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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 10:49 am 
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Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:40 pm
Posts: 22512
Location: Chicago
Like I need another project, seen this RV on evilbay last week when I was still in AZ

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1981-ITA ... pers#v4-36
Quote:
1981 ITASCA 22' CLASS A MOTORHOME

1981 ITASCA 22RB MOTORHOME. CHEVY 454 motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )). Engine RUNS GREAT, 76,415 MILES, THIS MOTORHOME IS 22' LONG AND THE FLOORPLAN CONSISTS OF A REAR BATHROOM, SIDE KITCHEN, FRONT SIDE DINETTE, SOFA TO THE LEFT OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE DOOR AS YOU WALK IN, THERE IS A FRONT BED THAT POPS DOWN OVER THE FRONT PASSENGER AND DRIVER SEATS, SLEEPS 6!!!

OPTIONS: DOUBLE SINK, MICROWAVE IN CABINET OVER STOVE AND OVEN, AM/FM/STEREO THAT WORKS, 13,500 BTU A/C, DOUBLE DOOR GAS/ELECTRIC REFRIGERATOR, LP WATER HEATER, FURNACE, 2,500 WATT ONAN GENERATOR (WILL NOT START, I BELIEVE IT JUST NEEDS A GOOD SERVICING), 3 BURNER STOVE, OVEN, TV ANTENNA, MONITOR SYSTEM, TIRES ARE ALL IN GOOD SHAPE LOOKS LIKE THEY ARE FAIRLY NEW (GOODYEAR WRANGLER HT TIRES), NO WEATHER CHECKING AND TREAD LOOKS GOOD, 13' AWNING, ROOF LOOKS GREAT (ALL ALUMINUM), REAR LADDER, CITY WATER CONNECTION HOOKUP, PORTABLE FRESH WATER FILL, 30 AMP ELECTRICAL SERVICE AND CORD, FULL DUMP STATION WITH HOLDING TANKS, SPARE TIRE, CARRIER AND COVER, REAR HITCH WITH 4 WAY FLAT WIRING FOR PULLING A BOAT OR ENCLOSED TRAILER!!

EXTERIOR: IS IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE FOR ITS AGE. THERE IS A MINOR DING BACK IN THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE ON REAR OF MOTORHOME IN THE ALUMINUM MOLDING, PREVIOUS OWNER CAULKED AROUND TRIM. OTHERWISE THE REST OF THE EXTERIOR, IS IN GOOD SHAPE. SOME OF THE DECALS ARE STARTING TO PEEL OFF DO TO DELAMINATION AND ITS AGE. THERE IS A MINOR DING IN THE REAR DRIVERSIDE CORNER, NOTHING MAJOR. NO STRUCTURAL DAMAGE ANYWHERE THAT I AM AWARE OF.

INTERIOR: THE ROOF HAS LEAKED AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER. THE PANELING IS SOFT IN SOME AREAS. IN OTHER AREAS THE PAPER IS JUST PEELING OFF OF THE PANELING DO TO AGE AND THE ADHESIVE JUST LETTING GO. THERE ARE SOME SOFT SPOTS IN THE CABINET AREAS, BUT COULD DIFFINATELY BE REPAIRED. OTHER WISE INTERIOR IS ALSO IN GOOD SHAPE FOR IT'S AGE.

WITH A LITTLE "TLC" THIS WOULD MAKE SOME FAMILY A NICE LITTLE MOTORHOME FOR EITHER CAMPING, TAILGATING, HUNTING, OR SIMPLY TRAVELING!! WE GOT THIS TRADED IN AND NORMALLY DO NOT SELL OLDER CAMPERS. WE HAVE NOT RAN THIS MOTORHOME THROUGH THE SHOP THERFORE DO NOT KNOW WHAT DOES AND DOES NOT WORK. I CAN VERIFY THAT THE motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) DOES RUN GOOD, WE HAVE HAD THAT FIRED UP.

YOU ARE BUYING AS-IS NO WARRANTY! RESERVE RIGHT TO END AUCTION AT ANYTIME FOR HAVE LISTED OTHER PLACES. AT END OF AUCTION, WINNING BID IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MOTORHOME PICKUP, AND MUST BE PICKED UP WITHIN 7 DAYS FROM COMPLETION OF AUCTION. METHOD OF PAYMENT MUST BE EITHER IN CASH OR CREDIT CARD. NO PICKUP UNTIL ALL FINANCES ARE CLEARED.


