flagmanruss

It drains... just not enough... I'd be lost with out my Dremel. Buy a full sized one not a mini-moto like harbor freight offers.

My Toyhauler has permanent Montana trailer plates registered to a Montana LLC. Other states hate it because of the tax dodge angle... it is marginally legal. I doubt my unit was ever in Montana but the LLC has an agent there.

This is my Custom Fab gooseneck horse trailer. Trailer is 7 foot wide. 2 horse straight load with a 8 foot tack / dressing room. We ordered it without an interior forward because a camper would leave us no room for our primitive gear.. and we loaded it heavy with our big camp. Cornering? No problem at all. Yes, even all aluminum, it has considerable tongue weight. Being a gooseneck, the weight is centered on the rear axle... I'm 8800 gvw truck & only single rear wheels. The tongue weight is more than I expected but a side effect of having a full size door in the manger. I would have made that door narrower if I had it to do again. The tongue weight was only an issue hand cranking the landing gear to unhook. I don't think a toy hauler would be strong enough to haul horses who are not just dead weight but can physically exert considerable force. My toy hauler is quite high where my horse trailer has dropped axles & the horses are little more than a foot off the ground. The extra height of a toy hauler makes the live load top heavy. I do not like that idea at all.

It's been a while since I drilled the additional drain holes. I note on the earlier thread they are 3/16". As you suggest, they were started perpendicular to get the drill going then angled up. I can insert the drill again & wiggle fore & aft to enlarge the holes. The serious flooding occurs at the rear sliders or I should more accurately say behind the front corner of the fixed panel of the sliding assembly. If it's raining, on naturally expects the windows to be closed or nearly so. The moveable panel being closed covers the drains in that part (aft) of the track. The forward (and down slope) part of the track is exposed. I think that additional drainage in the front section is a good idea. Additional holes could be drilled or even connected... by drilling or sawing or filing or Dremel. It's kind of a belt plus suspenders approach. A rain diverter plus increased drainage. Having to sponge up a flood for hours really sorks so it's worth the extra steps. In the years we've been doing these 10-12 day trips, we've never had one without some rain. We've encountered some historic storms.

I bought some molded stick on gutter at the local RV place. I thought it would be useful. It didn't stick. I suspect it was old stock & adhesive was shot. When it ends up on the leaves (funny they stick to it!), it's no longer useful. I still have some. Maybe my prep was faulty. Shop guy tried my stuff too & couldn't get it to work. Too cold now but in warmer weather... with a heat gun to straighten it... It might work.

As you can see with how long it's been since I first posted on this... I've been mystified for some time. I'm not sure what level is in the trailer... we use a bubble level on the kitchen floor & call it good... but at that point the water in the window channel runs forward behind the fixed panel. It will top the channel it the extreme front onto a built in table, hinged to the wall next to the kitchen. I have poured water into the channel with a cup... it seems to drain, just not fast enough.

Yes, I am aware of the window channel drains. As I've posted before, http://forum.mopar1973man.com/threads/6156-RV-windows-draining-tracks the water hits the moveable inside glass, runs down into the channel. There is a rubber deflector in the outside channel with an angled top but too much water gets past it in this old 2001 rig. I found the drain slots had open cell foam in them to keep bugs out, I suppose... plugged with years of road dirt. I removed the foam with a utility knife. It made little difference. I tried sliding a thin pry bar into the slots to open them more... and then the windows didn't want to move! So I backed off. I went outside & drilled additional drain holes into the window channel from the outside. The added drain holes solved some windows, like the push out emergency hatch in the front... along with electrical tape over the hinge... to deflect water draining down from entering in the first place. Emboldened, I drilled additional drain holes in the sliding windows... I think the added drains help but the incoming water can still exceed the drainage. Where we camped in a farmer's field last year... the tornado missed our camp by barely 1 mile... the ants enjoyed the improved access. I sprayed the trailer side with poison & placed a borax based bait / poison under the utility trailer parked next to us! After the tornado, the civil authorities, a crisis on their hands, wanted us out (some of the local participants houses were so badly damaged they had not home to go to). We had to take the very long detour as the roads were not yet reopened... trees down all over the roads & houses destroyed. Anyrate, I figured to use electrical tape over the drilled holes, but am able to poke it from the inside to remove if it rains. I am very hopeful that deflecting the water before it reaches the windows will put the water infiltrating the window channel back within design limits. It may very well be the root cause was water coming off the roof where it was not designed to. It may be the roof edge gutter that I didn't recognize from the ground, was obstructed & non-functional, again allowing water off the roof to run down the trailer sides. My wife has volunteered to go up on the roof & clean the edge gutters. Another possible root cause... since the moveable glass panel is very close to the drain slots... I wonder it there's supposed to be some sort of a cushion or guide in the track... if a guide wore letting the window settle slightly... allowing the bottom of the window to restrict the water flow to the drains underneath it... accumulating water in the track until it finally overflows. I realize this is speculation and frankly I'm not in favor of taking the windows apart to investigate... might make things a whole lot worse if it doesn't go back together.

