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Old 02-13-2011, 06:53 PM   #201
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I had read about those and they seem like the battery to have. They last a long long time too I think that I read. You have to take good care of them as with any battery, I'm sure. I think that I put that comment about the gas from the batteries because I don't see how the original had the battery box vented.

I do think 2 batteries would be good too. One battery just doesn't seem like much.
With a solar panel and 2 batteries I should be able to live the life of Riley.
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Old 02-13-2011, 07:05 PM   #202
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I wanted to post this because I asked a question on another thread and I want to put the info here too.

I have a 12v distribution panel that looks like it is hooked up ok. The 4 wires coming out of it are the same color outputs shown in the service manual electrical diagram.

I asked about hooking a battery to the 12v distribution panel so that I could test the lights, etc.

The answer was no, for safety reasons and esp. because I have no fuses to put between the battery and the distribution panel.

Was told to hook a battery charger to the 12v distribution panel to test the circuits.

So that is what I did.
Hooked the neg to the bottom where the white wire is (I think this bar is a common ground point), and the pos to where the red wires are.

This worked, except the charger only puts out a max of 6 amps and I was turning too many lights on and it kept tripping the charger off.

Anyway, it was cool to see the lights come on.
A converter is definitely next on the list.
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Old 02-13-2011, 08:06 PM   #203
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Chris,

I was wondering about the battery cables. They need to be bigger in diameter because of the distance, right? Will the trailer draw more power (waste power) because of this?

I was thinking of nixing the battery under the sink and maybe putting two up front. The extra weight up front doesn't seem to be enough to make an issue.

Besides the that the batteries give off gas and what-not, the existing battery box only holds one battery and I'm def. leaning toward having at least 2.

The front seems the logical place to put them, but I'm not sure if there is enough room on top of the Aframe. I was thinking build a hangar box under the Aframe near the front of the shell might be the trick.

Solar seems almost a necessity if you plan on spending any time "off the reservation"
Daniel if you up size the battery cables you shoudn't experience any more voltage drop due to increased resistance in the wiring. You could also relocate the converter to under the front couch to shorten the cable run but that would require rewiring all the 12VDC feeds from it to all your lights etc. and rewire the 110VAC line that powers the converter.
I'm not sure hanging the batteries under the A frame is such a good idea.
The weight would be hanging from the frame and not resting on top of it plus they would be subject to any flying debris kicked up by the TV.
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Old 02-14-2011, 06:20 PM   #204
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The shell is sitting on the chassis but it isn't attached. The floors are only tacked down the middle so there is some attachin to do.

Tonight after work took the drill and some Vulcum and drilled holes through the c channel into the plywood floor around the perimeter. Squeezed Vulcum in the holes and poped the elevator bolts in. I'll attach when there is daylight, probably next weekend.

I went ahead and drilled most of the pilot holes for the self-taping screws for where the floor will be attached to outriggers. I should be able to get those in tomorrow afternoon.
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Old 02-15-2011, 07:57 PM   #205
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Daniel did you get yourself a buck riveting kit yet? You've got about 300 to 400 rivets to buck in to get the shell reattached to the C channel. Have you figured out who is going to rivet and who is going to buck between you and your son. It takes two to buck.
The self tapping screws also go into the crossmembers.I not sure why you need pilot holes they are self tapping screws. I also used them into the main frame rails. The only spot the mothership used elevator bolts was through the C channel into the end of the outriggers. Some people use them into the outriggers as well but they have to countersink the heads into the plywood so they don't stick up and affect the surface of the finished flooring.
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Old 02-15-2011, 08:31 PM   #206
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The pilot hole for the self taping screws is just through the plywood down to the metal, then I drill a small pilot hole through the metal to make it s little easier to get the self taping screw through. I did some earlier with a big screwdriver and even with the pilot hole I got a huge blister on the palm of my hand from putting pressure on the top of the screwdriver while turning it to get the self taping screw to bite.

The way that it is looking now is elevator bolts through the c channel into the plywood floor, then self taping screws through the c channel into the outriggers, then elevator bolts on the interior floor through the floor and the support strip underneath the floor.
I got one of the Forstner bits to countersink the elevator bolts.

The buck rivet thing I am totally ignorant about. I think that I have the basic idea. Getting my son to help me do work. That is priceless.
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Old 02-16-2011, 05:44 AM   #207
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The more that I think about it, the riveting of the shell is looking like it will be the last thing that is done to the trailer. I think that I just need to use some sort of tape or something to seal the lower area against water until I get to it.
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Old 02-16-2011, 06:15 AM   #208
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Daniel I would use elevator bolts through the C channel into the outriggers. That was the way the factory did it. You want that fastening point to be as secure as possible, it locks the shell to the frame.
Aluminium foil tape will seal that lower edge for now. If applied correctly, i.e. below the upper edge of the lower beltline you don't need to remove it later as it will be hidden. Foil tape is very thin so it won't interfere with the belly pan or beltline installation and it sticks like the dickens.
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Old 02-16-2011, 08:39 AM   #209
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I'd skip anything to do with aluminum tape for exterior use - it is pure unalloyed soft aluminum and does not take weathering (dew combined with heat cycles) well at all, and that is not considering acid rain or salt spray turning it into chalk...

