Fun / Projects / with my 1997 America Dream

BigRabbitMan wrote:
I believe a hydraulics shop would have the fitting that you needed.

Good tip, thanks

I believe a hydraulics shop would have the fitting that you needed.

What an nice entry you have on all these projects. We have a 2001 American Tradition on the Spartan chassis. You are absolutely correct in that nobody will do it as good as you will, once you get the know-how! Having touched so many items and done them so well, I would not want to start over with a different RV. Value is what someone will pay. If I knew you, I would gladly let you touch my RV, but yes, I would still be over your shoulder wanting to learn more. Thanks for all 23 pages of this so far!

New project and a question.

Question first. If I were to try and sell this motor home, what could I realistically expect to sell it for?

Now the project.

At one point I had an air cleaner condition / air restriction gauge in the engine compartment of the Motor Home.



and then at some point it disappeared, I really have no idea when that happened.



The hose is still there, but the fitting that holds the gauge is broken right off. When I found it I covered the end with duck tape to keep dirt from being sucked into the turbo.



Over the winter I contacted Gillig and they sent me a new one that was correct for the year chassis.



The broken fitting is a male compression fitting to a male 1/4 pipe fitting. Not a chance in the world I was going to find it at Home Depot.



So with no hope of replacement, I will try and fix it, I bought a 1/4 nipple, first step grind the fitting smooth. PS I scrub and scrub my hands, but they are stained and this is as clean as they get.



Drill the end of the fitting with a 11/32 (correct hole for a 1/4 pipe thread tap, and I went as deep as I dared.





Tapped the hole



It fits



As this is a MacGyver, I will have to space the air restriction gauge out.



I will contact Gillig and see if I can get the correct fitting. But onward, a little pipe dupe.



Turns out it is a good thing I had to space the unit out on the pipe nipple, other wise the restriction gauge would have hit the frame in the rear of the Motor Home.



This is how it looks from the rear rather than the side.

GlennLever wrote:

Looks quite similar. I was hopping for some carry over as they were both Carefree products and the LED strip did fit perfectly into the notch in the roller.

I wanted the LEDs on the roller so when you walk up to the Motor Home the LEDs were not right into your eyes. These point up to the awning and the light is deflected, the pictures I posted has the awning turned to far out so I could work on the installation. In the normal operation position they would be roller further up into the awning.

I will figure out the power cord and post the findings. As of now the cord has to be removed for storage.

i was a bit concerned (initially) about glare myself - but as it turns out, its not a problem. the lights are high enough that they produce no glare to speak of & we prefer the light reflected away from the coach (so it lights area beyond the awning).

mostly i didnt want to have to mess with plugging/unplugging overtime i rolled up the awning (which we do almost every night & sometimes w/out leaving the coach if its raining & blowing in the middle of the night).

for power, I made entry at the same location where power for the awning exits (thru the wall). I went w/ 12 vdc direct power - so i don't have to run the generator (for ac voltage) or tie into the inverter to use the awning lights.

bshpilot wrote:
I've seen that Carefree Awning LED light set for 160-125 bucks....!
its the EXACT set that i bought off of Amazon for $24.88 (including shipping) !

Glenn - SMART move putting that IR remote control / power connection (box) inside the coach as it is NOTwaterproof (as reported/discovered by others).

Heres the Amazon set up - Looks familiar doesnt it ;)



Heres some pictures of my install (i mounted the LED Strip on the Coach Wall, rather than deal with having to unplug & plug the lights every time i rolled or unrolled the awning) -

CLICK HERE for Pics / Info

Looks quite similar. I was hopping for some carry over as they were both Carefree products and the LED strip did fit perfectly into the notch in the roller.

I wanted the LEDs on the roller so when you walk up to the Motor Home the LEDs were not right into your eyes. These point up to the awning and the light is deflected, the pictures I posted has the awning turned to far out so I could work on the installation. In the normal operation position they would be roller further up into the awning.

I will figure out the power cord and post the findings. As of now the cord has to be removed for storage.

I've seen that Carefree Awning LED light set for 160-125 bucks....!
its the EXACT set that i bought off of Amazon for $24.88 (including shipping) !

Glenn - SMART move putting that IR remote control / power connection (box) inside the coach as it is NOTwaterproof (as reported/discovered by others).

