Another Saturday of Bird things

[Gardner Yeaw]

Ah yes, I reserved today for doing little projects on the Bird.
First, I wanted to find out why the throttle seems to hang up just a
little above idle. I couldn't get it to hang up or bind while
standing still.

Next, I wanted to get the blowers from the inoperative dash AC
to run just for air circulation. I can see on the schematic that
there is a 30-amp breaker between the switches and the power source,
but I couldn't locate it. There is no power to the switches.
I suspect the breaker is above rather than down in the front. I did
not want to take that apart today so I put this one on hold.

I moved on to project number three, disconnect the speedometer
cable from the cruise control so I could pull it up through the hole
in the dash and reconnect the speedometer without reaching under the
dash and risking shorting a few old wires. I had tried this several
weeks ago but could not get the collar to loosen, I soaked it with
WD-40 and today it broke loose. Success.

Number 4; straighten the square aluminum extension on the bottom
of the front strut of the large awning. One of the PO's must have
brushed a tree or something bending the bar causing the struts to
press tightly against the coach body when in a stored position. That
is one tough piece of aluminum. My vice threatened to rip off the
bench when I tried to bend the bar. I wound up sticking it into the
receiver hitch on the bird and using a large pipe wrench and my
foot. Another successful project.

While I was doing these repairs I had the generator running for AC
and to keep the Snapple cold in the icemaker (It was 95 around here
today). I shut it down and went inside the house to take a shower
and get the grease off. I came back out, all spiffy and clean, to
take the bird back to the storage facility. I tried to start the
generator, I tried to start the generator, and again, I tried to
start the generator. Nothing! Then I noticed the automatic choke
mechanism had fallen off the carburetor. I opened it up, reconnected
it to the carb and reinstalled the spring, heater and hold-down
screws. Still it wouldn't start. Then I saw that one of the spark
plug leads had come out of the coil, so I put it back in, and it
fired up and ran fine. So much for staying clean!

So now, generator running, AC cooling, radio blasting, a cold
Snapple by my side, I head for the storage facility. I notice that
the throttle is sticking again, so I pull over and try to figure it
out. I am beginning to suspect it is the transmission cable that is
binding, but I wasn't able determine that for sure. I will examine
it when things are a little cooler.

Now I am finally at the storage facility. I pull the emergency
breakaway cable out of the toad to set the brake, and proceed to
disconnect safety chains and the Blue Ox tow bar. As usual, I have
to rock the toad a little to get the pins out. But this time, after
I pull the pin, the toad starts to roll slowly toward the bird,
threatining to create a `Gardner ` sandwich. Seems like my $900 SMI
braking system isn't doing its job!

So I jump in the toad, return it to normal mode, and move it out
of the way. I park the coach, store the tow bar in the storage
compartment, and proceed to clean up and prepare the coach for
storage. I lock up the coach and get in the toad, no keys! I
wandered around in the dark searching the coach and the gravel lot
over and over and over. Finally it dawns on me, maybe you had them
in your hand when you put the tow bar away. Well, needless to say, I
found them tangled in the safety cables under the tow bar in the
storage compartment.

So I managed to fix two things, put three things off, and loose
my keys. I think I will take Sunday off.

Gardner
78FC33

[Jack & Donna Smith]

Were you alone on all of these projects, or was a Mister Murphy
"helping" you.?
Jack Smith
1973FC31
Hot SoCal..

