1966 Travco 270 & 1967 Dodge Mahaul 270

Furnace repair and beds

2011-10-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

Last time we had the Travco out in cold weather, the furnace fan was not starting on its own and required a helping hand to get it spinning. Not good at night while you are sleeping, but luckily at the time we had shore power and electric heaters on board. Anyway, I took the blower until out, it has a universal motor in it. It works on either AC or DC, so regardless which way you supply power it always turns in the correct direction. Unless of course the brushes are stuck. As the oil for the bearings got old, it got sticky. Apparently in the past someone had over oiled the motor, and so the oil had made its way to the brushes and as it got old and sticky it gummed them up so they would not advance and maintain contact with the commutator. So I cleaned the brushes and their tubes and hopefully I am good to go for another 44 years! Oh, just as a note, one of the brushes had the following number on it, 2189. might be a part number? Anyway, I plan to take the rig out in the next month to go camping at Devil's Den. I am going to remove one of the two counter tops, the one behind the driver and put a homemade tri-bunk in its place. I have ordered three 30x72" foam mattresses. I am going to cut down bed frame rails donated from family and weld or bolt them together. Can't really start building until I get the mattresses.

Storage for Genny

2011-09-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

It has always been my procedure to run an engine's carb bowl out of fuel if possible, before storing for a period of time.
Motorcycles, lawnmowers, even the 440 on the Travco. (I turn the electric fuel pump off an wait the minute or two for it to die)

I was going to put a shut-off valve on the Kohler to do so, until I realized I could run the genny, pull and hold-up the priming lever on the fuel pump until it died from fuel starvation. I thought I would share this with those fellow Kohler L600/L654 owners. Don't forget to return the lever to the normal lowered position when done.

'66 Travco (California) & '67 Travco AC Electrical Wiring

2011-07-02T05:09:00.001-07:00

I have posted some pictures here of how our two Travcos have input power connected to them.
Both Travcos have Kohler 6.5C63 6.5KW water-cooled generators.

The '67 has a 240VAC 4 pin receptacle on the genny and the Travco has a 4 pin plug to insert into it.

The '67 plugged into the Kohler genny.

The worse for wear power cord receptacle to plug the '67 RV into "park" power. The other end of the cord should be a standard 30 amp 3 pin RV style plug. Not shown is that the two 120VAC legs of the receptacle are shunted together.

The '66 built for California has a lockable compartment on the side opposite the generator to access the power connections.

The 3 pin twist-lock plug from the generator (240VAC) and the power input receptacle in the background on the '66. (120V leg, 120V leg, neutral, case is ground)

The '66 with a 30 amp park power cord inserted. Not shown is that the two 120V legs are shunted together inside the plug. (Generator output cord laying beside it)

The end of the 50 amp cord for the '66 that I made. This end matches 50 amp park service.

Ideally, the 3 pin twist-lock on the '66 should be replaced with a proper 4 pin twist-lock that has separate neutral and ground. Then you could use the 4 wire, 4 pin 50 amp cord to connect to a 50 amp park power outlet. If wired like the '67 it would have a 4 pin receptacle to match the RV's plug.

Winterizing

2010-11-13T18:02:00.000-08:00

Well, the time finally came to winterize my Travco. It is fairly simple to do so...

For the curious, read on.

I remove the city water inlet plug to allow the water to drain from it to the check-valve, replace cap later. My fresh water tank does not have a drain, so I have to pump it out, I should probably add a drain to it. After it is empty, I open the drain on the water heater and open all the faucets. After that is complete, I switch the valves on the water heater to bypass, switch the intake valve to the jug-inlet, and attach the hose that goes to the anti-freeze jug. I close all the faucets but the kitchen cold and turn on the pump until I get anti-freeze, close the cold, open the hot, etc. Same with the bathroom sink, but I flush the shower hose as well. I also make sure enough goes down the traps to dilute/displace any water. With all faucets closed, I allow the system to pressurize to take on a total of 1/2 gallon of anti-freeze. I have to make sure my accumulator gets filled/diluted as well. Then I relieve the pressure in the system with a faucet. I have a monomatic toilet, so I just make sure it has dumped to the tank. Lastly I make sure the grey/black water tank is drained.

Jinxed by my last post.

2010-11-07T16:38:00.000-08:00

I guess I jinxed myself with my last post. I was getting ready to turn around the Travco to stage for the camping trip to Devil's Den this weekend. It started on the first try, but died and would never start again. I got out the Voltmeter and checked for power at the coil, coil resistance and they were both good. I got out the O-scope and checked the output from the module and only was getting 3V. I checked the input from the pick-up and got a saw-tooth like pattern, so assumed it was good. I decided that the HEI module was bad. The PO had installed the upgrade and had soldered the connections and mounted the module on a small piece of aluminum on stand-offs from the frame. I assume that the module went bad due to overheating.

I bought a new module from Larry the parts guy and installed it directly to the metal frame around the doghouse, with thermal grease between them. Since the module was soldered in, I decided to cut the wires off and crimp-on connectors for each. One of them is the smaller 3/16" size. From the photos one of the websites from the previous post, I decided the pick-up wires were reversed as installed by the PO, so I corrected that. After doing so, I had to adjust the timing as it was back-firing. I didn't check the timing with a light, I will do that later. But after the adjustment it ran great!

Here is a picture of Ben and Jack in the back of the Travco. This weekend was a little cold, but no precipitation.

On the second day at the camp, the furnace blower started having fits. It would not spin-up without a little help. From previous posts you would know I have an old furnace and the motor has brushes. I suspect the brushes need some work. I just ran the furnace for a while before going to bed, shut it off, then used my electric heater for the rest of the night and all was well. I will post later with what I found-out. Let's hope it is not three months till my next post.

BTW, I got 6.43MPG on the round trip, it was hilly, going about 45MPH, RT was 54.8 miles. (I have a 440-3 with 727 and diff. from the original set-up with the 318.)

Electronic Ignition Conversion

2010-08-08T08:00:00.001-07:00

There has been some talk on the Yahoo Travco group about the stock electronic ignition, so I decided to post on what I have. The previous owner of the '66 270 converted the Mopar electronic ignition (it has a '73 440 in it) to a GM HEI ignition module controlled system. He replaced the stock coil with an MSD #8202 Blaster 2 coil, 45kV output.

