StellaTariche

On 3/30/2024 at 1:48 PM, Jlalpaugh said:

What TV mount did you use and how did you secure it to the ceiling? Thanks in advance. 

Hi Joe.  The TV mount was from Fry’s Electronics (no longer around), but there are similar ones on eBay and Amazon. It is mounted to the modified cabinet structure (scroll back a bunch of photos).

The “latch” is a sliding child door latch the pivots down and away when unlatched.  Again, from “Babies R Us” (no longer in business), but similar ones on line.  Mounted into a piece of covered wood which was attached securely to the ceiling structure.   

Below are some photos on the cabinet/ ceiling mount.  Mounting to the horizontal cabinet allows it to be stored screen up (protected). I painted the back of the TV to match the ceiling - had I had extra ceiling material, I would have either covered the back or made molded cover to hide all the connections.

the latch is a pivoting 90 degree safety latch. I believe it was designed to keep a door closed. When closed, it is effectively an angle iron covered in felt and non slip rubber.  When open, it pivots down and out of the way. Sliding it in line with the pivot unlocks it. It is very strong and will not slide open by itself, but takes only one hand to unlatch. It is PVC covered steel.

mounted properly, the screen is held up to the cloth covered ceiling and does not rattle or move. 

There are other ways to do this, including hiding a linear actuator in the cabinet to “push” the screen up to the ceiling for storage and lower for viewing. I might do that this summer when I make the 360 dash cam screen slide up/down and hide in the top of the dash.

On 3/31/2024 at 6:38 AM, dennis.mcdonaugh said:

Wow. That’s all I can say, just wow!  You and your boys did and incredible job. 

They are now age 24, 30, and 33.  They and their wives / fiancés saw your comments and the photos and laughed and told stories of those three months in the paint booth. Two are engineers. One is a successful construction company owner.

Yes I still have the Uberbounder, and Each asked to use it this summer.

Thank you for the kind words. 
 

FYI, the other reason not to do this is obsolescence...

USB-B specs (the typical rectangular USB ports seen in the pictures) are minimum 500ma for charging, although they typically can go up to 4 amps split between the multiple ports.  They also require deeper boxes. And their quality and safety varies greatly.  You should see what is inside them - scary if you certify electrical safety like I do.

BUT, everything is moving to USB-C smart charging (required by the EU, so will happen everywhere because of economies of scale). USB-C are backwards compatible with USB-B with tiny cheap dongles (4 for $10).

My company certifies electronic products for sale in the US and worldwide. Everyone is moving to USB C. I have not seen any high capacity battery powered devices using USB B in the last nine months.

USB-C smart charging ports negotiate with your USB-C devices to up the voltage and current to the max wattage the device can take - which changes during the charging time. My Macbook Air M2 charges at 100W off a USB C charger.

So, I compared charging my iPhone 15 and new iPad Pro v6 (both plugged at the same - a typical use case -  into one of these USB-B wall 2 amp per port wall chargers - I rewired the house 6 years ago and added them in a couple locations):

• USB-B charging: 2 to 7 hours, depending on the cable, how low the battery charge was.
• USB-C 100W small hub x 2 outlets with appropriate cable: 22 minutes when both were almost empty.

Better to leave the outlet as is and get a multiport smart charger.  There are even some that plug into the dual AC outlet - flush mount - and add 2 x 60W USB (60W total split between the ports) smart ports. More than enough to charge a USB-C laptop AND a phone at the same time.

For quality and safety, get a UL certified device.  While ETL and other safety certs may be ok, UL certs on AC outlets and chargers are more expensive for a reason. We also see CE (self certified) devices - I would NOT buy or use one.

Hope that helps.

- John

I too have this issue. Still is disconnected, so I'm interested in what others say too.

thanks,

- John

”Waxing your Beaver”
 

What a disappointment this thread turned out to be:

[scoffs]

Not at all what Google promised….

Tom,

Thanks for the education on the differences between home 240V systems, RV GenSet 240V and Pedestal 240V systems, capacities and wiring.

And since I don't want to see my skeleton light up (like those shocking cartoon electrocutions), I think I'll leave my wiring as is (or consult my engineers who are NEC electricians and CE Safety certification experts) 

best,

- John

On 8/29/2023 at 9:48 AM, Larry Laursen said:

John,  The 7.5 and 8.0 KW Onan generators use an inverter to give 2 legs of 120 volt ac. The 2 legs are in-phase and will show 0 volts when measured across the legs. Thus, you only get 120 volts and the neutral carries the sum of the current used on both legs. You potentially center tap the heater and wire 2 circuits to the heater.  However, I would only recommend for an electrician vs an EE who gets shocked by the toaster. 🤣LOL.  The 10 and 12 KW Onan generators are true 240/120 volt units.  However, the normal household W/D is 240 volts at 30 amps, which is  4 times the the power of 120 at 15 amps.  Anyone expecting similar performance is going to be very disappointed. 50 amp shore power is 240/120 however the internal wiring of the MH doesn't accommodate that to the W/D except on high line units.

