snail powered

I like that concept of bend once and do two steps. Fun vintage find. I can tell those shopping days really have already begun since I sell kits for making holiday related items.

A lot of obstructions to work around but a very good job of space planning for getting the max wattage out.

but did you read the very last statement in his project? If not here it is for your viewing pleasure 1/26/2014 The pusher has basically been pointless, too much trouble to hook up and all it does is point out the limits of my EV conversion. It has now not been used in several years.

It has the R value of .25" of dead air space. They put in a subframe of 2 x 2 furring strips, which means they have 1.5" of insulation in their walls and they did not remove the foam in the roof. So in their application it did not matter that it has little insulating value.

They tried living with only cold water hauled in a 5 gallon container and a pump sprayer container for showers and ended up spending $60.00 a month for a gym membership in a gym that is not available in small towns but as they live in various cities where they can find bartending and waitress jobs it works out kind of OK for them. Tried going without any refrigeration for a few months then gave that concept up and got an ice chest. Eat mostly raw food or from food trucks and buy groceries every day Repairing your own vehicle means you need to find a place where you can do the work. Some repairs you can manage in a parking spot on the street but it just depends on what is wrong and where you are when it happens. For instance the repair to their clutch is not a job they could easily do at the curb on a city street. So unless you have a friend's or family's or your own driveway to work in you pretty much need to hire someone to do all but the quickest and easy to reach jobs.

only a suggestion on the reclining part of it. I customized my dinette bench into an adjustable recliner. It was an easy, low cost project. The adjusting part is just two pieces of plywood hinged together and they have a piece of fabric used for adjustable tensioning that attaches to the boards with Velcro. On my seat base under the cushions I put a yoga mat because it is non slip so the tilt boards sit on top of that keeping them from sliding around when I lean back. Then I have a division in cushion that I can set the plywood under so that when I tilt to adjust the angle that cushion comes up and stays on top of the hinged plywood boards. You can remove the plywood boards at any time because they don't need to be physically attached to the dinette base. It works perfectly for reclined reading, video watching, sleeping, etc. Your bed mate's sleeping area does not have to be effected by your side of the bunk if you have the cushions divided up the right way. Of course since it is removable it can be put up in the overcab bed on top of the mattress used with a separate cushion or put on top of a couch as well.

You might want to use Romex (triplex flat wire) that is made for situations where there will be flex. It is made with multiple small strands of twisted wire instead of one larger solid wire. It is an industry standard to use the twisted wires for automotive situations rather than solid wire. Flexing can cause work hardening in thicker solid, single strand wire causing it to fracture the wire/ I purchased it by the foot at my local marine supply store. The best versions of this product are fully tinned. But for interior work I used the standard version without tinning for the cost savings. http://www.fisheriessupply.com/ancor-standard-tinned-triplex-boat-cable-flat Of course you can also use a triplex round wire instead of flat. Your choice, the convenience is in having all the wires inside of one outside jacket. The shape of the wire is a personal choice for what you want to use for clamping it in place on the wire runs. Of course you don't need as large of a hole diameter for round wire to pass through if you are going to be running it through solid structures such as the floor. http://www.fisheriessupply.com/ancor-standard-tinned-triplex-boat-cable-round

Only driven on Sundays?

congratulations Joe. Happy trails to you in your new Toy Home on the Range!

They were popular enough that there are still a lot of them on the road. I see them fairly often in Seattle.

You should also check to see if there is excessive play in the steering. That issue can cause a lot of trouble with staying in the proper lane under side wind conditions.

Throttle cable needs lubrication?

I don't need to do any adapting. I am swapping it out for a black one from the same year and model. Its identical other than the color. The depth of the steering wheel is OK for me. I have thin black leather around. I might cut out and lace up my own. But that is low down on the list of priorities. Makes a good craft project for when out on the road during a rainy afternoon. My tall, on-board tool closet is full of things like knives, holes punches, rulers, etc. My workbench is topped with a large cutting mat. One of the classes I took when enrolled at the University of Alaska was given by an Alaska Native. It was a class for leather, skin and fur sewing techniques. First thing we made were driving gloves using thin deer hide. Hand stitched, French seamed leather gloves made to custom fit your own hands are quite the project to learn on. We also learned the traditional Athabascan bead work techniques. Fun class, a whole semester worth of skills improvement and gained cultural knowledge too!

