Buying the parts to perform repairs/upgrades to the Winne was only the first step. So after Peggy and I had our late morning breakfast at Cracker Barrel yesterday - we stopped by the local Home Depot to pick up some additional parts necessary for installation and upon our return to the rig - I went to work.
First came the new battery. That one was pretty easy. Just open the compartment under the stairs, lift in the 50 lb battery, and hook up the cables. Check that one off the list.
Then for the new "Surge Guard." This one was not so easy. First I had to prep the new hook up wire and install to the load side of the Surge Guard. That step was not all that bad except that #6 wire is pretty stiff and a bit tough to work with. Then I had to disconnect shore power to the rig and then disconnect the shore power cable from the Power Source Transfer Switch located in the outdoor electrical compartment. Here's where it gets difficult.
Not that it was all that difficult to unscrew some connectors inside the transfer switch box - install the new Surge Guard - and then attach the shore power cord to the new gadget ... but you have to "stand" on your knees while reaching in to the electrical compartment to loosen and then tighten the correct screws. Now this would not have slowed me down at all when I was 20 years old, would have been just an inconvenience when I was 30 years old, would have been a little tough on the knees when I was 40 years old, and would have been a real pain in the a** at age 50. At age 50-ten it was a pain in the knees-back-neck-thighs and that pain lasted all night, most of the morning, and still lingers this evening!!
So I managed to get it installed and it works as advertised. After a much deserved martini break - I moved on to the generator fuel filter repair. This only took a few minutes of laying on the ground my back - a welcome relief from "standing" on my knees for a few hours.
So that's what I did on my vacation (weekend off) - how about you?
I certainly can't beat that! Just think of yourself as a very talented man able to do great things without paying $100 + per hour for labor.....does that make you feel better???
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I hope those aches and pains have worn off by now.
Mike & Gerri (happytrails)
Awww Shucks, I wasn't there to help you. You know you could have added a switch so that when it is down you're on shore power and when it is up you could be on inverter power - oh wait minute, you did that already!!! Anyway, congrats on having all your electronics protected, now you can sleep well at night. My back aches just reading about it though.
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