ToyoGuy

Thanks jdemaris, I hate to think what the PO paid for these custom rear wheels,about $300 per, I believe. The offset is about 8-8.5" and my front spokes are about 5". Guess I'll just keep good rubber all around for the time being. Y'know,.... that paint scheme on your '78 Chinook is starting to grow on me. Might have to seek professional help on that one. TG

I'll see Back East Don, and raise, and say I know less..... Dunno about bearings or year application, but here's what my inner Italian is channeling about this ....While I am currently committed to my existing setup, compliments of the PO (Stockton wheels in the back and and common steel spokes in the front, with same diameter/tire size, but different offsets), (spare for front only) I have an observation/question. I've often wondered about when people talk about making the leap from different size wheels in the back/front and getting one single spare (the Grail) etc. It would seem like all seven wheels are going to need to be same-sized , and, should have the same amount of "dish" or offset to work right on any wheel without chafing and also to keep the steering geometry right, eh ? (ie. Blow-out on front Left, change wheel, now, driving/w shallow dish on front Right, deeper dish on front Left, yeow !). I admit, I'm a bit outta my league here, but I have also heard about rocks becoming lodged between rear duallies sidewalls, even with correct clearance between tires. So,.. Is having all 7 wheels identical in size and offset the correct path to the much-sought-after "multi-use, single-spare" of legend ?

Glad to hear you're making headway, crud or not. The lever is a fuel cutoff between the pump and the carb, so I can switch off the fuel and run the carb dry at the end of the season. When I was deciding between Yamaha and Honda, I liked Yamaha's idea, which had a petcock on it stock, but wanted a Honda because I've had good luck with them and I like to keep the "fleet" all the same flavor. In my researching, I saw enough about Honda genny carburetor replacements / rebuilds due to varnish from forgetting to drain the fuel bowl, to get my undivided attention. I can be a forgetful lad about these things. This way, I know from the position of the valve that I've done my due diligence at the end of the season. Heck,.... I went wild and even did the pressure washer motor that day too. Six bucks each for the valves, WTH, it's cheap entertainment. Shoot, I can't buy a burrito here for that. Cheers, TG

Someone may have PM'ed to reply to this, but I'd hate to think that a man who thinks so much could go unaddressed. (Plus I was curious mice elf) These temps were taken w / a Harvard Freight temp gun, tested it before, and it was on the money. Ambient outside temp was : 77 degrees, Cal humidity is about 50%, generator running 20 minutes, no load however. Genny was sitting in the sun. Temps as in photos, BR, TG

Thanks guys, this is like Xmas, just what I needed. Linda, I didn't have a link to this cool parts / diagram source, thanks. Jdmaris, I've been looking for a photo of the earlier solenoid for days....when I find the pre-EFI version of that valve, I'll post a picture for future seekers. Now I can take all these drawings down to my local parts source and hopefully get things squared away. Thanks again for all responses. BR, TG

Thanks Maineah, I looked, no sign of any power-steering hook-ups. I re-checked my earlier observations and I can see exactly how the idle kick-up works when I pull a vacuum on the donor carburetor and it seems to work perfectly. As it is adjusted on the parts-carb, with a vacuum pulled, it restricts the return to idle by just a whisker, seemingly translated to a hundred or so rpm. Just gotta figure out where the vacuum is supposed to come from and the device that causes it. Less and less folks seem to have carbureted vehicles now and it's harder to find another rig w/AC to just look at.

Wow, congratulations, just some very nice, clean work. (and,...it works !) Wish I could say all my stuff worked out as well all the time, but sometimes you just have to take the leap of faith and see it through for better or worse. You know,... I would show my sweetie your / this work-log, just to prove that there's someone who thinks about this stuff more than I do,... but then I'd have to install a coach air-conditioner. On the previously-discussed topic, sometimes I just have to stop, have a cup of joe and realize, jeeze, I've had "too much to think".