Replacements Lids are readily available for that size. You don't have to buy the whole unit, you can get just the lid. Do a search on Heng's Exit Vent 17 x 24. Heng's is a trade name for all kinds of roof top vents as well as other RV replacement items. Elixer is another brand name that makes replacement vent lids for the older 17 x 24 Jensen units. If you don't want to buy it online then your local RV supply store can order it in for you and have it ready to pickup at the store in a couple of days. But you will find better deals online than in the store. http://www.adventurerv.net/elixir-vent-lid-p-1746.html?gclid=CO-Lnt2is8cCFQgtaQodjl8GGg&utm_campaign=partsfeed_ppc&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=Froogle https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-vents/replacement-vent-lid.htm

I finished putting new flooring in the cab the other week. Of course I had to move the gas pedal back and forth to check for clearance from the new flooring. When I went to start the engine the other day I discovered the throttle cable was stuck but not broken. Seems to they get that problem from old age and corrosion. Whew, I am so glad that occurred while it was sitting safely at home base instead of out on the road. Its a 1980 Nissan 720 so I had to special order in a new cable from the east coast that will take a while to arrive on the west coast. I decided not to mess around with just trying to lubricate it due to it being 35 years old. It won't be here for another week so I am working on other tasks. The radio the PO installed has an Aux in and USB in on the back of the unit. So I went on Ebay and found a cable set with an outlet plug face with USB and AUX in that I can install into the console next to the radio. Its a nice quality radio with a built in HD tuner and an option for Sirrius, blue tooth etc. The blue tooth add on has bad reviews so I did not get that extra add-on and I am not going to pay for satellite radio service so I skipped that option as well. Whoever did the radio install for the PO did a major hack job on it so I fixed that up so it looks nice now. I got a stick of JB Weld Plastic Epoxy Putty for this task and was very pleased with it. It really does make a very strong bond for plastic repair and void filling. It is also good for repairing fiberglass such as filling dings and small cracks. It dries to an off-white color but is paintable. Works for plumbing repairs too so I will keep a stick of it in my RV tool kit for emergency as well as every day kinds of repairs such as filling stripped screw holes. I sewed a new boot for my gear shift. I have the headliner in place except for the upper edge and back edge where it transitions into the overcab bed. Those edges won't get finished until I am doing the finished woodworking part of the interior renovation. Started making the pattern for the new vinyl covering against the back wall of the cab. There used to be shag carpet over that area. But I ripped all that yucky stuff out. I can't put carpet in my RV as if I were to travel with my cats they would instantly turn carpet on any vertical surface into a scratching post. That is going to be a tricky area to finish off nicely with those lumpy uneven cut metal edges but I can manage it. I bought a 22 mm socket for the nut that holds the steering wheel on. This week I hopefully I will get to O'Reilleys and get the steering wheel puller. The steering wheel is the last piece left of the old ugly UV damaged brown cab interior I have to deal with and I am thrilled to see it all go away. The new interior color scheme in the cab is black and grey. I will be glad to get the cab renovation done, its too much bending like a pretzel at awkward angles work for my taste. But I had to do it while the weather was nice as a lot of the time I had to be outside the doors reaching into it.

Article about what situations could be causing the shuddering which is likely misfiring. http://www.autotap.com/techlibrary/diagnosing_misfires.asp

It won't be tall enough to clear the coach door on a Toyhome. That is most often going to be the case with shelters that are designed for the smaller low profile trailers or SUVs. But I do like that style of shelter. However some extra sewing modifications many such designs can be adapted for the Toyhomes. I need to remember to add to my list of measurements the height of the top of the door to the ground plus the distances of the door to the other significant features such as the window, roof, front edge of the coach and rear edge. Also I need to know what height a skirt from the ground to the lower edge of the coach is. Also needed is thr measurement for how much clearance space is required for the roof plane of a shelter or awning when the door is in the open position. That is a critical measurement for knowing how and where to mount a shelter as you don't want to wear a hole in the roof with the top corner of the door. One of the benefits of screen rooms is being able to leave the door open on rigs like the Sunrader that don't come with screen doors. It is a wise move to bond an extra wear patch layer to the inside surface of a shelter's roof if the door has the potential for the roof to rub against it. That will help prevent holes in the roof.

