rsbilledwards

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

Lyle, The radiuses of the roof are a weak spot for clear as the do not ever apply an adequate film thickness. It is not at all a difficult place to redo and it is high enough up that it does not have to be perfect to be good and visually appealing. Is there a drip rail near the top that can be used as a break point for the clear coming down the wall. If there is that is the perfect stop point. The broken clear edge does not need to be fully feathered to achieve a long lasting finish either. Problem is this, the shop may tell you that it does and charge you and not do as they say since it will never be seen even if you were to get up there an have a look. Being active in the repair process is very important. If the shop says you cannot see back in the work area find another shop, it is not safe for their employees either! One of the things many body shops are good at is making the job bigger than it needs to be particularly if it is an easy set up. Most consumers have know idea what it involves or how much or little time is required. Maybe a good seminar subject. Bill Edwards

It is and will continue to be my contention that a paint booth is not always needed. It is if the whole coach is being done for sure but spot repairs not so much. I painted the entire lower 30 odd inches of my coach eliminating road rash and a mishap where I turned it to tight in to the trailer outside in a parking lot of Garage Town where I have a personal play place/shop. It is every bit a as clean as the original paint work. On top of that I did it in a gently breezy day. There are many factors that determine the how, when, where, who and the skill of the shop or individual doing the work. Location figures into this as well and California has huge requirements that prohibit or inhibit business. At the top of the unfriendly to business list are body shops. In California solvent based paints are all but out of the picture as in illegal to use and not or barely available. This in itself precludes the need for a paint booth. In other parts of the country this is not the case or application of restrictions are more laxly enforced. You ask what then do they use? New paint products are what is referred to as "waterborne", water being part of the carrier as opposed to a volatile solvent which slows drying considerably in either a heated controlled environment or not heated. Thank you very much I am finished. As for your $2,500 estimate. I can not comment on what is to be done and whether or not it is high, low or reasonable. I can tell you this we have a saying in the restoration business, "buy East, Sell West" meaning it is cheaper in the East than the West. From my knowledge California is about as expensive a location to have you work done as you might find. Good luck, Bill Edwards

J Now another question, before the turbo, is the manifold, no piping, Manifold is like a header only one piece. 3 cylinders on the front half and the other three back half and a big thick flange and a mating flange on the turbo. The probe is it appears only going to get 3 cylinders if I mount in the manifold itself. Until I disassemble the turbo will not really know if I can put it in the flange. I think I will send Dave Atherton a PM and ask him where to mount it. Bill Edwards

Carl, Sad to say Carl., I do not digitally, plenty of hard copies from those days gone buy before digital cameras. I bought the canoe and put it in the shop on top of the 914 a couple years ago. I will get it down in January to do its gunnel refinish this winter when we go to Snowbird in Arizona. The Poor old Porsche has been sitting on pallet racking for years waiting for me to now to finish the log cabin. I am the perfect example of the shoe maker being the last to have his worn soles replaced. Time is not in my favor. As John Lennon once said" life is what happens when you are planning other things" so true. It is a long convoluted story, one many of us can tell. We do play Porsche. On our way East first real stop is the annual 356 Porsche convention in Akron, Ohio I will again get a bunch of "Super High Intensity Training" for not having it AGAIN on the road. This explanation could go on for pages but it is what it is. What about you any pictures of the "boats"? Thanks for asking BillE

There is so much room compared to the Zanzibar some of it could become a cargo bay. I am moving the chassis batteries into it so the 2 additional coach batteries can be on the tray. That pressure washer sat right above and inside the battery compartment so makes sense. It removes a bunch of wiring out of the battery bay and the tray will now close like a bedroom drawer. There is tons of air so they should not have a heat issue and the exhaust is on the other side rearward with the engine between. BillE

Ok got it, before. On my "OLD" Panther the whole thing is a piece of cake to get to. You just lift the bed and all of it is right there, get is and sit down and go to work. Having a helper nice so do not have to get up and over bed wall to acquire the next tool. In this case it looks new no rust corrosion just a big Yellow CAT C 12. Boy do I like this forum...Thank you Bill for the link... I did by the way use the Auto Meter unit Phantom. close Bill E

