FLU419 SEE HMMH HME Owners group

[BigBison]

Does anyone else's hood fit like garbage?

Yeah, but my brand-new hood gasket's so thick I'm not sure it's supposed to fit any better... you have a thick rubber hood gasket, right?

 

[FOD]

Yeah, but my brand-new hood gasket's so thick I'm not sure it's supposed to fit any better... you have a thick rubber hood gasket, right?

The only thing I have is a big metal hood piece with two latch locks on it, no gaskets no padding no nothin'

 

[BigBison]

I was havin' a blast driving my '77 GMC motorhome back and forth to the jobsite, callin' it my self-propelled genset. Because it's gutted out inside, and once the new batteries & solar panels are installed I won't have to bring it back here every night to plug it in to keep the 40-yr-old house battery starting the 6KW Onan the next morning.

But, the GMC's been just running like a beast, even if it went 7 months without starting -- turned over & fired at 15*F no problem. Then a PS hose blew, but it's FWD so still driveable... unless you need the windshield wipers! Hydraulic, running off the PS. Wish either of my FLUs was handy, never occurred to me to even wonder if the wipers are electric. Which is a popular $500 upgrade for the GMC motorhome, apparently!

 

[The FLU farm]

Yeah, but my brand-new hood gasket's so thick I'm not sure it's supposed to fit any better... you have a thick rubber hood gasket, right?

I remember seeing little rubber knobbies, but no gasket. Not sure I could get the hood to latch if there was a gasket, it's tricky enough to get the little arms to grab when securing the hood as is.

 

[BigBison]

Wish my camera worked, I'd post a pic of the hood gasket on a shelf out in the mud room, meant for my SEE as my HMMH already has one. What I lack is the tool to open the HMMH hood with that gasket installed. On the SEE, it's as easy as using pliers to open the battery box, but the forklift blocks the lower latch from being fiddled with by anything but the appropriate T-handle tool, unless maybe there's no gasket. ?

 

[The FLU farm]

What I lack is the tool to open the HMMH hood with that gasket installed. On the SEE, it's as easy as using pliers to open the battery box, but the forklift blocks the lower latch from being fiddled with by anything but the appropriate T-handle tool, unless maybe there's no gasket. ?

Before i finally got around to buy the correct tool, I used a 1/4-inch pass-through ratchet with the 8 mm "splined" socket on the battery box, the kind that's said to work on square, hex and most any fastener. I thinks it was visible in the photos of the battery installation a while back.
For the hood I simply used a short extension on a regular 1/4-inch drive ratchet.

 

[BigBison]

Yesterday's blizzard brought about some spindrift inside the GMC (my FLUs aren't any tighter, either). Today, I learned what a "wind-lash seal" is for sliding windows. The rear-window slider on a pickup doesn't usually have one, because it's facing across the wind. I delved into the parts manual for my '70 BMW coupe with no B pillars, and discovered I've always been missing a part without even knowing it. The wind's gotta hit at least 35mph to blow the sliding glass on the GMC open enough for the snow to get in, but only because it has no wind-lash seals, and those big RV windows flex quite a bit.

 

[BigBison]

Before i finally got around to buy the correct tool, I used a 1/4-inch pass-through ratchet with the 8 mm "splined" socket on the battery box, the kind that's said to work on square, hex and most any fastener. I thinks it was visible in the photos of the battery installation a while back.
For the hood I simply used a short extension on a regular 1/4-inch drive ratchet.

Hmmm... thanks! I've been replacing the stock air intakes on my Dodges, the three weird rubber bushing-thingies have Torx nuts on 'em. I have some Torx drivers, what I don't have are any Torx sockets. So I used my electrician's pliers. The Dodges are as bad as the FLUs for using both SAE and Metric on the same vehicle. Or maybe I just lack 17/32 wrenches & sockets?

 

[Another Ahab]

Did anyone else notice this post by Tinstar on the M1010 thread:

I use a product called "Fresh Cab" with excellent results.
All natural product and I buy it a Tractor Supply.
It smells good to us and the mice/rats can't stand it.

I use it in my MVs and RVs.
Have had excellent results.

 

[Mark1954]

Did anyone else notice this post by Tinstar on the M1010 thread:

I use a product called "Fresh Cab" with excellent results.
All natural product and I buy it a Tractor Supply.
It smells good to us and the mice/rats can't stand it.

I use it in my MVs and RVs.
Have had excellent results.

Second that, used it for years(3 months at a time) in little used outbuildings and RVs with great results, as soon as I forgot, big infestation in short order. I only wish it was effective against wasps, hornets and yellow jackets.

 

[The FLU farm]

Hmmm... thanks! I've been replacing the stock air intakes on my Dodges, the three weird rubber bushing-thingies have Torx nuts on 'em. I have some Torx drivers, what I don't have are any Torx sockets. So I used my electrician's pliers. The Dodges are as bad as the FLUs for using both SAE and Metric on the same vehicle. Or maybe I just lack 17/32 wrenches & sockets?