Here are some links in regard to similar conversions:

http://www.rowand.net/shop/tech/MoparHEIConversion.htm

http://www.designed2drive.com/

The module is basically a drop-in... Here is a quote from the first site, just the connections:

"An GM HEI module has four terminals - two at each and - that should be labeled C and B on one end, and W and G on the other end, with G being the "smaller" size terminal.

C = Coil (negative side)
B = Battery (positive side of the coil, or any appropriate power source that is live in ignition and start)
W = positive lead (+) from the pickup in the distributor
G = negative lead (-) from the pickup in the distributor"

You can eliminate the resistor if you have a coil that can handle direct connection such as mine above, or the GM E-coil that is stock with GM HEI (without computer control).

'67 Dodge Mahaul Master Cylinder Rebuild Middle

2010-08-04T16:40:00.001-07:00

I have completed modifications to the master cylinder for the remote reservoir. All I need to do now is do a finish hone of the cylinder to remove any paint over-spray, install the new pistons and check-valves in the MC, and partially fill and bench-bleed the MC. I have temporarily connected the hoses that were used on the Mitsubishi Eclipse for the pictures. I need to check the heights, but I should be able to mount the reservoir on the metal frame behind the engine and run the two hoses to the MC... maybe 3 feet away? Then I will need to create a dash LED to illuminate when the fluid level gets low.

I will be posting to the Yahoo Travco group asking how much interest there would be for a group buy on a kit including a used reservoir w/bracket, hoses, fittings, cap, gasket, clamps, and cover hold-down bolts. I would not do this to make money per-se, but to allow others to enjoy this upgrade. Quantities would affect the cost. Everything would be new except the reservoir, but I could find some new ones as well I am sure, I just pulled this off of one of my parts cars.

'67 Dodge Mahaul Master Cylinder Rebuild Beginning

2010-07-28T19:12:00.000-07:00

My brother and I removed the master cylinder (MC) a month or so ago from the '67 and I finally started the rebuilding process this week. The master cylinder is a dual (split) system, with a separate system for front and rear brakes. My '66 has a single system, so if I had a loss of pressure, I would loose all my brakes excluding the parking brake.

I went to Larry at Prairie Grove Auto and he ordered a rebuild kit, Carquest part# brk M448, about $50. The chassis is a p375 and the MC piston diameter is 1.25".

I disassembled the MC and bead-blasted it, but I still need to hone it and paint the outside. One of the curses of the MC location in the Travcos is that it is under the floorboard in a dirty environment and hard to fill and even check the level. I have decided to design and install a remote reservoir for the master cylinder. Roughly copying best examples on the net, I have drawn a cover for the MC that will be tapped with two fittings, one over each OEM reservoir, made from 3/8" aluminium plate and bolted down onto a gasket. The fittings are connected to one hose each that will go up to a Mitsubishi Eclipse remote reservoir from one of my parts cars and mounted somewhere TBD, just above the MC to allow proper gravity flow. I have access to a CNC mill and will mill the cover early next week. I will also attach the low level switch in the Mitsubishi reservoir to an LED I will mount in the dash to warn of low fluid level, but even if it is empty, there should still be liquid in the OEM reservoir. I plan to use DOT4 fluid and hope to find speed bleeders to bleed the system often to mitigate water absorption. The MC failed as it had rust sludge and pitting in it, the result of moisture. BLEED YOUR SYSTEM OFTEN! (I need to follow my own advice BTW, LOL).

No pictures yet, sorry.

The '67 MC has a "flat" oval/rectangular cover that is held in place by a wire snap/clip. The '66 has a screw-on cap (cap has male threads) and I will be designing a remote unit for it after we complete repairs to the brakes on my brother's '67.

1967 Travco Dodge Mahaul towed home

2010-04-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

Just yesterday my brother and I traveled to another part of our great state of Arkansas to tow his "NEW" Dodge Travco motor-home back to my house. It will stay here until it is ready for the trip to his house, hopefully soon. It is a 1965 Dodge Mahaul (Travco) with a 318cuin Dodge truck engine and a Kohler 6.5kw generator. We drove my Travco down there to tow his back as a last resort if we could not fix his brakes. After all other items were ready, I put brake fluid in the master cylinder and nope. It was totally done, no more to give, rubber was rotted-out. So, that meant we would have to attach a tow-bar and tow away! So plan 'B' was to have him ride in the second rig when we got to the hills to help the pair up the hills. Ok, even though it was able to move on its own, it was not able to help at all. So, plan 'C' was... my Travco was on its own. Well, you know what, it made it just fine. Round trip was 266 miles, 54 gallons, 5MPG, 5.5 hours drive time, 47MPH average. So I would say that the towing power of the Travco is Excellent!

Bill of Rights

2010-02-07T08:54:00.000-08:00

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Declaration of Independance

2010-02-07T08:03:00.000-08:00

Just thought it would be good to refresh our memories of this historical document. I am not sure I have ever read it from beginning to end, but I have now.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

Furnace Fix

2010-01-04T14:28:00.000-08:00

OK, so I took the furnace apart and discovered that two of the three burners had been plugged by dirt-dobber's nests. This prevented it from producing the heat required to trigger the fan to come on in a timely manner and when the fan did come on the heat was weak to say the least.

This furnace is a 1966 era model and has a cast iron burner manifold with brass burners. The whole assembly I removed weighed over 6 lbs not including the blower mind you! I has a pilot/safety shut-off valve, then a
regulator, then a solenoid valve, all separate.

The heat output is much better now! I don't know if it can keep the Travco warm in the coldest of weather, but it will in any weather I will be out there in. I know that this furnace is not as efficient as newer ones, but it is paid for at least!

Merry Christmas - Happy Holidays!

2009-12-25T11:17:00.000-08:00

This Christmas is a white one this year, here are some pictures taken from inside. (Top) view from the front window, (Left) Ben, (Bottom) view from the side window.

Lofty Thoughts

2009-12-20T12:41:00.000-08:00

I just hate wasting all of the heat created while running the engine or generator. The Travco has an electric water heater and I know that it is possible to get one that heats with propane, electric and engine heat. So I think it would be awesome to have a manifold that would allow me to use either engine (coach) coolant or generator coolant to heat the water in the water heater. In the Winter I could also use the return heat from that line to heat the rear compartment area. Then, another thought came to mind. What about using some coils and insulated hose with a pump to convey heat from the campfire to heat water and heat the compartment?

