1998 HiLo 28B Classic Semi-Rebuild Project
 

So, we just picked up a 1998 HiLo Classic 28B 28foot Camper. For the most part, its in great shape, other than some rot on the door side wall. The lowest channel of the wall looks to be structurally sound, but the wall paneling and the plywood that acts as the anchor for the cabinets was rotted pretty badly.

We also noticed that there is a stress crack in the area just above the door, in the fiberglass outer shell, and its nice and tight when the top is raised, and even through about 3/4 of the lowering process. When its gets to the last 2 inches or so, is when the crack spreads a bit, like 1/16".

So, I spoke with J&R about the issue, and Jim said that they have had to build an outrigger that welds to the frame, for the longer trailers, because on the door side especially, there is a bit of flex as they settle into their lowered position.

I had Jim make the outrigger, and am about to pull the skirt off the side of the trailer, and begin to figure out where to position it. In the picture below, you can see the general area that I will be mounting it, but the real question, is what height should I set it to? If I drop the top all the way until it stops, I think its too low on the door side, so how much from the bottom should I position the outrigger? Any ideas from anyone on here? J&R didn't have any comments, as they said that it would need to be in their shop.

Here is the pic:
https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/outrigger_mount.jpg

It all depends on what the top rests on in the lowered posistion. If it rests on the frame at the front and back then you will have to place a straight edge across the frame at these locations. The straight edge should extend past the edge of the trailer. Then you can run a string between the straight edges on the bottom of the straight edge. This will give you a straight line across the side of the trailer which should match the bottom of the top when it is down. You can position your support accordingly.
If you have supports on the side of the trailer, just run a string between the two and that is the where the supporrt should be located.

A very tight stringline between the front and back outriggers should be as close as you could get it.

My trailer doesn't have any outriggers, it looks to me like it settles inside, where the cabinets come down and rest on the inside rail. There are indentations in the padding of the cabinets, where it sits on the inside wall caps (top of the walls). There is one on each side of the door. Here is a picture of the trailer towards the rear, and there are no outriggers:

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/cargo_door.jpg

That is why I think that J&R recommends putting an outrigger, since there aren't. If you guys know where it should be resting, maybe you could post a picture so I can see what it should be in my trailer.

Here are a couple of pictures of the inside, showing where most of the water damage is. It really looks to only be on the door side, and we have cleaned the whole roof, and will be putting on 3 layers of the elastomeric paint this weekend, so that should fix any leaks that the roof has.

As you can see, there is a 2" channel in the foam, where there was plywood used to anchor the cabinets. I will be replacing that as well, since it was totally rotten.

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/inside_wall_before1.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/inside_wall_before2.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/inside_wall_before4.jpg

Trailer repairs.
 

I am so glad some of our guy forum members where able to help you with your outrigger problem. Your plan to do the roof first is good. Use blue tape to define where you want to stop on the sides.,We didn"t think to do this. Clean any caulk around roof vents and reseal as needed. Next I would take out all windows and reseal with butyl tape and lexell caulk. Check and clean all exterior caulk. You may be able to just apply Lexell caulk over flat caulk. Then you can work on the inside. You will have to do much of the same as we did with our 90 Classic restoration. Take your time and do it once correctly and you will have it for many years of enjoyment. What state and city are you located in? We are here to cheer you on and answer any of the questions you have. It is crucial that you fix all leaks or your your work will be in vain. Keep us posted and take pictures of before and after.

We are going over tonight to tape off the roof, and to apply the heavier sealant around the vents, etc., then on Friday we will apply the first coat of the elastomeric paint. Funny thing, I talked to my local trailer shop, and he thought I was nuts sealing the whole roof with the paint, and I am guessing that he has little to no experience, or has enough money to just always replace the roof any time it leaks :)

I have one of the windows out, as it has a broken section, and it is getting replaced completely. I'll get some more pics of the progress, the material that we will be using to seal the roof, etc., and update this as we go.

We are out in Oregon, and thankful to find a friend with a large barn where we could store this for a month or so, while we get it all fixed up.

What paneling are you guys using to replace the patterned paneling inside of your trailers? I am thinking of just using 1/8" plain white bathroom paneling, then primering it and the existing patterned panel, so that we can just paint the whole inside a neutral color.

