[VAC] Re: Found one, now what?

[Dr. Gerald N. Johnson, electrical engineer]

Long time advice that has been posted here repeatedly. Don't fall in
love with the FIRST VAC you find, it will be a bit rotten and a bit
expensive. Look over the field, there are quite a few about, and some
are in decent shape and not outrageously priced. What's the asking price
on this gem?

A tire blowout also took the wheel well when it messed up hub and
brakes. That means a major problem opening up the trailer for water
(when towed on a wet road) and access by critters larger than mice that
can easily have done a lot of mess in the cabinets. That need for hub
and brakes can also have been rough on the spindle.

Its best to replace the plug with a 7 pin plug wired properly. Airstream
used a unique 6 pin set of connections and any adapter probably won't
correct the connections to work. Should take an electrical type more
than half an hour to make the change. A NEW plug will make contact, the
old plug won't. Been there, fought that, put on a new plug and coated
the contact surfaces with silicone dielectric grease and I don't have a
connector problem anymore. Last Saturday I hitched up my '68 Caravel
that hadn't been hitched since last October. All the lights worked
without any wiggling or connector cleaning. If that Safari has been
sitting for a few years, NONE of its lights will work. Check back
through the archives for the attack I did on my Caravel marker lights.

The windows are curved glass. Lexon would be a better replacement than
plexiglass. There are occasional hints that the glass might be had if
there's enough demand to cover the set up fees to get the safety glass
bent.

EVERY time you hitch up and tow you need to be sure all the lights
(marker, brake, turn signal, and stop) work. Then be sure the brakes
work and that you can stop the combination with the trailer brakes alone
(at slow speed on a level road or drive), that the electric brake
controller is set to make the trailer brakes contribute to stopping
without locking the trailer brakes. That the propane tank valves are
turned off, that the hitch is secure, the safety chains strong (S hooks
aren't strong) and solidly anchored, that the jack is up, that all tires
are in good shape and have proper air pressure, that no brakes are
dragging (check for hot drums after a few miles), that the tow vehicle
mirrors are wide enough to see around the trailer, and that the load
equalizing bars are pulled up enough to make the tow vehicle and trailer
run level.

Then when towing, remember the trailer is WIDER than the tow vehicle,
that the combination won't necessarily stop as quickly as the tow
vehicle alone and the trailer will need more width especially on the
inside of curves and corners. Mailboxes will scar the skin if you are
not careful about that. On open roads 50 mph is plenty fast.

Airstream wheel wells fit the original tires closely. More replacement
tires than not that are supposed to be exact replacements turn out to be
too wide to fit in the Airstream wheel well.

There are numerous replacements for water heaters and furnaces. Old
furnaces if they have ever been used are probably not to be trusted,
unless you thrive on carbon monoxide. Normal humans die from excess
carbon monoxide and die with a splitting headache.

Gerald J.



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