I guess I should start blogging again?

Nope, I'm not dead. Just very lazy about blogging anymore. I guess I should start up again, especially since I upgraded the solar in 2019/2020 and upgraded the batteries to (cheap) lithium and a Renogy MPPT charge controller in late 2021.

Have had lots of repairs done, mostly by me... but also the transmission began going very bad very fast aroud April.  Then after spending over $2k, it slipped out of park, rolled down the driveway it was stopped in for a moment (with me outside of the cab) and jack knifed the fiberglass cargo trailer I have been dragging around since late 2020. 

The immediate aftermath.

I carry decent insurance, so I was paid for the trailer and RV damages. The trailer is "totaled", but the motorhome isn't. The trailer is still usable at least, the frame wasn't damaged, or at least not enough to be noticeable? The fiberglass box is what suffered the most. The trailer might end up with a salvage title is all, but maybe not due to it's age and value. The state where it's registered probably won't care, since it's a trailer.

Thankfully, no one else was in the 5 lane road in either direction, so no one else was involved. Dash cam captured it happening too, which I'm sure was helpful for insurance purposes since they got to see and hear it happening from the perspective of looking out of the windshield. I drove in, put it in park, got out to put in the gate code and it slipped out of park and rolled backwards. Can even hear the trailer tires screeching, as they were pushed sideways from it being pushed by the rear of the motorhome.

The grey tank was destroyed, but I have already replaced it with a 99% same size one for $100 from "Class A Customs". I have the same model tank installed for the black tank, which was missing when I got the motorhome in 2019. I did that in early 2021 finally, after getting by without a black tank for all that time. The other RV damage (bumper, fiberglass) needs to wait to be addressed until this winter.

I finally emptied the storage unit I left packed in 2016, which is where the accident happened. So the trailer is packed full now, as well as the inside of the RV to a point. I need to go through the stuff later on and sell/give away more stuff. And that's after I already got rid of about 1/3 of what was in the unit.

Not much else I can say right now, really.

In a few days, I'm heading to a cheap RV park in Utah where I plan to spend the next 2 months until Arizona cools down for going to an LTVA for the winter season. I need some time to relax after the mess with the transmission and wreck. So, I won't have anything to say much again for a while, probably.

Avoided paying $100 for a $2 piece of hose

This is a prime example of why it's imperative that you learn to do your own repairs whenever possible, especially if you are a full time RVer in an older RV.

This is a 10" long, 3/8" piece of hose that is used as the return line for the power steering, and it would have cost me $100+ to have a shop replace it.

A shop would have gone by what their computer says and used a new $20+ hose with a metal line fitting on the end, charged several dollars for a small amount of fluid, and charged an hour's labor at around $75/hr.

For just $2.30 including tax, I bought a new 10" piece of high quality 3/8" Continental hose that's made in USA.

It required a small amount of Type F fluid in the power steering pump, due to some draining out when the hose was removed, but I already had it for topping off from the hose leak so that cost me nothing extra. The only other expense was a bunch of paper towels.

The old USA made clamps were still in excellent condition, not chewed up like cheap Chinese ones get almost instantly, so I reused them. They tightened down great, so that saved me a couple more dollars.

It was a VERY messy job, way worse than changing the differential oil, but now it should be good for many years before it needs replacing again. It required laying on the ground and reaching up to get to, as it was almost impossible to reach from above.

So yes, I would have paid $100+ for a $2 piece of hose, if I hadn't replaced it myself.

Don't forget the differential!

Yep, it was just like I thought. I don't think the RV has ever had a differential oil change. Sure, it's only got 70k miles, but it's been 34 years!!

I bought a Lube Locker Dana 60/70 differential gasket since I need to do a bunch of short oil change intervals (ie: 1,000 miles per fill) to clean it up. Differentials don't have filters like engines and transmissions, so clean oil is very important. It lubricates a LOT of bearings and gears. The gasket will pay for itself in RTV savings, since it uses none. It'll also make it super easy to change the oil next time, no scraping away used RTV.