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 10:55 am 
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Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:40 pm
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Location: Chicago
I was looking for a 22 or 24' Class A when I bought the bus this is what I wanted before the bus, it has a 454 Engine seems to have plenty of power ran up all the hills I came across on the way home with ease, ran 70 mph most the way home, passed a few semis going up hill (that's a first in a RV for me) that didnt have the power to maintain speed going up a steep hill, need to figure out how heavy of a trailer it can tow cross country.

Got back from AZ the auction ended nobody bid on it the guy relisted I send a email asked some questions including what his buy it now bottom dollar was, he replied $1350.00 was his bottom dollar so I called my road trip buddy (Don he went with me to NJ to pick up Pilotmans Dads Suburban and went with me to get the bus) and we went for it, got their kicked the tires took it for a short drive said I will take it.

What I know so far is its a 454, TH400 trans 4:10 rear axle ratio (according to Winnebago manual still have to verify) its not a EFI still has the factory carb going to look into installing a megasquirt system or another EFI system that is priced reasonable.

Yeah its old, its a POS but that is what I am looking for a small self contained RV with a 454 Engine so I can pull a enclosed trailer it will be full of mud and dirt you can never clean out of a motorhome on the first trip :-)

Has a list of problems I need to address before the first test trip, the major things are the fridge does not work going to pull it and bring into the shop to see if I can fix it or not, if not I will install the college sized fridge I use in the bus, not buying a 1700.00 RV fridge lol

The generator cranks does not start, first warm day I will pull the carb and make sure its clean then try to start see whats up with that, its only a 2500 watt generator so it will be replaced with my new generator out of the bus regardless the bus generator sips the gas and is 4000 watts, I will evaluate the roof a/c unit and install the new one I bought for the bus if required, yeah their will be lots of parts swapping going on.

Soon as the weather breaks I will be stripping out the bus and putting it up for sale!


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 1:04 pm 
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Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2003 8:43 pm
Posts: 1368
Location: Colorado
That looks like it will be a great improvement over 'da bus'. Did you check the mileage when you drove it home, bet it was a lot better than the bus.

Something you might consider, the generator I had in the truck was a 2.8, it was more than enough power for everything, so, if the current generator checks out, you could probably sell your 'boxed' generator for a lot more money.

One thing I learned about enclosed trailers behind motorhomes is that if you don't have a 'long tongue', you can easily damage both the trailer and the motorhome when backing up in tight and/or steep places. I damaged both motorhome and trailer out at Little Sahara, Utah backing into a campsite as the trailer was turning, going up a steep spot and crunched into the motorhome.


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 1:46 pm 
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Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2003 8:43 pm
Posts: 1368
Location: Colorado
Here is a thought for an enclosed trailer.

http://www.salvagedirect.com/asp/viewit ... mid=819226

About the right size to haul three of your toys, kinda looks like the motorhome also. You could strip the interior for useable or saleable parts, looks to have a good fridge and lots of other parts. Seal up the front folding bed, or use it as a 'guest suite', if you chose to leave the roof air, you would even have an air conditioned shop. You could put a ramp in the area that the rear folding bed now occupies. If the front corners are too close to the motorhome for turns, you could clip the protruding corners off, if the floor turns out to be soft, just top it with plywood. This will also have under carriage tanks, could be extra water for the desert, or maybe even a fuel station? I don't know what these wind up selling for, but my guess is that right now before the holidays when most people are distracted or out of money is a great time to make a deal.


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:23 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:40 pm
Posts: 22512
Location: Chicago
Drakman wrote:
Here is a thought for an enclosed trailer.

http://www.salvagedirect.com/asp/viewit ... mid=819226" .".." ."..

About the right size to haul three of your toys, kinda looks like the motorhome also. You could strip the interior for useable or saleable parts, looks to have a good fridge and lots of other parts. Seal up the front folding bed, or use it as a 'guest suite', if you chose to leave the roof air, you would even have an air conditioned shop. You could put a ramp in the area that the rear folding bed now occupies. If the front corners are too close to the motorhome for turns, you could clip the protruding corners off, if the floor turns out to be soft, just top it with plywood. This will also have under carriage tanks, could be extra water for the desert, or maybe even a fuel station? I don't know what these wind up selling for, but my guess is that right now before the holidays when most people are distracted or out of money is a great time to make a deal.



