Duct Tape Boondocking- A roll ahead of others

[Ray Eklund]

As Airstream Boondockers we need to save money for IPA Beer and thick steaks while suffering among the wide open spaces... even if it is in your back yard. I have found several items, manmade, that have purposes beyond most people's imagination.

Duct Tape: To ease the confusion has several definitions. None are my own, but Mr. Webster's 1981. (X) indicates incorrect use of Boondocker Duct Tape.

1- ... bodily tube for a secretion of a gland. (X)
2- ... a pipe or tubular tube that conveys a substance. (X)
3- ... continuous tube formed in plant tissue. (X)
4- ... a layer as in the atmosphere which occurs under abnormal conditions. (X)

Obviously, Webster's dictionary is not reliable. Not to be confused with DUCK Tape... which would be a new thread under Hunting and Bird "repairs".

Wikipedia really has it down! Search Duct Tape and be informed. But... this is not meant to be a highly scientific and historical thread. They have uses for Ductwork. Spaceflight. Military uses. Sealing tape for ammunition boxes...

But no mention of Airstream or some other brand trailer uses. You and I are on our own with limited imaginations, as myself. Although those fiber glass SOB's sure leak when it rains... a lot... and can use a color of duct tape to hide the fact when selling it to someone else.

Today, for example.

(1) I throw this round rubber ring about six inches in diameter for my Blue Heeler to chase down, return to me and throw it again. The manufacturer molded it with four incised grooves equally spaced. When used, these grooves flex and tear through the round molded ring. I mentioned this to the manufacturer some years ago and they sent a carton of "free replacements". Tried it again and... no response. I am onto their "gig" and they my "gig". I use "blue duct tape" and wrap these incised areas when they break through. It extends the life of the ring for... well forever I guess, as long as I have duct tape. Chances of me buying from them again... near nil.

(2) Our 2006 Airstream front frame under the Propane Tanks takes a gravel beating and chips the paint off. Our 2014 I took the same "blue duct tape" and wrapped it around this frame from the aluminum body to the "ball hitch". Both sides. It is very durable and shows no wear at all. The frame will not get chipped, rust or be an eye sore. Looks real "sexy" from a distance.

(3) When a plastic vent cover blew off at a Casino parking lot on our 2006 Safari, I sealed the opening with... grey duct tape. The color I had on hand. I was able to get a replacement cover in Reno with the Craps Table winnings from West Wendover, NV. Woo... woo. Duct tape saved our day.

So, your uses might be like taping a tear in an airplane's wing or repairing your rubber fly fishing boots for an extra ten years of use, or fixing leaks on your boat... or WHAT? I am sure I have exhausted all of the uses for BLUE duct tape, and am running low at the present.

[Ray Eklund]

Please... hold back a little. Duct Tape is not the magic fix all. It will NOT help a Dometic Air Conditioner run more efficient. If your tire tread is thin... just break down and replace them. There are "newbies" on this Forum that might take some of your "generous comments" the wrong way. I know, I can be a bit crass before meals, myself.

So none of this "I restored my 1958 Airstream with duct tape and it looks just wonderful". Although Thalweg might have on his trailer's restoration... but it is a trade secret. You will be able to see it on the 2016 Black Hills Duct Tape Adventure.

I have met some of you. You are creative individuals. Some, much too creative, but lay off the booze for a few minutes and offer some serious uses of our favorite flexible "tool and repair"... duct tape.

(It does not work for editing, either.)

[Lily&Me]

Ohh, Ray.

Doug once taped a muffler or something up with duct tape, after a bracket under the Interstate broke off, til we could get it repaired.

Clear duct tape can almost invisibly repair a small hole in an awning.


Maggie

[MarkR]

I tore the heavy duty thick black gorilla duct tape in thirds, and ran it on all the inside faces of my ribs before reinstalling the interior skins - as a poor man's thermal break . . . I kept it a secret until now because I know someone will say it'll do no good, and may cause all manner of calamity.

[Ray Eklund]

MarkR & Lily&Me are a "roll ahead of everyone on the Airforums"!

