'62 Overlander... new girl on the block

[KCN]

Been a while, but finally started committing one day a week to getting back to work on the trailer. This startup business stuff is all-consuming, but it's so rewarding. My biz link is in my signature block for those that are interested.

Got new hubcaps! Little things help. Installed the newly-acquired bathroom fan exterior flap (again, the little things) and at least temporarily installed all my window latches and cranks (many new cranks - most of my old ones were shot.) Three small windows on the streetside only have one latch each, and it's on the rear corner, so I am going to add latches on the front corners. That will be potentially tricky. And later.

I have received all my new drip caps and am in the process of trying to remove the baked on enamel coating and hope to replace those before winter. Most of my leaks (very few in number) were from the old drip caps.

My attention this weekend has been on my awning rail. A PO left a line of steel pop rivets about an inch below the awning rail - used for what has been speculated, but was clearly related to the awning. Vinstream a.k.a. Todd was here for a couple of days which was great - I miss my Colorado-based trailer mentors. (Kip!) His trailer is such a marvel...so good to see it on the road. He suggested I grind off the pop rivets from the inside which was relatively easy - used my dremel and the 80 grit sanding drums. It's cold so the heat from the sanding warmed and cooled the mandrels quickly and I was able to pop them out easily with a punch, so hoping I can use a 5/32 rivet to fill them.

The awning rail is in rough shape, so I think I will remove it and clean it up. All the rivets that were used to attach it leaked, plus some screws were added. Some additional holes are in the end areas, covered with a lot of sealant, and the old awning arm holes need to be addressed. While I'm down to bare skin, I may as well continue to repair.

KCN

[KCN]

I never got around to showing what I was doing with my electrical plan because I was kind of in a rush. At any rate, I'm doing things a bit differently by design and talking to lots of folks and thinking outside the box.

My two gray tanks are located midship. I don't like the design of these tanks, as previously discussed, but I'm living with them. It's been two years, so maybe there is a better one out there - I can replace them already My rear bath will drain into one, my kitchen sink into the other, they are connected by the pipe in the center, and will drain out the back. I still have to figure out if I want to have my blade valve handle accessed from inside or outside the trailer - I haven't cut the access for the handle in my belly pan yet. It would be a simple matter to have the handle inside in the closet or rear bath.

I have two good sized areas between the tanks for running conduit back and forth. My seven-way enters the center chase through the larger blue conduit. I ran the blue conduit tubes all the way through my box channel from the front of the trailer. This took some finesse to get the conduit through, past the bolts in the frame that secured the new axle plates, but it eventually worked. The brake wires also enter this electrical area through pieces of blue conduit through the box channels on each side with plenty of sealant. My breakaway comes through the smaller conduit into the junction box. This was just to make it simpler to pull wires, and to add the extra protection against abrasion they might encounter within the box channel from the bolts.

I plan to access this area through a small hatch in the center floor piece under the bed/cabinet whatever I put up there.

I wired (well, had them wired) the rear brake lights and marker lights just to get her on the road. Not done with all that obviously.

I would love some input on my rock guard, which is clearly not original. Maybe from a 60's Shasta. It has some funky homemade hinge arrangement and they plugged up the holes from the old drip cap with pop rivets. I like the idea of the rock guard, and I actually like the look, I would just like it to be able to have a drip cap again. Thoughts on this area would be appreciated.

Preparing to patch the old refer/heater holes in a manner similar to what Shelley did. I need to re-install the rear FF - leaks like a sieve, the old hole was so ragged!!!

Moved the trailer to a place outside my business so I should be able to get some things done this winter.

[KCN]

I took my trailer down to Denver this week (takes me about 10 hours because 500 miles) and the very kind and talented Vinstream built me a beautiful new door. The trailer tows so well - I now have almost 2,000 miles on it and haven't slept in it yet

My old door wasn't in very good shape structurally and the aluminum was not really salvageable because of the number of extra screw holes, dents from blowing off, extremely pitted, etc.. He welded the broken frame and used all the parts as templates.

We used the Bargman L100 NOS knob I had picked up several years ago, as well as the new hinges I'd procured earlier - except we just used the long part of the new hinge that attaches to the door-within-the-door and used the old base. That knob wasn't original to this trailer but it looks so great!

(I say "we" although all I did was buck rivets.)