Nice, how much you think it will go for?

Appears to be a REAR bathroom model? Trailer axles have no caster camber so I could install a trailer hitch on the other end and pull it backwards making it a FRONT bathroom?

I have had my eye out for a old cheapo tow behind camper I can convert into a trailer/bunk house for guest, basically install back door remove what ever interior that needed removed to accommodate the toys I will be hauling a/c would stay for sure lol you know me I don't like to sweat, the extra capacity for toilet and water would be a plus too, hot setup would be a front bath model so I could retain the whole crapper shower thing.

Today I am going to decide what length floor space I need for a enclosed trailer and start looking for something, off the top of my head I think I can make 16' work I would love to have a 20-24' trailer but I gotta investigate the actual curb weight and total length, I need to keep things short so I can get into all the places I want to camp and ride, the 35' bumper to bumper length on the bus was pushing the limits, I like to be able to pull in about any place to park camp and ride.


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 5:33 pm 
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Location: Colorado
The box trailers I had were both rated for 7,000 pounds, the smaller 14' was actually heavier than the 22' as it was built out of steel, and the bigger one was all aluminum, as I recall, the 14' weighed around 3,500 and the Featherlite was about 2,800. You will likely find that trailers that are purpose built for constant hauling are going to be heavier than RV trailers which are not expected to carry so much, or as often. I see box trailers that contractors use that probably get towed in excess of 30,000 miles a year, that is probably what an RV is expected to go in 10 years. Most RV trailers are built a bit higher off the ground so they can get into campgrounds, where the typical box trailer is built close to the ground so it is easy to load and unload, which then makes them harder to get in and out of many 'off road' areas.

I would expect a fully decked out, but empty, RV trailer of 20-22' to be around 3,500 max, gut it and probably cut 500 to 1,000 lbs out of it. Removing the holding tanks would also make it lighter, but, they seem to have several benefits to leaving them. Everything you are going to carry inside should weigh less than a ton, so overall, it seems it should be under 5,000 lbs which is also the likely towing capacity of the motorhome.

I like the idea of a bunkhouse, that is why I got that huge black fifth wheel. But, people didn't like sleeping back there because of the residual odors from the toys, tires, etc., you might keep that in mind when trying to accommodate other people. Maybe just a air mattress or something that is light and easy for occasional use would be as good as real nice setup that goes to waste? Also, any space dedicated to making it a camper detracts from it's use as cargo space. One thing I thought about the type like the link, is that the bed doesn't use any floor space that could go for cargo.

As far as mobility in tight spaces, I found a lot many problems were more related to the length of the Motorhome I had than the length of the trailer. I would expect a trailer that is equal to or shorter than The Ritz III should be no problem. Also, in 20-22', it seems you should be able to get all three of your main toys in, at 16', it seems you could only get two in.

Whatever you do with the new rig, I think you are on the right track for something that will work better and be cheaper to operate than the last rig.


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 5:44 pm 
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Location: Chicago
Drakman wrote:
The box trailers I had were both rated for 7,000 pounds, the smaller 14' was actually heavier than the 22' as it was built out of steel, and the bigger one was all aluminum, as I recall, the 14' weighed around 3,500 and the Featherlite was about 2,800. You will likely find that trailers that are purpose built for constant hauling are going to be heavier than RV trailers which are not expected to carry so much, or as often. I see box trailers that contractors use that probably get towed in excess of 30,000 miles a year, that is probably what an RV is expected to go in 10 years. Most RV trailers are built a bit higher off the ground so they can get into campgrounds, where the typical box trailer is built close to the ground so it is easy to load and unload, which then makes them harder to get in and out of many 'off road' areas.

I would expect a fully decked out, but empty, RV trailer of 20-22' to be around 3,500 max, gut it and probably cut 500 to 1,000 lbs out of it. Removing the holding tanks would also make it lighter, but, they seem to have several benefits to leaving them. Everything you are going to carry inside should weigh less than a ton, so overall, it seems it should be under 5,000 lbs which is also the likely towing capacity of the motorhome.

I like the idea of a bunkhouse, that is why I got that huge black fifth wheel. But, people didn't like sleeping back there because of the residual odors from the toys, tires, etc., you might keep that in mind when trying to accommodate other people. Maybe just a air mattress or something that is light and easy for occasional use would be as good as real nice setup that goes to waste? Also, any space dedicated to making it a camper detracts from it's use as cargo space. One thing I thought about the type like the link, is that the bed doesn't use any floor space that could go for cargo.

