Refrigerator

We did it! The new fridge is in! But before I describe the work involved, here's a update on the "medical issue":

The injured finger

The patient is slowly getting better. Dad has to go to the hospital everyday to have is bandage changed, hopefully by a smiling gorgeous nurse. The last stiches have been removed yesterday. Healing is slow due to the fact that the cutting disk not only cut the skin but ground it off , and that skin now has to grow back. To protect his finger and keep his bandage clean while working on the motorhome, Dad made himself a special leather sleeve that he wears over his finger.

Last week's work was mostly on the brake system.

Dad inspected most of the brakes lines as much as he could. In his opinion, all the brake lines will evantually have the be replaced. Some lines that seemed to be in quite good shape turned out rather fragile and easy to break. Since it is obviously a safety issue, this will have to be fixed. Dad will start with the lines that run from the dual brake boosters to the wheels, as these lines are carrying the high pressure of the braking power. The lines running from the brake pump (at the pedal) to the boosters will eventuallybe replaced as well, but since they carry a relatively lower pressure it is not a critical issue for now.

Dad wasn't comfortable with the slight rust that he had found in the rear brake cylinders. So he decided to bite the bullet and replace all four cylinders (there are two cylinders per side). His friend Gerry worked with him, and they completely overhauled the rear brakes assemblies. The brake lines leading to the cylinders did not survived the disassembly and new replacement lines were made. Everything was cleaned, sandblasted and then painted, including the backplates and automatic adjusters. Both brake assemblies were reassembled et pre-adjusted and are now ready the be installed on the coach, this will be done as soon as the weather improves, as it has been raining hard lately. All will be left to do is connecting the brakes lines and bleed the air out.





Meanwhile, after a careful inspection of the overtightened main wheel bearings, Gerry - our official specialist on such matters - recommended a replacement of the outer bearing.

Dad also replaced the busted front brake line:



The round thing that can be seen on the top of this picture is the parking brake of the Travco. It is actually a brake drum installed on the driveshaft, actuated by a cable with a hand lever.

The fridge

The new fridge has finally been installed yesterday. Getting a new fridge was an important issue, and a one of the most expensive of this restoration project (this week's brake job was almost as expensive).

As I have previoulsy explained, this motorhome was built with a 110V only fridge. The point of having a motorhome is being as autonomous as possible and not rely on shore power, so this 110V fridge had to get out. My parents shopped around for a used propane fridge, since the brand new ones were extremely expensive. Used propane fridges are pretty scarce, but they finally found a nice a clean unit for $600, wich is a fair price. It is a 3-way (12V/110V/LP) unit that is almost the exact same size as the original one, wich made the swap easier. The old 110V fridge had already been removed from the coach a few weeks ago.

Converting the motorhome from an electric-only fridge to a gas unit basically involves cutting a ventilation opening and install a grille on the side of the Travco, and run a line from the propane tank.



The first step was to remove the panel from the back wall inside the fridge cabinet. On this panel was an electrical outlet to plug the fridge. Once removed, we can see the outer wall of the Travco, wich is an approximately 3/16in thick fiberglass skin, insulated with sprayed-on urethane foam (the entire motorhome is insulated this way).



With a scraper and a utility knife, the foam insulation is removed where the vent will be installed.



After carefully marked the right position, we used the angle grinder with a thin cutting disk to cut an opening on the side of the Whale. The grinder easily cut the fiberglass skin (almost as easily as it cut Dad's skin...) and in no time we had a nice rectangular opening on the side of the motorhome.




With a few pieces of naturally weather-resistant redwood, Dad made a sturdy frame wich was installed inside the opening, screwed from the outside and sealed with a bead of caulking. Then the plastic frame of the vent was screwed on with stainless steel screws.




A similar opening was cut on the inside panel. The electrical outlet was repositioned higher on the panel.

A black ABS pipe runs vertically inside the fridge cabinet. It is the black water vent pipe, that runs from the black water tank under the floor, up to a vent on the roof. We had to slighly reposition this pipe, since the new fridge went deeper in the cabinet than the old fridge and there was not enough space because of that pipe. We added a couple 45deg elbows and a flexible rubber joint, that was enough to move the pipe a couple inches, wich was all we needed.

The top frame of the cabinet had to be shaved a few millimiters since the new unit was slighly taller that the old one. The plywood floor and the rear panel wre screwed back in place. It is a pretty nice job for a cabinet that won't even be visible!



