What did you do to the Sunline today?

[JohnGB]

Started pulling the a/c unit apart last night to replace the fan motor. Looks like the hardest part is going to be moving the evaporator coil a little to get the blower wheel off the shaft.

Yeh, changing the fan motor is a project. See this post with pic's on how I did mine. Scroll through the post for all the pic's
http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f71/a-c-fan-problem-15879.html

I had to lift the entire compressor, evaporator and condenser coil out as one whole unit. You cannot pull the motor out the back end with the condenser coil in the way and you cannot get to taking the inside fan blade off without removing the evaporator coil.

Once you have come to grips with you need to about gut the entire roof unit, the fan motor change out is not that bad. I needed to change the fan motor starting capacitor as well as the new motor needed a different size.

Hope this helps

John

 

[JohnGB]

Started pulling the a/c unit apart last night to replace the fan motor. Looks like the hardest part is going to be moving the evaporator coil a little to get the blower wheel off the shaft.

Question: Is your motor froze up and won't spin or will spin and just not start?

The freeze up part seems to be a Dometic thing. In the spring when a warm day comes and the entire AC unit is below freezing from days and weeks before, metal sweat builds up on the motor armature and creates a corrosion crud. Some times you get lucky and you can force spin the motor in place and it will get free'ed up. Other times, you are not lucky (like me) and need to replace the motor.

Oddly enough this happened on my T2499 camper stored inside the barn at the old place. The T310SR sitting outside did not have the problem. It seems being inside the warm up process is a lot faster and the sweating issue worse. Living outside the world warms up slower when the sun rise comes up and things seem to evaporate off more even. I can recall the entire camper sweating, the frame and siding all dripping off as nature warms up. My new barn seems to have the same sweating issue but the siding is steel and the steel warms up barn from the sun faster. The older barn was wood siding and was more insulated and kept the cold inside better. I hope the metal siding solves this problem. Every spring I always wonder, will the AC unit start?

 

[sparksolaris]

Question: Is your motor froze up and won't spin or will spin and just not start?

The freeze up part seems to be a Dometic thing. In the spring when a warm day comes and the entire AC unit is below freezing from days and weeks before, metal sweat builds up on the motor armature and creates a corrosion crud. Some times you get lucky and you can force spin the motor in place and it will get free'ed up. Other times, you are not lucky (like me) and need to replace the motor.

Oddly enough this happened on my T2499 camper stored inside the barn at the old place. The T310SR sitting outside did not have the problem. It seems being inside the warm up process is a lot faster and the sweating issue worse. Living outside the world warms up slower when the sun rise comes up and things seem to evaporate off more even. I can recall the entire camper sweating, the frame and siding all dripping off as nature warms up. My new barn seems to have the same sweating issue but the siding is steel and the steel warms up barn from the sun faster. The older barn was wood siding and was more insulated and kept the cold inside better. I hope the metal siding solves this problem. Every spring I always wonder, will the AC unit start?

The motor is seized up. I tried to free it up by hand and it didn't budge. The previous owner said they had to give it nudge every spring but they haven't used it in 2 years now. A simple nudge didn't work this year. I bought the whole kit including fan, blower wheel, and capacitor. I saw a few others said you can gently move the evaporator coil out of the way enough to get the blower wheel out. I would think you would have to be very careful not to kink or break the tubing. Seems a tad bit risky. Once I started getting into it I realized this was going to be little bigger job than I anticipated but still doable. I had a teacher at technical school once tell me " If man built it, man can fix it" It was nice to get the cover off and clean things out last night. Lots of different wasps nests in there ( fortunately all old).

 

[JohnGB]

I bought the whole kit including fan, blower wheel, and capacitor.

I saw a few others said you can gently move the evaporator coil out of the way enough to get the blower wheel out. I would think you would have to be very careful not to kink or break the tubing. Seems a tad bit risky.

Once I started getting into it I realized this was going to be little bigger job than I anticipated but still doable. I had a teacher at technical school once tell me " If man built it, man can fix it" It was nice to get the cover off and clean things out last night. Lots of different wasps nests in there ( fortunately all old).

Hi Aaron,

I forgot to mention, the new fan motor capacitor, I had to mount it in the capacitor box along with the old one as the old one was a dual capacitor and I still needed the compressor part of it. It fit in there.

Wow, they actually wiggled the fan blade out by just prying the evaporator coil over? I recall having a heck of a time getting the screw to loosen up on the fan blade. That would of been real fun doing with the coil in there too.

