Let the Fun begin!

[sepisllib]

Let the Fun begin!

Experminting - will try this again.

A number of years ago I had a 30 ft motor home - remember the make was "Surveyor" - and it had a 440 in it. I ran new exhaust pipes and made it twin exhaust with glass packs. That sure sounded sweet when I took it down highway 7 in Arkansas a little later. I had trouble with the engine shutting down at first. Replaced the resistor first and that did not do it - then replaced the entire ignition. That handles the problem. I remember it gave me about 6 mpg.

The one I have now is a 8.3 cummings and with the 7.5 kw generator running all the time I got just over 6.

Will try this photo thing again.

Looks better now. Bill

 

[sepisllib]

Let the Fun begin!

Opulent - Eh! I don't believe I would clasify myself in this lofty realm. I spent most of my years working at various jobs - third shift, second shift, first shift - factory - etc. Probably very similar to everyone else. Only since 1998 (the year I was 56) and nearing bankrupcy, has things gotten better. I started my own business and now at 62 my business is flourishing and my son is very near the point where I intend to promote him to vice-president and then I shall begin to take some time off. A week a month starting next spring and then by the fall possibly 2 weeks a month. Hopefully by the summer of 2006 we can be nearly fully retired.

The real reason for the Tourmaster is planning on my retirement. It was on sale as an estate in Texas and I made them an offer (I was positive they would not take) - but they did. So we up and flew down on Wed - Aug 25th and drove it home - taking our time.

It had been sitting for nearly 18 months and we have numerous things to fix. Tires are marginal - so this morning I drove it over to the tire shop and had the steering two replaced. Great way to spend $800 too.

Inverter was bad - replaced that and still am waiting on the remote controller. Another great way to spend $1500 in a hurry. The wiring must be re-ran from the storage bay up to the inside wall next to the stove -- that should be a lot of fun.

I had to replace nearly all of the storage bay door nitrogen cylinders and found one door was too bad to JUST replace the cylinders. I had to have a aluminum plate made to attach the cylinders to on one door as the wood was bad. Have the plate - but have not gotten to the repair yet. Soon though.

All four batteries died just after I got it home - so I replaced them (2 for engine and 2 for coach).

Ceiling lights inside - there are 3 that kept blowing a 20 amp fuse and for the life of me I cannot understand why 12 volt florescent lights are fed by a 20 amp fuse (for just 3 of them). They only draw just over 1 amp each and surge isn't a problem.... Oh well - received my new light today by UPS and just finished installing it. So far the fuse is holding and things are working.

Next - the horn ring on the steering wheel shakes and rattles really badly - I used some soft foam and inserted this around the edge and that stopped that problem.

Ignition - another interesting situation. The ignition switch is a GM make and the outer ring fell off. Had a new one installed and found that the wiring was only holding on by two (2) strands. Lucky this did not let us down on the way home.

The Onan diesel generator is a 7.5 KW and is mounted on a slide out in the nose of the rig. Found that it had a flex exhaust pipe that had come totally loose and was letting exhaust up into the front of the cab. Searched far and wide and finally had to have the local muffler shop weld a piece of flex pipe up to the threaded ends. That did the trick. Generator works great.

Molding up on the top cap (wraps around from side to roof) came loose - it was to brittle it just peeled out. Ordered 80 feet of this stuff and it came in white only. I cleaned things up and started inserting the molding -- thinking it was going to be an easy job. Wrong - it was painfully slow and hard to work that molding in one inch at a time. After installing it (took most of an afternoon) - I like the white as it sets off the top striping so I am not going to paint it after all. I spent another 2 hours caulking the drip molding above it and then ends so it would not leak.

There are numerous things - similar to the above items - that I have been working on. Headlights for example - the dims work - but the brights are dimmer than the dim. Only 2 of the 4 fog lites work. Couple clearance lites are out. The entry light is burned out. The steps do not work yet - working on. The light under the step is burned out. The trailer hitch electrical plug is bad - has been broken and just left to the elements. I have to replace that as I have a 2001 Suburban 4X4 that I am getting wired and ready to tow.

There is more - but as I said - this is a hobby that I have never really had before. And - I love it. Each situation is a challenge in it's own and there certainly are rewards for doing these things yourself.

So - I see what you - and others are doing with the older motor homes and admire each of you for your skills and determination. It's worth it to see the smiles on the family faces when you load up and head off. Let alone the glances you get from admiring bystanders in the rest of the world.

I hope to run into some of you guys out there - starting next summer. And yes - we intend to live in ours for several months a year beginning sometime in 2006 or 2007. My wife is Judy (my 3rd) and she is the most wonderful woman I have ever ran into. The 1st and 2nd were miserable (best I can say).

Bill

 

[ARCHER]

Let the Fun begin!

Bill,
When I bought my 89 Winnebago I basically did the same thing that your doing.....going through and fixing what is bad/maybe bad/just old/etc. I was lucky, as the only real bad thing was the brains for the hot water tank, the four outside tires, and a small LP connector. Only had 5,800 miles on it when I bought it two years ago, so most was like new in it. We have spent the last two winters in it in Florida and so far, so good. I, too, enjoy working on it like you say you do. I've been retired for 2 1/2 years so it is kind of like a hobby messing around with it. Getting ready to fix/repair a couple bubbles on the siding where the old frig was defrosted and drained inside (they forgot to put the drain to the outside??) and paint the repair.
Good luck and always remember the safety items are the most important. Enjoy.... :laugh:

 

[Tammi]

Let the Fun begin!

LotRott your interior is huge! Looks like a big bathroom too!

 

[ARCHER]

Let the Fun begin!

It sure is beautiful on the outside. Looks like a tour bus. must be nice to be loaded to afford one of these. Congrats

 

[sepisllib]

Let the Fun begin!

Thanks - Lotrot74 - for your help. I love your unit. Reminds me of the Surveyor I used to have. Lot to be said for the older units and the carpeting does remind me of some I had years ago. PS - have you managed to come up with any old 8 track tapes?

Bill

 

[LotRott74]

Let the Fun begin!

Bill...A 100 watt CD player is in my future after I take the rear brakes apart and get the parking brake working (this weekend), fill the LP tank and check for leaks, replace both leaking broken vents and add a Fan-Tastic Ceiling Fan Vent and 2 MaxxAir covers (ordered, should be here by friday?) Remove 2 CB antennas and fix the leak they cause in the roof, pull Onan and put Honda generator in hole while I work on the Onan, tune up 440, radiator flush, buy new deep cycle house batteries, add battery to the front just for the engine, replace windshield drivers side....anyway after I get the rear brakes working better I plan to go out on some day trips before the snow sets in the mountains of Washington State where I live. So far I have drove it around the block twice :laugh:

 

[LotRott74]

Let the Fun begin!

I havn't done alot over the winter [repair wise], other than sleep in the yard with it...but I WILL have outing photos coming soon...spent the last two days tweaking the engine, Im pumped

Dodge 440-3
Max Torque @ 2400 RPM
Max HP @ 4000 RPM

Just an update...

 

[Poppa]

Let the Fun begin!

Lott Rott,

That 440 looks good. The Nellie Belle is still in the shop, broke a crank right behind the second throw. Run vehicles for 50 years , racing in heavy equipment and this is the first crank I have ever broken :question: .

As luck has it, it smoked the tranny at the same time :angry: .

Hopefully she will be back on the road soon but I am afraid my pocket book will be quite a few dollars lighter.