So it looks like Suburban makes a water heater that is direct spark LP, with electric and "motor aid" SW6DEM

Update:
Thursday I will be picking-up a used version of the above for FREE... well I may need to provide some free slave labor in return, LOL! Assuming it works and will fit the Travco properly, I will be in better shape! No more running the generator just to heat the water, I can use LP instead. And every time I run the genny, it will heat the water with the motor assist! Plus, when I am at a site with electric, I don't have to use the LP or Genny to heat the water, YEAH!

Update update:
I picked-up the water heater and it is LP and motor assist, no electric. However, it is possible to add an element to control separately. At least it does not have a pilot light, it uses direct ignition.

Replacement Windshield Wiper Blades

2009-12-11T11:23:00.000-08:00

I finally discovered that I could get replacement "wide" wiper blades from my local CarQuest, Prairie Grove Auto. CarQuest # 752-200 made by TRICO. They are considered "Heavy Duty." Needless to say, I ordered them the other day and installed them today. YEAH!

Posted are pics of the base of the Driver's wiper arm, close-up of the old clips reused on the new blade, close-up of the wiper blade mount, and of the new wiper blade.

The stainless steel strips that were part of the new refill had clips that would not engage the old stainless steel wiper frames that I needed to reuse in order to reattach the blades to the wiper arms. So I decided to reuse the strips and clips from the old wiper refills with the rubber from the new refill. The frames may be dirty and ugly, but they work! Because they tend to collect leaves and junk between them and the windshield, I am using little blocks of foam to hold the arms out and hence the blades away from the glass. This will prevent the accumulation of crap on them.

Headlight Dimmer Switch Replacement

2009-11-25T12:12:00.000-08:00

In the last post about camping at the cabin, I wrote that I had to hard-wire the headlights to low-beam only, just to get them to work. I have since replaced the switch with a GM type switch and placed the switch above the floor instead of through it as to keep it away from the elements of the front wheel well. The bolt-holes in the switch matched nicely to bolt to the floor. The switch is Car-Quest # 53-16973 and the new pigtail is CQ # S72. I assembled them together with dielectric grease as well.

Brake-Light Switch Replacement

2009-11-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

As noted in the previous to-do post, I replaced the brake-light switch that had failed. I obtained the switch from Larry at Prairie Grove Auto (Car-Quest), part# ECC-53-54491. Please note that this switch was not a drop-in replacement. The original switch had one male and one female post-type connections. This one has two male posts, which was OK since I needed to replace the old connectors anyway. I also put dielectric grease on the posts and in the female connectors before assembly. Instead of being a plunger type switch attached to the brake pedal, it is a pressure switch attached to the brake master-cylinder output. Brake-line pressure actuates the switch to allow +12V DC to flow to the brake lights.

Heater/Defroster Fix

2009-11-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

The Front Heater/Windshield Defroster kept blowing its panel-mount circuit breaker when it was on high for over a few minutes. A PO two-times back replaced all the fuses with push-push (push on/reset, push off) panel mount circuit breakers (very cool to replace the fuses as well as provide a way to switch-off any circuit). Almost all were 8 amp except the one for the heater/defroster of which I could not read any rating. I measured the actual current draw with the fan at Low Speed and High Speed and measured 2.8 amps and 5.5 amps respectively. So I changed the fuel pump breaker to 15 amp (I plan on upgrading the pump anyway) and moved the 8 amp that was there to the Defroster/Heater. I guess the old breaker was bad or might have been rated for 5 amps or less. I also shortened the wires going to the breaker as each wire was about 8 inches too long.

Finally a Replacement Fuel Cap

2009-11-18T10:15:00.000-08:00

I have been in need of a fuel cap since I acquired the beast from the PO. Apparently, Prairie Grove Auto has had the cap I needed for some time. I asked him about it on the phone and Larry actually had a used cap in his junk bin. YIPPEE! A FREE CAP! Thanks to Larry. From what I understand it is called a "Saddle Tank Fuel Cap" So there is one more thing off the list of things to fix/do.

Winter To Do List

2009-11-01T06:18:00.000-08:00

So, after the last camping trip I have started the following list of Winter to do items:
1) Winterize water system by pumping RV antifreeze into system and sink/shower drain traps. (DONE)
2) Replace brake-light switch. (DONE, see future post.)
3) Repair/replace headlight dimmer switch. (DONE, see future post. Now above the floor and not below, sticking through, where it was exposed to the elements.)
5) Install safety shut-off switch for fuel pump. oil-pressure or starter engaged = on, low pressure = off. Also include an override switch to shut-off pump for engine shut-down to prevent carb. bowl boil-over and also draining carb. bowl for long-term storage. (override-Done)
6) Install gutter over rear window and caulk to prevent further leaks in rear window. (Gutter purchased)
7) Install fuel pressure regulator and set to 7psi. (purchased)
4) Install larger flow fuel pump to allow sustained pedal-to-the-floor "romps."
8) Patch hole in roof from ice storm, "properly" with fiberglass patch. (not duck tape)
9) Install new battery charger/AC inverter.
10) Replace spark plugs on side with different head. (purchased)
11) Make a new cover for the generator and install better sound insulation.
12) Install new commercial wiper blades (DONE, see future post.)
13) Replace gasket for fuel tank sending unit. (leaking when tank is full) (purchased)
14) Replacement fuel tank cap. (DONE, see next post. )
15) Repair RR brake wheel cyl, front diff. seal, LF brake hose
16) Replace LF mud flap.
17) Install time delay relay for furnace & clean-out burners OR replace furnace with modern unit. (DONE, see future post)
18) Replace door dead-bolt.
19) Custom-fit bubble foil as window shades. (some purchased)
20) Install upgraded circuit breaker for heater/defroster. (DONE, see future post)
21) Install separate circuit breaker for fuel pump. (DONE, see future post on defroster.)
22) Weld on another bolt to hold spare tire on rear mount.
23) Install tire covers for UV protection while parked.
24) Install reflective foam board where needed. (purchased)
7 of 24 complete 29% (list continues to grow)

Future nice things to have:
1) Install speakers in a compartment that can be opened for "outdoor" speakers.
2) Install 2nd fuel tank and switch-over for more range or genny time.
3) Install seat-belts.
4) Install front receiver hitch for Hitch-haul or bike rack.
5) Add two receiver tubes for extra support of rear hitch-haul for 4-wheeler.
6) Sand primer off fiberglass.
7) Oil filter for genny. (determine if it has proper holes for hook-up)
8) Connect heater hoses to genny to heat cabin while it is running.
9) Install water heater that uses propane, electric and engine or genny heat.

Holy-cow! I had no idea I had such a long list of things to fix/replace!

