Building a trailer, Things to ponder

[Treeview]

Treeviews articles on trees self repairing got me thinking.
When a tree is limbed, we seal the cut.

Dang...where did my brilliant reply go to?!

Here's the short one...less brilliant

Biological beings heal...they replace wounded tissues with new tissues.
Botanical beings seal...they grow new tissue over the wounds, the wounds never go away or change.

I'll stop now unless there's a request for more.

Dr. Shigo's research started out with the goal to find a better wound sealer. His conclusion lead to Modern Arboriculture and a better understanding of wounds and decay in trees. One of the things that he found was that there were no wound dressings/treatments that helped trees to isolate decay.

As a result of his research we got to stop using messy tree paints. this was in the mid-70s. So...almost 40 years ago we, arbos, stopped using sealers. No criticism...but sometimes it takes a while for the message to get out, sorry.

The decay nasties that attack wood are different than the ones that attack lumber. The effect is much the same though. There are treatments that can stop/reduce decay in lumber...but not for wood...yet, anyway!

this is a great thread!

Tom

[Martiangod]

Now with both putty tape and butyl tape there is squeeze out that needs to be trimmed.
The window was done with butyl, installed and trimmed, within a few weeks there be 3/8s of an inch of squeeze out, now squeeze out was trimmed on day of install, probably 1/8 inch, now another 3/8's.
From a strip of 3/4 inch butyl tape.
How much is left in the joint ????

And to add to the quandery, how much squeeezed to the inside window cut ?

Is there any butyl left on the sealing surface at all ?



Now that pushing butyl is also pushing a bead of Geocell ProFlex Tripolymer Sealant, this it good high adhesion sealant, and butyl just pushes it away like nothing

Sorry for the blurry pic, but the camera picked this up from almost 50 feet away

[canned o minimum]

Treeviews articles on trees self repairing got me thinking.
When a tree is limbed, we seal the cut.

As an arborist.. we NEVER seal a cut on a wound( cut branches,etc)

[Wobbly Wheels]

Caveat: my experience is much more marine than RV...

As far as sealing external hardware, polysulfides can't be beat. I use enough Sikaflex LOT291 that I should have shares by now.
There isn't any significant squeeze out after initial install, it serves double duty as an adhesive and a sealant/caulk, and is flexible within the temperature any hardware is likely to see. Being a liquid when applied, it's bound to be much more tolerant of a less-than-perfect surface finish than a taped seal and it doesn't dry out and shrink back over time. As you run in the screws, it both seals the threads and acts as a thread locker.
It's used both above and below the waterline in virtually all boats and does a great job of keeping the ocean on the outside of the boat - I have never worked for any boat builders where tape was used and don't know of any who do use it.

Of course we're building trailers and not boats, but that's what I plan on using to adhere and seal all my external hardware despite the extra cost. Having stripped out a camper, a trailer and a motorhome (all '70s vintage), I don't like what I've seen from tapes: it hardens over time and shrinks back from the seal. I'm not going to invest my time and money to build something unique and then knowingly add a weak link to the chain. I'm sure I'll add enough of those through good old fashioned mistakes !!

[mezmo]

Hey Chris,

Thanks for starting this thread. Quite an interesting topic, and it's great
to hear perspective from someone 'on the inside of it' when it comes to
professionally repairing rot damage and such on TTs.

Random comments/thoughts on the subject:

It seems the best idea to use the best quality products. Skimping on a 'small'
item that may ruin the total build is an obvious false economy. Using the
Sika marine sealing products really looks worth looking more into.

This isn't only a problem now with RVs either. Most modern houses that are
built/sealed very tightly are having big problems too. Modern building
materials also seem to be a contributing factor. {Remember the manufactured
siding problems with rot?] Watch any Mike Holmes show on HGTV and he is
continuously finding rot and mold problems in the newer houses he remediates/
repairs for the show. Is it poor workmanship, methods - or misunderstanding
of the correct installation method , or misapplication of products, or a combo
of all that that results in the problems?

Condensation is also something that really deserves attention. We have a '77
Avion we are starting to refurbish as a summertime home-base. It is
parked on my brothers land in Western NY State. The valley it's located
in is named "Steam Valley". It should really be called Fogs-A-Lot valley as it
is generally really foggy a lot of or in the mornings, which we never realized until
we were there last summer starting in on the refurb. The kitchen counter is
made of a very fine particle size particle board base that looks to be about
1/2in thick and has a wood grain plastic laminate surface. The end of it had
curled up about 4in high like a genie's slipper's toe, where it overhangs the
end of the base cabinets a few inches! And there was also a lot of other
noticeable condensation inside too, so I'll have to do more investigation
this summer when we go up north again to work on it. I hope my brother
remembered to set out the damp rid that we bought for it! Obviously a TT
made of all aluminum, except for the interior cabinetry, will probably have
more problems with condensation [even thought it is 'insulated'] than a TT
built of something that doesn't conduct heat and cold as readily. I do find
it odd that I have never come across any discussion of interior condensation
in aircraft style constructed TTs over the years. It's now apparent I'll have to
research that topic more!

Anecdote:
When I was a real little kid in the early 1950s - before school age - I "helped'
my Dad do some maintenance on the small house trailer [@ a 24ft 1945 Alma]
he used when he was on a pipeline job that wasn't long enough to make it
worth moving the larger house trailer and relocating the family. I remember
he stripped off some red paint and dug out along the edges of the doors and
windows where the putty tape had dried and cracked etc.. He then had an
upright pump can that had a pump-able sealant that was like the putty tape
material but was liquid enough to be pumped and used to fill and seal cracks
and small joints. I assume [now] that it may have been made of a dry-able
oil, like linseed oil and a fine clay [I'm guessing that is what the putty tape
is made of also.] I wonder if there is still such a product around anymore?
It seemed to do the job, but of course did require periodic application over
time.

I guess the bottom line is that any material that was alive at one time still
needs to be able to breathe or to dry out if it becomes wet/damp somehow.
It's the old 'working with nature' approach. Here is probably one case where
using traditional methods when using traditional materials may be the best
approach.

Cheers,
Norm/mezmo