Drew Callahan · April 28, 2026
Airstream doesn’t include a footnote in the owner’s manual about what happens when you inherit a used Interstate 19X with a shot lead-acid battery bank and a solar setup that’s been slowly starving itself for two years. You won’t find it in the dealer literature either. What you get instead is a rig that holds … Read more
Drew Callahan · April 28, 2026
It was a Tuesday morning somewhere outside Moab, and I was standing next to the Revel’s battery box when I heard it—that high-pitched whine from the converter, the kind of sound that makes your stomach drop because you know it means something’s pulling too hard and working way too hot. I cracked open the compartment … Read more
Drew Callahan · April 27, 2026
Most RV owners think a diesel heater either works or doesn’t — that it’s binary, like flipping a light switch. They assume if heat isn’t flowing, the whole system is shot and needs a dealer visit. That assumption costs money and time. The truth is messier and more useful: your Thor Tranquility’s heating failure is … Read more
Drew Callahan · April 27, 2026
I had my Solis sitting in the service bay one afternoon, pulling the mattress platform to access the combustion chamber, when I realized how many owners never dig into this one—and how many times it bites them when the weather turns. The diesel heater on a Winnebago Solis is a genuine asset for shoulder-season travel, … Read more
Drew Callahan · April 26, 2026
Skip this repair and your Airstream Interstate 19X becomes a rolling ice box the moment temperatures drop — and you won’t realize how urgent it is until you’re already parked for the night with no backup heat. The diesel heater’s glow plug and fuel pump fail quietly at first: a hesitant spark, a faint clicking … Read more
Drew Callahan · April 26, 2026
I’ve got a glow plug sitting on my bench right now—pulled it from a 2022 Revel 44E last month—and you can see exactly where the problem lives: the ceramic tip is cracked, the electrical contact is corroded to a dull bronze, and the threads show the ghost marks of a fuel-fouled chamber. It’s physical proof … Read more
Drew Callahan · April 26, 2026
“Drew, my Unity’s diesel heater won’t fire up anymore. I hear the pump trying, but there’s no ignition—just dead silence after a few seconds. Am I looking at a glow plug, or could it be something else?” That was Marcus, texting from somewhere in Oregon, and it’s the exact scenario that separates a warm night … Read more
Drew Callahan · April 25, 2026
I’ve got my hands on a rolled-up awning frame right now, and I can feel exactly where the last owner gave up. The fabric’s split down the seam, UV has turned what was once white into a chalky tan, and when I tug on it, whole sections of vinyl just crumble. This is the moment … Read more
Drew Callahan · April 25, 2026
I watched a shop bill rack up to $1,240 last month for a slide-out motor swap on a fifth wheel, and $340 of that was just the part—the rest went to labor and diagnostics. But what really stuck with me was this: the owner had already replaced that motor twice in four years, and neither … Read more
Drew Callahan · April 24, 2026
I’ve got the engine compartment of a 2019 Newmar Dutch Star open on a cold November morning, and I’m staring at what should be a straightforward fuel filter swap that turned into a three-hour diagnostic because the Onan Quiet Diesel generator wouldn’t turn over cleanly — battery terminals are clean, fuel lines are pressurized, but … Read more
