john*thomas
-
Posts
182 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Events
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Posts posted by john*thomas
-
-
I have an old motorcycle that has drum brakes. I have an old car that has drum brakes so I long ago got in the habit of braking early and not getting close to anyone in front of me. It works well while driving the RV also.
I suppose if someone wants to run into me there isn't much I can do.
Then again I do not drive in the type of traffic you do very often.
-
It will be hard to tell until you get in there. My inside door panel looked rotted badly at the bottom but when I took the door apart the frame was actually still in good shape.
-
2 hours ago, linda s said:
Sorry John but your dead wrong. Those can break too. There used to be a long story on the internet about the axle failure in a 1985 Mirage and the troubles he went to to fix it. We have also seen 18 ft Sunraders axles fail and they are about the same size. Finding the axle can be difficult. Expect to pay about a thousand plus you need at least 4 dually wheels to fit that axle. Just the wheels can cost a hundred each.
As far as fixing it with limited mechanical experience, it's a very big job. You'll need new shock mounts welded on plus a bunch of other stuff.
What you can do is run it with single wheels in the back. Buy bigger tires to handle the weight
Federal Ecovan ER02 205R14C D/8PR BSW Tires (tires-easy.com)
You should also have your existing axle serviced and bearings replaced.
For stability you might need a sway bar too. Plenty available for Toyota's
Linda S
With your reply you are still running the factory axle. With none of us originally aware of what the unit was running, that would be a swap of wheels.
I suppose I should have been more indepth but I would run that axle all day. Any axle that old should be serviced also if it never has been.
To add, those are really cool little units and I would buy it and do whatever made me feel the most comfortable. There are many regular style campers to be found already upgraded so in that case I would hesitate. They are even cooler with the wide rear wheels.
-
Those are generally OK without the full floating rear end. The issue is in finding one if you did decide to swap out. It's a fairly easy job IF you can locate a rear end but as I said, I would run one of those with the rear it came with.
It's a really cool little RV.
-
I saw that listed for sale. I thought it was pretty interesting. I wondered about replacing the canvas.
I have a standard type of camper 1987 Odyssey and I've found very little info on it either.
-
I would definitely get the lowboy noted or a rollback. It's too heavy to use a tow dolly IMO, I wouldn't do it.
-
Mine only had one quick disconnect. Remove cover inside. 4 screw in threads, remove the outside cover and it slides right out of place.. Mine had a tin vent I removed which made it easier to move around.
If I had to take it off the roof I would definitely get more than one person. Mine is 20 foot and it has a 13500 A/C. It will freeze you out on low.
-
I suppose the easiest would be to find another one but.............not so easy to do.
There isn't much to these doors. I just had mine apart. Is all the wood rotted? Is it just the wood where it's mounted that is bad?
-
I really like solar power and this is pretty cool but I also really trying to find a place in the shade to park. LOL
-
So this may seem a dumb question but.........just killing time as the seal hasn't got here yet. (yes mine is smashed flat all over). I was going to work on the shroud some. Just looking to see what a replacement would cost I note none of them have ventilation holes in the top. To make an easy question long..........I hope once sealed it's sealed for awhile but I could see where covering these holes would keep an awfully lot of rain from getting into the A/C area. I initially thought my roof leaked but it was where rain got into the A/C area and leaked around the seal. I'm thinking of covering them up? Any thoughts? My first thought is that they are there for a reason but I see no vents in any of the replacement shrouds (other than the sides).
Just to note, the A/C works great. Freeze you out on the low setting. Seems a bit overkill but whatever, it works so it stays. I was worried about wood rot around the frame it sits on but it's all solid. A little bit of edge delamination but nowhere bad enough to go tearing everything up. My roof is solid. No sign of any give while I was on it. (my entire weight never was).
-
10 minutes ago, Ctgriffi said:
The seal is standard, yes. You'll need to disconnect power to the unit inside and unscrew/unbolt it. After that, from the roof, you just lift the unit off and set it to the side. Remove the old seal from the roof cutout and clean the area really well. Put the new seal on the opening and put the unit back into place. Connect power and fasteners from the inside and done.
If your roof is iffy, you'll probably want to use boards or plywood to span the roof while you're up there. Also, AC units are around 70-80lbs (?) in my experience, so it helps to be healthy and, uh, robust.
Thanks.......I'll get a second set of hands to help out.