As far as mobility in tight spaces, I found a lot many problems were more related to the length of the Motorhome I had than the length of the trailer. I would expect a trailer that is equal to or shorter than The Ritz III should be no problem. Also, in 20-22', it seems you should be able to get all three of your main toys in, at 16', it seems you could only get two in.

Whatever you do with the new rig, I think you are on the right track for something that will work better and be cheaper to operate than the last rig.


I have a while to find a trailer I can make another trip or so using my old open trailer, I figure the most I need to haul with me will be the RZR and a Pilot or RZR and 2 quads. I can always elevate the front of the Pilot or RZR to shorten the length inside the trailer just make a pair of ramps for the front tires to run up at the very front of the trailer.

Ground clearance problem should be easy to fix most come with the axles on top of the springs just remove the axles and put them under the springs, instant lift kit for the trailer should not change the ride or anything else but the looks, might look silly around the wheel wells like that would bother me lol heck it might make room for a taller better tire, if it has a 3" axle tube putting them under the springs should raise the frame 3" .

I hate the low stance of the enclosed trailers I have no doubt most the places I been parking in the desert I would be dragging bottom hate to buy a brand new car hauler then beat it up by dragging the bottom heck most places I take my current trailer, in gas stations, shopping malls, stores, its dragging the bottom getting in and out.

When I get time (hope this week) I am going over to the local trailer sales place kick some tires see if I can work a deal sales cant be all that good right now with this weather and before Christmas, will see if they will flip the axles as part of the deal.

Need info on them electric brake controllers if you have any input.


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 6:40 pm 
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Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2003 8:43 pm
Posts: 1368
Location: Colorado
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 6652wt_977

I had a couple of these, but it has been a while, so this likely has features mine didn't have. Ted and I did a fair amount of research at the time and these seemed like the best for our situation. You can spend half as much, or twice as much, the cheaper ones don't have the features or dependability, and the more expensive are for more serious towing and some of them are wireless, seems easy enough to wire them, why pay for wireless?


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 7:04 pm 
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Posts: 22512
Location: Chicago
Drakman wrote:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350367559752&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT#ht_6652wt_977" ."..

I had a couple of these, but it has been a while, so this likely has features mine didn't have. Ted and I did a fair amount of research at the time and these seemed like the best for our situation. You can spend half as much, or twice as much, the cheaper ones don't have the features or dependability, and the more expensive are for more serious towing and some of them are wireless, seems easy enough to wire them, why pay for wireless?


Thanks for the link, the RV currently has a electric brake controller installed but it looks older than this RV is if that is possible, in the paper work that came with this RV came owners manual for a 1972 Dodge motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) home, it looks like this brake controller could fit in that age group lol either way I was going to buy all new so I know what I have I hate to have it fail and force the motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) home to do all the braking on a tall mountain.

I don't mind running the wires.

Oh WTH I was just reading the details of that ebay link you sent they are only about 4 miles from my house! I will have to drive over and see them in person...

R and P Carriages
431 N Main Street
PO BOX 1252
Seneca, IL 61360

http://www.randpcarriages.com/

I see their adds in local auto traders all the time I have never been to their place before I will stop their on my way to the other local trailer dealer guy has lots of stuff hmm

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/randpcarriages/m.html


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 10:08 pm 
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Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2003 8:43 pm
Posts: 1368
Location: Colorado
hoser wrote:
Drakman wrote:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350367559752&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT#ht_6652wt_977" ."..

I had a couple of these, but it has been a while, so this likely has features mine didn't have. Ted and I did a fair amount of research at the time and these seemed like the best for our situation. You can spend half as much, or twice as much, the cheaper ones don't have the features or dependability, and the more expensive are for more serious towing and some of them are wireless, seems easy enough to wire them, why pay for wireless?


Thanks for the link, the RV currently has a electric brake controller installed but it looks older than this RV is if that is possible, in the paper work that came with this RV came owners manual for a 1972 Dodge motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) home, it looks like this brake controller could fit in that age group lol either way I was going to buy all new so I know what I have I hate to have it fail and force the motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) home to do all the braking on a tall mountain.

I don't mind running the wires.

Oh WTH I was just reading the details of that ebay link you sent they are only about 4 miles from my house! I will have to drive over and see them in person...

