The trip from hell! Now the drive shaft ended up on the highway!

[ClydesdaleKevin]

This morning we sold the solar panels!!!  2 guys (the guy that bought them, and a buddy of his, nice folks) came and helped me get them off the roof and into their truck.  As soon as they left, I went up on the roof and siliconed the holes from the Z bracket screws, so the next owner won't have any leaks. 

And then we spent the day shopping for things we need for the new rig, like trailer plug adapters, AC filters, drawer organizers, some LED bulbs, etc.

Depending on the weather tomorrow, I'll be taking off 2 of the good tires from the HR, loading them in the Itasca compartments, and driving the Itasca down to the local truck tire place and having the tires dismounted/remounted on all four rims, and call that project a done deal.

And then there will be more move in/move over work the rest of the day.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I also figured out which water filter under the sink we need to get for the singular drinking water faucet.  None of the RV places in the area had them, not even Camping World...it is an Everpure QC2 filter.  I found one on Amazon and bought it, and it will be here by Friday...and it will save us a fortune on buying bottled water.  Hard to find though, so once we get back to work, I'll stock up on a few. 

Kev

[Rickf1985]

I think you must be looking at the Holiday Rambler wheel pattern, Rick.  The ones on the 95 Itasca are 6 lug, front and back...with pretty large lug bolt holes.  I scrambled under the Itasca yesterday to look at the spare, and it is definitely 6 large lug holes. 

These are the best two pics I have of the lugs on the Itasca right now, and they are definitely six huge lugs, front and back. 





Kev

Yup, Wrong again. I am batting zero on the eyesight lately! I can see now the six lugs. I think the brain was programmed for 8 or 10 since the 6 is a foreign vehicle deal. Be sure to ask the guy at the truck place if it is possible that this is a Hino or Isuzu wheel and hub setup. May be the entire chassis?! You used silicone on the holes!!! BAD Kevin! Never use silicone on an RV, Silicone is for interior bathrooms. Always use urethane caulks for the exterior of RV's if you want them to not leak. And with silicone, not only does it not adhere for very long but after it peels off nothing else will adhere to the residue and getting rid of that is a nightmare. Just something to remember for the future with this one.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL Rick!  Apparently, 6 lugs is standard on Oshkosh chassis from the mid 90s. and I'm just surprised by how big the lug bolts are.  Definitely not foreign made.  And the silicone was the only sealant I had on hand.  I'll tell the new owner to fix it, but at least rain won't leak in for now. 

Kev

[Rickf1985]

Somewhere on here I had posted about a geared lug wrench for dealing with those monster lugs. Something you might want to look into once you get back on your feet. I will find it again and post it here. I used to run an old Oshkosh snowplow up in New York but thankfully I never had to change a tire on it. That was a brutal truck, all utility and NO comfort. No radio, barely any wipers which was great on a plow truck with a monster V plow and next to no heat. Oh, the exhaust ran up out of the hood and over the roof and was attached to the roof. HUH! WHAT?


Here is one of them, seems they are coming from China now so there are 20 different names for the same piece. You might have to get a socket that fits but these things will break loose anything with no effort at all.


Guess it would help if I put the link. I will find it again but here is a video of it working. They are not fast but they get the job done. You have to be careful using it to tighten because you could break the lug right off.


https://www.amazon.com/STKUSA-Torque-Multiplier-Saving-Wrench/dp/B07BGQYN9L/ref=asc_df_B07BGQYN9L/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312003160272&hvpos=1o5&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3561549639288050161&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003783&hvtargid=pla-571685223777&psc=1


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Ctp89AH58

[ClydesdaleKevin]

That looks pretty freakin' awesome, Rick!  I went through all my manuals, and I'm not even sure what torque these lugs are supposed to be at.  I'll keep this tool in mind!  At the very least, I need to buy 2 sockets (preferably impact sockets) before we start our trip out west.  One for the 2 skinny nuts that hold the wheel covers on which are slightly bigger than the lug nuts...and one for the lug nuts.  The lug wrench measured out at around 43mm at the local hardware store...but of course they didn't have anything that big in stock.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

We got a lot more done today!  Patti kept moving stuff in, while I did mechanical and electrical stuff.  First thing I did today was install two screen door protectors, upper and lower, to protect the screens for overly excited German Shepherds wanting to go outside.  I had to drill 16 extra holes and install 16 extra screws to make sure they were strong (GSD proof), and to ensure they wouldn't rattle on our excursions.

Then I replaced every last light in the RV with LEDs.  Most were donors from our old rig, although we had to buy and install 5 more.

Next I went under the rig and zip tied any loose wiring that was hanging down.

And then I plugged in the 6-4 trailer wire adapter and our toad lights...and they all work!!!  Good to go!