-
We took it on it's first trip. It got us there and back. It wasn't very far and just overnite to try it out. A/C works very well BUT my seal is leaking so................
I'm assuming it's a pretty standard seal. Any tricks to replacing? I've not looked anything up yet.
-
4 minutes ago, jjrbus said:
Over inflated is over the psi recommended in the load and inflation table for the weight. Now I see why I stopped posting about tire pressure!
Which will never be 32psi.
-
4 minutes ago, jjrbus said:
Internet myth . My rear axle scale weight is 4820 lbs, approximately 2400 lbs per side. A load range D tire inflated to 65 psi is rated at 1764 lbs dual and 1874 lbs single. No where near 2400 lbs, a 30% overload. Derick and I use to PM about this.
The argument isn't that you can just forget it and run your unit that way. The argument is that you can carefully get yourself to somewhere to get it taken care of. You can run car tires on a camper. Mine had passenger car tires on it when I got it. Obviously they worked for the previous person but I'm not going to do it. An overloaded tire will take the extra load (in general) for awhile. So telling someone if one rear tire goes flat you can limp yourself to a repair place isn't a myth.
-
It depends on your tire. Check the sidewall. Then what type of tires do you have? If you are running C or D rated tires and the shop put them at 32, go back and smack them upside the head.
-
It's going to be a lot of money. I can't imagine you can't find something closer. I used to know a person that did this but not any longer. I used to pay him $300 plus for a 200 mile round trip. That was quite awhile ago. I have to think $2000 plus for a vehicle you haven't seen.
Sorry, that doesn't help. Have you asked if anyone here is close enough to go look at vehicle?
-
I've never seen a fan just disappear. That is your first problem but the question is whether or not it's caused other problems.
-
Just making things more confusing.......LOL. I bought my tires from Priority Tire (no shipping charges). They have Accelera Ultra 3 195r/14 D rated for $75. You then get $15 off any order over $100 so $72.50 a tire. You MAY NOT want 195. I wanted slightly more clearance as where I park it came close to dragging when I back in.
-
I have a little finishing to do but the door looks better.
-
Anyways........person had posted about remodeling their trailer and had a couple swivel chairs for sale about an hour from me. They both were excellent shape and were only being replaced because they wanted recliners. It's a wee bit big yet but will work for now. They also had a table that was just too big overall so I cut it down and it fold down against the wall when not in use. I'm going to get a better leg for now.
Going to fix the lower damage to the side door and we will be off the following week for our first trip finally. I was stumped with the ledge on the floor under the table. I could tell by the pamphlet layout there was supposed to be a chair there but I couldn't figure out how with that ledge. You don't even want to ask about the ledge. LOL, I'll repair the reason for that correctly and get rid of that when I re-do the floor. Also I have the additional chair if anyone is interested in one. Not really worth shipping but thought I'd mention it.
-
It's hard to diagnose a problem like this over the internet. Many possible issues were mentioned and it could be any of them. These units have many years on them and things just go bad. Could be as easy as a thermostat or as hard as a blown head gasket. It could be your belt is slipping. You might need a new water pump or radiator. With an overheating issue there are many possible causes.
-
3 hours ago, cannante said:
Thanks
I'm wondering from what I am reading, if I should replace the brake lines, too?
If it's been a long time since they were replaced or you aren't sure it most likely would give you a peace of mind.
-
Most auto parts stores do have these. For no more than they cost don't hammer and chisel.
-
Do NOT swap out the diesel. You will have people lined up around the block to buy it as is. If you want a gas unit, sell that and buy a gas one.
IMO
Learning DIY camper repair?
in Improvement and Do-It-Yourself Projects you have done to Share!
Posted
I tend to agree with what I read Linda saying. Don't rip it up IMO. You see far too many of these for sale that people rip up but never get around to repairing.
I bought mine with a few leaks. I'm pretty sure I have them sealed. I could probably gut mine and re-do it but that isn't why I bought it. I bought it to get away. Unless it's really bad and some are really bad, seal and paint and use it.
I have a couple soft spots in my floor. Next spring I'll pull the carpet and do something to address that. I have a little roof damage where the A/C seal leaked. Meh, I replaced the A/C seal and the rest doesn't bother me. If I wanted like new I would have spent $70,000 and bought that.
Yes yours has some damage. Unless you feel something isn't safe, work on sealing it and painting or doing minor repairs. IMO.