Water Heater Refurb

Duane did a great job putting the water heater back together!

And re-installing it.

About $20 for the black replacement front vs about $500 for a new one! 


Getting closer!

Fan repair

There are two large exhaust fans in the trailer.  They have a fairing that is hidden behind a nice fabric vent cover.  This fairing acts like a venturi to make the fan more efficient.

Unfortunately, the plastic was cracked and damaged.  First we thought it would be best just to replace the fans.  But, they are larger than normal  - 18"x18" - and the RV supply stores only have 14"x14" fans. 

So, we decided we'd just repair the ones we have.

I used masking tape as a base for the filler.

Ready for some fiberglass!

It doesn't have to be pretty - it won't be seen.  But, the cracks and missing plastic have to be fixed.

Several layers of fiberglass cloth and resin.

Trimmed off the excess.

And here it is - a trial fit - looking up thru the trailer roof to the hangar roof.   Just a little more trimming and it will be ready to install - cost - almost nothing since we had the fiberglass leftover from some boat project!

Water heater refurb

The outdoor panel/cover for our propane gas water heater was terribly rusty.  The inside components are in almost new condition....

We tried to find an exact replacement, but it was not available due to it being 30 years old!!

But, Duane found this "almost exact replacement".   The holes are not exactly the same.

So he did what he always does - he carefully modified it to fit.  Now he has to do a little plumbing work to reinstall it.

New Exterior Latches

We'd replaced some of these exterior compartment latches already.....but still had a few to do.


See the ugly rusty hardware?

Duane drilled out the old rivets - these obviously weren't stainless steel!

Nice shiny new stainless steel  replacements. 

Couldn't remove the slight rust-stain around the rivets....but I think they look terrific!

Yellow light

Lots of little things...hundreds left to do, of course!

The "courtesy light" next to the trailer door has a very aged and yellowed lens.  It's not a big deal, but it bugs me.

It makes the light look rather yellow.

So, for $9 I got a nice, clear lens cover.

And guess what.....the net effect was.....drum roll.....

The light still looks yellow.  Haha.

Table finished

We've been doing lots of little chores - none of which are very photogenic.  Plumbing, rebuilding the water pump, some painting and staining.....

Duane finished all the leafs (leaves?) of the table. 

I'm sure we'll leave it "stowed" most of the time.

Here the table is just upright from it's "nest".

Details of Duane's fine laminate routing.

Reminder of how it looked before:

Pulled out the table slider to accept more leafs.

And here's the table extended.  The extra leafs will be stowed below the seats when not in use.

Forward Shelf

The forward shelf needed to be replaced - it was covered in a 70's vintage fake-wood grain laminate.  Looks OK in this photo, but it was damaged on the underside.

Duane made an exact replica using 3/4" plywood.

We got a laminate that closely matches the Corian for the galley counter.

After much contact cement and routing, the forward shelf and the first two pieces of the fold-out table are finished.

I'll post a photo when we have all the extension pieces in place.