towing with a 2010 DC toyota Tacoma 4x4

Hi Sam,

What did you do with the Windows where the stuff the factory used is squished out, unsightly and in some spots crumbly?

Jim

Window butyl tape renewal.

I would take the window out and scrape the old butyl tape away and replace with fresh butyl tape. Replace window and recaulk on the exterior with Lexell caulk. Any windows that have been in for ten years need this treatment. Then cut off excess butyl on the exterior with a old butter knife. Then go ahead and use Lexell caulk on the exterior to reseal. This is easily a two person do it yourself job. Takes a couple of hrs. Maybe and can easily be done by a DIYSer. Do a search of you tube videos for this procedure. We did every window in our HiLo. The bonus is with the window out you can see the condition of your walls. (hopefully no water dammage). Set the window on saw horses to work on it. Clean the exterior fiberglass of residue with goo gone. Then your favorite cleaner,rinse and dry. Alcohol is a good cleaner to remove residue. Flat stiff putty knife is needed to gently pry trim ring off and window on exterior from side wall. Need two scrapers,garbage can,glass cleaner. I like foam glass cleaner and micro rags. Rags/paper towels. Thats all except a good boom box or like device to make a boring job easier. The first window you do is scary and then after that you get pro status!! Need step stool or shorter ladder. Let me know if you need any further directions. While we were at it we replaced all rusty screws with stainless steel ones. Take out one and order same size. We always buy a box of 100 screws. Remove a smuch of the butyl tape as you canthen clean with alcohol. Doesn't have to be perfect.

Resealing windows.

Note to self,Don't use wife's good butter knife as this could result in a lump of coal in the christmas stocking. Our fiberglass is wavy 1990. We wrapped the butyl tape around twice to fill in the void. Depends on the year and what siding material you have. Can't remember if we had to use double on all windows. The old black stuff from the factory squishes out and looses its effectiveness. Buy the time you realize you have a window leak you most likely will have major wall dammage. Best of luck with your repairs.

Hi Sam,
Thanks for the tips.
My mom once said that for a few winters back in the thirties she would have been happy with a lump or more of coal in her stocking, the less she and her siblings would have to find along the railroad tracks.

Take care all and have a nice week.

Happy thanksgiving

Hi and I hope you have a happy thanksgiving.

I will be sleeping in the hi lo tonight and tomorrow night as the house is full. Tonight 45 tomorrow night 27, not going to bother with heat, I think the big orange Marmot down bag i use for winter camp outs with my scout troop will keep me toasty.

Take care,

Jim

Thanksgiving in the HiLo.

I hope your plan to keep warm works. Gee ,what would you have done if you didn't purchase the HiLo? If you get cold you can have the roof vents somewhat open and light up your oven. Then keep the oven door open. You should be able to plug into a 15 or 20 amp line at your house to run your furnice. It won't take that much propane at night. We ran our furnice in dec.,jan, and feb. while we were doing our restoration. Even in the coldest run of 24 /7 we only had to fill up one 30lb propant tank every 3 days. We get cheap propane at the nearest Indian reservation(no tax). If my memory serves me correctly it was $9.50 a fill up.

Hi Sam,

I could plug in, I could use the furnace, I could bunk in the heated shop but...I am just weird! Gives others something to talk about. I've always liked sleeping in the cold, I've got a good down bag, it will only be in the upper thirties tonight and upper twenties tomorrow night.

Up early and put the bird in the oven, have a nice t-day.

Jim

Sleeping in the cold.

I have a down sleeping bag. I think it is rated for -20. Haven't used it in years.You can actually wake up sweating in it. Went inside ourHiLo today and it felt colder than outside. Glad it was a short time in there. Mymother 81 years young and my sister do the cooking. We get KP duty and this works for me. I just do my mom and sister some favors throught the year.

Towing mirrors

Hi,

Finally a couple of manufacturers have noticed how popular Tacomas are .

If you had a problem with the mud flaps breaking off as I did (while still under 36K miles but not covered under warrantee as they are considered a wear item) Weather Tech has stepped up and made a direct replacement. The front are shorter and both front and rear used the factory screw holes.

And for those wanting a towing mirror, ProEFX has direct fit set just out. You can check them out at Tacoma World forum just search for ProEFX towing mirrors. They are available in black or chrome, powered, non powered, heated or not heated.

Jim

Clementine to the rescue

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. The Hilo is tucked away in the heated shop, we are tucked away in the heated house, granddaughter is safely home from Greensburg, IN and Draco is bearing down on NE Iowa. Tomorrow Clementine (1990 Kubota 2550GST) will dig us out long before we can go anywhere.

Jim

Snow storm plan

Minicepter86,Good game plan. Stay inside and keep warm. Seems like the mid section of the USA is getting the brunt(blizzard) part of the storm. We have had all our snowblowers ready for a while. My brother is coming in from Cleveland,Ohio on the 21st. He better get on the road early as some lake effect snow is predicted for later on Friday. DH had to get the plow on the truck and get all the snowblowers ready at work. They have a heated garage.

Happy Holidays to all and to all many beautiful sunrises.

Our first snow of 2012 at our farm.

Jim and Sandy

Roof repairs

Hi,

I thought I would bring you up to date on my roof repairs. I have finished the interior portion and have it all back together. I'm satisfied with the work I did. Adding the aluminum bows to reinforce the tubing frame work eliminated most of the sag by the ac unit, it's still about 1" lower than the front section at the Panel seam behind the ac unit but it's a lot stiffer than it was before. To reattach the interior ceiling panel I used adhesive on the new foam and reinforcing bows and pop rivets. The pop rivets were painted white using an automotive touch up paint. Would I recommend this approach to others, probably not. It is not the result that you would get with a complete roof rebuild such as j&r would do but for me it was a good alternative for our first camper. I have less than $150 invested and several hours of good entertainment.

Other things I have done while its been in the shop:
Painted the tongue including the lp tank holder
Repaired the small crack at the outlet to the black water holding tank
Added support hangers for the black and grey water dump tubes
Caulked, caulked, caulked
Replaced the upper and lower cap screws with stainless steel
Attached the skirt to the support struts with pop rivets
Removed the tape residue from the skirting
Removed the cobbled weather stripping for the tip out ready for new from j&r
Added a rear hitch to haul my dirt bike on a hitch mounted hauler

Now I'm ready to tackle the roof exterior, caulk and tape in hand I will reseal around all the openings. I'll evaluate coating the roof while I'm up there but have questions about the $100 kool seal route or the $500 products. I might just wait and see how we like the rv experience before sinking anymore money into the trailer.

Happy new year

Jim

Jim

I sent you a private Message.

Rick

Hi Rick,

I PM you back.

Jim