rsbilledwards

Or a spacer. Bill Edwards

It is not technical. The biggest issue is the an accessibility one. If you can open the engine hatch and find the regulator housing and one does not need to contort to get at it then it is 4 bolts and away you go. It is not anymore difficult to change them than in your car except for accessibility. Bill Edwards

As was commented on earlier, dash will cool dash area only. We put up a curtain just back of the front seats to contain both the cool and warm from the dash. It works marvelously, even better after Janet installed some rare earth magnets to keep the two sides together. Bill Edwards

Brett, Right you are, but I am not trying to fly this thing...maybe low to the ground but not in the air. Bill Edwards

Cooler air= horse power for sure! Cooler fuel = horse power as well. The big boys racing in PCA used to pack ice around the fuel tank to keep temperatures down. I wrapped all the plenums to and from charge air cooler and the exhaust in the 3126b Zanzibar. If it is metal and hot in the engine compartment it will absorb to the ambient temperature in the engine compartment. My reasoning was if it, the heat can not reach those pipes or get out of what is directing the exhaust out, it will all be cooler and ultimately result in better performance. It is just one of those things that will add another tenth to the over all but they all add up. I just wrapped the exit plenum on the Panther. I will not wrap the input as it is to short to be beneficial. The exhaust is next and it will be a project. The wrap comes in fifty foot lengths and rolling that wad around in tight quarters difficult. Lastly Summit Racing sells turbo boots to encapsulate the turbo and retain the heat in the exhaust. I have not done this...yet. Bill Edwards

Brett, I had no idea...great idea. I will have a look at that though my tank is fully exposed and lots of air. J, When you use pop rivets for this, use steel shanked as they pull much tighter. If you have an air powered rivet gun they will pull even tighter. One of the things I am trying to determine and I have it partially so, is to add from the coach interior positive air pressure to the cargo bay to aid in the reduction of low pressure and so the dust will stay out. When I removed the washer/drier it left a 4 inch hole into the cargo bay. l wonder if a muffin fan that moves 35 cubic feet of air a minute would be adequate for such use? The particular fan because I have it and it is 12 volt. I would key it on with ignition power. Bill Edwards

Jeff, It will only help you determine what is or is not happening. It is part of the trouble shooting process. I think that is good thinking. Bill Edwards

J, Seal it up! The air will flow up there because it will be a low pressure area like the back of the coach when you are sailing down the road. Make it just like the rest of your cargo bay. It was only open because the P tank was there and they did not want it in a closed space. If I ever make this coach all electric I'll do the same. Bill Edwards

J, There is a duct out over the whole top of the unit about 6 inches wide and 24 inches long not tin but good ole plastic. There is also a deflector on top of the boiler tube to aid in dispersing the generated heat. It was the same on the Zanzibar. Subsequently there was no evidence of heat or charring. Both units were equipped with dual muffin fans to create a positive air movement placed mid-way in the cavity, pushing thru the condenser coils at the top of the unit. The unit was installed as per spec with the desired clearance between the coils and the upper wall.. No I did not cover the insulation, I did however, as I said earlier, add the ARP with fan control. I did also add two more fans for the ATP to use if needed and for additional airflow as required. Carl, The issues are not an everyday occurrence. Iif they were major changes would occur. Not all of them have issues. My experience has demonstrated this, the primary reason these units have cooling issues, and frankly I am surmising based on "MY" experiences with only several. One of them was a Dometic. There is not adequate air flow behind the units. Maybe the installations are not well thought out by the manufacturer. In the case of the four Safari coaches the likelihood of charred wood is minimal because there is none directly in the path of the boiler tube. I do not believe that the fans are a standard feature on either. I think that they are added by the coach manufacturer. I might add the Dometic has cooling issues as well and I found the same, identical issue, lack of airflow. Added air and it cooled quite well. Some units preform very well and a few are problematic. Just like Porsche engines, every once in a while come off the assembly line and produce 15% more power than the previous 30, All of them built alike from the same parts inventory, nothing special done and the opposite happens, because it just does. I suppose it could happen to Norcold or Dometic, stuff happens. All of that said mine work just fine! Bill Edwards

They do not like oil of Peppermint, makes am leave Bill Edwards

Bill, Generally the vibration source like that on a car is an indication that a wheel balance is in order. Or you might have a bad shock! As for the repair of the mirror mount. The back of them is accessible on my coach. I went down an bought some "flat Nuts" they are made from spring steel and take the type of thread like on your current fasteners Bill Edwards

Bill, They do not glue that side as I mentioned above. If they did it would be impossible to move or reposition the AC unit. BillE

Wildebill308 is correct, if bought and they can be gotten from Amazon for around 20 bucks each 40+ from Monaco. 4 X 4 a great idea. They are a one piece assembly. It will take you longer to remove the old seal from the roof than it took you to pull the AC unit up as it is not glued down, it just sits on the seal which is glued to the roof. Bill Edwards

J, I absolutely guarantee that it is not a catalyzed product but it will look ok for a while. Spray can technology does not have the orifice size to shoot or expel the high solids material, atomized in such a manner to allow it to land and then flow. It takes a minimum of 2 mills material to achieve a minimal 5 year finish. B

