Classic Winnebagos & Vintage RVs

And finally...Winter Vacation has begun!

We are all packed up and in the outer parking lot of the Carolina Renaissance Festival, and we are done working until the start of the Arizona Renfaire in February.

We'll be getting an early start, and we'll more than likely make it down to Saint Marys, GA to visit my sister by this evening...but we aren't in any hurry.

Then our agenda is to go further south and pick up I-10 West, stopping briefly in Florida to take care of renewing our vehicle registrations and Patti's license, which expires on her birthday on January 11.

After that, its a meandering trip out west, stopping when we feel like at National Forests and BLM lands to do a lot of boondocking this year.

If the roads are passable this year, we do want to stop at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico on the way, and whatever other sites there are to see.

Once in Arizona, its another stay in Tombstone!  We love that place.  And the rest will be boondocking, probably at Hot Wells Dunes, and there is another hot springs nearby in the Gila National Forest.

Its going to fun, relaxing, and a lot of time spent with the pups and training them a bit.  At least they are more housebroken now than not! 

First thing I'll be doing today after getting dressed is take the Jeep across the street to McDonalds and get breakfast, then hook the Jeep up to the RV, then hit the road!

Let Vacation begin!

Kev

 :)ThmbUp Holy Cow, Sit Down, Strap In and Hang On, get ready for the DELUGE of photo's that are about to come. Lookout Mark. :)rotflmao

That sounds like a great time.....

29 miles from my sister's house in Saint Marys, GA...and pulled in for the night at a Flying J.

The rig is running amazingly well!  I don't know if it was the tweak I gave the timing and idle, or the Spectre cold air intake, or all three, but she's got power now!  Even accelerates up hills!  Although I kept it to 55 to save fuel.

And it just sounds and feels right now.  Purring like a very big kitten!  I'll know the current MPG when I gas up in the morning, but the needle on the gauge didn't seem to move any faster than before...the numbers won't lie though.

And my fix to my leaking front airbag worked like a charm!  Slime does indeed seal an airbag leak provided its at the bottom of the airbag!

So far so good!

We didn't bother with the last 29 miles since it would be dark when we arrived at my sister's, and I need full daylight to park in HER driveway!  Its a pretty tight neighborhood, especially when everyone is home at night with their cars parked on the street.  Much easier in the daytime.

So we had dinner at Denny's, took the pups out twice (and will again before long), and we are calling it an evening!  I probably won't even read for very long.

BIG yawn...

Internet connection sucketh here, so I'm going back to my book.

Kev

Denny's...Prime Rib Philly melt!!

LOL!  Patti had the potroast, and I had the Smaug Fire Burger off the Hobbit menu.

All rested up after sleeping at the Flying J...although the pups woke me twice to go potty, which I can't really complain about!  They've been good so far and the rugs are still clean...lmao!

29 miles out from my sis's house, and we'll be leaving in a bit, once Patti gets all prettified.

I did turn the rig around early this morning so we wouldn't get blocked in...parking was tight last night and there was no way out with the 2 big RVs parked on the end blocking the exit, not without unhooking the Jeep...but as soon as I saw one of them move, I started the engine and made a slow cold start to turn the rig around and park it facing out.  Once Patti is ready we'll move it over to the fuel pumps, top off the fuel, empty the grey, and top off the fresh.

Then its a short trip to my sis's house, unhook the Jeep, back the rig into her driveway, and get ready for a few day visit.

All systems go so far!

Kev

So 7.1 mpg...not bad, especially when I wasn't exactly easy on the pedal testing everything out...I had the secondaries open on pretty much every hill.  I'm usually a lot more conservative when I drive, so while there might not be any improvement in MPG, it doesn't appear to have made a negative impact.

We took our time getting to my sis's and set up in her driveway, then spent a relaxing evening and had Hunt Brother's Pizza for dinner.  Hey, its gas station pizza, but its GOOD!  Beats most pizza anywhere outside of the Northeast!

Tonight we'll be having steak!

Its been nice to relax for a couple of days!

Tomorrow I'll be crawling under the rig and measuring how much I need in the way of rubber fuel hoses, then pulling that mystery line and having Patti turn the key.  Then going down to the auto parts store for the hoses, and then installing them on Saturday.  Patti is going to go with my sister on Saturday to attend my nephew's cheerleading competition...which isn't my idea of fun, so I'll work on the rig...lol!  I also need to pick up a brass punch to get the lockring off the fuel sender again...wood didn't work last time and I was a nervous wreck I'd strike a spark with the steel punch I used last time!

Then its a couple more days of relaxing before heading west. 

Ah vacation!

Kev

Hi Kev you make my 10.2 feel real good now. Plastic will work for a punch also. I have always used a screwdriver and never even thought about a spark . You are usually not stricking that hard . To cause sparks. 99% of the time the tank is out of the veh . And to get an explosion you have to have the correct fuel air mixture or a lot of fumes.  Frank

Thanks Frank!  Good to know!

I didn't get to the fuel lines yet.  My mom and stepdad decided to show up yesterday, so we spent time with them and enjoyed their company and exchanged Christmas gifts and had dinner and whatnot.

Today Patti went with my sis to the cheerleading competition, and I'm SO glad I had an excuse to stay home...lol!  They still aren't back yet.  I can't imagine having to sit in an auditorium for hours listening to screaming teenagers...that would be a special and very evil kind of hell...lmao!

So after they left, I went on poop patrol and cleaned up all the doggie presents out of my sis's yard, then fed the pups after taking them out again, then went into town to find peat moss, which I found at a True Value hardware.

I bagged up 12 1 gallon bags of it, then changed out the peat moss in our composting toilet...and washed it thoroughly with a hose.  You don't usually have to do that, but I do it once in a while anyways.

Then I stowed the remaining 10 peat moss bags, and cleaned the bathroom completely.

Then it was potty time for the pups again, and lunch...then it was time to attack the crack in the secondary freshwater tank.

After emptying out the entire storage area under the bed, I removed the Eternabond tape from the crack...and it came off surprizingly easy.  Even Eternabond doesn't stick well to polyethelyene!  I let the 80 watt Harbor Freight welding iron heat up while I removed the tape.

I was very careful and used plenty of polyethelyne icemaker tubing around the crack, and put on a thick layer.  I noticed that while the head of the iron would melt it, the sides of the iron were the bee's knees when it came to smoothing it out!  The sides got a lot hotter!

Then it was time to fill the tank and test for leaks.

I put a hose in the outer filler spout, and turning it on, and waited for it to completely fill with water to overflowing.

No leaks!  Woohoo!!!

First time ever plastic welding, and its not only watertight, it doesn't look half bad either!

Then I reorganized all the stuff that goes under the bed while repacking it, and managed to fit everything under the bed that doesn't have a home in a cabinet, so our vacation will be clutter free!

Then the dishes, and another doggie potty run...then a trip to the package store...lol!

Now I'm going to have a couple of bourbons, and go back to the book I'm reading!

Tomorrow I'll be helping my sis's son Eddie build a trebuchet for his science project, then Monday I'll attack the fuel hose issue in earnest.

We have to stay through Wednesday anyways, since I ordered Patti's Christmas present from Camping World.  It was supposed to be here in 2 days, but they botched it and only half of it will get here Tuesday, and the other Wednesday.  They did refund my expedited shipping though!

I got her a Dish Network receiver since they started a new pay as you go program...some places we can't use it which is why we never bothered...and a Dish Tailgater antenna that automatically tracks the satellites!  Its a portable unit, which I thought would be best for a lot of the campgrounds we are in, rather than a rooftop unit...but at least I won't have to try to find the satellite!

She's been wanting satellite TV forever, but it wasn't practical until now.

I can't wait to see her face when she opens it!  I got a SWEET deal between my Good Sam membership and they Cyber Monday sale they were having, plus the package deal for buying them together.  I saved nearly 70% of the whole shebang!

Okay...dogs had to go out again, so now its time to read a bit before everyone gets home.

Kev

I got an early start today before helping my sis's son with his science project, and crawled under the rig to access my fuel line issues going to the genny.

Mystery solved!  And it wasn't even a mystery, just mistaken identity of what I thought was a fourth fuel line which was actually a brake line for the trailing axle...lol!  That and a faulty memory, because I could have sworn that there was a 4th line coming out of my fuel tank...but when I crawled under there today, there are only 3!

I took the lockring off and removed the pump/sending unit assembly just enough to identify which hose when to where. 

One is definitely a vent, one is the main 1/2 line coming directly out of the electric fuel pump, and one is the return.  So it must be a factory setup for the genny to tee into the return line.

I'm not going to bother replacing the vent line.  And the half inch rubber hose, which is really hard to get to, is a very short 10" run to the fuel pressure regulator (which I hope NEVER goes bad, since its on the opposite side of the tank and would require dropping the tank to replace...and from the regulator right to a steel 1/2 line which runs all the way to the front mechanical fuel pump.

I think the genny fuel delivery problem is the 10 whole feet of crusty rubber fuel hose that goes from the steel line where the genny tees into it, all the way back to the fuel tank.

So that is the only rubber hose I'm going to replace for now.

I traced everything back to the front, and lost the vent line somewhere...but the other two lines run right to the frame rail just a few inches from the mechanical fuel pump.  They are short, and look okay, and since they are very hard to access on our rig, I'll leave those hoses alone too for now.  Our coach has that extra steering stabilizer called a Safe-T-Plus, and it would have to be removed in order to access the pump from below, or I'd have to take the alternator out to access the pump from above.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Once I replace that 10 foot section of rubber hose, the genny should be good to go.  So that is tomorrow's project.

By the way, I made another misidentification.  What I thought was a big 2 inch hose from the filler neck is actually a vent that ties into the filler somehow via a canister next to the filler neck...which is a massive hose barely visible entering the side of the fuel tank.

I took pictures and will post them when I have a chance.

But replacing the line can wait until tomorrow.  Now its time to help little Eddie with his trebuchet!

Kev

My genny for sure tees into to return line as well.....your vent line should go to the charcoal canister.

About to get started replacing the crappy fuel hose...which shouldn't take long...then testing the genny.  Hopefully it solves the fuel delivery problem completely!

After that I need to run to the post office to mail a few catapults out and whatnot.

Then I'll be at Patti's disposal to help her finish up the bedroom curtains, and maybe get a start replacing the material in the valances, and shortening the blinds in the rear of the coach...they are the right width, but WAY too long, so they don't work right and bind up. 

And before we leave Georgia, I want to grease the fittings on the Jeep and top off the diff fluid in its front axle...has a slow leak.

And that should take care of all the projects and the rest of vacation will be just that...vacation!

Kev

The fuel hose is replaced and the genny is all fixed!  I replaced the hose (it ended up being 5/16 not 3/8, so another trip to O'Reilly's was required...and since it was 10 whole feet they sold me of the 3/8 they let me exchange it and the hose clamps for the right ones).

I put it on, zip tied everything in place, and started the genny.

It took a bit to prime all the way from the tank, but then it evened out and I could see a steady fuel flow in the clear plastic fuel filter. 

I let it run for a whole hour under load with the AC blasting, and the genny is running great now!

Problem solved and fuel line routing all figured out!

While I was at O'Reilly's, I decided to check out the RV section of the True Value hardware store, and YES!  They had one of those Camco vent cover thingies with the tail that looks like a weathervane for purging the holding tank gases...ever since replumbing both holding tanks into one big grey tank, we've been occasionally getting grey water smell when travelling, so I'm hoping this will do the trick!  While there I also picked up some more snaps and short expanding molly bolts for Patti's curtain project.

After fixing the fuel hose and making sure the genny was running perfectly, up on the roof I went with my sis's hubby's ladder...easier to get to the vent cover from a ladder with the solar panels in the way...and removed the old vent.  Riveted to the roof of course, so I had to use a chisel to pop the rivets.  Then I cleaned it all up with Goof Off, and sealed all around the vent pipe with Eternabond tape.  Install of the vent thingy was a snap after that, I sealed it all with silicone, cleaned up everything, and called that project done.

