Bodybagger

It's wierd that someone resurrected this tonight of all nights... I just picked up a can of SPAM and a can of corned beef from wally world just a couple hours ago. I haven't had either in 10 years! Coincidence.

I removed my AC and screwed down a curb made from a 1" thick, 14x14 inside by 18x18 outside piece of high density foam roof insulation. I applied Peal & Seal over it with a heat gun and rubber lap roller. THis was applied over a new Peal and Seal roof, and buffered 3inches to allow for sealing. I used 2 layers of camper shell weatherstripping as a gasket between the curb and the AC, and reinstalled the AC. Hasn't leaked a drop since.

I can't believe I didn't notice that! With the automatic, OD is a little too high of a gear for the highway. 3rd a little too low. Many times I wished I could split the difference. 5th in the 5 speed manual transmission is just that. Bet it will work out quite nicely. One tip is to take a long 12 point 11/16 or 17mm wrench and bend it with a torch to a 30 degree angle and you can get the top two bolts out much easier.

The volume of a specific mass of gasoline expands 1% per 18F temperature increase. If you start at 50F and warm to 90F, you'l get about a 2% increase in volume. At 20 gallons, that amounts to almost 2 quarts of gasoline that has nowhere to go. The same thing happens with LP gas and refrigerants. That's why a tank (propane, freon, etc.) cannot be legally filled beyond 80% full. When the liquid expands due to heat, if it has nowhere to go, the container explodes. Condensable fluids will develop the pressure in a closed container given by their pressure/temperature curve. A 10 gallon tank with 1 teaspoon of liquid gasoline (and saturated vapor) will have 9psi @100F. The same tank with 9.9 gallons of gasoline will have 9psi @100F. But fill the tank to the top with 10 gallons and you will have 2 quarts of liquid gasoline squirt out the evap system when pressures far exceed 9 psi.

I hate to say this but there are many things that could be causing this. *Fuel Delivery Try running a long fuel pressure hose to a gauge in the cab. Install a tee AT THE CARB. Today's fuels will vapor-lock at delivery pressures less than 9psi at 100 degree carb temp. Also, just because the carb has been rebuilt and a new filter installed doesn't mean it can't been the carb. I have seen several times when a dirty fuel system is addressed and rebuilt carb has a fuel filter installed, but it SOMEHOW ends up dirty again. In your particular case, it sounds like the float valve is either sticking, or the seat's orifice is obstructed by foreign matter OR simply by a thick layer of oxidation (hence lack of fuel at only the highest flow rates), which can happen despite perfect filtration. Perhaps the filter, though not clogged, is dropping the delivery pressure enough to cause vaporization as it enters the float bowl. *Oxygenated (10% Ethanol) Fuels Note that float needle valves with the rubber tip can swell and bind in the presence of alcohols (a well documented problem associated with the addition of ethanol to motor fuels - alcohol destroys rubber). If you have 10% ethanol added to your gas locally, you should be sure the carb parts are either 100% metallic or made from alcohol-compatible polymers. *Ignition Weak ignition has a most profound effect with lean mixtures at high speeds, such as encountered on the highway. Make sure you have strong fire. Also, make sure the vacuum advance is operating correctly and the timing is within limits. *Sticking valves or exhaust restrictions Install a vacuum line from the intake manifold to the cab. Connect a vacuum gauge and look for vacuum to drop near zero when this high speed loss of power occurs. If it smoothly drops to zero, you may have an exhaust restriction (ie plugged converter). If it jumps around until it reaches zero and you lose power, your valves might be sticking OR in dire need of having the clearance reset. Summary: check fuel pressure at carb check carb float valve check ignition vacuum diagnosis There are a bunch of tests that could tell us more. Drivability problems are a challenge to troubleshoot.

3rd gear is 1:1 in A43D and OD is .688:1 4th in the 5 speed is 1:1 (same) and with 5th being .85:1 a somewhat lower gear (basically splitting the difference between 3rd and OD with respect to the automatic, you'd probably be much better suited to cruising in 5th with minimal topography. Add the fact that there is no splippage due to non-locking torque converter and I'd say you'll see 10%-15% increase in fuel economy. But as a practical matter, what are you doing to the steering column, and how are you going to deal with the shifter in the floor, and clutch pedal, master cylinder, and different driveshaft length... this is a big project. Planning on getting a HD clutch?

