Removing the front Camera, WiFi Ranger, Winegard Dish and replacing the Bathroom Fan!

[jd1923]

We just received our MetalTech scaffolding today. Got it setup in 90 minutes (on the 70-year old-fart plan, yep just taking my time). In another 90 minutes (working hard this time), I removed EVERYTHING up top-up front on our OLD Hull #113!

Boy-oh-boy, do I have a lot of fiberglass repair to do!

This scaffolding is awesome and reasonable. I'm 6' 2" and weigh 225 lbs on a good day! This platform did NOT waiver, did not sway, not a blink! I'm also weary of heights and ladders yet felt great on this platform and even forgot I was up there after working a while.

Strapped the ladder into place as shown. I climbed up and down 5x while working this first job. A young guy would just climb the scaffolding! 🤣

Pictures to follow are first the scaffolding setup. Then the demolition. Pulling parts is always fun and easier than the final restoration. 🤣 Posts to follow will cover the complete repair of the front roof. Today was easy. I see many hours of repair in my future.

Edited November 26 by jd1923

[SeaDawg]

I would stake  or strap that ladder, to somethomg pther than the scaffold. for stability,  which you probably did.

We also use a step ladder to climb scaffolding. It's sometimes not as stable as it looks. 

 

 

Edited November 26 by SeaDawg

[jd1923]

Look closely at the final picture above and you will see a strap at the top step of the ladder.

Old, but not yet too weak, I yanked on this thing hard. Way more grounded than this engineer would have thought. As you may remember, I'm not often complimentary to many design engineers.

This would be easier if I lived where boat service shops are frequent, like where @SeaDawg lives. We do live in the desert...

Edited November 26 by jd1923

[jd1923]

After removal of our obsolete rooftop parts, I wish that OTT had never installed anything up there but the bathroom exhaust fan.

What a disaster (see before and after pics below). It's truly a mess in its basic OEM installations. It will take me many, many hours of hard work to correct, more on that later. Maybe I should have just left the stuff up there?

Everything removed could have been mounted with 3M VHB tape, no screw holes required. Winegard suggests their extra mount kit which adds another 12 screw holes, also unnecessary and this alone is half the repair work ahead of me.

Never backed a trailer with a camera on it in my life and modern TVs have back-up cameras. Why does OTT drill a 1 1/8" hole in the hull, when a 3/16" hole is all that is needed? The picture on this 2015 camera system has the resolution of VHS tapes from back in the 90s! 🤣

To me, Wi-Fi and cellular boosters are only useful in some cases, and ours was not working anyway. I installed a Pepwave router setup instead last winter. The Wi-Fi Ranger antenna box is now collateral damage!

The OEM exhaust fan was installed with the side marked "FRONT" pointing to the rear of the trailer.

I hope OTT is not installing options like this on new builds! Ours is now 9 years old. Those ordering new, my advice is to refuse options that pierce the hull with multiple screw holes! Add only the options you must have and nothing extra.

I still need to remove the 4 Winegard brackets, remove all the Dicor and sealants and start filling holes. Thanks for reading...

Edited November 26 by jd1923

[Ronbrink]

10 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Strapped the ladder into place as shown. I climbed up and down 5x while working this first job. A young guy would just climb the scaffolding! 🤣

I have no problem climbing the rungs of the scaffold; ditched the ladder because they are unstable, even when supposedly adequately secured! Transitioning from a ladder to scaffold seems a risky maneuver and more cumbersome, especially when changing positions. Definitely not getting any younger, just wiser in my old age! AND, the wife won’t let me climb ladders anymore, she has no concern with using the scaffold. Think ‘living in harmony’!

TIP: Make use of a patio umbrella to shade work surfaces, also a fan staged on the scaffold platform to help ‘keep your cool’ while performing rigorous tasks!

[DavePhelps]

Looking forward to your renovation JD.
You could add more solar panels up there if needed.

Regarding the vent. I wonder if it could be replaced with an Air Admittance Valve inside the trailer. That would clean the slate up on the roof.
My vent goes up through the closet, a great place to put the AAV. Used them a lot in residential plumbing to solve difficult routing issues in old homes.
Any plumbers out there to comment? I know Oliver already uses one to vent the kitchen sink, so why not the main stack?

Good luck and like your new scaffold!

Cheers,

Dave
 

[jd1923]

4 hours ago, Ronbrink said:

I have no problem climbing the rungs of the scaffold; ditched the ladder because they are unstable, even when supposedly adequately secured! Transitioning from a ladder to scaffold seems a risky maneuver...

Yeah, it can be. I met Ron at the Texas Rally (awesome TV-TT setup with the quiet hum of the new Atmos A/C running)! I estimate weighing 60 LBS more than Ron and my 6' 2" vs. his 5'10". That's a lot of weight off the end which might lift the wheels off on the other side which could cause the scaffold to slip. This model has the plank door which should work when mounted taller and not over the trailer doghouse. This also would not be easy for a big guy to get through. My old tennis-damaged knees make climbing the angle of a stepladder so much easier than straight up a 90-degree vertical.

