Time for a little progress update. Full photos here as always:
https://flic.kr/s/aHskGjjPyn

I finished up with the first layer of new "encasement" around the wood beams that run the trailer length. For now it is MFM Peel and Seal Aluminum that you can get at Lowes. Easy to form, nice and thick. Sticks really well. I'll keep an eye on it though, the effects of road debris impact might require some future modification.

I've also got a picture of the new bulb seal I used on parts of the trailer. This is a 3/4 thick bulb seal that you can get a McMaster Carr.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#93085k85/=1910fz1

Nice and sticky, and it allows you to place it first ... then get it stuck. And as long as the old seal is gone, it can be done without separating the halves. Once it's in place, you can pull the strip of backing off and expose the adhesive layer. Which of course immediately sticks because the seal is sandwiched between the top and bottom halves and placed correctly. Again ... something I'll keep an eye on just to make sure the adhesive keeps it placed well.

And painting the inside has started. Lots of work to be done there but at least the white paint helps it look better!

I'm thinking about adding dehumidifier - has anyone had any clever ideas on how to plumb it? I don't really want to dump it daily but here in northern Louisiana I'm pretty sure that's what I'd be doing.

All the best.
-Leland

Why not AC I'm thinking of running a drip tube From my roof air into my water storage tank its so humid in Oklahoma.

The white interior looks great, in my opinion. MrEd is asking a legitimate question too, regarding the A/C vs a dehumidifier. BOTH will remove moisture from the air.

Will a dehumidifier run off battery power?

- Jack

Thanks and good thoughts on the a/c. I was thinking about that ... but was also considering that running something with the top lowered through the winter could be good. It would be hard to run the a/c regularly I think just because of the way it plugs into the lower half? Thoughts?

I think I did see one on Amazon that claimed to run off 12V if needed. But for the most part I'd have it plugged into shore power anyway.

It does sure generate plenty of water though, I hadn't thought about saving it and reclaiming it, but neat idea.

I think in the end the side walls will go darker, the roof and ends white. The final colors are still in flux though, my wife is helping by trying to find colors that look good together.

I'm not in a humid environment, of course. But - since my trailer is stored under a metal carport, I have both side windows open a bit (about an inch at the widest opening). This allows some ventilation, even with the top down.

I wonder if you did this and perhaps put a portable fan inside if it would exchange enough air to prevent mold buildup? Or, "sealed" with a dehumidifier plugged into a wall socket and the trailer connected to shore power? That would work too, if you had a way to drain the water. Perhaps a drain hose into the shower pan with the drain plug open, or, if you could set the dehumidifier higher, into the toilet past the valve. Then, you could simply open whichever tank valve it drained into and let it run to the outside (into a flower bed or whatever)?

Just "thinking through my fingers here". Maybe this could help you come up with a better approach.

- Jack

Humidity is only a problem when I'm working in mine. So I turn on AC now that its hooked back up. If your getting a mold problem or have one Tea Tree oil kills mold I sprayed it on anything that even look like it might be mold after stripping down the interior 2 tea spoons per cup of water. I also run a humidifier with tea tree oil mix in it. Trailer smells good and no mold

Still coming along. A few pics of paint going on.

I'm going to have to re-do the late 90's era green padded fabric that exists around some of the hard surfaces (like the drop down bed or cabinet ends). I remember those years well - Amtrak was using pastels of strange colors too! I've ordered up some foam-backed automotive headliner and we'll just do it like I re-did the
Suburban's interior roof.

Really pretty work, sir! You're going to have a trailer to be proud of.

- Jack

Very Cool looks good.

Great rebuild r67northern, you are doing excellent work. Since you have removed the ceiling and the roof I have a question you can answer.

I have a problem with my 2002 24' silver edition. The wall separating the bathroom from the rest of the trailer has dropped down from the ceiling. The screws have stripped out. I want to put in new screws next to the stripped out ones and am wondering how thick the ceiling ribs are. Seems like the origonal screws only went into the ceiling about 1/2". Can I use longer screws?

Tom, are the screws that stripped out rusty? I would be concerned about water damage in that area if the screws looked rusty.

No rust. Just stripped out of the holes. They are #10 X 1 1/2". Would like to use 1 3/4 or 2" replacements if the ceiling ribs will permit.

Hi Everyone,

Good to hear they're not rusty, sounds like the roof is still solid then. I think you're talking about that interior "beam" that runs across the top and supports the folding walls at the back right?

