Abby gets some separation H

[Lance M]

Always learning...

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by Top

Chris,
Thanks for the compliments. I'm thinking of having either some louvered slots or some machinery cloth for the bumper storage compartment to drain out of.

Question
Is there any reason that the little red light that comes on when shore power is applied would be wired between the Neutral and the ground? I know it used to work when I had her plugged in. Now it doesn't. I opened the cover and found it is wired like that. I pulled one lead off the N and shoved it up in the L and it came on like it used to.

Top,
That little red light is a polarity light & should only come on if your trailer is plugged into a socket that has the neutral (white) & the load (black) wires reversed. This system is an antiquated system that alerts you to a power source that was wired incorrectly.

If your trailer also had another issue in that the neutral was grounded somewhere in the trailer, you would have what is called the "hot skin" condition. This is very dangerous because if you step out of the trailer & have one hand touching the metal skin & one foot on the ground at the same time, you may get electrocuted. You need to make sure the ground & the neutral never come together in the trailer, anywhere. Also, make sure the entry box & lead cord are wired correctly with the black wire connected to the load side & the white wire connected to the neutral buss.

You should also disconnect the polarity light system, as this will cause problems if you plug into a GFCI protected socket. The GFCI system is a somewhat more sophisticated than the polarity light & will cause the GFCI to "pop" if the differential between any of the three wires (green, black or white) does not meet certain criteria.

As the polarity light is a 120 volt lamp that is wired between the neutral & the ground, it will only light up if the neutral is live. This of course is not a good thing. Although your trailer may be wired correctly, there are many campgrounds out there that have handymen that don't have a clue what they're doing & reverse the neutral & the load somewhere in their system.

Now, even if your trailer is wired correctly & you plug it into a campground that is wired correctly & it has GFCI outlet, the GFCI will pop because of the polarity lamp still in the system. Do youself a favor & take it out & make sure you test your complete trailer with a tester, then you & your family will be safe.
Colin

[Lance M]

Thanks Colin. I was just reading a thread about the "hot skin" condition.
I will take your advice and remove the polarity light. I was all over the trailer this afternoon probing for stray voltage. I didn't find anything unusual. Just a light hooked up to the neutral! I'm kinda wondering about the bare ground wire that goes from the ground bus in the service box to the frame. Where is the best place to ground the box to the frame. It was at the rear hold down plate. I know that that isn't the best place. Just anywhere on the main frame rails?

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by Top

Thanks Colin. I was just reading a thread about the "hot skin" condition.
I will take your advice and remove the polarity light. I was all over the trailer this afternoon probing for stray voltage. I didn't find anything unusual. Just a light hooked up to the neutral! I'm kinda wondering about the bare ground wire that goes from the ground bus in the service box to the frame. Where is the best place to ground the box to the frame. It was at the rear hold down plate. I know that that isn't the best place. Just anywhere on the main frame rails?

Yeah, anywhere on the main frame rails. Use a ground lug.
Colin

[Lance M]

I hope y'all are enjoying your day. Today I took the shroud off of the air conditioner to give it a good cleaning. I hosed it down with water, blew it out with air, repeat about a dozen or so times. It is sparkling clean now and blowing nice cool air. I had some water leaking inside so I cleaned off the old sealant and applied C-10 Flo-Seal. I need another tube! It is really runny stuff. It was 93 degrees here today so it was getting a workout this afternoon. I don't have the insulation in the walls yet so that doesn't help any. Here are some pics of the AC.


I then started to replace the road side outer belly skin. It is all dented and corroded. The four or so hidden rivets were a pain to drill out. I'm using 6061 T6 .025"


I also took the water heater out of the box and placed it in the hole. I kept the stainless cover from the old water heater in hopes of using it again. Don't think I can make that work. I believe I'll re-skin the cover with some 2024 alclad. The white just isn't going to work for me.

[soldiermedic]

Originally Posted by Top

I also took the water heater out of the box and placed it in the hole. I kept the stainless cover from the old water heater in hopes of using it again. Don't think I can make that work. I believe I'll re-skin the cover with some 2024 alclad. The white just isn't going to work for me.
Attachment 127888

Until then...spray paint is your buddy. My 56 caravanner had a spray painted cover that was previously white.

[Chuck]

first I've heard of the polarity light actually causing a problem.

never popped a campground breaker. I've also never seen the light "on"...never tested it, either. maybe its not connected.

[Lance M]

Originally Posted by soldiermedic

Until then...spray paint is your buddy. My 56 caravanner had a spray painted cover that was previously white.

What happened to the Caravaner? I don't remember you ever talking about a Caravaner.

It shouldn't take me too long to put some nice overlay on the door. The more I think of it though, I may just take the tank and control from the new one and put it in the old water heater shell. I'm not too fond of how the new unit's frame was made. It is really flimsy.

[Colin H]

Originally Posted by Chuck

first I've heard of the polarity light actually causing a problem.

never popped a campground breaker. I've also never seen the light "on"...never tested it, either. maybe its not connected.

It won't pop a normal breaker, it'll pop the GFCI.
Colin

[Chuck]

yeah...I'm just thinking that if gfci hookups are common in campgrounds, I must have (statistically speaking) plugged into one at some point. I used to plug into one at my house and never had a problem.
Like I said..maybe the polarity light is disconnected.
We'll see when I pull the bathroom out and embark on my own rear floor-rot repair journey.

