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overlander63 · 06-17-2005, 04:31 PM

The brand new love seat is in the Overlander, It resisted mightily, but resistance is futile

. It seems the dimensions of the new furniture, and the size of the door in the Overlander, were a wee bit off, not in a good way. Measurements indicated it was the exact same height as the door was wide, For whatever reason, I forgot how to read a tape measure, and the seat was 3" bigger than the door. Sometimes, a brain can be very handy.

But, it is in now, after a re-enactment of a Laurel and Hardy episode...
The same people that repaired the first damage, will be repairing the second. I am glad I got such a good deal the first time around on this thing, or the additional repair charges would really suck.
Anyway, here is the promised photo of the new love seat in the living area, also note the other thing I did today, the new flooring, another joy.

overlander63 · 06-18-2005, 03:57 PM

Today I cut a piece of wood paneling to go in the refrigerator door, instead of looking like a refugee from a pewter factory, I now have something that looks like it may have possibly been intended to go in the trailer. The fridge cools very well on A.C., but I will have to wait until I can get some copper pipe, and fittings, to try it on LP. As I was working on it yesterday, instralling the flooring, I noticed it was very warm in the back of the trailer, almost hot, especially compared to the front. If I had to guess, I would say it is 10-15 degrees hotter in the back, than in the front, with the A/C on.
Further investigation revealed that the rear vents from the air conditioner were blowing directly against the wood divider that holds the privacy curtain up just to the rear of the A/C unit. This piece of wood was keeping the cool air from getting back into the rear of the trailer. It is only about 4-5" tall, but is needed to hold up the privacy curtain. After cogitating on this for a while, I came up with a plan. Not the best plan, but it will work until I can come up with something permanent to hold up the curtain, and allow air to pass over it. I took my trusty dril, and 1" hole saw, and made a series of holes for the cool air to pass through the divider. Further unscientific testing has proved the rear of the trailer is now only 5-10 degrees warmer than the front. 5 degrees to me is a big deal, and it will likely be better once I replace the divider with something air will pass over and through, instead of being blocked. Photos here of the fridge door and the holy divider:

overlander63 · 06-18-2005, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richardt

PS What are you gonna name it?

After tentatively naming the trailer "Older Rivets", which didn't exactly roll off the tongue, and constantly noticing that it was substantially larger than our Argosy 20 (everything we had in the entire Argosy fit in the pantry of the Overlander, with room to spare) We have decided to name it Goliath. It seems to have more hulking mass than our little trailer, as well as a king-sized virtual personality

all of its own.

overlander63 · 06-26-2005, 12:21 PM

The water heater is now plumbed into the trailer's water system, and we have water coming from all spigots. Unfortunately, there are also a few unauthorized water outlets (read leaks) that I will have to fix. The first aditional leak I found when I plumbed in the water heater, and turned on the water. Another indoor sprinkler showed itself. I put a piece of ice maker hose in place of the ruptured copper pipe, and turned the water back on. It didn't leak there, but did leak somewhere else, it looks like inside the belly pan to the rear of the leak I just fixed. I am hoping it is not behind the black water tank, I was really hoping to no have to remove it and the cabinetry around it.

overlander63 · 06-26-2005, 12:24 PM

I pulled off the belly pan to check the previously mentioned water leak, and found this thing, that looks like a muffler off a car. It seems to be factory, it sits in a spot cut out of the frame. Any ideas what this thing is, and what it is supposed to do?

05ModPod · 06-26-2005, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overlander63

I pulled off the belly pan to check the previously mentioned water leak, and found this thing, that looks like a muffler off a car. It seems to be factory, it sits in a spot cut out of the frame. Any ideas what this thing is, and what it is supposed to do?

Tee hee I'm just taking a stab in the dark here - cause I like to have fun so here goes....

