Motorhome Madness

[Alaskan Itasca]

I had a big long story typed out about my whole memoprial day weekend hit the spell check button and it ate it....

The abbridged version, went on a 330 mile trip had a loose caster bolt made the rv shake, got it fixed, had a corded tire got the spare put on. went racing car broke the coolant tank. Tow dollyhad a bubble on a tire had to buy new tires for $250. Went home made it 40 miles transmission died. Was glad to have lots of friends help move the rv to a safe place. Cell phones don't work in the middle of nowhere. New Tranny is $4200.00 and will take 2 weeks to get there. I patched the broken tank on my car with putty, drove it 330 miles home without to much trouble. Today the shop where the RV is parked flooded from rapid snowmelt...The RV may be ok, but I don't know I'm 330 miles away, they say it wasn't over the wheels....

My other post was better but it took too long to type it the first time.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Glad you made it back ok.  Hope the rig survives ok to

Dave

[Stripe]

Wow, when it melts it pours..

Good thing you're okay though. Hopefully your rig is as well..

Fredric

[HandyDan]

I've had the same thing happen with spell check.  I think it must be a Windows 7 thing because my XP works just like it is supposed to.  Sorry to hear about your adventure, but that is what memories are made from and 20 years from now you will be telling this story with embellishments. 

[Alaskan Itasca]

The Alaska Highway is unfriendly on equipment. The other white blob in the picture just below my white blob is a shell of a rolled Class A 40+ ft bus type pusher. it was all busted up looked terrible. One of the other people in the party down by Glennallen had their race car catch the gravel shoulder and it drug the whole truck down the bank and rolled it. The race car managed not to roll but it got messed up, the people in the truck were all fine, with no injuries. Then another batch lost both trailer tires along the route on their camper, they only had one spare. One of the guys who stayed behind with me had his father airlifted out of Glennallen for a fast onset infection of some sort they never did figure out he's ok now....It was a rough trek for lots of us on this go to tanacross, I'm the only one though that never got out of Tok lol....The race car and totaled truck are in Glennallen.

I'm hoping the flooding is shallow, I'll call again tomorrow, reports would indicate the water is down, news is sparse from the hinterlands even in the internet era.

[LJ-TJ]

WOW! Somebody with the same luck as T.J. but HandyDan's got it right. It will make for a great story down the road once you massage it a bit.

[Alaskan Itasca]

I found a picture of my RV on the net form someone on vacation....It looks like it only went up about 1/4 on the wheels by the gray dirt line across them so the batteries were safe, the front is on wood blocks so they could work on it. so the rear wheels would likely have been 3/4 covered, but still should hopefully be ok.

I don't know why they undid the bolt on the cover, I'm hoping it was to read the vin number off the front and that someone didn't borrow the bolt....I had that cover made right beore the trip at a sheet metal shop.

THe river that flooded is about 3 miles from where the rv is parked, who would have thought it would flood that far.

[Alaskan Itasca]

Well the Itasca is still in Tok. The transmission is fixed, but now they say there is a motor vibration and the harmonic balancer may be shot as well. The part that is killing me is the RV is 330 miles away so I can't just run over to the shop and say fire it up so I can hear it. For all I know the vibration they are feeling has been there all along and is "normal" to me at least....

So anyway I told them to fix it which is dangerous to my wallet, they know I'm a zillion miles away.

I have a coworker who's former life was a professional mechanic who worked on loads of 454s back in the old days he thinks that could be something like a fan clutch, water pump bearing, cracked flex plate, improperly connected spark plug wires, etc...he says he rarely saw balancers go bad....I wish I could be there with my own mechanic to double check the small town guy....I'm hoping I can go get it tomorrow, I'm almost at the point where I feel like going and cleaning it out and telling them thay can have it. This is going to cost more than I paid for the thing by alot, I wish it would have broke down closer to home so I could have fixed it myself....I unfortunatly kinda like the old rig. .

Edit:  source of the vibration:  http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php/topic,7882.new.html#new

[Alaskan Itasca]

I'm headed with my 6 year old boy in the morning 330 miles along some of the worst roads in Northern North America to go get it. (The worst road is the stretch between Whitehorse, YT to Tok, AK) The tow dolly is hopefully still attached to the bumper, and all the parts for it still in the RV....

