It rained!

[eljay]

Finally. Nothing like an inch and a half of rain to help me locate the leaking windows... But the good news is there aren't any other leaks except the one by the door that I was already aware of.

New window seal and door gaskets will be the next purchase and project.

[eljay]

Warm enough to get out and poke around. The front top portside window definitely has a problem. I picked and scaled a bunch of silicone, vulkem and rtv out of these corners and frame. The dirt and algae tells me this has been a problem for a while...

[eljay]

Other pics of the top. Missing vulkem in most seams.

[Splitrock]

If you're going to polish that, I'd strip it, power-wash it, polish it, and then seal the seams. Otherwise you get to do much of it all over again. Just sayin' . . .

[eljay]

I have a friend who wants to polish it but that's not on the immediate agenda. I have a "usable by June" goal date. Thanks for the advice but I'll probably have to seal the seams twice.

[68 TWind]

FYI, I found that after you pull all the old gaskets off the window frame the best way to remove the old adhesive is to use scotchbrite buffs on a dremel tool. The little buffs are pricey but worth it in time saving and not having to mess with solvents. I tried solvents and scraping but the dremel produced the fastest and best results. The area that is scoured by the buff will be covered by the new gaskets.

Glad your TW only had a couple of leaks, mine was leaking like a sieve when I found it.

Love my 68!!

[eljay]

Heard the thunder in the middle of the night and smiled. Another chance to check out my window repairs. The drought will be over if I keep going at this rate.

I was successful on stopping the big leak in the upper port window. No rain running on the inside of the pane. Less water movement in the corners but still damp so I will work on those again.

Got notice from Vintage Trailer Supply that my order(s) have been shipped. That's the seal material plus some other items.

[AIR-Quarius]

Now that you mentioned gaskets eljay, did you ever find a source for your door gaskets? I need to replace mine and also not real sure about what to stick it in place with.

[eljay]

I will order 16 feet of D door gasket from Inland RV. I will use 3M Super weatherstrip and gasket adhesive for all of my applications.

[eljay]

I have made a lot of progress on the window leaks. Got around all of the fixed/frame windows with minimal leakage at the corners. Will work from the inside now when they are dry again.

I'm enjoying the rain. Amazed at the quantity of snow I see pictured in the posts from the northeast.

Got notice that FedEx is delayed shipping my items from Vintage Trailer Supply due to weather. I think that's plausible.

[HiHoAgRV]

I guess I'm lucky...
Despite all of the hype I've never had a bad window gasket cause a water leak into the camper. The design seems to shed water back outside unless I'm towing in the rain. It's a rare case where even that leaks.

All of my leaks have been bad joints and the cure has been redoing them. My '63 still has most of the original gaskets, my'91 is all original.

Sure, I'm gonna redo them but it seems to me it's more of a hard sales pitch to focus on them as a major issue that causes floor rot.

[eljay]

We tackled the window by the door today. Pulled some kind of goo, maybe RTV, from every nook and cranny, rivet and even smooth surfaces. Replaced one of the Phillips latches with a good one. Got the window to pull in pretty well. The gaskets are really dry so will be replaced. I taped it until I get the seal material in.

Also got keys for the compartments. If anyone needs this knowledge: in 1968 the compartments all took Chesler 1405 locks. Same keys for all. Airstream Trailers Key Chart

I accessed one from under the double bed. Removed the screw and carefully removed the tumbler without compressing or altering any of the pins. Then I removed the compartment door. Took that whole assembly to the nearest locksmith (45 miles away) and received new keys that work in all of the compartment locks I have. I'm happy.

[eljay]

This is the inch of snow predicted. Thunder snow and lightning. And it's still coming down. Guess my AS to do list will be reading forum and shopping for needed AS items.

[eljay]

12 more inches of snow have kept me busy shoveling snow. Man o man I ache all over! Got the window and vent seal material in, bought more Vulkem/trempro. Ready for nicer weather.

[eljay]

Snow removal from the Tradewind's roof was the job of the day. As I'm looking at my trailer I have small fixed windows over the regular windows. I haven't seen these on other Tradewinds or other 1968 trailers. Precursor to Vista Views?

[eljay]

Finally! It isn't raining! or snowing! And temp in the 70s! I spent 6 hours sealing a couple of seams. Dug silicone and RTV? out of the windows and awning attachment. (Dear POs: you and your silicone are not my friend.) Sealed those.

Slowly but surely...