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rebel beck · 06-09-2006, 10:08 PM

Great Pumkin, looks great when you get all of it down pat and you finish yours want to come to Mississippi and do mine.

GreatPumpkin · 06-09-2006, 10:23 PM

Thanks - My compounder/polisher arrived yesterday, so I've been going at it some more, but I'm hitting some deep scratches. Can't see them very well because of the flash, but this is definitely going to take awhile!
I'm using the Diamond Brite that Rob recommended. It's taking off the surface corrosion great, but I'll definitely need some Nuvite to get rid of the deep scratches and corrosion. Also I need to find some better pads (6"-7") The ones from Harbor Freight are ok, but won't last long. I'm trying to figure out how to utilize some of the really soft $1 per yard fabric from Wal-Mart to make polishing bonnets - use and throw away! No way my wife is going to let me wash them in her machine.

GreatPumpkin · 06-09-2006, 10:38 PM

The parts from LED arrived today (Karma to you Roger), so I took apart the blower motor from his ’75 and installed the squirrel cage into my blower motor (stove exhaust fan). 11 Years difference, but it fits perfectly. They definitely adjusted the quality though. My fan housing is a heavy plastic (Bakelite?), but the one from the ’75 was a very lightweight plastic. Both fan housings were PAR, but I think the quality of mine is much better.

Mine’s the one shiny black one. The one from Roger is the slightly smaller, dustier one.

The other picture is of the two squirrel cages side by side. The ugly broken one came out of my fan, the cleaned up white one from the ’75.

Put it all back together and got it installed. Works great! I also put some fiberglass window screen at the end of the vent to keep out the birds – they had left a few presents in the vent tube over the years.

Later I'll tackle the vent covers he sent to see if I can repurpose them to fit my original Hehr lifters - P.O. replaced the back skylight cover, but thankfully kept the original lifting mechanisms.

GreatPumpkin · 06-11-2006, 11:35 PM

I replaced the countertop on the galley side earlier, but didn't have time to do the other side at the same time. Finally getting some time, so pulled it out and cut a new one. Since the counter top was out, I thought I would try the "burping" technique on the replacement fridge that didn't work after installation (see thread #6 above for that story) I removed the fridge, turned it over and there it was - yellow death

all over the coils - I guess it didn't survive the shipping here, although it looked fine when I installed it.
Well we've never had a fridge before, all our over SOB TT's had ice boxes. I guess for this season we can live with this expensive ice box and replace it next year. That's got to be just about the most expensive part to replace inside an AS

GreatPumpkin · 06-18-2006, 10:05 PM

Just got back from our second outing in the AS. I think I need to search out the old Dumb A** thread to post to.

I removed the front rock guard to polish it and fix the leaks (post # 34). The P.O. had "fixed" it previously by using pop rivets and very large screws (along with that nasty "s" word - silicone) to hold it in place at the top of the window.

I temporarily plugged the holes with a flexible weatherstrip sealant (comes in rolls, stays soft). I wanted to polish around the window frame and reseal with vulkem before I re-installed the rock guard. Here's the dumb part. I forgot that I left the lower two support arms attached and hanging freely. - Yep we went camping with them hanging......well one of them anyways. Somewhere along the way to our destination the road motion created a pendulum effect, creating fresh scratches. To make matters worse somewhere along the way one of the offending scratch mechanisms removed itself from the trailer and went awol. Now I've still got leaks to fix, and an aluminum support arm to track down and replace.

GreatPumpkin · 06-19-2006, 07:25 PM

If you've been following my thread, you noticed that I tried to keep the original PAR pump (now available for cheap - even have some replacement seals!) , but had to replace due to it leaking. I replaced it with a Shurflo model 2088 12V 2.8gpm pump. I got it hooked up last minute before our camping trip. Turned it on to test it and heard noise, but no water.

Pulled the hoses and checked for suction, nothing. Messed around and tried to figure it out for awhile. Flipped the switch from City Power to Battery Power. Tried it again, and I now have flowing water

. Is this common? Should it work that way?

Yes, typically if you have city power, you probably have water also in which case you wouldn't use the pump. But in this case I used city power since I had it (all the basic sites were taken). I went ahead and used the water in my tank since I had it and didn't want to haul it home. No big deal, but I couldn't use the vent fan on city power (to conserve battery power) while I was running the pump since it wouldn't pump except on battery.