Those screws are about 1.5" as I recall, but they're countersunk into that beam to different depths along the beam lenth because the beam itself, as you've noticed I'm sure, is thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges to match the interior arc of the roof. So the screws in the middle are buried deeper within the beam than the ones at the outer edge.

I guess the best answer to your question (sorry it took a few lines to get here), is that whatever you do, you only have MAX 1 inch before you go from the bottom of the roof to the top. The roof is layered, so there's about a 3mm sheet of wood on the inside, a 1 inch thick inner layer made of foam and a beam structure, and an outer 3mm wood before you hit the aluminum roof.

Does that help?

WOW! One inch? Guess I will have to put them back in the same depth. I will have to adjust the depth of the countersink for each screw so there is only 1/2 to 5/8 inch going into the ceiling. Now I know how much I have to play with. Thank you so much for the info and the quick response. I have some windows on the house to paint tomorrow morning. Hope I can get the wall put back tomorrow afternoon or Wed.

Hope your trailer redo gets done soon so you can enjoy it this fall.

Glad to help, the way the factory set that up the screws are going into one of the metal cross beams so if you put new holes in the wood wall-holding beam I've had the best luck next predriling the metal beam with a good metal bit as the final step before the screw goes back in.

Thanks for the encouragement on my 24' I hope it gets used soon too.

Thanks for the info, r67northern. Just completed the job, looks good now. Hope neither of the hurricanes hit you so you can get your rebuild done.,,,AND GO CAMPING!!

Glad it worked out. As for us, we're pretty close to Arkansas so it was a little damp ... but nothing worth mentioning. My biggest problem is this job I have to do getting in the way of HiLo building!

One Lift Cable Frayed - Replace all Cables???
 

During our regular cable maintenance on our 1907T today (using PB Blaster to wipe/lubricate the cables), we found that the back/right cable has one broken strand, but the other back/right strands on that cable are still intact. Hubby said the other 3 cables (2 front and 1 back/left) look good. Should we replace all 4 cables, or just the back/right frayed cable?

We assume the cable(s) can be ordered from J&R Repair???

We checked the forum but didn't see specific information about replacing just one cable versus all cables. Whatever input you can provide will be appreciated!!

In the meantime, are there any concerns with us using the trailer (raising/lowering) until we replace the needed cable(s)????. We have several trips planned in the next two months.

Oldyweds
1907T
2013 Ford Explorer
Tire Minder (2 trailer tires/4 tow vehicle tires; ordered - will use soon!)

So sorry...I posted in error to your issue. I meant to create a new post. Please ignore.
Thanks.

Oldyweds

can you tell me what glue did you use to glue fiberglass planels on to plywood and plywood on to the back of foam insulation, tanks,bill

Glue used in water damage restoration.
 

Through a process of trying several glues we found Heavy Duty liquid nails to work for us. We were doing our repairs in the cold north between Sept. and Feb. Use a generous amt in a big s pattern. Possibly one tube per sheet of material. Then DH used a floor roller to make sure all the layers adhered. Something like"taking it by force".It has been five years and all has held up very well. Walmart has the best price on HD liquid nails.

I have actually used a few different things ... I like this one best so far, an FRP adhesive that you can spread across the panels.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Titebond-Gr...-fl-oz/3227253

I used the liquid nails too, and really like it for somethings. I didn't like that it was casing some of the foam to melt when I was using it around those parts of the trailer.

I completely agree with Sam though - don't underuse the glue. No need to be sparing.

Hey I am glad I found this thread. I am suffering from damaged wood in the lower section where the cable wraps around. My understanding is that a plow pushed snow up to the side over the winter and that caused water to work its way up under there. I see you replaced the lower wood framing of the top, but would that be possible to do without complete wall removal? My walls are ok other than peeling interior paper and the thin veneer wood so i hate to tear them down if not necessary, but not sure how to get the wood in there with the top in place and walls in place.

Sent you a PM
 

Dh will explain the steps for repairs. It is too long for a post.

Howdy - that's a good question. I had to think about it for a minute but the answer should be yes. There's actually a really nice PDF running around here that shows a rebuild of just a wall section being redone under a window that leaked. The beam was shot there too and it was replaced without a total deconstruction. Do a search for 2002 Hi-lo rebuild summary and you might find it here on the forum.

