A new addition to the Family

[kiwijim]

Howdy Al,

Well if your shoes cost $90.00, you can bet the ones for the Bus will be $100.00 or more, they're a lot bigger than a caravan brake shoe.

I had a Mobile Drum Skimmer come around here a while back when I did the drums on the Thomson, at that time ( 18 months ago ) it cost $70.00 back then, so I suppose it will cost another $100.00 now.

I'll be lucky if I can get the Bus mobile again for under $400.00

I hope this will be the last of the,,,,, big spend-up,
as far as I can see the only thing left to do when the brakes are finished,
will be a grease and oil change,....we hope hope hope

kiwijim

[kiwijim]

Here we are, just back from the Brakes Parts Mob,

I happened to ask if they offered a discount for a C.M.C.A. Member,
The answer......" Yep," sure we can do something ;D ;D ;D

The way things worked out was that I actually got the new Cylinders for $40.91 ea, saving almost $10.00 per cyl off the same ones advertised on E Bay.

The Machined Drums cost $ 40.00 ea
but the over sized shoes cost $104.54 for the set ( 4 )

This is what a bill of $405,00 will buy today........



Now, if the weather holds, all this lot will be back in the Coaster by tomorrow night.

kiwijim

[Deleted]

Gidday Kiwijim nice looking rig you got there mate. Sorry i havent been around for a while but amongst other things I've been working away in the desert and reception has been a bit hap hazard and when i do get back to Perth I dont seem to have any time, so I thought i better just poke my head in and say gidday and let ya know that yes I'm still around so dont write me off just yet. So "Hi" to all of you and I promise to try and contact a little more regularly in future.

Carl.

[millard1399]

Kiwicarl is ALIVE!! Spread the word!!!

Thought to be lost in the desert. All hope of finding him given up. Memorial services held in many towns. Months of grieving...

And for WHAT?!! All this time he's been out in the wilderness heh, heh "working" (read: 'bludging') while the rest of us have been at our wits end.

Welcome back, Kiwicarl. ;D ;D

[kiwijim]

Well, Howdy-Dee-Doo there,... KIWICARL

Certainly been a long time.... "No Hear" ;D ;D

There Ya go.... Al, said there was no need to hire those dogs and the Black Trackers,

The "Sods" been sitting behind the Black Stump, sipping a couple of W.A.s best Bitter.

Good to hear you're still alive Carl, How is the Viscount ? still mobile or have you up-graded by now ?

Maybe some of the folks around here would like to know what draws you to the Out-back for so long, and exactly what type of fortune making job you do. ?

By the way, we have been slipping lately, as far as grabbing a bargain goes,
that Bloke over in N.S.W. ( Millard 1399 ) is miles ahead of us now, he's really got his antenna tuned in and has been really cleaning-up in his heck-of-the-woods,
luckily for us the " Sand Patch" is a pretty good barrier to protect our markets here. ;D ;D ;D

I've almost finished rebuilding the Bus now, I refitted the new brakes yesterday and only have to bleed them now, when the weather permits, almost ready to hit the road.

Do ya wanna buy the THOMSON ? it's still on the market and the price is now a low $7.500 down from $10.000 .

Catch ya at the Markets some day Carl. ;D

cheers kiwijim

[Deleted]

Gidday fellas a big thank you for the warm welcome back.
Call off the blood hounds, I have been found but whats this BLUDGING I hear hahahaha well close but no cigar see the full explanation elsewhere on the forum.
Kiwicarl.

[bobt]

hey there kiwi fella

love them brakes. you will be able to go real fast now.

A reversing camera is a good idea, seeing everything upside down is kinda cute..

The washing machine is like everything else, a compromise. Next time ya free camp around tassie you will just have to stop by a stream and use a rock... ;D Yes we know about caravan parks and the washing machines..

Your water capacity is on a par with some of our friends. Some of them carry some drinking quality spare just in case .

Are you going to be taking a car with you on your travels?

Hey how did you go with the linkages. I recall you mentioning that they were a little testy... ;D

Have you run her on petrol yet? My fowlcan hates petrol which is a bit of a problem when I have run out of gas.. it coughs and splutters and really hates to move off at the lights. Not a good way to drive in Melb peak hour traffic..

Yep Ugly is still out there waiting for me to get back into it...
I want it finished so I can use it..

bobt

[kiwijim]

G'day there Bob Bloke, ;D ;D ;D

The Coaster is 99% finished now,
I managed to get the Brakes fitted and bled in between showers yesterday, nice solid peddle now. ;D ;D ;D

No I don't think we will tow a car behind the Coaster, with all the Dear Ones junk aboard, the poor old girl ( the Bus that is )would have a hell of a time on any hill just pulling it's self over them.

