BigJohnD's Mods to 28BHBE

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

I used the F9991 on previous rigs with the Dicor EPDM roof. This time I used the supercoat for TPO / F9951. I called Pro Guard and discussed the manf. / type of roof and what I was doing. You won't find the super coat in any RV stores though. I got it directly from them.

Refresher: What was the total cost on that particular project?

I've seen a few guys Eternabond all their seams, but you speak highly of this particular application, and I can see a lot of ways it might actually be easier than Eternabond.

Only thing I would like it to do that Eternabond does is get around the corners around the edges and wrap down under the gutters. Alas, this is a project that will unfortunately be put off for some time, but when the time comes, I'd like to get ALL the seams covered as best I can.

Side note: I had the dealer Eternabond my slide roof as part of a warranty repair, and I noticed just the other day that one of the edges has lost adhesion in at least one spot. I'll have to address that one sooner rather than later.

[Treatcg]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

I used the F9991 on previous rigs with the Dicor EPDM roof. This time I used the supercoat for TPO / F9951. I called Pro Guard and discussed the manf. / type of roof and what I was doing. You won't find the super coat in any RV stores though. I got it directly from them.

Guess I need to figure out which roof I have on my 2015 then.

[BigJohnD]

TreatCG, the 2015 should be the Dicor Diflex II TPO roof.


Bob, I can't remember the exact cost. The PG Liquid Roof is around $30 a quart. I usually use 2, and have some left over. If you're only doing seams, 1 quart is plenty. I do all the skylights though. It all depends on just how far you want to go. The super coat was a shade more cost wise. Even though my slide roof had the dicor version of Eternabond across the T-molding area, I still sanded all of it and coated it well. Everything that is coated is holding up really well. You can go over the side a little if you want. It is thick stuff, and will only run if you get crazy with it.

[BigJohnD]

Just got in from offshore yesterday evening, so really hadn't had time to do too much. Today, managed to get the new shoes put on (Maxxis M8008) and get the rig back on the ground. Also redid the under bunk heat utilizing a duct this time. The whole idea really was to get the heat back to the area with the black flush line, water inlet, outdoor shower, and get a little heat underneath the main shower.

[RedHorse1]

BigJohn, Excellent write up! Thanks for all the detail.
I've been pondering the wet bolt addition and have a question and I'd like your opinion.
Do you think using a "Trailer Aid" type jack to lift one wheel at a time would position the equalizer making removal of the shackles difficult?
I'm envious of your shop!

If anyone else wants to chime in on this I'd appreciate the comments.

[MIFL19H]

RE: Trailer Aid Jack.. I was wondering the same thing...

JD...

I saw you had a screen over your Heater Vent... how did you make that / attach it?

On our last camper we were in a Tropical Storm (while in Williamsburg, VA of all places) and it rained so hard sideways water came in that Vent hole and we ended up with water inside the trailer, so some way over covering it if need be is something I was trying to figure out.

[BigJohnD]

Sorry for the late reply. Have been trying to get things squared away with the rig and other trailer to get out of here. Was supposed to leave Tuesday, but rain plus the dirt road we live on didn't permit, plus the site we're going to was a little too wet. Tomorrow should be the day. All is in the shop locked and loaded ready to depart in the morning, finally. South LA, here we come, again.


RedHorse1 / Mike, I'm not sure how well the trailer aid would work. It's just so much easier to get the whole thing off the ground where everything can be lose and moved around a little. It just goes together so much easier. I have a feeling if you attempted that route, you'd have some choice words and detour to the jacking / blocking route. MorRyde had made the comment on my pictures that the way I had done it is the best and easiest way really. Personally, I'd be doing the method I did, just for simplicity and ease of installation. 2 - 12 ton bottle jacks I already had (purchased from Walmart), plenty of cribbing or jack stands, and I just walked the trailer up about an inch at a time with the help of my wife (one side up an inch and blocked, the other side up an inch and blocked etc etc. I raised the front jack a good bit before jacking where the end results would be somewhat level, and they were. If you plan to get it done asap and in a day, probably even better to leave it hooked to the truck as an extra safety measure. I needed the truck for work and took my time so it wasn't hooked up.



