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!!