Frame Welding

[hot rod]

Make sure that water heater vent is drafting properly. The air in the pipe needs to be hot enough that the natural effect of the heat rising draws the exhaust gasses up the pipe and out the top. If the pipe is too large a diameter for the output of the heater to get it warm enough the exhaust gas can waft out the bottom or even back through the heater. Get it warmed up and give it the old fashioned "smoke test" to make sure it is drawing cold air into the bottom of the flue and going up the pipe.

My first thought on the generator was that engine exhaust would make it's own pressure and not be a problem, but then I got to thinking about those "genturi" add on exhaust stacks they sell to clip onto a normal rv exhaust to get it up past the roof, and they also rely on that heated flue effect that draws cold air in the bottom and up the pipe just like a furnace flue.

So just be real sure the exhaust gas for both is flowing properly up the pipe. People have literally died from flues that did not work properly, I worked for the gas company for many years and that was always an important issue we checked on every install.

All that aside, really cool idea and nice job.

[Kenn]

Today we got a lot of the electrical working. The pictures are of the 2500 watt inverter with a cage I built to protect it and maintain an air gap for cooling. Between the 50' 30 amp cord and the inverter is the surge protector on bottom above that is a box containing a breaker between the inverter and inverter outlets. At the top is a 30 amp outlet that will get power from the generator. I will always be plugged into the generator or to an outside outlet as in a campground. Everything worked except I don't have the generator yet so the outlet is just a place to keep the end of the shore-power cord while driving.

[Kenn]

Yesterday I got the plumbing done in the bath. I will be doing the vanity cabinet and wardrobe closet at a later time. The bath sink, shower/tub and toilet are done. I have not filled the LPG tank so I do not have hot water. All of the pex water lines went without drama except for when I forgot the inner sleeve on one of the push on fittings. The sink fills and drain great as does the tub and the toilet also works. I was pleased with the amount of water the small pump delivers.

[mmmc101]

Kenn
Your truck is really looking good. Plumbing and electrical looks very well thought out and executed.
Haven't done much to mine the last few months. After a series of tornados last year I got busy building a few steel buildings in the area and just haven't had any spare time. Also, wife retired and convinced me to buy a motorhome for longer trips when we don't take the streetrods with us. Just returned from 2 weeks in so. Cal. This motorhome has some features I am going to install on the toter that sure makes life easier. Electric Power cord and water hose reels are just one feature I really liked. My toter has a 50 amp cord and is 35' long...weighs a bunch. I had never looked at motorhomes built like this one and wish I had before I started building the toter. Many other features I would have in installed. Also, it has no leveling jacks, uses the airbags to level. The system is pretty simple. May try to retrofit the toter to a similar system. Hope to get back to work on mine in the next few weeks......if it ever warms up. 4 degrees this morning with 3" of new snow and ice.
MMM

[Kenn]

Got home yesterday from a 7 day trip to Calif. for a family function. Long Leggs ran great and all systems worked. We went 1490 miles and got 9.68 on the first fill-up and 8.8 on the second. Drove in a lot of rain and wind. I have not been in the SF bay area in a long time and I don't miss the bad roads (580 between 680 and 5). The truck went up and down the hills with little effort.

[Dragonslayer140]

Congratulations on a successful trip Kenn! Getting better mileage than my Class C lol

Dave

[bushpilot]

Originally Posted by mmmc101

Kenn
Your truck is really looking good. Plumbing and electrical looks very well thought out and executed.
Haven't done much to mine the last few months. After a series of tornados last year I got busy building a few steel buildings in the area and just haven't had any spare time. Also, wife retired and convinced me to buy a motorhome for longer trips when we don't take the streetrods with us. Just returned from 2 weeks in so. Cal. This motorhome has some features I am going to install on the toter that sure makes life easier. Electric Power cord and water hose reels are just one feature I really liked. My toter has a 50 amp cord and is 35' long...weighs a bunch. I had never looked at motorhomes built like this one and wish I had before I started building the toter. Many other features I would have in installed. Also, it has no leveling jacks, uses the airbags to level. The system is pretty simple. May try to retrofit the toter to a similar system. Hope to get back to work on mine in the next few weeks......if it ever warms up. 4 degrees this morning with 3" of new snow and ice.
MMM

