'97 Aerolite Travel Trailer Renovation - YouTube Web Series

[Katammers]

I've made this thread to document the process of renovating my '97 Aeroite 21' travel trailer for anyone interested. I'm also doing a web series on YouTube and will be posting the links to the videos that I make. 

So far I've gutted most of the accessories (curtains, cushions), the main seating area/dinette, and the top bunk. I've had some flooring issues that I've had to deal with and I'm also currently prepping the entire interior for repainting.  

The future of the project involves re-doing the upholstery on the bench cushions, constructing a desk/dining table, renovating the bathroom (vanity, sink, redoing the tub, etc.) and adding storage and other things I need to live. My dad helps with the heavier physical-labor things and serves as adviser and general negative-Nancy. 

Part one discusses the beginning of construction where I tore out the seating area and my plans for what I'll be constructing in the dining area.



Part two talks about the mold testing that I did because we had a major leak and a soaked floor that set back my progress.



I'll keep this thread updated and I'm happy to answer any questions anyone has about what I've done so far. 

 

[Gary68]

can you post some pictures here for the low bandwidth folk?

 

[DannyB1954]

Welcome to the forum. I think you will find a lot of useful information here. Between all of us old guys and gals here, we probably have a century or two of experience.
Water damage is all too common in RV's. Trailers in particular seem to have troubles. They are made in about 6 hours on an assembly line using the thinnest of materials. As it bumps and sways going down the road things loosen up. Manufacturers use the cheapest caulk available because when new it looks good to the buyer, and by the time it fails the rig is out of warranty. By the time the owner finds the dry rot, it is just time to buy a whole new trailer. The Egg trailers, (fiberglass molded to look like a oblong egg), have the least problems with leaks.
Water can come in through roof seams and fixtures, vent pipes, etc. It sometimes comes in at one end, then runs all the way to a different area before coming through the ceiling. It also can come in through window openings, indoor plumbing leaks etc. Silicone sealant does not seem to do well over the long term. Do yourself a favor and never use it. Sikaflex sealant is a much better product, ( they have several different ones depending on what you are doing, I like the 252. It is also a adhesive). It is a one part polysomethingorother. https://www.emisupply.com/catalog/s...gclid=CLOsic3iotECFQwLaQodtQUBcA#.WGnqv_krLb0 The moisture in the air causes it to set, so be sure to seal the tube real good if you don't use it all. Some people use electrical wire nuts to cap the end. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Winged-Wire-Connector-Assortment-25-Pack-775329/202894250 In your first video you showed that the floor was the last project that you wished to address. As you may now realize, if the floor isn't good, most everything else will have to come out to repair it.



This video will help you inspect your rig.

 

[Katammers]

can you post some pictures here for the low bandwidth folk?

Absolutely! I'll take some better ones than these at some point. 


Here's the starting point of the trailer. This is the dinette section that I've demoed - the center and right side of the seating area are gone, as is the table, and the top cabinets (I'm using it as an open shelf rather than cabinetry so I took off the doors). 



This is the bunk area. I've removed the top bunk completely at this point. The dining area also converted into a queen size sleeping section but it's only me in this thing and I wanted to maximize my storage/working space so I really only need that bottom bunk for sleeping.



Here's the bathroom which I 99% hate. I was thinking about taking out the tub but that is going to be a lot of work so if I can just resurface the tub that will do.

 

[Katammers]