We want to observe the window gutters the next time it rains... It seems the siding piece above has an h construction on the edge with about 1/2" of overlap without any caulk. The back mounting edge, forced into the siding seam, is longer than the front. I think it would be possible to blast water up into the seam with a high pressure stream... a good tip. I KNOW the windows would leak under that wash pressure... so hopefully no one is dumb enough to do that. Granted, the rig might be subjected to wind driven rain either stationary or at highway speeds. On the road, these lengthwise gutter strips should be self clearing... blowing any water toward the rear & out onto the siding. Sideways wind loads are possible when parked. Since the windows tracks were filling up, DEFINATELY, flooding into the interior... a problem both when in use & during storage... I think this is a valid attempt to remedy the situation & hopefully will succeed. We will be monitoring the results.

The aluminum skin has an inter-lapped joint there. Hopefully the water can't run uphill. Any wind would likely blow the water out the other end before it would go up. Any other gutter or deflector would require screw holes... the self stick stuff just fell right off... With the roof edge gutter cleared & these over window troughs... maybe we'll have less trouble with the track filing up & flooding inside.

I plan to replace my clearance lights with LEDs... some day when my legs dare attempt a step ladder. (Can get up but my weak leg catches the step tread coming down making for a struggle. I really want to avoid having my feet stuck on the 6th step if I fall! If I can remember my leather moccasins have no tread, less likely to hang up!) Once I'm sure it's working, I'll seal with marine "Life Caulk". It's a rubbery compound... I found some 34 year old LC around the front door in the rental house & the wood failed before the caulk. I love applying silicone but I've found it failing to bond to other materials over time. I would not use it in a critical location... roof or boat bottom... There were warning on the Marine Silicon caulk not to use it under water. - - - Updated - - - ** added pictures to the earlier post ** I froze my arse off getting those pictures! You guys drive a hard bargain.

Being a well used older unit, the roof edge gutters came with the deflectors... visible in the first photo below. With the forward slope of the roof, I don't see how any water should be going over the side. It must pour down the front on the battery box & propane. The trailer came back with a fresh wash job... wondering how much I paid for that! LOL!! I went out in the cold to get pictures for you. 20* with a stiff wind blowing... (What a hard bunch!!) As you can see the siding seam is differing distances above the windows. The local building supply store wants $6 something for a long section of these "J" moldings. I think these are the pieces to cover the siding edges at doors.

Are you running a winter front? You know, the insert panels in the grill that close that air source off. There's still air coming through the bumper, of course. It speeds warm up & puts the coolers & radiator in a warmer environment without blocking. Time for me to dig mine out since I've got the camper home I'm done heavy towing for the season. I might use a utility trailer locally & I've never noticed any temp rise doing so (but still watch).

As posted below, picked up the camper with it's new rubber roof, trim repairs, sealant & calk. One thing he did, per our request... he added rain gutters over the windows where the track had overflowed rain water into the interior. He pointed out that there IS a gutter along the roof edge. I'd never cleaned it out but you can be sure it will be on a regular basis. The added gutter... he called it a "Z" vinyl siding trim piece from house siding... used around doors... and forced it into the trailer siding lap joints. I think it's a '5/8" J molding'. It is very slick. I'm going to observe the operation but may add it to other compartments.

