New UK member, '87 Chieftain 22RC :D

[Wbago]

Hiya from the UK
Found myself a 1987 Chieftain, after admiring photos on here for a while, finally bit the bullet
Scary 100 mile drive home done, now parked on the (rather small) drive, few issues ill be after a little help with, but so far v. happy camper
apparently its got a 454 V8, on a chevy chassis, not bad condition considering the age, and the wierd fish smell disappeared as soon as i ripped out the carpet .... couple of piccies, im not changing much outside, tho

[UK-Winnie]

Whereabouts are you ?

Nice looking rig BTW

[Stripe]

OldRockandRoller and I will be resisting the urge to comment on the fish thing.. 

Thank you and Goodnight..

EDIT:

And Welcome to CWVRV!!

[Stripe]

If I had to guess, I'd say somewhere in the UK..  Lol, J/K

Near Birmingham.  If you click his name it brings up a map of his approximate location. 

Click mine and you can see where in Seattle I am..

[Wbago]

Yup, Birmingham by the sea .. currently flipping switches and finding out what things do, think i got most things figured, cept the 2 way switch that goes clunk somewhere under the floor, and the wires that lead half way round the loom and go to nothing
water heater needs a service, engine has a misfire (still did 100 miles home tho), i just discovered the dimmer switch for the dash lighting, looks luvverly with the lights on, i thought they were busted, but were just turned way low ...

3 ports that look like air sockets are on the back bumper, im assuming air brakes or air suspension, but i dunno ... got leaflets here for air springs and rubber spring assisters, so might be that.

a learning process for sure

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys, tyilya

[Stripe]

More pics!
Flipping switches is the best (read funnest) way to discover ones new acquisition..

That two way switch with a clunking noise could possibly be automatic electric steps. Maybe not hooked up or needing repairs.

Your probably right about the air bags. I have the same air fill valve stems on the front of my RV and they are for the air bag spring assisters I have up front. Here is the link to a post I did on replacing them and the springs on the front end of the 'Goose'..
http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/forum/index.php/topic,7759.0.html

[Wbago]

Gotta guess no on the electric steps, no fittings for them, looks like the manual one was all there was .. the clunk comes from under the floor, near the battery compartment, but it isnt one of those solenoids n such .. switch is brand new, and for some reason shouldnt be used when on 110v, according to the hand written note in the document folder ..

the link to your airbag replacement thread helps a bit, my front coils look like they have bags
next thing is to figure out how to fill em etc
low pressure would explain the spongy, bouncy ride im thinking?

confusion reigns a little with some things, and previous owners have swapped some stuff .. generator doesnt work either, but im reading how there may be a fuel cutoff somewhere that ive yet to find lol

sealing paint for the roof arrived today, that can wait till better weather

mechanic coming tomorrow to check out the misfire, think im just gonna order plugs/leads/dizzy/rotor/air filter, just to be sure .. . when its running nice ill take it for the gas check and a fill of the fixed tank....

[M & J]

Dunt forget to order pizza with all those other bits.

[Wbago]

Oh ya, one thing . .. .
the battery charger doesnt seem to charge the engine battery when plugged to mains, but charges the coach batteries ok . . .is this normal, or is something wired wrong mebee>?

reason i ask is cos the radio is on ignition switch, and it drains the battery even tho the mains is plugged in

otherwise im thinking ill just wire it into the aux batteries instead


Pizza? .. . i cant afford pizza with all the other bits i gotta get lol ..

[Wbago]

She just about fits on the drive . ..if you look close you can just see the house behind

[Stripe]

Wow, tight fit..
If I remember right, I think I read somewhere that the charger charges the house batteries first, then the chassis batts if it needs it. Otherwise the alternator is the main source of charging.

[Wbago]

that could be why then

will see... 2 new batteries went in today, so shouldnt need a charge, will see if the other one charges tomorrow

[fleetmasterfred]

Wbago, Welcome to the most helpful & informative RV site on the web.  Now none of us know a lot about anything but just about everyone knows something about just about everything.  There are quite a few 87 Chieftain owners on the site too and like the other folks here, they're very helpful and knowledgeable.  I too have a 22RC and love it so I'm sure you'll be pleased with yours as well.  Enjoy your new pastime.  Be sure and tell the Queen "Fred sez Hey!"       

