Someone continually ruins my plans by pointing out said means to finance said purchase doesnt exist.......so not really a discussion I suppose.
Drovers new Rig - "Big Mal"
- Thread starter Drover
- Start date
Last trip brought some things to the fore, brakes even though well adjusted and having a fair amount of meat on the shoes just not grabbing enough, will give a voltage check on each brake, new connectors, new heavier cable might be the go, if power is okay then bugga with a capital "B", just go new shoes and magnets after doing a measure on the drums just to make sure, plenty of meat last check but be some words said if they are down................... just not looking forward to pulling them all apart, mongrel job.
The other major Mod is running a dedicated feed from battery Buss Bar to water pump, at night with lights and everything on the Foxbox has a hissy when water pump is flashed up, easiest plan of action is run its own feed to pump so Foxbox doesn't notice the blip ........ besides the flickering of lights is annoying ........ Also the GELs are getting retired to shed duties and 2 x 135ah AGM's will be fitted, did have a plan for a 140ah lithium but really just can't justify those sort of dollars and thats touring for about 4 mths a year so they would get some use and the 50kg saving would be nice but in the end nah........ spend that sort of money and be no touring for a year........
The other major Mod is running a dedicated feed from battery Buss Bar to water pump, at night with lights and everything on the Foxbox has a hissy when water pump is flashed up, easiest plan of action is run its own feed to pump so Foxbox doesn't notice the blip ........ besides the flickering of lights is annoying ........ Also the GELs are getting retired to shed duties and 2 x 135ah AGM's will be fitted, did have a plan for a 140ah lithium but really just can't justify those sort of dollars and thats touring for about 4 mths a year so they would get some use and the 50kg saving would be nice but in the end nah........ spend that sort of money and be no touring for a year........
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Water pump I just run cable thru floor, underneath and back thru floor direct to pump no stuffing around, I went to a lot of trouble running cable in wall and a flash switch box for the TV/Vast/Fox set up and do not want to revisit it...... The old pump circuit is in a handy spot to become a multi USB hub ..... Once I do somemore tests I may end up just redoing the whole lot pump and media curcuit, sometimes easier to just replace than chase things.
Logistically that seems the best way to go. My original thought was that if the foxbox is so sensitive to voltage fluctuation it would be better to have its own circuit. Chasing things is a pain in the butt.
As always its complicated, but it seems this problem only started when I went for a bigger TV and the Foxtel iQ3 is a picky thing in regard to power while it says 5 amp it will blow a 10amp fuse when first flashed up so I needed a regulated supply, once its booted up it happily runs on very little but a sudden power drain like form the pump will chuck it, a combination of the Fox and new TV, the new TV draws a little bit more than the old one so I summise a cable upgrade or just run a new dedicated circuit, pump is the easy one , now just had a thought that maybe feeding power via the LOAD off the solar reg might be a choke point as I think the new TV may have been around the same time I moved the load to go via the Solar Reg so i could see what was happening before I never bothered, might need some more investigating.............though I recall I was thinking of running a dedicated pump feed in the old 14.44 as flickering lights annoyed me........................ And to add to the drama,
.. this arvo I finished a shed addition so thought I would sit back with a beer in van and give the VAST a run to keep it current, no power in van, find main fuse blown, chase up and find fuse for radio is kaput, strange as rarely use radio, so just pulled fuse and replaced main fuse, Sat TV all working nicely, no reboot required and shed dish hasn't been moved in storms.................. add dismantle cupboard to get at radio to job list....... may have another spare circuit....
Our radio seems to have lost contact with its antenna. I have no intention of pulling the roof or the cupboard apart! So we just carry a transistor portable with us from home.As always its complicated, but it seems this problem only started when I went for a bigger TV and the Foxtel iQ3 is a picky thing in regard to power while it says 5 amp it will blow a 10amp fuse when first flashed up so I needed a regulated supply, once its booted up it happily runs on very little but a sudden power drain like form the pump will chuck it, a combination of the Fox and new TV, the new TV draws a little bit more than the old one so I summise a cable upgrade or just run a new dedicated circuit, pump is the easy one , now just had a thought that maybe feeding power via the LOAD off the solar reg might be a choke point as I think the new TV may have been around the same time I moved the load to go via the Solar Reg so i could see what was happening before I never bothered, might need some more investigating.............though I recall I was thinking of running a dedicated pump feed in the old 14.44 as flickering lights annoyed me........................ And to add to the drama,
I couldn't help myself, armed with the meter fired up the radio, emptied the cupboard and pulled the panel out, 2 screws so not a biggy, everything looks good , no hot spots, radio didn't even notice when I shook and shacked everything, power good so must have been one of those things, but left the fuse out just in case.... checked power draw of TV .8a when running and Vast box about the same so nothing changed really, forget what the Foxbox draws but I have it written down, when everything running with a light on its all up just under 4a so I think its just the sudden surge that drops the Foxbox and only at night, can be running the invertor to charge the laptop and everything is fine when panels are online , so I think its the GEL's are due for retirement ................ Just going thru the steps to prove my assumptions and justify to the finance manager forking out $600 for new batteries...,,. $50 for cable ...... and if lucky some other trinkets........ Annoys me that sitting by a river of an evening enjoying Time Team and someone flushes the Loo and the TV drops off line..... Was mentioned to me that my GELs should give more years of service but when I mentioned the amount of time we tour their evaluation changed somewhat............
