I can’t spell it or pronounce it but I spent all day working on it.  These jalousie windows have a lot of work to get them in good shape.

There are fuzz strips that run up the sides, and a rubber weatherstrip that runs across the bottom.  And each window is held in with a rubber button.  All of these items were so old they were dired up a deteriorated.  So I ended up completely disassembling the windows to get it cleaned up.

Here is the before of the lower window.  I have two stacked on each other.

Pretty nasty huh?  I ended up pulling out each window slat and all the old weatherstripping and cleaning up the parts as best I could.

Here is a shot of the new fuzzy strip going in.  It’s much easier to do with the glass out.

Next is the rubber weather seal for the bottom.  Not a perfect fit and took some work to get it in.

And here is the shot of the completed window with all the glass installed and the rubber buttons holding them in.

It’s a big improvement.  Only it does not close all the way smoothly w/o wrenching on it.  I’ll have to find out what’s binding, but thats for another day.

Both windows are nicely cleaned and sealed up.  And they don’t rattle when I close the door to the trailer anymore 😉

 

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The Friday after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest shopping days of the year and termed Black Friday for some reason.

We took advantage of it by buying the electronics for the trailer.  We ended up getting a 20″ LCD TV widescreen for the living room.  A 15″ LCD TV for the bedroom.  A JVC CD player with an iPod adapter that allows the iPod to be controlled via the radio, and finally a DVD player as well.

Made pretty good savings by getting stuff today….

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Man, this wiring stuff is exhausting.  You have to think about every little detail about whats going to be installed and where it is going to be installed.

Better run extra wires!  Cause you’re going to forget something you needed.

Today I started sorting out all the wiring that I had run to the curbside.  I started with this mess.

There are two number six wires in there for battery power, coax cable for the CATV input, coax cable for the antenna, speaker wires, tank sensor wires, and various power wires. 

Today, I finally decided that I’m going to build in an area above the fridge for an electronics central.  I’ll put a car stereo there, the SeeLevel gauge, and the Tri-metric 2020.

I also had to nail down some other decisions as well.  I decided to put the WFCO converter under the curbside bed near the rear hatch door.  I’ll put the battery in the rear curbside closet. if it fits 😉

Now that I have a plan, I need to do a dry fit test on the bed so I know where I can mount stuff.

Next was to finish running the wiring to the front and securing it down.  I also put in new 110vac electrical outlets for the converter location and the fridge.

Lastly I got the WFCO unit mounted and pre-wired to the battery location.  I need to order a Lifeline AGM battery and fuse block asap.

My 12vdc wiring is somewhat *distributed*.  The trailer has the original 12vdc wiring runs up to the front of the trailer where the original fuse block was.  Also the 12vdc charge line from the tow vehicle comes in there as well.  I ran two #8 wires from that location to the streetside bed.  From the bed I have two #6 wires running to the battery location in the curbside closet.

This basically gives me three places where fuse boxes will have to be placed instead of one central location if the trailer was being totally rewired from scratch.  Sounds more complicated than it is, but it should work out.

Now if only I had a key to that rear hatch door…..  Are  you reading this Colin?…..

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It has been a whirl-wind of work, but nothing being finished.  This update shows work for the last couple of days.  Mostly plumbing stuff.  I’m waiting for some kitchen appliances so that is keeping me from securing the kitchen counter for now.

The bathroom is basically plumbed for heat and water.  I have two drain valves for the hot and cold lines as well as a tee off for the water supply for the toilet. 

Thats a shut off valve for the toilet supply

I also got the TwinTemp plumbed in as well.  I put a new 3/8″ gas line today.  It’s justed stubed down through the belly pan for now waiting for a shut off valve and all new gas lines below.  The red pex lines are for the furnace portion.  They will pump heated anti-freeze to the heat exchangers.  The white pex lines are for the cold water in and hot water out of the TwinTemp.

I thought this sign would keep me on the right track 🙂

Actually I decided it might be a good idea to add a nail or screw gaurd where the grey tank is going below.  I hope this will help stop an accidental grey tank puncture.  At least its aluminum!

It was the perfect size.  All I needed to do was cut it in half and screw it to the subfloor from below.  I used one half for each side.  The middle part is the aisle, so I don’t think anyone will be driving screws there!