Welcome to the forum. I think you will find a lot of useful information here. Between all of us old guys and gals here, we probably have a century or two of experience.
Water damage is all too common in RV's. Trailers in particular seem to have troubles. They are made in about 6 hours on an assembly line using the thinnest of materials. As it bumps and sways going down the road things loosen up. Manufacturers use the cheapest caulk available because when new it looks good to the buyer, and by the time it fails the rig is out of warranty.  By the time the owner finds the dry rot, it is just time to buy a whole new trailer. The Egg trailers, (fiberglass molded to look like a oblong egg), have the least problems with leaks.
Water can come in through roof seams and fixtures, vent pipes, etc. It sometimes comes in at one end, then runs all the way to a different area before coming through the ceiling. It also can come in through window openings, indoor plumbing leaks etc. Silicone sealant does not seem to do well over the long term. Do yourself a favor and never use it. Sikaflex sealant is a much better product, ( they have several different ones depending on what you are doing, I like the 252. It is also a adhesive).  It is a one part polysomethingorother.  https://www.emisupply.com/catalog/s...gclid=CLOsic3iotECFQwLaQodtQUBcA#.WGnqv_krLb0  The moisture in the air causes it to set, so be sure to seal the tube real good if you don't use it all. Some people use electrical wire nuts to cap the end. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Winged-Wire-Connector-Assortment-25-Pack-775329/202894250 In your first video you showed that the floor was the last project that you wished to address.  As you may now realize, if the floor isn't good, most everything else will have to come out to repair it.



This video will help you inspect your rig.

Thanks so much for the advice! Yeah, my initial plan has kind of gone....a little out of order. But this is a learning process for me and I'm just enjoying doing it.

I actually think I've found the source of the leak. Upon inspecting the back of the trailer I found water pooling around the hot water tank. It turns out it hadn't been winterized properly and the water in the tank had frozen, split the tank, and then when the weather got warmed all the water came out. We're drying out the floor and working on making those repairs now.

 

[ArtW]

Looks a lot like my TT, reversed (my bunks are on driver's side, tub on passenger side
Welcome!

 

[Cammalu]

There are some products you can use on rotted wood that make the wood stronger than it previously was. I bought some at Home Depot a while back. Works like a charm


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[galladanb]

Hi Kat! First, THANK YOU for your service!!!!! I was in the US Army back in the late 70's, I served in Belgium at SHAPE HQ!

We are also just starting out in this wonderful new to us lifestyle!
Heck the Wife even suggested we begin the "PURGE" in order to head towards full timing...
Go Figure!

Luv your efforts and enjoyed the videos! Is there a way to make the vid intros shorter? we can discuss that off topic if you wish?

Anyway, progress is a slow beast that we are trying to overcome on our project... Temps here in Tn have not been in our favor and now comes the rain...
Then there is always the budget issue... BUT wait, That's my sad story!!! LOL!!!

Good luck moving forward and I'm looking forward to seeing your next video's!!!

U ROC! Semper FI!

 

[DannyB1954]

There are some products you can use on rotted wood that make the wood stronger than it previously was.  I bought some at Home Depot a while back.  Works like a charm


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I used penetrating epoxy on boats and it does work good. https://www.jamestowndistributors.c...yword=cpeskw&gclid=CIS00pvzptECFYM0aQodOsoDoA   Something you need to do is make certain the wood is completely dry. This is harder than it seems. The end of the board will dry out quicker than a little further down the board. The part you see may be dry, but how far does the rot really go? 

Dry rot is a little confusing. It actually requires moisture. It is caused by a type of fungus that  actually eats what holds the wood fibers together. The area may appear to be dry, but occasionally it needs to get at least damp for the fungus to survive. What the epoxy does is replace what has been eaten in between the fibers. 

In the OP's case I believe it was a one time leak, (water heater), so dry rot is not likely. The fungus needs water on a regular basis to survive, (moisture from the morning dew, rain, etc).

 

[Katammers]

I used penetrating epoxy on boats and it does work good. https://www.jamestowndistributors.c...yword=cpeskw&gclid=CIS00pvzptECFYM0aQodOsoDoA   Something you need to do is make certain the wood is completely dry. This is harder than it seems. The end of the board will dry out quicker than a little further down the board. The part you see may be dry, but how far does the rot really go? 

Dry rot is a little confusing. It actually requires moisture. It is caused by a type of fungus that  actually eats what holds the wood fibers together. The area may appear to be dry, but occasionally it needs to get at least damp for the fungus to survive. What the epoxy does is replace what has been eaten in between the fibers. 

