as long as it has a charge in it, be careful it could be amonia, the fridge trick is to pull it out and flip it upside down for a day or two, this will allow it to burp, sometimes its all that is needed.

Yup going to try that trick too, first step is to get LP filled then try it to see if burner and controls work if it don't cool then will pull it and take into shop to set upright for 24 hrs and warm to 65 degrees then flip it upside down and let it set a few days then flip back and try it with the 110v heaters, if it still don't work I will lay it on one side for a few days then try etc. if in the end it just don't work I will put fridge out of bus and inverter in its place been real happy with it in the bus.

Heck that trailer went pretty cheap wont find a car hauler for that price for sure will have to keep my eye out for a short camper.

have you looked at the FEMA trailers that are being sold cheap???

Its been too cold to do anything I took the RV up to my buddys automotive repair shop and put it in his storage lot out back until the weather warms up, my parking area is full lmao

Before I did put it in storage I did put on all my cold weather gear and crawl under the RV to see what I have, it has the factory Engine oil cooler already installed it also has a over sized trans cooler installed but they installed it real low to the ground and it looks like a dirt scoop and is pretty beat up it will be replaced and relocated.

I never seen one of the older RV's that the dash a/c ever worked worth a crap so I will probably remove the entire factory dash a/c this will free up space in front of the radiator and increase air flow for better cooling, might use the compressor bracket to install a second alternator to charge the house battery's assume since the current alternator is a single V belt its only going to be 62 amp at the most any more than 62 amps they usually have belt slipping issues, 62 amp is plenty more than enough actually but I plan on moving my 4 deep cycle battery's over from the bus so they might has well have their own alternator.

Think I see a coolant leak at the water heater where the Engine heater hoses connect I think I will just remove the Engine heating hot water option from the water heater I don't ever recall needing hot water right after running the Engine in the past, I don't like the idea of all the extra heat from the hoses in the living compartment in the summer I don't even know if the gas part of the water heater works if it don't I will be installing the electric water heater out of the bus.

I also seen coolant dripping from the front of the RV right below where the a/c and heater coil would be so the heater core might be leaking? Hopefully its just another loose connection so far I have found 2 lose connections on other parts of the heater hoses.

They installed new carpet at some time in this RV's life and just like my last RV the went right over the top of the OLD carpet, I hate when they do that so once the weather turns I will be removing all the carpet and starting over I really hate carpet so will be looking for another option like that new fake hard wood flooring wonder how that would install in a RV any flooring experts here? Maybe I will just strip it to the plywood and paint the floor lmao

I think I found a location to mount my 24" LCD monitor on the wall but will need to locate the furnace thermostat the only other option would be to install it between the driver and passenger as high up as I can it would require a special mounting bracket so I could flip it up when driving.

Suppose to be 47 degrees on Friday the first day over freezing since I been back from my big west trip, maybe I can get something done on the RV then, one warm day then its right back below freezing the next day..

Nope have any links?

I assume they are all going to be too heavy for me to pull with the RV?

I have seen them as low as $3000 but have never looked at them???

http://www.google.com/search?q=fema+rv+ ... 1I7ADFA_en

Those FEMA trailers are all 'park models', way bigger than what you are going to want to pull around the country.

That 'salvage auction' company has another one that seems to be right down your alley, just over $1,000.00 now, and ending tomorrow, maybe just in time to grab it for a good price?

http://www.salvagedirect.com/asp/viewit ... id=823422&

It has fold out beds on the front and rear, based on the model number, it seems to be about 19' long. Here is a link that seems like it might be pretty close to the floor plan.

http://aero-rv.com/index.php?p=floorplans&model=185E

This would give you the spare sleeping area in front without taking much if any space, and since the rear has a fold out bed, it seems it would be easy to convert to a loading ramp. Take all the interior stuff and save for replacements on the Ritz, or part them out and maybe pay for the trailer with the proceeds.

First trip 41 days 40 nights 6000 miles

cool,so the new motorhome did ok then?
Looks like no one is using this forum,I hate the other one,sure hope sunblock gets it fixed.If he doesnt you should eliminate other forum and just use this one

The Ritz worked out really well, had more power than I expected it pulled all the hills with ease I was actually passing semis that were struggling up mountains, their was a few mountains I struggled on but nothing like with my past haulers.

Just under 6000 miles round trip I added 2 quarts of oil for the whole trip I think most of that was from a leak at the rear not sure if its around the oil filter and or the rear main seal I will fully investigate this when the weather is better.

Loaded I had a solid 7.5 MPG average until I got to TurboTexas house and loaded up his old FL350 that extra 650 lbs took it to a solid 5.1 MPG for the rest of the trip back home, power still was impressive to me with the extra weight but I think I found its limits far as loading clearly adding that weight had a affect and was a added strain, I don't plan on doing this again in the future.