R and P Carriages
431 N Main Street
PO BOX 1252
Seneca, IL 61360

http://www.randpcarriages.com/" ."..

I see their adds in local auto traders all the time I have never been to their place before I will stop their on my way to the other local trailer dealer guy has lots of stuff hmm

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/randpcarriages/m.html" ."..



Since it said 60 miles southwest of Chicago, I figured it had to be close, but I didn't realize it was that close. They seem to have a lot on ebay, I recall getting something from them at some time or another.


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 11:32 pm 
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Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2010 11:38 pm
Posts: 1785
Location: New Mexico
Nice buy on the RV, Congrats. :-)


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 11:48 pm 
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Joined: Sun Dec 24, 2006 5:58 pm
Posts: 2319
Location: near NJ rider
I was just looking at this one....

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/rvs/2100950222.html


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 5:05 am 
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Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:40 pm
Posts: 22512
Location: Chicago
bullnerd wrote:
I was just looking at this one....

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/rvs/2100950222.html" ."..



Looks good you getting?


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 10:25 am 
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Joined: Sun Dec 24, 2006 5:58 pm
Posts: 2319
Location: near NJ rider
No, just looking,researching.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 10:58 am 
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Posts: 5257
Location: Seguin, TX (near San Antonio)
what kind of fuel milage did this get coming back???


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 12:23 pm 
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Posts: 22512
Location: Chicago
Turbotexas wrote:
what kind of fuel milage did this get coming back???



340 miles, first 100 was in head wind running 60-65 mph next 200 was 70-75 mph with side and head winds last 40 miles was 40-45 mph on fresh snow frozen rain everybody slowed down when they seen about 6 cars in the ditch, filled up when I left the dealer filled up when I got home was about 8.5 mpg.

Havent checked the tire pressure but they look low, I also reread the owners manual it has the 4:56 rear axle not the 4:10 when you go to the 454 they lower the ratio? Sounds strange to me I will verify the stampings on the gears when I service the rear axle in warmer weather, will also put a tach on it to see what the Engine is running at 70 mph anybody know the safe RPM for a 454?

8.5 is best its going to do or will EFI take it to 10 like most modern units?

Working on a list of must have items before 1 st trip, tach, Engine oil cooler, trans oil cooler,
it has a trans oil cooler but it looks like a POS and its the real old round tube type I will install the new flat tube design and locate it to a better location than current one, it also might have a Engine oil cooler could not tell everything was so crammed in their if it does I will update it to the new flat tube type also, the trans will get one of them nice aluminum pans that adds another 2 quarts of fluid and transfers heat using the pan also, added these 3 items to my old RV never had any problems.

Also thinking rear heat this was something I never added to my old RV but always wish I had when it got cold, maybe one of these mounted in cabinet all the way to back of RV http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-991102/

Image


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 2:49 pm 
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Location: Chicago
Ok was just out looking under the Engine cover trying to get to know this thing, they already have hot water lines running to the back they are for the hot water heater it heats hot water as you drive down the road, during warm up I noticed the majority of the warm water was running back to the water heater not to the dash heat, they just come out of the Engine and Tee the heater hose run one back one forward, assume its the ole least opposition to flow thing, the dash heat water valve and the heater core has more flow resistance than the wide open lines to the water heater, from what I understand their is just a pipe inside the hot water heater it makes a loop in the water so on my list is to install a manual shut off valve by the water heater so the dash gets all the heat when I don't need the hot water function.

Gotta study it more but I think the rear heat I want to install will be a fast and easy if I install by the water heater.

Before I install the rear heat I am going to pinch the line to the water heater and on a 20 degree day go for a ride and see how it heats the coach it has a strong heater maybe just turning off the hot water heater is all I really need to make it really kick ass.

The ride home was 25 about degrees never was I cold in the drivers seat, I am concerned for passengers past RV trips the complaint was it was cold in back sometimes in Ritz I I had to run the furnace to keep them happy :shock:


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 4:38 pm 
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Location: Colorado
On the surface, it would seem that you got 40% better mileage with this than da bus, but when you hook on a trailer, it will drop some, my guess would be 1/2 MPG with an open trailer, and 1 MPG with an enclosed trailer. I think it is bound to be lots better than the bus.