Got the call to go get the ToyHauler out of the shop... a new rubber roof is installed, repairs to the roof seams, windows & compartment doors. We had no trouble hooking up & the shop owner drove it out in one maneuver. Cool! We found the local Route to our house closed because of paving & turned around on our way out. Much longer narrow & twisting local roads... brought the camper back the same way. Met a lot of interesting people... going too fast... I needed the whole road & was naturally driving slow. We leveled the camper side to side but I ran out of jack travel front to rear. I can go back & raise the front more if we decide to use the fridge but more likely to tow out before so not going to worry. We released the WD bars first & manipulated the hitch release so it sat in the correct notch & the trailer dropped off the ball. I can see how pressure on the hitch could jam things. I'm going to try to remove pressure in the future... easy on god ground, not always the case in the field. I have added a medium pry bar to the tools to relieve stress if necessary but hopefully will not be. I hooked up & moved the landscaper's trailer which I'd moved for clearance... back again. That was on a steep slope (we live on a hill) & I think I tweaked my back hooking it up alone.

My truck is 01.5. I had the truck idling while I hooked up a trailer. Closed the door & the overhead lights went out instantly. I recall my Mom used to get confused by all the ways to turn on the interior lights, including the dimmer. I finally taped over the dimmer so it wouldn't get bumped & run her battery down. Does your dimmer & door switches work correctly?

I was one lucky SOB as a kid with a fast car... These days, I try not to drive fast but smooth. There have been some real tragedies out here. A down the street neighbor boy (then) rolled his Ranger on the highway merge. 7AM on his way to a summer construction job working for a friend of mine. He was ejected & forever more in a wheel chair. He returned to do his senior year of HS, went on to College. Sure is a different life.

I've never done it but there was something about the tightening order posted. someone will come along. I think it was tightening the cross overs before the injector body. I'm saying yes to the Oring.

It is symbolically true but the facts do not check out. So the story is FALSE! http://www.snopes.com/glurge/reggie.asp

Sounds like the alarm function is activated or not deactivated when the key is in. Bad switch? I don't know anything about it.

The cast aluminum engine oil pans I mention were strong enough to sit a V8 engine on. I did it numerous times. I'm going to say about 3/16th inch thick. The side walls were vertical... flex? I don't think so. I think the fasteners might be a weaker connection than the pan. Now, the temperature drop question... with all the heat coming from the radiator & radiating from the hunk of cast iron... the aluminum pan might absorb heat in that hot environment!?

I confess I am impatient with merging drivers who refuse to use the GO pedal to get up to speed before running out of acceleration lane. I wasn't taught that way (to drive) besides being plain rude. A mile later they are up to speed but by then, everyone else was forced to brake. With gas prices high, I think more people are trying to "hyper-mile". I'm all for saving gas but the gas pedal was put there for a reason. I use "half throttle" to merge quickly & properly... reach cruising speed promptly & then back off the gas. Years ago, I had a half ton GMC, 305, automatic... with a 3.07 "emissions axle ratio". It was ridiculous trying to tow a small horse trailer. I had the ring & pinion changed... chose to go as far as we could go with that center section. My memory is sketchy but I think it was 3.55 or some such. It was much more drivable & mpg improved. I figured it allowed the transmission to shift up sooner, getting into high where it got best mileage. I added a flex fan & a transmission cooler... it wasn't bad towing with 1 horse. Not enough truck for 2 horses.

I hate the suckers who cut in close when I'm towing heavy... I have no real choice but to lift foot to allow space to increase, thereby losing the momentum to make the next hill. While the roller skate sails off without a care in the world. I know there's no safe alternative & I try to keep my stress level down. Idiots are everywhere. I don't think any area has an exclusive on them.

I don't think a bigger pan really adds anything unless it has really deep fins & has it's own cooling fan. I'm not convinced that the OEM steel pan has much mechanical strength... we've all seen various thin sheet metal stamped pans rusted out. I had the pleasure of being onboard a twin 283 30' Chris Craft... which threw a rod. The engines had old school cast alum oil pans... This one had gaping holes in the sides but the bottom of it held... seriously, the planking was only inches away & it could well have sunk us 20 miles off shore. So I am of the opinion that cast pans are stronger in mechanical strength... As well as providing room for containment. I think that increasing cooling is easier to do with a bigger cooler. I had added one to my old C30... I've heard of guys re-purposing A/C condensers for max area.

Q for those with the extended tranny pans... do you get an extended pickup to reach into the pan?