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Vycan · 08-28-2014, 09:33 PM

did the work at cummins power south and could not be happier. the final price was 20% below the quote. the generator is running like a champ. it was oil build up in the propane lines and regulator from ears of no cleaning. the oil will bake in the lines at the heat exchange making a film, and will regulator diaphragms lose effectiveness from this same build up. the mechanic recommended servicing the generator every 150hrs with cleaner. so, all parts changed : regulator, heat exchanger, carburetor, throttle linkage retaining clip, and she's running like new. the tech who worked on it is named mike foley, and he said most places will not even service lp generators, because they are such a PITA.

Vycan · 08-28-2014, 09:37 PM

to clarify, the oil comes from cheap propane fill locations who do not purge their tanks often according to the gents at cummins power south. also plug for cummins. joined the cummins power club for $20 annually, and saved me an additional 10% off parts and labor.

Air Dog · 08-29-2014, 06:39 AM

Sounds like a winter project for me. Mine has about 500 hours on it now and it runs great. Just made an appointment to get my transmission serviced. New filters and Allison synthetic. Ouch!

Just converted the inside to LED lighting. Pretty happy with the products from M4 LED Products.

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Vycan · 09-01-2014, 08:13 PM

First picture was a pit stop in Houston TX (00894)
Next picture was the view from an excellent Italian Restaurant next to NASA, I believe it was called Villa Capri (00915)
Next picture was the pier in Destin, Florida to access the Eglin AFB private beach there (00937)
Next picture was why our day at the beach was cut short (00936)
Next picture was the generator pulled for maintenance. They are actually very easy to work on if you have a 2 ton jack and a bolted on plate, or a transmission jack. Live and learn (00944)
Next picture is the front hub with centramatic balancer in plain view. This was when I decided to replace the front wheels of the moho after seeing an odd wear pattern on the front tires. Immediately scheduled an alignment shortly after and all is well again (00954)
The next picture is of us in front of Skyline Chili off of I-69 just northeast of Indianapolis. (00959)
The next picture is us pulling out of our family's driveway in Ohio on the next leg of our Journey (00958)

Based on all the stops, places stayed, and what we did during our vacation I did a price comparison from everything we spent.

Overall cost of the trip was $4,113.73 and 57.9 hours on the road.

Break down of costs:
1. $1,611.01 of unscheduled services and preventative maintenance. Specifically two front tires ($426.88 @ Byron Tire in Byron, GA), servicing the generator ($1,033.57 @ Cummins Power South in Ocala, FL), and aligning the front end ($150.56 @ Truck Service INC Noblesville, IN).
2. $1,403.95 to travel 4,018 miles towing a 2,500lbs SW2 for 11.07827 average MPG
3. $289.97 for 100.7455 gallons of propane at an average of $2.88/gal. Lesson learned to travel south during Fall, Winter, or Spring to avoid need for AC use at night. Houston was horrible with the humidity.
4. $786.30 for overnight stays, miscellaneous, grocery, restaurant, gas for the toad, and tolls.

If I had flown the route with my family it would have cost us $7,394.22 and taken a total of 63 hours of time. This time includes flight time, packing luggage from each point, arriving two hours early for security, and one hour on the back end for baggage claim and linkup with party picking us up, as well as transit time from locations of stay to the nearest airport.

Overall savings of $3,646.49 from costs incurred including the improving and upkeep of the motor home, and 5.1 hours less in transit. Then there is also the priceless aspect of knowing your accommodations everywhere you go. :-D

For the first vacation I have taken in two years. This was a steal. The thing I love about the Airstream, is vacations can now happen anytime I have three to four days off at a time, and that happens on average of once a month.

Air Dog · 09-02-2014, 07:58 AM

Looks like an adventure! We plan our trips in the spring and fall to avoid the heat. In the summer we run up in the mountains. So far the only problem we've had on the road was a leaky radiator hose. Something I should have caught as soon as I bought it as all the hoses and the serp belt were rotten. Let me know if you ever take a trip out this way.

