where_the_heffalump_roams 917 AF

[where_the_heffalump_roams]

I created a new account to match the truck and document its newer journeys. I thought it would be better to document its travels, mishaps, and ask for support vs creating multiple threads.

I was born in Vientiane, Laos and raised in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. I was a single father and I love working with disadvantaged communities. After I empty nested, I traveled a bit in an older VW Westfalia through the BC Canada, USA, Mexico, and Guatemala. I spent several months in Guatemala before making my way back to the USA. That trip taught me that I wanted something a bit bigger with more amenities that was more capable in winter weather and non-paved roads. Years were spent looking at numerous options, AWD vans, truck campers, and various other conversions. During the pandemic, I received a description of the heffalump from the owners. The truck was not perfect, but it was a perfect match for my personality, style, and goals. After speaking with the owners we agreed to price and potential sale. But the truck was located in easter Canada and I was on the west coast USA. The Canadian/USA border was still closed to travel. But as soon as it opened up, a visit was arranged and I flew out to meet the owners and see the truck.
The owners were very transparent, friendly, and accommodating. I got to stay in the truck that was parked on their warm farm. We went through all the systems, prior maintenance, prior repairs, and I was informed of what what else the truck needed. I had full confidence in the sale since they were so welcoming, friendly, and just all around good people. It took sometime to and get the heffalump transported and imported. But at the end of 2021, the truck was in the USA, registered, titled, and I had a home.

 

[DiploStrat]

A well traveled beast - glad she has a new home. May you have lots of great trips and welcome to the clan of "where can I get that part in North America"!

 

[where_the_heffalump_roams]

It's been so fun so far. There has been a significant learning curve as well as this is my first big rig. The learning curve has included where parts can be sourced when needed!

 

[danneskjold]

Saw you in Bend last year!

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Look forward to seeing you on the road!

 

[where_the_heffalump_roams]

Saw you in Bend last year!

View attachment 771765

Hey! What state was that? It's a pretty small world and the heffalump isn't very stealth.
I've been roaming between Washington State and Northern Baja this past year and everywhere in-between.

 

[where_the_heffalump_roams]

Look forward to seeing you on the road!

Would love to share coffee/beer/stories!

 

[danneskjold]

Hey! What state was that? It's a pretty small world and the heffalump isn't very stealth.
I've been roaming between Washington State and Northern Baja this past year and everywhere in-between.

Bend, OR

 

[where_the_heffalump_roams]

That's a rad place to live!

 

[where_the_heffalump_roams]

For just over a year, the heffalump has been roaming across western USA. Exploring new places in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, California, and Northern Baja Mexico. It's been a wonderful journey and I'm fortunate that my life friend, Rhett the traveling trail dog was able to spend the last of his many years in a place we finally felt home. This year, I was hoping to start making some longer, more off grid trips, but the heffalump has been bogged down with some projects and there is a lot that need to be addressed prior. So I'm reaching out for some help.

Here is a list of of repairs and items that the truck needs listed by importance. I will continue to tackle what I can and have items addressed by shops. It’s difficult to find time for me to do what I can or a shop that can address all the issues. So I’d appreciate any help with any of one of these projects. I do contract work and typically work in blocks. So the truck can be left for blocked times as needed.

1. Brakes: 1A: The wedge actuator in the right rear break is seized, I have a new, OEM actuator en route that can be swapped in. 1B: The drums need to be machined and the shoes relined. The front brakes should be inspected as the right rear drum has heat damage and uneven pad wear.
2. Alternator mount. I just replaced the alternator tensioner bolt/bracket with new OEM part. The old one had broken several times since late fall 2022. I had it reinforced and repaired 4x before the new one arrived. I’m not sure if was failing because of decreased tensile strength over the years. But I’d like to avoid the possibility of breaking again with a more modern option to hold it in place. (something like a fabricated bracket that will aid in support)

3. Generator circuit fault? It has a Honda generator and that feeds a dedicated breaker box. It’s used power the habitat a/c and habitat water heater. Last year, about 2 months after I acquired the truck, it stopped firing up with the remote switch in the habitat. It will pull start and light up the breaker box, but it won’t start from the remote switch. The habitat a/c is not getting power. There is a switch on the breaker panel that is supposed to divert the power to charge the house batteries, but when it’s flipped, the batteries are not getting power. I have not been able to find a faultly fuse/breaker/ground/loose wire. I’d also be open to a more modern generator if needed.

