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Pntyrmvr · 03-11-2024, 07:11 PM

Getting to our Arizona destination was great. A bit goofy speed wise with the pooched APPS, but liveable.

Next issue the HOA or homeowners' association.

Staying with family is great. This community used to let you park an RV in the main club parking lot while visiting. Not in your host's driveway, but close by. No camping, just parking.

That parking salvation is no more. You apply and can receive a 24 hour RV loading and unloading permit for your host's driveway.

A one week stay means two 24 hour permits and somewhere else for the van for 5 days. Nearest town is 8 miles away.

I pulled in to a repair shop in that nearby town with doors high enough for the Cubicle and booked an oil change for the middle of my stay. I asked the young man if I could drop off the van a few days before the scheduled change and he agreed. The shop is closed Sundays.

So I dropped it off 24 hours later. I checked on it through Saturday and there it sat.

Sunday I went to work. I had pulled all my tools out before dropping it off so I gathered those and pulled the doghouse.

I had received a new Mercedes spec APPS from eBay. A video by some hemi gurus pointed out that Mercedes and Dodge, with the same owners in the early 2000s, used the same APPS. They are available singly for about $60. The Dodge piece is not available from Mopar. It is available as TH456 from Standard/Bluestreak buried inside the box that bolted under the early hemi truck batteries. That box is called a bellcrank. $350 from Rock Auto.

The new Mercedes piece fit perfectly. Size, shape, and bolt holes aligned perfectly.

The plug for the wiring harness was out to lunch. No pig tail wiring repair either. Not a lot of Mercedes sitting in local yards for a connector either.

So off to O'Reilly auto parts to get a TH456 for a truck only built in limited numbers 20 years ago.

Timothy at O'Reilly said he could indeed get one, and could match Rock Auto's price. Only issue was it was in his warehouse and I would have to wait for it.

For 2 stinking... hours!

Credit card in machine. Bellcrank delivered.

Sunday was a great day to install it.

Test drove it while monitoring throttle position and with doghouse off. Worked fine. Sure got hot when radiator cooling fan kicked in. Yikes that thing can really move air.

Oil change next Wednesday. Three more days of "storage", and then on the road again.

24,288 views! Sign up and say hi will ya!

03-11-2024, 07:11 PM	#146
Pntyrmvr Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: GTA Posts: 154	AZ and the fix Getting to our Arizona destination was great. A bit goofy speed wise with the pooched APPS, but liveable. Next issue the HOA or homeowners' association. Staying with family is great. This community used to let you park an RV in the main club parking lot while visiting. Not in your host's driveway, but close by. No camping, just parking. That parking salvation is no more. You apply and can receive a 24 hour RV loading and unloading permit for your host's driveway. A one week stay means two 24 hour permits and somewhere else for the van for 5 days. Nearest town is 8 miles away. I pulled in to a repair shop in that nearby town with doors high enough for the Cubicle and booked an oil change for the middle of my stay. I asked the young man if I could drop off the van a few days before the scheduled change and he agreed. The shop is closed Sundays. So I dropped it off 24 hours later. I checked on it through Saturday and there it sat. Sunday I went to work. I had pulled all my tools out before dropping it off so I gathered those and pulled the doghouse. I had received a new Mercedes spec APPS from eBay. A video by some hemi gurus pointed out that Mercedes and Dodge, with the same owners in the early 2000s, used the same APPS. They are available singly for about $60. The Dodge piece is not available from Mopar. It is available as TH456 from Standard/Bluestreak buried inside the box that bolted under the early hemi truck batteries. That box is called a bellcrank. $350 from Rock Auto. The new Mercedes piece fit perfectly. Size, shape, and bolt holes aligned perfectly. The plug for the wiring harness was out to lunch. No pig tail wiring repair either. Not a lot of Mercedes sitting in local yards for a connector either. So off to O'Reilly auto parts to get a TH456 for a truck only built in limited numbers 20 years ago. Timothy at O'Reilly said he could indeed get one, and could match Rock Auto's price. Only issue was it was in his warehouse and I would have to wait for it. For 2 stinking... hours! Credit card in machine. Bellcrank delivered. Sunday was a great day to install it. Test drove it while monitoring throttle position and with doghouse off. Worked fine. Sure got hot when radiator cooling fan kicked in. Yikes that thing can really move air. Oil change next Wednesday. Three more days of "storage", and then on the road again. 24,288 views! Sign up and say hi will ya!