fix those sewer vents!

[john hd]

hey gang,

here is an easy project that can prevent thousands of dollars of damage to your trailer!

john

[john hd]

for less than 40 bucks and using a few common tools you can prevent the number one reason airstreams leak!

here is what i found under my sewer caps!

john

[john hd]

after removing the covers and cleaning up the roof of the trailer it is time to install the new gasket and screen!

i like to use a cordless drill with a cupped brush ro remove the old vulkem. a gasket scraper and a knife also helps.

trimming the corners of the screen prevents the screws from catching it and possibly tearing it.

here is a shot of the cleaned up area with the new gasket and the vulkem getting squirted under the screen. this makes the majority of the seal!

[john hd]

after a liberal amount of vulkem is under the screen and new gasket i flipped it down and made sure it oozed out all the way around to insure a good seal!

after that, just reinstall the cover with stainless screws if your trailer does not already have them as mine did.

to finish a bead of vulkem goes around the edge!

bam, done! less than 15 min each!

john

[john hd]

the finished vents, good for another 5 years!

john

[lebolewis]

Hey John......great photos. They look just like mine did. I resealed all three of them last week after I found a leak in one of them. Apparently it had been leaking for some time, undetected. I got the gasget material, 6" square rubber pieces, at Lowes in the plumbing dept and made the gasgets. I also found a lot of trash in each vent hood that blocked the drain holes. Soooooo....I used aluminun screen and formed it to seal the vent at rhe top and used a seam of vulkem to hold it up there. Now trash cannot get inside the vent hood!! Works great! Bill

[john hd]

good tip bill, i have seen folks make little aluminum deflectors that clip into the vent to deflect leaves. sorry i don't have a pic of that.

one small note about the drain holes, i have seen a number of 70's vintage trailers that do not have the holes. adding them would just take a couple of seconds with a drill when the cover is off.

btw, the materials for this project came from inland RV.

john

[Smokin Camel]

Thanks for the tip. Now I can add another item. # 137 : Check vents and screens!

Seriously though, thanks, I never thought of that one.

[LI Pets]

I don't even see any screen, the rubber must be shot!

If you saw the damage this caused...........

I can't post pic's anymore, don't know why?

The PO had this parked 6 years, he just let it rot around the bath down into the black tank compartment.

Should I get the factory gaskets or just get something from NAPA and make my own?

I had to cut a 30" x 48" section from the middle of the floor to repair it all.

Again all wet globbed up pink spongy insulation causing rust, cleaned it all out and will add new foil bubble R-14.

This is another reason to fiberglass these wood floors, if that was done no floor rot no rust no work.

But there was a silver lining to all this. ONe of the waste gates was leaking and I was going to take inspection covers off and try to rebuild the valves from below.

Now that I see it from the top it would not have been possible without a lot of grief.

Can I get rebuilding kits for the #1447 Thetford 3" valves.

If so where? how much$$$

[Fyrzowt]

Mine doesn't have screen either - is this something they did at the factory or something people are doing aftermarket?

[john hd]

my buddy's 74 excella had a couple from the factory without any screens.

john

[lebolewis]

Originally Posted by john hd

my buddy's 74 excella had a couple from the factory without any screens.

john

Hey John,

I've been meaning to bring this up since the last time I looked at your great "vent refurbishing photos". I could be wrong, but I think those fiberglass mesh pieces are supposed to go over the top of the vent pipe, sealing the opening to the aluminum housing, to keep the bugs, trash, etc out of there and to keep those little drain holes in bottom of the housing open. If that's not what they are for, then what useful purpose do they serve?

That's the way they were when I re-did my vents on my 76 Sovereign and they looked like they could have been the original stuff! I couldnt get the fiberglass stuff, so I used aluminum screen, formed it so it fit up in the top of the aluminum covers and "Vulkemed" it in place from the inside, flush with the top of the vent cover. Bug and trash sealed, but open. Bill

[Happycampers]

Bill.. You are right on this one... fiberglass is supposed to go over the top.. been there and done that.. got instructions from Inland Andy when we ordered ours..

[aztlanco]

Originally Posted by lebolewis

Hey John......great photos. They look just like mine did. I resealed all three of them last week after I found a leak in one of them. Apparently it had been leaking for some time, undetected. I got the gasget material, 6" square rubber pieces, at Lowes in the plumbing dept and made the gasgets. I also found a lot of trash in each vent hood that blocked the drain holes. Soooooo....I used aluminun screen and formed it to seal the vent at rhe top and used a seam of vulkem to hold it up there. Now trash cannot get inside the vent hood!! Works great! Bill

I did the same "screen" job on mine years ago when I detected a foul odor inside the trailer and outside. After a nose investigation, I found out it was coming from the vent and guess what???? It was blocked completely near the top of the pipe. I took a coat hanger wire and pulled out a dead bird that was decomposing and had gotten stuck in there (a friend told me they do that in winter to stay warm with their own body heat,, kind of like putting on a jacket). No more problems.
Ernie
'58 Traveler, 18ft.

[john hd]

I could be wrong, but I think those fiberglass mesh pieces are supposed to go over the top of the vent pipe

yes i thought that too before i removed the vent caps.

mine were from the factory with the screen underneath. i really don't think it matters that much as the big dollop of vulkem is what actually seals the vent.

the real issue is taking a look at them every 5 years or so and replacing the gasket/vulkem combination. if the screen is on top, that works as well!

john

[Foiled Again]

John thanks for the pictures. You ought to send them to Airstream and suggest they use them in their owners manuals.

A friend of mine who has an SOB, but is now getting the hots for an Airstream, did the same repair on his recently, but he also took the handle off of a fine strainer, inverted it and put it over the top of the vent so that there wouldn't be a flat surface for birds, bees, etc. to nest in.

I've wondered if those vents with the integrated fan really work... I think the fan is just wind powered.

Paula Ford

[Alumaholic]

Originally Posted by lebolewis

I also found a lot of trash in each vent hood that blocked the drain holes...

Originally Posted by john hd

one small note about the drain holes, i have seen a number of 70's vintage trailers that do not have the holes. adding them would just take a couple of seconds with a drill when the cover is off.

The vents on my '76 don't appear to have drain holes. Got pictures?

Thanks for the excellent tutorial!

[lebolewis]

Originally Posted by klevan

The vents on my '76 don't appear to have drain holes. Got pictures?

Thanks for the excellent tutorial!

Kelvan,

You can see the drain holes in the left photo of John's #5 post. They are the little dark spots right behind the two screw heads, on the low side, in the base of the Aluminum cover. A 3/16 in drill would make the holes about the right size. Bill

[TomW]

Originally Posted by klevan

The vents on my '76 don't appear to have drain holes. Got pictures? ...

Number 1 son is pointing out one of the two drain holes in this image:

Tom

[Alumaholic]

Originally Posted by lebolewis

Kelvan,

You can see the drain holes in the left photo of John's #5 post. They are the little dark spots right behind the two screw heads, on the low side, in the base of the Aluminum cover. A 3/16 in drill would make the holes about the right size. Bill

Originally Posted by TomW

Number 1 son is pointing out one of the two drain holes in this image:

Thanks guys. Thanks also for confirming my analysis that there should be drain holes. It was driving me nuts.