Did we fall off the face of the earth?

January 23, 2009
Peoria, AZ

No, not really. We're just not doing much in the way of interesting things. Projects around the coach and house are generally going well, although we're starting to see the effects of the economic slowdown, and (as usual) projects beget projects so the list can get longer.

One example of new projects appearing when you least expect it came up last week. One of my coach projects was to add an exhaust tip to keep the diesel exhaust away from the side of the motorhome. The existing pipe was OK until I added a "performance" muffler a couple of years ago. The new muffler is a little smaller than the original, so the end of the pipe was too close to the side of the coach. Pretty simple process: cut off the end of the existing pipe straight (it has an angled tip) and bolt on the $55 part. Unfortunately, when I went under there, I found that the muffler is cracked. No problem, lifetime warranty, right? Yeah, but "Oh, we won't have that model back in stock until the end of February". Maybe they'll still be in business then?

I had a similar experience trying to get a new macerator pump. It's supposed to have been shipped three times since late-December; still no pump. Hopefully, this isn't a sign of things to come, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of suppliers to vehicle manufacturers (in our case both RV and auto) have problems hanging on. I've already started thinking through which parts I should probably start putting "in inventory". Ouch!

Over the next few days, I'll finish up one of the more interesting projects: upgrading the coach's air filter. Basically, diesel engines are just big air pumps, so anything you can do to improve the efficiency of the intake is a good thing. I found that I can move to the next size larger air filter, with about 15% better flow. To do this, I've started fabricating new brackets for the filter, which hangs right over the engine. It's a cylinder about 27 inches long and 13.5 inches in diameter, weighing about 25 pounds, so it's not a simple change out (the old one is about 11 inches in diameter). I'm hand-making two curved metal straps that will bolt in where the existing bracket connects. I feel like I'm back in Metal Shop in High School, but I'm having fun doing metalworking with hand tools. :-) Fortunately, all of the maintenance tasks like changing the air filter can be spread over the next 10+ weeks since we're not going anywhere in the coach until we leave for the summer, since we can't go far with the broken muffler.

Otherwise, we're in pretty good shape, eating well and continuing to enjoy our wines. Geri's been feeling a bit under the weather lately, but we took her to the doctor today and they'll have her all fixed up in no time.

I'll update the blog once in a while just to let people know we're alive, sooner if anything interesting develops or I get bored...