Non-truck question - covering the bottom of a camper trailer

[ArdWrknTrk]

Making progress on this, but it's slow. It's really a pain working from a creeper in my driveway, but not nearly as bad as it would've been on the gravel at my folks cabin!

Here's what I've come up with to close of that big hole under the shower (see above for the "before"). There are still gaps around the drain pipes, but there has to be to allow them to move as I slide the gray tank into position. As I said in the WHYD... thread, I'll finish this up by spraying expanding foam (the mouse-repellent kind) into the gaps.

Another example of shoddy design / assembly I found in this trailer (I wonder if it was assembled in Florida?) was the vent tube into the black tank. In the picture below you can see the smaller diameter section at the bottom (about 2" long) that's supposed to go into the grommet/seal on the top of the tank. But the only thing keeping it from going any lower was that small shoulder sitting on the rubber seal. This trailer hasn't been towed much, but the pipe had worked its way down to where it was sitting on the bottom of the tank. Not only does that not work well as a vent pipe, but it also meant that it had dropped below the hole in the roof, opening up (or maybe just enlarging) another place for mice to get in. So I made this framework to go over the tank to hold up the pipe (the C-clamp will go away once I get everything in place and drill some bolt holes). And yes, I'm going to have to use more foam where this pipe comes through the floor.

And I ended up deciding to use a black tarp to cover the bottom, just like it came with. Why that choice? Because that's what I could find. I screwed furring strips around the edge of each section, stapled the tarp to the furring strips, and trimmed it to fit. Then I used screws with washers to hold it in place better than just the staples. And finally I used Gorilla tape to sort of seal the edges. It doesn't show up well in the pictures, but here's the finished product.

I sad "finished" but that's just a few of the sections. I'm maybe 1/3 done with tarping, so I've got quite a bit left. I have the gray tank back in, but still need to get the black and fresh tanks in, as well as spraying in a bunch of foam. I'm hoping to finish it up this week so I can get it out of my driveway this weekend, but I'm afraid that's not realistic. We'll see how it goes. (That's my motorhome under the cover next to the trailer. There's not enough room in front of the trailer for me to park my truck in the driveway, and just barely enough room to get my wife's Jeep Renegade past it. I'm looking forward to getting my driveway back and getting back to working on my Bronco!)

Stellar progress!

And, progress is good!

I'm kinda surprised you didn't just put a split hanger up on the roof.

Then it could never drop to the bottom but you wouldnt have to make up that bridge.

[Nothing Special]

Stellar progress!

And, progress is good!

I'm kinda surprised you didn't just put a split hanger up on the roof.

Then it could never drop to the bottom but you wouldnt have to make up that bridge.

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with the progress. That at least somewhat balances out the discouragement of how much is left to do and the pain in my back and shoulders from working on it! But seriously, I knew this project was going to be a bear, and it is coming together very well. Just slower than I would have liked (but not slower than I expected, if that makes any sense).

I didn't really have the possibility of doing anything up top to hold the vent pipe up. The roof is sort of a two-layer thing, and the holes in the two layers for the pipe don't quite line up with each other. So I can't get the pipe up high enough to get at it to do anything there (did I mention that the construction of this trailer leaves a bit to be desired?) And I didn't want to be carving up the roof, because as poor as things in this trailer are, at least the roof doesn't leak. So when I came up with a pretty easy-to-implement idea for down below I went with that.

[Gary Lewis]

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with the progress. That at least somewhat balances out the discouragement of how much is left to do and the pain in my back and shoulders from working on it! But seriously, I knew this project was going to be a bear, and it is coming together very well. Just slower than I would have liked (but not slower than I expected, if that makes any sense).

I didn't really have the possibility of doing anything up top to hold the vent pipe up. The roof is sort of a two-layer thing, and the holes in the two layers for the pipe don't quite line up with each other. So I can't get the pipe up high enough to get at it to do anything there (did I mention that the construction of this trailer leaves a bit to be desired?) And I didn't want to be carving up the roof, because as poor as things in this trailer are, at least the roof doesn't leak. So when I came up with a pretty easy-to-implement idea for down below I went with that.

Yes, that is excellent progress! And you've basically worked out the kinks, at least the ones in the implementation if not the ones in your back and shoulders.

I think you've done a great job. It should last well and keep the mice at bay as well.

As for the length of projects, I fully understand what you said. Mine go far longer than I wish they would, but usually not more then twice as long as I expect.

[Nothing Special]

Yes, that is excellent progress! And you've basically worked out the kinks, at least the ones in the implementation if not the ones in your back and shoulders.

I think you've done a great job. It should last well and keep the mice at bay as well.

As for the length of projects, I fully understand what you said. Mine go far longer than I wish they would, but usually not more then twice as long as I expect.

You're doing great then! I expect most of my projects to take four times as long as I expect!

[Nothing Special]

You're doing great then! I expect most of my projects to take four times as long as I expect!

