A Tale of Two CT13's

[K Patrick]

So, today was still prepping the body to take to the bodyshop. To keep my costs down, I agreed to remove everything from the body so that they can jump right on it and not waste time dismantling things. I also had to finishing bolting the body back onto the frame after the frame rehab. It is amazing how rusty all of the original bolts are. I have given up trying to unbolt Andy of the other bolts that need to come out. I literally clamp a vise-grip to the bottom of the threads and bend back and forth a couple of times to snap them off. They are quite necked down in the middle. So, the 1/4" diameter bolts are more like 1/8" diameter due to the rust. All the new hardware is stainless steel.

The big push today was to pressure wash the entire camper top to bottom. Speaking of top, check out the pressure washed section (middle) compared with the left and right (not done at the time of the photo)..



And no, I am not making shadow animals with my hands. LOL. But the take-away is that a little pressure washing goes a LONG WAY!

The pressure washing made easy work of removing all of the Uhaul decals. But, interestingly, look what was underneath the side decals!! I assume some of you know that this decal was here, but I didn't, so it was a cool surprise. For those that don't know, Uhaul created another company back in the 80's under which they manufactured these CT's. The company was call Rec-Vee World. Is that short for Recreational Vehicle? Anybody know? It was cool to uncover the decal though..



I also had to drill out and remove the table post receptacle. It had corroded horribly and was cracked and broken. Time for a new one.



I will say this, it didn't bother me to pressure wash off the side decals, but it was a little sad getting rid of the "Vacation Adventure" decal in front.. Another shameless plug...the grey CT13 in the background is FOR SALE...

[K Patrick]

Here is a rear 3/4 shot after pressure washing..



And front..



And rear...

[K Patrick]

Tomorrow is MY MOST DREADED TASK....Removal of the windows. Ugh. I would like to reach out to the community now for some help. Can you guys provide a little guidance on two things please??

ONE DAY LATER...

So, the dreaded task of removing the windows is now done. Surprisingly, the two side windows, which I thought would be hardest, were quite easy to remove. I pulled out the rubber center strip and gently prayed one of the bottom corners and it separated a enough to grab it and literally pulled it right out. Easy peasy. The rear window was a little more difficult, but not too bad. The front window was a PITA! The PO had caulked around the periphery and it was pretty stuck in there. But patience prevailed and I was able to get it out.





I also pulled off the Fantastic Fan. The Exo-Cage safari basket will be right above the roof and will support the AC unit. So, the opening has to be ready to receive the AC collar.



But, then, it started raining. Geez! Perfect weather for days, and then, the day I pull out the windows, the skies open up. Murphy's law. But luckily, I saw it coming and had the tarp ready to go!

[K Patrick]

Off for paint. Exterior silver. Interior bright white.



The fabricator's shop and the paint shop are close to each other. I stopped at the fabricator's shop to touch base about the exo-cage powder coating. It is almost ready to go..

[K Patrick]

I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision regarding paint color. If the Weatherholtz' didn't paint theirs white, I would probably have gone white simply for universal appeal and matching. But, I decided to match my current car, and decided on silver. It is still not a big hit in terms of resale value, in my opinion. But who knows, right? Anyway, I searched the web high and low for some good image examples of silver CT13's. I found a couple, but not quite right. I did find a superb example of a Burros trailer in the right shade of silver. So, I opened up photoshop and merged a few photos together. The Burros side view, with the exo-cage from one of my side view shots, with the aluminum tail lights from a VT16 image I found and wheels from Amazon that I tinted black. I then added my own artwork that resembles leftover vinyl stripes that I never installed on a previous car and voila, my photoshop schematic!! Thoughts?

[mary and bob]

Interesting project. Did I miss it, but I saw no mention of upgrading the axle to one with a heavier capacity and brakes to accommodate all the extra weight that will be added. Since those tubular sections of the original frame rust out from the inside and the deterioration can not be seen until complete rust through, wouldn't it have been better to fabricate a whole new frame.

[CBG]

wow. thanks for letting me tag along. love the details and all the pix

[Vicki Hale]

A very interesting thread and I love your ideas! Thanks for sharing!

[K Patrick]

Bob,
I specifically allowed for the replacement of the axle with the lift mod that was done. Interestingly, I noticed on both of my CT13's, the trailing arm is welded to the axle output at each side. I find that odd. I was under the impression the factory axle was a torsion axle, but they are not, at least they ar not on either of these two CT13's. I am a structural engineer. Rust was a big concern for me. When we opened the sections behind the wheels to be repaired (outlined and photographed in the thread) I reviewed the interior condition of the tubes with a borescope. The interiors are nearly pristine. So, good to go. Thanks for your input and concern. As for a new frame, I have to say, I am quite impressed at the innovation the Rec-Vee utilized in the design and construction of these frames. They are strong, well made and I like the design.