The ladder in that spot was well grounded by itself and truly did not need a strap except for safety when bridging one foot on the platform while the other is still on the 4th rung of the ladder. This one is a 5 ft 250 LB quality Werner ladder. Given the angle, it was an easy one step to crossover. When needed I could use our 8 ft 300 LB Werner to climb greater heights. I felt good getting up and down and I'm not fond of ladders in general!

[ScubaRx]

13 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Everything removed could have been mounted with 3M VHB tape… We didn’t trust the double stick tape that was available then.

Why does OTT drill a 1 1/8" hole in the hull, when a 3/16" hole is all that is needed?… The connector on the end of the camera pigtail required a hole much larger than 3/16”. Not making excuses for Oliver, just explaining why these things were done the way they were.

 

Edited November 26 by ScubaRx

[jd1923]

@DavePhelps thanks for the idea. Not familiar with the AAV. This would clean up the front roof more but would require a 2+" fiberglass plug through both hulls.

No third solar panel for me, as we just added the 400W Renogy Suitcase with Victron MPPT. In a few years when solar gets cheaper and more efficient, I could replace the two 160W panels with like two 220W even if they are longer.

In case you did not see the other post. Get this scaffolding now if you need some: MetalTech Safeclimb 6 ft. Baker Scaffold with Platform and Included Trap Door, 1250 lbs. Load Capacity I-CISCH1 - The Home Depot

@ScubaRx 3M VHB was first released in 1980: 3M™ VHB™ Tape 4950 | 3M United States It is certainly available today and OTT still drills 4 screw holes for a simple Zamp port and everything else. Old-school thinking should be replaced with continuous improvement. If we go to longer solar panels someday I will use VHB tape for the new front brackets which will hold stronger than screws in fiberglass.

Just because a camera comes with a huge rubber grommet (glued into the hull opening and very difficult to remove) the experienced installer should ask, "Is this truly required?" I sure would ask this question before taking a 1 1/8" hole saw to the hull! I say don't use it. Just drill the hole for the diameter required for the wire harness. Then use VHB tape to cover the entire camera base. The tape will also act to seal the very small, centered hole. No screws, no Dicor required (or perhaps one drop where the harness meets the bracket).

I sure wish I was merely filling one small hole vs. creating a plug to fit this large opening as a base for fiberglass, cleaning up all the cracks created by the 4 screws and filling these holes too! OTT manufacturing should give this some real thought.

Edited November 26 by jd1923

[Geronimo John]

17 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Why does OTT drill a 1 1/8" hole in the hull, when a 3/16" hole is all that is needed?

Likely they were on a fishing expedition.  For a cable of course.

Good luck with your effort.  It appears that maybe you could add more solar there by running one of them over the exhaust fan.  ???

GJ

[Ronbrink]

21 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Yeah, it can be.

I was simply expressing what works for me, I’m understanding of your views and rationale! I really like the rung steps on your scaffold, the added width for better footing is an improvement over the round tubes on mine. 

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, Ronbrink said:

I was simply expressing what works for me, I’m understanding of your views and rationale! I really like the rung steps on your scaffold, the added width for better footing is an improvement over the round tubes on mine. 

Likely the difference adding to the 1250 LB rating.

[CRM]

On 11/26/2024 at 12:15 PM, DavePhelps said:

Regarding the vent. I wonder if it could be replaced with an Air Admittance Valve inside the trailer. That would clean the slate up on the roof.
My vent goes up through the closet, a great place to put the AAV. Used them a lot in residential plumbing to solve difficult routing issues in old homes.
Any plumbers out there to comment? I know Oliver already uses one to vent the kitchen sink, so why not the main stack?

 

That main stack is needed to vent gases.  An AAV on the stack would cause those gases to back up into the cabin. 

[DavePhelps]

40 minutes ago, CRM said:

That main stack is needed to vent gases.  An AAV on the stack would cause those gases to back up into the cabin. 

Thanks for that. Now that I've thought this through, I can see that in this case, ability to vent both in and out would be best.

Dave

[jd1923]

I could have left the vent cap alone, though it appeared to have an opening under one edge. Not being the guy to caulk over caulk I removed it. The inside seal was cracked in a couple places, so good I did while working up there. Replacement vent cap is only $6. https://a.co/d/9ixjPRi 

Another 90 minutes on the clock and it’s almost clean enough for fill!

Edited November 27 by jd1923

[John Dorrer]

On 11/25/2024 at 9:09 PM, jd1923 said:

We just received our MetalTech scaffolding today. Got it setup in 90 minutes (on the 70-year old-fart plan, yep just taking my time). In another 90 minutes (working hard this time), I removed EVERYTHING up top-up front on our OLD Hull #113!

Boy-oh-boy, do I have a lot of fiberglass repair to do!

This scaffolding is awesome and reasonable. I'm 6' 2" and weigh 225 lbs on a good day! This platform did NOT waiver, did not sway, not a blink! I'm also weary of heights and ladders yet felt great on this platform and even forgot I was up there after working a while.

