When Frank reunited the new floor with the shell last year, he made new aluminum wheel well covers. A very nice addition, but it meant having to re-cut the inner skins so it fit over the new covers. I was nervous about messing up the skin (you can’t put it back and it doesn’t grow out), so I used cardboard to create a guide for cutting the aluminum skin.  The template got me started in the right direction, but I still had to make several passes and dry fits before it was acceptable.  I think it came out pretty well, the bleeding blisters on my fingers from the tin snips are healing.

Slideshow on the tail lights getting new canisters.

I got asked today “So what’s going on with the trailer?” …

Crack in the base.

Crack all the way through.

I was a bit discouraged when I had to replace a cracked vent/fan that I put in last fall and had not even used yet.  It was ok for a while, then I had a steady drip flowing into a bucket.  After several emails, climbing on the trailer to take a picture in the rain, I was given the go ahead to send it back to be replaced.  I removed the errant vent and sent it back, waiting for it’s return with a big hole in my roof for a week during the Upstate NY flood season (plastic covers do turn the finish on aluminum brown).  The replacement vent came with a different number of holes in different locations — it kills me every time I have to drill into Rosie’s skin.  The weekend I was installing the replacement, I happened to be listening to the VAP episode where Colin and Frank were talking about cracked vents and installation suggestions.  I wish I had heard it last fall when I put in the 3 new vents.  The irony is that I put these new vents in to stop the leaking occurring with the old vents (as well as to have functional fans).  In spite of my whining about the process, the manufacturer did replace the vent, I just had to pay the shipping to send back the cracked one.

Fletch's trailer moving method.

Fletch cut the new metal tube and loaded the new spring for the ZipDee awning.  Also ended up with new end brackets and and restraining wheels.  I was able to reuse the awning material, but it still wasn’t a cheap fix.  It was worth it, the awning is like having another room with the trailer.  I will love sitting under it in the nice cool shade at Bash II.

New water intake

Water was leaking into the fresh water tank via the water intake on a regular basis before I gutted the trailer, leaving standing water in the tank to grow algae.  I’ve had the intake unhooked all winter with a pan under it for the leak.  I don’t have a key to the latch on the original water intake and I couldn’t figure out how to fix the leak.  I also could not find an original replacement for the Thetford.  I got a new one from InlandRV that is supposed to replace this model, but I had to make the hole in the skin bigger for one dimension and patch it a bit to make it work.  The original is much cooler looking, but the new one looks ok from the outside, doesn’t leak, and I have a key for it.

Other small projects have included sanding/painting/rescreening the 6th screen that was in the trailer when it went to Frank’s Trailer Works, scraping off the sealant on the the windows and putting on fresh Vulkum, putting on new rubber seal on the last of the windows (1 more to go), and preparing the step light and flood light for LED replacements.  The LED’s have arrived, will install those this weekend.  I also ordered new canisters for the tail lights from Vintage Trailer Supply – my jerry-rigged tuna can lights have started rusting and I’m worried about future leaks and now they are making replacements for these.  This and many other  projects have are a result of my mantra “I should do it while the walls are out.”  I really want to be working on the electric, maybe the tail lights work will lead to the interior wiring.

I know spring has arrived – the peepers are peeping!  Better weather means I can work on a few exterior issues – more window sealing and leak patrol.  For my birthday present to myself, I took Rosie to Fletch’s to order parts for the awning repair – glad to know ZipDee is still in business.  I have the 110 wiring (12/2+ground) planned out and working on the 12V fine tuning.  The Progressive Inteli-Power 4060 converter has arrived along with the circuit breakers (30 amp main with 4-20 amp circuits) and a 30′ shore power cable/plug.

Between work and frigid temperatures, I did not get much done in Rosie in January and February.  I’ve made a bit of progress lately.  I listened to the last episode (#132) of the The VAP, while they talked about insulaton, I was cutting and glueing insulation.  It’s been slow going, but I’m still happy with the results and am more than three-fourths done.

It was 26 degrees outside today, inside the trailer it topped off at 42 degrees.  The heater helps, but I will be happier when it is insulated.

You can see the foam strips on the wall in the section above the window and the ones I pre-cut in the bag. The Prodex comes in a big roll.

Since the last post I sealed 3/4ths of the interior seams with Sikaflex 221, bought colored 12 gauge wire to redo the exterior lighting, and started the Prodex insulation process.  When I bought the “Liquid Nails” tube to attach the foam strips that the reflective insulation gets attached to, the guy at the box store told me to be careful with that, quite emphatically.  At the time I thought this stuff must be strong, then I thought, “What does he think I’m going to do with it? Glue some of my body parts together?”  As it turns out, it comes off of hands and out of hair very easily, but still works well (so far).  It’s going to take me all winter at the rate it’s going up.

The third and last vent is in!  It was very challenging due to the wind trying to blow me off the roof.  I must say I love having that AC off.  The old pictures with the AC already look funny to me.

Now that the AC is out and the original vents replaced, three of the major leaks seem to be fixed!  There are still a few leaky items to work on:

• curb-side front window, need to reseal
• a rivet above the front road-side window?
• water comes in the water intake, normally it would drain into the water tank.  This doesn’t seem right and I have no key for it. Replace?
• gaskets in rear lights (not leaking since I sealed them, but would be good to do)

Other items on the punch list before insulating

• replace the curb-side running light that fell off
• seal interior seams
• trim vent screws
• have Fletch look at awning anchors
• rewire exterior lights?
• remove and re-seal running lights?
• fix door and porch lights?

Supply list:

• Sikaflex 721 and 221
• bigger trouble light – it gets so dark so early now