1978 Trillium 4500 restoration ...

[freddo411]

Starting a restoration on my new trill. You can call me a newbie, RV stuff is new to me.

My trill seems to be in pretty bad shape. Lots of interior mold, screws are very rusted, some almost completely. The good news: the fiberglass seems great.

This weekend I'm focusing on deconstruction and mold elimination. I'm using about 1/4 - bleach/water solution via a spray bottle.

Your input and comments appreciated!

[Reid Larsen]

The bleach solution will probably make a huge difference but there will probably be a grime residue that will take elbow grease,a scrub brush and some 409,Simple Green or the likes. Then a good rinse with some clean water. You will be amazed how much better things look when they are cleaned up. After it is all cleaned up and you "move in" the only dirt will be "your" dirt and some how it's not so bad.

[KevinWA]

looks nice...more pics please.

[freddo411]

Removed the belly band. About 20% of the rivets were firmly holding on. Required me to drill off the heads with a 3/8 drill bit.

Picts:

[Trill136]

"The band" will be one of the items being changed on mine also!!

[freddo411]

The fridge came out today. I'm going to post to another thread the details, in case that might help others getting out their fridge.

The coils look to be very, very rusted. (see picts).

The seal on the door had to be trashed as it was too badly damaged.

I haven't had this plugged in to see if it works.

Knowing this, do you guys think this is:
a) junk
b) good to part out
c) worth refurbing

[lamimartin]

Originally Posted by freddo411

The fridge came out today. (...)

The seal on the door had to be trashed as it was too badly damaged.
(...)
Knowing this, do you guys think this is:
a) junk
b) good to part out
c) worth refurbing

You simply won't find replacement parts for such old Dometic fridge. Even if it did work, it won't cool down enough if the door seal is not perfectly air tight. Casing insulation of such old fridge is far from today's more efficient insulation material.

Your only option is to look for a replacement fridge. Today's fridge WONT FIT in the opening: they are narrower and deeper than the original Trillium 4500 fridge you have. I suggest you have a look at a previous thread http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...0-a-48267.html

You have a Dometic 211. Forget about that antique model.
Your only options are Dometic 2193 (gas line on same side) and Norcold 323. The Norcold has an automatic thermostat when working on 110V as opposed to the Dometic, which is the main reason why it is a little more expensive. I had a 2193 in the past. It is OK but it has the same size mismatch problem to solve. Some other members have installed the new fridge protruding 3 inches inside the cabin. No matter what you choose to do, you will have to make changes to match the new fridge in the opening that is too wide and too short for the newer models.

WARNING: Make sure it is sealed all around so that the outside air and gas combustion fumes can't get inside. If front and rear part of the fridge are not sealed from each other and ventilation path on the rear is not properly shaped and clear of obstructions, your fridge installation won't perform properly in summer heat. Have a look at Document center and on manufacturer's web sites for installation schematics.

Some of your fridge parts may help other desperate RV owners to keep their Dometic 211 in working order.

Beware of the fact TOXIC AMMONIA AND explosive HYDROGEN are used as cooling fluid, so you must dispose of such scrap cooling unit trough a recycling facility that can safely dispose of such hazardous material.

By the way, if you have a gas pressure regulator that looks rather old, CHANGE IT. A RV Propane fridge requires a very accurate pressure to operate properly.
Good luck.

[Chris McVeigh]

Our fridge wasn't working a few years ago and thought it was finally done.
I took it out and turned it upside down over night and it has been working well ever since. The door seal is still good on ours but I'm guessing these things could be replaced. The tank and coils looked pretty similar to the pics above but it was just surface rust. I gently removed what rust I could and spray painted some areas with a metallic primer. Don't forget to reseal with foam tape weather stripping our old seal was pretty much dust.

[lamimartin]

Hi Chris,
Reversing such cooling unit sometimes dislodge an obstruction and reactivates the cooling circuit. Obstructions are usually the result of ammonia crystals or rust. Both are bad news: They mean the cooling chemicals are degraded and the cooling unit has likely overheated because it was not level. There is no magic, the health level of the cooling unit would remain questionnable. Mine did work but failed when it got any warmer than 25C.

If the door seal was the only part that required replacement, it may still be worth to try a creative door gasket replacement. With the extensive corrosion, chances to end up with a reliable and safe operating fridge are very, very slim. Miracles are not the rule, but the exception.

[freddo411]

The weather cleared up a bit and rolled the trill outside for some dirty, messy fiberglass sanding.

Managed to expose more of the embedded steel (rust mostly) plates. See picts.