"Vented" is probably poor nomenclature for gas caps as it gives the impression that it allows air or vapors to travel both ways, in and out. A vented cap only allows air to enter when so much fuel has been drawn from the tank so quickly that a negative pressure develops. It DOES NOT allow pressure to escape from the tank. It is specifically designed to retain the pressure that develops in the tank. I repeat, it DOES NOT allow pressure to escape from the tank. Since the early 1970's, all automotive gas caps have been required to contain a check valve that allows air to enter, but does not allow fuel vapor to escape. If you buy an automotive gas cap, it has a one way check valve in it and it is called "vented." No exceptions... (unless you buy one specifically for an antique vehicle or for off-road use, such as racing). See http://www.stant.com/brochure.cfm?brochure...location_id=170 REID VAPOR PRESSURE With today's gasoline, you will see up to 9 PSI of vapor pressure develop in your tank at 100 degrees. It doesn't matter if there is 1 cup of liquid gasoline or 10 gallons of liquid gasoline. The vapor pressure will be the same. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reid_Vapor_Pressure Your vehicle is running extremely rich. Recall from the evap system diagram that an evap hose connects directly to your engine's intake (under vacuum) and if liquid fuel gets in there it is sucked straight into the engine. I recommend, again, that your mechanic disconnect and plug the following: *The evap hose that leads to the fuel tank *The evap hose that goes between the charcoal canister and the engine's intank manifold And then check for more than 2psi backpressure at the oxygen sensor fitting (confirming plugged catalytic converter). ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS Since last time I wrote, I additionally suggest that a mechanic connect a vacuum gauge to your intake manifold and check the vacuum under load. If the vacuum gets low or approaches zero under load, this also confirms an exhaust restriction. See http://www.earlycuda.org/tech/vacuum2.htm for a small example of the diagnostic capabilities of a vacuum gauge in trained hands. But remember that untrained inexperienced hands will not be able to interperet their findings. Thank you for keeping us informed. I'm glad to help you any way I can. BTW, remember: Any idiot can put a stethoscope to a persons chest, but that does not make them a cardiologist, now does it!

This would be virtually impossible to figure out without test equipment not available to the average handyman. You could get the 50 dollar DC clamp on ammeter from sears and find actual current going through each device on this circuit. if it is well within the fuse rating, assume an intermittent short (ie triggered by the right bump), Otherwise, see whats hogging the current.

remove the water out line and replace it with a 30PSI gauge. See if it is reaching 12 PSI or so. If the pump is very worn (as in one too many freeze/thaw cycles without having antifreeze) and it does not reach the shutoff pressure, it will continue running even though it is not moving any more water.

If it's ABS, a plastic welder could weld a permenent patch over that for you, but it would likely cost as much as the tank. Clarification: I am not talking about the Devcon epoxy product sold in stores called "Plastic Welder" - I am talking about a skilled guy with a hot nitrogen jet and plastic filler rod.

That's almost exactly what we had in mind, but we were leaning more towards fabbing a permenantly mounted one to the rear. BTW, 50 MPG was just an estimate based on what I have read. I rode this bike 180 miles in the last 2 days and I got 80 MPG. I am just blown away. I thought only scooters got milage like that.

You know what YMMV stands for? There are more factors that affect fuel economy than you can shake a stick at. Off the bat, you've got a V6. How are injectors, air filter, plugs, wires, transmission, torque converter? What is the differential gear ratio? Are your brakes out of adjustment or in need of bleeding or rebuilding, and thus dragging? What pressure are you running your tires at? Are the wheel bearings too tight? How much HP is being consumed by this truck's cab air conditioner, versus your old one? What conditon is the O2 sensor in? Have you ruled out vacuum leaks? Have you done a compression test on all the cylinders?

See http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=2176 The same applies. However, a bad connection (ie loose nut) between the solenoid output and the field/brushes post of the starter will present these exact symptoms. The click is the solenoid engaging. Try removing that nut and cleaning with at wirebrush and reinstalling with electrical contact grease (noalox).

