Our new (to us) toy.

[W4MBG]

Hi gang! Here are a couple of shots of our first rig. A little damage in the front upper quadrant, but she drives great and the inside is darn near perfect. So far, everything works. We will be fitting her up with two flat screens, one with a 5.1 home-away-from-home theater system, the other just 2.0 for the bedroom. A laptop or two for dvd and/or mp3 playback. A system that will allow us to plug in our Iphones to either stereo system, the cab stereo, or the outside stereo. Everything will come from the house and go into the RV before we travel, and nothing will stay in the RV once we get home. Much lower cost factor, and nothing left inside to swipe! Can't afford to buy anything new now anyway. Still getting used to putting in 50 bux worth of gas and only adding <1/2 tank. OUCH! Guess I had better get used to it...

Anyway, more pics to come (after washing and waxing), and will also try to show the repair progress.

Oh yeah, gotta toss in the ham gear too. HF/VHF/UHF will all be represented.

Seeya out there!

[DriVer]

Congratulations on your new rig! Pretty soon you'll need a bigger rig for all your follow-on new technology. Enjoy!

[W4MBG]

Still trying to figure out where to put the HO trains.

[Poptop]

Congrats on the rig. It always takes a little time to get it set up the way you like it. $50 for a half tank of fuel huh? I'd take that, it costs me $125+ to get that done. Most stations will let you get only $75 at a time so I have to swipe the card twice. Its still worth it to me though, I'd rather do that than stay home.

[W4MBG]

i'm still working on winter-and weather-izing her. Got the left side damage taped up, and the right side covered with plastic. Should last the winter. I hope. Also winterized the plumbing system today.

As for the gas, I am used to filling up my 10 gallon tank every 2-1/2 weeks, whether it needs it or not. BTW, I drive a Honda Insight (original version) that gets me about 75 mpg on a rear-round basis. 55 gallons for a long day of driving will be a bit different.

[srrobe]

Congrats on your new rig! If it makes you feel better, I own a boat that gets .5 mpg! I hope you have many years and safe miles ahead!

[Mopar1973Man]

May I ask what happen to the front area of the upper bunk?

[W4MBG]

thanks srrobe. yeah, i always figure a day of boating costs me between 6 and 12 gallons of gas. and don't even ask about the cost of fish per pound!

m73man: the ex-owner got caught in the remains of a hurricane out west somewhere. it peeled back both sides of the cabover, and it got wet. one side lost the outer layer, but the other side is still there. the left side is taped back in place for the winter. it should be waterproof and drivable at this point. I need to cut a piece of fiberglass or aluminum for the right side, but for now it has a plastic sheet taped over it. not drivable, but waterproof.

thanks all for the nice welcome! very nice site and folks here.

[Mopar1973Man]

Heck... I'd say you got a good deal... I'm sure with a bit of time in the spring you'll get that all fixed up...

[John H...]

W4MBG, Welcome to the forum. I would make one suggestion for winterizing. As painful as it might be, you should top off the fuel tank and add Sta-bil if it is going to sit for a few months. Will keep condensation from forming and accumulating in the tank and the Sta-bil will keep the fuel fresh.

[travelgirl]

W4MBG, Beautiful new toy. many happy trouble free trips ahead of you...

[W4MBG]

John: yeah, the ex-owner kept her filled up all the time. well, not *all* the time. gotta burn some of it to have fun, right? anyway, i plan to drive it to work soon and grab some gas on the way home. its cheaper near work than near home. thanks for the tip.

t-girl: thanks for the welcome.

[diandtom]

With a little work you should be ok. I rather pay the fuel bill, than stay in a motel any day. If you not going to be driving it much this winter be sure to put some Stabill or some kind of gas additive. With the alcohol the gas goes bad fast now days.

[W4MBG]

I figure I will take her to work about once a month, and run the generator as well.