Frontier Class C reno's

[Gearhead88]

Back on topic .........


Today the carb went back on , had a fuel leak at the cross over tube between the primary and secondary float bowls caused by an O ring , I had to pull the carb off to fix it . With that taken care of ,  a check of float level and idle speed  had it running nice . Before the carb work , it would backfire out the tailpipe when you pulled in off the road and shut the engine off , that is not happening any more . It always smelled rich , was a pig on fuel and there was always a delay when starting , especially when cold. When I had the carb on the bench , I noticed one of the idle mixture screws was turned way out , the only thing holding it in was the friction of the O ring , the other mixture screw was set as you'd normally adjust them , 2  1/4 turns out (or so)  . All three of the choke adjustments were out of spec and there was no voltage getting to the electric portion of the choke. The gasket below the EGR plate was burned out , someone had used a paper gasket instead of the correct heat resistant material. Several problems and things out of adjustment. Having been a former  muscle car owner , I'm no stranger to Holley carbs , this one is working well now , all of the emissions equipment are intact too, both air pumps and related vacuum equipment are working properly.

[Rickf1985]

Nice, That was a lot of issues all at one time. Depending on where you are located you can probably eliminate most of that emissions stuff and lower the temps in the engine area substantially. It is an 86 and therefore exempt in most places.

[Gearhead88]

Thanks Rick  ,  as of right now , we have no emissions testing here in Alberta , and .............,  the emissions stuff works , however ,  at the first sign of trouble I have a plan .
I should mention , I'm happy with how much power this engine makes but it is a little on the thirsty side , it's a 460 , not much you can do to get a significant improvement in mileage ,   sort of an , it is what it is thing..........




Stock carb is a Holley 4180C , for now It will do .
There are two air  pumps and all of the associated plumbing , any trouble with the pumps will get dealt with by removing them .
I may , if it comes down to removal of emissions equipment , go with an Edelbrock intake manifold .
Stock , it has a single , mandrel bent 3" exhaust and  a large , quiet muffler.
The heat riser / thermal /  ducted  air cleaner  stuff all works as it should and it's quiet , I'd probably keep all of that , in the event of a manifold change out .

[stanDman111]

you are very lucky that you have no etest in Alberta, here  in Ontario we not only have to be etested every two years , but we have smog police roving around  doing spot checks & laying fines  or impounding  vehicles if any of the original smog equipment is missing or non functioning! = welcome to Ontario a !

[Gearhead88]

I should say , I've been on the fence , about deleting or tossing away any of the emissions gear , testing ?  , for now  , it is not happening , is it coming  in the future ? I don't know.


I wouldn't want to junk it all , and face fines if  emissions testing becomes law here , or throw it all away and have to root through salvage yards to put it all back on.

[Gearhead88]

Got the new awning fabric on today , added some tension to the spring while I was at it , it rolls up tighter now .

Added some refrigerant to the AC , ice cold AC now 

Flushed the water system .


Took it out for a drive on the highway , man , does it run nice , the new shocks and steering linkage have improved the road manners considerably.

[Rickf1985]

Thanks Rick  ,  as of right now , we have no emissions testing here in Alberta , and .............,  the emissions stuff works , however ,  at the first sign of trouble I have a plan .
I should mention , I'm happy with how much power this engine makes but it is a little on the thirsty side , it's a 460 , not much you can do to get a significant improvement in mileage ,   sort of an , it is what it is thing..........




Stock carb is a Holley 4180C , for now It will do .
There are two air  pumps and all of the associated plumbing , any trouble with the pumps will get dealt with by removing them .
I may , if it comes down to removal of emissions equipment , go with an Edelbrock intake manifold .
Stock , it has a single , mandrel bent 3" exhaust and  a large , quiet muffler.
The heat riser / thermal /  ducted  air cleaner  stuff all works as it should and it's quiet , I'd probably keep all of that , in the event of a manifold change out .

Removing the emissions stuff will not gain you much of anything in mileage and probably no more power. It will lower engine bay temps. If it is all working as you say then leave it alone. Ford 460's were notorious for poor mileage, I had a 460 in a pickup and it got 10 MPG even empty! Then I supercharged it.................................... can you say 3-4 MPG!!!!! But it had enough power and torque to regularly twist driveshafts into pretzels. They are good motors. But thirsty.

[Gearhead88]

The second solar panel is on and operational now ,  that makes it two 150 watt panels .


We are gonna head out to the mountains next week and enjoy the spring weather.

