Tuesday, May 12, 2009

We Have the Technology

OK, our next campout is approaching so I need to get some key repairs done. You saw the damage to the skylights and I will get to that later in the blog. First things first. You may remember I have had some random issues with the lights on the rear half of Fandango. The lights are all DC and they are run through two cut-off switches. The cut off for the front lights is a traditional looking light switch right at the steps when you enter the cabin. Those are the front bunk reading lights and all of the kitchen lights. The rear (bathroom and rear bedroom/bunk area) lights are all routed through a cut off switch in the rear access panel behind the spare tire. When you open that panel you have the service access to the water tanks, pump and the rear fuses, the power converter, etc. There is a small terminal block and the DC power runs through that. The line that drives the rear lights was a bit loose and I did field repairs but that fuse connector was just too loose. The wire that runs to it from the cut off switch was starting to overheat too. Lucky for me, there was an unused post so I just needed to make a new wire with new crimps and long enough to run to the other end of the terminal.

I know you all were concerned about my safety in creating the electrical line and properly installing them. Well, fret not, I had a trained professional help me.

That work went well and I have had Fandango's rear lights running for a few hours. Time will tell but I think I have rid us of that problem. But just in case, I went ahead and worked on this post while sitting in Fandango after completing the work so I could stare at lights.

OK so the rear lights appear to work (knock on wood) so we are pretty much camp ready. I have pondered whether or not I wanted to deal with installing the new skylights right before I go on a trip. To be honest, the drive from where I keep Fandango to my house is twice as far as the drive to campsite. It has also survived three major rainstorms with the broken skylights wrapped in plastic. Experience tells me that I may be biting off somthing which will consume way too much of my time when I should be burping a one month old, or playing with a three year old or, god forbid, getting my boat ready for the campout too. Bah, who am I kidding...let's rip perfectly sealed metal frames off the top of my roof and try to shove in new ones without destroying my RV!
(Yes, I will wait...go ahead, think of all of your ways to call me an idiot...no really, I can wait...OK, you're done)

Oh, I almost forgot. Why am I putting in completely new skylight assemblies instead of buying just new lids? Because my lids are riveted to the hinge and they are not designed to be removed. Yes, I could drill out the rivets and and put in a new lid...if one with that proper curvature and length was readily availablee. The RV supply store I use has some very experienced parts folks and they were pretty confused when I showed them the pictures. They finally asked me what kind of RV it was. They knew I was pretty much hosed when I told them a 1972 Winnebago. They went through their catalogs too. Stuff this old is just not what folks want to supply a lot of parts for when you can just move to newer "universal" parts. OK, again, I could have fought it but I live in an area where Fandango will get hailed on every 9-14 months. I want to deal with one pile of pain and then have my future replacements be easier.

Marcus and Frank, thanks for the tips on the Fantastic Fans but I am going to pass on them for now. I do not have DC power running to two of the three vents so that will be a task for when I eventually have to completely remodel the interior.
OK, so here we go.
Before:

I must say, I was stunned on how easy it was to remove the vent. The bottom screen inside the cabin was compressing the top and the top was only held by sealant. All I had to do was remove the bottom screen and then run my razor along the seam and it came right out.

This is where I got excited and then nervous. If it was that easy, then the bad stuff was just building up and hiding from me. Well, it won't hurt to do a dry fit. I grabbed the new vent and it almost fit. Yes, almost. Sigh. Actually, it was not too bad. As you see above, the existing hole has radius corners but the new vent wants square corners. The roof is really just plywood, foam, then plywood so that is not hard at all to cut.

Wait, did I just say I am going to cut the roof of my RV? The bad news is that I really like using my Sawzall so there was no stopping me. I was just upset that the Sawzall was able to handle that task was too easily. The picture below shows the marks on the corners I needed to cut out.

Pretty easy cut and it popped in no problem.


I added the putty tape and then put the vent in place.


I was pondering how many screws to put in. My original vents did not have any but the way it is shaped it looks like it really wants a lot of screws (There were ~10 screw holes on each side!). I did not use all of the holes because you just face the laws of diminishing returns. That is just too many holes to put on a roof of an RV! What I did realize is the genious of the parts guy at my RV spot (RV Outlet Mall-OK, they get a plug). He sold me one full tube of roof sealant for each skylight. I thought that was much but hey, why not. So I put an entire tube of sealant on the trim.
After:
OK, so overall, it actually, went pretty well! OK, you caught me, I didn't mention the inside trim piece. That put a good scare in me. I went inside to dry fit that...of course, after I cut holes in the roof of my RV. The trim piece bottomed out with a 3/8" gap before it would sit flush against the ceiling. Whoa! I started to wonder if I really did have such an old oddball RV that universal skylights do not work. I then realized that if my buddy Marcus could fit a brand new A/C and a brand new Fantastic Fan in his Airstream (Which is older than Fandango), then this is just a puzzle that needed some thought. So I cleaned up, etc. and I have it figured out. That inside trim piece can be, well trimmed to fit. I have not bothered to do that yet since I had to finish cleaning, checking on the family and well, cooling off inside Fandango while updating the blog, feeling the A/C and watching the rear lights.
I will take pictures of the inside trim piece when I put that in...probably tomorrow but not a rush. I am not sure if I will bother with the other two skylights before I go camping.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have power to two of the vents and you did not use a fantastic fan? They make non powered ones too.
those are the best for moving air. You can always do it later, but I think you should have gone fantastic.... Frank

Greg Dvorak said...

Frank, I only have power to one of the vents - the one in the toilet. It was tempting to go that route but I just wanted a simple vent which is readily in stock. I have seen Marcus Fantastic Fan and it does appear to be a great vent.

utee94 said...

That will be a project for another day. The vent looks really good, and there is no such thing as too much sealant for the top of an RV.

Okay, back to work on my furniture.

-Marcus

Greg Dvorak said...

Skylight #2 is in. That one went really quick (Under an hour for total prep, work and clean up). Dumped another tube of sealant on it and I also sealed a small rip on the roof which I assume was from the hail.

I am still pondering a Fantastic Fan for the bathroom. I need to test those electrical lines but that room gets really hot since the AC cannot get in there.

Anonymous said...

Hey Greg,
You've had a little bad luck eh?!
I'm glad to see you've put in some time on the camper.
Congrats on the new arrival!
We got a little set back here in N.Y the mill hasn't been running quite as well as planned so we scaled our project back, We got a little '72 Skamper pop up adn have rebuilt the back half of it, much like your pal with the airstream. If all goes well we are on the mission to get a motor home next year, Man it's a buyers market here right now for motor homes.

His Beloved Inc. said...

Hey Greg, found u this eve on blogger. We are the proud owners of a new 72 winnebago..ours has the green paint too. we were told it was a special edition for the 1972 seattle worlds fair. do u know any history on these or where to find some? also am looking for a source of parts. would love any info u can provide!

Greg Dvorak said...

My apologies to everyone for not keeping up with the blog. I will post a few updates here shortly.

Hello, Big Mo. Sorry for not getting back to you so I hope you make it back to check this note sometime soon. I had not heard the story about the World's Fair but they pretty much follow either the Avacado Green or the somewhat burnt orange look.

Spare parts will definitely be your issue. Winnebagos do not have the huge network of owners you see on the web like Airstream owners. I have found very little out there so other than finding other RV's which are in worse shape and their owners are willing to sell parts things get pretty tough to find. The parts for the vehicle portion just depend on what breaks. I have found that some of the Dodge parts to my engine have new parts which are compatible and other things just require some innovation. I would love to see some pics if you happend to have a blog of your Winnie!