Then we installed the propane line. We used thick 3/8in copper tubing, and double-flared fittings. There was already a T fitting near the LP tank, so all we had to do is remove a plug and connect our new line. We ran the line through holes in the frame to bring the line on the opposite side of the vehicle (the tank is on the curb side and the fridge is on the driver side). A plastic sleeve around the copper line will protect it from rubbing and abrasion damage.



Now all we had to do is slide the new fridge in place. Both fridge doors were removed to make the unit lighter and smaller, and as the door was opening the wrong way, the hinges had to be removed to reposition them to the other side anyway.



After a few moments of concern on the available cabinet space where the fridge condenser meets the curvature of the top of the motorhome wall, we tried to slide the fridge in. The top was rubbing so we had to shave the top of the cabinet frame a little more with the belt sander, then to our relief the fridge slid perfectly in position.



We wired the 12V power, plugged the 110V and connected the gas fitting. The first test was done using the 110V setting.



After about 45 minutes, even with the doors not yet installed, the freezer inside wall was clearly getting cold. As it was getting late, we decided to call it a day and switched the unit off. Tomorrow Dad will check the LP line for leaks, test the unit on the LP setting, and reinstall the doors in the correct position. Dad is satisfied with the job, wich took longer than anticipated (a full day for the two of us) but went well nevertheless. A good job well done.

Dad has a lot of work for the upcoming week. Next weekend is the first important outing for the Blue Whale. On Labor Day weekend (Sept 1st, 2nd and 3rd), we have our big annual family party. wich is held at my uncle's place in Lac St-Jean, about 300 km from Quebec City. That's a serious trip, the road to get there being pretty montaineous and remote. The first serious challenge for the Blue Whale!

July

Finally an update!

The last update was almost a month ago, as I worked a lot lately, then I was away on vacations for a week.
I've added some pictures of the first outing on the last post.

Meanwhile, Dad kept working on his Travco. He undertook two main jobs, the fridge and the furnace.


The fridge

Back then, you could buy a Travco with either a 2-way 110V/LP fridge (as in any RV) or a 110V-only fridge. Unfortunately, the Blue Whale's refrigerator is an electric only model. In my opinon, in a RV, a fridge that can't run on propane is useless. So this fridge will be replaced with a standard LP gas fridge. With the help of his brother, Dad took the fridge out, and is now shopping around for an appropriate replacement.



Interestingly this 110V fridge actually runs on 24V DC. A small transformer reduces the voltage and powers the small 24V 60W compressor unit. The unit is still nice and clean, and we'll try to sell it.

The furnace

The Travco is equipped with central heating. The furnace is mounted in the cabinet under the counter. Air ducts distribute the heated air throughout the coach.

First, the furnace mounting brackets were almost broken off, probably due to age and road vibrations. Dad took the furnace out and reinforced and repaired the mounting brackets. Here is the heater housing, after a new paint coat:



Air inlet and exhaust gas oulet are on the side of the vehicle, and the ducts from them to the furnace were leaking and had to be redone. Dad fixed them with some stainless steel tubing had had, and parts from an old car exhaust pipe. Cheap, but a lot of work.

But there is a bigger issue with the furnace: it won't start! And here we need some help. If anybody knows anything about propane heaters, your comments will be appreciated.



The furnace is a Suburban model NT32A. It has a pilot light that can be lighted with a BBQ grill style igniter or a match, and it has a button that has to be held depressed for a few seconds during ignition, as with many LP appliances. Here's what happens.

When we hold the start button depressed, the pilot can be lighted. However, the flame is very weak, and goes out as soon as the start button is released. Even if the start button is held for a longtime, the pilot goes out as soon as the button is let go. Normally, after about 30 seconds, the pilot should stay lit after the start button is released. It looks like the pilot light is not strong enough to heat the thermocouple enough for it to keep the gas valve open.

There is an openning where the pilot can be lighted with a match, and through this opening we heated the thermocouple red hot with a propane torch. Still the same result, the pilot fades out gradually as soon as the start button is released.

Another test we did, is try to light up the main burner. Since the pilot light is weak, we inserted the lighted propane torch in the ignition hole, and we increased the thermostat setting until it triggered. The blower kicked in, then after a couple seconds we can hear what I beleive is the gas valve opening, but nothing else happens, the main burner doesn't light up. Just like if there was no gas. But there is propane in the tank, as the stove works perfectly.
So if you know anything about this, please leave a comment!

Other things

Dad has almost finished the door step trim. Two small curtesy lamps have been installed at the bottom of the step, they come on automatically when the door is opened. The famous hydraulic retractable step is now completed with a control switch mounted just inside near the door frame. The batterie compartment has been redone, with a sturdy braket to hold the large 8D battery.

