He's got the Joy, Joy, Joy...down in his heart!

Howdy again ya'll. Elmer the frog here ready to weave you a few more tales!Been a long time now since I have updated this here blog but that has something to do with this here New York weather. It's been pretty darn cold! Last time I did blog the DWP's were busy trying to get the kitchen looking halfway decent and then ripped apart Old Faithful's rear end. Well, when they did that they found lots of not so nice little surprises with the plumbing. The copper plumbing had splits and blisters all along its length. The holding tank had broken fittings and didn't appear to be properly installed. The drain lines were black pipe and cast iron and filled to the top with rust. The porcelain toilet was broken as was the sink. The metal shower floor was covered in surface rust and the drain fitting was broken. Well, if you are into repairing old travel trailers, this is not a job you want to get into when it is so cold the abominable snowman won't venture outside!

Just to refresh your memories, here are a few pictures of what the DWP's started with...

Lots of water damage to the back wall and the shelf on the wall  was also damaged.

Broken sink and toilet, water damage on the walls.

So, the dwp's ripped out the walls, the toilet, and the bathroom floor to get to the plumbing. Old Faithful's bones (frame) were in nice condition just like in other areas where the birch was replaced. Seems a lot of the water damage was only to the surface of the 1/4 inch birch. Here are a few photos of the gutting of Old Faithful. 

In this photo you can see the way the old wiring was structured.

At the inside of each rear light, the old boards, were quite rotted and warped so they were replaced  and the wiring was removed and redone in a way that made more sense. In other words, if there are ever any problems in the future, they will be easier for the new owner to fish and figure out! Here are a few pictures to show you the old and the new "working" wiring! The frame or brace below these boards was also replaced as one side did have rot.

You can see the rot at the end of the board. Probably due to water leaking in  from the outside lights from not being sealed.

Here are just a few pictures to illustrate how strong Old Faithful's bones still are!

Rear street side

Rear Street side going forward to the left.

Now, on to the wonderful world of plumbing!

As I said the holding tank was removed. The tank itself was in good condition but the fittings needed to be replaced.

This is the holding tank removed from under the bed.

The original paper covering over the floor tiles was still on the floor!

Black cast piping in closet next to bathroom. Note the fuse box, wiring still needs to be "fixed".

The floor was removed and this black cast was replaced with PVC.

After the plumbing was repaired and tested new 1/4 inch birch walls were put up, sanded, shellaced and trimmed. Then a new bathroom floor was put down. The dwp's used vintage grey tiles to provide a close match to the original flooring of Old Faithful.

This wall was actually removed up to the top of the overhead cabinetry.

Here is the toilet and part of the back wall removed.

This ceiling was replaced as well as the wall.

All chrome in the bathroom was removed, polished and put back up.

You can see the damage on the toilet base.

Toilet removed.

The divider wall was also removed and replaced.

A view from outside the hatch door.

New walls and new floor in place!

Old Window view...

New window view.

The bathroom shelf was put back up, not yet shellaced in this photo though.

Teak base on new floor. Trim along side wall going up to ceiling
still to be covered with veneer.

Here is the old shower floor prior to being cleaned of surface rust and recovered!

Recovered floor...nice, huh?

Aluminum trim was put at the edges of the floor. Shower walls still need
a cleaning but it sure does look almost like new!

Old Faithful just loves this flowery shower curtain!

The old shelf was removed and used as a pattern. Birch was glued over
the newly made shelf.

The shelf is now back in place!

Back wall in place! Trim strips put up!

Before....

After!!

There are still lots of things to do to make this part of the travel trailer complete but it sure does feel like home now. Old Faithful is really impressed!! And today, here in upstate New York, it was actually 35 degrees with rain. The snow started to wash away and we spent almost three hours this evening just talking about all the trips we are going to take together in the future. Funny thing, I see a big change in Old Faithful. He is not his usual pessimistic self. I think the enthusiasm of the dwp's is rubbing off on him. For a while there they were pretty cranky with the cold weather and all and not being able to get things done. And to top it off they said they have another trailer coming soon that they keep saying they need to make room for. But today...today was a good day! They were so excited, they even thought about spending the night in Old Faithful! Hah! That was all it took to change the mood to one of complete merriment for the ole geezer! You see, I think he actually believes in the future! And right before we shut the lights down he whispered...like your friend Billy Joel says, tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems, yeah, yeah, yeah...I'm keeping the faith!