Prospecting Dreams.... and lots of hard labor

[Doitlaynstyle]

For a little over year now my dream has been to have my own RV, a little spot to dig with cool water flowing nearby, and the equipment to process that dirt that I dig. I finally have all of that ready. In January I bought a 30' Tiffin Alegro Motorhome for $1200.00 (Your thinking that’s cheap huh? Wait till you read further down) Since then I have been Busy as heck between sneaking out to find a little Gold (we've found almost 10 grams so far this year), Working full time as a manufacturing engineer, and rebuilding the big rolling turd.

As most have seen through my Gold sluicebox progression - YouTube I have built, tested, and tweaked my equipment over this last winter and I have to thank a good many of the members of this forum for your tips and advice. Because of the awesome people in the NGPAA and the club membership I have found several good places to dig. So that covers two of my goals and that leaves the RV that I really haven’t talked about very much on the forum here and the list of chores I completed on her since January and honestly I don’t remember what order I did these in...
1. Fix the aux tank fuel fill nozzle
2. Fix the driver’s door
3. Tune up on the 454
4. Fix the aux tank vent port
5. Reconnect and repair the fuel line to the Onan 4.0 Generator
6. Repair the bad ground on the main/aux fuel tank switching valve
7. Reconnect the fuel lines to the switching valve (old owner hooked the main tank up direct to the engine and left the return line hooked up to the aux tank so fuel was overflowing out of the aux tank while driving)
8. Repair the font area curtain rail
9. Cut a new table top (the old one was too small to complete the bench bed)
10. Repair the kitchen sink drain (freeze crack)
11. Repair the bathroom water shut off valve (freeze crack)
12. Tie the bathroom sink into the hot water line
13. Replace the bathroom faucet
14. Reconnect the hot water line to the shower
15. Replace the overhead vent in the shower
16. Replace the mattress in the master
17. Cover the master bed boards in cloth to protect the new mattress
18. Fix the headlights
19. Fix the dash gauges
20. Fix the air horn
21. Fix the lighter socket
22. Fix multiple 12v connections (looked fishy swimming around under the dash)
23. Replace the stereo
24. Add speakers
25. Install new curtain rods
26. Fix the trim around the floor
27. Remove the loose roof rack (old owner hit something and tore a huge hole in the roof)
28. Cap the holes and reseal the roof
29. Remove the old TV antenna
30. Cap and seal the antenna penetration
31. Move the old starting battery to the rear and tied into the generator and main 12v supply bank
32. Repair corroded connections to the main battery bank which fixed the following issues
a. Water pump working again
b. Propane tank valve opening again and all appliances working again
c. Lights working again
d. Gauges for the holding tanks working again
33. Rebuilt the main storage compartment and reinforced it to carry 500lbs more weight
34. Built 2- 72 cell solar panels putting out 130-150 watts each at 18 volt
35. Mounted the solar panels on hinges to the roof (adjustable to catch sun)
36. Installed four - 100AH deep cycle AGM batteries
37. Installed a 30 amp digital charge controller to keep the solar bank properly charged
38. Installed a 5,000watt/10,000watt peak power inverter (this makes the RV completely off grid. I no longer need to have propane appliances and I will be replacing them over the next year)
39. Replaced the starting battery with an 1100 CCA battery
40. Installed two solar 7Amp charge controllers to keep the starting battery properly charged
41. Repaired the 120volt (house power) system
42. Installed a generator isolating switch (there was a common to ground fault in the generator windings)
43. Removed the old propane water heater
44. Replaced the water heater with new 6 gallon electric water heater
45. Wired in the new water heater with a 30amp on/off switch (light switch style with stainless cover)
46. Plumbed in the new water heater (old owner had it disconnected and I don’t know why)
47. Installed spice racks

So with all of that completed I am finally ready to go out on our first extended prospecting trip and if this thing works out I might just drive this old girl on up to Alaska next year and do some prospecting up that way for like six or more weeks. Stay tuned to my YouTube channel doitlaynstyle's channel - YouTube for a video log of our trip that starts this upcoming Tuesday when I get off work and doesn’t end until next Tuesday when I have to be back at work. Hopefully I will be able to show you some good gold!!!

 

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[Jeff95531]

You've worked hard, spent hard and deserve nice chunky gold. Be safe, happy hunting and good luck!

 

[Island_Hunter]

Sounds like you covered everything, right down to the spice rack! I'm looking forward to seeing it on your channel.

 

[khpony]

You've been hard at work. Hopefully you'll find enough gold to pay for all the work! Good luck and HH!!

 

[wa-au-nut]

You done a lot of work on your coach. Sounds like my to do list. I bought a 90 33' Holiday Rambler Monitor last July. Didn't make it 2 miles, Thank God for AAA Plus Towing. Pulled the fuel tank and replaced to pump assembly and made it about 30 miles(ford 460). Pulled the tank again and cleaned it and made it 20 miles. Still havn't got it going. Or started fixing the other stuff thats wrong. But I got it for a good price even if I have to put a new motor in it. Coach is in great shape, NEVER had a leak!! Someday I'll get to go Prospecting in it!