On trips I made with the Safari motorhome with an 8.1 and with a trailer behind it, it generally got about 10 MPG for a trip to Oklahoma or California. On mountain trips where there were lots of hills and I had to run the generator a lot, it was less. I think an average generator will use something like 1/2 to 3/4 gallon per hour, so 10 hours of running it on a 500 mile trip would make it look like it was getting 1 MPG less than it actually was.

Just guessing here again, but if the EFI conversion costs $1,000.00, and you get an overall improvement from 8 MPG with a trailer, to 9 MPG, using a figure of $3.00, your old cost of fuel per mile was $0.375, and the new cost would be $0.33 per mile. It would take about 2,000 miles to pay for it, which is probably less the miles you drive on a typical western trip. BTW, I figure that you cost per mile with the bus is about $0.50, so whatever you do, you should be saving quite a bit with the new rig.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 5:19 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:40 pm
Posts: 22512
Location: Chicago
Drakman wrote:
On the surface, it would seem that you got 40% better mileage with this than da bus, but when you hook on a trailer, it will drop some, my guess would be 1/2 MPG with an open trailer, and 1 MPG with an enclosed trailer. I think it is bound to be lots better than the bus.

On trips I made with the Safari motorhome with an 8.1 and with a trailer behind it, it generally got about 10 MPG for a trip to Oklahoma or California. On mountain trips where there were lots of hills and I had to run the generator a lot, it was less. I think an average generator will use something like 1/2 to 3/4 gallon per hour, so 10 hours of running it on a 500 mile trip would make it look like it was getting 1 MPG less than it actually was.

Just guessing here again, but if the EFI conversion costs $1,000.00, and you get an overall improvement from 8 MPG with a trailer, to 9 MPG, using a figure of $3.00, your old cost of fuel per mile was $0.375, and the new cost would be $0.33 per mile. It would take about 2,000 miles to pay for it, which is probably less the miles you drive on a typical western trip. BTW, I figure that you cost per mile with the bus is about $0.50, so whatever you do, you should be saving quite a bit with the new rig.



Thanks for the math, going to kick around the EFI idea first step would be to go to a junk yard and find a factory EFI setup and see how much they want for it then buy the megasquirt controller (computer thing) to run it I think it can be done for much less than 1000 bux doubt I will be spending any more than 1000 bux to upgrade unless someone can show me a significant power increase over the current carb setup, I am surprised this carb setup runs so smooth it must have been rebuilt at some time in its life of the owners never let the carb dry out, usually most RVs they only started them once and a while and in between starts the gas evaporated in the carb and or turned to varnish I try to start and run them 5 minutes every few weeks to prevent this. http://www.bgsoflex.com/megasquirt.html

Found the vacuum line that goes from the front of the carb to the PCV valve was almost off so it had a pretty good leak, many of the other lines are getting hard from the heat and age will replace them all as well as all the hose clamps all of them the screws are rusted up don't know why people don't buy the all stainless clamps they don't cost any more..


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 5:39 pm 
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Posts: 22512
Location: Chicago
Coach battery was completely dead recharged it over night seems to be ok thought it might have froze since it had 0 volts, this tells me their is a slow drain some place gotta track this down.

Reinstalled the battery hit the generator start switch and it didnt want to turn over well, first impression was a bad connection some place kept trying it and finally it started cranking over, but didnt try to fire, manually played with the choke linkage and throttle linkage by hand got it to start up, runs great, starts great when restarted, letting it cool off a few hours to see if it will start again without manually choking.

It runs but everywhere I check in the coach I have no 115v power, time to get out the manual and figure it out, maybe it has a auto change switch that is not working? Cant find one, my old RV had a cord you manually had to plug in, when you were using 'shore' power you plugged it into the outlet at the RV park when you wanted to run off your generator you plugged that cord into an outlet inside the RV where you stored the power cord.

Its raining too hard and too cold for me to track this down at this time, I opened the door where the 'shore' power cord is stored and see the plug laying their not plugged into anything the compartment was too small to see if their was a outlet inside to plug into, didnt want to drag the cord out in rain will mess with it another day.

Hour meter says 926 hrs on the generator, when it started it didnt smoke and the exhaust don't smell like its burning oil it did blow out a bunch of soot on the snow from the exhaust like it might have been flooded at one time or is running REALLY rich, once I get it producing 115v I will plug in a few electric heaters to really load it up and let it run a few hours at close to full load (2500 watts) then will see what the spark plug looks like.

