71 safari question

[jamesardis]

Can anyone post a pic of the drainage system and the electrical as well?--Dont have a serv. manual-is the 72 same as the 71?--------Which is the lesser of two evils-1] a wet spot on the plywood floor or 2] a TARP over my baby?---noobietuber

[AYRSTRM2]

Less of two evils.....Well, DON'T put a tarp over it. You'l screw up the skin. And that you can't recover from.

If it MUST be outside and you have a leak, then you must be attentive and everytime it rains get that wetspot dried up ASAP. Intercept the leak before it gets to the floor. Find the leak and fix it (though that is not as easy as it sounds).

But don't throw a tarp over it.

Is the floor damaged yet?

John

[Safari Tim]

I think we need a leak FAQ ;-)

Places to look for leaks:

1. Vent stack gaskets. Replace with new gaskets, screen, and vulkem
2. Window and door gaskets and hatch doors. All the same on a '71 and still availble, replace and use 3M gasket adhesive
3. Window frames. Use vulkem and parabond for small 1/16" or smaller cracks. Pay close attention to the mitered corners on the front wrap windows. Use parabond here.
4. Fridge chimney stack. Remove vent cover, and insert that goes into roof. Clean and reseal with vulkem.
5. TV antenna. If not using, remove and patch with aluminum sheet, vulkem, and olympic rivets. Otherwise, seal with vulkem the best you can.
6. Check, cleanout A/C condensation tube with an air compressor. Depending on the A/C model, be sure the gasket mounting seal is properly seated. Sometimes they need to be replaced.
7. Remove and seal lower trim peice where belly pan meets siding. At the least, seal the top of this trim all the way around with parabond.
8. Seal with vulkum the vent flanges on the roof.
9. Remove marker lights and seal the screw and wire penetrations with parabond, or at least seal across the top and sides with parabond

That should cover most of it. Good luck sealing up your trailer!

[Chuck]

Originally Posted by Safari Tim

4. Fridge chimney stack. Remove vent cover, and insert that goes into roof. Clean and reseal with vulkem.

I dont' want to do that; mine still has the factory "bucked" rivets.
they should've made that piece removeable, though, for this reason, and also, it collects leaves and debris and stuff...hard to clean it out.

[Safari Tim]

Originally Posted by chuck

I dont' want to do that; mine still has the factory "bucked" rivets.
they should've made that piece removeable, though, for this reason, and also, it collects leaves and debris and stuff...hard to clean it out.

To each their own as they say.

However, I pulled the rounded chimeny topper off, just six rivets on that. Then the insert peice. That had an original gasket material that was totally shot. It was not sealer in there, just a gasket that had completely deteriorated.

I cleaned the roof and the mounting flange, resealed with vulkem and used olypmic rivets to install. I shaved them but since its covered by the top piece it does not matter. I also tooke the opportunity to install some screening material over the chimney vent since there was not any to keep the leaves and debris out

If you don't at least pull the chimney cover off you can't really properly seal the roof penetration there. Believe me, I tried!

[Chuck]

yeah, I should just do it. I just hate the idea of drilling out those nice perfectly round factory rivets on the cover part. what's underneath...don't care about hw that looks; its not visible. just talking about the rounded cover thingy.

I would think that a leak in that area would be fairly easy to see from the 'fridge access door. no sign of a leak there in mine. but then again, I hardly ever go in there, as my fridge (late model) lights itself. but when I last looked, there was no sign of wet floor, or anything. could be that it leaks like a seive, and just runs down the wall cavity, onto the chicken-wire floor vent, and drops out onto the ground. maybe they should've made the floor like that all around. would solve alot of problems for alot of folks.

