Rebuild--rear-ended Uhaul CT13

[groys02]

Diane,

Thanks! You and a number of others have been a consistent encouragement to me [and other "project"-tacklers on here]........that's much appreciated.

keepin' on...
Gary

[Green Frog]

Gary,

I just became aware of this thread when I met Candy and Coyote (CC Quixly) over on the U-Haul Group on FaceBook. Putting 2 and 2 together, I'm thinking your camper may be the one that saved their lives when they were rear ended by a truck. They said theirs had been bought and restored by someone fitting your description. As my avatar shows, I have a 1983 Burro I've owned for about 5 years now and sporadically follow the doings of the Burro and U-Haul owners, especially restoration and upgrade threads, so I got really excited when I found yours.

The only thing I can add to what you are talking about is the addition of internal shelving. There was a great installation available in the Burros (only for DIY, not factory IIRC) where a shelf was put over the window in either the front or back. It was a fiberglass pan that was glassed in... I wish I had caught you before you finished painting your interior repairs. If you are interested or just curious, you can go up to the top of the page here, click on the "More" tab and go to "Document Center" then "Trailer Brand Manufacturer" to find the Burro Instruction Book in PDF. The shelf is on one of the last pages. There was also a discussion of this option on this site on the Burro Forum about a year or so ago, IIRC.

Best regards,
Froggie

[groys02]

Froggie [Charlie],

Glad you enjoyed the connecting-the-dots thing. I've never actually met Candy & Coyote, but we corresponded a lot before buying their trailer.... and that was always very pleasant. And then we piled tools and miscellaneous stuff in the back of my 95 Neon and headed from central Iowa to the Cheyenne WY area to pick it up........where we had another pleasant time with Candy's folks.
Hauled it the 600+ miles back without incident--also pleasant. [The Neon had a 5-spd, so I could just gear down as needed. I'm sure it was smaller and lighter, as tow vehicle, from what is prudent, but it worked out okay.]

Now that I'm retired, and our retirement cottage is done & moved-into, the work on the camper is picking up some--though still sporadic. [I seem to have too many interests, that all take time.]

Next up will be the 12V side of things. Got a 50W solar panel & controller recently, along with LED lights & some 12V & USB ports........ and picked up a new battery just yesterday. I'll post more pics & info as I get all that stuff organized & fitted.

keepin' on...
Gary

[groys02]

P.S. to last post. I forgot to respond to Froggie's suggestion to look into the Burrow file available here.

I actually downloaded that 2 years ago.......went back and looked at the shelf section again this morning. I would like to build a shelf, front & back, much like is shown there. [Don't know as I'd attach the ends to the inner shell with 3/16" steel pop-rivets, though......maybe aluminum? Seems like the force it takes to set a steel Pop-rivet would lead to stress-cracks in the f/g.]

So, good reminder, Mr Froggie! I agree, it'll add useful space.

Gary

[mary and bob]

Gary; check out the "peel" type pop rivets, they expand a little more for better grip in fiberglass, or so I was told. I have some but haven't used them. We considered a front or rear upper shelf, but think it will result in a more cramped feeling in such a small trailer.

[groys02]

Bob,

Good suggestion, re the "peel-type" of Pop-rivet. I'm familiar with them in aluminum rivets--esp the 1/4" aluminum ones used a lot in auto construction; like in holding window regulators inside doors. It does seem like that'd spread the force outward some.

And as far as space taken up by the shelves goes, I'd probably try mocking them up in cardboard initially..... maybe double-layered and taped securely in place so we could actually try them out on a camping run or two, before deciding to build in something more-or-less permanent.

[As always, you give good, thoughtful suggestions to consider. Thanks.]
Gary

[itlives]

I'll be watching for the shelf work....

[groys02]

A little update for those not on the U-Haul Facebook site.

[1] I added an awning rail, to attach one edge of a 9x9 "Noah Tarp" to... then ordered a pair of adjustable-length tent poles for the outboard edge of the tarp. [May be another week or so before we actually get back out to a campground and can test that set-up.] I attached the rail on the outer edge of the more-or-less flat area above the camper side, with a double layer of Gorilla tape--like 3M's molding tape, but theoretically a bit thicker... and with a total of 5 3/16" pop rivets--2 at each end, and 1 in the middle. [I riveted the one in the middle first, as that was visible inside the closet, so I could tell if it did anything too wild & crazy to the roof skin... didn't seem to.]

[2] And I'm starting the process of relocating the battery box to the void underneath where the furnace used to be. I'll figure to mount the 12V fuse panel on the wall to the left of where the furnace used to sit, as well as the solar panel controller. I figure the rest of that space will be my "utility box" area, for some misc tools, ext cords, etc, etc.
The battery box will slide out the side of that lower area when needed, via a removable panel just inside the camper door.

Hopefully that will all make something like sense with the pics below...

[itlives]

I'd like to see the tarp side of your awning setup.

[groys02]

Mike,

Hey--you and me both! Right now the trailer's jacked up a little, while I'm working inside & occasionally underneath it... so I can't comfortably reach the new rail to thread the tarp into it, and it's right up against my Anglia project, so there's nowhere to set the tent-poles up anyway.