Brett, From the conversation I had with one of the old Safari guys at Allied the reason for torqueing was to prevent the breakage of the bolts during assembly. The seal is not easily visible and they did not have the time to run up and down to check if half way. I did what I was told and no leaks. Respectfully, Bill Edwards

Brett, Thanks yes it is probably 50 inch pounds, Thanks for pointing that out! Some poor soul might have gotten in trouble on my account, yikes! I am getting ready to replace the seals on the Panther and I have to look it up anyway to be sure, a normal practice. It was suggested the first time I did this to pull them down to 30 let it sit while and allow the seal to compress. Then add some more to 40 and not to go over 50. Apparently many bolts broke until some one decided to make a path torqueing them down. If they are not tight enough it will leak as it is open cell foam with an adhesive on one side to prevent movement as the AC unit is re-positioned. Thanks Bill Edwards

I am the PPG or BASF guy not necessarily in that order! Basf is by far and away the best out there in my opinion. Sherwood Williams is not any where near the top of the list. Have I used it, yes and found it very lacking in numerous ways. It is by far cheaper than BASF or PPG. Most likely why coach manufacturer is using it. This could be a long and detailed conversation. NAPA is the or was during my shop years the distributor of SW automotive materials. I do not know the product of today but believe there are better products available...understatement! Jay what they sold him in a spray can was likely a lacquer or hybrid of some kind. It was not a catalyzed acrylic urethane since once mixed it has a pot life which is very short. It was the quick and dirty repair and will last a little while. If he were to shoot the real stuff on top of it, the reaction would be like paint stripper...crinkle crinkle and a mess. Carl, cute I know I put my foot in it. Thanks for the vote of confidence. I will at least think about it. The subject matter is broad and detailed. I am not sure how many would really be interested. I guess that is the real up front question. I did a couple seminars over the years for Porsche and Mercedes national conventions with some of my contemporaries. I do not have a feel for how the audience received it when finished. Bill Edwards

The torque is 50 pounds with a standard torque wrench. Walk it up gently. It may be time to change the seals and no it is no it is difficult, 3 or four bolts depending and the wiring Nuts. Tough part getting all the old seal up between the unit and the roof. Bill Edwards

J, Do not do that...when it comes time to do it correctly it will be a mess. ok if you are doing it but if you are going to pay it will cost you twice!! That stuff is not compatible with the real automotive thinners. B

You act like you are running out of time or are on empty. Do you have big fingers and find them getting in the way?

Oh man that is irritating...I have lost 2 water heater doors...at least I did not paint the first one and I have set it up to not loose a second!!!. Bill Edwards

Yes and his hunting camp sounds like what I call a cabin, is anything but! BillE

OOPs!! BE

From my recent experiences you are on the right track. I have been through three coaches, Safaris with Norcolds and Dometics. For the OEMs, it is not always about getting the system to operate efficiently, but to get the work done and assembled, ready for sale. Here is what I found on My Panther a couple days ago and the Z last summer. I pulled the Norcold out of it's cavity to install AWG 4 wiring for the solar install. The Panther has only 13,000 miles on it and is of a 1999 vintage. No miles an lots of time had loaded all the coils and condenser with a fairly significant dust film. There were two fans installed and they were laddened with dust and dirt, cobwebs. The wiring for the fans was abysmal, right through the middle of the air flow of the added cooling fans. In many coaches the construction allows for much of the air to by bass the coils at the top and not go through them. In many cases a baffle is needed to force the air to go where is necessary to create the desired efficiency and cooling. The specified distance between the coils and outer wall is something close to 1/2 inch. When I looked at the fans on the Panther they were directed up ok, but at the bypassing void of the wall and the coil. I subsequently adjusted them and foil taped the wiring to the back of the frige out of the air flow, Another thing I did was add to the insulation of the coach wall. The framing of the cabinetry is 3/4 of an inch so this was filled first with a layer of 5/16 foil faced bubble insulation and a 1/2 inch layer of foil faced foam insulation. Believe me the heat transfer from the exterior of the coach to the interior of this cavity is significantly less, which of course aids in the refrigeration working a bit less. Removing these units is not all that difficult. All of the on units I have played with were held in with eight short 1 inch drywall screws. Three of them across top under a molding , same on the bottom and two through the floor at the back at the access door. There are a couple electrical connections, a 12 volt ground and positive wire and a 120 AC plugin chord on the control board/black box and a propane source, all right in front of you. That is it. I have pulled them out by myself but two people work best. Build a small table about a half inch shorter/lower than the trim on the frige. Pull it out to sit on this table, slide it, table and all to where you can service it and the reverse to put it back. Put a piece of the thin cutting board/sheet plastic under the feet of the table if it is not on hard tile. It will slide easier and leave no evidence you were there. In some cases the doors need to come off. In that case pay special attention to the possible use of spacers that enhance the fit of the door and their locations This is also a perfect time to install an ARP for the protection of the frige and yourself. This is a unit that will monitor the potential overheat of the boiler and a potential fire. It will shut down the frige until it is safe to restart. Bill Edwards

So you have some capability to "Dry Camp" or be off the grid to some level. I know I said it twice two different ways. BillE