1998 HiLo 28B Classic Semi-Rebuild Project

I also inspected the cables underneath, and they all look excellent. No corrosion, no fraying. They looked a bit dry, so I sprayed the whole length with PB Blaster spray... cables and pulleys.

Anyone know if the pulleys are steel? I think they are.... hoping.

I mentioned that I would post the products that we are using for the roof and the walls.

We first used Black Jack Roof-Patch Elastic Crack Sealer and Repair to fill all the voids in the seams, the edges around the roof vents, and along each end cap, and the side gutters.



Then, we used the Black Jack Ultra-Roof 1000 as the roof paint to seal the entire roof (this will be used in two coats), and we coated the fiberglass A/C Cover with this as well.



Finally, we are using the 3M Contact Cement, number 77 to glue the fiberglass shell to the foam where it has separated a bit around the windows. Number 77 is guaranteed to adhere to the foam, and not melt the foam. We are also using general contact cement (not aerosol) rolled onto the foam and the back sides of the interior paneling. This should hold the paneling nicely together.

We went over and put the second and final coat of roof paint on, and removed the perimeter tape and plastic (we had to lightly scribe lines at the edge of the blue tape so as not to lift any of the paint).

We then finished stripping the foam inside on the door wall that we will be recovering this weekend.

Finally, I was able to document the process of fixing one of the Jalousie windows. The largest window (door side, 60" wide by 26" tall) had a problem where the three louvered panes of glass would just flap open and closed while driving down the road, which allowed rain, etc, to blow in while driving. The previous owners had known of this issue, and said that the window had been like that for many years.

The best part about this, was that the gear box that opens and closes these louvered sections, was fine, but the torque arms had no center sections left, so they would just spin on the cross bar. Below are some pictures showing the repair process.

First, I removed the gear box and cross bar by drilling out the pop rivets. Then I removed the C-clips that held the torque arms to the linkages that connected to the three glass panes.





As you can see below, the torque arm on the right has no cross section, allowing it to freely spin on the cross bar. The new kit came with two new torque arms.

More pics in the next post since we are limited to only 4 per post.....

Here are two pics of the kit that I ordered... $15 shipped





Here I have remounted the gear box with pop rivets:

I only used the torque arms and the C-clips from this kit, the rest I discarded.

Here is the finished window... works perfectly, all for $15

Window repair

I was just wondering while you had the window out if you reinstalled it with butyl tape and caulk around the outside. Good to know you can get repair parts for a window. It was a cheap fix compared to the cost of a new window. The rubber on the exterior will clean up with what you use to clean up the exterior of the trailer. Coat the rubber with Son of a gun or a like product. You will get all this little fussy stuff when the weather breaks. Right now the wind is strong and we keep getting snow showers in burts and then the sun comes out,30 dergrees.

Yes, we reinstalled both windows with Butyl tape around the whole perimeter. They sealed up very nicely.

We got a ton of work done today, completely finished the inner wall. We decided to use the mahogany, and cover it with a nice wall paper that complemented the color scheme well. We have redone the whole living quarters except for the front end section, which will be done tomorrow.

So, today we glued the supporting plywood into the groove in the foam:






Then we got the mahogany glued into place:

Then we installed the wallpaper on both walls, and installed the windows last.

Tonight we are actually covering the lower rail covers with the same wallpaper as the walls, then tomorrow we will wall paper the front end, and prime the area around the front window so that we can paint it an accent color.

My final project today involved the lower bracket of the awning... the one at the back of the trailer. The previous owner had an issue with the wind, where he had left the awning out, and something had really tweaked the lower bracket to the point where it pulled out the bolts from the lower rail. It had been repaired with some wood screws but the problem never really addressed well, as the aluminum on the underside of the rail had been bent real bad. Here is a picture showing what it looked like before I started. I used a plate of 1/4" aluminum to disperse the pressure on the inside, then installed 5/16 x 2" stainless lag bolts into the rail. This got the lower bracket positioned correctly, and so firmly that I doubt we will have any other issues with it.

