The wait is over! If you have been waiting for a VMSpc with a USB port, or a VMSpc that supports even the newest Allison transmissions, your time has come. The JR501 JIB is now shipping.

The new VMSpc eliminates the old-fashioned serial port and replaces it with a USB connection. It's tested with XP and Vista, and will also work with the upcoming Windows 7. There is no longer any need for a USB adapter, and you don't need to worry about which you start up first, the engine or the program.

It also supports the latest J1939 transmissions and engines, including the current Allison World Transmission. Their are new parameters available with some of the new engines, and additional diagnostic capabilities. The new VMSpc handles all the new stuff.

And it still supports the old stuff, too. We didn't sacrifice any functionality from the old JIB, so the new JIB works with the old engines just fine.

Improved Product - Same Price

Even though we've improved the product, we're not changing the price. VMSpc remains just $395.00, and the PC software is still a free download.

Trade-In Program Available

If you already own VMSpc and are looking to upgrade, we have a trade-in program for you. Send in your existing VMSpc JIB and we'll ship you a new kit for just $229.00.

We're taking the old JIBs that come in, testing and updating them, and selling them again. If you don't need the USB port and have a pre-2007 rig, you can get the VMSpc "classic" for just $229.00. These units carry a full one-year warranty and are factory-tested. Supplies are limited by how many people take us up on the trade-in offer.

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for your coach? We have just the thing. This holiday season we've taken our VMS 120, added a PressurePro kit, and slashed the price to less than the VMS 120 alone! In fact, we've never offered any VMS monitor for this low price before.

The $499.00 kit includes the VMS 120 LC, PressurePro receiver, 35' antenna, and wiring harness. Sensors are $50.00 each. It's everything you need for full-featured engine and tire monitoring.

Base Kit - $499.00
Six-Wheel Kit - $799.00
Eight-Wheel Kit - $899.00.

Please specify six or nine-pin diagnostic connection when ordering.

VMSpc users can wire their computers to work in parallel with the VMS 120. With this combination you don't need to start up your computer to check your tires and engine, but you still have all the power of VMSpc when you want it.

What's new in VMSpc 2.4?

- Easier gauge creation.
- Integrated Parameter Editor
- Create gauge parameters automatically in PID sniffer.
- PressurePro support. (Requires receiver.)
- Message Box feature. Create color-code text messages like "High Coolant Temp".

VMSpc 2.4 is ready for GA. This is the biggest upgrade we've had in years. We've made gauge creation and parameter definition easier than ever, and added the "Message Box" feature. The Message Box is something like a text equivalent to the Audible Alarms. You define alarms based on any parameter, and create a Message Box to display those alarms. You can define items like "Check Engine", "Hot Coolant", or "Cruise Set", and they will display as color-coded text items when appropriate.

PID Sniffing and Parameter Editing is now much easier. You can run the PID Sniffer and immediately define gauge parameters for almost any new PID you discover your engine supports. The Parameter Editor is not built in - you don't need to run a separate program to set your yellow and red lines, or change units on your gauges.

Perhaps the most exciting new feature is the PressurePro support. We now have a receiver package that ties your PressurePro sensors directly to VMSpc. You can use VMSpc in conjunction with or as a replacement for the standard PressurePro monitor. Setup is easy and flexible.

What's new in VMSpc 2.4b2?

Loose your COM Port??
One-Click Button to start the Device Manager in Win 2000, Win XP and Win Vista.

You can download VMSpc 2.4b2 (GA) from the VMSpc Downloads Page.

The most popular tire monitoring sensor system in the RV industry is now compatible with SilverLeaf VMS monitors, including VMSpc. PressurePro sensors install directly on the valve stem, making it easy to install. The receiver can be mounted anywhere in the RV, and requires hooking up just four wires.