About a month ago, a family member brought a motorcycle to me to get mechanically checked out. It had some serious problems and I told him to take it back to the seller - in the back of a pickup truck! Unsafe to drive. Well, it got me thinking about how nice it would be to have a small motorcycle on the toy. A little more freedom of movement. And if the MH breaks down, we could at least make parts runs. Well, that very same motorcycle came on the market and I picked it up. 1982 Honda CM 250 Custom. I took care of the mechanical issues this weekend. It's 300 lb. If I made a ramp to roll it up onto the back of the MH, it would probably contribute 600 lb to the rear axle load. But that's about the ballpark of rear axle load contribution of our rear mounted fresh water tank. So I have the options: carry water. Carry a motorcycle. Carry both. Scales put the rear axle at 3750 with no water, but that's with half full grey/black tanks. So to make a long story short, I think it's doable with a little creative shuffling of weight. BTW this is a sweet little bike. 50 MPG and it looks really good. I won't be embarrased riding this thing. One question that comes up though is leaving the MH unattended if we both go out on the bike. Under what circustances do you guys leave the MH? At a relative's house, of course it would be OK. In RV parks? Does it depend on the level of RV park supervision? Anywhere else?

Leaks can travel several feet before dripping through. The roof is composed of multiple layers, and over the years, each roof coat added another layer. Once water penetrates, it finds the easiest path through the next layer. This may be several inches from the original intrusion. The pipe boot may be leaking because it was probably coated around the boot instead of removing the boot and reinstalling after coating. As material is added around the boot, it leaves a crevice around the boot as the roof coating shrinks away. Finding the water gremlin is a challenge. We've got guys at our construction company (we specialize primarily in roofing) that have ben roofing for 10-20 years and they arent always successful at finding the source of water penetration. Bite the bullet and re-roof now before rot takes hold. BTW condensation puts a LOT of water on your roof. If you are stationary, get rid of it any way you can. Sealing rain is a challenge. Sealing puddled water is a losing battle. You can hang a wet towel over the edge and the condensate will wick into it and drip over. As far as the tanks go, they are under the floor in mine, not just under the couch. The only tank under the couch is the fresh water tank.

By far the strongest way to do it is to replace the 5 bolt hub with a 6 bolt hub. As said earlier, brakes come in two varieties. You'll need the rotor disc with 6 holes. A junked set of hubs will likely need new rotors as they don't weather well.

If you are blowing fuses, something is wrong that needs to be figured out and corrected before proceeding. You might try a $35 wire tracing tool from Lowes to help you trace the wire. You'll never figure it out until you know where it comes from and where it goes to. Guessing just wont cut it. You have to be sure.

A Toyota motorhome swingers group would be even better.

We got a 50 dollar Dual (generic Wal-mart brand). It does am/fm/CD/MP3CD's and has a 1/8" stereo aux port for an MP3 player and a UBB charging only port. Pros: cheap. good reception. plays various devices. rotary encoder volume is better than up/down button. Cons: Stupid bright distracting blue light is blinding and there is no way to dim it, so we have duct tape over it when driving at night. It's designed to impress stupid teenagers as a higher priority than safety. Bad engineering as expected from China. Cannot charge an MP3 player while it is plugged into the aux port as the USB ground is 5 volts from the stereo aux ground. Causes a massive ground loop and kills the audio. Will work with a ground loop isolation transformer. Again, engineering is not something the end-user should have to do. Cannot use the rotary encoder to change anything but the volume - which is stupid. It only shows the time when the radio is off, or for a few seconds after pressing clock. Apparently Americans need to be constantly reminded that they are listening to AUX and we need to take our hands of the wheel and find a button on the radio to see what time it is. The person that designed it that way should be dragged into an alley and shot. Three of my four cats could have engineered the display better. Unfortunately the next radio up was 150. I will open it and put a dropping resitor in the LED circuit in front to bring the light down. I will also use a ground loop isolator. Can't fix the clock and tuning issue as that is in the firmware.

