Day 2. Pamela and I headed to the garage, which is actually in sight of her driveway. Wow, are we sore. You don't realize how many different muscles you use doing things like taking air conditions off the top of a travel trailer or remove molding hanging from a step-ladder.
Sore or not, I knew that I was going to
spend most of my time on the roof. There were two small circular
vents - one I was sure was the stink-pipe for the sewage system, the
base and control section of the old television antenna I removed
yesterday, and two air vents.
 |
| Pamela removing staples. |
While I climbed up on the roof Pamela
headed to her selected tasks. I'm quick to point out that she
selected them since they are tedious, difficult and frustrating. Of
course they are also very important. As I reported she had spent a
lot of time yesterday removing old staples. She was finishing that
job this morning. Many people might have no idea how many staples
they put in a travel trailer. When they build a travel trailer the
end of the aluminum is stapled to the wood frame before the molding
is put on. Often these staples overlap. They're never more than three
inches apart. To keep from tearing the aluminum skin you have to
carefully remove the staples. Pamela found that a rather small
flatblade screwdriver and needle nosed pliers worked best.
 |
| Pamela removing silicone |
The second task she undertook was to
remove as much of the old silicone as possible, without damaging the
paint or fixture. Several times during the day she had some not so
nice things to say about the person who smeared Willy with all this
silicone. It required that she use a utility knife, wood chisel and needle nose pliers. It takes a lot of time and lots and lots and lots of patience. We're hoping to be able to borrow a tool called an eraser that is used on cars and can remove a pinstripe without damaging the paint. But Pamela had to get the gobs of silicone off first.
 |
| The flange with screws exposed |
My first task was to remove the stink pipe vent. It was just above the bathroom and under layers of sealers and silicone. It took me over an hour of digging with utility knife and chisel just to determine the edge of the flange. After that I really had to take everything off to be sure that I had uncovered all of the screws. There were 12 screws on the plastic flange that was no more than 8" in diameter. Once I actually got down to the screws it was evident that the butyl tape was still in good condition. We were amazed all day at how flexible and stable the 30 year old tape was.
 |
| Stink pipe ready for new cover |
The cover was made of plastic and was badly deteriorated. It was falling to pieces before I touched it. I worked very hard to try to keep as much of it as possible to take with me to get a new one. I was able to get a picture of the flange with the part number, so I at least had that if the plastic totally fell apart. There was no sign of any moisture under the seal, which was great, and there was no damage that needs to be repaired before I can put on a new vent.
I looked at the vent, which appears to be a part of the heating system. It was still in good and operational condition so, despite its appearance, I decided to leave it.
 |
| Antenna mounting fixture |
 |
| The only way to be comfortable |
Then I moved on to the old television antenna fixture. This was a good sized antenna that was evidently raised manually from outside but the direction, etc., was controlled from inside the trailer. That meant that this mechanism moved at one time and that there was a hole that passed through the roof and ceiling. That didn't thrill me but I was more anxious to have the device off the roof. Leaving it there would just mean a potential place for leaking.
 |
| Antenna fixture finally removed! |
I spent a long time chipping away at layers of sealers and silicone until I started finding the mounting screws. Once I had some idea where to find the screws I still had to clean off the entire mounting plate otherwise I would not be able to get it to release from the roof. The process took so long that I let my feet dangle down through the air conditioner opening. Even then my back got very sore from leaning over. Again the butyl tape that was between the plate and trailer roof was in excellent condition despite its age. I threw a piece down to Pamela and she thought it was some new putty. It had obviously done its job. There was absolutely no sign of moisture or leaking.
The hole left by the antenna mount is going to be my biggest patch job. As you can see in the picture there is one rather good sized hole - at least 2" in diameter. Most of you don't know that I did all of my own car repair until they put computers in them, and, living in the mountains of PA, you spend a lot of time patching fenders and panels that get rusted out by road salt. I'm sure they have better materials now than I used back in the 60s and 70s, so I'm not too concerned. I'd really like to fill the cavity with some form of insulation.
My last task for the day was to remove the vent covers. The vents still look good, so it looks like we will be able to just replace the covers. That will save us almost $200, but we won't hesitate to replace the entire thing vents if necessary. The covers are plastic and were so deteriorated after 30 years that they fell apart in my hands.
Pamela was still working on silicone when I was ready to call it quits. We only worked for 4.5 hours today, and she spent all of her time on staples and silicone. That's determination. I ran down to Walmart and got some Marvel Mystery Oil to clean aluminum frames. I'll try to remember to post a before and after tomorrow.
We're both tired but happy. We've accomplished so much more than we expected. I do remember that one thing I didn't miss from working on cars was the banged up and painful hands. I not only have plenty of cuts and scrapes, and arthritis pain but I even got a blister in the middle of my palm from working on the roof.
I did measure the molding today. Tomorrow we will order the molding and supplies and start measuring for wood. We also need to see when Troy can come and start removing skin and replacing wood. I have a wee bit more confidence but that's still a scary prospect.
Do follow along and share our adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment