Friday, June 27, 2014

Ongoing Saga of the Old RV

Let me start off by saying my Adobe Flash plugin keeps crashing so no posting pictures. I have been taking progress pics of the 1989 Leisurecraft RV we purchased recently. We knew going in it needed a little work but man were we in for a surprise when we started tearing it apart! A leak up at the cab-over window had been disclosed but it actually entailed more repair then they told us. There was no structure left in that area so that meant adding metal and wood and redoing the whole edge cap on the outside and all the wood walls and ceiling inside. Then we noticed the outside vinyl on that side of the RV rippled so we peeled that back after taking out all the windows and found the wood was literally dripping wet! So we tore out all that wood and then re-laminated the vinyl back to the new walls, scraped and re-caulked and butyl-puttied the windows back in and sealed the whole roof edge with new metal and vinyl stripping. In the back master bedroom we started replacing the inside walls and ceiling. We then discovered the wood in there sopping wet so we are in the process of taking out the closets and cupboards and replacing all that wood. We have heaters going to help dry it out as we are having cool weather with showers. The one good thing we found was the nest of termites in the wall had been drowned bu all the water! We have the roof tarped till it stops raining so we can put the roof sealant on and the new various vents that we replaced up there. Lots of visits to the local RV parts store plus we are keeping FedEx and UPS in business! We joke that once we get all the repairs done we will have a brand new RV. At least we will know that everything is done right. And I haven't even got to go in and start the decorating! And I haven't got to camp in it yet! I would really love to take it to some vintage shows around the area plus maybe Roundtop Texas in September for the big antiques flea market? We are figuring it gets about fifty cents a mile so.... Will post pictures as soon as possible and let you see the progress. Wish me luck that we don't find more problems! Well. I spoke too soon. Just after I posted this Dan came in and said "guess what?" The vinyl roof is sopping wet and he can see daylight thru it in spots. So now we might have to replace the roof instead of just putting new sealant down. How long has this been leaking and why didn't the former owners (you know who you are) just be honest and do a full disclosure? I am very frustrated right now. I am just grateful that Dan is able to do the work but he should be out enjoying it instead of working on it!