Mr Mark

Big ol Dang ol on the Dinosaur board, wish I had known sooner. Oh well. Definitely a dumb design, fortunately I haven't killed the battery yet but more than once have come home to the blower running for who knows how long....yay shore power. I will try local plumbing and heating shops and see. And some more internet scouring. Thanks for the replies!

My furnace sometimes will not ignite and thus blows cold air until I shut it off. Not often, but often enough that I usually wake up in the morning with it running and blowing cold air. I ordered a new circuit board and ignitor as the old ones are original and thought it wouldn't hurt to replace both at this point. The only troubleshooting I have done is to test for leaks and there is none. I have also replaced the blower motor. Some issues became apparent when the parts arrived. The new circuit board is much smaller and the ignitor lead is in a slightly different location so the plastic housing will require modification. All the new connections are spade terminals as opposed to the old push on connections, which isn't a big issue for me to change as the ignitor came with spade adapters. However the original high tension lead is too short due to the changes and will require a new (longer) wire. This did not come with the kit, so I am wondering where to get a wire like this or if a regular wire will do. I'm guessing a regular wire will not do as there is writing on the original which says 250 degrees celsius.

Ironically, I have left the city to avoid being killed by humans, and now the most likely thing to kill me is the wildlife I do appreciate. The point of posting that was to share, and I am happy to have a hard shell around me as opposed to a tent...there once was an incident with a bear biting into said tent with humans in it. The mini motorhome is the most affordable way to enjoy nature around here and live. No I am not a hunter, but without a doubt the more time I spend in the wild, am one of the hunted. Off topic there are three mini motorhomes in the area on Kijiji, one is exactly like mine I was surprised to see. Really hard economic crash means these are being sold off cheap, for anyone interested...

And some pics from the snowstorm in October with 3' of snow in two days.

I feel a rogue amongst rogues for posting but what the hay. Mine is a Nissan. 1985. Oddly, the name on the side says Pathfinder however it is on a 720 chassis - a year or two before they actually came out with Pathfinders...I wonder if this was somehow inspiration for the name. I've been living in it for almost 6 months now. Living in 1985 I am definitely finding preferable to 2018 or 2019. It has been parked on a rural property the whole time Ive been living in it. Thankful to have a friend let me stay here. I am located in SW Alberta at the foot of the Rockies. I have been keeping tabs on a cougar and its food cache some 500m from my site. This has been worth my time out here alone. A ton of work has been done - complete resealing of all windows, siding and roofing. The previous owner did some mods and appeared to not have the time to finish so Ive just tried to dress things up a bit and make things right as I could. The challenge has been living in it at the same time...space restrictions mean moving everything to do one thing then moving it all back again. Its been nice to not have to do that for the last three months or so as the major stuff is done. Retrofitted a lot of wiring in regard to the solar array and battery. Installed an led battery meter for quick reading - manually testing everyday with a multimeter was definitely problematic. Permanently installed a charger to the battery in case I need to run a generator to charge with. Still looking to install an isolator or relay to charge from the alternator. Winterized everything so now I have a container under the sink I manually dump once a week and thus the toilet/shower has been converted into storage space...yay! There is an outhouse here I use and head into town once a week for showers at the Y. Removed the rear seatbelt arrangements, roof rack and hot water tank (it blew up actually) in an effort to save weight (I really wouldn't feel safe for anyone seat belted into the back anyway, plus human body weight might actually be bit much to pack around back there). Built insulated blackout blinds from scratch. These have proven their worth and then some considering the -30 celsius weather of late. The only issue has been the front camper window was replaced with wood and sheeted with metal tends to condensate and mold. I have to bleach this once a month or so to keep the mold at bay until I make a permanent solution. Filled in the vent caps with rigid insulation - this way i can still open them and get fresh air. Added three layers of interlocking foam mats for the floor to keep from freezing my feet. Wooden slat bed system installed over the cab has also proven vital to keep the damp out of my bed. I didn't realize the problem until almost two months in, thankfully I caught it in time. Sealed the cab to camper transition with 1" rigid and sheeted either side with 1/8" baltic birch for a nice finish. Also Insulated the cab/bed hatch. The best part of my rig is the bed...I sleep great. Installed a baltic birch cutting board cover for the sink so I have some counter space. Installed a number of small shelves wherever I could with baltic birch. The unit is only 18 feet long so storage is a premium considering I need a lot of extra winter gear right now. I've had some issues with the furnace which turns out to be the ignitor carboning up. Lately its been fine but otherwise a quick wire brushing works well. Most crucially I have had access to power this winter or I doubt I would make it with the problematic propane furnace. Its been in the -20's to -30's C for about three weeks now and looks like it will continue this way for at least a couple more. There have been plenty of times below -30 C to which often I come home to frozen water, potatos and apples, despite my electric heater running. The most ironic thing has been the fact I need to heat up the cooling element at the back of the fridge so it can keep things cold in below -30 C, otherwise it defrosts itself. The biggest issue has been condensation, but I consider myself fortunate to live in a very arid climate - A small eva dry unit has worked great to help keep things dry. The Led lights are great inside for lighting (it really is a cave with the blackout blinds - however a warm cave) but they burn out very fast...not sure why. Unfortunately I may give this up and do a camper van build. The gas (80-90c/L) to and from the city (in my car) is too much. Due to the age of my rig and lack of available emergency funds I don't trust this as an every day driver, never mind the rules and regulations regarding rvs in the city. Funny though, its smaller than most pickups and it gets ok mileage (12mpg loaded vs 15mpg unloaded - 4 cyl Z24) Long post, but thought I would share. I first saw an older Toyota motorhome at a festival years ago that has been my inspiration ever since. I picked up this unit on site for the asking price and am glad I did, it would have been gone the next day. I figure in ten years this lifestyle will largely be out of reach for me so better do it now. My independence and freedom thank me for it every moment I am in it. Thanks to all the posters on this site - I haven't posted much of anything however the information here has been invaluable. Keep on keeping on.