If you already have PressurePro sensors, all you need is the Receiver ($260.00), power cable ($20.00), and antenna. Two antenna choices are available. Smaller coaches with centrally located receivers can use the 7" antenna ($15.00). Larger coaches usually require the 35' cabled antenna ($50.00), which allows more flexibility in the location. The system can work side-by-side with the PressurePro display, if desired.

If you do not already have PressurePro sensors, they are available from SilverLeaf Electronics for $50.00 apiece. Some coaches may require a Signal Repeater ($94.00, incl. cable), especially for long trailers and tows.

More information on the PressurePro sensors is available at www.advantagepressurepro.com.

You may also need to update your VMS software to use PressurePro. Call us for details. For VMSpc users, version 2.4 is required, and is available for free download on this web site.

This company was founded by RVers, and we design all our products with RVs in the forefront of our thinking. Sometimes we forget that other folks might be interested in getting a little better fuel economy.

This was pointed out to me rather forcefully this morning when we got a call from a trucker who ordered a VMS. He will be far from the first professional driver to use our products. Kenworth and Peterbilt have been using our products for years as both a driver tool and a data analyzer in their in-house test fleets. Allison has a batch of VMS units as well. But most gratifying to me are the professional truckers that have discovered our products.

One fellow stands out in particular. He is a route driver, running basically the same 300 mile loop every day in North Carolina. That makes him the perfect test to see if all this stuff we say is true - whether you really can save fuel and get better performance with a VMS. You might think that an experienced professional wouldn't need an electronic device - it should already be instinctive.

He says it took him less than a week to discover otherwise. By watching carefully and experimenting - and even taking notes so he could compare his results on the same hills each day - he was able to adjust his driving with amazing results. He went from getting 5.0 mpg to 5.5 mpg - a 10% increase. At current prices that's almost a twenty dollar bill extra he gets to put in his pocket every day.

So if you are a trucker - Welcome to SilverLeaf! We're glad you found us.

For years we've been working with Kenworth and Peterbilt, instrumenting trucks that they use for testing fuel economy and evaluating engines. We started six years ago by customizing some VMS 320s to record and analyze data for their "real-world" simulations. They still use those units, and we've also added VMS 240s to their fleet. They have also moved on to more kinds of tests, including highly precise test track work along with over-the-road tests of thousands of miles. All of which rely on our VMS technology.

They have published some of their conclusions from years of testing in a white paper available on their web site. There is a lot of good information in here - including a few things you will likely find surprising.

One thing you won't find surprising is their #1 fuel saving tip. They recommend getting a in-dash monitor just like the ones they use in their testing. Unfortunately, they don't mention SilverLeaf by name - that's because we don't sell to the truck fleets, only to RVers. But their description of what such a display should include is a ringing endorsement of our products.

Looking to put a VMS 240 in your Country Coach Inspire and found you don't have enough room? SilverLeaf has a solution to turn your Country Coach Inspire dash into the most powerful and easy to use toolbox on the road!

Pictured with the VMS-240 is the new Pioneer AVIC-D3 Navigation system. This allows us to combine the dash radio, and back up monitor in to one simple to use combination with the added feature of GPS navigation! The AVIC-D1, AVIC-D2, AVIC-Z1, AVIC-Z2 and AVIC-N1, AVIC-N2, and AVIC-N3 can also be used.

This makes room for the VMS 240 to be installed in the dash. The panel material is acquired directly from Country Coach to ensure a spot-on match to your existing dash paneling. We custom design and machine the panel locally to ensure a perfect fit and finish that rivals a factory installation.

This also opens up the ability to use many different accessories such as Pioneer's Bluetooth Adapter, iPod interface, Sirius or XM Satellite Radio.

With the accessories also available for the VMS-240 such as the Weather Station, Roadwatch Road Temp Sensor, and Auto Genstart, you will have the most advanced and easy to use instrument display available in a motorcoach in one single panel.

This whole panel can be installed at any rally, at SilverLeaf's headquarters, or by a competent service center. Please call for pricing details.

