That Dang Sprinter Sliding Door and Updates

It has been years since I posted here because I've been busy remodeling my house.

Sliding Door
I just got a bunch of maintenance done on my Sprinter Van. In addition to getting all the fluids changed and filters replaced, I asked them to fix my aggravating sliding door. Way back in this post, I did some surgery on my door handle. It worked for awhile, then not. Lots of spraying lube into the locks helped but I've been exiting through the driver's door most of the time. Lately, I've had to open the passenger door and reach around to push the inside slider handle to get it to open from the outside. It was just hopeless from the inside.

The technician at Sun Motors in Mechanicsburg, PA (great shop who really knows Sprinters!!) said the whole lock mechanisms were shot and needed replacing. $600 later and it opens easily. I was really tired of it. Here's what he wrote:

Removed door panel
Manually opened inside, latch not moving enough to open door
Also has cable bad and removed from retaining clip
Rear door roller has failed, dropping the door, therefore misaligned
Cleaned contact points between door and body. 
Took extra time due to cabinets in the way (2 hours)
Replaced front latch, cable and rear latch, got assistance and replaced rear door roller in track, Adjusted and checked. Opens and closes and locks ok

Labor for this was $348. All the parts were $60 for the front door latch/lock, $72 for the rear latch, and $24 for the cable. The new door roller was $99.

So hopefully the door will again be good to use and not a constant aggravation. Not sure I'm up to doing all this repair and I really don't have the time right now to try it, so I bit the bullet and paid for the experts to do it. It was in a lot worse shape than I thought. I don't think I could have fixed the door roller.

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Van Maintenance
When I went to the Sprinterfests at Sun (who no longer hosts them 😢) we got great seminars on the Sprinters from their mechanics. They said that the best thing we can do for the longevity of at least my vintage Sprinter (2005) is change the fluids. With the exception of the slider door, this vehicle hasn't given me any problems at all.  I want to keep it like that. It is now just under 70,000 miles so I thought it was time to get that done. I had the serpentine belt replaced in 2014 which is another thing I just don't want to ever break on me. I have been changing the oil and filter every year myself but I didn't want to tackle changing brake fluid, coolant, or transmission myself. That cost me about $513. I also had them change the filters: fuel, air, AC cabin for $287.

They thought the tires needed rotating so I had them do that, a bit surprised that they said they were ok. They are now 8 years old. But when the tech started putting in air, cracks showed all around the sidewall. So a call and I agreed to new tires. I asked for the same Michelin Defenders I had had on them, tho they are more expensive. They make the van handle nicely and they lasted 8 years before. I was expecting to get new tires soon. So for another $1000, it has new feet. As I drove it out of the lot, it felt really good. I think that good tires are very important as really, they are the only thing between me and the road.

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House Problems: Propane, AC
A couple years ago, my propane would not turn on. Some questions and people say I probably need a new regulator. The last couple of years on my trips, I just did without. I've been camping in campgrounds with electric anyway because it is so hot, I need the AC on. That allows me to use the electric to heat water instead of propane. Not too bad since I was just driving to Colorado and not doing touristy things. I have an old butane burner that I used to heat water for coffee. It worked ok.

Last summer while in Colorado, on the hottest week, over 100F, my AC quit. That was a big problem because the dog and cat needed the cooling on such hot days. The dry air allowed the night temperature to drop nicely so I was still comfortable to sleep. I called all around the area and the soonest I could get any installer was a month out and soonest I could get a unit shipped was a week out. I was headed back before the week was up so I was really stuck. My sister let me put the animals in her basement bath. She is terribly allergic to them but that contained the dander for her and kept them safe. When I headed back home, I lucked out and the humidity and temperature dropped enough to camp comfortably without the AC. Everyone I talked to said that a unit that old would need replacing.

So those are 2 things that I need to get fixed. I think I have found a reliable tech to do it. I could replace the AC myself except they are really heavy. At least I'm not in an emergency situation now.

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Refrigerator
The Isotherm refrigerator that kept dying on me does make a very good cooler. After the warranty running out and the 2nd compressor dying, I gave up on it. I got a small Dometic compressor fridge to get me by and it has worked well enough. It is small but it stays cold. I put a bag of ice in the bottom of the Isotherm and used it for fruit and veggies that don't need reliably cold conditions on our trips.

This year, I bought a replacement Truckfridge that is really the exact same box but with a simple thermostat and no fancy electronic controls. It gets good reviews and I'm hopeful that a simple setup will be reliable like the little Dometic chest is. I'm also going to replace the wires for it in case there are hidden issues with it.

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That should fix all the issues and get the van back in good shape.