I bought a Performance Tool W54150 pump at the local hardware store to make filling tidy. It's very slow going but it worked great. It fits most 1 quart and 1 gallon oil jugs, so it was a good purchase for future uses too.

I'm running $15/gal SuperTech 80w90 conventional since I don't want to waste money on expensive oil, just to run it for a few months and less than 2,000 miles.

So yeah, that's one of the first things you should do when you buy an old RV or other rear wheel drive vehicle, change the differential oil! Differentials are NOT cheap to have rebuilt, about $1,500! And finding a shop who will even do them can be hard to find unless you are in a fairly good sized city.

Freshly opened. yuck!!

The inside of the cover is nice and clean now!

 Refilling with fresh oil.

All done! (For this time)

Back in South Dakota for the summer

I'm way late posting... again. Less bad than usual though. Due to storms that were passing through the Kansas City area, where I was about 6 weeks ago I hurried on up towards my destination in South Dakota. A little over a month ago, I got here. I'm going to be in this very cheap RV park until at least late July, if I don't stay until late August even.

In Harrisonville, MO, I had to stop and replace the completely worn out rear shocks. They are super easy and there is enough ground clearance, I just shimmied under and changed them in the Wal-Mart parking lot where I picked them up from site-to-store pickup. It only took a few wrenches and some WD40 to do. The old ones were probably the originals from 1985. They were doing nothing anymore. The new shocks have made a big difference, that's for sure.

A few weeks ago, I had to clean the nasty, dust-caked roof A/C evaporator. It was freezing up after being on a while, totally stopping airflow. It was like a wet blanket of dust. You can see the clean part of the coils at the top where it was blocked by the metal cover. Yes, it was THAT thick. It has been working great since. 

While I was at it, I bought some 3-in-1 multipurpose PTFE lubricant and oiled up the blower motor too, since it has little hoses for doing so. It certainly can't hurt to have some fresh lubrication on a 34 year old electric motor. This upcoming weekend's temperatures are going to be near 100, so I need the A/C in as best working condition is possible.


Today, I changed out the old, original battery solenoid that seemed to be dead. I snagged a NOS Napa ST84 on eBay for $12.75 shipped as a replacement. They are over $40 retail! Now the house batteries can get juice from the alternator again while the engine is running.

Not much else to report. Lucy has been her usual silly, cuddly self. As I write his, she is basking in the sun just outside.

Back luck with differentials

The differential on the truck was making loud moaning-type noises that would come and go. From experience with the '78 Xplorer 228 when that horrible mechanic tore it apart when I asked for a rear brake job because he saw rust on the axle shaft, it's hard to find a shop who will rebuild differentials. Many, if not most transmission shops won't do anything with them except change the fluid. Same with regular repair shops. They want nothing to do with them for some reason.

Needless to say, I didn't take it to the same shop the van was towed to, where they botched the brakes, stole one of my new brake drums (which I discovered after I redid the brakes myself), and lied to the BBB when I filed a complaint against them, claiming I was passing out $20 bills as tips.

But I digress.

I called around and found a long standing transmission shop and the guy said it would be "about $1000". He test drove it with me and Lucy crammed in the passenger seat and afterwords, he said if I was only driving it around town, he'd leave it alone. It could last many years that way. But if taking it on a long trip, he'd rebuild it if it was him. I was like ok, I'll think about it.

I decided it needs doing. It could potentially completely fail (ie: broken gear teeth) at any time for all I knew. Things like that can happen at the worst times, in the worst places; even if my usual luck for such things isn't so bad. I didn't want to gamble with it for the safety of Lucy and myself.

I hoped to drop it off on a Monday or Tuesday, and have it back by Friday so my motel stay would only be 2-3 nights. No...such...luck. Try 5, so far. Maybe 6. 7? Ugh, I hope not!!!

