Today - Pull back and refasten front wall siding, furnace vent re-install, entry grab-handle installed.
Now there was one more area (for now that is), to address before final corner fastening is done - the left front corner.
It was already partially pulled back at the bottom where I had worked the bottom edge of the camper's left side.
The bottom row of screws were removed.
This area had some pressed in dents sort of; a partial crease.
And a hole where the metal had worn through on a framing nail head underneath that was lifting.
Once pulled back, I could attempt just a bit-o-fix.
The wood back here was pretty good.
And the insulation.
But the seam wasn't in good shape. It was kind of sharp at the folds and wouldn't allow a tight fit of the two pieces of metal together, so it came apart pretty easy - accidentally.
And that increased the work. I had to reshape it and flatten screw holes at the work bench, but eventually I got it back together and fastened down good.
Once again, part of the problem from the factory was the left wall siding hadn't been rounded over at the edge. That forced the front wall metal to lay against the edge of the side metal - not down against the wood framing, one more opportunity for not only a loose fastening to framing, but a sharp edge to begin failure of the overlapping sheet-metal edge, right where it was folded.
And I've noticed, Tow-Mater's aluminum siding is a thinner gauge than Lil' Queeny's, by quite a bit! That fact, and the poor framing attachment at various places, and the metal fatigue due to both issues, may well cause me increased future holes and failures. We'll just have to address those issues as they appear, if and when.
Thank goodness for Tow-Mater's color pattern plans! You know, tomato-red accents (meaning well done and pretty), but with a somewhat "neglected look": (for now at least) on the field areas - you know, where the white or cream color might be expected. Patches and repairs in the field area can mimic the rusted surfaces on the character we're patterning after.
Anyway, after stapling this part down, I folded the excess edge around the wood for a better front wall metal fit.
Then I forgot to finish getting pictures.
Another day I was out there doing the stairs - reported yesterday.
And I thought, no time like the present to get the grab handle on. It came off the kids 1995 Skamper parts camper. And while there I decided to also work the heater vent.
There were some cracks in the wood where some of the mounting screws were. You can see that here.
Also note the original accent color - brown.
That is the color of the Roadrunner arrows on the camper sides. The new arrows color will be the tomato-soup red; like the wheels and the appliances.
If you're not familiar with this sort of vent, fresh air (for combustion) comes into the burn chamber of the furnace through the vent's outer ring, and exhaust comes out through the center tube. That makes these things "hot" right outside the entry door. One more reason to install a grab handle nearby, that the subconscious would rather grab onto for assistance, than grabbing a hot vent.
New butyl.
I used a little longer screw into wood that was there as an extra support behind the surface framing. And I doubled up mounting screws for a better seal.
I'm looking for a visual example of the original markings - in red, some of these vents said, "HOT". I want to find an example to copy.
