Time for Caulking

[Rick Humphreys]

The restoration of our 1990 Hi-Lo is progressing nicely. We lubricated the lift mechanism, stripped the rust off all the hitch parts and repainted them. Then we removed all of the old stripes and decals with a putty knife and heat gun, followed up with a citrus based paint stripper to remove the glue, then acetone. (Note: directions said not to use the stripper on fiberglass, but it worked great with no damage). The old girl is starting to look pretty good!

I have ordered Dicor roof sealer and self leveling lap sealant for the rubber roof. Next step is to remove the old caulk from the vertical seams and re-caulk. I read somewhere not to use silicone caulk. My question- What kind of caulk should I use?

Thanks - Rick

 

[JackandJanet]

Rick, the consensus seems to be Lexel caulk, which you can find in Ace Hardware or online. I've used it. It is very durable, flexible and sticks extremely well.

- Jack

 

[Rick Humphreys]

Thanks Jack. I'll see if I can pick some up this weekend.

 

[Rick Humphreys]

We picked up the Lexel caulk, as Jack suggested and resealed all of the vertical joints. Also sealed the roof with the Dicor roof sealer. I applied the sealer with a paintbrush.... two coats and had a little left over. Rain this week has kept us from finishing the job of finishing repairs on the awning mount, relocating the battery and waxing the fiberglass. We leave for vacation next week, so it looks like some of the work will have to wait until July.

Many thanks to everyone who gave advice on this restoration project. After the exterior is done we are going to tackle the interior, and re-set the windows, so I'm sure I'll have more questions. I'll look forward to more input when we get started on that.

Rick

 

[sam-HILO]

Restoration

I have a 1990 25ft. Classic and we have done extensive wall rebuilding. If you need any guidance just ask. I would reset the windows and then do your wax job.

 

[Rick Humphreys]

Sam - Last week I remounted the bottom brackets for the awning and ran into some rotten wood in the walls. Using longer screws I was able to firm up the brackets, but I suppose I will eventually have to do some wall rebuilding. When I get to that I'm sure you will be hearing from me!... thanks for the offer of advice. - Rick

 

[sam-HILO]

Awning bracket reinforcement

Some where in the back posts is a section on reinforcing the awning bracket area. I'll look it up tomorrow as I am very tired. Just came home from a weekend camping trip.

 

[Rick Humphreys]

Thanks Sam. Looks like my repair is holding for now, but it is not a permanent solution. The information you mentioned will prove helpful I am sure. - Rick

 

[sam-HILO]

Reattaching awning bracket

This is a post by Sam Shields on reattaching the awning bracket..7-31-2010. DH has done this repair and it has held up very well.

 

[Rick Humphreys]

I am new to this owners group and am unsure how to navigate around it. I entered "Sam Shields" in the search engine, then tried "awning bracket", but could not find the post you mentioned.

Could you maybe email me a link to that post? Rlhumphreys@aol.com Thanks.

 

[sam-HILO]

Reattaching awning bracket

I'm not real good with computers. Do a search using the date of the post and you will find what you are looking for.

 

[RichR]

Try this: http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f20/reattaching-awning-bracket-489/

 

[Rick Humphreys]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. - Rick