Also got everything mailed out that needs to be mailed out, and then went to Walmart to get the fixin's for dinner tonight...cornbeef and cabbage!

Paladin might have a mild case of puppy mange, so we'll have to keep an eye on it...just a couple of tiny spots on his face where the hair is thinning out, pretty common in German Shepherd puppies.  It usually clears itself up, but if it gets worse we can treat it with benzyl peroxide gel, same stuff they use for zits in humans...just gotta consult the vet first for the right dosage percentage.

And that is all I'm going to do today!

Patti is almost finished with the bedroom curtains, so tomorrow I'll be helping her with the molly and snap installations, and taking down the valances to replace the fabric in the insets.  Then rehanging them...and hopefully get around to shortening the bedroom window shades.

Now to read a bit before dinner!

Kev

Kev

About to go down to Lowes for some more of that Grab It adhesive for another bowed wall repair, then get back and help Patti with the valances and whatnot.  Gotta finish these projects so vacation can begin in earnest with no work involved...lol!

Kev

Curtains are all done, and we'll be finishing up the valances and shades today.  Tomorrow I have to mail out some more catapults, then grease the fittings on the Jeep and top off its diff fluids, then Saturday morning we are back on the road heading West!

A brief stop on I-10 at a campground in Florida for a couple of days to visit friends and take care of vehicle registration stuff, then its Westward Ho!

Kev

Westward Ho, Ho, Ho.

Project curtains and valances is DONE!!!  And they look great!  I'll post some pictures as soon as I find out what the heck I did with my camera cord!

Just a few things to do tomorrow, then its Westward Ho Ho Ho...lol!

Kev

So today I got all the grease fittings on the Jeep greased and its diff fluids topped off.  The clacking sound went away, so I'm assuming I have a U joint on its way out...but that is better than the transfer case going bad, which is what a mechanic told me!  Once it starts clacking again, I'll grease one fitting at a time to isolate which one is the culprit.  My guess is its the one on the front of the transfer case, where the drive shaft goes to the front axle.  Its VERY hard to reach with the skid plate in the way, and has to be in just the right position to get the grease gun fitting on it...and it took a LOT of grease before it finally started coming out of the bearings.  I'll keep an eye on it!

Then I unloaded the Jeep completely, and repacked it much more neatly than when we left NC.  I was in a hurry towards the end there, but today I got it packed up intelligently and much more organized.

Then it was off to the post office to mail out the last minute catapult orders, including some I got this morning.

Then off to the Pet Supply place where I spend a couple of hundred bucks stocking up on dog food...cabinets are loaded now!...then back home.

After that I put up the mount for my sister's flat screen TV in her living room and got her TV all hanged up for her, so her hubby wouldn't have to do it when he gets back from sea in a week, then called it a day!

Right before logging onto this site, I checked my email again, and had a sadistic sense of pleasure turning down 4 more catapult orders!  Don't people read my website?...lol!  Thanksgiving is the usual deadline, but I extended it until today...and yet they still want to order!  Well, my compartments are packed and we are hitting the road tomorrow, so no can do.

In the morning its breakfast with my sis and her family, then dial in her son's trebuchet for his school project, then hopefully get on the road by 1pm.  We'll see how it goes though.  I won't be surprised if we end up leaving bright and early Sunday morning...lol!

Now to read for a bit!

Kev

Hey Kev, I had to laugh about your website comment.  We have the same problem, we will post that we are closed for a period of time and that is when we get the orders seemingly all with overnight shipping.  Enjoy your holiday.  Rick

Thanks Rick!  I was nice about it, telling the folks that we were on vacation and on the road, but would be happy to fill any belated
Christmas orders or future holiday or birthday orders once we opened our woodshop back up in February...but the stupidity of people always reminds me of the movie Idiocracy!

Not much done today, although Patti dragged me out of bed early to go to O'Reilly's and Autozone for some Duplicolor fabric paint for the dinette cushions...amazingly, the color is darn close to the curtains...we tested it on a small tab of the cushions, and its close enough.  We'll get them reuphostered eventually, and have matching cushions made for the cedar chest love seat, but this was quick and dirty fix for something that looked REALLY shabby compared to the new curtains and carpets!

She shampooed the cushions, so we have to wait until they are dry to color them.  Might be ready by tomorrow.  We bought 4 cans, but ordered 2 more at O'Reilly's, so hopefully 6 cans will be enough to make them look halfway decent.

So obviously there was a change of plans, so it looks like we'll be on the road first thing Monday morning...lol!

I'm glad my sis and Patti get along so well and love each other so dearly!

Kev

Waiting for the rain to go away, so coffee it is!  Patti wants me to bring her down to Kohls to exchange an ugly gift...lol...and hopefully by the time we get back the rain will be gone and maybe we can get these cushions colored.

This is the last night in my sis's driveway, and tomorrow morning we hit the road West bright and early!

Kev

Didn't make it to Kohls, so we'll hit one when we see one.  I did get a lot done today though.

First I decided to reenforce our rear ladder, since its carrying bicycles now.  Off to Lowes for some brackets and self tapping screws, then picked up 2 more cans of that fabric paint when I got back.

Then I reenforced the ladder to my satisfaction, and since it was still raining, I decided to wash our "new" porch mat we bought at Camping World at the beginning of the North Carolina show.  Since we ran out of time when we left NC, I packed it away wet and dirty.  I laid it out in my sis's driveway and washed and rinsed it, so its drying out now to be packed away in the morning.

Then I aired up my sis's tire AGAIN...she's supposed to get it fixed on Monday...and dialed in her son's science project trebuchet so it now launches marshmallows pretty darn far!

I owe Patti a new broom though...I destroyed it trying to get all the wet pine needles off my sis's driveway before washing the mat...lol!

Patti set up and decorated our tiny little Christmas tree on the dinette table, and once again she outdid herself!  It looks adorable!

And then went shopping for sides for dinner.

And that is it.  Done now and time to read for a bit.

Tomorrow we hit the road!  Next stop, and just for a couple of days, a campground off of I-10 in Florida to visit friends and take care of registration stuff before heading to Arizona.

Kev

About to hit the road!  Gotta make a quick run down to the local supermarket for sugar, and some canned greenbeans for Barnabas.

Then a quick check of everything, pull the RV out into the street, hook up the Jeep, and away we go!

Kev

We had a mostly uneventful 260 mile drive yesterday to Dove Rest RV Park, in Marianna, FL, to hook up with some dear friends on our way out West, and to pause in Florida for the vehicle stuff.  Don't let the funny but scarey internet reviews of this park throw you off...its a very nice park, great staff, and affordable at 26.00 a night for full hookups, tax included.

Looks like we'll be here for 2 more nights, so we can visit our friends today, and take care of the vehicle stuff tomorrow, and squeeze in a visit to the vet for Paladin while we are at it.

The RV ran AWESOME the whole way here, and last MPG check was 7.7.  No improvement, but MAN she's running great with lots of power!

Almost makes me think it MIGHT be worth it to get a Gear Vendors unit (used of course), since before I could never imagine myself with enough power to be in overdrive...lol!

One crazy thing happened though at our last fuel stop at a Flying J:  We pulled in, gassed up, checked the MPG, reset the trip meter, and got back on the road...and after a few miles I noticed that the trip meter wasn't moving at all.  Neither was the odometer!

The speedometer needle was moving just fine.  I checked the cable this morning and it was a little loose on the back of the speedo, maybe one and a half turns loose...so maybe that was it?  I didn't think the cable did anything but turn the gears that turn the needle and the odometer/trip meters.  I would have assumed that if the meters failed, so would the needle.  Hmmmm...We'll see if it starts working again when we start back out in a couple of days now that I tightened it up.  Otherwise I'm going to have to try to find a replacement speedo with an odometer and trip meter that fits in the same hole and is the same color!

So coffee, then I'm going to call the two local veterinarians at 8pm when they open and try to get an appointment for Palsie Walsie...his demodex is getting worse on his face instead of better, and I'm getting worried about the little guy.

Then later today our friends Ande and Brian will be coming over to visit us at the campground.

Kev

I just inquired about a Gear Vendor off CS yesterday, we are wanting to put one on the 86' P30 Komfort. The only bummer was it was installed on a C6, and we of coarse have the T400 Chev. The T400 adapter, and the other things I would need are too expensive for my taste to change it from Ford to Chev. I had one on my 87' Beaver coach, it was awesome. 65 m.p.h at 2400 r.p.m's...something like that? I know if you weren't paying attention to the speedo....it would roll up to 70 on you easily...the 454 liked it.

Sorry Kev but if the speed meter is working and the miles recorder is not Its not the cable . The gearing inside is broken  It may be repairable at a speedo shop wich since you have to pull it out either way may be the easiest way to keep actual mileage record (a used one would have to visit a speedo shop to adj mileage)  Locate a shop near you next resting area and pull it out when you get there drop it off /reinstall whenever time allows Or search for any truck / R/V with same dash for a used one wich could do the same thing in a few miles Dont forget to disconnect the starting battery  you dont want to let the smoke out of the wires Frank

Hey Kev before you go pulling it out take a few pushes on the reset button. I had one that would stick sometines on reset. Resetting it a few more times sometimes brings it back into action.

Its the twist type of reset, not push button...and I tried resetting it a few times to no avail.  Not a biggie though...I'll try to find another one or have this one fixed, maybe while we are at the Arizona renfaire.  At least the speedometer part still works!  But estimating gas mileage now is going to a matter of rough estimates until then.

We had a great visit with our friends Ande and Brian, who pulled into the campground with us, and we are all pulling out today.  They are on their way east to Tampa, while we of course are headed West on I-10.  1650 miles to Tombstone!  Woohoo!  Should take us about 4 days if we drive 8 hours a day.

Not much to do before we leave...checkout is at 11am, so we are taking our time.  Patti is coloring her hair while we have the grey tanks hooked to the park sewer, and when she's done I'll be taking a shower as well...we REALLY like this on demand water heater!

Pretty soon I'll be hooking up the Jeep and checking all the fluids and pressures, but the pups will have to have breakfast first and take yet another walk (they woke me at 2am and then again at 6am...I think they are pretty much housebroken now!  Not the best thing for my sleep cycle, but sure is good for my carpets...lol!)

Did I mention just how good perculator coffee is?...:D

Kev

Hey Kev, You might have mentioned it, 5 or 6 times !  :laugh: But now for your secrets i?? What brand of Coffee do you use How many scoops per full pot of water (8 or 12 cup pot ?) How long do you perk it And what type mix ? Milk, cream or dry real sugar or sweetner ? We need the whole formula !!! W% Frank

LMAO!  Corningware Perk pot, 9 cup capacity.  5 scoops of any Columbian bean, even cheap Walmart brand tastes great, and if you grind your own beans, even better!  I drink it black, no sugar.  Patti likes it sweet and light, but prefers Coffeemate to anything else...and real sugar.  Start with hot water, let it get to a good roiling perk, then turn it down to a low flame and let it perk for a few more minutes...perfection in a cup!

So we left the campground in Marienna, FL and drove all the way to the Flying J in Gulfport, Mississippi, about 30 miles out from the Louisianna border.

I think they are a special kind of stupid here in Mississippi.  This is one of the last Flying Js left that have RV Only signs in their parking lot, and still the morons park in the RV slips in their little cars and trucks!  We were lucky enough to get into one after we gassed up when we got here, and are here for the night.

Then I went to turn on the inverter, and it just gave me an alarm.  BEEEEEP!!!.  I checked all the connections and voltage, and all was well, but my old Coleman inverter had apparently pooped the bed.

