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RE: What Did You Do To Your Class B Today ?
Nice job on the repairs Cubey!
You have an interesting rig there. How many miles?
It shows something like 34k but it's a 5 digit odometer. It's likely to be 134k.. if not 234k. There is an oil change sticker on the door jam that says 91k miles back in 1991 or so.
The transmission was rebuilt last year and barely has any miles on it since then.
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Cubey
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02/04/12 06:10pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: What Did You Do To Your Class B Today ?
I went out today and put on the plumber's tape to secure the toilet drain pipe now it's nice and secure. Also attached the tether line for the cap.
Then I moved on to my furnace. I bought a new, rare thermocoupler for it from ebay ($25!) that has 2 blade connectors for wires. Must be some kind of safety function. Anyhow, replacing that didn't do the trick a month ago when I got it.
Today I took my air compressor over to the van and blew air into the controls of the heater, with the on/pilot/off valve taken apart.
I ended up having a weird problem getting the thermocoupler to thread back in at the thermostat controls.. so I grabbed the original and put it back.. threaded in fine.. so I figured I'd try it first.
Reassembled the on/pilot/off control valve wrong at first.. took me a little while to figure out the right way but finally did.
On first lighting try... it went out when I let go. Grr! I decided to try it again, figuring maybe it needed a little longer warm up time on the thermocoupler than the 30 seconds the instructions say. Lit it again... held it for another 15 to 20 seconds then let go ... SUCCESS!! It's working great now!
So I have a spare, hard to find thermocoupler for it. It's much longer than the original (the thin tubing part) but I could only one reliable source to even buy one.. ebay. Where there was ONE listed. Length shouldn't matter on it since it has a large open air area where the extra length can sit.
Also attached a cable hookup thing on the roof for the antenna hook up. Who ever put that antenna on... they just drilled a big hole and ran in coaxial and put a bit of silicon caulk around it.. which of course didn't seal worth a damn. But now it has a nice sealed connection. Looks a little funny because they put it on the slope so you can see it easily from the side but oh well. It's better than it was, for sure.
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Cubey
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02/04/12 05:16pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: What Did You Do To Your Class B Today ?
Got the toilet outlet all fixed! Cost me about $40 including a new miter box with saw. I only needed 4 inches out of a 24" ABS piece of pipe which was $12 by itself but that's how it goes. Still WAY cheaper than having a shop do the work for me. It sticks out about an inch further than I wanted it to. With the cap on, it sticks out past the running board by about half an inch. The piece sitting on the ground is what was original and was cut off. With the running boards, the outlet was too far set back in there, you had to get down on hands and knees to reach the cap. I used two 22.5 degree elbows to lower it down around the running board as you can see. The 4" of pipe I neded is between the two elbows. I just need to fit a block of wood between the running board and the pipe and use some plumber's tape (metal strapping) to secure the pipe so it doesn't bounce around, since it has no support at the end right now. Also need to drill a small hole and put a screw, washer and nut to secure the cap's tether line to the running board.
(NOTE: My van has a Thetford recirculating toilet. It's drain valve is inside at the toilet itself. That's why there isn't one at the outlet).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/new_toilet_outlet1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/new_toilet_outlet2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/new_toilet_outlet3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/new_toilet_outlet4.jpg
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Cubey
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02/03/12 07:07pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: What Did You Do To Your Class B Today ?
First I partly installed the new CB mirror mount. It's just hand tightened for now. Still need to buy the cable for between the antenna and the radio.
Then I moved on to the toilet drain outlet. I bought a Thetford to Valterra adapter for the toilet outlet yesterday but I don't like how poorly the Thetford connection fits holds, so I will be returning it. Instead I cut off the end of the pipe (seems to be black PVC schedule 40.. strange!) and will be installing a Valterra connection on the end. I wanted to extend the pipe out further due to the aftermarket running board that was installed at some point, making the hose hookup being very hard to get at. So not only will I have a common Valterra hookup, but I will have it extended out further than it came from the factory due to the running board. Tomorrow I will go to Lowes for the generic pipe parts and then back to the RV shop for the Valterra part I need.