In the OP's case I believe it was a one time leak, (water heater), so dry rot is not likely. The fungus needs water on a regular basis to survive, (moisture from the morning dew, rain, etc).

Hopefully just a one time leak! Nothing looks like dry rot so far so I have my fingers crossed. I'm glad we caught the problem in time. Thanks!

 

[Katammers]

Update: There are two new videos up.

This one is just me painting some cabinets:

This one covers the work we did to re-enforce the floor by building a metal frame underneath the structure:

We're planning on adding more braces underneath the floor. Unfortunately the weather here has turned sour and trailer work has been very unpleasant. We won't be able to make any progress until it warms up or the weather improves.

In the mean time, I've been stuck inside making curtains! My original design was a roman shade pully-system. However, that method isn't going to work for some of the longer curtains so I switched to hacking some roller shades. I'm planning on doing a video tutorial of these later on. So far I have two. Pictures enclosed!

 

[Gary68]

was there prior water damage to the floor? a one time soaking wont harm it much,might mess up some of the veneers but the floor should be o.k.

i would add a couple screws/bolts to the angle iron your dad did,i just dont trust glues

and of course,more pics,more pics

 

[Katammers]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Update:[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So it's been both a few slow and exhausting weeks. The weather was really bad for a while with a lot of snow and below freezing temperature which made working on the undercarriage and floor difficult. But I've made good progress this week so here's a few updates:[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We're almost done replacing the floor with 1/2 treated plywood. This has involved taking up all the old flooring to the foam which is a pain in the butt because it just crumbled into pieces. We only have to finish the bathroom square tomorrow and the floor will be sturdy AF. [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Basically what we do is take up the old flooring, measure, cut the plywood, glue it down and then weigh everything down with ammunition (because we're in the Midwest, of course) until the glue is dry. [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Other than that:[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In the bathroom we discovered mushy wall behind the medicine cabinet and along the edge. You will see in the photo that our solution to this was to jab it full of holes and fill them holes with lots and lots of glue. Pretty much 90% of my trailer is glue now. It worked though and the wall is solid. [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]We've torn out the vanity and while waiting to be able to work on the floor I've got most surfaces in the trailer prepped for painting. [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Also, the ceiling above the shower is very soft and we're not sure of the solution to that yet. We will probably just end up filling it with glue. [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I've got a TON of work left and feeling a bit nervous about being able to complete it all but I'm just going to keep pushing forward. No new videos yet but an update coming soon.[/font]

 

[highdesertranger]

judging by what you are using for weight on that new floor, I am not arguing anything. just kidding, looking good. highdesertranger

 

[Katammers]

Here's a quick update of what I've been working on today, refinishing the tub:

 

[Katammers]

New video in which I talk about the new floor and some other updates:



I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

 

[Katammers]

Update:

Here's the full video for refinishing the tub:



Here what else is going on:

1. I refinished a shelf today, that will be a nice video. Also shelf paper is a pain in the ass.

2. So back when we first began I decided that I wanted to remove that....headboard area thing to make more space. What better idea to do this than just by cutting things apart willy nilly? Well, it turns out the middle of that headboard houses my propane tanks. We ended up with what you see in picture 1. Then we had to deal with the floor. 

Now we're back on the headboard and are converting it into a long shelf with a hinge desk. What to do with that gross area on the left? Convert it into an under-desk shelf and hide everything gross looking beneath it Problem solved. We placed brackets (picture 2) to rest the shelf on and slid some nice board in place that will match the rest of the desk. (Picture 3)

The desk is what I'm looking forward to completing the most.

 

[Katammers]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Alright![/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So some good progress: We've finished converting the dinette area into a desk/working area. I'm super happy with it. [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Here's a video documenting the process: [/font][font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LdsEQZCjv8&t=119s[/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]And below is the before and after photo of the area. [/font]

[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I've ordered supplies to fix the roof and those should be arriving soon![/font]

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Looking good! Amazing what a little paint will do too, still can't believe the ugly decor they shove into RV's and get away with it.

 

[ArtW]

nice work!