Well, we were able to pull off the lower cap that screws to the wood on the bottom rail, and were amazed to find out that the whole lower wood is in excellent condition!!!!! I almost jumped out of the trailer, as I thought that moisture had really gotten down into the lower section.

One issue I ran into though, was trying to replace the broken lower guide block next to the door opening. Both screws broke off, and were in there really tight. I am wondering if the screws go into metal or wood at the lower corner of the top at the door opening? Does anyone know?

Also anyone ever been able to get into this with a 90 degree drill and drill new holes? If I can't get into there, I might fabricate a U-shaped bracket to surround the bottom of the corner, with a leg that drops down to hold the bracket, then put two bolts straight through the wall to hold that bracket in place.

This weekend I will have a bunch of pictures to post, of the roof, the wall, etc.

Repairs
 

Don"t forget to clean off any existing caulk before applying new caulk even if it is on top of the old caulk. We have a rubber roof and used a roof primmer and then two coats of elastomeric sealer. Look on the net at koolseal and dicor products. Always read and follow your directions. Not sure how your wall construction is. Look at some back posts of Garyk52 where he provides a link of the material he is using on his extensive restoration. The reason I told you to pullout all your windows is so that you can reseal them with butyl tape and Lexell caulk. When the window is out you will be able to see the condition of your wall layers. Then you will know if the damage is more extensive and you need to do further repairs. Again, I encourage you to look at the postings of our 1990HiLo Classic restoration and you will see all the pictures and descriptions of the steps we took. Go to your local Home Depot and look at paneling and see if you like anything that is !/8 thick. Follow what is in your walls. Possibly 1'styrofoam,underlay and then paneling. Donot put plastic in your walls as this will make them rot again. Do coat your inner walls with 2part epoxy Bondo as this will ensure a waterproof seal Use caulk at the endes of the Bondo. Be sure to read and follow all directions. Above all do it once and right the 1st time. It may well take much longer than you would like. No point in doing the rebuild if you are going to take shortcuts and dammage your new paneling and end up with a mess later. JR repair seals theinner skin and then uses 2part epoxy to put the wall back together. I know this may be overwhelming as their are many steps in the rebuild process. Check out the Georgia Pacific website for paneling. If you are sure you will be leaving some of the existing paneling than you may want to use a panel with a petern or a color to it. No matter what you do it is going to cost you for materials. So nice you have a place to work on it out of the weather. Feel free to keep asking for advice and questions. Just trying to be helpful.Reada story and saw pictures of another kind of Rv rebuild. The guy was cussing because after he put it all back together he still had a leak. You must use caulk and 2part Bondo to ensure no leaks.Then you can assemble the walls. Make your wife happy,pick out some pretty paneling.!!

Replacing guide block/screws
 

We didn't have to do this repair. I know their are previous posts about this.

So, we made good progress this weekend. We started by masking off all of the vents, the toilet exhaust, the Air Conditioner, removed the solar panel and bagged it up and then taped and masked up all of the walls and each end cap.

Then we used elastomeric crack and seal filler (thicker than the elastomeric roof paint), and we brushed it onto each seam, along all of the edges, around each of the roof vents. We let it sit and cure overnight, then today we rolled on the first coat of the elastomeric roof paint.

Here are some pictures of the progress:

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/roof_seal1.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/roof_seal2.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/roof_seal3.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/roof_seal4.jpg

A Couple more....

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/roof_seal5.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/roof_seal6.jpg

We also pulled some more paneling from around the bigger window in the front door side, only to find a whole bunch more moisture where the roof was leaking in the front area. Thankful that we are getting the roof done now.

I'll have some more pics of the work inside later this week, when we go back for the second coat of roof paint. We are looking at doing a total of four coats of the roof paint since we got 5 gallons of it, and its going pretty far.

Looks like we may be running some 1/8" mahogany sheets for the interior paneling. Going to look at it tomorrow.

roof repair
 

Vdubn,

"I'll have some more pics of the work inside later this week, when we go back for the second coat of roof paint. We are looking at doing a total of four coats of the roof paint since we got 5 gallons of it, and its going pretty far".