He had me drop it off on a Wednesday because he had other things to finish first, which made me cringe in regards to my "plan". He stated before hand that it would take at least 3 days between taking it apart and seeing what all it needs, ordering the parts, waiting for them to come and then putting it together. I guessing waiting on delivery is considered a whole day. He had hoped to have it done by Friday.

After checking into a $45/night (with tax) motel, late Wednesday morning, leaving Lucy here crated, and dropping the truck off, I caught city buses back to the motel The next day he called and said he can't possibly finish it before MONDAY! The reason being, the parts needed are being ordered from multiple sources, and something he needs can't get there until Monday. Plus, the storm that rolled through in the afternoon of the day I dropped it off knocked out the power to to the section of the grid their shop is connected to, causing them to have to shut down.

Oh, and he said the quote is now "about $1600" because the carrier itself (the big thing that the gears attach to) is also worn out, which he found out after tearing it apart. Seriously?! It is possible, there's no doubt about it, but I wonder how much of that is just gouging me just to sell me another part. I'm at his mercy though, pretty much. He did say he'd put "several" guys on it Monday so it could be finished as soon as possible.

I thought about trying to source a whole used axle and just having it swapped, but there's no good guarantee the used axle's differential won't be worn out too. It could have bad bearings, leaking seals, etc. So I'm pretty much committed to that shop doing it at this point. Short of having it towed away to another shop (exactly what I had to do with the van), it stays here. In the case of the van, I had to have it towed away because that guy had it for THREE MONTHS and never finished it, even after I bought the special differential tools and supplied him with a printed copy of the service manual. Yeah... that mechanic was as bad as they come.

The motel is far from crowded so I was able to extend my stay through Monday. In all honesty, I am probably going to have to pay for Monday night too unless he magically finishes it before too late in the afternoon on Monday. They probably won't mind me doing a little late check out (normal is 11am) but I can't expect to get a free 6pm checkout or something. I guess an extra $45 at this point is just a drop in the bucket, eh?

On the plus side, I did get two loads of laundry done while I've been here and it's been a better place to be stuck than a tent at the KOA, with the drenching rain, wind and storms. I guess this makes up for not paying rent anywhere since the $40 for two weeks at the Quartzsite LTVA.

That's life.

Long overdue update

Kind of a lot has been going on in the past few months. I've been in Texarkana since late January since the climate and weather has been pretty good. I crashed at my mom's house for 2-1/2 months but finally I had well overstayed my welcome so I've just been bumming around town since, using city parks in the day and parking in safe places at night. I finally dragged out the laptop today at a picnic table with a power outlet for creating this long blog post. I don't use the phone plan's 8GB monthly hotspot for my Android car stereo anymore (more on that below) so I may as well use it sparingly on the laptop.

The biggest thing that has happened -- for better or worse, I sold the car. It was too cramped for long term living. I also sold the Yamaha scooter I had stored here when I moved away a few years ago, as well as the roof box I had on top of the car. I kept the hitch box, however.

What I replaced it with is a 1987 Ford F-250 XL extended cab with the 6.9L IDI non-turbo diesel engine with the C6 3-speed automatic transmission. Both of these are considered pretty bulletproof if taken care of. The transmission has been rebuilt by a previous owner. I got this particular setup for buying and towing a travel trailer, but for the time being I have decided against that. I guess I should have gone with something newer and with a gas engine but this isn't a bad setup either. It got about 16mpg hwy towing the Vibe behind it on a tow dolly. It gets 11-12mpg city with a camper shell, the backseat loaded with stuff, all my stuff in the bed and the hitch box.

