1994 Fleetwood Southwind

Ian F wrote: One thing about heavier vehicles - damn do they go through brakes. I'll be replacing the pads and rotors on the minivan for the second time - possibly third since I had my mechanic replace one of the calipers about a year or so ago. In your case, I'd probably order both calipers. If one went, they other probably isn't far behind.

Luckily the local Advance stocks things for this chassis (P30), so I can get it apart and buy parts if I find that I need them. I actually suspect that the super-E36 M3ty slide arrangement is what failed, not the caliper itself, but I got the caliper so hot getting it home that it seems worth replacing.

Hmm... good point. A pre-emptive strike might be to replace/service/grease the slide pin on the other caliper.

Absolutely- from looking at it, these look like they slide on (or need to clear in order to slide) big "ways" like you'd see on a lathe or mill... there's a lot of surface area to potentially bind up.

Since we've been piling up the repair dollars, I thought I'd do a comparison to see what we need to get out of it at the end in order to beat the cheapest Cruise America RV rental option. As of right now, including the planned caliper fix and tire mounting, we'll need to sell it for $1800 at the end of the trip in order to be dead even with the rental cost. That number goes down if you compare it to an equally sized/equipped rental, and will inevitably go up as we have to fix even more crap.

I'm thinking, if it makes it, that we throw it on eBay for $1 with no reserve at the end of all this and just see what happens.

Owning an RV is like owning a boat. Keeping it afloat aint cheap.

In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:

Sounds like your doing pretty damn well budget wise then! Read the cruise America reviews, they will give you something to laugh about!

Caliper time! Bigass heavy wheel and tire removed:

This goofy wedge thing is both what retains the caliper and what it uses as a slider, no wonder they end up binding:

Removed:

Decided to check out the wheel bearings while I was in there since they probably got pretty hot when the brake was seized- it turns out they're nice Timken bearings so I repacked them and reassembled. I will be bringing spares just in case:

Back together and bled with a new caliper:

Then, time to just put pads in the other side... right?

Ian F said: I'd probably order both calipers. If one went, they other probably isn't far behind.

E36 M3, that doesn't look good. I guess I'll replace that one too. Did that, bled again, topped up brake fluid:

That is a 3ft funnel, and it's needed if I want to fill most of the fluids on this thing. While I was in there I replaced the engine temperature sensors as well. Then, I went for a nice 80 mile or so drive- it tracks straight now, and is actually a bit faster with the new non-draggy front brakes and fresh sensors. 0-60 is probably more like 30something seconds now, which seems pretty good for a rolling house, and apart from getting blown all over the place by wind it's a lot more relaxing to be behind the wheel than it was previously. The water tank is currently full, and I don't think I want to run like that for the full trip since it's all the way at the back and makes it feel very tail heavy- we'll probably keep it closer to 2/3 max in order to compensate for the weight of the bike on the back.

We dropped it off to get the other four tires mounted yesterday, and should have it back by the end of the week. Then this weekend we'll pack, and on the 29th we set sail for Arizona!

And a horrendous cell phone photo taken during the Easter test drive:

BLU phones, bringing you craigslist quality photos via hardware blatantly copied from decade old Samsung products

Looking great!

Boy she's got a big ass!

Am I the only one that thought "wow only five lugs?"

In reply to java230:

Five up front, ten in the back, although the wheels all have ten holes. Not sure why other than typical GM cost saving shenanigans, but I was happy about it when I was torquing them all!

Am I the only one that wants to see if you can wheelie this thing? Even with that ASS I'm not sure if the frame could handle the torque to lift that engine off the ground.

In reply to hobiercr:

These sorts of tests are for AFTER the trip... but you're not the only one thinking about it

In reply to hobiercr:

I don't know about pulling a wheelie... But they can be made to fly short distances...

In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:

Thats so strange, its 5 studs! Every penny I guess.

And lots and lots of friends on the bed might get a wheelie standing still!!

So, the actual trip... it's going to be just a silly amount of driving with some hiking and camping thrown in. Here's the approximate route:

We're planning to get out and back as quickly as we can, driving all day and maybe stopping for a quick hike in one place or another- I suspect that the return route is going to end up straighter than the image above shows. We have BLM maps packs/guidebooks for New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado and plan to mostly do shorter driving days with more hiking when we're out there.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: So, the actual trip... it's going to be just a silly amount of gas.

FTFY. I know because we did a somewhat similar trip last year towing our travel trailer.

In reply to Tom_Spangler:

Yep, our fuel budget is about the same as the purchase price

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: So, the actual trip... it's going to be just a silly amount of driving with some hiking and camping thrown in. Here's the approximate route: We're planning to get out and back as quickly as we can, driving all day and maybe stopping for a quick hike in one place or another- I suspect that the return route is going to end up straighter than the image above shows. We have BLM maps packs/guidebooks for New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado and plan to mostly do shorter driving days with more hiking when we're out there.

Noted your route crossing the AZ NM border. I-10 is so boring, are you driving a motor home or something?

Try crossing the mountains through Emory pass between Silver City and Kingston!

Looks like your return route will take you close to Four Corners. If you are thinking about checking it out, let me save you some time. Don't.

It's worth mentioning that the google maps screengrab is an approximation and definitely not our exact route. We're very much going to be winging it once we hit New Mexico, and while Carlsbad Caverns, the Grand Canyon, Moab, and Pike's Peak are all target destinations, the way we link them together, what we see in between, and whether we even make it to all of them is going to be up in the air until maybe a few days before we get to each one.

Looks like you'll be driving through Amarillo. Considering your method of conveyance, I suggest stopping at the RV Museum at Jack Sisemore's RV dealership. It's really cool, if you like travel trailers and RVs.

I just took the family to Carlsbad,NM, for spring break. Things you must do while there:

Carlsbad Caverns - reserve a cave tour with a ranger, this is the best way to see different parts of the cave, if you don't reserve ahead of time you won't be able to do this. Pro-tip, ride the elevator down with your tour group, walk back out through the main cave and up the main entrance ramp - you can also eat at the bottom of the cave in the Canteen, though the food selection is limited - https://www.recreation.gov/tourSearchResult.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=77813

Guadalupe National Park - we liked Frijole Ranch (take the short hike to the spring at the base of the mountain), there are also the Salt Basin Dunes https://www.nps.gov/gumo/planyourvisit/frijole.htm

Sitting Bulls Falls in Lincoln National Forest - great place for a picnic, bring a swim suit as people like to frolic in the falls/water https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/lincoln/recarea/?recid=34238

Eating in Carlsbad - there are a lot of great local joints, stay away from the chains - Tokyo Hibachi and Sushi, Red Chimney Pit BBQ, L&M Pizza were our favorites. You can also try Yellow Brix for more upscale - we wanted to eat there but couldn't get a seat as the line was out the door - make a reservation

While in Carlsbad drive down along the Pecos River and talk a walk along the shore.

There is also a car museum in downtown Carlsbad, we ran out of time and didn't get to see it.

Man, that is looking epic. Though beating your cross-country fly-drive trip in the old car may be hard to beat ;) I know it's o/t, but are you still planning on doing STPR?

Following the old Route 66 can be very interesting. It intertwines with RT.40. Did a similar trip years ago when I retired. New York to California Rt.66 and north, back to NY. Took in all the sights. The trip was July 2nd to the end of August 2004. Did it in a GMC conversion van, Me, SWMBO, 2 kids and 2 dogs. Overall, a great trip.