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it's Always the Ground....


rickeieio

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Quick teaser.....

We've been without wifi for 3 weeks, stuck, if you will, in Terlingua TX.  Weathered the Texas Blizzard and been making new friends.  Anywho, we pulled in here and have had a broken truck ever since.  I posted about a new submission to the Resource Guide a while back about a repair job in Del Rio.  It seems that was the tip of the iceberg.  Since then we've had a tranny that wouldn't go in any gear, and we lost a sleeper window in high winds.

After many calls to Eaton technical support, lots of wire testing and a little blood, I think we got it right.  More to follow when I can get a good signal and time to sit still

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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1 hour ago, rickeieio said:

Quick teaser.....

We've been without wifi for 3 weeks, stuck, if you will, in Terlingua TX.  Weathered the Texas Blizzard and been making new friends.  Anywho, we pulled in here and have had a broken truck ever since.  I posted about a new submission to the Resource Guide a while back about a repair job in Del Rio.  It seems that was the tip of the iceberg.  Since then we've had a tranny that wouldn't go in any gear, and we lost a sleeper window in high winds.

After many calls to Eaton technical support, lots of wire testing and a little blood, I think we got it right.  More to follow when I can get a good signal and time to sit still

Hope you can get it fixed Rick.

2006 Volvo 780 "Hoss" Volvo D12, 465hp, 1650 ft/lbs tq., ultrashift

Bed Build by "JW Morgan's Custom Welding"

2017 DRV 39DBRS3

2013 Smart Passion Coupe "Itty Bitty"

 

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first!"

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We're now in a park with wifi, in Midland, TX.  Meeting up with L.D. Osborn and his bride in the morning........

So, in our last episode, we had the cables to the starter tightened.  Next day, it didn't want to go in gear. (gen 1 Eaton auto shift).  Fiddled with it, acted like the clutch brake wasn't working.  Headed for Terlingua.

Every things going fine, when just west of Comstock, in a horrible cross wind, we hear a loud noise and the air pressure waves were thumping.  I looked in the mirror and the lower passenger side sleeper window had departed.  Press on...

Got to the campground, settled in, and called the nearest Volvo dealer, 240 miles away in Odessa.  Parts guy was good.  Found a kit with glass, hinges, etc, but it was in the warehouse in Memphis.  Memphis had just gotten 3/4" of ice.  Okay, no rush.  Then I called around and found a mechanic who could skinny under the fairings to adjust the clutch.  It was indeed out of adjustment, and had grease on the brake pads.  But after he was done, the tranny wouldn't go in any gear.  The up/down arrows indicated the clutch was working properly, but the gear indicator just flashed the target gear.

After another two weeks of tearing out the seats and floor, removing ground wires, looking inside connections ( found one with oil in it.  Thought it was a shifter position sensor, but no, it was reverse light switch.), running tests, (no codes) talking to the most helpful gents on the Eaton help line, we traced the wires from the power control module to their origin. Hmmmm, the ground goes to the starter grounding lug.  Voltage test showed 12.7v, but.....  Removed all the wires and found the ring terminal from the power control module had insulation far down on the ring, preventing it from seating flat with it's brothers.  A little work with the pocket knife and some scrubbing with emery paper, and everything works as it should.  Oh, did you know you can split your wife's emery board to make emery paper?  Not ideal, but it worked.

A trip without adversity is just a tour.....

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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On 2/26/2021 at 6:49 PM, GeorgiaHybrid said:

Jameson over ice, relax and then you can tell us about the loose or corroded ground wire. 😁

Don't have any Jameson on board, but do have a bottle of Bushmill's Black label.  It'll do.

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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Ya know, I guess we're just lucky to not let it bother us.  When we had been in Terlingua a few days, we'd both decided it's really changed from what we remembered, and so we doubted we'd come back soon.  But after a week or so, going through the snow and cold, and seeing the generosity and helpfulness of the other rv'ers, we enjoyed ourselves.  When we finally tracked down the poor ground, all we could do is laugh at ourselves for not finding it sooner.  

So, we're in Midland now.  Headed to Bruckners/Odessa tomorrow to get the window replaced.  If it goes quickly, we'll meet up with LD and Judy Osborne again.

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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3 hours ago, Sculptor said:

Next time try to need help closer to us.

Tell me about it. Last time, he drives 12+ hours north of us, into the Alaska wilderness, just to find an area with no cell service before breaking down.

I have been wrong before, I'll probably be wrong again. 

2000 Kenworth T 2000 w/N-14 and 10 speed Gen1 Autoshift, deck built by Star Fabrication
2006 smart fourtwo cdi cabriolet
2007 32.5' Fleetwood Quantum


Please e-mail us here.

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(SIGH)  Yesterday we took the truck to Bruckners Odessa to get the window replaced.  On the way over, the tranny screwed up twice.  While driving the truck out of the shop, the service mgr. had it do the same thing.  Symptoms are pointing to the supply module.

At least we're close to good friends.