I've had to put a lot into it already, as far as I can remember at this moment:

• Front & rear shocks, Monroe Gas-Magnum (about $100 online before $50 mail in rebate; installed by me)
• All four ball joints, Moog Problem Solver (about $100 online, installed by me)
• All 4 tie rods & adjustment sleeves, Moog Problem Solver (about $200 online, installed by me)
• Left brake caliper & hose ($60 caliper in store/$7 hose online, installed by me)
• Front brake pads ($22 in store, installed by me)
• Brake booster (About $15 in junk yard, installed by me)
• Brake master cylinder (About $25 in store, installed by me)
• Steering rag joint (bought in store, had to have the old one removed by a machine shop, installed by me, total cost about $50)
• Steering gearbox (About $20 from junk yard, installed by me. stopped a bad power steering leak)
• Starter motor (suddenly died, free roadside tow, paid a shop $386 installed. ouch!)
• Fuel injector install kit ($77 in store, installed by me)
• Oil change (Rotella T5 15w40, Motorcraft ML-1995 filter for the PowerStroke diesel, but it fits and extra capacity, new copper drain plug washer (About $60 with over half a gallon left, done by me)
• Crappy spray can auto primer job over some surface rust (wire brushed off first) just to preserve the metal for now. (Abot $10 including painter's tape)

I mistook a booster/vacuum problem for a bad booster and then later caliper so that was a bit of a waste. The master cylinder may also have not been bad, but oh well.

I also had to get a spare tire rim, spare tire, and the spare tire carrier parts. All but the tire came from junk yards, about $40 total. The tire itself came from a used tire shop for about $35 including mounting and balancing.

I need an alignment after all the ball joints and tie rods, but I may also still need a NEW steering gear box. The ball joints and tie rods have helped a lot with loose wandering steering, but it's not as precises as I'd like. The alignment might fix it but I'm not sure. I guess I'll try that first since an alignment shouldn't need to be done again just for a gearbox change. But I'll ask and see first. One front tire is obviously badly worn but that was from the old ball joints and tie rods. It'll get moved to the rear in a tire rotation and replaced later. The rear tires are in good shape currently.

One really crappy thing though, the differential has since started roaring, a sign it is worn out and needs about a $1000 rebuild and 3 days in the shop. Ugh. Really? I'm going to try to hold off on that, but I may have to just bite the bullet and have it done before I leave the area. A transmission shop guy said for around town he'd leave it alone for a while but for a long trip, he recommends rebuilding it. So, I guess I'll be getting a cheap motel room for a few nights and getting it rebuilt.

On the plus side, I still have all the money from the car's sale and most from the scooter, so I can afford it. I put most of the truck's $2500 purchase cost on a low interest credit card in the form of cash advance withdrawals, so I'm slowly paying it off that way.

It could probably stand to have a new vacuum pump (although I haven't troubleshooted the hoses yet) since it has poor braking at idle speeds now and then. On this truck it's insanely easy, except for the pulley removal from the old pump. A new one can be bought instead though, so that IS an option.

I pulled the Optima YellowTop battery from the Vibe before selling it, as well as the Android stereo. The stereo can't be used in the truck, but I did wire up the YellowTop battery as a house battery for phone charging and occasional, limited 12V fan use. It's only being recharged with a llong 10 gauge wire right now, so it takes a good 30-60 minutes to recharge it fully from about 60-70% but it works well enough. I also stripped out the rear outlets from the Vibe and moved them to the truck. I bought a $50 Walmart battery to sell the Vibe, since the YellowTop cost me $220. A $10 battery box and marine battery terminals completed the installation. I still have the little Yamaha generator for an extra power source if I need it.

As far as travel plans, I wanted to go further east, over to Kentucky or there abouts, then head north up to Michigan; but now I'm not sure. I have gotten delayed a couple months because of stuff the truck has needed, and other delays related to having to take up Arkansas residency again. That's all done now though, so I will be leaving next month sometime. Where? I don't know. The weather in the areas I would have to travel through slowly has been pretty bad... even deadly. So, I think I will have to forget that and head back Northwest, toward CO in the more immediate future. But we'll see I guess.

And now for some misc pics...

Old, fairly rotten rag joint:

Old rear shock vs new:

Towed to shop due to dead starter motor. The towing guy brought a truck that was almost too small!

