Help with 1st TT

[ncwelder88]

Hello all, i am new to the forums and new to travel trailers as well. i have been a welder and mechanic all my life and i am going to be going out on the road welding come spring time. my fiances step dad gave me his old vega camper for cleaning up around his house (which was a weeks worth of work) and it is in pretty good condition for its age. i have a bunch of questions but will stick mainly to the important ones for now, so here we go and please ignore any ignorance as i know nothing about tt's.

1. i know that one of the roof vents are leaking and he done a horrible job of wrapping in it duct tape (:S) in a attempt to fix it on the road. i have decided to pull the inside roof panels down to see if any structure rot has happened. should i replace the vent and fix all the paneling or patch the vent and seal it???

2. where can i find the main breaker box for the electrical??? i found the fuse box access panel on the outside near the tongue of the trailer!

3. in attempt to get on the roof i noticed that the roof was awful wavy and decided not to get up on it. does the roof need to be replaced? and if so are there any tutorials or writeups on replacing one of these roofs

4. does anybody know part numbers to put newer brakes and hubs on the fayette-dayton axles?

5. andd last question (for now) can anyone give me any information on this camper? i cant find any model numbers or anything all i can find is vega and wheelcamper emblems on the outside. he told me it was a 25' but still dont know the model or anything! i have found that alot of the older terry and taurus campers look almost identical.

heres a few pictures of it. the black stuff is from the previous owners attempt to flex seal around the windows.

[ncwelder88]

well i feel stupid but i went out to the trailer today to check for any visable leaks as the snow was melting and happend to look under the stove and seen a grille so i pulled the grille off and to my surprise theres the breaker box, converter and a row of 12v glass fuses. so im going to check the converter tomarrow and see if its working correctly and then im going to re-run the wires up to the tongue and hook up the 2 6 volt golf car batterys i just picked up last month to make sure everything works right.

[2012Coleman]

Dcarner wrote:
I think your future Father-in-law stuck it to you for sticking it to his daughter.

Yea - I'll bet that comment comes from experience...

[rbpru]

You have to decide if you are going to fix up an old TT or restore it.

Unless it has significant value and you enjoy restoration, just fix what is broke and try not to do more damage in the process.

I try not to fix what is not broken. A wavy roof that does not leak is better than a straight roof that does etc.

A good brake shop or auto parts store can help you with the brake id's.

[ncwelder88]

Thanks #40fan i will look tomarrow in the day light.

Rvcircus your right im more than willing to put time into this camper if theres no major rot.

the vent cover is cracked into peices which is why it was leaking, and the duct tape didnt stop it lol.

i did pull a few ceiling panels and the roof structure looks solid and sound with no eveidence of leaks except for the framing around the vent that was leaking, which is nothing for me to repair. once this snow passes over this week we are suppose to have some decent days next week i am going to pull a few wall panels off that are easy to access and see what the wall structure looks like. i cannot see any noticeable leaks inside or out.

he did leave the front window cracked in the front where the fiberglass cover is but theres no show of water leakage or anything so i think thats where the mildew smell is coming from, plus the camper has been sitting for the past 6 months. i am willing to do some work as i have access to lumber extremly cheap and theres a rv place up here that sales new scratch and dent parts and panels that i can get really cheap so i think with a little bit of money and time it could be a really nice camper for minimal money! thanks for the responses everyone!

[RVcircus]

Given your occupation I'll assume you aren't scared off by some work and have all the skills necessary to complete the project.

For the vent, it the leak coming through the sealant or a cover. If it's a 12"x12" vent it's an easy and cheap replacement.

If you're confident there's no rot I'd reseal everything using RV specific sealants (NO Silicone). If you're not sure if there's rot, push on all the walls to see if there's play and walk the trailer (especially the corners) looking for soft spots. If there's significant rot this will likely be a good indication, but isn't a fool proof way to determine water damage. If you can pull the ceiling tiles out and see that the roof is in good shape you're good. Do you smell any mildew or see any signs of water damage inside, outside or underneath?

[_40Fan]

Check for the breakers under the seat cushion on the front, left side of the camper.

[ncwelder88]

I know the tires are new because I mounted them last year for my fiances stepdad. As said before the trailer seems solid, I took a few roof panels out today and the roof framing looks good with no rot. The original owners had it setup at a campground under a carport its whole life until the stepdad got it a few years ago and its been outside since. All the appliances work but the microwave.

[CavemanCharlie]

It all depends on how perfect you want it to be. The wavy tin roof is not unusual. The tin just gets wavy. The only way to know how good the roof is means that you have to get up on it. CAREFULLY. If it's solid and the floor is solid then I would not be scared of it.

[westend]

The good news is that trailers built in that era were built well, the industry wasn't afraid of throwing some steel into it. As a welder, I'm sure you know what that means.

The chances are that the trailer is full of structural rot. Once there are just a couple leaks and they are left to leak, the wooden frame starts to rot.

You can look through the restoration thread in my signature line, "The Cowboy/Hilton" where I restored a Starcraft in similar condition. I spent around $5K and 6 mos. fixing the Starcraft and upgrading everything but the axles. The Fayatte rims are still sold, try E-Trailer.com. I had serviceable brakes and wheel bearings. I did change out all the brake wiring.

If you have about the same amount of free project time as most folks, I'd suggest to fix the major leaks and use the trailer until it is too much of a headache. Appliances may be on your short list and, depending on condition, may cancel the project before it starts.

Good luck with whatever route you take. I'm lovin' my rig, it is cozier and better built than anything I can buy.

[2_many_2]

has brand new tires

Do they just look new or have you checked the date codes? If they are over six or seven years old you may have to replace them anyway.

just use it through the summer and buy a new camper.

Check trailers for sale of this age and type in your area, I think you will find they go for free or as high as 2K if in perfect condition.

You might be better off to take the money you would be using to fix this trailer up and buy the new camper now. I doubt you will get your money back when you go to sell this trailer and you will have many man hours into it also.

I restored an old Class C once and I would not do it again.

Good luck

[Tvov]

You might find that most of the axle / brake parts are "universal"... you don't necessarily need part numbers, just measure very carefully and get what you need.

[ncwelder88]

All the ds brake components were removed. I called dexter and got the part numbers for replacement loaded backing plates and found them for $45 each online so that solves the braking problem. As for the leaks there's no rot from where the roof vent was leaking except for the ceiling panels. I have not looked for further rot yet but I am going to pull a few more panels and check for rot before I go any further. if everything checks out then I am going to fix the leak and damaged panels and brakes and just use it through the summer and buy a new camper.

[Lynnmor]

So what brake parts are needed? Why doesn't the brakes work?

If the roof and windows were leaking, there may be considerable hidden damage. Pop out a vent and a window and look for rot before throwing any money at it.

[ncwelder88]

1971 Duster340 - the roof is metal and I have been doing some research on replacment and found a few good articles, so will search further.
It does have a title, will have to look to verify year. Thanks for your response I have started a plan since starting this post to get an idea of cost before I jump in. Thanks for the replys!