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Crusty · 06-25-2008, 08:22 AM

Here's a test that you can do that is nearly as good as MagnaFlux and a lot cheaper.

Get some liquid (non-spray) WD40, and some black or red Ritz powdered dye. Mix some of the dye into some of the oil and then paint it on the part to be tested. After about 15 minutes, wipe the oil mixture off the surfaces and then dust the part with talcum powder. Leave the part to sit for an hour or two and then inspect it closely - any cracks will show up as a red or black area in the talc.

overlander63 · 06-29-2008, 01:25 PM

First, the good news:
1- the LED lights arrived earlier in the week.
2- the parts of the Hensley don't seem to have any cracks.
3- the new fresh water tank is here.
4- I installed the second hook for the shower door retainer.

Now, the bad news:
1- The LED lights are oriented backward, so they light the inside of the light fixture

.
2- I need a LOT of parts for the Hensley.
3- the new fresh water tank is going to be too much of a problem to install by myself.
4- I bored a hole in my finger drilling the new hole for the shower door retainer

In an unrelated story, I got tired of having no support for my upper back, neck and head while sitting on the front gaucho. Marie suggested using the hidden cushion from under the gaucho to fabricate a higher seat back. After mulling it over, and doing a little measuring, I pulled out the hidden gaucho cushion, and the two pieces of 1/4" plywood I had removed from the overhead tambours, and applied them to the back of the hidden cushion, and the lower cushion. There is plywood on the back of both cushions, and there is no fabric there. I used some 1/4" long #6 (I think they are about 1/8" diameter) wood screws to hold the two pieces together. A small pillow at the bottom makes a decent angle for sitting.
Here are a couple of pictures, try to ignore the "princess" reclining on the pile of pillows:

richinny · 06-29-2008, 03:32 PM

how about a head rest from a car seat? somewhere i've seen a head rest that had a flat chrome post and a chrome channel on the back of the seat that allows removal of the head rest.

overlander63 · 06-29-2008, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richinny

how about a head rest from a car seat? somewhere i've seen a head rest that had a flat chrome post and a chrome channel on the back of the seat that allows removal of the head rest.

Our seat cushion only comes about as high as my bottom rib, giving no support above that. If I put a headrest on the lower cushion, the flat chrome post would have to be at least a couple of feet long, and still wouldn't support our backs, just our heads. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a gaucho for sale from a newer model Airstream that is within driving distance.

overlander63 · 06-30-2008, 08:31 PM

This afternoon I was able to con, errr, persuade a friend to come over and assist with the R&R of the old, leaking fresh water tank, and install the new one I got from Inland. It really wasn't tough, but the weight of the parts involved made things interesting, as well as the real reason we needed a fresh water tank..
First, I made a couple of "creepers" out of the cardboard box the tank came in, one for me, and one for our friend, so we could lay under the trailer without grinding sand, dirt, ants, and who-knows-what into our backs.
While I was waiting for the friend to arrive, I went ahead and removed the hoses and electrical connectors from the old tank.
I then crawled under Bertha to prep for the removal of the tank. One thing I noticed was the LP lines going in several different directions from the bottom cover for the tank. I started removing the lines by turning off the LP (duh!), and allowing the gas to bleed off. Then I removed the lines from the fridge, stove, water heater, and catalytic heater. Seems everything is plumbed directly under the fresh water tank.

After removing all the lines, and the screws (a couple of them kind of long), my friend unscrewed the two 5/16" diameter bolts securing the front bracket to the water tank. The bracket fell off, narrowly missing both of us in the process. (note to self: next time, HOLD THE BRACKET!!!)
I then noticed I had not removed the drain hose, and went inside the trailer to make sure everything else was unhooked. I found a faucet handle I hadn't seen before, and like a dummy, I turned it. I immediately heard the sound of running water, closely followed by the sound of my friend sputtering and coughing, and telling me to TURN THE DAMN WATER OFF!. Oops...

After we got him dried off, we started sliding the cover out from under the tank. It is large and heavy, and took both of us to muscle it out from under the tank. In the process, my friend inadvertently found a pile of mouse poop. He found it when it fell on his head. I offered to use my newfound valve to help clean it off, but he politely declined my generous offer. Some people just have no sense of humor.

