# Let the Fun begin!



## LotRott74 (Sep 28, 2004)

Just Saying "Hi" this is my first post, and this is my first RV, a '74 Executive I like to call "Lot Rot"....hence the low miles and low price, the good thing is I use to be a truck mechanic   
It should be a "turn key" by spring   
I always wanted a 440 Magnum...but I would have prefered it be in a '66 Dart. See Ya on the road!


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## janicenlarry (Sep 29, 2004)

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Love the name.  Enjoy   :laugh:


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## sepisllib (Sep 29, 2004)

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Great looking unit. I firmly believe in looking for an older unit and then make that your hobby. Enjoy yours. Bill


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## Gary B (Sep 29, 2004)

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HI welcome to the forum and to rving, nice looking MH, Executives were top of the line in there day. Happy campin   :laugh:  :bleh:    :approve:


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## Tammi (Sep 30, 2004)

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VERY retro! I love it!


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## LotRott74 (Sep 30, 2004)

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Tammi...you hit the nail on the head, and with green shag carpet wall to wall no less, now where did I put that box of 8-tracks?


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## Kirk (Sep 30, 2004)

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We have friends who's parents had one just like that and the year was the same too. They did a lot of traveling in theirs. I believe that the got it about a year before they retired. We all went hunting in it one fall. It was a really great RV in it's day!

Welcome!


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## LotRott74 (Oct 1, 2004)

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Kirk.....that is just too Kewl that you are living the dream with your RV as your only home  :laugh: 
You also get extra credit points for owning a CR-V, I own one too   

http://www.gostevo.com


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## Tammi (Oct 1, 2004)

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LOL Rott!!! I am embarrased to admit, I don't even really remember 8 tracks- too young. But, I know my mom got mighty upset when she found me taking hers apart to see what the heck they were!  :laugh: 
Enjoy your "new" rv- may you have many happy and safe miles logged!


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## Poppa (Oct 6, 2004)

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Lot Rot,

Hapy to have some one out there that has the same aspirations as My wife and I do. We purchased  1979 Foretravel and have been having a blast at camp grounds. You would be surprised how many GOOD comments you will be getting with an older home. 

We are presently getting the decor back to original and we are looking for an older model beetle for a toad.

We get funny looks when we go to garage sales looking for 8 track tapes.

Hope to see you on the road some time.

PS IS there anyone that knows if they have a classic motor home club.

Have a blessed day,
Poppa


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## LotRott74 (Oct 6, 2004)

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Poppa, I swear....my Executive has the EXACT carpet that was in my parents house in the '70's while I was growing up! Dark panel green and gold, that is the motif here too


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## Terry6 (Oct 8, 2004)

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Welcome LotRot74, that's really a nice rig. I know what you mean working on your own rig, it saves you a lot of $$$ :laugh:  I also am old enough to know what a 8 track is.    :laugh:  Injoy you 1 st RV and be safe. Terry6


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## sepisllib (Oct 9, 2004)

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Neat rig. Mine is not quite that old - but is still nice and older. It's a 1993 Tourmaster and I am having a ball fixing the dozens of little things the previous owners didn't bother to. Some electrical, tires, batteries, powered steps, loose moldings, and etc.

One thing though - I see you guys posting photos of your rig and - try as I might I have been unable to get mine posted. Would like to share it too as it is a beautiful rig - special paint job and all. 

Enjoy - sometimes the best things are older and take a little elbow grease.

Bill


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## LotRott74 (Oct 9, 2004)

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*"sepisllib"*

Are your photos on a server somewhere on the internet?
That is the first step...don't look down, I can walk you through this  :laugh:


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## sepisllib (Oct 10, 2004)

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No - my photos are on a cd drive. I do not have anything like that on the web anywhere. Bill


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## LotRott74 (Oct 10, 2004)

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sepisllib,
Does your ISP give you server space for a home page? That is a popular way of doing it...thats what I do. Here is a link to a FREE Image Hosting Site. As I have said before you will need a place on the internet for the image to reside, then you can point to it and it will show up in your posts   

http://www.photobucket.com/


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## sepisllib (Oct 10, 2004)

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I have attempted the web page insert and also copy from disk. Nothing works. Bill


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## sepisllib (Oct 10, 2004)

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If you would like a look at it - the site is http://tinypic.com/c22rr

Bill


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## LotRott74 (Oct 10, 2004)

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Very Nice!
Now when you make a post copy the image location...in this case it is,
http://tinypic.com/c22rr
In the *Format:* row of buttons 11 buttons over is the "Insert Image" button, pushing it will give you this..
"img""/img" in brackets Insert your location between the brackets (I had to change the brackets to quotes to show you) When done like the image below you will get an image in your post!!!