RedHorse1, I take it you don't have the auto level system on your Premier? I had it on our last rig, and of course that would've made life way to simple. Never happens that way in my shop.

Mike, the screen on the heater vent is one I had laying around from a Suburban water heater. I probably had at least 6 different screens, but over the last year I have used them on other peoples rigs. The bigger one I had that would've covered the whole thing was used on my father in law's rig last year. I secured this one the same as any other would be with the springs. It's not a permanent solution, just one of those "better something than nothing" solutions. I had planned to make a contraption similar to a vent shade design out of aluminum, but hadn't got around to it. So far, I hadn't got any water beyond the plastic piece you see if you remove the grill / exhaust tube from the outside. Sideways rains though, like you said presents a problem. I like Atwood water heaters, but honestly this design stinks compared to some of the previous ones I've had. I'll come up with something this year, and I'll for sure post what I do.

[RedHorse1]

BigJohn,
Thanks for the insight! The delay is no prob, the 5th is at our dealer for some end-of-warranty work.
My bearings will get serviced this spring and I'm thinking about the wet bolt change at the same time. Since I posted I've done some searching and now think the ramp might not be enough to lift the companion tire. Your observations and suggestions got me to realize that lifting one side could put things in a small bind (your reference to colorful language). Our 5th tips in at 12700# at the last weighing. I have 4 3 ton stands but the are most likely too short plus that many more lighter ones.
Your "cribbing" comments may be the thing, I have some but will likely need more.
That leaves the jacks, I have 1 large and one small floor jack and a bottle Jack that may be a bit small (it's in the 5th so I can't check).
So down the current thought line some cribbing and a (probably 2) bottle jacks are in order. I think I have the rest of the tools to get the job done, although for me no project can be called successful without a min of 3 trips to the hardware or auto parts (or HF) store.
I'll keep mulling this over till I actually jump into it so maybe I can come up with some more ideas.
Your input is sincerely appreciated as are your detailed postings!
Safe travels.

[BigJohnD]

Thank you RedHorse1. I had 2 floor jacks I used to position the axles. When removing the original bolts / shackles, I used one floor jack per axle. Just jacked up barely enough to catch the weight of the axle for removing bolts / shackles. No damage to axle as it's on the axle weight itself at that point once everything is on blocks.


The bottle jacks I used were definitely too short. All of the cribbing I used was repurposed 6x6's cut into short lengths. I did use 2 layers of 6x6's under the bottle jacks to get them high enough. Once everything was up in the air, I also utilized the scissor jacks (with more cribbing) and some other screw type jack stands. Overkill, yes. I had 12 support points under the rig, plus the tongue jack.

[Magnolia Tom]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

Just got in from offshore yesterday evening, so really hadn't had time to do too much. Today, managed to get the new shoes put on (Maxxis M8008) and get the rig back on the ground. Also redid the under bunk heat utilizing a duct this time. The whole idea really was to get the heat back to the area with the black flush line, water inlet, outdoor shower, and get a little heat underneath the main shower.

Nice work as usual John

[ROC-REQS]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

... On this TPO roof, we used another product made by ProGuard that you can't buy in any RV store. ...

John,

What specific ProGuard product did you use on your TPO roof?

Do you know if it comes in a Tan color?

Thanks

[RedHorse1]

BigJohn,
Roughly how much did you have to lift the frame to get the tires off the ground?

[BigJohnD]

ROC, I used the Supercoat product from Pro Guard. I'm not sure if they have it in different colors, but I would imagine they did since the Liquid Roof line comes in the tan. If you can, give Polly (I think that was her name) a call at ProGuard. (717) 336-7900. She will be able to speak with the guys there and see what all they can do for you. Very helpful people.


