1948 Spartan Mansion - blog style of the restoration

[rebelstand]

You have been busy. Sorry you aren't happy with the floor...

[VeggieBullet]

oh...wow...you guys are busy!
The Spartan is looking good! Great job.
Few questions if you don't mind.
What size is the water heater?
Living up north aren't you concern about the PVC and the temperature?
Again you are doing a great job.
Please keep the pics coming!

[Avion C-11]

Very cool build! Thanks for the pics.

[Pillow]

Thanks everyone!

What size is the water heater?
Living up north aren't you concern about the PVC and the temperature?
Again you are doing a great job.
Please keep the pics coming!

The water heater is a 6 gallon IIRC. It is a tight fit, but it goes in and that is all that matters. I looked hard at the point if use "on demand" water heaters, but the customer reviews did not seem positive at all for electric units.

There is no "anti-drainback" valve installed so when the trailer is not in use all the fresh water can be drained out... Maybe some residual in the water heater tank, but it should be able to take a freeze I think.

On the Grey/Black water side the only p-trap in the system is 3/4 PVC under the bathroom. I figure once winter rolls around I will have to blow it out with air or just do the RV anti-freeze flush.

[silverwoman]

Hi Pillow, Your work is impressive. Is that a propane or electric 6 gallon water heater? All I can find online is an electric 6 gallon. Could you please post the link for where you bought yours if it's propane? thanks! Silverwoman

[Pillow]

Hi Silverwoman, the water heater is electric 120V.

I purchased this through Amazon since we have the Prime membership for free shipping. But Lowes and Home Depot also carry a 6 gallon electric on their shelves if you need one fast.

[Pillow]

Time for some clearance lights!

Set up your tools:


Old and dirty assemblies:


Luckily all the KD540 lights were there and in the tops in good shape! The bases as you can see are rusted beyond repair. The replacement bases can be purchased from Vintage Campers VintageCampers.com :: Vintage Campers, Vintage Trailers, Vintage Parts, Vintage Restorations

My input would be that need to come with mounting screws and a gasket. But a well made product none the less. Bulb is a #67 which need to be purchased separately.





I used RV butyl rubber tape for the gasket.




I used one door hinge screw for the recessed screw and a SS #10 by 3/4" for the flat head screw. NUmber #8s were just to small to get a good tight grip.


Fin!


Repeat process for the other 3.

Not shown. I used a soldering iron and heat shrink tube for the 12v wire connections from the new bases to the stock trailer wiring.

[Pillow]

Not that exciting but time consuming... The porch light has been cleaned and rewired.

I have yet to figure out what bulb needs to go in there. Update later.





I used the same RV butyl rubber tape for the gasket. The wiring is stranded 12 gauge soldered at the fixture and protected in heat shrink tube.

[Pillow]

Holy water leak Batman! Actually the water drains for the window channels need cleaned out periodically to avoid water sitting in the window channels and then leaking INTO the trailer and running down the glorious birch paneling... And over time even destroying the floor. Mine of course were clogged and allowing water to destroy the floor.







I cleaned out the inner channel with a shop-vac and small screw driver after removing the AL window cover of course. On the outside I used the air compressor with a "blower" bit to blow out the exterior weep holes all around... There was an amazing amount of black gunk that came out.

Note: the screwdriver placed in the weep hole is for illustrative purposes only. Do not try and clean the exterior weep holes with a screwdriver as the effort would be futile.

[Pillow]

Time for the A/C roof vent!

Here is the capped original hole.


One layer off


Second layer off.


We need a 6" hole... Amazingly enough the AL vent cap is a true 6" so I used it as a template.


I used a Bosch jigsaw with a metal cutting bit to cut the hole. This is clean and fast! Not need to make a sloppy hole with tin snips.




Extension collar being fitted into the hole.


Time to trim the inside paneling. Swap bits in the jigsaw to a wood bit and off you go.


And we have sleavage!


Prep the finish cap with RV butyl rubber tape before installation.


Install cap. I used 3/4" Zip-it HVAC metal screws. Then used TermPro 635 (Vulkem replacement) for around the top 3 edges. There is a "wrinkle" in the lower portion, but that should be okay for any needed drainage. I couldn't get anymore bend unless I cut the "squirrel cage" out and break that seal, which is a no-no in my book. The cage is your friend for all sorts of small critters.





Trim ring for the interior. 6" inner 8" outer.




Perfect no. But should suffice for its purpose to expel hot air from the Frigidaire A/C/heater. See previous posts on the unit. It was very difficult to find a 6" vent in AL.

[Pillow]

Time for some re-assembly pics.









... More to come!

[Pillow]

The Mansion has lived through Super Sandy! Yay!

But,with a couple leeks. Time for some Alumibond like VeggieBullet used on his restoration. I purchased 100' of 3" off Amazon Prime.

Grrr!!!!


The floor is fully installed as of midnight last night! Pictures to come.

[Pillow]

Here is a great example of what not to do when attempting to vent the electric refrigerator!



Here is the old grate prepped and ready for reinstallation. I sand blasted it, primed, and then painted with semi-gloss black. The screen is AL and is used behind the grate so that little critters do not enter the Mansion.



I used some Vulkem to go around the top three edges, just in case.


Fin!

[Pillow]

Sometimes it is the little things that make the journey better.

... I am not a fan of plastic ware... Upgrades were necessary. Thanks Costco!



I placed half the set in the tray for camping use... And the other half on the shelf for a rainy day.

[Pillow]

Lets get woody!













Time for the rear window insert.






And now a message from our sponsors...


Ahhh,


Frame in, now trim it out.

[Pillow]

Trim time to the max!

These are 1" strips in either 4' or 8' lengths. They are not nearly as nice as the originals. I may replace later with solid Maple strips which would be properly beveled on the edges.











Extra brace in the middle of this saggy panel. Hey, it works although not ideal.

[Pillow]

Floor time!

This very time consuming, but the cost is reasonable. 1/16 Trowel ~$15, Glue ~$20 (1 gal 1 Qt), 5 boxes Armstrong VCT tiles at ~$35 each. You will need a good razor and heat gun. My favs are the Lenox Gold razor with matching blades and a Milwaukee heat gun.

Greatest tutorial ever for VCT!

How To Install Vinyl Tile (VCT) Start To Finish Complete Job - YouTube

Poster Redneck Responder has other great VCT install videos as well, check them out if you want to know how to install properly. There are plenty of Busch videos out there which are not helpful at all.

IMO the Armstrong tiles are the ones to get. Anything else is too el cheapo. Lowes and Home Depot carry them. Get the Henry glue from Lowes though, much easier to work with and clean up.



Glue down for the first half of the Observation Lounge.


Front VCT installed.

[Pillow]

A/C vent installation. This is needed to evacuate the hot air from the A/C system. I chose insulated 6" vent, ~$40. The insulation value is R-8, which I hope helps a bit. The escaping air really is warm! I used normal 3/4" sheet metal screws for installation. Also large zip ties for the outer wrapper tie down.

[girlscan2]

Where would you find paneling this same color? I have only been able to find a reddish color that does not begin to match. Thanks

[BeachHouse]

You need to get some custom stain made to match the color. Most paint stores can do that. You have to take some wood that you want to stain and of course the old wood you want to match. Your wood is probably birch, but on one picture it looks like cherry.