The gear change has been examined, the result, like the rest of the Bus, was a lack of lubrication, amazing what a bit of grease in the right place will do.
I was toying with the idea of converting the Bus to a floor change, problem is, it's hard to find any-one wrecking a Coaster, except the truck wreckers, they want $ 300.00 for the floor stick and rods, and there is a non return policy with it as well.

Yes, it's a good idea to carry, say 20l of drinking water separate from the main tank, just in case you happen to hole the tank, or do as we did some time back, accidentally put Bore water in by mistake, thanks to a Caravan Park in Geraldton not having a sign on there taps, stating "Not for Drinking"

Yes, I have run the Coaster on both Gas and Petrol,
there's hardly any difference on either, maybe a little more power on Petrol, but hardly anything you would notice,
being only a 2 litre motor, there is a fare bit of swapping gears at times, but we aren't in any hurry and I'm quiet happy with the over-all performance of it.

Carrying a total of near on 200 Lt of petrol and Gas, I am looking forward to seeing how far this will take us. ;D ;D ;D

I have a couple of small jobs left to do on the Bus, one is, the straps that hold the petrol tank in place have a few small pebbles stuck in between them and the tank, they will have to be cleaned out and a good packing installed,

Cheers kiwijim

[atouchofglass]

Hey there ya greasy ol bugga ;D

Off galavanting around the countryside again?

Makes me green with envy.

Look forward to some photos of your adventures.

Cheers
Atog

[kiwijim]

Howdy there,......One from the Green Tropics ;D ;D ;D

Yes, I'll post some pretty Pic's when we get moovin,

Nup, not greasy any more Atog,
got a pair of the "Dear Ones" yellow rubber gloves for the Pinkies,
stops the cracking and keeps the paws.........
'So Pretty Lookin"...........Mum will be pleased ;D ;D ;D

kiwijim

[kiwijim]

Crawled under the Coaster this morning,
just to finish off greasing the uni joints on the tail-shaft,

I found the center shaft bearing had around 10mm of play in it so,

Off she came and a new one was fitted in about 5 min flat,





I now have to wait until the showers go away before I refit the Shaft.

kiwijim

[bobt]

bad luck about the wet stuff getting in the way of getting it all finished

but then you are retired so you need something to look forward too.. ;D

[kiwijim]

Howdy-Doodie Bobt,

Time to spare in retirement........ "Ya Godda Be Jokin"

I think, If I could have known I was going to be so busy, I think I may have stayed at work for another couple of years. ;D ;D

Well the showers did stop at around 4.15 today so, back under the Coaster and had it all back together by 5.00pm ;D ;D

Not satisfied with that, I then crawled under the front and had another look at the gear linkages, found one with a bit of play in the elbow joints so, off it came and back to the workshop,
A couple of good whacks with the Gimpy, all straight now.

I'll shove it back in tomorrow, then after some adjustment to the play in the joint, I hope it will make things a lot better.

Now for some tucker and off to the sack with a good Western.

Life sure is tough for us retirees. ;D ;D

[bobt]

well?


ready for the first trip?

[kiwijim]

Howdy Bobt,

Well, we're almost ready for the first trip,
Just waiting for the new Generator to arrive,
that is the one I scored off E Bay..........



Made a bid of $605.00 and won by $5.00 ;D ;D ;D

[atouchofglass]

No grass growing under your feet Jim.
;D ;D ;D ;D

So I expect to see you and yours mid next year I suppose?
;D ;D ;D

Or will you be slooooowly doing a trip around, stopping in those places you missed last time?

Cheers
Atog

[Deleted]

nice looking generator Kiwijim i have been keeping an eye on same type only the smaller one 3.4 kva would appreciate an update from time to time on how you rate its performance Peterg ;D ;D

[kiwijim]

Howdy there Atog,

Well we haven't made any dates for hitting the road at the moment, us retirees have chucked the clock out the window a way back. ;D ;D ;D

There is a good chance we could make a slooower trip in the near future, I have a Brother in Brisbane who we haven't seen in a heap of years, so, if we're going that far, we could well pop up on your door step again.

One things for sure, it won't be in the Summer time, so may-be in the middle of next year.

There is sure a lot of places we didn't see last trip and a heap of people to crack tinnies with as well.

