The Reclamation of Olivia Overlander

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by NatchezBear

I believe there are a few pull through sites that would be long enough if you parked your TV to the side...34 ft of of aluminum pushing ya down the road must be scary, but sure must be luxurious camping.Does the Excella come with a bowling alley lane?

Natchezbear

No bowling alley but I can practice 10 yard archery inside...

I'm not sure about the upscale camping, the front 4' of floor has been out of it since the day after I bought it...
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f36/...oor-54952.html

[tallytwo1994]

Originally Posted by NatchezBear

At first it was very difficult to drill out the old rivets then an old timer showed me how to drill into the side and made it easy.

Could you share this trick with the rest of us?

Thanks,
Carol

[VIKING]

I believe Natchezbear was talking about drilling the rivets at an angle rather than straight on. sometimes a rivet will spin in the hole and stop the drill from working. I just tip the drill to one side while it's spinning, and the rivet stops spinning allowing the drill to bite again. It's only necessary when the rivet spins.
Rich

[NatchezBear]

From on top of the camper you look at the rivet.Place the drill bit on the edge of the rivet and where the rivet sits on the flange of the vent , not straight down as I tried with very little luck, Rather at a 45 angle.The drill bit bites into the metal easier with out rolling off to the side.As it starts to bite in to the metal aim at 45 angle to drill through the shaft of the rivet below the flange surface.The bit should be exactly the same size as the shaft of the rivet. If you aim just right the head of the rivet will come up and the inside part of the rivet will fall free. The best part (and to my surprise)is the hole left in the skin of the camper is no larger than the shaft of the rivet.My new vent flange's pre-drilled holes did not line up with old holes, so I put a thick bead of silicone around the underside of the new flange pressed down to seat it then popped a rivet in each corner of the flange to hold it down straight and secure as I drilled and riveted the rest of the holes. I then wiped a little dab of silicone to the top of each rivet to make sure there was no leaks. I hopes this helps and thanks to the 86 year old black man that stopped, while passing by, when he heard me cussing on top of my Olivia, and told me how to do it right. He said during the war(not sure which one) he repaired aircraft skins for the Airforce and this is how its done. I did get the silicone all over me,the drill, the drill bit, and the rivet gun, so keep a throw away towel handy to keep the mess to a minimum

NatchezBear

[tallytwo1994]

Cool. This makes sense, and I've known some spinning rivets. I really love it when people share their knowledge.

Thanks to you both!
Carol

[NatchezBear]

OLIVIA'S READY FOR THE OPEN ROAD GOING CAMPING AT CLEAR SPRINGS AND PERCY QUINN STATE PARK. LOTS OF GOOD FOOD PREPARED.

[HiHoAgRV]

Originally Posted by NatchezBear

OLIVIA'S READY FOR THE OPEN ROAD GOING CAMPING AT CLEAR SPRINGS AND PERCY QUINN STATE PARK. LOTS OF GOOD FOOD PREPARED.

Whoooo Hooooo!

Have fun!

We are scrambling to get the 34' ready for balloon fest, otherwise it's back to Natchez in the 29'

[NatchezBear]

The first night we camped at Clear Springs (my Fav Spot) then we moved on to Percy Quinn State Park. The first night we were over run by Coons when they smelled the Ribeye Steaks grillin'. There was free public wi fi, but we sure couldn't get on. Percy Quinn was nice but there was no fire ring for a camp fire.....Bummer! All in all it was a nice trip plenty cool and last of the late summer swimming.
Naqtchez Bear