Staying grounded

There was a great poster I saw once, it was a poem by Robert Fulghum: "All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten" In it there is a number of simple life reminders for us all, things that we learned as new kids in a new arena learning to deal with new problems. It's cute. Aside from #7&10(my favorites) line #11 is a staple for me, especially on this project.

Last friday, I took Fillmore in to Polar Mobility to have a mixing valve replaced in the front heater core. A simple job. I was second in line so they said just leave it here and we'll be done in an hour. So off to Greggs Distributing I went and then for a cup of dark steaming Joe. When I returned I wasn't sure wether I was happy or sad to see Fillmore still in the service bay but when I saw the three service tech heads inside Fillmore popping up and down like the  bad carny game "whack a mole"...I knew it was a bad thing. I immediately stepped in and quietly soaked in the scene to find out what was going on. The issue seemed to be power. There had developed an electrical issue, only partial power to some of the components seemingly in the front. Mid station heater core was working, sort of, and the rear system seemed to be OK. None of it made sense, and wasn't working like it should and he should know as he was the tech who put it all together in the first place.

  

They had been at it for a while checking and re checking connections and power supply. After a few minutes of grunting and groaning and colorful adjectives being expressed, the tech got up, looked at me dead in the eye and politically said.."what has changed since it was working last?". It took only a millisecond to hear the real question...."Alright I've checked everything over and all my ducks are in a row.....what did YOU do?"  I swallowed hard and said..."Well, I had disconnected the mid station heater core, both electric and coolant lines, to re-route them to a more favorable location."
...."Aaaand, I installed this!" I exclaimed as I lifted the floor boards on the rear passenger side to show off the new battery bank.
The tech said nothing, turned away and started again for the front . Abruptly he stopped looked up from his feet, and I kid you not, turned in a exaggerated slow mo pivot and locked onto my eyes. To me it seemed like I was stuck in a Clint Eastwood western, my mouth was dry and my face was hot. His eyes darted from the battery in the center isle to the new battery bank I had installed.

Without words I knew the problem, and a lesson from a few years later in my schooling was chanting in the back of my brain. Newton's Third Law:For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction



At time of the A/C installation the temporary house battery was simply plunked down at the back of the living space(above left). I then relocated the battery location when I created the new battery bank(above right)
You see, I was always intending on finishing the job, but I ran out of time. When I did install the new batteries I routed the main Pos+ and Neg- battery cables from the battery isolator.












But I didn't get around to running the A/C wiring to the new batteries, so before going to Polar I simple reinstalled the temporary battery for the A/C unit, with full intention of finishing the job.

#11 Learn some and think some...

Now put Newton and Fulghum in the same glass and stir...

When the A/C units were re connected to the temporary battery, positive and negative were reconnected. But as we know with 12V systems, sometimes we ground components to the frame, and typically the battery is also grounded to the frame at some point. But, the temp battery was not grounded to the frame....Get it Sir Isac? So we had power, but not all power. As I was coming out of my thinking blur I see the tech with a set of  jumper cables. He connected the temp battery to the battery bank.....and we have power. If you sit with your milk and cookies and think about it....it seems elementary, but somehow a small simple temporary issue can have an effect(or reaction) that can be all consuming.

So Randy diligently took on the job of re routing the appropriate cables and wires to their rightful new home.Cut, splice,fish in,out and under, drill, loom and re enter....done like dinner. As usual he made quick work of a job I would take forever to accomplish.

While Randy played with electricity, I played with water. I installed the new SeeLevel tank monitoring system by Garnet Industries a great way to install multi tank monitors to a common control panel.

I'm going for a break, it's afternoon nap time

Never have I tried so hard...

Why is it when you don't want to create havoc, the mere thought of creating havoc sets off a chain of events and the next thing you know your sitting in a prison cell with a guy with a " No Regrats"tattoo on his neck telling you how aliens are responsible for the fact he broke into a local laundry matt and was found cowering inside one of the washing machines. Not that this has ever happened to me, I'm speaking hypothetically of course...
Lets move on.
What I am trying to say is that sometimes , by accident, you can break something or damage something because of a momentary lapse of focus, or forward planning of the ramifications of the action that you are taking to complete a task. So much affect with so little intent.

And then there are times where you try, and try and work REALLY hard to disrupt the unblemished beauty of perfection........and you are stymied at every turn.

Simple story really, I needed to drill two 7/8" holes to run the battery cables into the coach battery bank. Seems simple enough right? I have a bimetal saw-hole kit. I have a 7/8" bit. I even knew that it would likely dull my bit (already used multiple times) so I purchased another bit to be on the safe side

It was even touted as being ideal for stainless steel..............perhaps not 11 gauge SS (1/8")

 A trip to Cochrane for more supplies(and a coffee)...6 saw holes, 2 drill bits, plenty of sweat and A LOT of colourful adjectives

I was finally able to achieve my goal and finish the battery bank wiring. Lights! Camera!.....next job please!

