Tale of a '55 FC Whale Reno

[Bubba L]

We ordered all new tempered 1/8" clear glass for the windows. Here you see the back window which has 3 parts. The frame riveted to the skin, the screened escape hatch and the outer frame with glass. The escape hatch is attached with a piano hinge whereas the outer glass frame slides into a J channel (typical of all other windows). Butyl tape was used between the frame riveted to the skin. We replaced the backframe gasket on the escape hatch and the silicone glazing strip between the glass and the frame.

[HiHoAgRV]

I discovered that the screen mesh is strong enough to hold the inner frame out of square if you get a nice tight screen but did it when the frame is crooked

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by HiHoAgRV

I discovered that the screen mesh is strong enough to hold the inner frame out of square if you get a nice tight screen but did it when the frame is crooked

You’re right. I’ll be screening the front jalousie removable screened frame today. I’ll have to use wooden spacers to keep from distorting the framing during the screen install. That .009 galvanized screen is stiff stuff. With the other windows, I kept a speed square handy and checked for 90s as I screened. Thanks for bringing that up for others. Bubba

[IschML]

WOW! This really is our airstream's twin! We are also located in northern Michigan! Loved these pictures.

[mimiandrews]

You've got those windows looking really good!

[MattB]

Bubba, on that back window, make sure you have the butyl tape on the escape hatch hinge as well. I discovered that mine had it left off from the factory and then I left it off as well. Didn't discover the issue until I leak tested. But it explains a lot about the condition I found my trailer in.

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by MattB

Bubba, on that back window, make sure you have the butyl tape on the escape hatch hinge as well. I discovered that mine had it left off from the factory and then I left it off as well. Didn't discover the issue until I leak tested. But it explains a lot about the condition I found my trailer in.

Thanks

Matt, in glazing your windows, did you find the glazing seal adequate? Seems to me like there should be some butyl or caulk somewhere to help seal the glass to the frame other than relying solely on the gasket. Thanks. Bubba

[MattB]

Originally Posted by Bubba L

Thanks

Matt, in glazing your windows, did you find the glazing seal adequate? Seems to me like there should be some butyl or caulk somewhere to help seal the glass to the frame other than relying solely on the gasket. Thanks. Bubba

It can't hurt. Initially I sealed just one window that way and it did not seem productive. When I leak tested with the hose right up against the seals, only one leaked. Very minor, but I believe because the seal wasn't quite seated.

With reflection on the subject, I would place the glass in the frame, and then run a thin bead of caulk or silicon sealant along the edge of the glass up against the inside edge of the frame. Otherwise, I think it will be visible and look odd. I followed much of the process shown on the '53 Flying Cloud blog otherwise.

[Bubba L]

Let me preface this with the fact that I know this is more detail than needed; however, if I am ever crazy enough to do this again, I want to be able to refer back!

The operable Hehr Standard windows have 2 parts; the screened backframe that attaches to the skin and the window frame that opens out. The two are attached together via a J hinge. The window frame part has a glazing seal and the backframe part has a backframe gasket.


Since we have new skin, I first pre-drilled all rivet holes needed to attach the window.

I am not fond of the backframe gasket and had considered riveting a butyl taped backframe to the skin, then use a D gasket on the top to achieve the same effect. However, on reflection, I figured the original backframe gasket lasted over 50 years, so why not? Here's how I worked the operable windows:

First, I worked on the window glass part. I removed the aluminum glass retainer strips as well as the channel in which the crank arm rides. Be sure to note the notch in the channel must face toward the top of the window. When fitting the glazing seal, feed it into the corners so that it fits snuggly and won't pull out. In my opinion, the gasket does not fit tightly enough (even with the window in place), so I dabbed gasket seal inside the back to keep it in place. I then inserted the glass and ran a bead of polyurethane caulking between the edge of the glass and the frame to help seed and seal. After reattaching the retainer strips, then the channel I made a last check to make sure the seal was firmly in place. Next, the backframe............

[Bubba L]

I found it difficult to make the backframe gasket look good; this is what I found worked for me. I first fit the backframe gasket onto the frame and mitered the corners. I found it easier to miter the front and back of the gasket, but leave the side section uncut. I found it helpful to keep the corners together by not completely cutting through the gasket at the corners. Once the backframe gasket was fitted, I slid the window into the J strip and clamped the two parts together. Then I turned it over and ran gasket seal between the frame and the flat part of the backframe gasket. The gasket seal caused the back flat part of the backframe gasket to become wavy, so I cleco'd the window in place and applied pressure until it dried. Next, the rest........

[MattB]

Bubba, looks great! I like the black front gaskets. It's definitely a labor intensive process that requires patience. I also look forward to seeing that they seal well. I think you will be pleasantly surprised, particularly with the back-frame gasket.

Are you using tempered glass for any of the windows? I broke a couple regular glass windows in the bigger windows on the sides before going to tempered. It was a few bucks well spent. Fortunately the flat glass is fairly cheap, and not too bad if one doesn't use it. Another reason to like the trailers in this era.

[Bubba L]

To rivet the window to the skin, I put 3/4" gray butyl tape between the fixed frame and the skin. On the parts with backframe gaskets, I put 1/4" black butyl tape close to the inside of the frame so that it would not squish out. To rivet, the D part of the backframe gasket has to be folded back in order to access the rivet holes. I found if I cleco'd the entire strip, the clecos would hold the gasket back without distortion. Where I had to rivet through butyl tape, I'd first run an ice pick through the hole and my wife would pick the butyl tape off the tip of the ice pick on the other side; this made it a lot easier to get the rivet into the hole. If the rivet would not go into the hole willingly, I used the tip of an extra rivet set to tap the rivet into the hole. Where I had to rivet through the backframe gasket, I could just run the drill through the gasket to make a hole - the gasket does not wind around the drill bit like butyl tape does.


