trimster

Finally got around to replacing the graphics on our 2004 5er. The before is in the signature below. Pretty simple and sun-baked after all these years. Purchased the graphics off eBay. $300 for both sides. Material is not 3M quality but not bad either. I purchased some graphics from them years ago and it's still holding up. Biggest pain in the process is prepping the mondo amount of square footage. Used a graphics eraser (2 actually). I like these. Easy to use and does a darn good job without damaging the paint/gel coat. Cleaver design. Then there's the hours of buffing with an orbital buffer to get all the oxidation off. Lots of ladder time. Trick to the graphics installation is prep, wiping the install locations down with alcohol, and doing it with no wind. We've had an unusually windy spring. Stopped installation for days. Working around slides, access doors, etc., is challenging. You will go through quite a number of razor blades. It's a definite improvement. Will take a new total-rig photo next week when on the road. After a few hours of re-waxing the beast.

Got it. I'll stay away from 'blasting' the main electrical connectors. Run the engine until warm to drive off moisture. I'm chasing a few leaks and need a clean slate to locate the source(s). And I'd like the RotoFilter to be clean before I pull it off and replace the leaking seals. Thanks all.

What are the thoughts on power washing the engine? Of course, staying away from big electrical connectors.

Feeling your pain. And add to that our Smart and the CanAm Spyder require premium gas... ouch on all modes of transport. But then it's our goal to leave as little inheritance to the kids as possible.... we have a mission. 😆

We're currently planning our trip... Salt Lake to Cody, Wy area then into Montana. Some thoughts about what I have found RV site wise so far. Glacier Park... stunning but packed with people and RVs. Controlled/timed entry every day. RV parks are expensive if you can find one now. Anything around/near Yellowstone. If you have not booked, you are pretty much toast. Inside the park, a significant portion of the campgrounds are closed for long overdue repairs and upgrades. Outside the park, RV sites are north of $100/night. Tetons (absolutely stunning area south of Yellowstone) are more north of $100/night. Jackson Hole...with some sort of discount $120/night. Cody, Wy. has a wonderful museum that will take 3 days if you read 1/2 whats in there. But with only one RV park in town (Ponderosa as I recall), it will be a fight to get a spot. There's the Buffalo Bill state part to the west of Cody, but non-residents can't book more than 14 days in advance. Fat change getting one there. We've done the Black Hills several times and will be doing it again this season. Stunning! We are not a fan of what they have done with Crazy Horse. It's now very commercial, packed and cheezy. Mt Rushmore is, as it was designed to be, a Jaw dropper. If you are in that area, you might want to stay in Hill City, just a few miles south and between Crazy Horse. Easier to get a site and a cool little western town with good eats. There's a jewel in there as well. A souvenir shop with a full on dinosaur display. And a full T-Rex on display. Even with fuel prices as they are, the pressure on camp sites is still extreme. Mostly locals staying close to home now. But the result is the same. Our trip is based around fly fishing and riding our CanAm trike, so different modality than yours. But, the little towns all around these two states are treasure troves of interesting. Devils Tower was rather spiritual for us. I'm part Native American. But it is, by any standard, awe inspiring. You don't have to walk around it. The main area on the south side gets you what you need and is very accessible. The last time we were there, a number of years back, the park rangers were local Native Americans. Brought a new depth to information about the area. Highway 120 is a historic route. Runs from Wy into Montanna and then west. Tons to see on that route. Something we are taking this year. We're going to be up there in June and July, so before your trip. Enjoy.

So I'm pushing $10k on my build. Tools, fab, steel/metal, paint.

To bad we can't tag team this. Would be fun to see how similar our build/cost decisions are. But, not making the ECR.

Thanks but that one is for a different year. https://www.ebay.com/itm/234476970565?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20190917065201%26meid%3D05a8cd0e0ab3428da830db75844f9b96%26pid%3D100935%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D174786285674%26itm%3D234476970565%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2332490%26algv%3DSimplAMLv9PairwiseUnbiasedWebCpr08MlcGreedyV3&_trksid=p2332490.c100935.m2460&amdata=cksum%3A23447697056505a8cd0e0ab3428da830db75844f9b96|enc%3AAQAGAAACEAHzwyvBl%2FH6R6PUeCp1Pf7XJEVsnyGqADAy%2Bo8AQX4Bhm%2FZiusad%2FjP7Ql8veoZxV113arSi5yiwOmr8cSl4nE8VYPGuOwaQGTR8chVhkHnb5%2BUKyS1%2Bon3dUwCa1Q5rjRmWOrvjj6b8j0LVIvoAXiygrQKNKpfKFwe1GeVC%2B3mgMMXO01OIzSg5Z3ncy0gBrXQBALidZLBsFaeqE%2Fw9LDUHc%2FggpFYvicfQGbrsb78T70q3RCIRo%2B2bmmm517eOKefIgrgZyy5jYd2Ktg09NAvOsBBrgn43BnbRrLepa4KcmO7%2By1zDNnia7ioJz8V8%2Fhq0xJ6MI4WhASG3OYu8w17W9FKnO9iQ6iQ6oHL0B7M%2Fp99oB4hyTJbIP0RFL00Y9AYM326MdG%2Bk03Jud19p2SCX9e%2BmxSkUhEXwNumofT1np%2FBibT5FgjOkhPaVZgaSDIt%2BSmLYVKxdLe%2Fn2esYa5jvuccqzzT0LlHpzMRBdBQilxdt%2BOcnpgZBOX5Q%2BEqhROIpWK6dMvw6KQWbRjw2H8kAO5DYh9k9eE8ER3wpRRksE38Bxdh7jF5YKa3vffFRfuKw%2BfcLCBTBHt%2F6Qa781tApcHGZXISCJYmE78jjZrp9mcx9cV0ZdEZLV6GWcES0SUCUr0%2B5lHA1TO%2FB0ct29lTebDt158fgghCEOuWtBmO4vFgUcfy1%2Bd747Y1FEiOmA%3D%3D|ampid%3APL_CLK|clp%3A2332490

