August 26 - 28, 2023 - Several Homer Repairs Needed After Recent Trip

Front Storage Compartment:

Upon arriving home from Michigan we found the front storage compartment on Homer was literally falling out. 

This compartment pulled loose about an inch several years ago. At that time, I repaired it with additional screws in the back and added a thin metal strap underneath to hold it in place. My fix held for a while but too much weight and rough roads caused a major failure. Here are some inside compartment pictures after I emptied it. You can see the screws I previously added in the back.

Here is a picture of the strap I had installed earlier after it was unbolted from the outside of the compartment floor. Once the compartment pulled loose from the top this strap could do nothing to help.

A factory strap, which was screwed to the floor on the front side of the compartment, failed due to vibration and weight in the compartment. Here are two pictures.

Here is a picture of the compartment floor where it meets the sidewall and access door. The arrow points to the concrete driveway below. The dark blue edge should be up against the lighter blue sidewall.

Homer has very little outside storage. I keep a large bottle jack, socket set, hoses, electrical items, and road emergency items in this compartment. All of this is fairly heavy. The compartment must be better supported but that is difficult because there is no metal framework nearby to mount any support to. The outer wall of Homer is just sheet metal which, believe it or not, is supported below floor level with plastic brackets. The one closest to the compartment has torn loose. There is no way to attach the compartment to the outside wall.

In studying the underside of Homer for a way to support the compartment I spotted a bolt nearby. It is one of four bolts which attaches the propane tank bracket to the floor above. Of the four bolts I could only access one for my purpose. I couldn't get the nut off due to rust but luckily the bolt was long enough to allow me to add a metal bracket and nut to the bottom of it. 

I had to fabricate a bracket which would attach to the propane bracket, drop down the back side of the compartment, continue under the entire bottom of the compartment for support, and attach to something in front. Luckily in front of the compartment is the angle iron which support the running board. It is quite stout, so I chose to mount the other end of the bracket to it. Here is a picture of the bracket I welded up from a piece of angle iron from an old bed frame.

This was a tiring, frustrating project for many reasons. As I've gotten older I cannot lay flat on my back or I get nauseated. I had to lay flat on my back for this entire project. I jacked Homer up as high as I could to give me some working room. I placed an old pillow under my head to raise it a little, that helped my nausea somewhat. Fabricating the bracket took lots of cutting and fitting. Lots of crawling under Homer and crawling back out.  

My entire Sunday after church was devoted to this project, eight full hours, only stopping once for lunch. By the time I finished it was close to dark and I was beat. Muscles I forgot I had ached from all the stretching, twisting, and crawling. I have no idea how many times I had to crawl under and back out again for the bracket making process and installation.

Here is a picture of the bracket I made attached to the LP tank bracket above. It was all I could do to reach the nut to twist it on. Once the nut was started I could use a ratchet with three extensions to tighten the nut.

Here is a picture of the bracket running down the back side of the compartment and under the compartment to support it in the middle.

Next is a picture of the bracket attached to the angle iron in front supporting the running board. I bent the metal so that it bolted to the side and over the top of the angle iron. I put a bolt in each direction. I don't know how I could have made it stouter. I could spray some paint on it to inhibit rust but I don't think it will rust away in my lifetime.

I was too tired to clean up my mess Sunday evening so I left it until Mondary morning.  I have always been amazed at how many tools it takes to complete any project. Here is a picture of the tool mess in the garage. The milk crate is full of tools to take back to the basement shop.

The basement shop area did not look much better. My dad always insisted on putting each tool back as he used it. If I did that I'd still be working on this project.

I can't imagine what this fix would have cost if I had to pay someone to do it. It was a challenge.

Bathroom Vent Crank:

On the recent trip I noticed that the crank for the bathroom vent quit working. The gears just slipped as you turned the handle. Upon a visual inspection with a flashlight I found that the pot metal case for the gears was bulging out on one side. I looked online for a replacement crank mechanism and it was $25.00. I decided to try and fix it. I pulled it out and this is what I found. The pot metal broke around the rivet which is to the left of the arrow. This allowed the gears to push out the side when it was cranked, thus slipping.

I was able to push the side back in and decided to try and repair it with my old standby - JB Weld. I sanded the area and put the gearbox in the vice to push everything back in place. I then gave it a good dollop of JB Weld and let it sit overnight. Monday morning it had set. I took it out of the vise. I cranked it a dozen times and it worked perfectly. I oiled it all up.

I reinstalled it and checked its operation a number of times. It worked perfectly. I think it will outlast me now. Another $25.00 saved!

Finishing these projects. I ran across this on Facebook and it suited me to a "T" after this weekend.

There are a couple of small projects left to be fixed on Homer but they will have to wait. The transmission acted up again on the trip to and from Michigan so we decided to take it to a transmission specialist. Our local mechanic had worked on a couple of external possible causes to no avail. I called the transmission shop and was told it would be a month before they could even look at it. They do not take appointments. "First Come, First Served" so we are taking it there today to get the process started. 

Homer will be out of commission for probably six weeks if they have to rebuild the transmission. As a result, we had to cancel our attendance at the September Carri-Yal rally in Jefferson City. We would like to sneak in a trip out to California to see the kids and grandkids in the next month. If we make that trip I'll blog.