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Gardner Yeaw"
wrote:
>
> Ah yes, I reserved today for doing little projects on the Bird.
> First, I wanted to find out why the throttle seems to hang up just a
> little above idle. I couldn't get it to hang up or bind while
> standing still.
>
> Next, I wanted to get the blowers from the inoperative dash AC
> to run just for air circulation. I can see on the schematic that
> there is a 30-amp breaker between the switches and the power source,
> but I couldn't locate it. There is no power to the switches.
> I suspect the breaker is above rather than down in the front. I did
> not want to take that apart today so I put this one on hold.
>
> I moved on to project number three, disconnect the speedometer
> cable from the cruise control so I could pull it up through the hole
> in the dash and reconnect the speedometer without reaching under the
> dash and risking shorting a few old wires. I had tried this several
> weeks ago but could not get the collar to loosen, I soaked it with
> WD-40 and today it broke loose. Success.
>
> Number 4; straighten the square aluminum extension on the bottom
> of the front strut of the large awning. One of the PO's must have
> brushed a tree or something bending the bar causing the struts to
> press tightly against the coach body when in a stored position. That
> is one tough piece of aluminum. My vice threatened to rip off the
> bench when I tried to bend the bar. I wound up sticking it into the
> receiver hitch on the bird and using a large pipe wrench and my
> foot. Another successful project.
>
> While I was doing these repairs I had the generator running for AC
> and to keep the Snapple cold in the icemaker (It was 95 around here
> today). I shut it down and went inside the house to take a shower
> and get the grease off. I came back out, all spiffy and clean, to
> take the bird back to the storage facility. I tried to start the
> generator, I tried to start the generator, and again, I tried to
> start the generator. Nothing! Then I noticed the automatic choke
> mechanism had fallen off the carburetor. I opened it up, reconnected
> it to the carb and reinstalled the spring, heater and hold-down
> screws. Still it wouldn't start. Then I saw that one of the spark
> plug leads had come out of the coil, so I put it back in, and it
> fired up and ran fine. So much for staying clean!
>
> So now, generator running, AC cooling, radio blasting, a cold
> Snapple by my side, I head for the storage facility. I notice that
> the throttle is sticking again, so I pull over and try to figure it
> out. I am beginning to suspect it is the transmission cable that is
> binding, but I wasn't able determine that for sure. I will examine
> it when things are a little cooler.
>
> Now I am finally at the storage facility. I pull the emergency
> breakaway cable out of the toad to set the brake, and proceed to
> disconnect safety chains and the Blue Ox tow bar. As usual, I have
> to rock the toad a little to get the pins out. But this time, after
> I pull the pin, the toad starts to roll slowly toward the bird,
> threatining to create a `Gardner ` sandwich. Seems like my $900 SMI
> braking system isn't doing its job!
>
> So I jump in the toad, return it to normal mode, and move it out
> of the way. I park the coach, store the tow bar in the storage
> compartment, and proceed to clean up and prepare the coach for
> storage. I lock up the coach and get in the toad, no keys! I
> wandered around in the dark searching the coach and the gravel lot
> over and over and over. Finally it dawns on me, maybe you had them
> in your hand when you put the tow bar away. Well, needless to say, I
> found them tangled in the safety cables under the tow bar in the
> storage compartment.
>
> So I managed to fix two things, put three things off, and loose
> my keys. I think I will take Sunday off.
>
> Gardner
> 78FC33
>

[Mike Hohnstein]

And U wanta take a trip to Alaska?? Should be very interesting.
MH
----- Original Message -----
From: Gardner Yeaw
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, August 04, 2007 9:28 PM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Another Saturday of Bird things


Ah yes, I reserved today for doing little projects on the Bird.
First, I wanted to find out why the throttle seems to hang up just a
little above idle. I couldn't get it to hang up or bind while
standing still.

Next, I wanted to get the blowers from the inoperative dash AC
to run just for air circulation. I can see on the schematic that
there is a 30-amp breaker between the switches and the power source,
but I couldn't locate it. There is no power to the switches.
I suspect the breaker is above rather than down in the front. I did
not want to take that apart today so I put this one on hold.

I moved on to project number three, disconnect the speedometer
cable from the cruise control so I could pull it up through the hole
in the dash and reconnect the speedometer without reaching under the
dash and risking shorting a few old wires. I had tried this several
weeks ago but could not get the collar to loosen, I soaked it with
WD-40 and today it broke loose. Success.

Number 4; straighten the square aluminum extension on the bottom
of the front strut of the large awning. One of the PO's must have
brushed a tree or something bending the bar causing the struts to
press tightly against the coach body when in a stored position. That
is one tough piece of aluminum. My vice threatened to rip off the
bench when I tried to bend the bar. I wound up sticking it into the
receiver hitch on the bird and using a large pipe wrench and my
foot. Another successful project.

While I was doing these repairs I had the generator running for AC
and to keep the Snapple cold in the icemaker (It was 95 around here
today). I shut it down and went inside the house to take a shower
and get the grease off. I came back out, all spiffy and clean, to
take the bird back to the storage facility. I tried to start the
generator, I tried to start the generator, and again, I tried to
start the generator. Nothing! Then I noticed the automatic choke
mechanism had fallen off the carburetor. I opened it up, reconnected
it to the carb and reinstalled the spring, heater and hold-down
screws. Still it wouldn't start. Then I saw that one of the spark
plug leads had come out of the coil, so I put it back in, and it
fired up and ran fine. So much for staying clean!

So now, generator running, AC cooling, radio blasting, a cold
Snapple by my side, I head for the storage facility. I notice that
the throttle is sticking again, so I pull over and try to figure it
out. I am beginning to suspect it is the transmission cable that is
binding, but I wasn't able determine that for sure. I will examine
it when things are a little cooler.