... and another factor that I know you know about Gary is that life does and should get in the way of projects. I "had to" lose about 4 hours of work-on-the-trailer time on Saturday because both of my sons came over for dinner. It's my older son's birthday tomorrow, and my younger son just got engaged, so there was a lot to celebrate! They both came over, along with their girlfriend and fiance (respectively!). I grilled steaks and then we sat around a fire in the back yard. They all hung around until after 11:00. It hurts productiveness on the projects, but it's a lot better!

[Gary Lewis]

... and another factor that I know you know about Gary is that life does and should get in the way of projects. I "had to" lose about 4 hours of work-on-the-trailer time on Saturday because both of my sons came over for dinner. It's my older son's birthday tomorrow, and my younger son just got engaged, so there was a lot to celebrate! They both came over, along with their girlfriend and fiance (respectively!). I grilled steaks and then we sat around a fire in the back yard. They all hung around until after 11:00. It hurts productiveness on the projects, but it's a lot better!

Those are the good diversions.

I wish our kids were close enough to do that. Thought we were going to have live-in grandtwins but that didn't happen.

But I have got a lot done on the truck.

[Nothing Special]

.... I'm hoping to finish it up this week so I can get it out of my driveway this weekend, but I'm afraid that's not realistic. We'll see how it goes....

Yeah, not realistic. I wrote that almost 2 weeks ago. But it is done now, and it's out of my drive way! Well, technically at least. It's in the street right in front of my house now. But that's staging to take it back to my folks cabin tonight, so it's still a win!

After my last update I didn't have much trouble finishing it up. I did lose another evening working on it because I had to run up to the cabin to winterize it (in May???) before a string of 6 nights below freezing. Then working on it last weekend wasn't so pleasant with highs in the 40s. But at least the project part was pretty uneventful.

This week I unwinterized the trailer to test the water system. I did have leaks from two hose clamps that weren't tight enough on lines to the fresh water tank. The clamp on the outlet line at the bottom of the tank was easy enough to get to and tighten. But the clamp on the vent line at the top I can't reach without dropping the tank. Oh well, it only leaks when the tank is completely full, so I can live with that.

Then I had a surprising leak, the drain line from the kitchen sink. I hadn't touched that in this project, so I couldn't figure out how it could've gone bad. Turns out it was self-inflicted, but about three years ago. The first fall I winterized this trailer I had to tie up some heating ducts under a kitchen cabinet. I put a couple eye screws in to do that, and when I drilled the pilot hole for one of the screws I drilled through the drain pipe that was behind that board without realizing it. The hole was 2/3s of the way to the top of the pipe, so the water never got deep enough in the pipe to leak out. But as the trailer sat nose-low in my driveway the water backed up more in that pipe and it did get up to the hole. So I cut the pipe at the hole and cemented in a PVC coupling. No more leak!

So now it's ready to go back to the cabin!

[Nothing Special]

.... I'm hoping to finish it up this week so I can get it out of my driveway this weekend, but I'm afraid that's not realistic. We'll see how it goes....

Yeah, not realistic. I wrote that almost 2 weeks ago. But it is done now, and it's out of my drive way! Well, technically at least. It's in the street right in front of my house now. But that's staging to take it back to my folks cabin tonight, so it's still a win!

After my last update I didn't have much trouble finishing it up. I did lose another evening working on it because I had to run up to the cabin to winterize it (in May???) before a string of 6 nights below freezing. Then working on it last weekend wasn't so pleasant with highs in the 40s. But at least the project part was pretty uneventful.

This week I unwinterized the trailer to test the water system. I did have leaks from two hose clamps that weren't tight enough on lines to the fresh water tank. The clamp on the outlet line at the bottom of the tank was easy enough to get to and tighten. But the clamp on the vent line at the top I can't reach without dropping the tank. Oh well, it only leaks when the tank is completely full, so I can live with that.

Then I had a surprising leak, the drain line from the kitchen sink. I hadn't touched that in this project, so I couldn't figure out how it could've gone bad. Turns out it was self-inflicted, but about three years ago. The first fall I winterized this trailer I had to tie up some heating ducts under a kitchen cabinet. I put a couple eye screws in to do that, and when I drilled the pilot hole for one of the screws I drilled through the drain pipe that was behind that board without realizing it. The hole was 2/3s of the way to the top of the pipe, so the water never got deep enough in the pipe to leak out. But as the trailer sat nose-low in my driveway the water backed up more in that pipe and it did get up to the hole. So I cut the pipe at the hole and cemented in a PVC coupling. No more leak!

So now it's ready to go back to the cabin!

Well the trailer was ready, but I had always said I needed to get a weight-distributing hitch before I towed that trailer any distance. I towed it the 80 miles home from the cabin last month on just a normal drawbar, but I got a weight distributing hitch last week, so last night I got it set up (the reason for getting the trailer out into the street).

I hope I love towing with a weight distributing hitch, because I hated setting it up and I hate hooking it up and unhooking it! Setting it up was just a lot of hooking and unhooking until I got it right. Now that I know where it needs to be it only takes one iteration.

