Tubularfab wrote:
Westend - by moving the kitchen I'll actually be shortening the drain line for the sink by a good amount. I will have to reconfigure the vent for the blackwater tank - it's the one on the right in the first pic from the last post above. I got in there Sunday afternoon to look for leaks (not sure if we made national news, but our town got 7.5" of rain in 3 hours Sunday morning and we had a lot of flooding near us). I figured that rain would be a good test. Sure enough, the whole front seam leaked, a couple of the windows were damp underneath, and both of the vent stacks leaked.
I'm assuming the best approach is to pull all the windows completely out, clean, and reinstall with new sealant. The PO simply smearing clear silicone one over the outside to attempt to fix leaks...
When repairing this framework from the inside without removing the aluminum siding - what is the best way to re-attach the siding to the new framework? Is one of the new construction adhesives like PL the way to go? Would this introduce expansion problems?
Oh, and I'm not sure on re-inforcing the floor yet in the toy hauler area because I'm not sure what's under it for support. If feels very solid, so I'm thinking it's sitting against frame - but not sure yet. I'm actually thinking of doing a layer of 5/4 deckboards or something over the existing plywood. One of my hobbies is going to antique engine shows, and that's one of the things I'm wanting to haul back there. Still up for debate...
I plan to retain the one-piece aluminum roof. It's dented up, but intact. If it were galvanized tin it would be a different story, but the aluminum should be fine.
Vents are fairly easy to relocate. If a major move is in order, you can cap the old hole into the tank, drill a new tank hole, and order a tank gasket for your new vent. I eliminated two vents when I was mucking around with the plumbing, choosing to use air admittance valves for those two sinks. Less through holes to leak on the roof is what I was thinking.
You have the correct plan on the windows, there are numerous threads on the Forum about leaking windows, the cause is the sealing tape dying and becoming brittle, leading to failure. I wouldn't use any silicone on anything. There are better sealants that are paintable and have better elongation/bond qualities, Geocel 2300 is one.
What I found worked best for reattaching the siding was using screws from the outside. If you replace any of the framing, you'll have to remove fasteners and you will see where they are located. Most aluminum sided trailers like ours have screws about every third stud, the end walls and the remaining studs are fastened at the tops and bottoms into the sill plates. You'll probably also encounter a lot of staples, especially in the corners and in the top wall plates. A grinder and sawzall will be your new friends. I wouldn't use any adhesive from the stud to the siding, you'll be insulating, at some point, and if you use a foam board or spray, that will make the walls a lot more monolithic (strong). The paneling also helps to hold everything together, more so than original because anything you find for interior paneling is superior to the what you tore out.
I'd be tempted to use some aluminum diamond plate, maybe, for the floor of the toy/engine area, mostly because I can get it pretty cheap. Maybe have a couple of steel runners included to slide engines into the bay. I'm sure you have a better handle on what's needed for your use.
Looking forward to see what you come up with because this is an advanced stage project.:D