Thanks Linda, I'm pretty handy so this seems a natural fit when it comes to fixing things. Definitely appreciate the shortness of it (18' bumper to bumper yes) as ferry costs will be the same as my car, not to mention I can park anywhere. Shorter than my neighbours pickup. The funny thing is the very next day I saw a mini Toyota advertised in better condition but was a lot longer and had the full faux wood interior (the listing lasted less than 6 hours before it was gone!). I'm happy with the size and character of this one and the fact it is white inside as opposed to the faux wood akin to the trailer I grew up in...

Doesn't seem to be startup rattle so I think I'm good...will know better once the exhaust is fixed ha! Just ticked over 170 k's and the engine seems pretty strong considering the factory rating was about 103 hp. I take it real easy on things. The inspection didn't include rear brakes as apparently the axle needs to come apart? It is full float, and nope the front and rear rims do not match so I have a front spare only. Oddly enough the original spare was still holding air on the back but obviously had to replace it due to insane amounts of decay! Still working on a name for my new/used home. I can understand the attachment if one drives all around the country. I may get there yet, the reason I went with this instead of a camper van was supposedly better mileage - gas prices are ridiculous and they only promise to get worse. I have had upwards of 16 mpg and downwards of 12 mpg so far. The carb still needs tweaking (among other things) so I expect to better that yet. Here are a bunch pictures for you; http://s10.photobucket.com/user/Swivelrocker/library/Pathfinder I figure I'll keep it all in this thread - please excuse the long post but this has become a labour of love so obviously there is a lot going on and I don't want to muck about too much on this forum as it is a Nissan after all. The previous owner let things decay quite a bit - unfortunately I did not take many before pictures but they are here; http://s10.photobucket.com/user/Swivelrocker/library/Pathfinder/Pathfinder Before Synopsis of work so far - About a 200 hours of labour and about $1200 in parts/supplies. First priority was to stop the water ingress; remove all windows and frames, scrub off the what I think was gobs of Flex Seal or Tar on all windows, install new putty, reinstall windows with frames then caulk. There was leaks everywhere. For the love of god do not ever use whatever instant seal crap (on anything - I do building exteriors by trade so this experience came in handy)...it took me ten days to scrub all that stuff off with Spray Nine and Kerosene. Also for the love of...do not ever use Tuck or Duck tape (there was about half a roll holding the gas cap on). Cleaned and resealed all the roof seams and penetrations. I also replaced the front camper window with a thin sheet of wood covered with sheet metal as the old one was cracked and leaking...I had read they can condensate and leak on your bed plus I preferred the ease of privacy and saved a lot of bucks for use on other things. If I want a view I look out the back. At this point I have resealed everything except for the corner trim all around...it appears in good condition so maybe next year. There is a large white panel on the side where it appears the previous owner chopped a hole in the side to install a 12 v battery. The previous panel was a big old 1" thick chunk of plywood happily rotting away. I installed a new panel made of 3/16" baltic birch wrapped in leftover metal from the front bunk window and finished it with weather stripping on the inside. Above this panel was a custom chopped in exterior shower. Works good, but definitely crooked ?. I also had to replace all the marker lights, as well as clean and reseal their housings. Inside I had to remove a wee bit of rot in the floor of the bunk as well as the rotten carpet. I reskinned the area with 1/4" sure-ply. For the hatchway I got rid of the full length piece of plywood and installed L brackets around three sides of the frame and made a custom fit hatch piece by screwing together enough thickness of plywood off cuts I had laying around...this turned out really well. I then installed new interlocking foam floor pieces that you get in 2x2 sections at home depot, and had to custom cut around the hatch, again turning out really well although I doubt I will ever use the hatch. Most of the floor isn't heavily secured in case there is another leak (think I got them all) but it doesn't move around so I may never screw it all down. I had to repaint the dinette area as there was a lot of water ingress, however rot was minimal enough I didn't have to replace any. I also TSP'd and Kilzd the entire interior to get rid of any residual mould. I spent two days scrubbing down the fridge and stove, and have yet to really clean the stove (i.e. take apart the propane fittings and decrustify them). Lots of little things...vent cranks, sink plug and screen (three trips to home depot to find ones that worked!), new exterior water fitting plugs and assemblies as well as fresh water hose and fittings, a couple of new cupboard catches as the old plastic ones were busted, resecured the mirror in the closet, resecured the electrical fittings to the solar panel controller as the wires were hanging out all over the show (bonus to have solar!), resecured the backup camera on the bumper with fresh packing tape (good enough for now - really long zip ties are ridiculously expensive but again bonus to have backup camera!), new spare, new engine filters (old oil filter was loose and a quick hand tighten completely compromised the old seal and I lost 2 L of oil an hour - yikes), reinstalled the one fallen die to the mirror, dewinterized everything, crash coursed myself in propane, 12volt electrical and plumbing systems as I have 0 experience with RV's, made new levelling blocks and chocks, fixed the falling off backsplash and stove fan assembly, installed all LED lighting (but saved the old bulbs in case I find I need some softer lighting), vacuumed a ridiculous number of insect carcasses out of everything, scrubbed all the old paint splatters off the floor, installed two new vents. And more. 4 hard weeks into things so this week its been nice to take it easy as most major stuff is done. Nice to have a roof rack for a surfboard. Still need to do a bunch of stuff but otherwise things are rolling along pretty nicely. The biggest concern I have is wear on suspension due to the weight and I would like to upgrade all of those components if possible at some point down the road but otherwise things are ok for now. It would also be nice to tweak some more power out of things as the fact I will never get speeding tickets is nice however being a plug in the road isn't. Super stoked and Happy about the potential in this nice little unit - probably the coolest purchase I have made to date. Life changing I would say!