Lastly, I replaced a 120v outlet that was a bit worn out. It had an old dark brown 70's one that wouldn't keep things plugged in very well anymore. I put in a new almond color one that is much easier to see due to the dark fake wood cabinets. It was so annoying trying to find it and seeing which way to plug in 3 prong stuff because it's installed horizontally.
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Cubey
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02/02/12 04:04pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: What Did You Do To Your Class B Today ?
I ran a 10 gauge wire into the cabin from the battery isolator's switched 12v source for the purpose of feeding a CB radio to be installed and for an in-dash stereo install (for the memory). I may put a 12v outlet on it too since the van's outlet is constant. In-line fuses will be used.
I found an existing drilled hole that just needed a grommet. The wire ran through perfectly. Slightly loose but that's better than too snug.
I also installed a pair of 4-LED bulbs into the cluster. This GREATLY helped the poorly lit gauges. I have since ordered some 6-LED ones since it was still a little bit too dim for my taste. 6 LED is the biggest I can get in the kind that can fit into the cluster. Most have a plastic casing on them. The ones I got don't. They are just circuit boards with LEDs and metal pick-up strips for the power.
This shows how much of an improvment the LEDs made. The left (blue) side is the 4-LED bulb. The right (green) side is a (new!) regular incandescent bulb. The photo is NOT edited (aside from being cropped and overall brightened slightly). It's not a split-view of 2 photos put side by side.. that IS how the gauges looked with a mixture of LED and incandescent.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/led_vs_reg.jpg
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Cubey
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01/27/12 12:09am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Illegal Parking
Yes, that is the one thing I am dreading about this van I got. Backing was hard enough with a 97 Ford E150 conversion van (regular length). It's going to be murder with a 20ft long Class B! I have already tried to back around in my driveway that is very large and wide and I couldn't hardly tell distances worth a damn when in the van. I got out about 5 times to make sure I wasn't too close to a tree. The tree was a good 20ft away still. *LOL*
One of the first things I am going to buy (after getting it fully road worthy) is a backup camera.
I haven't driven a van in a few years so I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually. But odds are I will look for the largest parking lot available and always make sure I can pull through the space, preferably on the very outer edge of the parking lot. Even if that means, say in an urban environment, paying for two parking spaces if that is possible to do such as with parking meters and certain kinds of pay parking lots where you pay based on the space you are parked in.
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Cubey
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01/17/12 08:14pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Annoying converter/charger buzz
Old topic but thought I'd chime in anyway. I bought a refurbished one a few years ago and it still works fine. But it has always buzzed loudly unless there is a load on it. If I turn on even a single light, the buzzing completely stops. Also it seems to be only if the battery is fully charged or if no battery is present, with no load. Must have something to do with being idle, with no power draw.
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Cubey
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01/14/12 07:43pm |
Tech Issues
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RE: Class B Campsite Photos - Let's See Them!
Quartzsite, AZ is one of our favorites. No Hookups but water and dump are available. I trust I did the photo thing right.
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/ad222/GA_Boy/MVC-150F.jpg
Ha. I thought about pulling a beetle behind my van but... the transmissions in these 70s dodge vans wear out FAST if you tow with them I've read. I have a new trans so I don't wanna jinx it!) plus, I plan to do some urban van dwelling and a towed vehicle would spoil that. If I wanted a separate vehicle setup, I would have kept my truck and used my Shasta trailer.
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Cubey
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12/22/11 10:24pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Class B Campsite Photos - Let's See Them!