A previous owner installed 2 PVC pipes to hold sewer hoses under the rig, and I was going to remove them...and then realized the design was actually pretty ingenious!  So I cleaned up the install from the PO.  Not a bad homemade design at all!

I figured out how to install the TV neatly in the bedroom, and went to Lowes to get what I needed after the rest of today's work was done.  While at Lowes, I picked up a cat door to make the opening to the litter box clean and easy on the eyes...it is going into the dead space behind one of the dinette drawers.

I also replaced the outdoor shower hardware, and replaced the interior shower hose and shower head.

The new rig has a HUGE double closet in the bedroom, so I installed a serviceable wooden rack in the back of the closet to hold the rifles and shotgun and our two fishing poles, and then cleaned the long guns, and brought them over to their new home. 

While at Camping World yesterday, I bought the replacement knob for the Carefree awning rafter (with the little metal bit it screws into), but I'm not going to replace the knob until we are ready to put out the awning again...once we are back home in Arizona.

Still need to get two drawer organizers for the kitchen.

And finally, at the end of the day, I jacked up the Holiday Rambler and removed the two newest tires and rims from the HR, and put it up on jack stands.  And then loaded the tires and rims into a compartment on the Itasca.  I have an appointment first thing in the morning with a tire shop down the road to dismount all 4 tires, install my good tires on the Itasca with beanbag balancing, and installing the old tires from the front of the Itasca onto the HR's P30 rims.  They quoted me around 100 bucks for the whole job.  Sweet!

Moving into a new rig, as a fulltimer, is a process!  But it sure is fun and rewarding!

Kev

[Rickf1985]

Now isn't this better than sitting around in Arizona being bored? W% :)rotflmao :)rotflmao






Glad to see it is all coming together. Don't forget the biocide, you don't want that stuff getting into the pump or injectors.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL Rick!  We're almost done. We should be able to leave on Monday the 7th, right on schedule.

Kev

[Froggy1936]

We Have enjoyed (without all the pain) Your newest adventure , Its like being there   Good Luck and Best wishes on a new Chapter in your adventures , Hey You could write a book about full time living with all the advantages and dis advantages  Have Fun Frank & Louie !

[LJ-TJ]

I think the reason were enjoying you adventure and trials and tribulations is because we've all been there. We can identify what your going through. So when you succeed we get to share the accomplishments with you. Sit Down, Strap In and Hang On the Newest and Greatest Adventure is about to begin. Blue Sky's and Tailwinds.    

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Thanks Frank and LJ-TJ!  This sure has been an exhausting new chapter!  More to follow!!!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

So the guy that bought the old Holiday Rambler is coming tomorrow with a tow truck to take The Nautilus away to her new home.  He was supposed to come on Sunday, but understandably rescheduled because the tow company that was going to tow the rig on Sunday over 180 miles wanted to charge him 1200.00, while the company that will do it tomorrow quoted him at less than half that.

So the mad scramble has begun, since we lost a day, and I got tied up at the tire shop this morning until almost 1PM.

Yesterday I loaded my two newest Sampson tires and P30 rims into the Itasca compartments, thinking I was going to just rim swap, and bead balance the ones going on the Itasca.  Alas it was not to be!  I left to go to the tire shop early this morning in the Itasca, and was there when they opened at 8am.  And that is when I got the bad news...one Sampson tire had a bubble forming on the side wall (I forget what they called it, a pocket, a bump?), and I could feel it.  And they both had a date code of 2001!  Which means the folks that sold me the tires a few years ago ripped me off, and they were sitting in a warehouse for years!

The date code on the cracked and checkered front tires was from 1994, which means they were probably the original tires!  No bueno!  And the spare had a date code from 1990, and was also abysmally cracked and checkered.  So we decided to get two new tires for the front, and replace the spare with the Sampson tire that didn't have a bump.  They had to call in to get two new 8r-19.5 Sumitomo tires, made in Japan, delivered as soon as possible, which ended up being around noon.  The date code on the new tires was 2018, and the date code on the good tires in the back, also 8r-19.5 Sumitomo tires, was 2015.  SWEET!  I didn't want to spend the extra money, but these were the FRONT tires, and we are traveling 2000 miles starting on Monday.

I checked the transmission fluid while it was warm and in idle, and it was perfect!  I also topped off the brake fluid in both reservoirs.  While the wheels were off, I checked the brake pads in the front, and they are obviously brand new!  Even the paint on the pads looks brand new. 

While waiting, I took the headlights off the driver's side of the coach, and walked down to the local auto parts store, and they matched them up for me.  I bought all 4 headlights, walked back, and installed them.  All lights work now, and they are nice and bright!