See the "Preview" button above ^^^^^^^ use it to test the links in your post.

*WOW...THAT IS NICE,Post photos of the INSIDE!!!!!!!*
The word *"Opulent"* comes to mind   

http://www.webster-dictionary.net/definition/Opulent

Nobody could ever accuse you of being an underachiever


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## sepisllib (Oct 11, 2004)

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I only have a couple of inside shots - 1 is toward the front. But here it is.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




http://tinypic.com/c46si


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## sepisllib (Oct 11, 2004)

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Experminting - will try this again.

A number of years ago I had a 30 ft motor home - remember the make was "Surveyor" - and it had a 440 in it. I ran new exhaust pipes and made it twin exhaust with glass packs. That sure sounded sweet when I took it down highway 7 in Arkansas a little later. I had trouble with the engine shutting down at first. Replaced the resistor first and that did not do it - then replaced the entire ignition. That handles the problem. I remember it gave me about 6 mpg.

The one I have now is a 8.3 cummings and with the 7.5 kw generator running all the time I got just over 6.

Will try this photo thing again.







Looks better now. Bill


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## sepisllib (Oct 11, 2004)

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Opulent - Eh! I don't believe I would clasify myself in this lofty realm. I spent most of my years working at various jobs - third shift, second shift, first shift - factory - etc. Probably very similar to everyone else. Only since 1998 (the year I was 56) and nearing bankrupcy, has things gotten better. I started my own business and now at 62 my business is flourishing and my son is very near the point where I intend to promote him to vice-president and then I shall begin to take some time off. A week a month starting next spring and then by the fall possibly 2 weeks a month. Hopefully by the summer of 2006 we can be nearly fully retired.

The real reason for the Tourmaster is planning on my retirement. It was on sale as an estate in Texas and I made them an offer (I was positive they would not take) - but they did. So we up and flew down on Wed - Aug 25th and drove it home - taking our time.

It had been sitting for nearly 18 months and we have numerous things to fix. Tires are marginal - so this morning I drove it over to the tire shop and had the steering two replaced. Great way to spend $800 too.

Inverter was bad - replaced that and still am waiting on the remote controller. Another great way to spend $1500 in a hurry. The wiring must be re-ran from the storage bay up to the inside wall next to the stove -- that should be a lot of fun.

I had to replace nearly all of the storage bay door nitrogen cylinders and found one door was too bad to JUST replace the cylinders. I had to have a aluminum plate made to attach the cylinders to on one door as the wood was bad. Have the plate - but have not gotten to the repair yet. Soon though.

All four batteries died just after I got it home - so I replaced them (2 for engine and 2 for coach).

Ceiling lights inside - there are 3 that kept blowing a 20 amp fuse and for the life of me I cannot understand why 12 volt florescent lights are fed by a 20 amp fuse (for just 3 of them). They only draw just over 1 amp each and surge isn't a problem.... Oh well - received my new light today by UPS and just finished installing it. So far the fuse is holding and things are working.

Next - the horn ring on the steering wheel shakes and rattles really badly - I used some soft foam and inserted this around the edge and that stopped that problem.

Ignition - another interesting situation. The ignition switch is a GM make and the outer ring fell off. Had a new one installed and found that the wiring was only holding on by two (2) strands. Lucky this did not let us down on the way home.

The Onan diesel generator is a 7.5 KW and is mounted on a slide out in the nose of the rig. Found that it had a flex exhaust pipe that had come totally loose and was letting exhaust up into the front of the cab. Searched far and wide and finally had to have the local muffler shop weld a piece of flex pipe up to the threaded ends. That did the trick. Generator works great.