Not a class B.. but was a conversion van with pull down blinds for the windows and a bench seat that laid flat to a bed so it was borderline. :)
http://cubey.illiop.com/pics/albums/userpics/10001/normal_100_9568b.jpg width=640
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Cubey
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12/22/11 10:21pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: New owner of a 78 Dodge Xplorer
Quick update.. I mentioned this in another thread but will here too.
I found out today that the guy I bought it from CAN get it put in his name by doing TITLE ONLY, without actually registering it. It will cost me about $60 (for the sales tax when he bought it) but that's it.
I will have them mail the title to his name at my address. When I get it, I just get him to sign it it over to me and I take it and go register and title it in my name. I think I will go ahead and pay him $100 when he signs that title over to me for his cooperation regarding this.
I'll still be getting it for $1,440 ($60 less than he originally quote when I thought it had a title he could sign over to me) that way and I will have a free and clear title in my name with no muss, no fuss with bonded titles and all that crap. Plus since he's been nice and cooperative, he'll get closer to what his asking price was when he thought there weren't any title issues. Saves him having to put out any money at all with me paying his sales tax and he'll get another $100 on top of the $1300 I already paid him.
He said he is willing to do it, just a matter of when his boss will let him get off work early to get to the TX DMV before they close at 5. I haven't mentioned the extra $100 yet, I will when I get him there to title it in his name and have the DMV mail it to my address. Then I'll tell him that when I get it and he signs it over to me, I'll pay him another $100 for his time and cooperation.
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Cubey
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12/20/11 05:11pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Need photos of Dodge Xplorer sewer drain area
Yes, that sounds like exactly how mine is.
I think I may just pay an RV shop to do the tank for me. That way they can get the openings done properly and get it mounted so it doesn't fall out while driving down the road with a load of water in it. Even if it costs me $500, it'll be worth it to have it done properly. But I will do that very last since it's possible not to use the sinks or shower and still live in it for a while at first.
I found out today that I can get the title put in the guy's name I bought it from for only $60 (I'll have the new title mailed to my address) and then have him sign that title over to me so it can be placed in my name.
I'll pay him $20 for his trouble since he knocked $200 off the price for me to take care of any costs involved. I'll still up smelling like roses price wise.
Although, it seems it needs a new power converter. It's acting badly just like a used one I bought for my Shasta years ago. Powers up but has very low voltage and acts like it can't charge the battery. I think I may replace the glass fuse block with a modern blade fuse block. I hate glass fuses to no end. I may do so for he van's fuse panel as well if it's easy plug and pay for the fuse block.
Thankfully I know my way around wiring and plumbing somewhat from working on the Shasta and other things over the years.
By the time I'm done with it, I may end up having $4000 in it ..but, it has a new transmission worth $1200 so it'll still be worth it. Plus it's going to have a wealth of other new parts.
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Cubey
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12/20/11 02:25pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Need photos of Dodge Xplorer sewer drain area
I've seen a listing with quite a variety of tank sizes & shapes. I think it was in the big RV catalog that I got at a dealer. A lot of dealers have a mail-order catalog if they're _not_ Camping World affiliates. It's about 600 pages of RV and camping stuff. Ask for it at the parts counter. They may or may not charge $5-10 for it. Well worth having, especially for an older vehicle project. Once you find something in it, shop on-line for a better price.
The nearest camping world is about 2.5 hours from me unfortunately. I went online and ordered some kind of free one. 2-3 weeks delivery time it says.
I saw one on ebay with the hole already cut and a 3" outlet attached too on the end like I would need for around $250 shipped, close to the capacity of the original. I need to measure the area under the van for the tank so I know what size will fit though.
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Cubey
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12/20/11 07:18am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Need photos of Dodge Xplorer sewer drain area
My 1980 Dodge Xplorer does not have a black water tank. The toilet is a marine toilet - hook up to sewer line at campground and it drains by pulling a lever on bottom of the toilet. I have the original manual. I'll check to see what it says.
I know. But it does have a grey water tank which is what I need the photo for reference of.
