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Old 09-07-2016, 07:58 PM   #1
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Life with Jane

First things first. I have some short term memory issue stuff going on so if you see something that must be a typo, well, it might just be CRS corrupted with a little dementia.

Jane is a 93 Winnebago Vectra 35RQ. We bought her from the second owner who had her for 18 years. It was one of those things where she came up on Craigs List in our town and we were the first and only ones to look at her. No haggle, we committed and did the deal. She was clean as a whistle and it was obvious she had been loved and cared for.

The first thing we did was remove the make up table in the bathroom which was on the other side of the hall from the sink, toilet, and shower. We put in a pantry.
One of my buds is a semi-retired cabinet maker and it was nothing but a thing for him.
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Old 09-07-2016, 08:00 PM   #2
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The best thing about me has this thing about food and storage.
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Old 09-07-2016, 08:06 PM   #3
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The next thing was the Norcold 6 cf refrigerator was weak so we went online and purchased a 9 cf Dometic. According to the guide online it was a direct replacement. And it was, after I redid some of the plumbing on the water heater below the refrigerator location. And after I shaved some material in the ceiling along with relocating the radio antenna.

We took out the old one and installed the new one old people's way.
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Old 09-07-2016, 08:06 PM   #4
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Looks very nice
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Old 09-07-2016, 08:10 PM   #5
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There is some rust issues on the storage doors. I haven't done them all but I did take care of the worst of them by cutting out the bad sections of bad sheet metal and steel tubing frame work and replaced it.
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Old 09-07-2016, 08:13 PM   #6
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I picked up a sheet of sixteen gauge galvanized sheet for repairing the doors. I also bought a stick 24' long of 3/4" X 1 1/2" sixteen gauge steel tubing.
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Old 09-07-2016, 08:33 PM   #7
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Looking good, love the way "old people" remove and replace heavy things.
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Old 09-07-2016, 08:34 PM   #8
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When we got to the relative's place in Arizona the first thing that happened was the water pump acted up. i found the pump and realized I was too old (68) to even touch the pump since it was in the middle of the belly compartment, much less deal with stack of elbows and tees that were involved in bringing one line in and three lines out.

The biggest obstacle to access the water pump was a pull out table with entertainment center. At first I attempted to undo the fasteners holding the unit so I could remove it. I quickly realized that some of the fasteners had been installed like the water pump, before the coach was built above it. So I removed the slide out table. Then I cut the extrusions that formed the guide for the table and held the entertainment center in place. I cut the extrusions at an angle to give me as much room as possible for access to the pump.

One of the interesting discussions the best thing about me had about me was pointing out that I had been asked more than once if I felt there might come a chance where I would need my Pex crimper. Not bringing it was a sixty dollar mistake on my part. Shark Bite is a gift from the Gods. Pex shares the same origin.

The photo shows the pump being mounted as close to the side of the coach as possible. One of the great things with Pex is they have manifolds, beats the heck out of stacking elbows and tees to make water go more than one place.

In the photo you see a piece of steel coming out of the extrusion. One of the things important to me was being able to reinstall the extrusion where everything would work as intended originally. I noticed that there was a channel that was exactly three inches wide that I could install a piece of steel to splice the extrusion back together. It worked like a firehose in a water fight with the neighborhood brats.

The next time the water pump has to be replaced it will be much easier. As a side note, the old one is being rebuilt by a bud that does that kind of thing for me to carry as a spare.
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Old 09-07-2016, 08:51 PM   #9
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We had some real overheating issues with the 5.9 twelve valve. Then there's the fact that the HWH jacks quit on us in the mountains.

I know I should be more concerned with the overheating but for some silly reason I'm not. Any day now the results from the oil and antifreeze samples will be back from Holt Cat in San Antonio. I will deal with whatever however because that is what I do.

The jack issue doesn't bother me much because i believe it is a fuse or breaker issue and should be an easy fix.

This afternoon the best thing about me came out and we discussed having Jane on the road in two weeks for a couple of week adventure. We've made a commitment to Jane and we've made a commitment to living like we are dying.

in the next couple of days I will remove all of the stuff in the bedroom to get total access to the engine bay. Then I will have access to the dash air that quit within hours of the purchase will be dealt with. I've already got a mechanic lined up to help me with whatever repairs needed. If it isn't too serious then we will settle with a valve adjustment, a pyrometer installation along with a water injection system in the radiator shroud for those times when cool water will help chill the radiator. Hoses and belts will be checked and replaced if needed. Whatever it takes to get Jane where we can hop in and take off when we feel the need.
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Old 09-07-2016, 09:00 PM   #10
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I found a photo of the original pump installation. This was taken after I removed the table and entertainment center.
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Old 09-07-2016, 09:17 PM   #11
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Jane is a looker but she is vintage which means somethings are not what the seem, or seam in this case. Within a hundred miles of leaving home I discovered that I had evidently had something come up and break the ABS on the door but dislocate the rear panel to a big gap. Thank Gawd for Gorilla duct tape.

A couple of pop rivets holding the ABS alerted me to a potential problem. It appears the adhesive of 23 years ago has stopped adhesiving. First I tried drive in rivets but the force to install them caused other problems. So I went to pop rivets which I didn't like at all. Then "Custom" mentioned "shavers" on Piker's great thread about replacing the siding on his coach. I went looking for "shaver rivets". Airstream repair wanted sixty some cents each. A rivet dealer in Dallas sold me a hundred of them for forty bucks delivered today to my door. I'm looking forward to repairing the ABS siding in a manner where it will never be an issue for me again.
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Old 09-07-2016, 09:23 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by turtlem1969 View Post
Looking good, love the way "old people" remove and replace heavy things.
The online consensus about the installation was "two strong young men". Shipping weight on the Dometic was over a 160 pounds. Tractor placed it in the coach where I could grab it. Sheet on floor acted as rollers to slide it into place.

Best thing about me gave me that "what now smarty pants?" look when she realized we had to raise it sixteen inches off the floor.

Nothing but a thing, 2 X 6 blocks stacked up on each side. I pulled the top towards me and she placed a 2 by 6 under her side. I pushed the top over towards her and after she had it I placed two 2 X 6's under my side. We rocked it up to height and then slid it in, then out for fitting purposes, then in, out, in, etc until it fit.
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Old 09-07-2016, 09:30 PM   #13
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Sounds like you are having fun with your new RV, enjoy and Happy Trails


I am sure Jane is appreciating the extra attention she is getting
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Old 09-09-2016, 08:20 AM   #14
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I still haven't got the test results back on the fluids. Plus I've been working on the fifth wheel that goes away today and leaves some cash in its place.

In Wylie this spring we had two hail storms two weeks apart. The second one put holes in the roof of the house that went through the asphalt shingles, the decking underneath, and in some houses, the ceiling. Evidently Jane got some dings and the previous owner had them fixed with rubber roofing patches and paint. The repairs could be seen from the ground in a couple of places so I painted with the rubber roofing paint down to the drip rail on both sides, two coats. It's a cleaner look.

I'm looking for a toad. The manual says the coach's hitch has a 3,500 lb limit. What is the best lightweight toad for old girls like Jane?
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