The part that scares me is they couldn't tell me how much the bill is. I kind of need to know if they want me to pay for it since there is no bank in Tok to pull money from and they don't take out of town checks....

[LJ-TJ]

WOW! A few of us have been down that road our selves. Wish you luck. You'll have to let us know how you make out. i??

[Alaskan Itasca]

Well the rv is fixed. The bill was $5600.00 after a cash discount. Breaking down in the boonies in Alaska isnt cheap. Me and my son are at the Tolsona Wilderness Campground now which is near Glenallen. I didnt realize how bad this was until it was fixed. The fan clutch was so bad the shaft was wobbling, Willard said they usually have shot the fan through the floor before they get that bad. They tuned up the motor, replaced some other worn out engine parts and it sure runs allot better. The kickdown switch is broken and they couldnt get another one, so Im manually kicking it down on the hills. The worst of the road is behind me the Tok Cutoff is a horrible road. At times 25 mph was too fast. The rest of the road is better since they fixed it two summers ago. Frost heaves cause rollercoaters which if you are not paying attention will bottom out the suspention and toss all the content of the cabinets on the floor even though they are latched...

Anyway we are 1/2 way home and my son is very happy to be back in the rv.

[LJ-TJ]

That sure is a kick in the pocket book but I know what your saying about being back on the road in your own rig. You guys have fun and a safe ride home.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Holy Criminy!  I'm in the wrong business!  Someone should set up a mobile RV repair business in Alaska, maybe via helecopter.  They'd make a bloody fortune...lol!

Sorry it cost you so much man, but at least you have your RV back and everything seems to be running fine.

Kev

[Froggy1936]

Really not that bad when you consider the trans cost $4200.00 And the other repairs that were done !   Iv got the kick down switch if you cannot find one  Frank

[ibdilbert01]

"Really not that bad when you consider the trans cost $4200.00"


And to think I complained when it cost $500 to have my TH350 rebuilt with a shift mod added.    I should of been jumping with joy!

[Alaskan Itasca]

  Iv got the kick down switch if you cannot find one  Frank

I think I'll take you up on that switch, I need cheap parts now after this....I can paypal you for the part and shipping if that works for you.

The transmission was built here in town and is super heavy duty apparently. I'm not sure what all is in it, but since I know where it came from I can just go ask them, they probably haven't built any other turbo 400s in the past couple of weeks I'm betting.

I had $2200 or so in labor and 500-600 in freight fees....on top of the parts cost.

I now seem however to have less power than I did before, there were some hills I was barely able to pull at 25 mph, and I know before those 40-45 mph hills while towing the car. I'm wondering though if the throttle cable might be off and I may not be getting full throttle, I'm going to check that later when I'm at home. It could also be that the the timing was advanced, they did say things were really off in that department. The engine doesn't seem to go much past 3k rpm in 2nd or 3rd gear, I don't know what they are supposed to go up to. All my cars redline at 7200...I know the big V8 don't rev all that high.

I'm starting to think by how much less noisy it is that the old tranny may not have ever gone into third at all, and for some reason I never noticed. I'm not entirely sure though. They say it couldn't have been kicking down since the switch is bad, they said they could jumper it and it would kick down. I think I just got slow enough it downshited by itself. I'm not used to driving things with a kickdown, my wife drives the automatic car....

I am also having an issue after pulling for a while I would stop now and then to let the line of stuff that built up behind me go by I would start to move again and the motor would cut out and then back on cut off back on about 4 or 5 times before it would catch and go again. It did it off of the stop lights in town as well. My mechanic friend said to check the fuel filter, which I will do, I don't think I saw that on my parts replaced list. IT also did this before the tune up as well.

Over all though the engine ran well, I had some strange smells that I get paranoid over, but I'm guessing I was probably burning off all the stuff that moved or spilled on the engine from all the work done. I'm getting used to the new sound of the motor, and I can actually hear the fan clutch kick in now, it's a lot different sounding.

[Alaskan Itasca]

Some photos from the trip.

My son taking a fresh air break on the way to go pick up the rv. We were past the middle of nowhere.


Eating Lunch 1/2 way there


After lunch....


