I noticed the same thing Jack. There were a couple of holes I had to make just a little big bigger to get the SS screws in on the windows. In one critical location I re-used steel ones to take more load. I like your idea of zinc coated.

-Leland

FYI stainless screws/bolts/whatever are a harder material than other steels. Same with higher-grade bolts.

Because they’re a harder material, they don’t give much before breaking. Think of the difference between lead and glass/ceramics. Lead will give more easily, and ceramics will just break/shatter.

You have top treat stainless screws more gently. BUT...they’ll retain a sharper thread edge and cutting tip (if you get self tapping). Just remember using any kind of electric/cordless driver that you’ll want to back off the torque a LOT, and finish the drive by hand. Once the screw bottoms out, stop.

I’ve driven zillions of screws over the years - stainless are VERY easy to break, especially with today’s impact drivers.

Moved inside for the restore project
 

This weekend we moved Myrtle inside after a thorough power wash. We are lucky to have a large shop with a door oversized enough to get her inside. However, with the air-conditioner shroud and hanging, garage door opener, it was a real challenge. First off with the shroud, then down with the opener. The width of the ceiling joists were so tight that DH had to force it wider with a wedge. We raised her inch by inch, and wiggled her in, but were shy an inch to raise her completely. We resorted to letting air out of her tires so we could open her all the way up. Ta-dah! She's parked in her winter resort, ready for the full treatment.

Attachment 6388

Attachment 6389

Sorry, have to tilt your head on this one...

Attachment 6390

Update on the our 1993 restore
 

Hi Everyone!
It's been a long time since I've posted, but we have been busy this past year tearing down and rebuilding "Myrtle the Turtle". We aren't quite finished, but we have made tremendous headway and are getting so very close to tying a bow on her.

So far we have:
1. We stripped the wallpaper so we could get to the walls
2. Took out the cabinet faces, table, sofa, bunk, toilet, curtains, bathroom roman shades
3. Removed the windows
4. Cut out all the rotten wood and replaced with new luan paneling
5. Caulked, primed, and painted the walls
6. Reupholstered the jackknife couch, end caps, and other upholstered items
7. Repainted the counter-tops with a faux granite finish
8. Stained and glazed the cabinet fronts
9. Repainted the cabinet hardware and light fixtures
10. Installed new flooring and carpet patches
11. Covered the bathroom roman shades with new fabric
12. Made new curtains - yet to be hung

Still to do:
1. Wrestle with jackknife couch to install - not looking forward to that job (what a bear to take out!)
2. Install the new toilet
3. Scrub and shine her outside
4. Install a new awning

I have tons of photos that I've cherry-picked to share with you. We are hoping to have her debut this fall.

Enjoy the pics!! (haveing a hard time posting pics, so I have attached a pdf of a collage of the following pics:

Starting the reuphostery
Finished Jack Knife Couch
Rebuilding walls
Walls painted a lovely "Greige"
Recovered bathroom roman shades
Faux granite finish
Because they look so good
Cabinet refinishing
A peak at the flooring


There was a lot of work in between with tons of photos showing details of what was torn apart so that we could reassemble. We are so very excited about how Myrtle is dressing up.

Kathleen

I'm not sure if this will work, but here is a link to my album of our step-by-step restoration of Myrtle:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/thEyzJ99KaaS2wpCA

Awesome job.
 

Enjoyed viewing your pictures. We have also done quite a bit of restoration on our 1990 25ft. Classic. I can appreciate the amt. of work you have put in on the project. Keep up the good work. Pretty soon you will be out camping in the HiLo.

Finished hanging the bathroom "wall". I really struggled with how to hang the sliding curtain. Since I covered the wicker with fabric, I was afraid that the wicker inside would eventually sag. I figured it out by using old fashioned drapery hooks that I dug into the wicker. Replaced the slides to handin the original rail. Works great.

Ran into a challenge with blind replacements. Ordered 1" mini blinds and the mounting header and hardware are too wide. Just burned $200. Of course we mounted everything, tossed the boxes in time time for trash pickup so can't return before realizing our screw up. We tried multiple work around with no success. Found another source to reorder micro-mini blinds that will work (oh please!). Lesson learned - mounting brackets and blinds cannot exceed 1 1/8". Ugh.

Please let us know where you found the micro-mini blinds and if they mount under the valances ok. Finding replacements that work has been a problem.

Don't feel bad with drapery/blind problems.
 

I had trouble with the same scenario that you ran into. Ordered from HD and had to return them for a $ loss. Ordered new blinds from another co. Told them repeatedly the size I needed to be able to lower the HiLo. Sent the blinds and they were wrong size header. I had to donate the blinds to the salvation army and send them the donation receit to get it taken off my credit card. Ended up taking the old blinds down and using five or six cans of rattle can paint to do a make over.

Still on the hunt. Asked one company to send the mounting bracket before ordering. Oh brother! What a challenge. Mad ar me for riding the old blinds. I still have the old mounting brackets and next option is to see if new blindss will fit into the old brackets.

Curtain rod
 

A few years ago I was able to get a round curtain rod at Kmart for my original curtains. I remember using the old hardware. Had to order another one in. It got damaged in transit. Finaly got one un damaged. Maybe make some curtains and attach with velcro?

Thanks for the tip!

Fingers crossed. Ordered 1" aluminum blinds made by Hampton Bay. The header measures 1" x 1". Bought a sample blindd to test. Looks like it will work. Then custom ordered through HD to exact width and height. Would have liked to buy cordless, but those headers are bigger. I still have hardware from the original blinds just in case the new ones fit and in case the new hardware is off. If all goes well, I'll send pics. Have to wait about 10 more days. I am NOT a patient person. We want to hang the blinds and curtains before installing the couch, toilet, and bunk. So the inside project has stalled a little.

Meanwhile working on windows seals, ordering new awning, and cleaning off old smeared goop on the outside. Previous owner smeared all kinds of stuff, quite sloppily on Myrtle's shell.

We had removed all the faded decals and want to get her outside as cleaned and polished as possible. Tonight's job is to clean off the old goo. Oh joy!

Good luck with the goo. I had old, stuck-on packing tape that the PO had used to tape down a tarp because the roof was so bad. After it dried, removing the old adhesive was almost like trying to remove something that had permanently bonded to the fiberglass shell. But ... it is nice to have it gone. Hope it goes well for you.

Just thinking out loud
 

Maybe googone and or a heat gun would soften the goop. Maybe scrape off carefuly with a plastic scraper or a heat gun. Someone makes a product for removing silicone. Saw a trailer once where the owner slapped on black roof tar. It was slopped over the sides. DW probably told him to coat the roof and he did it with "some attitude".

Goo Gone did the trick. Took of all the old crud very easily. Thirty minutes made a huge difference in her appearance - from sloppy and grungy to beat and tidy in a flash. Granted, she's still quite plain, but a clean pallet ready for a more refreshing look. Plan to paint her steps, hitch, and wheels and add some decals.

Any thoughts on what decals to use? I’ve found a few sets for random trailers on Amazon (newer ‘swoopy’ designs). For now mine is just running ‘clean’ sides.

Decals
 

I talked to JR Trailer last summer about this topic. They have the ability to make the decals and of course are familiar with the original Hi-Lo decals.

They can also make custom decals from your favorite photo.

Do you have their contact information? I have reached out to what I thought was JR Trailers for a replacement part some time ago, and haven't had any response. I may have the wrong contact information.