Getting our new rig ready for shake down cruise(UPDATE)
We bought an '02 Winnebago Adventurer in Feb and I have posted about starting to make some mods and trying to get the Audio/Video wiring cleaned up and some old wiring removed. Our kitchen has been torn apart since early Feb and finishing up my part of the remodeling has pretty much kept me from the Adventurer until yesterday.
We are leaving on the shake down on Monday with the DGS and so yesterday was the beginning of moving the stuff from the Bounder to the Adventurer. I started with a complete cleaning of the kitchen. Washed the inside of every cupboard and drawer, the MV and the fridge. Today I finished up the split bath, and bedroom.
While I was scrubbing down cabinets today, the DW, DGS and for awhile the DGD, moved almost everything from the old rig to the new. Late this afternoon, I ended up moving all the remaining stuff/junk to the new rig and then we took the Sidekick and the Bounder to the storage yard until we get home from the shakedown. At that time we'll spend a few days cleaning and buffing up the Bounder and list it on Craigslist.
I have all of MY stuff, everything that was in the basement cabinets was considered mine, in my utility trailer and after I clean out the cabinets and vacuum the carpeting, I will put the patio rug, chairs, tools and all those things in the basement cabinets. There are a few things that I need to do in the TV cabinets. All the equipment except the 32" flat screen is 12 VDC and I need to install power points in both cabinets.
I will also install my BadBoy air horn. The OEM horns aren't bad but I like the small air horn paralleled to the OEM horns.
Then I'll was the exterior on Sunday when the DGS will be at our home and load our clothes. I'll get pictures off tomorrow night of the old CRT boat anchor cabinets and the five pounds of composite, coax and other wires I removed so far.
This is as much work as moving into a new house.
The wife got her first real ride today and she is excited and happy. I had so much to do just to keep the Bounder running good and all the plastic stuff is rotting away and it looks 26 years old.
"UPDATE"So we got the rig prepped for a week long run with the DGS and we all three had a blast. In the past I mentioned that the coach had two owners before us and somebody wasn't a great house cleaner. I got it looking great on the inside and saw a few things that I need to modify or repair but everything seems to be working great.
"Seems" is the operative word here, The sofa is a motorized recliner/bed with a footrest that can be used to make the jackknife sofa into a Queen size bed. When I figured out how to extend the foot rest/bed extension, I also found out there was a problem with the extension mechanism, the two primary bolts in the mechanism were not doing their job. Jury rigged that and will make repairs today.
The rear TV wouldn't pull in many stations due to faulty F Connector, fixed that when we got back.
And the big one, the year old water pump crapped out. It seems the dealership that installed the new pump, used the old threaded Flojet filter and tightened it so tight it broke the seat in the filter and water leaked into the pressure switch assembly and totally destroyed it. The micro switch is a waterlogged, burned out mess and no dealer around here seemed to have one and one place wanted $12.00 for the switch and $15.00 dollars for shipping and a week to get it. I'll not be going back to Metro RV in Burbank for anymore parts. Found one for about $10 delivered to the house in 3 business days. Should have it Monday.
Now here is a slightly odd problem but, our kitchen is out of commission at the moment and we need to use the coach for cooking and washing dishes. With the water pump OOC, I thought I'll just bypass the pump with a length of potable water tubing and use city water. Shouldn't be a problem right? Oh but it is. There isn't any check valve in the city hookup line to keep the system pressurized without filling the tank, that check valve is in the Pump.
Well after filling the tank, the overflow flooded a side compartment and in trying to correct the problem and cap off the inlet and outlet lines for the pump, it flooded the water pump compartment. The felt lining of both compartments were soaked and I had to clean the wet/dry vacuum and suck out the water. Now it's raining and I'm getting wet. I did get that fixed and I added a double 12 volt outlet behind the front TV to feed the dash cam and when I need to change the TV and or the BluRay player, I have 12 vdc in the compartment.
