[VAC] Re: Tankless Water Heaters? and some more information nobody asked for...

[Tuna <rctowns@xxxxxxxxxx>]

This topic seems to come up about once a year... i'm completely sold on the
tankless concept after installing a takagi gas 'flash' (tankless) heater in
my home. this time around, no one's mentioned one salient issue: many (most)
propane-fired tankless heaters are 'not recommended for marine or rv
installation'... clearly a liability concern for manufacturers, and probably
has little correspondence to real-world problems. however, the PrecisionTemp
RV heater is specifically designed for RV/Marine applications. A couple of
people on the list have installed them, but haven't chimed in yet... anyhow,
here's the link: http://www.precisiontemp.com/RV-500Page1.html  : and their
comparison to conventional rv hot water tank systems:
http://www.precisiontemp.com/RV500Compare.html

I've been off-list for awhile, taking care of some family business, but am
now back on the case with the Trailwind and the FrankenJeepsterT... i picked
up this (fairly decrepit) 1948 Airstream 19' Trailwind back in June of 2000,
brought it home to Reno on a flatbed trailer, and began a forensic
examination which resulted in the complete 'gutting' of the thing. It had
(apparently) spent much of its life as a frat-house annex (read 'party
room') at the University of Montana in Kalispell... not only was the floor
severely rotted out, the hot water heater was missing, and the hole in the
floor near its location was charred around the edges. The previous owner
(post frat-house) had replaced the axle prior to towing it to southern
California where i bought it on consignment... damage to the streetside
wheel well suggested a highway blowout which had compromised the gas line...
subsequently causing the hot water heater (just aft of the aforementioned
wheel well) to explode. On the upside, the original Marvel fridge and
Coleman oven/range are in tip-top shape. It was a 'rear-bath' model... an
extremely rare feature on a '48 Airstream. The enameled-steel tub is without
question original equipment, the original zolotone overspray tells the
story.

The plan is to restore it to the original configuration - adding a vintage
Monomatic re-circulating toilet/modern SewerSolution in lieu of blackwater
tank... RV500 tankless hotwater system... distributed graywater/freshwater
systems under the floor using 4" diameter ABS pipe and fittings...
cafe seating/bed in the forward section, with a propane-fired 4000watt Onan
genset under one side of the seating area, and a modified coleman roof A/C
w/heat-strip under the other, dual battery system under the front window -
all vented into the belly pan; FantasticVent fans with the original aluminum
covers, and the original (restored) vent lifters. To get the 'period'
horizontal propane tank, i'm going to install a permanent-mount 'ASME' tank
in the traditional position, and paint it 'aluminum'.

I'm still looking for some boeing surplus composite sandwich floor
material... i'd like to install an electric floor-warming system under a
cork floor, unless someone can convince me that 'you can't do that'.
As you might guess, i'm not planning on doing much 'boondocking' in this
rig, although it's do-able...

The 'FrankenJeepster'T started out as a 1949 Willys-Overland 'Jeepster'
which previously had been re-powered with a Vietnam-era Wagoneer
drive-train, and was pretty much unrestorable as such... so i've put in a
90's 350 tbi V-8 engine, and 700R4 transmission, hot-rod front end and power
steering, and the rear end from a '77 Lincoln Versailles.. beefed up the
frame a bit, and mounted 2" hitch receivers front and rear... Fred Coldwell
steered me toward the Willys/Overland list for a vintage puller for the
Trailwind, and i was immediately hooked by this really really ridiculously
cool car... apart from the modifications, which will not be visible unless
one crawls under the car, or looks under the hood, the car will look almost
original... the previous owner had mounted a grille and hood from a later
Willys Utility wagon in order to get room under the hood for the Buick
V-6... but it still looks remarkably like an original '50/'51 Jeepster.

In case anyone is interested, the Jordan Research Ultima 2020 IS the way to
go for a true proportional trailer brake-controller... after much
effort/expense/experimentation, this is my conclusion. I would love to have
been able to get a hydraulic/electric controller going, but the
complexity-to-payoff ratio is blown away by the Ultima 2020... However,
there is the possibility that the FrankenJeepster's brake system will be
hydraulic/electric, in the end... i scored an early '50's steering
column-mounted Kelsey-Hayes trailer brake controller (like Desi is
struggling with, in 'The Long, Long Trailer'), and someone on this list had
an extra K-H hydraulic controller... so i'm going to see if i can meld these
into the FrankenJeepsterT

However, life has a way of interfering with my projects, so i have no idea
when this RetroRigT will be appearing in/near your town... if i can get up
off my butt and fire up a webpage, i could keep us all better posted with
pics.

Tuna
Reno, NV