Insane 1999 Wildwood repair....pic heavy!

[rollscanardly]

Bought 2 new pieces of corner moulding...





I also bought a couple of rolls of Dicor's Seal-Tite, a special tape for sealing up camper corners...



Here's a video of it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVS0zkWcQEo

Like anything else that I do for the first time, there's a learning curve to applying this stuff. But, it worked out OK...





Added some GeoCel RV sealant to the inside of the corner mouldings and installed them...



And, to finish out the day, I got the lights re-installed...







I backed up my truck to the camper, plugged in the light cord, then turned the truck lights on. All the camper light's worked!! This was a major victory, seeing that the light wiring was kind of complicated.

Now...if you remember me saying so, very early on in this thread, I know nothing about these campers. I've never used this camper. As a matter of fact, it's never had a (live) battery in it in all the time I've owned it.

That being said, I was surprised to discover that just by having the camper's light cord plugged into my truck, my water pump was running ( I shut it off...), and the radio played.

So, what's up with that? Do other accessories run off of the truck's light outlet? Or is something screwed up?

Rich

[rockfordroo]

Looks like a brand new camper! (And I guess it IS!)

[rmac04401]

Originally Posted by rollscanardly

Bought 2 new pieces of corner moulding...





I also bought a couple of rolls of Dicor's Seal-Tite, a special tape for sealing up camper corners...



Here's a video of it...

Like anything else that I do for the first time, there's a learning curve to applying this stuff. But, it worked out OK...





Added some GeoCel RV sealant to the inside of the corner mouldings and installed them...



And, to finish out the day, I got the lights re-installed...







I backed up my truck to the camper, plugged in the light cord, then turned the truck lights on. All the camper light's worked!! This was a major victory, seeing that the light wiring was kind of complicated.

Now...if you remember me saying so, very early on in this thread, I know nothing about these campers. I've never used this camper. As a matter of fact, it's never had a (live) battery in it in all the time I've owned it.

That being said, I was surprised to discover that just by having the camper's light cord plugged into my truck, my water pump was running ( I shut it off...), and the radio played.

So, what's up with that? Do other accessories run off of the truck's light outlet? Or is something screwed up?

Rich

Your trailer battery is charged from your tow vehicle since you don't have a trailer battery I'm sure your inverter is just pulling from TV instead of trailer battery.

But I'm just theorizing.

[Evereddie]

First, there is no inverter involved here, it's a converter. An inverter turns 12 volt to 110 and that is not the issue.

I assume you are using a 7 pin tow vehicle to trailer hookup. That 7 pin includes 12 volt and ground wires. That is all everything you mentioned that is running needs to run. (radio, water pump ) That 12 volts from the truck acts just like a camper battery or shore power which uses the converter to make 12 volts for the whole camper. So no mystery here. If you had a battery in the camper that 12 volts from the truck would be charging the battery also. That charge rate however is not nearly as powerful as the campers converter if it were plugged into shore power.

[rockfordroo]

Rich:

I'm attaching "The 12 Volt Side of Life," a document that may help you with your electrical work.

I've also attached an "improved" version of the "typical RV electrical system" diagram on the 2nd page of the 12 Volt Side of Life.

[rollscanardly]

Thanks for all that information! Looking forward to reading those files.

Yes, Eddie...it's a 7-pin plug.

So, nothing was out of whack, here....that's a relief.

Thanks, again.

Rich

[rmac04401]

Sorry had wrong word entered. Brain was not working late last night

[rmac04401]

It is looking great! So Do you have your maiden voyage planned yet?

[Iggy]

Rich it looks like a super repair and you should be proud.
Waiting to hear when you plan your first trip then you will have lots of questions about how the interior things work.

How much was the trailer or did the lady give it to you?
Will you have an estimate on your repair parts and time at the end?

No matter what the numbers are you have a great trailer.

[KyleStout]

You gonna replace wildwood decals on the rear.. just wondering.

[Iggy]

Originally Posted by KyleStout

You gonna replace wildwood decals on the rear.. just wondering.

I think Rich should may this decal up and install on rear.

[Evereddie]

I'm thinking, "Rich's Reboot"

[rmac04401]

Rich's Refurb!

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by rmac04401

It is looking great! So Do you have your maiden voyage planned yet?

Hoo, boy...still got a long way to go before a maiden voyage...

I have to go through the axles (brakes, etc.). I'm thinking of just replacing the entire backing plates with completely assembled ones. But, I'll decide that after I tear into them.

Then there's new tires and a new battery. And new awning material.

I bought a new hot water heater...that has to be installed, along with the refrigerator.

Those are the necessary basics. Then there's the interior, and some more exterior stuff that can be done at any time.

At best, maybe in the fall we can try it out, locally. But, realistically, I'm thinking next year.

Originally Posted by Iggy

Rich it looks like a super repair and you should be proud.
Waiting to hear when you plan your first trip then you will have lots of questions about how the interior things work.

