Little Girl Refurb 1972

[Minno]

Finished installing the shower stall today!


We installed the side luan plywood on both the faucet end and foot end of the shower. But, before installing these pieces, we used them as templates to cut the top curves of the fiberglass panels. The plywood is glued and stapled to the wall frames.


Then we installed the fiberglass panels. We installed the back wall first, and then the two side walls. We bought cove trim pieces to cover the corner seams, and we ran a bead of caulk inside the channel of the trim before inserting the side panel into it. We also ran a good bead of caulk in the corner behind the cove trim piece. The fiberglass panels are held in place with tub surround adhesive and the same white plastic fasteners we used on the ceiling. We plan on adding additional fasteners, but we need to buy some more first. And that requires that we remember where we got them… We still need to caulk the corners, especially the ceiling corners, but we want the adhesive to set up completely before caulking everything. Hard to get decent pictures in such a small space. The first picture is the faucet end of the tub/shower, and the second picture is the foot end.

[reinergirl]

You're making TONS of progress and its all looking great! Really like the aluminum shelves. Sweet

[Darkspeed]

That looks really good!

[Aerowood]

Nice work

[Minno]

Flexibility is the name of the game sometimes...

We were going to put the bathroom sink against the faucet wall of the tub/shower. But after playing with a mock-up of the countertop & vanity in that location, we decided that we would not be happy in the long run if we put the sink there. Our back-up location is over the water heater, which we think will work out much better now. We’ll have a bigger counter top for the sink and faucet, which is a big plus in our book. The only real issue with putting the sink over the water heater is getting a drain line to it. That’s what we worked on today.





We started with the stub I left below the tub, and worked our way around the tub, over to the starboard wall, around the rear of the trailer, and finally got to where the sink drain will tie in over the water heater. Fairly long run, but we were able to keep it sloped downward to the tub the entire run, and it’s not too drastic a slope either. Running the sink drain this way allows us to continue with the planned air admittance valve inside the vanity to allow air into the drain for both the sink and the tub. We will have a countertop and wall around the back of the bathroom to cover up all the lines and provide space for the rear hatch storage, so none of these lines will show when we're finished.



We also plumbed more of the shower today. We installed the faucet, shower head, and tub spout stub-out. Still need to caulk the seams…



We fixed the water heater bypass hose too. The bypass hose was forced into too tight a bend, and formed a bad kink, which I was afraid would end up leaking down the road. So Kay made up a new bypass hose out of pex.

Lastly, we did a pressure test on our fresh water lines. Filled the system with 40 PSI of compressed air. Found several leaks quite quickly, which we fixed. While fixing them, we discovered that the crimping tool had loosened up considerably, so we think we’ll need to re-compress or replace all the clamps we put on today. After we found all the leaks we could hear, we left pressure in the system while we ate dinner. After dinner, the pressure was down to zero, so we have a bit of leak finding to do tomorrow. Dang. But, better to find out now with air than later with water.

Chris

[Minno]

Went to camping world today and bought a fridge while they were on sale.

This afternoon, after adjusting the crimping tool, I went around and re-crimped all 5,000 pex fittings (well, that's what it seemed like). They all pass the go/no-go gauge now. Re-filled the system with air, and it was still losing pressure. Double-dang.

After taking a coffee break (first things first after all!), we started checking the fittings with soapy water. Decided to check the outside stuff first, and found the leak. The water heater drain plug was leaking badly. Took it out, wrapped it in teflon tape, re-installed, and no more leak. Checked every fitting with soapy water just to make sure. Now, after over an hour, it's still holding 44 PSI. WooHoo!!!

[Lance M]

Plumbing victory is sweet!

[Minno]

Checked again this morning while getting more coffee. Still 44 PSI!

[Minno]

Wasagachris stopped by Monday evening, and checked out Little Girl on his way to Idaho. One thing he mentioned was that he was having trouble visualizing the layout we were doing just looking at the pictures, so I thought maybe posting a couple of diagrams might help others better understand what we're planning on. I've attached two PDF files.

The "little girl frame pdf" file shows the frame and the tanks (fresh water, black, and the two gray tanks we added).

