spring Ahoy!

[prophetdaniel2]

Land HO! The wife has informed me (im at work of course) that the snow has melted and the driveway has dried and solidified enough to roll Bessie out when i get home! Time to charge up tuem deep cells, swap out the starter relay, fuel pressure regulator, house water pump, check for leaks, check the tyres, and see if she'll fire up! To the chagrin of me neighors no doubt ;-) Sail On!   

[USNRetired]

ding-ding   "bell ringing"

ding-ding   "bell ringing"

Shift Color's, Underway................

What every sailor hears when a U.S. Navy Ship gets underway.... I have installed a bell on my American Clipper!

[prophetdaniel2]

Oooooo! great idea!
     fired bessie up, looks good to go. a large feild mouse jumped from engine compartment, once it got warmd up.
bought the new house waterpump. and got leveling legos. i suspect someone siphoned off about half my fuel this winter.thinking if setting up a bear trap next winter....

[Horst]

gas siphoning will become an increasingly annoying issue I 'm afraid

be sure you don't have a leak though - but you'd be able to smell it (like I did)

[prophetdaniel2]

So far, doesnt look to have any leaks of any kind! new house water pump is in and functional ,woohoo! but I had to rebuild my airhorn motor. got some moisture in it some how. Generator fired up after some serious cranking, takes a while to get the fuel up those dry lines. found a few mouse turds....no big deal. The electric radiator fan motor got a rewire, the motor doesnt sound too great on it, but it works ok, and since its a backup it should be good. NEED NEW TIRES! my dualies are in rough shape! wont be going anywhere terribly far or very quickly until that gets remedied. Spoke with a buddy who happens to be the new tire shop manager at costco in juneau, he made a few calls and says the anchorage tire shop has a set. gotta llook into that as soon as possible. I think he mentioned something about costco having some new 16.5 inch tires made up soon.....Dont know, Probably alot of our vintage rv's still rolling around up here.
    Time to vaccum the carpet fresh up. Gonna try for an overnight Eagle River trip tomorrow.

[Horst]

be sure your tires are up for the trip - your  quote in caps above makes me think you should not drive too far - or over 30mph.....someone here just recently blew a tire - expensive!

I need tires to dang it! - but got no spare $$  

[maxcamper]

Hi Guys,

Daniel, Glad you still have Bessie!
Hope to see you around this summer enjoying your rig!

I just got back up here(AK) yesterday! I have a few issues with my clipper to tackle.

I need new tires as well. I picked up some used 16" rims last summer, just need (the correct size) new tires.$$
I have little misc projects left over from my engine swap last year. (neutral switch, water temp sender, valve cover gaskets)
I have almost no gas in my tank, but I think I have a leak!  booo at $4+ a gallon.
One of the reasons I got this clipper so cheap several years ago was because the PO had a tire blowout on the right side and trashed  much of the wheel well. I have fixed most of it, but I think the gas tank may have been part of the damage. I need to find a new tank. $$ be careful with those old tires! left side is Propane line!

My other projects are to re-do ALL of the fresh water system (really this time)with PEX and Sea-tech fittings, I have grown tired of fixing the little leaks and this will do it once and for all. $


P.S. Someone once told me when you winterize,  put 5-10 of those perfumed dryer sheets in different places in your rig and the mice wont like it. I've  been doing this for years and have had no vermin visitors over the winter! May be a wives tale, but I "think" it works!



Max

[jon]

Well dryer sheets may work on Alaska mice but Nebraska mice make thier nest out of them.

[maxcamper]

Well dryer sheets may work on Alaska mice but Nebraska mice make thier nest out of them.

Well... You are right! Even in Alaska, the critters used them for blankets and bathrooms! Little buggers. One more wives tale gone. What else works? De-con?

[prophetdaniel2]

Welcome back Bill! Decon=BAD SMELL!!!! Mouse traps.....Traditional spring loaded mouse traps! where has your camper been lately? that auto shop has obviously changed hands and there are definitely no clippers there now....thought we lost you there.....

[John Eversoll]

How doo dee doo guys, I just thought that I could drop a note on ya about the gas leak..

Check the hoses, if they are OK..... "Then check the gasket the sending unit sits on"!!!

that is where mine was leaking..I did replace the fuel lines with steel braid as an added

bonus. Just in case a rear tire blow out ..  "Thinking safety"
Upgrades .......

Hi Dan, Hi Horst, Hi Jerry, Hi Jim.. Take care, John