1984 Airstream 345 owner (Newbie) need advice!

[Robfike]

Sounds like a good plan. I will see if I can get the wire locations for you.
Rob

[Keyair]

Thanks Rob, you are a star!
Based on your input on the other thread, I think I have it mostly figured out!

I was planning to do the tank pipe with 3/4" Shed40 pipe... any reason I shouldn't?

Added a battry tray repair to my list... I have a holes and cracks...
While I do this I will mod the tray for depth and maybe width for future battery upgrades!

While I was fidding with the batteries... I spotted this sticker on the body..
Anyone tell me what its about??

[John H.]

Originally Posted by Keyair

Water tank lucky... I think!
Was working on the Airstream a couple of days back, and "Neighbor" stopped to chat.. end result, he told me he had a fresh water tank he didnt want and I could have for my Baby!
I ended up trading a 6 pack of Negro Modelo(only thing I had in my truck!) for a the 48x25x13(about 70 gallons) tank.
It will fit, but the fittings are not in the right places. There is a large hole in the top(6"), with a screw on lid and seal, and a threaded fitting on on one side near the end, but it would be on the inboard side..
I will post a pic later, but how do you add/remove fitting on poly tanks?

As its "Only" 70 gallons, it did occur to me to leave the 15 gallon tank in and fill that for traveling to save weight, and add a valve, so I can optionally link/ fill the 70 gallon via the 15 gal when need a full 80 gallons.
Would that work?

that would also work, we do that on Boats, marine applications all the time.
I would not change the location of the fittings in your new tank, You can run a plex line around so easy, to where you need it, for so little effort, and $.

[Keyair]

Good!
Will push fwd on that then!

I had a little luck this week.
In the mid 80's I had an aftermarket fuel consumption computer on my car in Europe.
It was made by a company called Zemco.
I thought maybe it would be a great thing to have on the M/H.
A little research and I found one!
A "new" and unused Zemco ZT-4!

[Keyair]

The galley vent panel was badly mashed..
I forgot to do a proper "before pic" so here is a zoomed...




It should match the body panel, but it was bent and flattened, and had a deep gouge across the length..

I pulled it off, and decide to try to make it better... it could hardly be worse!
I stripped the sealing foam off the back and set to it with a body hammer and dolly.... gently eased it back into shape..
Here is the "Halfway" shot..



A few hours of gentle work and I was pretty happy with it...
A long way from perfect, but better than before, and as good as I felt it needed to be as its above head height and faces up!.
Then I decided to polish it to even out the finish...
End result... but tricky to photograph!

[John H.]

Very Nice-Good Job

[Keyair]

Thanks John!

Santa came early....

[Myrtle lynn]

Originally Posted by cooperhawk

Turning the control knob clockwise increases the braking power of the tag, while counter clockwise decreases it. When you step on the brake pedal the knob should move.

I have an 87 345. Do I have a tag braking adj?

[Keyair]

Mine is to the left of the steering wheel on the lower part of dash...

[Myrtle lynn]

Originally Posted by Keyair

Mine is to the left of the steering wheel on the lower part of dash...

Is yours an 87? I understand they did a lot of changes in 87. Wiring and such. What does it look like? Sorry for all the questions.

[Keyair]

Mine is an 84. I will post a pic of mine later today...

[LawChick]

Congratulations on your new baby!

[Keyair]

Thanks Lawchick!

Here is the pic of the tag axle brake controller.

[Myrtle lynn]

Originally Posted by Keyair

Thanks Lawchick!

Here is the pic of the tag axle brake controller.

Wow! Thanks for the pic. I will look to see if mine has one. I know mine is not there in that spot if I do have one. I was at work today where I store the Moho and forgot to look. We have snow on the way and the news is getting us all hyped up about it. Lol. It's ridiculous. I will check tomorrow. Thank you again.

[joe gooch]

Hello Everybody about the tag axle brakes on the 345,

I did battle with those brakes for a few days! Here are my conclusions: 1) the picture is correct about the brake controller but
2) I threw that thing away, plugged up the hole in the brake master cylinder and bought an electronic control from NAPA and
3) changed the electric magnets on the wheels to stronger ones 4) now, I can lay strips of rubber if I want
5) the tags help but by no means are equal to the other braking system 6) make sure if you buy a NAPA control that you ground it very well 7) while your tags may work fine, mine did not; they were simply too weak and did not look like they had ever worked. The magnets were simply too weak.

Joe

[Keyair]

Thanks for that Joe.
I have not delved into my brakes yet, but I need to.
Judging from the growing oil patch underneath, and the dropping Power Steering reservior level... I have a leak.
Going back to my drive home from KS, the tag brakes need work. Drivers side would lock with a loud thump and lay rubber. While the tires were being changed, the guy pointed out a wire loose on the pass side, which I reconnected. Then I could lock both sides if I wanted from the controller. The braking with the Tag was good, and seemed strong, but the thump when applying brakes firmly was still there.
So either the controller is not applying power smoothly(unlikely methinks), or I have a sticky brake application in the drum, and I bet on the drivers side.
So, what model brake contoller did you get, and which magnets did you use Joe?

[Keyair]

Its about 4 miles across countryside to the Airstream storage from where I live, so a couple of times a week I walk and take the dogs...
They run offleash and gambol all the way there! Its a blast, and the GF and I enjoy it too.
When we arrive, they are tired and thirsty, so they know they get a bowl of water and a treat. Then its resting for the time they are there.
Its good training for the trips ahead...
In their minds I want to instill the message.. Airstream=Relaxation.

Here they are...
Moose, is the Brown Female, 3 years old, at the rescue center they said American Stafford, Great Dane, and Lab... but who knows!
Cole is the 1 year old Black Male, they said Black Lab/Pitbull mix, and I think thats right.
They are both great Dogs, and in fact the reason we got the Airstream.
Travelling with them in Hotels is a No-No!
Moose is abut 75lb and Cole is 80lb... and still growing slowly!
I think anyone with sense who sees them would think twice about messing with us!

[cooperhawk]

Nice looking rig and dogs.

[joe gooch]

The NAPA control is capable of gradual application of the tag brakes. If your control and magnets lock the tag wheels you are probably all right; my tag brakes did not look used and would not work for me. So, I had to figure out what was wrong. And, the electronic control and stronger magnets was the fix for me. They work very well.

Joe

[choctawmel]

My tag brake control is on the left side of the steering just into the dash wiring nightmare.


I've found, among other things, broken wire, cut wire, and bad magnets. Someday I'm going to wire a meter into the line to see what kind of voltage the control is putting out. I un-bolted the control unit once and it does very with the angle, so it is working.
I will look into bigger magnets. These giants need all the braking power possible. I replaced all the brake line and the master cylinder but still don't have the stopping power I'd like.