Yay
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I'm glad that is your first post. I'm not sure what it refers to but that's a win as far as I'm concerned. We need more "Yay" in our lives.
I thought I would have time to post up progress while I was in NY last week but I was slammed from dawn to well into the night. But I have a moment now so in order to push for a bit of momentum I'll try to get an update in.
I replaced a fuse and cleaned the trailers cable contacts and the trucks as well and now it seems I have lights again. Great! Off to the next possible leak.
The rear window, unlike the sides, sits at a bit of an angle. The marker lights were broken above it and you can see that the glazing was pretty shot so there were a host of ways that I was getting leaks back there. I'd found a place locally,
Interstate RV Supply, that stocks all sorts of glazing and rubber parts for Airstreams and similar trailers that use Herr windows and I bought a bunch with the plan to fix the windows.
The first step was to unscrew the many screws on the inside. There were six different types and sizes of screws. Not intentionally either.
These screw through an inner frame into the outer window and hold it in place but don't seal it.
The window, like most things on these trailers, is held in place with a form of butyl. It's a kind sticky rubber sealant that is impermeable and clay like. The five in one tool seems to be the most useful tool for working on the trailer. I've dulled it's edges on the scotchbrite wheel so it can't gouge the aluminum but it works better than anything else so far.
After gently prying the window all around the butyl finally yields and the window comes out. In that shot the inner frame is still in place.
With the window on a pair of saw horses I use the 5 in 1 tool to pry the old and brittle rubber glazing from the frame.
The glazing, or rubber trim, isn't actually what seals the window. Much like a car windshield the actual sealing is done with butyl and the rubber surround serves to fill the space and make the install clean. I suspect that it also helps prevent water from pooling in the channels and freezing. Once the glazing is out you
very gently pry the window away from the butyl tape that is holding it in.
Very gently!
I use a small brush (I like gun cleaning brushes as they have a narrow end as well as the toothbrush sized one) to get out all the compacted dirt in the frame. The glazing seals a lot of the window but dirt still collects.
Then a cleaning solution like 409 is sprayed on and scrubbed to help get rid of the moss and dirt.
I hosed off that mess and then set about scraping off the old sealant...
It was on the window glass as well. It was tedious.
Of all the solvents I've ever used this 3M adhesive cleaner is by far the most effective and most gentle. This can has lasted me almost 10 years as it doesn't take very much.
I wash the windows and frame down after they're clean and let them dry in the sun for a few hours. I pressure wash the frame but just hose down the glass as I fear spraying it off the sawhorse and shattering it.
This is the butyl rod that I'm using. I'm sure there are others but I generally trust the 3M stuff and I want this to last and be right the first time. I never want to do this again. Well, except for all the other windows - I'm
really looking forward to them.
This stuff is sticky. I mean really, really sticky. If it accidentally touches anything it will stick to it worse than used gum. Cut your losses and cut it off and start over. I keep the paper on to help me align it into the channel where the window will sit.
You can sort of see the black band on the edge of the glass - that's the butyl. I then install the new glazing which is pretty tough as it's very tight and hard to get into it's home.
I used to hate cheap mismatched tools but now I collect them when I find them and keep them in a separate drawer. I consider them sacrificial tools. I would never grind a good Wiha or Snap-On screw driver but a chewed up one is perfect to round smooth on the belt sander and polish on the scotchbrite wheel. It worked very well for pressing the glazing into place.
Corners are mitered with an x-acto knife.
This is the only real problem I encountered. The glazing can't lay flat in the corners and buckles slightly. Since it's not what actually seals the window I'm going to hope that it relaxes and takes the curve after sitting in the sun for a bit. Perhaps I should have hit it with a heat gun while installing but I was worried I might cook it.
New butyl tape gets pressed into the outside frames inner shoulder.
The inside frame gets some foam tape to fill any gap between the two frames.
Before and...
I also found replacement bumper tape since that white stuff was supposed to be orange. But that can wait until the whole trailer gets a bath.
Lastly I've been collecting various stainless screws to use and replace what I find in the trailer as I go. I have sprayed the entire collection down with LPS2 or LPS3 to help keep them from having any kind of galvanic corrosion.
And finished. That install took the better part of about 5-6 hours. I have six more to go but this one was the most suspect. The large curved front window is the second most suspect but also the most difficult. For now the trailer seems to be staying dry so I'll consider what needs to be next as I go through it preparing for the summer.
Gregor
