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Old 08-18-2019, 05:35 PM   #15 (permalink)
slowmover
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Posts: 2,442

2004 CTD - '04 DODGE RAM 2500 SLT
Team Cummins
90 day: 19.36 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1,422
Thanked 737 Times in 557 Posts
After steering and no binding (plus new gas shocks for body roll; and poly anti-roll bar bushings), vehicle electrical as above is critical. Grounds & cabling.

Then (only then) is engine testing worthwhile. (This assumes transmission also operates according to book).

1). Compression test

2). Carburetor operation (past choke operation)

3). Vacuum leaks (replace lines and connectors. Take one at a time ONLY while at parking lot at NAPA to get new).

I’ve recommended reading. And feedback. A dash-mounted vacuum gauge is ALWAYS worthwhile. Reading that and spark plugs can tell you a lot.

It MIGHT NOT account for your 15 and their 18 (as conditions encountered mean more).

Start asking around. Not everyone can fine tune a Kettering ignition. Or diagnose a leak at a throttle shaft. But they’re out there.

Be willing to spend time and get dirty.

The RV portion is more work yet. DON’T expect to just drive around shaking that wood-frame farther apart without problems.

First tool specifically for the RV is a Moisture Meter. Water is what destroys RVs. And what you’re driving has a cheap roof design. It doesn’t last ten years, much less thirty. Find the problem areas and read on how to make emergency seal repairs. Roof replacement is in your future.

I passed a guys biz in Mississippi recently and thought of you. He had six Toy mohos. All with blue tarp “roofs”. Probably making them road and inspection worthy to re-sell.

The truth about using a Moho is that FE is beside the point. It is what it is. It’s the RV that will always need the most attention.

At the age of yours, that BIG problem is from fire. Starts in the walls. Wiring runs strained at the junctions.

Can you get out the emergency exit? Do you know where it is AND HAVE YOU PRACTICED?

Get used to doing without electricity. That hobbles Millennial Americans so much it’s pathetic. Make your use specific and limited. READ. I watched one burn the other day. Gone in under 5-minutes. Thankfully, only the dogs and cat got roasted.

Install a Master electrical switch. This dumb broad didn’t (no husband tells all one needs to know). Leave it OFF as normal. Turn it on to cook dinner, etc, using one appliance at a time (Hot Plate means no water heater simultaneously, etc). Keep loads LOWEST while running.

Each system is just that. Not isolated pieces thereof.

Some day you may have full capability. But broke & poor isn’t that day. Until then get to the used bookstore and get some RV repair manuals. Start writing tool & supply lists. Search CL and eBay for pricing. Make a plan.

FE will fall into place given:

1). All book maintenance to date
2). Careful, planned use. Moving, or stationary.

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Last edited by slowmover; 08-18-2019 at 06:04 PM..
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