Whitey Ford - Page 5

Nomadcat · 10-12-2010, 10:48 PM

I thought of you as I flew by Rawlins recently, but it was not meant to be on that last trip or this current one.

Hopefully, next year I'll get out west again.

Paul

Nomadcat · 11-15-2010, 05:30 PM

Took the plunge.

Ordered a Propex 2000 today, along with a tank.

Got some Grade 8 bolts coming, along with Red RTV.

I'm hoping to have it up and running by mid December.

Stay tuned and hope to not hear any explosions.

Nomadcat · 02-14-2011, 11:13 AM

So, if you haven't been following my Propex thread, I am close to abandoning that and selling the unused unit. Don't want to deal with all my local tunnels with propane. Outside chance I'll hook it up and take the bottles inside, then mount them outside when I'm not going through tunnels, a la a trailer, but I'm not keen on that. For now, I'll be bogus and carry a Honda 2000 and a tiny electric heater for emergency freezes, but I'm more likely to just gut it out and think about a gas webasto down the road or just travel from may to october at the moment.

What I AM about to do, though, is finally install the Fantastic Vent roof fan and talk to my guys at Tekris Power in Jersey about hanging another battery off the frame. I have about 210 amp hours now and want MORE MORE MORE. We shall see. I boxed myself in a bit with the way I laid out the interior, so any new batteries will likely have to hang down below, but there are some issues. Anyway, I'll post here when I have something definite going. May move the Engel fridge to the other side of the cabin.

Spring is around the corner!!!

Nomadcat · 03-04-2011, 11:21 PM

Too tired to explain much, but I got the van today from Tekris, who put in some golf cart batteries, upping my power significantly, along with a solar panel.

Last week, I had the Fantastic Vent installed by Cyclevan, a shop in Jersey. We on the East Coast are not as blessed as you folks on the West Coast in terms of custom shops. Anyway, they did nice work, slicing away from of the Aluminess panels, but tying the ends together with a slat of aluminum and even aluminum rivets. The fan is wired into the house system and I LOVE having the ventilation. It is going to change the way I camp in the hotter weather.

Anyway, that's it for now. Off to bed.

Zaskoda · 03-05-2011, 11:14 AM

Looks like a nice clean finish. They made it look professional.

cygvan · 03-05-2011, 07:50 PM

very nice.

what is the length and width of your solar panel?

Nomadcat · 03-05-2011, 10:30 PM

Sunwize 130 watt, about 58 by 26 inches.

Nomadcat · 04-12-2011, 07:11 PM

Was thinking of changing the name from Whitey Ford to The Bat Van...

Nomadcat · 05-16-2011, 11:21 PM

Went into Quadvan today - yes, I was in Portland - and they did their usual great work. John took a couple of hours to check a concern I had about the low range shifter - it was fine; to repair a bushwhacker that had just gotten knocked about today; and to do a general look-see underneath. Took out a large bolt and took a few threads off of it to shorten it, checked some spots, etc.

In short, he took good care of a customer who happened to drop by. He also sold me a new rear diff cover for my corporate 10.5 diff, a Ford part that's got some gnarly heat fins on it. Did a nice, careful and clean install and I now have new rear diff fluid, which is nice, as the original stuff was getting dirty after 35,000 miles.

I then went to Northside Ford, where I bought the van originally, and had an oil change and tire rotation, as I had just hit 5000 miles after driving for 9 days straight. Had an ABS sensor light issue, too, and the mechanic there was great. They found that it was a frayed wire. He fixed it and checked out the wire run on the other side, too. In short, they took great care of a customer, as well, in a timely and reasonable way, financially.

I like to post when I have good service, just because it's easy for me to post when I have a bad experience somewhere and I think it's important to let people know when you have a good experience, as well.

In the meantime, I'm snug with the dog in the campground at Cape Lookout State Park in Oregon, a really nice place and, I believe, one that was recommended on this forum at some point and which stuck in my brain.

Best to all,

Paul

vandiesel · 05-17-2011, 10:39 PM

Paul, did you see my beige high top van in there? I have had a hard time getting Blaine to call back on mine. It is done and I had to leave town so have not seen it. I hope it caught your eye.

Brad