Update and Plans
I've nearly finished all the sprucing up and remodeling of my house and it is so much nicer now. I've spent the winter cleaning out the stuff and getting rid of the majority of stuff that has accumulated. Once I get it purged and all cleaned up, I intend to put it up for sale. There are a few things that I'll put into a storage unit but most things are not worth the fees or the cost to move. I'm not sure where I'll end up but I intend to move into the van full time and wander for an undertermined amount of time. I think this will finally be the year I do that.

That is the big push for me to get the van in good shape to last me for a while. It recently became my daily driver because my car needs a head gasket and that costs more than it is worth. I always intended to get rid of the car when I sold the house so that just comes sooner.

The van is lined with cardboard and tarps and I've taken many, many trips to the dump or recycling center, or Habitat for Humanity Restore to clear out the house. With my focus being getting the remodeling done, I've just chucked stuff into the garage or basement to get it out of the way instead of taking the time and energy to clean it out as I go. The nice thing about my van's design, is I can do that and use it to haul stuff.

Reinstall Refrigerator

The outside air for refrigerator ventilation I rigged up really didn't work well due to the very hot summers we have. The fridge is made to use air under 110F. I sealed up the lower vent and insulated the upper vent cavity and put a piece of  vinyl flashing around it.  I used the good aluminum duct tape to secure the insulation better and decided the refrigerator doesn't need extra insulation on the top if I'm using the inside air for ventilation. The current configuration forms a seal at the top of the refrigerator fan on the back and that brings the air under the refrigerator, up the back, thru the fan and over the compressor and out the top.

Refrigerator Compressor Ventilation - The Problem

Note: This ventilation idea was a failure.  It is just too hot in the summers to adequately ventilate with outside air. 
 
My broken thermistor wire problem on my trip this summer dramatically revealed the conditions behind the Isotherm refrigerator in my van.  It was very hot back there.  I used a towel rolled up to block the heat streaming in from it after I opened it up to try to fix it.  I had put insulation all around the refrigerator leaving a hole above the compressor and behind the entire refrigerator open to the upper and lower vents.  I assumed the compressor fan would be sufficient to draw air in and out. Crossing the Great Plains meant very hot conditions in the 90's to over 100F as well as uncomfortable humidity levels.  Added to that was my westward trek meant the refrigerator side of the van had the sun beating down all day as well.

Thermistor Replaced

The new thermistor came for my Isotherm refrigerator.  They sent a 6' phone cord and they had already wired it to a new thermistor, only this time with a nice flat connection protected by a heat shrink tube.  A much better connection that should be able to withstand some knocking about if it should fall again.  My contact said to use a pencil to poke a hole thru the silicon where the coolant tube and wire goes thru and poke it thru.  It was easy enough to get a hole thru but pushing the thermistor thru was not easy.  I ended up using a 1/4" wide piece of vinyl flashing to use as a fish wire poked thru the hole, then taped the thermistor to it to pull it thru.  

Isotherm Refrigerator Saga

I replaced my original 3-way refrigerator last spring with an Isotherm CR130 marine refrigerator.  The old one never worked for more than a few hours and mostly not at all.  I tried everything but to no avail.  After much research, I settled on the Isotherm because of it's excellent reputation for ruggedness, efficiency, and the company standing behind it's products.  It was expensive but I really wanted one that would be reliable and very miserly on the battery usage.

Getting ready to go

I've been moochdocking at my sister's house over the weekend again.  Got the ASU back and a new remote switch from the company for my refrigerator Thursday evening.  He had emailed me that the ASU tested good and that it might be the switch.  I reinstalled it, first trying the original wire, then the replacement wire.  No joy.  For a while, I thought the compressor might be going but not the fan.  That turned out not to be the case.  It is exactly like it was when it failed.  I think it must be the ASU despite their tests.  The electronics box attached to the compressor and wired to a manual switch to turn the compressor on and off works fine and it cools very well including the freezer (a workaround).  I just have to watch the temperature and keep it from freezing and remember to turn it back on when the temp rises.  Not ideal but better than ice in a cooler.  So, after determining it simply does not work Friday, I reinstalled the manual switch and put the fridge back into the cavity and secured it for the ride home.  It started cooling.

Busy, Busy

This has been a really busy stay here in Colorado.  First was the getting ready for the family gathering at my sister's house.  It was fun to see a bunch of the relatives.  Then clean up afterwards.  In the meantime, my brother-in -law found a nice pond to swim my dog and their standard poodle.  We learned that their dog can't swim.  He loves water but is pathetic swimming.  He doesn't use his hind legs and splashes the water with his front legs.  Then when he can reach the ground standing up, he walks out on his hind legs.