At least we were at the Flying J!  They had a similar model with the same output at a good price, so I bought it.  Its a Powerdrive modified sine wave, 1500 watt, 3000 peak, just like what the Coleman was.  First I just hooked it up temporarily to make sure it was indeed a fact that the Coleman died, and it worked perfectly.  So out came the Coleman, and in went the Powerdrive.  Works great, and has a one year warranty.  It has another neat feature as well...it has an LCD display that tells you volts in, and watts out.  So with everything off, it was reading 0 watts out.  With the TV on, it was reading between 60-70 watts out, and then when I plugged in the tablet to charge it, it read steady at 70 watts.  Pretty useful information, since Amps=Watts/Volts.  So with the TV on and the tablet charging, we are using 5.833 amps.  NEAT!

We are going to check the fluids in the morning and get an early start, and should be at least past Houston by tomorrow night...hopefully a good way into Texas.

Everything else is running awesome on the rig...and a very rough estimate of MPG is around 7.5.  Very acceptable to me with the power gains we've achieved!  I'm really starting to think about GearVendor or an overdrive tranny someday in the future.

So far so good!

1441 miles to go!

Kev

Hey Kev Dont forget about Flories bar and dance hall in Heloties/ Town where Willie Nelson/ Elvis and a slew of others played Just north/west of San Antonio on rt 16  Worth the slight jog on your way west  Frank

We got an early start, but it was SUPER windy coming out of Louisiana, and my safe travelling speed varied between 40 and 50 mph.

Finally got to the Flying J in Orange, TX to gas up, and the Texans are even dumber than the folks from Mississippi!  Every last RV spot had a tiny car or two in it!  This was around 3pm, and we knew we'd never make it to Houston before rush hour, so wanted to pull in for the night.

Apparently, Pilot has issued an edict to all Flying Js that they cannot enforce the RV parking rule, and are not allowed to ask people to move.  Bad move, Pilot!  That's gonna cost you a lot of business!

Anyhow, we decided to go a bit further and just stop overnight in an RV park.  Found one in Beaumont, TX called Hidden Lake RV Resort.  Cheap enough, cable, etc...and just for the night.  We'll roll through Houston bright and early tomorrow on a weekend day.

1120 Miles to go until Tombstone, AZ!  With a hopeful segway to Carlsbad Caverns...last year the roads were iced up.

Kev

Slight change of plans because of the impending weather forecast.  All the major stations and websites agree that starting tonight and ALL day tomorrow, its going to be wicked bad winds and thunderstorms, even a possibility of tornadoes all the way from where we are in Beaumont, TX out to Florida.

Yay.

So we paid for another night...I hate driving in the rain, and even more the high winds anticipated.

Supposed to be perfect traveling weather on Sunday, so we'll get an early start and drive as far as we can to make up for lost time.

Kev

Smart move Kev.

Lazy day today, that's for sure!  Crummy outside, but we have cable...lol! 

We are going to go to bed fairly early tonight and hit the road before the sun comes up.  That way maybe we can get ahead of all the last minute Houston Christmas shoppers!

Kev

The storm came in later than they said it would, but it was a doozie!!!  Rig rocking all over the place and the campground essentially flooded.  The water was up the tires a good 3-4 inches...but it all pretty much receded now.

And no winds anymore either...yay!

Pups got us up early...around 5...so we'll be hitting the road shortly.  Just need to get some coffee in my system, take a shower, feed the pups, take them out again, and hit the road!

The goal is to make it to at LEAST San Antonio today, and hopefully a good bit further.

Kev

847 miles to go, but Houston, we have a problem!

Actually past Houston now, at the Flying J in San Antonio.

This morning's trip started out just fine with an early start and all systems go.

Then we started to get serious vapor lock about 100 miles out.  I knew the symptoms, and its happened before.

We made it through Houston in the early Sunday morning holiday traffic...not bad at all for Houston...and pulled into the next Flying J to fill up after noting the bogging and vapor lock symptoms.

Maybe bad gas from the last Flying J?

I added gas additive, but it just got worse and worse as we started climbing more and more gradual hills.

We pulled off a rest stop, and I decided to eliminate the obvious first and pull the electrical fuel pump out of the tank completely to see if it had slipped its moorings like it did a couple of years ago the last time we had these symptoms.

It was secure, but the fuel strainer sock was clogged completely...so off it came, I put the pump back in the tank, and started her up.  Ran fine for about 15 miles, and started doing it again even worse than before!

Made it about 20 miles to the next exit, and pulled off in the parking lot of a closed business (its Sunday). 

If I remember correctly, if the mechanical fuel pump is shot, the rig won't run at all, or might just idle, but if the electrical is shot, then it will run but vapor lock like crazy up hills or accelerating.  So I had Patti turn the key while I listened at the tank, and no hum at all from the fuel pump.  Then I had her start it, but I couldn't hear a thing, since the exhaust is loud and the rig vibrations conceal a lot.

Okay, off to the auto parts store.  The one in that crappy little town off of Exit 664 was about to close and he didn't have it, but told me to go to the Autozone 20 miles away.  Off I went in the Jeep, but they didn't have it either, but the nearby O'Reilly's did.  Oh...yeah...what did they have?  A new electric in tank fuel pump, since I distinctly remember being able to hear the pump hum when I installed the last one.

I installed it, but still couldn't hear a hum.

I almost decided to press on, but decided to assuage my doubts, and disconnected the 1/2 rubber fuel line coming from the tank to the hard line, and had Patti turn the key.

No gas flow.

So I had her start it.

Still no gas flow.

Apparently it wasn't getting power!

So I checked every fuse.

One of the last fuses I checked was under the dashboard top cover in a circuit board.  It was the only one blown, a 10 amp blade fuse.  I replaced it, and had Patti start the engine again...FUEL FLOW!!!

Put the line back one, cleaned up, and we hit the road.

FIXED!!!

Runs like a top again with no vapor lock, so I guess I have another spare electric fuel pump.

But that isn't the problem that is probably going to see us in San Antonio for at least a day or two.

I almost think the gods or God or whatever made the fuel pump and or fuse go out!

While under the rig unhooking the 1/2 inch hose, I noticed that the front of the Mor/Ryde suspension was about to undergo catastrophic failure!!!

Serious failure!  For those not familiar with Mor/Ryde tag axles, the drive axle is connected in a series of parallelograms to the tag axle and various frame connections.  The drive axle shocks connect to the frame, and then to this plate on the bottom of the drive axle, which also has a shallow box/dish that contains the lower half of a big coil spring.  The whole assembly, on BOTH sides, is cracked and about to come apart completely!  A lot of the cracks look older and rusted, but there are a lot of newer bright shiny cracks!

If it wasn't for the fuel pump failure, I never would have noticed it.

I checked it again when we go to San Antonio, and the passenger side at least looks even worse.

I'm not sure what would happen if it lets go on the highway, but I don't want to find out!

I'll break the news to Patti in the morning.  She was already upset about the fuel pump stuff today, and is feeling out of sorts...but in the morning I'll show her what is going on, and then call some local metal fabrication shops and see if they can throw together some new plates for me.  They are pretty simple at least, just the metal is too thin in my opinion for the application.  Just a wedge shaped flat plate with bolt holes, with a shallow square box welded to it to keep the coil spring in place, and a threaded rod welded in place to attach the shock.

They might even be able to be repaired and reenforced once removed by a welding shop, since so far all the pieces are there...so far.

Looks like it might be Christmas in San Antonio.  Definitely a campground while I have the parts fixed or made.  I sure wish I was a good welder with good equipment!

I'll also give Mor-Ryde a call in the morning to see if they have the actual replacement part in stock, how much it will cost, and see if they can overnight it.  I am going to guess it will be cheaper and faster to have it made locally.

Oi Vey!  I'm not talking minor cracks.  I'm talking major separation of metal parts bending away from each other, and things really looking like they can come apart at any second like watch springs!

Kev

Oh yeah...an update on Paladin, since I forgot in all the excitement. 

While still in that campground in Marienna, FL visiting friends, we brought him to Ark Animal Clinic.  The old country doc took one look at his thinning fur spots on his face and told us we worried too much.  He said it didn't look like demodex mange mites, and was probably a combination of color changes in his fur and markings, and the fact that he's already 56 lbs at less than 5 months old...his skin is growing faster than his fur can keep up is the way he explained it.  He also said that if it was demodex, he's healthy as a bull and its a 99.9% chance it will go away on its own in the next couple of months.  He charged us a 30.00 office visit and told us not to worry.  YAY!

As far as the Mor/Ryde stress failures go, I took pictures but still can't find my camera cord, so I'll post them when I can.

Kev

(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi903.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fac232%2FQuietWater%2Fsuspension%2FHolidayRamblerinnerds2131.jpg&hash=edbaab0b77146225fded40000a0c9d783468cde4)

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Is this similar to what you are talking about?  Yes, I know the spring is not straight.  It is because of the way I backed  into the driveway.  It normally is straight up and down.  You can see where that broken wire, that I don't know where it goes, is fastened to the chassis.

Exactly Dan, but on ours there is a threaded stud that the lower shock bolts up to.

I went out and carefully looked at the damage, and I'm going to proceed towards Arizona, checking it at every stop.  After studying the design in my manual, I don't think the axle will fall off or anything even if the tray falls off completely.  The worst that can happen...I think...is that I might lose the coil spring somewhere along the highway.

I don't want to spend any more time in Texas than we have to...lol...and fixing it here or in Arizona makes no real difference, except here I'd have to wait until after Christmas.  Maybe they'll be a good fabrication shop in Sierra Vista.

Coffee, then back on the road!

Kev

Almost? "almost think the gods or God"

OK Kev, I have contacted "my" little 4x4 club via their website and asked for help. www.zuksofarizona.com

You might consider signing on using my info so you can communicate directly with the guys? If yes, I'll PM the stuff to you.

On our trip from Arizona to Florida, Texas kicked our bum all the way across.....took like 7 days to get across....just everything breaks in Texas....next Im gonna avoid it and go around ;).

Kev, You might already have this recall notice, but, if not, you might find this interesting, especially the second paragraph.

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Holy crap!  Thanks Dan!  That is exactly what ours looks like, and although the manufacture year is different, it certainly looks like the failure started at the welds, then cracked the metal on the sides of the coil spring boxes.

On a lighter note, they haven't gotten any worse since I first noticed them, so I'm keeping a watchful eye on them at each stop.  Almost looks like they reached a certain point and stopped bending (once the sides cracked, there was nothing to stop them from bending downward at an angle.  If I have enough zip ties in my kit, I'll see about securing them around the coil springs as described in the pictures so I don't lose them if it does fail completely.

Nice to know for my own peace of mind that it "poses no danger" for us, but I also don't want to be responsible for danger to others driving behind me.

I wonder if Mor/Ryde will make good on the recall?  Especially since its a different year of manufacture, as ours is an 89?

I'm sure going to give them a call after Christmas though, that's for sure!

Kev

So we reached Fort Stockton, TX last night with no mechanical problems.  The only problem we did have was that a small gas station in Sonora, TX was out of gas but didn't know it, so after running our debit card 4 times, Chase bank shut our card down for security.  Took forever to get a hold of them, and then they turned the card back on but their computers wouldn't allow the card to be used at gas stations for 2 hours...so we got a 100 bucks out of the ATM, went to another gas station but couldn't get into the pumps except the diesel pumps (too narrow with no place to turn around, and I ended up tagging a concrete block with the rear bumper...not much damage to the bumper, but it snagged the very back edge of the rear compartment door frame, and did some ugly damage there which I'll have to fix in Arizona!  I patched it with Eternabond as a temp fix, but its an ugly boo boo!), then at the third gas station had no problems, and topped off the tank.  Ended up wasting about 1.5 hours in that fiasco!

So we kept driving all the way to Fort Stockton.

And they built a brand new Flying J in Fort Stockton!  Woohoo!  You can tell it was built by Pilot since there isn't any RV Only parking slips, but we just parked to the side after gassing up, taking up about 10 car spots...lol!  They do have RV fuel lanes though, and propane and a dump station.

So we spent the night and are now about to hit the road again bright and early!

535 miles left to Tombstone!

The goal today is to make it all the way to Lordsburg, NM's Flying J, 402 miles from here, with a stop at the Flying J in Anthony, TX to top off the gas on the way.