Sounds steep, but maybe it's truly mint. Or maybe it's like California real estate. Has the estate been probated and an executor assigned? If you do buy, you'll probably need a bill of sale signed by the executor of the estate, and official copies of the legal instrument designating the executor (not the will, but a document issued by the county court, generally). And the title and bill of sale should be signed by the executor with their name, NOT signed in the name of the deceased. Went through this with a boat once and doing it right the first time is the only option because it is extremely frustrating to get the right paperwork after the fact.

First thing's first. The 8 hour drive should not factor into your decision. I know it's hard to overcome the added pressure to have something to show for your trip, but it's something that we must do. The same way an empty stomach can influence your grocery shopping, so can distance during vehicle shopping. Second. At that price, I don't think you should see signifcant water damage, much less the progression of rot. Personally, I value the integrity of "the stuff that makes it go" over the condition of the coach because a mint coach is small consolation for being stuck beside the road. That said, I'd spend less time and money rebuilding the tranny than replacing rotted wood. But for someone with a wood shop instead of a fleet garage, the opposite would probably be true. And finally. As with the last example, fixing one defect can be cheaper for person A than for person B. No one knows your budget, requirements, and handy skills better than you (or so we hope!) and therefore, no one is more qualified than you to decide when to walk away. If you got in your car and drove 8 hours after seeing it, I'm sure you made the right choice. When it comes right down to it, the decision to walk has a recision period. Maybe a day. Maybe a month. As long as it is still for sale, you can change your mind. But the decison to buy is one that has no takebacks. He who walks away has the money to shop another day!

Does the radio work? I believe they are on the same fuse. Check the radio fuse. If it still doesn't work, remove the plastic trim from around the radio and see if the plug-on connectors are still attached to the lighter socket. Sometimes the connctor to the center pin pops off. As far as the oven goes, if the pilot is lit and stays lit, but the main burner does not fire up, the oven control is probably bad. It's not just a "valve" like the range burner valves. It has a thermostat that senses the temperature in the oven and opens an internal valve when the temperature is below the knob setting. It could just need to be removed and blown out, but it's probably had quite a hard life in the RV. But before condemming it, check the pressure at the valve with a gas manometer to see that you indeed have 11" water column pressure, or whatever the nameplate on the oven says. Incorrect pressure will prevent these valves from working. If the pressure is wrong, your regulator needs adjusted.

Does it have air bags and are they inflated? They do leak over time and this can cause it to sit very low.

Something's fishy. Sounds like a real pig-in-a-poke. Maybe she knows something about it that she doesn't want you to find out. Or maybe she just doesn't trust you and thinks you are going to have your mechanic "induce" a problem to knock the price down. That's not unheard of, but there is a definite lack of transparency and trust here. Tell her that since she won't let a mechanic evaluate the condition of the vehicle, that she must warrant the vehicle to be roadworthy and free from undisclosed defects. Sign a contract that says payment will be with a check with a hold payment order and funds will be released when the vehicle makes it to its destination free from defects, and that if the vehicle does not make it, the price of tow and repair will be deducted from the sale price and a new check issued. Will she agree to that? No. She knows a sucker is born every day and she only needs 1. Luckily, you stumbled onto this forum and you have us to reassure you that these things turn up for sale all the time - under much better terms than that. Don't jump at the first one you see, especially under these VERY unfavorable terms (missing equipment, wrong axle, no inspection allowed). If you think 2800 is the right price, add axle replacement and a 700 mile tow on a rollback and see what that bumps the price up to. Not such a good deal anymore. I can't guarantee that such an event WILL happen, but I bet you can't find one person to put it in writing that such an event WON'T occur. Not even the seller. Every vehicle purchase is a little bit of a gamble. But this sounds like a big one with the deck stacked against you. If you want to gamble big, go to Vegas. At least there, you know the odds.

Don't do it! Turn around and walk away. Do not look back. 100+k miles on a 5 lug critically overloaded axle... it's a MIRACLE the wheels haven't ALREADY broken off. It could have new everythings all around and none of that will matter when you roll over when the wheels break off. 5 lug is a deal breaker. It's like a flood history in the eyes of a car buyer. Or toxic waste site in the eyes of a realtor. Or a sex-offense conviction in the eyes of a daycare about to hire someone. Some bad things are so bad that they trump all the good things. Walk away.