B190 Enthusiasts

Damn.

skater wrote:Well, it's home! We had new tires installed. I had it up just over 55 mph without a major problem.

A few things I've noticed already:
--It stalled and wouldn't restart for a few minutes at the tire place. Probably just bad fuel, but it only took 11 gallons (mostly in the rear tank), which means I have a lot of old gas to run out.
--It spilled some gas on the ground when I was filling the rear tank. Rusted fuel filler pipe?
--Steering seemed a bit loose. Took me a while to get used to it.
--Lots of belt squeal, definitely need to look into that.
--There might have been some pinging, or something rattling, I'm not sure. It was definitely in the front somewhere. If it is pinging, it might have something to do with the fuel.
--Headlight switch was a little funky for me. It might just need some use, though.
--The brake pedal seems a bit low. I plan to check the brakes on all four wheels before we go far.

I got it home and plugged it in to get the coach battery charging. I have the supplies to do an oil change tomorrow; the oil in it could be the same oil I last put in it.

Side note: Why did they ever get rid of foot-pedal high beam switches?!

That's great Skater, how long ago did you sell it?
I own a real nice 1996 and had a problem when fueling as well. It ended up being the fuel filler hose (hard item to find), but my 1996 has a single tank.
I also own a 1997 30' Excella trailer and have both the trailer and the Bvan set-up in a different town, while i am doing a Historical restoration on an old house.
The bvan is on the jobsite for lunch, coffee break and our dog, while the Trailer is at an RV Park. So great to have both and put them to good use.
Best of luck on your restoration.
A picture of the Bvan at the Mansion (Jobsite), which used to be owned by an old car enthusiast

Got a new battery in (Lifeline AGM), only to find it wasn’t working. Now, I watched them test it at the shop and I saw the needle move on the meter so I knew the battery was fine. After tracing some wires with the multimeter, I realized the issue was this little doohickey - it’s an 80 amp circuit breaker, and it has broken its last circuit. It rattles when I shake it.

Fortunately I was able to get one off eBay for $17.50 with free shipping, but it won’t be here until the end of the month. For now I just bypassed it, not a recommended solution by any means!

Klixon CDLA-80 for future reference.



Since I was messing around with wires anyway, I was able to determine which wire went to the coach fuse panel, so I wrote on a piece of purple duct tape with a magic marker and put that on the wire. I want to look into better ways to mark wires so I can label what everything is as i figure it out.

I also got the oil changed. No major surprises there.

A walk through Autozone and a $20 credit helped me buy a new battery tray (plastic), a new negative battery cable (mine has exposed wires), a can of Seafoam, and a pack of Dorman clips for the hood prop. One clip is missing entirely (broke years ago), and the part at the base of the rod is loose, so sooner or later it’ll go Christine on my hands or head!

I sold it in 2011.

Anyone know what color the hot wire is for the propane gauge? Mine is missing, but I found a torn orange wire coming from the cabin near the rear of the propane tank, so I’m wondering if that’s it.

Mine is orange skater 1993.

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190-b-651 wrote:Mine is orange skater 1993.

Thanks. I'm pretty confident that's it, then.

Two failures today.

I wasn't able to get the brake drum off to check the brakes on the right-rear wheel. The manuals say something about a retaining bolt, but I couldn't see/find any such bolt (probably removed years ago). Something was holding the drum, probably the shoes, but I couldn't get the shoes to retract to get it loose. I haven't decided whether I'm going to take it to a shop or bang on it some more...

I also tried to fix the propane gauge, figuring it was an easy one I could tackle. No problem stringing the wire, but it still didn't work (the propane tank is only about half full, so I knew the interior display should read that). Then I noticed that the terminal for the ground wire is broken at the gauge on the tank. I probably need to replace that gauge to get it working. (Huh, flipping around eBay, it looks like that part can be replaced without opening the tank. Hmmmm!)

Edit: I got this as a project vehicle! Definitely more banging is in order.

Bang away, skater! Gotta love anything you can fix with a hammer, a screw driver, and some duct tape. Congrats on the reunion!