While I was out and about, Patti kept getting things ready to move and throwing out old stuff, etc.

When I got home at 1PM, I started attacking projects, while Patti kept going with moving things.  The first thing I had to do was cut the hole for Sampson's litter box door under the dinette, and install the door frame.  It looks great, a clean install.

Then I installed the tires I got back from the tire shop back onto the Holiday Rambler.  And put all the tools away.  And then I offloaded all the toolboxes and whatnot out of the Jeep and into the Itasca compartments. 

I also installed the new under sink water filter I bought...no leaks!  And no more need to buy gallons of drinking water!

I then switched out the antenna heads from the HR to the Itasca, since I know the one on the HR works and is digital, and put the one from the Itasca on the HR.

I then roughly designed how I was going to mount the flat screen TV in the bedroom when the guy who bought the Holiday Rambler called, and said he was coming tomorrow instead of Sunday.  Oi Vey!!! 

So after working until sundown, and I drove to Marianna, FL in the Jeep to procure a truck bed cargo net (to keep the German Shepherds off the NEW dash), a new cheap litter box for the kitty that will fit better than his old one, and a laundry basket at a dollar store to help us to move stuff even faster tomorrow. 

So it is a mad scramble now, not knowing when him and his tow truck driver are going to show up tomorrow!  At first dawn, I'll be just emptying our old rig, throwing a lot of stuff out, and leaving stuff for the new owner that might be usable to him.

Patti has been a steady rock through the whole process, moving things over and organizing as she goes.

Tomorrow is going to be hectic!  Wish us luck!!!

Kev

[joanfenn]

I have complete faith in you two.  Things will be done and soon you can enjoy your new home.  Just drive carefully and keep in touch.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Thanks Joan!  I was very negligent in keeping everyone posted, mostly because I didn't think anyone wanted to hear the same old travel stories.  But I found out who my real friends are after getting booted from Facebook and Twitter for being a "Russian bot."  Alleged friends kept reporting my political posts on both platforms...but we don't talk politics on Classic Winnebagos, and that is awesome!  There is a reason my dad always said to never talk politics or religion at the dinner table.  Here on Classic Winnebagos, we talk vintage RVs and adventures and life...as it should be.  I won't be absent much anymore.  Thank you all!!!

Kev

[Sasquatch]

I finally caught up on this thread.  Sorry to hear about your troubles.  While I do not believe that every bad thing happens "for a reason", God does a wonderful job of bringing good out of bad.  I have seen it over and over in my life.  I know what it is like to be stranded with a major failure far from my home, shop and tools, having to rely on others.  It is no fun.  Last year my 4 speed auto swapped 1976 lost the transmission 60 miles south of Kingman, AZ, needing a rebuild in Kingman.  It resulted in a week living in my coach in the back bull pen of a transmission shop.  Then I lost the rebuild again in Mesquite, NV forcing me to limp it home on a 3 speed back to Boise.  As with you, I considered looking for another coach at that time but decided against it.  I figured I would be just buying someone else's troubles and since mine only centered around the transmission, in an otherwise fully sorted rig, I stuck with it and now the problems are sorted.  At least I hope, heading to Las Vegas during spring break, that will be the real test.

Like you stated, it is always a good idea to check the date code of tires when you buy them.  While in storage in a warehouse unloaded the rubber does not degrade as fast, I would not buy tires that are over a year old.

Sounds like everything else is working for you.  When you get it home, it would be prudent to take the next few months and fully service it from front to rear.  Change every fluid, make sure everything is adjusted, replace belts, and give it a general deep service.  That way you have a great baseline.

Good luck with the rest of your trip.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Thanks Sasquatch!  The old Holiday Rambler had a LOT of issues aside from just the transmission going out.  It is going to someone who will restore it and using it for weekend trips here and there...but its days as a fulltime RV for thousands of miles every year are at an end.

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Oh!  I forgot to mention this in my last post yesterday when I had the tires changed:  On our 95 Oshkosh chassis, the lug nuts AND the nuts that hold on the chrome covers are REVERSE THREADED on the driver's side, just like out first RV, the iconic "Ark" 1972 Futura motorhome with the Dodge chassis and split rim bias tires!  No wonder I couldn't get the darn things off...lol!!!  I also forgot to mention that I found out the lug nut size and the size of the nut that holds on the chrome covers:  Lug nuts=1 1/2" ,  Cover nuts: 1 5/8"  I'm going to have to go out and but those 2 sockets, in 1/2 inch drive, before we leave to Arizona.

