Maintenance & Restoration

Gina D. · 02-25-2007, 11:23 AM

Having spent a couple years in a 13 foot Iowa made Burro, I have noted a few "quirks" about my Escondido made one that seem odd, given the larger size and pricepoint.

I spent the nite in the McMansion last nite, to shake it down and to notice "things" that only get noticed once you start spending time in it.

Insulation. The 13 was factory insulated. As is the 17. BUT.. in the 13, you would have to take a magnifying glass around the whole thing to find a single spot the insulation didn't cover between the shells.

In the 17, there are spots that just didn't get covered, and you can see the sun glaring thru the shells, in the wierd translucent glow. At the seams.. in the front. There is a lack right at the joints. Uneven, and even tho it is not that big a deal, it still is wierd. Also, at the kitchen counter, on the side where the fridge is. A glow came thru that actually woke me up this A.M. Nothing a little reflectix can't cure, it should be easy to get in there, but also, wierd.

The door. Kurt was right, the door sag is annoying. I leveled the trailer yesterday and it actually got worse. I had to pull the strikeplate off to get the door to close, and now there is a lot of light coming thru the sag. The gasket came off during one of the 100 times I slammed the door to attempt to get it closed and latched.

I had to slam the door on the 13 a couple times when it wasn't level, but thats to be expected. I haven't a clue at where to start to fix this.

Maybe this was a mod the former owner of the 13 did, because when I did the floor in the 13, it butted right up against the furniture.. flush, but the lip at the base of the furniture in the 17 is sticking out into the floor area a couple inches! This will require me to lay down plywood to even it out when I put the new wood floor in. Most annoying.

Things that are better The lighting fixtures are recessed mounted, so I can pull them and have full access to the wiring to tap off of for the LEDs and Cold Cathodes. (Todays project) There is airspace of about 3" between most of the molded furniture and the outside shell, as well as on the inside structures, such as the closet and upper kitchen cabinets. I am sure they did this for thier own ease of manufacture, but it sure will come in handy when adding electronics. I can get my hands in there. This will allow me to hide wiring and switches with ease. I will not have to tap off the existing fixtures switches as I did on the 13.

Do the Iowa built 17s have the same quirks/advantages?

Gary Lynch · 02-25-2007, 02:44 PM

"The gasket came off during one of the 100 times I slammed the door to attempt to get it closed and latched."

PLEASE......Don't slam the door. You will fracture the fiberglass and make things worse all the way around. Find out how to cure the issue. Being a builder for 10 years in my youth, I cringe when folks say they slam doors. I spent many days repairing the consequences from all the high impact slamming. My 13' Burro had the same problem. It was a lot of work to fix.

Per Walthinsen · 02-25-2007, 03:47 PM

Gary:

After some creative gasketing and adjustment my Burro door closes nicely. Me to wife: "Please DO NOT slam the door, latch it!" The only way I could get away with that is because it will actually latch, and gently. But, Gina:

On this one the door did not sag (except for the screen door which I approached as a separate issue). The frame was put in with the jamb end too high and the top leaning
into the trailer. A framing square will tell you what's going on. And to think I had it out and was unaware of this!

Like on most trailers I found that if I torqued on one stabilizer jack too much thing would not latch, so that's the first place I go if I have a problem.

The thing is coming out again, and the frame will be aligned so that everything lines up and the door mates flat to the frame. Actually it doesn't seem to be much of a deal to do that. The misalignment does aggravate me.

Yea, the insulation has some gaps. Fortunately they seem to be in mostly accessible places. If you see a translucent place that aggravates you a Sharpie on the outside could be a temporary fix.

All this is part of my to-do list, which keeps me as vital and motivated as possible, considering my age.

Roger H · 02-25-2007, 06:31 PM

Gina, I can't address all of the Sac-City built 17s (as I only had one...) but yes, there were some areas where the insulation (fiberglass batting in the case of my trailer) just didn't quite make it where it should have. The biggest complaint I had with mine was the lack of an actual gray water tank (it just used a long 4" discharge pipe to it's best ability) and the short molded door with it's slight cant to one side, and large gap at the bottom. Other than that, the fit and finish were excellent.

Roger

Gary Lynch · 02-25-2007, 07:36 PM

Gina, my 1982 13' Burro had ZERO insulation. Be grateful yours has most of it.....

Gina D. · 02-25-2007, 08:18 PM

I am not really complaining.. for what I paid for the thing, I am lucky it has anything at all!

It was just a note. I did find another annoyance which played on my stupidity. All the lights are wired to the AC standard. I blew up a power supply for my CCFLs. I should have checked first, I know.

FOLKS!! DC = Black is ground!

Bob Starr · 02-26-2007, 09:56 PM

Gina,
Congrats on getting a new trailer and vehicle! But how will we recognize ya up here on the mountain? Do you have the new trailer up here? I'd like to see it
Bob