Now I am finally at the storage facility. I pull the emergency
breakaway cable out of the toad to set the brake, and proceed to
disconnect safety chains and the Blue Ox tow bar. As usual, I have
to rock the toad a little to get the pins out. But this time, after
I pull the pin, the toad starts to roll slowly toward the bird,
threatining to create a `Gardner ` sandwich. Seems like my $900 SMI
braking system isn't doing its job!

So I jump in the toad, return it to normal mode, and move it out
of the way. I park the coach, store the tow bar in the storage
compartment, and proceed to clean up and prepare the coach for
storage. I lock up the coach and get in the toad, no keys! I
wandered around in the dark searching the coach and the gravel lot
over and over and over. Finally it dawns on me, maybe you had them
in your hand when you put the tow bar away. Well, needless to say, I
found them tangled in the safety cables under the tow bar in the
storage compartment.

So I managed to fix two things, put three things off, and loose
my keys. I think I will take Sunday off.

Gardner
78FC33





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Gardner Yeaw]

Mike,
The possible Alaska trip (three years away)is the motivator to get
everything up to snuff. I figure if I get my hands on every part of
the Bird before leaving I will be able to handle most things that may
come up during two or three months on the road.
Anyway, the speedometer is working great now since I cleaned it up
and gave the bearings a tiny puff of lube. It's about as accurate as
the weather man, but it doesn't stick and jump anymore.

Gardner
78FC33





--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Mike Hohnstein"
<MHOHNSTEIN@...> wrote:
>
> And U wanta take a trip to Alaska?? Should be very interesting.
> MH
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Gardner Yeaw
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Saturday, August 04, 2007 9:28 PM
> Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Another Saturday of Bird things
>
>
> Ah yes, I reserved today for doing little projects on the Bird.
> First, I wanted to find out why the throttle seems to hang up
just a
> little above idle. I couldn't get it to hang up or bind while
> standing still.
>
> Next, I wanted to get the blowers from the inoperative dash AC
> to run just for air circulation. I can see on the schematic that
> there is a 30-amp breaker between the switches and the power
source,
> but I couldn't locate it. There is no power to the switches.
> I suspect the breaker is above rather than down in the front. I
did
> not want to take that apart today so I put this one on hold.
>
> I moved on to project number three, disconnect the speedometer
> cable from the cruise control so I could pull it up through the
hole
> in the dash and reconnect the speedometer without reaching under
the
> dash and risking shorting a few old wires. I had tried this
several
> weeks ago but could not get the collar to loosen, I soaked it
with
> WD-40 and today it broke loose. Success.
>
> Number 4; straighten the square aluminum extension on the bottom
> of the front strut of the large awning. One of the PO's must have
> brushed a tree or something bending the bar causing the struts to
> press tightly against the coach body when in a stored position.
That
> is one tough piece of aluminum. My vice threatened to rip off the
> bench when I tried to bend the bar. I wound up sticking it into
the
> receiver hitch on the bird and using a large pipe wrench and my
> foot. Another successful project.
>
> While I was doing these repairs I had the generator running for
AC
> and to keep the Snapple cold in the icemaker (It was 95 around
here
> today). I shut it down and went inside the house to take a shower
> and get the grease off. I came back out, all spiffy and clean, to
> take the bird back to the storage facility. I tried to start the
> generator, I tried to start the generator, and again, I tried to
> start the generator. Nothing! Then I noticed the automatic choke
> mechanism had fallen off the carburetor. I opened it up,
reconnected
> it to the carb and reinstalled the spring, heater and hold-down
> screws. Still it wouldn't start. Then I saw that one of the spark
> plug leads had come out of the coil, so I put it back in, and it
> fired up and ran fine. So much for staying clean!
>
> So now, generator running, AC cooling, radio blasting, a cold
> Snapple by my side, I head for the storage facility. I notice
that
> the throttle is sticking again, so I pull over and try to figure
it
> out. I am beginning to suspect it is the transmission cable that
is
> binding, but I wasn't able determine that for sure. I will
examine
> it when things are a little cooler.
>
> Now I am finally at the storage facility. I pull the emergency
> breakaway cable out of the toad to set the brake, and proceed to
> disconnect safety chains and the Blue Ox tow bar. As usual, I
have
> to rock the toad a little to get the pins out. But this time,
after
> I pull the pin, the toad starts to roll slowly toward the bird,
> threatining to create a `Gardner ` sandwich. Seems like my $900
SMI
> braking system isn't doing its job!
>
> So I jump in the toad, return it to normal mode, and move it out
> of the way. I park the coach, store the tow bar in the storage
> compartment, and proceed to clean up and prepare the coach for
> storage. I lock up the coach and get in the toad, no keys! I
> wandered around in the dark searching the coach and the gravel
lot
> over and over and over. Finally it dawns on me, maybe you had
them
> in your hand when you put the tow bar away. Well, needless to
say, I
> found them tangled in the safety cables under the tow bar in the
> storage compartment.
>
> So I managed to fix two things, put three things off, and loose
> my keys. I think I will take Sunday off.
>
> Gardner
> 78FC33
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

