'70 Caravanner restoration

[TouringDan]

Jeremy

Just another reason to boondock and use solar for charging your batteries. I wouldn’t think battery ventilation would be an issue in this situation.

Great and unique light design and build quality Jeremy!

Dan

[Jeremy9107]

We finally took the Airstream out weekend of July 4th (18 months in the waiting). A great feeling to be out of the driveway with it. Didn't expect everything to go perfect first time out, but also didn't expect all that went wrong.

Good news is, trailer pulled great. Weighed it empty on the CAT scale at just over 4000 lbs. Believe it was listed at 4260 lbs out of the factory so glad to know we came in underweight with the renovation. More good news, all the construction held up. No popped rivets. No downed cabinets, fixtures or appliances.

List of things that weren't working and I have been repairing since we got back :
-trailer brake controller not working
-pump not strong enough to get good pressure from faucets
-no hot water
-1/2 the interior lights not turning on
-fridge not working on LP
-gray tank valve didn't seem like it opened

Other than that, good times and what a relief to reap the rewards.

[Wabbiteer]

Oh is that all?

The good folks at Jermey Center will take care of you

Umnn, yanno without Photos the camping it didn't happen?

Great news, we're glad the 18 months of therapy held a cure!

[Jeremy9107]

I thought we were all on the honor system...

First time pulling trailer back to my driveway. Used to scrape the bumper on the way up the driveway, but those new axles are lifted and no scraping now.


Camped out at French Meadows Reservoir near Forest Hill, CA. 4 hour drive up and down some steep grade, so a good test for the trailer.

[Jeremy9107]

Was quite bummed about the fridge. Had it in the driveway plugged in to AC keeping everything cool and didn't think to test propane until the night before the camping trip. Guess it didn't cross my mind since it was brand new. Could hear the igniter sparking but no flame and it would time out and give error code 3.

No worries though. Built the "ice box" cabinet and had a cooler in there filled with the perishables and ice. Kept everything cool all weekend.

Bought this Norcold N3104 on Amazon cause it was the cheapest price around. 1 year ago. Online purchase has its downside. No local Norcold service place would honor its warranty. Makes sense, they are trying to stay in business and want you buying their products. Couldn't get anyone to look at it until mid August anyway. So, did my best troubleshooting.

Had buck riveted the vents on (which are also the access panels). Won't do that again. Next time will use screws.


-Checked to be sure propane was getting through line to fridge. Yup
-Checked to be sure propane was getting to solenoid valve on fridge. Yup
-Checked to be sure propane was getting through solenoid valve. Nope
-So figured solenoid was not working. Connected it directly to 12V battery. Worked fine
-Checked to see if had power going from battery to fridge. Yup
-Checked inline fuse to see if blown. Nope
-Checked power to Solenoid. No power
-Unplugged solenoid connector on motherboard. Then got stuck. There are a lot of fragile little electronic things on that motherboard. At that point figured I was in over my head so decided was going to wait and take to service center. Put it all back together. Decided to try one more time, and wouldn't you know it, sparked and ignited just fine. So not sure what was wrong. Maybe just needed to be reset by unplugging the solenoid??



I was fine with the cooler as am proud of the ice box. But wife will be happy with an operable fridge.

[Jeremy9107]

Finding a short is great detective work. Need lots of patience and clear thinking. Read that most shorts are positive to ground shorts. So found the hot wire to the circuit that was blowing a fuse and attached red lead of multimeter to it. Attached black lead to a random ground wire to the frame. With the fuse out, tested if there was any resistance. Sure was.

So began tracing wires back to battery, testing in similar fashion. Glad I made most of the wires easily accessible at the center roof panel.


Darn it if it wasn't the very last wire coming off the converter. Those wooden end cap panels made it easy to see that wire though. Just peeked underneath to track its course. And I had run a couple of extra wires up through the wall there so was able to swap out the bad hot wire for a new hot wire. All lights working great now.

[Jeremy9107]

Next thing to fix is the lack of pump power. Have a SureFlo. 2.8 gpm. It was in the trailer when purchased 7 years ago and has worked fine with normal water pressure. It is the only electronic that was not replaced during this renovation. Turns on fine. Sounds good. Builds good pressure initially, but when faucet turned on, pressure fizzles out after 10 seconds. Pump kicks back on, but just can not keep up with demand. It puts out 16 ounces per 1.5 minutes.

Any suggestions? Should I just buy a new pump? Get a pump with more gpm ability?

[dbj216]

I installed a 4 gpm Shurflo and it works fine, one faucet at a time. There is not enough flow to run two water sources, e.g. galley faucet and toilet at the same time. Flow drops significantly. Your pump might be even less. So I'd ask for a new pump for Christmas.

It's great you took your project out camping. Sure, some problems, but it sounds like you got a handle on them. The next trip out will even be better. Our old trailers are a continuous work in progress.

