Let it rain

Today was the day to finish up the RMP and look over the roof because rain is in the forcast.  I did take time in the morning to put in some time with the old guys I fly RC planes with.  There is something about setting in a lawn chair and flying model planes that relaxes me.  So after flying and coffee at the club house I get ready to shine up Smokey.  Sophie is getting pretty good with shining up old RV's.  Take a look.

Then I went up on the roof and put some Snow Roof undercoat on the seams and places the had been patched before.  I know Terry put some patching on the bad spots but boy is this a loooooooooong roof.

Before the Snow Roof.

After covering the seams.

I would like to do a full roof coating with the undercoating and then a few coast of the white Snow roof.
How do I apply the RMP you might ask?  I use the dollar store micro fiber cloths and a swiffer for the flat places and 2 cloths sown together and over my long handle wash brush.  This time I applied the RMP to the cloths with a spray bottle instead of using a cookie sheet and dipping the cloths in the RMP.

 OH and I turned on the TV and DVD/VCR .  Guess what...they work. 

So one more thing I worked on until after sunset was the drivers side delam.  Someone had repaired a loose sidewall with black silicone and screws but didn't do any good.  So I put a few longer screws in and some clear silicone but by the time i finished it was kind of dark so you will have to wait to see the pictures tomorrow.

Thats it for today.  I am getting quite a workout with this MH.  I can't wait until I take it out for a drive.

On top of old Smokey.........

Today was the day to put a shine on the new/old MH.  So I also wanted to clean the roof off in case I have time tomorrow to put a coat of snow roof on.
The day started with a roof wash, my buddy, make that my best friend Terry patched the big cracks and holes in the roof before I picked it up but I wanted to put a coat of sealer on it anyway.  So I scrubbed the roof first, then washed the rest of the MH with Dawn, one last time and let it dry.  I did go to DMV and paid the big money for the title and registration.  But in 2014 when i need to re licence it they will be the Special Interest plates because it will be 25 years old.
Then after lunch Sophie and I started the Red Max Pro (RMP).  Now I know why others said that they put 5-7 coats of RMP on.  With the old fiberglass it soaks it up like paint on wood.  So after 4 hours or so I called time out for the day.  It is pretty much done but I will spend some time on it tomorrow.  Take a look.

So what do you think?  It shines like lipstick on a pig??

Oh and Sophie and I even saw a car the was going down the road, 4-way flashers on and smoking worse than Smokey was.

A new awning?

Today I spent time on the exterior.  First was a bath with Dawn dish washing detergent.  It is good at removing any oil and that is what I need to do before the Red Max Pro (RMP).  After doing the rear, right side and front I was tired.  I spent time vacuuming inside and then back to scrubbing outside.  Then I thought I would try to open the awning.  WOW it looks new, and even the window awnings are in great shape.

And then I scrubbed the outside with bar keepers friend.  Who ever wanted anything this big.

Oh just wait until tomorrow when I give it one more wash with the Dawn and then when it dries start the RMP.
I did get the fridge to stay lit but when I looked at the flame it was a dirty yellow and I still need to check into the recall and see it if's been done or not.  There is a post card in all the papers that was sent to a previous owner saying that it hasn't been done yet.  And I heard of some recalls on the Superchief so I will have to check the VIN for recalls.

I think it looks great just getting the dirt off.
And then I went inside to set and listen to the radio only to find out that the deep cycle batteries were very low so I pulled out the power cord and plugged it in.  It looks like the converter battery charger is working.  I love it when something works.

Smokey is not so smokey.

Today I sprayed engine cleaner on the bottom of the engine and hosed it off.  Then I tightened up all the oil pan bolts.  They were all loose, and I even snugged up the tranny pan bolts.  Those were good but all the oil pan bolts were very loose.
I ran the engine quite a bit today and even though I only lost 1 quart of oil it sure gets all over the underside of everything.  There were even spots of oil spray on the wagon being towed behind Smokey.

I did light all 4 burners on the cook top, tried the fridge on gas but it gave me the NO FL message.  I am still reading the book and flipping switches.  Some lights work, some don't.  The batteries seem good, all the belts and hoses seem good.  The rear levelers came down and back up as I moved the levers.   The right front leveler has broken welds and is held up with a budgie cord.  I want to look that over better when I have time.