Starting on the ball joints:

Older pic of my new setup. The ice chest is an old one I left at my mom's. I have since used $45 in Sears/Kmart points (I got from buying a $110 set of a jack, stands and creeper) on a Coleman 5-day cooler. I still have the one pictured, using it for dry food storage since it has no drain and the lid design lets dirt and junk inside too easily.

Six baby Canadian geese! Just had to throw that in.

Alternator replaced

I found my battery was dead this morning when I went to leave Wal-Mart. (Oh, and I stayed parked under a "no overnight RV parking sign" for 2 nights without even noticing it.. but luckily no one bothered me). I managed to get it to charge enough via slight solar charging to get it running. I went over to O'Reilly auto and had them charge the battery then test the charging system with their hand hand portable testing device.

Do NOT always trust those devices! They can be mistaken!

(Before that, I had tried a diagnostic method of my own from the Haynes manual involving bypassing the voltage regulator to see if the alternator would output high volts without the regulator present.. and it didn't. That's a sign of a bad alternator. But I wasn't 100% sure.)

The tester said that it was a problem with my voltage regulator's diodes or some such. Being a $20 part, I figured it might be the problem since the diagnostic said it was.. plus it's a lot easier to change out than the alternator.

However, before I paid for it, I asked the guy if I would be able to return it promptly if it doesn't fix the problem. He hesitated a bit... then said he would do that for me as a warranty exchange.  So I install it.. no dice. He tried again testing the system with the handheld tester (they test at the battery) and it said the same problem, bad voltage regulator and that the alternator was fine. He was scratching his head at that point.

So I removed the new voltage regulator, replaced the old and had him check for a new (rebuilt) alternator. He only had the 1yr warranty one in stock. It would be Monday before they could have anything else. Rather than limp for 2 days more on a bad alternator, I decided to nip it in the bud now.

So, I set out removing the old alternator. They have a BETTER test machine inside the store that cannot be moved, and requires the part to be out of the vehicle. After removal but prior to purchase of the replacement, I had him test the old one. It came up FAILED on that better machine.

So, I went ahead and did the return on the voltage regulator and bought the new alternator. I got it put on and all is well now.

If you are in Benson, AZ and need auto parts, I recommend O'Reilly Auto for sure. They were most helpful and patient. They also lent me a hammer to pound in the roll pin for mounting on the new one where it wasn't put in all the way like it was supposed to be.

A tip to someone who may be doing this: Remove the air cleaner housing and get the alternator out via the area on the right side. Your transmission dipstick tube might be in the way a little and the oil filler cap on the valve cover may be slightly in the way, but I didn't have to remove the cap. It's a tight fit but I got the old out and the new in that way.

Also, double check your belts!! I had them on wrong around the crankshaft at first. I double checked due to one being tight and one being floppy. One was outside of the grove, one was in the wrong groove and the other grove was empty. Thankfully it didn't hurt the belts as it was only run for a minute or less that way. It only took a couple minutes to loosen the alternator again, fix the belts back on the pulley right then tighten back the alternator.

The "new" alternator:

Cheap shower head replacement

I finally got sick of the near worthless original shower head my van had. It didn't really spray, so much as just dribbled out. You could turn it face up and it wouldn't spray up into the air.

I was about to go buy the $6 Peerless shower head from Wal-Mart like I installed in the house I had with low water pressure, but I stopped off at Goodwill next door first. I found the exact shower head in an open package, but it appeared to be never used... for $1. Heck yeah!

So I stopped off at Ace Hardware and bought a plastic threaded nipple for connecting the shower head to the existing hose. Now I have a shower that actually SPRAYS instead of dribbling.

Its not real pretty but it has a water saving cutoff switch (it brings it down to a trickle, it doesn't totally shut it of) and I like it MUCH better than the old shower head. It cost me the sum total of around $1.85.

I'll keep the old shower head as a spare. There's no sense in throwing it out. It hangs on the wall there in the bathroom out of the way. if the other one gets broken somehow, at least I'd have something to use.

