Battening Down the Hatches

Hey all! How have you been? I've been taking advantage of California's epic drought by working on sealing up the exterior before the famed El Niño rains. For those of you considering the purchase of a travel trailer, this post is for you my dear friends.

Trailers can be great. Pinterest pictures of trailers with coastline overlooks and cute interiors are great. Sleeping in while listening to the rain gently coming down on the trailer roof is beyond great. But don't be fooled- that rain is downright insidious. If I have learned anything with this rebuild, it's that everything leaks and water will find a way. This is why it is so important to be educated about it before and after purchase. As a general rule, if someone tells you that a trailer (or anything, for that matter) does not have leaks, there are three possible realities:
1. There aren't any (at the moment).
2. There are and they don't know about it.
3. There are and they do know about it.

Unfortunately, water and trailers don't get along too well. Lots of trailers are stick built, meaning their walls and roof have wooden ribbing sitting on a steel trailer frame with wood flooring. Airstreams opt for aluminum ribs but still have wood flooring. Water that finds a way in accumulates and starts rotting the wood and causing mold, sometimes completely hidden.

Finding rotted flooring is the worst....

Are we doomed every time it rains? Don't worry, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The first thing I would recommend is to be obnoxiously thorough before putting your money down. Look for the signs- discoloration, previous attempts at sealing, moisture, damp smells, soft floors, etc. This is where having another experienced trailer owner in tow is awesome!

If you are going the complete rebuild route (or have found yourself there haha!) use it as an opportunity to hose test your trailer. Every time it rained I would go inside with a roll of black electrical tape to mark places that got damp. At one point it looked like a jungle of black vines hanging down. Sometimes, it was obvious where the water was coming from. Other times, it was difficult to track it down and I had to replace several rivets to find the one that was originally causing the leak. Just keep in mind that it doesn't hurt to replace too many- it's better than not doing enough! If using a hose, start from the bottom and work your way up the trailer and that way you'll know how high up the leak is on the wall.

Once you have gone through the whole process of getting rid of the leaks (without using silicone on aluminum right? right??) make sure you make it a habit to inspect everything periodically. It may seem like overkill, and it might be! But then you can really enjoy the pitter patter of raindrops on your snug as a bug trailer with the confidence of knowing that the water is staying outside.

On my silver bullet, the rub rail that runs around the back half of the trailer like a belt was growing science projects with the accumulated dirt and moisture. The Airstream letters, the brake light housing, and every little trim piece on Trouble had the same story. While the process is tedious, each time I put another trim piece on sealed with Tempro, I shout "one less leak!!" and take comfort that I won't have to do it again and it makes it aesthetically much nicer. You want pictures, you say?

A whole box of olympic rivets!!

Really? The banana wraps are lapped backwards!

Sealed up wheel well trim.

Don't do this! Say NO to silicone!!

Night rain testing the seals...

Dad cheerfully working away.

I'm on your roofs... fixing your leaks...

These little boogers had a lot of water in them! 

Where did the windows go??

There they are! And tinted, like a boss...

Trouble also now has fancy brake light lenses from Vintage Trailer Supply! The small rectangular lens is virtually impossible to find, so I was really happy when they started making reproductions. The brake light housing itself is cast aluminum (pot metal) and quite weighty.  It is attached with rivets on the inside of the trailer, so it involves taking off the inside panels to access the rivets. Because of the weight and positioning, it is definitely a two person job (you get to pick who gets to work inside). I figure all this effort is worth it since attractive lenses will attract attention when I need to alert the world of my braking... right? We already tested the lights themselves and we are good to go.

New lenses lookin sharp!

Trim off, teal on...

Clean up time.

Travel trailers are rather whimsical creatures at best. They're big, round, grey, and rather slow. Much like manatees. So why not make a little patch to match?

The irony is that it was the only place that didn't leak...

Happy manatee!

Fun times! Now the focus moves indoors- electrical, walls,  plumbing, and furniture! Exciting stuff, but that's for another day. Take care and stay dry!

Please Step into my Office

Hi all! I've got an exciting development in the technological side of things- my trailer is now my home office! Well, almost. But I do own an internets!

Since I depend on the interwebs for my work, internet is not optional. I also go through data like it's going out of style, so depending solely on a cellular network (AKA hotspot from my phone AKA wireless tethering) would be outrageously expensive for me. The challenge arises when the lovely aluminum shell turns into a wall that blocks wifi signal from outside sources. There are many options on the market, and I went with the JefaTech antenna and repeater to pick up the wifi signal, amplify it, and rebroadcast it on my own password-protected wifi network. This relies on an existing wifi network, so out in the boonies it will have no wifi signal to pick up and therefore no connection and no lolcats. Backup plans are needed (like a friend's house, library, coffee shop, or cellular data assuming there is signal) but that's part of life in a mobile home/office.