Forgot in last post Drakman my generator on the bus sips the gas it was designed for fuel efficiency, before I park I usually top of both gas tanks I have the generator on the 40 gallon tank, when I move I usually go back to the gas station and top off everything, I run the generator all I want when ever I want and in 5-7 days it will use about 7-10 gallons at least this year it did I ran the electric heat quite a bit since it was cold the whole time I was out west this trip, think I had one day it was over 70. http://www.poweredgenerators.com/guardi ... -40RV.html

Fuel Efficient: Up to 43% more fuel-efficient than competitive units

This generator looks like its from the 70's not the 80's lmao it will make a nice spare power plant.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 5:47 pm 
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Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2003 8:43 pm
Posts: 1368
Location: Colorado
I figure the place where you would get the most improvement on performance is on the western hills and higher altitudes. Over the years going from carbs to EFI, I have found a tremendous improvement in performance in the mountains. Instead of running rich and wasting fuel, it gets thinned out and runs more efficiently.

As far as putting better parts in, I bet most people never look in there, that is unless it breaks down, and then they just scratch their head.

Can you put in a diverter valve in the hoses and retain the water heater, or does it really make any difference if water goes thru both the water heater and space heater?


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 5:56 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:40 pm
Posts: 22512
Location: Chicago
Drakman wrote:
I figure the place where you would get the most improvement on performance is on the western hills and higher altitudes. Over the years going from carbs to EFI, I have found a tremendous improvement in performance in the mountains. Instead of running rich and wasting fuel, it gets thinned out and runs more efficiently.

As far as putting better parts in, I bet most people never look in there, that is unless it breaks down, and then they just scratch their head.

Can you put in a diverter valve in the hoses and retain the water heater, or does it really make any difference if water goes thru both the water heater and space heater?


YES in the bus you can tell a night and day difference when you get into the mountains in both fuel economy and power most of my trip west miles seem to be at higher elevations, start feeling it after I get to 2000' really sucks at 7000-8000' .

I will install a ball valve in the water heater line to stop the flow of hot water to the tank it will be under the kitchen sink and only take seconds to open and close this will put all the heat into the heating system, will install 2 valves and a Tee under the sink if I add the extra heater I am thinking about adding this will allow me to turn off the flow to the water heater and or the aux heater I added, can still have hot water in summer but no heat trying to heat up the kitchen in the summer, their is a factory water valve for the dash heat in the summer you turn off the flow of hot water to the dash and it all goes into the water heater and radiator.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 6:00 pm 
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Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2003 8:43 pm
Posts: 1368
Location: Colorado
hoser wrote:
Coach battery was completly dead recharged it over night seems to be ok thought it might have froze since it had 0 volts, this tells me their is a slow drain some place gotta track this down.

Reinstalled the battery hit the generator start switch and it didnt want to turn over well, first impression was a bad connection some place kept trying it and finally it started cranking over, but didnt try to fire, manually played with the choke linkage and throttle linkage by hand got it to start up, runs great, starts great when restarted, letting it cool off a few hours to see if it will start again without manually choking.

It runs but everywhere I check in the coach I have no 115v power, time to get out the manual and figure it out, maybe it has a auto change switch that is not working? Cant find one, my old RV had a cord you manually had to plug in, when you were using 'shore' power you plugged it into the outlet at the RV park when you wanted to run off your generator you plugged that cord into an outlet inside the RV where you stored the power cord.

Its raining too hard and too cold for me to track this down at this time, I opened the door where the 'shore' power cord is stored and see the plug laying their not plugged into anything the compartment was too small to see if their was a outlet inside to plug into, didnt want to drag the cord out in rain will mess with it another day.

Hour meter says 926 hrs on the generator, when it started it didnt smoke and the exhaust don't smell like its burning oil it did blow out a bunch of soot on the snow from the exhaust like it might have been flooded at one time or is running REALLY rich, once I get it producing 115v I will plug in a few electric heaters to really load it up and let it run a few hours at close to full load (2500 watts) then will see what the spark plug looks like.

Forgot in last post Drakman my generator on the bus sips the gas it was designed for fuel efficiency, before I park I usually top of both gas tanks I have the generator on the 40 gallon tank, when I move I usually go back to the gas station and top off everything, I run the generator all I want when ever I want and in 5-7 days it will use about 7-10 gallons at least this year it did I ran the electric heat quite a bit since it was cold the whole time I was out west this trip, think I had one day it was over 70. http://www.poweredgenerators.com/guardi ... -40RV.html" .".." ."..