I used it to make a drip edge skirt bridging from shell beyond the floor line when I took wraps off and the whole works had failed within six months, even the 'protected' areas... however the random 2-inch patches of still-stuck tape are almost impossible to get off. You'll be Joe Somewhen to another in the future for leaving that Easter Egg
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Old 02-16-2011, 07:27 PM   #210
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I'll have to figure something out this weekend when I finish securing the floor.

For now I'm working on tracing and mapping out wires. The schematic in the service manual isn't exactly accurate as to my tt layout, so this week in the evenings I'm sort of going over the wiring and tracing some things down and trying to identify everything that I can compared to the schematic.

I've pretty much decided to do the 120 wiring first. It will be much less complicated. I have a lot of reading to do..
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Old 02-21-2011, 11:41 AM   #211
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Got new outlets for the 120 then decided that I needed to go ahead and get all new boxes for them.. on order.
A converter is ordered. I have a deep cell battery and a 12v patch panel.

- I need to find a breaker box for the 120. I went to Lowes but all that they sell are big things for houses.
- Do I need a fuse or something to connect between the battery and the 12v panel?

- Started on the windows. Vista views and the other oblong windows down below.
Not too bad. Removed the retaining clip thing, cleaned out and ready to replace.
Do I use butyl tape between the glass and the shell? What to use between the glass and the plexiglass?

Thanks.. Dan
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Old 02-21-2011, 01:22 PM   #212
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Daniel yes both the 12VDC+ and 12VDC- are fused between the battery and the converter. The originals are AG 50 amp glass fuses.
When I rebuilt my vv's and stack windows I used a good bead of vulkem to seat the glass to the window frame and pre-shimmed butyl between the inner and outer panes.
The pre-shimmed butyl has a rubber rope in the middle of the butyl so that it won't over compress and keep it's shape. The pre-shimmed butyl can be bought at glass shops. I'll try to get you the size if you want.
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Old 02-21-2011, 03:18 PM   #213
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I'm ok with the size I think.
It seems like on those windows you'd want to have the retainer ring putting some pressure on the windows, right?

One thing that I did get from the PO that was with the pile of stuff that I got with the trailer is the screens! I put them all in today to check it out and they are all there and all fit. Awesomeness.
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Old 02-21-2011, 05:10 PM   #214
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Gonna hit a glass shop tomorrow.

These bigger windows make me nervous. the film between the two pieces of glass has bubbled and disintegrated. It looks like I might be able to take these apart.
Is this going to be really difficult?
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Old 02-21-2011, 05:33 PM   #215
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Daniel which bigger windows are you talking about? The lift up ones? If they are the same as mine they come apart easily. The inner pane is plexiglass and is screwed together. Look for screws all the way around the window frame. Not the sash but the frame holding the glass panes together. I can explain further if they are what you are talking about.
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Old 02-21-2011, 06:19 PM   #216
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I need to look at them again. What it looked like to me was that the window was surrounded by a u channel thing and only at one point, at the bottom, did there appear to be a place to separate it. There is one rivet there.
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Old 02-21-2011, 08:05 PM   #217
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Windows

Daniel here is a couple of pics of my windows. The first shows a side view of the window still installed on the trailer. You can see the lift up arm and the screws around the frame. The second one is taken on the bench and you can see the bracket on the window frame that the lock cayches into and you can see the screws again. Like I said the inner pane is plexi and there is a gap between the panes of about an inch. The other type of windows are both glass panes and the two panes are a lot closer together. The second type needs to have rivets at the top and bottom of the frame drilled out to split the frame in half(left and right half). You also need to drill out the hinge rivets and remove it to split the frame. In this type the two panes are held in the one frame with one gasket. My type has two frames, one for each pane. The inner frame inserts into the outer frame and is secured with the screws.
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Old 02-22-2011, 06:23 PM   #218
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Thanks Chris, I appreciate that.
It looks like all of mine are of the second type. Rivets rivets everywhere

I guess I need to get some baby rivets for these and the tail light assemblies.
And gaskets and what-not.

I went by the glass place today, took them the plexiglass to have some new ones cut, I wont say how much it costs.. but it is a good bit more than I thought.

Anyway I talked to the guy about the butyl tape that you said that you used on the vista windows. He said that they didn't stock it because there wasn't much call for it. He said that that type of tape is designed for extreme temperatures. It sounds like the trick..

I took out a couple of the vista windows and cleaned them up. They had been caked with so much goop. The difference is dramatic. Awesomeness!
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Old 02-22-2011, 08:10 PM   #219
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Window repair

Daniel read this thread on how to repair your type of windows.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f454...m-37422-2.html

I looked up the butyl it is .215" thick and 1/2" wide pre-shimmed.
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Old 02-22-2011, 08:22 PM   #220
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Thanks Chris!
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