Atl-atl's K5 Blazer Four Wheel Camper "The Crawlin Cabin" documentation thread!

[Atl-atl]

Alright, grab a few fingers of bourbon, we got a doozy...

ITS ALIIIIIIIVE!!!

The pump is an "on-demand" type pump where it primes itself until it hits a certain load and then shuts off. In theory it can be hot all the time and doesnt need a switch, but I ran a switch to it because I dont want it draining amperage or water if I spring a leak.

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As you can probably tell, the wiring is done HA. I got it 99% done and quickly realized the fuse block was too high to clear the drawer so I had to lower it about 6 inches. Thankfully I was able to scrounge enough slack to do so. Everything cleaned up really well with a little more loom and some electrical tape. I was able to shorten a bunch of wires and it really came together. I ran new wires for the ceiling lights up to where it enters the ceiling at the front lift panel. Unfortunately the front panel is deteriorating pretty badly and in need of replacement. I think the factory wiring was in such bad shape because of this, in addition to just being really old and dry rotted. Im quite happy to have 90% of the wiring in the camper be brand new. The only thing left thats original is from the porch-light switch to the light (inside the back wall) and whats inside the ceiling. Luckily those are two areas that should be relatively undisturbed.

Some incredible patchwork under the mattress in the front drivers corner.

New wires going to the ceiling lights.

I lied, there are wires in the fridge cabinet again.

Done

"tidy"

Initially I had run new soft propane lines to the furnace and stove but I wasnt happy with a rubber line so close to the burners so I ran hard line to the stove and kept the soft line to the furnace.

The countertop is in terrible shape. The old faucet was also much larger than the new one so there is a big hole that needs to be patched until I replace the whole counter. Ill probably just cut a 4"x4" piece of 3/4 ply and screw it into place for now.

LIGHTS!

This flashlight behind the water tank makes me think I need a light underneath the counter...

Smelled a little propane when I fired up the stove so I tightened all the fittings and it seems to have gone away. Ill check again tomorrow but I think its good to go. Just need to put the cabinet face back on and mount the faucet.

 

[ZooMad75]

Nice work. Very rewarding to eliminate the crappy factory wiring they stapled to the inside of everything.

You are dead on for your electrical demands. Just going off of my power/current draw panel I installed on mine, for the week of the trip I used a total of 11 watt/hours of energy. That's using an ARB 50L fridge, LED lighting which was maybe a few minutes a night getting ready to turn in for bed and a couple of 12v usb outlets charging my phone nightly and go pros.

We travel in a similar fashion to you in that we never stay in the same spot back to back. Every night was a new campsite with a days worth of driving/wheeling in between to keep the battery up. According to my power panel monitor, the aux battery voltage was still above 12.3 each morning. That was with the ARB set to hold at 29 degrees too with ambient temps that ranged from 65-95 degrees.

 

[Atl-atl]

Nice work. Very rewarding to eliminate the crappy factory wiring they stapled to the inside of everything.

You are dead on for your electrical demands. Just going off of my power/current draw panel I installed on mine, for the week of the trip I used a total of 11 watt/hours of energy. That's using an ARB 50L fridge, LED lighting which was maybe a few minutes a night getting ready to turn in for bed and a couple of 12v usb outlets charging my phone nightly and go pros.

We travel in a similar fashion to you in that we never stay in the same spot back to back. Every night was a new campsite with a days worth of driving/wheeling in between to keep the battery up. According to my power panel monitor, the aux battery voltage was still above 12.3 each morning. That was with the ARB set to hold at 29 degrees too with ambient temps that ranged from 65-95 degrees.

Glad to hear Im on the right path with the electrical. Its something that has taken me longer than expected to grasp the concept.

 

[Atl-atl]

Well I busted my a$$ last Thursday and Friday night to get the camper put back together so I could hit Flagstaff and I actually got it done hahahaha. Almost looks like nothing has changed.