The trick with this setup is getting the antenna in a good place for optimal signal strength. It is designed to point straight up and down and be in the "line of sight" of the wifi source. Many have mounted it on to their TV antenna with good results. My little Trouble doesn't have one anymore and I wasn't planning on adding another, since if anything I watch shows and movies on my computer. I was trying to figure a clever way to put it on the roof, but then I didn't feel comfortable with mounting it permanently in an upright position, and lowering and raising it presented other complications. After circling the trailer about 500 times in search of a good spot and at least two false starts, we came up with the best possible compromise. My engineering and machining skills are limited to napkin sketches, but Dad interpreted my jumbled idea into something that I think is really quite awesome. Behold:

It's really a lightsaber!

Venture a guess on what it is made out of! Any ideas? It's a BBQ grill handle! What will he think of next? The cable goes through the wall and pops into the interior using a rubber grommet to make a safe and sleek exit through the sheet metal. Next I hooked it up to my little repeater (Linksys router with special software) which is again hooked up to a power source. The standard is a 110v connection with a wall wart adapter or you can specify 12v pigtail connection. The actual set up of the wifi repeater took less than 5 minutes. Woohoo! When prepping for travel, just remove the top half and stow it.

The next chapter in my antenna quest was finding a solution for my AM/FM needs. I tried my best to find the hookups for this little antenna setup:

I'm missing the cable!

After it was made obvious that finding a cable that matches the size of this antenna was not going to happen, I went shopping and found a great replacement for less than $20. Since I had to make a little backing plate to make it sturdy and cover the old holes, I wanted a little more style than just a boring 'ol square shape. Then I had a brilliant idea- turn that boring 'ol square shape 45º and voilà! Instant diamond fanciness. 

Diamonds are for trailers.

ET phone home!

Now that Trouble is online and tuned in, I've got some more exciting updates for next time! See you then!

I Are Smart!

Hi everyone, long time no post! I've been doing important things like rearranging "Airstream" letters.

...depending on the day.

And on to other news- the windows are progressing, slowly (very slowly) but surely. The tinting looks awesome! 12 down, 5 to go, including the door window which is going to be a whole 'nother project.

Glamour shot!

That marine sealant is where it's at! 

Now my poor trailer had a bit of a scar on the back that was covered with an ugly patch, so we called up the famous Inland Andy and picked up the new curved panel and hauled it in my little warrior car (it fit through the trunk and over the fold down seats- hiiiiyahh!) and left it for a nice sunny day. Just kidding. It was the day after a massive downpour that had brought mass amounts of rain and wind that smashed my little car's tail light (aww) and to be followed by an equally wet day the day after. Perfect time to disassemble the whole back of the trailer! Here it goes!

Out with the old, in with the new.

Please don't rain....

Pretty please don't rain!

Dry fit before Tempro caulking and drilling holes.

All cleco'd up.

Final verdict: this was easy! Well not *easy* per se but it the process went with a lot less fuss than I had anticipated. Granted, it did pour on us for about ten minutes... oops. We also found that most of the rivets spun when we started drilling them out. This means they weren't secured tightly, which means water will enter sooner or later. It's beginning to get to the point where all rivets, especially roof rivets, are going to be replaced because of paranoia... I mean logical (completely rational) leak prevention. I swear I felt a drop...

If you're looking at a trailer to buy that has damage on these panels, be advised that these curved rear panels are all complex curves- you will have to special order them since a flat sheet will not work. If you already have it and are looking to replace the panels, the steps are pretty simple. Take out all the rivets on the panel, remove the window frame (bummer, but you really have to) and slide in the new panel under the two sheets that overlap it. Make sure you have plenty of overlap so your rivets will securely go through both layers and don't worry if there is some extra on the window side. We trimmed it off and it looked great afterwards. It's nice to have two people for working on the outside and monitoring the inside with the braces and gently nudging it to meet the curve. If you have some experience with a rivet gun and sheet metal, you got this!

On another note, a few months back some long-time family friends and vintage Airstream owners gave Trouble a special present! It's a city water hookup. In simple terms, if there is a hose bib where the trailer is parked, you can use a special drinking hose (don't use a garden hose! They leach chemicals, especially when out in the sun) and hook it up here. This is the alternative to using your freshwater tank and water pump to generate pressure for your system. When you turn on the tap, the house's water pressure sends the water through the pipes.  This handy gadget also is a pressure regulator, so if there is way too much water pressure it will take care of it so you don't have busted hoses leaking in your trailer. Such an improvement from having it next to the dump valve... ick! Now it's up off the ground and located close to where the water heater will be.

What a nice surprise!

Some exciting electrical updates are on their way as well. *Spoiler alert* The LED lights look awesome! But that's for next time! Happy travels, or happy renovations as the case may be!