"We" also removed and repaired the eyebrow, choosing to put a piece of trim on the edge to lend it structure and it looks awesome! Added a few rivets (it had been screwed on before). Re-attached it with double sided tape, rivets, and sealed the heck out of it. New rivets all around the door frame.

Towed the trailer back to Jackson in very high winds on I-80 (I was terrified because it was empty and is so light, but it did great) and now it's inside my business shop where I will work on it this winter. Which showed up the day I got back.

[Hittenstiehl]

Kcn, that new door looks fantastic. The new eyebrow did a very good job of keeping the snow up on the ledge. Nice work.

[65CV]

Door looks great.

Funny how we all love to pictures of perfectly aligned Clecos!

[lonewolf1977]

It looks beautiful!

[KCN]

Originally Posted by 65CV

Door looks great.

Funny how we all love to pictures of perfectly aligned Clecos!

So, so true - a thing of beauty...

[KCN]

Originally Posted by lonewolf1977

It looks beautiful!

Thanks - and even better....it no longer falls off and actually opens, closes and locks!

Kathy

[KCN]

Originally Posted by Hittenstiehl

Kcn, that new door looks fantastic. The new eyebrow did a very good job of keeping the snow up on the ledge. Nice work.

Thank you And yes, that eyebrow with the edge trim (same as the j-trim I'm putting on the wheel wells) really gave it some structural integrity. A nice alternative solution to having to fabricate a whole new one.

Kathy

[KCN]

After performing the first three years of a proposed six year leak-test, I came to the conclusion that the windows needed to be pulled out entirely and re-placed with new sealant between the frame and the skin. So, window number one is underway.

I'm much better at drilling out rivets now, so this actually didn't intimidate me at all like it did years ago.

Also did the rough-in installation of the Skylight, and destroyed my first Fantastic Fan by forgetting to put the lid down while I was doing maneuvers out of the shop I had it in all winter.

[Wabbiteer]

. ..three years of a proposed six year leak-test, I came to the conclusion making users spill coffee on a new keyboard with clever word play is fun AND that the windows needed to be pulled.. .

Yes, likely not on your top 10 things to include but I'd like to see the hidden areas get a treatment of POR-15 'Metal Ready' - I've seen freeze heave & thaw make a bladder out of AS factory caulk where they parged over the overlaps by the inner back shells locker... ...the aluminum surface flash oxidizes and holds a film of water via capillary action, the algaes and lichen etc. invade there and then it is water seeking its lowest point behind the window frame...

I do admire your attention to the mechanical, doors and such - Yes, I have twice now come within inches of completely removing a Maxxfan, when everything else is clear please watch for the black iron fire sprinklers as they will cause floppy lid syndrome even if it is still technically attached....

[KCN]

. ..three years of a proposed six year leak-test, I came to the conclusion making users spill coffee on a new keyboard with clever word play is fun AND that the windows needed to be pulled.. .

Wabbit - that was certainly not my intention but you're right...and in hindsight, that IS fun Hope it didn't cause any lasting damage.

And while your stated admiration to my attention for detail is appreciated, it's ok to just phrase it as, 'OMG you're still here? wt* is taking you so long to do this trailer?' It's the journey...always the journey. I'm camping in my truck in the meantime.

I'm using XTra bond sealant everywhere...thanks, I will look into the POR-15 Metal Prep (already used their black goop on the frame in places). The capillary action of decomposing aluminum (you say oxidizing, I say the metal is flat-out evaporating) is clearly a factor. The skin metal had thinned to the point of being far more flexible than the window frames - just leaning on it caused it rumple and the factory tape stuff beneath the window frames also had channels through it and entire chunks awol. I wear a mask around that dry old stuff as it's friable and I assume has some asbestos in it.

KCN

[KCN]

Ok, I've gotten to where I wanted to be on my own - the shell is patched, trailer is sealed, the fans (including the one I ripped off) and skylight are installed.

I live in Jackson, Wyoming but have rented an storage unit in Idaho Falls for the winter so I can move the trailer in and out without all the deep snow we get over here.

Looking to hire someone in the area to do the electrical system/wiring for me - either a pro shop or someone with the knowledge who wants to do it as a side-gig. Be fun if I got to "help" whoever it is, but I don't want to impede the progress.

