(almost) in over my head.....73 starcraft re-do

[ScouterMom]

Been working on the starcraft, trying to get it ready for a camping trip Mother's day weekend - which I KNOW we will not be able to finish everything it needs - but we just might be able to make it dry and functional by then.....

I knew it needed the entire lift system / cables replaced, and other than getting all the lifter poles out, cleaned and oiled, I haven't been able to actually start running the cables.  Why? because the reason the cables failed was NOT the pulleys, or even too light cable - it was because the floor rotted out in the back corners and the lift poles dropped thru the floor and CUT the cables as they were pinched between the pulleys welded to the frame and the sharp bottoms of the lifter poles!

 The entire back drivers' corner (the curved 'butt' end) and the floor for about 14" needed to be replaced.   :eyecrazy: Which necessitated removing a cabinet, the water tank, and working around the fuse box, before cutting out the rotted floor. The stabilizer leg back there had fallen and hit a curb (or something) so we fixed that up while we had the floor apart.  I took off the corner molding from the outside, and we stripped the corner down to the aluminum skin and are cutting all new wood for the inside.


The passenger back corner was also rotted, but not nearly as bad - only about 6"X 8" of floor and we didn't have to open up the back wall, or remove cabinets or fixtures - so it went much faster.

It's not all back together, but I can see where we might actually get to installing cable this week sometime - maybe.

While working on the inside, I've also been working on sanding and painting rusty frame pieces, the cable connector, the tongue, stabilizer legs, jack and the winch.  

My aim is to get it outside long enough before Mother's day weekend that I can scrub the canvas down, scrub and hose off the rest, let it dry and re- waterproof it.  

And we still have that rotten roof board to replace......  :yikes:  - oh, and the hitch to get out of the receiver, yet - still jammed!..... see why I think I may be in over my head?  I need a couple of week's off just to work on this thing!

Check it out at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/TLauraT7

Always open to ideas and suggestions!

[brainpause]

We have had to do similar work, though more involved, to an '84 Starcraft.

http://larryandhollycrockett.com/restoration.html

The only thing I would advise (and I'm still not through with mine), is to tear out the aluminum, if present, that is under everything, "protecting" the floor wood. I am convinced that it did nothing but hold water in there, and allow the wood to rot. Looks like you have already done that at the corners, if there was aluminum there to begin with. Good luck, and you have already come a long way!

Larry

[munchkin]

Sorry, Know How It Feels--but You'll Get There--maybe Not As Soon As You Planned Though. Courage. You Know I Really Can't Lend Advice. Working On The Fixer-upper Viking Ourselves. We Ripped Out The Top, And Are Replacing Most Everything. But, You Did Shed Light On A Possible New Problem. Was Your Floor "soft" Or How Did You Know There Was Damage? Ours Feels Fine, But The Boards At The Roof Were Mushy.

[ScouterMom]

no - the floor 'looked' fine - we checked it out pretty thouroughly before I bought it -crawling inside and underneath with a flashlight, as the cables were broken and it couldn't be openend up ....

but when we took the covers off the lift posts, because I had to attach the new cables to screws at the bottom of the posts at floor level, I couldn't figure out why the rear posts stopped UNDER the bed rails ( 2" lower) than the front posts (which were flush with the tops of the bed rails)  When I started to remove the old cables, I dropped a nut, and it fell straight thru to the floor of the garage.  I then removed the post sections (3 telescoping sections) and it was evident that the posts had fallen thru the floor, and it was all rotted out.  

the first corner wasn't too bad - it appeared that water had flowed inside the poles and drained thru the floor at the hole where the cables ran thru & up the post- my guess is the the hole got stopped up with dust, muck, etc and the water sat. the floor was exposed in this corner, ( there was a 'wardrobe cabinet' that sat up on legs here) so if water was inside the camper, they could have wiped up most of it - except what was actually inside the walls. it was completely gone under the roughly 2" X 4" hollow corner post. we just cut back a bit more for good measure to get into still good wood.

the rear driver's corner was the worst - it had a built-in cabinet in it that housed the water tank, fuse box cables. hoses and drains.  the top of the counter looked like water had sat in the corner  - it was de-laminating some .

Once we got this cabinet and the tank & drains out, it was apparent that ALOT of water had sat on the floor. we cut the floor back, but the damage went UNDER the back wall, too - so we cut that out and found that the curved rear corner was completely shot.  the aluminum trim and shell had kept it pretty solid from the outside,  but a hint of the problem from the outside ( in hindsight) was that the tail lights had nothing to hold the screws in anymore - the light on this corner worked, but not well, and was hanging - as is the license plate mount and everything else on this corner.

I've noticed on the new campers, many have a canvas piece that wraps AROUND the outside of the telescoping posts - this would keep water from entering  between the sections - I may try to figure out how to add that to my canvas later.  but for now, I think we'll duct tape those or plumber's tape them, or something to keep water out!

Later this summer, we may take the whole back end out - as that is where the top rotted out so bad - maybe water also ran in down the wall there.  the Starcraft has that rear 'butt' curve for wiring and pole storage, and it appears that the whole back edge (2-6" of floor) may be rotted - more or less. but for now it's dry, and the corner posts have strong support, so we're going with it as is for now.

Hunt4Fun's original photos gave me a good idea of what's back there - as he did a total rebuild of a similar vintage and style Starcraft. http://new.photos.yahoo.com/jack.kissner@sbcglobal.net/album/576460762381271476  I like the pole storage idea, and that space could be better utilized by putting the fuse box into that wall, and possibly a radio or small storage pockets.  I'd also like to make it accessable, so we could get to the wiring if need be - so we'll probably pull the other corner apart later.

laura

[munchkin]

God bless you. And here I thought we had a mess. The cables, etc. are fine on ours and I haven't seen any signs of standing water, but the roof comes completely off to finish rebuilding when we have a few sunny days in a row forecast--so I guess I'll know then. I might be intensely following this thread come then. Lots of luck!

Munchkin