Summer Fun

There are times to work, there are times to play. Having a balance between them is often eveyones' biggest challenge in life. Mine?....not so much....I like to play.....and I like my work. So its easy to do both.

My nephew came out for a visit, spending the week with his cousins and working in the workshop creating cool things with scrap materials. I love to see the ingenuity and drive!

He is also accompanying me to Guatemala next spring to provide dental help to under privileged people in unserviced areas. He's been patient, he was supposed to go a year and a half ago....but my back saga threw a wrench into travel plans for a while.

Although there is some non Fillmore activity, work continues, albeit slowly.
The house battery bank is finally in place. four 6V deep cycle batteries. One  pair to run in in series and then partnered with a second pair and run in parallel.

Each 6V battery is 220Ahr, so each pair is 12V 220Ahr and then when we run the two pairs in parallel we get 12V 440 Ahr.

Sometimes my intentions for progress are out ranked by my other hobby, last weekend I had to cut Fillmore short to perform in High River central park bandstand on a beautiful warm and sunny day!
I can accept that!!

Finally a fit!

Some of the content here has been talked about before so some of you may have a vague feeling of deja vu. Just before I left for our annual pilgrimage to Manitoba I spent some time getting the supports ready for the battery box....that would be the battery box that I had fabricated 1/2" to long and had to have them cut the end off and modify it....but that's another story.

The flashback topic is water tank fittings. Some of them I talked about last year when I sourced them out at a hardware store in Onanole Manitoba, but this time I am referring to them a I install them and a few others.

Some of the fittings for the outdoor shower were tricky to plan and assemble....but in hindsight that was more to do with my inexperience. I knew what I wanted, knew kind of where to get them, but like most things it took me a while to get all the pieces and put them all together.

The small white fittings above turned out to be the bane of my existence. All I needed was a fitting. Specifically I needed to have new fittings installed in the uppermost aspect of the water tanks. This would allow the movement of air both in and out of the tank as the tank fills and empties. Nothing special just a little 3/8" FPT. But I didn't find exactly what I wanted in the Greggs catalog, nor at Home depot or Rona. So I eventually turned to the local RV service shop. They strung me along for a while, it was a small job where they would make little and they are busy, being mid summer. Finally I did what I usually do and look at it from a slightly different angle. What is involved in doing it. I am embarrassed how easy it was. Like most things, we sometimes make things way to complicated. Drill, Fit, Epoxy...done

Sometimes I forget he is 12. While I wrestled with water tanks Jeff has graduated into taking charge of his projects as opposed to helping me with his projects. I look out of the windows in Fillmore to see sparks flying. Here is Jeff fabricating new mounts for ATV tires to be mounted to bearing sets and the tire rim.....essentially fabricating a wheel bearing hub!

MacGyver

When I was in high school there was a TV show on that I used to love called "MacGyver". Basically an action hero who got himself out of tight situations by creating things out of nothing....you know a helicopter made from shoe stings a package of sugar and a can of pinto beans. Granted, i will admit that in reality it was a stretch....who needs pinto beans to make a helicopter?
Seriously, the reason I loved it was the creativity. The thought of creating beautiful and functional "things" really tickled my fancy.

So when I see someone at work doing just that, it makes me envious. I want to learn, I wish I had the time and the means to just indulge my creative side to the degree that I would. Although I suppose in reflection that may not be the healthiest of choices.....I tend to go over the top on stuff....you know to the extreme, I mean I could have decided to restore a car....like a VW beetle.

Anyway, back to point. When I got these photos from George my thought was "damn! I wish I was there to do that!" You can see the test fit on his donor Clipper, and then the ever creative packing up of the precious cargo.

For those in Canada you will understand, shipping to Canada from the states can be a huge headache. It's not uncommon for you to find something you need, order it online for a reasonable amount with free shipping to the continental USA!....oh wait you want to ship to Canada????.....ohhh the shipping to there is.....hmmmm....double the value of the item itself!

But there is hope! Many years ago some entrepreneur that rand the hardware store (Mike) in Pembina ND found a little niche and created the Pembina Parcel pick up over 20 years ago. Now most of the bordering states have shipping/receiving depots. So I am having the ladder and rails shipped to The Montana Shipping Outlet and when it arrives we'll go on a road trip!!

Create and fabricate

The last few weeks have been on holiday shut down from a Fillmore standpoint, but work continues.Plans have been set in motion over a year ago I would say on a personal modification to Fillmore. Personal in the sense that it is something that I see in my minds eye, my vision if you will, of the finished Fillmore. I know for some out there in the Flx world what I am about to say will be blasphemy, but it is my vision. I had seen them on the old split window westfalia vans.