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Cubey
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12/20/11 07:13am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Anyone here start young as us :)
I wanted to back when I was 24-25 but ended up not doing so. I'm now 30 and working my way toward doing so this time for sure. Got myself a pretty decent class B motorhome since I want to do van dwelling more or less. AT first I had a 97 Ford E150 conversion van but it was too nice to "mess up" to make it for van dwelling I felt. Plus it didn't have a high top so it was too confining. I tried it out on a couple of camping trips and didn't like it.
So then I got a 67 Shasta camper and fixed it up. Then I sold the van, got a station wagon that couldn't pull the camper (kinda stupid, huh?). Paid a friend to move it to an RV park locally for me where I lived for 6 months, then rented a house and had the camper moved there. Lived there a few years, bought a huge house in 2010... and now i'm unhappy and frankly can't afford proper upkeep on it.
I sold the wagon a while ago, ended up in a corolla.. it got wrecked and ended up with an F150 so I could use the camper again... camper didn't move an inch. Sold the truck the other day (also have a ford escort for my car now), just bought a 78 Dodge Xplorer class B can that I am now going to some minor work on (replace the engine rubber, thermostat, water pump, etc) and do some work to the motorhome portion as well (needs a grey water tank, generator may need work too).
Trying to sell the Shasta too since I don't need it.
Going to try to sell the house but if all else fails .. I guess I can just let it go to foreclosure. But once the new year comes, I can work on doing some painting the house needs in the bathrooms, and generally cleaning up the house so I can get a realtor I know to come take photos of it and get it put on the market.
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Cubey
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12/19/11 08:15pm |
Full-time RVing
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RE: New owner of a 78 Dodge Xplorer
I'm down south in South west Arkansas (not in the mountains) so it's not as bad as say.. Minnesota where it would be a much harsher freeze. But too. I am hoping to have the engine refilled with antifreeze soon anyway. If I thought I could fit it into the garage, I'd do so. but I think it's too long. They built the garage this house has for cars, not trucks or vans, which is surprising considering I'd say 90% of houses within 10 miles of me have a truck.
January is usually the coldest month here and hopefully I'll have the new radiator hoses before this month is out. I am tempted to go ahead and replace the water pump too while I'm at it since I need to pull the radiator and fan to get at the replacing the belts anyway.
$107 for the highest priced Bosch water pump on Rockauto, labeled heavy duty. Much cheaper than a wrecked engine from an old, ancient water pump that is on it.
Or $58 from Napa for their highest end water pump (new, not rebuilt): Tru-Flow Water Pumps Hi-Perf FW 43026P
(EDIT: I didn't notice you were from Minnesota until after i said that.. I just picked it at random to reference for harsh winters LOL!)
EDIT #2: I found the same exact Bosch water pump on Amazon for $80.25 with free shipping so I went ahead and snatched it. It was the last one in stock right now. Amazon tends to always jack up the price by $15-$20 after I look at things so I didn't want to wait. So yeah, it's going to have a brand new, not rebuild heavy duty water pump on it too.
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Cubey
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12/19/11 04:13pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: New owner of a 78 Dodge Xplorer
Just placed a $100 order with rockauto ($130'ish with shipping. 3 warehouses.. very annoying!) for a bunch of good quality parts. I look for "professional grade" parts vs "service grade" which is the cheap stuff.
The parts I ordered:
- Cluster light bulbs
- PCV Valve
- Upper radiator hose
- Lower radiator hose
- Brake hoses
- Brake hose clips
- Thermostat
- Air Filter
- Fuel filter
- NGK spark plugs
- Carb repair kit
I bought the carb repair kit because it was being clearanced out for under $10. Great emergency repair kit to have when on the road in case I need it.
