"Pacing myself" build

Wildman said:
I use to work at a RV shop as a line mechanic so I use to do a lot of work on Ford chassis and drivetrain. Let me know if I can help you with any issues.

Watch your coolant temps when towing and what you put into the RV as far as weight goes. It's a good idea to scale it to see how much you have. I've replace more than one fried engine because people were so overweight.
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This coach has so much storage I can see how easily one could overload it. Add the jeep behind it and yikes!

I'm getting a intermittent clunking noise right under my feet when driving over rough road. Crawled under to check things and everthing feels solid.
 
lowranger said:
Too many overweight people driving RVs? :)
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I did sort of word that wrong didn't I? It was meant to say that the RV was overweight.

Had this guy come in complaining about how slow his Ford F450 with a 7.3 diesel truck was when towing his 5th wheel.
He had it in so many times that a Ford rep came out to look at it. They finally had the guy bring the 5th wheel in with the truck. They went and scaled it and it was over 50K lbs combined weight. The guys wife had cast iron cookware and who knows what else. This was before the days of toyhaulers and stuff.

RV's coming in on the hook after trying to go up Cabbage outside of Pendleton when they were overloaded and had their A/C on.
bobthetj03 said:
This coach has so much storage I can see how easily one could overload it. Add the jeep behind it and yikes!

I'm getting a intermittent clunking noise right under my feet when driving over rough road. Crawled under to check things and everthing feels solid.
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Yep that is what got people in trouble all the time. And towing a toad makes it even worse.

Check your idler arms as some chassis had issues with them. I think there was a TSB on some years but don't remember which.

Also the Banks header & exhaust really helps that 460. The stock exhaust manifolds either crack or break off the mounting bolts.
 
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lowranger said:
Been pretty quiet over here. Get the generator fixed on the new (to you) motorhome?
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Still working on it. Generator runs great now, but it's not picking up fuel from the main tank. Pump and filter are new, but I'm going to replace the filter again. I put vacuum to the hard line going to the tank and can pull fuel, but it's also pulling air with the fuel, so I may have an air leak in the line going in the tank. If so, that means dropping a 70 gallon steal tank. Sounds like fun! Replaced the squeaky alternator belt Saturday, and took a drive to Ukiah and back yesterday. The coach drives nice and has plenty of pep. The trailer plug for toad lights is wonky. Dad must have wired it different from standard, so I have to look into that. After our trip yesterday, we agreed it needs new shocks. They are the original Bilsteins.
 
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bobthetj03 said:
Still working on it. Generator runs great now, but it's not picking up fuel from the main tank. Pump and filter are new, but I'm going to replace the filter again. I put vacuum to the hard line going to the tank and can pull fuel, but it's also pulling air with the fuel, so I may have an air leak in the line going in the tank. If so, that means dropping a 70 gallon steal tank. Sounds like fun! Replaced the squeaky alternator belt Saturday, and took a drive to Ukiah and back yesterday. The coach drives nice and has plenty of pep. The trailer plug for toad lights is wonky. Dad must have wired it different from standard, so I have to look into that. After our trip yesterday, we agreed it needs new shocks. They are the original Bilsteins.
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You're not new to RVs, but as a reminder, most won't allow the generator to pull fuel from the tank once it goes below 1/4 full.
 
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SoCalGlide said:
You're not new to RVs, but as a reminder, most won't allow the generator to pull fuel from the tank once it goes below 1/4 full.
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Yes, I know this. That is why I waited till I could fill the tank full to continue my diagnosis. As a result of it sitting for 2 years without being exercised, the starter froze, the fuel pump seized, and the carb was gummed up. All that got fixed, and the genny runs good now when I put the intake hose in a cup of fuel.
 
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I'm behind on jeep repairs as well. I still need to replace the water pump and the intake/exhaust gasket. That is no small job, so I'm hoping to find time next weekend to tackle that, as I have a shakedown run/jeep snow run to attend on the 16th.
 
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bobthetj03 said:
Yes, I know this. That is why I waited till I could fill the tank full to continue my diagnosis. As a result of it sitting for 2 years without being exercised, the starter froze, the fuel pump seized, and the carb was gummed up. All that got fixed, and the genny runs good now when I put the intake hose in a cup of fuel.
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Did you take it to Martin's electric?
 
