new owner questions

[Danrae]

My wife, daughter and I are "new to us" pop up owners.  We bought a 1994 Dutchman in excellent condition.  We searched for awhile and went with one about 15-20 years newer than what we had planned originally.  But after many years of tent camping we figured we will probably have this for awhile.  

I have been peeking in on many discussions for awhile now and think this is a great site.  

I have a couple of questions I am sure somebody can help me out.  The decals on the outside are peeling off leaving the adhesive residue on the trailer.  What can I use safely to remove the adhesive without damaging the finish of the fiberglass?  I thought Goof off was a bit harsh.  Let me know.  Once off I will probably replace the striping with something from an auto parts store to match the tv (I learned that (tv) from this website, lol).  Also the water tank hasn't been used in awhile, any suggestions on how to clean it so we can use it again?  We washed it over the weekend with a wash and wax from Wal-mart.  Should I wax it with something also?  I tend to wax my vehicles every three months religously so I feel I need to do something.  Just a few questions.  

Thanks in advance.

Dan

[Old Goat]

I used acetone and a clean rag to clean off some old decal residue on my Colemn Niagara. It removed everything nicely without damaging the finish...If you do use acetone, try a test spot first on the trailer where it won't be noticed just to make sure that the acetone does not damage the finish.........

[flyfisherman]

Dan - when the camper finish gets a little old, exposed to the sun and all, some of the solvent cleaners might be a little too harsh; you'll find your removing some of the finish along with the decal residue. You might want to try some isopropyl alcohol as this would be a lot easier on the older finish. I get mine from Wally-Mart for about .50 cents a pint bottle. It comes anywhere from 50% to 70% to 100% alcohol - think I would at least start with the 70%.

As for that water tank ... hard to beat clorox bleach. About a cup of that to maybe 10 gals of water ought to santize the tank. You'll have to do a good rinse afterwards.


Fly

[SpeakEasy]

Ditto what fly says about the water tank. The general "wisdom" says to drive it around with the bleach/water mix in the tank for about 10 minutes to allow it to slosh around and to fully rinse the inside of the tank.

For decals I've used one of those tar/bug removers that are citrus based. It takes some elbow grease too.

[tlhdoc]

Congratulations on the new PU.
 
To sanitize the water system mix 1/4 cup bleach with 1 gallon of fresh water.  Pour it into the freshwater tank.  Fill the fresh water tank the rest of the way with water.  Pump bleach water through the water system and let it sit for at least 1 hour.  Drain the bleach water out and flush the system with fresh water.  If you have a strong bleach smell, add a cup of vinegar to the fresh water tank and fill the tank.  Pump the vinegar water through the system and then rinse with fresh water.  If you only leave the bleach water in for an hour or two there shouldn't be much of a bleach smell in the water lines.

[Danrae]

Thanks for all the fast responses and advice.  I plan on doing those fixes this weekend.

Dan

[chasd60]

I believe "Goo Gone" will remove sticker adhesive.

http://www.magicamerican.com/googone.shtml

[ForestCreature]

I second the Goo Gone. Also WD 40 removes adhesive quite well, with that I'd do a small test area first.

[rccs]

I would not use acetone on the finish of the camper anywhere, after all acetone is the same thing fingernail polish remover is made of. I have had good luck using mineral spirits to remove adhesive and pitch from the camper and many other things since it is less harsh on the finish. Denatured alcohol is also excellent for this purpose, at work we use it to clean circuit boards in equipment that get very dirty in an industrial enviroment.