Depending on where it's rotted, there are a couple of things you could do. The wood sits inside the metal outer frame (tubular structure) and there are also places where the wall itself is bolted through to that beam to add strength. The factory used lag bolts that you can't really see unless you're in full tear-down but you could run up against one.

I would raise the top and support the top on either side of the rotted and damaged beam area. You can keep the cables tight and lifted though. The metal tube structure is the outermost part of the wall at the bottom so there's strength there even if you don't support around the damage. I used hi-lift jacks to support. From the inside with everything supported now pull the cover off the rotted beam and go digging. Pull anything and everything that's damaged. If it goes up and into the wall go after it.

With the damaged goods removed, you can start to replace things. I'd recommend a 4x4 to replace damaged beam material. You an 'notch' it to fit nicely where you pulled the old stuff out.

I hope that helps - shoot me a note with some questions if you like, or keep us posted on this list in general. There are some great folk here with good experience.

... and if what Sam passes along sounds good ... I'd do that. Lots of great experience there.

67 Northern gave good advice
 

Here are some back posts that you can do a search for. This one explains how to replace the seal between the halves. Outline for replacing roof gasket 4-3-2010. Search for this one also Cable replacement in my 1998 HiLo 24TD 3-3-2010.This document is fifteen pages on cable replacement. It also explains about breaking the HiLo apart and the use of 2x4s to support the corners. Keep the questions coming. You can do these repairs for your 1989 HiLo.

A few pics of some progress on the rebuild. Most of the paint is in place I've got the walls covered with vinyl flooring that you can get at Lowes. The trick with that stuff is to add some additional glue to the backside to get it to fully stick (ask me how I know ... )

And there are a other odds and ends now being taken care of. It seems like more progress was being made when there were acres and acres of old rotted wood being pulled out. The small stuff sure takes a while!

You'll see the cabinets are back in, and the green padding is gone. I replaced it with automotive headliner and used headliner glue to get it attached. I'll keep rolling along on it. Next I'll probably head back outside to shore up some sealing on various things.

Wow! I Really like the color accents. If I ever make down your way again I'll drop off my trailer and pick it up when you've finished.:D

All your hard work shows !!
 

Love what you have done. It is very light and fresh looking. You will be able to enjoy your HiLo for many years.

VERY pretty! Blue is my favorite color. *grin*

- Jack

Thanks - but don't get too excited about dropping yours off, my turnaround speed isn't so great - don't forget I've been working on this for almost a year :)

Went back outside ... more sealing in place now. I decided that I liked using the 'super tape' (Eternabond) more than the factory method of sealing the end caps so here we go...

I took care of the terrible front window seal too, cut some of the extra roof material to shape, it should seal and hold it better than it was. I hope :)

2003 hi-lo
 

How do you get access to the beam on the bottom? I think mine has dry rot as well.

There are a few ways to go about this depending on where and how much rot I think. Mine was so bad that the entire wall was removed and exposed the beam that way. Full pictures here:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskGjjPyn

But there’s also a method that I’ve seen done on the forums where a chunk is removed from inside and replaced with a suitably cut 4x4. You can look around for a PDF called “2002 Hi-Lo Rebuild Summary”

Let me know what you think and I (and others too) will be happy to help a much as possible.

I like it. I saw a post where they held down solar panels with Eternabond

If you had used gray duct tape it counts as chrome trim in the trailer park. Why didnt you caulk it instead? rhetorical question….

You know, I did actually use some caulk too. There's a bit of it in key areas under the eternabond, but I wanted something that would be able to add adhesive between the caps and sides like the old screws did - the tape is tough stuff, seemed like a good way to go.

Of course, if you're asking about the window, that thing was just a disaster. A poorly done replace after the factory original had a door open into it with the rock guard removed. There was a ton of caulk around that window and it still leaked, and seemed poorly seated. The tape adds some nice sealing and mechanical hold-down too

But I think I hear you loud and clear - I should be using more duct tape :)

Merry Christmas everyone,

I thought I would post a few pics of interior progress from the past couple of months. Still a couple of things left but she's pretty much usable again. As usual, here's the full album link:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskGjjPyn

For the first time in years the front window cover is back on, there's been some work done waterproofing the shower area too (thanks to some extra roof material) and my wife's amazing curtains and flexible wall are installed too.

So I hear that camping is fun, I've really got to try that sometime. :)

Great stuff! Starting to look like normal. You'll be there before you know it. Inspiring.
Merry Christmas, my friend, always liked my 2000 24'er
Tree