Blog-05/11/07 SILVERLEAF ELECTRONICS In case you have never heard of Silverleaf Electronics in the RV world, they do all the dash panels for Country Coach and on many different Foretravel s. They also do after-market products for many other brands of motorhomes. One thing I recently found is that they do all the electronics for the PowerTech Genset s found in just about every Foretravel. I love my PowerTech Genset as it is considerably quieter than any Onan I ve ever owned. I ll try not to repeat myself about all the things I had done at Silverleaf Electronics in Albany OR this past week. My new inverter had to be put on backorder, as there were no 3,000-watt RS units in stock anywhere. However, the new software and a new motherboard in my VMS400 are out of this world. For the moment, I ve got the ONLY Foretravel with the latest and greatest software going. One really good thing about passing thru Albany as often as I do, is that the design engineers are right there and LISTEN to their customer s requests. One thing that I ve always wondered about is why I couldn t have an indicator right on the screen that tells me that I have CRUISE CONTROL turned on as well as SET. In the Foretravel (2002 U320 at least) there is nothing on the dash that tells you that it is on or even set. So that feature has been added to VMS400 (sorry folks with your VMSpc you ll never get that feature). Another nice feature is that I get the MODE light on the screen as well as transmission readout s both what gear you are REALLY in as well as the gear that the buttons are set for. I used to get the latter on a separate screen, but now everything is all on ONE screen and very easy to read too. This is one big advantage to having the 6.4-inch screen. Now I even have outside temperature and altitude shown on the main Drive screen while driving down the road. Silverleaf installed my Echo Charger for me and now I have a screen on their monitor that shows the House battery voltage. When the new inverter is installed, that screen will also show the Chassis battery voltage on the same screen. This is a feature that I requested and the management at Silverleaf agreed it was such a good idea, that all Phenix s will have the same feature added. When I turn on the Silverleaf, this is the first screen I see: These screens have a blinding light which is simply the flash on the camera reflecting back at the camera lens. Today, I just didn t want to take the time to fix this anomaly.
I tried to cover the flash with my finger and I guess it s so bright it shows the blood in my finger. I had the engine off when I took this photo, so several of the features are not illuminated. The N N is the readout from the transmission. The M in the circle is the MODE switch. When it is on, the M is solid. Where the Outside Temp is, is a scrolling screen that one can set as many features as they want and the speed at which the scroller functions. The three items below are user set meaning that you can select up to three items that will be read/displayed constantly. The box in upper right corner gives you error messages or warnings or all s well messages in different colors.
Below is the backup monitor and current time. When the engine is running, things on this screen change dramatically. To the left of the red arrow up at top of screen is where you will see a green circle with the letter C which when turned on from the Smart Wheel, the Cruise Control indicates that it is either on or set. Where the backup monitor is (rear view mirror) can be changed to show the tank conditions such as LP tank level, Fresh, Grey, Black water tank levels along with house battery voltage and direction front of coach is facing and outside temperature. Either one of these screens can go to Full screen with the touch of a button. Where the time is showing, if one has the Weather Station module (extra cost) you can have the Altimeter showing as well as outside temperature. Of course if you have the Weather Station then you also get extra things like humidity, barometer and heat index. Now if only I could have wind speed and storm tracker, I d have it made. There s a lot of other features that I have that I won t bore you with, but anyone with the VMSpc $400 software package even thinks they have everything that the $4,000 VMS-400 or $2,000 VMS-240 has, they need to think twice! Now I ve included photos of most of the employees & owner at Silverleaf, cause I m sure you are like me when you talk to someone, on the phone or via e-mail, it s nice to have a visualization of who that person really is.
That first photo is of owner Martin Perlot. He has a long history with RV s and first got his start with Safari, when his Dad owned the company. (That s long before Monaco got their hands on the product). I won t say anymore. Those that have been following my posts for several years know my love affair with Monaco. Next is Martin s right hand man, Dale Kemper Service Manager and head tech. Dale came on board shortly after I bought my VMS400 and has been a great guy to work with. I sure had more than my share of problems when I had the product in my Winnie and Dale kept the band-aids in place and in spite of those Iowa farmers, managed to keep them outsmarted with their (Silverleaf) quality product. Next is the fellow that I first had contact with, when I heard about the Silverleaf from a good friend. At first I thought he WAS Silverleaf. No matter when I called he was the GO TO guy. He still is, but as the company grew and more employees were added, you now have to ASK for him. Here is Mark!
Of course no business can survive without a receptionist/bookkeeper so here is the infamous LORI. The one you send e-mails too and answers the phone (most of the time).
Here s the engineer who does the software upgrades etc. Immediately behind Corey you can see a small portion of their newest version of the product that put Silverleaf on the map in the first place GLASS DASH. With that product, you can put any gauge anywhere on the screen you want and it is all digital. It also sells for $12,000 (down from $20K just a few years ago). I can t forget the two tech s that do all the manual labor who really know the electronics end of things. When someone brings out more than two wires I get lost in a hurry. Tim on the left Nick on the right
Here s Tim wiring up the Echo Charger on the chassis batteries. Of course he didn t know I took this photo, but while it looks like he is just sitting down on the job he really was working his tail off. Here s another screen on the VMS400 custom designed for me that will eventually have the chassis battery voltage (in a couple months).
Again, sorry for the red splotch in the upper left corner. Now I know I just can t help myself sometimes and I guess you re all thinking I ve really gone off the deep end with my new love in my life. Well you re right! He is like no other kitty I ve ever known and no matter what I try to do, he just keeps showing me new tricks of his trade. Every time I turn around, there are new poses or things he is showing me, that require my undivided attention. I guess being parked someplace without TV isn t so bad when I have such a wonderful new activity to keep my mind and soul occupied. There s something to be said for paying serious money for a great kitty. Here is a little something to end this posting with. Here s GYPSY waiting for Silverleaf to get finished so we can hit the road and head for Thousand Trails in Pacific City, OR, where he can watch the little black bunnies and countless birds. Of course all the people walking by and seeing him laying on the dash looking out the window and all the beautiful flowers in full bloom, keeps him busy during the sunny days.