How much was the trailer or did the lady give it to you?
Will you have an estimate on your repair parts and time at the end?

No matter what the numbers are you have a great trailer.

I paid $1500.00, not knowing how bad of shape it was in. Most of the damage was hidden to my untrained eyes. The lady I bought it from is my neighbor. She sees me every day that I'm working on it. When she saw how bad it was under the sheet metal, she felt so bad that she offered me my money back. I declined.

Originally, I was hoping to have about $5K in it when I'm done. But, because I find more things that need replacing as I go along, the final cost will be more. Maybe $7K total?

But...I will hopefully have a trouble-free camper for several years.

Originally Posted by KyleStout

You gonna replace wildwood decals on the rear.. just wondering.

I haven't thought that far ahead, yet. I will put something there, though.

I like all the decal ideas!

Perhaps it should say "Rich'$ Pit"...

Rich

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by rollscanardly

Bought 2 new pieces of corner moulding...





I also bought a couple of rolls of Dicor's Seal-Tite, a special tape for sealing up camper corners...



Here's a video of it...

Like anything else that I do for the first time, there's a learning curve to applying this stuff. But, it worked out OK...





Added some GeoCel RV sealant to the inside of the corner mouldings and installed them...



And, to finish out the day, I got the lights re-installed...







I backed up my truck to the camper, plugged in the light cord, then turned the truck lights on. All the camper light's worked!! This was a major victory, seeing that the light wiring was kind of complicated.

Now...if you remember me saying so, very early on in this thread, I know nothing about these campers. I've never used this camper. As a matter of fact, it's never had a (live) battery in it in all the time I've owned it.

That being said, I was surprised to discover that just by having the camper's light cord plugged into my truck, my water pump was running ( I shut it off...), and the radio played.

So, what's up with that? Do other accessories run off of the truck's light outlet? Or is something screwed up?

Rich

Don't plug the trailer into shore power without a RV deep cycle battery installed. The battery acts to stabilize the output from the converter. Without the battery in place, voltage spikes could possibly damage circuitry on the 12v side of your components (ie; fridge, furnace, water heater...if the water heater has DSI ignition etc.) including light bulbs.

It's good to know you found out by accident that the "hot lead" from your TV is activated & feeding the trailer plug. This is good for keeping your RV battery "topped off" while travelling.

All the trailers 12v systems will operate off of the TV's trailer plug. But, remember, as mentioned, the circuit from the TV is probably 30 or 40 amps max (depending on truck manufacturer) and is further restricted by the size of the wire from the the trucks fuse box to the trailer plug.

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by rracer5

Don't plug the trailer into shore power without a RV deep cycle battery installed. The battery acts to stabilize the output from the converter. Without the battery in place, voltage spikes could possibly damage circuitry on the 12v side of your components (ie; fridge, furnace, water heater...if the water heater has DSI ignition etc.) including light bulbs.

It's good to know you found out by accident that the "hot lead" from your TV is activated & feeding the trailer plug. This is good for keeping your RV battery "topped off" while travelling.

All the trailers 12v systems will operate off of the TV's trailer plug. But, remember, as mentioned, the circuit from the TV is probably 30 or 40 amps max (depending on truck manufacturer) and is further restricted by the size of the wire from the the trucks fuse box to the trailer plug.

Good stuff to know. Thanks for sharing. I guess I'll have to invest in a battery. I was going to wait until I was almost done fixing this thing, but I'll be testing electrical stuff as I go along so I might as well get one.

Any battery recommendations? It had a marine battery from Wal-Mart.

Rich

Rich

[FRRVR]

8500 all included I think that is good. Plus you can handle anything it might throw at you. I bet it is good for more than a few years.

[rmac04401]

Originally Posted by FRRVR

8500 all included I think that is good. Plus you can handle anything it might throw at you. I bet it is good for more than a few years.

Probably last longer than our new ones.

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by rollscanardly

Good stuff to know. Thanks for sharing. I guess I'll have to invest in a battery. I was going to wait until I was almost done fixing this thing, but I'll be testing electrical stuff as I go along so I might as well get one.

Any battery recommendations? It had a marine battery from Wal-Mart.

Rich

Rich

Any good quality deep cycle marine battery will do. Group 24. Or 27 if it will fit in the battery compartment.

[itat]

Originally Posted by rracer5

Don't plug the trailer into shore power without a RV deep cycle battery installed. The battery acts to stabilize the output from the converter. Without the battery in place, voltage spikes could possibly damage circuitry on the 12v side of your components (ie; fridge, furnace, water heater...if the water heater has DSI ignition etc.) including light bulbs.

I don't recall ever hearing this. We had a '99 Coleman popup for over 5 years and it never had a battery in it. We always connected to the 15A shore power plug. Never had a problem with anything 12V including the little refrigerator. Then again, I didn't know a thing about camper power and 12V in those days (still don't know a lot) but I'm pretty sure it had battery leads at the A frame. Can't say for sure though.