Awesome, thanks for the replies. My first 'test weekend' learned me the value of keeping things light anyway due to mileage considerations so it's not like I have any plans to haul ridiculous amounts of stuff around, but it would be more comfortable with a better weight rating. I have also learned the value of obtaining fresh water at my destination as opposed to hauling it with me, wow what a difference in handling, mileage and power between the fresh water full and empty (debating a relocate somehow as the tank is at the back of the vehicle). Linda, I am fairly certain it is a full floating axle, definitely dually - but I'm not exactly a mechanic so can't tell for sure but the hub does protrude (something else to learn). I had come across some of your posts via my googling so it was nice to have some info. I have seen one or two others like mine on the internet and that is all. I will post some pics for you but wonder if I should do them here or blaspheme the What's Your Rig and Where It's At thread...pics will also have to wait for the vehicle to come back from the shop as it is undergoing a full mechanical inspection (I hope the rear end is fine as I have read difficulties in sourcing parts for them).

Hello fellow mini motorhome enthusiasts...I have been perusing the forum for some time after acquiring an '85 Nissan Pathfinder motorhome (bit of a misnomer as Pathfinder is not at all related to the Nissan Pathfinder but rather the name given by the camper company in Penticton, BC) in order to sort out what I can as there is next to zero information out there on the Nissans. My concern relates to GVWR. First off there are two separate plates on the driver door frame with two different sets of GVWR + GAWR numbers...I assume one set for the Nissan manufacturer and the other for the Camper manufacturer. I noticed first off when adding up the two GAWR numbers listed on both plates the total is OVER the listed GVWR for the entire vehicle (one plate reads 1150 Rear + 910 Front = 2060 where the total on that plate reads 2005 and the other plate reads 1430 rear + 950 front = 2380 where the total on that plate reads 2180). I am having to go by the largest weight (2380) for any sense of realism as when I weighed the unit completely empty of all gear, all water and a mere 3 gallons of gas plus myself the total read 2160. It's a funny thing as there are four seat belts so if I was to have 3 more passengers they would have to weigh about 6 kilos each and not have any food, water or gear going by the largest total GVWR listed. Being that overweight is definitely not good, why do the totals listed not match and how the heck did manufacturers get away with making things overweight simply by having a full tank of gas? ? (I see the older Toyotas also had a similar issue it seems relevant to this forum) PS : I was looking for a Toy but considering they are hard to find and quick to go around here I had to jump on this opportunity when it came up...don't hate on me too bad !