The "little girl floor pdf" file is the floor plan we are working off of. Subject to change as we work on things of course, like last week when we decided to move the bathroom sink to over the water heater.

I have other diagrams that show electrical (both 110 VAC and 12 VDC), fresh water plumbing, and waste plumbing if anyone is interested.

BTW - the fresh water system was still at 44 PSI last night. I let the air out so I could tap into the hot and cold water lines for the bathroom sink. Current project is the vanity.

WC - It was great to finally meet you! We thoroughly enjoyed your visit.

Chris

[wasagachris]

MC I also really enjoyed meeting both of you. You guys are a barrel of laughs. I hope to see you again soon.
Let me tell you folks the little girl looks
much better in person. Pictures just don't do it justice.
I myself can't wait to see what the finished trailer looks like. If Minno does half as good a job as he has done on other projects it will be astounding.

[Bauxter]

Chris, It would be awesome if you attached the electrical and plumbing drawings, that you mentioned.

Thanks
Mike

[Minno]

Additional pdf's attached. The 12 VDC one is kinda busy, but I think you can follow the lines ok. Even though the wiring diagrams don't show it, I ran all wiring up the side walls and used the center ceiling wire chases for both 110 VAC and 12 VDC wiring. I did not drill though any ribs.

Any questions, of course please ask.

Chris

[nmbosa]

Originally Posted by Minno

Flexibility is the name of the game sometimes...

We were going to put the bathroom sink against the faucet wall of the tub/shower. But after playing with a mock-up of the countertop & vanity in that location, we decided that we would not be happy in the long run if we put the sink there. Our back-up location is over the water heater, which we think will work out much better now. We’ll have a bigger counter top for the sink and faucet, which is a big plus in our book. The only real issue with putting the sink over the water heater is getting a drain line to it. That’s what we worked on today.


Attachment 143394 Attachment 143395
Attachment 143396Attachment 143397
Attachment 143398
We started with the stub I left below the tub, and worked our way around the tub, over to the starboard wall, around the rear of the trailer, and finally got to where the sink drain will tie in over the water heater. Fairly long run, but we were able to keep it sloped downward to the tub the entire run, and it’s not too drastic a slope either. Running the sink drain this way allows us to continue with the planned air admittance valve inside the vanity to allow air into the drain for both the sink and the tub. We will have a countertop and wall around the back of the bathroom to cover up all the lines and provide space for the rear hatch storage, so none of these lines will show when we're finished.


Attachment 143399Attachment 143400
We also plumbed more of the shower today. We installed the faucet, shower head, and tub spout stub-out. Still need to caulk the seams…


Attachment 143401
We fixed the water heater bypass hose too. The bypass hose was forced into too tight a bend, and formed a bad kink, which I was afraid would end up leaking down the road. So Kay made up a new bypass hose out of pex.

Lastly, we did a pressure test on our fresh water lines. Filled the system with 40 PSI of compressed air. Found several leaks quite quickly, which we fixed. While fixing them, we discovered that the crimping tool had loosened up considerably, so we think we’ll need to re-compress or replace all the clamps we put on today. After we found all the leaks we could hear, we left pressure in the system while we ate dinner. After dinner, the pressure was down to zero, so we have a bit of leak finding to do tomorrow. Dang. But, better to find out now with air than later with water.

Chris

Chris,

I'm getting ready to winterize my trailer and was looking at this for help on how to install a bypass. This confuses me. It looks like with the valves set for winterize, it would bypass the coldwater inlet to the water heater, send the water to the hot water side and only allow anti-freeze to flow through the hotwater side. How does the antifreeze get to the other side of the cold water system (down stream of the heater's cold water inlet)?
Norm

[Minno]

Originally Posted by nmbosa

Chris,

I'm getting ready to winterize my trailer and was looking at this for help on how to install a bypass. This confuses me. It looks like with the valves set for winterize, it would bypass the coldwater inlet to the water heater, send the water to the hot water side and only allow anti-freeze to flow through the hotwater side. How does the antifreeze get to the other side of the cold water system (down stream of the heater's cold water inlet)?
Norm

Good question Norm. Your question made me a good long look at my picture, and I think I might have it hooked up wrong. I need to check it out - I'll get back to you.

oh cool - I can still edit this!