I have been removing some old add ons and raised the dash cowling to disconnect some wires, when I put it back down the Compass/Outside Temp. gauge was blank. Chased it down to find out that I have wildly fluctuating DC on that line. I thought maybe a loose ground but the ground reads.000 ohms. Now I have to chase that down.
There are a few other things that need to be checked out but let me tell you, all three of us love the new rig. I has Banks Power and trans command, great insulation and Bilstein shocks. With the slides out, we could have a party in there. In fact, one evening after leveling(a great feature) I forgot about extending the slides until the DW mentioned that it needed doing.
My chair at home is a swivel rocker/recliner and the DGS has claimed it for his use when at the house. Well we have the swivel/recliner in the RV and he has made that his own. Just for clarification, he does not live with us but visits often and is 14. The recliners are really shared between us all.
His Nana/my DW, told him he could take his Play Station 3 on the trip. The first night we star gazed down in "Q" and then watched som ALF. I hadn't hooked the BluRay player up after repairing the door and it took a few minutes. The next evening he hooked up his PS3 and then told the DW that now "G"Dude wouldn't have to hook up the BluRay, but didn't say why and didn't say anything to me to see if I would remember the PS game station is a BluRay player.
One afternoon right after lunch, I asked the DW to drive for an hour and of course she said sure(maybe with some trepidation). She said it was easier than driving the Bounder even with the added length and the Suzi in tow. She sends a lot of photos by phone while we are on the road and my Brother sent a text to her after a few days and said, " it seems you really like the new rig". She was not in favor of a 33'5" rig with slides but gave the go ahead to purchase. Now she can't wait to get rid of the Bounder and for me to finish some cabinet mods so she can make it hers.
As for me, I see more of the insides of things and can really appreciate the quality of the build, it is spectacular. I loved the Bounder and all it's standard features, but this rig is head and shoulders above the Bounder. The drivability, the ease of maintenance and surprisingly the ease of cleaning up behind the last owners is fantastic due to the quality of materials and the engineering. Did I mention the hill climbing ability, the smoothness of ride and the total lack of vibration of the steering wheel. Oh yeah, the headlights actually light up the highway pretty good.
I will be putting some before and after pics on line pretty soon to show the mods I am making, I just want to get the mods done first.
We are leaving on the shake down on Monday with the DGS and so yesterday was the beginning of moving the stuff from the Bounder to the Adventurer. I started with a complete cleaning of the kitchen. Washed the inside of every cupboard and drawer, the MV and the fridge. Today I finished up the split bath, and bedroom.
While I was scrubbing down cabinets today, the DW, DGS and for awhile the DGD, moved almost everything from the old rig to the new. Late this afternoon, I ended up moving all the remaining stuff/junk to the new rig and then we took the Sidekick and the Bounder to the storage yard until we get home from the shakedown. At that time we'll spend a few days cleaning and buffing up the Bounder and list it on Craigslist.
I have all of MY stuff, everything that was in the basement cabinets was considered mine, in my utility trailer and after I clean out the cabinets and vacuum the carpeting, I will put the patio rug, chairs, tools and all those things in the basement cabinets. There are a few things that I need to do in the TV cabinets. All the equipment except the 32" flat screen is 12 VDC and I need to install power points in both cabinets.
I will also install my BadBoy air horn. The OEM horns aren't bad but I like the small air horn paralleled to the OEM horns.
Then I'll was the exterior on Sunday when the DGS will be at our home and load our clothes. I'll get pictures off tomorrow night of the old CRT boat anchor cabinets and the five pounds of composite, coax and other wires I removed so far.
This is as much work as moving into a new house.
The wife got her first real ride today and she is excited and happy. I had so much to do just to keep the Bounder running good and all the plastic stuff is rotting away and it looks 26 years old.
"UPDATE"So we got the rig prepped for a week long run with the DGS and we all three had a blast. In the past I mentioned that the coach had two owners before us and somebody wasn't a great house cleaner. I got it looking great on the inside and saw a few things that I need to modify or repair but everything seems to be working great.