Going from NM to Afastcars house I must have took the wrong route I was going up one mountain that was a 7% grade for 5 + miles about 1/2 way up I looked in the mirror and seen a huge puff of smoke, I thought to myself "you just blew the Engine" so I backed way off and pulled over at the first safe place I could find, Engine was not running hot, oil pressure was normal, got out looked under the MH seen it was all wet with oil, I had over heated the trans and it puked oil out the vent on to the exhaust, this RV already has a over sized trans cooler and the cooler in the radiator is still hooked up but its clear under extreme loads its not enough cooler, I will add another cooler in a series with the current setup before the next trip, one of them top of the line coolers rated at 24k GVW will be added.

The oil in the trans is still bright red, does not smell burnt, the trans never slipped, the trans has never slipped, when I changed the pan oil and filter their was not a lot of crap in the pan, topped off the trans fluid and finished the trip (another 5k + miles) trans worked perfectly.

At first I thought I was going to have to take it to a shop and have it power flushed but the oil being clean and bright red I didnt bother, I will change it again before the next trip, I usually change my trans filters once per long trip anyways or once a year, 4 quarts of oil and a filter is cheap, I might invest into one of them fancy aluminum pans that is suppose to increase cooling, I already have the factory "deep" pan that adds +2 quarts of oil to the system over the standard pans they installed on cars and trucks for the TH400 trans, I think this might actually be a TH475.

Love the way this trans is setup nice firm shifts at the right RPM never seen the Engine over 3500 RPM, once its in 3rd its almost impossible to get it to down shift and the engines torque usually powers it threw anything I put it against, as I remember it only down shifted out of 3rd to 2nd one time on the whole trip.

95% of the trip the Engine was kept at 2700 to 3000 RPM that gives me a solid 65-70 mph, few times seen it at 3100 rpm and 76 mph.

Now I have tested it and it meets all my min requirements I will be hoserizing this thing I have a long list of things I want to do to make it 'mine' seems rock solid I am expecting to get another 5 years out of it and 50k miles best $1350.00 I ever spent

Oh removing the POS rear tire cover that is all ate up by weather I discovered the spare tire is brand new never been on the road, its a brand name tire and has no dry rot, first time I have seen a used motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) home that had 7 new tires on it lol

Well another trip west in the Ritz III this trip was not so uneventful at about the 2500 mile mark one of the valve cover gaskets started leaking turns out it was a cork gasket someone had been their before the other gasket was just all silicone sealer, not a big deal I stopped by Napa in Parker AZ bought new felpro gaskets then about 4 days later it rained so I used the rainy day to install them found the inside of the Engine new looking and no sludge build up actually found some raw rust inside where only a oil mist was hitting either someone did good maintenance on this Engine or it has been rebuilt or replaced before I seen no signs of the Engine been removed in the past, it only had 76k miles on it when I bought.

Stopped by a friends house that lives in Parker to see what he has going on he always has a project in his shop he asked how the RV was running told him great except for it was developing a hesitation on acceleration he went to his tool box got all the tools out I need to pull the carb said go pull the carb he would rebuild the accelerator pump was getting weak, so I pulled the carb and he rebuilt then I reinstalled and he adjusted everything and it ran perfect.

Fast forward to the trip home on my way to scpilot66's automotive shop in Albuquerque NM the Ritz started acting like it was running out of gas same old problem came back to haunt me it tries to vapor loc but only happens on warm days an at high altitudes like over 6000' elevation made it to Steves to pickup his blown Pilot Engine so I could take home and rebuild discovered a bad tire on the trailer so Steve got one from his local supplier and installed and I was on my way, got about 20 miles then it started to vapor loc again pulled over let it cool down for a few hrs then took off again made it another 15 miles started acting up again so I pulled into a truck stop for the night then next morning rerouted the gas line away from the after market exhaust system that was installed this seem to cure the vapor loc problem but it still ran like shit.

After a closer look discovered about 5 of the spark plug boots were burned up so I called Steve told him about my woes he dropped what he was doing got me a full tune up kit and brought it about the 35 miles East of Albuquerque and we tuned up the Ritz right their in the walmart parking lot, it ran better but STILL was not right we decided to nurse it back to his shop and go through the carb again, nursed it back and while pulling the carb discovered the problem the charcoal from the canister backed up into the vent of the carb filling the carb with charcoal Steve ordered a carb kit and rebuilt the carb working on it until midnight then we called it a day the next morning I reinstalled the carb then Steve dialed it in.

I am so glad this happen close to Steves shop I am for ever in his debt he saved my ass 2 times and rescued me, closed his auto shop to drive 35 miles on a remote service call I am for ever in his debt.

The drive home was pretty much uneventful other than running into a .40 per gallon gas price increase WTF is up with that some oil god die or we invade another country or something? I guess since the oil companies has discovered that the economy is now resistant to gas pricing they can do what ever they want and with EVERY member of our government fully invested in oil they are all trying to drive up oil prices too so they can cash in rather than do something to stop the gouging.

Big thanks goes out to Steve and his wife Cindy for getting the Ritz III back in running condition so I could make it back home

So how did it run after clearing out the carbon?