It was with great interest I read your posts on sealing your roof. It is almost identical to what I am doing on our roof [see my roof repair post]. First, in regard to your quote above about applying[4] coats of elastomeric paint. I didn't get the name of the elastomeric paint you are using in your posts. I am going to use Kool-Seal 63-600. I am including a quote from the Kool-Seal Tech regarding 'extra' coats of their paint:

"Applying this Elastomeric coating to the surface thickly (or in more coats than recommended) will not improve the performance of the coating. In fact, it may deter from the success of the coating. A thick layer of this product will take much longer to cure. This will leave it vulnerable to inclement weather that may damage the coating before it fully "sets." I would advise adding additional product to the surface merely to improve the appearance".

What I get from the tech's quote is that 2 coats should suffice and 4 coats may be too much of a good thing. You might consider the tech's advice before applying the extra coatings.

The only difference I see in our approach is my removal of the gutters after which I will apply eterna-bond 4" webseal tape lapped over the side underneath where the gutter/awning is mounted, and then paint the sides and re-attach.

Did you remove all the old caulking/sealant from around the roof vents before applying your paint? In my post last night I asked for opinions of the forum before I do that since I am using the 4" eterna-bond tape, but I have since decided to remove all of it before taping.

I'm curious to know if you had any small holes in the aluminum roof caused by two dissimilar metals touching that resulted in a chemical reaction causing what I call roof rot? If so did you do any special prep work before painting?

Finally, what did you use as a cleaning agent in the final step before painting?

Good luck on your project. The roof is looking good and I think that is one area that most owners pay the least attention to that may cause the most trouble.

Jerry Curtis
2406 T

Roof resealing
 

Looks real good to me. Snow white.

Thanks sam!

Jerry, you are correct, and after reading the application instructions, I think that we are only going to be putting two coates on. We might opt for three, but we'll see. We are giving each coat 48 to 52 hours of cure time, so hopefully that will be adequate. It says to only apply this stuff at 65 degrees or warmer, but we were at about 55 degrees both days. Hopefully a longer cure time will compensate for the lower temperature.

The stuff we used is the Black Jack Elastomeric Roof Paint that Lowes sells. The crack and seam repair stuff we used, is also Black Jack, I will get a picture of both products, and post it up so people can see what we used.

It goes on really well, great coverage. Actually, I was surprised to see that basically about 1 gallon was all that was needed for one coat on our 28 foot roof. We bought 5 gallons, so I guess we will have extra to use in 5 years or so when we do it again.

As for the old calk and sealant, we went around and removed as much of the loose stuff as we could, but I didn't spend the time to remove the stuff that was on really good. The crack and seam sealant that we put on first, was really thick, and did a great job of sticking to everything including the old calk.

We used Simple Green to wash the surface, and it did an excellent job. We let it dry out for a week, then we came back and blew off any debris, taped off our areas that we didn't want sealed, and applied the coatings. It all went really well.

I thought about removing the awning clamps, but it was mounted well, and I didn't want to chance breaking any bolts off, etc.

I also had a broken Jalousie window, and am getting replacement hardware, so I'll show how I fixed it when that comes in.

As for any holes or cracks in the aluminum roof, yes, there were two holes where the antenna used to be... I removed the antenna, and the cable that went through the ceiling inside, as we will mount an HD antenna to the side of the trailer later and I would prefer as little coming through the roof as possible.

I am not sure of the name of the patch stuff we used, as the previous owners had some left over from when they had attempted to patch the roof in the past. It is basically like a sheet of rubber, very flexible, and has adhesive on one side that is ridiculously strong. If you look close at the pictures, you can see some of the square patch panels that were used.

As far as corrosion/electrolosis, it did look like there were some pinholes that were coming through in areas, probably from the dissimilar metals like you mentioned. Not sure what to do with that, other than pull the whole ceiling out and try to neutralize it from the inside, but its not bad enough to warrant that for now anyway.

Tomorrow I will be lubing the cables underneath the trailer, and we may wait until Thursday to recoat the roof, which would give it a full 4 days between coats.

We also used the elastomeric paint to coat the Air Conditioner cover, as the fiberglass was getting britle, and even cracked a bit in places. It makes the whole top nice and clean as well.

Window repair
 

Some years ago I got DH too tight to the fence when we were coming into our storage/driveway and cracked an awning part and the glass in the window. Our RV dealer removed and sent it out to a glass repair shop. We were told that the window cost $600.00 if you had to buy a new one and that was several years ago. We have moved our entrance gates around and it works much better for backing in. I try not to think of the cost of a new window when we take them out for resealing!!