Reddeer wrote:Bang away, skater! Gotta love anything you can fix with a hammer, a screw driver, and some duct tape. Congrats on the reunion!

Thanks! I'm going to order a set of drum brake tools. I don't think any are strictly necessary, but they make doing the job that much easier, so why not? Plus, they'll be useful for working on our trailer.

I got the brake tools and the new circuit breaker yesterday! The new breaker does not rattle.

Somehow it is comforting to know that others are in the problem solving and fixing stage.

Since I bought the 1992 B190 with the 50,000 miles on it I have done many things to bring her back to health. Leak in the faucet area of shower caught quickly and fixed(sealed the tub area well). Of course, had to rip carpet off of the floor and dry sub-flooring when the event happened. New Coretec flooring going to be put in soon which will be waterproof and warm to touch.

Nice new long shower hose will allow for the use of shower head outside the camper when the backdoors are open. Which that statement brings to light the fact the back doors would not open after bought the van. The door latch of the main door had broken so that entire door latch unit had to be replaced so the doors would open. The doors had not been open in so long that they were very stiff and creaky. To the rescue was the White Lithium Grease and those doors are so smooth opening now that I often just open them to feel how much benefit one gets from being able to open those doors....

New AC/heat strip put on so should be comfortable.

Couch going to be covered with a more waterproof yet soft material. Really, glad because once it is taken out I will be able to clean well all under that area. Seriously, looking forward to that because unless the entire rig is cleaned and inspected a good night sleep harder.

Ok, now I will wait to hear all of Skater's new discoveries and learn more....

Mountaindent
Its definitely all of us I think my 93 is the same im always finding more or better upgrades besides just general preventive maintenance my list seems to grow about the same rate as completed. You think your finished until the next trip then you find something else lol.

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190-b-651 wrote:Mountaindent
Its definitely all of us I think my 93 is the same im always finding more or better upgrades besides just general preventive maintenance my list seems to grow about the same rate as completed. You think your finished until the next trip then you find something else lol.

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I feel a community when I read this comment. I have this awesome camper van that is 25 years old and irrationally I have an affection for caring for her and bringing her back to total functionality with a little hint of quality accommodations. I have camped in her one time(because of all her appointment getting this and that done) and that was enough to know I am committed to slowly doing things to fix her up. Planning an awesome trip to Colorado and beyond next May. The camper is ambulatory now but, holidays/weather and other trips first with plenty of time to plan the trip and get "B" ready for her big trip. Thanks 190-b-651!

The B190s are all 20-30 years old. It's a 30 year old house plus a 30 year old car, all in one. At some point they're going to need some TLC. That's why we're here.

Today's accomplishments: Fixed the hood prop, replaced the 80 amp breaker (I have some pictures of the inside of the old one if anyone is curious), replaced a battery cable, and used double-sided tape on the fridge door gasket. (That's just meant to get us through until we replace the fridge itself. I need to get the camper level and see if the fridge does get cold or not.)

I also tested out the brake spoon on the drum brake, and it worked perfectly, so my plan tomorrow is to get a look at the condition of the brakes. I'm really hoping the drums aren't a bear to remove.

skater wrote:The B190s are all 20-30 years old. It's a 30 year old house plus a 30 year old car, all in one. At some point they're going to need some TLC. That's why we're here.

Today's accomplishments: Fixed the hood prop, replaced the 80 amp breaker (I have some pictures of the inside of the old one if anyone is curious), replaced a battery cable, and used double-sided tape on the fridge door gasket. (That's just meant to get us through until we replace the fridge itself. I need to get the camper level and see if the fridge does get cold or not.)

I also tested out the brake spoon on the drum brake, and it worked perfectly, so my plan tomorrow is to get a look at the condition of the brakes. I'm really hoping the drums aren't a bear to remove.

On my hood, the little white plastic thing that holds the left side of the" hood holder upper bar" is broken and the bar slips out sometimes and the hood comes crashing down, not on me yet, is that piece still available ?