Camping at the Cabin in October

2009-10-25T16:26:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I took the Travco out camping... April at the cabin and June at Devil's Den. I took a different route this time, taking Hwy 16 East to Hwy 21 South. I realized a savings of 20 miles taking that route and also because I was driving 45 - 55MPH on the Hwy vs. 65MPH on the interstate, I was able to get 7 MPG over the 180 miles round trip (previously I got 6 MPG on the trip to New Orleans).

I planned on leaving at 5pm on Friday, but was not ready until 6pm. With the engine fired-up and ready to go, I turned on the headlights and NOTHING! Troubleshooted it down to the connector at the dimmer switch not conducting power through. Since I would have to cut-off the old connector, I just cut and stripped the wires for low beam headlights, twisted and taped them together for the trip. OK, so now it is almost 7pm. Started to Fayetteville and fueled-up at Wally world. This was an unfamiliar road the last half of the trip, it was dark and I had no way to change to high-beams to see better.

I arrived at the cabin about 9:15pm and scouted-out the driveway for its condition. Not sure what caused it, but there were many trees down across the drive. So, I decided to park at the gas well for the night and tackle the trees in the morning, before the rest of the crew got there. It was a little cold that night, so I fired-up the furnace (original) and the burner worked fine, but the fan did not come on. I tracked it down to the temperature "disc" inside the furnace that tells the fan when to come on. So, I shut it off. To fix the problem in the future I am going to use a time delay relay, like on newer furnaces, to delay the fan on and fan off and tie it into the coil for the gas valve, so the fan comes on when the burner comes on. Ideally, with money, I would replace the furnace with something modern with forced combustion, as it is more efficient.

The gas well guy showed-up about 7:30am, I bet he was thinking WTF is that? Trey arrived around 8am, before I had all the drive clear, Durry arrived about 9am?

We rode our 4-wheelers and motorbike about 56 miles from lunch time to about 4. We fjord-ed the Mulberry river at Low Gap Springs road (D almost made it across w/o getting his boots wet!), stopped at the Oark Cafe, then found a new route back across the Mulberry with a bridge. On the way back we found a few waterfalls, this trip included many, many puddles for sure! Later that evening I checked the spring near the cabin, it was flowing very freely and was not clear, it was a little cloudy.

We had an OK fire that night, the wood was a little wet from all the rain we've had. (it still managed to melt the soles of my shoes...I threw them out today.) I gave Durry the movie pick and he went for SLINGBLADE as he had never seen it! Very funny, even after so many times. I wish I had Zombieland to show that night! BTW, the Travco works fairly well as a roof platform to get a better cellphone signal.

The drive back on Sunday was nice, I could actually see the fall colors by the road in the daylight!
I stopped at WM and got replacement fluids for the Travco and filled-up the gas tank to determine the fuel un-economy.

Until next time!

Luggage Rack and Steps pictures

2009-07-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the luggage rack while removed from the Travco, that will be reinstalled after I get all the primer sanded off (if that ever happens).

The side rails are made of aluminum, the middle ribs are made of stainless steel c-channel and the end rods are made of chromed steel. It was attached with 8 screws with a synthetic rubber gasket between it and the roof. Each rib has a rubber strip on the bottom to prevent damage to the roof. The side rails are are 87.5" long and 51.5" wide and about 4" tall (outside dims.). Usable space is 6' long by 47.25" wide (inside dims). I removed it when I got it from the PO as only 3 screws held it down, the others had no grip and were allowing water to enter.

The pictures that follow are of the folding steps that go to the roof. There are 5 steps with a handle at the top right similar if not the same as the ones beneath the windshields.

The fuel pressure regulator has arrived, I need to install it and a higher flow fuel pump to handle heavy throttle positions for more than about 5 seconds. Pics of that after install. I will need to remove the fuel filter on top of the motor, as it boils-off all the fuel in it on shut-down of the engine and is not needed now that there is a big filter before the electric fuel pump.

Two Different Heads

2009-07-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

The morning I was to leave for my last camping trip, a discovery was made as he spark plugs were being changed. The spark plugs on the right side of the 440 engine are different than the left. WHAT? Well, so I must have a least one head that did not come with the motor. The right side has plugs with a compression washer, the left has a beveled edge, much like a lug nut. So, the left side did not receive new plugs. This is not horrible news, just an inconvenience. I wonder what year they changed from one to the other?

Camping trip to Devil's Den and fuel pressure findings.

2009-07-01T20:26:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday Ben and I went to Devil's Den in the Travco to visit Gigi and Grandpa Shertzer. This was Ben's first overnight camping trip, now 2 years and 10 months old. Ben had a wonderful time and since Mommy was not there to tell Dad to put him to bed, we stayed-up about 90 minutes past his bedtime to see the fireflies and nightfall. I used the generator to run the air conditioning on the way there and back. That night was the first time I used the A/C overnight while camping, normally I dry camp out in the boondocks without any plug-ins. The RV slot was not all in the shade, so for Ben to take a nap, I put a tarp over the back window to try to block more of the light and heat. I think I need to make a custom foil on foam insert for the windows to block light and heat. I suppose I could use the foil bubble wrap stuff, but I like the idea of a firm insert for the back window. I will try both methods and see which I prefer.

I had installed a fuel pressure gauge as I was still having problems sometimes with it running well. What I found was that on heavy acceleration after a few seconds the fuel pressure would start to drop, and at about 4psi, the engine would start to fumble. So, obviously I need a pump with better flow, but to do so I will definitely need a fuel pressure regulator. I have read that the fuel pressure should be between 5-7psi. VoyageVixen, I want to know how the 6-pack works-out when you get it installed. I need help finding a gas cap, as the PO lost the cap for me. I am using a "test-plug, but it doesn't seem to fit tight anymore. Any suggestions? It has a pipe thread, but I think it is less than 2", but more than 1.5"?

Poor Engine Performance

2009-06-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have an electric fuel pump...now what. Well it builds too much pressure and fuel begins to leak out of the carb. I added an electronic fuel pressure gauge to be able to watch what the pressure was doing, still waiting for the pressure regulator to come in. After reading a post to the Travco digest, I was directed to a link of a site with info on the Carter Thermoquad carb. Good timing as I wanted to see what the correct port for the vacuum advance was. Pretty sure I need to replace the spark plugs, wires and reset the timing. I would like to go faster than 10 MPH up certain hills on the pig trail.