CBG,
Glad you like the writeup and photos. I noticed a few oddities in the writing as a result of copying and pasting from the Facebook thread.

Vicki,
Glad you like the ideas. Milestones are being met and the momentum is continuing. Once the paint is done, and the exo-cage is locked on, it should actually start to look like something. I am looking forward to fitting out the interior. I have some cool plans that I have not mentioned yet.. So, stay tuned.

[K Patrick]

My "thinking outside of the box" range hood vent arrived today. This is made out of aluminum and should fit perfectly over the widened range hood exhaust vent hole. I wanted something that would be watertight and had a damper quality to it. So, whereas some of the cheaper alternatives are hinged dampers that simply swing out of the way with the fan pressure, this is an actual hinging door that has to be opened by hand. Kinda like the chimney damper mindset. Anyway, it is very light and well made. I will paint it black...

[Kevin A]

Keep up the great work! This has been very interesting to follow.

[CasitaInFL]

Very cool vent. where did you get that? I might want to get one too.... I am also building an exo-skeleton on my Casita for solar. Is the main purpose of yours to carry stuff and mount stuff to? Looks like it will be very sturdy.

[K Patrick]

Kevin,
Glad you like it! More to come.

Bill,
I thought the vent was cool too. Here is a link to the painted steel version.....

https://www.amazon.com/RAM-AIR-HOOD-.../dp/B004WOTFHE

They also have an unpainted aluminum version, which is the version I bought. I picked it up from Mark at Billet4X4.com - Home of Xtreme Duty Recovery Gear
Their number is 918.294.3754

I built the cage for a couple of reasons...
1. To hold the solar panels. I have two already at 21"x44" (100w each) and I may add up to two more.
2. To support the rooftop air conditioner. It will sit in the basket with a collar down to the roof.
3. To support LED spot lights at the four corners
4. To possibly support an awning in the future

So, Mr. Bill, let's see a progress shot of yours please.

[CasitaInFL]

Very cool. Thanks for the link. The little plastic vent that I put on the camper is one of the only things so far that I just really don't like and want to change. I think this may solve my issue.

I have two threads going right now for my casita...

The solar rack, battery and solar system are covered here:http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...3-a-88925.html

And the main build from start to finish is here:http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f...ion-81235.html

I look forward to watching your progress.

[Scamper Linda]

What a great rainy-Sunday-morning read! Thanks for the posts and I look forward to the next edition of your story.

[David Marowski]

Just one word, " WOW " !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[K Patrick]

Linda,
Glad you enjoyed the story thus far! Definitely more to come!

David,
You know what wow spelled backwards is..

So, I will take this opportunity to share that CT13 #1 (first purchased) is now sold. The new owner picked it up today. So, onward with more focus on CT13 #2!! I will be visiting it tomorrow at the body shop, so I will report back then.

Oh, and one more thing. I am going to send back the aluminum vent. Why? Well, the main spindle, upon which it hinges, stuck out a little too far to the right and left, interfering with the range hood exit duct. I found another aluminum one, nearly identical, that seems to have a bit more clearance at the sides AND it is already painted black!

[CBG]

looks like a ceiling vent on my horse trailer. you can open the door to "scoop" the air in or open it the other way to "swoop" the air out. Very interesting. Love tagging along.

[CindyL]

Originally Posted by Transposure

My "thinking outside of the box" range hood vent arrived today. This is made out of aluminum and should fit perfectly over the widened range hood exhaust vent hole. I wanted something that would be watertight and had a damper quality to it. So, whereas some of the cheaper alternatives are hinged dampers that simply swing out of the way with the fan pressure, this is an actual hinging door that has to be opened by hand. Kinda like the chimney damper mindset. Anyway, it is very light and well made. I will paint it black...

At least the CT range hoods are safe. The VT hoods are a danger. The stove is immediately to the left as you enter or exit. I cannot tell you how many times we bonked that range hood that was right there at the door. We finally substituted a computer fan and removed the range hood before it drew blood. Something like this would have worked too, without the sharp corners.

Dr. CindyL

[K Patrick]

Hi Cindy,
I actually returned that bare aluminum vent. The inner spindle that was used to operate the opening function was too wide. I found another one that is very similar and will work. But, this is going on the outside of the camper body, in place of a flat, slotted, vent. A Furrion range hood goes on the inside. Pics below...