Yes the roof top carrier. There are a few reasons, first and foremost I love the look, second and more practical....there isn't a lot of storage apace in a Clipper, and with teenagers and bikes and such....we need all we can get. So while there has been progress on Fillmore at home, there has also been progress for Fillmore abroad. A well known fabricator and wiz bang problem solver in the Flxible community is a Gent by the name of George in Texas, with Track master fabricators. George, for many years, has been kind enough to help me out and give me advice and guidance with Fillmore.  I looked high and low for a local company to help me out with the fabrication of the roof top platform and the ladder and rails but when push came to shove there wasn't anyone that I felt comfortable with, someone I could trust to care as much as I do.
So once again I reached out to George and he took up the challenge. A natural fit really George has a flxible of his own "the zephyr" so he knows his way around these puppies.

Finding parts and fabricating others was our first challenge

George and his crew performed magic in the welding of the SS tube rails

This is what it looks like, the decking material will be on my end

Meanwhile I have been getting some local help with the fabrication of the SS battery box

Of course, there is going to be some need for some specail tools to install said roof top platform...

Measure 7 times, cut once

It's arts and crafts time in the Fillmore shelter. As we plan the interior pieces are starting to be put into  place. The wall panels are to be going up, but first the toilet must be installed. Which means it's time to do the unspeakable.
Put a hole in the wall.....

There really isn't much guess work here, the system came with pre printed templates and written instructions. Normally I would have a feeling of distain for "instructions " but I'll tell you I was glad to have a spelled out game plan. First it was time to cut and paste, good ol' kindergarten skills.

On the inside the legwork had been done years ago when I rebuilt the walls. The area for the toilet was already determined and prepped. All I needed to do was remove the insulation.

The outside was a different story. I had to ensure the spot available for the access door was lined up with the toilet location on the inside. It was, but I took nothing for granted and taped and measured, again and again.

Some might think that this is overkill but I was taking no chances.Measure, measure, tape, re measure...

And then do the deed.

Placement of the door was simple enough, trim the wall piece that I cut out and install in the door itself.

Mounting to the body was a bit of a challenge as the door is designed for the modern cube RV design, not necessarily the curved frame of the Flxible.

But we managed and in the end we have a functional door with a lock and seal.

Inside out......

It's time to start on the inside. I have been planning and accumulating "stuff" for the interior...sink, cooktop, furnace, couch, chairs, water pump...you get the idea. It's been kind of like buying pieces of leggo with the intent of building a specific object but not REALLY knowing how your going to fit all the pieces together. Now that the mechanical is done, paint and body is done, it's time to get going on the inside. Once again we start from the bottom and work our way up.

Not to imply that I'm a control freak but when the A?C was installed we put in a  mid coach heater core to use heat from the engine while we are running down the highway. They placed it where I wanted and left me ample extra hose to allow me the flxibility to reposition it to where I want. But what I wasn't fired up about was how the hoses were run underneath the bus. It would never make a functional difference or even an aesthetic difference but I knew they hung down and I knew they were low hanging fruit to fix right now while the floor was up. So I disconnected the electrical and coolant hoses and re-routed the hoses.

As I mentioned in a previous post, my water tanks required some creative ( but ultimately simple) solution. I must say since I have started the Fillmore project I have not been doing much woodworking anymore. It was great to be outside and creating some sawdust.

First job of the day, create fresh water tank covers...check!

Now on to job #2....create a battery box space. Time to put on the thinking cap...

Mornings, best time of the day.

I love mornings. The air is crisp, the birds are singing, the coffee is hot, and the world is quiet. It's a time where I can sit and think and frankly feel at peace.

On today's agenda was water. I used my quiet time of contemplation to think about how I wanted to handle the fresh water tanks. The original plan was that I would have two tanks that fit entirely below floor level, one on either side of the isle. But..... necessity required change. The space where I was hoping to place the furnace was going to be too tight, and it was needed for the engine driven A/C. So the furnace moved to the secondary water tank spot, which left me with one tank(77 Litres). I was hoping to be able to carry more fresh water than that, so my options included getting a slightly bigger tank for the given space (up to 100 L) or I could fit both tanks on their sides in the same space. The positive? I move to 144 L. The negative, the tanks would protrude up above the floor by 2" requiring me to cut and modify the floor and the tank fittings.

Not being one to shy away from change.....

I cut the floor

I will install the tanks and then build a cover over them that will ultimately be under a cabinet, and we'll never see it.

The changing of the tank orientation will require some creative fitting creations, but I love the hardware store anyway!

After a morning of playing in the bus it was time to stretch our legs and take the dogs out for a spin. After a little while our little dog "Nacho" was acting funny, kind of skiddish and little growls. A quick glance over our shoulder saw that we were being followed.....by a juvenile deer. We would walk, it would follow. We would stop, it would stop. It followed us for a hundred yards or so until a car came and scared it away!