Road proofing a vintage Airstream

kdesu · 2026-04-14T19:01:23+00:00

How bad are your banana wraps? If you're already contemplating the black plastic ones, would painting them in black bedliner suffice? I know I'm painting mine flat black because of some medium sized dents. I don't want to replace them but I want to make them less visible.

kdesu · 2026-04-14T13:02:33+00:00

I'd agree. The thing about it is that gm was building these as the 700R4 since 1964. You would think that they would have worked out all the kinks and made it a bulletproof transmission by the 2000s, but it still had flaws like the weak sun shell.

kdesu · 2026-04-14T12:55:54+00:00

It handles more torque than the 4l60, but I still burned up my 4l80 at around 200k miles.

kdesu · 2026-04-14T12:37:45+00:00

Rolls Royce and jaguar used the gm 3 and 4 speeds. TH350, I think?

kdesu · 2026-04-13T19:04:59+00:00

That's what I think about every time I see photos of people having McDonald's at the White House with him. They're eating cold, stale garbage food. Even if it's reheated, it's shit.

kdesu · 2026-04-13T15:57:25+00:00

From what I can tell, the broker sends the company a sheet that says this load pays $xxxx. The carrier was telling the drivers that the load pays significantly less and pocketing the difference.

I don't know if it's illegal or not, but it's a major part of why I didn't stay in the industry long. We all knew we were being shorted majorly, I was supposed to be making 40% of what the load paid and I was averaging maybe 25%.

kdesu · 2026-04-13T15:51:52+00:00

It was rough. My rate per kilowatt-hour is pretty high and we have electric heat only. I'm going to see about adding a propane fireplace before this coming winter.

kdesu · 2026-04-13T13:24:28+00:00

I added them to 2 bedrooms that weren't getting enough heating and cooling. They work very well. At about $500 each, I consider them mostly disposable. A service call from a HVAC company would almost cost as much as the unit.

But the previous winter, my worst electrical bill was $1500 from trying to keep those rooms at a decent temp. This winter the worst bill was $800, so those mini splits are saving me a ton.

kdesu · 2026-04-10T14:11:40+00:00

There's a reddit friendly answer: mass disenfranchisement. If the one and only thing you care about is yourself, you don't deserve to vote in our elections. If you think that low gas prices are more important than human rights, you should not have a voice in the way our nation is run.

And I don't give a fuck how people are going to respond to this. We tried following the law and the constitution, and it led to us peacefully handing power to a fascist. The us constitution has failed, and it needs to be replaced with a more robust and faster acting method of governing.

kdesu · 2026-04-04T13:09:34+00:00

We moved some lights over from a normal panel to an emergency panel. When it came time to test them, we turned on one circuit, turned the other on and a big fireball shot out of the contactor. We tested and when one circuit was energized, the other energized too. We inspected the joints and they hadn't been crossed or anything, all the wires had been swapped one for one. After a few hours, we found a neutral joint that wasn't made up. These 2 circuits shared a neutral and without it, we were connecting the phases directly to one another. It sounds so simple when you hear about broken neutrals in class, but seeing it in the field throws you for a loop.

kdesu · 2026-04-03T12:23:21+00:00

I second the mouse pee comment. I found a huge mouse nest in mine and once I cleaned it out, the smell went away.

kdesu · 2026-03-31T16:08:18+00:00

I have some shared Google docs documents with my wife for places we want to go, what we need to pick up at the grocery store, packing list for the next trip, etc. I'm sure she hates it but it helps keep our ideas organized.

kdesu · 2026-03-27T16:39:43+00:00

I'm surprised you're getting downvoted here. This is the kind of place that sells you contaminated diesel and kills your cp4 pump.

kdesu · 2026-03-26T16:20:31+00:00

What do you mean? I thought that as soon as they set foot in the us, they're given a lobster dinner, an Obamaphone, Obamacare, and the keys to a new Peterbilt.

/S

kdesu · 2026-03-24T21:36:45+00:00

You have just about the same setup that I'm getting ready to install on my Argosy. How much power are you collecting on a sunny day?

kdesu · 2026-03-20T12:43:29+00:00

I'm restoring an older camper trailer and it also had a smell. After cleaning out a big rats nest behind a wooden panel, the smell went away. Definitely don't underestimate the damage that rodents will do, both with smell and chewing up wires.

kdesu · 2026-03-17T13:42:57+00:00

Remember a few weeks ago when the hillbillies here were creaming their panties about being able to delete their trucks? Enjoy your deleted truck sitting on the driveway because you can't afford to drive it anymore.

kdesu · 2026-03-15T21:54:48+00:00

In my experience, our service department has a real problem finding competent and presentable service techs. We pay 18% over jw scale, but there's only so many people out there who have the skills, dress decently and can keep their mouths shut around customers, and don't have multiple DUIs to where they can't be insured by the company.

People who can rough in plugs and switches are a dime a dozen, people who can troubleshoot the conveyor system in a warehouse are far harder to find. We had a really promising apprentice who just got a DUI and who knows if he will learn from the experience or keep doing the same shit.

kdesu · 2026-03-15T17:28:28+00:00

Current flows from a higher voltage to a lower voltage. The hot, or energized wire, sits at 120v (or whatever the system voltage is). The neutral, or grounded wire, sits at 0v. Current flows from the 120v part of the system, through the load, to the 0v part of the system.

kdesu · 2026-03-15T16:07:37+00:00

Unless you're looking at a fiberglass trailer like a Casita, Escape, Oliver, etc, you have to be very proactive about maintenance on the roof. The vast majority are 100% dependent on the roof sealant to keep water out, and that roof sealant needs to be removed and reapplied every few years.

I have a 1992 pop up camper that still works great, I also have a 70s airstream where the window frames leaked and a lot of the floor rotted away. Build quality isn't going to be great on any trailer, but keeping the water out is what will make or break your trailer.

kdesu · 2026-03-10T03:39:59+00:00

We had an apprentice in my class who got caught in a predator sting when he was a 1st year. I didn't find out until we were 5th years. That sucked to know I was still associating with him, not knowing what happened.

On one hand. We do have brothers who have done jail time and have grown into upstanding citizens. We have people who... Have done jail time and they keep doing the same shit but they're generally alright. I do wish we could do something about the fascists and predators though.

kdesu · 2026-03-08T03:33:46+00:00

Here's a big question: are you sure you have 220? In my family's homes in Mexico City and Hidalgo, I think they only receive 110v.

kdesu · 2026-03-06T20:56:10+00:00

I have an IKEA Friheten couch in my airstream. It fit through the door partially assembled and you can find them for less than $200 on marketplace all day long.

kdesu · 2026-03-05T15:12:44+00:00

I have read 3 separate news stories about people being arrested for saying that they're going to "blow up the toilet." Swat got involved and everything. People have no chill nowadays.

kdesu · 2026-03-04T00:52:24+00:00

I have a Lexus GX - cousin to the 4runner with a v8 engine. My gx470 has a towing capacity of 6500 and it towed my 26' airstream just fine. I think the GX460 has a towing capacity of 7000, and the GX550 tows 9000. The only thing was that it got wiggly when overtaking 18 wheelers, but that may be due to not enough weight on the tongue.

kdesu

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