I'm old...and a pharte. So I'm guessing your are a vote for rebuild. Just not sure what the serviceable life span of these units are.

My Crankcase Ventilation Separator is leaking out the sides. 664k on the meter. Not sure it has ever been serviced. It spins up. No bad sounds like bad bearings. Crankcase and the two internal gaskets are around $100. The entire new unit is around $500. Big difference. Rebuild it with new gaskets and clean the inside? Buy an new one and call it good?

My generator install is similar. I chose to enclose the gene as much as possible. For sound and because it's located behind the rear tires. I louvered the bottom of the box for air flow. The back side of the box has a 10" electric radiator fan (12v) to suck the hot air out. It runs off the 12v DC output from the gene. The exhaust goes out the back of the cabinet as well. Fire it up, close the door and it walk away. Problem with the behind the tires design is the movement at the rear of the truck, up and down. I've had to ratchet strap it down to the drawer. I also lined the inside of the cabinet with foil faced foam. The stuff you use under the hood to dampen sound.

Just put on locking fuel caps. The truck is parked in our driveway with cameras watching. Although I do agree with less-effort, less-damage. I chose locking the caps.

Sad photos. Ugh.

Oh, walking away...talking to the lord. Done that. Ugh. Feel your pain...and frustration.

Skirts finessed into place and welded yesterday. Off to paint next week after I do the bondo thing.

The big issue for my wife, is her seating position. She's 5' 1". She doesn't feel safe or in control because the accelerator and break peddles are not in positions that allow her to reach them properly. Are there clip-on units that can extend/modify the break & gas peddle?

Yes. My ultimate sound weapon is first applying a rubber frost guard for roofing . Some call it 'bitch-a-thane'. Super sticky rubber. About ⅛" thick. Then I put the under hood thermal stuff, over that. The under hood stuff comes in various thicknesses. ¼ to 1". Under ½" isn't as effective.

So, bit of acoustic info. Mass cuts low frequency. For example: rubber backed carpet squares do a bit of low & high frequency abatement. Rubber backing (mass) plus fiber side (mids & highs). The overpriced Dynomat targets lower frequency road noise. Perfect for doors and cab panels. It cuts sound intrusion and passive vibration in lower frequency ranges. Foam, like the pads that go under our hoods, target a bit broader range of frequencies, but bias towards lower end. It's cheap from sites like Wish. ½" thickness is a sweet spot for the range we want to target inside our cabs. You could add a bit of traditional house insulation if there's space. Use the 'under hood ' stuff in the walls and doors of the truck, and additional carpet on the floor. You should hear a big improvement. Not much you can do about the plastic, reflecting surfaces. After all that's done...you'll hear how loud the wind noise is. Not much we can do about that unless we can retro-fit a Tesla cab to our frames.

When we returned to home base mid-december, Costco and Sams club were a buck below going price for a week. $2.85. Setting at ¼ full, we topped up. Now ready for next outing. Interesting how neither have Diesel pumps in Arizona. Not sure why. Only a few Costco stores in utah have diesel. Takes a while to fill, and those behind you are not happy. Oh well.

Good point. She's shown interest again. Mostly as backup if there's a medical emergency. I'll just need to arrange a big parking lot so she can focus less on traffic, more on spacial relationships, etc.

First test fit. Fairly close. Need some tweaks of course. The truck is aired down. Rises 5" when bags are full. Ya. I made cardboard templates and gave them to the waterjet folks. Need to add a few more braces in key places. They could only cut 8' lengths, so I have a seam to back and fill. It's going to be 50 degrees this week. Welding time!

Now that i have a bit of time at home base, working on the side skirts for the bed. They get welded in place next week. Then off too the paint shop. The holes you see are for through-welding. They were water-jet cut, matching the template I created.

Lasted about 18 months then failed. Volvo charges $250 core charge if you don't return factory original (if they do the work, which i had them do. On the road.) I'm not sure why they should cost $450 ea. Other than they can. The aftermarket ones were not dosing the DEF properly. My DEF useage has gone up after the factory sensors were installed.

My wife's first experience driving ours was not a good one. She's not inclined to get back in 'the' seat again. 90% of what transpired was outside her control. No one died. No damage to anything other than nerves and some sleepless nights.. Maybe she will give it a crack in the future, again.

No real thought about usb3 choice . More interested in the ability to shut them off at the port, blue glow, and quantity of ports. The voltage readout on the one is just for the cool factor. Didn't know about the auto-resetting breakers. Hmmmm.