Ditching Over-Priced Cox Cable! Saving $600+/year

2009-05-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Warning: Not a Travco related post.
We have dropped our cable as a cost-saving measure, and WOW, we should have done this long ago. I never had cable for myself, but Amanda had it when we got married, so we kept it. $50+ a month, $600+ dollars a year, for at least 3 years! Digital over-the-air TV is incredible! We still have cable internet of course, and with an antenna, we have ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW and when I get a bigger antenna and put up the pole and rotor I already have, we should be able to get more.

So save some money and DITCH CABLE! (use the money saved to buy a new flat-screen with digital tuner for your Travco!)

Fuel System Fixes

2009-05-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

As the Memorial Day Weekend approaches, I decided that today would be a good day to check and make sure the engine started, as last time I tried to start the 440 for Benjamin, we had no luck. So trying again today, it would try to start with spray start, but not stay running. When triggering the accelerator pump on the carb, I would not see any fuel squirting in. So I checked the filter (I have a big one that is really for a fuel injection set-up) and it had no restrictions. So, with the filter disconnected, I cranked the engine, and still no fuel. The generator would start and run, and the tank has only one pickup line (I could see the fuel flowing in the filter when the generator was running) so I knew that there was enough fuel in the tank and at least the pick-up was not plugged. Calling around for a fuel pump, there were none to be had locally, but I could have one in the morning. Why don't they keep parts in stock for a 30+ year old carb? (LOL) Instead, I decided to purchase an in-stock electric in-line fuel pump and pre-filter. I installed them and bypassed the mechanical pump (to be removed when I can get to it). The engine started and ran fine after fuel filled the carb bowls, so I closed the cover and started clean-up.

Note the filter on the right is the PRE-filter to the pump. (left is toward the front)

After a while I started smelling gasoline in the cabin. Upon opening the engine cover, the problem became apparent. There was A LOT of gasoline leaking out of the gasket on the left side of the carb. If I had taken it out on a test trip, chances are it would have caught fire.

Ok, so it is time to rebuild the carb now! I already had the kit, so I removed the carb (lots of built-up pressure remaining in the lines now, hmm, may need a pressure regulator or better yet, a high pressure cut-out for the pump?)....The carb is clean now, just waiting on the two new carb bowl floats on order to arrive on Thursday morning. Let up hope that the new rebuild can handle the pressure, if not, I will have to resort to the measures listed above.

Upcoming Trip

2009-04-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

Well, Memorial Day is coming up and I plan to take the Travco out down by the Mulberry River to enjoy some camping with friends. Fun, fun, fun!

I have replaced the door latch with a locking handle, so the door will have two locks instead of only the deadbolt. I also plan to add a receiver hitch to the front under the bumper (if I can get a good deal on one) so I can carry a hitch-haul on the front for a 4-wheeler or firewood, while towing a truck or trailer from the rear. I have so much firewood now (ice storm and so many downed trees) that I darn well could have a very big-ol' bonfire at the campsite!

I have purchased one 12v compact fluorescent bulb with a stardard medium base from hwy62rv.com and am in the process of adding a new 12VDC circuit. With this new circuit I will be changing the 120VAC track lights over both counters (where the dinette and couch would be) with 12V CF lights. Basically 60W incandescent output from 15W, without the need for a source of 120VAC. So to add the circuit, I am in the process of mapping-out the 12VDC system and making changes to remove interior 12VDC loads to use the Perko battery selector switch output instead of being directly connected to the coach battery. This will allow me to use the house battery (four deep-cycles) for all of the loads and keep me from worrying about draining the coach(engine starting) battery. Basically, I will run a new 6AWG cable to the front circuit breakers to supply separate power to those loads I want to shed from the coach battery. Only driving related loads will be supplied by the coach battery. I will then add a new switch at the door to control the new front 12VDC track lighting. For now, the other 120VAC lights in the galley and bedroom will remain as is, with their 120VAC LED bulbs. Later I will change them over to 12V as well, so only the microwave and A/C (or other toys) will need 120VAC. Later, I will convert the 120VAC LED bulbs I have to 12V and use them instead of the CFs for added energy savings.

When someday the RV gods drop an AC inverter/battery charger on my lap, I will connect it to the House batteries directly (through a 150A breaker) to supply power to the 120VAC systems, and charge the batteries through a isolation set-up when connected to the grid. Don't forget my 40W solar panels that are connected to the DC mains to offset usage by the fridge and charge the batteries when in full sun.

Fuel Economy?

2009-03-09T00:18:00.000-07:00

I recently returned from a ~1400 mile round-trip to Louisiana and have the MPG calculations for the trip down south, pulling a compact pickup truck (Ranger) with a 4-wheeler in the back of the truck, traveling an average speed of 65MPH. Well, I got 6MPG with the 440-3 and the 3-speed 727-3 transmission. I have 16" 6-lug rims with 7.50x16LT load D tires. On the return trip, I aired-up the tires to 65psi, on the pickup truck to 35psi, and tried to drive 60MPH. I have to fill the tank on the beast back-up to get the return trip MPG, but my guess is about 7MPG. I know it gets 8MPG if I am not towing something and driving 55-60MPH.

I lost the cover to the generator on the return trip, so I will need to have a new one manufactured soon... add it to the list. I did get to try-out the new custom mattress, and it was not to bad (not a pillow top for sure!). The custom sheets came in, I need to wash them and put them on for my next trip. I discovered that West Marine has the water heater I would like to replace (or add in series to) my water heater. It is 120VAC with a heat exchanger for the engine coolant. So, as you drive down the road, you heat the water...I also want to connect the generator coolant (through a series of valves) to allow the generator to heat the water as well. I hate to waste "all" that heat! Also, in the process, I can add an air heat-exchanger to allow the rear of the cabin to be heated from the engine or generator heat as well. I have also toyed with the idea of installing an electric fan for the 440's radiator and eliminate the radiator on the generator to reduce weight, but the return would be only in the fun of making the change, not much weight savings there after the piping and such.

I also see that West Marine has some LED dome lights, I have one dome light that needs replacing (cracked lens), so I could use their "economy" LED dome light in place of the drivers dome light, as it has a switch to use white or red LEDs for the light... cool!

On the trip I discovered that the seal on the input of the rear differential is leaking fluid, the transmission is leaking fluid from everywhere (probably the "front seal" ...where the torque converter goes in), the RR brake slave cylinder is leaking brake fluid, the LF brake hose was rubbing a hole in itself against the tire, and there is a water leak in the floor when I take a shower...whew! Hey, at least the roof is not leaking, now THAT would be bad. I will start with the brake items and go from there, hopefully before my next real trip.

