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Dauphin Island 1000 miles and towed fine.


Totem

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So the first trip of the year and last trip of my original motor just completed up this Sunday.

The family, RV and small trailer went down to Dauphin Island Alabama in the Gulf of Mexico, and this was my first time to the Gulf beaches. Really different from the East coast.

On board I had several experiments... the new Intex Mariner 4, a 4 hp air cooled 4 stroke outboard motor, my modified electric scooters that now have 30 AH lifepo4 batteries and a Burley Bike Kid hauler and a metal detector.

 

Upon getting to the Island we were promptly greeted by exceptionally nasty weather. it basically took 2 days to get rid of the storms, but we still found ways to have fun.

The Island is a bikers paradise...and not motorcycle but bicycle. Special bike paths run up and down the Island and you can take them everywhere which is great. There were ordinances posted on the paths banning motorized vehicles. We feared that this would include the electric scooters but a local policemen told us we were ok with the electric as long as we didn't go crazy or cause issues. we were careful and complied.

 

Some things of note... the island is surrounded by Oil rigs, reefs and oyster beds and thus if you run an inflatable boat from the free kayak launch there you wont want to do it at low tide and be careful at even mid tide. The oysters are best on a plate fried not cutting into the boat.

We made sure to hit Skinner's seafood depot there on Lent Friday it was an absolute zoo at 6 PM. all the shops and restaurants there we found to be quite fun. Our kids loved the fort there that made famous the line "damn the torpedoes full speed ahead"  fort Gaines.

It was an older civil war relic that they literally let you crawl all over and explore dungeons etc in. great fun.

The Sea Lab there was great too.

 

The RV ran like a dream towing the 900 lbs mini trailer with gear... I easily made 65 MPH most of the way - it was like nothing was even there.

Now for the exciting part.... the moment I always wondered ..the breakdown.

 

upon returning home I was witness to the dreaded all red lights coming on on the dash phenomenon and looked at my custom twin in dash volt meters - they dropped to 12.3 and I hurt a noise in the engine as well as a smell of burning.. the temp gage instantly raged to the top of the dial and i let off the gas and luckily coasted into an exit ramp in the span of about 2 miles and came to rest at a shell.

Opening the hood revealed a hiss and gurgling sound and coolant was spraying out of the overflow hose like a frother on a cappuccino machine. dangling i saw the source of the malaise, the alternator belt, shredded into a mess.

This of course as with all break downs was on a Saturday at 4:00 PM as we were homeward bound and the nearest parts store was 14 miles away.

Now What would YOU do?

me? I have two plans A or B with C being calling AAA to get to A or B. I am not a fan of B or C as they have added cost.

A.) get part fix myself.

B.) Tow RV home*

C.) Tow RV using AAA to nearest parts store

 

Now having read several sob stories in here from various folks in various panic stricken situations I of course have a prep in place for these types of scenarios. I have even seen one former member of this forum who was a master mechanic pay out the nose after a breakdown and I can tell you that will never happen to me.

Heres what I do:

A.) take scooter to get part and replace. - and thats what I did, road 30 miles total on it and you just cannot do that on most commercially available USA electric scooters, mine have a 56 mile range so it was no big deal. But lets say that the motor had thrown a rod or tranny died...what then? well then we have Plan B and C. Depending on distance the plan is simple, find your nearest Uhaul and rent a van and a car tow trailer, go back and get your RV and tow it home after disconnecting your rear diff pin. Renting a one way uhaul in this fashion is the absolute cheapest plan B. Plan C being taking AAA to get your to plan B. Most tow trucks will charge $1.50 or more per mile... unlimited mile uhaul one way is far more economical.

 

anyway off the rant, the scooter got me to my parts place, belt was scored for $5 which i found very cheap and was back on and running in under an hour. Couple notes here... when you lose that belt, your motor loses the fan clutch instantly overheats and can and will blow your head if you don't shut down fast. There are rumors in here from some saying to try and use the AC belt to get by to get you to the store but I measure it and while it could in theory work, its a bit thicker and might not. In fact I ended up removing it and not replacing it anyway as the cab AC wasnt needed on this trip.

