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Comment by Kevin F Smith on January 5, 2019 at 7:09pm

The guy did show up today with a tow truck, and the Holiday Rambler has a new home! 

Comment by Daniel Long on January 5, 2019 at 4:19pm

My Allegro tires were date code 1986 when I bought her in 2016. just saying that you should have good tires on a big trip. i went right to Mavis and replaced all right away.

Comment by Russell E Johnson on January 5, 2019 at 4:14pm

We are glad that it is all coming together. bummer about the tires. 

Comment by Rich Thomas on January 5, 2019 at 3:34pm

Good luck Kevin.

Comment by Daniel Long on January 5, 2019 at 1:47pm

Best of luck to you and hope this guy doesn't flake out on you. if all the HR needs is a new TH400 then that should be not a huge project. heck, a rebuilt HD one goes for $1400.

Comment by Kevin F Smith on January 4, 2019 at 9:41pm

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!!!

Comment by Kevin F Smith on January 4, 2019 at 9:40pm

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.

Comment by Kevin F Smith on January 3, 2019 at 10:15pm

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

Comment by Kevin F Smith on January 2, 2019 at 9:26pm

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

Comment by Kevin F Smith on January 2, 2019 at 9:16pm

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

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