[Winnebago Warrior 94]

your rig looks nice and youll have a great time camping in the mountains ..i need to replace my tarp too ..i have a new tarp ready to put on ..how hard of job is that to do ..i found a person that said they would change it out for $100.00 ..don't know if i should spend the money are tackle it ourselves ..i just had to replace a leaking ac foam gasket ..it leaked and messed up my interior a little but nothing major ..got it fixed just in time working on tracing my window washer lines down ..ive discovered the electric isn't connected and i don't see the wires the line should be connected to and today i traced down and figured out where the water squirter hoses should be running ...i also replace the hose going from the water holding tank inlet to the water holding tank ..the old hose was cracked and dry rotted ..i will check my holding tank out tomorrow and see how that all works ..i have turned my water pump on really quick and i hear it ..so hopefully it works  good ..i also took front windsheild trim off cleaned it really good and cleaned out the gasket channels got all the dirt leaves and pine straw out of it ..resealed it and put the trim back in ..tomorrow i will scrub the roof down again ..and get ready to put elastomeric roof sealant on it and clean and caulk around all lights ..your counters and all the remodeling work you did on your rig looks really great ..way to go ..awesome job ..don't forget to let me know how much trouble changing out that tarp is 

[Gearhead88]

Changing out the awning fabric was not a big deal , I watched several U tube videos first . Like anything , there is going to be several opinions and methods that are out there.

My awning is a  Norsman , was new in the late 80's , the framework is stout and well made , has lasted 30 years in Alberta's climate. In 2007 the fabric was changed to a Carefree. I had the RV store I like to deal with order me another Carefree replacement fabric , we custom ordered it , a bit longer , to better fill out the roller.

On this one , the fabric can be slid off the rear . The mechanism to raise , lower and lock the roller is an all metal  linkage and stays in the position that is selected.

I chose not to drill out rivets and release the tension on the springs , in this case they can remain tensioned and in position. I used some duct tape to hold the raise/lower lever(s) from being inadvertently bumped. The design of this awning allows for this method but you must think things through and use caution while working on it.





I started out by lowering the awning , securing the arms with a couple of ladders , tent pegs and ratchet straps , so it all would stay square and in position.





Next I removed the rafter at the rear , set it down by where the arm is bolted down low to the motorhome.


There are some screws that retain the cloth , above, in the rafter channel and in the roller drum , four in total that need to  be removed .


Remove fabric , slide it out , I cut one side ,then pulled it out of the groove.





Clean the grooves and rafter channel , I sprayed a bit of WD 40 in there to help the new fabric slip in .


Also , at this time , I added an additional turn to the drum , which increases spring tension.





The new fabric can go on now , I had it spread out on the lawn to prepare. At this point I needed an assistant to get the cloth started in the channels , my girlfriend helped with this , a few minutes of carefully pulling , tweaking and adjusting had the fabric on , the valance , a second piece that comes with a new awning or replacement fabric went on next.

Re attach the rafter.

Check the centering of the fabric and to be sure it's squared up  before securing with screws , I rolled it up and opened it a few times to be sure before driving the screws in the channels.


Enjoying the new awning............

[Winnebago Warrior 94]

You make it look pretty easy ..I will check mine and see about the screws being removed ..I had watched a video or two that showed taking out the rivets and etc ..if mine has the screws I'll do your method ..if think mine is carefree  awning arms and hardware . ..if have already bought new awning fabric ..it's waiting in the box

[Gearhead88]

Be careful , my method may not work for your style of awning , this is an older Norsman awning with a Carefree fabric on it.

[Winnebago Warrior 94]

My awning isnt a carefree awning .its an a&e ..I just looked while I was getting my roof ready  to coat ..I looked at mine and you can take the screws out of the top but I dont know how you would get the awning out of the bottom roller without taking the cap off and drilling the rivets out ..there is a slit spot where the pull rope is that you'll slide awning into with out taking the cap off .m So ill have to do some checking on that ...but would have to check on how to get the old out without taking cap off if you got a trick let me know. ..ill try and post some pictures of it later ..which you tube video did you watch for yours ..I did get my holding water tank new hose on and no leaks ..water pump is working and so is water in kitchen , shower and bathroom sink ..oops I forgot to check toilet ..id like to install solar panels like you did later..that would be awesome

[Gearhead88]

The drum on my awning has a couple of slots , allowing the fabric and valance to be removed without having to drill out rivets , release spring tension or remove the end cap.


