Santa Claus is real!

I just cannot believe what Santa gave my three-year-old daughter today. We spent Xmas in Houston with my wife's sister and their family. That was a great time and I made numerous references about how it would have been great if we took Fandango there so we would have extra room with all of the other relatives in the house. No, that didn't work but I will admit, I just wanted an excuse to take Fandango.

Well, we drove back to Austin today and if you have ever take that drive up I-10 and Texas Hwy 71, you know there are a bunch of RV stores, RV parks, state parks, and so on. I have a buddy, Elway, who is one day into his weeklong camping vacation with his family. They are staying in Bastrop and I joked with my wife while driving home we could stop by. I do hope to get out there for a night or two but I know they are already booked for New Years Eve. Anyway, we were literally at the Hwy 71 intersection to turn off for the Bastrop State Park when I got a text message from my buddy, Elway. He was just letting me know which RV spot they got and also mentioned there are two spots available next to him. I really got a kick out of the timing so we turned right and stopped by for an hour to tour the park and say hello.

We weren't there ten minutes before Elway turned to my daughter, mentioned he got her a Xmas give and pulled a wrapped package out of his car. The box was pretty big and I was really confused on why he would have picked up such a large gift just for my daughter. OK, enough babbling...can you believe what he found, bought, wrapped and gave to my family?

Confused? That is an actual 1970's Tonka Winnebago Indian truck. Yes, I mean a sturdy, metal truck just like the Tonka trucks and bulldozers we all played with as kids. That beer bottle (Sorry, Marcus, I stole your method for taking pictures) is 500ml bottle for reference.

Elway apparently found it on e-Bay and insisted on getting it for my family. Yes, it even came with the four action figures (Mom, Dad, daughter and baby boy - just like my family). The top opens up and become the canopy. That also shows the interior.

Elway, I am just truly shocked and stunned that you went through the trouble to find this and give it to Danielle. Actually, I shouldn't be. Thanks! Here's some more pics for everyone. I hope everyone had at least one surprise this holiday season like what I got to experience today.

(Yes, I do feel a bit stupid setting up dolls, errr, action figures up for pictures)

What's this thingamajig?

Here's a quick, but key update on my work around Fandango.

Before I get to to the "Thingamajig", I fixed the hot water heater. It was blowing a very orange flame which went through the entire heater tube (Not sure if there is a more proper term but it makes sense if you ever look at an RV water heater) where the flame literally came back out the vent and was starting to leave soot marks on Fandango's paint job. I popped off the burner itself, took it home and soaked it in some soapy water and gave it plenty of time to dry. I also poured water through the burner hole in the tank plus I shoved a coat hanger in there. A bunch of cobwebs, muddobber nests and general crap came out. I am not sure which was was the true culprit but that helped, along with a minor adjustment on the air inlet to the flame. I have not had a chance to hook up the water and actually get hot water to come out of the sink but it did work prior to me purchasing Fandango and more important, the flame is clean, blue and small.

There are some minor things I have played with as well but back to the "Thingamajig". Here it is:

That eye bolt is on the floorboard, directly below my legs while I am in the drivers seat. I have wondered why someone would bother to put an eye bolt there but that just seemed to be the least of my concerns while trying to remember all of my questions around Fandango. Anway, the reason I bring this up now is that I had to tackle the problem I had with the brakes. I can thank (again) the previous owners who kept every receipt and manual from every owner. I actually have the original service manual which is a great document. I read through all of the brake schematics and I did a very basic examination of the brake lines which did not show any blown lines, drips, or obvious problems. What I finally did was open up the master cylinder and found one of the two reservoirs empty and the second full. For those who care, a 1975 Winnebago Indian is equipped with a split hydraulic brake system with a tandem master cylinder. I filled the master cylinder with new brake fluid, drove it, topped the fluid back off and drove it again. The brakes are back. I likely have a leak but it does appear to be relatively slow. I will have to monitor the fluid level for awhile to see if it is something that requires immediate work or $0.50 of new fluid every few months.

Yes, you are right, I did not mention how Fandango's thingamajig is involved. This must have been an issue before because this eye bolt is not secured to anything. I also know the previous owners had the brakes rebuilt plus the service manual has scribbles and notes everywhere in this section. I saw the underside of this rubber block and eyebolt, directly above the lid for the master cylinder. The master cylinder is located about 2" below Fandango's underbelly. I really wanted to see inside the master cylinder and apparently so did one of the previous owners. I pulled on the eye bolt and with minor effort the bolt and block came out and I could see right inside the master cylinder reservoirs. Not the perfect solution, but it sure came in handy.