Here are the pics, showing before and after:

Restoration

You are really cranking the work out. Where did you get the wallpaper at? Not many places have wallpaper any more.

So true... fortunately, Lowes still stocks some wallpaper, and they had a nice little selection actually. We got some that had some texture, and initially we were going to do the paintable stuff, but then we changed our mind and decided to get some that has a light tan color, with light green leafy outlines. It really matches the green accents well.

Wallpaper /painting

Something to consider,Have your primer tinted one shade lighter than your paint color.

roof repair

sam said:

I was just wondering while you had the window out if you reinstalled it with butyl tape and caulk around the outside. Good to know you can get repair parts for a window. It was a cheap fix compared to the cost of a new window. The rubber on the exterior will clean up with what you use to clean up the exterior of the trailer. Coat the rubber with Son of a gun or a like product. You will get all this little fussy stuff when the weather breaks. Right now the wind is strong and we keep getting snow showers in burts and then the sun comes out,30 dergrees.

Click to expand...

Sam,

I would like a clarification on the above response to vdubn. I did not see a follow-up response from him. Had vdubn responded positively insofar as using the 'butl tape', were you going to commend his using it or recommend that he use something different?

I am in the final stages of getting the roof ready for the repairs I am going to do. I have fought the urge to only concentrate on the roof, rather than the aesthetics on the trailer, but today, I couldn't restrain myself. I had to take off the rain deflector over the slide-out, for I could not bear to see the black 'emergence' that was all over the deflector and below it on the side wall.

I have come to the conclusion that the butyl tape [a caulk that is pre-prepared and wrapped in a wax paper] is the cause of most, if not all, the black streaks that stream down the RV after every rain.

I asked the local Pro-Builder technician for butyl-tape, and this is what I got. A coil of a 1" strip of a ribbon of caulking attached to a wax paper. Is this what you had reference to? And if it is, were you going to caution vdubn about using it or encourage him to use something else?

Everywhere I have seen the factory installed gray caulking material, I see black streaks down the walls. I bought a coil of the 'butyl tape', [if that is what it actually is], but I will not use it, instead, I have purchased a couple of tubes of "Big Stretch", by Sashco of Colorado, white caulking/sealant that I will use on all the external roof and sidewll penetrations and the gutters.

I plan on removing all the windows, and removing the sealant the factory used, as it all results in black streaking down the outside wall.

I woud like comments and responses on this. I will begin the application of the elastomeric paint on our Hi Lo roof sometime this week.

I will not post new pictures tonight. For some reason, no one has seen or responded to my previous posts on roof repair since it was moved last month. I would have thought that I am not the only one who is experiencing this problem and that the post would have generated more interest.

Jerry Curtis
2406 Towlite

Advice on butyl tape,caulking

We were able to purchase our Butyl Tape from our RV dealer. It comes in two widths. Hubby is sleeping so I can,t ask him what our size was that we used. It is a grey foam tape that is sticky on both sides. One side has a paper backing that you peel off as you apply. Simply press in place. I have never had this cause black streaks. We sometimes used two rows to seal the sides of our window. Then when you put the window back in the trailer some butyl tape will squish out and that is okay. You can eith trim off the excess right away or leave the window a day or so to calm down. After you have trimmed the excess buty tape away then you caulk around the exterior window. We used Lexell caulk that we got at Ace hardwear. I think is was clear. I can,t comment on the two proposed products you bought as I am not familiar with them. Do a search of Rv places on the internet to get a picture of the butyl tape. It is a flat tape. My trailer is still at my Moms house or I would take and post a picture for you. We used goo gone to remove residue around the window where the old butyl tape was. You don"t have to get every speck of old butyl tape off. Googone takes the residue off the trailer. Then follow with your usual cleaner and let dry before you install the window. Then when you travel the screws on the interior trim ring could loosen up from the road vibration so it is a good idea to check and retighten as needed. You are right that several have done roof replacement. We didn"t have to do any roof repair. Some owners have gone to their dollar store and purchased awesome liquid cleaner,might be good for black streaks. We get black running down oursidewall when we wash the roof. I hope my little blurb has helped you. Best of luck with your repairs.