[Mike Hohnstein]

that's the spirit.
MH
----- Original Message -----
From: Gardner Yeaw
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, August 05, 2007 11:45 AM
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Re: Another Saturday of Bird things


Mike,
The possible Alaska trip (three years away)is the motivator to get
everything up to snuff. I figure if I get my hands on every part of
the Bird before leaving I will be able to handle most things that may
come up during two or three months on the road.
Anyway, the speedometer is working great now since I cleaned it up
and gave the bearings a tiny puff of lube. It's about as accurate as
the weather man, but it doesn't stick and jump anymore.

Gardner
78FC33

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Mike Hohnstein"
<MHOHNSTEIN@...> wrote:
>
> And U wanta take a trip to Alaska?? Should be very interesting.
> MH
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Gardner Yeaw
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Saturday, August 04, 2007 9:28 PM
> Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] Another Saturday of Bird things
>
>
> Ah yes, I reserved today for doing little projects on the Bird.
> First, I wanted to find out why the throttle seems to hang up
just a
> little above idle. I couldn't get it to hang up or bind while
> standing still.
>
> Next, I wanted to get the blowers from the inoperative dash AC
> to run just for air circulation. I can see on the schematic that
> there is a 30-amp breaker between the switches and the power
source,
> but I couldn't locate it. There is no power to the switches.
> I suspect the breaker is above rather than down in the front. I
did
> not want to take that apart today so I put this one on hold.
>
> I moved on to project number three, disconnect the speedometer
> cable from the cruise control so I could pull it up through the
hole
> in the dash and reconnect the speedometer without reaching under
the
> dash and risking shorting a few old wires. I had tried this
several
> weeks ago but could not get the collar to loosen, I soaked it
with
> WD-40 and today it broke loose. Success.
>
> Number 4; straighten the square aluminum extension on the bottom
> of the front strut of the large awning. One of the PO's must have
> brushed a tree or something bending the bar causing the struts to
> press tightly against the coach body when in a stored position.
That
> is one tough piece of aluminum. My vice threatened to rip off the
> bench when I tried to bend the bar. I wound up sticking it into
the
> receiver hitch on the bird and using a large pipe wrench and my
> foot. Another successful project.
>
> While I was doing these repairs I had the generator running for
AC
> and to keep the Snapple cold in the icemaker (It was 95 around
here
> today). I shut it down and went inside the house to take a shower
> and get the grease off. I came back out, all spiffy and clean, to
> take the bird back to the storage facility. I tried to start the
> generator, I tried to start the generator, and again, I tried to
> start the generator. Nothing! Then I noticed the automatic choke
> mechanism had fallen off the carburetor. I opened it up,
reconnected
> it to the carb and reinstalled the spring, heater and hold-down
> screws. Still it wouldn't start. Then I saw that one of the spark
> plug leads had come out of the coil, so I put it back in, and it
> fired up and ran fine. So much for staying clean!
>
> So now, generator running, AC cooling, radio blasting, a cold
> Snapple by my side, I head for the storage facility. I notice
that
> the throttle is sticking again, so I pull over and try to figure
it
> out. I am beginning to suspect it is the transmission cable that
is
> binding, but I wasn't able determine that for sure. I will
examine
> it when things are a little cooler.
>
> Now I am finally at the storage facility. I pull the emergency
> breakaway cable out of the toad to set the brake, and proceed to
> disconnect safety chains and the Blue Ox tow bar. As usual, I
have
> to rock the toad a little to get the pins out. But this time,
after
> I pull the pin, the toad starts to roll slowly toward the bird,
> threatining to create a `Gardner ` sandwich. Seems like my $900
SMI
> braking system isn't doing its job!
>
> So I jump in the toad, return it to normal mode, and move it out
> of the way. I park the coach, store the tow bar in the storage
> compartment, and proceed to clean up and prepare the coach for
> storage. I lock up the coach and get in the toad, no keys! I
> wandered around in the dark searching the coach and the gravel
lot
> over and over and over. Finally it dawns on me, maybe you had
them
> in your hand when you put the tow bar away. Well, needless to
say, I
> found them tangled in the safety cables under the tow bar in the
> storage compartment.
>
> So I managed to fix two things, put three things off, and loose
> my keys. I think I will take Sunday off.
>
> Gardner
> 78FC33
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]