"The Discovery Channel series MythBusters has featured duct tape in a number of myths that involve non-traditional uses. Confirmed myths include suspending a car for a period of time, building a functional cannon, a two-person sailboat, a two-person canoe (with duct tape paddles), wearable shoes, a leak proof water canister, rope, and a hammock which can support the weight of an adult male, and constructing a bridge that spanned the width of a dry dock. In the episode "Duct Tape Plane", the MythBusters repaired (and eventually replaced) the skin of a lightweight airplane with duct tape and flew it a few meters above a runway."

As MarkR described using some duct tape on the interior ribs of his restoration... if that works... Jackson Center might want to listen very closely. I can imagine in cold weather that the ribs would "frost up" on the interior aluminum skin. A great conductor of heat and cold might have a simple cure.

How many times have you seen a rear convertible plastic window... duct taped? Would work on a plastic window guard on an Airstream as well. I had a star crack in the front window guard and used clear normal packing tape to protect it. So, not technically a duct tape use... but the ancestor TO duct tape.

Looking at Maggie's Interstate...it sure looks like silver duct tape to me.

"Two rules get you through life: If it's stuck and it's not supposed to be, WD-40 it. If it's not stuck and it's supposed to be, duct tape it". (Wikipedia)

"The combination of WD-40 and duct tape is sometimes referred to as "the redneck repair kit"." From Wikipedia. That is what I remember in my 20's as I used duct tape and the 99 cent can of WD-40 and the red straw attachment... a lot. WD-40 will goo up the adhesive on duct tape, so do not use it together.

Duct tape has many temporary repair uses in emergencies. The fresher the tape.. the better the adhesive. Do not buy the cheap stuff. It has a short shelf life and adhesive life.

There is nothing better than a package of Duct Tape for Xmas in your stockings. Maybe a can of WD-40 for the Airstream squeaky door hinges... Santa's Airstream uses only the best. So should you.

[dames7]

I use Duck Tape to wrap around my wine bottle and put it into a cold river stream, help bottle from breaking and boy was it good use to keep it cool.

[The Ice Man]

Duct tape and WD-40, two of life's essentials. You can down load a pdf of 2000 uses for WD-40 here:
http://www.wd40.com/files/wd40-2000.pdf
From removing gum or Play Dough from your child's hair to removing the Lime ring in your Toilet Never travel without both.

[Thalweg]

Originally Posted by Ray Eklund

So none of this "I restored my 1958 Airstream with duct tape and it looks just wonderful". Although Thalweg might have on his trailer's restoration... but it is a trade secret. You will be able to see it on the 2016 Black Hills Duct Tape Adventure.

You got me thinking about it for a minute, and I honestly can't think of any conventional duct tape on my trailer at all I do have some aluminum duct tape on the furnace ducts though. I've got three or four rolls in the garage, but most are so old that they are either too sticky, or not sticky at all. However, I promise that on our next trip, if you look in my toolbox, you'll find a roll. I never take a trip without it.

I was once on a group canoe trip in Arkansas. Someone nearly broke their canoe in half. Everybody combined their duct tape and wrapped the canoe up. The boat made it home fully in tact.

[cameront120]

Speaking of boats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPbubMAYN7g

[Lily&Me]

Duct tape can also help create a splint and be used to cover open wounds in an emergency.


Maggie

[B00merang]

Ray...this is what I think. You're completely snowed in again, aren't you. You came up with similar cerebral musings this time last year...which largely stopped in spring. Admit it....you're completely snow bound. Don't be too proud to let us know when you need digging out. jon

[Ray Eklund]

BOOmer... Boulder City, NV is wonderful during the winter. You would think that the people doing the landscaping in our backyard had a telephone and understood Coloradoian. The 17 pallets of pavers seem to be half gone, but I want them "whole gone". With the 2016 Tucson Rock Show coming in four weeks... our landscaping should be finished, the trailer is already to go, I have been for a month now... and so long Airforums! Lost $180 shooting Craps at the Silverado Casino in Henderson, so will not play until January. Obviously, bad timing on my part.

Cameron & the Labradors... I loved Red Green! Where else do you think these ideas about improving our Airstreams come from, after all.

Maybe the "new 2016 mini Airstream" might include a bit of back country ingenuity. If Aluminum is not handy... maybe some heating and cooling prefabricated component duct work, duct tape and an outboard motor to eliminate the frame, wheels, tires and the need for an expensive tow vehicle.