"Seems" is the operative word here, The sofa is a motorized recliner/bed with a footrest that can be used to make the jackknife sofa into a Queen size bed. When I figured out how to extend the foot rest/bed extension, I also found out there was a problem with the extension mechanism, the two primary bolts in the mechanism were not doing their job. Jury rigged that and will make repairs today.
The rear TV wouldn't pull in many stations due to faulty F Connector, fixed that when we got back.
And the big one, the year old water pump crapped out. It seems the dealership that installed the new pump, used the old threaded Flojet filter and tightened it so tight it broke the seat in the filter and water leaked into the pressure switch assembly and totally destroyed it. The micro switch is a waterlogged, burned out mess and no dealer around here seemed to have one and one place wanted $12.00 for the switch and $15.00 dollars for shipping and a week to get it. I'll not be going back to Metro RV in Burbank for anymore parts. Found one for about $10 delivered to the house in 3 business days. Should have it Monday.
Now here is a slightly odd problem but, our kitchen is out of commission at the moment and we need to use the coach for cooking and washing dishes. With the water pump OOC, I thought I'll just bypass the pump with a length of potable water tubing and use city water. Shouldn't be a problem right? Oh but it is. There isn't any check valve in the city hookup line to keep the system pressurized without filling the tank, that check valve is in the Pump.
Well after filling the tank, the overflow flooded a side compartment and in trying to correct the problem and cap off the inlet and outlet lines for the pump, it flooded the water pump compartment. The felt lining of both compartments were soaked and I had to clean the wet/dry vacuum and suck out the water. Now it's raining and I'm getting wet. I did get that fixed and I added a double 12 volt outlet behind the front TV to feed the dash cam and when I need to change the TV and or the BluRay player, I have 12 vdc in the compartment.
I have been removing some old add ons and raised the dash cowling to disconnect some wires, when I put it back down the Compass/Outside Temp. gauge was blank. Chased it down to find out that I have wildly fluctuating DC on that line. I thought maybe a loose ground but the ground reads.000 ohms. Now I have to chase that down.
There are a few other things that need to be checked out but let me tell you, all three of us love the new rig. I has Banks Power and trans command, great insulation and Bilstein shocks. With the slides out, we could have a party in there. In fact, one evening after leveling(a great feature) I forgot about extending the slides until the DW mentioned that it needed doing.
My chair at home is a swivel rocker/recliner and the DGS has claimed it for his use when at the house. Well we have the swivel/recliner in the RV and he has made that his own. Just for clarification, he does not live with us but visits often and is 14. The recliners are really shared between us all.
His Nana/my DW, told him he could take his Play Station 3 on the trip. The first night we star gazed down in "Q" and then watched som ALF. I hadn't hooked the BluRay player up after repairing the door and it took a few minutes. The next evening he hooked up his PS3 and then told the DW that now "G"Dude wouldn't have to hook up the BluRay, but didn't say why and didn't say anything to me to see if I would remember the PS game station is a BluRay player.
One afternoon right after lunch, I asked the DW to drive for an hour and of course she said sure(maybe with some trepidation). She said it was easier than driving the Bounder even with the added length and the Suzi in tow. She sends a lot of photos by phone while we are on the road and my Brother sent a text to her after a few days and said, " it seems you really like the new rig". She was not in favor of a 33'5" rig with slides but gave the go ahead to purchase. Now she can't wait to get rid of the Bounder and for me to finish some cabinet mods so she can make it hers.
As for me, I see more of the insides of things and can really appreciate the quality of the build, it is spectacular. I loved the Bounder and all it's standard features, but this rig is head and shoulders above the Bounder. The drivability, the ease of maintenance and surprisingly the ease of cleaning up behind the last owners is fantastic due to the quality of materials and the engineering. Did I mention the hill climbing ability, the smoothness of ride and the total lack of vibration of the steering wheel. Oh yeah, the headlights actually light up the highway pretty good.
I will be putting some before and after pics on line pretty soon to show the mods I am making, I just want to get the mods done first.
