Diving in Head First!

[yabanja]

Skyline Drive over Bountiful per chance? Great rig and great write-up BTW. I've been pondering doing this very thing with a Hilo for years. Good to see it has a steel frame. Please excuse if you already answered this, but did you have to repair or change out any of the lift components? And yes, we do live in a pretty incredible place.

It was Skyline drive to the ridgeline and then south towards Mueller Park.....

The Lift system did not require anything except a new hydraulic hose to relocate the pump and a cable adjustment. The system is pretty sweet actually. It has a 12 volt fully contained hydraulic pump with a built in fluid reservoir. It uses an old style Ford starter motor so replacement is convenient and inexpensive if necessary. The pump powers a single hydraulic piston mounted transversely under the trailer. It is fixed at one end and the other end pushes a plate with four cables attached to it. The four cables are routed via pulleys to the four corners of the trailer where they go up to the top of the bottom half of the walls. At that point there is a pulley directing the cable back down to the bottom of the top half of the wall where the cable is fixed. Each cable is easily individually adjustable at the piston to level the top if the cables stretch. When the top is lowered it rests on 5 or six points around the perimeter so no strain on the cables. There is a locking mechanism to prevent the top from falling suddenly when it is in the up position. There are strips with guide plates between the top and bottom halves at 5 points around the perimeter to keep everything in line. Parts are still available online. It raises the top in about 5 seconds.

Sorry for the longwinded response!

Take care,

Allan

 

[DirtWhiskey]

Thanks for the detailed explanation! Never seen it described with such clarity. Seems "tuning" and repairs are a fairly straight-forward thing. A few extra pulleys, spare length of cable, misc hardware, some grease and hydro fluid. Maybe a spare starter motor.

 

[yabanja]

Time for more suspension work. I had installed some Bilstein rear shocks early in the build but they were too short so they were at almost full extension at ride height. I was intending to change the upper mounting bracket but decided it was easier to just find some shocks that fit properly! I had some takeoff bilsteins from the rear of a Nissan Exterra with the offroad package laying around and decided to try them out. I had to drill the hole in the metal bushing end out to 5/8" and then they are a perfect fit. Actually having some droop in the rear suspension is helpful! They are valved a bit on the soft side but free is good!!!

Looks like we will be doing another big trip to southern Utah in mid October so it is time to get on that 50 line item list I posted a few pages back. I am going to start with the new rear fenders. I bought some semi truck urethane fenders and am going to fabricate up some mounts.

Allan

 

[Howard70]

Southern Utah

Hey Allan:

Heidi and I will be in the Moab/SE Utah area with Prima Terra around 3 - 11 October. Let me know if you'd like to try and meet up.

Howard

 

[yabanja]

Got the new fenders mounted up. Should be way better at keeping the mud under control than the old setup. Very excited to have some progress.

 

[Aussie Iron]

Looking good but do you have enough room for the axle to raise up and not hit the guard.

Dan.

 

[yabanja]

I certainly hope so! I measured and gave myself a couple of extra inches.

Allan

 

[yabanja]

We are heading out on a trip next weekend so I have been trying to nail down as many little things as I can. I had new front brake lines made of braided stainless steel which are longer to compensate for the increase in wheel travel. The install went smoothly although I am looking for some springs to take up the slack when the suspension compresses and they are harder to find than anticipated.

I installed a C0 monitor as I am going to get the furnace up and running for this trip.

 

[yabanja]

Got the furnace up and running. It is the original forced air propane unit from 1978...but it works great and will have to do until I have an extra pile of cash for a diesel unit. It is 80 degrees out and testing the unit made for some hot temperatures!!!

Allan

 

[dlh62c]

Got the furnace up and running. It is the original forced air propane unit from 1978...

At one time you mentioned adding insulation to the camper floor, is that still on your Things-To-Do list?

Have a great time and post some pictures when you can.

 

[yabanja]

At one time you mentioned adding insulation to the camper floor, is that still on your Things-To-Do list?

Have a great time and post some pictures when you can.

Yes, still on the to do list. We have been traveling a lot this year(sadly without FIDO) and haven't had a lot of time to work on the project!

Alllan

 

[yabanja]

Installed a much needed dual usb port/ 12 volt socket today.

 

[yabanja]

More progress.

I picked up a cheap eBay cigarette lighter voltage gauge so I can keep a better eye on things. Up until this point we haven't really used any electricity in the camper except the lights but I expect our electrical usage is going to increase with the furnace, usb ports, and the new vent fan. Will probably need to add a second deep cycle coach battery soon.


I installed the new Maxxair Fan that has been sitting in my garage for 7 months. It is nice!!! I got the one that allows you to keep it open in the rain. When closed it has a gasket that seals to keep all the heat from leaking out. It moves a lot of air and cools the camper down in 5 minutes. It is very quiet at low speed and has a thermostatic control as well. I didn't get the one with the remote control and don't really regret it. Should have installed it ages ago.

Comparison of old and new:


In the open and closed position:



Allan

 

[java]

Very interested in how you feel the spring hold up over time. Seems like a low rate for a heavy rig. You're really making me rethink mine.

 

[yabanja]

Very interested in how you feel the spring hold up over time. Seems like a low rate for a heavy rig. You're really making me rethink mine.

Will keep you posted. Heading on a long dirt road intensive trip this weekend.

Allan