So what did you do to your GMC today?

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I put a toolbox under the dinette. I had this mjddle one and it fit prefectly, but then i was out of storage space, so i bought a 56" Harbor Freight one to replace it. Fair swap i think!
Now i have to fix the upholstery!
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Keith V said:
Yes 56 inches wide, almost as tall as me!
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I had to reread your original post again. I'd thought you meant you put a 56" toolbox under the dinette bench. That of course sounded preposterous. Reading more carefully, I see you installed a box you already had into the RV, which left you short on storage space in the shop, so you then replaced that toolbox with a new 56" box for the shop?

So that leaves me wondering, where did the toolbox in the RV come from? What were its dimensions? As you say, it is hard to find any that aren't way too wide.

I found some "under desk drawers" that are similar and convenient to mount, but they're only 16" wide. I've considered two sets, but I'm not sure how much room there is to work with.
 
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pvfjr said:
I had to reread your original post again. I'd thought you meant you put a 56" toolbox under the dinette bench. That of course sounded preposterous. Reading more carefully, I see you installed a box you already had into the RV, which left you short on storage space in the shop, so you then replaced that toolbox with a new 56" box for the shop?

So that leaves me wondering, where did the toolbox in the RV come from? What were its dimensions? As you say, it is hard to find any that aren't way too wide.

I found some "under desk drawers" that are similar and convenient to mount, but they're only 16" wide. I've considered two sets, but I'm not sure how much room there is to work with.
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Oh Yes, the shop get the HUGE 56" one!

The under dinette piece is an old US General middle drawer unit. they don't make it anymore. Everything they make now is way too big. The under dinette one is 26" wide x 8" tall and 13" deep(??). you might find a used one on craigs list or something.

I was about to make my own until I realized I had the perfect solution right in my shop.
I Did find some premade drawers on Amazon
 
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Keith V said:
Oh Yes, the shop get the HUGE 56" one!

The under dinette piece is an old US General middle drawer unit. they don't make it anymore. Everything they make now is way too big. The under dinette one is 26" wide x 8" tall and 13" deep(??). you might find a used one on craigs list or something.

I was about to make my own until I realized I had the perfect solution right in my shop.
I Did find some premade drawers on Amazon
Click to expand...

That space is certainly underutilized by me. In my brother's palm beach, his PO had rotated the base of the dinette seat 180 so it opened next to the door for easy access even while standing outside the door.

I'm still working on my tool setup, but one part of that is to have a grab and go tool pouch bag and then I have a larger tool carrier I can grab if the tool is less commonly used. Common every day tools which handle 99% of my needs go in a pouch roll like this one:

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It's easy to store and grab and doesn't make noise from vibrations. I had a steel tool box for some time and found that a lot of those annoying noises while going down the highway were coming from my steel tool box and all the tools clinking together. This bag eliminates much of that noise. They are very handy and I highly recommend them.
 
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Replaced the old Onan 6k fuel pump and got the generator running again. Primed the pump and got it to fire up on the first try. Theres an exhaust leak where the replacement stainless pipe connects to the Onan exhaust manifold that I have to address. Im also pretty sure the front seal is leaking so will put that on the to-do list as well in the near future.

Since the generator was running, I was finally able to test the Gree 15K AC/HP we installed a while back. Worked great and the ducted design pushed air all the way forward and all the way back. On high, it was very quiet compared to the old duo-therm. Will install another one in the rear at some point as I plan on removing the old furnace. If I need heat, it will be heat pump(s), or a small stand alone.
 
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RoadTrippin said:
Replaced the old Onan 6k fuel pump and got the generator running again. Primed the pump and got it to fire up on the first try. Theres an exhaust leak where the replacement stainless pipe connects to the Onan exhaust manifold that I have to address. Im also pretty sure the front seal is leaking so will put that on the to-do list as well in the near future.

