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Old 07-22-2016, 05:46 PM   #341
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Greg, what piece of aluminum are you referring too?
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Old 07-24-2016, 09:52 AM   #342
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Brad and Ernie are hitting an issue with 'tail lights' that I think others need to be made aware of.

Peanut came with the factory fitted light bar, or what is left of one. I picked up later model 'plastic' lights as replacements, very similar to a 310.

I had previously removed the belt-line trims in prep for the body so we have a really clear view of fitment issues. Ernie has been re-working the metal around the corners but both Brad and Ernie are very happy the contours are 'original'.

So when they tried to fit the new lights and found the lights don't follow the contour they were surprised.



Brad has 310 plastic lights and they were no better, however he also has some of the circular light clusters ready to use on his Argosy; those fitted perfectly.





So why is the poor fitting not obvious on the later models? Can't simply it isn't visible - because the light cluster sits between the two belt-line trims



Unless each cluster was trimmed by hand during installation, the assumption is all MH with the plastic type clusters will have gaps between the bodywork and cluster, just not visible because of the belt-line.

We are hoping the addition of some rubber edge trim and the use of Vulkem will allow the plastic lights to be used on Peanut, but this is something others should be aware of as it is a definite possible source for water ingress.



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Old 07-24-2016, 11:46 AM   #343
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Just to add a little to what Martin mentioned about the tail lights. I was really surprised how poorly the Classic style plastic lights fit on Peanut. I had saved the two rear quarter sections from the 345 that I dismantled and the fit of the Classic style plastic lights wasn't all that good either. My opinion is Airstream just did a lousy job of fitting the plastic tail lights. I'm sure the reason they stopped using the cast housings was due to cost. It's a shame they couldn't have done better though.

To give you an idea how bad Peanut was beat up in the rear this picture should give you an idea of what's going on.
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The good news is the picture makes the dents look worse than they really are. Ernie has been slowly pulling the dents out with a PDR dent puller kit that Martin bought. It takes time but knowing where to tap while pulling on the dent helps a lot. Ernie mentioned that he was surprised how easy the aluminum was to work compared to steel! I think the biggest problem doing Airstream body work is getting access to the backside of the panel you're working on.


I was pretty worried about how the new right rear tail light was going to fit due to the large dent that was below the rub rail but just above the light assembly. The following two pictures shows the before and after where Ernie was able to pull the dent out to where it the tail light now has a pretty decent fit.
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Around 8 to 10 years ago Peanut had these dents in the rear cap. Note how much the bathroom vent slopes downward.
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At some point the dents were worked on to where they look like this today.
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Once we get a platform setup at the right working height Ernie will have a go at fixing these dents. Should be a challenge!


I finally climbed up on a ladder to get a better peek at the roof and I think I found another possible source for water leaks at the front. There is an old antenna mount at the front and all of the sealant has shriveled up around it.
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I think the smartest thing would be to remove the antenna mount altogether and place a patch panel over it. I'll let Martin make that decision


On a slightly different note, I lifted up the outdoor carpeting in Peanut's electrical compartment and found the hole for the shore power cord One more mystery solved!
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Old 07-24-2016, 02:14 PM   #344
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Originally Posted by bkahler View Post
Greg, what piece of aluminum are you referring too?
To the left of the steering column. In one pic you see the finished product. In the other you see the part laying in the position it should have been installed. Oh well, it will still work fine. I wonder if it will cause fatigue in my left leg?
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Old 07-24-2016, 02:32 PM   #345
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I finally climbed up on a ladder to get a better peek at the roof and I think I found another possible source for water leaks at the front. There is an old antenna mount at the front and all of the sealant has shriveled up around it.

I had a similar situation with my tv antenna. I removed it and never looked back. You can see the details in post #54 in 'Countdown to Kickoff'.

I agree with your comments about the plastic tail lights. I had mine in and out a half a dozen times. I am not convinced I ever did get them sealed up. Finally just gave up and moved on to the next project. I strive for perfection but, sometimes you just have to take what you get. If you don't you will never get finished.
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Old 07-24-2016, 03:32 PM   #346
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To the left of the steering column. In one pic you see the finished product. In the other you see the part laying in the position it should have been installed. Oh well, it will still work fine. I wonder if it will cause fatigue in my left leg?
Ok, I see what you're referring too!

As for leg fatigue, hopefully .040" isn't enough to make a difference
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Old 07-24-2016, 03:40 PM   #347
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I had a similar situation with my tv antenna. I removed it and never looked back. You can see the details in post #54 in 'Countdown to Kickoff'.
I'm not a fan of anything that penetrates the roof. The less the better.