We were able to make some more progress tonight... We checked the roof, and it has cured nicely, but we will be waiting two more days for the second coat. So, we raised the top, and cleared out the rest of the interior walls that were still adhered to the foam.

Here are some pictures that show the interior walls basically ready to be recovered:

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/inner_wall_before1.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/inner_wall_before2.jpg

I also started to address the issue of the guide that had broken next to the door. All of the screws had broken off inside of the lower rail, and there is literally no room to get anything to drill out those screws, so I came up with an option that looks to have worked very well. The pictures are a bit blurry, mostly because my batteries were almost gone... I'll have better pics later.

I used some 3" x 3" aluminum angle, cut off a 3" section of it, and then mounted the guide block to this material. Then I pre-drilled the underside of the lower rail, and screwed in some stainless lag bolts and mounted it. It is working very well, and holding the wall nicely against the lower half of the trailer.

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/door_guide1.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/door_guide2.jpg

Finally, I removed the door side lower skirt, and found that there isn't much room to position the outrigger, but it looks like it will wedge into this corner nicely... I'll have to remove the wheel to get the welder in there and weld this in place.

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/outrigger_mount1.jpg

I also inspected the cables underneath, and they all look excellent. No corrosion, no fraying. They looked a bit dry, so I sprayed the whole length with PB Blaster spray... cables and pulleys.

Anyone know if the pulleys are steel? I think they are.... hoping.

I mentioned that I would post the products that we are using for the roof and the walls.

We first used Black Jack Roof-Patch Elastic Crack Sealer and Repair to fill all the voids in the seams, the edges around the roof vents, and along each end cap, and the side gutters.

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/roof-patch.jpg

Then, we used the Black Jack Ultra-Roof 1000 as the roof paint to seal the entire roof (this will be used in two coats), and we coated the fiberglass A/C Cover with this as well.

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/ultra-roof.jpg

Finally, we are using the 3M Contact Cement, number 77 to glue the fiberglass shell to the foam where it has separated a bit around the windows. Number 77 is guaranteed to adhere to the foam, and not melt the foam. We are also using general contact cement (not aerosol) rolled onto the foam and the back sides of the interior paneling. This should hold the paneling nicely together.

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/contact-cement.jpg

We went over and put the second and final coat of roof paint on, and removed the perimeter tape and plastic (we had to lightly scribe lines at the edge of the blue tape so as not to lift any of the paint).

We then finished stripping the foam inside on the door wall that we will be recovering this weekend.

Finally, I was able to document the process of fixing one of the Jalousie windows. The largest window (door side, 60" wide by 26" tall) had a problem where the three louvered panes of glass would just flap open and closed while driving down the road, which allowed rain, etc, to blow in while driving. The previous owners had known of this issue, and said that the window had been like that for many years.

The best part about this, was that the gear box that opens and closes these louvered sections, was fine, but the torque arms had no center sections left, so they would just spin on the cross bar. Below are some pictures showing the repair process.

First, I removed the gear box and cross bar by drilling out the pop rivets. Then I removed the C-clips that held the torque arms to the linkages that connected to the three glass panes.

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/window_fix1.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/window_fix2.jpg

As you can see below, the torque arm on the right has no cross section, allowing it to freely spin on the cross bar. The new kit came with two new torque arms.

More pics in the next post since we are limited to only 4 per post.....

Here are two pics of the kit that I ordered... $15 shipped

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/window_fix4.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/window_fix5.jpg

Here I have remounted the gear box with pop rivets:

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/window_fix6.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/window_fix8.jpg

I only used the torque arms and the C-clips from this kit, the rest I discarded.

Here is the finished window... works perfectly, all for $15

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/window_fix9.jpg

Window repair
 

I was just wondering while you had the window out if you reinstalled it with butyl tape and caulk around the outside. Good to know you can get repair parts for a window. It was a cheap fix compared to the cost of a new window. The rubber on the exterior will clean up with what you use to clean up the exterior of the trailer. Coat the rubber with Son of a gun or a like product. You will get all this little fussy stuff when the weather breaks. Right now the wind is strong and we keep getting snow showers in burts and then the sun comes out,30 dergrees.

Yes, we reinstalled both windows with Butyl tape around the whole perimeter. They sealed up very nicely.

