2018 Executive upgrade/mod projects

Sasquatch · February 04, 2018, 06:58 PM

Control panel for the air bags on all 4 corners. All up and running. Just need to buy a new relay and switch to finish it, but I tested it and it all works.

LJ-TJ · February 06, 2018, 02:12 PM

D:oH! Good Lord mate. You'll need an engineering degree to run that thing..

Rickf1985 · February 06, 2018, 05:50 PM

You know you can use those gauges to measure how much weight you have added to the coach over a starting point. If you know the piston size and the air chamber size then you can figure out how much extra weight is added by how much the pressure changes above the baseline. This is not totally accurate to the pound unless you add in altitude and temperature but you get the idea. THAT should hake TJ's head spin. :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao

Now you also note that the engineering comment comes from a guy who has a gauge to monitor EVERYTHING in his vehicle! I think he probably has one to monitor how much gas was produced by last nights dinner!

W% W%

LJ-TJ · February 06, 2018, 06:51 PM

:)rotflmao Point taken. D:oH!

Sasquatch · February 06, 2018, 08:24 PM

Now that was funny.

In my former life I spent 21 years as an engineer, in the diesel pusher RV industry. That should answer a few questions...

As far as the control panel goes, the left two are the front, right two are the rear, left/right for both. The switches, up for more pressure, down to bleed off.

I can assure you that the gauges I bought are no where near accurate enough to figure out the coach weights. It would be much easier to install pressure transducers on all four corners. Now I could tap into my tire pressure and temperature monitoring system and set up a laser monitoring system to measure the footprint of the tires on the ground if I really wanted to get fancy.....

LJ-TJ · February 06, 2018, 09:50 PM

D:oH! You guys have been in the cabin to long. :)rotflmao

Rickf1985 · February 06, 2018, 10:46 PM

You better hope we never meet in person, and even better, close enough to come visit you!

LJ-TJ · February 06, 2018, 11:05 PM

You and I have a mutual friend who has been here. If you every get up/over this way your more than welcome.

Rickf1985 · February 07, 2018, 10:24 AM

You talking about that hillbilly from Kentucky? I would say we could do a fly in but I doubt there is enough runway for a Gulfstream II, Oh, they don't do grass either. So that leaves the Hillbilly out. I would have an ultralight so I am good.

M & J · February 07, 2018, 12:11 PM

Dont think hes talking about me Rick, if I'm the Kentucky hillbilly. I've looked across a river and saw Canada, but never been there.

LJ-TJ · February 07, 2018, 12:42 PM

When they made heaven they looked down on Bushhawk Creek and went Yep! That'll do just fine. Mustangs, DC-3's T-6's. Lazair Ultralights they all fit on 3,600 feet of manicured grass. Tina's our master Burger flipper. Better kill this conversation before we !@#$%^&*()_+ Mark.

Sasquatch · February 10, 2018, 06:24 PM

I have been working on the transmission for the last week. But while I was under there I shot a photo of the fuel system installed. Ford (Bosch) fuel pump, quick disconnects, canister pre-filter and the post filter is out of this shot up towards the engine. I am very pleased how it all turned out and it should be a ton more reliable.

Rickf1985 · February 11, 2018, 11:30 AM

I like the way you mounted it to the table!

Sasquatch · February 11, 2018, 04:34 PM

You would love my high test chili....

Sasquatch · February 17, 2018, 07:34 PM

I worked all day and got a bunch done. I have been stripping the wheels for a new coat of primer and paint. Quite a difference.

What a mess grinding and sanding off all the old paint. I tried aircraft stripper and it was just easier with an abrasive paint stripper wheel on my air powered die grinder. But, it is quite messy. Three down, three to go.

Then got the batteries back installed and hit the starter to make sure everything is working. Moved on to the heater box which I have pulled to rebuild. I am off to the auto parts store to pick up some foam tape to seal her all up well. Found some vacuum leaks, so getting new vacuum hose as well. I flushed the heater core and am ready to put it all back together once I pick up some supplies.

Installed the new cruise control, just need to get it wired up now. My old one died on the last trip.

This will run like a new rig with all the vacuum leaks that I found and fixed. Heater control system leaking, brake booster hose leaking, valve stem seals non-existent now replaced. Plus the overdrive transmission and new tires, cant wait to drive her.