Since the generator was running, I was finally able to test the Gree 15K AC/HP we installed a while back. Worked great and the ducted design pushed air all the way forward and all the way back. On high, it was very quiet compared to the old duo-therm. Will install another one in the rear at some point as I plan on removing the old furnace. If I need heat, it will be heat pump(s), or a small stand alone.
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Wow, good Work👍
 
More progress on the Rear Lounge re-upholstery project. I'm all in now! I have finished both seats, and the panel under the window. I still have to finish the two panels under the seats, as well as the missing long, narrow pillow that went between the seats and the rear of the coach. Then, it is time to move to the main cabin to tackle the sofa/bunk bed, and the dinette, plus all the trim pieces. I have the fabric for all of that. Eventually I will tackle the cockpit seats, but will leave them for last.
 

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Had an issue where the heater fan was blowing full speed with ignition turned on without engine running. Found one of the heater blower relay wire got hot and melted across the 12v supply. Will replace wire to blower and pIMG_0009.webpurchase new relay.
 
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sailor man said:
View attachment 15184
This is a much closer view of how the gas struts are installed.
The struts are fastened to the reinforcing flanges to provide a secure attachment.
View attachment 15203
Is this how you are working on the generator?
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The gas strut installation failed on the lpg compartment hatch when the coach was at Cliff's shop. He told me that I had to order another one and I did. I had it painted to match the coach but I have not installed it yet. When I ordered the replacement, I still had not seen what had actually happened.


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There doesn't appear to be any glass in the fins. The area was certainly pounded violently many times.

According to Cliff, it happened when the coach was hit by the strong hurricane winds.
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In trying to determine what really occurred, I have deduced that the (2) locks were not locked. Then the entire panel could be moved by the wind until the fiberglass fin fractured.

My initial repair was to laminate with epoxy and glass cloth with either the the aluminum angle or bar on the left. I also thought that reinforcement should be riveted through the face of the panel.

Has anyone else ever experienced a similar gas strut installation failure?

My current thought is to glass in the receiving bracket to the original panel and put the acquired painted hatch up for sale.

Anybody need a cameo white (buttercup) paint lpg compartment hatch?
 
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sailor man said:
Has anyone else ever experienced a similar gas strut installation failure?
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I have never seen a gas strut installation that hadn't failed and been repaired, or was showing signs of failure.

The OEM method is by far the cheapest, simplest, lightest and least likely to cause problem$. It also never gets in your way.

The OEM method works with OEM windows and 1st generation replacement windows. It does not work with the 2nd generation replacements.
 
that little flange is way too weak to mount a strut to. You need to use a chunk o aluminum angle to reinforce it. the longer the better. use the aluminum angle to support the weight of the door. you can mount it to the flange as long as the flange isn't structural
 
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Keith V said:
that little flange is way too weak to mount a strut to. You need to use a chunk o aluminum angle to reinforce it. the longer the better. use the aluminum angle to support the weight of the door. you can mount it to the flange as long as the flange isn't structural
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I was just thinking this. As long of a length as possible along that inside flange and use a combo of rivets and epoxy to mount it.
 
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RF_Burns said:
I don't believe there are any glass fibers in Sheet Molded Compound (SMC). At least I have never seen any in any breaks.
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It's full of chopped glass fiber. I don't think it's as heavily loaded as a typical chopped fiberglass layup, but it's in there. I've roughed up my hands on it enough times.

I do wonder on those little ribs, however, how much chopped fiber ends up down in that portion of the mold? Or is it just the goo that squeezes down into the gaps? I wouldn't be surprised if there were inconsistencies. With the stress concentrations a gas strut would create, it's definitely a good spot for some load-spreading reinforcement.
 
I changed out the dreaded Onan Oil Filter Adapter gasket today. Un-fun, but got her done!

Whilst there I checked out the gas strut supports on the generator hatch. Still in one piece. I did have to reinforce the rib shortly after installing them (last year), and that has seemed to work. Nonetheless, I are very careful when opening and especially closing.
 
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