Exterior Repairs
Last updated: March 15, 2009
Yesterday I received my
order from
Airparts, Inc.
One sheet 4' x 6' x .032 thick 2024-T3 ALCLAD ALUMINUM
I cut it to size on an 8' Brake Press - 48-3/4" x 37-7/8"
Placed it to see how everything will line up and look.
Once all the rivets are removed this will slide right into place.
Continuing on, I sheared off the rivets from the inside with a thin (very expensive) putty knife.
The last few rivets on the top of the panel I removed from outside, same technique.
One support rib has been damaged. I will need to repair that prior to installing all those new rivets.
A wiggle here and a wiggle there, I finally was able to work the panel into the upper groove. I recommend you do not try it alone, took too long without a hand on the inside
I was lucky enough to come by a section of the support rib to replace the twisted one that was left after the impact that caused the tear. A little modification to both pieces makes a whole.
Over the years a few dings and out and out
holes have appeared on the roof and side panels.
What better time that a day before a big forecasted storm to try out an idea I
woke up with one night.
I made some 1/8" x 1" x 1" aluminum pieces, drilled a 5/32" hole near center and
put a deep counter sink on the side to the panel. Applied a liberal amount
Vulkem on the side with the countersink. Located the holes and drilled them out
with a 5/32" drill bit. Inserted an Olympic Rivet in the hole, and with help had
the inside piece held in place to tension the rivet.
I found the leaks in the area of the vents.
Man! What a mess up there.
Set up the heater below the vent, this seemed like a good idea to help remove
the tar.
Proved not to be such a god idea, made the tar loosen up and become slimy. The
base of the frame has separated from the roof. A few of the rivets are missing
and the corrosion has lifted up the metal creating a leak path.
The screen on the interior was steel and severely rusted. Had to grind off the screw heads and pry it free. Interior measurement is 15 3/4" X 12". This leaves me with a dilemma. We typically install Fantastic fans in at least one space. They measure 14" X 14" so I will have to make a pretty good modification to the roof and decide if I want to make them Off-Set.
Rear Vent opens freely and actually works kinda cool. Its a shame the 62 year steel old housing is corroded so badly
The center vent had up to an inch of tar. I found that leaving it cold it separates form the roof much better.
Found the leaks, well a couple more anyway. A few of the rivets on the vents were broken allowing the metal to separate and water to leak in through the seams.
Sheared the rivets off with a thin putty knife
and found that there was NO sealant, no wonder it leaked!
Fabricated a plate to cover the opening from 1/8" Aluminum.
Cleaned the area with brake cleaner and applied Vulkem sealant to the entire surface of the Aluminum. Screwed into place.
We want to save one original vent. After disassembly and bead blasting it was ready to paint with POR white Coat. This will preserve the metal and give a nice bright white finish.
The top of the vent had a liberal coating of Mobile Home Sealant. From 1/16" to 1/4" thick. After a couple hours working it with POR Strip I managed to get it all off. I'll have to custom make a screen frame next.
March 15th
Once again the weather turned warm. 50+º
Had a very successful morning!
Do you ever wonder how and or why some things
are what they are when you find them.
I had 2 interesting holes in the body that puzzled me.
This past Sunday the temperature hit 50º. Warm enough to get outside and do some
additional repairs.
I had planned to put a door in this spot, made a template out of 1/4" plywood
and got all set up to make the cut when I realized if I put the door here it
will be directly in the path of the rub rail. That not only would take from the
overall look it would be a nuisance to open the door.
The aluminum here is the same as the front panel, I have plenty left over for
repairs. This is the first time I had an opportunity to use my rivet shaver,
worked very nice!
The small repair is near the curb side door. I used 1/8" aluminum here, the plan is to mount some type of door stop, the extra thickness and the fact it is located on a brace will make it plenty rugged enough to hold and not cause any further damage. I used my Milling Machine to mill a slot in the back side to give clearance for the rivets in the existing panel.
