Our "New to Us" Winnie

[T1 Terry]

Pics please. Just had a thought. By now you could of got Rustic Inn (the first) all done and you would be on the road by now??

Don't go there Dottie .... that was the original idea in getting the workshop, so I could work on big bus between jobs .... in 7 1/2 yrs, there was never less than 2 jobs on the go at the same time ...... the tail wagging the dog ....

When the workshop burnt down, I was all for bringing big bus home, or putting up a shed here, so I could finish Big Bus ...... Margaret wanted to be on the road yesterday at this point, so I gave up on that idea and searched for 6 mths till I found the Fuso .... ticked all the boxes, bought it and discovered what actually had to be done to get it right ..... did all that, got home from a great shake down trip ...... the meter box went up in flames and burnt everything to the ground .....

Now I'm working on getting yet another motorhome ready to travel ..... still no shed to work in ...... I'm not better off than I was back in Lake Illawarra, worse off actually, because I had all the gear there and was set up to do the work ......

So far I've rebuilt:

The 3500 Mazda, complete with engine rebuild and lifted the roof and completely re-did the interior, along with new solar, inverter and wiring .... too small now to travel long term in

The Hino, complete with sorting the over heating issues, replacing the fuel pump and injectors, fitting a different battery and inverter set up, new solar, the inside being revamped ..... lost in the workshop fire

The Fuso, rebuild the front roof section where it was poorly build at the point of conversion. Cut out and replace a heap of rust. Virtually rewired the thing and fitted a new battery and inverter system and new solar. Finally found what was causing the dreadful smell and fumes when driving an extended distance and dismantled half the bedroom to get the mirror out so the polystyrene at was sitting on the exhaust could be removed. Fixed the pitiful exhaust brake piping and hoses ..... burnt to the ground in the house fire

Now I'm trying to get the Winnie up to scratch so we can travel ..... for the amount of work I've had to do on the last 4 motorhomes, I could have finished the Big Bus project and we'd be on the road now ..... but it's just rusting relic sitting in the workshop yard now .....

T1 Terry

[Dot]

Yeah the shite really hit the fan hey, Hindsight is a wonderful thing.Keep slogging away. How is Margaret's foot?

[T1 Terry]

All but finished the welding on the trailer yesterday, time to grind down all the welds, fill it any holds, a trial fit and if it passes muster, paint the new bits

Thanks to Bruce for the lengths of 60mm square, made the second guide rail fitting a lot quicker .... but I can't find where I put those bits of steel mesh you gave me ... I'll keep looking

T1 Terry

[BruceS]

Just got home from the airport. They are here on the front rope box Terry!
I'll bring them in after I wind down a bit.
Fired up the Flightradar24 as soon as I got back to Mannum. I left Adelaide shortly before the plane left for Brisvegas & she was halfway between Moree & Texas!!!

[T1 Terry]

Thanks Bruce, I'll stop looking for them now Monster headache, so nothing too serious was achieved, I did install two replacement lights, one in the bathroom and one in the ceiling centre at around the kitchen sink area.

Naturally, there were 120 leds and 168 leds listed, so I bought the 168 led version ..... had to cut a piece out of the roof support one end of the Winnie light fitting and cut slots in the light fitting each end so I could get them in .... the 120 led version would have been a neat fit
I could say "live and learn" but rapidly approaching 70 and still haven't learnt, so it ain't gunna happen me thinks .... but no excuses for leaving the bathroom with dirty spots you missed, it's like being under a spotlight in there now

T1 Terry

[T1 Terry]

The MG4 as a big storage battery and AC power supply has been through a proof on concept trial, so it will now move on to a waterproof CCS 2 plug and 5mm sq conductor cable rather than the adapter and extension lead for free camping power with a generator.

The trailer is close to finished, just needs a side step to make it easier to get in and out of the car when it's on the trailer ...... and a coat of paint.
Step won't happen before we go, just a second coat of paint and that job is ticked off

The Victron Multiplus inverter and 600Ah @12vdc Sodium ion battery is wired up and functioning well and seamlessly works with the MG4 V2L.

The hot water runs fine of the battery/solar/inverter/V2L power, so I can finish off the gas reconnection at a later date
Probably a full replacement now

The 3 way fridge/freezer is working well on AC power and 80ltr Waeco as a back up freezer works well powered from the house battery

The washing machine is in and running fine. I have pumps etc to make a water reuse system if needed, might pack that in so it can be looked at if the need arises ...

I'll pack the diesel heater and fit it when we camp up somewhere for a while

The solar is gunna have to wait till we get back from our shake down 2 mth trip

The fibreglass/timber rot damage around the outside of the water heater will have to be addressed while we are on the road or when we get back ..... I think the water heater might be due for a replacement soon, so one of those jobs to do as a combination repair jobs.

Job to sort before we leave:

The box and wood surround to shut up the inverter noise (that doesn't bother me, but ....) Just needs the top shelf edges rounded and Tung oil applied and attached

A radiator flush and heater tap reassembly and coolant refill to be done before we leave

Finding the solenoid that links the start battery to the house battery and wiring that in

Wiring the rest of the negative wire connections to the negative block (that arrive a few days back, still haven't found the other one yet) and mount the Victron BMV 712 in it's electrical enclosure and tidy up the wiring a bit more

Register the trailer, attempt number 3, bloody Murray Bridge Service SA needs a flush and restaff with people who aren't looking to make things as difficult as possible ......
Done, yahoo

Hopefully, install Brian's Victron Multiplus inverter for him ..... the one I removed from the Winnie, sadly his brand new still in the box inverter was in the garden shed when the house burnt down.
Don't think time is gunna be on our side for that one

The departure date is now moved to Monday or Tuesday, Margaret wants to get another dressing change on Monday before we leave

Getting there, just the smaller take 3 times as long to do as they should jobs to go ..... The big ones are done and dusted

T1 Terry

[Dot]

OK bets are on again Where are you going and for how long?

[T1 Terry]

Margaret finally convinced Murray Bridge Service SA that they had run out of possible run- a-rounds and they would finally have to register the trailer. I contacted the makers of the trailer and they gave me the previous rego number and it was made for Gawler council as a ride on mower trailer, and the front cage was for push mowers and whipper snippers etc ..... seems what I paid for the trailer was an absolute bargain compared to what Gawler Council paid to have it built, the young lady didn't tell me what it cost the council, but when she asked me how much I paid for it .... I rather embarrassedly told her and she replied I got an absolute bargain ..... so that cheered up my day.

Today was hair cut day, so that chore is over and done with for the next few mths, and I got back into working the shelf thingy that goes around the inverter.

My first attempt at cutting in the shape of the door frame it sits against .... looks a tad agricultural, so some wood putty will be required to improve that. So the next piece I employed CAD drawing to the task and it looks a lot better.
All these yrs I'd never realised I'd mastered CAD way back in my fabrication days, Cardboard Assisted Drawing makes the job so much easier, as does Cardboard Assisted Design, where you make up the designed piece out of cardboard, trim till it fits, then transfer the pattern to the material you plan to build it out of

T1 Terry

[T1 Terry]

OK bets are on again Where are you going and for how long?

The "how long" is in the last post Dottie I think I might have even posted the planned trip some where on here .... but it might have been on one of the other 4 forums I post on

T1 Terry

[Dot]

Please explain, I have not seen any itinerary except for leaving Mond or Tues.Who will do Margaret's dressings while you are somewhere?