Butyl tape

Dh,just got up to let out our fickled cat. Male bonding. He says the butyl tape is 2". It is flat.

The tape that I used is standard caulking/tape for encasement windows. Its almost like plumbers tape, is a light gray color and is 1/2" wide. I got some actual Butyl tape from an RV shop, and it was black, and much thicker, almost like eurothane sealer that is used around automotive windshields... I returned it and used the stuff I mentioned above. The black stuff probably would leave the black streak residue you speak of, but so will the standard black rubber seals found on later model trailers.

We used to have a 2007 Toy Hauler, and it had rubber gaskets that sealed the windows, and it had black streaks all over it. At the RV store, they sell a large spray bottle of black streak remover, for about $7, and it works awesome. I still have it, and once a year used it to remove black streaks. I don't think that the standard 1/2" tape I mentioned, will give black streaks, but it could. I find that a lot of the black stuff also comes from the stuff that collects on the roof.

I would be careful about using actual caulk around the windows, as I think its hard to make it look clean, and I don't think it adds any real protection over and above the encasement tape. Whatever you use, it just needs to remain plyable.

We went over and painted the front section around the window, and put all of the cabinet doors and speakers back in, and will be getting all of the window treatments installed this weekend, as well as the outrigger (finally).

Its been a real bear trying to figure out where to weld the outrigger, so that the top still rests on all of the cushions, without positioning the outrigger too low in the wheel well. There isn't a lot of space in there, so I want to be careful where I mount it. I will get some pictures of where I plan to mount it, and also the clearance on the front tire, so that I can get some comments.

One last thing, on my 60" wide window in the front, on the door side, I appear to be missing the blind, does anyone know where to get replacement blinds for these HiLo's?

Finally, I am scanning in the owners manual for my 1998 Classic 28 ft trailer tomorrow, and will post it in the Manual section for others.

I also have fixed a number of the little issues with the trailer that have been bothering us (and the previous owners) for a while. One of the issues, was that the Freezer door inside of the refrigerator would not stay up, it would always flop down whenever you open the fridge.

So, today I found the culprit, the right side hinge/spring mechanism was broken, so I ordered new hinge cases for both sides, at $8 each. Not bad to fix an annoyance.

I have one leveling jack that is totally bent, and broken, does anyone know where to get a replacement jack for our HiLo's? I know I could rig up a newer style, but not sure that it would work as well as the ones that came with the trailers.

Blinds

The blind you need to reolace can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowes. You can probably take the same big one from the other side of the trailer with you. Youm possibly could order it over the internet. You will want to have the blind wand on the left side away from the door. The advantage to going into a store is they can match width and length and get you a metal blind vs. plastic. Have them order you a shorter wand. When I needed a blind years ago I brought the blind to my interior designer and she ordered what I needed.

Reinstalling windows

Years ago we reinstalled our large dinette window with two inch butyl tape and have had no trouble with black streaks. The inside rim of the window where the buty tape is applied is quite wide and I can"t see where !?2 tape would give you enough coverage. Our Rv dealer that has been selling HILos forever also told us to seal the exterior window with caulk. JR also follows this procedure. Different points of view and that is okay. Typo 1/2 inch tape.

Our blinds are actually green cloth, and they are held at the top and bottom, and actually have three positions, open, closed with one layer (lets some light through), and closed with both layers (lets little light through). They are very nice, they slide up and down instead of a rod on the side that rotates to open and close them. They are accordian-like in shape.

Hopefully I am describing it accurately.