I enjoyed the radio when we had AM stations but now with the FM stations I can't pick up anything most times, easier to just stream it on phone as I can get a signal better.... or just put on a Mr Dusty CD.............
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Things can tend to snow ball, last week before I ended up on crutches (another story) I checked the fridge door seals and an hour or so later the fridge was parked in the ensuite ........................
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I noticed some wear marks where the fridge frame had worn against the cabinet, found the 2 upper mounts one had broken and the other the screw had sheared off. so the long mused but not acted on thought to pull it out for a good clean and refurbish happened ... (Big fridge has 2 screws at bottom and 2 up top as well as at back on the bottom.)
Small wire brush, air gun soon had the rusty plumbing sorted and 10 years of accumulated crud cleaned off, a quick respray soon had it looking schmick, with near a week laid up to ponder it all before I fully insulated the cupboard and sorted out some suspect connections, remounted the control box correctly, since it wasn't fitted right originally............... Its not just Jayco.
With the fridge in position I fired it up on gas, squirty bottle in hand, no leaks, no kabloomie and it worked, same with 240 ,very happy all systems were go, so finished sealing/insulating and screwing it down..... sides have just 12mm styro sheets iwth a insul wool sausage pinned to the wall so the back edge of the fridge gets a good seal to stop heat and dust creeping into the small cavity left, while the top has some styro blocks in place wrapped in insulation with a metal deflector plate sealed in to make sure the hot air flows were I want it, out the top vent...... Ran a silastic bead across the floor about 10mm in from the back of the fridge so dust doesn't work its way into the van over time, I found red dust and alloy swirl from the wall rebuild would appear on the floor often, not anymore I reckon........
Overnight the freezer got to minus 17c with the fridge at 0c, warm night about 26, during the day 37c with a couple of door openings freezer went to minus12.9c and fridge got up to 9c at one stage so for a bluddy hot day I'm happy with that, a little bit better than before, might improve with the fridge loaded......
A 2 day run on 240 and Gas should make sure the paint, sealer residue is well cured and that everything is working well, I hope anyway......... be good for another 10 years.....
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................................................................... I noticed some wear marks where the fridge frame had worn against the cabinet, found the 2 upper mounts one had broken and the other the screw had sheared off. so the long mused but not acted on thought to pull it out for a good clean and refurbish happened ... (Big fridge has 2 screws at bottom and 2 up top as well as at back on the bottom.)
Small wire brush, air gun soon had the rusty plumbing sorted and 10 years of accumulated crud cleaned off, a quick respray soon had it looking schmick, with near a week laid up to ponder it all before I fully insulated the cupboard and sorted out some suspect connections, remounted the control box correctly, since it wasn't fitted right originally............... Its not just Jayco.
With the fridge in position I fired it up on gas, squirty bottle in hand, no leaks, no kabloomie and it worked, same with 240 ,very happy all systems were go, so finished sealing/insulating and screwing it down..... sides have just 12mm styro sheets iwth a insul wool sausage pinned to the wall so the back edge of the fridge gets a good seal to stop heat and dust creeping into the small cavity left, while the top has some styro blocks in place wrapped in insulation with a metal deflector plate sealed in to make sure the hot air flows were I want it, out the top vent...... Ran a silastic bead across the floor about 10mm in from the back of the fridge so dust doesn't work its way into the van over time, I found red dust and alloy swirl from the wall rebuild would appear on the floor often, not anymore I reckon........
Overnight the freezer got to minus 17c with the fridge at 0c, warm night about 26, during the day 37c with a couple of door openings freezer went to minus12.9c and fridge got up to 9c at one stage so for a bluddy hot day I'm happy with that, a little bit better than before, might improve with the fridge loaded......
A 2 day run on 240 and Gas should make sure the paint, sealer residue is well cured and that everything is working well, I hope anyway......... be good for another 10 years.....
