Airstream 1979 bad rear bumper design

[beckybillrae]

The bottom and sides of the box are aluminum. It has three holes in the bottom for drainage (because the box leaks like a sieve from the hinge!) The back wall of the box is what I am assuming is iron or steel. The soil pipes from the grey tank & black tank come through that back wall and attach to eachother to form one pipe (the one that comes out the side). There was one hole in the iron that was about the size of a half dollar. I took a wire brush & gave the iron wall a scrubbing because it was very rusty. Then I put some stuff on it that I got from Auto Zone that's called RustConverter. It's supposed to stop rust from continuing to form. Then I spraypainted the iron with rustoleum. After that I stuck a wadded up piece of screen in the half-dollar sized hole & caulked around it. Then I caulked around the soil pipes that came from the trailer. There was a small gap by the frame that I filled too. So, a mouse can get into the back trunk because there are holes for drainage as well as a gap around the pipe that sticks out the side. But he'll have a tuff time getting into the trailer. Oh, I also took the lid off the top & put a bead of caulk under the hinge, so hopefully it won't get water in it anymore. I'm still mulling over how to keep the mice completely out of the trunk. If I don't have the plastic thing in there, I can just wad some screen up & stick it in the holes. I think my plastic thing is going into the trash tomorrow!

[wacnstac]

Becky thanks for the detailed description that was exactly what I was looking for. I still may rip out my box if I feel frisky. I would screw some alumimum sheet over the half dollar size hole in the rear plate after painting it and caulk around the waste tubes as well. I have already removed the hinge and caulked under the entire thing and while it doesn't keep water out of the back compartment, it does keep water from running back under the sheet metal there and into the inside rear compartment where there is wood to rot.