Before and after photos..

Battery cables replaced

A week and a half ago, I found that I needed to replace my negative battery cable as it was giving 'dead battery' symptoms on my brand new battery. It turned out to be god awful shape down below where I couldn't see.

Today I ended up replacing the positive cable too since the repair terminal decided to break when I was putting the battery back in, after adjusting the steering gear box (which will hopefully fix the loose steering problem I have still had).

The positive cable was in a LOT better shape than the negative for sure. Negative had major cracks and holes in the insulation.

I'm not to happy with the new black insulation 'positive' cable that AutoZone had, but that's all I could find in this small town (Brownfield, TX). At least it came with labels so you could mark which cable it was. I had to do some minor wiring for the extra cables that feed from the hot terminal. The splice is soldered, taped over and has heat shrink tubing over it.

Now I should be good to go for a long time on battery cables.

TV Antenna Removed

I am still having leaking problems around the roof vent. However, it may not be coming from the roof vent itself. I wish I had looked at it closer before I put the cover over it. I may have to pull it back off and check.

In any case, the TV antenna was suspect for causing leakage, either at the roof vent clear in the rear (water travels a lot more than you think!) or at a cabinet up front on the passenger side, so I took it off. I doubt I'd ever use it anyway. The water at the roof vent is coming from the insulation sandwiched between the fiberglass inside and outside. It's impossible to say where it's coming from. I'll have to just try everything I can think of.

I also tightened down the roof A/C's nuts since they were slightly loose. I had been noticing the A/C rattle more than it used to when the compressor kicked on and off. Now it doesn't. That may have also been a source of the leaking around the roof vent.

New fresh water pump installed

My new Shurflow water pump came in the mail yesterday evening so I spend the day installing it. It took almost all day simply because of how much hassle it is to get at. I had to remove my stored stuff from the bed area, remove the 4" memory foam mattress and move the original mattress to get at the pump. Then I had to go across town to get one fitting (1/2" barb to 1/2" MIP) for the strainer. I got some new clamps while I was at it. I only grabbed 3 when I should have gotten 4. I reused an old one that still works fine. It's just a bit rusty.

Then I had to refill the tank a couple times to cleanse the bleach water. I let it gravity drain out mostly instead of running the pump to empty the tank. Plus I checked for leaks several times before I put the bed and stuff back in.

All seems well... except for one slight problem. I had gotten a 0.5gpm aerator for my galley sink thinking it would be a good thing to have. I was wrong. At least with the setup as it is now. It causes the pump to cycle on and off constantly every other second due to the excessive back pressure caused by the water saving aerator.

If I remove it and run the facuet at a high enough rate, it doesn't do it. If I were to install an accumulator tank, it would prevent this. Much like the way the well was set up at the house I had. It prevented the well pump from kicking on and off or running constantly.

However, I don't hardly have room for an accumulator tank in the compartment with the pump. I suppose I could make one fit somehow though over the PEX fresh water line. I may go back and install one later if I find I'm consuming my water too quickly without my 0.5gpm aerator. I may also try a 1gpm to 1.5gpm aerator for now instead since it spits out about 3-4gpm as it is now with no aerator at all. I know it came with one but I can't seem to find it now. The pumps they make now are slightly adjustable. I tried adjusting it for my 0.5gpm aerator but no soap.

But aside from that issue, everything is dandy now. No leaks, the pump cuts on and off like it should when the flow is high enough out of the taps to prevent cycling.

I did go back and screw the pump down to the piece of wood after I took the photo, so it's not going to get jarred around or vibrate excessively. 

Avoid Wal-Mart batteries if possible

I was packed up and was ready to leave the KOA and once again, I had battery problems despite slow charging it a few days ago. It had symptoms in the past but I thought it was due to poor charging maintenance on my part. So, I dragged my cords back out and got it going with my engine starter. I drove the mile or so down to Wal-Mart since it was a MAXX battery from them. The initial test they do inside showed it was fine. She called in the manager and he took out to the proper machine for testing. It came back bad. It was less than 3 years old and was a 3 year free replacement battery.  The manufacture date was 3/2011.