Power Restored, Generator Info

2009-02-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

(Pics from Ice Storm)
Power was finally restored yesterday about 3pm, which makes it exactly 8 days w/o power. Here are the tallies from the experience:
The generator ran 192 hours (8 days, 24/8, haha)
It used 90 Gallons of Gasoline.
.46 GPH consumption average.
At $1.79 per gallon, that is $161.10 (ignoring the .9 cents)
Prep. was $126.00 for 8AWG SO flex cable, $32 for electrical plugs.
Maintenance was $8 for spark plugs, $17 for a fan belt.
Total of $344, or $43 per day.
It will be cheaper if it ever happens again, as the materials have been "paid for." Although, let us hope it doesn't!!!!

I am very pleased with its performance, but for our almost all electric house (the furnace is gas), we needed more oomph than 6.5KW. I am thinking 10KW would be nice, with no concerns except when running the clothes drier, but 13KW or 16KW would be grand! Of course, I would not have that in the Travco, just for the house. A solar water heater would also relieve some of the load as would a Natural Gas on-demand water heater.

Another thought, over the course of 8 days, filling the tank with gasoline and the transportation of such, gets a little old and smelly. The exhaust is smelly, and the gasoline on your hands from the filling is smelly. So, a propane and Nat. gas kit would be a nice addition to the genny.

Ice Storm in Arkansas

2009-02-01T19:40:00.001-08:00

We were hit by an Ice Storm here in Northwest Arkansas and lost cable/internet around 2pm and power around 3pm on Tuesday (1-27-2009). Well, let me tell you how nice it is to have a Travco with a heavy-duty Kohler 6.5Kw Genny to keep everything as it should be. Especially nice is the big gas tank, so filling is just once a day, but could be every other day actually. We are consuming about .5 gallon an hour, which is about $25 a day (we run it 24hrs/day). Hey, sure beats paying for a hotel, or staying with friends, or freezing. When we get broadband again, I will post pics/video of the damage to the trees, etc. The Travco did end up with a 2" hole in the roof from one branch. Better than a window, for sure.

We still are without any services except natural gas and water.

Laundry is fun, haha. The Travco has its "generator's windings full" just with the electric water heater, washing machine (w/water heat) and the rest of the house. So the electric drier must be run from a second generator, but what sucks is that the drier load is more than the circuit breaker on the 2nd genny will allow. So 7 mins on,*trip* 7 off, reset breaker. But, when you are outside cutting wood, it does not take much to go press the reset button every now and then. I am just glad we have what we have, we know quite a few people without power still, and many in apartments, tough luck if they tried to run a genny, huh? (tomorrow is the 6th day now). Many of the nearby schools still do not have power. I am also glad to have the 2nd genny when the fan-belt broke on the Travco's Kohler genny.

So, stock-piling gasoline was not such a bad idea after all. One local gas station was w/o power, and the other was constantly running out of gas, and had long lines! I know someone who had to drive 2 hours out and 2 back just to get kerosene to heat his house, as all sources nearby were w/o stock.

So, I have only had my Travco since last May, so the day the bad weather started its way here, I high-tailed it up to the hardware stores to get supplies I needed to connect the Travco to the house. The power cord I have for the Travco is 120V 30 amp, and I bought a 53' 240V 4 conductor cord and plugs and the receptacle to connect it to. I had it all connected and ready about 20 minutes before we lost power, WHEW! Close one! I had to drive 40 miles away to get the 8AWG 4 conductor flex cord to connect between the plugs, but it was time and money well spent.

OK, enough already! Supposedly we will have power by noon tomorrow (Monday), so about 5.75 days on the genny, 138 Hrs that is. Time to change the oil!

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T10:06:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T18:12:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Water heater bypass detail

2008-12-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

I took some pictures of the bypass hardware I added, so here they are.

The bypass kit installed. It consists of two T-valves and a hose in-between. The plastic water tank (donated from a Winnebago) is on the left, the blue pressure accumulator (1.5 gallon) is on the lower right. If you don't have an accumulator, I suggest you get one. Could keep you from waking someone at night.

One of the two valves in bypass mode. The lever points to the direction of fluid flow.

The two kits I purchased. In addition to the bypass kit on the right, I bought a kit to allow the antifreeze to be pumped in. It has another T-valve, a coupler, and hose with cap for the valve for when not in use.

This is the valve and connection for the antifreeze suction hose. It is tucked in-between the four deep-cycle batteries, water pump, accumulator, strainer, etc.

Extreme Motorhome Racing

2008-12-01T19:47:00.000-08:00

Now this is crazy. Watch this video.
Extreme Motorhome Racing
It is a slow start, but very funny (or horrible)

Leak fixed

2008-11-30T16:48:00.000-08:00

Well I fixed the leak in the water line. While helping my brother with his Airstream LPG lines, we were looking at what type of fittings to replace existing parts with. For the copper lines, you can use a flare fitting or a compression fitting with ferrule (or solder, but it is a gas line, yikes!) I prefer the flare fitting, but did not have a good reason to tell him other than my preference. However, after my experience with both fittings while working on the water heater bypass, I believe the flare fittings are more robust.

Water heater Bypass and Sanding

2008-11-25T17:52:00.000-08:00

The other day I installed the water heater bypass to reduce the amount of RV antifreeze used to flush the system of water. However, I created a leak in another fitting and today finished the repairs of the leak. I am awaiting more deliveries to prepare it for the last camping trip of this year. I now have almost all of the primer gray sanded off of the rear f the rig, wow it is amazing how beautiful she is under that layer of paint. I will need to find out how to rejuvenate the gell-coat of the rig, as there were areas where the white had been sanded off and also there are cracks in places.

Nearby Travcos

2008-11-03T17:29:00.000-08:00

The other day I discovered there is another Travco (one of my followers) nearby (a good looking rig) and possibly another even closer. No pictures this posting, even though I talked to the previous owner of my Travco the other night and he thinks I should have LOTS of photos. . Even though my wife may not care much for it, I am casually looking for another Travco of similar age and style, a sister to use as my "Belle" to my current Travco "Travis" (I know, really creative, huh? Not!)

