My Life with Henri (or, Taming the '74 Sovereign)

[Gene]

Aage, sorry to hear you aren't allowed to travel for a while. Maybe you'll be permitted some short trips between babies. You have until you're 80.

We would have spent more time in Ottawa, but we had been to Halifax, Newfoundland, PEI, Gaspe, Quebec City, Montreal, and by the time we arrived in Ottawa, we were fried. We still managed to drive around the northern side of L. Superior, see Lake of the Woods, Winnipeg and then drive home. Another time I hope. Barb still hasn't seen Toronto.

Gene

[Aage]

Until I'm 80? I will remember that, Gene, and if anyone tries to pry my keys from my cold shaky hand, I will tell them my lawyer told me I could do it till I went blind.

You saw too much great territory in one pass, I think. Newfoundland is a long way to go with all the ferry time for what you get to see, despite the beauty there. But PEI, the Gaspé, Nova Scotia, and of course Québec City and Montréal are really something, and demand a good bit of time to savour.

Certainly Toronto is a must to see, but it's a lot like other large cities. There are 5 million in the GTA (Great Toronto Area) now, which means they have something like 15% of the total population of Canada.

Anyway, if you ever get up this way again, be sure to let me know.

[driftless]

Aage,
I happened across this thread last evening and thoroughly enjoyed it. After reading so many threads on repairing all those little things I keep finding in our AS, it was nice to follow your progress through the purchase, preparation and actual travel with your AS.
I have to admit that I've become a little overwhelmed with all that needs to be done to our AS. But your posts reminded me that we bought her to use. So, it's time to refocus on getting her road ready by spring. The cosmetics will come, but aren't going to stand in the way of our camping adventures.

Thanks again for the reminder and inspiration. Really loved the pics of Florida!

[Aage]

Driftless,

Thanks for your comments, it's very nice to know that people read this stuff I put on here. You've got it right, you just make a list of what you see that needs doing to get on the road, put them in some order that makes sense to do them, then pitter-patter, jes' git at'er!

Travel is somehow more enjoyable when you bring your house with you, I found. It seems to put the emphasis on where you are, rather than on the hotel or motel you happen to sleep in.

See you down the road!

[Gene]

Originally Posted by Aage

Travel is somehow more enjoyable when you bring your house with you, I found. It seems to put the emphasis on where you are, rather than on the hotel or motel you happen to sleep in.

Aage, that's one of the smarter things I've seen lately.

Gene

[Aage]

Wow, thanks, Gene!

[Aage]

Cleaning up my files of photos for 2009, I came across a bunch of photos I took on the way home on our second trip to JC. Our excuse was to get the water heater installed that we had bought at Camping World when we were in Florida, but really I just wanted to hang out there a bit more.

It was just as busy as the first time we were there, and yet since we had made an appointment it all just happened smoothly. This time I spent more time in the back, especially with Casper, our mechanic. I hope Casper doesn't mind that I name him, but I would say that in my opinion, he was well-experienced, and knew what we was doing, and just did it.

First photo is on the I75:



The main drag into JC is called West Pike in town, and I think it's just CR274 off the highway. It runs through miles of farmland, a good part of which is corn (Ohio, anyone surprised?). I kept thinking of that line in "Oh What A Beautiful Morning" from the play "Oklahoma" that goes, ♫ And the corn was as high as an elephant's eye ♫. No elephants around to compare it to, but it was tall.



Funny what goes through your mind when you're just cruising.

Henri the Sovereign, my wife and I all spent a night at the Terraport, since our appointment was not until the next morning. It was December 1. Not a warm night. No more warm breezes as we enjoyed in Florida...



A bunch of other ASs of all ages and condition were there, patiently waiting for their turn...



So next morning, the tractor came to drag Henri in, and we got comfy in the waiting room again. I looked around the store again, but I didn't see anything that I couldn't either get locally at home that I hadn't already bought when there on our visit, on the first part of our trip. Well, there were a few things... :: sigh ::

In the shop, amid the hustle and bustle, there was an older trailer (well, older than Henri) that once in a while seemed to catch the attention of the crew, and they would tear something out, or put something else in. It looked as though it was getting a fairly major overhaul of the interior, since as you see, there were even sheets of plywood stacked inside it, to do the floor, I suppose.







Even the plumbing was getting a once-over. This heap of old pipes and bits slowly grew during the day we spent there.



A big surprise: an Airstream Harley! Apparently Jesse James, the renowned motorbike builder, has an AS and perhaps did a contra deal for it, or some work on it. The bike looked to be very nicely done.





Note the yellow rag under the engine. Proof that it's a Harley: it's leaking oil.

That's all for now, I'll post the balance tomorrow.

[Aage]

Well, I'm finally getting around to replacing the original furnace. As far as I can tell from the 1974 Service Manual. there is a Suburban NT-32 in there right now.

Of course, that model no longer exists. Here is the chart for the most similar models that are currently available:



The specs for dimensions are identical (and hopefully they are identical to the ancient one in the TT now!), with two exceptions: the heat they develop and the current they draw.

WHAT a difference between the current draw of the 30,000 and the 34,000 models! Almost double!

The interesting thing is that where I have decided to get the new one, the 34k is actually five bucks cheaper to buy. I guess they sell more of them.

But if I ever boondock, (which to be honest, I haven't done so far) there will surely be a difference in battery life, huh?

So, I am looking for input and opinions on those two models, the 32 and the 34. Does anyone know that the actual difference is? A bigger jet and a huskier motor? If so, is the noise much different between the two?

Let me know your thoughts...

