A Bit of Front End Work

The protective coroplast on the front of the Alto is starting to show its age after thirteen years. The sun and the elements have slowly faded the original black colour into a pasty looking grey. The time was now to put on a new piece.

looking a tad weary

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A Few Spring Mods

Catching up on posting about a few little mods that have been added recently.

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Fridge Mounting Reinforcement

Although this little bit of maintenance was not done on our Alto, it was done on a 1743 with the 12v Nova Cool fridge. It probably could apply to most any fridge installation.

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Service side sun shade

Tucson really kicked this mod into gear. Our site at Gilbert Ray had the service side of the camper facing directly west, fully exposed to the pounding sun. We quickly realized it would be wise to put up the second awning, however, we simply had no room to extend the awning out and run the guy-lines. Needing to do something, I jerry rigged our 6x6 ground mat, angled down to provide some needed shade.

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Not a mover...but it helps

Ever since the Caravan Mover became available as an option, I have been intrigued not only by its capability, but also by the dual jack wheels that comes with it. We have contemplated retrofitting the mover, but decided we did not really want to make this somewhat sizeable investment. I have though, continued to wonder about that dual set of jack wheels.

even mounted on alloys

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Dometic Fridge Thermistor Replacement

We have been noticing of late that our fridge does not seem to keep things as cool as we think it used to. A few factors could be related to this, such as the really hot summers we now have, and of course, the age of the cooling system. A little research pointed me in the direction of replacing the thermistor, which controls the preset temperature, as a simple and relatively inexpensive first action to see if there is an improvement.

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Wheel Assembly Replacement...a bit of a job

What started out as a straight forward replacement and repacking of the bearings, soon turned into a far larger job. This became immediately apparent as soon as I laid my eyes on the inside surfaces of the drum. Before I go any further, please take a moment and read my little disclaimer.

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Propane Pony Tank

Propane Pony Tank

Last summer was real hot. Great weather for the beach, but definitely hard on the propane consumption when boondocking. I've been pondering a dual propane tank setup for the longest time, but really did not want to go with the traditional steel 20 pounders. Composite tanks seemed to be an interesting option, so I looked that for a while. A number of fellow Altoistes run a dual tank setup, either traditional or composite, but I was still not certain the path to take. If it was to be dual, then composite seemed the best choice. Viking Cylinders make a nice range of composite tanks, but they are not cheap, and I was a little concerned by what seemed to be a continual lack of stock on their web site. So I crunched the numbers...volume,tank weights, costs, and then made a few decisions.

I ruled out a dual 20lb steel tank setup, so that left the 17lb composites, or perhaps a configuration of a 20lb steel and a smaller 5 lb pony tank. I refer to the little ones as pony tanks, a term used a lot in the scuba world. The pony tank would give us a few days reserve while we looked for a spot to fill up the 20lb tank when it ran dry. Looking at the numbers between the two options, the composites certainly provided more capacity, at the same weight, then a 20/5 tank setup. What ultimately swayed the debate was a combination of our camping style, and the overall cost investment. We can perhaps sacrifice the reduced capacity against the additional trips needed to fill our main tank a little more often. As well, not only is the initial conversion cost much greater with composite, it will be the same situation when the tanks expire.

Decisions out of the way, I found a nice little bracket to mount the tank to the deck of the tongue, tied in nicely with the existing bike rack, and well within reach of the main hose line when the need arises.

old world bracket craftsmanship

A home crafted cover was needed to complete the job. After coming up with a design, then consulting a few You Tube tutorials, I pulled out the sewing machine and went to work. I soon discovered that sewing in tight circles is much harder than straight lines. After a few broken needles and some trial and error, we ended up with a nice looking little tank cover.

At the moment we do not run our BBQ off the main tank, so I suspect this pony tank will for the time being, serve only as a reserve tank. Only goes to show that once again, there are always options out there to best suit everyones individual needs.

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looking for a little breeze...

So it is a Sunday afternoon and I have just finished a little outside repair on the house. I've got an assortment of tools in my bucket, including my drill and bits, so naturally, I'm wondering if there is anything else that needs to be done...and naturally, my gaze fell upon the Alto.

We were sitting at Sandbanks this summer, soaking up a beautiful, although stinking hot day, when it struck me that there was really not a lot of natural air circulation in our Alto. This can be helped by running the fan, but glancing around at the screened openings, it is pretty limited. This is certainly the case when compared to the 1743 model, which has very large opening on all sides, so the breezes must be wonderful. Our particular vintage also has the original metal back window, that incorporates a narrow screened band at the bottom, rather than the newer plastic window that can be opened to expose a large ventilation area.

