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Topic: Hair Dryer to the rescue (Read 957 times) previous topic - next topic

Hair Dryer to the rescue

Went to Iowa and HWH but that is another post.  After HWH we went to NW Iowa to visit family.  While I was there we had a freezing rain overnight.  Froze to only one side of the coach due to the wind.  The temps were down to 9 degrees too.  Well yesterday afternoon it hit 28 so I pulled out the extension cord and the dryer and removed the ice from the slides.  Got the ice off but the awning was frozen open.  Had to defrost the metal cover too but decided to put a zip tie around the room awning to make sure it would stay closed.  So, if you hit freezing rain and have your slide out a hair dryer and step ladder will work. 
2025 Wanderbox Outpost 32 on F600 Expedition Motorhome
2015 Born Free Royal Splendor on Ford 550 nonslide version  for sale
Former Coaches  covering. 360,000 miles
1999 34 U270
2000 36 U320
2001 42' double slide U320
2018 Jeep Rubicon

Re: Hair Dryer to the rescue

Reply #1
Just goes to show... where there is a will, there is a way. Foretravel owners seem to have it in spades! :D
Don


Went to Iowa and HWH but that is another post.  After HWH we went to NW Iowa to visit family.  While I was there we had a freezing rain overnight.  Froze to only one side of the coach due to the wind.  The temps were down to 9 degrees too.  Well yesterday afternoon it hit 28 so I pulled out the extension cord and the dryer and removed the ice from the slides.  Got the ice off but the awning was frozen open.  Had to defrost the metal cover too but decided to put a zip tie around the room awning to make sure it would stay closed.  So, if you hit freezing rain and have your slide out a hair dryer and step ladder will work.
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Don & Tys
1999 U270 3602 WTFE #5402
Xtreme Stage 1 w/Headlight, Step Conversion, etc.
2009 Honda Fit Sport with Navi
Freedom is NOT "just another word for nothing left to lose"... with apologies to Kris Kristofferson

Re: Hair Dryer to the rescue

Reply #2
I never use a hair dryer on my head ... but when we were parked at FOT for service last December, there was a somewhat similar situation.  Waking early and getting the coach ready to pull into a bay, Jeff discovered that the utility bay door was frozen shut, and he could not stow the electric cord!  He told me that I was going to have to coil up the frozen, stiff 50 amp cord and run along the side of the coach while he drove uphill to Bay 3.  Ya think???  I told him in gentle language that that scenario was very unlikely to happen.  I decided that feeding the cord into the bedroom and laying it on the bed was a better idea, but the bedroom windows were frozen shut!  Hair dryer to the rescue.  I got the window open, and holding the cord with my elbow out the window ... looking very much like a locomotive engineer ... we drove up the hill and into Bay 3, with some very amused FOT mechanics looking on.  I use the hair dryer to get the worst of the ice out of the freezer during the defrosting process, also.  After many years in the Dairy Queen business dealing with a lot of freezing and refrigeration equipment, I learned that a hair dryer is a valuable tool ... and not just for personal grooming!
Carol & Jeff Savournin
Usta have a '93 U225 36', Usta have a '95 U320 40', Usta have a '02 U320 40'
Usta have a 2006 Born Free, Usta have a 2011 Phoenix Cruiser
Usta have a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited 4dr
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."  Steve Jobs

Re: Hair Dryer to the rescue

Reply #3
Carol is always good for a laugh and a half!  I just want to see you running next to the the coach carrying the 50amp cord as Jeff pulls it around from the FOT campground to the Service bay!  Priceless! 

Tom & Bill

2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Re: Hair Dryer to the rescue

Reply #4
Hooray for hair dryers. They are indeed good for more than drying hair.

We were fleeing blizzards in our 37' DP SOB. We drove on roads covered with ice and snow. The transmission went to "limp mode." Top speed was 25 mph in second gear. We found a highway department supply area and holed up for the night. Called Coach Net and arranged a tow for next day.

Next day was clear and cold. I climbed under the coach and found an electric cable plug that had been pulled from the transmission by the weight of accumulated ice. I used the hair dryer to melt the ice, warm the plug, and warm the socket. Plugged up, tested, and canceled the tow before the truck had left to retrieve us.

Got home and started looking for a coach that would allow us to hunker down until a blizzard had passed. Have a 1997 U295 now. We still carry a hair dryer for drying hair and warming other stuff.
J D Stevens
1997 U295 CAI 36' Build #5085
2002 Subaru Outback
Motorcade 16869
Bellville, TX

Re: Hair Dryer to the rescue

Reply #5
I sat for three days waiting out a blizzard and needed the hair dryer to clear the front window from ice on the inside.  Worked well with a towel underneath the area I was working on.
2025 Wanderbox Outpost 32 on F600 Expedition Motorhome
2015 Born Free Royal Splendor on Ford 550 nonslide version  for sale
Former Coaches  covering. 360,000 miles
1999 34 U270
2000 36 U320
2001 42' double slide U320
2018 Jeep Rubicon

Re: Hair Dryer to the rescue

Reply #6
Hmm.  Maybe we need to upgrade our hairdryer! 
Tom & Bill

2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Re: Hair Dryer to the rescue

Reply #7
Hmm.  Maybe we need to upgrade our hairdryer! 

 :P  :P  :P  Bride had one like that when we married 44 years ago. Yes, it's time to upgrade!
J D Stevens
1997 U295 CAI 36' Build #5085
2002 Subaru Outback
Motorcade 16869
Bellville, TX

Re: Hair Dryer to the rescue

Reply #8
:P  :P  :P  Bride had one like that when we married 44 years ago. Yes, it's time to upgrade!
Hey, your lovely Bride's hair dryer back then WAS an upgrade - this is what I had at that time....  :))
The selected media item is not currently available.Pat Hatfield
2000 U295 3600 #5666 WTFE (sold 1/7/20)
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee
previously: 2003 U295 3610 #6228 (sold 5/29/14)
previously:  2009 Honda CRV (sold 6/9/14)

Re: Hair Dryer to the rescue

Reply #9
Hmm.  Maybe we need to upgrade our hairdryer!

Now THERE'S a visual  :))
Learn every day, but especially from the experiences of others. It's cheaper!  - John C. Bogle

2000 U320 36' non-slide / WildEBeest Rescue
2003 U320

Re: Hair Dryer to the rescue

Reply #10
I think you can warm up Keiser rolls in that thing...can't ya?  :-X
Peter & Beth Martin
No Forrest? What have you done?
MC# 15890 until Dec 2016; FMCA #F329677
Cincinnati, OH

Re: Hair Dryer to the rescue

Reply #11
I use a heat gun, 1250 W.  just watch out for things that melt, like plastic, rubber and your hands.  Keep it moving. have to be careful even on heat shrink tubing as you can over do it real quick.  Also works great for heating parts for installing in zero clearance like a bearing holder etc.

Re: Hair Dryer to the rescue

Reply #12
I thought about getting a heat gun but the hair dryer worked ok...
2025 Wanderbox Outpost 32 on F600 Expedition Motorhome
2015 Born Free Royal Splendor on Ford 550 nonslide version  for sale
Former Coaches  covering. 360,000 miles
1999 34 U270
2000 36 U320
2001 42' double slide U320
2018 Jeep Rubicon