[Stripe]

What are the odds, Fred (fleetmaster, not me) is near Birmingham Alabama and you're from Birmingham, United Kingdom.  The both of you have the same RV..  WEIRD!  And Cool!

[fleetmasterfred]

 Cue Mulder and Skully music*...




*(dated reference to 90s syfy tv series for our younger audience)

[Wbago]

lol. . .spooky

not many chieftains in the UK, i bet . .

[davecaprita]

You are likely the first and very likely the only person on your block to own a classic 1987 Winnebago Chieftain 22RC.  Not a lot of those navigating the roadways, streets, and at least one very narrow driveway in your part of the empire.  Good choice.  Birmingham residents unite in support of Chieftains here and across the pond!       

[ezra38]

I have a 84 Chieftain and it will only charge the coach batteries when plugged in. do you have a switch on the dash that says batt Duel/mom you can put it on duel and it will charge both main and coach batteries just be sure to keep and eye on the water level in the batteries if you leave it plugged in for a long time, I learned the hard way and trashed two batteries because they had no water in them sad part was they where only a year old  D:oH!

[Oz]

Please remember, help questions should be discussed on the appropriate board.  Otherwise, if anyone else has the same or similar question, they'll never find it buried in a general into.

Wbago,

Your flat looks a lot like Ian's (jupp318).  He's in Farnborough.  If you can view the member map, slide it over to England.  You'll be surprised!

[Wbago]

Wow, theres a few UK ppl about lol

ezra: yup, i have the switch, ill try that ..

Mark: ill try to post in the correct boards in future, im bizzy reading up on the seperate thingies, gaining tiny bits of info as i find them. slightly awkward as im not really sure what ive got until i discover it lol .....

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

At the top right of this page is a link to Winnebago Operators manuals.  While we do not have a 87, the 84 and 87 versions should provide you with enough information to help you work through the systems.

Dave

[Wbago]

Cheers Dave, i already read em
Ive already got the 87 operators manual, ive also got service manuals for engine and chassis, and a huge pile of  other paper ... i might be able to sort a scan of some stuff, for others to get a copy
With that, and the other manuals etc that ive found online, i think im pretty good for the 'original equipment' stuff, the stuff im screwed on is the tiny details lol ..

Itll get better as i find things, try things, break things, etc ....

My missis is off buying new bedroom blinds today, and paint for the cupboards, im gonna start sanding today and removing catches ..
reverse camera is fitted now, just the front bit to sort and wire, im pondering on putting a camera facing forward on the right side too, just to give an advantage when overtaking

LEDs gonna replace the dim original bulbs throughout, too ... im thinking colour changing mood lighting for the fun of it too ...

TBH, im hoping the majority of the mechanicals can get left to the mechanic, ill just concentrate on the electrics and decor, but he has no experience on american motors, so he'll be learning as he goes too lol

Itll be slow, and probably cost more than my missis is happy with, but never mind

[UK-Winnie]

My missis is off buying new bedroom blinds today, and paint for the cupboards, im gonna start sanding today and removing catches ..

This all sounds very familiar.

[UK-Winnie]

TBH, im hoping the majority of the mechanicals can get left to the mechanic, ill just concentrate on the electrics and decor, but he has no experience on american motors, so he'll be learning as he goes too lol

Most of it shouldn't be too alien to him - sometimes the emissions stuff can a bit confusing, especially if any UK POs have modified it (which is often the case) there can be a lot of "what on earth is this for?", "why is this tube blanked off?" and "why doesn't this wire go anywhere?" 

I think '87 is around the time the 454s were moving over to throttle body injection but the RVs lagged behind a bit so it probably has a carburretor which hopefully will simplify things a bit.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

I think '87 is around the time the 454s were moving over to throttle body injection but the RVs lagged behind a bit so it probably has a carburretor which hopefully will simplify things a bit.

1990 is the magic year for TBI in the P30 MH chassis.

Note:  Winnebago, rather all RV mfg's, normally have to order the "chassis" from the chassis mfg early so, a 1990 Winnebago is normally riding on a 1989 chassis, so 1991 was the first year Winnebago used TBI on a chevy based rig.  At that point in time, Winnebago was also using the John Deere chassis/Oshkosh (Ford Carburated 460) for a few years.  By 1994 Winnebago was also using the Ford F53 chassis (TBI by that point).

Dave