We then dragged the tank out from under Bertha, and I flipped the tank over, expecting to see a big crack from where it had frozen with water in it, or something similar. Not so. There are two neat 1/8" diameter holes drilled in the bottom of the tank to accommodate the (really) long screws that were holding the LP lines in place. My theory is this is from the same person that: a- repaired the rear frame area, and b- removed the oven, but left the LP line open to the interior of the coach. I would really like to meet the guy in a dark alley sometime. He's caused (and cost) us a lot of time, effort, and money to repair his repairs.

Installing the new tank was pretty easy, the weight of the items involved notwithstanding (a 1"+ thick plywood sheet is kind of heavy, not to mention a 50 gallon water tank), we each got to bench press a hundred pounds or so while moving everything into place. All the hoses lined up and matched, with the exception of the main fill. It is a few inches further back toward the rear of the coach, and a couple of inches further in from the fill neck. I'll get a new piece of hose and another clamp tomorrow. Then I'll be able to install the water pump I got a couple of weeks ago.

Aage · 07-01-2008, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overlander63

Installing the new tank was pretty easy, the weight of the items involved notwithstanding (a 1"+ thick plywood sheet is kind of heavy, not to mention a 50 gallon water tank), we each got to bench press a hundred pounds or so while moving everything into place.

Maybe nobody told you: you're supposed to do that when the tank is empty.

::running and hiding:: Sorry, just kidding!

overlander63 · 07-01-2008, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aage

Maybe nobody told you: you're supposed to do that when the tank is empty.

::running and hiding:: Sorry, just kidding!

But look at all the time we saved by pre-filling the tank!...

overlander63 · 07-01-2008, 07:07 PM

Yesterday we got the new fresh water tank installed, and were waiting for a trip to Ace Hardware to pick up some hose and clamps. This afternoon, I picked up some large hose for the fill neck, and this evening I put it on. I checked all the connections, grabbed our fresh water feed hose, stuck it in the fresh water tank, and threw the spigot to "full speed ahead".
While the tank was filling (it takes a while to fill the equivalent of a 55 gallon drum with a garden hose), I got to work removing the old PAR pump and installing the Flo-Jet pump. I got preoccupied with this task, and only realized the tank was full when water started sloshing out of the belly pan.

Marie ran outside and turned off the hose, and I crawled out from under the kitchen counter with the antique water pump in hand.
After a few minutes sitting up to stretch my bent bones, I crawled back in, and plumbed and wired the new pump. It wasn't that hard, it seems the new pumps come with quick connect fittings, so all you have to do is clamp the hose on the fitting, and snap it in place on the pump. I verified all the clamps were tight, and hit the main switch for the pump. There was the brief sound of the pump starting up, almost instantly followed by the dreaded pop of a rupturing hose, and the hiss of rapidly escaping water. I took a quick look for the source, saw the outlet hose had burst on the pump, and it was doing its best to empty the water tank into the kitchen cabinet. I shut the pump down, and started mopping up water. If they'd had one of these pumps on board, the Titanic would never have sunk.

So, tomorrow I return to Ace Hardware for more hoses (I'm replacing all of them I can find). This will make the third, and (I hope) final trip to Ace for the water tank install. At least it isn't raining...

Phil/Edee · 07-01-2008, 10:39 PM

Terry.... are you telling us that through ALL this, Marie and your cute little "dog-child" are still there with you???

We can't wait to get back down that way to see you guys again!! Please try to stay in one piece until then!!!

PS... when is your book being published????

P & E

sd90mac · 07-02-2008, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil/Edee

Terry.... are you telling us that through ALL this, Marie and your cute little "dog-child" are still there with you???

We can't wait to get back down that way to see you guys again!! Please try to stay in one piece until then!!!

PS... when is your book being published????

P & E

Yep, still here, but with promotion working many hours. Terry is doing great with the flowejet install, but the old pipes and hoses are giving him a fit. Between hoses bursting apart and plugs in lines, it is taking longer than we thought.

Life is fun, and new episodes are continuing.