However, it was a replacement already for one that was bad within the original's 3 year waranty. So not only did the ORIGINAL battery someone bought go bad within 3 years, so did the second. They will only replace it free once, apparently.

So yes, Wal-Mart's 3 year free replacement batteries only last 2 years and you only get ONE free replacement, the first one. But that gets you through 4 years, roughly.

But then I opened my big mouth and said it was in there when I got it which means any and all warranty is null and void, even if the battery was bought brand new yesterday and I bought the van today.

I had to shell out $107 for a new battery. I needed it right then and they're cheaper than anyone else anyway and I will be able to get at least ONE free replacement if/when this one goes bad in a year or two.

Tailpipe fix

Due to extending the sewer drains further out and having the tailpipe slightly at an angle, it ended up melting the new grey water cap and bayonet fitting I just installed. A muffler shop installed a new tip that extends it out a bit past the drain pipes. Cost? $30! Heck I figured the tip was going to cost that much!

Once that was done, I went back and replaced the drain outlet and cap with new ones. After about 150 miles of driving since the new drain was put on, no melting. :)

PEX installation

I decided to sink the money into replacing the PolyB plumbing with PEX since one short section was missing and had a crappy rubber hose put on instead. The only glitches in the installation were accidentally cutting a wire harness for the rear lights (thank goodness for color coded wire insulation!) and having to use one plastic fitting at the water heater.

After I did all that, I found the galley faucet to be damaged and leaking so I also replaced that. I need a new water pump since this one won't cycle off like it should when there's no demand for water but I can install that in 10 minutes at any time later.

I left out some winterizing drains it once had but I did put one in for the water heater which was most important. The fresh water tank has it's own separate drain from the fresh water lines.

Starter relay

I loaded up the van to go shopping and do some other stuff today.. got in and it wouldn't start. The darned relay went bad. It took it almost 35 years to go out.. but yeah. The ground terminal broke off trying to remove it. I opened it up to see what was shaking around inside. It was rust particles!

$17 later, it's fixed. I doubt the new one will last 35 years.. but it's supposed to have a 'lifetime' warranty with O'Reillys. Stupid thing didn't even come with the nuts! I had to use the old ones.

Outside electrical outfit repair

The plastic (or is it particle board?!) gang boxes on the Xplorers tend to dry rot over the years, especially the outside one. A past owner attempted to "fix" it with a larger screw which only broke the box more. The box itself is pop riveted in and there's no way to get at it from behind, short of tearing into the wall from behind the sink!

I went down the road to a garage sale that is usually open every weekend and got a package of adapter plates meant for sheetrock and low voltage installation, such as phone lines. However, the way I have installed it, it is perfectly safe. You do need to drill through the adapter plate and into the body of the van so you can drive in sheet metal screws to hold the plate on. The plate has threaded holes that accepts standard outlet screws, so it repairs the outlet mounting situation that happens from the gang box threaded holes breaking.

I need to go back and replace the two wood screws I put in since I didn't have anymore sheet metal screws to fit. Also, I am going to replace the outlet itself and put in a new foam gasket, or two, if I can't find a single one that is extra thick like the original. I am also going to put a bit of silicone caulking around the edge of the adapter plate for extra protection against water seeping inside since it sits back from the body of the van a little due to the rivets holding the box in.


A: Damaged gang box
B: Holes drilled and sheet metal screws driven in
C: Threaded holes for standard electrical outlet screws



Needs caulking and new thick foam seal for outdoor outlets.



Reinstalled for demonstration purposes. A new outlet will be installed in the near future along with a new foam seal.



Old foam seal.



Caddy Fasteners Cat. No. MPLSBP adapter plates. I broke off the fold out mounting wings from the one I installed since they are not needed for this application.