So far so good.
And I think the red light it part of the alarm system.  Yea I think there is an alarm that can be set with the remote.  How cool will that be to see the lights flash when I set the alarm....I hope it works.

These are the chassis and coach battery disconnects.

The box with a red and green light is a remco control for a tow vehicle tranny pump,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And the box on the floor looks like a musicale horn control.  Don't let Terry get to that.

The Superchief has landed

So today was the day I was looking forward to all week, I think I was.  Anyway My wife and I packed up the wagon and met Terry and Carolann at the truck shop in Clackamas where the SC was parked. Terry had removed the starting battery and took it home to charge it up.  He put the battery in while I took care of the high finance and paper work, pulled out the 5 big bills and paid in full for the big rig.
Rechecked the left front tire that was flat and aired up by the shop, checked fluids and started it up.  No fuel leaks but the cooling fan was rubbing on the radiator shroud.  Lowering the front jack down the noise stopped.  Backed it out of its parking spot and hooked up the wagon.

The lower grill was removed to get the battery out and left out in case of jump starting.

Out on I-205 we found out that there was really an oil leak as the smoke appeared out the back.  At first we didn't know if the smoke was coming from the tailpipe or underneath.  We did pull over once and looked under to see oil dripping off the bottom of the engine and everything else.  Yup it has a leak. Terry did have me check the fire extinguisher that was inside and it looked good, just in case we needed it.

After that we drove on to I-5 and to a rest area.  The oil was down a quart but Terry looked around the bottom as I started it only to find oil spurting from a bolt but the oil pan.  A quick check of the bolts showed that several oil pan and some other bolts were loose.  Once tightened up and restarted there were no big drips.  The drive home from there was not as smoky and now I have a place to start with the repairs.

It fits in the driveway.

Cruise control works.

Top switch powers the radio from main or aux batteries.

I'm not sure what  the red light means. Or what the switch to the left of the light switch is.

Vacuum gauge above the AC vent.

So after the trip home we all went out for lunch and wondered what I have got myself into.

And Sophie has been calling the Superchief  SMOKEY.  That might change, I hope soon.

I looked through a pile of manuals and receipts for Smoky until my head hurts.  That's enough for one day.

And thanks a lot Terry for all the help and repairs so far.  44 miles home today.

I'm ready to get the Superchief tomorrow

I packed up the wagon with everything I can think of for getting the SC (superchief) tomorrow.  I am sure there is something I will need and not have but wish me luck.

This reminds me of waiting for Christmas when I was a kid.

I even put in a roll of paper towels and window cleaner so my wife will have something to do while she is waiting for me to get everything looked over.  Maybe I should put in the vacuum cleaner too.  Maybe not.

My 1989 31' Superchief

OK this might come as a surprise to some of you, but I was looking around for something else in the way of a larger Winnebago.  And what I found was several of those newer, they all look the same, type of Bagos.  I even thought the only good bago was one with flat glass windshields.

But then I saw and ad on craigslist for a '88 Superchief in Coos Bay and it got me thinking about a basement model.

Here is the first one I looked at but they wanted $5,500.00.  It was a 28' rear queen. I would like this size.

And then I looked at a few others as you can see on my Blog, and then I found this '89 in Clackamas, OR about 50 miles from home.  My best friend Terry and his lovely bride of 49 years met me there to look it over.  Several stories were told about how it ended up at this truck repair shop and if it was taken apart or not, but after looking around it, and it even started up once we found the disconect switches,  I gave them my standard price offer of $300.00 but they were not ready to sell for less than $1,500.00 so I didn't think about it anymore.  It was a 31' which is really 33' long so it was longer than I wanted and it was being sold by a friend of the owner who didn't really know anything about RV's.
So a couple of weeks later and looking at a few RV's I recive an email asking if I was interested in it for $500.00.  Well Terry, who thought I should pay up to $1,000.00 for it said to buy it.  Even his Bride said buy it, so I said I would buy it.  And since I was heading out of town on another vacation Terry even offered, I hope he doesn't charge me to much, to patch up some spots on the roof before I get back and it is suppose to rain.
Terry even changed a piece of fuel line by the carb that was leaking and ran it for 1/2 and hour or so to see that it doesn't overheat or leak anything.
Here are some pictures of it incase you haven't looked back in my Blog to find it.

And then some roof repair pictures.

Before patching bathroom vent.



After patching.