Molding up on the top cap (wraps around from side to roof) came loose - it was to brittle it just peeled out. Ordered 80 feet of this stuff and it came in white only. I cleaned things up and started inserting the molding -- thinking it was going to be an easy job. Wrong - it was painfully slow and hard to work that molding in one inch at a time. After installing it (took most of an afternoon) - I like the white as it sets off the top striping so I am not going to paint it after all. I spent another 2 hours caulking the drip molding above it and then ends so it would not leak.

There are numerous things - similar to the above items - that I have been working on. Headlights for example - the dims work - but the brights are dimmer than the dim. Only 2 of the 4 fog lites work. Couple clearance lites are out. The entry light is burned out. The steps do not work yet - working on. The light under the step is burned out. The trailer hitch electrical plug is bad - has been broken and just left to the elements. I have to replace that as I have a 2001 Suburban 4X4 that I am getting wired and ready to tow.

There is more - but as I said - this is a hobby that I have never really had before. And - I love it. Each situation is a challenge in it's own and there certainly are rewards for doing these things yourself.

So - I see what you - and others are doing with the older motor homes and admire each of you for your skills and determination. It's worth it to see the smiles on the family faces when you load up and head off. Let alone the glances you get from admiring bystanders in the rest of the world.

I hope to run into some of you guys out there - starting next summer. And yes - we intend to live in ours for several months a year beginning sometime in 2006 or 2007. My wife is Judy (my 3rd) and she is the most wonderful woman I have ever ran into. The 1st and 2nd were miserable (best I can say).

Bill


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## ARCHER (Oct 11, 2004)

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Bill,
When I bought my 89 Winnebago I basically did the same thing that your doing.....going through and fixing what is bad/maybe bad/just old/etc.  I was lucky, as the only real bad thing was the brains for the hot water tank, the four outside tires, and a small LP connector.  Only had 5,800 miles on it when I bought it two years ago, so most was like new in it.  We have spent the last two winters in it in Florida and so far, so good.  I, too, enjoy working on it like you say you do.  I've been retired for 2 1/2 years so it is kind of like a hobby messing around with it.  Getting ready to fix/repair a couple bubbles on the siding where the old frig was defrosted and drained inside (they forgot to put the drain to the outside??) and paint the repair.
Good luck and always remember the safety items are the most important.  Enjoy....          :laugh:


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## Tammi (Oct 12, 2004)

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LotRott your interior is huge! Looks like a big bathroom too!


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## ARCHER (Oct 12, 2004)

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It sure is beautiful on the outside.  Looks like a tour bus.  must be nice to be loaded to afford one of these.  Congrats


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## sepisllib (Oct 12, 2004)

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Thanks - Lotrot74 - for your help. I love your unit. Reminds me of the Surveyor I used to have. Lot to be said for the older units and the carpeting does remind me of some I had years ago. PS - have you managed to come up with any old 8 track tapes? 

Bill


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## LotRott74 (Oct 13, 2004)

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Bill...A 100 watt CD player is in my future *after* I take the rear brakes apart and get the parking brake working (this weekend), fill the LP tank and check for leaks, replace both leaking broken vents and add a Fan-Tastic Ceiling Fan Vent and 2 MaxxAir covers (ordered, should be here by friday?) Remove 2 CB antennas and fix the leak they cause in the roof, pull Onan and put Honda generator in hole while I work on the Onan, tune up 440, radiator flush, buy new deep cycle house batteries, add battery to the front just for the engine, replace windshield drivers side....anyway after I get the rear brakes working better I plan to go out on some day trips before the snow sets in the mountains of Washington State where I live. So far I have drove it around the block twice  :laugh:


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## LotRott74 (Mar 21, 2005)

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I havn't done alot over the winter [repair wise], other than sleep in the yard with it...but I WILL have outing photos coming soon...spent the last two days tweaking the engine, Im pumped   

*Dodge 440-3
Max Torque @ 2400 RPM
Max HP @ 4000 RPM*

Just an update...


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## Poppa (Mar 21, 2005)

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Lott Rott,

That 440 looks good. The Nellie Belle is still in the shop, broke a crank right behind the second throw. Run vehicles for 50 years , racing in heavy equipment and this is the first crank I have ever broken :question: .

As luck has it, it smoked the tranny at the same time :angry: .

Hopefully she will be back on the road soon but I am afraid my pocket book will be quite a few dollars lighter.


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