**azflycaster** · 06-19-2006, 08:34 PM

The issue with no water pumping on city power is not right. The UniVolt or what ever you have for a convertor should be pushing out 12+ volts DC. The power from that unit is going right to the batery to charge it. I would put a meter to the 12 volt system and see what you have.

GreatPumpkin · 06-19-2006, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azflycaster

The issue with no water pumping on city power is not right. The UniVolt or what ever you have for a convertor should be pushing out 12+ volts DC. The power from that unit is going right to the batery to charge it. I would put a meter to the 12 volt system and see what you have.

Thanks AZ I have the original Univolt, however '64 was the first year, and did not include the capability to charge the battery. It originally charged while in tow from the TV, but real world testing has proved that to not work either - I'll be looking into that to see if I can figure it out. Right now I charge with a trickle charger.
The Univolt puts out 12+ Volts, however it is AC, not DC, maybe that's the problem as the pump is DC? It makes noise just like it's pumping, but no output on city power. Also it "runs" nonstop on city power, vs only when a faucet is on when running on battery.

**azflycaster** · 06-19-2006, 09:30 PM

I was just looking at the owners manual for a 65 Caracel at the VAC site. Very inteseting.
http://airstream.net/members/documen...s%20Manual.pdf
It looks like it might be the same electical system you have. I think it shows the AC voltage being converted to DC before it gets to the pump. Most likely a bridge diode type of thing. If you are putting AC to a DC water pump, it will not like it and most likely will fail. Look at your old pump (PAR) and see if it has a service tag on it. It will most likely say what the required voltage is. The new pump will be 12 Volts DC. I would most likely upgrade the electrical system with a new converter. It could be alot of work and I would think it out first. I wish I had more knowledge of that era system.

GreatPumpkin · 06-19-2006, 10:18 PM

Very similiar. Figure 11-B (pg 34) is almost identical to the diagram in my manual. I see they added 2 40amp fuses between the battery and the switches that weren't there in the '64. As I look closer at my manual, I see that the UniVolt puts out 12VAC for the lights, but 19VAC for the fans & pump. I'm sure that's the issue - the new pump just can't handle the AC and 7 extra volts.

While an upgrade of the electrical will almost certainly happen in the future, as long as the UniVolt works, I'm going to hang on to it. (2 issues - monetary, and if it ain't broke don't fix it mentality put it on the low priority list

) We mostly boondock anyways, so the inconvenience was only minor.

As I'm typing this, I remembered reading about this same issue from another forum member. Did a little search and found the thread, and specifically post #11 where Fred (47WeeWind) covered the topic quite well. The bad thing is I read that thread and even posted to it a little more than a month ago! They say memory is the first thing to go

. I guess I didn't pay close enough attention until it came to me actually replacing my pump. Thanks for your input though, got me thinking enough to remember that thread.

GreatPumpkin · 06-20-2006, 07:36 AM

Forgot to mention in post #46 above the "fun" I had when I installed the new pump. The water heater was the only unknown left in the trailer as far as appliances go. I should have known better, nothing else in the trailer worked and had to be removed or replaced. That held true for the water heater

I had everything hooked up, and got the pump working. We were thinking beautiful, as the water flowed through the system. Then my wife heard the running water before I did. Looked around everywhere, no visible leaks. Went outside the trailer - a river flowing from the belly pan. Pulled the heater cover and water came gushing out. Yep - water heater is bad also. One more thing to replace

. The good news is it didn't leak inside the traiiler!
That's not going to deter the planned camping. Remove the PEX from the water heater, cut the ends and put a coupler on, tighten down, and we now have water and the camping trip is saved

. I'll be revisiting s few threads to see what everyone else has replaced theirs with before I make that decision.

GreatPumpkin · 06-22-2006, 03:33 PM

bhayden -

Here's some pictures of our "Pergo" floor layed lengthwise.

Bought it from Lumber Liquidators.

GreatPumpkin · 06-22-2006, 03:36 PM

Here's the new countertops in black granite.

You can see in the second photo our matching, expensive "icebox".

rebel beck · 06-22-2006, 04:34 PM

Looks great love the floor and the counter tops. Sure your not coming to Mississippi soon I need a new floor and countertops. You have done such a great job on your trailer.