[jamesardis]

john-thanx for the reply-no the floor is great- I pulled the carpet and the ply looks new!-the leak must be up on the roof cause ive sealed the tops of the windows

[jamesardis]

Tim-Ive parabonded the tops of the windows-but I will recheck the mitered corners- that could be the leak--the major leak seems to be at the window near the door-so its definately coming from the roof area-prob wont ever use the tv ant.-so that could be removed too-although I almost consider it a relic of the era and therefore should be left on-kids will inquire about it.Ive used many pop rivets in my art life but have hesitated to venture there on the safari-guess I will need to buy the necessary tools to rivet[eg.rivet shaver?] The thought of removing parts on the roof is scary--Just realized that the three old flag holders mounted on the roof could be leakers and prob have to be removed as well-so one step at a time I guess--I hate leaks!--thanx Tim, one and all for taking the time to advise----jim from mich

[Chuck]

Originally Posted by jamesardis

...the major leak seems to be at the window near the door-so its definately coming from the roof area-prob wont ever use the tv ant.-so that could be removed too-although I almost consider it a relic of the era and therefore should be left on-kids will inquire about it.

That antenna is highly suspect!! I'd just get it off of there, asap. The old "skyliners" are very prone to leaks. I spent alot of time and energy trying to re-hab mine, but in the end, I found that it was leaking in a way that couldn't be stopped, so I finally gave in and replaced it. The deceptive thing about this leak was that it was only apparent during heavy heavy rain; the walls and ceilings are full of insulation, which acts like a sponge, so lighter rain wouldn't show anything. but it was leaking, and slowly finding its way down to the floor by the door, and probably to the adjacent streetside, too.
When I found water pooling inside the crank handle, I decided that I should drop the ceiling panel to make sure that this was in fact, the leak...the antenna wire comes through the roof in another nearby spot, and the leak could have been coming from that...or a nearby vent...no way to know for sure without dropping the ceiling. So I did, and it turns out, it was the antenna shaft. the innards of the antenna mechanism were so badly corroded, they couldn't be taken apart to try to replace the o-rings that had failed...very few parts are available for these old units, if any. only thing I've found is the gears...which I had already replaced. Anyway...I took it off the roof, and also found that the skin under the antenna base plate was slowly but surely corroding away, due to the dissimilar metals being in contact for so many years. Some other owners have found that the roof skin actually had pinholes worn through from this. mine wasn't that bad, but I did sand it down as much as I could, and patched the roof hole with an alluminum plate that I cut from a sheet of material purchased at home depot. point is, if its not leaking now, (but it probably is) it will eventually, so I'd just get rid of it.

Originally Posted by jamesardis

...Ive used many pop rivets in my art life but have hesitated to venture there on the safari-guess I will need to buy the necessary tools to rivet[eg.rivet shaver?]

nah, you don't need a rivet shaver...especially for stuff on the roof. nobody will see it. for just a few olympic rivets, you can clip the stems with flush-cutters, then grind down whatever is left with a dremel tool. The rivet shaver is so expensive, I'd only buy one if I was doing some major work in a highly visible area.

[jamesardis]

Chuck-you are probably right-I should just scrap the ant. --It looks like a pile of steel anyway-for that matter so does the airconditioner!--Being a northerner I suspect that it could go as well--If I ever moved to the south I could put it back on!-then again Ive never camped in an airstream under the hot sun-Id prob wish it was up and working big time!!--So if I used pop rivets on the roof they wouldnt leak?-should I parabond the holes in them?

[azflycaster]

I would go with Olympic Rivets on the roof. They are like pop rivets, but they do not have holes in them. The rivet when cleaned with a rivet shaver tool or as I have used a Dremel tool will look very much like the original rivets from Airstream. They can be bought from many places. I got mine here: http://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/...Code=VTS%2D179

[jamesardis]

thanx az-dremel I got-shaver not--maybe I could fashion a protective plate-you know something with a hole in it just the size of the rivet head-that would keep the damage to a minimum-whatkeeps the rivet from leaking? do these olympics operate differently than a pop rivet?

[azflycaster]

The shaft is solid, no hole down the middle. I also put a very small amount of Vulkem on the bottom. After you clean it up, the top looks like one solid piece and it is rounded. Not much chance to get water into it.