That will only leave us with 133 mile to go on Christmas day, and we'll arrive at the RV park fairly early.

Patti is going to call them sometime this morning to reserve a site for the week in case the office is closed Christmas day.

And that's it!  The rear suspension cracks don't seem to be any worse, the fuel pump is still running in the tank with no vapor lock, and hopefully we'll be out of Texas with no more mechanicals...lol!

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!

Kev

Message sent to Mor/Ryde in an email, along with a copy of the recall notice.  We'll see what they say!

Kev

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

We had an uneventful trip out of Texas (YAY), and arrived in Lordsburg, NM's Flying J around 5pm Mountain time. 

The coil box on the passenger side is looking a lot worse, although the driver's side is about the same.  I'm going to get under there this morning and secure the coil springs with some nylon straps so they don't fall off.

Mor/Ryde wrote me back a quick note that they were closed yesterday and today, and they suggested running the straps around the coil springs just in case, and they would look into everything on Thursday and we'll go from there.

24 miles away from the Arizona border, and about 130 miles away from Tombstone!

About 3 hours left of driving, then its Tombstone for a week of fun with the pups, then off to the desert for the boondocking part of our vacation!

Kev

Touchdown in Tombstone!

Safe and sound and camp is all set up.

Pups love it, but its literally a ghost town today, so they'll get a rapid and heavy dose of socialization tomorrow, that's for sure!

God I missed Tombstone.  I don't know what it is about this town, but I love it dearly!

Kev

Cold last night and this morning, 32 degrees, but somehow it doesn't feel as cold when the air is so dry.

Letting the sun warm everything up a bit, then we'll be taking the pups into Tombstone!  They are going to have a blast this week!

Kev

Now that you have driven all over the US, can you give an evaluation on your tires and the balancing substance?
Might need a different thread for it.

Will do Dan!  I'll revive the post I made about Samson tires a while back.

Kev

Having a great time in Tombstone with the pups, although yesterday was more of a relaxing do nothing day.  Paladin is having growing pains or pulled something when he was chasing his sister, so he's yelping every once in a while if he moves his back leg wrong.  Got him on baby aspirin which seems to help.  Same thing happened to Barnabas at the same age, so we'll see how he is before we leave Tombstone before freaking out and running him to the vet. 

And the Jeep grew overnight!

Actually, Patti has been complaining about no AC and having to drive a 5 speed since we got the Jeep, and I decided to remedy the situation...

In one day on Craigslist, I sold the Jeep to an older couple who are full time RVers for 4000.00 (I paid 1500.00 for it last year).  They drove all the way here from Los Cruces, NM, paid cash, and towed her away on their tow bar.  In the same day, I found what is perhaps my favorite vehicle of all time, a 1985 Chevy K5 Blazer.

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The guy who sold it to us needed cash desperately after the holidays.  It has a newly rebuilt 350 engine with a cam, Edlebrock carb and intake, a custom exhaust, a rebuilt 4 speed automatic transmission that supposedly came out of a Vette (I think he said it was an LS1 transmission?), a lift, all brand new suspension and steering components, brand new BF Goodrich tires, a brand new custom dual exhaust, and all new AC components (some of which still have to be installed and then charged).

For 2500.00!

I paid him an extra 200.00 to bring it to me from Tucson since I had sold the Jeep.

It has a couple of minor dents and needs a new paint job since its just grey primer right now, but since its original color was white, which is what we want to have it painted again, the paint job shouldn't be all that expensive...maybe a grand with the body work.  And because it spent its whole life out here in Arizona, it has ZERO rust anywhere!

The front window seal is new, as are the cap side window seals.  The rubber in the door windows, like the tracks and whatnot, need to be replaced, as well as the one in the tailgate window, but that's to be expected in an Arizona vehicle.

The interior is a custom job with all camoflage...the guy was a hunter...so eventually Patti is going to have me redo all that.  But at least its clean inside.

The pups will have a LOT more room in this beast...and I LOVE it!

Amazingly, according to the specs for the K5 Blazer in 1985, it only weighs 4200 lbs with the 350 option.  The Jeep with the hard top and 4.0 engine weighed 3400 lbs.  So an 800lb increase in weight, for a HUGE increase in size and space...I'll take it!

Its a beautiful beastie! 

We did all the paperwork, and yesterday I had the Tombstone Marshall come down and verify the vin on the title, and then overnighted all the paperwork to Florida.

By Monday afternoon, it will be legal and titled to us...and we sent them a return address overnight envelope for the title and registration, so we should have all that in hand by Tuesday or Wednesday.

SWEET!!!

Its a darn nice Blazer!

Okay...back to fun in Tombstone!

Kev

Hey Kev Look at the p30 od thread a lot of new info for you Frank

Really nice find. The LS1 is a 'vette engine. An overdrive tranny of that vintage should be a 700R4. And if you can still find them, a soft top was available as an aftermarket item for those.

Cool!  I love the beastie.  Still have to name it though.  Sure one heck of a truck!

Lots of walks with the pups today in Tombstone, and bought Patti new boots and a hat...she's having a great time too!

Love this silly town!

Kev

Have to say that I had a bout of old timers about the engine. Should be an LT1. The new 3rd gen Chevy's are an LS series aluminum v8 in the 'Vette/Camaro. And the LM series cast iron in the trucks.

D:oH!

Engine block is iron, although there is a lot of aluminum bolted to it, like the Edlebrock valve covers and intake manifold...lol!

I can't wait to take it for a drive...gotta wait until is legal though on Monday.

Going through the stuff in the back of the Blazer, I came across a few ball joints brand new in the boxes.  Comparing them to the front, all the rest are new, and these ones must be to replace the last 3.  Gonna have to do that, then it will all be new!

More fun in town today, more time with the wifey and pups, and some more reading time...ah, vacation!

Kev

Kevin, A good friend of mine, Craig Jones, and his wife will be spending New Years Eve at the Crystal Palace. If you happen to run into him, he is somewhat of an expert on Wyatt Earp.  He is a taxidermist by trade and does some amazing work.  (He is, also, the district coordinator of the Eagle Scout Board of Reviews.)
Dan

Not sure if we are going to be at the Crystal Palace this year...might spend a quiet holiday at home with the pups.  But make sure you tell him to say hi if he sees us walking the German Shepherds around!

Today is the day when the Blazer will be road legal, so as soon as it is we'll be swinging by the dump to drop off the back seat and huge ugly wooden tool box I removed yesterday, then its off to Sierra Vista for groceries and some errands.

Kev

The Florida tax collector's office we use for vehicle registrations was super backed up yesterday, and we weren't sure that the vehicle would even be legal by the end of the day, so I made the one short trip in the Blazer to the dump somewhat illegally before they closed at 2pm.  They charged me 7.00 for bulky items...not bad!

Got back home and waited with Patti.

They finally called us at just before 3pm to tell us everything was processed, so we gave them our debit card numbers over the phone, and YAY!!!  We were finally legal!

It was too late to go to Sierra Vista, so I took the beast on a test drive.  Engine runs awesome with lots of power, transmission shifts flawlessly.  The water temp and oil pressure gauges don't work, but I think its got missing wires somewhere under the hood.  I couldn't even find the oil pressure switch, which is supposed to be near the distributor, but is nowhere to be found.  Might be plugged off since the engine is new, so I'll definitely have to remedy that!

So we are getting an early start to get all the stuff we need in Sierra Vista, so Patti gets her maiden voyage. 

Some of the things needed for the Blazer are:  windshield wiper blades, door channel rubber (they are power windows, but the rubber channels are GONE completely and they rattle like heck!), a new ignition key switch (key is broken off in the switch and you can turn it with a wrench), key copy of the door key, aftermarket gauges and senders probably, tire valve caps, a riser for the hitch on the RV since the bumper on the Blazer sits so high with its lift, and that's it for now.

I have a Blue Ox riser in storage in NY, but that doesn't do me any good here...lol!

My main objective is to get the gauges in order...I get awfully nervous not knowing my water temp and oil pressure!

So off we go to Sierra Vista!

Kev

Thank you Kev, I feel vindicated with your last statement about your instruments.I just added a few extras. :laugh:

The trip to Sierra Vista was a success!  Although it turned into a bit of an adventure!

I dropped Patti off at Walmart and then took the Blazer to an oil change place since I had a suspicion that the engine was overfilled, and I wasn't sure of the oil had been changed after the break-in period...and its been about 800 miles since the engine was installed according to the receipts.

Yep...definitely overfilled.  Apparently there was an option in 85 for a deeper oil pan that required 7 quarts with a filter change...and the PO had that circled in the old Chilton manual that came with the truck.  The new engine has the stock 5 quart setup.  Also, the transmission was underfilled!  It has an aftermarket deeper pan with a drain plug, so it was shy almost a quart, and that was after I added a pint before the trip.

The oil change guys confirmed that there didn't appear to be any fluid leaks of any kind, so it was the POs mess up.

Then the tech noticed one side of the exhaust was loose...2 out of three nuts were missing at the flange where the pipe meets the manifold.  They scrounged up 2 more nuts for me and put them on, and that certainly quieted down the beastie!

So I went to start the truck to leave, and no go!  Nothing at the key...dead as a doornail!

Crap!  No cell phone to call Patti either. 

Then a mechanic from the shop next door walked over...he's friends with the other guys...and determined that the ignition switch itself on the lower steering column was probably toast from old connections.  He showed me how to drop the steering column, remove the switch, and start it with a screwdriver by sliding it all the way to the right through a slot in the side of the switch!  Shutdown was the reverse direction.  He said the linkage to the key switch was still connected, so the contacts in the ignition switch must be old and crusty, but by using a screwdriver the circuit was completed since you could move it further with the screwdriver than the rod linkage did.  The he bolted the steering column back up with the switch still hanging, and wouldn't take a dime for helping out!  There are still nice people in the world!

So I picked Patti up, who hadn't been waiting for too long, and she just laughed and told me I had a LOT of work to do on the new vehicle...lol!

We stopped at 3 other stores that Patti needed stuff at, then went in search of a receiver to receiver drop...which apparently is an RV specific item.  Even U-Haul didn't have them.  So we drove another 8 miles to a big RV store, and while they didn't have one in stock, they ordered us one from Roadmaster, a 10" drop/riser, and said it would be in by Friday.

Then back to Autozone, who had all the parts we needed for the Blazer, including a new ignition switch, on the cheap!  Parts for this thing are very affordable!

So today, once it warms up, I'll install the new ignition switch and key switch, and the 2 aftermarket gauges and senders...and a couple of honey-dos that Patti wants done, like adding a couple of snaps to the dash cover in the RV, and trimming the pup's nails.

Once I replace the switches, I won't have to "hotwire" my own truck anymore...lmao!

Didn't have time to have duplicate door keys made yet, but its on the list for when we go back to town to pick up the receiver riser.

The Blue Ox bumper brackets arrived yesterday...I didn't have time to remove the old ones from the Jeep since it sold so fast!...so I'll mark the holes for those out on the bumper today as well.  A local garage said they'd drill the holes for me since all I have are woodworking bits and a hand drill, and while they are at it I'm going to have them give the suspension a safety inspection and correct anything that the PO might have done wrong.  It feels a little floatie on the road, but that could just be the lift and big tires...but I'm going to have them check it out to be sure, and replace the ball joints if necessary with the ones I have.

Window channels are something I couldn't get in town, and will have to order them from someplace like JC Whitney or Summit Racing once we start our season back up at the Arizona Renfaire.  For now we'll just have to deal with the rattles!

I have a LOT of wiring to figure out...like the blower fan, passenger door power window, windshield wipers, etc...but I can do that at our leisure in the desert at Hot Wells Dunes.

And we've tentatively named the Blazer S.T.E.E.V.!  Survivalist Tactical Escape and Evade Vehicle...lol!

After my list of stuff is done today, its fun with the pups in Tombstone!