David

[Jeremy9107]

David. I posted the pump problem in another thread and got a lot of troubleshooting suggestions.
clean in flow filter
get air out of lines
clean aerators
clean inside pump
check for clogged lines
get a high flow filter

My pressure is fine with city water attached so I don't think any of those are the problem. I do have 2 water filters in tandem after the pump which have 1 liter capacity housings. Wondering if that would restrict the flow so pump could not keep up. Will check into it. As you said, thinking just need a new pump. It was the last of the old hold outs so might as well.

[Jeremy9107]

Had mentioned the brake controller was not working on the maiden camping voyage. Not a good time for it to go out as we were on steep grades with lots of switch backs. Fortunately, the manual override seemed to be working.

It is a Prodigy P2 by Tekonsha. 4 years old with Lifetime warranty. Called their help line today and Dan the rep was certain the unit was fine and told me to check my brake light switch. Said the cruise control will not work if that switch is out. My wife uses this vehicle primarily, and sure enough, she said the cruise control hasn't worked for a year. $29 part from O'Reilly and 3 minutes to change out. Back to functioning.

[steinVT]

Congrats on the maiden voyage. I'm maybe a month behind you. For all you have done, your list of gotcha's was pretty short.
Nice work, Mark

[Jeremy9107]

steinVT. It’s a good feeling to be campable. I knew there would be problems. Was just hoping my family would understand. They were great and didn’t mind the darkness, cold slow trickling water, lack of shower and inoperable fridge. Each outing moving forward will seem like a luxury as those items get restored.

Have enjoyed following several reno threads through my ordeal, including yours.Somewhat therapeutic and encouraging to see others tackling the same thing. Looking forward to your completion.

[Jeremy9107]

got pump working. after many troubleshooting days, it ended up being a kinked hose right at the outlet of the fresh water tank. dang it. bought a new pump before figuring this out (David, couldn't wait until Christmas). so on the positive side we increased flow from 2.8 gpm to 3.3 gpm and i have a pump to build a pond and waterfall around!


someone was asking about Pentek water filters slowing down pressure. have used 2 in series before and have 2 set up that way now. doesn't seem to effect flow very much. have friends who won't drink the water from their fresh water tank. i have never considered not drinking it. but maybe these filters make me feel better about it? wondering what most people do, bring bottled water to drink?


so. have fridge working on LP now.
have plenty of hot water from that tankless water heater.
all lights working
gray tank emptying

[Jeremy9107]

have neglected to show recent interior photos. major projects are now completed. have some tinkering here and there to do, and still need to make gaucho cushion covers and figure out shower.










am sure as we are using it we will figure out other things that would be nice to have. ie, a hook here, a shelf there, etc

[Jeremy9107]

slides out great, even when full of ice and provisions. gotta figure out some way to insulate the front, just behind the cabinet doors. maybe just a section of bubble foil insulation that rolls down...

[Jeremy9107]

2nd trip out. much more successful than first. good to be "out there"

[steinVT]

Jeremy, looking great. The interior shows the tremendous amount of quality work you have done.

I have the same water heater, glad to hear it works well. Question, when it's running does it put out a lot of fumes? And does the exterior get very hot? I am installing it under the sink in the kitchen and plan to do a powered vent to remove the excess heat and gases. Mark

[cole3444]

Jeremy,
Looking thru your thread and am amazed at your work. I am starting my second frame off on my second 31" Sovereign. Figured out today after looking at your belly pan the 103" wide would be better than the 48" wide sheets and was wondering if the 103" worked out best for you. The company you posted is about 5 hours from me. Looks like I may get a new frame built so I don't have to patch the frame and incorporate some of your ideas in mine if you don't care. Good luck and happy travels. My first was a learning experience. Thanks Jim

[Jeremy9107]

steinVT. The Excel heater is just as I had hoped for. Compact, light weight, easy to operate.

You can see the burner light up through the exterior during operation. It’s not a big flame and does not put out much heat. Instructions only call for 1” of clearance from sides and bottom (none from back) so that should provide you reassurance. The top clearance is determined by the heat deflector shield.

In terms of fumes. I didn’t smell any combustibles. The instructions do state to allow for venting. I figure this puts out less than the burner on your stove considering it operates with less propane for less time. I think you will be fine with your plan and I have seen at least 2 others on the forum install similar to you.

[Jeremy9107]

Jim. You will be pleased with that 103” material (roof coil I believe they call it). It is quite easy to bend. In many places I bent to 90 degrees with just my hands over a piece of ply. It is very satisfying to see just one piece of belly skin where 2-3 pieces used to be. When I took my old belly pan off, it was filled with an impressive amount of dirt (not dust) and several rodent carcasses. Im hoping to stop that invasion in the future.

By all means, take design elements and make them your own. Hardly any of my renovation was my original idea. Most ideas sprung from forum members.

You are working on your second....good luck. If I start a second my marriage might end in divorce. So I have to wait till the wife forgets how much time was involved in this one!