Windows And The End Is Near!

Hey howdy hey!  It's been quite a week, after helping Morgan sell her trailer we set back to our trailer projects. 

I've had slider windows since Crybaby/Surfside said he couldn't get sliders (remember we paid $200 extra for them) and ignored the website I sent him.    We have never been refunded of course but it is more than that.  I explained how I can't physically manage the crank windows because I don't have cartilage in my wrists due to work injuries and they still took our money and put in the crank windows.  

Well today was the day finally to tackle the windows, as I stated I had found and purchased great little sliding chicken coupe windows with locks.  They are a perfect size and easy to operate.

Remember the marine glue I purchased for Crybaby to use on the wood in our build?  Well they used it in place of butyl tape.  *face palm!*  We started on my husband's side since I've learned over the years it's taken to fix this mess that they usually started on that side doing a cruddy job but the other side is even worse.

Using a putty knife and hammer we slowly broke the seal on the glue.  At one point we took a trip to Harbor Freight and grabbed an oscillating tool hoping it would help.  After what seemed like forever we finally got the windowout and  surprisingly they didn't use a lot of glue only in globs.

The shims they used to make it appear to fit had water damage from when it leaked before we added a rain gutter.

First crank out off, I'll be listing these on eBay or Craig's List.

After we wrangled the first we took more time with the second to document it.

The starting point, the original crank window.

The inside, you can see the plywood they used as shims to make it appear to fit snug.

The window out, you can see the poor job sealing they did.

The shims stapled in, I swear the staple gun and two inch staples were their favorite tool.

Used the drill and brush to whisk the glue off, the debris covered everything including me.  Time for a break for medication and a breathing treatment.

We added window flashing tape to make sure moisture can't get into the doors and ruin them in the future.

Added the butyl tape to the window before mounting them.

The new window installed.  I ran a bead of silicone around the edge just as an extra barrier for water.

As you can see these windows fit much better.

Framed out the windows and even had time to make a new door pocket caddy.

After we were done I was so giddy, I know it's just windows but this victory means so much.  This was the final project for the cabin...it and the galley are now done.  This means we only have the spare tire mount and sealing the undercarriage and the Blue Guppy with be done.  We we are done we'll put together our after video.

I can't wait to take the Guppy out for a quick camp to test the new improvements.  This week I think we'll be working on a few other upgrades though and we said we'd be available to the new trailer owners this weekend.

Here is my next project, a tent cover for the galley.

I saw this and immediately said I want it for the Guppy to match the awnings I made.

Tomorrow I have a marine aluminum cleaner and polish coming.  I'm hoping it will work well and put a gloss shine to the trailer.  As always with any new project or product I'll give you a play by play and tell you if it's worth it.

Until next time enjoy your camp and stay safe!

  

  

 

Finally Galley Project!!!

Hello everyone!  I'm in the greatest of moods, one we helped our friend finally sell her little trailer and I hope the new owners come over when they need help as I offered to help them with projects large or small.  That was huge in itself and the trailer went to a good family.

We've been working on putting the speakers in the galley lid, another project Crybaby/Surfside said couldn't be done.  Well we love proving him wrong and this one was a cherry.  Originally Crybaby put our galley speakers on the wall behind the sink a bad spot and when the galley leaked our speakers got soaked.  It's a project that's been on the todo list but couldn't be done until we tackled the galley hinge.

The original galley, the speakers were in a terrible place.

When the hinge leaked it soaked everything including the speakers.

We took out the speakers and turned the holes into our switches and a magnet board.

The switches run the lights in the galley and we have a 12 volt outlet to run a crockpot if we want.

While the deck lid was off we put in the speakers next to the lid light.

Time to add the quick connect ends and wire the speakers to the amplifier.

We added a noise reducer to keep any humming from wiring down.

The speakers were the easy part, the wiring was more of a challenge because we had to use the holes drilled by Crybaby and we had to do it without completely taking the lid apart.  With some creative taping and pulling we were able to get the wires through and the rest was a cup of cake.

We held our breath a little and switched everything on....success!!! We have music once again in the galley.  

This marks the end of galley projects for the Blue Guppy. Oh what a difference!

We took it today to the car wash for the first time it got a bath and the est part is no leaks!!

Our next project is removing the crank out windows and replacing them with slider windows.  We had originally order it with sliders but Crybaby kept our money and gave us the crank windows that I can't operate.

Until next time, stay safe and enjoy the camp.

The Galley Hinge Monster

Hey Howdy Hey!  For those who've been following my blog and video then you know the galley hinge is what started the spiral down the Money Pit.  For those coming in now I won't force you to read my earlier blogs but you may want to later.

The galley hinge, the dang galley hinge!  Well after finding that even if Crybaby/Surfside had cut one to properly fit the type they used will never seal it was time to tackle this monster or completely rebuild the galley....again. 

I know some may be asking what took so long to fix it, well in the multitude of issues we had this one with the help of an easy up and tarps could be managed where the others couldn't.  I'm one for not starting over again with the galley so I pulled the hurricane hinge out that I purchased from Little Bear Teardrops and set off to tackle what I feared.

We first had to cut out all the glue Crybaby/Surfside crammed into the corners in their jackwagon attempt at fixing the problem.  Not only did it not fix it but I had to spend a couple of days cleaning up and cutting off the glue they slopped everywhere, it was a real mess after coming back from their failed repair job.