Just curious Hoser,if you were to move, based on all your travels out west, from where you live now, where would you go?With an influence on good riding areas? Not just the usual jobs/taxes/insurance crap.

Talk about being in the right place at the right time. So what did you do with the canister?

Yea! The important stuff! Good riding area's

I'm in NJ...all I think about is good riding spots!

Canister completely disconnected and port on carb capped, canister behind grill and in front of radiator will be removed and junked soon as the weather here permits.

Not sure where I would move rather be mobile really so many places to ride out west would not want to be nailed down.

Thinking of moving? I would avoid CA at all cost unless you like all the fruits and nuts and being surrounded by illegals and pot heads, paying 1.00 more per gallon in gas, higher taxes, everything I seen while in CA cost about 20% more than any place else.

More then welcome Sir, happy to help.

Did she do OK?

Oh yes thanks to you ran great all the way home except for that slight hesitation at 3/4 to 7/8 throttle to WOT (Wide Open Throttle) I sent you the PM about will try the things you suggested on the next trip, almost like it has a lean spot its just a small dip and recovers almost instantly.

Great to have good friends that will do that for ya
Yeah gas prices jumped here a week or so ago,went from 3.09 to 3.25 overnight,I was like WTF?!!
Saw an article in the paper yesterday saying some Houston residents woke up to see prices jump 4 cents a gallon,I was bullshit!!where are you?
They blamed it on refineries shutting down to run maintenance and stuff
Personally I think its oil company greed and the stock market.Lot more people invest in oil futures now then 10-20 yrs ago and I think that fuels the price jumps

Just a quick update, 18 degrees here and I thought I would try to start the generator to see if its still reliable in the cold just in case we lose power in a winter storm, it took 5 attempts to start but on the 5th attempt it fired right off and ran, I let it run a good 5 minutes, most the cranking I think was waiting on the carb to fill up with gas? I had not started it for about 6 months off my norm of not going more than two to three weeks in starting....

Mental note last oil change used 10-30W since most the generator use is in temps 65 degrees and less, back to 30W if I use on a summer trip where its over 65 degrees.

Another successful trip with the POS RV (still miss the bus) about 800 miles into the the 2015 fall trip the drivers side exhaust manifold started to leak making that annoying tick tick tick sound, will pull it and repair soon as weather is better here.

Noticed at higher elevations like in Flagstaff some cracking in the sidewalls of the rear tires will replace all 4 rears before next trip, this POS RV came with 7 new tires when I bought it so I know they are at least 5 years old, OR fairly new have no idea how many years old they were they had real good tread, anyways replaced the front tires (uneven wear) last fall, I have put about 24k miles on the RV so far as I am concerned the tires has earned their keep. Will rotate the fronts to the rear when I install new rears fronts has over 6k miles on them so they are reads for a rotate...

The generator used about a quart of oil on the trip, you can smell it burning oil in the exhaust but cant see smoke, has not fouled the plug yet, I noticed that the voltage is down a little also when under load, can see the 12 volts drop when using microwave, soon as the microwave turns off 12v goes back up to 12.8v verified that the AC volts drop to about 105V under load, also takes longer to heat food in microwave, when I bought the POS RV the seller claimed the generator "does not work" well its worked for me it now has over 1800 hours on it, I will pull the generator and assess its condition RIGHT NOW the plan is to replace the rings, quick hone on the cylinder, change the brushes (can see gold powder in windings indicating brush wear) I already bought brushes a few seasons ago. Quick and dirty rebuild get another 800 hrs out of it???

After all its a $1350.00 RV... I do have the generator our of the POS bus project I will install into this RV if the quick and dirty rebuild does not work out, the generator from the POS Bus sips the gas but the current generator runs so darn good hate to send it to an early grave.

The fan for the roof AC does not turn will investigate when weather is better, few years back had the same problem and it was the rubber mounts for the fan blower assembly were going bad and allowed the fan/blower assembly to sag and rub on the housing so it would not start, can remember how I fixed think it was a temp fix, never needed the AC on the last trip so not a big deal.

I have the like new AC from the POS Bus project I can install if current one is not worth fixing, I bet its the 35 year old rubber mounts.

Edit - Almost forgot.

On the way home after about a 10 hr drive I stopped at a rest area in NM to take a nap heard a strange whining sound traced it to the deep cycle battery in the battery box located under the steps of the RV, it felt HOT to the touch so I un-wired the battery and set the battery outside on the concrete didnt want a shorted battery catching fire while I was sleeping, the battery is dated 08/09 so its 6 years old I was told getting 24 months out of a deep cycle battery is good, pretty sure this was a battery removed from when I parted out the POS Bus project, the next morning the battery was cold so I put it in the trailer for the ride home it still had 10.5V when I got back home, I removed one of the two deep cycle batteries I have in the trailer (wired into the same system) and moved it to the battery box in the RV for the rest of the trip.

Before the next trip I will buy two of the 6 volt golf cart batteries I have read they last longer than deep cycle batteries do and are slightly more efficient for some reason.