I have never tried that Craftsman set on Torx fasteners since I have Torx sockets, in the smaller sizes, but I would imagine that those multi-sockets would work just fine.

 

[The FLU farm]

Fresh Cab "smells good to us"? Really?
Yeah, there hasn't been any proof of rodent activity since a I tossed the baggies in, but I wouldn't exactly call the smell good.
Well, I suppose it largely depends on what the cab smelled like originally. Fresh Cab does smell better than a decaying rat carcass.

 

[BigBison]

I lived two months with headaches & dizziness (heh, maybe this is what's wrong with me) from the mothballs I tossed under the house to drive out the skunks one year!

If you need to trap 'em, local wisdom has two recommendations. One -- peanut butter is amazing skunk bait, get the "chunky." Two -- tie a long rope around the trap so you don't get sprayed dragging the live skunk to the nearest body of water to drown it. I hate doing that, but when you're being overrun, your only other option is retreat, i.e. moving!

 

[BigBison]

I have never tried that Craftsman set on Torx fasteners since I have Torx sockets, in the smaller sizes, but I would imagine that those multi-sockets would work just fine.

Why I thanked ya! I got that 18V cordless Milwaukee brushless impact wrench, makes ya feel like a NASCAR pit-crew guy changing wheels (they also have 28V tools but not brushless), but I did buy two sets (one SAE, one metric) of six-point impact sockets. I have some nice 12-point vintage S/K sockets, up to pretty much anything a 1/2" impact wrench can throw at 'em short of those dually wheels. I have some oddball 8-point sockets, but now that I know of two things to use them on (Dodge Torx nuts & FLU compartments), time to buy two sets (I'm not the guy who decided to put SAE and Metric on the same vehicles)!

I also bought two 18V caulk guns. Regardless of when it's built (50/50 on this month, otherwise next spring), that Quonset requires miles of caulk, the one pallet-load I haven't purchased as yet. The Milwaukee caulk guns handle quart-size tubes, plus when you release the trigger, they go in reverse just a touch to prevent ooze-waste, nice touch! The 18V brushless hammer-drill is expected to place the arch-anchors in the concrete foundation footers. We'll see! I do know I'll only use the HMMH to move the caulk-tube pallet from one truck to another, none of those other 5 quonset pallets woulda fit in a longbed pickup.

I also have a corded Skil hammer-drill from BITD (Dad's, may he RIP), which can run off the Onan on the RV or the inverter for my crane service body, which UPS tracking says will arrive tomorrow! It'll take a while to get the compressed air going on the service body, another over-winter project needed for next building season. Once I've got the 2KW inverter/charger hooked up, I won't need the 6KW Onan on-site to charge/run some power tools (although the GMC, my other over-winter project, will hopefully be the on-site HQ next year). While the Onan is far more efficient, getting to and fro in a 10mpg gas motorhome vs. a 17.5mpg diesel pickup truck is a no-brainer. I'll need all the 6KW by next summer, but I figure a brand-new 2KW backup system won't hurt, seeing as how that Onan's 40 years old. Plus, I have three building sites on my land (the middle one is just the well/windmill/solar/water-tower).

I know, this is off-topic, but only if you're forgetting I expect either my GMC or my Dodge to be capable of charging/starting my 24V FLUs through those NATO connectors. The Dodge would need its inverter plugged into shore power to do so. The GMC will do that from the 24V solar panels & battery bank, *or* shore power. These are useful vehicles to me, but none of 'em are gonna be used daily except the pickup truck, and even it'll see some days off. So I need to be able to charge them, without bringing them to the trailer and paying for grid power -- it's in my interests to not need grid power just yet (if ever), because I'm agitating for three-phase, which stops at the railroad tracks two miles away despite the local (single-phase) power line is basically my N border.

I could knuckle under and get grid power, but then I'd have no leverage to upgrade the local service from the regional power co-op, for the purpose of selling power back to the grid and using *it* as my battery bank. All work in progress! Not without its political red tape. I'm happy to go off-grid, but I'd be happier with a three-phase ag hookup and net-metering.

 

[BigBison]

For the record, my 55' long Quonset hut is built from 110 2' wide arches. In my case, 20-gauge steel, do the math and that thickness is doubled once it's all caulked & bolted. That's a lotta caulk! I have several 2.5-gallon buckets on-site, heavy suckers full of nuts & bolts, loose on the flatbed truck not on pallets, we put those in the longbed to transport. Also the man-door. The dual sliding doors came on one of the five pallets. Overhead door's cheaper, but I have a bad back, so easier to lean into a door to slide it sideways than to bend over & lift. Sliding doors added 25% to the cost, vs. a 12.5' overhead door my back can't even torsion the springs on to install.

 

[The FLU farm]

...I expect either my GMC or my Dodge to be capable of charging/starting my 24V FLUs through those NATO connectors.

