Insane 1999 Wildwood repair....pic heavy!

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by Bdlnky

Restoration looks great....question...was the “uncapped” hvac duct supposed to be the heated underbelly vent to keep all that plumbing protected.

I asked about that open duct to a tech at my local RV center. He asked me if it was aiming at a tank, etc. possibly to heat it.

I told him that it dumped out about 3/4" from the rear bumper. So, all it was heating was the rear bumper, and the rest of planet Earth.

So, he said that it would be alright to cap it.

Rich

[dblr]

Not sure how well this works but something to look into

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-42165-R.../dp/B0012FEX5K

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by dblr

Not sure how well this works but something to look into

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-42165-R.../dp/B0012FEX5K

Neat concept! The reviews are mixed, but I take the reviews with a grain of salt when they are so pro / con.

Rich

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by itat

If your fridge is in a slideout with the upper vent on the wall of the slideout it’s more important than if the upper vent is on the roof.

With this type of installation, it's much more critical that proper baffles are installed & positioned correctly so that the hot air is directed out & not obstructed or trapped in a void behind or at the top of the fridge.

Originally Posted by rollscanardly

Imaginations are running wild here!! Great idea, but that would take some engineering to pull off! It would all have to be calculated prior to installation.

Not completely out of the question, though.

Another thought...make a bracket that mounts the fans just below the fins.

The wall to the right that you see in the fridge compartment could easily have a square or rectangular hole cut into it, creating an access panel for future fan replacement.

I've got a lot to think about...

Rich

Oh BOY!!! Now our heads are all spinning!

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by rracer5

With this type of installation, it's much more critical that proper baffles are installed & positioned correctly so that the hot air is directed out & not obstructed or trapped in a void behind or at the top of the fridge.





Oh BOY!!! Now our heads are all spinning!

In Post #293, in the first picture you can see a diagonal overhead partition.

This partition is located right at the top of the fridge. The fins are in the vent side of the partition. So, that partition acts as a baffle so that the heat goes up and out of the vent.

Why it's on an angle is beyond me, though.

I've decided that I'm going to mount the fans above the fins so that they suck the heat out.

Rich

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by rollscanardly

In Post #293, in the first picture you can see a diagonal overhead partition.

This partition is located right at the top of the fridge. The fins are in the vent side of the partition. So, that partition acts as a baffle so that the heat goes up and out of the vent.

Why it's on an angle is beyond me, though.

I've decided that I'm going to mount the fans above the fins so that they suck the heat out.

Rich

[Summer2Go]

I have a neighbor whose husband passed a few years ago. They had a hybrid camper they camped in, the husband did all the towing and maintenance. The camper just sits in the backyard under a tarp. Last year I told her she should get it set up at a nearby campground the family had loved, and just drive to it during the season. She thought that was a good idea, but never did anything about it. She was thinking about selling it, but still hasn’t done that. All this time I am maintaining, and checking my trailer all the time. I’m sure Eddy had it all winterized sitting there, but now it’s been a couple years. I’m pretty sure it’s too heavy for me to tow for her. What’s likely to be an issue? Tires, battery? And. .? Sounds like a similar story.

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by Summer2Go

I have a neighbor whose husband passed a few years ago. They had a hybrid camper they camped in, the husband did all the towing and maintenance. The camper just sits in the backyard under a tarp. Last year I told her she should get it set up at a nearby campground the family had loved, and just drive to it during the season. She thought that was a good idea, but never did anything about it. She was thinking about selling it, but still hasn’t done that. All this time I am maintaining, and checking my trailer all the time. I’m sure Eddy had it all winterized sitting there, but now it’s been a couple years. I’m pretty sure it’s too heavy for me to tow for her. What’s likely to be an issue? Tires, battery? And. .? Sounds like a similar story.

I don't think that I'm the best person to answer your questions. I can only relate to my very limited towing experience with my own camper.

My was really no problem to tow it the short distance to my buddy's house, then back to my house. It was a total of a 6-mile round trip, with NO brake controller.

Hopefully, others will chime in....

Rich

[rollscanardly]

Well, the 3 refrigerator cooling fans that I ordered came in...so, I decided to just use 2 of them and install them above the cooling fins.

BUT....I also wanted to be able to replace them in the event that they ever quit working.

So, I made 2 of these brackets out of aluminum...





Those little round things that stick up are threaded inserts that press into sheet metal.

With the fans mounted...



The idea is to be able to squeeze those top tabs. That would collapse the entire bracket, and allow the fans to be removed from the topside of the camper.

I added a rocker switch to the fans, above the fridge...





This is a dry fit of the bracket...



I cut out the factory screen on the vent flange, and screwed in a piece of perforated stainless steel...








So, I installed the fans from the topside, just to be sure that I could be done. It would have been easier to install them from inside the camper (because the fridge is out), but what good would that do me if I ever had to remove them from the top??

[rollscanardly]

So...here are the fans all wired up, just waiting for the fridge to be re-installed...



Here, you can see the relationship between the fins and the fans...



I have also neatened up the wiring by tacking wires to the wall, using plastic wire staples. No pic, though....

So, before we install the fridge, we decided to do something with the door inserts, mainly because they were a little scuffed up.

I started by removing them, to see what they were made of...





Like a luan kind of wood.

I bought some underlayment wood and some "weatherer-in-a-can" to gray the wood some. The plan is that we're going to replace the flooring with a vinyl wood plank floor....