Kev

Hey Kev The old window channel guides are most likely lying in the bottom of the doors They get loose and slide down the channel . Pop a corner of the inside door panel and look inside the door before  buying new ones . If there there just slide them back into place and add some adhesive at the top   Did you look for the L/F oil press switch location wile it was up in the air ?  Frank

The best source for parts for that beast is LMC Truck. Their catalogue is about the best around for replacement body/interior parts.

Grumpys in phoenix has all the parts too.

lmc truck for parts , join chevyk5blazer great site for k5's i'm there, look up cadillac's 75 build. old school, full convertable blazers are to cool, had mine for 20 plus years,  getting full restore and custom paint, nice find kevin

I would like to recommend C.R. Lawrence as a good place for glass parts.  They deal with a lot of other things, too, but their auto section is quite extensive.  That is where I got the plastic chrome trim to go around my windshield.
This is a link to their automotive glass website:

http://www.crlaurence.com/crlapps/showline/default.aspx?GroupID=19748&Path=30587::19748 (http://www.crlaurence.com/crlapps/showline/default.aspx?GroupID=19748&Path=30587::19748)

I like LMC for truck parts, too.  They are located fairly near where I live and have just about anything a person would need to rebuild an older truck.

Had a big long post written, and lost it.

Lets just say it took all day and a lot of luck just to replace the key cylinder and ignition switch, and other related broken parts in the steering column, a lot of bicycle riding to get the parts, and it was dark before I was done with just that project.

Started at 8am...but woke early and got the snaps installed for the dash and the pups nails clipped before 8.

I did find a clear picture of where the OP sender is located on a 350...I was confused because the internet pics of a stock 350 look nothing like the setup with an Edelbrock Performer intake, but after seeing this picture I was able to find the tiny little plug on the motor:

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I'll be doing the gauges tomorrow, which won't take long because at least its straightforward.

And after losing about an hour and half of typing, I'm done with the internet.

Talk to y'all tomorrow!

Kev

Gauges went in easily...and the oil pressure is perfect!  Water temp reads a little low...around 170...but that's probably because of the location I chose for the sender, in the thermostat housing.  Eventually I'll figure out the wiring and get the electronic gauges for OP and Water temp working on the dash, but for now these are fine.  I'll have to put in a T fitting to use a stock sender and the mechanical when I get around to it.

A neat vintage RV is in this campground, a Foretravel Grand Villa, probably around a 1989.  Very neat, but its weird!  Its a gasoline pusher!  Never heard of one of those!

Today I have to run up to the garage and have 2 holes drilled in my bumper for the tow mounts, and that's pretty much it besides having fun with Patti and the pups in Tombstone!

Might have to make the drive to Sierra Vista to pick up the receiver riser later if it comes in today.

And that's pretty much it!

Kev

Water temps around 170° is perfect!!  Just ignore that steam coming out from under the hood. :D  Rick

LOL Rick!  I chose the thermostat housing for three reasons.  First, there was already the adapter there for an aftermarket sender, and the wire, but no sender, so it made it easy.  Second, using the stock location between spark plugs 1 and 2 would result in coolant spilling on the ground in a busy campground with lots of pets, so that was a no go.  And 3, I want to figure out the wiring and hook up the stock electric gauge as well, and there is already a sender in the stock location.

I only had to have 2 holes drilled in the bumper today, since as luck would have it, the other 2 holes lined up perfectly with 2 of the bumper bolts which essentially bolt right to the frame!  The garage drilled them out for me to the tune of 15 bucks.  It took them a while and a good amount of cutting oil to get through the hardened chrome bumper.

They didn't charge me at all for a rough cursory inspection of the suspension, which they said looked all in order...but I'll be under there myself over the next couple of days with wrenches making sure everything is tight.

Got home, and Patti told me the RV place in Sierra Vista had called, and our riser was in.  So off I drove to Sierra Vista!  Dang this thing runs nice, and at the low speeds I drive seems to get about the same gas mileage as the Jeep did.  Not great, but not bad either...I'm guesstimating about 15mpg.

Oil pressure was a pretty constant 40-55 psi, and water temp read from the thermostat housing between 160-170 degrees.  Fluid levels stayed constant.

Got home and decided to install the riser and Blue Ox tow bar at its higher level.  Had to take out my grinder and clear a little more bumper away, and search through cases for my spare hitch pin, but got it installed in short order.

Now the tow bar will sit fairly level when towing Steev!  Renamed somewhat by the way.  Still Steev, or S.T.E.E.V., but now the acronym stands for Strategic Tactical Escape and Evade Vehicle...wouldn't want to red flag ourselves with a survivalist moniker...lmao!

It was all done by 2pm, so we took the pups for a walk in Tombstone!

The babies were on short chain leashes for training, and German collars...Barnabas doesn't need that so Patti walked him on a retractable leash.

Everyone oohed and ahhed and the pups were very well behaved.

We even took them on a stage coach ride!

The puppies had no problem with the steep step ladder, but I wasn't sure if Barnabas could do it...but he did with a little help from Daddy...just the reassurance of my hands touching his hind quarters.

The looks of the tourists was priceless, with 3 German Shepherd heads looking out the windows of the stage coach...many pictures were taken by folks from many nationalities....lmfao!!!

What?  You've never seen a stagecoach filled with German Shepherds before?

When we got back, I figured out where to put the shackles for the tow cables...around the sway bar...and in the next couple of days I'll figure out if my tow lights are long enough.  Can't use magnetic lights, since the cap is fiberglass, but can't close the flap lights in the tailgate, since it doesn't open that way.  We'll have to close them in the rear power window.  If not long enough to go over the top, I'll have to run the cord through the Blazer, through the firewall and engine compartment and grill, and hook it up that way.  The eventual plan is to hook up a plug to the front bumper of the Blazer so ITS lights operate via the trailer plug from the RV...its on the list.

Tomorrow there is no planned work on either the RV or the Blazer.

Its a relaxing day planned with the pups...a mine tour (which we'll probably leave Barnabas home with the cat for, since there are a LOT of steep steps), and maybe a trolly ride, which all 3 pups can do, and of course more socialization walks with the pups down the main street.

Paladin is a perfect angel with people AND other dogs, which he tends to ignore after a quick look.  Karli on the other hand still has issues with other dogs and barking at them...although she's getting better...and jumping up excitedly on people that want to pet her, which she is also getting better at.

So tomorrow should be another fun day in Tombstone!

I forgot to mention that I consulted a couple of Chevy guys and got the lowdown on the Blazer 4x4 system and NP208 transfer case.  A lot different from the Jeep.  You can't shift it on the fly.  You have to stop it, put the transmission in neutral, shift the transfer case, put the tranny back in park, then get out and turn the lockers on the front axle...taking it out is the reverse of the procedure.  I took it on a test drive on a dirt road to check it all out, and it works flawlessly.  Since the lockers are Warn lockers and brand new, they turn like butter.

Rattles like heck though on dirt roads!

Really have to replace those window seals!

Over and out for now!

Kev

The pups loved the mine tour, although Paladin had some trouble getting back up the long steep steps...I think he was afraid...so I had to carry his heavy butt up the last half of the steps...lol!

LMC Truck is AWESOME by the way!  I downloaded their catalog, and there wasn't much they didn't have that we'll need!  And the way they diagram everything is going to make a lot of my jobs much easier.

Today we'll be bringing all 3 pups into town to watch one of the many staged gunfights.  Gotta get them used to gunfire and loud noises in addition to the rest of their training.  Barnabas is already relaxed around gunfire, since we had a shooting range on our property when he was a puppy.

Off to it!

Kev

Never made it to the gunfight, so we'll probably do that today...although we did bring the pups for a nice long walk through town and they were again very well behaved, even when little rat dogs would bark at them...lol!

Today when it warms up a bit I'll be installing the Blue Ox brackets on the bumper and making sure the suspension component bolts are nice and tight.

Then the rest of the day its fun in Tombstone!

Two more days here, then its off to Safford to Hot Wells Dunes for 2 weeks of boondocking and hot tubs!

Kev

I found this picture while playing around on the internet this morning:

(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fhooniverse.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F04%2F77chev48946-2.jpg&hash=53995330eb0ca1238fa6a3794f4cfb2a1df48001)

How cool is that?  Apparently they used to make slide in campers for K5 Blazers!  Would make one heck of a hunting/fishing/exploration camper with this kind of setup, huge offroad tires, 4x4, and a lift!

Kev

That's not a slide in unit. It's a bolt  on unit that replaces the full removable top on the 73-77 models. The inside is finished out like a coach. Think of it as a micro class c. I remember seeing one and the are really cool.

Pretty neat!

Got the Blue Ox brackets on this morning...had to loosen all the bumper brackets to get the metal backing plates in the right location, but overall it was an easy project.  Then I tightened all the bolts, and noticed some transmission fluid drips on some of the rubber hoses that go to the trans cooler in front of the radiator.  I added an extra hose clamp to each fitting and tightened them all down, so that should do the trick!  I'm all about redundant hose clamps on transmission and fuel lines!

Then I decided to tighten every other bolt I could find, and most of them were tight in the front, so I moved on to the back.

The leave spring U bolts were way loose on the passenger side, and the lift block was in danger of falling out and was canted to the side!

I didn't want to do a major project in the campground, so I drove it down to the garage, and they had all the tools to take the weight off the axle and move the block back to where it was supposed to be, and tighten down the U bolts properly.  40 bucks later, but it took them almost an hour, so I'm not complaining, and now its safe!

Cold all day, and it took until about 2pm to finish everything, so we decided to stay in today, and go to the gunfight with the pups tomorrow.

Then I joined the chevyK5blazer forum...which has a similar feel to this one...and that's it!

Now I'm gonna read for a bit.

Kev

Just had some bad news from the chevyK5blazer forum.  Apparently you can't tow an NP208 transfer case 4 wheels down without disconnecting the rear drive shaft!  what in the world?  What's the point of having a transfer case you can't shift into neutral and just tow away?

Doing more research, so I'll let you know what I find out.  Not a super big deal, but what the heck?  I hate bad engineering! 

What moron designed a 4x4 transfer case, filled almost to the top with lube, that still requires a pump to lube the gears?

Idiocy I tell you!

Kev

Kev The 700R4 Auto trans that you have Is almost exactly the same gearing as my 4L80E and you saw what a 19 mi tow did to the OD planetary .  If it were a 4 speed manual you could tow it 4 wheels down . The options are remove rear driveshaft & if it has a frt yoke that slides into trans You will need a dummy yoke to put into trans and tie in place (to prevent falling out) If it has a frt and reat u joint with bolts you can undo both ends and remove complete shaft (use strong tape to hold cups on u joints ) Or you can just undo rear u joint tape cups in place and tie the shaft up with chain or heavy wire  Be very careful cups dont come off or it will be cleaning and repacking time PIA >  THere are also electric oil pumps that can be purchased to circulate The trans fluid for circulation. When manufacturers stopped building in rear oil pumps in automatics They could no longer be towed or push started. somewhere in the 50,s i beleive . If you have to hook it up for travel and surface does not allow removal of D/S you can leave engine running till you tow it to a suitable place to crawl under . Frank

Check this site out, kinda cool www.blazerchalet.com (http://www.blazerchalet.com). That's what that blazer is actually called.  One other thing to look into for towing is a driveshaft disconnect. I was looking at one for my S Blazer before I got my Wrangler. It's a cable operated disconnect that is similar to the central axel disconnect that is most newer 4x4's like the Jeep you just got rid of.
http://swdriveline.com/remco_driveline_disconnect.html

John

Some good news after more research.  Apparently GMC switched over to the NP241 transfer case in 1989...and late 88.  Its apparently a bolt in direct fit in late 88-89, then in 1990 they switched over to electric speedometers.  They'll still work, but then you have to change out the speedo.

I've found rebuilt ones for as cheap as 600 bucks shipped, so that to me is a better option than an 800 buck driveline disconnect, plus shortened driveshaft, etc.

You can tow the NP241 4 wheels down no problem, since it has a pump where the rear driveshaft comes in.

