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Old 08-18-2015, 03:02 PM   #961
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1973 27' Overlander
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When I had the interior out during the rebuild, I think I remember that light being mounted to the outside, a cover over the backside of the fixture, then rivets thru all of that to hold the light on the shell. THEN the interior wall is attached over the top of all of that? Can anybody confirm that sequence???? All of my pictures from those days are on a hard drive stored in a closet someplace. I gotta go dig it out and start looking around.

The fixture itself is made of some sort of cast aluminum. If I can't get the rivets back in properly from the inside (doubtful without ripping the bath back out), does anybody know if it's safe to drill a few holes in that cast aluminum and simply reattach with some stainless sheet metal screws?? I see two possible issues going that route. One is that the cast nature of the aluminum may cause it to break or crack. The other being the same problem if I successfully drill the thing and then put too much stress on one corner while reinstalling?????


What say ye, gang??? I await your sage advice with much honor.....

Jim (did I spell all that correctly?)
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Old 08-18-2015, 03:10 PM   #962
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I had a similar issue with my Trade Wind...same light housings. If you are not in a position to gut your bathroom and reattach the housings from the inside, one option is to drill holes in the corner of the housing within the blue stripe and perhaps midway, and then attach it with screws into the aluminum shell (if they left enough overlap to do that). I know this is a destructive method...but sometimes you got to do what you got to do to go camping. You can then fill in the screw holes with caulk...smooth it over...repaint it...nobody will know. Other's opinions may differ.....
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Old 08-18-2015, 03:22 PM   #963
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one would probably want to use rivets in the blue-stripe area, rather than screws.

I've got a pic somewhere...mine is still apart. I'll find it...

I'm thinking that you can drill through the cans, and rivet into the plastic back-cover thing. Its pretty heavy plastic. Or if you can get the cans out, drill through the aluminum housing, and into the plastic.
Feel around in there and see how far the inner skin is from the back of any potential attachment points in the housing. Maybe cut out that plastic housing, and make some stand-offs from some bent-up aluminum...drill into the inner skin, and stick a pop rivet in there...then go into the trailer, find where the pop-rivet is sticking through (or just find the hole), and pop rivet the stand-off from the inside. (another pop-rivet in the interior skin will look normal).
Then pop-rivet the cans to the other end of the stand-off.
some double-stick tape around the perimeter of the housing, and then vulkem it up.
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Old 08-18-2015, 03:31 PM   #964
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this was before cleaning. (yuk).
can't tell how close the back of the plastic is to the interior skin, though. I was thinking as I was reading about your situation that I should check the rivets on mine, but this is so well sealed up with vulkem, I'm sure that the rivets that are attaching the housing are not visible.

I actually bought replacement cans from VTS, as a couple of my lights are ng. I don't think I'll be able to get them out from outside (very rusted), so I was thinking of cutting out the back wall of this plastic so I can push them (hammer and wood block) out from inside.
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Old 08-18-2015, 04:07 PM   #965
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I would drill our the corner rivets and then drill completely through the casting and the matching rivets through the trailer and into the rear pan with an 1/8 drill bit. I would then drill a clearance hole through the casting for the size of the Sheet metal screw you are going to use, a #8 comes to mind. Install screws in each corner with plenty of sealant on the mating surfaces. Go camping and worry about making it pretty when you get time. The rivets are in the thickest portion of the casting and should come out at the thickest point. If you ever decide to reattach from the inside the holes can be plugged so they will almost disappear.
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Old 08-18-2015, 04:18 PM   #966
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Probably a stupid idea, but why not just glue the sucka back in?

Adhesive Compounds for Bonding Aluminum Substrates | MasterBond.com


Adhesives have changed a LOT since the days when your Airstream was built. And if you need to re-caulk it too, well here's the old "two birds with one stone" solution.

Of course how you change a light bulb or do a panel replacement without replacing the light assembly could be an issue, but "splork, smear, press in place, wait 30 minutes, go camping" is my kind of fix. (better than chewing gum for sure)

Paula
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Old 08-18-2015, 04:22 PM   #967
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Thanks Guys. I just went out and connectorized the wiring for the lights and Susan helped checked them out. Good news is that all of the wiring is intact. Nothing broken there. Turn signal, running light and backup all working according to specs.

Looks like it's going to be stainless screws thru the blue stripe area on the fixture. I don't have rivets long enough to reach all the way thru the fixture. It's kinda thick. There's enough room all the way 'round the cutout in the shell to get the screws to anchor in there, except for possibly the top-right corner. Post s'more pics in a little while......

Chuck, thanks so very much for the pics. That's exactly what I was looking for.

Jim
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Old 08-18-2015, 07:01 PM   #968
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Woo Hoo!! Success!!

I wound up using screws in several different places and got it secured to the shell. Hopefully it will hold for the trip and I can "McGyver" it back to a more secure state once we're back. The backup light stopped working and the fiber optic connection won't stay in the assigned position (maybe some of Paula's super glue can fix that), but the basic running light/turn signal/brake light is there. Good enough for the weekend coming up. Wish I had thought to attach a lanyard to the dern thing while I had it apart in case it decides to come loose again.

Thanks again everybody. I need a weekend away and you all made it happen!

See you in the woods.

Jim
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Old 08-13-2016, 03:18 PM   #969
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim & Susan View Post
One of the things that I wanted to do from the outset was to get some of the weight off the tail of the camper. One way to do this was to move the battery and converter off the tail and under the bed. I lost storage under the bed, but it's probably worth it in the long run. The converter is mounted under the bed toward the back. No problem there because it only weighs about 3 pounds. Also, to get it off the floor, it was mounted vertically along the bed frame. Notice that I used a surge protector there because I couldn't afford a "whole house" surge protector for the camper. This also gives the advantage of being able to shut down the power to the thing when needed without "surging" the converter.
Can one of you AS geniuses please tell me what the "fuse" is called that goes between the 12v panel and the battery POS?
It doesnt look like a glass fuse but almost looks like a shunt.
Thanks!
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Old 08-14-2016, 11:47 AM   #970
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I think they are referred to as a "self-resetting" fuse. You can buy them an auto parts store. I also think I used a 50 amp on the battery end of the circuit. I'm pulling all this out of old memory rather than going back thru the thread. Please forgive my lazy Sunday afternoon demeanor.

Jim
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Old 08-14-2016, 08:02 PM   #971
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this, right?

http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/...-p/vts-836.htm
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Old 08-14-2016, 08:47 PM   #972
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Yup, that looks like the right one. I like that VTS plastic cover, may need to get one of those.

Jim
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