Everything was prepped and ready for the grey tank install.  Luckily my cousin was able to give me a hand.  It went in much eaiser with two people.  A perfect fit!  And it even lined up with the pre-drilled holes in the floor and cross member. 😉

I’ll be adding a couple of more straps just to be on the safe side.  Just what I want, more belly pan work.  Now go back and look at the third photo.  You’ll see the black pipe sticking up temporarily.  Thats the inlet for the grey tank 😉

I got a couple of other jobs done in between.  I decided to clean up the original porcelin sink and use it.  I had trouble finding a small enough stainless steel sink.  The original cleaned up nicely.  It has a couple of porcelin paint touchups and may need a couple more but overall its in nice condition.  And better quality than the stainless sink I was lookng at anyway.  I got the cut out made for the sink in the new counter top.  Still waiting for the new cooktop.  I ordered it from a place about 50 miles from here.  But for some reason its shipping from Iowa and will take a week and half! :-(  At least I was able to pay CA tax on it…. 🙁 🙁

 

I had just enough daylight left to put new seals on one window.  The original glazing strips had shrunk several inches in the past 46 years.  These replacements are from Vintage Trailer Supply and they are a very nice fit.  Here is a before photo.

After pulling the old stuff out and cleaning the track, its just a matter of working the new stuff in.

Here is an after shot of the same area above.  Makes a big difference and should keep the water out!

And lastly an overview shot of the window with all new seals.  Looks sharp.

Well, thats a pretty big update for today.  It spans two days work.  We’ll see what tomorrow has in store.

 

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This update is for the last two days.  Seems like I’ve been working on it like crazy but not much is getting done.  Such is the way with vintage restorations I guess.

I did mange to get the vanity and the streetside twin bed mounted.  I also got the power vents mounted for the TwinTemp. 

I kind of stalled out after that because I needed to do a lot more wiring.  I needed to add some wire for the new SeeLevel tank monitor system and well as some wiring for speakers and the antenna.   So I ended up with wires all over the place!

Here you can see some of them rounding the curve up to the front of the trailer toward the original fuse box.

I also managed to get the vanity power vent plumbed and wired in.  The SeaTech fittings are really cool.  It seems very interesting that they will be leak free ( I hope anyway).  You literally just push the pipe in about an inch into the fitting and thats it.  Nothing else.  Also the pipe will freely rotate after its in the fitting as well.  So if you put an elbow on you can rotate it around as needed.  Like I said kinda scary but they are supposed to work well.  Even in RV’s as that’s one if the areas on their website.

Here is a shot at the TwinTemp.  So the TwinTemp is starting to get plumbed in.  There is alot to be done before it can be fired up though.  I still have not installed the exhaust pipe underneath, and it also needs a propane line as well.

Here is shot of the of the kitchen as seen on the way out.  The kitchen cabinet is not mounted, just sitting there.  I need to get a microwave asap so I can make the opening for it.  Then I can probably go ahead and mount the cabinet.

I had a few minutes left of daylight, so I managed to get the city water inlet installed.  Right above the water inlet is going to be a cable input for the TV.  I still need to make a plate for it. 

There ya go!

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It’s raining big time here.   I decided to stick it out in the garage and stain the cabinet work I did over the weekend.

First the kitchen cabinet.  I sanded it quickly with 220 grit and used some stain I had left over from another project.  Its a walnut color and matches pretty closely.

I think it turned out pretty nice.  It almost makes me want to reskin all the cabinets and beds.  But you have to draw the line somewhere.

Here’s the glamor shot with the countertop set in place.

I still have to go over it with the Feed-N-Wax when its dry to give it a nice sheen.  The big open space on the face of the cabinet on the right will hold a built in convection microwave below it will be a furnace vent.  Above the microwave in the counter will be a three burner cooktop.  I just got to get these items ordered so I can do the cut outs for them.  The microwave will need some additional suport built inside the cabinet.

I also stained the new ends I made for the twin beds.

Guess I’ll be ready to start reinstalling them in the trailer soon.  Getting closer each day.  But a long ways to go still!

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First the more.

The ends of the twins show some delamination.  I had enough 1/8″ oak left from doing the kitchen cabinet so I thought I do the ends of the twins.

Another thing that needed to be addressed is the streetside twin needs to be modified to allow full access to the TwinTemp underneath, as well as clearance for the drain into the grey tank.  This is actually taking a lot of rebuild work and tweaking.  Also the original staple construction has gotten loose over the last 46+ years.

Here you can see some of the delamination. 

Here it is with the new ends and set in place.  It still needs a few mods to allow TwinTemp access and I’m going to add a furnace duct out of the kick panel.