For now I'll just disco and hang the rear driveshaft like I did with our Chevy van...at least its got a 6" lift so its easy to get under there!

Then I'll be hunting down an NP241C with the mechanical speedo!

Kev

You should only half to put your transfer case in neutral to tow it.... i??

That's what I thought too, Pvoth, but apparently the NP208 was a strange bird with no pump...it relies of the transmission side turning the chain and flinging oil around for its lubrication.  If its in neutral, then the transmission side is disconnected, the chain doesn't spin, and parts get damaged.  In late 88 they introduced the NP241, which has a pump spun by the rear driveshaft, similar to Jeep transfer cases, that keeps everything flowing and lubed up towing 4 down.

You'd think that a small gear box filled as full as these things are would be self lubed no matter what, but GMC put out a warning not to tow them 4 down for more than a few miles.

Kev

So in my research I discovered that the transmission in the Blazer is a THM700-R4, which will make it a breeze to convert over to the NP241C transfer case, since that was the most common transmission put in Blazers in 1989, the year of the transfer case I'll be looking for.

So, that said.  Anyone know how heavy duty a THM700-R4 is?  Would it work in the RV without blowing up?  Sure would love to make the RV a 4 speed overdrive...lol!

But that is for a different thread unless someone has a ready answer.

Kev

Sorry.... the way I read your post you had the 241....but if you have the 208...you will hose your tranny.....you should be able to find a 241 for the Chevy in AZ no problem.....kits to rebuild are cheap....try UTE in Phoenix complete kits for no a lot of cash....If you need a real transfer case an atlas is the best....but there are plenty of 241's in the junk yards near Tucson....or hit up a 4x4 place near you....that 208 is worth money, do a trade with a little money on the side for the install.

Found an exploded diagram of the NP208, and it does have an oil pump in the tailshaft, so now I'm thinking it can be towed 4 down.  Still a debate going on about it in the K5 forum, so I'll let you all know.

Gotta get all packed up today and hit the road to Hot Wells Dunes!  I'll check in with everyone this evening once we get there and are all set up.

Kev

I'm proud to welcome you to the Blazer Owner's Group Kevin. We own 2 - a 1991 (last year of the square body) & 1992 (first year of the rounded body). The 91 has every available option since the factory cleared out it's stockpile of parts including power mirrors which I never knew was even an option and a cooler for the power steering. We have a soft top for it and Best Top I think is who we got it from several years ago.
Our 92 is loaded and has a 6" lift, 36" tires, the 350 is supercharged, ceramic headers, free flowing cats, custom chip and still runs the TBI injection to boot. It will boil those 36 AT tires. Premium unleaded only so we don't drive it much. Don't mean to steal your thread but enjoy and if there's anything information I can help with please let me know.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

The 700r4 is not the greatest for use in a high horsepower/heavy duty application, in stock form that is. Bowtie Overdrives sell some killer units to fill this need. The 700r 4 is essentially a TH350 with an overdrive , GM recommends not towing or hauling heavy loads in overdrive. The newer 4l60, 4l60e and 4l80e are true 4 speed transmissions. With the standalone controllers that are available you are seeing a lot of these being used in hot rods to make them more drivable .

holly smokes kevin, you got the boys at k5  going!! my guess is that sooner than later one of them will have their transferscase out and tore down with pics, lol. 11pages of info/debate so far,wow!! i gotta get my builds/reserctions wrote up/caught up both there and here, i knew they would like your ride. and thanks for the shoutout. mark

I love the "inner-web"!! The endless amount of info at the touch of your fingers...absolutely amazing. :)

Safe touchdown in Hot Wells Dunes!  All set up in the same camp we had last year, although at a better angle for the solar panels to most efficiently catch the sun.

A technical difficulty getting here though...the rig was running fine pulling the Blazer with no problems all the way from Tombstone to I-10...then started to the whole crazy vapor lock thing again!  As long as I kept the pedal light, ran great.  As soon as I had to punch it for the hills, that whole scary vapor lock power loss, back, loss, back.  Was like that all the way to Safford!  I just replaced the electric fuel pump!  Again!  I'm going to pull the fuel line in a day or so, and have Patti start the rig and see if fuel comes out of the electric pump.  Now I'm starting to think its a bad fuel pump relay or a loose connection somewhere.  Just have to find where the relay is on this beastie and trace the wires back to the gas tank!

Once we were in Safford, we stopped at Tractor Supply for more dog food, then Walmart for 4 more of the 7 gallon blue Reliance water jugs for a total of 5, then stopped at Basha's supermarket, where Patti went in for more groceries while I filled all 5 water jugs....15 cents a gallon at Basha's, reverse osmosis filtered. 

We filled both onboard freshwater tanks in Tombstone right before we left.

To be on the safe side, since there is some debate as to the towability of an NP208 transfer case in neutral, I discoed the driveshaft and hung it up out of the way, then reconnected it when we got here.

About the only thing we're going to do today besides relax in the hot tubs is that I'm going to take the bicycles off the ladder rack and get up on the roof to clean the dust off the solar panels, then get Patti's Dish reciever and tailgater antenna set up and hooked up, and then activate it.

Already set up our porch and grill when we got here, so not gonna do much today!

Sure is quiet!  We are a LONG way from the nearest town or even house, and quite a ways from any traveled road.

Kev

Quote from: jkilbert on January 07, 2014, 08:28 AM
Check this site out, kinda cool www.blazerchalet.com (http://www.blazerchalet.com). That's what that blazer is actually called.  One other thing to look into for towing is a driveshaft disconnect. I was looking at one for my S Blazer before I got my Wrangler. It's a cable operated disconnect that is similar to the central axel disconnect that is most newer 4x4's like the Jeep you just got rid of.
http://swdriveline.com/remco_driveline_disconnect.html

John

Hey John!  Check out this Blazer Chalet they are selling on eBay!  Dang nice condition!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chevrolet-Blazer-1977-RARE-FACTORY-K5-BLAZER-CHALET-NO-RUST-4X4-RARE-FACTORY-K5-BLAZER-CAMPER-4x4-NO-/131087076249?forcerrptr=true&hash=item1e85660b99&item=131087076249&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

Kev

About to have french toast for breakfast, then hit the hot tubs!

Solar power system is doing its job amazingly well!  Night before last the pups had a nasty accident in the house, and I had to run the rug shampooer for quite a while.  Sucked the batteries down to 12.2, and by noon the bank was already fully charged.

Got the Dish receiver and Tailgater antenna all hooked up and activated, and it works great!  Antenna aims itself, and compared to how much we were spending in DVDs, its very affordable.

After breakfast, its the hot tubs, then we'll turn on the pup's wireless electric fence and train them where their perimeter is, so they can run and play and we won't have to worry about them running off too far.

Going to be a relaxing day!

You all should have seen the stars last night!

Kev

Hey Kev I saw on facebook the other day there is a Syestem that places a sender on the dogs collar Then you can track them on a smart phone or a computor see where they went and are at anytime ! Was not too expensive ! Frank

I saw those too at a Camping World, Frank.  Only problem is we only have dumb phones...lol!

They did pretty well on the wireless collars.  Only got themselves zapped a couple of times before they figured out that our saying "not too far" meant "stay close or get a shock."...lol!

They stayed close!

Went to the tubs twice, played with the pups, and that was about it on this fine vacation day.

Kev

Woke up this morning to the volt meter reading 12.5!  SWEET!  Watched TV all night until about midnight before shutting down the inverter.  The solar power system is definitely doing its job!

Not a heck of a lot on the agenda today besides good food, hot tubs, and playing with the pups.  I want to work on the wiring for about an hour or two on the Blazer today when it warms up...going to try to get the passenger side power window working, and then maybe attack the blower motor and heater core cable.  If that all goes smoothly and well, then I'll try to figure out why the wipers won't work.

But we are here for a while, so just a little at a time is fine by me!

Obviously before we leave I have to figure out the vapor locking issue on the RV, but my guess is that it has to be a loose wire, bad relay, or even a bad OP sending unit.  Can't the be fuel filters, which we just replaced at my sis's house in GA, and I highly doubt another fuel pump went bad so soon, since that was just replaced in some random small podunk town in Texas on the way here.

We'll see! 

For now, its coffee wake up time.

Kev

Decided to do just one small wiring project a day, since we are on vacation.

So I troubleshot the passenger side power window on the Blazer.  Turned out it was just a cut wire where the wires go from the door jam into the door.  A previous owner had just taped it with electrical tape, and over time, since the rubber grommet on the door was missing, the sheetmetal wore through the wire and cut it.  I repaired the wire, taped it, then covered the whole bunch of wires with that plastic wire protector stuff that is split up the side, since I have a few feet of it on hand.  Window now works perfectly from the passenger side switch, but not from the driver's side switch.

So I checked the wires on the driver's side, and the same thing...a cut wire and another wire worn almost all the way through.  Repaired those, but still no connection between the driver's door and the passenger window.  Either the switch is bad, or the connecting wire enroute to the other door is bad somewhere under the dash.  When I start going through the dash wiring, I see if I can repair it...or else just replace the switch.

Other than that, we hit the hot tubs twice, played with the pups and let them run around with their wireless fence, and watched a few episodes of Game of Thrones on HBO.

It was Patti's birthday yesterday, so we relaxed a lot!

Today I'm going to see about getting the heater blower working in the Blazer, and hooking up the cable that goes to it, which is disconnected.  Hopefully it wasn't disconnected for a reason, like a leaking heater core, but I'll find out!

Other than that, its more fun with the pups, and soaks in the hot tubs!

Kev

So here is an idea Patti and I are seriously toying with.

With the upcoming impending costs of fixing the rear suspension on our rig, the impending rebuild of the motor with 115K on her, etc., we were playing around with the idea of getting an M934 5 ton Expansible military command truck like this one:

(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.craigslist.org%2F00l0l_ltmECbsGoKD_600x450.jpg&hash=8438bcaf9cb16be0827d12cf0a85aba1f960f008)

Doesn't look like much, eh?  But both sides slide out into full slides!

(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.craigslist.org%2F00101_dbWZiaHRCB4_600x450.jpg&hash=90d6a0e816c7a65c02ad238463a52a71add8e40f)

Look at the interior room when the slides are out:

(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.craigslist.org%2F00M0M_6W9qYgufjMH_600x450.jpg&hash=e80c71c9b89adb8d9df9374fa7489528387e73d4)

You can get these things pretty cheap.  This particular one is on Craigslist in the Phoenix area for 11K, with brand new tires and batteries, and only 15K on a completely rebuilt (by the military) drivetrain.  I called, and the seller told me it has the ABS upgrade and radial tire upgrade.

I did some research on these trucks, and driven conservatively, they can get up to 12 mpg.  They are Cummins diesels with Allison 6 speed automatic transmission.

Can you imagine how cool one of these would be fixed up as an RV?  Make the inside as luxurious as you want, maybe even add an extension on the back to make a big bedroom, and then when parked the rig is nearly 14 feet wide!

OH this is tempting!  Especially since it wouldn't cost all that much over and above purchasing it if we used our current rig as a donor.

What do you all think of this idea?  Wouldn't this be the most awesome boondocking RV ever made?

Kev

Cool ! One question is there any insulation at all ?  Without any sweating in the cold is a major problem inside (voice of experience from homemade camping trailer)  Looks like it will go almost anywhere . Frank

 I think that thing would beat you to death driving down the road.

That's what they make Air Ride seat pedestals for...lmao!  Would have to insulate the heck out of it too.  Only 18 feet long after more research, but 14 wide.  And they don't slide out per se, its a weird swinging wall system, so you'd have to build all your stuff on slides or wheels that you could push to the sides when parked.  Its still an interesting idea though to look in to.

Might be better off getting the flatbed version and just sticking the Holiday Rambler body, from the floors up, on top...lol!