I'm running a carbureted 22R with the early A/C setup and it seems that besides leaving the A/C uncharged for years, the PO also removed the idle-up vacuum diaphragm-assembly that raises the rpm at idle, to compensate for the additional load that the pump puts on the motor. I located the vacuum-actuator on a salvage unit (carb-only, no truck), ( Pic 1) but cannot find in any of my 3 manuals, a picture of where the vacuum line from the diaphragm might be connected to. Possibly to a controller ?, in turn connected to the intake manifold? Any help would be appreciated. Maybe a picture ? If successful, this has all the possibility of being a historic occasion for my tolerant and loving wife who has been a great sport about it all, so far. Thanks, BR, TG

Hmmm, I was just looking at telescoping aluminum poles today at the local big box store that stretch out to 8' and store in a 4' length. Getting tired of rubbing scratches out of the plastic vent-lens for the Fantastic Fan and the re-polishing the front windows for my SunRader. I figured I could make a V-shaped yoke to fit the end to lift (phone) wires, branches etc.. Seems like the city gave up trimming trees over the streets where I live and lots of campsites we've been to didn't have the 9.5 ft. clearance I need in my rig. Sorry to hear about your mishap, glad to hear you got home OK. PTL for duct tape. TG

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/rvs/5692734714.html Saw this on Bay Area Craig's List. Good thing I got a small yard... Like the cool graphics on the side. Seems like a good project for a reasonable price, ($1,000) says it runs and drives, but a 93' it definitely ain't. Whoops, wrong topic section too ! Sorry, Ummm, I get excited, y'know? TG

Sorry to hear about the hammered paint failure on the wheels and in general.I know what you mean, it's pretty gooey stuff and skins over quickly, but takes a long time to dry hard. Heck, now I'm going to have to check all my previous repair/paint spots for rust! I guess I may be wrong about the humidity there in Fla. vs Ca. I too was going to use the stuff for wheels, then I found out that Les Schwab would sandblast and powder-coat @ $25 per wheel (in 2013, not sure now). Mine are now starting to show a bit of rust in the slot edges 2+ yrs later, but my fronts were stained and rusted so bad from PO, that I would have paid $35 ea, just to get them blasted. Your spare looks quite "rustless" and correctly coated, what did you end up using? On the rest, I am a huge fan of reverse-ability and keeping options open, most of the time I spent re-designing things in and outside of my RV were about being able to make sure the next guy could gain access and repair / replace / change things. Sorry to hear about the welding-puddle thing, I now have cheaters in my welding mask lens PS I know what you mean about the cost of "misc". TG

Looks good so far, no room for heckling at any rate.... Probably an unnecessary comment and don't take offense, but don't know if you're just clamped-up underneath, or already welded-up with your three tubes coming off the frame. With my frame reinforcing and carrier-assembly work, I tried to "measure three-times" then bench-fabricate everything I could, to minimize welding upside-down and near other components underneath. Other than that,if you have the weasel-hides left over, and aren't already so equipped , (couldn't tell from pix) I highly recommend a back-up camera. It was just great before, now, with the addition of a rack, it's a must-have for me for parking. Also, if you haven't made up your mind as to a paint coating, I highly recommend Rustoleum hammered finish brush-on paint. It does come in black and other colors, and other than POR 15, a MUCH more expensive product for rough-service areas, it has surpassed all my expectations as a go-to rust-proofing coating for just these type of projects. If prepped correctly, (just clean steel, no primer necessary) it's a very tenacious product, even considering your weather climate there in Fla. Here on the left coast, it costs about 9.00 a Qt. at Home Depot. BR, TG

Seems like with the '74 Micro getting "29+" mpg, with just fuel costs, you could get back your investment in no time. Good thing I passed on a Wyoming trip this month to get engine work done, I'd be on my way to look at that Newport for a nephew. Whew !

