Getting Closer, closer... wait a minute.

As we get that much closer to the start of our trip all those leftover items needing attention are still needing attention. Between working late each nite at the office and still trying to find time to pay the bills AND have something to buy gas and food for the trip all the while stealing time to do the last-minute repairs to the Tioga is getting crazy.

The parts I ordered came in and Richard and I wrapped up recharging the retrofit A/C system in the cab. We bought an retrofit fitting kit (R12 to R134) the oil and cans of refrigerant. After figuring out which side was the low pressure side and not goofing up how tight to install the new fittings we had COLD A/C for a bit only to have Richard tell me, "Hey Dad, there's a hissing sound from the grill." He was right. One of the hoses for the A/C has a small split far enough from the end that just cutting and reclamping won't work. So, it's onto the search for this 1/2" ID refrigerant hose. Guess what? No one around Geneva has this stuff! Come on now!

After managing to get the 1977 A/C system to blow cold, we blow a hose. Guess it could have been worse and it's not a difficult fix.

I also managed to get a couple of used batteries from the local parts store to use as the off-grid power system. This weekend I hope to get all the cables done up and installed so we have that ready to go as well. Gotta have that Dometic Fridge working! I'll be doing a 3 battery setup as that's really all the room I have in the old generator compartment. One battery will be borrowed from the old Camry wagon for the trip.

This is definitely LOW BUDGET RV'ing. Scrape, find free stuff, fix it yourself, fix it again, Craigslist, Ebay and way to make it work. This thing will be a palace by the time I'm done! More later with pics from the "Repair Shop".

The Very Preliminary Road Trip Map

This is the large version of the potential road trip this August! Yikes! While we do reserve the right to change course on the trip this is the basic route we are planning. It takes us away from some of the interstates and any typical "theme park" type entertainment but we are looking to see the natural wonders of our great USA and some really tacky tourist traps along the way... oh, and really GOOD BBQ! Suggestions welcome!

New Tires and getting Road Ready

We picked up the Long Hauler from Nolt's on Saturday and brought her back home for some further fixes and upgrades. Some of these involve the electrical system. I know, it's shocking isn't it? (moans from the peanut gallery).

 These are the CHEAP LED ceiling lights that actually are pretty nice! Got a 6 pack off of Amazon for about $30! Can't beat that!

 This is a replacement WFCO Power Center. It's an upgrade from the original 30 amp setup (it wouldn't even run the rooftop A/C unit so why was it even in the RV?) so we have 55 amps of potential power when plugged in. The fuses and breakers are also new and safer than the old ones. Below is a shot of the old ceiling lights, rotted, cracked, hot and not very efficient.

The 1977 RV has all incandescent lighting so I decided fro the price to just swap out ALL the interior lights which were falling apart anyway with these cheap LED units. Gotta say that they really work great, run cool and sap only a fraction of the power that the old lights did! I even replaced the dome light in the cab because even that had some honking big light bulb in it. I have to say that Amazon is becoming my go-to place to order stuff for the Tioga. There is stuff on there that's unbelievable and hard to find. The power center will replace the old, tired and half-working one. The charging and battery power option just isn't working anymore and I can't trust my family trip to "oh well, don't plan on using anything in the RV until we plug in somewhere." approach.

Trip to my old clients: Nolt Tire!

Rachel was my Winggurl for the short trip to Nolt Tire this morning. Nolt's Tire  is a project that I did a few years ago and the Nolt family has been good to me. They helped me quiet my old BMW 323i (Trixie) and now I have trusted them to put some new shoes on the old RV! Firestone Radials for that "comfort ride".

They will also do some checkup work on The Long Hauler to make sure that everything on the drivetrain is in good shape.

Thanks Mel and crew!

Working out the bugs, literally.

As any of you who have owned an old RV the risk of carpenter ants invading your wall panels is a real risk. They just love them when the seals leak and the luan materials get wet and just provide that perfect environment for living. We got the RV and instantly I noticed a high population of carpenter ants roaming around so while we started tearing into the water damaged wall panels from the inside it was a perfect time to evict our 6 legged guests! Borate salts, sprays, foams and all that while we were not living it helped a great deal.

Another issue with an old RV are the leaks (which lead to the ant issue!). Around aluminum windows, trim, anything that required a screw, you name it and it needed replacement. First was to uninstall the windows, strip the old worn sealer and use silicone and new self-tapping screws to secure the frames in place. Second, check the ENTIRE aluminum panel exterior for pin-holes (why so many????) seal them with silicone and repaint. Third, remove all the old trim strips that someone decided to caulk but not fix and reinstall with new gasketed screws (stainless!) and new silicone sealer under the trim to make sure no water gets in.

By far the largest enemy of an old RV is the "universal solvent" : water. If you can keep out the rain, you have won most of the battle! All the rot, mildew, smells all came from having water get into the RV. Now that it's watertight again the rest of our work is progressing even faster!

The Shakedown Cruises....

It's been a couple of months since we acquired the Tioga and while we prepare for the month-long USA trip all the systems have been checked, repaired and gone over to make sure the break downs will be at a minimum. The old carpet has been pulled, the rotted interior bits ripped out and replaced, leaks plugged, supply of squirrel walnuts cleared out (yes, we had 4 bags of walnuts under the tub!) and repainting and patching of the aluminum exterior for small holes.

The family is REALLY looking forward to this trip. My hope is that it meets and exceeds their expectations this Summer!

The Tioga Sportsman: Flashback to the '70's!

Doesn't everyone just dream about taking a road trip across the USA? Now, add to that dream just how you are going to do that when you have NO money to do it and then things get interesting. Okay, not zero money but certainly not enough to just fly around, rent hotel rooms for 6 people or rent a new RV for the trip.

What to do? Find a really old RV, negotiate a good price, spend time checking the entire RV and planning on the craziest trip ever for you and your family! The real fun is getting an RV that isn't exactly as big as you should have to sleep everyone.

Introducing the 1977 Sportsman Tioga. Our "Family Truckster" for this trip. She may not be pretty but she's only got 41K miles and the interior is well preserved (think the summer of Star Wars!).