Kev

Kev That would be a very major undertaking. And then there is maximum height to consider + the harsh ride would destroy the flimsey built styerfoam house. Your engine should go 300,000 K mi without a major problem The trans is as tough a 3 speed as is made And untill you have made the repairs to the rear you dont know how extensive they are . Like previously mentioned better to stay with the devil you know ! Frank

Back on page 3, that pic on the bottom looks a lot like my truck!     :P


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8bwi2Pm_JU&list=UUUo7ezHht2hfimrQ92RoIbQ&feature=c4-overview (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8bwi2Pm_JU&list=UUUo7ezHht2hfimrQ92RoIbQ&feature=c4-overview)

Yeah, I know...just thought it was a neat idea.  If the sides came out like a conventional RV slide, I'd be all over it!  The swinging wall system shot it down for me more than anything else.  If I was to even think about the flat bed setup, I'd get one of the ones already set up with the steel cage for canvas, troop transport style, and just build an RV around the steel cage.

I did find our camera cord, so I'll be shooting some pictures of the cracked rear coil spring holders in the back and sending them to MorRyde today, to see if they'll warranty them either under the recall, or because of the fact that they probably failed because of the wrong springs they sent me a couple of years back.  If they won't warranty them, I'll find out how much replacements will cost.  Installing the new ones doesn't appear all that difficult as long as one has a coil spring compressor.  By the way, the passenger side let go completely on the way to Safford and is just hanging there by the shock and the nylon strap I installed, and the driver's side looks like its just hanging on by a couple of scraps of metal.  Not too far from here to Apache Junction, AZ, but this rig will have to be repaired before we leave the Arizona Renfaire, that's for sure!  I'll post the pics for you once I take them.

If the repair isn't under any warranty, then I have some choices to make depending on cost of parts.  If they are prohibitively expensive, then my thoughts are to possibly convert the back of the RV back to heavy duty leaf springs...especially if I can figure out a way to incorporate the trailing axle into the leaf spring configuration...or else it would look pretty goofy with empty wheel wells on both sides...lol!

A super duty Chevy diesel truck of around the same year was another thought I had to use as a donor.  I wonder how hard it would be to convert the front independent suspension to a leaf sprung 4x4 axle?  Hmmmmm...

Anyhow, first things first, and the first thing is to troubleshoot and repair the vapor lock issue we are having so we can get to Apache Junction without any issues...so I'll be working on that in the next few days.  Gotta be a loose wire, bad OP sender, or bad relay. 

On the Blazer yesterday I tried to fix the blower motor and heater, but the whole switch assembly is toast, so I'll have to find another complete switch assembly before I can proceed on that...but while working on it I found the CD player plug, plugged it back into the CD player, and now we have music...lol!

Today, besides playing with the pups and going to the hot tubs, I'll be taking the pictures and sending them to MorRyde, and then I'll troubleshoot and possibly repair the wipers on the Blazer.  Might be the switch since it turns weird, but if I can get them working even at one speed that would be great.

And that's about all we'll be doing today.

Kev

Kev you can make a coil spring compressor with a threaded 3/8 or 1/2 in rod depending on how strong the spring is and some angle iron. Also i beleive they can be purchased already made up with hook ends NAPA Etc .  Frank

Autozone and Advanced Auto have them for loan with a deposit, so that would probably be the way we'd go.  They are very heavy coil springs, probably heavier than the ones in the front of the coach.

Kev

Tried troubleshooting the wipers on the Blazer yesterday, but I'm pretty sure the column switch is toast.  I'm going to be playing with the wiring on this thing for some time to come it seems!

This is what I'm working with:

(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1114.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk526%2FClydesdaleKevin%2FWinter%2520Vacation%25202013-2014%2FPicture161_zpsd49b58c3.jpg&hash=7e3f84094292c9c2d6e9f6780bdf0ba17ce095e8)

As you can see, its a brand new powerplant, with all new goodies on it, but this thing was installed in a hurry just enough to get it running and the lights working.  See all the cut wires hanging everywhere else?  Yep, I'll be tracing things down and figuring out what goes to what for a long time.

At least they did the engine and transmission right!  And the lift was done professionally as well.  They even welded in the requisite braces around the frame under the steering box:

(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1114.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk526%2FClydesdaleKevin%2FWinter%2520Vacation%25202013-2014%2FPicture142_zpse40b73b2.jpg&hash=eb34af57b6497705f7284bd8eb474c6bcf00ad87)

The rest of the lift was done very well, with even the driveshaft lengths and angles done just they way they should be.  And the custom exhaust was done for stream and wash crossings:

(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1114.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk526%2FClydesdaleKevin%2FWinter%2520Vacation%25202013-2014%2FPicture151_zps82bf724c.jpg&hash=2ea9830bc3846b6b36a7319c91c6755bd81cf68e)

The brown you are seeing isn't rust, its dried mud and desert dust...nothing but clean paint underneath the dirt.  So mostly its wiring and cosmetics we'll be dealing with.

As far as the rear suspension goes on the RV, we still haven't heard back from Mor/Ryde.  This is the spring box completely failed on the passenger side:

(https://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1114.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk526%2FClydesdaleKevin%2FWinter%2520Vacation%25202013-2014%2FPicture127_zpsd7cf763d.jpg&hash=f34ae623061118da3a54bf7cb26b6210cffc3040)

Today I'll probably try to get the horn working, and maybe try to bypass the column switch for the wipers to a temporary toggle switch so at least they'll work on one speed.

Other than that, its hot tubs and puppies!

Kev

Kev, Chevrolet's have had issues with wipers for along time at the computer board under the hood.  That year I'm not sure where it would be but maybe d/s of brake booster.  The part that houses the board has 3 screws holding it in.  Sometimes tapping it will make it move but not work indicating the issue. Ive seen that you have spent a lot of time taking the dogs out to fertilize  :D on your trip.  I just put my 12 year old GS down last week and I was still getting up to let him out for a few days after because of habit so enjoy your poop patrols while you can.

I'm surprised Mor/Ryde hasn't returned your call.   I called them a few weeks ago about my issues and they were more than helpful.    The guy I talked to was  Todd Obergfell,  574 293-1581  extension 224


If you can find a local weld shop, they should be able to fix that springbox pretty easily.    i??

Yep Dilbert, its Todd that was communication with me before, but once I sent the pictures I haven't heard back from them yet...but its only been a few days so I'm not upset yet.

I'm sure I could get a welding shop to fix the spring boxes, but want to see if they'll warranty it first...my guess is that because they sent me the wrong springs a couple of years ago and we were sagging so badly in the back because of it, that it overcompressed the shocks, which caused them to bottom out and push down on the spring box, eventually cracking it.  Even after putting the right springs on, the cracks were still there and that eventually caused the failure.  Either that, or its a bad design from the getgo...lol!  Still waiting to hear back from them.  It does look like I can remove the spring boxes and that the axle will still stay put as long as we are parked...so if I decide to have a local welding shop do the repairs (and have them reenforce the heck out of them), at least I know the axle will stay put and we won't have to worry about alternative living arrangements while the repairs are being made.

Didn't get anything done on the Blazer yesterday...and there is no computer of any kind on an 85 Blazer, so that wouldn't be the problem with the wipers.  I'm guessing the switch itself since there are wires going to the wiper motor.

I'll probably play with it a little bit today, but other than that, its hot tubs and puppies again!

Kev

You're making me miss my old K-5...  Loved working on that beast. Best 4x4 I ever owned.  Not a thing on it that I couldn't fix once I had a look at it..  And no chiltons either..

Kevin I think what circled is trying to say is that the wiper motors themselves have a circuit board. I'm into mid 80's Monte carlo Super sports. they have the same problem the circuit board goes bad on the motor which controls the delay wiper. once the small board goes bad no wipers at all. if you remove the small black cover it should be there, small green board.  now sure K5's are the same but I would thinking gm wouldn't change to much in wiper motors

Chickenhead is correct. Its the board that controls the 2 speed and self park. Most often the solder joints break at the board edge and they will not work, not park or have a mind of thier own. I've reflowed the solder on both of mine.

Too bad you can't convert your trailing axle to an air ride setup. I only though of this because I was following a garbage truck here with that setup behind the drives

Lets see what Mor/Ryde has to say.  STILL haven't heard back from them, and I've been emailing them every couple of days.

I still like my army truck idea...lol!   :P

Kev

I seem to recall you had a the rubber springs replaced at Mor/Ryde a few months back.  How come they discover this failure then?  Did something they did then cause this to happen now?

Dave

I wondered the same thing.

If you look at the pictures, you can see that a lot of the cracks are rusty, so they've been there a while, while the others are fresh and clean metal...recently broken when if recently failed catastrophically. 

I didn't notice it myself back then, and I'm under the rig all the time.  My guess is that the first set of springs they sent me, the wrong ones that caused the back end of my rig to sag even more that before I replaced them, caused the new shocks attached to spring boxes to over compress, in effect making them hammers that kept pushing down on the spring boxes.  This would have lead to stress cracks.  I didn't notice any cracks until I was in my sister's driveway in St. Mary's, GA, and while they looked bad, they didn't look bad enough to fail they way they did.

Once they raised the height of the rear axles and replaced the shear springs with the right ones, the rig was now sitting nice and level, and the shocks had plenty of travel...but the cracks were already there hiding in the surface rust.  Its the only thing I can think of that could have caused them to fail, since now it sits higher, has more shock travel, and the springs...until the boxes broke...were under even less compression against the boxes.

They still haven't replied to my emails, so now I'm starting to get annoyed.

Anyhow, didn't do much yesterday besides play with the pups, read, and enjoy the hot tubs.

Today we are making an early steak dinner/lunch and sharing it with the camp host Bud and his wife.  They are super nice people and shared 50 gallons of water with us since they went into town for it...they drove their truck right up to our RV with 55 gallon drums of water in the bed, and filled our secondary tank and one of our 7 gallon drinking water jugs.

After an morning dip in the hot tubs, I'm going to look for the oil pressure switch and relay on the RV and see if I can't troubleshoot the recurring pump failure.

Then its an early dinner with Bud and his wifey.

I'll let you know what I find out from Mor/Ryde and what I find out with the electric fuel pump.

Kev

Hmmm. From a Co. That in the beginning seemed to go out of there way to be helpfull, Now are silent does not bode well !  A repair and reinforcement by a welding shop would not be a very difficult job . And would be a lot easier than a replacement box .  Frank

Yep Frank...but I still want to see what they say at Mor/Ryde.  I gave them all week to call me back or write back, so Monday I'll give them a call at the office.

Found the fuel pump relay and sender on the RV, and even found a way to use a different relay via a search on Google on a Barth website.  So I'll be playing with that tomorrow and let you all know how it turns out.  The actual detailed post on that and what I found out is on the chassis board under Chevy.

Dinner was great, bellies are full, time to take the pups out and watch some telly.

Kev

Yea! What chicknhead said.  :)clap

Its amateur weekend at Hot Wells Dunes...lol!

A whole slew of people rolled in for MLK weekend, with fancy rigs and expensive 4 wheelers...and they are all running their generators 24-7, acting like drunken idiots at night, and making huge fires and burning through all their firewood in a single evening.  Yep...amateurs!

Anyhow, after a morning soak in the hot tubs...gotta beat the amateurs and their snot nosed kids...I'll be working on the RV all day.

The mechanical fuel pump finally gave up the ghost, and the electric fuel pump relay...an unobtainable part...also died.  So I'll be installing the new mechanical pump today and figuring out the wiring to rewire the electric pump through a different relay and maybe a toggle switch on the dash.

Gonna be a busy mechanical day...yuck!

Kev

We hit the hot tubs early, then got back and I worked on the RV fuel pumps.  Did some electrical troubleshooting, then installed the new mechanical fuel pump, which went AMAZINGLY smooth and easy, even with removing the Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer to gain access to the pump.  Took all of 3 hours, and that was working slow with a few breaks.

Got done early, so played with the dogs and let them socialize with the camper's next door and their little dogs.

And that's it!

Tomorrow I'll be running new 10 gauge wires for the electric fuel pump through a relay.  Should be fun...lol!

