Malcom, sorry it's taken so long to get back on this. I've been down with the flu for about the last ten days...a very bad case of the flu. I haven't felt that bad in 20 years!
My Vista Views covers are held in place only by the rivets at top and bottom. About half of the holes around the rivets have broken over the years. In other words, I have no way to hold them in place other than the rivets. I don’t want to remove those Olympic rivets that protrude thru from the outside skin, but it looks like I have no choice. I was also thinking of a fiberglass patch, but I hadn’t thought of the epoxy idea. Seems like either would work. I have attached a couple photos. I hope they make sense.
As far as lubricants go, what about graphite? I know I’ve used silicon in automotive applications on plastic, but I don’t know if it’s the same type plastic.
Once I get these out, I’m sure I’ll have more to say. I spent the time today removing the front end cap and cleaning that area, just haven’t gotten to the Vista Views yet. As you can probably tell from the pictures, the windows themselves need to be taken apart and resealed. I accidentally ran across this today which might be of some use:
59, Sorry it's taken so long to reply. I've been very ill with the flu, as you might have noticed above.
I picked up on the TSP problem in an earlier thread by somebody. The phosphates and aluminum don’t like one another. I also read somewhere not to use a pressure washer, but I’ll bet that has to do with who’s runnin’ the washer! The Clorox is also a good idea. This TT is filled with tiny spiders and ants, and I’m sure stuff that will grow when the weather gets a little warmer.
The floor is not up yet, so I haven’t had a chance to look at the frame in any great detail.
I really don’t need to rewire much, as it turns out. There are a couple of connectors that need to be repaired, but the basic wiring seems o.k. so far. More to follow.
Jim
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Can somebody remind Susan that I really do want bagpipes for Christmas?
I also found that my vista view shades were only held up by the rivits from the outside. The frames were also cracked around most of the rivets. What I did was to carefully pry the frames off of the rivets rather than taking the rivets out. It did not take much to break the frame loose from the rivets although the frame may have cracked a little more. I felt that was lot better than drilling out the rivets were otherwise solid.
About a week ago I was able to work some on my frames to clean them up and paint them and the sliding shutters. I used some fast setting two-part epoxy that I bought at Home Depot to seal up the cracks with apparently good sucess. I wanted to use some epoxy putty but I have yet to find a source for any locally. The cracks are still a bit visible from the good side of the frame since I patched them from the back side. I used some duct tape on the front to hold the crack together while I added the epoxy from the back. I may still fill the crack a bit more from the front and touch up the paint but it does not look bad as is at all.
It is still my intention to put the frames back in using some double back tape as I think I explained earlier. I will drill out the mounting holes so that they slip over the rivets. It might also work to dab a little epoxy over the rivets and holes instead of using the tape. The trick would be to hold it in place while the epoxy sets up. I still favor the tape but will have to post more information when I see how it goes.
I used Kyrlon "Fusion" plastic paint on both the slide frame and on the sliding panels themselves. I used a flat pewter color on the sliding panels which is pretty close to what they were originally. I am experimenting with "Patriotic Blue" on the frames. I did wash the frames and panels with a strong soap but I noticed that it seems like a good idea to wipe the parts off with some mineral spirits to make sure they are totally degreased before painting.
I have some shiny chrome edge banding that I picked up at an automotive supply store that is the same size as the original banding on the slide. I have not yot put a slide all back together but that is pretty much next on the list.
I spent some time working on my vista view windows and thought it was time to update the details. I think I may post this in several pieces so that the text goes along with the phots better. So here goes...
As I noted before I had already taken my vista view frames apart and painted them. You will see from the photos that I painted the shade part a soft grey and the frame parts "patriotic blue". I am still not sure about the blue but I can always repaint it if I want to. I had also drilled out the rivets holding the handle on the shade part. I labeled the handles to match the shades which is a very good idea since the holes for the rivets may or may not align correctly if you don't use the same handle/panel match. I used short 1/8" pop rivets to reinstall the handle. I then installed the plastic edge banding trim on the ends and bottom edge of the panel. The trim has some adhesive in the channel that will supposed help hold it in place. I used my rubber mallet to tap it into place. Here is something to keep in mind though. When I first got one of the assemblies back together I found that the panel seemed kind of snug. Some silicon spray helped but not enough. I finally concluded that the trim might be making the panel a little too wide for the track. I took off the trim on one end of the shade and snipped off a little more than 1/16" inch from the end of the shade. After putting the trim back on the shade worked fine so that was indeed the problem. The photos shown here show the process of installing the handle and the trim on the shades.
After I got the shades prepared I found that they sometimes seemed to drag on the plastic framework. I know that there were some serious rub marks on some of the panels when I took them out. What I finally decided to do was to add a little felt to keep the shade and the frame from rubbing together. What I did was to cut some 1/2" wide strips out of some felt rectangles that we happened to have from the craft store. I think it would also be fine to use a larger piece for the whole area. I used strips in a pattern that you can see in the photo. I used some 3M contact adhesive (without letting it dry as the directions call for) to attach the felt to the frame. This adhesive is the type that Andy at Inland recommends for attaching the fuzzy strips around around the windows so I thought it would work for this purpose and it seemed to work fine. Of course time will tell for sure.
