Fact or Myth

DEBUNKING MORE FALSE CLAIMS. 

            We stated in an earlier newsletter about hearing salesmen from our competitors telling outrageous stories to customers to “scare them” away from Parliament and others and “into” their product.  We realize that for many, these claims are easily seen for what they are…junk.  Our customers and family are, as a whole, a much more informed group of buyers.  Nevertheless, there are those who “buy into” these statements.  We felt the situation warranted a more analytical approach to these accusations.  

COMMON STATEMENTS: 

1)      “If you put (electric) awnings on the roof, the vehicle will not track right.  You could have a crash and die.” 

2)      “Stainless steel water tanks are better because if sunlight hits the water, as it can with plastic tanks, bacteria will grow and you could die.” 

3)      “The large true-sinewave inverters from Trace are dangerous.  They could malfunction and cause a fire, resulting in death.” 

For the first item, about the awnings, we must ask ourselves, “What could make the vehicle not track correctly?”  The two possible causes would be the increased height raising the center of gravity of the coach, and a possible wind resistance issue.

            There is little weight difference in the Girard electric awnings and an old-fashioned Zipdee patio awning or slideout awning.  The net effect of putting the Girard awnings on the roof raises the respective force of weight less than a foot above that of the awnings mounted on the side of the coach.  The fact is that Prevost conversions have a very low center of gravity because the majority of converters place most of the mass in the underbody compartments (i.e. water tanks, generator with radiator and blower, inverters, batteries, electric cords/reels, heating system, and major electrical system components like lighting panels), as well as the immense mass of the engine, transmission, drive train, axles, and the suspension. 

Wind resistance could only be a “tracking” issue if there is an unequal drag applied to the coach, causing a perpendicular force to act on the coach while it is moving along a straight-line vector down the road.  The converters who use Girard or Zipdee all-electric awnings on the roof also use some manner of cowling to effectively eliminate the wind resistance and drag forces that could be caused by the awnings.  Additionally, if the awnings are installed in a symmetrical way on each side of the coach, as most converters do, the effect of any net drag is uniformly distributed side to side and is felt not just on one side.  Therefore, there is really no difference in mounting the awnings on the roof than on the side of the coach.  There would actually be more bilateral force applied by the asymmetrical installation of non-cowled awnings of different sizes along the side of a coach than with our symmetrical cowled installation on the roof of a coach.  The truth is that there is little effect on the coach handling with either method of installation or awnings used.

For the second item, about stainless steel tanks being safer, we must ask ourselves, “Does sunlight cause bacteria to grow?”  The answer is no.  Bacteria, whose spores must be present in the first place, are temperature-dependent, not light-dependent.  Actually, the UVB radiation in sunlight is used to kill bacteria in ultraviolet filter systems. 

Over the years, it used to be a common misconception that stainless steel did not rust, that the tank water would be cleaner, and more healthful, and that they were more durable.  Time has shown each of these to be false.  Stainless will rust if the mixture is not a uniform blend of its component materials.  This is apparent at joints and welds, where external heat stress from welding alters the composition.  Just looking at the water pump strainer will show you some of what is present in the tank.  Of course those trapped in the strainer are only the larger chunks of rust.  We have also observed an unacceptable number of tanks eventually split at the welds over time, due to the rusting that occurs there.  A polypropylene water tank is actually cleaner and very resistant to algae growth, which is the only “growth” in a water system that is effected by sunlight.

For the third item, about the Trace SW-series inverters being unsafe, we must ask ourselves if history proves this true or false.  These inverters have been installed on Prevost conversion coaches since their release with “motorhome-friendly” software back in the early 1990’s.  They have been around since the mid 1980’s in the home-based alternative energy applications, when windmills and solar panel use proliferated.  They are UL and CSA certified for their installation as safe and efficient.  If installed with proper engineering protections (i.e. appropriately sized breakers and fuses where mandated), they are extremely safe and reliable.  We have never heard of a properly installed inverter ever causing a fire.  We have also observed an incredible record of reliability, providing they were installed according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.  There have been some converters who installed them with external transfer switching or circuit breaker type that was in violation of Trace’s recommendations, and those accounted for the majority of the observed failures, none of which resulted in fire or life-threatening circumstances.   

            It just so happens that the three untrue allegations we have discussed in this article are three items we pride ourselves on for their reliable and convenience benefits to our customers.  They include: 

1)      The most convenient visually appealing electric awnings on the market, which do not cause vehicle handling problems.

2)      The most reliable and safe water tanks that can be used, which do not “grow” bacteria when sunlight hits them.

3)      The most efficient and reliable inverter and transfer switch system currently available on the market, which are installed per the manufacturer’s specifications and per UL and CSA standards, to provide safe and convenient coach equipment operation for years to come. 

RETURN TO ARTICLE INDEX