We got a ton of work done today, completely finished the inner wall. We decided to use the mahogany, and cover it with a nice wall paper that complemented the color scheme well. We have redone the whole living quarters except for the front end section, which will be done tomorrow.

So, today we glued the supporting plywood into the groove in the foam:

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/inner_wall_before3.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/inner_wall_before4.jpg


Then we got the mahogany glued into place:

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/inner_wall_after1.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/inner_wall_after2.jpg

Then we installed the wallpaper on both walls, and installed the windows last.

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/inner_wall_after3.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/inner_wall_after4.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/inner_wall_after5.jpg

Tonight we are actually covering the lower rail covers with the same wallpaper as the walls, then tomorrow we will wall paper the front end, and prime the area around the front window so that we can paint it an accent color.

My final project today involved the lower bracket of the awning... the one at the back of the trailer. The previous owner had an issue with the wind, where he had left the awning out, and something had really tweaked the lower bracket to the point where it pulled out the bolts from the lower rail. It had been repaired with some wood screws but the problem never really addressed well, as the aluminum on the underside of the rail had been bent real bad. Here is a picture showing what it looked like before I started. I used a plate of 1/4" aluminum to disperse the pressure on the inside, then installed 5/16 x 2" stainless lag bolts into the rail. This got the lower bracket positioned correctly, and so firmly that I doubt we will have any other issues with it.

Here are the pics, showing before and after:

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/awning_bracket1.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/awning_bracket2.jpg

https://www.vdubn.com/hilo/awning_bracket3.jpg

Restoration
 

You are really cranking the work out. Where did you get the wallpaper at? Not many places have wallpaper any more.

So true... fortunately, Lowes still stocks some wallpaper, and they had a nice little selection actually. We got some that had some texture, and initially we were going to do the paintable stuff, but then we changed our mind and decided to get some that has a light tan color, with light green leafy outlines. It really matches the green accents well.

Wallpaper /painting
 

Something to consider,Have your primer tinted one shade lighter than your paint color.

roof repair
 

Sam,

I would like a clarification on the above response to vdubn. I did not see a follow-up response from him. Had vdubn responded positively insofar as using the 'butl tape', were you going to commend his using it or recommend that he use something different?

I am in the final stages of getting the roof ready for the repairs I am going to do. I have fought the urge to only concentrate on the roof, rather than the aesthetics on the trailer, but today, I couldn't restrain myself. I had to take off the rain deflector over the slide-out, for I could not bear to see the black 'emergence' that was all over the deflector and below it on the side wall.

I have come to the conclusion that the butyl tape [a caulk that is pre-prepared and wrapped in a wax paper] is the cause of most, if not all, the black streaks that stream down the RV after every rain.

I asked the local Pro-Builder technician for butyl-tape, and this is what I got. A coil of a 1" strip of a ribbon of caulking attached to a wax paper. Is this what you had reference to? And if it is, were you going to caution vdubn about using it or encourage him to use something else?

Everywhere I have seen the factory installed gray caulking material, I see black streaks down the walls. I bought a coil of the 'butyl tape', [if that is what it actually is], but I will not use it, instead, I have purchased a couple of tubes of "Big Stretch", by Sashco of Colorado, white caulking/sealant that I will use on all the external roof and sidewll penetrations and the gutters.

I plan on removing all the windows, and removing the sealant the factory used, as it all results in black streaking down the outside wall.

I woud like comments and responses on this. I will begin the application of the elastomeric paint on our Hi Lo roof sometime this week.

I will not post new pictures tonight. For some reason, no one has seen or responded to my previous posts on roof repair since it was moved last month. I would have thought that I am not the only one who is experiencing this problem and that the post would have generated more interest.