Cold Weather and Spare Tire

2008-11-02T13:12:00.000-08:00

OK, so it is time to get the Travco ready for winter. I use the sink on occasion with my work in the Travco, but not enough to risk frozen pipes. The '66 has made it this long without a winterizing setup, but I think it is time for one. My friend Gary has a water heater bypass at his shop, so after I determine there is enough extra room above the water heater for the bypass valve fittings, I will install the bypass as well as a connection to suck-up the RV anti-freeze. The resent wave of warm weather has allowed me to drag my feet on this "upgrade."

A week or so ago while my wife and I were in Little Rock visiting with family showing off the new baby boy, I picked-up the spare tire from Chuck. When I got home I aired it up to 65psi and yesterday I checked it and it still had air in it, so we are good to go! I have it mounted over the rear bumper using the bumper/receiver hitch w/swing-out spare tire holder thingy that I took from a donor Winny B. I feel a lot better having a spare tire now.

Today is my wife's birthday, so Happy Birthday Manda!

Fuel Injection

2008-10-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

I have been gathering research on the future fuel injection system for the 440. I am going to use a GM Throttle body with a purchased adapter plate. I could make one, but I can get the plate, gaskets, hardware for $46, so it is worth the time savings. I have learned that I should not use the throttle body from a small bock Chevy, but one from a big block 454 and maybe even bore it out to 54mm for more torque. http://www.affordable-fuel-injection.com sells an almost all inclusive system for about $1600. Hmm Looks like the DIY route is the way to go, can do it for a lot less, but need to get the 454 T-body first....

Engine and Seating

2008-10-22T05:17:00.000-07:00

A day ago I decided the stump that once supported a passenger seat needed replacement, so I took it out and put in the 2/3rds bench seat had I pulled from a Winnebago. Even though it is not pretty, it is worlds more functional than what was there before, which was practically nothing.

I started preliminary work on the the fuel injection upgrade by measuring and drawing the mating surface of the 440's intake manifold. Later I will measure and draw the bottom of the Chevy 350's throttle body fuel injection base. While I was working in the engine "bay", I decided to adjust the ignition timing after adjusting the linkages on the carburetor. I must say it works much better, you can really hear the throaty rumble when the secondaries kick-in. WooHoo!

This and That

2008-10-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

Today's finished tasks were small, but something else to cross-off the list. I finished installing the electrical outlet under the ESD workstation, and I completed the support legs for the other workstation. I made coffee today in the "hobo pot" (as good friend of mine calls it) while my brother was over visiting. He ordered an 400W Air-X WTG (wind turbine generator) and had it delivered to my house. Tonight we made a trip to Lowes and Home Depot to get assorted hardware to build the short tower to attach it to his Airstream trailer. He is in the process of building his new house and lives off-grid in his trailer for now. Until he gets his WTG going, he only has 75w of PV panels to charge his two batteries (not really enough for this tech. age).

The other day, I put in another track light with LED lights above the 2nd workstation, and moved the existing light to the end of the closets near the bed. There were lights there originally, but my Travco lacked them when I got it. I got the LED lights from Sams Club, and after reverse engineering them, discovered I can run them off of 12V after some modifications, so I can use them dry camping without turning on my 1500W modified sine-wave inverter. Eventually I will have the inverter connected to automatically engage on power failure/disconnect from the grid. (I'll only have it connected to the lighting circuit breaker, not the AC, fridge, water heater, charger, etc.)

I have been looking on the http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com site that VoyageVixen has listed in her blog. Very cool, I will have to make a list of all the curtain related items I need to restore privacy to the rig. Also, I have to buy a new mattress, as the previous one was water-logged and tossed-out.

Instrumentation & Electrical Upgrades

2008-10-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

In a previous post I wrote about my repairs on the fuel level sending unit. I have yet to repair my speedometer, so I use a GPS to monitor my speed. After a while it gets tiresome setting the GPS back into position on the dash again and again. While in Walmart, I noticed a suction mount for cell phones, and thought, aha! So, the glass on the speedo works great as a surface to mount the suction cup. Also armed with a 12v plug to USB converter, I power the GPS through any trip (yes I do drive my office).

Another addition to the rig is a 40W Kyocera (KC-40) photovoltaic panel. When not plugged-in to the grid, it keeps the batteries from discharging from the draw of the refrigerator. I is not enough to handle keeping the inverter batteries charged if I am running my soldering irons, etc. though. I was fortunate that the panel size mounts well to the AC unit, so there are no additional holes in the roof, as I was able to run the wires through the AC's munting hole.

Workspace and Ground Clearance

2008-10-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

My Travco is primarily my office and secondly an RV, so instead of a dinette and couch, I have two counter tops. One is an ESD (electrostatic discharge) safe soldering workstation for assembling printed circuit boards and the other one soon will be. Currently I put my laptop, programming computer and other assorted stuff on the second top. The walls will be future project, maybe when I start freezing to death I will fix them. When my brother puts spray foam in at his house, I will have to borrow his spray guns to insulate my walls! You can see the floor in some of the pics, I decided to put in wood floors... just not done yet. My current project is finishing the second counter top support legs and installing a 120v outlet under the first counter. I also need to install an outlet on one of the sides of the fridge so I can plug the microwave and toaster into something besides a makeshift extension cord.
Being an RV as well, I must keep the ability to secure everything easily for travel, sometimes down rough roads. In fact, one of the things I like about the Travco is it's excellent ground clearance, just like you see in the brochures, driving around down to the river banks. The 440 motor in this Travco came out of another Travco who's owner put in a 4-wheel drive Cummins diesel set-up into it. So it is hard to decide if I should add another gas tank I have that would reduce the clearance, or find one somewhere that would not. I think I will look around.

Travco pulling an Airstream

2008-10-09T12:33:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of my brother's "new" Airstream hitched to my Travco while getting ready to pull-out of the HWY62RV. 60 plus feet of antique RV. So now, My Dad and step-mom have a 31 foot 2006 Fleetwood class C motorhome, my wife and I have a 27 foot 1966 Travco class A motorhome, and my brother has a 31 foot 1971 Airstream travel trailer. I doubt my Mother and step-dad will get the bug, but who knows, huh?

From the picture you can almost imagine what it looked like before someone put on all the primer paint on it. I can't wait to sand it all off and paint a different color stripe on it. Any suggestions?

My brother bought his Airstream to live in while he builds his house. If I ever build a new house, it is nice to know I have some options.