Heres the Amazon set up - Looks familiar doesnt it ;)



Heres some pictures of my install (i mounted the LED Strip on the Coach Wall, rather than deal with having to unplug & plug the lights every time i rolled or unrolled the awning) -

CLICK HERE for Pics / Info

Oh no he is at it again, this did not turn out to be one of my more favorite projects, I really expected more.

I purchased an electric awning to replace our manual one after it was torn off, after repairs from an RV Service center. (I have said before shot me if I ever take something I can do myself to a RV service center again.)

Ok on to the project.

The awning is the best one CareFree of Colorado has to sell.

I wanted more light out side the RV at night.

I had seen posts on LEDs in the awning roller and though that was a good idea (it moved the light source away from the Motor Home and was up high).

I did some research and was not really interested in the flashing strobe and changing color effects that color LED strips offered. I did however like the yellow (Bug Light) color they could produce and that they can be dimmed or brightened to the desired level of light.

So I purchased the Color LED light kit from CareFree thinking things would be thought out and engineered for their awnings, I was half right.



The kit contains The LED strip, a 12 Volt power cord, an A/C to 12 volt power source, the controller for the LED strip, the remote control for the controller, instructions, and 12 volt connections with a fuse.



This is the awning before the start.



A lot of the highly intense suspense and action takes place on this end of the awning



There are two pages in the instruction book that contain information to install the LED light strip.





Step 1 Open the awning to expose the roller tube.
Step 2 use the isopropyl wipe included with the kit and thoroughly clean the area where the LED strip is to be mounted on the roller tube.

(in another location in the instruction manual was this bit of wisdom "Two types of roller tubes are used on CareFree products. Older roller tubes (3-slot) have a smooth surface between the canopy and the accessory slot. New roller tubes (4-slot) have an additional shallow slot for mounting LED strips")

As mine is a newly installed awning I have the 4-slod design.

Step 3 Measure the horizontal position of the strip: The instruction book gives offsets from the end of the tube to center the LED strip on the tube, I found them to be incorrect, my offset to center the LED strip was 19 1/2 inches.





Step 4 is for is the 3-slot tubes and has to do with marking the LED strip location on the tube.

Step 5 Remove the release paper from the back of the strip. I would not do this as you could end up with the tape stuck to itself. I would remove the paper as you apply the LED strip to the roller.

With the 4-slot tube the LED strip is a press fit into the slot and the adhesive on the back of the strip is almost not needed. I actually pressed the strip into the grove to get the center location on the roller and it stayed there while I took measurements. Once marked I then did remove the paper backing and install the strip.



Here the instructions get a little sketchy.

Step 6 is for shorter tube and has to do with cutting the LED strip.

step 7 Lay the wire harness for the LED strip flat against the roller tube. Secure with the 1 X 5 piece of Velcro furnished with the kit. It may be necessary to trim the Velcro to fit as shown. I did not get enough Velcro with the kit.

That is the end of the instructions for the install. I only got a 2 inch long piece of Velcro with the kit. I used duck tape to hold the wiring harness in place and used the Velcro to hole the controller in place. I do not like it.



So...on to my modifications.

The pigtail tail on the end of the controller is not long enough to reach the LED strip if mounted on the motor for the roller (only flat spot anywhere near the LED strip, what could have been done was to have provide a long pigtail and short power cord, and the controller could have been mounted remotely) (if the LED strip had been placed off center using the measurements for the install of the LED strip the pigtail on the controller would still have been to short).



The pigtail is 6 inches to short, but I have some ideas, more later.

Only choice is to mount the controller on the roller tube with Velcro. At lest the Velcro is protected from the weather. We have light.



For power you have two choices, use the A/C converter to 12 volts, or tap into a 12 volt source and install the plug they provide. I actually had a third choice. This coach came equipped with the "thin Light that was installed in the original roller tube.



When this option was installed a power jack was installed in the porch light, and this is what I used. (yes I know the Motor Home is screaming for a wash)



This means the wire dangles from the frame of the awning, not acceptable, more later.

The instruction manual (in another location states) "NOTE: tucking the connector under the canopy will securely hold and protects the connector during storage but may cause minor "dimpling" in the canopy".

I have to admit the connector pins are very delicate and appear to have the propensity for damage.

More Modification work.



I cannot have the connector sticking out like that, If carefree had made it square it would have fit into the grove.



The PLAN, enlarge the hole.



This is not my best effort, my heart was not in it, I should have taken a break, as an excuse it was ant a difficult angle. I did go to the parts store an get some paint to match the roller and will try again for a better match.





I thought about going all the way through the awning roller but decided against it.

