After finding out how much a new toilet would cost, I decided to at least give a shot to fixing the leak. I removed the toilet from its mount, for the umpteenth time I might add, and flipped it upside down with the water still hooked up. (a neat trick, someday I'll tell you how well an upside-down toilet flushes) There seems to be a valve that seems to have no purpose other than to spew cold water all over when it ruptures. I bypassed that valve, and have a functional toilet.
__________________
Terry Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine
AIR#2611
After much cursing and gnashing of teeth, I have fixed the grey water drain problem, although not in a manner I would recommend to anyone.
I installed the grey water drain in a manner that would be consistant with the way the trailer was originally configured, with one important difference. I could not get the drain pipe for the galley sink to hook into the rest of the plumbing to save my life, so I did a redneck engineering solution. I installed a second drain line fitting for that drain only, and hooked it into a Y on the blue drain tank.
It is crude, but effective.
__________________
Terry Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine
AIR#2611
First, I installed a new faucet assembly in the galley, and found, of course, that the industry standard for plumbing has changed in fresh water plumbing also. Sigh.
I then ran out to my favorite hardawre store (Ace is the place) and got the parts needed to hook up water to the new faucet. \This is where I once again found that copper pipe was manufactured slightly thicker in 1963. After spending some quality time under the kitchen cabinets, I got the fittings installed on the copper pipes, and the water flowing where it should.
After hooking the city water back up, and turning it on to check for leaks, I took a quick tour around the inside of the coach, looking for trouble spots in the plumbing, and hoping to not find any. I can dream....
Of course, I found a spot. The previous owner left me another present. Behind yet another empty whiskey bottle (that's 14, if you are counting) I found where he had installed a rubber vacuum hose on the hot water line to the bathroom sink. It was swollen to about 3 inches in diameter, and looked like a good sneeze would cause it to burst. I installed a reinforced vinyl hose on the pipe in place of the vacuum hose. Problem solved, at least much better than the previous owner had solved it.
The second photo is of the hose that had nothing but good intentions holding it together:
__________________
Terry Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine
AIR#2611
I thought I had the plumbing issues resolved, until I tried to use the sprayer for the toilet, and it came apart in my hand. Great. Another shower. At least this is an easy fix, back to Ace Hardware I went, now I have a new sprayer head.
With all the new stuff we are putting in the trailer, I am starting to think this 1963 is going to wind up a 1976...
__________________
Terry Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine
AIR#2611
I decided to take advantage of the cool(er) breezy weather left over from Katrina's passing by, and got up on the roof of Goliath and removed the old WBCCI numbers. I also hit the area with laquer thinner to remove the glue (very stubborn stuff) and polished the spot where the numbers had been. Now all I have to do is polish the rest of the trailer.
This is before and after:
__________________
Terry Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine
AIR#2611
Terry has been to Ace so many times, they keep offering him a job, and customers ask him where stuff is.
We solved the curtain issue, and I'm going out after therapy in the am to pick up the cutains for the living room, bathroom and the doorway between the bathroom and the bedroom. We are using a neutral color of the tab curtains and if they need to be backed to help hold off the heat, I can baclk them.
I also found the Mr.Clean eraser scrubber thingy takes off a lot of the older dirt, and smudges,and does not seem to harm any of the surfaces. SOOOO, I am also going to pick up more of them and some murphy 0il soap for the wood and panneling. It looks like it could use something to refurbish it.
stay tuned for more adventures of the couple who took on Goliath!
Marie
__________________ Slow down, and listen to the music, you don't have to be first in everything being done.
This weekend has been a "flight of the Bumblebee", trying to get as much stuff operational before the forum rally in twelve days. Next weekend personal obligations are going to keep me from doing much constructive with it, so this is the final chance to get this stuff taken carre of.
The first thing finished this morning is a patch on the banana wrap, between the fridge access door and the front of the wheelwell. It looked bad, to put it charitably, now it looks acceptable, at least for now. I also cut off the old padlock that was on the battery compartment door, of course I had no key for it. Now that has been replaced with a smaller brass padlock to which I have keys.
