The Dvorak's 1972 Winnebago Indian

More Summer Fun

2010-02-10T14:13:00.001-08:00

Here are some more updates from the summer. As I mentioned, we had a group of folks go camping at City Park. We got Fandango out there for a few days and the entire trip was great. The July 4th festivities included a lot of lake time and we got to watch fireworks from the boat. You already saw some of the campsite photos which were mixed with our May trip above but here are some more pics.

Next up was our family reunion. No Fandango did not make it out there this year but I am capturing it now because we are set at taking Fandango next year. We also have a day at Garner State Park planned prior to the 2010 reunion and two days back at Garner after the reunion so that will be our biggest Fandango trip yet. Oh and yes, I like to wear a life jacket like a diaper when I am swimming in lakes. It is far easier to deal with kids or just to relax and not tread water or keep track of a floatie.

Some other key things last summer

2010-01-27T17:36:00.000-08:00

I promise I will get back to Fandango but there were some other key things which were highlights during this past summer. One was that the end of the school year marked Danielle's first graduation! She graduated from her first daycare, Casis Future Cougar Academy and spent the summer looking forward to starting the fall as a Casis Cougar Cub! We can already tell you that she really used that as the moment she knew she was no longer a baby and is now a big girl.

The other big thing which takes up some of the spring and summer is the University of Texas Baseball season. Yes, they finished the year 2nd in the nation after taking the LSU Tigers to a 3rd and winner-take-all National Championship game. That also started an interesting streak for UT as they finished the 2009 season in 2nd place for baseball, Women's Volleyball and Football. Anyway, I thought I should include just a couple of pics from baseball season to capture how the kids are growing and having fun throughout the year.

I wish this post included pictures of Fandango at the College World Series but they stopped allowing RV parking in the left field lot a few years ago. I guess I missed my chance to experience that with my own RV. Oh well, more Fandango news and pics to come.

The Summer of '09

2010-01-27T05:07:00.000-08:00

Let's get caught up. My last post showed me getting Fandango ready for an upcoming camping trip in May. We had two trips in Fandango during the summer. The first was an annual trip some friends of mine take to Emma Long City Park. The second was another trip to City Park, during July 4th weekend. Fandango worked great, even as we went through a random rain storm which ripped apart a pop-up canopy and had multiple inches of water rushing under the RV. I have still seen some erratic performance with the RV battery and how well it starts but I will save that for another post. I also found a small leak in the ceiling along the bathroom wall which I later fixed.

Fandango at the campground:

Austin hanging out at his first campout!

Cooking at the campground:

Our friend's the Passarella's RV "Dutchie" and their boat "Shaka".

The family enjoying Lake Austin and our pontoon boat "The Floating Tailgate":

Did I really go 8 months without an update?

2010-01-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

Ooops! It's a good thing my buddy Marcus posted some updates on his blog. That allowed for a few of you to realize I did not just drive Fandango off of a cliff. Sorry for that big delay but I guess my 9 month old son, 4 year old daughter, kitchen renovations, work on Fandango, time actually using Fandango, going on the lake a few times and actual work has kept me a bit busy.

There are quite a few stories and updates to tell so I will try to catch up with some interesting highlights.

We Have the Technology

2009-05-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

OK, our next campout is approaching so I need to get some key repairs done. You saw the damage to the skylights and I will get to that later in the blog. First things first. You may remember I have had some random issues with the lights on the rear half of Fandango. The lights are all DC and they are run through two cut-off switches. The cut off for the front lights is a traditional looking light switch right at the steps when you enter the cabin. Those are the front bunk reading lights and all of the kitchen lights. The rear (bathroom and rear bedroom/bunk area) lights are all routed through a cut off switch in the rear access panel behind the spare tire. When you open that panel you have the service access to the water tanks, pump and the rear fuses, the power converter, etc. There is a small terminal block and the DC power runs through that. The line that drives the rear lights was a bit loose and I did field repairs but that fuse connector was just too loose. The wire that runs to it from the cut off switch was starting to overheat too. Lucky for me, there was an unused post so I just needed to make a new wire with new crimps and long enough to run to the other end of the terminal.

I know you all were concerned about my safety in creating the electrical line and properly installing them. Well, fret not, I had a trained professional help me.

That work went well and I have had Fandango's rear lights running for a few hours. Time will tell but I think I have rid us of that problem. But just in case, I went ahead and worked on this post while sitting in Fandango after completing the work so I could stare at lights.

OK so the rear lights appear to work (knock on wood) so we are pretty much camp ready. I have pondered whether or not I wanted to deal with installing the new skylights right before I go on a trip. To be honest, the drive from where I keep Fandango to my house is twice as far as the drive to campsite. It has also survived three major rainstorms with the broken skylights wrapped in plastic. Experience tells me that I may be biting off somthing which will consume way too much of my time when I should be burping a one month old, or playing with a three year old or, god forbid, getting my boat ready for the campout too. Bah, who am I kidding...let's rip perfectly sealed metal frames off the top of my roof and try to shove in new ones without destroying my RV!