The next task was to fasten the vista view frames back in the correct location. I used heavy duty 3M double sided mounting tape that I bought at Home Depot. I put a strip along the top and bottom edges of the frame work and stuck the whole assembly carefully back into place. I had notched out the holes where the frames were originally attached with rivets along the top edge so the the rivets would not get in the way. I was able to use the notches and rivets to help align the frame but also visually checke the alignement with the window before sticking the tape down. In the photos the tape still has the peel off red plastic strip on it so it is a lot easier to see where it is. Two of the phots show the frame back in place. The foam tape did seem to grab tightly and should hold things plenty well enough until I get the inner skins back in place.
Malcolm, My Vista views seem to be held in place by the rivets, rather than the inner skins. If I understand your procedure here, you have used the two sided tape (just as an aside, in my line of work, we call that “management tape“, you know, two faced!) to hold the assemblies in place until you can re-hang the skins because you believe the skins will keep them in place after all is put back together?
Jim
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Can somebody remind Susan that I really do want bagpipes for Christmas?
Originally the vista view frames were held in place by a combination of the rivets to the outer skin (along the top edge of the frame) and by virtue of the fact that the inner skins cover all of the frame but the opening to the window. When I first removed my inner skins the vista view frames were released to hang down away from the outer wall except where they were held by the rivets along their top edge. What I am doing is using the mounting tape to hold the frame in position at both the top and bottom edges (better than with just rivets along the top edge). When I put the inner skin back on the vista view frame will again be held captive by the inner skin. If the tape were suddenly removed the vista view frame could not possibly fall out because it is sandwiched between the inner and outer skins and the hole in the inner skin is not big enough for the frame to fall through. It is my opinion that the rivets along the top basically just located the vista frames so that they would not slide around between the two skins. They also helped hold them in place before the inner skins were put on. I think the mounting tape is easily adequate to replace the job the rivets used to do.
Hopefully I will be able to get the trailer rolling before 2006 but time will tell. It has been hard to keep focused on it with all the other things going on in my life at the moment. Progress is a lot slower than I would like it to be and I admit that I sometimes wonder what I got myself into. In any case thanks for the kind words. My bi-directional interaction with this forum has been a source of inspiration for me and has helped make the journey more interesting. If my contributions can help someone else then that makes is all that much better.
Malcolm, trust me, friend, your contributions are most welcome! If I can do half the job on mine that you are doing on yours, I'm sure the '73 will last another 32 years! Please, keep the comments, sugestions and corrections coming. Many of us have come to trust your judgement over these many months.
Jim
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Can somebody remind Susan that I really do want bagpipes for Christmas?
Progress, what's that? This weather has stopped the project cold. This weekend if it's above 40 I will start to get the shell ready to be taken off. I am going all the way. Then take the frame for sandblasting and spray paint and then to the trailer guys for axel assessment. I'm pretty sure we are talking two new axels. This I hope to be done with the shell back on by the end of April.
Over the weekend, I was able to get the Vista Views down, finally. Mine were held in place by the exterior “Olympic” rivets just as you described, as well as a row of pop rivets across the center, riveted into place on a brace which is in turn secured to the outer skin by Olympics. I believe I will be able to re-install them using a combination of the pop rivets and a version of your re-install. I’ll try to post some pics in my gallery. The re-install doesn’t look too intimidating, any longer.
The one problem I have is that the window itself has problems. Not leaking, mind you. The outer window is glass. The inner window is Plexiglas, held in place by a pressure clip (I got the idea from the post above by Tripp). In between the two layers of glass is what appears to be old fashioned window glassier putty, just like Tripps’, mine was failing and oozing in between the pains of glass, like Tripps‘. Now I’ve got to figure out how to deal with that.
I also found replacement running lights at Wally World. They were leaking in a couple of places into the interior and the base portions were almost completely disintegrated on the outside, so replacement is the only option. This will be my priority over the next few days. Question for you is, do you have a preference between Sikaflex 221 and Vulkem? I was able to pick a tube of Sikaflex this weekend at Sagon (the local Airstream dealer). They don’t carry Vulkem. These leaks can be completely cleaned up and replaced with Sikaflex. I have several smaller leaks, however, that are in the “middle of the run”, so to speak, of the Vulkem (for example, around the vent for the fridge, there is a pinhole that leaks a drip or two every minute in the rain). Can I simply cut out the leaking area and fill with Sikaflex? That means that I will have Vulkem next to Sikaflex along the same seal area. Have you run into this?
Well that’s about it for now. More tomorrow. Thanks in advance for everybody’s help.
Jim
__________________
Can somebody remind Susan that I really do want bagpipes for Christmas?
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This weekend if it's above 40 I will start to get the shell ready to be taken off. I am going all the way. Then take the frame for sandblasting and spray paint and then to the trailer guys for axel assessment. I'm pretty sure we are talking two new axels. This I hope to be done with the shell back on by the end of April.
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