Bought a Burro today

[kyle minor]

I found an '85 Burro on C-list today and drove an hour to check it out. It's in very good mechanical shape so I brought it home with no drama. The older couple that I bought it from were unable to use it now that the husband has ALS. He had done a number of "upgrades" to the interior that included a few cavalier electrical scenarios that will take a bit of time to sort out. Aside from the easy interior fixes, it looks like a great foundation to begin my Alaska project. I'll post my progress.

I have a few questions that I'll post here (advise me if they should be posted elsewhere).

The Burro has a metal reinforced edge trim that seals the vertical clam shells together. Where can you find these, how likely are they to fail/leak and whats the procedure to installing new.

The windows seem to be a little more flimsy than I had anticipated from pictures. Are there replacement windows that fit these openings or were they one-offs for the Burro only? The front window has been modified to have a slider as well as a prop-up rock guard that was poorly conceived and executed. I would like to replace the whole assembly to ensure weather resistance on what I assume is the most vulnerable opening while rolling. It also appears that some silicone work was performed around most of the windows. How difficult is it to remove the windows, clean out the goo and replace in a fresh bed of premium sealant?

From what i understand, Burro's came stock with a carpet strip across the ceiling seam with wood trim on either side. Mine appears to be original and is sagging a little in a few places. I'm considering ripping it out, evaluating the integrity of the seam and replacing it with another material. I also have a bunch of leftover LED strips that I could run down both sides and put on a dimmer. Anyone ever removed this strip? What did you discover and do you have any advice?

This Burro has an ice box which would work great for 2 day trips but I'm thinking 3 weeks. What is a good fridge that would work, Dometic?

Thanks for reading my longwinded post. I'm looking forward to posting pics of my progress!

pic of original owners before I hauled it away:

[Time K]

Kyle, that looks like a nice find...I know squat about Burro's but I have a comment on the fridge. If the ice box is original and it's condition reflected by the appearance of your rig, its worth leaving in IMHO. You can always use it on future shorter trips. To replace it with a two way will be expensive, if bought new.

Would a simple COSTCO 79.00 AC bar fridge mounted somewhere externally or stored inside the rig doubled as counter space serve the same purpose? If your Alaska itinerary has RV campground power along the way, that's what I might do.

Mike

[kyle minor]

Thanks Mike,

I have a small Honda eu20001 generator that could easily run a small fridge. I'm not sure i want to run it all day to keep food cold. Maybe you're right, maybe I should just reinsulate the icebox and stop a few more times for ice. Not sure which is the bigger hassle. I'm new to all this, been a backpacker all my life.

Today, I plan to remove all the crap in the cabinets and try to sort out the electric system.

[David A. L.]

Kyle, I agree with leaving the existing icebox or if needed reinsulating it and would suggest something I do on my boat and which would be even easier shoreside RVing. That is to get a portable countertop icemaker. Run it off the tow vehicle battery thru an inverter. I have an older "Mr. Freeze" purchased at Costco and the last twenty minutes of a sail, when I have the engine running and looking for a place to anchor I switch on Mr. Freeze. By the time the anchor is down and everything put away, I have ice.

Running on a highway most of a day would make for lots and lots of ice. And setting awhile at a RV site one would easily make ice during side trips and sightseeing. My Mr. Freeze makes ice in twenty minutes but here is a link to one on Amazon which claims it can make ice in 10 minutes.
http://www.amazon.com/Koldfront-Portable-C...=pd_sim_dbs_k_2

They are certainly less expensive than a "proper" RV frig and you can use it at home to make ice for parties etc. as well.

I hope someone comes back with a link as to where one can purchase the join/seam covering material. I have a UHaul CT 13 the join covering on which is in need of replacement. All the links I've tried to a company called "Trim Lok" seem not to work.

Hope this helps,
David A. L.

[ThomasE]

For the interior seam cover, others here have replaced it with new carpet attached with contact cement. I replaced mine (originally was 8" wide padded wood) with bathroom/kitchen wall paneling (white plastic) from Home Depot, using 3M double sided mounting tape. For the exterior seam cover, I thought that was plastic/vinyl trim without metal? On mine it is just vinyl trim. For replacement search this site or google "Trimlok".

[Raya]

Here you go. Their selector will show you all the different widths and heights:

http://www.trimlok.com/regular_trim.aspx

[Donna D.]

I have a few questions that I'll post here (advise me if they should be posted elsewhere).

How neat is that. They look like a nice couple and I'm sure happy you got the trailer.

As a hint, you may find it easier to post your problems in the Problem Solving forum. One question per topic. That way things don't get all mixed up and it makes it far easier for others when using "Search." If you have any questions, send me a PM

[kyle minor]

Trim-lok doesn't sell cut rolls but McMaster Carr does. I just bought 50' for $30, shipped today. will report on it later.

Thanks for all the input. I gutted the interior yesterday and have begun the rewiring process. I'm anxious to deal with the front window situation so may pull it out today to asses replacement or rebuild. more later (with pics).

[Time K]

Sounds like you're a keener Kyle. We'll follow your progress over in the problem solving forum...looking forward to the pictures.

[kyle minor]

I opened up a way bigger can of worms than I had anticipated. It's my nature to customize everything so i ripped everything out of the Burro interior yesterday as well as all the rubber trim, the front window and will likely remove the roof vent to replace. I have lots of questions and have restrained myself and used the search tool (very good info!). I'm planning to replace the electrical system, snap wood flooring, wood strip ceiling, cafe table at front bench (so you face each other and leave the bed fixed), So here are a few pics from last night:

[Nancy]

Kyle,

Have you considered not having a ref or ice box? We have a door where the ice box would be and have lots of storage area there.

We carry a cooler in the car and mess with ice. Using gas and electric wasn't something I wanted to have to use. In Alaska your ice should last a while.

A generator and elect unit sounds interesting.....if one doesn't mind hauling all that weight around.

Will look forward to seeing what you do with your great unit.

Nancy

[Michel, Bouchard]

Speaking about frig, mine is a Dometic SC serie, for boats But I think it is perfect, working on 120VAC or 12VDC, working with a compressor it draws only 3.3 Amps, so not too heavy on the battery.

[kyle minor]

somehow a few pics didn't load, will try again.

Yesterday i ordered a new Fantastic Fan with thermostat and a Power Dynamics load center as the basis of my rewire. I ripped out the old roof vent and cleaned the center seam and roof. I got the vinyl edge trim but it looks a little small for the center seam, may work for around the door. It looks like I'll need to deal with the gel coat in several places. i still haven't figured out how I'm going to deal with the front window. Lots of work with only 2 months left before the big trip.

Thanks for all your recommendations, almost all of them end up implemented.

[Dave Russell]

Trim-lok doesn't sell cut rolls but McMaster Carr does. I just bought 50' for $30, shipped today. will report on it later.

Thanks for all the input. I gutted the interior yesterday and have begun the rewiring process. I'm anxious to deal with the front window situation so may pull it out today to asses replacement or rebuild. more later (with pics).

Hey, Kyle,
I am also looking for the edge trim for the top of my '84 Burro. My existing trim does have metal sandwiched between the plastic. I looked at Trim-lok, and as you found, I don't need a gazillion feet, only 10'! I went to McMaster Carr and didn't see what I needed there. What specifically did you order, and did it work?

I have narrowed down my rear window leak to ridge on the top.