Even though it was too cold (around 55 degrees out), I decided to try and get the kitchen counter laminated.

Here is the counter with the contact cement dry and paint sticks in place.

Hitting it hard with the J-Roller as I pull one paint stick out at a time.

Here it is after using the router with the flush trim bit.  Worked pretty well.  I used a hair dryer on the curve to help get the laminate to bend around the curve.

Turned out well.  I’m please with it.  I just hope it holds up since it was cold out.  I put the finshed counter top in the house over night to aid in drying.

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Got some time in on the trailer today because of the holiday. 

I decided to get some work done on the kitchen cabinetry.  The original configuration had an oven and I am going with a drop in cooktop and a built in convection microwave below it.  There was also some delamination near the bottom.  I decided to try my hand at reskining the whole thing.

Here is a before shot.

After hours and hours of work it seemed like to get all that off to expose the basic frame.  Does that look like progress?!?! 🙂

One problem with this.  The orginal grain lines run up and down.  The 4’x8′ sheet of 1/8″ oak has the grain running up and down along the full length.  So the widest piece I can make with the grain running right is 48″.  You might say big deal, just run the grain length wise.  I would too, but since I am reusing the doors, they have the grain running vertical, I thought it would look weird.

So I ended up with a small seem and I lined it up where the cabinet doors meet.

Here is the finsihed product that still needs sanding and staining.  I also made a countertop but it was too cold to put the laminate on today.

I still need to buy the sink, cooktop, and microwave so I know what size for the cut outs.  I also eliminated the small storage door below the original oven.  I’m going to put a heater blower there.

I decided to make the countertop edge rounded to keep the point from being sharp.  I’ll have to see how the laminate forms around it.  Need a hot day…

 

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Last night I was able to figure out the problem with my camera.  Turned out the memory card was bad and you had to do some crazy reset on the camera with a new card.  Anyway its working.  ;-)  Garage door opener is still busted :-( 

Had a couple of hours to sneak in some work.  I was able to get the TwinTemp, mounted again.  I had to move it to fix the screen and change the mounting configuration.

I spent a couple of hours building *the box* for the TwinTemp.  The TwinTemp uses the air around the box for combustion air.  Kind of like a catalytic heater, or the space behind a propane fridge.  So you need to isolate the TwinTemp from the living space by means of an air tight box.  The plan is to build the box so it has enough air space within the box to function.  I’ve been working with the designer and was told 3/4″ – 1″ of space around the TwinTemp is sufficent.

Remember there is a fresh air intake through the floor of the trailer along with the power vent exhaust.  I put foam stripping around the rear edge of the TwinTemp and will mate the box up with that.  I figure I’m about 90% done with the box.  I need to do some fine tuning as well as get a way to secure it.  The box also needs to be removable for servicing.  Precision Temp is also going to provide some ceramic type of insulation to put inside the box as well.

So basically that was it for the day.  I’m going to have to try and get more done during the week some how.  This daylight savings being over is killing me….

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I had big plans today.   I was going to mount the grey tank, build *the box* for the TwinTemp, and do some cabinet work on the kitchen.  How’s 0 for 3 sound 🙁

First off, my digital camera broke 🙁 so I had to borrow my old one back from my dad.  Then the hole saw arbor broke drilling one of the cross member holes, not to mention how heavy the grey tank is trying to lift it myself.  Also I know why they call it a belly pan now, because my belly rubs against it while I’m sliding underneath about a thousand times :-(  Then at the end of the day my garage door opener broke.  Can’t open the garage door!  Great ending to the day 🙁

Anyway, that’s not why you’re here ;-)  This first photo is of the drain location from the kitchen into the top of the yet to be installed grey tank.

Here is the shot underneath of the grey tank cavity.  The one cross member was moved about 10 inches when I had my other welding done.  This gives me room for my 30″ grey tank.

Here is the hole I made just before the arbor broke 🙁

Here is a shot of the tank all prepped and ready to go in.  I put a rubber mat on the top of it for protection.

And finally here are the straps I fabricated to hold the tank up.  I got some rubber hoses to put over the straps. 

By the end of the day with nothing going well, this is as far as I could get.  I was too tired to hold the tank up myself so I just called it a day and will enlist some help later.

After I thought about it, its proably better that I did not get the tank in yet.  I’m getting a tank monitor from RV Gauge and it will be easier to mount the sensor with the tank out.

So much for my big Saturday plans!

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