Some think out of the box. Some of us, think within a closed padded room with locks in the box. There are advantages to both as long as you have the Weather Channel and access to a reciprocating saw.

I find that too many people take life far too seriously. Myself included, but there are times just to build your duct tape and air duct boat and enjoy life one day at a time. If we all had a Grampa building an Airstream Duct Trailer in the garage, needing our help... we would all be better off for it.

[gecko]

Ray--thanks for the entertainment!

As a small boat sailor, I can attest to the amazing diversity of uses for the stuff. The Tornado Olympic Class Catamarans I used to race were super fast in part because they are super light. The way we did that is to make non load areas such as the bow and stern extremely meager in materials. Should there ever be a close encounter with something solid, even at relatively low speed, your bow could look like a shark turned sideways and bit a large chunk out of it. And here you are, with the next race start in 49 minutes...duct tape to the rescue! I can attest to a complete form holding shape as the "repaired" bow remained bone dry driving at 30 knots into 5 foot seas!

Now that we windsurf instead, it's fantastic for covering blisters on feet or hands by slicing the ends into long strips that you work between fingers/toes and making knight-like boots or gloves--the silver looks particularly fetching!

Caution though--prolonged exposure to direct sun and heat and the silver will eventually flake off, leaving the very tuff and sticky fabric/glue combo underneath a difficult mess to remove. So for outdoor use, we only use the silver stuff for short term repairs.

Better luck with the blue for longer term outdoor sun exposure?

[B00merang]

Safe travels to you, Ray, and a healthy and (at least moderately) happy 2016. Hope to catch up with you someday. jon

[Ray Eklund]

Duct Tape Boondocking- A roll ahead of others.

I could just as easily find life's ambition to make it "Toilet Tissue- Boondocking by the Foot". But I decided to wipe that off of my list of topics for 2015.

Can any of you imagine what a group of Off the Grid Airstreamers or tent campers are like on these Adventures? They arrive as normal people, more like yourselves, than myself ...and just do not know any better and have a good time. You will leave disheveled, sun burned and maybe several pounds lighter due to the outdoor activities... but better off for it. If "duct tape or toilet paper" is off limits for a discussion in Boondocking... well so should be which end of the shovel is the working end when your trailer is stuck and needs some excavating.

Or "Dumb things you can do to your Airstream". Get with the duct tape promoters and forget having a door bell or a printed number on your trailer. Or worry about the price of unleaded fuel, if it snows in Iowa in January or can I camp in Calgary during the Winter with a solar panel...? Geez. Have fun, for once... or twice, or whenever you want to do something different.

Use your time wisely, as when you are too old to remember where you left your pants... you had better hook up that shiny Airstream and catch a trip that was worth doing. When my life's odometer turned 65... my attitude button began to glow. Give us 2016 Wyoming. Give us 2016 Black Hills. Give us... your "extreme opinion(s)" that are the norm for some of us. Call me a Dreamer... but say it with a smile. OK?

[PeterKV]

we used to call the army version of duct tape "100 MPH tape" most of our helicopters, especially the hueys were covered with the tape to cover bullet holes or cracked sections in the fuselage and yes the tape would stay attached at 100 mph

[Ray Eklund]

PeterKV... you must have spent 20 weeks at Fort Wolters, Texas. That was not part of the classroom topics...using duct tape on the rotor's to cover some holes, as well. When someone steps into a military helicopter and realizes that the skin of aluminum is no thicker than their Airstream (I have to assume) skin... duct tape is sufficient for "temporary patching".

[Ray Eklund]

BigButtUgly... I do not want to hear from you. You are a Duct Tape Disbeliever.

Scotch Tape is NOT in the same category and might work on your trailer but not mine. Start your own Thread.

[tevake]

Aloha Ray, do you have a booth at Tucson, my ex will be there shopping for her jewelry work. Seems like you may have some interesting things to check out.

What sort of items will you be selling? Can you share your location or booth number?

Cheers Richard

[dames7]

Hey, its Christmas Moring and my wife got me 5 rolls of different color duct tape, cant waite to use them.

Another great day in America.

Merry Christmas and God bless all you AS nuts.