(Yes, I will wait...go ahead, think of all of your ways to call me an idiot...no really, I can wait...OK, you're done)

Oh, I almost forgot. Why am I putting in completely new skylight assemblies instead of buying just new lids? Because my lids are riveted to the hinge and they are not designed to be removed. Yes, I could drill out the rivets and and put in a new lid...if one with that proper curvature and length was readily availablee. The RV supply store I use has some very experienced parts folks and they were pretty confused when I showed them the pictures. They finally asked me what kind of RV it was. They knew I was pretty much hosed when I told them a 1972 Winnebago. They went through their catalogs too. Stuff this old is just not what folks want to supply a lot of parts for when you can just move to newer "universal" parts. OK, again, I could have fought it but I live in an area where Fandango will get hailed on every 9-14 months. I want to deal with one pile of pain and then have my future replacements be easier.

Marcus and Frank, thanks for the tips on the Fantastic Fans but I am going to pass on them for now. I do not have DC power running to two of the three vents so that will be a task for when I eventually have to completely remodel the interior.

OK, so here we go.

Before:

I must say, I was stunned on how easy it was to remove the vent. The bottom screen inside the cabin was compressing the top and the top was only held by sealant. All I had to do was remove the bottom screen and then run my razor along the seam and it came right out.

This is where I got excited and then nervous. If it was that easy, then the bad stuff was just building up and hiding from me. Well, it won't hurt to do a dry fit. I grabbed the new vent and it almost fit. Yes, almost. Sigh. Actually, it was not too bad. As you see above, the existing hole has radius corners but the new vent wants square corners. The roof is really just plywood, foam, then plywood so that is not hard at all to cut.

Wait, did I just say I am going to cut the roof of my RV? The bad news is that I really like using my Sawzall so there was no stopping me. I was just upset that the Sawzall was able to handle that task was too easily. The picture below shows the marks on the corners I needed to cut out.

Pretty easy cut and it popped in no problem.

I added the putty tape and then put the vent in place.

I was pondering how many screws to put in. My original vents did not have any but the way it is shaped it looks like it really wants a lot of screws (There were ~10 screw holes on each side!). I did not use all of the holes because you just face the laws of diminishing returns. That is just too many holes to put on a roof of an RV! What I did realize is the genious of the parts guy at my RV spot (RV Outlet Mall-OK, they get a plug). He sold me one full tube of roof sealant for each skylight. I thought that was much but hey, why not. So I put an entire tube of sealant on the trim.

After:

OK, so overall, it actually, went pretty well! OK, you caught me, I didn't mention the inside trim piece. That put a good scare in me. I went inside to dry fit that...of course, after I cut holes in the roof of my RV. The trim piece bottomed out with a 3/8" gap before it would sit flush against the ceiling. Whoa! I started to wonder if I really did have such an old oddball RV that universal skylights do not work. I then realized that if my buddy Marcus could fit a brand new A/C and a brand new Fantastic Fan in his Airstream (Which is older than Fandango), then this is just a puzzle that needed some thought. So I cleaned up, etc. and I have it figured out. That inside trim piece can be, well trimmed to fit. I have not bothered to do that yet since I had to finish cleaning, checking on the family and well, cooling off inside Fandango while updating the blog, feeling the A/C and watching the rear lights.

I will take pictures of the inside trim piece when I put that in...probably tomorrow but not a rush. I am not sure if I will bother with the other two skylights before I go camping.

Hail's Bells

2009-05-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

That's a really bad title for this post but from watching the posts from my fellow RV bloggers, I am supposed to make a reference to a rock song.

So what has Fandango been doing this year? I have stopped by every couple of weeks or so to check on her. My various house work has led me to have some random load of stuff that I needed to store in Fandango or my boat shed. That allowed me to drive her around the block and think through any work. I did find that it became harder for it to start if I went too long without trying to fire up the engine. More to come on that.

More important, Fandango got hit by a hail storm. It was relatively unscathed but it definitely got whacked pretty good. All three skylights were shattered and there are a a good number of dings on the roof and a bit on the front, driver side.

There are no leaks found and I have the skylights wrapped in plastic. I am replacing them soon but I need to drag Fandango to the RV shop so they can match the specific version of hinge. The dents are just something I will live with for awhile. I am sure Fandango will have to suffer through more hail storms so as long as they are just dents, they will have to suffice for now. Fandango will get a paint job in the years to come so that may be when I bother to knock them out.

So what's next? Time to get her ready to camp. Spring is here so hopefully the next post will be measured in days from now and it will be talking about our next campout!

What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is Goin' on Here?

2009-05-07T19:12:00.001-07:00

OK, so I am just a few days short of four months since my last post. Pathetic, huh? OK, here is my "excuses post" and then we should be able to get back to business and obsess about Fandango!

I will have to stray from chronological order but my first excuse is this little guy:

As I mentioned in my first post, the reason I purchased Fandango was the realization I needed to get my growing family camping again. No, it is not the normal backpacking I have grown to love but this is the right step for now. Anyway, my family just grew by one key addition.

A son! Austin Anton Dvorak was brought into the world one month ago (April 8th, 2009). As you have seen, our daughter Danielle is very excited about camping with Fandango and she is even more excited to be a big sister.