So, little darker door panels would tie in the existing woodwork with the new floor.







Samples...





I have since applied this dye to the panels, let it dry, then lacquered it. I'll have more updates later.

That's it for now...

Rich

[Maman325]

"That's it." Really??? You get more done in a day than many of us do in a month. As much as I'm loving the updates - I can't wait to see a picture or two of you guys kicking back next to your camper when it's all done. Cuz boy have you earned it!!

[Evereddie]

Not picking, just reality. Electricity can be hard to understand. Air flow can be impossible. From what I see you have fans blowing up with openings right next to them. More than likely you are sucking air from the opening and out the fan. Not much "incentive" for the fans to be sucking air up from the bottom when there is an opening right next to them.. You either need fans over all of the opening, or block off the open parts. One rule of air flow is air will always take the path of least resistance. The openings next to the fans are the path of least resistance.
Fans aside you are doing an incredible job on your re-build.

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by rracer5

I'd be a little leary about blocking that much of the opening with tape & fans. I wouldn't want to interrupt the natural flow of hot air rising. Especially if they were to stop working for some reason. I would put the fans down low blowing air up across the coils & out the wide open vent.

Another reason would be if you chose to boondock for a short time, those fans would be a extra 12v draw on your battery. Unless you put them on a manual switch.

Just MHO.

Originally Posted by Evereddie

Not picking, just reality. Electricity can be hard to understand. Air flow can be impossible. From what I see you have fans blowing up with openings right next to them. More than likely you are sucking air from the opening and out the fan. Not much "incentive" for the fans to be sucking air up from the bottom when there is an opening right next to them.. You either need fans over all of the opening, or block off the open parts. One rule of air flow is air will always take the path of least resistance. The openings next to the fans are the path of least resistance.
Fans aside you are doing an incredible job on your re-build.

Ok...well, my head is about to explode. Between not wanting to block out some of the natural convection venting (when the fans are not being used), to blocking off around the fans so as to get the most heat sucked away from the fins, to putting the fans at the bottom, but not risking blowing out the pilot flame....

...there's really not a lot of room in there once the fridge is installed, especially if a fan replacement is needed someday.

I bench tested the fans....those suckers move some air. They are about 6" above the fins. I can't imagine that some of the heat rising off of the fins won't get pulled out.

Here's what I'm going to do, at this point. The PO said that they never had any fridge cooling issues.

But, I decided to install some fans anyway....just in case.

So, I'm going to try what I have, and if it doesn't work out, I'll modify the fans, somehow.

Now, that being said, I have a 3rd fan available. I guess I could install it at the bottom, but as high up as I can get it.

Thank you for "letting me vent".......

Rich

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by rollscanardly

Ok...well, my head is about to explode. Between not wanting to block out some of the natural convection venting (when the fans are not being used), to blocking off around the fans so as to get the most heat sucked away from the fins, to putting the fans at the bottom, but not risking blowing out the pilot flame....

...there's really not a lot of room in there once the fridge is installed, especially if a fan replacement is needed someday.

I bench tested the fans....those suckers move some air. They are about 6" above the fins. I can't imagine that some of the heat rising off of the fins won't get pulled out.

Here's what I'm going to do, at this point. The PO said that they never had any fridge cooling issues.

But, I decided to install some fans anyway....just in case.

So, I'm going to try what I have, and if it doesn't work out, I'll modify the fans, somehow.

Now, that being said, I have a 3rd fan available. I guess I could install it at the bottom, but as high up as I can get it.

Thank you for "letting me vent".......

Rich

[KyleStout]

Hey Rich, did you quit for the winter?

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by KyleStout

Hey Rich, did you quit for the winter?

No...I'll be working on it this winter in between other obligations. Updates and pictures will be coming!

Rich

[Jay2504]

Glad to hear from you Rich. Am I correct that most of the work left to do is on the inside? Jay

[rollscanardly]

Originally Posted by Jay2504

Glad to hear from you Rich. Am I correct that most of the work left to do is on the inside? Jay

Mostly, yes, but my next outside project is to replace all the wheel backing plate assemblies, bearings and seals. I've already bought them.

Next inside projects are getting the refrigerator and new hot water heater installed.

The camper gets worked on, on weekends only. In between a bunch of other stuff.

Rich

[rollscanardly]

I was going to buy a new set of entrance stairs, but decided to re-use the original ones. They were kind of rusty in certain areas.

So, I decided to just do a quickie band-aid repair...basically, to give those areas a quick sanding, then a coat of POR paint.

I also gave that area of the frame a coat of POR 15, as well.



The stairs were a little dicey, mainly because of this forward hole. There was a factory bolt that dropped in from up top and hung down through the hole...





I forgot to put a new bolt in there during the rot repair, and now it's too late. I tried lag bolts but no-go.

So I fabbed up a stainless steel bracket with a different forward hole location...



Now, it's good...just have to paint it black.



We also had a new parking spot installed for the camper...nice to get it out of our driveway!







...more to come...

[rollscanardly]

Now, the refrigerator and hot water heater have to get out of my garage, and installed into the camper. But, the fridge needed a good cleaning, first...



After emptying it out, i noticed that the metal pieces near the bottom were badly peeling....





The paint flew off in sheets!...





I just so happened to have some of this paint lying around...perfect match!



I also sanded this lower trim piece, as well as the hinge bracket...



A coat of primer...





...more to come...