Today was water pump changing day. Fairly uneventful. Replaced both hoses and serp belt while I was there. I always have a hard time burping the system. Just about took a finger off on the fan when I carelessly reached for the upper hose to squeeze it. A job's never complete if blood isn't drawn, right?
While the jeep was cooling down I worked on replacing the fuel filter on the coach genny Didn't fix the issue, so looks like the tank needs dropped, ugh!
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Had to remove all this just to get to the pump.
 
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bobthetj03 said:
Today was water pump changing day. Fairly uneventful. Replaced both hoses and serp belt while I was there. I always have a hard time burping the system. Just about took a finger off on the fan when I carelessly reached for the upper hose to squeeze it. A job's never complete if blood isn't drawn, right?
While the jeep was cooling down I worked on replacing the fuel filter on the coach genny Didn't fix the issue, so looks like the tank needs dropped, ugh!
View attachment 216724View attachment 216726View attachment 216727
Had to remove all this just to get to the pump.
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How much do you charge per hour ?
 
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I think I'm going to put the Rancho shocks back on. I was initially impressed with the JKS shocks, but after a few hundred miles, they have changed characteristics noticeably. They seem harsher on small events, and feel firmer all around. Not sure how a shock can change like that, but my butt dyno feels a change. The problem I had with the Ranchos was the rear shock bias. I want more of a 50/50 bias, but couldn't achieve it with my current stats. So, what I'm going to do is get some BPE's for the rear upper mounts. This will give me another inch of down and gets me a little closer to a 50/50 bias.

With BPE's, 4.50" up/ 3.67" down. The fronts will have a better bias as well at 4.32' up/ 5.09" down. All in all, it was an experiment, and a minimal investment to try a different shock combo. The take away? If you like a firmer shock that handles ok, but is firmer that the RS5000X shocks, the JKS shock is a good economical choice.
 
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bobthetj03 said:
I think I'm going to put the Rancho shocks back on. I was initially impressed with the JKS shocks, but after a few hundred miles, they have changed characteristics noticeably. They seem harsher on small events, and feel firmer all around. Not sure how a shock can change like that, but my butt dyno feels a change. The problem I had with the Ranchos was the rear shock bias. I want more of a 50/50 bias, but couldn't achieve it with my current stats. So, what I'm going to do is get some BPE's for the rear upper mounts. This will give me another inch of down and gets me a little closer to a 50/50 bias.

With BPE's, 4.50" up/ 3.67" down. The fronts will have a better bias as well at 4.32' up/ 5.09" down. All in all, it was an experiment, and a minimal investment to try a different shock combo. The take away? If you like a firmer shock that handles ok, but is firmer that the RS5000X shocks, the JKS shock is a good economical choice.
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That's interesting. How do you think they compare to Bilstein shocks? By your description, they sounds similar. I'm going to move to the Ranchos in the near future, if they have an appropriate length for my setup. JKS was on the list, but it doesn't sound like they are what I want.
 
Mike_H said:
That's interesting. How do you think they compare to Bilstein shocks? By your description, they sounds similar. I'm going to move to the Ranchos in the near future, if they have an appropriate length for my setup. JKS was on the list, but it doesn't sound like they are what I want.
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I can't compare them to Bilstein cause I've never ran that shock, but I wouldn't discount them if you like a more sporty feel. They are firmer than my first gen OME Nitros were, and firmer than stock shocks, and Ranchos. That's all I really have to compare them to. I'm heading up to the Sierras in search of snow this weekend, so I'll get a better feel for how they handle mountain roads.
 
bobthetj03 said:
I can't compare them to Bilstein cause I've never ran that shock, but I wouldn't discount them if you like a more sporty feel. They are firmer than my first gen OME Nitros were, and firmer than stock shocks, and Ranchos. That's all I really have to compare them to. I'm heading up to the Sierras in search of snow this weekend, so I'll get a better feel for how they handle mountain roads.
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Sporty, Yes, jittery, no. That is my complaint with the Bilsteins. If they had a little bit softer feel on gravel, "coarse" pavement, expansion joints, etc, they would be a great option. But...they don't, and they feel very stiff over that stuff.
 
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