I also discovered on the back side of the trailer behind the belly band, there is plywood, unlike the rest of the belly band. This wood was gunked up with lots of silicon, but nevertheless in awful shape.

The last picture is an OOPS. Don't sand thru the interior fiberglass!

Still more sanding to go. Hopefully I'll get both good weather and some free time.

[lamimartin]

Originally Posted by freddo411

(...) I also discovered on the back side of the trailer behind the belly band, there is plywood, unlike the rest of the belly band. This wood was gunked up with lots of silicon, but nevertheless in awful shape.
(...).

Hi Freddo,
I would expect you find more plywood on the front, behind the usual propane tank location. It might be a good idea to check it out while you are stripping. Moisture often sneaks in trough holes, such as the screws holding the propane pressure regulator (the propane regulator usually needs to be changed anyway).

Happy new year !

[freddo411]

Thanks for the tip. I'll look for that.

Originally Posted by lamimartin

Hi Freddo,
I would expect you find more plywood on the front, behind the usual propane tank location. It might be a good idea to check it out while you are stripping. Moisture often sneaks in trough holes, such as the screws holding the propane pressure regulator (the propane regulator usually needs to be changed anyway).

Happy new year !

[Ed Harris]

Fred
I know on my 4500 there was the plywood to hold the spare tire and table parts to the back wall and mine also had a little radius shelf above the table under the window too.

There is also some in front to support the bunks that I had and all of the windows are framed with plywood between the shell and elephant skin too.

The doorway is also wood on the hinge side and this is an area that always seems to get rot the worst.

It is a straighforward deal to remove the windows,clean the putty from both sides and make new plywood and stick it in there and re-install the windows with butyl tape and SS Screws.

Worth the time & effort for me without question. If there were signs of water in the 4 corners under the plywood level then something framed with wood has leaked and it is better to be pro-active about it than be surprised later.

Looking at your pics brings back good memories,I loved my 4500.

Have Fun

Ed

[freddo411]

Removed all the frame bolts tonight. So much rust that the nuts didn't really turn; the torque just snapped the bolts. Same story on all eight bolts.

See picture

[Reid Larsen]

It is kind of amazing to me that so few and such small bolts are all that keep the trillium body on its frame.

[lamimartin]

Hi Fred an Natalie,
Looks like you have got a serious amount of dampness into your plywood floor to cause such an amount of corrosion. Rot is to be expected. The exterior fiberglass shell is very thin. It needs a solid plywood floor above it to be safe and hold on the frame bolts.

I would also suspect your electrical wires and power transformer to be corroded. It could be a fire hazard. While you are at it, I would not take chances and replace all electrical wiring that is a little damaged, stiff (internal corrosion) or that has a visibly corroded connector. Dampness is sucked into the exposed ends of regular standed copper wires and will slowly corrode them. If you try replacing the connector, you will notice even newly stripped wire is dull brownish or even turned green. Such corroded wire is not reusable: it will turn brittle and unsafe and must be replaced.

TIP: It is a good idea to use RV waterproof coating (rubber-like stuff) once you have soldered or crimped properly your new connectors.

[Spanke]

For splicing new wires you also could consider this product for strength of connection and a nice weathertight seal.

Sealed Connectors for Multiple Wires

[freddo411]

Very cool. I've never seen those before. Thanks for the tip.

Originally Posted by Spanke

For splicing new wires you also could consider this product for strength of connection and a nice weathertight seal.

Sealed Connectors for Multiple Wires

[David Tilston]

Looks like I will also be removing the belly band. I noticed some bulges in the wall behind the dinette. Only two that really stick out, but there are a few others that are a bit raised. Actually, I like the look of no belly band.

Along most of the elephant skin that backs the belly band, there is a perceivable trench. The elephant skin is not even glued to it. Kinda suspended across the gap behind bulge in the trailer that the belly band sits on.

My plans will change according to the results of closer inspection, (grinding) but I think I would like to take a middle road. The plates are only a problem when they start to corrode. If I grind out the problematic ones, but just drill out the rivet and fill in the hole with a resin of some sort. I hope to seal the rest of the plates up, with as little aluminum as possible, and no moisture. Maybe do it on a dry day, use a blow dryer to heat it up to drive out any moisture?

Thoughts?

[freddo411]

I think that if you remove the belly band, seal the outside with glass, and remove the rivets, then leaving the metal inside will cause no problems.

It seems that only the areas that got water seepage saw rusting, while others did not rust. Ergo, if you seal things up you'll be OK.