"I would only recommend for an electrician vs an EE who gets shocked by the toaster. 🤣LOL"

Me, the Toaster, and the fork
Every. Single. Saturday.
You'd think I'd learn, but no... 

On the subject of 120v vs 240v dryers….
 

(and I should know this but dont)

Why can’t we run a 240V dryer off the genset (Onan 7500w for me) or 50A service?

phase issues?

because a 240V dryer would sure work better, right?

Thanks,

- John, (the guy with a 5V EE degree who still gets shocked on the toaster on Saturday mornings)

Dave Pumphrey, thank you for the Napa part number.

Yup, it was the windshield washer pump.

Easy 10 minute fix.

- John

Wow Vince.  They did a great job on your coach.

Don, If you (1) have access to a +50' paint booth for two months, and (2) three teens who needed jobs as slave labor, and (3) are brave, you can do what we did:

(Scroll down - lots of pics of the repainting process at the link).  Cost of quality materials, slave labor, booth rental was about $15k.)

BTW, color sanding (final paint finishing to a mirror finish) can be done sooner with the right paint, HOWEVER, color sanding 1100 sq ft of paint is NOT fun at all :) 

- John

Mike's custom painting redid some clear coat on mine (orange peel). Re-cleared both side of the rig (not the caps - those were already color sanded and great)

Outstanding work. A lot less than anyplace else in US. Two years ago and perfect...

https://patrickpaintgroup.com/mikes-custom-painting/

ignore the passenger side roof radius where I had a disagreement with some trees - working on that this fall :(  

note from someone who used aluminum Pop-Rivets....

...don't.   The aluminum is not strong enough and will shear/break when you least expect it.

If you are going to pop rivet (especially without a backing washer), use stainless pop-rivets.

Hi Tom,

Unfortunately I have lots of experience with the dreaded "Death Wobble"

See here of details and photos of what can happen:

Because that year Cherokee and Grand Cherokee are marketed and advertised as Flat-towing ready (and they clearly are not without the expensive modifications)  Jeep corporate should pay for the fix (about $500+), although they will fight you..

Let me know if I can be of help.

- John Taylor

Yup. Exactly. 

I originally thought they were a great way to replace a starting battery, but (as my lab guys, who actually know what they are doing have said) “nope. Not for the casual RVuser”

I did some research into replacing the starting batteries with a couple of “super capacitor” banks. Each bank looks like a 6-pack of tall boy beer cans (or spray paint cans)

Pro:

• They last 20 years
• They require no maintenance
• They deliver an insane amount of starting current.  You’ll end up leaving the undersized wire to your starter in place to limit the current (home made fusible link)
• They work in very cold conditions
• You can place them under your bed with all your house lithium batteries
• They don’t weigh much.
• They can be hooked up in parallel with your lithium house bank which simplifies converter charging off solar, pedestal and genset 

Con:

• Expensive. Not insanely so, but still more.
• Our typical rig requires two - and they don’t combine the typical way two batteries do (because they are capacitors and have almost no internal resistance, so they sometimes combine electrically like capacitors and sometimes combine like batteries). Easy to hookup, but calculating your CCA (cold cranking amps) is different than lead acid batteries in parallel.  The manufacturer will help you.
• Alternator charging (as always) is the problem. When you ditch the lead acid bank, you will lose the “buffering” and “regulation” of the choppy signal coming out of your alternator.  So the charging circuit off the alternator must be modified to prevent unintended reverse voltage / current dumps (back EMF) and you might have to “smooth” the the alternator signal yourself.
• They can only crank the engine 4 or 5 times (for about 20-25 seconds of cranking) before the super capacitor must “recharge”.  Recharge means letting them sit in parallel with your big lithium house bank for about 15 minutes before trying again.
• Their ‘self discharge’ rate is higher than both lead acid and lithium batteries.  You’ll want to keep your rig plugged in or on solar if storing for a long time (months). You could wire in a disconnect, but the you’d have to wait 15 minutes for them to recharge off your lithium house bank before starting.

Interesting concept though if you want to rid yourself of lead acid batteries and go all Lithium. 

When my original pump died a few years ago, I put another pump in-line, leaving the original in place (evidently a common solution).

Still have yet to get my meter out and test - could very well be a burned out replacement in-line pump.

It is on the list...