The instructions say to hook the coupler on the ball and then use the tongue jack to raise the tongue and the back of the truck 8" - 12". First problem, I don't think the electric tongue jack is up to that. It grunts pretty hard just lifting the trailer tongue. No problem, I have a Hi-Lift jack.

Next problem, after lifting it about 7" I'm looking at the back tires on my truck and thinking "I'm sure glad the trailer is chocked!" There's no sidewall bulge in the tires, and they're really close to coming off the ground! OK, so that's as far as I lift it.

Third problem, With it lifted only 7" I can only get the second link in the chains hooked up. I ended up needing to go to the 5th link before I got it set right, so that won't work.

So instead of jacking up the whole truck and trailer, instead I put the Hi-Lift under a lift bar. That way I could flex the bar up enough to hook the chain up where I needed to. But if you've ever used a Hi-Lift jack you know they aren't the most stable platforms to work from. I could hold it in place pretty well as I jacked it up. But then to hook up the chain I needed to hold the jack steady with one hand, hold the handle on the latch with my knee and hook up the chain with my other hand. It worked, I did it about six times on each side of the hitch without losing any fingers. But it doesn't feel safe.

Unhooking it isn't quite as bad, but it is releasing a lot of force, so it bangs pretty good and stuff jumps around a bit. Nothing seems to be trying to jump to where it will bite me, but as I said, I sure hope it tows really well to make this all worth it!

Without the weight distributing hitch the back of my truck squats about 2" with this trailer and the front comes up about 1/4" With the weight distributing hitch the back squats about 3/4" and the front goes DOWN about 1/16". So it is definitely doing something. Tonight we'll see how it all works.

[Gary Lewis]

Well the trailer was ready, but I had always said I needed to get a weight-distributing hitch before I towed that trailer any distance. I towed it the 80 miles home from the cabin last month on just a normal drawbar, but I got a weight distributing hitch last week, so last night I got it set up (the reason for getting the trailer out into the street).

I hope I love towing with a weight distributing hitch, because I hated setting it up and I hate hooking it up and unhooking it! Setting it up was just a lot of hooking and unhooking until I got it right. Now that I know where it needs to be it only takes one iteration.

The instructions say to hook the coupler on the ball and then use the tongue jack to raise the tongue and the back of the truck 8" - 12". First problem, I don't think the electric tongue jack is up to that. It grunts pretty hard just lifting the trailer tongue. No problem, I have a Hi-Lift jack.

Next problem, after lifting it about 7" I'm looking at the back tires on my truck and thinking "I'm sure glad the trailer is chocked!" There's no sidewall bulge in the tires, and they're really close to coming off the ground! OK, so that's as far as I lift it.

Third problem, With it lifted only 7" I can only get the second link in the chains hooked up. I ended up needing to go to the 5th link before I got it set right, so that won't work.

So instead of jacking up the whole truck and trailer, instead I put the Hi-Lift under a lift bar. That way I could flex the bar up enough to hook the chain up where I needed to. But if you've ever used a Hi-Lift jack you know they aren't the most stable platforms to work from. I could hold it in place pretty well as I jacked it up. But then to hook up the chain I needed to hold the jack steady with one hand, hold the handle on the latch with my knee and hook up the chain with my other hand. It worked, I did it about six times on each side of the hitch without losing any fingers. But it doesn't feel safe.

Unhooking it isn't quite as bad, but it is releasing a lot of force, so it bangs pretty good and stuff jumps around a bit. Nothing seems to be trying to jump to where it will bite me, but as I said, I sure hope it tows really well to make this all worth it!

Without the weight distributing hitch the back of my truck squats about 2" with this trailer and the front comes up about 1/4" With the weight distributing hitch the back squats about 3/4" and the front goes DOWN about 1/16". So it is definitely doing something. Tonight we'll see how it all works.

Well, congrats but yipes! Congrats on getting the project done as well as getting the load-distributing hitch set up. But yipes on the process. That doesn't sound like fun. I sure hope you like towing with it connected.

As for the hole in the drain, good work figuring it out. That one would have taken me a long while to understand.

Good luck on the trip! Let us know how it goes.

[Nothing Special]

Well, congrats but yipes! Congrats on getting the project done as well as getting the load-distributing hitch set up. But yipes on the process. That doesn't sound like fun. I sure hope you like towing with it connected.

As for the hole in the drain, good work figuring it out. That one would have taken me a long while to understand.

Good luck on the trip! Let us know how it goes.

I couldn't understand the leak until I saw it, then it was pretty clear. Seeing it was a problem though, laying on my back with my head and shoulders under the kitchen cupboard. The access hole doesn't go all the way to the floor so my back was against a 3/4" wide piece of wood that sat about 4" above the floor. I hate working inside travel trailers! (that made the repair a lot worse than it sounded as well)

But yes, we'll see how it goes tonight and I'll let y'all know