Yeah, I copied the charts for my own use without bookmarking them and my weekly computer purge includes history so I couldn't quote (secondary) sources. But you're correct Derek, most of them were copied from elsewhere and not credited for primary source. I'll try to be more responsible about sourcing / reporting info in the future. Ahhh,... torque wrench, crescent wrench, what's the difference !? (Insert clown emoticon here) TG

Yeah, on the reliability of those charging stats, I checked further and unfortunately, those stats and others ( I collected 5 different charts w/slightly different data) are simply taken from other websites and reproduced elsewhere. Thanks for your more-informed data jdemaris.. I did notice some of the charts mentioned measuring the state of charge with no loads being applied for 6 hours and some had no notes on such. Here are a couple of the rest for any observations TG

OK,.. got it. 10.5 VDC = fully discharged at 77 degrees. Amazing what you can learn online ! Apparently, at 11.9 volts, I am down to a 40% state of charge. Lower than that, I'm just looking to buy replacement batteries sooner. Guess I'll have to reform and shape up my energy consumption habits. On to Operation Surge. TG

Just finished a surprising discussion with an Interstate battery rep while chasing a charging problem. He seemed to have issue with deeply discharging (below 12v ?!) deep-cell batteries on a regular basis. I thought this is what deep cell batteries were all about ! I am wondering how far down (in volts) boondocking folks with no solar or generators regularly discharge their coach battery with no problems? When I'm out for 2 days and nights, with a non-Dometic 12v fridge, (rated 5.4amps @12v) it seems to me, I recall getting down to the 9-10 volt level. Yeah, the fridge quits at 10.4 vdc but starts back up at 11.8, but by then on a 2 day trip, I got no freezables anyway. Also seems to me that I used to just fire up the truck and head out, or let it charge for a while, but..... since some work at a different garage, I'm getting charging surges with brief Charge and Brake warning lights at the same time. Someone else mentioned suspicions of a battery-type failure within a single cell called "flashing". Never heard of this before. Thanks for any input. TG

Hey Baja, great to see you here for a visit ! Great trip and congrats on the durability/reliability of your rig, not all of us can feel that confident yet. 8 people, wow, good thing you're a natural at engineering! Cool to hear about the 12V fridge, I really like mine. I'm working a charging issue, but other than that, I'm "outta the shed" and rollin' so to speak. Glad to hear you're enjoying some well deserved travels. BR, TG

Yeah, ...while some RV veterans might cringe at the price, with turbo, standard tranny and only 100K miles and "with upgrades" @ 25K, I'm surprised it's still for sale. Pictures would tell a lot though. Wonder if it's an Xtra-cab like Greg's was.

Maybe useful on a very basic level for those suspecting failure on their solid state units ? It helped me. TG

Thanks Greg, it proves once again, .....you just gotta know the right guy

Could be time for that turbo I couldn't afford! Think I'll try some Marvel Mystery Oil first.

Interesting for sure but, I'm just not seeing "6 foot headroom throughout camper", unless the floor got dropped somehow. Could be possible though, I guess. That's a healthy looking spacer on the roof of the cab. From the side, the height-scale looks just like any 18' coach. What's the little "thingee" on the tip / front of the passenger-side fender? Looks too small for a useful mirror. Also, what I'm wondering is, what it weighs in at ? I've seen large differences in weights of 4X4 Raders as reported by owners over the years. Could be drive-train mods, I guess. TG

Good workaround jjrbus!! Still haven't a clue as to what's up with this. TG

Ok,... so under a general topic, (ie General Discussion, Electrical, Coach Appliance Tech, News etc) I can easily choose an older page of post subjects and navigate through those numerically and easily, but despite enabling every possible objectionable and promiscuous start-up and browser plugin, cookies and offering up a blood-sacrifice to Firefox gods, I still can't get to a different page of a single topic without going back to the first page, and choosing it* from the initial page. Even then, I can only bring up the first 5 pages shown on the *Top-O-Page select-able buttons. (of course) Will look at it more when time permits, stumped for now. BR TG