Kev

Mmmmm...coffee...

Today I'll be running the new electrical wire to the fuel pump and tying in the new relay...not sure which wire is the power lead at the fuel pump, but that should be easy to figure out.  Our gas gauge works, so I'm gonna snip one wire, then check the gas gauge...if I snip the wrong wire, the gas gauge won't work, so I can just splice it back together and use the other wire for the power...lol!  I've gotta 50/50 shot of snipping the right wire on the first try.

Shouldn't take too long to do all this, although if I get it all wired and the fuel pump doesn't work, I'll have to check my spares and see if they work, and if not run into town for another one...although it should work, since it worked for a short time yesterday before blowing a fuse.

I was going to call Mor/Ryde today, but forgot it was a holiday, so I'll have to give them a call tomorrow morning.

I'm hoping they'll see the spring boxes as a warranty issue, but if not it shouldn't be too expensive to get a welding shop to fix them and add reenforcements.

So its coffee first, then back to work on the fuel pump wiring.

Kev

If you snip the wrong wire you could blow up!! :D

Kev i think the fuel sender wire is tan  Frank

Thanks Frank.  They were both black from old age and being coated with undercoat, so of course I snipped the wrong one...fixed it, and tied the new wire into the other one.

Works like a champ!

All fixed!

Tomorrow I've gotta organize all my toolboxes again and stow everything neatly.  Big old mess!

Kev

So the plan today is to get all my tools organized and stowed away...at least a couple of hour job since they all have to wiped down and are a big jumbled mess right now.

And of course hot tubs and puppies!

Tomorrow our time at Hot Wells Dunes in done for the year, and we are sad to leave...it really is beautiful here.

After we leave here we'll be stopping in Safford for groceries and to do laundry...and then its about a 100 mile trip to Tonto National Forest and Lake Roosevelt for the last week of our vacation...then its back to work.

Wish we were independently wealthy and could just boondock all year long!

Kev

Took a dip in the hot tubs this morning, then went to town 30+ miles away to get doggy food and something for dinner tonight.  DANG our K5 Blazer is fun to drive! 

Got back, put the groceries away, then organized all my tools in the back of the K5.

Then back to the hot tubs with the pups!  Karli jumped right in, silly puppy!

Washed up in the bathing area, then we went back to camp with the pups.

Once I got back I decided to transfer the last 14 gallons we had in jugs into the main freshwater tank, then fire up the genny to fully top off the batteries with the Powermax Boondocker converter/charger.  Should be fully charged in an hour or two since we were only at 12.4 volts.  This thing charges quick!

Weird thing I noticed about the genny though...try to start it without the engine running, and it doesn't want to run!  The fuel delivery line tees into the return line.  Start the engine, start the genny, turn off the engine, and it will run all day and night.  Good to know and not a big deal now that I know the secret...lol!

Tomorrow its a quick packdown of the porch, then drive out to the road, hook up the Blazer to the RV, then hit the road.  We'll be stopping in Safford, then dump the greywater tank at a water reclaimation site...they charge 5 bucks to dump, and its free to fill your freshwater tanks there with clean potable water.

Then an annoying segway at the laundrymat...a quick stop at Basha's grocery store so Patti can do the main grocery shopping, probably gas up the RV, then on the road to Tonto National Forest!

We'll be there for a week, then its back to work.

Yuck!  I don't want vacation to end!

Kev

Oh yeah...and since I'm STILL not sure about towing the K5 4 wheels down with and NP208c transfer case, I'll disconnect the driveshaft again and hang it.  If I can't find a definitive answer sometime soon, I'll convert it over to a rebuilt circa 1989 NP241c transfer case...the only year they made that one with a mechanical speedo.  That one you can tow 4 wheels down for sure!

Kev

And oh yeah again...Mor/Ryde STILL hasn't answered my emails or tried to call me.  I didn't have time to call them today, but I will tomorrow!  Not pleased with them evading me.  Even if they won't warranty it, at least let me know!  Seriously!

Kev

About to get the RV ready to travel.  Gonna see if Patti is willing to follow me in the Blazer to the main road...this 25 mile backroad stretch here is pretty rough with lots of pot holes, washes, and cattle guards.  With the rear spring boxes broken I'd feel better about not towing the K5 on it...we'll see what Patti says...she hates following behind!

Should take a few hours in Safford to do the laundry and get the grocery shopping done, then its off to Tonto!

Kev

So, I have a lot o reading to catch up on your trip, but did you swap the jeep for the k5??

Yep!  Sold the Jeep with the rusty crusty NY frame for 4 grand with full disclosure...and they still wanted it for 4 grand.  It was the same year and color this older gentleman used to have and he wanted another one.  Got the K5 for 2500.  Needs some work and cosmetics, but the frame is perfect, coated in POR15, and already has the supports welded in around the steering box.  No rust at all being an AZ vehicle its whole life.  New tires, although we'll need a spare.  Rebuilt engine and transmission with barely 1000 miles on them. 

DANG I love this beast!  Its fun to drive with its big tires and 6 inch lift.

Gonna be a great vehicle when I'm done with it, and its the same trim package as my old 85 Scotsdale, which was my favorite vehicle I ever owned.  I used to miss that truck every day until we bought this one...lol!

Kev

So today didn't go quite as planned, but it all worked out for the best.

By the time we left Hot Wells Dunes it was past 11am.

Patti did indeed follow me in the Blazer all the way to Safford, AZ, about 35 miles.

Our first stop was the Basha's supermarket.  I gassed up while Patti went into the store, then met her in the parking lot.  While she did grocery shopping, I filled our five 7 gallon water jugs, then transfered 2 of them, 14 gallons, into our empty primary freshwater tank.  Then I refilled those 2 tanks.  15 cents a gallon...not bad for good reverse osmosis drinking water in these parts!

Then we went to the laundry mat, and it took FOREVER!  By the time the laundry was done and put away, it was almost 4:30pm!

Fortunately there is a vacant lot across from the laundry mat where semi trucks often pull in for the night, so we decided to just boondock here for the night.

I hooked the K5 up to the tow bar in the parking lot of the laundry mat, discoed the driveshaft and hanged it, and then we pulled into the lot.

Bought pizza for dinner at the place next to the laundrymat, and it wasn't bad! 

Also bought a bit of bourbon, so hopefully no officers will ask us to move along before morning...lmao!!!!!

So we are going to stay here the night, then move along to the Tonto National Forest tomorrow.

I love it when a plan comes together!

Kev

Okay...so a funny anecdote...lmao!

Any of you old enough to remember Laugh-In, and specifically Ernastine in that great big chair?

Yep, that's Patti in the fullsize K5 Blazer!  In order for her to follow me, we had to tilt the steering wheel almost all the way down, and put a pillow on the seat so she could see over the dash!

Patti needs a booster seat!

Patti's a slim lady, but she's not dimunitive.  She's 5'5" and 120 lbs.  Even I would have trouble with the stock seats if I didn't have such long arms and legs.  They sit at an extreme backward angle, aren't adjustable at all except for forward and backward (and that's just the driver's seat), and I guess if you were 400lbs with a massive beer gut, these seats would be perfect...lol!

Definitely gotta replace these seats, and maybe the rails, since they cant backwards so extremely instead of being level.

Kev

Pictutes. Where is the picture?

Wow! I should fit in those seats just perfect.  I have owned 5 Suburbans starting in 1985.  I have never driven a Blazer but it is basically a short Burb, however all mine had 6 way power seats.
Dan

That might be just the ticket, Dan!  Find a donor Burban with power bucket seats...seems to be a common upgrade on the Chevy K5 Blazer forum.

The rig is running AWESOME now, and has no problem towing the K5 behind it.  The Blazer weighs 4800 lbs, but she tows it just fine.  I took Route 70 to Route 60, from Safford to Globe, before picking up 188N to Tonto National Forest, another 27 miles.

No problem with any hills, although on a couple of the really long steep grades I had to open up the secondaries to keep the rig going 40-45 mph.

Once on 188 things got dicey, but mostly the last long downhill...8 miles at an 8% grade!  Kept it in 2nd gear the whole way down into the Lake Roosevelt valley, slowing it down with the brakes, then letting them cool, and repeating until we made it to the bottom.

Already talked it over with Patti, and she's going to follow me in the Blazer on the way out of here up that hill.  Then past Globe and Surprise, until we at least hit the top of the hill at the town they so aptly call Top O' The World...lmao!  That's another crazy steep grade!

Would the RV pull the Blazer up those hills?  Yep!  But just because we can doesn't mean we should!  That's a lot of wear and tear and strain on the drivetrain that isn't necessary.

So we got into the Tonto National Forest, and camped at the same campground we stayed at 2 years ago, across from the Tonto National Monument and cliff dwellings.  Pulled in so the passenger side faced south for maximum solar potential, then I set up camp and Patti's satellite antenna.

Then we took the pups on a nice long walk, and that was it.

It sure is beautiful here!

Tomorrow we'll be taking the trail hike with the dogs down to Lake Roosevelt.  It will be the first time the puppies ever saw a large body of water!  I wonder if they'll be water dogs like Sheba?

I miss my girl Sheba.  She sure loved it here!

Kev

She is still with you in spirit.

Thanks Joan!  Every time we see a butterfly we think of her.  Although I'm really starting to believe that she somehow found her way back to us in the little body of Paladin!  He has SO many of her traits, and she was quite the unique GSD to say the least...lol!

If you ever get a chance to read the book A Dog's Purpose, you should do so.  If you love dogs, you'll love that book!  We laughed and we cried and laughed again...its so well written!  Its from a dog's point of view, and the pup is reborn a bunch of times retaining his past memories.  Its an awesome read!  The second book in the series was also good, A Dog's Journey.

Kev

Thanks Kevin,  I will look for a copy of it.  Give the kids a kiss and good scratch for me.

COLD and windy yesterday!  Brrrrr!!!  Stayed inside with the pups watching the telly most of the day.  Today is already warmer with no wind, so today we'll take them to the lake.

Kev

I'll take your your cold and windy and kick it up a bit...we're at winterfest for our Order of the Arrow lodge. It's 10deg with winds gusting to 30mph and a lot of blowing snow. 5 inches of fresh powder on the ground. Our lake is frozen over....How cold are you again...lol. :laugh: :P

LOL!  It got up to about 60 degrees on the "cold" day, with 15mph winds.  Yesterday was 68 with no wind, and supposed to be even nicer today!

Last official day of vacation, as we drive to the faire tomorrow.  Gonna take the pups to the lake today.  Yesterday we just took them on a trail hike.

Kev

They are definitely water dogs!  They both jumped in, swam around, and realized the water was COLD!  So they played at the lakeside splashing in the water...lol!

It was a fun vacation this winter, and now its sadly over.  In about an hour we'll be breaking camp and driving the last 75 miles to the Arizona Renaissance Festival.

I'll be having Patti follow me to at least Superior, AZ, so we won't be towing the K5 Blazer up the 8% grade leaving Roosevelt Lake for 8 miles, and we won't be towing it up the killer hill coming out of Globe that goes up to Top-Of-The-World.  There is a Walmart in Superior we can hook up the Blazer at if Patti decides she doesn't want to drive the last 30 miles...I'm hoping she'll drive it.  Seems kind of silly to hook up the Blazer and disco the driveshaft for just 30 miles of driving, but we'll see.

Gonna finish our coffee and start getting ready to travel!

Kev

if you let her drive it to much, she may not let you drive it anymore......

LOL Chickenhead!  She loves driving it, as long as she has a booster seat.

Uneventful trip today.  BIG long climbs and downhills...6-8% grades for miles, thus the reason I had her follow me.

By the time we got to the flatlands, it was only 20 miles to go, so she followed the whole way.

Plenty of power in the RV not towing, but 60 can be scary!

Got to the AZ Renfaire early afternoon, checked in, and set up camp.

And thus endeth this chapter!

Next chapter, Arizona 2014!

Kev