Strapped the ladder into place as shown. I climbed up and down 5x while working this first job. A young guy would just climb the scaffolding! 🤣

Pictures to follow are first the scaffolding setup. Then the demolition. Pulling parts is always fun and easier than the final restoration. 🤣 Posts to follow will cover the complete repair of the front roof. Today was easy. I see many hours of repair in my future.

Ladder tied off as well. Good job👍

[Geronimo John]

22 hours ago, CRM said:

Regarding the vent. I wonder if it could be replaced with an Air Admittance Valve inside the trailer.

I also really like the AAV's.  I have them in both our bathrooms that we redid.  But swapping out the vent for an AAV in the case of our Ollie's would cause me to pause.... for three possible reasons:

A.  I suspect that Mr. Oliver put the stack where he did to take advantage of the venturi effect of air rising up and over the front of the trailer when on the move.  Doing so in a "Low pressure area" would act as a controlled venting of the sanitary systems.  Thereby presenting a clean smelling cabin upon entry at your next stop.

B.  AAV's are basically an air/gas version of a water check valve.  Yes doing so in Ollie would allow air into the system to aid in flow.  But it would not allow sewer gas to get out of the system.  As "stuff" in our tanks accumulates, it degrades "passing gas".  With no vent stack it WILL pressurize the system and most likely leak past the toilet flush valves or thru the "P" traps into the cabin.  The result will be you and your spouse looking at each other wondering what the other ate that was disagreeable.

C.  I'm not a RV code guy, but the National Plumbing Code requires at least one 2" vent on every system to address this issue I suspect.

GJ

[jd1923]

On 11/25/2024 at 7:09 PM, jd1923 said:

Pictures to follow are first the scaffolding setup...

New pics... I purchased some basic construction scaffolding a few years ago when we painted the exterior of our home. Remembering about $260 on Craigs for a 2x8' setup (old crusty parts). I'm the tool and setup and prep guy. Chris is an amazing painter, interior or exterior, highly detail, never bleeds a line!

The rig was wobbly! I had to tie the scaffolding to the building, or to a close tree or bush, really, anything to keep it stable!

I should take a picture of my neighbor's custom home next door, tomorrow where the sub is working the stucco, OMG! the rickety frame with random wood planks. You're not getting me or any family member on this this rig!!!

When I sold the old scaffolding, I kept 3 of these adjustable legs (while getting our money back). Glad the see the MetalTech stuff is industry standard in the 1 3/8" inside diameter. It is so much more secure than the wheels that come with these AMAZING Home Depot deal!

[jd1923]

Here are a few stark pictures! The before and WIP. Somebody gotta do it!  Love the posts about pretty Olivers, ceramic coating, blah-blah-blah, sorry that is not our reality... 🤣

I recently drilled a 1 1/8" hole in a fiberglass board in the attic to install an outlet. I used this plug to fill in the obscene hole left by the useless front camera. I came up with another 9/16" plug for the Wi-Fi Booster that also has little value today. The front hole in the picture has a dark spot. So I rubbed a little white paint there with my finger, so that in a later picture it will be less apparent.

It's a lot of work doing this, just one day at a time. It's not perfect, but not bad. My brake jobs, and other repairs, are perfect, yet not such artistic endeavors. If/when we hire a professional to restore gelcoat it would be the time to prep a better finish. Not bad for an old-school engineer/mechanic and good enough for now!

Edited December 6 by jd1923

[Tom and Doreen]

John, nice work! That's quite a challenging project, hats off to you, looks great!  

[jd1923]

5 hours ago, Tom and Doreen said:

John, nice work! That's quite a challenging project, hats off to you, looks great!  

Thank you, Tom & Doreen! It's nice when a job comes together well and even better when it's DONE!

Check out our final before and after pictures --

[jd1923]

I moved the scaffolding all around the Oliver this weekend to wash her thoroughly. It's been forever LOL, actually never in 18 months, since on prior trip returns, I have only hit the travel dirt with my pressure washer! It's great how this scaffolding can be set at different heights left-to-right. Given the slope of our driveway, I had one side mounted up two holes about 4".

And BTW, notice the in the pictures above, how the original install has the 4 monstrous brackets attached to the Sat Dish (Winegard makes big extra bucks selling these). Notice how in my installation, I could have used 3 of the same brackets and drilled a bunch of holes, but NOT. Picture below shows the 3M 4950 VHB tape I used. I probably used too much but our old fiberglass is a bit porous. I used a V-shape up front to deflect wind & rain up front.

Lastly, love this scaffolding! We stored the extra parts in our shed, but the main section as pictured will always sit somewhere in my 3-car garage for a variety of projects. It will store nicely in front of or behind any car and provide a storage shelf that can be rolled around. This is where I kept it while working recently. I could also use it at just a 2' height when working in the truck engine compartment, to get up and in there, instead of standing on a milk crate or something else sketchy! 🤣 Those of you who have ever serviced a HD 2500 4WD truck should understand.

[Ronbrink]

On 11/29/2024 at 8:30 PM, jd1923 said:

ack). Glad the see the MetalTech stuff is industry standard in the 1 3/8" inside diameter.

MetalTech offers leveling jacks and base plates for their products if anyone is interested, sold in sets of four.

Edited December 9 by Ronbrink