It was a little bit of a struggle getting up the hill Saturday morning but we made it with only one unplanned stop and with enough time to go for an amazing ride. Also got to use the shower for the first time, I cant express my happiness about the shower. Sorry boys, no pics/vids of that. :P

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Campsite right in the middle of the mountain bike trails.

Relaxing after the ride.

Dinner

And good morning

Rode some more bikes and then STRUGGLED to get home. Left Flagstaff at 2:30pm, immediately vaporlocked 1 mile onto the highway. Stopped to top off the tank and it was strugglebus all the way to Camp Verde. I got off the highway, told my buddy he could split so he didnt have to wait for me and I headed to the most unfortunate of places...WalMart. Picked up some wooden clothes pins(supposedly a secret cure for vaporlock) and a second fire extinguisher because well, things catch on fire easily round these parts.

So I get the idea that since my fan shroud is the incorrect one, maybe its blocking air from getting to the engine to cool it, even though it keeps the coolant cool. So in the parking lot I take off the fan/clutch, remove the shroud, replace the fan/clutch and install my newly purchased wooden clothespins

aaannnddd drumroll........I make it less than two miles :banghead:

At this point its like 5pm and Im literally dying of heat exhaustion. I decide to hit a brewery to cool off and wait for sunset so I walk into "THAT Brewery" in Cottonwood and IT HAS NO AIR CONDITIONING!!!!! How could a brewery in AZ not have AC? This cant be good for the beer. THINK OF THE POOR BEER! So I cruise back to Camp Verde and pull into a picnic site on the shore of the Verde River and literally sit with a bag of ice on my lap for 15 minutes. I walk down by the river and its a solid 20 degrees cooler and humid and it feels amazing. Yes at this moment in time, 83 and humid feels amazing.

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Ok, that was a nice cool off, now the sun is behind the mountains and its cooled off a bunch. Time to hit the road.

Made it another two miles :facepalm:

So I think Ive realized my problem might not actually be vaporlock, at least not entirely. When I bought the truck someone had recently put some money/time/parts into making it run. I dont know what carburetor is on it but it was brand new and I think its a pretty sh*tty one. There is a vacuum controlled solenoid of some sort that seems to control fuel flowing into the carburetor. Well this solenoid sticks when you cruise at highway speeds for more than a mile or two. It has been getting worse but at least Ive figured out that wiggling this solenoid back and forth a few times lets the engine fire right back up after it dies. The problem is you cant cruise at all. If you hold the throttle steady for more than 30 seconds it gets stuck. If you try to vary the throttle input it backfires and bucks and tries to stall. So I limped it home arriving at 1030pm. Yes, it took me 8 hours to go 150 miles. I cant do this anymore, there are some big changes to come.

 

[Wes Harden]

Picture of said solenoid?
The begining of your trip looked amazing, and camper looks great.
We'll get it running no worries there.

 

[Moody Bricker]

I went back to your April 29 pix,I didn't see any solenoid on the carb,so maybe a week pump or low setting in the flote-blow .nice trip at least u got some riding in

 

[Atl-atl]

Picture of said solenoid?
The begining of your trip looked amazing, and camper looks great.
We'll get it running no worries there.

Thanks!

I went back to your April 29 pix,I didn't see any solenoid on the carb,so maybe a week pump or low setting in the flote-blow .nice trip at least u got some riding in

Yes the riding was quite nice.

Solenoid was the wrong word, valve is more accurate. The part that seams to be sticking is the round brass colored valve. When the truck dies this valve is stock in the position you see right now. After it cools off/gets wiggled, I am able to push it in and it slowly retracts. It seems as though its filling with fuel or something. This could be completely wrong but it seems to allow the truck to fire right up when I was able to push the lever/spring into the valve once or twice.

Also something that was happening this time that didnt happen before is backfiring. Id be cruising along, it would start to stumble if I gave it too much throttle, let off and get back on the throttle and it would shoot a flame out the tailpipe. If I pushed the throttle to the floor eventually it would stall out.

