What did you do to the Sunline today?

[mainah-SUN]

Installed a second battery and 50 amp connectors for my inverter and ham gear. When I replaced the converter/charger I put it on a breaker so I can turn it off this allows me to plug the inverter into the battery system and plug the camper into the inverter to run the TV and things like cell phone chargers from the 120 volt sockets. It's only 700 watts of witch I'll probably only ever use about 200 max. I go to Canada for at least a week and usually two with no power so I need the extra power for the pump,lights (all LEDs) and my ham radios.

 

[mainah-SUN]

The rock guard is very broken, the fiberglass is torn all along the top seam and the aluminum bars across the center are snapped in two - but the outer frame is ok. I think it is fixable and if not, I'll have to find a replacement. But since I need to take the window out to reseal for the leak anyway, I took the guard off today because it was a hazard and it would crash around and take the paint off the camper if you even looked at it funny. And it made it much easier to temporarily tape over the big leak I found.

I have tools that fit the square head screws, but this one was at an awkward angle that I just couldn't get to- and drilled in crooked so it faced away from the interior of the camper. I was hot and tired and just finished with the whole shebang so I'll give it another go tomorrow. I am considering reinstalling everything with less annoying screws though.

Those are Robertson screws blame the Canadians, they are actually older then Philips head screws.

 

[JTurner-SUN]

Yesterday I painted the area above the logo on the back where it curves up to meet the roof. It was down to bare metal. I used spray paint and it looks ok, but I'm not totally happy with it. The color is slightly off so I may add a small stripe to separate the areas and it won't be so noticeable. I guess the only other thing I could do is have someone professionally mix paint to match and have it sprayed, but that is not in the budget. Meanwhile, Andy rebuilt the lounge/bed. It looks like someone replaced the water heater at some point and raised up that end of the bed to accommodate it, but we felt like we were sleeping downhill. So now the whole bed is about an inch higher than it was. He also beefed up the supports and had to lengthen the middle leg support where the bed pulls out.

 

[Really-SUN]

Today I resumed the ant attack with baits.

I also ripped out a lot of dry rotted wood and wet rotting wood and tore away some of the paneling to see what was going on in the front wall, and I'm feeling better about the repairs. I poked around a bit in the back too and it doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as the front. I'm tackling the front first because it is actively leaking on one corner and some old damage is making the door sag at the bottom and cracking the siding at the top. Hopefully I can replace some wall studs, floor studs, and flooring this weekend.

Oh, and now that I'm not just looking at the camper and being excited about having it, I started a new album to show my shoddily done repairs as I go.

 

[Really-SUN]

I'm spending about a half hour a day in the camper after work and I'm surprised by how much I am able to get done.

Since my last post, I:

• removed more rot
• took out the interior screen in the big front window and tore away the wallboard
• saw that things are pretty much as I expected and not too big for me to fix on my own (big sigh of relief)
• took down the bathroom door and most of the interior cabinet doors (I'm painting all of them and replacing the hardware it will be easier outside
• took a bunch of measurements so I can buy new wood tomorrow and get the wall reframed and the floor supports replaced

And, we had a big rain and no water came in the front since I covered the suspicious areas with classy duct tape, so I think if I butyl tape those spots my front-end leak will be history!

 

[DianeScraps]

I did some general cleaning and purging in the camper today. Getting ready for our trip to Gettysburg in August

 

[frank_a]

We're camping in ours right now, enjoying the AC on a hot day in the Finger Lakes region of NYS. I did buy a single step small stool to use instead of the stock one. We partially cooked dinner in it for the 1st time too. We're having a great time. Pics in maybe a week.

Frank

 

[justatourist]

I was going to hook the TT to the TV and the jack sounded like it was straining. Could have been the battery, maybe not. Anyway, since I haven't checked the lube on the jack I got the papers out to see what was suggested. Yep! They had suggestions.

First to disconnect the power wire slow blow fuse. Then get the tongue up high and block the tongue so the jack was free. No real problem there. A few blocks and the TT looked like it was going to the moon I had it blocked so high.

Then a phillips screwdriver to undo four screws and the gears were visible and ready to get greased.

After grease is added replace the top cover and tighten screws.

Next is to remove the four screws holding the drive assembly to the outer tube. Allen head screws and only four of them. How could I mix this up? Couldn't. After disconnecting the wire to the head so it could be raised, nothing to it. Drive head removed from the outer tube and raised for access to gear to apply grease.

When working on the head it looks like I need to order some parts. The courtesy lights, both of them, need replacing. The drive motor leaks melted grease through the power switch so need to check for seals to that. If I have to buy much it might be cheaper to buy a new jack.