The repair? (this is a 22RE with EFI)  Simple... you loosen the tensioner pully on the AC (if you have AC) and take that belt off and stash it. Next take alternator and loosen its top bolt as this is in effect the tensioner for that belt.next take the new belt and work it carefully around the fan, yes it will fit you dont have to take the fan and fan drive off. next get it on the engine drive pulley, the fan pulley and the alternator pulley and finger tighten the belt and alternator bolt. Next go into the RV and grab the steel table pole that they used to poke into the table and floor and bring that out as a lever to tension the belt. You want that belt pretty dang tight. Its pretty much a sure thing if even a smidge loose you will get that nails on chalk squealing sound of belt slip. if done correctly it shouldnt squeal and should last you home where you can tension it with a deflector gauge proper. If your bearings trash prior to that they would have anyway.

And now for the best part... the burping of the 22re coolant and radiator. I have read threads in here of horror stories of folks with overheating motors. Some showed pics of mixed color antifreeze that they blamed as the culprit. The real culprit? AIR bubbles.

you need to fill that radiator full and the reservoir to full. next you run it 20 minutes with no cap while you squeeze the top radiator hose like a gas bulb. this will push out the air and you will see it bubble. it may also overflow the radiator a bit just keep filling it back up. then cap it and drive. It WILL run hotter than normal so pull over after a few miles of such and let it cool down to where it drinks from reservoir and start the above process again. You will get it after about 5 times of this. Yeah it sucks but its a toyota. My 2000 celica did exact same thing.

Back to the Gulf, I cannot recommend it enough. Maybe its because dauphin island isnt well known or people fear the oil rigs or what not but man those beaches were amazing, the shells on the beaches you just cannot find on the east coast and the best part ... freedom. they allow dogs 24 x 7 on the beaches (leashed) none of this you cant have your dog only on these hours on blue moons crap like on east coast. Great trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I really enjoy reading your posts Totem! Learn many things from you Thanks!

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/automotive-emergency-fan-belt-adjustable-length-fan-belt-no-tools-needed-/252855669175?hash=item3adf5f51b7:g:Qp8AAOSwYXVYy2Iv&vxp=mtr

Also a twised pair of lady's nylons, not panty hose, can be used. Tie them on tight and drive slow.

Of course the electric bike is awesome but most of us don't have one on our rear bumper.

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When the 'alternator' belt lets go, I think the bigger contributor to rapid overheating is the loss of the water pump rather than the loss of the fan.

22RE-Blt-diagram-FNLFNL-CIRC-139051.jpg

A set on new belts (installed) with the old ones carried as spares is a lot easier to carry than a scooter. Of course, if you have other uses for a scooter ....

 

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Great point Derek and i agree. Strange your diagram shows a 3rd belt mine didn't have. It also shows the AC tensioner in a totally different place than mine. As to using panty hose leather belts or other things, on this motor i don't think it would work. Just too small of sheaves on the pulleys and the tension needed to grip in order to turn them would be quite a bit. Ive tried several times to buy a spare belt (usually when i was replacing it on an alternator) unfortunately every time i am at parts store they only have one.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My '88 Escaper ('87 c & c) has the exact setup as Derek's diagram.  

When we bought the RV (5 years ago) I changed my belts and I carry my old belts in every vehicle for spares.  When I change the belts this year,  I will discard the belts that were on it when I bought the RV and carry the 5 year old ones.  The spare belts are carried inside the door where the electric cord is stored.

I also use a Sharpie marker and write the following information on the radiator support: oil filter number, oil type and capacity, the length of each of the three belts, antifreeze capacity, all hose numbers (NAPA numbers)  & air filter number.

 

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I rather enjoyed learning a new fishing rig while at the island. They all like to use "popper" bobbers there ; they run a wire through a foam bobber connected to some bedazzler beads. You would cast it out and jerk the wire which would pop the bobber on the surface while your shrimp or jig was hanging on another cable through it a few more feet down mid water. It would get fish to come up and check it out but still bite for those breeds that just wont risk the surface all the way. Totally awesome fishing rig, and I actually used it in the Saginaw river successfully the other day too. Great to learn new gear from down south shibs

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