Loose ends

Ever had a song stuck in your head? Sometimes it's an awful thing when the song is a bad song, but sometimes it can be fabulous...like having your very own MP4 player in your head...
Right now I have a line from old Blue eyes rattling around in my brain.

Regrets, I've had a few

But then again, too few to mention

I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption

I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway....

Well you get the picture.

The last little while has been spent doing jobs that, although could be done at any time, are easier to do now before interior walls and such are starting to get put into place. Things like installing drain plugs on the underside of the water tanks to allow for winterization. Now was the time to do them so I didn't have Frank singing I told you so to me down the road.

Direct wiring the furnace to the fuse panel. There are a number of open circuits, but none of them were wired and none of them even  had terminal ends in them. Should be quite simple you would think. I first went to my fall back, Greggs Distributing...these guys have everything.....but not this time. Then I went to the parts counter of Kenworth....notta!
I finally thought I would have a home run at the parts counter for the International truck dealership. Unfortunately  we seemed to have developed a generation of parts guys who are lost if they can't have a vehicle VIN number. The block came from a International 4300, but I got nothing but blank stares when I handed them the fuse black and said I need the end terminals.

Although I struck out, I did not give up. In my texting with Chris he said  it should be quite simple they are a typical Delphi style clip. The internet is an amazing thing, just google Delphi style fuse block and viola!
Two days later it's sitting in my office with exactly what I need and all the replacement parts for the future!

Next on my list was to finish the furnace install by running the exhaust pipe. I had been eager to use my new toy....

A poor video, but when you realize I am under the bus, holding the iphone in my leftt hand and the RivNut gun in the right, you might cut me some slack.

As many things, a great idea can only be as good as the available materials/supplies. I ran out of 1" pipe supports. The exhaust line is in place but uneven which will allow for condensate to form and pool. I have since gotten three more pipe holders and plan to re-install.

Living where we do, we get spoiled. We see more wild animals in a week than most people see in a year or more. On an afternoon while Michelle and I were about to head out for a run, a big momma moose was hanging around. I was a little puzzled. At one point our attack dog (Chihuahua) took off after the moose. Normally the moose would spook at the sound of  the  opening of a door.To my surprise she didn't budge, she actually snorted and took a few steps towards Nacho(the dog with little man syndrome). Frankly I was getting ready for a little dog pancake when the moose would flatten the overzealous canine, But she spared his little life, and when he turned and scurried away with his manly tail tucked beneath his yellow belly that's when we saw why she was so reluctant to leave. A set of twins came loping up the hill with the awkward grace of a teenage boys leaving us watching them move through the trees a little uneasy that one might trip and fall into the woodshed.
And then just like that all that was left was sunshine and a general feeling of gratitude that we were witness to such gangly beauty.

Good enough is not good enough.

Many times on this journey I have arrived at a point of progress that I have anticipated  and planned for, and therefor have the already purchased the materials to proceed. These are both exciting, and reflective times times. Exciting , as you may guess because I have come to a milestone moment that I had previously envisioned and that makes me feel good. I often wonder however if my previous enthusiasm is an example of tremendous forward thinking or simply a whole whack of ignorant prematurity.
As much as I would like to think that I have everything totally planned out to the materials level.....truth be known, the forward thinking is more conceptual which leads to material acquisition on more of a physical level than a measured cognitive level. None the less when it came time to install the air intake for the furnace, I already had lots of 3" PVC pipe and elbows as well as plenty of pretty colored PEX tubing!

Why I bring up the whole question of forward planning vs premature consumerism is that I was amazed that I actually had a 3"x3"x1.5" T adapter for the splice off the main lone for the outdoor shower! I must not be totally off my rocker!

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None the less, the design is that the waterlines run within the air intake for the furnace thus decreasing the chance of waterlines freezing in cold temps! I used the path of least resistance design method.

 On the drivers side the pipe ran just where I wanted and the custom entrance into the living space worked well.
The path of least resistance however said the pipe had to come out at 90 degrees to the furnace...

  Resulting in the airline running slightly below the frame rails on the passenger side
Good enough...it will work...but it will also drive me crazy...I'm not OCD...just particular that's all.

So I took it all apart, cut the lines, made new junctions and repositioned it all. Although it did remove a week from my progress(I can only work on it a few hours a week)...just for the record[and to be fair] "a few hours" is up for interpretation.....to some in our house  4-6hrs/week falls into a category of more than a few hours...

All that aside , I still make time for the important things in life...like a GF Pecan Pie....OMG I died and went to heaven...and it's good that I went because if I keep eating this stuff I will die early and may end up there...hopefully...as long as St. Pete ignores the 16-20 years.

Life lessons from Golf

 I was talking to my mom the other day when she mentioned she had been reading my blog. She smugly said that she particularly likes it when I talk about the things I have applied in life that I learned from her and my late father. As a parent what else would we wish for than to see in our children traits that we value so much in society that we pointedly teach to them, hopefully through daily example.
 Some of the many lessons I learned from my parents, mainly my Dad(sorry mom but Ive seen you on the course) was from golf . Humility and respect, punctuality,practice, persistence, problem solving, listening,  and graciousness. These are some of the moral and character fundamentals of the game.
Then there are some more practical perhaps, but none less important lessons like pick up your garbage and  replace your divot. As a teenager at a bush party it meant when you take out a cold one put a warm one in 'cause we aint in Kansas Dorthy and we need to keep the beer cold!
Later in life (marriage)it meant if you use the last bit on the roll, put a new one on....and for GOD's sake put the seat down where you found it.
But in regular life as an adult, it means be aware of your surroundings, if your efforts make a negative impact....then put forth the effort to fix it.

 I'm not exactly sure why these were drilled. These were found on the drivers side about half way down the isle, just in front of the fuel tanks through the main rails. Some one for some reason drilled through the rails. I am no engineer but I just couldn't get over the fact that the rail integrity may be compromised and so...

 Trace, cut and grind

 After some high heat welding, grind and polish...divot repaired.

Next on my agenda was the air intake for the furnace. Not for combustion but rather, the equivalent of the cold air return for your house furnace. The design of the system is that the warm(ish) air from inside the coach is drawn into the furnace, heated and then pumped back into the living space. The conduit for the air has to be a 3" diameter pipe, and the water lines running to the furnace(also the water heater-Webasto Dual Top ) are to run inside the pipe to minimize the possibility of freezing pipes. As I have said a time or two, sub floor space is tight, so there is a limited area the pipe can run.










I had to find a way to bring up the air intake between the fuel tank and the water tanks. The only available spot was through a lateral support.So I made a round hole out of a square space

And the band played on...

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...