Propane Systems

I think my propane lines are clogged and I smell a leak.  This camper starts with a regulator at the tank with a stripped knob, cracked hose, and feeds into a black pipe manifold and splits off to the Furnace, Water Heater, Refrigerator and stove from there.  It occurred to me that if I had more pressure, these things might work better.  I am not sure, but I dont think the stove and fridge have shut off valves.   The oven is not working...maybe the leak is there?

I would prefer a manifold system and each device plumbed with valve close or on the manifold, so that each system could be disconnected from the system without effecting the other systems.

Today I tested for leaks in the front half of the system and think about how to re-plumb this system.  This is a low priority for me since I may take the whole trailer apart which would make this easier.

Flooring

I ripped out all the tile on the floor area of the trailer.  So I will need to decide on replacement flooring.  I could use a synthetic wood floor or some kind of laminate.  If I take the whole camper apart, then I could use a marine teak and holly panel for the main floor area--my first choice. This fits with the yacht theme I have chosen for the camper.

Wiring Plan

Since I am thinking about using spray foam, my wiring plan needs to be well thought out and flexible as changes will not be easy later. All wiring will be home run wiring for reliability and maintainability.  Here is my first draft. Many of these thing will not be incorporated because of cost.

I might have to double up on some of these to keep the number of breakers sensible.  Or I could just get combined panel like this. Blue Seas 8084

I would also like to experiment with Wago terminations.  Perhaps in conjunction with a panel, or as a stand alone system.

DC Wiring
Main Breaker 30 Amps

1. Panel Lights
2. Computer Inverter
3. DC Outlets
4. Fantastic Fan
5. Ham Radio Transciever
6. Ham Radio Amplifier
7.  Ham Radio Accessories
8. IR Lights/Cameras
9. Power Jacks
10. Lighting--Interior, rear door, Int/Ext LED Strip lights
11. Refrigerator
12. Satellite TV
13. Wifi Booster
14. Spare
15. Spare

Charging Wiring:

1. Inverter/Charger
2. Solar Charging system
3. Wind Generator Charging system ??

AC Wiring

1. Air Conditioner/Heater
2. Heater (Radiant)
3. Plumbing, Battery, Tank heat tape
4. Inside/Outside Outlets/Microwave Oven
5. TV/Stereo Entertainment stuff
6. Water Heater

RF Wiring:
Ham Radio Antenna’s
  Dual band 2m/70cm,  6m, 10/11m, 40 m, 80 plus digital mode
  Satellite Antenna Pre-wire
  Antenna Rotators

Insulation

Since I am thinking about stripping out the entire interior, renewing the insulation is a good idea.  There is a thin layer of spray foam.  I'd like the maximum possible insulation.  My choice is closed cell foam insulation.  At R 6.2/inch, my 2" thick walls will have R 12.4.   This kit would do two campers.

  But with an aluminum shell and framing, the cold, or heat will conduct through the walls.  I think a thermal break is needed.  I like this product, but would prefer 2" wide material.

Stripping the inside would allow me to fix dents, seal seams using conventional sealant, aluminised ducting tape, and the closed cell foam.  It should be impossible for water to get in.  And it would be both warm and easy to cool with air conditioning.

One issue is maintenance.  This foam adds strength to panels and that means it will be hard to remove later.  Also wiring needs to be well planned because making changes will be much harder later.  My next post will list me wiring plan

Frame Tie Downs

The  wings that support the camper are made out of wood and one of them is  damaged, two others need new bolts.  The all need new brackets and backing plates. 

My plan is to add some thick flat aluminum plate on the outside and some square tubing, and new style brackets to mount modern electric jacks.  I will also add some backing to spread the load more. 

The will also involve removing some plywood under the sink--which means removing the stove, sink, counter and more, and one closet and the furnace on the other side.

If I have to take out all of this material, I  might as well take everything out and start over with more insulation.  I would value a support structure that is tough enough to hold up for a long time.

Here are the old brackets.  The 2nd and 3rd photos show the jacks attached.

Here is what I'd like for electric jacks.

 Atwood  jacks.  Four of these can handle 3900 lbs.  I'd actually like something beefier if possible.  I will keep looking.  In any event the brackets must be available for commercial campers, I may be able to find what I need commercially, which should be cheaper than custom made parts.

 

Front Window Seals

Here are the front windows, with the storm windows removed. 

Note the gaps on the seals!  

Is it old age and shrinkage, or do they have to be short to fit in when installed?

I need an expert!

 Note the rusted screws and rest stains.  I hate them!

Here is my water heater.   The line from top left to bottom right and continuing on is cold water.  The one starting top right to bottom left is hot water.

The small line is the propane feed.

Outside view.  The water heater is available in many configurations.  

Mine is the cheapest pilot light type heater.  There are model with DSI ignition, electric heating elements, and connections to hook up another heat source like a solar panels.

This one is a six gallon unit.  I have not tested it. 

Pressurized Water Tank

An interesting way to pressurize water.

This sealed vessel is pressurized by a small compressor which still works although the switch failed closed.  I had to cut the wire to shut it off!

Water enters and leaves this end.

Power Converter

The power converter is working.  I would not mind if it did not work because I have a new pure sign wave Xantrex 1800 Inverter/Charger I want to install.  I would have installed it already if not for the fact that I can't remove the old one without "clutch" screw bits to unscrew it.

I question in my mind is how to connect the inverter.  I downloaded a copy of the installation manual.  I think I have many of the cables and plenty of wire to install it.

For now it is not a huge rush since it is working.  6 Amps (RMS I assume) input on 115V AC, is converted into 30 Amps of 13.5 Volt direct current use. 

