Seems I have been slacking on this missive . A brief explanation is The Demon Diabetes crept up on Me and I wasn't paying attention , while I am well aware of the pitfalls of having this disease having done battle with it for ten years or so , a diabetics worst enemy complacency or not paying attention did a sneak attack and bit Me . Hard !Multiple disasters are never easy to deal with and so it was with this one . Back to the Va , the doctors , dietitians , social workers , etc. all got a piece of my life as I reoriented My lifestyle once again . After several miserable weeks I may have this thing back on track and can begin working a little harder on "A" and preparing to embark towards the West of Texas.
While I couldn't do a lot of heavy work , I did manage to get all the belts and hoses changed out and put a new fuel fill on . As a note to anyone else who may have an older RV , The Fuel Fill is an often overlooked check point on RVs and Boats , when I worked in a marina way back when an experience with a fuel fill cracking while we were fueling a boat resulted in 30 gallons of gas in the bilges of said boat and
made an extremely exciting day for the entire marina ! As I was under "A" searching for potential problems this past experience blossomed like a hippies trip and I found myself squirming towards the rear and the tank of explosive fuel . Peering up at the tank revealed that no one had explored this area in a while ! Less than $15 and two hours later I had a new fuel fill and a new vent hose , Note to self [it is better to do this operation when fuel tank is near empty] Also a good idea to wash the entire area around tank and fill to remove any debris that could fall into open tank . May not be important but since I have been working on the electrical system I grounded the entire vehicle with a spike while fiddling with the tank , no sense tempting fate with static electricity or a chance spark .This sounds like a lot of work and it was time consuming for Me , Could work for a few minutes and stop so I didn't get overheated , with just simple hand tools and fairly good health i figure the job would have taken about an hour . I know some newer RVs are harder , but that is one reason I bought "A" at thirty years old , most of his systems are very simple .
One other issue I worked on was the front end being so light that it affected the steering , the first idea was to add some weight to the over the cab bunk space . I intended this to be storage anyway , but the items I had weren't very heavy , I found collapsible water containers at Auto Zone where I buy most of my parts . Five gallon each for a $1.95 . At 8.3 lbs per gallon gives Me 41.5lbs. per container. I bought five to start and decided that 200lbs. was enough to try first , plus it gives Me some extra water when I go out in the boonies . the first drive around proves to be a good thought but need to do an extended trip to make sure it works.
With each repair and modification I feel more confident of the old
fellow carrying Me to new places.I recently invested in a digital camera so expect some photos of My progress .
Keep It Simple till the next time !
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