Fuel Efficient: Up to 43% more fuel-efficient than competitive units

This generator looks like its from the 70's not the 80's lmao it will make a nice spare power plant.


I didn't realize there was that much difference in efficiency, probably a good idea to hold onto the newer one. Also, if you wind up getting a 115 Volt fridge, you could use a bit more power. I had a late model 2.8 in truck, it was using so little, it wasn't worth trying to figure out how much it was actually using.

I would be surprised if you have an auto switch for the generator/shore power. I have had both, the thing I think you should look for is a switch that goes between generator and shore. These are often near the breaker box, but, if there is one, it could be a lot of different places, also check near driver's seat and in and around the kitchen.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 6:22 pm 
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Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2003 2:40 pm
Posts: 22512
Location: Chicago
Drakman wrote:
hoser wrote:
Coach battery was completly dead recharged it over night seems to be ok thought it might have froze since it had 0 volts, this tells me their is a slow drain some place gotta track this down.

Reinstalled the battery hit the generator start switch and it didnt want to turn over well, first impression was a bad connection some place kept trying it and finally it started cranking over, but didnt try to fire, manually played with the choke linkage and throttle linkage by hand got it to start up, runs great, starts great when restarted, letting it cool off a few hours to see if it will start again without manually choking.

It runs but everywhere I check in the coach I have no 115v power, time to get out the manual and figure it out, maybe it has a auto change switch that is not working? Cant find one, my old RV had a cord you manually had to plug in, when you were using 'shore' power you plugged it into the outlet at the RV park when you wanted to run off your generator you plugged that cord into an outlet inside the RV where you stored the power cord.

Its raining too hard and too cold for me to track this down at this time, I opened the door where the 'shore' power cord is stored and see the plug laying their not plugged into anything the compartment was too small to see if their was a outlet inside to plug into, didnt want to drag the cord out in rain will mess with it another day.

Hour meter says 926 hrs on the generator, when it started it didnt smoke and the exhaust don't smell like its burning oil it did blow out a bunch of soot on the snow from the exhaust like it might have been flooded at one time or is running REALLY rich, once I get it producing 115v I will plug in a few electric heaters to really load it up and let it run a few hours at close to full load (2500 watts) then will see what the spark plug looks like.

Forgot in last post Drakman my generator on the bus sips the gas it was designed for fuel efficiency, before I park I usually top of both gas tanks I have the generator on the 40 gallon tank, when I move I usually go back to the gas station and top off everything, I run the generator all I want when ever I want and in 5-7 days it will use about 7-10 gallons at least this year it did I ran the electric heat quite a bit since it was cold the whole time I was out west this trip, think I had one day it was over 70. http://www.poweredgenerators.com/guardi ... -40RV.html" .".." .".." ."..

Fuel Efficient: Up to 43% more fuel-efficient than competitive units

This generator looks like its from the 70's not the 80's lmao it will make a nice spare power plant.


I didn't realize there was that much difference in efficiency, probably a good idea to hold onto the newer one. Also, if you wind up getting a 115 Volt fridge, you could use a bit more power. I had a late model 2.8 in truck, it was using so little, it wasn't worth trying to figure out how much it was actually using.

I would be surprised if you have an auto switch for the generator/shore power. I have had both, the thing I think you should look for is a switch that goes between generator and shore. These are often near the breaker box, but, if there is one, it could be a lot of different places, also check near driver's seat and in and around the kitchen.


For sure the bus generator is going into this RV the RV came with only a 2500 watt generator its big enough for a single roof top a/c and most your needs but I want more power in case I want to run other stuff like the A/C microwave and coffee pot all at the same time.

I solved the generator problem, got out the owners manual and sure as hell you have to manually plug it into the outlet as I described before, went out in the rain and pulled all the shore power cord out and their was the outlet in the back, plugged it in started the generator and it works I now have 115v running smoothly, I plugged in my 1200 watt electric heater then the generator loaded up and now it makes more noise in the coach lol going to let the electric heat run for one hour see how the generator does, didnt seem to make any more noise outside thing is really quiet.


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 9:48 pm 
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Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2003 8:43 pm
Posts: 1368
Location: Colorado
It is usually something simple, my motto is "When all else fails, read the instructions"

You could wire a switch in for it, but it may not be worth the effort since most of the time for power, you will be using the generator and just leave it plugged.


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