I do have it hooked up wrong. The way it's installed now, with the valves set to bypass, no antifreeze will flow pass the cold water bypass valve to the rest of the cold water system. PLus, antifreeze will still flow into the water heater since the pump feeds in from the right in the picture. I'll need to remove the bypass valve on the cold water side and install a tee. The branch of the tee will go to the bypass valve and the water heater through the bypass valve. The straight run of the tee will continue to the rest of the cold water system. Then when the valves are set to bypass, only the water heater will be bypassed and antifreeze will flow into the hot water system and not thorugh the water heater.

Thanks for asking the question! If you hadn't, I probably would not have caught that error until the first time we winterized her.

Did that answer your question? If not, I can draw a picture the way it's supposed to be hooked up and post it. Actually, I'll probably fix the plumbing tomorrow and post that as well.

[Minno]

First cabinet for Little Girl - the vanity cabinet! Red alder face frame, red alder plywood, and basswood for the interior frame. It's temporarily held in place with 3 screws right now. We'll want to pull it out and put a coat of varnish on the interior before we do the final installation.

Chris

[nmbosa]

Originally Posted by Minno

Good question Norm. Your question made me a good long look at my picture, and I think I might have it hooked up wrong. I need to check it out - I'll get back to you.

oh cool - I can still edit this!

I do have it hooked up wrong. The way it's installed now, with the valves set to bypass, no antifreeze will flow pass the cold water bypass valve to the rest of the cold water system. PLus, antifreeze will still flow into the water heater since the pump feeds in from the right in the picture. I'll need to remove the bypass valve on the cold water side and install a tee. The branch of the tee will go to the bypass valve and the water heater through the bypass valve. The straight run of the tee will continue to the rest of the cold water system. Then when the valves are set to bypass, only the water heater will be bypassed and antifreeze will flow into the hot water system and not thorugh the water heater.

Thanks for asking the question! If you hadn't, I probably would not have caught that error until the first time we winterized her.

Did that answer your question? If not, I can draw a picture the way it's supposed to be hooked up and post it. Actually, I'll probably fix the plumbing tomorrow and post that as well.

Thanks Chris. I don't think you are the first to make that mistake. I was looking for pictures to help me put together my bypass and kept finding pics that showed it set up just like yours. I thought something was wrong, but just wasn't sure.

Norm

[Minno]

Fixed the water heater bypass this afternoon. Ended up with the bottom valve control facing towards the water heater, but it's easy to reach and check to see what position it's in. It was either that or create a longer and more complex bypass. I had just enough crimp rings to do this, so I need to go buy more so I can cap the tubing that will feed the sink and pressure test the system again.

Chris

[JIMandPJ]

I've been thru your posts and admire your work. I working my tanks now and have installed fresh water tanks within the frame. Now I'm thinking I should have a drain for them, like a single drain valve but I'm not sure where to put it since the tanks are within the frame. I see your low point drains for water inside the trailer, but can't track how or if you have a fresh water drain. Do you drain yours or will the pump empty the tank?

[Minno]

Thanks!

There is a fresh water tank drain. If you take a close look at the pictures in post 266 (one copied below), the drain valve is there. We installed a tee on the output of the tank. In the picture, the pump connection goes to the left and up out of the recess, and the drain is to the right.

I recommend that you install tank drains. The pump just can't get the last bit of water out of the tank unless the tank outlet to the pump is directly out of the bottom of the tank. Typically, the tank outlet is out the side, as close to the bottom as possible. Once the water level drops below the top of the outlet tube, the pump will start sucking air. This can leave about 3/8" of water in the tank. It would be hard to sanitize and clean the fresh water system completely if you can't get rid of that water.

Chris

[Minno]

Built the vanity countertop yesterday.

Here it is sitting in place - not attached yet. I'm waiting for the sink drain assembly to arrive so I can finish the installation of the drain before attaching the countertop. The sink and faucet are mounted to the countertop though. I hooked up the faucet yesterday, and did another pressure test of the fresh water system. Held 44 PSI overnight.

The cabinet and wall have one coat of finish on them now. We wanted to get one coat on before winter sets in.

Chris