Oldgriz

A couple of rules of thumb in diagnosing a/c problems. Air flow - are the evaporator and condenser coils clean and free of obstruction ? Are the fans clean ? Are they pushing enough air through the coils ( fan speed RPMS ? ) look for 20 to 25 degree temperature drop across the coil , return temperature - supply temp = TD If you don't know the system charge ,Most systems are designed for a 120 degree condenser temperature using a pressure / temperature chart convert refrigerant pressure to temperature , charge system till you hit condensing temp R134 A 120 degree condenser temperature = 185.25 psig . ( @ sea level ) R 12 120 degree condenser temperature = 170.99 psig (@ sea level ) Over time the TXV power heads can lose the sensing bulb charge , the metering pins can stick ( especially in R134 A systems ) you can test the power head by putting the TXV sensing bulb in a cup of hot water and if it starts to work ( when it hasn't been working ) then it needs replacement. Formula 409 work's great as a leak detector , the smallest leak will bubble up.

Does it light? If it's a direct spark ignition does it light then go out ? If it does your flame sensor rod could not be sensing the flame because of oxidation build up on it. You will have to pull it out and clean it with sand paper. That should make it work but sometimes have to be replaced.

Is the burner coming on?

Sometimes I've had good luck pulling fan motors and re oiling the felts that hold the oil that oils the bearings over time they dry out. Another trick if everything checks out but the furnace won't fire is to lightly tap the body of the gas valve with say a screw driver handle. Gas valve guts can stick and not operate after sitting for a long time.once working cycle a few times to exercise the valve.

if the blower motor ( fan ) is not working correctly it will effect the performance of the air conditioner so check to make Shure it is working. a lot of blowers wheels are plastic and over time become brittle and break . the bearing in the blower motor can dry out and put enough drag that the motor does not spin fast enough and or kills the motor. what exactly did the shop do to it ? that could help with further diagnosis.

You can get fiberglass repair materials at most auto parts supply house's and wal-mart you might also be able to use fiberglass mat and epoxy . Google is your friend as there is a ton of info out there. If you repair it on the outside then you will have to deal with the gel coat which is the color coat so paint ,epoxy , or new gel coat. There are some good how toos on youtube .that will explain the process and materials needed.

Yes I am I have found some but either they have been sold out from under me or they are to far I had a line on six in Colorado but they didn't want to take the old tires off and ship them to me and I was willing to pay extra for reasonable shipping. But so far no luck. Im in Albuquerque New Mexico where are you located?

I think solar panel's are pretty tough I mean they are mounted on house roofs for thirty or more year's and subject to the elements and hail storms. But it would be mounted on a vehicle and subjected to the bumps and vibration of going down the road.

I thought of getting rid of the front windows on my odyssey and mounting a solar panel across the front too but with some type of tilt up mount that would go from flat against front of the camper and fold up vertical so it could be adjusted for sun angle. Seems like good real estate to mount one.

I know in your intro you had contemplated building an RV from scratch and decided against it, but it looks like your going to. Ambitious project at least you'll get it the way you want it. I'm watching closely, as the previous owner on my odyssey used latex caulk on all the seams (by the case) and I'm finding rotten plywood and the screws are not holding the trim on. But I don't know if I could do what you are doing. But your making good way.

How about 3/16 aluminum sheet , google wothahellizat home built expedition rv. He used an epoxy ? That they glue airplanes together with. He did use diamond plate. And you have to get it right the first time because once it's on, it's on. I don't know about the weight though. But it wouldn't rot or need paint. How about wood strips and epoxy? Like a canoe. But the maintenance and upkeep. FRP glued smooth side out ? In the end you probably can't beat corrugated fiberglass or filon.

Also the electric start engine will cycle on and off once rv reaches set point temperature witch will help with the efficiency factor. Other ideas, also have an alternator for charging and an onboard welder. Running it on propane.

The big energy hog is the compressor if your on shore power it's no problem but going down the road or boon docking what to do? Generator ,heavy batteries and solar system? The average modern auto AC compressor uses 6 to 8 hp from the cars engine. Was looking at eight horse power electric start. All components are off the shelf. if I can't find a truck or auto compressor then I will look at some commercial open drive compressors that are belt driven I have friends in the refrigerated truck repair business. But they are bigger units. Tapping into the truck AC pump would be used when going down the road only and was quickly dismissed because of idling issue .will probably just use the existing blower motor as it doesn't draw a lot of amps.

A ford 302 will fit ,the rock crawling crowd has been installing them in toyota for a while they like the ford because the distributor is in front. Rv will need to be lifted though but my model was available with four wheel drive from the factory ,so may go that way we will see. An aluminum vortex v6 would work too . Four speed over drive transmission with a gear vendors overdrive splitter.

I have the newport model odyssey . It's not that big, I haven't sized the compressor in the rooftop unit yet but I think an auto AC compressor would do it and they do come in different sizes of capacity. Just need to create a big enough pressure differential . It might not be the most efficient system, but cold air is cold air. I want to use as much of the existing system as possible if I were to design a new system I would look at an inverter driven mini split with the condenser mounted on the back and the evaporator cassette mounted in the cabinet toe kick or floor if such a thing exists. But then were back to generators. My thought was that there is no better energy source then gasoline ( weight to energy ratio ) this way we would be converting the energy in the gas more directly to cold air.