Pitfalls of owning a Motorhome. Creators of massive projects...

[oldcarguy]

They consist of repairs of both a vehicle and home all wrapped up into one.. And owning two motorhomes quadruples that of owning a single home! This week's project is the refrigerator sprung a leak in my American Eagle. It's an absorption type. That's powered by heat from propane flame or electric. It uses ammonia rather than Freon. The telltale sign of a leak is the obvious smell. That in most cases means trashing the unit. However the Amish are the master's in making replacement components in the USA. Since electricity is banned from their daily use, they can cool using natural gas.. Hence absorption refrigerator rule in their communities...

American Eagle Motorhome..pulling my enclosed car hauler.


Twelve cubic feet four door model with auto ice-maker. Top two doors are freezer, bottom two are refrigerator. Weighs just over 200 pounds. Took off the doors and removed from its' nesting place..




The passenger seat and entry door needs to be removed to get the refrigerator out of the coach. So I stacked the one coach on to the other and have enough room to work around.




I ordered the replacement refrigerant unit and will dive into this project after it arrives... Never a dull moment around OldCarGuy's place...

[pep]

Much like a boat, but on wheels, requiring constant repairs, & using overpriced parts.

Never own an airplane is all I can say

[oldcarguy]

Much like a boat, but on wheels, requiring constant repairs, & using overpriced parts.

Never own an airplane is all I can say

I hear you! And I have never owned an airplane, outright. I'm sure you're right on about airplanes.. Being a boater most of my life. I know first hand the expenses of boating. I sold my last boat a decade ago,, not soon enough. Besides having two Chevy 454 blocks that I had to rebuilt and two Borg Warner transmission overhauls. Between dock fees, winter storage, and fuel will pit a dent into any budget. It can easily burn $150.00 per hour's use in fuel alone...

Here's my last boat..


Picture wake on Sandusky Bay off Cedar Point...


I was standing on the stern of my docked boat, with a single boas between my craft and the boat that exploded on Mother's Day May 9, 1993. Three people were killed at Shooter's restaurant in Cleveland Ohio around noon. The boat's owner was new to boating and made a major mistake trying to start the generator. My passengers and I were not seriously hurt.


The best two day's in any boater's life is the day he purchases one, and the day he sells it..

[oldcarguy]

Picked up the new Amish cooler unit with the Avalanche. Removed from packaging and inspect it..




Laid refrigerator down inside the motorhome. The removed old cooler unit along with all the wiring, etc. Along with removing all the mastic sealant



It took three times of ups and downs in order to line up all the screws. Then added mastic sealant and screws. Filled gaps with spray foam insulation. Then used foil duct tape.  Done at last.


Need to put the wires, fans, drain lines etc back. Then install the refrigerator in place, Connect propane, AC and DC electrics. Install doors and fire the baby up..

[geneg]

You're all done except for finishing up.

[oldcarguy]

Finished the new cooler unit install for the motor home propane/electric refrigerator. It's been a journey for sure. I spent five full days total. Removing the refrigerator, taking the cooler unit off, installing the new cooler unit. Then picking up the refrigerator and sliding it into place. A chore in itself as it weights  220 pounds empty.

Back into place as good or better than new. The replacement manufacturer claims it more efficient than OEM.. 


Buttoning up the wiring and propane lines through the side panel on the outside the coach.


It's been running for four hours and the freezer temperature is 6 degrees F


The main box area is 52 degrees F. It's normal to take 12 hours to stabilize the whole box area...


I added this set of fans to help distribute the air around the cooling coils and stops condensation in the main box. That is made by the Amish company that make the replacement coolers.


I'm sure glad this project is finished....

[muddy]

Nice work!

Sent from my twisted mind of the mudman