Dad's Toy

[dadstoy]

I'm enjoying a few days at the MH before the summer heat kicks in. A sure sign of summer coming soon is in the winter when it rains, it just rains. In the summer there is lightening, thunder, rain and hail. We had beautiful clear blue skies today until mid afternoon and within about 30 minutes it all changed!


I did change the handle on the bath roof fan and got my strobe lights wired on the RZR.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by dadstoy

I'm enjoying a few days at the MH before the summer heat kicks in. A sure sign of summer coming soon is in the winter when it rains, it just rains. In the summer there is lightening, thunder, rain and hail. We had beautiful clear blue skies today until mid afternoon and within about 30 minutes it all changed!


I did change the handle on the bath roof fan and got my strobe lights wired on the RZR.

Something must be wrong, you made no mention of wine in your post!

Just kidding

We've got weather like that in Kentucky. Yesterday it was a beautiful 72, this morning it's 36 and we've got snow on the ground.

[dadstoy]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Something must be wrong, you made no mention of wine in your post!

Just kidding

We've got weather like that in Kentucky. Yesterday it was a beautiful 72, this morning it's 36 and we've got snow on the ground.

Brad, I was just thinking the same thing! The motorhome "wine cabinet" seems to be empty this time around! I really need to check into that. But then, waking up without a headache in the morning is a good thing! LOL. Its way to easy to drink an entire bottle in an evening when I'm here at the ranch by myself. Sharing a bottle at home is a lot more fun and easier on the body and mind! Also, I need to be able to bend over and tie my shoes in the morning without passing out...the old spare tire seems to be bigger today then it was a year ago! This pandemic has certainly had many effects on all of us.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by dadstoy

Brad, I was just thinking the same thing! The motorhome "wine cabinet" seems to be empty this time around! I really need to check into that. But then, waking up without a headache in the morning is a good thing! LOL. Its way to easy to drink an entire bottle in an evening when I'm here at the ranch by myself. Sharing a bottle at home is a lot more fun and easier on the body and mind! Also, I need to be able to bend over and tie my shoes in the morning without passing out...the old spare tire seems to be bigger today then it was a year ago! This pandemic has certainly had many effects on all of us.

Having an empty wine cabinet seems quite the oversite

You're not joking, this pandemic has been a eye opener. Hopefully things will settle down before fall.

[dadstoy]

I'm sending in a couple of oil samples to Blackstone. One for my Polaris RZR and one for my F150. I will do a sample for the MH if I ever get any miles at all on it any time soon. Not sure that is going to happen however. I just looked and I've only put 700 miles on it in the last 5 years.

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by dadstoy

.. I just looked and I've only put 700 miles on it in the last 5 years.

Easy fix...
28 hr (1,893.4 mi) via I-40 E

[dadstoy]

Peter, I would love to, but...

Add another 500 miles (the MH is at the ranch north of home.
(((1894 * 2) + 500) / 8mpg) * $3.75g = $2010 fuel cost
Smog check & registration = $200est
6 Goodyear or Michelin tires = $2500 (oh plenty of tread on current tires, just 10 years old now)

Just not in the cards right now, but I get jealous every time I read the posts about the rally.

Originally Posted by PeterH-350LE

Easy fix...
28 hr (1,893.4 mi) via I-40 E

[dadstoy]

I'm back home after spending 2.5 weeks in the MH at the ranch. This is the longest I have ever spent at one time in the MH. I've been an owner at the ranch property for 33 years and every year I have wanted to spend more then a week up there in the spring time before the weather changes. It seems that every year something comes up and I can't spend spring time there. It won't be long now before the weather changes drastically and the temps are up to 110 degrees every day for the entire summer. We actually have some green on the hills right now. Fire season is also on its way and it is believed that it will be worse this year then almost any time in the past.

After replacing the 12v converter and replacing the dump valve gaskets, all functioned great for the time I was there. Hopefully, the dump valves now hold up for some time to come. It's not a pleasant job to do, but not very difficult at all. I hadn't run the AC since last summer, so I turned it on the day before heading home. It was about 85 outside and 90 inside. AC cooled the inside down quickly to the low 70s before I turned it off...it was getting too cold! I wish the AC could do that when the outside temps reach 110.