[Aerowood]

Originally Posted by Colin H

Yeah, anywhere on the main frame rails. Use a ground lug.
Colin

Something you might want to consider is after attaching the ground lug (I use thinned PRC) seal the whole thing, lug, bolt, everything, to keep moisture from causing corrosion between the ground lug and the (most likely dissimilar metal) steel frame

[Trex]

Originally Posted by Top

I hope y'all are enjoying your day. Today I took the shroud off of the air conditioner to give it a good cleaning.

TOP, Trainer of Personnel.... what type of ladder are you using to work on your AC, in Post #205? Post a pic, maybe? I need to get a better ladder for my use.....

[Lance M]

Hey Rex,
That fine ladder is a "Versaladder" Made in the USA. Wisconsin to be exact. My Father in Law bought it for me for Christmas about 12 years ago. It is a very handy ladder.

I hope y'all are having a very happy Easter.

[Lance M]

Today was a "Training Holiday". I got a few things accomplished today. I installed two layers of the 1" polyisocyanurate insulation on the road side from the wheel well aft. I am screwing it to the floor. I'm not using any glue or adhesive. If I ever have to take the insulation out, I'll be able to re-use it. I used some aluminum tape to seal the edges.


After that I worked on the nanner wrap. It was pretty corroded and dented up. I scrubbed it with alumiprep and a Scotchbrite pad then pounded out the dents as best as I could. I put a small patch over the hole where the city water inlet was. I'm relocating the water inlet because I want to limit the number of holes drilled in the floor. I painted the inside of the nanner wrap with some primer to inhibit corrosion.
Before

After

[bwoodtx]

Looks purty good there, Lance. Are you going to make the rally at San Marcos?

[Lance M]

As I have posted before, I'm using 6061 T6 .025" for the belly pan. I got the new sheet all cut, drilled and mostly installed today. I have to cut a hole in the floor, insulation and belly pan for the water heater gas line. After that I can finish the installation of the bottom wide flange rivets. I shot all new solid rivets between the outer skin, belly pan and the C channel. It is nice to have that access hole there. That way I can do it all by myself. It was kinda close quarters, but I managed to get 'er done.



It is nice to have the electricity all hooked up so I can listen to some tunes while working. The old Motorola FM works great and sounds very good for being 39 years old. Here is the highlight song of the day.
YouTube - Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man

[Lance M]

Originally Posted by bwoodtx

Looks purty good there, Lance. Are you going to make the rally at San Marcos?

I think so. I'd like to be fully functional by then. Not sure though. Things at work might be a little hectic around then and the kids are still in school for a week after that. If I can get about six solid days of work in between now and tomorrow, maybe! We'll see I guess

[marzboy]

lookin good!! Im still workin on the tank brackets, but I am almost done. Cant wait to be where you are

[Lance M]

Thanks Jav. I like your tank setup BTW. Looks groovy.

Well, yesterday I spent sealing seams around windows and the lap seams on the roof. I've been using Acryl-R for the panel seams. I purchased it from the online Airstream store. It is really sticky stuff. I taped the seam, then ran a bead, manually facilitated the capillary action (squished it in the seam with my finger), then pulled the tape off. I have about 75% of the trailer remaining. I sealed around a few window frames with 3M 540 polyurethane sealant. A PO used Parbond. I don't think it held up too well. I'll post some pics of that tomorrow.

Today I worked on the curbside nanner wrap and belly pan/battery box. I did the same as the roadside with the insulation and so, not to bore you, I didn't take any pictures.

I got the Sea-level tank sensors and the Charge wizard for my PD 9160A I ordered from bestconverter.com. I have to do some research on the sea-level sensors before I install them.

Tomorrow, more insulating the floor and walls. Nice weather here today. It wasn't as hot as yesterday, only 82. My Dad said it was snowing in Minneapolis. Crazy.

When I was riveting the belly pan this was playing.

[Trex]

Originally Posted by Top

Thanks Jav. I like your tank setup BTW. Looks groovy.

Well, yesterday I spent sealing seams around windows and the lap seams on the roof. I've been using Acryl-R for the panel seams. I purchased it from the online Airstream store. It is really sticky stuff. I taped the seam, then ran a bead, manually facilitated the capillary action (squished it in the seam with my finger), then pulled the tape off. I have about 75% of the trailer remaining. I sealed around a few window frames with 3M 540 polyurethane sealant. A PO used Parbond. I don't think it held up too well. I'll post some pics of that tomorrow.

Today I worked on the curbside nanner wrap and belly pan/battery box. I did the same as the roadside with the insulation and so, not to bore you, I didn't take any pictures.

I got the Sea-level tank sensors and the Charge wizard for my PD 9160A I ordered from bestconverter.com. I have to do some research on the sea-level sensors before I install them.

Tomorrow, more insulating the floor and walls. Nice weather here today. It wasn't as hot as yesterday, only 82. My Dad said it was snowing in Minneapolis. Crazy.

When I was riveting the belly pan this was playing.

Looks like the Red Army didn't mess around with much Hand-to-Hand combat during WW II, once they went on the offensive.