That's funny Stra8liner, there was another fella quite some time ago too who got lost until early morning reading past posts. Glad you're enjoying it. :)
Today - taking ownership and the license plate bracket and illumination lamp.
We bought the Roadrunner, Friday morning last. Stopped by an air station and filled a low tire, then got it home. Once there, I removed the plate and headed over to the PO's place of employment to return his plate and pick up the trailer title. Then I simply slipped over to the motor vehicles department, made the title exchange, got the new plate, paid tax and license and headed home.
So the first day of ownership was the first day of ownership. We'll work out all the silly details about who's camper it is later. It's the daughter's - and her family's, that's all that matters for now.
Let's get this plate on.
When I removed the old plate and was putting on the new, I noticed the plate bracket was floppy. Better fix things as we go, I thought.
You can see here where the lamp is fastened with two screws, and the bracket with two - the two bracket screws were loose. And there was no butyl tape under the bracket. I found the butyl tape under the lamp to be pretty dried out.
Incidentally, I am finding this very same sort of butyl/putty tape on the galley window, and it appears to be original. Is it dry because it is over 50 years old? Because of its chemical makeup right from the get go? Because it was putty tape not butyl? Lil' Queeny had a dark green, very sticky and thick, butyl/putty stuff.
I'm finding what you want isn't dry and easy to pull apart. What you want is a stuff that sticks even easier to itself than to anything else, while at the same time it sticks to everything else - well.
I link this top review by Laura Jamison, as it's probably the best I have found. And I'm using the Dicor product.
How to seal RV exterior openings.I use my trusty steel scraper (dangerous, use plastic or wooden unless you are really good with your steel, and if you are able to accommodate scratch and scuff marks you will inevitably cause with the steel).
So I scraped, then rubbed and wiped with first Naptha, to remove the butyl, and then Mineral Spirits to remove the Naptha (a bit oilier, that's why it does so well on the butyl). Then a dry rag buff to remove the Mineral Spirits film. Normally I do that with Lacquer thinner, but sometimes it will lift/remove/otherwise harm the finish. In this case paint will come later.
I'm also not painting and finishing right now, it's more about stabilizing. So I cleaned up parts and put them back on sealed well. They appeared to simply be silver painted pot metal and stamped steel.
Look at how clean the screw threads are, no water got onto these threads.
And look how clean the lamp fixture is! Two rubber seals, at each end of the plastic lens cylinder. For install I rotated the cylinder to shine light out an unfogged section. But the bulb socket was unbelievable!
Somebody likes LOTS of bare wire for connecting.
And here we are all cleaned up.
Here's my remaining glob of butyl from work on Lil' Queeny. I used some on the bracket and lamp. Pull off a chunk, form it and put it on.
After getting the bracket on (notice the slight ooze from the two bracket screws) I pressed butyl into the wire hole, in part to seal, in part to help protect the wiring from the jagged edge, and started the fixture screws. I did cut the bare wires back to about 1". Theoretically 3/4" is better, but I didn't want to lose too much length.
Here's how I had applied it to the fixture base.
But due to the rounded rear surface, and the way the siding rolled out with it's pattern over this spot, the seal at the top wasn't sealing. I pulled it back out a bit, and laid in some extra, then brought it back tight and trimmed.
Might as well be comfortable and enjoy the process - I was on a tall chair, feet resting on the bumper, in the shade. If I recall correctly I had a glass of lemonade and I had hired a nice little local Reggae band that was quietly playing over there. Comfortable, and very enjoyable. ;)
Here you can see the wider gap. It was a warm day so the excess didn't cut as cleanly as it can when just a bit cooler. I simply push a clean (square) screwdriver tip along to cut. Enough pressure, but not too much. Clean means no sharp shards and nicks screwdrivers sometimes get. And a rounded tip (from wear) isn't going to cut as cleanly.
So - first thing done. And with this, I was able to start getting my head into the unit and figuring out a game plan.
Start easy, and then tackle the tough stuff - get it out of the way. What's next? Roof leaks!
