Pop Rivets and Screws

Sunday was spent buttoning up some loose ends. The picture above is the furnace opening now closed up with a sheet of aluminum pop riveted and caulked.

Below is the water heater shroud screwed back in place. I used 3/4" RV clay tape between the trailer body and shroud, as the shroud does not lay completely flush against the trailer, so the clay tape fills the void. Later this year when I pull out the front and rear window frames to re-caulk them, I will also use the clay tape. Water does not penetrate it, and it will be easier to finish caulk the seam between window frame and trailer. The clay tape that I took off the shroud from 1964 was still pliable. The floor around the water heater is in really good shape, so the clay tape stood up all those years against the elements, with near zero water leaks.

Below is the new Kitchen Vent cover installed. In comparison I am holding the old brittle, broken and faded original cover. The new vent cover is a little longer, but it still fits in, and I think it looks great. I copied all the original screw holes except the bottom two, accounting for the length difference of the new cover. This vent cover came from Vintage Trailer Supply.

I only placed a small amount of Vulkem (TemPro 635) across the top of the vent for now. I will be removing this vent this summer to polish around it, and then I'll permanently install the vent again when the polishing is done. In the picture below the new stainless screws also stand out. I am using stainless where ever I can to avoid corroded or rusty screws later on.

I also ordered the glass for the front and back windows last Friday. Hopefully it will come in this week. More on that when I install them.

The truck to trailer wiring issue that I have been having since last fall is about to drive me nuts. I wasted the better part of my Sunday morning work hours trying to get the existing wiring to work with the newly installed 7 pin connector. I obviously have an incorrect ground somewhere in the old wiring, but I am going to put the old wiring issue on hold for now. When I pull up the floor and interior walls, I should be visually able to find the problem. For now I am going to run three temporary 14 gauge wires for my turn signals and running lights, and I will hook up my new LED turn/stop lights. I am going to bypass the trailer wiring for now entirely. This weekend I will see if the old brake wiring is good, as I really want to use the brand new brakes that came with the new axle that I had Hart RV install last fall. With the turn signals and possibly the brakes, I will be good to go for the next few months.

Well, I hope to be at it again this weekend. Until next time! -Tim

Plugging some holes, creating others.

Today's blog is a picture based update of the progress I made this past Saturday and Monday. The above picture was in advance of taking out the back window. Note the non-Airstream approved drip cap that cuts off the bottom 1/4 of the nameplate.



The below picture is after I have taken out the back window, removed the drip cap, and then I was attempting to pull off the nameplate. I need to get a heat gun before I proceed any further. I will work on new window glass and gaskets this week. Then I can re-install with new openers.

Below are the parts from the water heater shroud. I decided that I would reuse and store these pieces back in the opening from which they came. Here I had laid out the parts so that I could measure for a small piece of aluminum to block the two holes that allow air and access to the water heater from the outside.

The below shows the shroud installed again, with the new aluminum piece that will covers the access holes. The shroud is held temporarily in with clecos.

From the inside of the shroud the access holes on the left side are more obvious.

A close up of the drip cap that I removed, pre-removal.

The furnace hole is now covered with a new piece of aluminum. I worked on most of this the weekend before, but I finished it this past weekend.

I am now in the process of putting new glass and cleaning up the rear and front window frames. My goal is to be read for installation of the windows again this coming weekend, fixed of course. Brad and I are also headed to Doug's on Staurday to bring home "Holly G", the '57 Brad acquired from Doug a couple of weeks ago. So I plan to work on May on Sunday. Until next time!

Progress, slow but sure.

I managed to get time to work on May this past Saturday and Sunday. I spent almost all of Saturday rebuilding one of the mystery Hehr side windows. I covered these mystery side windows on the Airstream Forum linked here. I appreciate that Mike my winter home landlord gave me a hand. His carpentry background was very helpful avoiding a couple of challenges that I ran into. After multiple trial and error(s), I got the old window gear out and replaced, and the window aligned properly. It now shuts all the way! I bought a new window gear for each of these 5 side windows, and although they all do not need an immediate rebuild, I at least know now how to complete the task. I believe I have one other window to immediately address, so I will address that one next weekend. The rest can wait for when/if the window gear ever fails. Guaranteed that I am replacing the "clutch head screws" with "Phillip's head" screws as I rebuild them. These little buggers set me back time, sweat, money, and four letter words. I also replaced the nylon window slides, which were beyond 46 year old hard and/or broken. I am very glad to have found the parts necessary to fix these side windows. For now one fixed window means I no longer have it hanging open to the elements at all times.

Sunday I spent the day stripping out the three layers of floor tile, and one layer sub-floor that was added by the last PO. I found the original tile, overlay red brick tile from the 70's., a thin plywood subfloor, and finally the tile added just a couple of years ago. This was not a difficult task, but it was more time consuming than I had would have thought. I now have the floor stripped down to the original plywood, at least what is left of it. I estimate 15-20% of the plywood is gone (rotted), mainly in the front, the rear, and under where the refrigerator goes on the streetside. I now have really good ideas of where I have leaks in the shell. I also worked some aluminum on Sunday, fabricating a "temporary" cover for the furnace hole. I say "temporary", but it may need to last a year or more. I also need to fabricate a cover for the water heater hole. Both of these covers will stay in place past the floor replacement, in advance of a new furnace and new water heater.

I should be working again on May this Saturday and upcoming Monday. Our company takes off President's Day, so I get an extra play day! Until next time. -Tim

New Window gear installed

Window now shuts all the way.

Bare Floor looking towards the rear.
Looking forward