Thursday, April 13, 2017

Looking wheelie good

On the way to ICU today, I popped into Carolina International Trucks to look for my front mud flap. They found me a mud flap that was the wrong size and then located the right one on their catalogue. Sadly, it was in another branch. Undaunted, I bought the one they had intending to make it fit.

The patient in ICU was looking very much brighter and much more alert. Thus things are looking brighter on all fronts. Leaving the hospital I called in at Lowes (hiss, spit) and purchased a 3/8 inch wheel nut that I can use to secure the neutral cable onto the battery. Now there is absolutely no reason why my batteries should go flat. I can simply disconnect the cable. Though it's not as fancy as using a switch, it's more reliable and cheaper than buying a new switch.

Returning home, I dealt with more wasp nests under the bus. This time I sprayed with Raid as opposed to black paint. It might be abt and roach killer but it seems to nail wasps well enough. That allowed me to get into the wheel arch to measure. The bolt holes turned out to be 1/4 inch and as it so happened I had some 1/4 inch bolts and plenty washers. The nuts were harder o find and I'd all but given up on finding them when eventually they appeared.

The concept was simple enough - cut the mudguard to the right size and bolt it in place. Cutting a quarter inch thick reinforced mudguard however, took an angle grinder. As it was, I cut to width perfectly. Length I had to cut twice as I was too conservative with the first cut. The holes were then drilled after holding the mudguard in place and marking the sites with a drywall screw.

It took a couple of hours but the results are not bad. I have a mudguard and it is bolted into place. Mark one item off my list of things to do!
Also on my list of things to do are four essentials (after I go underneath tomorrow and finish clamping the cables instead of wussing out because of wasps). They are...

  • Finish fixing the wipers
  • Eliminate the short in the right 120v socket.
  • Check the kingpins
  • Lower the brake pedal about 2.5 inches.
After those there are the things I'd like to do which are non essentials....

  • Install a forced air intake
  • Install a water inlet
  • Move the battery for the fans to the cockpit.
  • Install another solar panel
I'll have to have a good clearout too. I have so many leftover screws, bolts, hinges etc that it beggars belief! I'll also have to retitle the bus as a motorhome once the essentials are out of the way.

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