So we are driveable and camp ready again. I still have some key projects high on my list, including the pump for the water tank (It works if I am at an RV spot with water), cut a few leveling chalks and, of course, the exhaust manifold. The curtains are pretty high up the list as well but my sunshades are perfectly functional for now.

OK, OK! Pictures of the Inside!

Yes, I actually posted pictures of two freshly painted propane tanks before I bothered to post pictures of the inside. I am not doing a lot of work on the inside (Knock on wood!) so why bother?

OK, I get it. I would like to thank everyone on Marcus' Airstream blog who saw some pics of Fandango and have been clamoring for pics of the interior.

I promise to take a few more but these are the best pics that show how the inside is actually in original condition. Enjoy!

What can I say? It's the original 1972 orange interior with orange flower seats, wood cabinets and orange carpet. I wil admit we put some beige runner carpets down when we use it but that is partially because it makes it easier to clean.

From the far couch you see in the picture above, turned around towards the front.

The rear couch which has two seat belts and folds into the master bed (4' wide bed). There is a 4' bunk above it and another 4' bunk above the drivers seat. The dinette folds to a smaller bed as well.

The drivers seat and the front passengers seat. The passengers seat seats only one while driving but as you can see it can hold two while camping. That is a 4' wide bunk bed above the drivers seat.

Closets...always important. BTW, the furnace is directly below the floor of the closet. I am going to rip the furnace out and use that as additional storage.

Not the inside but here is a pic of the Onan Generator. Between that and the propane tanks, we are ready to boondock! OK, I also have to fix that stinking water pump which is leaking and capped off.

The Minor, but Key Chores

I am still looking at the major projects for Fandango - replacing the exhaust manifold and giving the brake system a once-over to get rid of the erratic braking. Those will happen in their own time but there are plenty of smaller tasks which need to be done.

One of the more important tasks was to get the propane tanks updated. One of the great details about Fandango is that it came with two 40 pound propane tanks and an integrated home for these tanks. After looking at other RV's and what I use for other outdoor activities, this really provides a lot of comfort in delivering far more propane than I could use in any boondocking adventure.

I knew the tanks needed to have their valves updated and they were likely low and needed to be refilled. Well, they also needed to be reinspected which is good because now I know that I have two 40 lb tanks which have brand new valves, a new inspection and they are completely full.

They also have a new paint job! As you will see below, these endured a lot of rust. It was not too hard of a task but for some reason I really get a kick out of a few hours of sanding and spraying three cans of Kilz primer spray paint on each tank. The next step is to crack open the gas line just upstream of the tanks and installing a "T" and one additional line which I can run externally for my camping stove. I like where they placed the tanks on a Fandango because it is right where I want the kitchen. There is really no reason why I should burn through smaller propane tanks. That will be a project in the near future.

One more "thank you!" to Elway for his advice. I bought a fuel gauge for each tank. These things are pretty big tanks but I would likely sit there worried about whether they are empty and this is a very simple part. It also helps you find a leak because the needle will either fall or never show full if you have a leak.

The tank's home.

The "Before" pictures.



Just staring at the paint drying

Ready for action!

The Maiden Voyage was a Fandango!

One trip down, a bunch to go!

My family took Fandango to Krause Springs for our first camping trip in the RV. We arrived around 5 PM on Friday, just a couple of hours before a pretty big wind storm that dropped the temperature but everything went just great. Our friends, the Moyers and Passarella's took their RV's out as well so it made for a heckuva weekend.

As far as how Fandango went:

The drive went well, but the brakes became a bit soft right at the end of the trip. I have since crawled underneath and have not found any broken lines, etc. It could be one or both of the hydrovac's or the master cylinder so I am searching advice from any source.

The hot water heater was burning a very dirty flame which blew soot out of the exhaust so we went without hot water. That was fine for a short trip. I pulled the burner and just finished cleaning it. I ran water through the heating vent and flushed out dirt, cobwebs and mud-dobber nests.

I found an electrical terminal for the rear lighting which was loose but that was a quick fix.

