I can see clearly now........

It's been a while since I posted last.  A lot has been going on, but not much worth posting.  A lot of things that take up a lot of time and are hard to see progress on.


  Probably the biggest landmark would be the rear window install.  I called several manufacturers and they would re-create the original roll out Jalousie styled window for ummmmmm......$600.

It's the big one Arthur........I can feel it!!!!

  Not gonna happen.  If this thing were some sort of a museum quality pice maybe, but at the end of the day.....it's still an old travel trailer.


So, go to plan B.  Make something happen.  This really doesn't warrant a step by step illustration.  Basically in a nutshell, I bought some aluminum U channel to use as a frame for the glass.

  I stopped by and saw a buddy of mine that works for a glass company.  He cut a piece of automotive  safety glass that would fit the frame and wrapped the edges in cork glass tape.  I sealed it in place and added a piece of aluminum angle to finish the outside edge, where it looked kinda funny.  Then I attached the angle with solid rivets to match the rest of the window. 


I installed all new putty tape when I reinstalled the window and then sealed it up with a silver silicone caulking to ensure it never leaks.


I was going to reinstall the window with solid rivets like the original, but I was afraid I would crack the glass, so I wussed out and used pop rivets. Is "wussed out" a word?  I have used it my entire life, it must be.


 Here's the final outcome.

The next thing I did was start on the trailer wiring.  This is holding everything up because, I can't do crap until I get the back wall reassembled.  I have most of the trailer lights in the rear of the cabin, so I figured that should be next.


Since 95% of all wiring problems end up being a ground, I did the thing that all over achievers do, run a ground for every light.  This made for a lot longer project and most people will say that it is unnecessary. 


 Well, who cares?  I don't want to have to be troubleshooting on the side of the road, when all I have is a coat hanger, an empty 7-11 Big Gulp cup and a broken shoe string.


Here's a bad picture of the harness.  

I bought 25' of wiring that is neatly wrapped in an insulation.  This makes it really easy to route the length of the trailer.  Since most everything is now LED, this wire will be overkill, but that's my middle name.

These all run to a junction box that is located under the bed, which is easily accessed through the outside baggage door.  I bought this thing for $15 off of E-trailer's website.  It has a lid that is weatherproof and seals up nicely.  This is out of the weather , so it should last forever. 


This thing has several rubber grommets you can remove, depending on how you want to mount it. 


This thing is cool.  This will allow me to troubleshoot at a junction point rather than trying to guess if the problem is downstream of the connection at the trailer.

It also will allow you to move terminals around for troubleshooting purposes.  It definitely gets the Hillbilly Jim thumbs up.

OK, so the lights are all working now and the wiring is tidied up. So now I need to insulate the back wall and re-rivet the interior walls.  This will allow Mama Root to paint the interior and get rid of that, let's call it,  "mammary gland" pink,  and no, I am not posting pics to illustrate...that takes a different kind of license.


The goal is to get most of the outside work done, so that we can work inside the trailer all winter.  The trailer is in the shop, but said shop has no heat. So we can heat the inside of the trailer way easier than the entire shop.  It doesn't get really cold here in Slackerville, but it does get down in the single digits for a few weeks. 


We have to stay focused.  The maiden voyage will be a 3,000 mile round trip adventure to Yellowstone this summer. 

Time is ticking......