PM or answer here. Willing to travel a ways if needed.

Thanks!

KCN

[KCN]

Ok, I took some time off, took a deep breath, back at it. There's no crying in baseball....or airstream reconstruction.

Took my end-caps in to a fiberglass shop and had them repaired and primed. Re-set three windows, now need to re-set the others. Got the trailer out of storage and brought it home.

Last fall I took one of my fantastic fans out and cut a bigger hole in the roof in order to remove the ridiculous ragged/hole-filled edges that I had tried to seal up on the previous installation, unsuccessfully. I then cut a square patch out of 2024 that is a couple inches larger than the FF, then cut a 14 inch square hole in the center of that, mounted the FF to the clean edges of the patch then set the patch on the roof, with a support frame of new c-channel/angle beneath. So far so good.

Installed the Skylight - not thrilled with the construction of that particular addition btw but gives good light. Wouldn't recommend. May remove it and have a custom one fabricated without the exterior screw holes. Just looks boxy and ugly with globs of sealant over the exterior sheet metal screws they use to make them.

My 3 front ss windows only have one latch each, on the rear edge and didn't have latches on the leading edges...tiring of the duct tape look, I made a template and cut holes in the sashes using a dremel cut wheel to add the missing latches. Now need to fabricate the little slide pieces that go in the windows themselves. I know, I know...unobtanium.

Patched the roof where the hillbilly smokestack and refer vents came up side by side. May use that old smokestack, but needed to make progress, so put a patch in and disappeared the lower edge beneath the awning rail. Refer vent cover was fiberglass and it fell and broke so I took that as a sign.

Patched the holes from the zip dee awning mounts. Patches look like...patches. I will use a traditional vintage awning. Replaced the steel rivets that were plugging holes with aluminum ones (there was a row of steel rivets from a previous awning installation that was removed...and the PO had filled those holes with steel pop rivets.)

Bought a house in an area that allows unsightly old airstreams to be parked in the driveway, moved all my project paraphernalia into one bay of the garage, including all my old cabinets, and can finally work on it like a normal person.

I think I mentioned previously that I was using XtraBond as a sealant. It didn't hold up. I am now using TremPro like everyone else. Lots of it.

KCN

[lonewolf1977]

I'm right here, cheering you on! I know all about those delays and those months where nothing happens. I'm glad you were able to move the trailer home...that makes it easier for sure. Even just an hour a day to do something is better than nothing.

[my3sonsdad]

Are you using butyl tape btwn the exterior shell and window frame as well as or just trempro?

[KCN]

Originally Posted by lonewolf1977

I'm right here, cheering you on! I know all about those delays and those months where nothing happens. I'm glad you were able to move the trailer home...that makes it easier for sure. Even just an hour a day to do something is better than nothing.

Thanks for the kind words - yeah, for sure great just to have it at the house and have everything in one place!

[KCN]

Originally Posted by my3sonsdad

Are you using butyl tape btwn the exterior shell and window frame as well as or just trempro?

Hi - yep, I am using butyl tape as well as the TremPro.

[KCN]

I bought 3 donor windows to obtain the little unobtanium catches and feel guilty for destroying the frame extrusions just to get the little piece of pot metal out. Since I promptly broke one of the said pieces of unobtanium by hacking up the window frame (thereby increasing the value of the remaining 5) I thought I'd ask for help.

I've come to the conclusion (please tell me I'm wrong, which is the purpose of this post) that the only way to get the unobtanium out of the donor window and into the other is to remove the corner welds of both the donor and recipient windows...and then re-weld...and probably have to re-glaze those three windows.

Yep/nope?

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by KCN

I bought 3 donor windows to obtain the little unobtanium catches and feel guilty for destroying the frame extrusions just to get the little piece of pot metal out. Since I promptly broke one of the said pieces of unobtanium by hacking up the window frame (thereby increasing the value of the remaining 5) I thought I'd ask for help.

I've come to the conclusion (please tell me I'm wrong, which is the purpose of this post) that the only way to get the unobtanium out of the donor window and into the other is to remove the corner welds of both the donor and recipient windows...and then re-weld...and probably have to re-glaze those three windows.

Yep/nope?

I believe I saw a guy on EBay selling those little little unobtanium catches.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Window-Clip...MAAOSwC45b9c-i