 

[Wes Harden]

that valve is the choke pull off. It tries to open the choke by pulling against the the choke stove spring. second job is to unlock the secondary air buttery fly/flap.
So it sounds to me, the truck is running rich. Does the engine ever run with the choke pull off (CPL) in the neutral position, as pictured above ?
If so what position is the air horn choke flap in?
Inspect the vac hose to CPL for splits.

 

[diesel4me]

The thing to the left of to the filter inlet ?---is a choke pull off,it is vacuum operated and if the rubber diaphragm inside it fails,it will not open the choke after a cold start the proper amount..
No gas should be able to get in that device through the vaccuum hose,only way it could was if the carb flooded badly..

The choke thermostat if it has one (looks to be missing ?) is usually a electric or thermal coil spring device that opens the choke once it warms up enough and holds it from closing during normal driving after that..if its been removed ,the choke plate might be closing while your driving ,which will richen up the fuel mix and eventually flood the engine,which could cause a backfire..

You need someone who's good with Q-jets to look that carb over..

 

[Wes Harden]

no choke coil on that 1 Bob is a choke stove, bimetallic spring, on manifold. Same as mine.

 

[diesel4me]

I see it now that I magnified the photo...

My eyes are dying--too much screen time since February is finishing them off..

 

[Wes Harden]

Take care of them eyes Bob, it's all good.

 

[ZooMad75]

Should be a vacuum line to the choke pull off. Can't see it in the pic.

 

[Wes Harden]

It's there. Carb looks like a fresh rebuild, from a carb shop. Always a crap shoot at best.
Air horn looks flat so that's a plus.

I am with Bob, the diaphragm has small tear. Works when full ported vacuum after pushed in, then a highway speed under load the ported vacuum goes low/away and choke pull off extends, but when return to higher ported vacuum can't retract.
Allowing the choke butterfly to flop around and leave the secondary air valves loose.

 

[Atl-atl]

that valve is the choke pull off. It tries to open the choke by pulling against the the choke stove spring. second job is to unlock the secondary air buttery fly/flap.
So it sounds to me, the truck is running rich. Does the engine ever run with the choke pull off (CPL) in the neutral position, as pictured above ?
If so what position is the air horn choke flap in?
Inspect the vac hose to CPL for splits.

The CPL does operate smoothly when pushed in manually and retracts smoothly when let go. A for the position of the CPL, the position its in currently is how it was running when I parked it Sunday night so yes, thats how it had been running. Ill try to mess with it later this evening when it isnt 112 degrees outside. Maybe get a video of it running and tweaking various things to show you guys. Im going to replace all the vacuum lines and check for new leaks that might have developed. There appears to be a similarly shaped valve if you trace the vacuum line back to the distributor. Does that have a specific name? I should check that for function or replace it also.

 

[Wes Harden]

That would be the vacuum advance. It advances the time as the rpm increase.
You can check it with a vacuum pump/ or source, and a timing light.
I question the vacuum line T'd into hose going to vac advance. Where does that go?
Iirc the port being used for advance is manifold vacuum. So when you need to adjust/check the base timing, remove and plug that hose.

 

[Atl-atl]

That would be the vacuum advance. It advances the time as the rpm increase.
You can check it with a vacuum pump/ or source, and a timing light.
I question the vacuum line T'd into hose going to vac advance. Where does that go?
Iirc the port being used for advance is manifold vacuum. So when you need to adjust/check the base timing, remove and plug that hose.

It goes to the thermostat, which has three fittings for vacuum lines. Two of which have a line simply looped onto itself, the 3rd goes to the CTL.

 

[Wes Harden]

yup I suspected as much. you can eliminate that T and run straight to distributor vac advance.

 

[Atl-atl]

yup I suspected as much. you can eliminate that T and run straight to distributor vac advance.

And just cap all three lines on the thermostat?

 

[Wes Harden]

You can remove the vacuum switch and put a pipe plug.
Wait how are you passing Phoenix Nazi smog test?