GOOD FOR YOU ! (truthfully i thought i was livin' the dream w/ ONE coach....now you've given us all <bad?> ideas)

I get ya w/ the power cords....i got so sick of rolling mine up (along w/ an extension) when we leave & return to storage, that i made a 75' 50A cord that STAYS in our storage bay....funny thing is sometimes i haul it and the 35 ft extension cord w/ me for a grand total of 150ft :roll eyes:

i like the idea of the retractible cord reels (i don't necessarily need power assist)....but i think they take up MORE room, than just coiling the cord in the electrical bay....doesnt stop me from thinking about adding one though

I'm curious what other features the MCI/Prevost had that you like.

[mmmc101]

The motorhome has four 8D agm batteries and two 4000 watt inverters with an auto generator start feature. The batteries get low and the generator starts, recharges and shuts off automatically. We ran for almost a week before the generator ever started. The batteries are huge, weigh 135# each. I think I can incorporate one in the toter with smaller inverter. Built in TV and electrical receptacles in the storage bay on the "patio" side is also a nice feature. Marble floors is also a really nice feature. It has three ways to heat the coach, electric heaters, AC/heat pumps or a diesel fired Wabasto heater that heats water and circulates thru the coach and also keeps the bus engine and the hot water tanks warm.
The part I like the most I can't duplicate with the KW. It rides better and quieter than my car. I had some difficulty driving it at first. You cannot hear the engine running so I was constantly scanning the gages to see what was going on. Found that the best way to drive it was set the cruise and let it do its thing. I was also surprised at the fuel mileage, 6.4 pulling 6000# trailer loaded with 4 wheelers.
I can only hope my toter does as well.
MMM

[bushpilot]

Originally Posted by mmmc101

The motorhome has four 8D agm batteries and two 4000 watt inverters with an auto generator start feature. The batteries get low and the generator starts, recharges and shuts off automatically. We ran for almost a week before the generator ever started. The batteries are huge, weigh 135# each. I think I can incorporate one in the toter with smaller inverter. Built in TV and electrical receptacles in the storage bay on the "patio" side is also a nice feature. Marble floors is also a really nice feature. It has three ways to heat the coach, electric heaters, AC/heat pumps or a diesel fired Wabasto heater that heats water and circulates thru the coach and also keeps the bus engine and the hot water tanks warm.
The part I like the most I can't duplicate with the KW. It rides better and quieter than my car. I had some difficulty driving it at first. You cannot hear the engine running so I was constantly scanning the gages to see what was going on. Found that the best way to drive it was set the cruise and let it do its thing. I was also surprised at the fuel mileage, 6.4 pulling 6000# trailer loaded with 4 wheelers.
I can only hope my toter does as well.
MMM

just think w/ some solar panels you might not ever need the gen.

I wonder, for as quiet as it is, how warm is the rear/bedroom going down the road ? Not that anyone has to be back there.

My wife has finally gotten comfortable enough that she'll go in the back & sleep occasionally....but she's got to be really tired. For the most part everyone likes to sleep on the couches up front while we're under way.

ouch on the mpg. we're a consistent 9.9 mpg w/ the cruise set at 72
we've seen as much as 13 mpg (non-stop from blacksburg va to destine fl) last october.

worst I've ever seen (heavy footed, trying to make up some time & jockeying for position along i81 from knoxville to front royal va) was 8.9mpg

does the prevost have a basement cooler ? its our #1 feature....holds more (w/out ice) and we never have to worry about running out of ice or searching for ice.