It actually was not that hard to lift up and out the entire gas system. After unhooking the compressor motor wires and a few other items, I could lift up and take out the entire compressor and both coils not that hard. Then the fan removal and install went really well. Just an option for you in case you need to use it.

I like your tech teachers saying, yup that's for sure. Our machine shop foreman who was a master MacGyver machinist who knew all things chip cutting use to say, "Anyone can make the part right the first time, but the machinist who can create the fix for some someone else goof, has the skill".

Hope your fix comes out well. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks

John

 

[sparksolaris]

Hi Aaron,

I forgot to mention, the new fan motor capacitor, I had to mount it in the capacitor box along with the old one as the old one was a dual capacitor and I still needed the compressor part of it. It fit in there.

Wow, they actually wiggled the fan blade out by just prying the evaporator coil over? I recall having a heck of a time getting the screw to loosen up on the fan blade. That would of been real fun doing with the coil in there too.

It actually was not that hard to lift up and out the entire gas system. After unhooking the compressor motor wires and a few other items, I could lift up and take out the entire compressor and both coils not that hard. Then the fan removal and install went really well. Just an option for you in case you need to use it.

I like your tech teachers saying, yup that's for sure. Our machine shop foreman who was a master MacGyver machinist who knew all things chip cutting use to say, "Anyone can make the part right the first time, but the machinist who can create the fix for some someone else goof, has the skill".

Hope your fix comes out well. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks

John

We have ice cold ac again. New fan works great. It was kind of a bear to get that old blower wheel out. after I removed the screws that hold the evaporator coil and capillary tube there was more than enough room to get my hands in there to take the blower wheel off. It was tough just sliding it off the shaft. I removed all the hardware to take out the entire gas system like you suggested however it's too much to lift for one person all at once without bending the tubes. The kit includes wire nuts and directions that tell you to cut the existing wires to the relay box to tie in the new wires. The new wires already have the pins crimped on the end for the relay box plug so I used them instead of making another connection point.

One question I do have: With adding another capacitor for the motor while keeping the old one for the compressor it makes it pretty tight in box for them. They did not seem to all fit standing up vertically in the box. At the moment I have the small black start capacitor laying on its side above the other 2. The connections to the start capacitor are all insulated so I don't think there's a potential to short out. Is it any problem to have a capacitor lay on it's side?

 

[sparksolaris]

Did some more checking on our brakes before a trip to the Adirondacks. Our brakes were not activating on the trailer. Tracing the wires to see if anything was noticeable and in the open and found the white wire(ground) on both axles had broke free from the terminal blocks screwed to the frame (driver side). Cleaned them up and reconnected the wires and we have brakes again.

 

[Sunline Fan]

Did some more checking on our brakes before a trip to the Adirondacks. Our brakes were not activating on the trailer. Tracing the wires to see if anything was noticeable and in the open and found the white wire(ground) on both axles had broke free from the terminal blocks screwed to the frame (driver side). Cleaned them up and reconnected the wires and we have brakes again.

Great to hear that you found the problem! I wouldn't want to take a trip, especially where it's hilly, and not have brakes.

Do you think the wire broke free because of corrosion, or were they just loose to start with?

 

[sparksolaris]

I'd say it was from corrosion over time. Yes, we tow with a 2009 3500 Duramax so on the the flat we'd probably be ok but definately want brakes on the hills.

 

[Terry in Lyme]

Sanded and painted the microwave grills

 

[Sunline Fan]

Developed a water leak in the '97 over the weekend, which was due to loose fittings that just needed tightening, but the ultimate problem was the water pump bent. No idea how it did that, haven't used it, but the bearing and diaphragm unit bent in the housing. This caused water to leak back into the fresh water tank and start filling it up. Took the pump apart and will attempt to find a new part to fix the bent one.

 

[sparksolaris]

Took the water heater burner apart and cleaned it up. Little rusty and flame was fluttering. Adjusted the air shutter for a nice blue flame. I also tested the furnace and filled up the #30 tanks. Thought for sure they would give me trouble getting them filled being they are older than 10 years. Filled up the fresh water tank.

 

[Digmenow]

Today I bought a 5-foot long board to put underneath of one side or the other of the dual axles whenever I go camping someplace that isn't very level. It was $15 from the local lumber yard. Seems like a lot of extra weight but I'd have to carry three sets of Link blocks to do the same thing. It rolled right up on it so there's that.