This video is the one where the installer cheats and single handedly does the install , he did not drill out the rivets and release spring tension , also , he cuts a slot to feed the fabric into the drum , adds a couple or rivets , check it out ........


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LzmqPcpIPk




There are several you tube videos of  an A&E fabric install as well

[Winnebago Warrior 94]

this is trippy ..after I had talked to you I had went outside to look at the awning and I notice the extra slots and  how they are pre cut out where you could slide the awning fabric right in ..I was wondering while I was looking at it why they didnt have the same slide out /in spot for the canopy to replace it ..then I came in to watch some videos on how to install awning fabric .somehow I pushed something while watching another video and it started playing the same video you  posted ..I watched it and I thought
How cool thats.just what I was thinking and wondering ..why they didnt make the slot where the fabric is attached like the other slot is ..I didnt notice how he actually notched out the opening i wonder what type of tools he used  to make the notch ..thanks for posting that link im on cell phone now ..im going to watch it on my laptop..just finished rewatching the video ..I see where he used a grinder to cut it out ..I have a dremmel tool and I have a jam saw that has different attachments for different thing so I think that one or both of them will work on that ..I like how you posted your pics ..you give a lot of great ideas

[Gearhead88]

Updates ..........


I had an opportunity to get a wheel alignment yesterday , and  got it done .


All the propane appliances are good to go for the season , water system sanitized , new filter.


I found a motorhome of the same make and year as mine  being parted out , I went there (long arsed drive !) , removed and bought some windows and the tail lights , next project is to change out the bunk window above the cab.

[Rickf1985]

I hate to say it but the best way to prevent that bunk window from leaking is to eliminate it completely. Water hitting it at 100 MPH (60 MPH vehicle plus 40 MPH headwind in a rainstorm) is going to get in no matter what you do to prevent it.

[Gearhead88]

Rick , It's not leaking , there are several cracks.


I've been keeping an eye on it for a couple of years , another rock impact might finish it off.


I hear ya , about the elimination of the window , I know a guy that did this to his .
It wont work so well , there are two different exterior covering materials being used on the nose of this one , a moulded fiberglass panel and aluminum siding  , the parting line being halfway on the front window frame.


Here's a front view , showing how they built the shell/nose ........

[Rickf1985]

Yea, that would be a little tough.

[Winnebago Warrior 94]

That worked out great  that you found another one just like your for parts ,,that worked out great for you glad you got your window  you wanted ..I need a door for me electrical  cord compatment

[Gearhead88]

Those small compartment doors are inexpensive , I bought one last year to replace one that's on the left side and was last used to store the waste water drain hose , the previous owner had a piece of flexible vinyl/polywhatthehell , sort of wired in behind and above the propane tank to store the hose . It was totally a ghetto install , I tossed it in the dumpster. I have a better idea , just need to find the material I'd like to use.

[Winnebago Warrior 94]

here are some picture of my awning ..there is a slot that is already cut and notched out on the end where you ad the awning strap or light to the roller frame ..im wondering if there is a way that you can spin this around where the slot that is already cut would be on top where the awning fabric would need to slide into or if you think it would be better to make a slot in the end cap where the original awning slot for the fabric already was ? I also need to add tension to my roller so my canopy rolls up better ...do you have any helpful videos you watched on adding tension to your roller ..thanks

[Gearhead88]

You tube is where to find videos about awnings  .


Asking  me  for advice ? , I'm not an expert at all , I've done this once and lucked out , having an awning that was easy to work with.

[Gearhead88]

I haven't been on for a while .


Just reflecting on 2017 , where we traveled , places we visited and what we got done , it was a great year with lot's of memories . We went camping ten times , did some fly fishing , got a pile of home reno's done on the weekends we weren't camping.


Some renovation work , rebuilt my pergola and refinished the deck



I'd like to wish everyone a great 2018 !!!! and happy travels to all.


We're in the deep freeze here , -28 C  about 15" or so of snow has fallen in the last week and a half , I just spent an hour shoveling and sweeping  again.


Today !



It's time to make plans  for the up coming year ,  gotta rebuild  about 40' of fence that has never been done since I've lived here , build a pair of gates too . The motorhome is getting more love , just maintenance stuff , some of it is been on the to-do list for a couple of years , none of it is anything big .


Re-seal some windows , build two tabletops , purchase and install  some kind of television /dvd unit for the days when weather is poor , rebuild another one of the compartment doors ,  and maybe a few other small items.


In the mean time .................................... Happy Newyear !!!!

[Rickf1985]

The spa is covered in snow, this is the best time to be in it