The word shudder sounds very much like the word shutter. This kind of spelling error is quite common if you normally hear something in conversation but rarely read that word in context. Most especially so in certain areas of the country were many of the consonant sounds are pronounced with a softer accent on them.

The butyl tape is supposed to stay soft forever, so its being soft is not an issue, its a good thing.

The 11' screen room is not super expensive on Ebay. But of course its not free However I don't know if this one is tall enough for your Dolphin. http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Rv-Trailer-Camper-Carefree-of-Colorado-Campout-11-Add-A-Room-Screen-Room-/351252968344?hash=item51c84ef398&vxp=mtr There is 10' long screen room for $99.00 on Ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/RV-CAMPER-TRAILER-AWNING-ADD-ON-ROOM-NEW-FITS-A-10-CAREFREE-OR-A-E-AWNING/151774995305?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D33097%26meid%3De5d2ea2cfe6b41efa2b1a2c83f4b2f8d%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26mehot%3Dlo%26sd%3D351252968344 I got an 8' (2.5m) long add-a-room from Ebay for $100.00. Brand new but not in the original box.

There is an interesting awning that was designed for VW camper buses. http://www.busdepot.com/details/awning/ They do sell adapter mounts making it possible to put it on other vehicles such as a Toy Home. They also have taller poles available for it. Takes about 10 minutes to set up once you get to camp, not as fast as an electric opening awning but comparable to a bag awning. It stores in a bag similar in size and shape as those used for the folding camp chairs. The cost of the awning is budget friendly. There is a screen room available for it. However I am guessing that you may need to sew extra lengths of material around the bottom to make it a bit taller for a Toy Home. You can also purchase a kit to turn the awning plus screen room into a free standing unit. With a bit of sewing and some Keder awning rope from SailRite it could potentially be adapted to slide into the awning rails used for bag awnings. Having looked at a wide variety of awning and screen room options available in the US I have decided this unit is the way I will go as the weight is fairly light and finding storage space for it won't be difficult. Two sizes available 8' x 8' and 8' x 11'. The 8' is the width out from the side of the vehicle. Europeans have way more choices in awnings and screen rooms than we have in the USA, I sure wish that would change but there has been no movement in that direction other than this product. I did purchase a used awning and screen room but finally decided they were way too heavy. Even the screen room was heavy and also bulky. But this Bus Depot awing will be easy enough to store up on the overcab bed or behind my cab seats or in a luggage area.

You can buy a commercially made flat panel solar water heater to put on top of the rig. They run off a small solar powered pump and circulate the water through your hot water heater as part of the loop. Just do an internet search to find them. They use them on boats too. The big black PVC tube solar heater on an RV is a terrible concept. You don't have enough surface area for the volume of water and you create a dangerous situation where you have a large volume of water rushing around in that big tube whenever you brake or accelerate. That can tear the tube off the roof possibly damaging the roof in the process. Lots of fools try it and post videos about making them but truthfully it is not a viable concept. Just because they posted a video about making it does not mean it actually worked out over time as a reliable system. They try adding baffles but never get that right either. You don't use large tubes to create solar roof top water heaters, you use smaller diameter tubes and most especially so for a moving vehicle.

Here are the instructions you need. They are in a document from Dometic that was in the replacement gasket kits. It shows step by step exactly what you should do and also tells you what not to do when you go to remove the old one and how to install the new gasket. http://www.beamalarm.com/Documents/dometic_gasket_repair.html

There is a Phasar boondocking full time in my neighborhood this summer. There are some Le Sharos boondocking as well but they are at the east end of the neighborhood along with another couple of them further north in Seattle. All of them are living in them full time on the city streets. None of they look to be in good condition, the Phasar is not as bad as the Le Sharos. Not too unusual to see them for sale in Seattle on craigslist they don't sell quickly.

Anyone who wants to steal them can go to youtube and watch a video on how to remove them without needing the key.