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Old 08-16-2015, 09:54 PM   #1
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1996 Itasca Sunrise F53 Super Duty Update

Hello All,

Just a Newbie update on my 1996 Itasca Sunrise with a F53 Super Duty project. My goal was to have this old motorhome ready for a family vacation. I needed this Old Dog to travel from Chesapeake, VA to Leavenworth, KS and back with my wife, daughter and dog. I purchased this RV about 8 months ago and I started to sort out all the problems early this year and found an amazing amount of issues. So here's what I did....

New water pump, thermostat, thermostat housing, radiator hoses, heater hoses, radiator, a completely new A/C system (compressor, condenser, evaporator, expansion valve and custom made hoses), belts, idler pulley, cooling system expansion tank, custom made brackets to support the fiberglass nose assembly, new headlights, wiper washer squirters (not as easy to find as you would think). I had previously replaced the steering stabilizer, tires and right exhaust manifold. Since the purchase I haven't driven it 50 miles yet. I'm 4 days from our planned vacation departure date i still needed a state inspection. I found a place that could get me in the next day and I was there when they opened the gate. The RV passed without a hitch. That Friday, without time for an extended road test, we loaded up with 75 gallons of fuel, 50 gallons of fresh water and headed west. One week and 2700 miles later we were back. The RV did a great job and the only problem I had was an exhaust leak at the right exhaust manifold that started on the return through the mountains that I fixed this weekend. I still have plenty of other things to fix within the coach but we had a blast and we're ready to do it again!

If anyone is interested I can provide more detail on the repairs. Otherwise, thanks for letting me share.
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Old 08-17-2015, 01:12 AM   #2
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Congratulations on having a fun trip. All your hard work and efforts paid off. Go ahead and enjoy your Itasca some more. The extra little projects can wait. To often we wait for everything to be perfect, not a good use of precious time.

I had a 97 Itasca Suncruiser (bought when five years old) with the 460 Ford gas engine. Fulltimed 5 years in it without any issues to speak of.
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Old 08-18-2015, 08:46 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gruelens View Post
Congratulations on having a fun trip. All your hard work and efforts paid off. Go ahead and enjoy your Itasca some more. The extra little projects can wait. To often we wait for everything to be perfect, not a good use of precious time.

I had a 97 Itasca Suncruiser (bought when five years old) with the 460 Ford gas engine. Fulltimed 5 years in it without any issues to speak of.
Hello gruelens,

Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad to hear that you've had good luck with your Suncruiser. I'll do my best to take your advice but this is my first RV and I apparently purchased a "Dandy!" On my way home tonight I decided to stop by the RV at the storage lot and check on the rear A/C unit. When we took our first trip in it I found that the rear A/C wasn't blowing much air and it certainly wasn't cold so I assumed that it wasn't working and will most likely need to be replaced.

I pulled the filter cover from the ceiling assembly and found a lot of loose styrofoam beads in the cover. The blower motor worked but not much air was moving. I'm thinking that something must be blocking the air flow so I turned off the blower and started checking around the blower squirrel cage. You won't believe this but the blower was packed with styrofoam beads from the ceiling material. Once I knocked out the styrofoam the blower worked great and the A/C unit blows cold.

I pull the ceiling assembly completely off this weekend to determine the where the styrofoam came from. I also just ordered a new ceiling assembly because the louvres are all broken and I know something else will break on the cover from age when I try to remove it.

Even parked RVing is an adventure!

Take care.
John
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