This and that

We ARE working on the trailer....just not a lot that's photogenic!

I'm pretty much finished with the awning.....but I can't get a good photo with it mounted on the trailer yet because there is a ladder in the way.  We use the ladder to get up on the roof - and it's tied up to the hangar rafters for stability (so we can't move it). 

Anyway, I'll get a photo of the awning in all it's 18' of glory when we move that ladder!!  For now, it's just piled up on the sewing table and ironing board....

And I'm busy still removing the roof "goop" so that we can seal them permanently - hopefully No More Leaks!! 

Roof work

Duane's still working on the plumbing/wiring....so not much "exciting" to photograph.....

I'm working on something that's not really too exciting, either....but must be done!

The roof has several layers of "stuff" painted on it.  Probably mobile home roofing coating.

We want to make absolutely sure we never have a leak - so we're removing some of the coating, down to bare aluminum.  Then we'll come over the seams with this "miracle tape" called EternaBond.  It is supposed to be 100% leak free for a lifetime.    So, we want a smooth surface to apply the tape.

Messy, messy job - I soak rags with Xylene overnite - then it scrapes off like toothpaste.  Slow going....and not at all sexy!

More awning work

Finally got back to the awning since I received the orange binding.

Really pleased with the color match!

Tedious process....had to rip out a few seams where I didn't line it up correctly.

Scalloped edge came out nice, I think.

The edging pinned to the huge awning body.....put I ran out of UV resistant thread!   So, I went inside and ordered another spool from Amazon.  It will be here tomorrow - and I'll get it all sewn together then.

Air Conditioning Installed!!!

Duane installed the new air conditioning unit without me!!!   I was inside doing some last-minute Christmas baking on this very cold day.....I went down to the hangar this afternoon and this is what I see!  This is the roof of the trailer - he put boards up there so he could walk around without damaging the roof.  The unit is 15,000 BTU and is a heat pump, so we'll have a/c and heat.   It's replacing a smaller unit, so hopefully we'll be nice and comfy!

It weighs 99 lbs - he used a block-n-tackle to hoist it up. 

Here's the interior view - looks great!  Looking forward to using it!

Scalloped edge for awning

So, I see all the pretty photos of awnings online - and I have to make mine pretty too!

After several attempts, I got a nice shallow scallop pattern.

Then I marked the 34' of edge fabric with a pencil.

And proceeded to cut it all.....34' is a lot of fabric!!!  Now I'm still waiting on my orange binding tape to finish it off.

New Air Conditioner

I ordered the new air conditioner a few weeks ago.  It was backordered so we had to wait....no worries.

Got the call from the truck driver this morning that he was out at our driveway.  So, we scooted out there with the pickup.

Uncrated it to inspect for shipping damage, but all looked well.

Reading the direction booklet and measuring everything to make sure it would fit, we found a major issue.  The original opening in the roof of the trailer was too small by about 1/2"!  The opening in the trailer is almost exactly 14x14" square.  The paperwork for the new a/c unit also says that the opening has to be 14x14"....

The problem is, the new a/c unit has a mounting flange that measures 14 1/4 inch square.  So, it will not fit!!!

I called the manufacturer to see if there was a mistake, but their technical support folks say that "most roof openings are around 14 3/8" square, so their measurement is not exact.  Their suggestion was to take our trailer to a repair shop an have our roof modified!!

Now, you know that's not going to happen!!!

Duane dove in this afternoon - and modified the roof opening by taking out the rivets, removing all the brackets, cutting out aluminum skin so that the opening is larger.

He re-installed the re-positioned brackets and riveted them in place.  Now the a/c unit will slide in place nicely!

Now we'll have to lift the 99 lb a/c unit to the roof!!  First I've got to clean some "goop" off the rooftop to make sure we get a good seal - don't want any leaks!!

Belly Pan Replacement

Duane is about finished with the plumbing/wiring that needed access to the belly....looks a lot different under there since we first got the trailer!!

Kinda hard to see on the grey hangar floor, but we cut the new aluminum to fit using the old belly pan as a pattern.  That's it for now....Duane will work on installing it under the trailer in the next few days.

More awning work

The awning is coming together slowly.....those 8' and 18' long seams are long!!!!

Making the "bead" that will slip thru the aluminum railing on the camper to hold the awning in place.  1/4" line from the hardware store.

Using a special pressure foot that allows me to sew close to the cord.

I did the same process (with a slightly smaller cord) to make the piping at the top of all the narrow edge trim pieces. 

There is one 18' piece and 2 - 8' pieces of this..... These will have scalloped edges as soon as my orange colored binding comes in the mail!