The bed was comfy, the fridge worked so well that I never bought one cube of ice. It probably helped that it was 50 degrees out as well.

My 3 year old daughter had a blast and all of the kids there really got a kick out of us showing "Kung Fu Panda" on a projector at night right against the white wall of Fandango.

Here are some pics. I will make another post around work on Fandango itself. BTW, the Airstream you see belongs to my buddy, Marcus. His blog is linked from my blog if you want to see the work he is making on his classic ride. Of course, both Marcus and I owe a lot of thanks to the entire Pasarella family. Dave is a seasoned veteran with "Dutchie" and his wife and four kids are just about the greatest folks to hang out with.

The Princess declaring that Fandango is actually spelled with a "W"

The family enjoying the homestead, even in the cold and the wind.

The wide view, including a partial view of "Kitchen Stadium!"

The men battling in kitchen stadium

Marcus' unnamed Airstream (Someone please come up with a name!), Fandango and Kitchen Stadium!

Movie time, Al Fresco (Look close, the camera flash hides it)

Danielle taking Dada on a hike

BFF's

Pictures of the progress

Here are some pictures of the closest area where the second leak was hiding.

Problem #1...& 2...& 3...

Sweet, I keep finding problems to fix. It's like I own an RV or something! Most are pretty straight forward things but I could use some advice from the RV community on how to deal with the exhaust manifold (See below).

The prep work for this weekend's first camping trip has created plenty of opportunities to know where small issues are likely hiding within Fandango. The water line to the brooken pump was easy enough to cap and the water lines around that area are not showing any leaks.

What that did do was allow for the pressure to hold and locate a second leak. The good news is that while I consider Fandango to be very structurally sound, there is always some small hole somewhere that will allow water to pass through and you will just see it dripping on the ground. I was in the middle of testing the hot water heater when I saw water dripping on the rear tire. I crawled under and there was water seeping from a small opening on the underbelly. It looked like it may be something pretty serious since it was underneath the hot water tank but that just gave me a chance to go inside the rear closet that holds the hot water tank and notice it was actually coming from a pipe which ran past the tank and up into the bathroom sink. I will take some pictures later but removing just a few screws from the inside of the hall closet allows access to the underside of the bathroom sink. The problem was just a loose fitting connecting the water line to the sink. It is a tight fit in there so it was probably not installed with enough patience. It also confirmed my thought about how relatively easy it would be to replace the bathroom sink. The knob to turn on the shower head is really tight and not easy to use so I figured that would be a future project. Now I know the degree of difficulty which is no worse than my sink in my bathroom at home.

OK, time for the rookie mistake. The shower drain clogged and started to fill the floor of the bathroom while I was working on Fandango this week. I had been turning the water on in the sinks a couple of times but how that would clog the shower drain seemed really strange to me. I could easily see the holding tank was empty and the drain plumbing is a very short path. There is a trap there too and nothing has gone down it other than a very small amount of water. I started to look at putting a snake down it but I crawled underneath first to see if it was an easy connection to just remove and clean out. That is when I realized the kitchen sink, bathroom sink and shower drain (everything but the toilet) is upstream to the sewage tank shutoff valve. Yes, I only have one tank, not gray and black. I stared at that a bit, wondering why you would want that configuration and I realized this keeps the oder from the tank from drifting back up into the cabin. So I just pulled the valve and everything flushed into the tank. OK, I hope you veterans got a kick outta that one. I know I felt a bit silly but the good news is I did not start ripping things apart and did a proper flow of troubleshooting.

Now the really frustrating and fairly concerning part. As I kinda expected, the exhaust manifold installation is going to be a challenge. I am still waiting on a gasket for the manifold to arrive at my auto parts store but even they are not sure if it is the right part. I went ahead and stopped by my mechanic's shop to see if they had tips. I say my mechanic but it is actually the same company as my mechanic but they have a separate heavy truck shop. My regular mechanic is absolutely great but he said the truck shop needs to work on it. So I walk up to the front desk at the truck shop, holding my replacement exhaust manifold. I told him what I had going on and the first words out of the truck shop's mouth was, "We no longer do any exhaust work on RV's." I knew this can be a tricky job since the bolts rust and things can snap off when trying to replace old exhaust manifolds. Apparently that has happened a lot at this shop and some customers were shocked when it cracked a head or required more labor than they thought. So, unless I suck it up and spend way too much money at an RV maintenance facility (I guess they'll do it), I will get to take a shot at replacing the manifold...IF I ever find the gaskets. Like I mentioned above, I am open to suggestions from the community.

