Nice info Roger, Love the old “Big block” 454!
Happy Trails!!!

I DON’T care for the gas mileage. Average 5 to 6, ouch. I have been unloading a LOT of stuff. I am still heavy. Hoping to average 8 when we get back on the road. I hear 8 is average, still an ouch.

Thanks Roger! Found it Now a mechanic thinks it may be something else we’ll see soon. I will NOT continue on this trip until this and a couple other things are resolved.

Normally, if you overheat the engine even once, the thermostat will be ruined. You’ve overheated it repeatedly, it really should be changed. Hopefully, you haven’t ruined the engine.

Hello Roger and Peeps, The antifreeze has been tested and coming back fine. I am hoping to remove the thermostat today. I have to see if I have the proper socket and I am staying in someone’s yard and he receives a parts discount.

Why do you like the 454 Eddie? It is sluggish on hills and when entering the highway from a ramp and a gas hog. And not many know abt 454’s which I find amazing. Why is that? Is it a limited few that have been installed? Can I ever expect to get over 8mph? I have been dumping stuff off the rig along the way and must have lost 200 lbs during our PA stay.

Spirit I’m not sure what you have for problems on your outfit, but the 454 “Big Block” was Chevy’s best in class power-plant for most 3/4 and 1 ton pick-ups and chassies like you have under your motor home. the 454 was at one time the most powerful gas engine you could get in pickup truck, although thay were gas hogs when you put your foot in…[Read more]

454 should come with a 4 barrel normally aspirated carb and have duel exhaust. If it is missing either of these then you won’t be getting all of the available power. They are a gas hog and aside from doing some serious and costly tinkering you won’t get any better gas mileage. Absolutely loved the 454 I put into my old GMC 3/4 ton.

The Chev 454 and Ford 460 do like their fuel, the best thing you can do to improve milage is slow down. Usually, somewhere between 55 and 60 mph there is a “sweet spot” where you may get slightly better milage. The slow acceleration is due to the shear mass of your unit and air resistance which has a huge effect when you get a side or head wind.…[Read more]

How many of them have I put in and then have to turn around and take it out and put another in account it was defective.

Hows the 12 volt power thing going now Roger?

I changed out some of the problem units with my home made setup, increased the light output over the sink. I had some set aside that another camper had given me, don’t care for the color much but at least they aren’t overheating or flickering. All the crappy units are in areas where we don’t use the lights much or only for short durations, so they…[Read more]

Finally got motivated enough to find my old order information and order more of these LED chips. These were the first ones I installed and have yet to fail even one emitter. Ordered enough to do all the lights in the trailer. They are a bit labor intensive to install, makes a good rainy day project. I’ll do a short video and post it when I do the…[Read more]

Good shot Roger!

Gorgeous, wow!

nice

Building it yourself! That’s awesome.

I agree with Ray That’s awesome that you are building it yourself

You know, us retired guys have nothing better to do with our time. It’s all part of the plan so we can successfully snowbird for as long as possible.

Thankyou!!

Nice idea, I remember my old camper van had a retractable clothesline, came in handy sometimes. http://amzn.to/1O73CaI

Yea Roger, you got to look for the ones that can handle the higher voltage and temp. I think the nice ones Ray uses for replacement bulbs can handle the higher voltage and have a better heatsink on them. I’ve all but replaced the bulk of the “Junk Truck Stop” style because thay did the same burn out as yours. To date I haven’t had any problems…[Read more]

Part of the problem is the solar. I have two different charging systems that are attempting to equalise the batteries, so at least once a day the batteries are going through an equalising cycle if I’m hooked to grid power. This is the first time this has been true since we got the trailer, which is why the problem hasn’t occurred until now.

Roger, I’m charging with solar and still have my converter on. The set point on my solar charger is 14.8 volts with temperature compensation at higher voltage of up to 16 volts. ( Cold,Cold temp!) I have our equalization mode turned on manual setting on the solar controler to keep that from becoming a problem. ( Boiling the batteries) And I…[Read more]

Thanks, happy upcoming 4th to you! I’ve been so busy with fixing our current house and starting on our retirement house, (foundation is in), and I really am going to basically be living in the trailer all summer and fall while I’m building the new house, I really didn’t trailer issues while all this is going on.
It’s been hot and extremely humid,…[Read more]

Hey Roger, how about just unplugging your converter for now?

I guess I’m not that smart!

If you are thinking of putting your kayak on the side of your vehicle, you should be aware that the maximum width allowed on the road is 102″ in both the US and Canada. I’m pretty sure that you would be well over that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oversize_load
I’d also be very leary of drilling through your fibreglass skin, you don’t know where…[Read more]

Sorry for the late reply Roger. Internet has been finicky and I just pd a truck stop for 24 hrs use so I guess we will be here for 2 nights. I am 8′ wide plus have 11″ each side for my mirrors. So you are right as the rig is 96″ wide. I read somewhere that mirrors should not be more than 10″ away from the rig. Kayak is abt 12″, now at 108-112…[Read more]