Howdy Peterg,
I can't wait to get the Paws on the new Generator and will be only tooooo happy to let you and everyone know what I think of it, It should be here in about a weeks time.

With the 4.4 kw there had better be power left over for running every-thing in the Coaster, as long as it runs the Air-con and the Micro wave we'll be happy, if not, you and the seller will definitely hear about it ;D ;D ;D

when it does arrive, I will then have the task of building a carrier on the rear of the Coaster, as the tool box is just a tab to small to house it and a spare gas bottle.

Nothing to do in retirement.......... never been so busy ;D ;D ;D

kiwijim

[bobt]

well ? well ? Well?

does it run the microwave and the air con???

wanna know if its for sale yet?

[olfarts]

4.4 KVA,struth the thing should run a house!

Mt little 2.5 KVA runs an aircon,fridge and electric kettle with ease,so 4.4 should be a shoe in.

Good win Jim


Dave

[kiwijim]

Howdy Dave,

"Yep" mighty happy with the Generator,

I have only tested it on the air con so far, ran that on Econ speed ( idle )

I have yet to give it the big test, that is with all lights going, the Micro wave and kettle on and the TV & fridge all working at once.

I have to admit, I am a little disappointed with the noise level, thought it could be a little quieter but, who's to worry when we're camping away out in the bush.

kiwijim ;D

[kiwijim]

Well, it stop raining here in Perth long enough for me to hook the new Generator up to the Bus.

The results.....

More than pleased with it performance,

The Genny was on Econ speed, that's low idle,
I switched everything on, one at a time to test it's acceptance of power required.

1st the fridge and all lights.......no change to Genny speed,

next I added the air-con on cold with compressor going.......no change in speed,

finally shoved a bowl of water in the Micro-wave and turned it on......
The Genny gave a bit of a rev up for a couple of seconds then settled at a slight increase in speed, nothing dramatic.

Everything going at once and the Generator handled it easily,
One Happy kiwi-Bloke ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Hey Guys......Ya gotta get one of these while ther're going on E-bay

They have a Buy-it-now price of $599.00 a real bargain. ;D ;D ;D

kiwijim ;D

[millard1399]

G'day kiwijim,

One seller has listed a number of these generators for normal ebay auctions. There's one item that was listed on 22 Oct, and with 1 hour to go, bidding is up to $633 after 33 bids.

Yet, back in Sept he listed them for $599 buy it now, which still stands (as you've said).

I sometimes wonder whether people actually do some homework before pressing the "Bid Now" button.

He's sold 18 of these units over the last 15 days, with winning bids ranging from $530 to $596.

153 units sold by this seller so far. Must be ok, aye, or 153 people will be crapped off.

Noise rating is 59db at 4 metres. That's ok if you place the unit under the van next door, to get it away from being under your own nose. Not sure if they'll invite you over for a few beers, though.

Seems like you've got enough output to cater for both your van and my van, so I don't need to buy one by the sounds of it. ;D ;D

cheers,
Al.

[bobt]

hey kiwijim

That sounds like good stuff. I have read the writting many a time only to discover the numbers don't deliver what is promised...

My favourtie for getting caught out is inverters.

Well looks like Al and I will be parking near you when we need to run our Air Cons.. I have a couple of long leads ;D

[kiwijim]

Hee Hee Hee ..... And you guy's thought you would get FREE Power, ;D ;D ;D

I forgot to mention, I have fitted a W.A. Power Meter,
It turns that fast it keeps the motor cool. ;D ;D ;D

The Generator has a few extra luxuries that you may or may-not know about,

One handy thing is the remote control start and stop options, two pocket remotes on key rings,
as well as that, it also has a key start, there is an inbuilt battery for starting which is charged off the generator, and last of all it still has the good old pull start cord, just in case all else fails.

The Genny also comes with a full tool kit, Double ended screw driver, spare spark plug, set of 12v jumper leads with battery clamps and genny plug attached, and a marked oil container.

There is a L.E.D. panel which tells the Amp usage, the hours used, and the oil level, Plus an out-let for charging a 12v Battery,

There is also a set of wheels on the rear and a pull-out handle for easy movement, total weight is 26kg.

The noise level is a little high for my liking when running on high speed but, I intend to build it onto a frame on the rear of the bus, with a insulated box cover over it.

In conclusion I must say, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than an equal generator of the same K.V.A. output and has a full 12 month warranty.

An on the spot traveling test is the next thing, just gotta work out which direction to go in. ;D ;D ;D