Quote:
I agree with your comments about the plastic tail lights. I had mine in and out a half a dozen times. I am not convinced I ever did get them sealed up. Finally just gave up and moved on to the next project. I strive for perfection but, sometimes you just have to take what you get. If you don't you will never get finished.
I guess the thing that amazes me is Airstream's are supposed to be considered high end yet they go and install something that is just plain cheezy. Stupid if you ask me.
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Old 07-24-2016, 04:51 PM   #348
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bkahler View Post

I finally climbed up on a ladder to get a better peek at the roof and I think I found another possible source for water leaks at the front. There is an old antenna mount at the front and all of the sealant has shriveled up around it.
Attachment 267635

I think the smartest thing would be to remove the antenna mount altogether and place a patch panel over it. I'll let Martin make that decision
I vote remove and patch!
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Old 07-24-2016, 05:16 PM   #349
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I vote remove and patch!
Being as you're the chairman of the board I believe your vote carries more weight than Ernie's and mine combined
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Old 07-31-2016, 01:26 PM   #350
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Here's a quick picture of the rear end cap. The rust around the rivets and along the edge of the cap was buffed off with Dremel Abrasive Buffs, the metal prepped with Rustoleum Reformer and then primed with Rustoleum Above The Water Line Primer using foam brushes. This is one coat of primer. I would think multiple coats of primer will need to be added and then sanded smooth. The key is not sanding through the primer to the Reformer coat.

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Apparently the front cap has been sanded down because this is what I found when I got home last night
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Old 07-31-2016, 01:50 PM   #351
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Originally Posted by bkahler View Post
Here's a quick picture of the rear end cap. The rust around the rivets and along the edge of the cap was buffed off with Dremel Abrasive Buffs, the metal prepped with Rustoleum Reformer and then primed with Rustoleum Above The Water Line Primer using foam brushes. This is one coat of primer. I would think multiple coats of primer will need to be added and then sanded smooth. The key is not sanding through the primer to the Reformer coat.

Attachment 268047


Apparently the front cap has been sanded down because this is what I found when I got home last night
Attachment 268046
Looks like Ernie has been busy whilst you have been away Brad....good progress it seems!
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Old 07-31-2016, 02:33 PM   #352
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Looks like Ernie has been busy whilst you have been away Brad....good progress it seems!
If it would stop raining so much he might make even more progress!

Before I left town I managed to finish fabricating the rest of the parts for the radiator fan mount. The parts have been painted and I'll see if I can get them assembled sometime this week.

I'm not overly thrilled with how it came out, mainly because the engine oil cooler mounts between the radiator and the fan. If it doesn't cool well enough the engine oil cooler will probably need to be relocated. We can worry about that when the time comes!

Brad
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Old 08-01-2016, 11:08 AM   #353
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The sight you came home to last night and what we had/have in our driveway last night/this morning, look quite similar. Only difference is our tarp is beige
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Old 08-01-2016, 11:11 AM   #354
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I will say Ernie didn't do a very good job of color coordinating when he put a blue tarp on a beige motorhome
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Old 08-01-2016, 11:17 AM   #355
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Yeah, what's with that!
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Old 08-01-2016, 12:53 PM   #356
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Well, I wasn't there to supervise.....
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Old 08-05-2016, 08:59 AM   #357
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Finally got a chance to climb a ladder and take a closer look at Peanut's roof. Not necessarily a pretty sight. There are five or six potential leak sources and probably some that I didn't see.

This first hole really has me baffled. It's over 1/2" in diameter and looks nice a fresh.
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The Fantastic fan needs to have the seams resealed and the heads of the screws need to be covered as well.
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I'm not sure if this is part of the antenna mount but it has some nice large gaps in the vulkem so it's going to need to be scraped down and fixed.
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Same for the antenna mount. It's going to get removed and a patch put in place.
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I think this AC shroud has seen better days
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Looks like the focus for this weekend will be patching as much of the roof as I can between rain storms and high heat and humidity.
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Old 08-05-2016, 10:16 AM   #358
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Originally Posted by bkahler View Post
Finally got a chance to climb a ladder and take a closer look at Peanut's roof. Not necessarily a pretty sight. There are five or six potential leak sources and probably some that I didn't see.

This first hole really has me baffled. It's over 1/2" in diameter and looks nice a fresh.
Attachment 268334


The Fantastic fan needs to have the seams resealed and the heads of the screws need to be covered as well.
Attachment 268336


I'm not sure if this is part of the antenna mount but it has some nice large gaps in the vulkem so it's going to need to be scraped down and fixed.
Attachment 268337


Same for the antenna mount. It's going to get removed and a patch put in place.
Attachment 268338


I think this AC shroud has seen better days
Attachment 268335


Looks like the focus for this weekend will be patching as much of the roof as I can between rain storms and high heat and humidity.
Maybe the hole previously had something like this stuck in it Brad?



I have no objections if the hole gets blocked by installing something similar (if if not connected to anything internal yet!).
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Old 08-05-2016, 11:06 AM   #359
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Martin, I was thinking more about just covering it with a 2" square patch plate riveted in place. I'll poke around a little in the hole to see if it seems to go anywhere.
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Old 08-05-2016, 11:56 AM   #360
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Martin, I was thinking more about just covering it with a 2" square patch plate riveted in place. I'll poke around a little in the hole to see if it seems to go anywhere.
Whatever is easiest Brad. Seemed to be right on the seem so I thought patching would be an issue, but you know best.
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