While I was sitting at the front table, sweating, I started to look closely at the screened part of the door, wondering how to increase that surface area. As we have Barley with us, we still need the option to make sure he stays indoors, which means the door must be closed. This sort of precludes the full screen door mods that are out there, as I know Barley could blow right through those if his desire was strong enough.  At times we have been putting him on his leash and opening the door, but as a rule, it is usually closed. Not many options to do anything that would yield a big improvement, but I did notice a possibility for a minor change.

Our window slides open and is held in place by a plastic clip, which is attached to an aluminum cross bar. There did not seem to be any reason why the window would not slide open a little higher, based on the frame design. The limiting factor is when the frame starts to curve at the top. The cross bar is held in place by two small rivets, which are easily drilled out. I also pondered whether this cross bar contributed to the structural integrity of the window itself, and I came to the conclusion that it did not. There is a joint to the track part of the window frame, slightly below the cross bar, but it has its own linking plate. 

note the position of the cross bar and the amount of glass covering the screen

As this bar will be moving up into the area where the window frame starts to curve around the top, this means that the bar itself needs to be modified. Doing this then negates any possibility of reversing the mod, should it not work, or worse yet, if I screw up the measurements. Given the vintage of the window, and that they are no longer even made like this, if I did screw up, I strongly suspect there would no way that SC could bail you out with a new piece. One must remember this before starting a mod. Always have a Plan B in mind to fix a mod that might not work, or goes horribly off the rails.

I carefully drilled the rivets, and off came the bar.  The window was raised to almost its maximum height, and the bar was marked for its new location on the frame. A small piece was cut off each end to fit the curve of the frame, then new holes drilled for the rivets. A quick install of the rivets, and we were good to go. I applied a bit of black paint here and there, and other than the old rivet holes that are now visible, it certainly looks like this is the way it came out of the factory.

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A few winter Alto projects

While I was under the Alto last spring trying to figure out how to lower the spare tire to check its pressure, I could not help but to look at the underside of the Alto from this new perspective. I mean, just how often are you really down there crawling around? My gaze soon fell upon the connections for the propane piping. In this small area, the connections branch off to the cooktop and fridge, then travel on to the water heater and furnace branches. Jutting out from the smooth underbelly of the Alto, they seemed a little exposed to the road elements. Naturally, my mind wondered if there was a little project to be found here...and there was.

Generally during our closing up weekend, I put together a little list of potential Alto projects to work on over the winter. Most never make it off the list, but some definitely do. I remembered the propane connections, and thought that a stone shield, made from thin aluminum, might offer a little protection from road dirt and grime. As well there is the unmeasurably small chance that a stray rock would find its way towards these connections. Of course, how to bend such a piece of aluminum stock became yet another little project.

I have no problem sourcing sheet stock aluminum, as long ago I found a great place for this. I did though, have no way to bend it nicely. The place I source from can only cut, as they have no bending brake. Several attempts to experiment with bending stock resulted in some rather crude distorted pieces. A little You tube research revealed that I was far from alone with this dilemma, and a number of homemade bending brake solutions were soon being viewed. From a collection of videos, I formed my own plan to build myself a little bending brake. At this point I imagine that some of you right now are saying to themselves..."Really???"

multiple holes for the clamp bolts allows the clamp pressure to be close to the stock. Brake bolts to the Workmate

angle piece clamps the stock, pulling up in the two handles bends the stock.

The pictures show you how I solved the bending issue, and I will say that it works beyond all expectations!

In no time I was able to bend and create a little stone shield. It was painted the Alto silver, and then installed. It hangs there unbeknownst to all, except perhaps the occasional chipmunk or squirrel.

exposed pipe and fittings

nicely protected

I also took the opportunity to fashion a little bracket for the new Trimetric monitor. It would have mounted easily flat to the bulkhead under the front table, but I had the sense that it would be easier to use and view if it was slightly tilted up from the bottom. A little measuring and bending…voila!

Last fall while pulling out the door step I heard that distinctive sound of something just not right. Peering under the step revealed that one of the plastic stops had cracked apart. On our production version, there are 3 plastic stops, when working with a band of flexible plastic(?), holds the door step in either an open or closed position. The stops that prevent the door from being pulled completely out had deteriorated to the point of cracking when impacted by the step.

Closer examination revealed that an unusually cheap hollow square plastic tube had been used to create these stops. I was a little surprised at this, given that SC makes prolific use of UHMW for a variety Alto fabrications, and scraps from this other work would be perfect. So I found a scrap piece at my favourite plastic supplier, cut a couple of new stops and installed them. Good as new...well actually, better than new.