Jerry Curtis
2406 Towlite

Advice on butyl tape,caulking
 

We were able to purchase our Butyl Tape from our RV dealer. It comes in two widths. Hubby is sleeping so I can,t ask him what our size was that we used. It is a grey foam tape that is sticky on both sides. One side has a paper backing that you peel off as you apply. Simply press in place. I have never had this cause black streaks. We sometimes used two rows to seal the sides of our window. Then when you put the window back in the trailer some butyl tape will squish out and that is okay. You can eith trim off the excess right away or leave the window a day or so to calm down. After you have trimmed the excess buty tape away then you caulk around the exterior window. We used Lexell caulk that we got at Ace hardwear. I think is was clear. I can,t comment on the two proposed products you bought as I am not familiar with them. Do a search of Rv places on the internet to get a picture of the butyl tape. It is a flat tape. My trailer is still at my Moms house or I would take and post a picture for you. We used goo gone to remove residue around the window where the old butyl tape was. You don"t have to get every speck of old butyl tape off. Googone takes the residue off the trailer. Then follow with your usual cleaner and let dry before you install the window. Then when you travel the screws on the interior trim ring could loosen up from the road vibration so it is a good idea to check and retighten as needed. You are right that several have done roof replacement. We didn"t have to do any roof repair. Some owners have gone to their dollar store and purchased awesome liquid cleaner,might be good for black streaks. We get black running down oursidewall when we wash the roof. I hope my little blurb has helped you. Best of luck with your repairs.

Butyl tape
 

Dh,just got up to let out our fickled cat. Male bonding. He says the butyl tape is 2". It is flat.

The tape that I used is standard caulking/tape for encasement windows. Its almost like plumbers tape, is a light gray color and is 1/2" wide. I got some actual Butyl tape from an RV shop, and it was black, and much thicker, almost like eurothane sealer that is used around automotive windshields... I returned it and used the stuff I mentioned above. The black stuff probably would leave the black streak residue you speak of, but so will the standard black rubber seals found on later model trailers.

We used to have a 2007 Toy Hauler, and it had rubber gaskets that sealed the windows, and it had black streaks all over it. At the RV store, they sell a large spray bottle of black streak remover, for about $7, and it works awesome. I still have it, and once a year used it to remove black streaks. I don't think that the standard 1/2" tape I mentioned, will give black streaks, but it could. I find that a lot of the black stuff also comes from the stuff that collects on the roof.

I would be careful about using actual caulk around the windows, as I think its hard to make it look clean, and I don't think it adds any real protection over and above the encasement tape. Whatever you use, it just needs to remain plyable.

We went over and painted the front section around the window, and put all of the cabinet doors and speakers back in, and will be getting all of the window treatments installed this weekend, as well as the outrigger (finally).

Its been a real bear trying to figure out where to weld the outrigger, so that the top still rests on all of the cushions, without positioning the outrigger too low in the wheel well. There isn't a lot of space in there, so I want to be careful where I mount it. I will get some pictures of where I plan to mount it, and also the clearance on the front tire, so that I can get some comments.

One last thing, on my 60" wide window in the front, on the door side, I appear to be missing the blind, does anyone know where to get replacement blinds for these HiLo's?

Finally, I am scanning in the owners manual for my 1998 Classic 28 ft trailer tomorrow, and will post it in the Manual section for others.

I also have fixed a number of the little issues with the trailer that have been bothering us (and the previous owners) for a while. One of the issues, was that the Freezer door inside of the refrigerator would not stay up, it would always flop down whenever you open the fridge.

So, today I found the culprit, the right side hinge/spring mechanism was broken, so I ordered new hinge cases for both sides, at $8 each. Not bad to fix an annoyance.

I have one leveling jack that is totally bent, and broken, does anyone know where to get a replacement jack for our HiLo's? I know I could rig up a newer style, but not sure that it would work as well as the ones that came with the trailers.

Blinds
 

The blind you need to reolace can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes. You can probably take the same big one from the other side of the trailer with you. Youm possibly could order it over the internet. You will want to have the blind wand on the left side away from the door. The advantage to going into a store is they can match width and length and get you a metal blind vs. plastic. Have them order you a shorter wand. When I needed a blind years ago I brought the blind to my interior designer and she ordered what I needed.

Reinstalling windows
 

Years ago we reinstalled our large dinette window with two inch butyl tape and have had no trouble with black streaks. The inside rim of the window where the buty tape is applied is quite wide and I can"t see where !?2 tape would give you enough coverage. Our Rv dealer that has been selling HILos forever also told us to seal the exterior window with caulk. JR also follows this procedure. Different points of view and that is okay. Typo 1/2 inch tape.

Our blinds are actually green cloth, and they are held at the top and bottom, and actually have three positions, open, closed with one layer (lets some light through), and closed with both layers (lets little light through). They are very nice, they slide up and down instead of a rod on the side that rotates to open and close them. They are accordian-like in shape.

Hopefully I am describing it accurately.