Somewhereinusa

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

T-Bolt I must have missed that. I think the best three are Johnson's surplus and Bontagers both in White Pidgeon, MI and Rainbow Variety store.
Rainbow is where I got the good deal on awnings.

My RV surplus store map is here.

RV Surplus stores

It needs some updating.

RV Parts Nation may have gone internet only, they have moved and we thought we had the new address but we couldn't find it.

Rainbow Variety used to be Double D. Not as big, prices are better and sometimes will bargain. He's Amish, closed Sun and Tue.

Johnson's and Bontragers are the biggest depending on what it is pretty good pricing. Both of them are getting more organized, stuff sorted better with better lighting in there warehouses. I've found that as these places get more organized the prices go up. Johnson's is closed Sunday, Bontragers is closed Saturday and open Sunday.

Factory RV Surplus has pretty good inventory, with fair prices although I've never bought much there.

The inventory at all of the places tends to change depending on what you are looking for I may be able to steer you to the right one. Don't expect to visit them all in one day. I'm at the Great Lakes Converted Coaches annual Surplus Rally. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and we only got to about 5 places.

Thanks for putting that nice page together. Great score on the awnings.

I gotta get down there to see what gizmos they got to add to my ride.

[T-Bolt]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

T-Bolt I must have missed that. I think the best three are Johnson's surplus and Bontagers both in White Pidgeon, MI and Rainbow Variety store.
Rainbow is where I got the good deal on awnings.

My RV surplus store map is here.

RV Surplus stores

It needs some updating.

RV Parts Nation may have gone internet only, they have moved and we thought we had the new address but we couldn't find it.

Rainbow Variety used to be Double D. Not as big, prices are better and sometimes will bargain. He's Amish, closed Sun and Tue.

Johnson's and Bontragers are the biggest depending on what it is pretty good pricing. Both of them are getting more organized, stuff sorted better with better lighting in there warehouses. I've found that as these places get more organized the prices go up. Johnson's is closed Sunday, Bontragers is closed Saturday and open Sunday.

Factory RV Surplus has pretty good inventory, with fair prices although I've never bought much there.

The inventory at all of the places tends to change depending on what you are looking for I may be able to steer you to the right one. Don't expect to visit them all in one day. I'm at the Great Lakes Converted Coaches annual Surplus Rally. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and we only got to about 5 places.

Thanks for the great info. Throughout the project I will need a ton of random parts. The first thing I want to do is drive my bus up there and get water and holding tanks. I figure if I have the bus there they might let me check the fit before I purchase. Any advise on the best place for tanks?

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[somewhereinusa]

Thanks for the great info. Throughout the project I will need a ton of random parts. The first thing I want to do is drive my bus up there and get water and holding tanks. I figure if I have the bus there they might let me check the fit before I purchase. Any advise on the best place for tanks?

Bontragers have a quite a few to choose from they are outside on the west side of the westernmost building. I'm sure Johnsons's probably do but I don't remember where they are. Rainbow don't have tanks. Ickes in Montpelier used to have a LOT of tanks, I haven't been there for a few years, They would be the closest to you. You might call them. They also used to have a lot of windows.

[Seriousracer]

Check the south bend criagslist
There are several people buying old inventory out of plants they work at
Reselling on there.

And yes I live smack in the middle of the map.
Anybody needs a roof air let me know. Lol

[somewhereinusa]

I just finished my sound system. I had been wanting to put in an old amp I had to power a bass speaker. Since the new awning has speakers I figured it was about time to redo the mess above the driver seat too.

Here's the radio cabinet which has the amp inside. It has my rear camera screen, XM receiver and new to me radio receiver. The new receiver has usb on front to play my books, also has bluetooth if I ever decide to pair with phone.



I recently got a new toy. It's a hand held CNC router. What better project than a grill for my speaker. This started out as what was left after I sold some walnut trees. (they leave a lot) I cut a piece with my chainsaw into a usable size that I could get into my bandsaw, cut the boards then plained, then edge glued a few together with some tenons.



The panel for the radio cabinet was also cut with the new toy.

[johnbloem1974]

Wow! That's looks amazing!

[Gustav]

Very impressive!!

[plfking]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

What better project than a grill for my speaker. This started out as what was left after I sold some walnut trees.

Great choices on both the design and the wood species.....that looks fantastic.

[cadillackid]

fantastic on that router!!! I wondered if youd gotten it and how it works.. looks like its a winner!!!
-Christopher

[PNW_Steve]

Hand held CNC?

Tell us more?

[somewhereinusa]

https://shapertools.com
It is pretty cool. Still learning.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

https://shapertools.com
It is pretty cool. Still learning.

I'm guessing that wasn't cheap.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by Twigg

I'm guessing that wasn't cheap.

Neat tool, runs around $2K

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

The panel for the radio cabinet was also cut with the new toy.

Um, not to piss on your parade (that is very awesome) but what happens the first time you kick it, bump it with a knee, butt, whatever? If that is wood only, I would suggest making a close match out of metal to put behind it. Doesn't have to be exact by any means but at least the bottom bar and vertical thru the "&" as best as possible.

[dan-fox]

I saw/test drove one of those routers at a woodworking tool show a couple of months back. Way cool idea, and a good design! IIRC it started out as a Kickstarter project.

[cadillackid]

do you have to drill holes in certain parts of the project? or does it have a plunge bit on it?
-Christopher

[somewhereinusa]

It does everything. I even used it to make the four screw holes. Biggest thing is you can't do the whole depth in one pass. This is 1/2 inch thick so with a 1/8 inch bit four passes. Then a couple more with 1/16 bit to make the inside corner's sharper. It's a limitation of the bit not the machine.

[Twigg]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

It does everything. I even used it to make the four screw holes. Biggest thing is you can't do the whole depth in one pass. This is 1/2 inch thick so with a 1/8 inch bit four passes. Then a couple more with 1/16 bit to make the inside corner's sharper. It's a limitation of the bit not the machine.

I can see tidying up corners with a chisel.

[Brewerbob]

Originally Posted by somewhereinusa

It does everything. I even used it to make the four screw holes. Biggest thing is you can't do the whole depth in one pass. This is 1/2 inch thick so with a 1/8 inch bit four passes. Then a couple more with 1/16 bit to make the inside corner's sharper. It's a limitation of the bit not the machine.

Finally got enough connection to watch the videos. Pretty nice little toy. it cannot be cheap.

[somewhereinusa]

About a month ago I tore into the cooling system looking for a couple of pesky very small coolant leaks. I am happy to say that I have eliminated all leaks. Coolant level never leaves the sight glass. I replaced the radiator and all hoses.

While I had it out I also had the CAC tested. It was leaking badly so I replaced it and it's hoses as well. I was told "you will have more power and fuel mileage will go up" I can't say much about the power but, in three fill ups, my mileage has improved by about 1 mpg.

So assuming that I drive 5000 miles a year that savings will pay for the entire project in about 3 years. Those of you who are chasing mpg I would recommend getting your CAC checked. Any truck repair shop worth it's salt can do the check without removing it. Those savings figures would pay for the CAC by itself, in one year not counting labor.

In the case of my rear engine Bluebird the CAC and radiator had to come out as an assembly. Not particularly hard but, it is heavy. I think most front engine buses it would come easier.

Dick