BUT--I'm figuring to wrap the edge of the tarp around a 1/4" x 7.5' long telephone wire cable [4 or 5 small wires inside a round sheath], and then slide it down the rail. The rail's about 7.5' long, so I'll have 9" or so of tarp corner hanging out at each end--attach a guy rope to each of those ends, to stabilize its position in the rail. [2] Come in one grommet-spacing from each end of the outer edge of the tarp for a point to attach the 2 poles..........1 guy-line outward from those points, and a 2nd guy-line toward either the front or rear of the camper [parallel to it]. [3] Front pole 7' or so high, and the rear one 5.5-6' high, so as to have a "skewed" top surface and minimize the chance of having a big rain puddle in mid-tarp.
That's the plan...........clear as mud?

[mary and bob]

We bought a custom "rope & pole" awning and could not get the sag out of the center without a pole there so sold it and bought a bag awning that has rafters to keep it tight.

[groys02]

[posted this yesterday on the U-Haul Facebook page]

Battery relocate--step 2:
Life's been distracting lately, so slow progress. At any rate, got the odd holes plugged in the old battery box, and dropped in the new Group-27 marine battery. [I found mine at Auto Zone--a little under $100] Enlarged the holes in the side of the box slightly, to install 2 5/16" bolts to serve as main lugs to run wires from.

Enlarged the notch in the furnace-compartment floor to better access battery, once installed. Glued this removed bit to the .25" plywood floor I'm adding to more-fully close off this area... that scrap from the cut-out will keep the new .25" ply from sliding around any.
Installed battery-in-box. They sit on a treated plywood base, with treated lumber "railing" to keep them located firmly. Single bolt through treated base & camper floor... though it really couldn't go far without the bolt. But, still...........
I'll add a removable cleat screwed to the forward edge of that base. [so battery & box can't slide forward at all, in-use]

Drilled hole just ahead of the wheel opening, and at about the height of the battery-box lid, for venting battery gas.
Installed add-on floor, with notch for other wiring to pass through next to the camper outer wall. This pic shows the back side of the furnace-vent-turned-110-outlet.
And, installed battery-box lid and hooked up vent line... temporary hose is from a buddy's CPAP unit--I'll replace it with a proper hose next time I run to Lowe's. [now purchased]
Now, to climb up top and sort out the Solar Panel.........

[itlives]

Good work , Gary!
I was thinking you could get some edging like is what around the original heater hole and wrap your cut out with it. Then, put some hinges on it.

[groys02]

Thanks, Mike!
Not a bad idea... I'll keep it in mind, as I keep muddling through the 12V circuitry install. Haven't sorted out yet where to put the controller & 12V fuse panel etc..........working now up-top, on the solar panel install. I think what I see up there is the remains of the original solar panel--minus the glass etc from it........just the "frame" still fastened to the roof of the camper.
[pause, while geezer tries again to email pictures from iphone to computer]

Well, that didn't work, but eventually.........

What you see to the right of the "frame" is the scrap-metal pan I made to cover the frame after we got the camper, so we didn't have a little pond inside it. [Looks to me like the glass part of the original panel broke out.] I'm thinking to put automotive seam-seal or windshield-setting urethane around the perimeter of that original frame, and then mount the new panel across the top of it.

[itlives]

If I had to do it again that's what I would do, too. I took everything off , fiberglassed the old holes and remounted the new one in new holes.

[groys02]

Solar panel mounted up-top today.

See pics. After cleaning up all around where the original base met the roof, I applied a "fillet" of 3M automotive seam-sealer [cures to dense, rubbery consistency, and is paintable] in 2 stages... then inserted treated-wood members inside the old, aluminum base--with the ends wedged underneath the formed aluminum top edge of the old base [glued down with more seam-sealer, as well as that mechanical, friction fit]... and glued and screwed a sheet of .25" plexiglass on top of that--a base for the solar panel to fasten to.

The 50W Renogy panel "kit" that I got supplied the brackets that now bridge between the plexiglass base and the solar panel.

Down in the closet, I glued-and-bolted a 1x4 mounting panel on the wall, as a place to mount the 6-circuit 12V fuse panel, and the solar panel controller. With the battery down below the closet, nearly all the 12V wiring will now be right there mid-camper.

'Bout all for now.............

Well--I guess you'll have to wait to see the pics... server timed-out twice while trying to load them. Maybe later............

[groys02]

Pictures, take 2:

[groys02]

First actual, honest-to-God, 12V circuit wired up after solar-panel/battery/controller/fuse-panel connections!

Kind of nice to be past undoing stuff... and shoe-horning battery into new location... and mounting solar panel & cables... and finally start installing new cabin lights etc.
Pictures probably say it all pretty well. [there's a clear cover over that marine 12V fuse panel that will shield the main lugs etc]
And the little stalk lamp plugs into any USB socket... has 2 little LEDs in it, that can run singly or together... flex stalk to direct light where needed... looks like it gives plenty enough light to read by. [got 2--one for either end of the bed platform]

Gee--might have to go camping again, once all this Labor Day craziness has passed!

[itlives]

I love 12v solar systems. It's great when everything works and you are boondocking!

[D Davis]

Gary, good job. I really like the Marine Fuse Panel. They have covers don't they. Thanks for sharing your step by step progress. Looks like you are almost finished.