Finally Sealed Up Properly?

It's the eve of my next trip; a journey to Starved Rock State Park with my son. I think I've finally gotten the teardrop sealed up the way it should be. First, I let all the caulk we applied in Ohio dry. Then I tested it with a jet of water directed at the entire under side of the teardrop. I found two small areas where water was sneaking in. I re-sealed those areas again with more caulk and then applied another layer over the entire area where the gap was. Finally, today, I applied a rubber membrane (aka inner tube) to the edges.

I applied more adhesive to the rubber to 'seal' it in and then lastly I put the linoleum in place. The rubber, when the adhesive fully cures, will keep the moisture from penetrating the seam. We are planning on pulling out pretty early in the morning and then a full day of hiking and exploring tomorrow at the park. I'm excited!

The Carpe Diem Visits Ohio University and Narrowly Averts Catastrophe!

Both my beautiful wife and I attended The Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.  It is in fact, the place we met and fell in love.  It was quite fitting then that the last 'leg' of our first trip in the Carpe Diem go through there.   

The Carpe Diem at the College Gate in Athens, Ohio.

Before we get there, we need to catch up a little on the trip since the last update.  We loaded up and headed to Granville, OH where our good friends Mike and Christina were in town to visit their family.  We met them for a nice brunch at a place called Day y Noche.

Mike and I with the Carpe Diem.

After a great visit with them, we dropped them off at Mike's parent's home.  We were able to see his Mom and Dad too.  I was very close to them too.  

Erica and I turned towards Athens and things were looking well.  Then, near disaster struck.  We were on one of the many small roads that lead towards Athens.  We heard a loud plunk and then the sound of metal scraping across concrete/gravel.  I was able to quickly check to be sure that it was safe to pull over.  I did so and we carefully got out to take stock of what happened.  The tongue of the trailer popped off the tow ball.  Thankfully the safety chains held, the tongue of the trailer actually rode up onto the basket on the front of the trailer.  If we had been on a larger road, or going faster, things might not have turned out as well.  

The basket took a little bit of a hit; nothing a sledge hammer can't fix.

I learned to pull up on the tongue to make sure it has properly latched! 

The road rubbed the tongue a bit, but nothing a little Rustoleum can't fix.  

We took a huge breath, hugged each other and counted our blessings.  We started back towards Athens.  The rain had held off all morning, but it started again along the way.  Almost everything had changed.  Even the freeways were different; the small towns of Lancaster and Nelsonville had bypasses which were terrific for travel, but I'm not sure they will be good for the small businesses in those towns.  We made it to Athens and went to The Strouds Run State Park.  Neither of us had camped there before and mid July, during the week, is apparently the least visited time in the park.  In fact, we were the only people in the park.  It rained almost all evening and into the night.  Something was going on with our battery and it did not fully charge while we were in Powell.  So, the hot and humid weather, and the relentless rain made for a less than perfect night of sleep.  Well, that and the fact that we were the only people in the entire park, in the middle of Appalachia, without any cell service... Nonetheless, we made it and here is the view we had when we woke up this morning.

Here was our campsite.

I love the panoramic feature on the iPhone!

We hitched up and headed back to Athens.  We thought that early morning would be a good time to try to take the photo of the Carpe Diem at the top of this post.  Then, we headed north to pick up the kids.

My parents and my nephew with my kiddos!

The skies looked ominous as we started toward home.  About half way home the skies opened up.  We stopped for gas and I checked on the teardrop.  I was not happy to see a white, milky-type substance dripping from the front of the teardrop.  The caulk was clearly not dry and it was obviously not reacting well to the pounding rain.  I decided to not think about it and deal with it when we finally got home.  

The arch at the border of Ohio and Indiana; a brief respite from the rain.

About five hours later, we pulled into our driveway.  The kids were great; they jumped out and started clearing out the car and the teardrop like a pit crew at the Indianapolis 500!  A little while later, we had the teardrop on the concrete patio, the luggage and laundry emptied and were ready to assess the damage from the rain.

The aluminum 'drip guard' that we had glued in place came off again.  Thankfully, it fell into the basket again and we were able to retrieve it.  One corner started peeling away a bit.  We'll need to re-glue that corner once everything has dried out.

