Well that is encouraging; I currently have the exact same Fedders that you replaced. I would imagine that the extra capacity of the LG (8000 BTU vs. the Fedder's 5200 BTU) made a significant difference, and I figure that the 700 Watts that it is rated at using, although a bit more than the 535 Watts that the Fedders consumes will still be handled by my Onan 2.8KW genny. I now wish I had bought one a year ago when I was considering doing so; they are still available but cost 20% more!

As far as not having a spare for the rears goes, you could always buy or fab a spare holder that fits into the receiver hitch. I plan do just that, and in fact will have it made to carry my new folding electric bike (60 lbs.) on one side and a spare on the other to counterbalance. I now carry a 240 lb. Honda XL 125 on a modified motorcycle carrier, but depending on the nature of the trip I can swap it for the electric bike plus spare and save about 140 lbs. or so cantilevering off the hitch (which is handled with no problem..)

[D&J Phillips]

Originally Posted by an av8r

I was lucky enough to get a photocopy of the owner's manual when we got our '01 230XLW several years ago. I posted the two pertinent sheets regarding the rear wheel spacers in a new album I just created called 'Our '01 230XLW Xplorer'

I looked through the 2001 Xplorer manual you posted in the other thread and noticed the recommended tire pressure is 70psi front and rear (all 6 tires same).

The interesting thing to me is that my 1999 Xplorer manual says 55psi front & rear (all 6 tires same).

See attached pages - why do you suppose they changed from 55 to 70? 1999 vs 2001 is just two years...same dually conversion, same tire sizes, same basic weight, same brand & model van - why the change?

Something for Xplorer owners to ponder.....

[nicaland]

I think that the key word in Xplorer's manuals regarding tire pressures is "recommended" and that it really depends on the owners preferences, depending on their perceived ride performance, tire type, road conditions, loaded vehicle weight, etc.

My '98's door frame sticker recommends 70psi front and 55psi rear, but I have found that with my Toyo's, 70psi is a bit too harsh for the fronts (I run them at 60), and 55psi is not enough for the rears because they are a bit too soft, causing not enough resistance to cross winds (I run mine at 65, producing more resistance to crosswinds, better handling while cornering, and limited harshness over bumps.

[Chuck62]

Hello Folks,

We now own a 1999 Xplorer 230XLW for over a month now. I have noticed 3 small water leaks/drips when it rains while the vehicle is parked. Here they are:

1. Passenger (right rear) side bed area (closest to window) would sometimes be a little wet/damp. It doesn't always happen though.

2. Area behind driver's seat close to where the microwave sits. I think that maybe the port windows are leaking.

3. First step area around the double side door. I will try to add more door seals to these 2 doors.

Do you all have any issues like this and could share what you might have done to resolve these water leaks?


Thanks for reading!


Chuck

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by Chuck62

Hello Folks,

We now own a 1999 Xplorer 230XLW for over a month now. I have noticed 3 small water leaks/drips when it rains while the vehicle is parked. Here they are:

1. Passenger (right rear) side bed area (closest to window) would sometimes be a little wet/damp. It doesn't always happen though.

2. Area behind driver's seat close to where the microwave sits. I think that maybe the port windows are leaking.

3. First step area around the double side door. I will try to add more door seals to these 2 doors.

Do you all have any issues like this and could share what you might have done to resolve these water leaks?


Thanks for reading!


Chuck

I only have a suggestion for your #3. If the door seals look good, you might just try adjusting the strike plate so the door closes a bit tighter. You might find all your doors could use this tweek. You can always add more weather-stipping later if that doesn't work.

[Cindy phelps]

Can anyone tell me where to find the drain plug for my fresh water?

[rowiebowie]

Originally Posted by Cindy phelps

Can anyone tell me where to find the drain plug for my fresh water?

Welcome to the forum Cindy!

Just a guess, you could get underneath and look for a plug in the bottom of the fresh water tank. But I'd wait for another xplorer owner to respond for the following reasons:

- It's difficult and dirty to go under the tank.

- If you did find such a plug (and that's only a maybe) the plastic of the tank could be brittle due to age and exposure, so something could break. Which would be a very bad thing.

Good luck.

[nicaland]

I don't know what model you own but most Xplorers had their water tanks sitting on the floor level of the rv and usually behind the rear axle. Look under whatever furniture you have, and when you find the watertank it will probably have a plastic tube coming out of the bottom of it attached to a small plastic valve. From the valve, a piece of plastic or rubber tubing goes down through the floorpan. If you open the valve and no water is coming out from under the rv then you will need to crawl under, looking for a small diameter plastic/rubber tube sticking out from the floor bottom to clean out crap (bugs, dirt, etc.) with a coat-hanger or similar tool. Good Luck!

[D&J Phillips]

Originally Posted by Cindy phelps

Can anyone tell me where to find the drain plug for my fresh water?

I don't know if this will help. Mine is a 1999 230 xlwt and I don't how much like yours it is - it may be model and year specific.

Ours is a twin bed model and the water tank is under the driver's side bed. Access to the tank drain is by lifting the foot of the drivers side bed. There is a petcock valve on the lower front side of the tank that I can turn and water drains out under the van via a downward tube from the valve.

Hopefully yours may be similar?

Dave

[Joe]

I have a 1995 Xplorer 230. The fresh water drain valve. On mine is located near the tank under the rear bed. A hose is attached to bottom of tank with a valve on it.

[rowiebowie]

Cindy, it seems like you have your answer from people who know. Look for a drain valve under the fresh water tank. It will probably take just a quarter-turn to open and close the valve. You want to be careful not to break anything.

On my van (which is 1/3 the age of yours) I've already had to replace a couple of the low-point drain valves. After opening them to drain, I couldn't get them to completly turn off again. Maybe small debris inside? Anyway, they are not the hardest thing to replace. I just cut them off with a pex cutting tool and pushed on a new "shark bite" valve. Quick and easy.

Good luck.

[nicaland]

The valve will be adjacent to the tank, sitting on the floor that the tank shares, not under it.

[Cindy phelps]

Ours is under the dinette seat behind driver.