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Checking the Spare

I knew it was under there, but for some reason, had never really explored how it was attached. It was on my list this spring to check the pressure in the spare, and figure out how it was hanging there, two things that would make a roadside flat a little easier to cope with.

Pretty simple hanger mechanism that Safari Condo has created. A threaded rod runs through the centre opening of the rim, and turned onto this rod is a 1x1 block of UHMW, which is the black plastic material you see used to make assorted pieces throughout the Alto. This piece screws onto the threaded rod, and either raises or lowers the spare. Centering the rim is a brilliant piece of engineering...a hockey puck! Yup, a puck. Now how ingenious is that.

the puck...more than just for scoring goals.

The rod is long enough that if you unscrew the block almost all the way, the spare will hang just low enough to get at the valve. Checked it with my gauge, and sure enough, it was down to 20lbs pressure. Not surprising as it has not been checked for over 5 years. Filled it up using the bicycle pump, then raised it back into place. Now that I know how easy it is to check and fill, I think it will become a regular spring check.

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Front Stabilizers

There is now an option on the Altos for the addition of front stabilizer jacks. I took a number of photos of the installation at the last RV show, and I knew I would be able to retrofit them to ours. I ordered the same jacks online, and headed over to my favourite metal supply store to find some stock to create the mounting plates I needed. This store is a great spot, and I have been there many times. They have a large section of scrap material which you can just hunt through all sorts of various pieces to find just what you need. I needed to make a couple of flat pates and a couple of angled plates for the jacks to be bolted to.

The plates are riveted to the underside of  the trailer, and the angle bracket is glued to the frame, as there is no drilling of the frame allowed. The glue recommended by the factory is automobile windshield adhesive. I was a bit intrigued when I heard this, but found out it is a very durable glue that is strong, yet remains a little flexible. Makes sense, given how it is used. Once the plates were in place, the holes were drilled for the bolts and the jacks installed.

These are more convienient to use. We were using a couple of screw jack stands under the frame, which did work well, but this is a better solution. We do use a couple of Lynx Levelors, which prevents the arm from sinking into the ground. 

the jacks in use. they make a huge difference from not using anything at all

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A few changes to the trunk

We noticed right away that after travelling, some object that normally resides in the trunk, will inevitably make its way into the living area upon arrival. This is not surprising, given that the Alto can bounce around a bit, and the only divider between the two areas is a small fabric curtain. Having lots of extra coroplast from other little mods, I decided to create a better divider.

I cut a double layer of coroplast to size, and velcro'd it to the existing frame. Much better. You will also notice that I created a small wing piece which is attached to the front curve of the Alto.  The power converter and connections are right behind it, so I figured a little extra protection would not hurt. The industrial strength velcro is a great product...super sticky and the velcro holds real well.

These little LED puck lights are awesome. They stick anywhere and the batteries seem to last forever. The trunk needed a little light, and this fit the bill perfectly.

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A little extra engineering

We decided to beef up the centre of the bench frame by adding a square tube cross brace. When pulling across the curtains, there is weight put right in the centre of the bench, quite often. So we put in the cross brace. Over engineering yes...why...because I can.

One thing we noticed was that bins placed in the storage areas under the bench seats, while on the road, had a tendency to wander to the back of the trailer, under the fold down rear bench.  To prevent this, I added some angle aluminum, riveted to the vertical risers, stopping any of the storage bins from getting back under the rear bench.  Other than the contortions to work in that space, a pretty easy mod.

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A bunch of little projects

I added  number of zip ties to the wiring harnesses throughout the Alto...not that there was a problem, but I guess I just prefer it all to be a little more organized.

I found the original hole in the weight distribution hitch bar caused the ball to sit quite far from the bumper. As it is optimum to have the ball as close as possible to the vehicle, the new hole allowed it to be about 2 inches closer.

Our optional external shower had a hose that was too short and very stiff. We got a longer and more flexible extension. Seems they are a universal fit.

We found the screen was always coming off on one side. I changed the velcro to a stronger industrial version, but this only improved it slightly. The reason it is happening at all is that the screen is kinda twisted...I suspect a function of how it was formed into shape. I used nylon cable retainers, upside down to hold the screen in place. as per the photo. works great, and an easy fix.

We doubled up all the existing pieces of coroplast in the trailer. As a single layer they are no that strong, especially when cloths or food storage bins are pressing up against them. For the cost of a 4x8 sheet of coroplast ($10 bucks) we glued an extra layer to everything, and had lots left over for all sorts of other uses. No weight cost either.

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