11.__Subject: Floor brace support repair

Went into the 'Basement' for one thing, explore, and ended up with several minor projects to do.

One of those being a brace that supports the rear of the compartment/storage/utility floor. Noticed it had a rather large 'tilt' to the rear. Further investigation showed that about 3/8" of the foot was supporting the platform. Would guess over time and movement that friction caused between the wood and steel caused the brace to slowly ratchet backwards.

Easy fix. Emptied water tank to remove weight, slipped a wide putty knife between the foot and the bottom of the 2x3 and 'lightly'tapped the brace back into position, flush near the front. Initally tried to just hammer the brace in....but the leading edge of the foot chiseled into the 2x3. Drilled a hole and installed a bolt.

One of the minor projects was to install pipe insulation tubing over sections of the tubing for the water system. With discussion on the Forum about water system noise, spent a couple of hours and as many b..rs installing the insulation. Used plastic wire ties to secure in place. Another reason was to reduce the chance of chafe between the tubing and whatever. Old navy conditioning...if it moves or rubs___secure or isolate it. Didn't see any chafe and the system sounded quieter. Or maybe it was just the beverage.

If your ever in this area, just something else to "look" at.

Hope something helped,

Chris

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Workshop,

Chris,

Another brilliant production as always. Just one comment. Don't strap the water pipes rock solid (just snug enough to retain them from moving all around) as the structure of the coach moves around like a "bowl of Jello" and you could stress some of the water connection joints and create a water leak. Just a thought!

GREAT JOB, WORKHORSE!

Very good point to bring up. Didn't want to give the wrong impression.....the only place I used the plastic ties was on the insulation to keep 'it' from moving up and down the tube. Just tight enought to add slip pressure. Thanks.

12.__Subject: Lag screw repair, curbside

This is the first of two posts on the replacement of the lag screws on my unit.

I want to thank RockinTom for the assistance and knowledge he shared on this project. If it wasn’t for his ‘inspection’ I won’t have known the location of the lags I’ve heard about on the Forum or the need for their inspection. As Tom has said many times ‘we all learn something when we share’.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

A routine inspection of the lags indicated that two had sheared. The rear curbside lag and the forward lag on the roadside slide. Both required a different approach to their replacement. Neither presented a problem to the unit.

Jack at PI indicated I could either do a repair by drilling beside or above the existing lag hole and inserting a new lag or replacing the lag with a #5 bolt and nut. Drilling and replacing the lags would have been a simpler task; I chose to replace mine with bolts and nuts. More time involved in this approach as gasket material was cut and blocking installed between the trim and the floors frame. It also required cutting the fabric on the underside of the lag location to have access to that area and then resealing the cut.

With all the lag screws being the same size, 3 inches, the rear curbside was the only one that extended beyond the wood frame. Two others the tip just broke the surface. I was lucky to be able to use vice grip pliers on the broken lag to remove it from the rear once the fabric material was cut and insulation moved. Wouldn’t have been as lucky with the others.

If I was just replacing the broken lags with lag screws, I would have considered replacing them all and replace them with a 3 ½” lag so the tip would extend beyond the frame ¼” to ½”. I would rather remove the broken section of the lag with grips and install a replacement using the existing hole than drilling above or beside the broken section.

Don’t know the purpose of the lag screw by design but have my opinion. Likewise don’t know the failure rate. Thanks to the Forum___just knew it’s something I needed to check. Like caulking, its one of those items on the checklist that needs to be inspected. All part of owning and maintaining a unit.

Hope something helped,

Chris

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13.__Subject: Lag screw repair, roadside.

This is the second of two posts on the replacement of the lag screws on my unit. This post covers the repair of the roadside lag.

Hope something helps.

Chris

14.__Subject: You can’t have too many catches

The subject of Post 9 was: Fiberglass and Gel coat repair, how much should I do….. Well that decision has been made and for now I’ve done enough.

