Well it's not all fun and games all the time. One thing about driving a 45 year old motorhome, there is always something to fix. As mentioned on the ride back from the last trip, the muffler blew out and it was basically running an open header.
No way it could stay that way. The problem was, I have a custom exhaust set up. I like the way it is routed and wanted to keep it. The other thing was finding someone to work on it. Sure I could put it up in my driveway and crawl under it.....but it being custom, I don't have anyway to custom bend exhaust pipes.
The rig weighs about 10,000 pounds and is longer than your average vehicle, so it needs a heavier duty lift. I contacted a few friends for leads and posted on my local cars and coffee group and got a couple of recommendations. One was too far so I went by a local (5 min away) shop and he was pretty busy and told me to bring it by in a week. I called the other one and took it over last Saturday morning. He looked it over and wrote me up some pricing and scheduled it for this week. We have a trip coming up in just over a week, so I needed to get it done before then.
I dropped it off Tuesday after work and it was done the next day. I highly recommend Cosmos Muffler House! Super friendly, high quality work at a fair price. Honestly couldn't be happier (unless it cost less, but they gotta make a living!) So here are before and after shots.
Old shot from 2017 with original exhaust as I bought it. The tips stuck out past the wheels and I curbed them once or twice.
New and improved! Much more subtle and I won't curb these chrome tips! Used a new wax on it and it looks really good. If it holds up well I will do a future blog on it.
Close up of the new tips. Going to have to paint the frame rail!
3 inch mufflers and pipes are overkill as the Header collector is only 2.5 inch, so no performance gain with the bigger pipe as they are true duals.
I lost the other chrome tip on I-75 in downtown Atlanta.
So much neater and cleaner. I can only dream of making welds like that!
The old 3 inch set up. This is from the passenger side and the one that blew out. Half of the top of this muffler was gone. That shiny thing is one of the torsion bars. It was a tough shot as it was parked up the side yard so barely enough room to lay down to look.
Better shot of the new setup, you can see both mufflers here
Wide angle shot showing the whole exhaust except the tips and the headers, both out of frame on either side of the picture. He did a really nice job tucking it up in there. Those hoses are OE and used the engine coolant to heat the onboard water tank while you drive, so you have a hot tank of water when you arrived at the campsite. Pretty smart I thought. Long ago disconnected and I haven't even started on the house plumbing issues yet.
Time to start prepping for the next run to Lake Griffin State Park.
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