The hot water heater is not lighting either but I have not had a chance to really look at it. The stove does light so there is propane in my tanks. I just cannot hear, see or smell anything coming out of the gas line in the hot water heater. I will take another crack at that when it is dusk and I may be able to see the pilot a bit better.

Well, all of those things aside, we are still looking on track to have a fun weekend camping. The family is getting excited.

Preparing for the Maiden Voyage

This is when I am supposed to say, "Sorry for taking so long between posts but boy things sure do get busy in the fall, heh-heh." I think everyone knows that September, October and November is Tailgating Season so there is not exactly time available to work on other things. If I was not tailgating, I was getting kitchen renovations done. Well enough of that, it is time for Fandango's first real trip so there are some key things that I need to take care of this week.

The first thing to attack this week is something that I really should have taken care of during the fall but I fell into the trap of being busy with other things. I bought Fandango with a hole in one of the exhaust manifolds. The previous owner was nice enough to locate a replacement manifold as part of the purchase. My current challenge is finding gaskets for the manifold. It is a 1972 Dodge 413 M300/M600 manifold which is not the most common part to find 30+ years later. The auto parts stores do think they may have found it in another town so we will see later this week when I go pick them up. If anyone has advice on where to find these parts, I do plan on buying some spares now for when I need to fix it again a few years from now.

I also have found my first "big" problem that needs to be fixed. I was rechecking all of my features, etc. in Fandango and I found a water leak in the city water hookup. This is an older water system that has the intake go straight into the holding tanks. The water pump is designed to pump air into the top of the tank and push water out if I am not connected to a water hook up. Well, there is a water leak somewhere inside that pressure switch on the old pump. I have two pictures attached. The small red box is the switch and water is leaking from inside. I am going to just cap the water line for now since I will be camping with water hook ups this weekend but unless I can find some old spare parts, I may be spending some holiday time updating my water system with a modern on-demand pump.

Well, the good news is I have cleaned up the inside of Fandango, will shampoo the carpets this week, we have most of our camping gear and are close to being ready for this weekend. I will add a post or two this week with my progress. Wish us luck!

I would like to introduce our "new" 1972 Winnebago Indian

After months of research on Craig's List, E-bay and other various web sites we have found the family camper. On Friday, September 5th, "Fandango", the family Winnebago entered our world!

How did we get to this point? I grew up camping and prior to the past ten years or so, I previously spent almost all of my vacations camping. When I say camping, I mean no RV's, no cars, packing everything into your backpack and hiking to places where the family station wagon cannot reach. I have never owned an RV and I never thought I would join the world of campers, RV's or motor homes.

With that in mind, you are likely wondering why someone who spent his youth and early adulthood backpacking would want an RV. Well, like many people, I am married now and have a growing family. It dawned on me that I have not been camping much at all in the past ten years and I would like to make sure my daughter gets to experience the outdoors as much as possible. We do take our pontoon boat out a lot so my thought was to combine my two favorite activities - go camping and and take the boat with us most of the time. The RV gives a good basecamp with real shelter, A/C, bath, etc. and I can start teaching basic camping skills to my young family. I have numerous friends who also own boats and some who have also added RV's to their bag of tricks. It has become clear to me this is an optimal way to get the family out to more parks and have a great mix of boating, hiking and camping.

So here it is! We found a 1972 Winnebago Indian for sale on Craig's List. I have always been a fan of "old school" designs and there is definitely truth in the saying, "they just do not make things like they used to." The previous owners of this Winnebago are skilled mechanics who have their own shop. The interior is still the original material with functional A/C, fridge, stove, bathroom, Onan ganerator, etc. We are really happy to find a motorhome that has received so much TLC which has allowed it to keep its character.

Why "Fandango"? Any true Austinite and UT alum that is skilled in classic movies should know the answer. Many people do not realize that Kevin Costner's favorite movie that he has ever filmed was Fandango. The movie also takes place in May of 1971 so that movie has always captured that great mindset of traveling and enjoying "the privileges of youth!"

Well that is our introduction. I will be adding some additional posts as we take our maiden voyage (Well, a voyage other than hanging out in my driveway like what we did this weekend).