Anyway, now the jack does run smoother, it wasn't the battery after all. All in all a productive few hours.

 

[Sunline Fan]

Just a couple days after I put my new tires on, I put my hand on the jack top (with little force) as I bent down to connect the chains when hooking up. The cover cracked and started tipping away from me. Fortunately the crack is just going up the one side, but the light seems to want to fall out the side now, but it hasn't yet. I got a new cover a couple years ago from the dealer I worked at (they hadn't sold any replacement covers and were going to throw them out/write them off), but it doesn't have the sticker on it. I may have to put the new cover on anyway if the cover cracks more. I may try to repair the old one first to see if I can get more life out of it.

 

[justatourist]

Was your top plastic or aluminum? Mine is all aluminum.

I guess I should have posted that my jack is the ULTRA 3002 with the optional light assembly. The lights that need to be replaced are like the license plate lights used on truck bumpers. They do have a rubber washer on them to waterproof the opening. the rubber seal has deteriorated in the grease. New lights coming up in the future. That project looks to be disassemble the head to get at the wiring. NOT fun.

 

[Sunline Fan]

Was your top plastic or aluminum? Mine is all aluminum.

I guess I should have posted that my jack is the ULTRA 3002 with the optional light assembly. The lights that need to be replaced are like the license plate lights used on truck bumpers. They do have a rubber washer on them to waterproof the opening. the rubber seal has deteriorated in the grease. New lights coming up in the future. That project looks to be disassemble the head to get at the wiring. NOT fun.

It's black plastic. The jack was on a previous trailer of mine, so it sat out in the sun for a while, uncovered, before me. I think the lights are the same as yours or very similar. It's a Barker/H&H jack, but I forget the model number because it isn't clearly labeled on the jack. I think it's a 2000# though.

 

[justatourist]

I see. This one is a Ulra-Fab all aluminum head. I bet the grease inside boils in this Florida sunshine. No wonder any seals are shot.

Edited to add picture of jack head with cover in place, no plastic covers. This is a view from the street side of the TT.

 

[Really-SUN]

Today we finished reframing the front with new wood and reinstalled the front sindow and rock guard track with all new butyl tape. And, I took out the tiny window at the top above the front bunk and removed and resealed it too. The factory tape was still on it and whoever put on the piece across the top didn't take the paper off - so it wasn't even really sealed.

We used all new screws and I scrubbed the windows before we put them up. It looks much better.

We're hoping to get the floor 'joists' replaced tomorrow and to at least disassemble the door and see what we'll need to buy to rebuild it. It is in sorry shape.

I really want to go camping.

 

[Sunline Fan]

Is this anyone on here? Spotted it today on US-23 around Fenton, MI. Appears to be a '00-'01 2753. Considering it looks like it has one of those fifth wheel decals from Stoltzfus on the back, the owners must have been here at some point.

 

[justatourist]

Those rear drag wheels almost look familiar.

 

[Mellow Yellow-SUN]

Hooked up the generator yesterday and tried it out. It runs the AC just fine. Hard to go back into the house, which has no AC.

We checked out Emerald Lake State Park in Dorset, VT. A lovely lake not far from us. We'll camp there in a couple of weeks and try out the "non-hookup" part of camping. We've done it many times with tent and pop-up, but it will be a new adventure with the trailer. I think we understand switching things over and the generator is pretty easy. We can only use it a couple of hours each day.

When you all switch to LED lights, you mean replacing the bulb with an LED and leaving the fixture as is? We'd like to do just a few in the camper.

 

[photokit]

I hooked up my solar panel and ipod too

Today i hooked up my 50 watt solar panel to my deep cell and trickle charged the battery, just enough to test the ipod fm transmitter and interior lights. This week i scored a wd hitch at our local habitat for humanities and will soon be up and running. The T1850 is in cherry shape. I also removed one of the plastic bumpers and cleaned it up to get it ready for new silicone caulk. Having fun playing in it in the storage lot while i get the brake controller installed too.

 

[Really-SUN]

I ripped out more rotted wood, of course! We should be to the putting new wood back in stage next weekend, which is kind of a landmark.

 

[photokit]

Today I cleaned up the black "bumper"

There was lots of goo sticking out of the camp-side bumper. I know that the silicone will extend beyond the edges of it, but it looked really bad and had lots of sun damage. So now that I've removed the bumper, and cleaned up the silicone from the black plastic and the camper sides I'm ready to reinstall. Do you have favorite silicone sealer for this job?

 

[jakebrake-SUN]

We finished the deep cleaning the other day. Just put the last of the of the curtains back in place.