This is how we would find in the galley after a light rain, completely soaked.

The original hinge and the sloppy glue they crammed in their attempt to make it work.

The amount of glue they used was ridiculous.

The glue poured out of every edge.

Flash forward to now, now that we cut the rest of the glue out we were able to disconnect the light (I used quick release connectors for this reason.  Once it was off I started my photos.

We used a putty knife to pop the old hinge off.

Once the hinge was off you can see the sloppy job and rust forming behind.

The lid side had dirt so it wasn't even getting a good seal.  They didn't use butyl tape or even seal behind their work.

With the lid off you can really see the water damage.

Water damage is a pain to fix but you can fix it as long as you don't let it go to long and rot.

The mold and damage on the deck lid will be tricky but I think I can fix it.

So once everything was off my plan of action set, we started on the cleanup and repair.  First was painstaking cutting the glue off with razors then a rough wheel to take the rest off.

Cleaned and ready for the new hinge.

Working into the evening, the wood repair is coming along.

The wood repair is moving along, now I can fill sand and stain.

A bit of cleanup left and the wood will be as good as new.

The repair to the right side went even better, there wasn't as much damage here.

My best friend during the project was this rubber wheel that took the extra glue off the aluminum.

The galley lid went back on like a champ.

I still need to make a couple of adjustments but the new hinge is already watertight.

The black vinyl molding looks good.

Beautiful and fits well closed.

The hurricane hinge we used, made not to leak.

I feel so so glad now that we have a leakproof trailer....finally!  It was a project but now we are a step closer to finishing.  I'm going to add end caps to the finish off the trim and keep the vinyl molding from shifting.  I tell you I won't know what we'll do when it's completely done and we don't have anymore repairs to make.

Now we can focus back on the cool details like making the canopy for the galley, the retro lounge chairs and table out of wine barrels, and the bar and chuck boxes. With the weather cooling it will be nicer working on these projects.

Until next time enjoy your camp and stay safe.

Treasure Island Teardrop Gathering and Swapmeet

I'm behind on my blog and I'm sorry, there are days I can't use my hands but I try to keep up.  We enjoy the annual trek up into San Francisco to partake in the wonderful gathering Dave puts together.

This year our themes were tiki and at the potluck Dave crowned the trailer court tiki king.  This event is the only time anyone is allowed to camp on the island.  It's dry camping and absolutely no fires of any kind, but with view like these nobody minds a bit.

The view of Fisherman's Wharf and San Francisco.

After our last camp of course I began thinking of what could make camping better.  We had purchased two small cabanas last year for each door, but the doors hit them and they didn't fit around the wheel well.  On to come creative thinking.  I had purchased awhile back a vintage trailer awning still new in the box and it was time to see how it worked.  After putting it together it seemed with a few modifications it would work but I only had one.  

Back to the creative board, I examined the materials and set out for Lowes to see if I could match them.  I found most of the parts but after thinking it through I decided that I wanted something that could handle wind.  I opted to use 1/2 inch conduit and found 90* corners that screw on...awesome!  With material in hand we went to Harbor Freight to pick up a cheap pipe cutter and a rubber coated canvas tarp (I'll explain below). 

Using the vintage awning as a template I measured out a 36 inch square and cut my pipes.  A trip to the fabric for fringe and thread and back home to begin.  Next I took out the bolt of fabric I used for the skirt and began my sewing pattern.  I used the waterproof canvas as a backing for the awnings so when it rains we have a dry awning.

It was a square so it was a very easy pattern to sew.  We purchased telescoping tent poles for support and put grommets in the corners to hold them.  I took some scraps and made flags I sewed onto the ropes so they were more visible.

The awning fits perfect and the door and fenders are no longer a problem.

The flags kept people from running into the tie lines.

Folks loved the Guppy and the vintage details I put into it.

We dressed for the event including vintage hair and makeup.

The vintage trailers surrounded the teardrops, the food trucks and Swapmeet were next to use and provided constant foot traffic both days.

The potluck provided an evening of great food and getting to know each other.

When the lights went out the city lit up giving us an outstanding view.

Overall this is one of our favorite events to attend annually.  It's a great place to get ideas, chat with fellow teardroppers and enjoy the unique surroundings.

In my last blog I ran through the campgrounds but forgot to include some of my reviews on new cool gadgets we got to improve camp.  The first is a 12 volt bug zapper.  Heading back East I knew the bugs would be out in force and hungry for fresh blood.  The zapper was light and came with a chain to hang and worked well for mosquitoes but not so much for flies.

This handy zapper worked great and plugged into the 12 volt outlet.

Our other upgrade helped with a little backwoods camping comfort.  We purchased a 500 watt inverter.  It's large enough to handle power tools but small enough to fit in the battery compartment.  It keep out little crockpot humming and powered the box fan we hung from the canopy to keep us cool in the Midwestern summer.

The inverter has two outlets and two usb outlets.

The last gadget we acquired was screen sleeves for the FJ's windows.  They slide on with elastic and fit well.  They lower the heat inside the car and when Alex wanted to sleep in the FJ these came in handy to keep her cool and bug free.

The screens are heavy duty.  I do not recommend driving with them on they have blind spots.

I'm forever looking for handy gadgets to make life easier.  I found for the Treasure Island trip glow in the dark tent stakes and light reflective paracord for tent tie downs.

The cord is reflective when light hits it.

Stay safe and enjoy the camp!