Rucio's Winter Makeover

[rabbit]

The screen on the regulator is facing forward in foto. Twist 90 degrees such that the blue cap faces forward and the "saucer" flys on edge and retighten the nut on the tank-regulator connection.

jack

[jen b]

Yeah, we were messing with the position of the regulator and finally decided it would be safe indoors for a while. Let's hope we remember to adjust it into a good spot before taking out into the rain.

Another lesson of the weekend: have somebody DOUBLE CHECK you've adequately tightened the propane supply to the cooktop before lighting it all up for a test. OUCH. I still have all eyes and fingers as original but had to spend a couple of hours with my right hand in a cup of cool water after that little stunt. Very glad I didn't blow up the trailer and the garage but it honestly wasn't too bad, just a matter of half a turn on the wrench.

[cpaharley2008]

They sell liquid propane spray for leaks and a small battery probe for testing. It is suggested you occasionally test your propane appliances. A good way for a small leak test is after turning off at the tank, wait a day and then turn the gas back on. You should have gas at the stove immediately if no leak, otherwise start looking if you have to bleed air.

[dylanear]

Just reading through. Congrats on an awesome resto! Love the paint. Love a nicely prepped Burro. I was hoping for one before I found the Scamp. Just didn't find any suitable Burros.

If I ever get to paint my Scamp, I'll want a similar silver. Beautiful.

[ken h]

Wow! your trailer is the Cat's Meow. Kudos to you and your dad on a job well done.

[rabbit]

Jen, where's the battery location? Do you have a sealed cmptmt for a wet cell or do you have one of those batteries with the new fangles that don't require venting?

[jen b]

Originally Posted by rabbit

Jen, where's the battery location? Do you have a sealed cmptmt for a wet cell or do you have one of those batteries with the new fangles that don't require venting?

I sprung for the fangles. My new AGM brick will live under the driver side dinette seat.

Before I learned of such things, the aged sloshy-cell battery that the trailer came with also lived under the dinette seat. It was dead 99% of the time, though - do dead batteries still explode?

Because once the resto is finished Rucio will be parked in a pay-to-store lot without a place to plug in, I wanted the expensive lower-maintenance kind of battery. I'm also getting a 5-watt solar trickle charger to help keep it happy while parked.

[Sue and Henry]

The solar trickle sounds like a great idea. I haven't used solar. Is that enough to keep the betters topped of if you put the burro away charged?

[cpaharley2008]

Yes, those trickle chargers work great. I have had great success with them.

[jen b]

Originally Posted by dylanear

Just reading through. Congrats on an awesome resto! Love the paint. Love a nicely prepped Burro. I was hoping for one before I found the Scamp. Just didn't find any suitable Burros.

If I ever get to paint my Scamp, I'll want a similar silver. Beautiful.

Dylan, thanks. I'm really glad we went the painting route - there was enough body work needing done, and the gelcoat was kind of a wreck anyway, that the job sort of called for it. Well, okay, the trailer was completely usable without getting painted but my dad and I got to geeking out on it and one thing led to another and before long we were de-flanging and more.

It's been a mountain of work and the trailer has sucked in valleys of cash but worth the results.

[rabbit]

Jen, from the bit of reading I've done, I think the AGM batteries have a slower discharge rate than lead acid during mothballing so that's another plus. I'm really thinking hard about 6V golf cart batteries inside and the greater wgt further aft but have to rethink the "non-smart" converter conundrum. "Bob's Blog" on the net suggests that most converters do not charge much beyond 13.5 volts and that a "full charge" of a 12V deep cycle is closer to 14.4 or even 15 volts. Makes sense to me as the monitor for house batteries on boats usually shows a potential top end of 14 volts and the idiot lights on my Ramsond inverter max out at 15V. So I may have to scrap the converter function on my electrical service and and replace with an intelligent and high pressure charger.

jack

[Steve Hammel]

Is this thread finished? Jen what did you do with the interior, bed, seating, etc.? Love what you've done so far.

[jen b]

You guys, sorry I've been invisible for so long - I have a bunch of photos I'm going to upload in a second. As soon as I finished the main phase of the makeover, back in August, we immediately took off for a 3 week road trip, and during this fall term, work and life have been moving at a hundred miles an hour. In a good way, but it also has left little time for poking around the board.

[jen b]

Okay. I forget where I was last, but over the summer we jammed the windows back in. We are unsatisfied with how they turned out, using the old stuff with new rubber, so I'm now looking into getting new windows. The sides are easy, but I have to do some research around the curved front and back windows.

Overall, I am SO HAPPY with it. It turned out beautifully! You will not be surprised that I am constantly getting cornered by people and end up giving tours all the time.

Here are the results. The only remaining thing is to do the new windows, which we'll take care of over the winter.

[Thomas G.]

Awesome!

[jen b]

A few more pics.

[jen b]

End of August into mid September, I took the mister and his parents along on a 3-week trip west - we hit a friend's farm in Illinois, Badlands National Park, the Bighorn range, McCullough Peaks, and Togwatee Pass area in Wyoming, and Custer State Park in South Dakota. The parents stayed in camground cabins, and we had two cars along so everybody didn't need to be joined at the hip the whole time. It was a great time.

I also have had it out at Assateague Island a couple of times during the fall, at least till Sandy hit and closed the parks for most of November. We're getting ready to hit the road again for the winter break, aiming for some wildlife photography in south florida.

[rabbit]

Standing tall! I like that curved overhead gallery aft. Did you do the face frames and new doors in teak? Any pictures from the August trip?

jack

[jen b]

Originally Posted by rabbit

Standing tall! I like that curved overhead gallery aft. Did you do the face frames and new doors in teak? Any pictures from the August trip?

jack

Thanks! the cabinetry doors and the veneer face of the new overhead shelf in back are maple. Inserts are your basic acrylic sheet, to keep things lightweight.

[Steve_N_Janna]

I love the wrap around shelf at the rear of the trailer. Nicely done!