richard5933

Was that plate near the exhaust output?

Always carry a spare. When you're driving in remote areas this is even more important, but I think it holds even in more populated areas. It will be possible in nearly every location to find someone willing/able to help you change a tire, whether on a large Class A or on a smaller Class B. However, you may not be able to find the size/type tire that you need. Especially if you have a flat on Saturday evening of a three-day weekend. For a small Class B without space to store a mounted spare, the hitch-mounted swing-away carriers are a good solution. Pray you never need it, but be prepared for when you do.

Fiberglass skin and metal rivets? If it were my RV I'd pass on that option. I believe that there are some type of plastic rivets, but assume that their weight limits are fairly low. What exactly are you trying to mount to the exterior skin of your rig?

What's the skin of your rig made from? What are you trying to mount? If the skin is aluminum, then probably yes. If it's fiberglass or some other similar material, then I'd bet you're better off screwing through the skin and into something structural. My whole coach was built from aluminum sheets riveted together, so it's possible. Also, there are many different kinds of rivets for many different uses. Many of them will not provide a water tight seal, which could lead to water infiltration into your RV.

But at least your new one looks just like a standard-issue Stetson. ☺️

I know that. It's the aluminum foil helmet crowd that pushes out bogus claims and fear of a national ID. The only difference in the license itself is that one also proves legal residency and the other only proves authorization to drive.

In Wisconsin it's still possible to get either a Read ID or a 'regular' one. Guess some people are leery of having the extra 'data' on their license, but at least around here all it means is that they verified legal residency in the US before issuing the license. I've had one for years.

Nope - going to replace that one with a modern diesel genset in a year or two, budget permitting. Bingo! Right now we have a small 5kw portable that can run our well pump OR a few circuits in the house - enough to get us by in a pinch. It will run the core circuits to allow us to heat the house and pump water. The 12kw generator head in this old genset would allow us to power everything we've got. Our house only has 100-amp service, and I am pretty sure that we could even run the a/c system with this thing if needed.The Continental flathead is a great engine and can run at 1800 rpm all day long with the proper radiator and enough gasoline. Eventually I'll convert it to run from natural gas and permanently mount the genset in the barn with the exhaust going outside. It was set from the factory to use the generator head to start the engine. I believe that worked through the field winding. It was not very efficient, I'm told, and it actually will be started for now with the hand crank. Eventually I'll source out a starter for it. Not a priority. The engine controls are not at all my concern. The engine fail-safe controls will be done with a Murphy switch setup using an oil pressure and water temp switch gauge. Either goes past the set point and the power to the coil is disconnected. I did this with the genset in our first coach and it worked great. The generator head itself looks like it has seen only minimal use. The brushes, bearings, and other important components all look great. The report is that it was working perfectly when pulled out and producing clean electricity. The reason it was pulled was to install a more modern diesel genset that could share the coach's fuel tank and eliminate the danger of having to carry gasoline. Unfortunately a 'helper' didn't know what the remote controller box was and discarded it. It was gone before anyone realized it and could try and retrieve it. The generator controller parts that I need are the bits and pieces that take the raw power from the brushes and convert that to usable and stable 120/240v power. I see a few options online for aftermarket controllers, but they are aimed at the larger commercial generators producing 50kw and up. I enjoy restoring old machinery and don't mind a challenge. Problem here is that I've never done something like this before and was hoping to find someone that had been down this path before. I've heard rumor that there are aftermarket voltage regulators and things available to retrofit old Onan and Kohler RV gensets, but no luck finding them yet. Only thing even close that I've found is some Chinese made junk that looked like it wouldn't be able to handle much in the way of KW at all. I appreciate the suggestions so far. I'm going to start calling around some of the servicing dealers to see what I can find. Luckily the generator head on this old thing is the same as the one on our current bus, so I can use the controller number on our current bus's genset as a starting point.

I'm going to be picking up a new project tomorrow - a 50-year-old Kohler generator powered by a Continental flathead 4-cyl. It was pulled from a coach 15 years ago. I'm told that it was fully functional at that time, and from outward appearance I have no reasons to doubt that yet. Here's the problem... When the genset was pulled the remotely mounted controller was discarded. No engine controls, no voltage regulator, no nothing. And here's the question... Any one know of a 'generic' genset controller or system that can be retrofitted to the Kohler generator head to make the thing functional again? The engine controls I can replace easily. The voltage regulator and other generator specific works I haven't found yet. Hoping someone out there has some experience resurrecting old machines like this.

That was exactly my point. I was thinking that the noise being heard is the mechanism which is designed to close the flow so that the tanks maintain pressure. On my coach they are open down till a certain pressure, and then they close to maintain air in the tanks. It was my hypothesis that the pop is the valve popping shut as the air bags deflate quickly. I know that every system is designed differently, so it was just a theory.

