Sunday, August 31, 2008

New pump and faucet

So I have new water pump and faucet. Nothing very difficult, just some $50 spent, two pair of wires cut and new devices soldered.

There'll be only one photograph. These are the pumps: old versus new. The red is obviously the old one. ;)

From Volkswagen Tr...


The new faucet looks exactly the same as the old one. But works differently.

The old one had to be turned clockwise to start the pump. At first the turning caused the valve to be opened, further turning started the pump.
The new one needs to be turned counter-clockwise. Like ordinary faucet or any other valve. :) Turning the valve starts the pump and after some further turning the valve is opened.
Small diferences, but mean a lot...

See for yourself. :)

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Quick fix for stupid failure

The day before yesterday my beloved camper didn't start. The starter didn't work, all the lights on the console went black. When I opened the engine bay cover and asked my wife Ania to start the engine, I saw some sparks on cable that goes from the battery to the starter. Since it was late and raining, we left the bus where it stood (luckily it was next to my parents-in-law) and took a cab home.

Yesterday I went there to fix the failure with my father-in-law. I am very glad he never refused to help me with my camper. He knows a bit about cars and engines, so I can almost always count on his help and knowledge. Of course my main expert and idol when it comes to cars is Tomek, who was mentioned here many times. :)

Our first idea was: cable between the battery and the starter is broken. My father-in-law tried to pull it from the connector on the battery and saw that it's loosened there. So we disconnected the connector and dissasemblied it. I didn't like the look of it.

From Volkswagen Tr...

All the surfaces that were supposed to provide good contact between those connectors were covered with patina. So I took sandpaper and metal brush and cleaned all the surfaces. The main cable (on the photo below it's the one I hold) was also covered with solder to provide better electric connection.



Once everything was clean, we bolted the connector back, covered it with vaseline (to stop water and patina) and attached it to the battery.



The starter runs like never before!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Holidays in Kolobrzeg - photo summary

I posted here some info on our summer holidays near Kołobrzeg. Now it's a good time to summarize the entire trip. I always liked photos and made some, so I'll post selected photos as a good summary.

From Volkswagen Tr...

You can see here the camper's cupboards filled with food and clothes. We hardly managed to put everything inside. :)


I like this closet, 'cause it allows the clothes to hang almost freely. And it is really huge (compared to space in my VW T3). I think I'll add a mirror on the inside of the door.


Bikes attached to bike mount. If you'd like to buy such bike mount, contact me, I have one spare. :)


This 12V->230V electricity inverter is an important part of my camper's electrical equipment. But on this photo it was used by my dad to charge his cellphone from his camper's battery.


The bed is large.


The first evening.


The first evening (cont).


Mig-21's we saw on our way to Borne Sulinowo, on an airfield close to Nadarzyce.


In the Borne Sulinowo. These buildings were part of russian military base.


Second day of our trip, road somewhere between Borne Sulinowo and Kołobrzeg. It's a result of asking GPS software to find the shortest route. As you can see, the road was very narrow. I was glad we didn't have to pass any other cars... :)


That's me, removing the back cover of my fridge.


Faucet.


The back of the fridge. You can see how precise the removal of cupboard's back was. You can also see my camping battery and solar charger.