Caution: Long Post>>
We were thinking about selling our old dependable Sunnybrook TT for a "new to us" Class C but decided to rejuvenate the old TT instead. I thought I would share some of our modifications and maintenance jobs for those in the same situation. Cheaper to keeper category..LOL
A little history on the travel trailer first, it's a 2001 Sunnybrook 2708 SLE with a ton of miles and camping trips under her belt. Purchased in Lexington, SC but now resides in sunny Prescott Valley, AZ. We have never (knock on wood) had any of the on-board equipment fail; everything is still original, fridge, microwave, hot water heater, electrical, still using the original battery. Tires were original and still looked great but we replaced them with another set of Maxxis 8008 radials in Oct. of 2012. We did upgrade to the D rated when we replaced them.
Modifications performed over the last 10 + years:
1. Added an extra battery. I'm still using the 12 volt deep cycle batteries; they have worked well for us.
2. Replaced the Dometic Thermostat with a Hunter electronic thermostat.
3. Added a (homemade) fan for circulation in the icebox and another under the ammonia coils to aid the airflow up the vent stack. Made a huge difference in hot weather.FYI
4. Of course we installed two maxxair vent covers.
5. Installed a fast start capacitor (on the ac) so the ac works with smaller generators (2000 watt & up).
6. Installed an inline transformer to drop the voltage (and help regulate) on the refrigerator heating element. Some parks have 125-135 volts and this can cause the element to get too hot and burn out prematurely. The extra heat isn't good for core which we all know is prone to crack and spray coolant everywhere.
7. Installed a petcock on the hot water heater drain, makes it so easy to winterize.
8. Installed Wilson cellphone booster.
9. Installed a Charge Wizard on our Progressive Dynamics Converter. That's the reason our house batteries last so long.
10. Installed Delta faucet on the kitchen sink. Original worked but was too cheap.
11. Installed a fused hardwired circuit to the running lights on the exterior of the camper. Don't need the tow vehicle hooked up to test or run the exterior lighting.
12. Installed a voltage meter on the 120 volt portion of the electrical.
13. Installed locks on the two propane tanks, spare tire, and storage compartments.
I'm sure there's more but those are the main upgrades.
Recent Maintenance:
We have always kept up with all of the suggested maintenance like cleaning the EPDM roof, cleaning the ac coils & filters, re-packing wheel bearings, checking brakes, tire pressures, inspecting and repairing or adjusting all components as needed.
We have never experienced a leaky roof but we have heard the horror stories of damage due to roof leaks. Our roof was the weak link on our old travel trailer, it was starting to show its age, we had black spots on the EPDM and the caulking was starting to yellow and crack too. 6 years of AZ sunshine didn't help either! It didn't help matters that the idiot we bought the TT from had a bright idea to install equipment on the roof so he could haul a boat on the roof of the TT.:S He had installed rollers on the rear and a rubber stop in front of the ac unit for the v-nose on the boat.:h He used lag bolts and galvanized hardware to make his boat stick to the roof. Fear of a roof leak was the main reason for considering a change.
Since we love the TT (and I'm a tightwad..Lol) we decided to redo the roof ourselves and as cost effectively as possible since we will be upgrading in the next 2-3 years anyway. We want to go fulltime and we know the old TT won't work for that kind of lifestyle.
I know the liquid rubber roof is the best way to go but we were not willing to part with that kind of money on this TT plus I didn't like the thought of renting equipment to mix the activator, etc.
First Day: I did a thorough cleaning of the roof and let it dry for 24 hours.
Second Day: I removed all of the damaged caulking around the edges, antenna, vents, etc. Removed Maxxair vent covers and all of the boat hardware that had been screwed into the roof too. I used anchors, screws, and flat washers to fill the holes left from the boat hardware. I love to kick that genius in the butt. :M
I had ordered 4 tubes of the Self Leveling Dicor Lap Sealant and 2 tubes of the Non-Leveling Dicor Lap Sealant (for the vertical areas) and I used most of it resealing the roof. Let the Dicor cure for two days.
In AZ everything dries quickly.
Fifth Day: I used painters tape to cover the edges of the camper. I put two coats of the (let the first coat dry for 8 hours) Elastomeric Elastoseal Rubberized Primer Coat & Sealer. This product is supposed to seal and holes and make sure the top coats adhere to the old EPDM. The color was gray and the texture was rubber like, it spread easy with deep nap roller. I let this cure for 24 hours.
Seventh Day: I rolled out three coats of the Elastomeric Mobile Coat following the directions for drying and re-application. It only required 2 top coats but I rolled out a third to be certain I got a thick coat. This product is has a 5 year guarantee if you follow the instructions...which I did. The primer has a 1000% elasticity and the top coat has 400%. The manufacturer is KST (product name is Snow Roof) but the parent company of KST is Sherwin Williams.
We were extremely pleased with the end result, the roof looks better than it did when we bought the TT and I do prefer the white color to the original gray color. The roof felt cool to the touch and that is amazing considering we are at 5200 feet and the outside temp was 88 degrees and sunny. The elastomeric paint and primer cost me $124.00 and the 6 tubes of Dicor cost $ 55.00. Less than $200 for a complete roof re-seal!!! My labor was free!:C
Pictures of my new roof
Pilot---Mark :C, Co Pilot (boss)Nancy:R
Children:
Alyssa :?, Corey :p, Matthew:h, Kaylyn :B
Dogs: Shih-Tzu's(other children)
Max , Shelby, Twiggles
TT 2001 Sunnybrook 2708 SLE
TV 2004 Ford Super Duty F-250 Diesel 6.0
Yamaha EF3000iSE/Honda EU2000i