If you're willing to skip the convenience of using the NATO plug, don't overlook the fact that you can charge/jump start your FLU with just about any vehicle with a 12 Volt system.
Of course, if both of the FLU's batteries need help when jump starting you'd need two 12 Volt vehicles and two sets of jumper cables, but there's still no need for having 24 Volt available from one source.

 

[BigBison]

Oh, I know, it's more of a convenience thing. One man could, if properly equipped, easily drive up to a dead FLU in the backcountry, plug in a cable, start it up and go do some work with it. Unless he's gotta spend some time wrenching on battery terminals, get a helper to pull up another vehicle, etc. plus I'd rather leave those terminal-post clamps alone. The back of my service body will have a NATO connector, and a + - block for attaching jumper cables. That way, I can pull in front of a vehicle on the side of the road, instead of having to turn around and face it, much safer especially at night.

The license plate is on the driver's side on the service body, the charge/jump connections will be passenger side, right below the crane mount because there's already serious amperage flowing right there, so why not put in a 6-12-24V DC-DC converter and NATO connector. Opening that compartment to grab a proper cable for jumping a FLU, with optional clamps for jumping a 24V semi, seems worth the effort to me over the long run. My Dodge trucks need new battery-post terminals, I've already done two using milspec clamps like on the FLUs (except the FLU terminals have the cables soldered into 'em, not lugged for a clamp-bolt, but it's a solid and versatile post-clamp terminal). Replace your batteries 2-3 times on those trucks, and good luck re-tightening, the lead just cracks apart. The ones I'm replacing have sheetrock screws in 'em as a band-aid.

Whereas the milspec terminal posts are tin-plated copper. Oh, and I got the proper rubber booties, which need to be pulled back to even attach jumper cables, to discourage the practice. Regardless, my experience tells me not to f*** around with wrenches/clamps on battery terminal-post clamps. Best left alone w/ silicone dielectric grease intact under rubber booties. I'll be able to jump-start both 12V and 24V (also considering a converter to go 6V at the flip of a switch, local tractors & equipment could be anything these days) from dedicated connectors at the rear of my service body, all easy-peasy-japanesey.

Now that my '95 Prelude's snowed in, I regret not getting it a fresh set of Blizzaks for this winter, it's only snowed in because the old tires are shot. My DD truck's in the body shop, literally every other vehicle I own is spewing fluid all over the place, or having other major difficulties. I neglected the Honda becuase it was Plan D. Well, plan C's a no-go atm, if I had Blizzaks on it my Honda would go like a sled, and you just can't kill that thing, always "just works." I had a buddy drive me around today, the Dually's sick and I don't know what's wrong with her. Thought she was fixed after wrenching underneath all day, drove 'er to town, filled 'er up and drove home, she's sitting at the end of the driveway, dead again. Whatcha call an intermittent problem, and also a stroke of luck I didn't have to hoof it back home in a blizzard!

 

[BigBison]

It's been years since I've owned a vehicle (or even a lawnmower) with a choke. My Beastie has a manual choke. My GMC motorhome has an automatic choke... flashbacks to high school for me! I left it unplugged for two days of subzero weather. Went out this morning when it was 0* outside, pressed the gas pedal twice and turned the key. Fired right up! I went back inside to make coffee, by the time it was brewed the motor had quit. After about 15 minutes, you need to blip the throttle to un-set the auto-choke, won't happen on its own.

From the book of forgotten lore...

 

[The FLU farm]

Oh, I know, it's more of a convenience thing. One man could, if properly equipped, easily drive up to a dead FLU in the backcountry, plug in a cable, start it up and go do some work with it. Unless he's gotta spend some time wrenching on battery terminals, get a helper to pull up another vehicle, etc. plus I'd rather leave those terminal-post clamps alone.

The parts SEE came with dead batteries, so the routine was to fire up the M1008, hook up the jumper cables and start the SEE. No wrenching on battery terminals required.
Or, I could've used a 12-volt vehicle and a separate battery (both batteries in the SEE were toast, so I needed two 12-volt sources), or two 12-volt vehicles, and two sets of jumper cables. Again, no wrenching required.
True, I had to open the hood on the M1008 and the battery box on the SEE, but that's hardly hard work. Besides, I have to open to hood on the M1008 no matter what since I always pull the cable between the batteries in order to keep them happier while parked. No wrenching there either, as I leave the clamp loose enough on the post to allow using only hand power.
As I recall, you have one good battery still, so all you should need is one 12-volt vehicle and one set of jumper cables.

It bugged me that the M1008 kept getting cold started, so to me the somewhat obvious solution was to buy new batteries. While waiting for their arrival I pieced together a NATO plug setup, just so that I would have it and hopefully never need it. So far that theory has worked.

 

[The FLU farm]

Alright, who here can help decipher the markings on the doors on my FLU?
It reads "E199", and directly below it says "TE004M". Up front is stenciled "AF 93". I'm sure that there's a clue to where it used to live in there.