TerryH · February 17, 2018, 09:31 PM

I tend towards drooling when I see photos of your shop. Especially these with the brake in the back.

Sasquatch · February 17, 2018, 10:27 PM

My dad owns most of that equipment. I just lease my shop space from him. It has cost me a lot of money over the years. I have undertaken many spendy projects I might not have had I not had the equipment at my disposal. Seems all my rigs are in a constant state of being upgraded and modified.

Rickf1985 · February 18, 2018, 10:19 AM

Is there ANYTHING mechanical that is not always being upgraded and modified? W% i?? W%

Sasquatch · February 18, 2018, 03:37 PM

At least for us gear heads.

Rickf1985 · February 18, 2018, 07:12 PM

I have thought about taking the 502 from the boat in the background and putting it in the motorhome. Figured I really did not need 600 horsepower in the motorhome, or the associated gas mileage!!! :)rotflmao

Sasquatch · February 18, 2018, 10:12 PM

Sometimes when you increase horsepower you also increase mileage. The motor is not working as hard and thus more efficient. I have considerable more power than I did in my coach 22 years ago, and better mileage. It would be a fun project. I have always had turbos in my head for a possible upgrade. If done right, and driven right, it could help both power and mileage. My injection system is set up to accept boost already, and the low compression motor would be perfect for 5-8psi of boost. But where does it end? I have many times more money than the coach would ever be worth in it already. I would be willing to bet it is one of the most highly upgraded old coaches on the road today. I need to call it quits and just drive it (after a full repaint and replace the air conditioner on the roof with a modern heat pump unit).

Sasquatch · February 24, 2018, 09:51 AM

Throwing in the towel.

Well, not completely.

I gave up trying to mount my new tires on my refinished wheels. Yes, I have proper commercial irons, but dang it, the 14 ply 19.5 tires are a total pain in the rear. So I will be taking them to a tire shop and paying them to mount them.

On another note. Got her running on the stands. Filled the transmission and made sure all is well there, at least until a road test. I am installing the new cruise control now. I got the heater box rebuilt and it works great. I now have heat, in all places. No leaks so far.

I will get some photos today of the process.

Sasquatch · February 24, 2018, 10:41 PM

Got the control unit installed for the tire pressure monitoring system. The senders are not installed with the new tires yet, but the system is up and running on the back up monitor. The sensors are commercial senders that mount inside the drop center of the wheel and transmit pressure and temperature. It also gives you a temperature compensated pressure displaying as "Deviation".

If your cold inflation pressure is 80psi, that is figured at 65 degrees F. At 100 degrees you will have about 85psi in the tires. The deviation number looks at your cold inflation set pressure, the current temperature, figures out what the pressure should be and reports in a +/- number how far you are off from where you should be. This makes it really easy to check the pressures hot or cold. It is a nice system. Expensive, but nice.

Finished wiring everything up and installed the dash once again. The coach is still a mess, sorry. The two toggle switches on the left side of the dash are for overdrive lockout and my on board air system. I will be designing a new dash next year with all new gauges and switches, new panels, lighting, etc, so I am not worried about just sticking generic switches there for right now.

The little box on top of the dash with the two dials is an Eaton Vorad collision avoidance radar system. It was designed to be installed on commercial trucks. It has a front and two side blind spot monitors. If I get too close to the car in front, or if he hits his brakes, or if I turn on the turn signal with something in my blind spots it will warn me. Pretty cool. If I had a modern electronic diesel, it could also slow the coach down if I was closing in on a car in front keeping my following distance at what I set while on cruise control. But I dont, so I just have the audible and visual warnings.

Elandan2 · February 25, 2018, 08:01 AM

"If I get too close to the car in front." Ha!! When driving in mine, I'm always hoping the car behind me has adaptive collision avoidance!!

Rickf1985 · February 25, 2018, 09:26 AM

Yea, I generally don't worry too much about catching up to people in front of me which is just fine with me. It is much more relaxing when they are all going faster than you and you are not always having to hit the brakes.
You say the TPMS is " Expensive, but nice". How much is "Expensive"?
In one trip I had three blown trailer tires! The first was my fault, long story. The other two were the byproduct of the fist due to strain on the tires from the heavy load. Those three tires, towing and time lost plus aggravation and a sick wife all added up to a LOT of money!!!