I would like to install two breaker panels for both AC and DC.  The present wiring is spaghetti wiring. I found two fuses 20Amps each on the input wiring and I assume the outside outlet.  I have not seen any fuses on the DC circuits.

 

Roof

After cleaning the pine needles off the roof, I went around an wiped down all the spots I missed from the bottom, and the whole drivers side which is not yet done except for the very top. 

You can see the silvery tar used to seal the roof.  Only the rivets and seams should have been sealed.  I'll remove all of this gunk and reseal the roof, while installing fans.

I would like to install solar panels on the roof.  I'd prefer to fair them in so they won't catch branches and offer less wind resistance.  My plan is to install them above the back passenger side corner and bring the wire in the back wall.  I want all wire and cables "enter" on the back wall top right corner with cable glands and some sort of rain deflector.  

This shows the front rain deflector for the front fan.  The silvery tar sealant was used everywhere.  Their must have been leaks somewhere if this was installed.  It needs to come off, but not before I am ready to do the other work like the fans.

In this one you can see the rivets showing.  I don't know what all this sealant weighs, but it is weight that can be removed, and sealing can be done where it is needed only.

Looking aft [below]. The brown mark is a stain left by pine needles that were decomposing on the roof.  In front of the ladder this area was patched and patched again.  I think the danger is climbing on the roof causes damage. 

Looking forward:  On the left is the vent for the stove and oven. I would like to either clean and paint this, or better yet, replace it with a stainless steel or aluminum piece.

Windows and Fastners

Clutch Bit needed to remove anything. One of my frat brothers is sending me two sizes he found in Massachusetts.  Otherwise I'd have to wait a week to get one online.

Front side with storm windows removed.  This was covered with dirt and mold.  Looks good now.  Note the ventilation cover on top.  Both vents are like that.  Rain can't get in unless there is a lot of wind, but there are no covers for these things.  So I need either two new fans or one new fan and an air conditioner.

Furnace.  Along with wiping down the whole camper, I polished the furnace portal also.

I did not polish the propane and battery access port on the bottom left, but I did wipe down the back side and polished the door frame.  I wiped down the edges of the roof, bent ladder, and luggage rail.  Still to do, the drivers side.

Dinette Windows.  For about $100 I can replace all the rusted "clutch" screws with stainless steel security torx. It would be nice to have the whole thing polished.  Now that I've wiped and polished some, I can think about hitting the whole thing with an acid wash.  I'd rather focus on other things first.  I think they look good now and I can move onto the other side and then more important things.

These are double pane windows fastened on with rusted metal clips. I broke all of these off to remove the windows.  I was able to get them fairly clean.  Without separating the two halves, I could not have gotten them clean.  So now I need to find a stainless steel clip to replace these broken rusted clips.  My long term vision is to remove and everything on the outside, including the windows and re-bed them with butyl tape or 4200.  With new stainless steel parts it should last a long time and look good.

I believe I have screens and storm windows for every window.  There is a great view sitting next to the fridge.  This spot on top of the hill has nice views and a pine grove nearby.  I had a few rocks in my path that I beat out with a sledge and crowbar. I laid a piece of slate and a board on my path to prevent mud tracks below this window.

The rusted bolts might clean up with an acid wash.

 

The backside, the entry door I just noticed is missing a pair of panes--each "pane" of this jalousie window is actually two thin panes.   The very top pair is missing.  Another pair is cracked and chipped.  

It is pretty hard to spot the missing top panes with the windows cranked out.  It was not until I tried washing it that I noticed it was missing.  I am wondering if I should replace all of these with a single lexan pane.

I looked at some old pictures and noticed it when the windows were cranked closed.

Bathroom

Here are some shots of the bathroom.  It looked bad at first, but cleaned up well.  Some of these may be duplicated elsewhere.  It wanted to be sure I had one page showing how well this cleaned up.

I don't think I took a picture of the bathroom -- before.  The counter was covered in dirt. The walls looked really bad.  The remaining stain will clean up, I just need to go back and hit that streak again.  

The cabinet is rusty and could be cleaned up and painted.  I will probably just toss it and buy a new one.   Or maybe I'll paint it and use it for a while.  Or maybe I'll just toss it out right away to save weight.  Most likely I'll gut the whole bathroom, if not the whole interior and start over.

The area around the sink looks dirty still.  It was too tight to get in and clean without a toothbrush.  Also, caulk was used everywhere to seal water in--it is a shower too.

I am wondering what to do about the shower pan which is also a tank to store gray and perhaps black water too.  I am leaning towards taking it out.  I would like to have a nice bathroom--just haven't decided what I want there.  It might be good to have a tank underneath the camper attached to a hitch extension.  I would prefer to have more headroom in the shower, as the tank takes up about 5" of space, or more.

Shower head looks ok.  I still need to clean this window.  It is the hardest to reach.  The back wall of the shower has popped loose a few rivets and the whole wall is warped.  It will need to be removed.  The side wall is ok, but I will probably rip that out as well.  For now it looks ok.  I did rip out the ceiling which was falling apart.

Here is the shower pan.  The head is gone and there is a board blocking it off.  I have no idea what the wires are for.  Perhaps it was an electric head?

More Clean Up

More cleanup pictures.

Here is the roof as I was sweeping off the pine needles.  Before on the top, after a section I'd already swept off.

This area is opposite the door from the bathroom.  It also has water damage and what looked like a squirrels nest in the sagging ceiling.  I ripped all that out and also the bottom shelf of the hanging locker which covered the propane and battery locker.  I forgot to clean those walls.  By the way, one of the two propane tanks was nearly full.  It seems the pressure is weak so perhaps something is clogged.  I smell some propane so I probably have a leak somewhere.

All of the wiring seem to be working.  I have not tested everything.  This