Falcon 19 footer - 1986 - newbie with questions

d0n1 wrote:
More small and not so small victories today...

My mechanic got the 4 new Rancho 5000 heavy duty shocks and severe duty front brake pads installed today. The shocks that were on it were indeed the original ones. The fronts were soaked from leaking. The backs were dry but you could pull them in and out easily by hand. These shocks were on sale for $45 each and are supposed to be top of the line. I also had him put on new rubber front brake lines since these had seen better days. They weren't leaking yet but they were pretty degraded.


BEFORE


AFTER



I have seen pics of Falcons and Horizons with the side door cards cut out which makes for a lot of extra storage space. I set out to do that to mine today. I'm surprised they didn't do it at the factory?! I'm also surprised that the side doors have ZERO insulation in them. I presume the rear doors and walls are the same. I think I will use rubberized undercoating to seal and coat the inside of the cubbies.


I need to get some trim to go around the wood edge.

A couple of things. Since you replaced the front flex hoses (Always a good idea on an older vehicle) don't forget to replace the rear one too. Your steel lines go to a brass tee fitting on the rear end and there is a flex hose that goes from the chassis to the rear end. Blow that hose and stopping gets real interesting real quick.

The panels on my Horizon don't have insulation under them. When I finish triming, sanding and staining the oak laminate, I'll get some thin roll insulation. I won't put much in there but a little goes a long way with the air space in there.

Here's a photo of my unit while I'm redoing the inner panels. The dark ones are original and the lighter ones are the unsanded, unstained oak panels.



It's a bit different than a Falcon but the basics are the same.