OK, so my pregnant wife was not exactly up for taking Fandango out in recent months but we did have some ideas which fell through. Some were tailgate parties which did not have ideal weather and we were hoping to go camping during spring break. Well, excuse #2 was all of the prep work to get our house ready before Austin was born. The biggest part was not really getting ready for him, but rather finishing my 2 year old kitchen remodeling project. All of my pictures of the kitchen are either bad ones from my cell phone or on my wife's camera which I cannot find. I may put a picture or two of that work in here someday.

Oh and I still have to entertain the family so a few weekends were spent at Disch-Falk field watching the UT Longhorn Baseball team as well as a tailgate or two.

Danielle and Bevo

Just hanging out with Coach Royal:

(If you do not know who that is, well, try Google and do not admit that in public)

OK, so I spent January - May tending to the family and it is getting close to our next trip. I will add another post right away on what has been going on with Fandango. It has been hanging out but it has had an adventure too.

Happy New Year

2009-01-14T18:11:00.000-08:00

Fandango made it through trip #2 by ringing in the New Year. Elway and his family were well into their week-long camping trip at Bastrop State Park and I was hoping to camp over New Years Eve. The camp had been sold out for New Year's Eve but Elway swung by the office right when a cancellation came in and we were set for three nights. I find myself, yet again, saying thanks to Elway for his help.

It was great to spend New Years Eve by having the kids watch another movie projected on the side of Fandango. Of course we did put the kids to bed and the adults watched "Blazing Saddles" as midnight truly approached. Happy New Year everyone!

OK, my wonderful, loving wife made me take this picture and said I had to put it on the blog.

No, it is not as bad as it looks but when you drag your wife and 3-year old out to pick up the RV and the RV will not start right away...well, you better start doing something. It had been around 3 weeks since I had last tried to start Fandango and like any 1972 engine, it takes some time for a true cold start. The voltmeter did show both batteries to be just a shade below 12V so I figured it wouldn't hurt. I am not sure if it helped but it started when I had the jumper cables hooked up and my wife and kid did not have to keep staring at Dad trying to get the vacation started. It started just fine ever since so I am just writing it off to an old, cold engine which is best off if I swing by and start it at least every two weeks or so.

The first fun part of the trip was that the first day was just Daddy and daughter. Mommy came out the next day so I got to have a lot of quality time with Danielle. Danielle also got to break out her new sleeping bag and Xmas PJ's.

Bastrop State Park is great and there was plenty of things the kids can enjoy. Danielle got to play with friends and perfect her tricycle riding skills.

Yes, kitchen stadium made a second appearance. Marcus was busy replacing the floor of his Airstream over the holidays but Dave got a Xmas present that kept kitchen stadium in good shape. We will just have to look forward to when all of the RV's are back together and Kitchen Stadium can reach even new levels.

Elway also taught me how to set up my canopy to get a wider clearance.

For those keeping track, the brakes are working great. I had no problems during the trip and the fluid level in the master cylinder is holding. I also found the drive to and from Bastrop to be very smooth. It was really windy on the drive out there but even then it held its speed well and everything just worked really well.

I did not take any pictures regarding this but the really fun part, from a new RV user's standpoint was that this was the first time I had an RV spot with full hookups. Having the sewer connection allowed me to really use the sinks and toilet more. This was also the first time I could use my hot water heater which worked great. That set up was a good test for all of the connections. The kitchen sink drain does have a small leak but it leaks into one of the drawers below and I contained it with a towel. That is pretty simple work. I just wished the Pasarrella's could have found a spot with sewer for their week-long stay. I bet that family of six put some stress on their tanks!

The one issue that resurfaced is the breaker for the electrical systems for the rear half of Fandango. I found a loose connection during our first trip which caused the rear lights to come on and off. I tightened it but that lug likely needed to be recrimped. Well the fuse blew this time and I never bothered to throw a few extra fuses in my glove box. It didn't happen until the last full day of camping so it was not that big of a deal. That connection on the terminal block is not mechanically sound anymore but there are unused terminals. It is a pretty quick job where I can just make a new wire, with new lugs crimped and put it on an unused terminal with a new fuse (Which I had lying in my junk drawer at home). I will take some pictures of it when I fix it sometime in the next month or so.

Other than that, things went really well (knock on wood). We invested in a simple electric heater that we set on our kitchen counter top during the cold nights and it oscillates so the front and back beds were comfortable. The whole family had a lot of fun and it made me make sure to start looking early for our future camping spots.

And thanks again to the entire Passarella family. Danielle, of course, loved playing with all of the kids, Denise loved talking with Sharon about the fact they both married camping geeks and I had a blast playing with all of the kids and cooking up a storm with Dave in Kitchen Stadium. We missed not having the Moyers out but we know we will get more folks out soon.

Santa Claus is real!

2008-12-27T16:37:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-12-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-01T21:25:00.001-08:00

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

2008-12-01T20:38:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-01T19:40:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-12T18:43:00.000-08:00

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

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

2008-11-12T10:05:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-11T06:01:00.000-08:00

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

2008-09-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

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).