tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208406.post4557441535376237527..comments2024-03-28T08:26:58.108-04:00Comments on Our Odyssey: The free parking shuffleLouisehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06306854459459257368noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208406.post-55438850455189149712010-09-20T17:30:53.519-04:002010-09-20T17:30:53.519-04:00Sean -
Thanks for the in-depth info!
I did s...Sean -<br /><br /> Thanks for the in-depth info!<br /><br /> I did some quick eBay actuator research - there are a number of solutions to the problem out there. I like the elegance of the approach as used on Odyssey - but I'll admit the rarity of the parts would concern me. It sounds like your can-do DIY approach - and a bin of parts - handle the job pretty well.<br /><br /> Thanks for sharing your expertise!Phil L.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208406.post-29298447897493290062010-09-20T12:16:42.600-04:002010-09-20T12:16:42.600-04:00@Phil: When we were converting Odyssey, I purchas...@Phil: When we were converting <i>Odyssey</i>, I purchased a lot of industrial surplus items on eBay, and that's where I got the actuators. They are Thomson Electrac-1 models, which are common in industry, but these specific ones were custom ordered for whatever application they came from -- they were very slightly used when I got them. I only bought three, because that's what I needed.<br /><br />When the first one broke way back in '05, I called Thomson to price out a replacement and it was well north of $600 and would be a bit of a wait as it was a custom item. I immediately contacted the original eBay seller and got lucky -- he still had two left and I bought them both. I think I paid $50 each for the five of them.<br /><br />So, yes, I could get them, but probably I would re-engineer the levelers to use whatever actuators are cheap on eBay whenever that situation arises. As it stands today, I have one complete unused one in the bay, so I am covered for any single failure. I've also saved all the parts from the now twice-broken one, in case the next thing to break is a part that is not yet broken on this one.<br /><br />I am, indeed, concerned that after six+ years, 120,000 miles, and probably 1,000+ operating cycles, all three actuators may be coming to end-of-life. The right front is now the oldest of the three. However, with one new spare plus the old parts, I suspect I can keep these going for another few years yet, possibly the rest of the time we own the bus.Seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17930398671280529448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6208406.post-88954094044984798642010-09-20T11:10:01.659-04:002010-09-20T11:10:01.659-04:00Interesting repair story! Out of curiosity: If you...Interesting repair story! Out of curiosity: If you didn't have the spare actuator, how difficult is it to find a replacement?<br /><br />Any concerns that the actuator on the other side of the bus is ready to fail?Phil L.noreply@blogger.com