No More Crying In the Rain!

Howdy friends! Elmer back here to weave you some more tales about the rebirthing of my friend Old Faithful the 1959 Yellowstone travel trailer. 
One thing about these old travel trailers is that 9.999999 times out of 10, they leak. They leak at the seams and they leak at the windows. The dwp's call this leakatosis and yes, Old Faithful was afflicted with it. Before you get into rebuilding one you have to make sure you fix the leaks. Otherwise, all your work on the inside will be for nothing. 
So the man dwp went to work curing the leakatosis. Old Faithful was just a coming apart at the seams, tee hee. The man dwp removed the drip rails and molding along the exterior edges. It was easy to get the drip rail off but the old putty used as the sealer hardened over time and that was a bear to get off. The rails were also a little bent out of shape and they had to be straightened and put back into proper form after they were cleaned up. 

Here are some views of what is underneath the curbside rails.

Lots of old hard goop to be removed!

In this photo you can see one of the three sections of rail has been cleaned up and reattached.

Here is the roof where the awning drip rail was removed.

The roof is galvanized steel and has no holes!

This is a better view of the completed curbside rail at the rear with shiny new screws and sealed and reattached.

The awning drip rail removed and in the process of being cleaned and straightened.

The depressions where each screw was have to all be pounded back to flat using a ball pien hammer and a punch.

It is a lot of work pounding out each depression but you want the rail to be flat so that when you put in your new screw with the sealant underneath it is pulling it flat rather than just meeting at the old screw hole and allowing for gaps which could lead to leaks.

See how nice these look when they are all cleaned up!

This is the butyl rubber tape from Vintage Trailer supply. It is pliable and non hardening.

The butyl rubber was placed on the rail and was doubled over at the screw holes for extra thickness where it counts.

 

Here's just a few more pics of what that old putty looked like so you get the idea of what a job it can be to remove it all!

And here is a nice shot of Old Faithful. Looks real nice with new screws and nice clean rails now doesn't it?

New glass was ordered from the local glass shop and Old Faithful's shattered "pains" were replaced. He felt a whole lot better about that! The windows were removed and they were all sealed up. Old Faithful has gone through some bouts of rain and lots of snow and guess what?...no leaks! The dwp surgeons have cured the leakatosis!! 
Old Faithful is so pleased with all that the man has done on the outside. I wish I could say the same for what the lady dwp is doing on the inside but it seems like all it is is destruction! Ripping out walls, removing all the bathroom fixtures and ripping out more walls. She just keeps on taking away things that have been a part of Old Faithful for over 50 years now. Old Faithful is getting kind of worried but I keep telling him what doesn't kill him will make him stronger. I just hope the lady starts getting him back together soon cause I don't know how long he can hold out!! 
Well now, being the therapist I am I tell Old Faithful to think about the good stuff! When he had leakatosis and it rained it looked like old faithful was crying...

See those teardrop stains from Old Faithful crying in the rain?

Well no more crying in the rain for Old Faithful!

  Well folks, it's that time again. Time for me to hop back into my pal Old Faithful. He's feeling a lot more optimistic about his future for a pessimist. Hopefully, the next time I write, you will get to see some more progress on the inside! Until then,  like my buddy Billy Joel says, tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems, yeah yeah yeah I'm keeping the faith!