I had two areas of concern. One was the catches that hold the compartment doors open and the other was damage to the gel coat caused by the prior slide out cover mounting hardware.

When the original catches were removed and the decision was made to use the existing Bullet catches, I was faced with the two holes for each catch removed and an area that was stained and a different gel coat color/gloss than what surrounded it.

I had faced this problem when I rebuilt the compartment doors earlier. In that case I lightly sanded the area to remove the stains and the gloss of the original gel coat followed by compounding and waxing the doors. New white painted screws were inserted in caulk to make the repair. This choice was made because the first door I tried to repair with the Marine-Tex Putty didn’t show the results I was after. Found the catch screws holes were too close to the frame to work comfortably, the gel coat thin and the prior damage to the sub areas of the door screamed…..’Put screw in me’.

The second area of concern was damage to the sidewall and to some extent the slide trim caused by the slide out cover’s mounting hardware and trim. On the Entertainment slide only, it hadn’t been adjusted or modified to prevent damage to the surrounding surfaces. One would ask….”What were they thinking”.

In both repairs Marine-Tex Putty, in white, was used. The product cures very hard, was easy to work and gave a very acceptable repair and finish. A medium/heavy abrasive compound was used to buff the repair and surrounding area followed by a very find compound to bring back the shine and smoothness. The area then received two coats of wax to protect the cleaned gel coat. Now if I could only get everything wax at the same time.

Fiberglass projects remaining? I have two that will need attention at some point in the future; just not the near future and not sure I would attempt either. One is the lower left corner of the bedroom slide and an area at the right hand upper corner of the sofa/dinette slide opening. Both areas have small spider cracks. It’s my understanding the cracks at the bedroom corner is related to flexing. The problem at the main slide opening was related to moisture. The interior paneling between the door and the slide opening had been changed which indicated the prior owner had taken action there before. This will be a future project once a paneling can be obtained that’s a match or at least close. Not easy to do on a 7yr old unit. Both areas are secure and not presenting a problem at present. Both have a small white Eternabond patch protecting the area.

Hope something helped.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Workshop,

15.__Subject: Waste System Overview: 33RLE

If you can’t tell, I’m big on ‘Overviews’. It has a way of connecting things together and giving a better understanding of how different things work with other components in the system. Would suspect the systems on my unit are similar to what’s currently being used if not close.

Some of the photos and information I’ve posted before, some not. Didn’t rebuild or modify anything for this post___a rather nice change.

Hope you find something useful.

Subject: Restoration 101 Index

Who would have thought I would need an index. When back last week looking for something and had no idea where to find it. The information on my computer was organized by subject but not in order of the post.

Well went back and numbered the Post, filed the post on the computer to match and will Post an index occasionally to make it easier to know where something is located. Hope it helps others as it does me. One thing for certain, subject matter is all over the place. Need to stay focused.

Page 1:

1.__Restoration 101
2.__Rebuilding the compartment doors
3.__Rebuilding the compartment doors, page 4
4.__Rebuilding the compartment doors, part 2
5.__Page 20, Caulking and sealing materials
6.__Testing for 12v Power
7.__Door prop/holder for the Electrical compartment
8.__Prep of screw hardware
9.__Fiberglass and Gel coat repair, how much should I do…..
10.__Heating System Overview of a 2001

Page 2:

11.__Floor brace support repair
12.__Replacing lag screws: curbside
13.__Replacing lag screws: roadside
14.__You can’t have too many catches
15.__Waste System Overview, 33RLE

Hope something helped,

Chris

quote:

Hope something helped

Chris,
What an understatement! I doubt if anyone of our forum members has not benefited from some part of the well-documented information you have posted. You're okay, for being a 'Navy' type!

I second what Chief says. This Workshop guy does a great job and trust me the stuff he does takes a lot of time to do. Thanks Chris, we really appreciate your hard work. I learn alot everytime I look at this thread! Keep up the great work! Serious for a change. Tom