Dad was on his way up from Florida around the same time I was planning on heading back to Georgia to pick up Georgie. So, it worked out just right for him to meet me there and help get Georgie going. I took my tools and a new carburetor rebuild kit and headed down with the Mighty Mouse (that’s what Dad called the truck). We converged at the house at almost the same and got straight to work.
After completing a very quick partial rebuild on the carb, we had to head into town, back to Discount Tire, to figure out why one of the tires was losing air. On the way there, we discovered that our labors were apparently fruitless. It was still doing the same thing. We could only determine that the replacement fuel pump was insufficient. We searched around town, but we couldn’t find a fuel pump anywhere. Again I was stuck for the night in Griffin, GA. Albeit, this time, we stayed in a hotel. That night I searched feverishly and found a source for a fuel pump. It was only a few miles away. We could limp that far in the morning with city speed limits.
Older RV’s, including Georgie, are usually cobbled together with all sorts of different systems and non-OEM parts. The company that made the chassis and engine, was not the same as the coachbuilder. That meant in the case of Georgie, the fuel system was comprised of an aftermarket pump and tank switch, an OEM tank and an additional tank. We got to the parts store, and they pulled the only fuel pump in the store off the shelf and handed it to me. Since we still weren’t sure what was up with the rear tank, we threw the new pump on and left it on the front tank. New fuel filter, new fuel pump, big hopes.
We decided to do a quick test drive before getting on the road, and what a difference! It was actually running like it was supposed to! Tons of power, acceleration and it wasn’t bogging down like it did before. When we did hit the highway, I took it easy on the ramp, but it still got up to speed easily. Then I heard a weird noise. So I yanked it off the road onto the shoulder to check everything out. It was just a loose latch on one of the storage doors. Getting back on the highway was intimidating, though. There was a lot of traffic. I had my chance, a gap in the traffic. I pulled out and nailed it. With that new fuel pump, I was doing 70 mph before I realized it. Now that’s intimidating in a 30 year old motorhome!
It wasn’t all smooth sailing on the way home. We did have to stop and change the fuel filter. The main front fuel tank was apparently very dirty. Despite all the setbacks, we made it home to my house that night safe and sound. The next steps were to get Georgie cleaned up and start the renovations.
Continued in Georgie Part 5 – RV Renovations