Yup, the dreaded AC cover took flight. Dang! :-\ What's a poor boy to do?
Seriously. Where would you suggest getting one? It's a Coleman Mach and I do not need a new one. There must be used ones out there (I hope). If not, I guess it will have to be a new one. I hope it doesn't hurt to run it this weekend (Street Rod Nationals in Louisville) without it. (??)
BTW, will any others fit? I know there are a couple Mach Models.
Thanx a bunch,
Chaz
(this might be a good excuse to buy Willie's Coach, Honeysuckle Rose. ;D LOLOLOLOL)
Dang! Undecided What's a poor boy to do?
A poor boy with your skills would make a new one of metal.
They generally come off because the plastic deteriorates around the screw holes. Make your own, they will last forever.
Chaz-you making a new one sounds like the kind! You could put a bit of your artistry into the cover. Do both-the second one is probably close to being ready to fly off also. Good Luck, TomC
I had to put a new one on my travel trailer last summer, and I found that unbelievably Camping World had the cheapest replacement covers in the area.
Icon Direct (www.icondirect.com (http://www.icondirect.com)) makes heavy duty versions of the air conditioner shrouds that should last longer. A little pricey, but if they last longer it might be worth it. They also sell on Ebay and sometimes the price plus shipping is less on Ebay.
I don't know about used as they may be just as bad as the one you replaced.
Believe me, I'd LOVE to make my own but, I have too many other projects because of my disease (too much creativity). Some things I just got to suck it up and buy. But it would look cool to have a '40 Willy's or '34 Ford miniture as an AC shroud. ::) ;D
I will check out the places recommended and hopefully someone else may have some ideas.
Thanx a bunch,
Chaz
(maybe an alien space ship............ hmmmmmmm) ;)
A '41 Willys was the first car I ever owned. It cost me $10.00 and I drove it for a year. A friend traded me even for a much nicer '41 Chevy and the Willys ended up running around in circles at Seekonk Speedway.
Maybe there a market niche here! Make custom shrouds to match the toad, or whatever.....
Good thinkin Rampey. Or even ones to look like the bus!! :)
That would be a bit of an expense but I guess there are a couple people who own bus's that aren't "bus poor". ;D
Or for the Pro Stock people, a snorkle hood style shroud. ;D
Ya should have kept the Willy's, Len. Probably one of the top 3 most sought after HotRods. Love them damn things!
Chaz
For those that still have their AC shrouds: Since my first motorhome I have been coating the AC shroud with whatever roof coating I have been using when doing that job. The deterioration of the shroud is related to UV exposure. Therefore, coating it will make it last much longer.
On a Coleman most of the time on the 4 hold down bolts on top people use too small of a washer and they rip off go bye -bye over a 100 bucks gone in a hurry plus insurance rates go up when they hit car behind you lol
I have three Coleman 15k airs on my RTS, when I had the bus painted I bought an extra cover and had it painted to match. 12 years later I still have the replacement cover.
There you go Chaz Geoff has a extra shroud lol
Quote from: luvrbus on July 31, 2012, 06:17:55 PM
There you go Chaz Geoff has a extra shroud lol
Ha! It's not for sale, back when I bought the extra shroud, it was white and cost around a $100 bucks. Now it matches my paint job and sits in the attic of my shop ready for replacement on my bus or to get tossed away by my son when I die.
I should take that back-- a few years ago when I told my son my RTS was his when I died, he told me all he would do was sell it on eBay. Now that he 28 years old he is starting to appreciate the RTS and motorhomes in general.
Dang, thought I had one there. ::)
Mine had fender washers on it but it was just too brittle.
Painting is a great idea.
BTW, hwat is that...... um....... "Armorall" like stuff that is supposed to be soooooo good? I want to get some for my licorice donuts. I thought maybe it would be good on plastic as well.
So, for those of us with ancient AC covers that have managed to not fly off yet...
What might we do to them to strengthen them up?
Coatings? Treatments? Reinforcements? Add a retaining strap?
Size of washers under the fasteners?
Mine are getting closer to 30 years old than 20...
happy coaching!
buswarrior
BW, As mentioned earlier, I think that coating is important. They won't last forever, but keeping the UV off of it will sure push the end out. If upon inspection you find that the shrouds are really deteriorating and don't want to replace them, I would guess you could reinforce them with fiberglass. Even the attachment points can be reinforced if need be. There was this 30 or 40 story building in New Orleans that needed the air intake on the roof replaced because it was rotted out. The bids to do the job were very high. Some guy offered to save them a lot of money. He cleaned up what was there and used it as a skeleton for his fiberglass.
I am not an expert on this type of work but would think that one may not even need to use polyester resin to cover an AC shroud; just some webbing and a good thick roof coating.
Anyway, back to the original post. I'm sure I have seen sheet metal AC covers. A shop could certainly do one. I wonder it there are even plans available somewhere on the web.
There were metal replacements a few years back but the powers that be Dometic, Coleman and others put a stop to the guy making those he was selling metal replacements shrouds cheaper that the plastic junk
Quote from: luvrbus on August 01, 2012, 06:40:33 AM
There were metal replacements a few years back but the powers that be Dometic, Coleman and others put a stop to the guy making those he was selling metal replacements shrouds cheaper that the plastic junk
Maybe he refused to move the business off shore so they shut him down. One of the things I absolutely hate to do is wash the roof of my old hoopie. It is a pain, but it has to be done every now and then.
So once a year, I get up there and do a number on it, at the same time, I look at all of the covers and inspect them, this is of course, the time to do it, not after they blow off.Nothing worse than standing at the refrigerator in hot, humid, Houston and saying to yourself, "It sure is bright in here" and then looking up and noticing your roof vent is now long-gone and you have a new square hole and clear view of the summer sky.
That really sucks. We are now officially hotter than you Clifford and have humidity to boot.
BCO
Hi All, on the original subject, Sahara RV & Vegas trailer supply in LV, both have older model shrouds for replacement projects, if your near Las Vegas, even tho they're black, the ABS shrouds seem to last longer in LV then the thinner & lighter PVC like originals, nothing will last as long as the metal replacement. I fabricated a thin strip of aluminum into a piano hinge like strip, slipped it over the bottom of the delicate bottom of the air shroud, put on some fridgid king foam/foil to insulate the top, fastened down with foil tape and I got several more years out of the old shroud. Lvmci...
Hey Chaz, just put one of these on, you go to the races don't ya? It'll look sporty ;) ;D ;D
http://www.vfnfiberglass.com/aeroscoops.htm (http://www.vfnfiberglass.com/aeroscoops.htm)
Yeah, but I like the "cowl" style more than the snorkle. :D :D :D
My replacements came from Camping World about 5 or 6 years ago and seem to be holding up well
Melbo