Happy Camper

still happy shirt on backwards and all


1/2 way home at the campground, I had a nose piece made out of sheet metal, I need to paint it still, I'm thinking bright red or orange or something dull like that.

[Mytdawg]

Holy carp!  I know the price goes up the farther you get away from civilization I just didn't realize it was geometric progression.  Talk about over a barrel.  If it makes you feel any better I spent 3 years and a wheelbarrow full of money to get a beater Corvette back on the road.  Not exactly what I set out to do.  Just thought it would be fun to have a cheap toy.  I was wrong.  It's just a Chevy I said, how expensive could repairs be?  :)rotflmao Would have been money ahead to stuff it full of $100 bills and set it on fire from the word go.   

Glad you finally got it back.

[pvoth1111]

IMHO.....That was way too much for a TH400.....A master rebuild kit cost less than a hundred bucks...
Taking it out and back in should be a piece of cake as there is tons of room around the trans....its just a chevy....

Brand new tranny form jegs less than 800 bucks

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performance-Products/555/60310/10002/-1?parentProductId=750882

I m sorry to be critical....I cant believe it cost that much for the easiest rebuild able trans out there...

good luck

[LJ-TJ]

OK enough on the cost. Been there, done that, feel like s#%t, can't fix it,the money spent. The smile on the young lads face price less. Love the photo of the Kraft Dinner. Bedroom needs a little work, crikey looks like a frat house. >GRIN< must have been one heck of a fun trip with the young lad. If it makes you feel any better a few years back I went through a similar experience and got beat for over twenty grand. After that and just weeks before the restoration was complete she burnt to the ground. The insurance company gave me four grand for a thirty thousand dollar motorhome. You guys are going to have a grand time with that old rig and if yeah have to repair her yourself, we're here to coach yeah.

[Mytdawg]

I think it's completely understandable personally.  You go to northern Michigan and parts and services double and so does turnaround time.  The further out you get the fewer the skills available too.  He's in BFE Alaska, I would not expect anything else.  Normal rules just don't apply.  When you have a 8+ ton vehicle, you are kind of at the mercy of the Gods in that situation.  It's too bad but most of us have been there.

[M & J]

I agree with you L and/or TJ. He stated it was in Podunk Alaska so he had no other options. Costs for items we can get or acquire cheaper cannot be held as an example in such a remote or isolated location.
And the trip with his son no doubt was priceless.

[Alaskan Itasca]

If it would have happened in town I would have found a used one (I had one offered from a forum memeber for cheap + freight) and done it in my driveway. I can do a head gasket on my car and I've changed several clutches on my own stuff, but when you break down 330 miles away from anything you get to pay what they want for it....Labor was 1/2 the bill ($135.00/hr) freight was about $600 or so just to get the parts there. Fairbanks is the closest city and it's still 3 hours away. I did have ask for a tune up, since I figure I may as well have it done instead of waiting to do it at home. THe found the fan clutch problem doing the tune up. It was bad I'm glad they fixed it. Things in Alaska cost more, shipping kills us, and breaking down out of town is like breaking down on the moon. I'm ok with getting a heavy duty rebuild, I do pull a car 2-3 times a year and we don't have hills we have mountains and they are everywhere.

I thought about just leaving it there getting all my stuff out and abandoning it in Tok and taking our 5600 and getting a newer one....but I actually like it even though it's ugly and old.

Now i'll fix the suspention, replace the power center since it no longer charges the battery (that part I'm not sure if I can do myself) and work on other things I was just going to leave be. I'm all in on this one now I guess.

for a reference here is a map of how far away this place is The map show tanacross, which isthe place we go race, but the T in the road at the end is Tok, which is 90 miles from Canada.


The road:(from a few years ago between Whitehorse and Tok but it all looks the same after a few thousand miles)


not a great place to break down, which is why I carry coachnet, so I can at least get towed to somewhere....

[Mytdawg]

That's not old and ugly...  Mine's got more ugly on it than a Rolling Stone's group photograph.      I didn't cover it up for the winter to protect it, I did it to protect the neighbors.   

And when you don't owe anything on them, they don't owe you anything.  New and shiny is fun but it seems like those have problems as well.

[M & J]

Right on Mytdawg. I figure what most folks put out in payments we use to make personal touches and improvements with. Only much, much less and more worthwhile.