1. The truck has a flame start system that injects fuel into the intake and ignites it via a glow plug. This has not worked sense I’ve had it. There is a broken off sensor wire on the side of the engine. This might need to be replaced. This needs to be fixed as a back system to the webasto hydronic heater.
2. The truck side (cab and OEM external lights) run off of a 24 volt system. The only thing that is 12 volt in the cab is an aftermarket stereo, cigarette light sockets and *maybe* a switch to power on/off the a/c compressor. Last year, the system was charged and working. I believe it has a Toyota a/c compressor so I think it runs off a 12 volt system. However, over the winter, I tried to fix some wiring on the rear back up camera and cigarette lighter. I must have disconnected the a/c compressor wiring because I found everything disconnected this past week. 5a. So I need help figuring out how rewire the compressor to the switch. 5b. The current /c condenser does not have a fan, it doesn’t cool well at low speeds or at idle. There is room for a slim fan to be mounted/added.
3. The truck has a webasto hydronic thermo type c heater that heats the habitat and can also pre-heat the engine. 1 month ago, it stopped working. When reset, it fires up for about 5 minutes and then shuts off. I’ve replaced the fuel filter going to it. When it fires up, the exhaust is hot. I just received a gasket kit that came with a glow plug. It may just need a cleaning. (hoping I can clean it and get it going again)
4. A parking air brake can sometimes take seconds or literally minutes to engage. I can feel/hear air escaping in the left front of the truck, just behind the grill.

8. There is an external plug for shower power that was rarely used by the 2 prior owners. I’ve never used it and don’t have a pig tail for it. I think it's an older European style plug for marine/RV applications. There also might be a challenge with swapping out wall plug as there might be a phase 3 system vs N. American phase 2 system. I’d love to have a modern/safe option with surge protection to be able to use in Latin America where some of the electrical systems are sketch in some places.

1. The rear camera and monitor are a bit dated and don’t work well in low light. I’d like to consider a modern system with improved night vision as well as side cameras to aid in lane changes.
2. The front bumper also cradles 2 spare tires. It lowers it self to the ground using a hydraulic system that can also be hand pumped. Last year, I had a no start issue so I couldn’t engage the PTO to activate the bumper. Once the no start issue was fixed, the PTO engaged but would not lift the bumper the very last 20mm to align the locking pins. I’ve yet to figure out why it’s not compressing the last few mm now.

Some of the uniqueness of the heffalump are its electric systems. The truck runs off a 24 volt system. The habitat has 400 amp hours power that uses a 12 volt system. The house batteries feed 2 different inverters. 1 of them powers a 110 outlet. The larger is magnum unit that powers 230v systems, microwave, induction cooktop, clothes waster, and kitchen outlet. There are a few small items that run off of 12 volts, stereo, fans, ceiling fans, etc. I think the appliance in action to all that is intimidating to a lot of people. I’ve had over 12 appointments for the generator issue with RV shops that cancel after I pull up. The last one was this Monday. It's been a bit frustrating for me to plane around repairs only to have them canceled.

It would be nice to continue addressing the small projects between work and NGO projects. But some of the problems are out of my limited skill set. It would be nice to find a single shop that can work on all this but at this juncture, I’ll take what help I can get.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Pacific Northwest yetti]

Sorry to hear about some of the unique challenges you are seeing with the Hefalumps system(s).
But its not an adventure until something goes wrong.
A lof of that could be something really simple, or have to go through each system inch by inch and find the fault. Not many shops would tackle that. There is a shop in Reno NV, that does a lot of electrical systems in expedition rigs. Everything from small campers, to GXV on a LMTV chassis. The Owner Kp is really good at what he does. It may be worth a call to him, 775-204-1180
He did the Pan Am, and really understands complex systems and weird problems. I don’t know if he has time. But would let you pick his brain at least.

https://www.zerodeclination.com/

 

[Iain_U1250]

Having a custom built truck is difficult, not many people will work on anything like that because it is going to cost you a lot of money for them just to understand what is going on with the systems, let alone try to diagnose the problem, and unless you have a circuit diagram and all the various manuals for each component, it is going to be hard for them to figure out even the simplest thing. Even little things like where the various components are located, and how to access them will take them a lot of time to figure out, especially if you are not there to help, and not many shops will allow customers to help out. When it comes to the bill, what customer would be happy with a 10 hour labour charge to change a $20 component?