On the next picture, you can see the entrance step finish, the battery in its compartment, one of the curtesy lights, and in the lower corner of the aluminium door frame is the switch that controls those lights.



Also, the water pump, wich had stopped working during the camping weekend last month, has been officially declared dead. For some reason, the motor is burnt. It's a small piston pump, driven by a small 12V motor by a rubber belt. Dad is going to try to replace the motor with another one he already has, but chances are he'll propably have to get a new motor (or a new pump, depending on the price).

I'll be on vacation over the next week, we're heading for Bar Harbor, Maine, for a few days. I offered my parents to come with us with the Blue Whale for this 450km trip. It would make a good road test for the Travco, and if something comes up with the motorhome we'll be along to help. There are many things to take care of before the coach is declared fully roadworthy, such as some lights or signals that are not working and that Dad temporarily wired for last month's outing.

So I don't know if the Blue Whale will head for Bar Harbor next week, in any case it's a good oportunity for my parents for a nice vacation week on the east coast.

Ready to go camping?

Good news, the Class C has been sold!
The selling price had been set for a quick sale, and that's what happened. Dad was glad to get rid of it, he was sure he was going to get stuck with it, because there are a lot of similar motorhomes for sale on the used market.

A lady bought it, after having someone inspect it for her. The guy who came to inspect it said it was very neat, and was impressed by Dad's work on the Travco. The lady phoned back the following day just to tell how happy she was about her purchase, how good it ran, etc. It sure was a good deal for her, there was nothing to do on this motorhome, everything was in top shape, all you had to do is turn the key and drive off.

On the Travco, we are starting to see some interesting developpements.
First, the bathroom: the toilet, with its new fiberglass-reinforced base, has been reinstalled. Same for the repaired black water tank. Everything seems to be working fine. Note the new floor, and also the nice decorative painting made by Mom.



The black water tank was held up by two metal straps, one was badly rusted, so Dad replaced it with a heavy-duty nylon strap:



The famous hydraulic-operated retractable door step is now installed. All that's left do to is some electrical wiring (Dad didn't have an appropriate toggle switch yet). And this thing works beautifully! On the picture you can see the two small hydraulic actuators:



Also the water tank, now real clean after a good bleach soaking, is back in it's compartment. This allowed Dad to test the plumbing system. Everything works just fine (sink, toilet, shower, ect.) and there are no leaks.

Dad also checked the LP gas piping and appliances (heater, stove), everything works fine.

It might look unusual to check for basic things like plumbing and heating, one month after the motorhome purchase. In fact, very few of these systems have been checked before the purchase. After all, if something doesn't work, that's only one more thing to fix, and there is nothing that can't be fixed or replaced anyway. The seller said that just about everything was in working order, and so far he was honest.

So we tested a few more "untested" things. First, the air conditionning unit. It's a Coleman Mach III rooftop unit, that due to the cracked housing and missing vents, looks quite miserable. I plugged it in and turned it on and it worked right away, blowing a nice cool breeze. Now we need to get a new housing. Any source with a decent price appreciated, please leave a comment!



A another untested thing was the genset. It's an old and bulky 6000 watts Onan. The starting battery was missing, so we put one in and hit the Start button. After a few seconds of cranking the engine fired up, at everyone's surprise. Afterward the engine started up instantly. This old generator is far from silent, it is as noisy as an old snowblower and you can definitly feel the vibrations from inside the motorhome, but a tune-up and some soundproofing should quiet it out somewhat to a more acceptable level. At least, it works!



There is still a lot of work to do before this project will be over. Dad has already put a lot of time into this, but the Travco still doesn't look like it's about to go on a camping trip anytime soon. Yet they have campgroud reservations for the upcoming weekend... Looking at the Travco I wonder if it's going to be ready to hit the road. According to Dad, there is "still a lot of time ahead" (that's 4 days!) and it "looks worst that it actually is". Of course the entire restoration will not be completed for the next weekend (this is going to take at least the whole summer, plus a good part of next summer) but at least it has to be "usable" for it's first official camping trip next weekend.

So if everything goes well, my parent will go on their first camping trip with he Travco on friday June 22nd, to June 25th. They won't be alone, we are a group of 8 families, made up of relatives and friends (we got our 8 sites side by side). Destination is the Stoneham Campground, about 45 min north of Quebec City. I'm sure the Travco will get a lot of attention next weekend!