It was time to swap RV spaces with my neighbor (90 days only on one space, permanent residency not allowed). So I got to drive the MH 50 feet forward and then 50 feet backward into one space over! That is about all the MH moves these days every 90 days. I really want to get it out on the road again! The engine starts easy and runs good. I left it run for a bit during the move. It took about 10 min for the water temp to go from 160 to 180, but then it was only 85 degrees outside. I know idling isn't great but it is better then not running the engine at all for months at a time.

Rob's workstation got me thinking about my own setup. I found a computer/monitor table to sit over the second dining table seat. This way I could easily just move the keyboard and mouse off the table for meal times. It really worked out well and it will move out of the way easily if needed. Oh, the sample bottle on the window ledge is not a urine sample, it is an engine oil sample ready to put in the mail!

I'm fairly happy with the interior of the MH, but the exterior sure has deteriorated over the last 5 years. It actually embarrasses me, but there is not much I can do at this time. It's a Bette Midler...it looks good "From a Distance", at least 25 feet away! I often look at the curb side mirror that I painted 6 years ago and wish the entire MH looked as good.

One of the two major projects I have never tackled is the bins on the driver's side. They have been leaking rain water probably since the day the MH rolled off the assemble line. It's a bad design. The bottom of the bins have been rusting through for many years and of course are now getting worse. I don't think there are any gaskets that will ever stop the water intrusion. I was thinking of adding a drip rail above the doors. The bottom of the bins need to be replaced, but I doubt that I could find any shop of any type that would do the work and I'm not a welder. Any suggestions would be appreciated. If I can stop the water intrusion, is there anything that can actual stop/encase the rust? POR-15 maybe?

[Magnet18]

POR is a pretty good idea for the drawer, I'd drill some drain holes first.

[PeterH-350LE]

get some Ospho Metal primer first. Its mildly corrosive, so protect eyes and skin. I use a spray bottle, treat top and bottom several times, let dry for several days, then por 15

[dadstoy]

I've been wanting to add some switches to the radio console. I ran a cable harness from the front to the rear some years ago and I've had a bunch of switches as well. I've just never gotten around to the project and may never get there!

My apologies to the wiring schematic experts. I'm very limited on my Visio "shapes"!

Suggestions welcome!

Fuel Pump Switch: Up; Fuel pump on with ign & oil pres switch. Middle; off. Down; Momentary, Fuel pump on.

Air Compressor Switch: Up; On with ign on. Middle; off. Down; On without ign having to be on.

Air Bag Switch; Up; Air bags normal operation. Middle; off. Down; Momentary, Dump valve open.

Air Horn Switch: Currently running wire from stock electric horn to air horn solenoid. Want to disable air horn and use stock horn if wanted.

Refrigerator Switch: Want to be able to turn refrigerator off from driver’s seat when pulling into gas station. I know that I will have to turn refrig back on from refrig panel itself.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by dadstoy

I've been wanting to add some switches to the radio console. I ran a cable harness from the front to the rear some years ago and I've had a bunch of switches as well. I've just never gotten around to the project and may never get there!

My apologies to the wiring schematic experts. I'm very limited on my Visio "shapes"!

Suggestions welcome!

Fuel Pump Switch: Up; Fuel pump on with ign & oil pres switch. Middle; off. Down; Momentary, Fuel pump on.

Air Compressor Switch: Up; On with ign on. Middle; off. Down; On without ign having to be on.

Air Bag Switch; Up; Air bags normal operation. Middle; off. Down; Momentary, Dump valve open.

Air Horn Switch: Currently running wire from stock electric horn to air horn solenoid. Want to disable air horn and use stock horn if wanted.

Refrigerator Switch: Want to be able to turn refrigerator off from driver’s seat when pulling into gas station. I know that I will have to turn refrig back on from refrig panel itself.

The circuit for the 12v lights is a little confusing, it just looks like a wire going no where and other than a couple of dots missing on connections and one dot that isn't needed it looks good

The fun part is creating the diagram. The rest of job is where the work is going to be!

What size are the wires in the cable that you ran?

[dadstoy]

Hey Brad. The "12v Lights On" circuit is for instrument lights on with headlights. The air pressure gauge has a light in it, I just didn't complete the diagram. The dots inside the "Dash Radio Panel" will be a terminal block. Thought that would be better then running wires from switch to switch.

Sometimes it is fun making the diagram. LOL.

I'm guessing 16 or 18 gauge wire in the harness, I don't remember. Its a pre-made harness with connectors on each end and about 35' long that I had sitting around from something. It will be used to activate the relay coils and not the component loads so whatever gauge it is it should be fine.

