Camper Day 2

I've been cruising on my research which I will share tomorrow.

 The trailer base is steel and was rusted to brown. I wire brushed it and painted it black with rustoleum gloss paint. Ahhhhhh, sigh of ocular relief. One thing now looks better.













Clementine has some war wounds that are letting water leak in and rot her insides.  Check out the crack in her aluminum, that's just a tear from shearing pressure from her years on the road. It's sort of hard to see- it's that horizontal line in the dead center of the picture below.

After much research, I decided upon HVAC tape to heal her. This is the tape that's used in heating and air systems and aluminum ductwork.  It has those strings in it to let it bend without ripping. It's made especially for metal.  I cleaned the area with scotchbrite and TSP and then taped.  

Here's a photo of water damaged wood in an upper cabinet.

 That entire back piece will be removed, the structure behind checked to see if it needs replacing.

 Here is the front bench with the seat taken out. The front corner has sustained years of water damage from the crack I showed earlier. I have to remove everything I can and replace.
  Paneling was cut with a grinder. These tools are meant for stone, so the blades don't really cut, they more burn through the wood. It was a stinky, smoky process, but it gave me decently clean lines in a tight place.

 

Here's the after picture of the same section of front bench. I replaced the 2x2's of structure that were rotted away to NOTHING. My 9 year old helped, learned to measure and use the circular saw and had a blast. To get my structure in there I used construction adhesive and screws. I bought new R8 insulation (the pink stuff).  Next I cut new paneling to cover it all up and make it pretty.

All the wood I got from the Home Depot clearance or cull section. I've got loads of it to finish this project and it cost me $5.

Total is up to $25

Happy Trails!