Hi-Tailing it to Colorado

Sideling Hill Rest Area, MD

My aim was my sister's house in Colorado for our annual family get-together.  This year is hot, hot, hot across the path between the east coast and Colorado.  And I don't like hot.  Never have.  Not better at this stage of life either, like so many things are. There was a brief respite last week so I hoped for the best.  I had in mind to find public campgrounds in the central US to be able to plug in and have AC overnight at not too much cost.  I still loathe most of the private campgrounds I see.  The sardine can aspect is a real turn off.  There are few amenities that can make up for that in my mind.  Give me land, lots of land, and the starry skies above.  Or at least a little breathing room.

Refrigerator and Batteries

It looks like I can go for 2 days on my batteries with the new refrigerator before having to recharge at 50% discharge (i.e., about 100AH out of my 200AH batteries).  I only used my LED lights but I used the furnace in the morning, water heater and pump for a shower.  It was cool to cold during the weekend and the refrigerator was hard to keep from being too cold.  I kept bumping down the dial because the interior thermometer said 35-36F degrees.  Some of my water froze. In more moderate temps it will probably keep at better temps.  My amp hour usage varied from a low of 1.56AH/hr to 2.68AH/hr, the higher usage corresponding with furnace usage.

A Little Cleaning, A Little Insulating

I cleaned out the new refrigerator after a bit of shopping yesterday morning. and put it all together with the bins and racks in place.  It is ready for use.  I was unable to find a replacement for the thermometer I broke locally so I ordered a few new ones of the right size from Amazon.  What would we do without Amazon?  Seems there is less and less choice in local stores.  Then I put the cabinet doors back on.  I removed them to be able to slide the refrigerator down the aisle.  And on to cleaning out the bath and cab.

I Have a New Refrigerator!

Refrigerator installed with ASU Remote
above it

I finally finished installing my new Isotherm Cruise CR130 refrigerator and it works beautifully.  It is very quiet.  I have to put my ear right up to it to hear the fan/compressor at all.  My van is a huge mess with tons of tools and bits and pieces of insulation, but it is done.  The job was a big one primarily because I found a bunch of rust and rotted plywood that I fixed and replaced.  In addition, I wanted to add as much insulation to the cavity as space would allow to improve the refrigerator's performance.

Test Fit the Refrigerator and Getting ready for the Install

Test fit the new refrigerator

I took the doors off the refrigerator to check the fit.  Even with the door off, it just barely slid by the narrow part of the van aisle.  It just barely gets into the cavity due to the cabinet face trim.  I can recess it a bit over a half inch and still have room for the lock to swivel and the compressor just clears the rear inner wall.  So, the cavity is ready for the actual installation.  

Refrigerator - Delivered

IsoTherm CR130 as delivered

My new refrigerator was delivered before noon today.  That is quite good service, especially considering that I had to specify features requiring it be sent from the distributor in FL instead of the company I bought it from.  In hand less than 1 week from placing the order.  They didn't file the credit card charge until Tuesday.  Defender.com gets a good recommendation from me.

Refrigerator on the move

I got an email from the company that I bought the new refrigerator from yesterday saying that it is shipped!  It could be delivered later this week.  It is coming up from Florida where the manufacturer distributor is.  I was prepared for a long wait but this is rather quick!  Unfortunately because it is on a truck, I don't get a tracking number.  I will just have to wait for the call.

Refrigerator Ordered!

After a busy Fall and Winter working on my house (driveway finished and painting), April is almost here and I remembered that I need to solve my dead refrigerator problem.  To recap, my Dometic 3-way refrigerator never worked properly and pretty much died.  After using the van for 2 substantial trips, I find the requirement to park level to be a lot of trouble.  I'm this van's 3rd owner so I really don't know how it was used before.  The more I thought about it and researched options, the less I wanted to have it run on propane and the heat absorption method.  I've heard it said that when they work, they work well but but when they don't, they are nothing but trouble.  I had the latter.

Pondering Van Electricity

In pondering what to get for a new refrigerator, I used my battery monitor to see how much juice each thing in my van takes.  It is an interesting exercise.  Here are the results:

Refrigerator Blues

Drawer Refrigerator

Last week, I took my 3 way refrigerator (circa 2006) out of my van and did the burping procedure, then tested it. It has no 110V circuit working but the 12V did heat up the back as it is supposed to but I got zero cooling overnight. I think it is dead and not worth trying to repair so it now resides in a corner of my garage until I do something about it. I now have a cavity of 32"x21x23 with no insulation on the van skin and 2 nice vents. For this summer's trip, I think I will go the cooler/ice route but with a better quality cooler than the one I used last summer.