 

[Doitlaynstyle]

I Hope everyone had a fantastic Fathers Day Weekend! So our main goal this weekend was to have fun (and we did) and to get the RV loaded up for the trip. It is now stocked with all of the dishes, food and things needed for camping and we installed all new curtains on those new curtain rods!! Momma is going to be pre-cooking some foods today for freezing and she is also making us some delicious homemade turkey jerky in the dehydrator which will be done just in time to bag it and leave. We are leaving tomorrow right after I get off work and it is off to the hills for 5-6 days of prospecting. We still haven't decided whether to come back Sunday or Monday. I went to start her up just to warm the engine a little and there was no juice so I rewired the solar charging system to include charging the new starting battery and one day later she has a full charge. Have you ever heard a 454 crank over like it was a 4 banger with no spark plugs in it? I didn't think it was possible either but WOW that battery rocks the show LOL.

 

[Hoser John]

Party on and err on the side a caution with unknown rigs in dangerous situations-John

 

[Jeff95531]

Have fun and keep driving if you see this guy

 

[Doitlaynstyle]

Have fun and keep driving if you see this guy View attachment 815149

HAHAHA. Not planning on stopping in at Wally World

 

[Doitlaynstyle]

 

[Aurabbit79er]

For a little over year now my dream has been to have my own RV, a little spot to dig with cool water flowing nearby, and the equipment to process that dirt that I dig. I finally have all of that ready. In January I bought a 30' Tiffin Alegro Motorhome for $1200.00 (Your thinking that’s cheap huh? Wait till you read further down) Since then I have been Busy as heck between sneaking out to find a little Gold (we've found almost 10 grams so far this year), Working full time as a manufacturing engineer, and rebuilding the big rolling turd.

As most have seen through my Gold sluicebox progression - YouTube I have built, tested, and tweaked my equipment over this last winter and I have to thank a good many of the members of this forum for your tips and advice. Because of the awesome people in the NGPAA and the club membership I have found several good places to dig. So that covers two of my goals and that leaves the RV that I really haven’t talked about very much on the forum here and the list of chores I completed on her since January and honestly I don’t remember what order I did these in...
1. Fix the aux tank fuel fill nozzle
2. Fix the driver’s door
3. Tune up on the 454
4. Fix the aux tank vent port
5. Reconnect and repair the fuel line to the Onan 4.0 Generator
6. Repair the bad ground on the main/aux fuel tank switching valve
7. Reconnect the fuel lines to the switching valve (old owner hooked the main tank up direct to the engine and left the return line hooked up to the aux tank so fuel was overflowing out of the aux tank while driving)
8. Repair the font area curtain rail
9. Cut a new table top (the old one was too small to complete the bench bed)
10. Repair the kitchen sink drain (freeze crack)
11. Repair the bathroom water shut off valve (freeze crack)
12. Tie the bathroom sink into the hot water line
13. Replace the bathroom faucet
14. Reconnect the hot water line to the shower
15. Replace the overhead vent in the shower
16. Replace the mattress in the master
17. Cover the master bed boards in cloth to protect the new mattress
18. Fix the headlights
19. Fix the dash gauges
20. Fix the air horn
21. Fix the lighter socket
22. Fix multiple 12v connections (looked fishy swimming around under the dash)
23. Replace the stereo
24. Add speakers
25. Install new curtain rods
26. Fix the trim around the floor
27. Remove the loose roof rack (old owner hit something and tore a huge hole in the roof)
28. Cap the holes and reseal the roof
29. Remove the old TV antenna
30. Cap and seal the antenna penetration
31. Move the old starting battery to the rear and tied into the generator and main 12v supply bank
32. Repair corroded connections to the main battery bank which fixed the following issues
a. Water pump working again
b. Propane tank valve opening again and all appliances working again
c. Lights working again
d. Gauges for the holding tanks working again
33. Rebuilt the main storage compartment and reinforced it to carry 500lbs more weight
34. Built 2- 72 cell solar panels putting out 130-150 watts each at 18 volt
35. Mounted the solar panels on hinges to the roof (adjustable to catch sun)
36. Installed four - 100AH deep cycle AGM batteries
37. Installed a 30 amp digital charge controller to keep the solar bank properly charged
38. Installed a 5,000watt/10,000watt peak power inverter (this makes the RV completely off grid. I no longer need to have propane appliances and I will be replacing them over the next year)
39. Replaced the starting battery with an 1100 CCA battery
40. Installed two solar 7Amp charge controllers to keep the starting battery properly charged
41. Repaired the 120volt (house power) system
42. Installed a generator isolating switch (there was a common to ground fault in the generator windings)
43. Removed the old propane water heater
44. Replaced the water heater with new 6 gallon electric water heater
45. Wired in the new water heater with a 30amp on/off switch (light switch style with stainless cover)
46. Plumbed in the new water heater (old owner had it disconnected and I don’t know why)
47. Installed spice racks

So with all of that completed I am finally ready to go out on our first extended prospecting trip and if this thing works out I might just drive this old girl on up to Alaska next year and do some prospecting up that way for like six or more weeks. Stay tuned to my YouTube channel doitlaynstyle's channel - YouTube for a video log of our trip that starts this upcoming Tuesday when I get off work and doesn’t end until next Tuesday when I have to be back at work. Hopefully I will be able to show you some good gold!!!

Yep been there, doing it. Bought my Chevy 79 C-30 truck cab class 'C' RollALong in 2003 for $4,500.00. To date I've put about $12,000.00 into it and I'm converting it to solar/wind DC. Still remodeling the interior I need to put a shower/commode pan in, and reorganize the kitchen. I take it mining when I complete a step. It will never be finished, but when you buy a used RV I guess that's the point. I love it.

 

[Gelmac]

Hey Doitlaynstyle, I admire your efforts to keep things going and doing it by yourself sounds a lot of fun also -not without sweat and tears of course-