And the last thing I did today was applique these patches - they are at each point that we will install the brass grommets for the support poles. It's just re-enforcement. We will install the grommets after I attach the side pieces to make that sewing a bit easier.

And that's it for today!!

Homemade awning

The Avion needs an awning....so I ordered a roll of Sunbrella material that would match the 70's vintage trailer.

The awning rail on the trailer is 18' long....so it's gonna be a LOT of material!

The material is only 55" wide.  And of course, I want the strips to run perpendicular to the trailer.... so I had to cut and sew 4 eight foot long pieces together to make the 18' width.

I did a "flat felled seam".   Easy seams, but cumbersome when you've got pounds of material to work with! 

Duane stood on the other side of the sewing machine and helped me feed all the bulky material thru.

Nice, hidden seam on both sides with no edges to fray.......but I had to match up the pattern 1/2 way thru the blue stripe to make sure the pattern repeated correctly.

So far, so good!   18' long by 8' deep.   Now I'll need to make a decorative edging, install support post grommets, and piping that will allow the entire awning to be attached to the trailer.  Later!

Curtains

Time to start putting this puppy back together!!

Let me remind you of the "before" photo from the day we picked it up.

I had taken all the "soft" furnishings out when we first started our refit.  Although the hard surfaces were moldy, the apparently brand new curtains and cushions were pristine.  I stored them in the house and they're like new still.


Ready to start putting it all back....

In the berth area - sheer first.  There's a rod top and bottom.

Curtains in place.

More sheers in place.

I'm glad I marked each curtain when I removed them!  There were 8 different pieces for this front area.

This was much harder than it looks!  There are hooks on the top AND the bottom of these curtains to keep them in place.  I had to use pliers to pull each of the 100's of hooks tight.  Looks nice!

Electrical

Duane is finishing up the wiring under the trailer.  Need to have that all complete before the belly skin goes back on!!

He's installing a waterproof junction box up at the tongue and installing all new brake wiring.

I've been working on the main door seal - the source of previous leaks....not to exciting but has to be done!!

Aluminum Belly Pan

The "belly skin" was in pretty rough shape when we removed it when we first started working on the trailer.....it had some severe corrosion - lots of holes.

I tried to clean it up and we thought about patching the holes....but have eventually decided it must be replaced with new. 

The belly pan is almost 5' wide - and most aluminum sheet is sold only 4' wide.   Using 4' wide sheets would require piecing....not ideal.

So, after literally hours on the internet and phone, I found a grat supply house in Greensboro that stocked 5' aluminum sheeting! 

They had the sheeting in stock -  Duane had to fabricate a structure to secure it to our pickup since the 5' width is wider than the pickup bed.

The supply house was amazing - any metal or tubing you could possibly want was there!

Metal all  secure and ready for the ride home!  Now the real work on it can begin.

Back to work for a bit!

The weather has been ridiculously warm for the first of December! 

Getting back to work on the Avion - maybe this will be the "home-stretch"!

I didn't take a photo of this in place....but it's basically the "yucky" water disposal piping....of course, it was original and we just didn't trust it to be intact.   In fact, we saw some "evidence" that it was not in good shape.

So, out it came - this is just part of it.

And after a day of much difficulty and (slightly) profane words, Duane has it all re-plumbed with all new components  - ready for whatever we throw at it!! 

Bottom Railing

Things are going back together! 

We had to remove the bottom railing because of all the floor board replacements ages ago.  (the bottom railing screws into the floor boards.)

Aluminum extrusion ready to be screwed/riveted back in place.  We used  butyl tape to seal it - hoping to eliminate ANY leak source!!

The  bottom edge of the trailer just looks "unfinished" .....

But now the railing is re-installed - and the original rubber "rub-rail" fit back amazingly well.

See how nice it's starting to look???

LED Light Replacements

The 12 volt bulbs all needed to be replaced with L.E.D. ones to reduce the power consumption.

So, I ordered various ones - mostly from China - I guess we're supporting the world economy.....such is life!

Special little reading spot lights - these L.E.D.'s (on the right) were actually were made in America!

 Here is the original exterior "courtesy light" at the door.

And here is the L.E.D. replacement.

Nice and bright!

 These lights are all over the trailer - under the cabinets, over the bed.

The white covers removed exposing the "guts".

And the L.E.D. replacements.

The fixtures in the bathroom .

And the L.E.D. replacements installed.

The fixture on the left has the L.E.D. bulbs - the fixture on the right has the old incandescent bulbs.  Not too different and it L.E.D.'s will have a huge amount of battery power!   (And supposedly last 10X longer.  We'll see about that!)