[mmmc101]

Originally Posted by Kenn

Got home yesterday from a 7 day trip to Calif. for a family function. Long Leggs ran great and all systems worked. We went 1490 miles and got 9.68 on the first fill-up and 8.8 on the second. Drove in a lot of rain and wind. I have not been in the SF bay area in a long time and I don't miss the bad roads (580 between 680 and 5). The truck went up and down the hills with little effort.

Kenn,
That's amazing fuel mileage. Is your engine electric or manual? I don't think my old manual 425 Cat will come close to that. How did your sound deadening/insulation in the cab perform? I haven't bought any for mine yet and am still looking at the different types. I would like to make it as quiet as possible and reduce the heat transfer as well. Glad you had a good trip.
MMM

[mmmc101]

The wife sleeps/ watches TV in the bedroom while we're going down the road. Has not said anything about noise or heat so it must be good. The coach has what they call Over the road air. Designed to keep 52 people cool in 100 degree weather and it works great. The drawback is its takes 30 HP to run the compressor which doesn't help the fuel mileage. Also, the bus weighs 54,000 lbs wet. Probably doesn't help the mileage as well. We ran 70/75 most of the time pulling the trailer. Probably help if I slowed down some. It's so quiet you don't realize your running that fast.
It had an icemaker/freezer and slideout jennair cook top in the side box originally but the previous owner took it out. Not sure why. May reinstall it sometime.
MMM

[bushpilot]

sounds nice !

over the road a/c would be nice - we run our gen if its hot out....so its a trade off i suppose...and besides none of us bought these things to be UNCOMFORTABLE

Our basement cooler is on a slide out, and I've adding additional slide outs for the grill & tool box (seems I'm always fishing for a screw driver or pliers for something).

have the grill plumbed w/ a QD connection was another good mod that i did....no more 1 lb green bottles !

[Kenn]

The engine is manual, it is a 1987 450 hp Cummins STC (step timming control). We were pulling my sisters Jeep Liberty and driving at 60 mph. I have a 13 speed and in 8 th direct 1500 rpm = 60 mph. I could climb 6% grades at that speed until truck traffic became an issue. My old Itaska with a 454 chevy would get 7 mpg at 55 mph and drop to 5.5 at 65 mph. I was very happy with the mileage and being able to clime step grades is a big plus.

[Kenn]

We have been busy working on the interior walls. I am just about done with the passenger side. I am using 2" insulation and then painted 1/4" plywood. We got the clamp ring on the dinning window and it looks good. The front wall (walk-through) has a lot of electrical so the insulation was a challenge. I ordered a deeper clamp ring that I will use as the door trim.

[Kenn]

I have been busy trying to get the race car ready for a race in July. The motorhome will have most of the systems up and running. I won't have the generator yet but hope to get a spot with power and if I don't I will find out how long my battery bank will last. We have finished with all of the plywood and painting. I have all of the upper kitchen cabinets done minus the doors. I have put in a temporary counter with a working stove and sink. I built a trash been that slides in under the pantry. I am waiting for the upholstery guy to finish the black boot cover and then I will anchor the sofa and reinstall the TV.

[bushpilot]

very nice kenn

[Gordy]

Ken you looking for a generator? I got a Kubota/Stamford 11kw if you need one.

[Kenn]

Gordy is yours diesel or LPG.? I am planning on getting a 5500 Onan vapor.

[Gordy]

Diesel-just plumb to your truck fuel tank and away you go. If you are planning on running 2 ac's and charging batteries, you will need more than you are planning on installing. NRC installed an Onan 12500 RV Quiet in my coach, works pretty sweet.

[Kenn]

I got the boot from the upholstery guy and installed it using my new snap tool. We also got the TV back in and the sofa screwed down for the final time. I have been playing with steam bending oak for the trim on the counter and table. The bends are 95 degrees with a 3" radius. So far I have made some curvy fire wood. I have one good bend that I am using for a small shelf under the TV.