Window Gaskets

The gasket on my windows was old, hard and did not give a proper seal. I purchased all new gasket material for all the windows and went to work. The windows on my 78' are extremely easily to remove. Open the window a little. Remove the screw at the base of each arm that is attached to the frame, and slide the arm out of the channel in the window frame. Now that the window is free to rotate around the top of the window, you lift the window up so that it is almost perpendicular to the trailer and the window will just come right out. Installation is just the opposite. The window has an extruded channel at the top that "hooks" into the channel on the window frame. After the window was out, I put it on the workbench and removed the old gasket. I used a putty knife and a bunch of lacquer thinner to remove the old gasket and glue. It takes a while to get the frame clean of all the old glue. After it is clean, I applied a 3M gasket adhesive to both the frame and the gasket. I cleaned both with lacquer thinner first to remove any contaminates. I used an old tooth brush to apply the glue. It works like a contact cement. You must put it on both surfaces and let it dry to the touch. After 10 minutes or so you can start to re-attach the gasket to the window. Fairly simple process, but with (6) side windows and a front and rear window it took 2 evenings after work to complete the work. I feel pretty good that all the windows have new rubber and will not cause me further trouble with leaks.

Dam bathroom

Well the Airstream project was put on hold for the past few months. One Saturday I deceided to replace a tile in our master bath. I got all my supplies ready to replace the tile, went upstairs, and started to remove a few loose tiles. One tile turned into 2, that turned into 4, to 8, to 16... after 20 minutes it was determined that I needed to replace all the tile. I was not planning on a bathroom remodel, but that is what happened. It started out with a tile replacement, then moved to "I'll just re-tile the shower, to "lets do the whole bathroom", to "lets re-design the bathroom", to "lets tear down a few walls, re-locate the toilet, move the sink, put in a master closet, rewire the whole bathrrom, install a new subfloor, new tile floor, new tiled shower, new drywall, new insulation, new window, new plumbing, new waste lines, new vanity, new sink, new... " Needless to say 4 months later I have a usable master bath.

Shocking

Today I changed the 12v panel system to an updated one that has blade type fuses. The old one had the glass fuses and the terminals were rusty. I replaced one part of the system with a standard 12v fuse block that I bought at an auto store. This one controls the lights, brakes, and reverse lights. The other panel controls the current from the 12v converter, the 12v battery and the charge line from the truck. Right now I just hooked up the standard wiring. I need to run (3) new 12v lines. My newer refrigerator needs to have 12v to run the circuit board. I also need to have a 12v line run to my new water heater. The old water heater needed to be lit by hand, the new one has electronic ignition and all I have to do is flip a switch. The 3rd new 12v line will run the the electro-hydraulic pump. This is the pump that operates the hydraulic disc brakes.

Clean up and rivet

Tonight after work I finished attaching the interior walls to the C-channel. When this was done, I started to clean out the interior. I took everything I could out of the camper, so I could get ready to clean all the wall and do some painting. I even took out the old fridge. It was only attached to the camper with 6 small screws. Getting it out by myself was a challenge. I moved it to the door and got my floor jack to help me lower it to the ground. After it was out, I swept up and took my leaf blower and blew all the dust out the rear access compartment. That is why the first picture is so cloudy. When the dust settled, I took apart the cabinet work under the front window, so I would have easier access to the12v compartment. I purchased a 12v fuse block and a 12v panel. The fuse block is just for the the connection of truck to the Airstream. It controls the trailer lights and turn signals. The old one was rusty and I had trouble getting the brake lights to work because of the bad connections. Once again I ran out of time and will finish the 12v panel the next time I get to work on this money pit. As you can see from the pictures, I am almost to the point where I thought I would have been about 6 months ago ... ready to install the interior.

Finish the Floor

Today I finished the floor. The rear floor had been installed but needed to be bolted down. I ran out of the closet bolts that I bought, so I found some different ones that I had at my plant. They are black and have an allen key, but were similar in size. The Airsteam bolts were self tapping and my new bolts were not, so I had to drill the floor and then tap each hole before with a 1/4-20 tap, so I could secure the bolts to the floor. It did not take as much time as I expected. I also added some thread lock to the bolts before I screwed them down. I had a small section of floor in the front of the trailer (24"x 35"), that still needed to be filled. I was able to do this in a short amount of time. It was cut to size and bolted to the new frame members and to the C-channel in the wall. It is nice to be able to walk in the trailer and not fall through to the ground. With all of the floor in, I was able to start to re-attach the interior walls. I had a purchased a hydraulic rivet gun from Harbor Freight. The dam thing will do a bout 100 rivets and then I need to re-fill it with more hydraulic fluid. Needless to say, every time I pull the trigger it sprays a nice mist of fluid all over the place. I have taken the dam thing apart, but can not figure out what seal is bad. I'm close to being done, so I may just deal with it. I had to finish the day a little early because I had to get to a Xavier basketball game.

Steppin' it up

Today I spent some time screwing the floor to frame. I also bolted the outside c-channel to the floor and the stringers. I spent a bunch of time searching around the plant looking for bolts and nylon locking nuts for this application. I bought some floor bolts from Out of Doors mart when I purchased all the gasketing for the windows and doors. I only bought 20 bolts and was surprised how fast I used them up. I guess I will be ordering some more. After the floor was completely bolted down and secure, I started on the steps. The original stringers were toast and I was not exactly sure how the steps were supposed to operate, but I downloaded a drawing showing how it goes together. I cleaned the steps up as best I could before I installed them. I took a scotchbrite pad to the bare aluminum and it shined them up pretty good. When I got my parts from ODMRV I ordered some small springs that keep the step holder tight against the steps when they are in the up position. The springs are fairly small and were almost non-existent when I took the steps off the Airstream. Everything worked beautifully. It is so nice to have steps to get in and out of the RV. When I bought new axles, I ordered them at a 45 degree down angle so I would have more ground clearance. It now is quite a jump to get into the Airstream. The steps are awesome, and they are solid.

Floorin it

Last night I started putting the floor back in the Airstream. All my welding, painting and frame work are now done. It's time to start putting the darn thing back together. I decided to start with the floor near the front door because I thought it would be easier to fit. Not exactly easy but by the end of the night, it was in place. I took some measurements from the side wall to the main beam in locations where I knew it had not moved. I then cut a piece of 1/2" plywood to 35-3/4 x 8'. I used this measurement because it would hit on the center of a support and I could bolt it to the frame. The wall close to the door was not supported and could be moved at least an inch inward and an 1" away from the trailer. Since my plywood was cut at a constant distance and my cut in the original floor was cut perpendicular to the trailer frame, I should be straight when it all gets bolted back together. One thing I remembered the next morning was that I did not install the aluminum shield that goes above the steps and under the floor. The aluminum protects the underside of the plywood floor because in the step location it is not insulated or sealed from the weather. I am hoping that I can just lift the plywood up and wedge it above the step stringers and I do not have to completely remove the floor.