RedHorse1, I'm not going to swear on this, but I think I picked our rig up about 4 inches or so. You can always get it up about 3-4 inches or so, then jack up each individual wheel at the axle end under the spring mount and remove each wheel like that if you don't want to go up too much. Then of course you'll have to jack up each axle in to reinstall the wheels when done.

[BigJohnD]

And we're off. Left sometime before lunch this morning and got semi set up this afternoon. Lots of work to do to get it how I want, but we're good for tonight. Still have to build my temporary deck. That's what the pallets stacked up are for. The cargo trailer you see is my man cave / mobile shop / storage etc. Quite a bit smaller than what we left this morning, but allows me to do a few hobby projects here and there. All is good and kids are crazy happy to be somewhat on the road, again.


I'm sure I'll make a few posts here and there on things we do different full timing opposed to normal weekend warrior camping.

[Magnolia Tom]

Looking good so far John.

[ROC-REQS]

Originally Posted by BigJohnD

ROC, I used the Supercoat product from Pro Guard. I'm not sure if they have it in different colors, but I would imagine they did since the Liquid Roof line comes in the tan. If you can, give Polly (I think that was her name) a call at ProGuard. (717) 336-7900. She will be able to speak with the guys there and see what all they can do for you. Very helpful people.

Thanks John,

I appreciate the feed back on the ProGuard Supercoat and contact info.

Good luck with everything.

[BigJohnD]

A few more things I'm considering doing and wanted to hear any comments. Probably ditching the crappy sink for a stainless since you can't even put a #8 cast iron in there without fear of breaking the sink. Junk IMO. Also considering ditching the shower for a tub. Since the tub doesn't have the depth this shower has, I'd utilize that void behind the enclosure with cubbies for each bunk. We have young kids and the shower is useless. The wife said from day one she'd rather have the tub, but red flagged me early on from ditching the shower. She's not as gung ho about cutting good stuff out for something else, until now that we're full timing in it.

And finally, how many would buy this rig if I put it up for sale. Lots done on this rig you will never get off a lot. I know I said I wouldn't ever sell it, but there's always the chance since we are looking at a bigger full time rig.

[Wannabe]

I think the sink replacement sounds like a great idea. For the shower to tub mod, I would prefer the shower. For us the shower was a major selling point even though we have a four year old and an infant. Our 4 year old takes showers at home half the time and we figured we would just hose her down in the shower and bring the portable baby bath for the little one. We are recreational users, though so I could see that getting old full timing. A shower with a little size was a make or break for me because the little tubs made me feel like the walls were closing in.

If we weren't picking up our rig next Saturday, we'd buy yours in a minute. With the shower, of course!

[BigJohnD]

Thanks for the reply Wannabe. Hadn't changed anything yet, just debating. We had a small garden tub / shower in one of our previous rigs, so hadn't found anything to top that yet. Best of both worlds then. You'd think being a bunk house they'd consider "kids", but very few do. Heartland is one of the few that have a big tub in a bunk house, but my opinions of them are too harsh to own one.

[Camper_bob]

The shower was a big selling point for us too. It's about as big as my shower stall at the S&B. Our son is almost 16 months, and I can see how consistent bathing would be a hassle. For now, we've been known to wash him in the sink, or he showers with DW (since there's enough room in there for both of them). I think as far as the shower is concerned, I'd look for a workaround. Like could you use a Rubbermaid tub or something? Put it in the floor of the shower and use it like a bath tub? I know it's not optimal, but it could work... And then you don't lose the huge shower as a selling point if you sell it for something bigger. Though, the storage for the bunks would be nice I think.

As for the sink, I'll be watching you closely on this one. I've heard plenty of stories about knives or hot utensils dropped in the cheap plastic sink and going right through. And forget about putting heavy pots in there. I'm always tiptoeing around that thing. If you find a deal and I end up copy-catting you, I'll probably do the faucet at the same time; that thing is getting on my nerves, and I couldn't imagine using it for full-timing.