Re-caulking, Gluing, Sealing, Screwing: Mind at Ease!

Ended up having an hour this evening to deal with my concerns about leaking. I was able to take off the wood strips I had screwed into the ceiling.  I caulked the area where the fan rests against the roof. Then I added butyl tape between the roof and the wood braces. I was able to remove the screws that had the heads broken off and put in new screws. The whole thing is drying right now. I feel much better about the fan now!

 Butyl tape and caulk applied.  Braces re-installed.

 The Fantastic Fan is now completely sealed!

Storage boxes caulked and sealed.

I also used some backer rod to cover some of my imperfections in the floor storage boxes. The  I re-caulked the gaps in the storage boxes. The last step will be to carpet the bottoms to give a little cushion and stop rattling when on the road.

 I was able to re-glue the dome light in place.  I couldn't get all the paint off the bottom of the foam, so I decided to 'over glue.'  I'm hopeful that it makes a clean seal.  I should add for those of you who are curious, I will be insulating the 'entire' ceiling with the same foam panels.  I only added these small sections because I needed to be able to work with the wires.  Eventually the entire teardrop will be insulated and covered with the headliner.

The last project I was able to finish tonight was to put the weather stripping on the door frame.  The weather stripping was exactly the right size and fit the groove where the door rests against the wood frame.

You can see how it fits snugly against the door frame.

If you look very carefully, you can see that I added a thin gray rubber seal to the door as well.  This is way more protection than the original design.  I'm hopeful that the two parts will fuse to the metal or wood and make a tight and waterproof seal.

Next job:  getting it out of the garage.  At least now I can put it out there and not be concerned about water getting in!  

Just forgot, I still need to seal the bulkhead floor.  I keep forgetting about that because it is hard to see.  I'll try to do that tomorrow evening.  Forgot another: I need to install the rubber membrane over the hinge on the hatch.  Hopefully I can find a really wide bike tube tonight.  One more thing I would like to try to accomplish before putting the drawers and cabinets in place:   I think it would be smart to hang the spare tire from the 'floor' of the galley area where the cooler 'side' will be.  I'll use rubber washers on the bolts to keep water from penetrating through the floor.  That way it is out of the way and fairly easy to access should I blow a tire and need to get it.  Of course, by planning ahead like that, you know that my first flat will be in the middle of a snow or rain storm!

Monday Evening

Was able to get a couple of hours in this evening on the Carpe Diem.  I jacked up the teardrop and was able to bolt the storage boxes to the frame.  Then, was able to install the headliner on the wheel well covers.

I tried to make the 'edges' where they meet look as nice as possible.  I think I'll add some kind of black rubber trim on each of the 'seams' to make it look a bit more finished.  If nothing else, there is a neoprene seal that goes on the bottom of the garage door that I saw and think might work.  The bulkhead is all 'finished' and looks outstanding!

I glued and screwed the right galley side board in place.  I put a dab of silicone on each of the screw holes as I screwed them in.

Was able to finish the tray that the cooler will sit in.  All I need to do now on the galley is decide on the height of the 'counter' and begin blocking it out.  I found a design that I am going to replicate.  Here is an image of it:

It comes from the Tiny Trailer Company.  I like the way they incorporated the Coleman stove into a pull out drawer that doubles as a cook stand.  I also like the two pull out drawers.  Those could be used to hold utensils and cooking tools.  My design will be a little different on the drawers and lower cabinets; but the idea is sound.

Not going to have any time the rest of the week to work on the Carpe Diem.  Will have to plan and do 'virtual work' on the additional systems. etc.