Although some of the original controllers still worked, they did not close the windows as tightly as needed, so we opted to replace some with new controllers from Vintage Trailer Supply. Be aware that if you do this, you will need the backplate they sell since the size of the new controllers are smaller than the old and the holes won't match up.


The window controller attaches to the inside, middle channel on the fixed side of the window which has an arm that slides through a channel on the inside operable side of the window. Though VTS makes the operable window channel, we could not find a supplier of the fixed frame channel that the operator attaches to, so I had to fashion one myself out of 3/4" aluminum channel.


VTS sells friction pads that are attached to the end of the arm and slide within the operable window's channel. We used these on both original and new controller arms. You have to slide the arm with the friction pad into the operable window's channel before attaching the controller to the fixed channel.


I still have to put the glass and glazing into the upper fixed part of this window, then I'll butyl tape that and rivet it into place.

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by MattB

Bubba, looks great! I like the black front gaskets. It's definitely a labor intensive process that requires patience. I also look forward to seeing that they seal well. I think you will be pleasantly surprised, particularly with the back-frame gasket.

Are you using tempered glass for any of the windows? I broke a couple regular glass windows in the bigger windows on the sides before going to tempered. It was a few bucks well spent. Fortunately the flat glass is fairly cheap, and not too bad if one doesn't use it. Another reason to like the trailers in this era.

Thanks Matt. The front glazing seal comes in grey or black. We decided to match the black back frame gasket. We did use 1/8” tempered glass in all the windows. I think it’s a lot safer. My concern was bucking in a window assembly that had the fixed pane. I wasn’t sure if sucking the edge of the frame against the skin while bucking would shatter the pane. It didn’t break on the curb side. Tomorrow I may try the street side and see if my luck holds. I’m trying to get the exterior sealed so I can air up the inside and check for leaks on the outside. We have to keep things moving forward. Good luck on your project. Bubba

[goransons]

Looking great! When I put my back gasket on, I cheated and attached it to the frame with that thin clear tape that comes with shrink wrap window kits. Stuck quickly and held it strong while I drilled holes. I may try that on my door gasket too.

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by goransons

Looking great! When I put my back gasket on, I cheated and attached it to the frame with that thin clear tape that comes with shrink wrap window kits. Stuck quickly and held it strong while I drilled holes. I may try that on my door gasket too.

Scott, I’ve never heard of the thin sticky tape. Sounds like that would make it a lot simpler to install the pain in the butt back frame gasket. Thanks for the info. Bubba

[Bubba L]

Our original kitchen wall exhaust fan was gutted, so we had to find parts to rebuild. The fan was probably VAC originally, but we wanted to convert it to DC. We ordered Ventline replacement parts from etrailer.com. The 12v Ventline motor BVD0218-00 and the fan blade BVD0216-00 fit perfectly. We did spray paint the white plastic fan blade silver. I had to fabricate a new bar from 3/4" aluminum channel to support the motor and blade. Notice how I had to angle it to avoid contact with the blades.


Next, we needed to find a 12v momentary switch that was off when the door depressed the plunger and on when the plunger was in normal position when the door was open. We searched for momentary switches that were normally on (NO), also called normally closed (NC). The plunger had to be long enough to be depressed when the fan door closed. We found a Cole Hersee switch 9055-BX from partdeal.com that fit the bill. The switch is situated in a box inside the wall and the plunger goes through a hole on the exterior plate.


There are 2 springs on the exterior face to swing the vent door open when the chain is released. We found replacement bead chain (3606T19) 304 Stainless Steel 10 Trade size and the springs (9287K84 and 9287K35) 302 Stainless Steel Torsion Springs at McMaster-Carr at mcmaster.com.


This is how the inside looks installed (without skin). We did use a converter to test the switch, motor and rotation of the blade.

[MattB]

Bubba, did you put the new pressure switch into the same spot as the old one? I have been trying to figure out the wiring in mine. The original motor on my fan was 115V AC, and I was able to find an exact size and bolt configuration match for the original motor and just put the fan blade on the new one. However, I need to reverse the polarity to get the fan to spin the right way.

[Bubba L]

Originally Posted by MattB

Bubba, did you put the new pressure switch into the same spot as the old one? I have been trying to figure out the wiring in mine. The original motor on my fan was 115V AC, and I was able to find an exact size and bolt configuration match for the original motor and just put the fan blade on the new one. However, I need to reverse the polarity to get the fan to spin the right way.

Matt, we placed the pressure switch in the same hole. We bought a couple with different stem lengths to make sure the outer protrusion was correct for the cover when closed. We went with 12 volt since we’re converting all we can to 12. As far as polarity, if that doesn’t work, you could drill out the small rivets holding the fan motor bar and flip the bar around. Mine came gutted so I had no choice but to make everything to fit. We did assemble the parts, hooked it up to 12 volt to make sure I had the right rotation, then installed in the trailer. Thanks, Bubba

[Jeremy9107]

Bubba. Found your thread and am excited to follow. Thanks for the detailed steps along the way.

[truckasaurus]

awesome job on the fan, its on my to do list so the detail is very helpful :-)