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Vycan · 09-02-2014, 11:25 PM

would love to, make the recommendation for campground and sites, and i can do any federal holiday weekend. willing to drive 6-8hrs.

Air Dog · 09-14-2014, 09:57 PM

Service advisory

I've been going through my 360 one system at a time. I was going to flush the brake system and noticed that the boots on the caliper pistons were all deteriorated. The pistons, inner seals, pads, and rotors are all like new. The cracked boots will allow dirt and water to corrode and possibly freeze the pistons and caliper bores.

They were actually very easy to work on compared to most brakes I've worked on. I had to buy rebuild kits and replaced the pads since I had them apart. Parts were about $500 from Spartan for all 4 wheels. New calipers are about $800 each. Definitely worth the PM for avoided costs and safety.

Lost your EM. I can send you some pictures and part numbers.

Dave....

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Vycan · 10-30-2014, 10:57 PM

Latest development is purely aesthetic. We plan to do nose art on our 94, but by nose art we mean, the large aluminum blank space between the bedroom and kitchen/dinning area windows on both sides. The first attachment was the inspiration, the second is what we plan to put on the RV. We will also have large block letters of the coach's name "Diesel Donna" One word on top of the other, in a bold/italicized font. The 'diesel' will be a smaller font to cause a stepped look, and have the character sitting on the step. The step will be towards the front of the coach on the corresponding side so the character is facing forward.

Example:
DIESEL
DONNA

Any thoughts?

mayco · 10-31-2014, 05:03 AM

Very cool, I love nose art.

Vycan · 11-15-2014, 08:10 PM

Latest Update:
1. Changed the nose art slightly. The missus and I agreed her right hand was a bit too provocative, so we had the artist re-position it.
2. Purchased a Banks Power Pack for the Cummins! Excited for spring to do the install.

wxbuoy · 11-23-2014, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vycan

Latest Update:
1. Changed the nose art slightly. The missus and I agreed her right hand was a bit too provocative, so we had the artist re-position it.
2. Purchased a Banks Power Pack for the Cummins! Excited for spring to do the install.

Please post pics/ running commentary of the install! I am thinking about going that way myself.

Vycan · 11-23-2014, 10:22 AM

Updated art from the artist

mayco · 11-23-2014, 10:37 AM

Ohhhh Donna....ohhhhh Donna (showing some age on my part). She looks great! Good move on catching and the redo of the Michael Jackson crotch grab.

Vycan · 12-08-2014, 10:53 AM

wxbouy- I will, and there is a great article Dakota wrote about his install as well in the maintenance section. I will refer to that for my reference.

Mayco- No worries and thanks. Feel free to share any other tips I might have missed.

The banks power pack arrived. It's only two boxes. I would say about 6 cuft. Have not had the time to install yet.

I replaced the AAVs at the kitchen and bathroom sink. It is my hope that I can now exhaust my coach without the blackwater tank smell.

Considering tearing into the Banks power pack this weekend. I sprayed penetrating oil on all the nuts/bolts I will need to remove about three weeks ago now, so she's primed and ready.

Awaiting the artist to get with me for painting.

Did I mention I hate the cold?

Kota · 12-09-2014, 05:38 AM

Pressure wash your engine well from the top down before starting the Banks install. Have some condoms ready (I use fingers off latex gloves) to cover the injectors and pumps. You have to be very clean as one speck of dirt getting into an injector will ruin your day. They also ship new injectors with plastic caps. You could probably get some from a diesel shop. Installing the new injector lines is a bit of a Chinese puzzle.

Blow the new lines out with air before you install them.

If you are equipped with a Winn pump you can purge the lines before hooking them to the injectors. That will flush any contamination out before you blow it into an injector.

Purging and priming the system can be a bit of a trick. You might have to crack open the fittings on individual injectors as you crank it. Don't overheat your starter.