I also went to the salvage yard today and snatched up a newer dog house engine cover from a 1991 church van for $50. I couldn't pass it up when I saw it. It has better cup holders, lots of storage plus a fold out table! Here's some photos of it with the old dog house and installed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/Hpim4870.jpg width=640
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/Hpim4871.jpg width=640
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/Hpim4872.jpg width=640
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/Hpim4873.jpg width=640
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/Hpim4875.jpg width=640
While it doesn't match the original interior, it does matche the replaced seats. *LOL*
I am almost tempted to go buy the complete dash from that church van and put it in. It has the fake wood trim on it and is that same color blue. If it's there by the time I am ready to put in the cluster bulbs, I may do that.
The carburetor was very clean looking on the van too. Depending on what they'll charge me for it, I might go back and get that too and swap it out for mine which looks pretty dirty. Can't have enough emergency parts that cost an arm and a leg to buy new/rebuilt when on the road. Then I can use the rebuild kit I bought on rockauto on my original carb and put it into a big zip lock bag and into a box so it'll be clean and ready for swapping out if the need ever arises.
Anyhoo.. here's some other photos I took today of the interior:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/Hpim4876.jpg width=640
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/Hpim4877.jpg width=640
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/Hpim4878.jpg width=640
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/Hpim4879.jpg width=640
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/Hpim4880.jpg width=640
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/Hpim4881.jpg width=640
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/illiop/78dodge/Hpim4882.jpg width=640
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Cubey
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12/19/11 03:43pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Need photos of Dodge Xplorer sewer drain area
That's well and good regarding yours but this one is supposed to. I have seen the manual from an earlier 70s model Dodge Xplorer and it states there is supposed to be one. I have seen far away pics and I can see two outlets. But I can't see exactly how it's set up, the pull valve position looks weird in regard to the positioning of the pipe and tank.
There is a LARGE area where it's very obvious (now that I've thought to look) that a holding tank is supposed to be there.
The gas tank is what I thought was the holding tank so I didn't notice it missing.
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Cubey
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12/19/11 08:49am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Need photos of Dodge Xplorer sewer drain area
Yes. These have two drains. The toilet has it's own drain valve at the toilet itself. The toilet itself is also the holding tank, up to 7 gallons the manual says.. hence it being like a permanent installed porta potty.
I have crawled under the van and looked. There is a large drain pipe coming from the toilet that just needs a dust cap put on it. But then there is also smaller size pipe running from the bathroom (shower/sink) and from the kitchen sink leading to near a large empty place where the grey water tank used to be.
My 67 Shasta trailer is how you described... only a black water tank and they expected you to drain the grey water (sink) to the ground. By the late 70s they had grey water tanks. Or at least this one did. It is supposed to have about a 25 gallon grey water tank. In the case of this van, they were in limbo from the change I guess.. and only gave a 7 gallon black water holding capacity.
I think I know how the tank goes on.. probably just takes one opening at the drain end.. and you put a T with the inlet on one side and the drain valve on the other. At least.. that is how I will probably do it. No other way you can really. And that looks like it's how it's supposed to be based on the end of the existing grey water drain pipe from the shower and sinks.
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Cubey
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12/19/11 08:27am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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RE: Need photos of Dodge Xplorer sewer drain area
Dang it! The holding tank for grey water is missing. It's going to be murder trying to find a replacement to fit I bet. I think it needs two holes.. one for inlet and one for outlet.. unless I am mistaken. The toilet is like a large porta potty and has it's own separate drain outlet from grey water so at least I don't have to mess with making it fit to that.
I do still need a good up close photo so I can see exactly how it's set up. A photo of the underside showing how the water enters the tank would also be most helpful.
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Cubey
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12/19/11 07:36am |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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Need photos of Dodge Xplorer sewer drain area
It seems my Xplorer's septic drain has been partly taken apart and I need a couple of good up close photos of the sewer valve/outlet area so I can fix it. I've hunted around online but I cannot find any good up close photos of that area.
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Cubey
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12/18/11 10:59pm |
Class B - Camping Van Conversions
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