If you're lowering the chassis air bags to lower the coach, it would appear that you're also lowering the overall air pressure. I'm wondering if you're going below the minimum air pressure in the reserve tanks, which is causing the air valves to automatically shut down, causing the pop that your hearing. On my coach one shuts off flow to the auxiliary tank at 90psi and another shuts off flow to a tank for the emergency brake release at 60psi. Just a thought, since I don't know which chassis you have or how it's set up.

Michelin does have a tire in that size - it's not in their drop down menu when searching on the FMCA site, but if you go to the Michelin site and pull up the tires in that size you can take the MSNP and use it to search by that. I found a Michelin Defender LTX with MSNP 02903. You should double check to be sure that these tires meet all your specs. I've heard mostly good things about the Hankook tires, but there is an owner of a bus conversion who recently had problems with his 4-year-old Hankook steer tires when one of them developed a crack in the sidewall. Just anecdotal evidence, so use it for what it's worth. For me, I try to stick to the top tier tires whenever possible.

Finding the leak is key. Good that you were able to find it. If the refrigerant finds its way out one time, it will likely do it again unless you can find the leak like Herman did. Things don't usually fix themselves.

Topping off with something from a box store may work. Maybe for a while or maybe longer. However, there are so many variables in a/c systems these days that it seems like a risky venture. Pressures must be correct, hardware must be working properly, and the system needs to be leak free. I wouldn't trust a system that costs as much to repair/replace as an RV a/c to the instructions that come with a bottle of refrigerant from Walmart. (Or the quality of the refrigerant - lots of these leak sealing cans have ingredients in them that are not good long-term, and some don't use the actual refrigerant but rather a substitute which may or may not be compatible with the real stuff.) My suggestion is to take it to a qualified a/c repair center and have them do a proper leak test and system evaluation. If they tell you that it's just a slow leak, then you can take action in the future based on that. They can also tell you the proper refrigerant to use. But, if they discover something more ominous you'll be able to get it repaired.

Anyone know if they make an Instant Pot type appliance that works directly from 12v? Would be more efficient for us when we're running extended time on batteries. I know that they used to make similar things for truck drivers, but I've never seen one like the Instant Pot.

There is a vertical version of a rack similar to that which can be mounted on a pass-through hitch. Allows for attaching a trailer behind while still carrying the external gear. Not sure how it would work, but the specs seem to indicate full towing capacity maintained.

I had one of those apartment style stacked washer/dryer combo units here at home a few years ago. The washer and dryer are much smaller than you'd expect, and the access to the washer is not great. We eventually upgraded to a set of front-loaders stacked. The front loaders took the same footprint as the apartment unit and is far and above a better setup. Those apartment units really are very basic units which are way overpriced. Many of the high-quality washer/dryer manufacturers (LG, Samsung, etc) make smaller front loading units which can be stacked and installed in a small closet.

Here's what the lug nuts look like for a stud pilot rear wheel with dual wheels. The long part (Budd nut) holds the inner to the studs. The nut then is used to hold the outer to the threads exposed on the inner Budd nut. A square socket is used to tighten the Budd nut, and a standard lug wrench for the outer.

Boy can I relate to the salt - looks like White Sands around here as well. That's why our bus doesn't hit the pavement until after a couple of steady spring rains, if at all possible. Woke up to -26 temps this morning. Hit a high of -5 this afternoon. Strange, but we're supposed to have a heat wave Sunday and hit 40 (that's +40!)

Looks like an Alcoa 22.5 x 8.25 stud pilot on this page (towards the bottom) https://buytruckwheels.com/collections/twenty-two-half-eight-quarter Is this what you are looking for?

Some tires can be mounted on rims smaller than the chart shows, but suffer a reduction in their load capacity. For example, our coach is riding on Firestone FS40 in 315 size. They normally have an L load rating with a 130psi max pressure. That assumes mounting on a 9" rim. Our rims are only 8.25" and I had the same concern as you. I dug into the Firestone Data Book and round that the tires can be mounted on the narrower rim, but that the weight limit is reduced to what's listed in the column for 120psi. My suggestion would be to get a copy of the tire data book for your tires and dig deep into it. If you still can't find the answer, call the manufacturer and speak to someone in their technical department to see if they have information on the weight limits when mounted on your rims. You may be able to keep your current tires but at a lower weight limit. I'd also suggest a call to the manufacturer of your coach to see if you can mount the 8.25" rims on your coach safely. That would be an easy (although not inexpensive) fix. They should be able to tell you the max tire/wheel size permitted.

Shouldn't affect driving though. My understanding is that if your license is valid to drive in your home state you're good to go in all states as far as driving. If you live in a state still not issuing Real ID then federal buildings and air travel can be a problem, but a passport is a good work around since a US Passport is a Real ID and still be accepted for both.

Looks like you built an RV park. Good job!

That's not cold - that's a warm spring day. Overnight tomorrow is supposed to get to -29F. That's cold!