Unintentionally funny for some of us and our rapidly aging parents:

         Someone asked what you call a “bathroom” when we were on a month’s tour.  “Depends”, said our guide….

Wipers work.

I replaced the washer pump a few years ago.

If I get out the meter and it shows no voltage, I still would need to know where the fuse for the pump was, so I figured I'll just ask the smart guys here....

thx

- John

Hi.  Before I pull out my meter, does anyone happen to know the fuse location for the windshield washer pump fuse?

Thanks,

- John

2000 Monaco Diplomat "Uberbounder"

Hi Ray.

Step 1:  Change skivies.

Steps 2-n:

No cell service in the mountain.  No Zipcode either (Forest Service land)

Unhooked jeep. Drove Uberbounder 20 miles to call for service tow. Tow was covered by RV policy since it was connected - hehe was  :)

Collected the parts.  Used steel wire to hold Bumper together.  Mostly cosmetic damage and broken A/C line. and some replacement big metal parts that held the base plates on to the unibody. 

Towed Jeep to campsite.  Used 50 metal wire ties and steel picture hanging wire to put it back together.  Love those things

Stayed a week for a friends wedding.

The Fetching Mrs Taylor drove Jeep back to Colorado with no A/C and windows open (fire season that year had the sky filled with smoke).  I followed in the uberbounder.  Could have rented a car trailer and towed trailer back with RV.  Can't remember why we didn't.

Turns out we could have had the A/C fixed in a day and had a much nice ride back.  Stupid me.

BTW, Jeep brake controller worked just like it was supposed to - except I hit the brakes in the RV, because seeing your Jeep trying to pass you on the right on a mountain cliff road is unnerving and all your logic and training goes out the window.

I should have just hit the "BRAKE" button on the brake controller and I could have avoided some of the damage - Jeep just would have stopped.  My hitting the RV brakes shoved the detached Jeep tow bar under the rear of the RV.

BTW, they should create an "RV driving simulator" to practice things like that and tire blowouts.  (Hey, there's a product idea!)

When back to Colorado, it was all bolt on fixes - no cutting or welding were ever needed. Lots of new plastic thingies.  Oh, and fight with Jeep FCA corporate.

I have a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited with the special “flat tow” capable transfer case.  This $3k+ Transmission upgrade is standard on the Trailhook model, BTW.

Jeep dealer and documentation specifically says it will safely allow flat towing*

* = after installing base plates and tow bar, and aftermarket braking unit, and wiring tail, turn and stop lamps.  Oh, and fixing the defectively designed “DEATH WOBBLE” (see below).

Pros:

• Nice Jeep. Top of the line Cherokee. Every electronic and safety add-on known to mankind. $42k via Costco buying program in 2014. First year model (see “cons” below). Note to self - “Dont buy first year model of any car”
• Drives nice when everything works.
• Stylish. Matches the paint scheme on the Uberbounder.
• Tows well ONCE POWER STEERING MODIFICATIONS are done. SEE VERY IMPORTANT WARNING BELOW with photos of what happens if you dont.

Cons:

• 9 speed transmission is nothing but trouble. On our 3rd tranny at 66K miles. Tranny is made of plastic (really).  So is oil cooler which will melt and crack and make a mess and make un drivable until fixed. Replacements of all of the above will break again.
• Off topic: Just realized saying “The Tranny is made of plastic” made me snort like the 11 year old that I am, at the same time look around to see if I will get cancelled 🙂 
• Back on topic: Console screen “All in one media and everything controller” overheats, because solder on the graphics chip goes bad like on the Xbox from Microsoft.
• Must be replaced (can’t control A/C, most other systems). Also on our third one.
• Only replacement is “remanufactured from Jeep”. Remans still have same problem.
• ‘Ungodly’ expensive ($2400 installed and reprogrammed). They keep your broken one to remanufacture and resell.
• Electronic power steering pump must be modded, or you can’t tow safely, irrespective of what the documentation or dealer says.
• Electronic power steering pump mods (must be done by dealer)
• Jeep will deny it is a problem, and try and refuse to pay for it ($700+)

The problem:

When in flat tow mode, electronic power steering is unpowered when towing (before modifications).

