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Joined May 14, 2012
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Happijac 4500, crank socket won't come out
New to me Bigfoot truck camper, came with 4 different Happijac electric corner jacks - 4100, 4160, 4500, 4560...so I have no idea how old any of these are, and assuming at least two of them have been replaced at some point. Two work...OK, one is completely dead, and one was binding horribly. Even my big Dewalt corded gear reduction drill struggled to get that corner raised enough to get the camper on my truck with the gear clutch removed. Started tearing in to the binding one today for inspection, a 4500. Got the motor assembly off, got the C-clip at the end of the bevel gear off, and can't get the socket itself to budge in/out at all. It feels a bit snug trying to rotate it, but my little cordless drill can fully extend/retract the leg with the whole thing on the workbench without much issue, so it's not bound up. I've been pounding on it with screwdrivers and drifts from the inside, even going as far as to drill another hole in the jack outer body to get a more direct angle on the socket shaft with zero in/out movement. It FEELS like I'm missing another c-clip somewhere, but I sure can't see anything. I also noticed that it looks like the socket is a two piece design, with the shaft that drives the bevel gear moving in/out about 1/8", but the outer female hex portion not moving at all in/out. So there's has to be something else holding this thing in?48Views0likes1CommentRe: How to fix saggy fiberglass roof around AC unit?
I wasn't trying to reinvent anything, and just basing a thought off of the failure..I was asking a question because I really don't know. Sorry. In the future, I'll be more mindful to learn the answer before asking the question.702Views0likes0CommentsRe: Are rooftop AC units standardized for mounting?
wa8yxm wrote: To lean the condenser on a coleman remove 4 Phillips head bolts from top lift off cover peal built up "Crud" off the condenser replace cover and 4 bolts done I have a feeling this may be part, or even all of my problem. When I first got the van home, I tested all of the appliances (I bought this thing cheap enough that all the appliances could be dead, and I'd still feel like I got a deal on it) Found the AC would turn on, fan started up, and then I could hear the compressor kick in a few seconds later, but it wasn't even beginning to cool down after 30 seconds. Then I got severely ill, was out of commission for a couple months, and when I started to feel better, I also started demo of the interior...having completely forgotten about the AC issue. The AC has to come off the roof so I can do the roof/ceiling repairs, and I figure it will be simpler to clean/diagnose on the ground anyways.1.7KViews0likes0CommentsRe: Are rooftop AC units standardized for mounting?
At the current time, the interior is 99% stripped, with just a bit of framing on the roof and side walls. But most, or all, of that is coming down this weekend too due to a saggy roof, and the repairs that I'll get to figure out as I go. The current AC is a non ducted Colman model, probably the original unit from 1987, lol, and that's part of why I'm not sure if I want to reinstall or not - mainly just the loss of headroom in the center. I'm 5'10, and I just _barely_ squeezed under it with the original carpeting on the floor. If I insulate the floor, I'll be bending under the thing every time I pass it, and it's right in line with where I was planning on putting the stove/oven. There's no room to push it farther up without sacrificing framing and insulation, nor is there room in the room to run ducting. Though frankly, I don't really see much of a benefit to running ducting in such a small space anyways. I'm perfectly comfortable in temps up to 90* here in the desert with just some air flow, and I was thinking of just putting a fan in there anyways. I don't see myself camping out when it's 120 outside, so I'm leaning towards not needing AC...but then who knows what the future holds... Oh, and the rebuild...while I would LOVE to just go buy a new one, or a slightly used one, I just don't have the cash flow for that, and I refuse to finance things other than the house. My belief was always "if I can't pay cash, I can't afford it", and that's where these old ones come in. Tons of labor and time to rebuild, but fits in the cash budget :)1.7KViews0likes0CommentsAre rooftop AC units standardized for mounting?
Picked up an '87 class B several months ago, that ended up having a potentially bad AC unit. Started tear down of the insides for rebuilding and to fix a saggy roof, which I believe will involve removing all the wooden structure to rebuild it. If the AC does need to be replaced, is the mounting and opening size standard on these things, so I can just rebuild the existing opening and mount a new unit up there later, or is this going to be a case of fully diagnose the AC NOW, and have a new unit on hand to size the opening & framing to? At this point, I'm not 100% positive that I even want to keep the AC if it is in fact bad, but I would like to keep the option open if I decide to reinstall later on. So I plan on running the 120V wiring up there, and possibly even some heavy gauge wire to prepare in the event I go with a DC powered unit (unlikely, given the price difference, but I'd rather throw $100 of wire up there now than pull a ceiling down later). I also want the framing in place for the same reason - better to have it and not need it....2.5KViews0likes6CommentsHow to fix saggy fiberglass roof around AC unit?
Some time ago I picked up an '87 Fiesta on a Ford E-350 chassis. I knew it was going to need repairs going in, though it's entirely possible I bit off a little more than I can chew on this one.. It clearly has had some level of water leaking at some point in it's life, evident by the discoloration on the wood, and I knew I'll need to locate and fix that. My current "big" issue is obvious sagging of the roof around the AC unit, and I suspect part of the problem is poor engineering/design from the factory, which didn't give nearly enough support under the AC. I think I should be yanking down all of the support structure, and replacing the side-to-side beams with solid pieces, then adding in short pieces front to back (as opposed to the front to back beams being one piece like it is now). Tie that in to the wood going down either side of the roof, and then support of the bottom of the wood on the sides with the top of the steel van body. In my mind, this would transfer much of the load of the AC and roof to the steel body. But then I don't know if that's going to cause other issues I'm not thinking of.1.1KViews0likes6CommentsRe: Using the "Quote" feature
BarneyS wrote: Would you repeat, word for word, everything someone said to you as you talk with them in person? Of course you wouldn't and the same thing applies here. Can't remember ever quoting something someone says while I'm talking to them....of course, I also don't use a keyboard while talking to them either. But if we're going to be this nit-picky on posting etiquette, especially on a forum that I suspect heavily leans towards a demographic with less than stellar tech familiarity, under threat of post deletion without notice...then I suppose it may be time to find another forum to waste my time on. I do appreciate the heads up though.398Views0likes0CommentsRe: Water heater breaker gets hot and occasionally trips
If your load is close to the eating of the breaker, such as pulling 14 amps through a 15 amp breaker, it could get a bit warm However, the much more common reason this happens is because people use the breaker as a switch, which it isn't intended to do. Repeated cycling of the breaker causes it to wear out pretty quick, which will increase internal resistance, which causes heat and premature tripping.1.2KViews0likes0Comments
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