The best thing is to learn yourself, and the only way to do that is to just start figuring it out one bit at a time. Once you get started, and get the first one done, then you will gain confidence to start the next one. I buy whatever tools I need to do the job, even if it just to diagnose the problem. I had a problem with the a/c system on mine, a tiny leak. In order to find the leak it I bought a powerful UV torch, a vacuum pump, and the a/c gauges. Cheap Amazon tools are OK for one offs. The whole lot cost me $200, which is about 2 hours of labour here. If the leak had been inside the cab, they would have spent 2 hours just figuring out how to remove the various access panels in the roof to get to see the pipework around the evaporators, and probably broken some stuff in doing so. I've found a leak, and will pressure it up with compressed nitrogen and see if that was the only one before I spend another $150 getting it re-gassed. If it every leaks again, I'll have all the gear to fix it.

For you electrical problems, start by buying a multimeter - https://www.amazon.com.au/UNI-T-UT2...cphy=1000339&hvtargid=pla-1651356411102&psc=1 will do the same job as https://www.fluke.com/en-au/product...qGv-DVTGfLCtVG-mjVN4pQqiKvAfERkRoCfMsQAvD_BwE

The a/c compressor sounds easiest, make up a short bit of wire with a 5A fuse inline, and then use that to try power up the wires that are loose, whilst listening for the a/c clutch to click on. Then use the multimeter to see what give 12V power when you switch the a/c on. Adding a fan is a bit more difficult, but not much, you just need a relay triggered by the a/c compressor line. The right way to do it is via a three way switch in the a/c system, but fitting one of those would mean taking the a/c system apart and the only benefit is that the fan would not run when you were driving fast. Make sure the fan is mounted so you don't damage the condenser, making a mount the can handle the vibration and movement on corrugated roads would be the difficult part.

As for the other ones, all a shop will do is start replacing parts until they get it fixed, and you would have no idea if half the parts were actually needed or not. You could end up with a $3000 new generator instead of just a $50 remote switch.

If you start working on one problem at a time, and list the question on the forum, then people can help. Lots of photos help. Be a bit wary of just blindly doing what people say, I've seen some really bad recommendations from armchair experts who actually have no clue what they are doing, many don't even own a truck or have built anything in their lives, but the internet has made them an expert.

 

[where_the_heffalump_roams]

https://www.zerodeclination.com/

Thanks for that info! I may reach out to them after returning from Guatemala!

 

[where_the_heffalump_roams]

The best thing is to learn yourself, and the only way to do that is to just start figuring it out one bit at a time.

I agree that learning the system is essential. Most of what I listed can be figured out with time. But my biggest obstacle the generator issue. I’ve taken that as far as I can go with my limited voltmeter skills. But I really appreciate the fuse idea! I think I'll make a jumper switch with an inline fuse that I can use outside the vehicle so I can see if the a/c kicks on or not. I was a bit worried about just wiring things up and frying something.

The other obstacle is simply time and why I’m reaching out and trying to outsource some of the work. A competent technician is worth the hourly rate and can reduce system downtime and there is a lot that needs to be done.

 

[where_the_heffalump_roams]

I was hoping to get some help with the brakes, but the parts got held up in customs. So that gave me time to do some more cleaning up in the dash.

I really appreciate the fuse idea. I’m sure that’s a common thing to do but I’ve never done that with a jumper harness. It gave me some piece of mind and reduces the risks of frying the system.

I figured out which wire feeds the compressor using that system and fed it to an aftermarket toggle (which was used before). The odd thing is there is an OEM switch for that. But the polarity appears to be reversed for some reason. Perhaps that is why it was routed to a different switch.


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