Did your 63 come with a factory A/C?? if so could that be an internal drip pan for the AC???

or it could be the smallest black tank ever made - or a compartment for contraband - maybe they were actually working on converting it to a motor home and it really is a muffler

Moving onto your leaks though - Peter had the same thing but he was using radiater hose - until finally there was more hose than water pipe -

Hence the job of replacing the whole water pipe system - just for what it is worth and since most plumbing is above the floor - why not redo the lot - if you use flexible pipe lik pex then the job is so much easier and in most places our GT the hose can be fed through to the actual hook ups. When the job is all done then there will be NO surprise water leaks - and we have had a fair share of them puppies!!!

PS Thanks for the shed info - that is the same style as we are looking at and for about the same price.

john hd · 06-26-2005, 01:17 PM

terry is it an extra fresh water tank?

how is it connected?

john

thenewkid64 · 06-26-2005, 02:54 PM

I am going to take a stab at it and say it is a heating duct.

In the 60's they were still running the heat under the floor in ductwork to get it to the rear of the trailer. It did not take up valuable cabinet storage space that way....

overlander63 · 06-26-2005, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thenewkid64

I am going to take a stab at it and say it is a heating duct.

In the 60's they were still running the heat under the floor in ductwork to get it to the rear of the trailer. It did not take up valuable cabinet storage space that way....

Thanks for the replies, at least I know someone is reading this thread. After ripping apart the area above where this thing sits, it seems to be a duct from the furnace. Why it looks like a muffler, is anybody's guess. I did find the leaking water pipe, and will replace that next weekend. It is in the same compartment as the black water tank, above the furnace duct that goes into the "muffler" I found. There is about 2 square inches to get to the pipe. Oh, joy...

overlander63 · 07-05-2005, 07:04 AM

I got all the high-pressure plumbing leaks squared away over the long July 4th weekend. I am currently trying to get the original dump valve off the bottom of the black tank. I have drilled what is left of the bolt heads off, hopefully I can get the valve off without destroying the tank.

overlander63 · 07-08-2005, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overlander63

I have drilled what is left of the bolt heads off, hopefully I can get the valve off without destroying the tank.

I have drilled out the mounting screws for the dump valve, and it won't budge. I have tried hitting the side of the dump valve, going inside the black tank and using a punch and hammer to get the dump valve loose, and prying the dump valve from underneath, it won't move. Not a millimeter. For something that won't hold water, it certainly is tight. Are there any "hidden" mounting bolts I am missing? I have drilled out four screws, the ones with lugs that indicate the screws go through into the tank, with zero results. The only thing I haven't tried yet, but I am considering, is clicking my heels together three times, and chanting, "there's no place like Jackson Center"

.
Any other ideas?

overlander63 · 07-08-2005, 07:32 AM

Even though Goliath (the trailer) is not really ready for serious camping, I have decided to not be blindsided by another hurricane. I don't wish to repeat last August's drama of being the last vehicle allowed out of the area.

We have food and water for several days, should we need it, and the campground where we are going has bathroom facilities, so the waste water issue won't be a problem. I have been watching the Hurricane Center's probability estimates, and my area currently has the highest probability of a strike of anywhere on the mainland of Florida. Currently the probability is at 25%, and a 1 in 4 chance is odds I don't like at all. It may change for the better, at least for us, and head up to the panhandle area. Not good for them, they just had a tropical system move through a couple of days ago, and are still soaked. It would be very nice if this storm dissipates in the Gulf, although the possibility of that is remote. I will post again when we get home, and let you know how the trip and camping was.

overlander63 · 07-10-2005, 01:46 PM

We got back from getting out of harm's potential way, with no problems to speak of. The trailer towed very well now that I have gotten the WD tweaked to where it should be. There is no swaying, and no "bouncing", even in some vicious cross-winds. No parts flew off, either during the trip, or while parked at the campground. Winds for the most part were brisk, but not extreme.
Everything that worked before leaving, continued working with no problems, although I learned we need to replace the sliding wooden doors that are on the overhead cupboards.
Now if all our friends up in the panhandle area of Florida, and Mississipi and Alabama come through as well as we did, we will be very thankful.
Here are a couple of photos taken at the campground. Counting us, there were 3 other rigs there, one fulltimer, one there for the month of July, and one that did as we did (a brand-new SOB MoHo).