And he is supposed to be the "Big Boat "guy like fast big boats. Neither one knows how they want to say what they meant to say. The old part catches up every once in a while .Happens to me too and no wine beer or other liquid refreshment needed. BillE

Jlearmont, Were are you mounting the pyrometer probe, how far behind the turbo/. I have mine to do yet. The guage is in the dash, running the wiring. BillE

No Boats??? BillE

I guess you should know huh Carl? Boats and motors right up your alley way. I bought a 15 year old Old Town Kevlar Canoe a few months ago that had never been in the water. It just hung under a porch is as wet as it ever got. Since I do not have paddlein stamina any longer bought a Min Kota for it. Should push it 10 or 15 knots maybe. A lot of relaxing to be done. BillEdwards

Carl, I am just doing what should have been done at the factory!! Really it is just a house and every time one moves there are those things that haven't been done and should be. I hate problems on the road though equipped to make the repairs. I am very pro-active so better now than elsewhere. Besides I have the need to know how stuff fits, runs, where it is located and so forth. This is entertainment for me, it is what I did for forty years. Now I get to do my stuff and watch the looks on the faces such as you own when you look it over. Besides the comments are priceless, you know what it takes and how big the hassles can be. Thanks Bill E

I just replaced all the batteries in the Panther with lead acid, Crown 260s 6 volt 6 of them. it is by many accounts the best battery manufacturer in the country and all U.S. made. Apparently they are now producing AGMs but I do not have any current info until I get down to pick up another set of 260s for a fellow in Mohawk, NY. I expect 7 to 10 years out of them. The Z still has its original sealed Interstate "Workhorse" chassis batteries, production date 9/2000 in great shape. They load test just fine. It was a U.S. made battery too and of course no longer produced. Both of the coaches have slide out trays. Panther is the better of the two, door is on cylinders so opens and stays up...nice. Bill Edwards

Carl, Back a ways, I think mine are 11 inches square, pretty odd. Likely have changed since. Makes a lot more sense using standard sizes. Bill E

Carl, what do you mean here it makes no sense to me? Bill E

Would you use AGMs for the chassis batteries too? Bill E

Ob, How do you deal with the litter box, anything special, any particular spot for it, any extra air movement facilities/ventilation to the outside? Any odor problems. What kind of litter, a particular type? I love cats and have had a Seal Point Siamese, 15 pounds and 16 years old. The boss of any and every other animal in the neighborhood. I would have another for sure. He was neutered and no shortage of confidence. He was funny and new that laughter was important for everybody on his watch. He learned that at a very young age and nurtured it his entire life. How do they know stuff like that, how do they figure it out. In some ways they are like burros, very smart! Bill Edwards

Carl, New or old they will do that just fine. Bill E

It is more than unlikely that you will find any I think it is an odd ball size too. I have a bunch of cracked tile as well and will face that project soon enough too. I am wondering if using something like the Schluder Ditra mat under the tile would work in a coach. It creates a floating floor but the continued/sustained movement might be a bigger problem. Eliminating the tile all together would eliminate a lot of weight for sure and dishes would bounce on the linoleum or wood floor. Bill Edwards

It occurred to me that I cannot remove mine yet. I still have a propane frig. Well at least I don't have to keep it full. The pressure washer is out and was interesting. It was rated at 1200 PSI. It would be a bit strong for a Bidet I think. I will think this out a bit. Maybe I will install it in the 24 foot Feather Lite trailer. It is portable and it had a GFCI plug on it until it was permanently installed and they cut it off. I just need to find is a hose and wand. Brand was TARGET "Stripper"' .Originally had wheels. As for mounting batteries there good idea but the frame work had to go too as it was just screwed to the plywood side wall of the bed frame so will have to fab something. I can not say that I have not had no bean chili so J you had better send me info on when and where the cook of is and the date info. Bill Edwards