Saturday, September 25, 2010

No more foggy windshields


From Moab, UT

Last time we were in Nacogdoches, TX I walked through every Foretravel on the factory lot. You know how it is, you want to see what other models look like. Maybe pick up an idea or two.

I saw a coach that had two six-inch chrome fans attached to the underside of the front TV.  Ding, ding, ding. I liked that. When we travel on chilly, rainy days we have had some fogging of the windshield. This is never good and our windshield defrosters just are not up to the task. So I said to myself: just how hard could this be?

With the input from the Foretravel ForeForums I found a pair of fans I liked on eBay and bought them. When we were in Montana, my cousin, Jerry McDonald and I located a 12 volt supply up near the TV (thanks to a good suggestion from  Foretravel friend Gary Omel) that was not too difficult to access. So now I had two sets of wires hanging down from the TV cabinet.

A few days later I made an attempt to attached the fans underneath the TV. What an impossible job that was. With little clearance to use a screwdriver, little space to tuck extra wire and two wire nuts into the shallow base of the fans I could not get the fans attached.

After thinking about the “problem” for a day or two I reasoned that if I could get a disc of walnut to use as a mounting block that in the comfort of an outdoor picnic bench workshop I could attach the fans to disc and then run two screws up into the mounting disc to secure the whole assembly to the TV cabinet.

I turned to ForeForums to find some walnut discs. A Foretravel owner in Texas made two discs of walnut for me.

When we arrived in Moab, the discs were waiting for me at the post office.

The installation process was still not a piece of cake. Sandy is an excellent assistant (although there was some grumbling about having to work on a Saturday). To make the attachment of the discs of walnut to the TV easier, I made a paper template for use in drilling my two holes in which I would run the brass screws to attach the fan assemblies. Ding, ding, ding. It worked.
This project demonstrates to me just how an valuable it is to have the resources of other Foretravel owners. 

Stay tuned

1 comment:

  1. Nice job!! That should make a big difference!!

    Mike & Gerri (happytrails)

    ReplyDelete