overlander63 · 07-24-2005, 07:09 AM

I took a brief break on the interior, and tried my hand at polishing the outside. After working for about two hours, and dirtying all the polishing towels I own, I got one panel pretty shiny. It needs one more pass with clean towels to get the rest of the smeared gunk off the panel, and I will post a photo of it when it is done. Has anyone ever been pulled over by the local Gendarmes after polishing their trailer and told it is a driving hazard because it is so bright and shiny?

overlander63 · 07-31-2005, 05:18 PM

As promised, here is a photo of the first panel I tried my hand at polishing. It didn't turn out too bad for a beginner.

balrgn · 08-01-2005, 04:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overlander63

As promised, here is a photo of the first panel I tried my hand at polishing. It didn't turn out too bad for a beginner.

Nice start! Now you have done it! Just remember, polishing is good therapy!

3Ms75Argosy · 08-01-2005, 05:58 AM

I used a plate (paper) of flour to "puff" my rags in while buffing. It really speeds up the process, and I used less rags to boot! Looks great! What are you using to polish with?
Marc

overlander63 · 08-01-2005, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3Ms75Argosy

I used a plate (paper) of flour to "puff" my rags in while buffing. It really speeds up the process, and I used less rags to boot! Looks great! What are you using to polish with?
Marc

Thanks for the tip. I am using a product called Noxon 7, I have a case of it NOS. It seems to work very well, a single pass on this panel is all it took. Of course, I didn't know this, having never polished before, and so spent hours re-polishing, trying to get all the black goop off. Now that I know better, the rest of the trailer should go faster.

overlander63 · 08-01-2005, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by balrgn

Nice start! Now you have done it! Just remember, polishing is good therapy!

Thanks. I'll try to remember that, as my arms drag the ground, and I wear out four buffing machines doing this...

overlander63 · 08-15-2005, 07:22 PM

I finally have gathered up almost all the parts needed to rehab the drain system, both black and grey.
I first removed all the cobbled together bits and pieces of the grey water drain system, as well as the dump valve for the black tank. The drain for the grey water was a collage of field repairs, and inventive gluing, including an old radiator hose clamped to a couple of steel tubes, which were bondoed onto some PVC pipes, which were attached by what looks like good intentions to a couple of cast brass pipes.

First problem I ran into was the dump valve is 2" diameter, instead of current industry standard 3". The hole in the black tank, likewise, is 2". All drain hoses I have seen are 3", so I had to get creative. I went to my local hardware store, and bowed before the PVC gods, and went home with an assortment of 2 1/2" pipes, fittings, adapters from 2" to 3", glue, and cutting tools.
Second problem, I finally got the new 2" dump valve on, and then found out much to my chagrin that the grey water pipes were 2 1/4", again instead of what seems to be the industry standard of 2 1/2". Off to the hardware store I went again to take back all the 2 1/2" PVC, and get a like amount of 2 1/4" PVC...Sigh...
I got all the pipes run everywhere it needed to go, finally, and moved inside to install the "newsed" toilet I got from the Argosy 22 I have stashed in a swamp in an undisclosed location near here, where I was once again stopped by yet another problem.
Third problem, I hooked up the toilet, and turned on the water, ostensibly to make sure the black tank didn't leak. However, I found out that the toilet has a previously undetected leak in it, actuated by the flush valve.
I found myself liberally doused by, fortunately, clean water when I pushed the valve. While I am not averse to multifunction devices, a toilet that gives me a shower when I flush is not something I wish to employ. I see a new toilet in our future.