Another great option is our own VDX-404 Video Switch. This device is blazing fast as it uses NO relays to switch video. If you have been thinking of adding directional cameras for coach blind-spot viewing, or addedd security cameras with the ability to view cameras in multiple locations, this is by far the best interface anywhere! For more information on the VDX-404 click on the following link. www.vidswitch.com

It's a bit of a departure for SilverLeaf, but there is a good reason for it. We were looking under the dash of a coach not too long ago and saw a most amazing rat's nest of cables. A whole family of nutria could have been living in there, and I had to ask the tech I was working with what they all were for. "Video", he said. "We have side cameras, and we run them to the dash, the overhead TVs, and so on. So we have a switch box, a few relays and diodes, some splitters and amplifiers. It's all in there."

"All those pieces and parts - there has got to be a switchbox out there that could do that in one box.", I prodded.

"If you can find one, let me know. We'd buy a load of them." He didn't sound too optimistic.

And indeed, there isn't such a thing. Sure, there are a lot of video switches that are designed for specific needs - but nothing that was designed for an RVer that wants to be able to check his side and rear cameras on more than just the dash monitor. I looked everywhere and couldn't find one.

So we just had to make one ourselves.

And now, three months later, we have the VDX 404 Video Switch. It takes four video sources and routes them to four video outputs in pretty much any combination. It responds to up to a dozen inputs, such as blinkers, transmission status signals, and accessory switches, and routes the video signals automatically in response.

Adding more monitors and cameras is trivial, up to the number four. Every output is buffered, eliminating the need for amplifiers or isolators. Every output is true to its source. And installation is as simple as it could possibly be.

One great idea we had was matching it with the new Garmin GPS. You can plan your trips with the GPS on the big-screen front TV, and then when you start driving watch the GPS on the VMS video. You can even add a video monitor on the passenger side - let the "navigator" plot the course, while the driver sees exactly the same GPS maps in the dash.

And that's just the beginning to the ideas that this device makes practical. Expect to see this in new coaches this Spring from several manufacturers, and in aftermarket installations across the country.

For more information, click on www.vidswitch.com

We may not be building new VMS 200's, but we haven't forgotten our thousands of customers that are driving around with our all-time best seller. In fact, we have just released a new software version that is the biggest upgrade in that product in several years.

Version 4 adds two major new features, both born out of my personal experiences as an RVer. It also adds a few lesser, but still important, features, like making the MPG reading bigger on all the trip screens.

Although I absolutely love the "Rolling MPG" feature of all the VMS models, I recently realized that it is missing something. The Rolling MPG is perfect for fine-tuning your driving to get the best fuel economy, but it doesn't give you a very good idea of the "bigger picture". So I added "Recent MPG" - the MPG as experienced over roughly the last 10+ minutes. It gives a better idea of how the winds and hills are going to hit your pocketbook at the next fuel stop. Both are available as gauges for your Drive screen and your Scan screen.

Another idea came to me as I was crossing the country on a month-long trip. I clear my Main trip only at the beginning of a totally new expedition, or at each end of a cross-country jaunt. I clear my Aux trip screen when I refuel, so that's my fuel gauge. But on that long trip, every day I found myself curious about just how well I was doing that particular day. So I invented the "Daily Data" screen. It's a trip odometer that clears itself automatically each morning so you can easily see how you are doing each day. It only clears once each day, so when you stop for lunch it doesn't forget your morning's achievements.

If you like these features as much as I do, then check in with us at the next rally and we'll update your unit for just 95 bucks. If you can't get to a rally, you can send your unit in to us and we'll update it in the lab for the same price.

In case you didn't get a copy in your mailbox, click on Summer 2006 Newsletter to get a little something to read. In this issue there is a particularly good article on how to make the best use of your cruise control. You may be surprised by what we've learned about cruise controls and fuel economy. And it may put a little cash back in your pocket.