DASH: Yesterday was the first true relief from the past few weeks of hot weather, as we only hit 90 degrees. Moreover, there are no more triple digit days currently forecast. The cool weather will make working in the shop more tolerable.
And, while I haven’t made the progress I’d hoped, progress was made. A couple of the delays were part-related, as Ron Francis ignition switch was delayed a week. I also went ahead and ordered an NOS speedometer from Barney Goodwin at Barney’s Jeep Parts, which arrived on Tuesday (thanks again Barney). It looks fantastic!
Most of the wiring is complete, but still some loose ends dangling. It feels like for the two weeks I’ve been saying, “almost there …”
Anyway, below are photos of the dash, one with the fuse box down and one with it stowed away (lower left corner of pic)
One of the dash challenges that still remains is to build that lower flashing
DRIVE: Last Friday we drove over to the west side (and 77 degree temps .. nice) to look at a motorhome. It was a 36′ 1996 Holiday Rambler diesel with a towing capacity of 15Klbs. It used to be owned by Rob Stafford, before he upgraded to a bus. We were very serious about buying it, until Ann had an asthmatic reaction to the musty interior smell. So, we felt it best to pass on the deal. (and out was a deal at $12k .. it sold within a few days). We’ve decided to increase the budget and look for something nicer.
Hi Dave, be very careful of the age of a used motorhome if you plan on traveling and staying in RV parks. Many parks have age restrictions on the motorhomes they accept to rent a space to. Because of the demand they can be picky and feel older looking motorhomes may not be as well maintained and bring down the overall appearance of their RV park. Sometimes they will ask for a picture of your coach before making a reservation if its an older unit that’s close to the age limit they accept.
Will,
Thanks. Yes, we were aware of this, as Ann’s aunt and uncle ran into it with their dated RV. Some parks require RVs as new as 10 years old. This isn’t a huge concern for us as I don’t foresee us using RV parks in the near future. If we start doing that kind of traveling, we will buy something much newer.
I’ve never really explored the higher end RV market, but it’s insane! The opulence of some rigs is over the top, at least for my taste.
I imagine the age limit is a tactful way to keep out undesirable folks.
Vagrant RVs are an issue up here in the Northwest.
Losing the occasional booking from good folks with an old RV (like Dave), is a small price to pay to keep Cousin Eddie out of the park.
But there are always exceptions to the rule: I’d love a 1970s GMC FWD unit, and I met a widow with a huge Provost bus she and her husband bought 30 years ago. It was a $250,000+ unit then and still immaculate. It’s kept in her airplane hangar, so it looks great.
At this point is there any regrets of not finishing fixing up the cab and painting ,which I know you said you were gonna do later ,but now that you have so much into it , do you feel you that you will even partly strip it to do a full restoration.
Dave,
Good question. I still don’t have plans to strip it at this time. The most important reason is that I want to get it assembled so I can test the changes I have made. I figure there will likely be changes I will want to make after testing. If that’s the case, I can (or not) address the cab at that time. I mostly just want to drive it around and see how it drives, how it stops, etc. Once satisfied, I can start on the bed. Also, with the bed finished, that can sit on the chassis, giving me more room to remove the cab and work on it.
Those are my thoughts anyway,
– Dave