Air compressor is already wired with a continuous use relay and relay connected to ignition switch under dash somewhere. I installed the fuel pump next to the fuel tank years ago but never plumbed it nor wired it.

Originally Posted by bkahler

The circuit for the 12v lights is a little confusing, it just looks like a wire going no where and other than a couple of dots missing on connections and one dot that isn't needed it looks good

The fun part is creating the diagram. The rest of job is where the work is going to be!

What size are the wires in the cable that you ran?

[bkahler]

It would appear you have all the bases covered I agree, relays are the way to go. I've always felt they are so much better than direct wiring.

[dadstoy]

I got the oil analysis back from blackstone-labs.com for the pickup and the Polaris RZR. I would really like to send in a sample from the motor home, but just not many miles on the last oil change. I need to contact them to find out what the minimum miles on the oil should be for a test.

My '95 F150 with 190K miles is in good shape and I'm happy about that. They found a very small amount of coolant in the oil which stands to reason from the timing cover to block gasket coolant leak that I had.

The 12 year old RZR with 4000 hard miles on it shows a little wear which I would expect. The test results are actually better than I was expecting.

Thanks to Rob (Magnet18) and any others that mentioned Blackstone.

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by dadstoy

I got the oil analysis back from blackstone-labs.com for the pickup and the Polaris RZR. I would really like to send in a sample from the motor home, but just not many miles on the last oil change. I need to contact them to find out what the minimum miles on the oil should be for a test.

My '95 F150 with 190K miles is in good shape and I'm happy about that. They found a very small amount of coolant in the oil which stands to reason from the timing cover to block gasket coolant leak that I had.

The 12 year old RZR with 4000 hard miles on it shows a little wear which I would expect. The test results are actually better than I was expecting.

Thanks to Rob (Magnet18) and any others that mentioned Blackstone.

They told me 500 miles

[dadstoy]

Summer has arrived at the ranch. 99 yesterday. 99 right now. 105 by 3-4pm. 110 tomorrow. Can't really work on my To Do list in the heat, but working on a few things. The bottom of my storage bins are rusted out, but I'm trying to take care of what is left. There is no way for me to replace the bottoms at this time. I prepped with OSPHO and painted with a can of oil based primer that I had. I bet I can't get another can of "oil based" anything any longer. I had forgotted, but this is what I did to the rear bin that houses the compressor and electric cord about 7-8 years ago. It is holding up pretty well.

Yesterday morning, before it got too hot, we went for an ATV ride out back. We were up on a ridge about 3 miles out from the main compound as the crow flies. Its a lot longer by trail.

The rear of the MH is mostly shaded in the afternoon by a couple of trees. Yesterday at the hottest, the outside temp was about 99, the MH AC held the inside temp to about 80. A little bit after 6pm as temps just started to fall a bit, the inside temp got down to 75. This morning it was 90 at 9am. It is 100 right now at 1:30pm and inside temp is 86. The inside temp isn't holding as well today.

The ranch had more owners here over this weekend then I have seen in years. People needed to get away! We had multiple electric issues over the weekend, not in the section I'm in however. These owners bring their new giant 5th wheels up here and they don't get that we only have 30amp service at the RV spaces. Two ACs and everything else doesn't work well on 30amps. Even my friend next to me has two ACs and says they were running both ACs. I don't understand how that can be. They did once yesterday afternoon come out and reset the shore breaker after it tripped. Now I'm not against the 5th wheels. To be real honest at this point in time, if I had a new F250 instead of a 25 years old F150, I would have a 5th wheel instead of the Airstream.

[dadstoy]

Here is an excellent article on disassembly and rebuilt of a QuadraJet carburetor...


https://www.chevydiy.com/how-to-prop...jet-carburetor


While hanging out in Seattle, we looked at a few possible retirement homes. The shop on this property could fit four Airstream motorhomes at once!

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by dadstoy

Here is an excellent article on disassembly and rebuilt of a QuadraJet carburetor...


https://www.chevydiy.com/how-to-prop...jet-carburetor


While hanging out in Seattle, we looked at a few possible retirement homes. The shop on this property could fit four Airstream motorhomes at once!

Imagine ...

[dadstoy]

Originally Posted by PeterH-350LE

Imagine ...

I just feel special that I still run a QuadraJet! Or maybe it is just that I have no choice!