Specs for my 1966 Travco 270

2008-10-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

1966 Model 270 Travco, 27 feet long, originally came with a Dodge 318 cubic inch engine, but was blown and replaced with a 1973 Dodge 440 cubic inch engine (440-3) with a 1973 3 speed 727 automatic transmission (727-3).
M-300 Chassis
It has a Kohler Generator:
6.5C61 5080A3/4
serial 277767
Controller A-245701
KW 6.5
KVA 6.5
VOLT 120/240
AMP/TERM 27.1
PHASE 1
CYCLES 60
RPM 1800
The generator has a flat-head 4-cylinder 59.4 cubic inch (.97 Liter) L600 engine.

Furnace, Deep-cycle Batteries and Interconnection

2008-10-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

This morning I finished putting the furnace back together and tested it. It ran perfectly after I got the air out of the propane lines, and re-attached the exhaust/intake vent cap outside. Without the cap, the furnace would choke itself out with its own exhaust.

The Travco came with two batteries, one up front for the engine and coach, the other in the back for the generator. A previous owner had installed a 2 gauge wire from the engine battery to a battery switch under the sink, with another 2 gauge wire coming from the generator battery to the same switch. I added a third 1/0 wire from the four inverter batteries, that I tied together with the inverter under the bed, to the switch. I wired the engine/coach battery as Main, the inverter batteries as #1, and the generator battery as #2. At the moment I don't have any battery isolators so, I have them all connected together so that my solar panel and charge controller can keep them charged (they also get charged when the engine or generator run). Also, since I am connected to the grid while at home, I use a battery charger to keep them topped up (like a charger/converter would... the charger that came with the Travco died). Since I use the Travco as an office and play the stereo and use the lights and soon the furnace, the batteries would soon die without a charger.

Battery Switch under the sink for the three battery sets.

Under the bed: engine fluids in crate, 35 gallon water tank (from a Winnebago, has level sensors, but not connected), leveling blocks in bags, bottle jack, inverter batteries tied in parallel, 1500 watt inverter, electric water heater, 2 gallon water pressure expansion tank.

One of my next projects will be to connect the 1500W modified-sine wave inverter to the 120v electrical system. Currently I must run an extension cord to where I need the power (if running the inverter for power), so I want to design, build, and put in an automatic transfer switch for the inverter to connect it without the generator or utility power connected.

Furnace Repairs

2008-10-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, I worked on the propane furnace, as the fan didn't work. The furnace was made by International Oil Burner Company of St. Louis, MO. model # DC1520L, 12V 5.6A. The fan motor is a universal motor that requires periodic oiling of the bearings. I suspect that previous owners over-oiled it, and it gummed-up the brushes, as they would not slide (advance and engage the commutator). After cleaning-up the brushes, the blower worked great! It got too late to try it out, but I will tomorrow. Here are some pics for reference.

Fuel level sending unit fix

2008-10-01T10:21:00.001-07:00

Today's task was to figure out why the gas gauge didn't work. It is a Dodge chassis and I was told by Greg Garner of Real Time Engineering (www.rt-eng.com, they repair and re-manufacture Mopar i.e. Dodge, and others guage/console components) that they should measure 80 Ohms empty. I determined the sending unit had a resistance of 80 Ohms, hmm empty, but I know it is not empty. So when I ground the wire, the gauge goes to full. Cool, gauge works. From working on replacing the plywood under the bed months before, I knew one of the previous owners had made a hole to access the sending unit, so I opened it up and after verifying it wasn't the wires that were bad, removed the unit from the tank. I determined the float had a hole in it, and luckily my parts store had a replacement float on the shelf, WOW! Car Quest# CPS80435 (stewart-warner #411290), $11.96 with tax. Yipee, now I can drive or operate the generator and be a "little" more relaxed. Oh, for those who might want to know, on my rig, the sending unit access hole is about 5" wide, 13" back from the corner edge of the bathroom, and 3" over toward the passenger side from the same edge.

Exterior Lights

2008-09-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

When I first received Travie, he needed to have most if not all of his lights replaced. Only the tail-lights and three of the rear clearance lights worked (no headlights either). While at my local parts place (Prairie Grove Auto and Farm Supply) I came across a display for the Car Quest brand (it is really Grote) of LED lights, and low and behold were the triangular clearance lights that I needed to replace on the rig. Knowing now that the new ones are Grote brand, I noticed that the originals were Grote brand as well. Red led clearance G5052, Amber led clearance G5053. I also replaced the front turn signals with led 539733, led tails G4002,tail stainless flange 43253.

Travco Background - Short Story

2008-09-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, so maybe I should give everyone some background on my Travco. I am good friends with the father (Chuck Deaton) of one of my pledge brothers (Craig, or R-Less) from my Engineering fraternity, Theta Tau. Anyway, he (Chuck) likes to work on old vehicles, and had purchased the Travco on the west coast and between a bunch of beer and money, he had it restored it to good mechanical order, more about that later. Chuck has another RV and I took my wife down to his house to see it, as we were planning on borrowing it sometime. As we came up the drive, we saw the Travco, the back window was out as was the door's sliding window. I assured her that it was not "it." Well, short story is later, after Chuck found out I was looking to buy an RV, he offered to give me the Travco. Luckily, my wife wanted to move my office out of the house to make room for the new baby's nursery, so it was a "go."

So some of you other Travco owners have commented on the looks and waves you get from others, and I know how it is, but when you see these pics, you will understand I kind-a get slightly different looks, but always smile. (or laughs!)

As you can see, previous owners painted it with primer gray, then Chuck started to sand off the primer, and that is what you get. I had to remove the luggage rack as it was only held-on with 3 of the 8 bolts, and the other holes just let in water, so off it came.

So current plans are to continue to work on leaks on the back and side windows,install throttle-body fuel injection to replace the carburetor and improve the fuel economy (economy???? Ha!) mainly to improve the drivability.

Check out the 4 cylinder flat-head 6.5KW Kohler generator in this thing, weighs a ton, but so cool!

Bikes Blues and BBQ and Mystery Travco

2008-09-26T19:10:00.000-07:00

Today is the first time I have ever seen another Travco in person (besides my own). It was a shorter version, 21ft I think, blue stripe down the side (much better than my spotted primer gray...Hey, I didn't do it!!!). Yippee! They do exist! Just after that, at the next stop-light, I was reminded of the need for a cup-holder...Splash, cherry coke, all over the floor. Thank goodness there are full-size towels available in such a rig and luckily, I do not have carpet, so clean-up was easy. Interesting add... last week or so, my lil' brother bought a 31ft 1971 Airstream at HWY 62 RV (www.hwy62rv.com), and I towed it to my house behind the Travco, quite a sight to see. Hey Gary, send me the photos why don't ya.