Now I need to figure out what I can put under the jacks so that they aren't hyper-extended (axle flip). For now, I put a foot long 4x4 treated wooden post under the worst one. Been carrying that piece of wood for over a decade. It used to be the emergency brake on my old Ranger. It seemed happy to be of use, once again.

 

[campbugjan1]

Dig..I have never needed more than one set of the legos, but carried two 18" long boards for just in case! We had a couple of times in FL where we did run into a problem and I just hoed out some sand and lowered one side instead! can't imagine hauling that 5 footer around! JMHO! Janalee

 

[Digmenow]

Janalee,

My S-I-L had a single axle R Pod and on one occasion, I had to jack up the camper and we slid the legos in and then dropped it onto them because he didn't have enough to build the ramp high enough to drive onto it. At another site, I saw campers that had so much cribbing under the jacks that you'd have thought it was a nursery!

I doubt that I will need it on our upcoming outing but given the experiences above, I'm a glass half empty kind of guy so I'll probably lug it along for just in case. It depends on how the TV acts once I've loaded up.

On a more positive note, the Camco screen door bar arrived and I installed it. It's a nice addition and I highly recommend it to anyone who is on the fence about it.

I also noticed that my drill accessories included a #1 Robertson bit which fit the screws in the bathroom door hinges. I moved the middle hinge to the top and then straightened the top hinge and put it in the middle. The bathroom door now closes and latches smoothly. That's a big "Yay!"

Next, I need to find a solution to how to keep the miniblind wand from jumping off its hook as the camper travels down the highway.

 

[sparksolaris]

Today I bought a 5-foot long board to put underneath of one side or the other of the dual axles whenever I go camping someplace that isn't very level. It was $15 from the local lumber yard. Seems like a lot of extra weight but I'd have to carry three sets of Link blocks to do the same thing. It rolled right up on it so there's that.

Now I need to figure out what I can put under the jacks so that they aren't hyper-extended (axle flip). For now, I put a foot long 4x4 treated wooden post under the worst one. Been carrying that piece of wood for over a decade. It used to be the emergency brake on my old Ranger. It seemed happy to be of use, once again.

I carry boards too. Actually the previous owner added a custom bracket to the back bumper to strap them down to. Keeps the boards and dirt outside. Easier than the blocks I think.

 

[Mellow Yellow-SUN]

On our last camping trip I broke the refrigerator door handle. The plastic tab that keeps it locked broke (so glad it did not happen when we were moving !!). They do sell the replacements, but they are really much thinner plastic and we don't want to take any chances. So Tom made a strap to go across the front of the refrig when we are moving. He used a good heavy web strap with hooks and an adjustment buckle that attaches to hooks on the wood cupboards on either side.

 

[campbugjan1]

Janalee,


Next, I need to find a solution to how to keep the miniblind wand from jumping off its hook as the camper travels down the highway.

I have used a bent paperclip sort of fashioned into a new hook in past experiences..but if all else fails--DUCT TAPE IT...lol! Only you will ever see it/know it !

 

[Digmenow]

Duct tape! D'oh! Good idea, I'm on it.

I started to wonder where I could pick up more 4 by 4 treated lumber to use for spacing under the stabilizer arms. Suddenly I had a brainstorm and went to a local fence and deck company where I spoke to the guys in the workshop area. I asked them if they had any scrap in pieces from 4 by 4 posts that were left over from jobs that they had done. They pointed out a couple of pieces that were fairly long and I said that I needed them to be a little shorter so the guy picked the piece up, took it over to his huge saw and cut it to the lengths that I needed so I ended up with about 5 nice sized 9 inch long pieces of 4x4 and then they cut up someone by 6 for me as well so I have a variety of widths to help level the camper. They didn't charge me anything for it so I tipped the guy five bucks.

Meanwhile, I picked up a few more items to help get the camper ready in time for next Thursday's trip on the 19th. The new toilet sprayer is now installed.

 

[justatourist]

My mini-blinds have a clear plastic "sleeve" that slides up and down where the wand connects. After pushing the wand in place I simply pull the clear plastic sleeve down and that keep the wand in place. Your blinds may be different.

 

[Digmenow]

My mini-blinds have a clear plastic "sleeve" that slides up and down where the wand connects. After pushing the wand in place I simply pull the clear plastic sleeve down and that keep the wand in place. Your blinds may be different.

Hah! Aquarium tubing might do the trick. Thanks!