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Started on the wheels now, clean up of the brake terminal connections has meant an improvement on the voltage supply, magnets still have a little bit to go before the dots are gone and shoes are about 30% so better start getting replacements in as not going to be long till I need to replace, about $430 for new magnets and shoes plus delivery of course, all the other bits are looking okay, probably the yearly clean out helps, a job I really hate but know if I leave it the outcome is even worse.... looked at my notes and this lot have probably done 60K km or so, can't complain, using gears instead of brakes when possible does assist.................... still 2 wheels to go, no surprises I hope.......
First off, I hate doing hubs/brakes/wheels.............
............. Found the brake problem, a siezed or at least very hard to move brake arm and one on the way to being difficult, seems the old dry lube gave up the ghost after a good mix of red dust and water in 2 wheels, okay in other 2, this time since I haven't dismantled everything but the moving bits got a squirt of this stuff that sets, label has fell off can and can't remember what its called, similar to a chain lube though, about 12 mths since the last pull off........ Verdict is i reckon the brakes will see out the end of the year if I do the usual 10K km odd of trips .......................
Only have to reposition a couple of brackets for the new awning, make a new "Z" post for Sat dish, I think I left the old one at Manilla in the rain,
, get a couple of new batteries eventually, and think up a mod for the battery door........ So nothing to delay a quicky run somewhere.......... We are ready to roll .... a drop in temperature and fuel price would be nice first.
Coffee finished I have the worst part of the job, cleaning up the mess......................
Should add something I never noticed before was that the front axle brakes were the ones that had copped the dust and water and needed work the back axle sets were like I had only cleaned them recently with just a bit of dust, worked perfectly, I think the hand brake lever lets in a lot .....
............. Found the brake problem, a siezed or at least very hard to move brake arm and one on the way to being difficult, seems the old dry lube gave up the ghost after a good mix of red dust and water in 2 wheels, okay in other 2, this time since I haven't dismantled everything but the moving bits got a squirt of this stuff that sets, label has fell off can and can't remember what its called, similar to a chain lube though, about 12 mths since the last pull off........ Verdict is i reckon the brakes will see out the end of the year if I do the usual 10K km odd of trips .......................Only have to reposition a couple of brackets for the new awning, make a new "Z" post for Sat dish, I think I left the old one at Manilla in the rain,
, get a couple of new batteries eventually, and think up a mod for the battery door........ So nothing to delay a quicky run somewhere.......... We are ready to roll .... a drop in temperature and fuel price would be nice first.Coffee finished I have the worst part of the job, cleaning up the mess......................
Should add something I never noticed before was that the front axle brakes were the ones that had copped the dust and water and needed work the back axle sets were like I had only cleaned them recently with just a bit of dust, worked perfectly, I think the hand brake lever lets in a lot .....
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Nearly time to test out the recent brake adjust and clean up, including the spring mod and not forgetting the new Media Circuit for the STB's as we do the School Holiday poppy run, a handy 300km trip to daughters to test run upgrades with a handy workshop while I do the grandkids thing ..... Nearly forgot to get a replacement for the sat dish pole that someone lost last trip, 45mm exhaust pipe bent into a "Z" 400mm x 400mm x 600mm, this time it has a 50mm flange on the 600mm end so it clamps nicely in the old jockey wheel clamp I use .... $34.40, gone up $1.40 in 5 years.....
Even though I ran the fridge for 4 days after sorting it all out, a 10 day run should show any problems, far better now than when on the road................
Even though I ran the fridge for 4 days after sorting it all out, a 10 day run should show any problems, far better now than when on the road................
@Drover, a good test of your mechanical skills for the brakes as well as your electrical nous in overhauling your fridge. Will be keen to hear how fridge goes now cleaned up and how much, if any, difference in fridge operation. Safe travels.
If after 50 years of doing my own brakes these play up then I really might have reached my time to lock the tool box and throw away the key as for the fridge I think we may have to wait till Xmas to see if my upgraded insulation works, the amouunt of rust and scale I cleaned off stuff should give some improvement, forecast weather isn't great and I wish I hadn't been talked into this dog and kid sitting run........................
Any chance it can be resuscitated?? After all, you just gave it a heart transplant and got it home safely, albeit a costly operation! Incidentally, we do care, whether it be you personally or maybe it is the Jeep?
Battery light came on and went flat in minutes can’t get anyone to look at it so I went and bought a new alternator as they have a habit of dying and it’s got a couple of hundred k on it, alas no difference so hopefully on Monday I can get it towed somewhere to sort it out. Can’t wait for the Everest to be available but I’ve got thousands of K’s to do with the Jeep and van before it arrives. Sorry @Drover for the hijack but you did ask lol