GreatPumpkin · 06-22-2006, 04:52 PM

Thanks Becky -

I think ol Mississippi is just a little beyond our traveling range! Working retail, I don't get that many weekends off so we have to squeeze the camping in where we can.
We just went to Farragut State Park in Idaho this past weekend and had a good time. Now I'm trying to get the gaucho cushions upholstered before we leave on vacation on the 30th. We're heading for the Silver Falls Rally in Oregon for a couple days, then on to ???
The Wildlife Safari (Eugene) is on our agenda, and the Oregon Dunes, and whatever else we can squeeze in between those. Still finalizing our plans trying to make it fun without being rushed

.

uwe · 06-22-2006, 05:38 PM

Your trailer is looking very nice! Another Overlander saved from doom!

GreatPumpkin · 07-11-2006, 11:57 PM

...continued on from the Silver Falls Rally to the rest of our vacation.

SILVER FALLS PICTURES

Next stop: Winston, OR for the drive thru Wildlife Safari. (It's much smaller, more primitive than I remember as a kid) My kid's loved it. The first animal shot is of the emu greeting committee. (265, 266) (thru the window - they peck). I rolled down my window in the Lion enclosure (269) and was promptly chastised by the attendant in the guard tower. The first and last shots (264,338) should be of the AS in the Safari's 4 Star RV resort

(The last one is of our Diesel Pusher? Airstream neighbors that pulled in on the day we left. They had left the International and were killing a few days before heading to another rally in California)

WILDLIFE SAFARI PICTURES

From there to the coast at Bullards Beach State Park for 3 days (Bandon, OR). Collected a few rocks on the beach to throw in the rock tumbler when we get home. Buried the kid's in the sand (memo to self - did we remember to bring them home?) Took the (expensive, ouch) sunset horseback ride on the beach, everyone really enjoyed that. All were sore the next day, except yours truly - maybe it was the summer I spent working on a cattle ranch years ago, I learned how to ride.

OREGON BEACH PICTURES

Journeyed up highway 101 towards home and got a case of road rash a few miles south of Florence. The awning mounting bracket on the back support arm decided to give up and the awning promptly went road surfing. This went on for about a 1/2 mile until I could pull over. (blocking a business driveway and getting yelled at.) A nice couple in a truck pulled over to offer help, and we quickly dismantled the awning and support arm stowing it in the trailer before moving on.
While we were in a hurry to get out of the driveway, I couldn't help but notice the t-shirt on one of our Good Samaritan helpers – take a wild guess here - Yes they were fellow airstreamers. Unfortunately I didn’t get their names, but many thanks, kudos, and karma to them for their help. They had been to the International, and happened to be traveling behind me on 101, sans their airstream.

Instead of "name that tune", how about a game of "name that awning manufacturer"? Does anyone recognize the brand? (E-Z AWN is cast into part of the bracket)(pictures below) Are parts still available?
The mounting brackets appear to be cheap, cast “pot” metal. During the emergency roadside surgery, I noticed that the top bracket had previously broken most of the way thru sometime in the past. The jarring it was taking on highway 101 broke it off the rest of the way, causing the bottom one to break clean thru leaving the support arm nothing to do but road surf.

We traveled as far as The Dalles, spending the night in a Safeway parking lot before continuing the rest of the way home. Made it home with enough daylight left to wash the truck and Airstream before resting up to return to reality on Monday.

overlander63 · 07-12-2006, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatPumpkin

Instead of "name that tune", how about a game of "name that awning manufacturer"? Does anyone recognize the brand? (E-Z AWN is cast into part of the bracket)(pictures below) Are parts still available?
The mounting brackets appear to be cheap, cast “pot” metal. During the emergency roadside surgery, I noticed that the top bracket had previously broken most of the way thru sometime in the past. The jarring it was taking on highway 101 broke it off the rest of the way, causing the bottom one to break clean thru leaving the support arm nothing to do but road surf.

EZ Awn is the brand name of awnings sold by the Wally Byam store, and are NLA. If you get a new awning, I could use some parts for mine, but only if you can't find the parts to fix yours.

overlander63 · 07-12-2006, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by overlander63

EZ Awn is the brand name of awnings sold by the Wally Byam store, and are NLA. If you get a new awning, I could use some parts for mine, but only if you can't find the parts to fix yours.

I had to run before I could finish the above post. PM me with the parts you need, I may have some extras to send you, to keep at least one of our awnings working.

NorCal Bambi · 07-12-2006, 06:59 AM

Sounds like your awning moment was about as exciting as our door adventure. Let me know if you can't find replacement parts. Maybe I could help you fabricate some replacement parts. It was great meeting you and your special family. Your pictures were great helped remind me of the the many trips we took with our kids when they were still kids. Building special moments with your family is what makes life so rich.
Don