Aage

[Aage]

Well, we went up last weekend to open up Henri for the season, looking forward to meeting the other folks that we knew we be up there doing the same thing. When we arrived, I could see that no damage had been done to the exterior, which was a huge relief, knowing that the area had undergone violent windstorms only the month previous. One storm did manage to take down huge tree on the shore of the lake where he lives, luckily some distance from Henri.

We cheerfully went about the usual stuff, connecting the services, taking out the hundred dryer sheets we had left to discourage mice (it worked, I guess) and generally cleaning and dusting, while making lists of other things to do.

It was a fun day! With one BIG exception.

After closing the drain valves and turning on the water supply, I was going around letting the air out of the lines by running the water a bit. When I got to the tub, I turned on the water by pulling out the Moen mixer valve (tap) handle, and water started spitting out of the "telephone" type showerhead. I then shut off the water at the showerhead.

But I could still hear water running, behind the wall.

The strange thing that I haven't yet figured out is that with the tub mixer shut (tub tap) there is no water running at all. It only seems to run when the water is turned on, and is most evident when the water is turned on AND the showerhead value is closed.

I looked at the Service Manual when I got home, and the only thing I can imagine that could cause this particular set of circumstances is that the mixer valve itself froze and cracked over the winter. There’s nothing else in the water line that wouldn’t leak continuously once the water was turned on that I can see in the Service Manual.

Time will tell. I’ll be going down there as soon as my son-in-law and I finish the re-do we are currently doing on one of the bathrooms in their house.

Since I am also going to replace the Univolt and the fuse panel at that time, the fact that I will be opening up the bathtub wall will perhaps make that job a little more simple. At the least, it will be a good chance to clean out the thirty-seven year old G.E. Silicone caulking and replace it with something newer.

As usual, I welcome any advice from you all.

[Gene]

Aage,

It could be between the valve and the showerhead—a cracked copper line perhaps? Maybe that was why the water was spitting rather than running normally. If the valve is closed when you winterize, some water will probably be in the pipe. It's best to keep all valves open when draining the system and then blowing it out—I know this from experience with a cracked toilet valve and a cracked kitchen sprayer.

I hope access to the back of the shower is easy and Henri may need an anesthetic for the surgery, or maybe you will.

Gene

[Aage]

Gene,

Thanks for your suggestions! Sadly, I gave up personal "anaesthesia" many years ago. Henri seems impervious to pain. Why, he lost his original refer without a whimper, I was told!

I read up in the SM on getting to the mixer, and it looks like it's not too drastic of a surgery to get there. I need to take off the the coloured plastic "nose trim", then the extruded aluminum trim around the tub and across the wall in the tub area, and then allegedly, the panel covering the mixer will reveal its secrets.

The nose trim needs replacing anyway, so perhaps it's a Good Thing that I am doing this. I bought about 70' of the wrong thickness of nose trim a couple of years ago from an unscrupulous parts dealer who only told me it would require sanding the back to reduce the thickness for it to fit AFTER I received it and mentioned to him that it didn't come close to fitting. The sanding idea might be true, but I did enough sanding to refinish the paintwork on a bus, and it still didn't come near to a fit. :: koff :: Well, I was younger and more gullible then...

Of course reading the SM on this kind of operation always makes it sound a lot more simple than items like this always turn out to be, but I have no choice, there are no decent repair places near enough to subcontract it out.

BCNU,

Aage, still looking for advice.

[Gene]

Aage, looks like you may have a friend in faucet repair: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f38/...tml#post991264

Gene

[Aage]

Similar problem, I'd say, Gene. Our galley tap leaked, and at a Home Depot, I got a new cartridge for free, and good instructions on how to replace it.

Getting the old one out was a chore, let me tell you!

But it finally worked, and we were quite pleased that we were able to actually do things like that ourselves. This link should take you to the part where we did that.

I suggested to the poster in the link you put up to continue on, no response so far.

[Gene]

"This link" took me to this thread. It was like "Last Year at Marienbad".

In post # 107, it looks like your plumbing is steel pipe, not copper. Harder to break steel pipe when it freezes, but you are in Canada where winter is 11.9 months long. When you take things apart in an older trailer, you never know what you'll find. Come to think about it, you never know what you'll find in a new one either.

Gene

[Aage]

Oops. When I'm logged in as a mod, I find it does funny things to links.

Please try it again, it should work now.

The plumbing is all copper, as you'll see in post #43 and onward.

[Gene]

Originally Posted by Aage

Oops. When I'm logged in as a mod, I find it does funny things to links.

Please try it again, it should work now.

The plumbing is all copper, as you'll see in post #43 and onward.

Nope, still comes out at post 101. If your plumbing is copper, why are the pipes in post #107 steel? They aren't gas pipe because they would be black.

So many mysteries.

Gene

[Aage]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Nope, still comes out at post 101. If your plumbing is copper, why are the pipes in post #107 steel? They aren't gas pipe because they would be black.

So many mysteries.

Gene

That's because they aren't my pipes! They are from the late '50s - early '60s TT that was up on the hoist in previous photos. It was being worked on at JC.

As for the link, I think if you cleared your cache it would work. But it's not worth worrying about, is it?

[Gene]

Clearing cache didn't work. Maybe the Forum is not very supportive of Safari as a browser.

Posting other people's pipes may be a violation of Forum rules.

Gene

[Aage]

Aha, that's it! Safari went out with high-button shoes, Gene; the word to the wise is try Chrome (by Google): light and tasty, with a simple spell-checker, but faster than the wind.

Cleared my cache, and it still takes me to post #43. Nyah, nyah!

[Gene]

You mean I can't get high buttoned shoes anymore? Don't tell me buggy whips aren't made anymore.

I'd probably go with Firefox if I give up as Google is just getting too big.

Gene