Though I do have to tell you when they were puting the water tank under the coach Sophie didn't know what the noise was from and sat on the couch shaking so hard, the goucho was shaking. I finally had to take her outside to show her, and she thought it was playtime. She really is a 20 pound chicken!

Marie

overlander63 · 07-02-2008, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overlander63

At least it isn't raining...

So this evening I installed the new hoses, in the rain...Sigh...

I then turned off the water, and started the new water pump. It ran a couple of seconds, then turned off. I opened the kitchen faucet, and got a small dribble of water, then--nothing. The pump did not come back on. I checked the wires, and the fuses. Everything was in order, but no water. After another half hour of cursing, and tooth-gnashing, I found the check valve that is supposed to keep city water from flowing through the water pump, and into the fresh water tank, was corroded in place. It was not allowing city water to the pump (good), but was not allowing onboard water to the rest of the coach. Bad. So, I took everything apart, removed the check valve, cleaned it, and reinstalled it. The pump now pumps water throughout the coach as intended. I then unhooked the city water hose, and turned the pump on again. Water came gushing out of the city water inlet. Drat! Now I'll have to track down the city water check valve, that keeps me from supplying the neighborhood with fresh water, and either free it up, or replace it. Looks like an unprecedented 4th trip to Ace may be in order...

richinny · 07-02-2008, 08:30 PM

trip one: buy 5 of everything you might need.
trip two: return 98% or what you bought on trip one. :-)

overlander63 · 07-03-2008, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by richinny

trip one: buy 5 of everything you might need.
trip two: return 98% or what you bought on trip one. :-)

When I left Ace yesterday, they all said, "See you tomorrow!"...

overlander63 · 07-04-2008, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overlander63

When I left Ace yesterday, they all said, "See you tomorrow!"...

Just before I headed out the door for Ace, I noticed the Hurricane center providing updates on Bertha. That got my attention, and not in a good way. It seems the second named storm of the season is named after our trailer

. Maybe I can petition them to change its name... It's not currently expected to be a threat to the US, but I seem to have a track record fro being a crap magnet. I only hope the two Berthas don't attract each other, I really don't want to be chased to Canada by a hurricane on a mission.

Jaxon · 07-04-2008, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overlander63

Maybe I can petition them to change its name... It's not currently expected to be a threat to the US, but I seem to have a track record fro being a crap magnet. I only hope the two Berthas don't attract each other, I really don't want to be chased to Canada by a hurricane on a mission.

Wow! If you do man, you'll go down in history... imagine that, a hurricane in Canada!

overlander63 · 07-04-2008, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaxon

Wow! If you do man, you'll go down in history... imagine that, a hurricane in Canada!

With our track record, would there be any doubt?

safari57 · 07-05-2008, 08:39 AM

We'll keep the light on for ya Terry. But leave that hurricane back in wonderland.

sd90mac · 07-09-2008, 05:41 PM

Hi,

Fortunately, hurricane Bertha is going no where near airstream Bertha. Whewww. Looks like it's going out to sea.

Now, let's keep our collective fingers crossed this will be a hurricane free , or minimal year.

Marie

silver 67 · 07-14-2008, 08:46 PM

Hi guys -

It seems like forever since I have been on the forums and it took me a while to catch up on your never ending saga.

I have decided, by reading your complaints about the gauchos, that I am even more glad that we did not replace ours and instead installed two chairs and a large footstool. We have a couple comfy fold out chairs for company when needed but we knew that for the most part, we would be the only two people in Moby and didn't need the seating or the sleeping space.

I am also glad that our water tank is inside. It was a breeze to move it around, do some repairs and install a new pump. Our son built a curved cabinet to fit over it, which doubles as a side table for our chairs. If hubby ever figures out how to send a picture, we'll do it.

Glad to hear that you are both still "up and running" and thanks for the pics of St. Augustine. That brought back many memories of a great time there.

Remember that you are always welcome here in the heartland.

silver 67 · 07-17-2008, 07:11 PM

Beth asked me to send you a picture of the inside front end of our Airstream that shows the chairs we have. She knew that you did not like the low back cushions that you did have at one time.

While I have your attention I wanted to let you know that I am enjoying your experiences with full timing and the things that you have and are doing to fix her up.

Thanks,

David (of David and Beth and Silver 67 and Moby)