Speaking of keys and locks, I also replaced the lock on the outside storage compartment, where I keep the fresh water hoses, chocks, etc. The PO had bored a hole from inside the coach, and cut the lock mechanism off, and secured the door with a sheet metal screw. I went to my local locksmith, and came home with a new lock assembly, for the reasonable price of $4.99. The only difference between it and the old lock, besides the fact that it works and I have keys to it, is the lock is brass-colored, instead of silver.
I also scrounged up the parts to hook up the fridge to LP, and lit it off for the first time since 1986. Suprisingly, it works well, it froze a cup of water in a couple of hours.
Moving back inside, I cut out replacement carpet around the toilet, and glued it down. Then, I installed a new rod for the shower curtain. I am not sure what Airstream, or the PO had in mind with the shower curtain setup as I found it, it went up the back wall, and across the ceiling, ending on the forward bathroom wall. The new rod makes a little more sense.
Marie has been busy making curtains, both for the windows, and for the divider between the bedroom area and the bathroom, and I got some Ivory colored baseboard material on my latest sojourn to Ace Hardware ("Excuse me, can you tell me where the garden hoses are?" Sure, aisle 12. )
Again was offered a red vest...but I digress. I also picked up some white paint to paint the really nasty, rusty-looking light fixtures in the bedroom. They look much better now, although not in a manner I would prefer if I had more time and resources.
Marie also re-covered the side covers in the bedroom, these are the fabric-covered plywood sheets that mount on the wall beside the mattress, so you don't wake up suddenly from rolling into a (very) cold aluminum wall in the night. The result is a bedroom, umm, best viewed in the dark. We have pink curtains (until we can get some normal-colored ones) and avacado green mattress covers, along with the blue panels on the side covers.
__________________
Terry Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine
AIR#2611
The "colorfull bedroom" will be changed before the Fort DeSoto rally. We have wedgewood blue linens and spreads for the beds, and I hope to get the bedroom curtains completed before then. I am making tab curtains for the windows, and they seem to look okay. They are a neutral off white/light grey color. I'llk see if we can get pictures later today.
Marie
__________________ Slow down, and listen to the music, you don't have to be first in everything being done.
Probably not what you think. Marie finished the curtains for the side windows in the living room of Goliath, and wanted to share photos of them.
Here they are:
__________________
Terry Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine
AIR#2611
With the forum rally a tad less than a week away (6 days, 14 hours, 22 minutes, and 12 seconds, but who's counting?) I will be taking care of some last minute things on our Overlander.
Among the things I am going to try to get done between now and then, in no particular order:
1- Apply our WBCCI numbers to the front and rear of the coach.
2- Replace a bad light bulb in one of the clearance lights.
3- Try (again) to attach the baby moon hubcaps sitting in the garage that have been earmarked for this project.
4- Pop off the dust caps on the hubs to make sure there is still enough grease in there.
5-Revisit the rear belly pan area, I need to make sure nothing falls off while towing.
Marie will also be frantically trying to finish the curtains in the bedroom area, so we don't have to sleep with our sunglasses on.
There are a hundred things I would like to do to the trailer, but I know they won't get done in time. If I get a chance, (HA!) I will try to polish another panel or two, especially on the front segments. That way I can just install the numbers, without worrying about polishing around them.
I will also try to figure out why the 12 volt system doesn't seem to do much, except shock me when I grab a bare wire. I need to install a battery charger of some type, and maybe a volt meter somewhere, maybe in an inconspicuous closet. I see another trip to Ace Hardware coming up ("Rakes? Aisle 5.... You're welcome.")
__________________
Terry Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine
AIR#2611
Goliath's inaugural trip was a success, with only a couple of issues needing attention. First, and probably the most minor, is that the fridge is causing problems switching from LP back to electricity. This is most likely the swtch on the rear of the fridge, and I will be taking a look at this the next time the Overlander is at home.
The second, is there are minor leaks in the skylight, and two side windows on the streetside of the coach, these will also be addressed the next time Goliath comes home to visit.
The most annoying, and possibly serious, issue, is that when we used the toilet and black water holding tank I noticed a small amount of what seems to be waste water seeping out from under the black tank area. If this is a leak, it means I will have to rip apart the toilet area of the bathroom. Again. Until I get this fixed, we will once again be utilizing the campground washroom facilities. I live for this stuff...
__________________
Terry Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine
AIR#2611
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