Kev

[Rickf1985]

You would be better off to go to Harbor freight and get a 3/4" drive breaker bar or ratchet and the correct sockets. That is just too big for 1/2" drive and you will never get the torque on or off that you need.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Good LORD was today an epic day of hard work!  We started work unloading more stuff from the Holiday Rambler today at 7am since we didn't know what time the buyer was coming by with his tow truck driver to take the HR away, so we just set our noses to the grindstone, and hammered it out.

I had to take out my Morningstar charge controller and pure sine Dimensions inverter, and relocate the Powermax Boondocker to inside the compartment where the charge controller used to be...that way it wouldn't be on the floor under the dinette for the new owner.

I also cleaned out the Nature's Head toilet, changed the peat moss, put the clean pee bottle on it, and filled the not clean pee bottle with cleaning strength vinegar, with the cap on it and left it capped in the shower.

The buyer called us around 8:30, and told us he would be here with the tow truck driver at 10:30 am!  So the mad scramble became an insane scramble!!!

I started just putting things from each cabinet carefully into trash bags and bringing them over to the Itasca and setting them outside, while Patti would offload what was in the bags and clean them before bringing them into the new house.

Thank God they showed up late, around 2pm!  They showed up just as I was taking the very last of our things out of the very last of the under compartments.  Whew!!!

So the Holiday Rambler was picked up and taken away, and the guy called me when he got home.  They made it safely and parked the HR, and he had some questions about how to lower the power steps, the fridge and water heater and water pump, etc. and I walked him through it on the phone.  So The Nautilus will live on!  He also forgot the spare house key and gas key, so I got his address and will mail the keys out on Monday.

We put as much away as we could until it got dark, and called it a night.  There are still many bags and cases on the porch that we will go through and put away tomorrow, but ran out of steam for tonight.  Tomorrow we are going to go through it all, bag by bag and case by case, throwing out what we don't want, and cleaning what we do want before putting it in the new RV.  We just didn't have time to sort things during the offload process today.  We have plenty of time now, since we don't have to be on the road by Monday (we were just informed that the Arizona Renaissance Festival doesn't start until February 9th) so that gives us plenty of time to meander out there, and gives us time to sort and clean what we are going to keep.

I did take 9 full large trash bags to the dumpster today...lol!  And there will be more tomorrow!  Probably at least as many!

So we are exhausted and our furry kids are mostly settled in.  Sampson the cat and Karli are loving it...Paladin is nervous and isn't quite sure what is going on...lol!  He's sleeping at my feet now, so he'll get used to it.  When he gets nervous or anxious, he likes to chase his tail, so it doesn't help that the living room (with a couch and chair we didn't have in the HR) isn't really big enough for him to turn full circle while chasing his tail.  Poor guy!  He'll adapt in no time.

Good LORD am I exhausted!  Lots more to do over the next few days, since we decided to leave on Wednesday or Thursday instead of Monday.

It is weird getting used to a regular RV toilet again.  But since we are so used to peeing sitting down and putting TP in the lidded small trash can next to the toilet, it is actually going to be a joy...LOL!  THAT my friends is the key to Bathroom Bliss in RVs...always pee sitting down, and always put your TP in the trash can next to the toilet. 

And thank God that the weather here is supposed to be nice and totally rain free for the next 4 days!  SWEET!!!

I'm going to make a new post tomorrow entitled Florida to Arizona, 2019.  And will stop making new posts on this thread.  Although I will of course answer any post that anyone puts on this thread.

2019 looks like it is going to be an AWESOME year!!!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

You would be better off to go to Harbor freight and get a 3/4" drive breaker bar or ratchet and the correct sockets. That is just too big for 1/2" drive and you will never get the torque on or off that you need.

My electric Kobalt impact driver is 1/2 inch, and the tire shop's impact driver didn't seem to have any problem getting the lugs off.  The reverse threading is what threw me off, since I thought only old Dodge chassis with split rims and bias tires were reverse threaded.

Kev

[Rickf1985]

Check the torque rating on those lugs and BE SURE to check them down the road! I think you will find it is in the 300ft/lb. range at least.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

You are correct Rick!  I just looked it up in the Oshkosh manual that came with the motorhome.  The torque specs for the lug nuts are 450-500 ft pounds.  Good grief!  I think I will definitely HAVE to invest in one of those torque multipliers!

Kev

[ClydesdaleKevin]

I wonder if there is a significant difference in the quality of the 65.00 ones on Amazon, and the 160.00 ones from the YouTube video you posted, Rick?

http://lugwrench.biz/buy.htm

[Froggy1936]

Hi Kev, I think for the little bit of time you will need it the cheaper ones are just as good (Tire shops on the other hand may need the better product ) I would go with the higher multiplier ,But i also use a pipe on my brakerbar.   Strength also decreases as we age !And you may never need it anyway .  Frank   Have an enjoyable trip as you learn about your new ride/home !