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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A branch of the family with a construction company bought a brace of Volvo day cab dump trucks. They were right around the end of the “Volvo-GMC”  time. I moved one from point A to B for them one afternoon. They had an 8 speed synchromesh transmission. They were a set back axle truck so the gear lever came up kinda back of the floor with not enough bends so it was somewhat awkward to use. Easy to fix.

Shifted like a G-56 in a Dodge mit Cummins. 

Anyways anyone remember or run one of those trucks? 

"Are we there yet?" asked no motorcycle rider, ever. 

 

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My first semi was a 1984 White/Volvo/GMC.  Had a 350 Cummins w/ 8 spd. fuller and spring suspension.  What a log wagon.  But tough as nails.  And torque?  Holy cow.

Back to the original issues:  I got a call from Bruckners.  It seems the x-y is flakey.  Sometimes it doesn't listen well and just doesn't respond.  With a little luck, the new one will be here so we can get on the road again Friday morning.  Hopefully they got the new sleeper window installed as well.  This is gonna hurt.  DW is making noises about getting a new(er) truck.  

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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On 3/3/2021 at 10:00 AM, alan0043 said:

Remember Rick, Happy wife, Happy life !  🤣

She's put up with my sorry butt for a long time.  We've been married for 25 wonderful years, and another 22 that were a bit "iffy".  We dated for 5 years before that.

Bruckners just called.  Tech will test drive in the morning, and hopefully we can get ready to head east Saturday.  Visiting with L. D. (Shorty O) and Judy has been hindered by his ice skating accident and Susan's sudden issue with swollen glands in her neck.  Getting old was fun, being old sux.

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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6 minutes ago, rickeieio said:

She's put up with my sorry butt for a long time.  We've been married for 25 wonderful years, and another 22 that were a bit "iffy".  We dated for 5 years before that.

Bruckners just called.  Tech will test drive in the morning, and hopefully we can get ready to head east Saturday.  Visiting with L. D. (Shorty O) and Judy has been hindered by his ice skating accident and Susan's sudden issue with swollen glands in her neck.  Getting old was fun, being old sux.

So new X-Y shifter?  Stay safe and hope Susan gets better.

Edited by SuiteSuccess

2006 Volvo 780 "Hoss" Volvo D12, 465hp, 1650 ft/lbs tq., ultrashift

Bed Build by "JW Morgan's Custom Welding"

2017 DRV 39DBRS3

2013 Smart Passion Coupe "Itty Bitty"

 

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first!"

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Yep.  For the past couple of years, once in a while it would make a shift poorly, making a crunchy sound. (Technical term)  It might do it once a day, once a week, then twice in one run through the gears.  I got a good feeling about the service manager and his tech.  They were very familiar with the Eaton unit, and had the equipment to test it, rather than doing just random terminal cleaning and voltage checks, which I had done.

So, new window, new x/y, quick visit to the doc-in-a-box and a prescription for my lovely bride, and we might get out of here soon.

But wait, there's more......  We'd just gotten back from the medical run when a neighbor came over and informed us that part of our a/c cover was last seen headed for Ft. Worth.  Of course that was at 5:45p, local time.  Are we having fun yet?

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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Got truck back and it drives nicely.  Less than $4k for x/y, window, and labor.  Gotta admit, that flakey x/y sure had me thinking it was supply or ground issues.

We realize we're pretty dang lucky to be where we are in life, and view times like this as bumps in the road.  I hadn't planned to spend $$ on the truck, but I'm okay with it.  We saw several newish class a's on trailers being hauled in recently.  Heck, I've got a pickup back home with under 2k miles on it with tranny issues.  But it's under warranty....

 

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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21 hours ago, rickeieio said:

Got truck back and it drives nicely.  Less than $4k for x/y, window, and labor.  Gotta admit, that flakey x/y sure had me thinking it was supply or ground issues.

We realize we're pretty dang lucky to be where we are in life, and view times like this as bumps in the road.  I hadn't planned to spend $$ on the truck, but I'm okay with it.  We saw several newish class a's on trailers being hauled in recently.  Heck, I've got a pickup back home with under 2k miles on it with tranny issues.  But it's under warranty....

 

Hi Rick,

Good to hear that the truck is back on the road. I remember in one of the first East Coast Rallies where someone talked about putting $5,000 back each year for repairs. Do you think you are ahead of the curve ? I mean, did you spend money on the truck last year ?

2012 Volvo VNL 630 w/ I-Shift; D13 engine; " Veeger "
  Redwood, model 3401R ; 5th Wheel Trailer, " Dead Wood "
    2006 Smart Car " Killer Frog "
 

 

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We're nowhere near $5,000/yr.  Wehad some expenses the first year, then many years with very little expense, but a lot of labor.  Then two years ago we put about $4,300 into a clutch and some other stuff at the ECR, nothing last year, but nearly $10k this year.  10 new tires and 4 new batteries two months ago is half that.

Edited by rickeieio

KW T-680, POPEMOBILE
Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN
Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row
Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer.
contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net

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