• THIS CAN AND WILL RESULT IN A “death wobble” (Google “Jeep death wobble”) as the jeep steering wobbles quickly left and right uncontrollably while being towed. Think shopping cart wheel with bad castor setup - Going high speed - With you riding in the shopping cart.
• At low speed, just stop.  It will stabilize so you can continue.
• AT HIGH SPEED, THE WOBBLING WILL BREAK LOOSE THE TOW BAR AND/OR TOW BASE-PLATES, AND THE JEEP WILL DETACH!
• This happened to us at 55mph going over a Cascade mountain pass in the Washington with a 500’ cliff next to us.  It is terrifying. Thank god for safety cables tying the Jeep frame to the broken-off baseplate. “Pucker Factor” = 10+
• My insurance company sued Jeep for the cost of the crash because Jeep lied and said they had installed the fix and hadn’t.  Jeep settled.
• The fix involves running a new power circuit to the electronic power steering pump, modifying the power steering CAN-BUS circuit with a 120 terminating resistor circuit and cable, installing a hidden safety switch in the center console, an extra fuse in the engine bay, and us running a battery charging circuit and module from the RV to the Jeep.
• Contact Jeep corporate and be prepared to fight them, as expected. Google is your friend.  This is a very well known problem that Jeep still denies despite dealer safety notices.
• Problem years 2014-2018 on All Cherokee models that can be flat towed.

Looks nice when all is fine though:

Taken just after the “nice view” photos when the Death Wobble broke the base plate off:

RV only had a small scratch on the back “bumper” area.

- John

or....

(completely hypothetical - would never ACTUALLY do it) :) 

1. Plumb macerator with a remote dash switch into your tank outlet. 
2. Connect output of macerator to hidden output nozzle on back of RV 
3. Wait for insistent tailgaters who can't/won't get the message
4. Press macerator button
5. Tank no longer needs dumping
6. Tailgaters keep a safe distance.
7. Note: Concealed carry permit probably a good idea.

  Think Sean Connery James Bond DB car with the "OIL SLICK" button.

Mine were duplicates on (top and bottom the same) on each side.  I wired each upper and lower in parallel as I found them.

Hi Vince.  It was a while ago (and earlier in the thread- page 2).

I got the tail lights on ebay in 2016.

Search for "Tail Lights FOR 1973-1978 GMC K15/C15/C1500 Pickup Smoke Rear Brake Taillights"

This link seems to find them:  https://www.ebay.com/b/Tail-Lights-for-GMC-K15/33716/bn_1392110

They are great with LED bulbs - keeps traffic behind me well informed.

Note: You'll need two pair.

Sincere apologies for getting carried away about car projects.

That will teach me not to post late at night.

Let me know if I should delete some / most / all if the car photos. Brutal honesty is appreciated.

- John

By the way, another choice that can look really nice and modern is to "wrap" the dash with adhesive-backed vinyl.

My son Jackson (15 at the time) and I completely redid the interior on a project car for him.

The 2002 Mercedes CLK 430 interior was dated with cracked rosewood, so we "wrapped" it conformal carbon fiber wrap from 3M.  I also wrapped the dash and trim on a 2001 Audi A8 I restored and updated.

Wrap is much easier to work with than veneer, forms around complex curves, and looks great.  Lots of YouTube videos to help you out.

Here are some photos of the finished car interiors:

- John

Note: We also learned how stretch and hog ring the nicely finished replacement dead cow skins on new foam for new seats.

And how to shoot automotive paint. And color sand.  And rebuild transmissions. And replace suspensions.

Having three sons taught me that they will take much better care of a car they themselves repaired, restored and updated. And as the expression goes "At 18, you ain't got no dealer or mechanic money!" was true for them, so they learned how to turn a wrench, read computer codes, read wiring diagrams, and get their hands dirty. Older high end German cars are great teaching experiences too.

Hi Brian,

I found a few.

The trick is get a label maker and abuse it.  Label tape every wire and switch, and take many many pictures.

Clean all the contacts and wire end while you have it out.  Deoxit from amazon works best - you don't need much. Spray electrical contact cleaner in the switches. 

Run the wires to replace the headlight switch with headlight relays.  You don't want all that current running through the dash switch.

Reinforce all the cracks with small strips of plastic that will (with the correct plastic glue) adhere to the dash.  I believe it is acrylic, so hunt online for the correct reinforcements plastic and adhesive.

The trim bit came from woodcraft - a 1/4 shank with a 1/8" diameter cutting flute with a flush bottom bearing.

Use a small trim router. Go slow, use very light pressure, and keep the bit on the old dash as a template.  Comes out great.

I filled the hole from the original monitor slightly less than flush. That way, the magnetic plates on the ipad mini I use to monitor things sits in the the slight depression. Looks nicer that way.

2' x 8' veneer roll (paper backed) also came from woodcraft.

I used black "shoe heel dressing" (looks like liquid shoe polish, but more opaque) on the exposed veneer edges when done. It protects and seals the edge, and looks professional.

I use square drive brass screws with finish washers to re-mount it.  A 90 degree screw driver attachment on a clutched drill is your friend :)

Use two people to unmount, carry and remount it.  It is fragile ("it must be Italian!").  

It looks really nice when done.

- John