Merlin's Quest

Today's work

2010-03-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

Well had a few hours to work on Merlin. Caught the dang mouse! He's been eluding us for sometime. So I siliconed his entry point under and in the cabinet. Also was having a problem with the starting battery going dead constantly. This is one of the batteries from our boat I was using. The original battery bit the dust. The water level was way low. Added distilled and it's already stronger than it has been in a long time. Also checked the house batteries. They seem in good shape. Hopefully I won't need to use the AUX start to get merlin running.

Also was having a problem getting the power gear levelers to turn on. Sometimes it would sometimes it wouldn't. Found it to be an operator error. The emergency brake light has to be on for it to work. Sometimes if it's not released all the way then reapplied it doesn't set the light. So easy fix. Unfortunately one of the jacks is leaking pretty bad. Power gear no longer sells to other than dealers and 1 seal kit is $100. Fortunately it's just a hydraulic ram and on the net alot of folks have had good luck using local hydraulic shops. Luckily there's one about a mile from my work so we'll see.

Finished my weld job under the hood. Hopefully it should hold alot better.

Also found one of the rear sway bar bushings is missing. Cheap and easy so hopefully the FORD dealer can help there. This thing is going to drive like a dream when I get it all together. I'm devising a plan to test the effectiveness of new shocks and tires. I'll use a tub with full glasses and take a trip to see how much water spills. Change shocks and try again. This may not tell anything, but it should be more accurate than just guessing.

This weekend I'm planning on getting the generator oil change. Finish putting the bathroom sink in, and getting the roof mounted antenna to raise and turn. I just got 2 magnavox RTB110MW9 digital to analog converters (missed the govt coupon deal :( ). So we should have local stations. We just hooked up the living room tv today and it works great. With the outside antenna (in a bad spot) we still got 29 channels. Sorry DTV, I like saving $80/month.

Weekend work

2010-02-28T13:54:00.000-08:00

Well it's been a busy Merlin weekend. Welded the front end. Installed the Safe-T-Steer. Removed the bathroom sink to paint and installed a new faucet (darling wife "DW"). Changed the shower head (DW). Cleaned a mice nest out of the cabinet. Took it up the road to get gas and check out the weld job. Ordered Koni FSD's for the front ($340).

Most went well. The weld on the passenger side held fine up the road. Unfortunately the drivers didn't. Just the way the stresses work it didn't hold. Also think I didn't have the amps cranked on the welder (sp-100). So I went to lowe's and got a piece of 1/4" plate steel and cut it larger than the part that broke. Also got a super nice Kobalt auto-darkening helmet!! Gotta save the eyes, but the best part is you can see what you're welding. After gorilla welding that plate in place (not gonna break this time!) I was moving Merlin to his spot. There's an uneven drainage ditch I have to cross... POP! the passenger side went. So I'll get some 1/8" plate steel and beef up the passenger side and to the same to the vertical piece on the drivers (so that won't break in the future).

Safe-T-Steer installation was easy. Needed a cheater bar to get the 2 U-bolt nuts off. The trip to the gas station was to adjust the center on the unit, but with wind gust up to 20 mph it was hard to tell. Also the roads weren't the best for doing this (bumpy, curvy, narrow roads)

Also plugged in the SCAN Gauge. The 8 mile trip showed around 7.7 mpg average. Which is better than I expected based on the roads (plenty of hills too!).

headlight change

2010-02-25T15:12:00.000-08:00

The coach has 1992-1996 f-series truck headlights. I had new crystal clear headlights on our truck and swapped them out. Makes the coach look 10 years newer.

Let it snow, let it snow

2010-01-30T19:03:00.000-08:00

Jan 29th and the snow is here. Thanks Al Gore for the Global warming!! I mean Climate change.... Had to work nights to keep the plant going and shuttle people to work so the girls stayed in Merlin during the day. Unfortunately I didn't trust the central heat. I need to investigate if it's firing off right or maybe has some dirt daubers in the vent. So an electric oil heater took the bite off. They were still cold even though it's as easy as firing up the V10 and cooking the planet!

Merlin's tank drop

2010-01-29T21:09:00.000-08:00

On our first trip from the dealer the generator stopped about an hour after we left. Typical "use first, read instuctions later". Apparently the fuel pickup only goes down to 1/4 tank to keep enough fuel to drive around. Well after filling up the generator still wouldn't start. So when we got home I ordered a new fuel pump for ($86). Still didn't work. The fuel tank is 75 gallons so after our second trip to Avon, NC. I ran it as close to empty to drop the tank at home. Unfortunately the hydraulic jack mounts were welded over 1 of the tank straps bolts. So no dropping. I managed to tilt the tank enough to get the pickup/sender assembly out. It ended up being the plastic connector at the tank. Bad o-rings. Replaced the hose with a slightly larger size and did away with the connector. Problemo solved. Generator works great!

Merlin's Quest 1st trip

2010-01-29T20:50:00.001-08:00

At the end of the summer 09 the 5 of us decides we were to become an RV'n family. Sacrifices to be made we all decided to go for it. We found our beloved Merlin (a 35' 1999 Fleetwood Flair) on an internet search. We were going to Boston for my Grandmother's Birthday cruise. The misses and I decided if it was still for sale when we got back we were going for it. Two weeks later we left on a Thursday night and drove all through the night from NC to Vero Beach, Fl. Left at 9pm and got there at 10am.

Our trip was quite eventful. To start it off the U-haul place, well I couldn't even pull into it. Then they didn't have an adapter for the plug on Merlin to the U-haul dolly. Once getting that straight we were off. Low and behold don't go below 1/4 tank or you loose the generator. Hmmm Florida summer with only dash A/C... We survived. Daytona was great other than the short stay. We left Sunday for Home, 600 miles total which I think is my limit. Atleast on the crappy stretches of 95 which again I was a novice motorhome driver. With inches to spare between the semi's and the concrete walls, the idiot people on cell phones trying to get on the highway not paying attention, again we made it.

There was many other things which I can attribute to what my father told me. "You're just doing it backwards, most take it home and figure out how things work". How true, luckily we had all the manuals! Too bad they did little to help.

All in all a great purchase. Being the economy today the bank required 25% down so we owe less than most do on their personal cars. Ours just happens to have a full bath with a tub, queen bed, and a Big V10!!