Carbon Monoxide Alarm and flimsy Timbrens

[Tim DP]

Hi Everybody - pix of my Fleet remodel as soon as the curtains are finished, but for now I need some help.
On my first family field use of my early 1980s hydroflame furnace this weekend, my wife and I noticed itchy eyes then the battery operated carbon monoxide alarm went off. We shut down the stock furnace, aired out and hooked up the Olympian Wave 3 that I use as a spare.
I have used the Hydroflame before with no problems, why the alarm now?
I wonder if there's an easy way to diagnose and fix CO problems short of pulling it out and dropping it off at the RV shop?

On another topic - I was in a hurry to get from Klondike Bluffs near Arches in to Moab for breakfast with friends when I hit some bumps a bit too fast. Noticing a rear sag in town, I looked underneath. I had come down crooked on both Timbrens, and the beehive-looking top part bolted to the frame was squished sideways. The installer warned me they were "squirrely," but I had no idea they would be this squirrely.
A quick jack-up from the courteous attendant at Highpoint in Moab helped straighten them out. Timbren users beware - slow is the key, I guess...

 

[davidshourd]

I had a set of Timbrens on last year when I went to Moab with my Eagle in the bed. they took a beating going over Elephants hill in Canyonlands Natl Park, and came out looking just as they did when I put them on. that is strange you have had issues with them, they should be near bullet proof. can you take a picture of your install so we can see what is going on?

 

[craig333]

Have you checked the exhaust for obstructions? Bees and wasps love to build nests in there and can get quite large.

 

[pods8]

How did the rear leafs sway to the side far enough to knock airbags out of alignment?

 

[keith]

Did you check the bolts on your brackets? I had them on my 97 F250 for years. They were run pretty hard. A 3200 lb camper and 10 years of fairly hard off roading and never a problem. Except for a too stiff ride when the camper was off.

 

[EdoHart]

Hi Everybody - pix of my Fleet remodel as soon as the curtains are finished, but for now I need some help.
On my first family field use of my early 1980s hydroflame furnace this weekend, my wife and I noticed itchy eyes then the battery operated carbon monoxide alarm went off. We shut down the stock furnace, aired out and hooked up the Olympian Wave 3 that I use as a spare.
I have used the Hydroflame before with no problems, why the alarm now?
I wonder if there's an easy way to diagnose and fix CO problems short of pulling it out and dropping it off at the RV shop?

I never heard of CO poisoning causing itchy eyes. I suspect you have some other problem that happened to trip the CO alarm. My best guess is that there is something blocking the combustion exhaust vent of your furnace. To expand on Graig's idea, decaying bees or wasps would release H2S, which can cause itchy eyes. At low concentrations (<20 PPM) H2S smells like rotten eggs. Above 20 PPM one quickly looses the sense of smell. If there is a blockage in the combustion exhaust pipe, that could in turn force the combustion gasses back into the camper, so that you have have CO, H2S, H20, etc. in your living space, thus tripping the CO alarm and causing your itchy eyes.

On another topic - I was in a hurry to get from Klondike Bluffs near Arches in to Moab for breakfast with friends when I hit some bumps a bit too fast. Noticing a rear sag in town, I looked underneath. I had come down crooked on both Timbrens, and the beehive-looking top part bolted to the frame was squished sideways. The installer warned me they were "squirrely," but I had no idea they would be this squirrely.
A quick jack-up from the courteous attendant at Highpoint in Moab helped straighten them out. Timbren users beware - slow is the key, I guess...


The Timbren leaf springs should be just about bomb proof. The "beehive-looking top part" sounds like some kind of mounting system for the Timbrens. Maybe it's just the mounting system the installer used, and hopefully you can find a better mount. Or I may have misunderstood completely - it's happened before.

 

[Tim DP]

Thanks everybody.
The install definitely seems wonky - see photos.
The "beehive looking part" is the Aeon rubber spring.
When we had it jacked up in Moab, the Aeon rubber spring would rattle around a bit, but the nut was tight. Rattling doesn't seem right...

On the furnace - no nests or visible obstructions in the exhaust pipe, but I went ahead and cut a piece of screen - can't imagine why they don't do that at the factory... I guess it's headed for the shop

 

[pods8]

Are those the normal photos? If so those definately aren't aligned properly in general. The spring should be straight in the vertical plane and just squish down as load is applied.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Thanks everybody.
The install definitely seems wonky - see photos.
The "beehive looking part" is the Aeon rubber spring.
When we had it jacked up in Moab, the Aeon rubber spring would rattle around a bit, but the nut was tight. Rattling doesn't seem right...

On the furnace - no nests or visible obstructions in the exhaust pipe, but I went ahead and cut a piece of screen - can't imagine why they don't do that at the factory... I guess it's headed for the shop



just a thought,the bottom clamp seems to be in board to much on both sides .the air bag seems to be cocked.have you thought about supper springs? the screen on the heater exhaust sounds like a good idea.frank

 

[Phird05]

Thanks everybody.
The install definitely seems wonky - see photos.
The "beehive looking part" is the Aeon rubber spring.
When we had it jacked up in Moab, the Aeon rubber spring would rattle around a bit, but the nut was tight. Rattling doesn't seem right...

On the furnace - no nests or visible obstructions in the exhaust pipe, but I went ahead and cut a piece of screen - can't imagine why they don't do that at the factory... I guess it's headed for the shop


I'm not sure this would matter but comparing the schematic to your truck, the mounting brackets are reverse of the drawing. The mounting bracket and bolts on your truck are located close to the leaf spring. On the drawing it shows they should be mounted on the far side of the bracket opposite of the leaf spring side. I don't know if my explanation makes sense, or if it matters, but I definitely see a difference in how they are mounted in the drawing vs. on your truck.

Good luck.

 

[davidshourd]

On my truck the round metal piece that the actual rubber spring bolts to are clamped using the leaf springs to the top of the leaf spring. then there is a "bump stop" plate built into the frame that makes contact. probably a little different for every vehicle. but they never seem to get crushed to the side. I wonder if you need heaver duty leaf springs as well though. Maybe the timbrens are just taking to much of the weight all the time? Even under full load mine would be about 1/2" to 1" away from contact. only make contact during bumps.

 

[muttmaster]

Interesting and frustrating. Post about Carbon Monoxide and suspension problems...NOT related at all. One can kill you pronto and the other can give you rough ride. Lets stick with one issue at a time. Just my 2cent.