All our gear washed and ready to dry.

The sheet of linoleum on the back of the teardrop drying after being washed of the liquified caulk.  We put the EZ Up overt the teardrop so that we could let everything dry.  Once it does, we'll start all over with the caulking process.  Hopefully we'll get a stretch of dry weather.  We were all very happy to shower and head to a much needed night of rest.  It was a terrific trip, but we are all glad to be back!

Change of Plans...

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men...we ended up with some problems this morning.  We went out to check on the teardrop's cabin.  It had rained seriously hard overnight and was down pouring  as we ate breakfast.  Unfortunately, the caulk had reacted with the intense humidity and heat.  The caulk, which is pretty thick, began to liquify and was not solidifying like we had hoped it would.  We knew we would not be able to put the mattress in as it was.  We tried backing up the CRV and putting the teardrop in the garage, but it was just way too tough to maneuver with the basket on the front of the teardrop; it impacted the turning radius in a big way.  We gave up after a few minutes of trying and being completely soaked by the rain while we tried.

We decided to go ahead and take the kids to my parents to visit and we would stop at Harbor Freight on the way back and get some of the things we would need.  The first thing we bought was a 12" extension to the trailer tongue.  After buying a coupler lock, a new pin and a few other supplies we headed back to Powell.

Putting the extension on the tongue made a HUGE difference!  I was able, with some support from Erica, to back the teardrop into the garage quite easily.  I can't believe I didn't buy that thing before!  After getting the teardrop in the garage, we plugged in two fans and started airing the interior out and charging the batteries.

Installing the extension was simple; just insert a new coupler pin.  

Drying out in Powell.

Two fans drying the caulk.

We've decided that we would stay the night here while the cabin dries out and the caulk cures.  We hopefully will be able to load up in the morning and head to Athens.

Just an aside, I noticed some water in the galley area too.  I'm not sure what the cause of that is, but it has to be partly due to the poor seal and fit of the hatch.  That's not nearly as important to me as the cabin is, but it will have to be addressed when we get home.  For now, we wait and pray for no rain.

Concerns About Leaks

My biggest fear with the teardrop is leaking.  I'm starting to get to the point where leaking can and will cause problems.  Once the insulation and headliner are in place, it will be very tough, but not impossible, to repair.  The roof vent is my biggest source of anxiety.  This thing is nearly 70 years old and is held together with hundreds of rivets.  In order to 'modernize' this baby, I had to remove a couple hundred rivets.  Each of those spots makes me nervous; however, I've taken precautions and things should be 'fine.' 

As I said, I used the butyl tape to seal the top of the vent hood to the aluminum.  I think I'm going to unscrew the screws so that I can get at the area where the wood and aluminum meet on the roof.  I did not apply any sealant to that area so I think I will do that and then caulk each screw hole and then again around the area where the aluminum and the plastic flashing meet.  That should be sufficient.

I guess, in the worst case scenario if we have a leak, I could always pull off the headliner and repair it.  I just don't want to have to do that.  This is another reason I am glad I'm not adding any kind of 'skin' to the top of the insulation.  So far, I've seen that the insulation creates a really nice surface once the headliner and glue are dry.  My original plan was to add a skin to be a 'tougher' surface.  Things seem to be just fine without one; this is also will prevent any kind of rot or mold from forming.   The headliner is marine grade and is actually from a marine surplus store.

I have sealed every single interior joint with clear silicone caulk.  There should not be any problem there.  Every piece of wood that is up against the aluminum has been treated with Thompson's Water Treatment. 

Another area that I'm a little concerned about is the door frames.  I am not sure how the original seal worked, but the seals I'm going to put on them are similar at best.  I have caulked the wood door frames and that should, theoretically, keep any water that makes it past the seal out of the cabin.  I feel like what I need to do is seal it up and then spray water into every single joint and surface.  Actually, I need someone else to do the spraying so that I can be inside and spot any leaks.  I may just do that with Jack once we get the door and hinge seals on.

For now, I'll have to let things be as they are.  I have a busy day and a busy afternoon.  Don't think I'll get any teardrop time today.