I purchased some double sided tape to hold the wire harness in place.



I purchased some Velcro and put a strip on either side of the connector and when ready to store will install the matching piece over the connector to hold it in place.



Like so



As stated earlier the controller pigtail does not reach the motor housing of the roller.



So...I have positioned it inside out of the elements.





And found a good spot to put the remote control when the roller is deployed.



The power cord is an eye sore and needs additional thought,



and of course I have some.



This is an electric awning and they ran the power cord for the motor through the arms.



I could do the same, with a little vacuum hose to make the wire casing the correct size it will press into the second channel in the arm out of site.



This part of the project will have to wait a bit as I have to figure out what to do with the ends of the cord when stored. They will not fit in the channel.

What to do with the controller and remote control when not in use, well I have made great use of Velcro on this project so just a little more.

Just inside the Motor Home door is a small control console.



It is next to impossible to see the back side of that console so it will make a great storage spot for the two items.



So I almost forgot, and remember I am not really interested in all the special effects, just the "Yellow Bug Light" that can be dimmed and brighten, and of course there is white, but here are some colors.

So before I put the driver's seat back I wanted to take a look at the couch.

Ever since we had the new carpet installed by a RV service center one side has seemed to drop.

We asked them to take a look and they said they could find nothing wrong. I just never got around to looking at it.

I figured that with the drivers seat out if the couch had to be removed it would be that much easier.

This couch is a fold out bed.

I had my wife sit on it while I looked under it.

I could not believe what I found.

It also was an extremely easy fix.

We pulled the bed out part way which put the leading edge up in the air.

The bolts the were supposed to hold the front leg were missing.





So a couple of grade 8 bolts fixed the problem.



The leg now folds out when the bed is folded out, and tucks back in when the bed is folded back in. The couch frame sits on the leg when folded in and that is why the couch would drop on that end when someone sat on it.

Ok, part 2!

THE FIX

So I came up with the idea of reversing the cable in the regulator. Putting the damaged end at the window end and the end that was at the window in the motor. This end has never been through the gear drive in the motor so is like brand new.

To do that I had to open up the end of the regulator (note the hose clamp, more discussion on that a littler later)



I pulled the cable out of the regulator.



I found two areas of the cable drive that were damaged. It appears this has been a problem in the past. What was done is the downward travel of the window was limited by the hose clamp. I always thought the window should open more than it did, now I know why. I suspect the motor was replaced as it seemed in very good shape. No play in the gears within the motor.



The window bracket needs to be removed from the cable.



Looks daunting and like a machine would be needed to recreate the crimp, but the only other option is to buy a whole new regulator, so there is nothing to lose in trying.



It turned out the metal of the bracket was quite soft and a pair of needle nose pliers EASILY unwrapped the clamp. It does look like there is no hope in getting it back in place but again nothing ventured nothing gained



Here we go in an attempt to put it back together.



You know what it actually went back together rather easy. To finish the process off I took to large allen wrenches and put them on either side of the bracket, just below the cable (should have taken a picture) and put it in a vise and squished it together. You can hardly tell the factory job from my attempt.



Close up



I put the cable in a pan of paint thinner to clean all the old grease of (turned brown from all the dirt and rust, and old grease). Grease the cable and the cable channel.



Cleaned and greased the motor gears.



Put the thing together and it works great,
Sort You Tube video of the test

I didn't like the custom bin top separator the past "repair" person used.



I have watch a number of custom car builds on TV and seen them use Luan plywood to create door cards, so I tried it. A 2 X 4 foot sheet cost $11.00, a little trimming and this is what I got.



I replaced the one drywall screw that was holding the wall panel in place.



Got it all back together and discovered I had installed the spot light control rotated 90 degrees from where is should be (when the knob was pressed down the spot light turned right) I had to take it back apart and correct that mistake.



I believe in installing things so that they can be taken back apart, so the crimp but connectors installed by the RV service(?) that removed the seat to install the new carpet, ....



Had to go, replaced them with a weather pack connector as it should have been done in the first place. I really have no use for inept RV service techs. Please shoot me if I ever have to go back to a service center.



Everything has been tested, all works, all done.



The custom parts installed by the last repair have made their way to the garbage can (two bin tops, three conduit clamps, two dry wall screws, one small hose clamp, and one stripped bolt and nut (from a small side project to be documented later (it is now 12:41 AM))).



Stay tuned for more exciting antics from this crazy person.